by Kayla Krantz
“Well, what exactly can you do when you can’t move?” Abigail’s face is venomous, then, in a split second, everything changes.
She gasps horribly, her anger snubbing out as her face twists in an unforgettable mask of pure horror. She holds a hand up over her heart and a torrent of red begins to slip through the gaps in her fingers before she falls to her knees, revealing Mushroom standing behind her.
“Nothing at all, bitch,” she says.
20.
“MUSHROOM!” I GASP and spit out another gob of blood onto the dark floor. “Her familiar…”
“On it,” she replies and pulls her knife free from Abigail’s gasping, bleeding body, before she ducks into the shadows under the brim of the table cloth.
Horrific cat-like screeches ensue, and she emerges a moment later, blood covered hand grasping the orange tabby by the nape of the neck.
“What do you say?” she taunts Chase.
He looks punitive as he glares back at her.
She tightens her grip, shaking him slightly. He growls and then just like that, the magic is lifted. I gasp, glad to be able to draw in large mouthfuls of air again, and hold a hand to my throat on reflex. Marcus does the same before he rushes over to me, pulling me into his arms. He looks over the bruises on my arm before he asks, “Are you okay?”
I nod and look at Mushroom who is still holding Chase as condescendingly as possible. “Who’s a cute little pussy cat?” she’s singing to him.
I laugh and let Marcus help me stand to my feet before I walk over to her and pull Mushroom into my arms. “You are the best familiar ever.”
“Why didn’t his magic work on you?” Marcus asks Mushroom, glaring at the tabby in her hand.
“Silly, familiar magic doesn’t affect other familiars.”
“Thank God for that,” I say and set my hand on her shoulder. “You, my dear, are a Godsend.”
She smiles and kisses me on the cheek before her attention returns to Chase. “What do we do with him?”
“Keep him in a nice small pet carrier. He’s our star witness,” I say.
Chase only growls.
In the distance, I hear the sound of movement and know that it’s the Elders closing in on us. I lift my hands slowly into the air, and Marcus does the same, a moment before the Council appears in Abigail’s open door.
21.
“SO, YOU SEE, your Honor, we are not to blame for Abigail’s death,” I say, holding my chained hands before me. “It was self-defense.”
The Head of the Elders pulls her tiny spectacles off her face and uses her thumb and index fingers to pinch her eyes as she rests her elbows on the table.
“Miss Gram, do you really expect us to believe such a wild tale? If it is true, you have conspired with a demon and slain a fellow witch.”
I send a small glance over my shoulder to the table where Marcus and Mushroom sit side by side, heavy chains bound around their wrists as well. “Abigail was not who we thought she was. She killed Ian. She tried to kill me. I think she wanted to use black magic to take over our Coven.”
“This is all heresy and speculation,” a different member of the Council says.
“Perhaps,” I reply, “but Miss, we have a witness.”
Mushroom lifts the cat carrier off the floor and sets it on the table. Chase’s amber eyes gleam out from the shadows.
“Ask him anything you wish, for as you know, a familiar cannot lie to a witch.”
IT ONLY TAKES about five minutes for the Elders to pull all of the truth out of Chase. The Head made him change into his human form before the questioning begun, and it’s almost embarrassing; he’s a mess of tears and ugly sobbing by the time the entire thing comes to an end. The Head waves her wrist and Chase is taken away to the prison chambers by two witches to await his punishment. Then, her hawk-like gaze falls onto us.
“Well, it seems as if you have committed no crime, but were just unfortunate enough to be caught up in something much larger than yourself. While I am not thrilled of the idea of a demon being here on this side of the land, seeing as how you were charged to stop something that could’ve been detrimental to us all, I will look the other way just this once.”
I hold my breath, clasping my chained hands over my heart.
“Mushroom, Talia, while I do not hold any ill will against you, breeching the boundary set forth by our ancestors is a serious offense. Hereby, I sentence you to banishment. You have until tonight, then you must be gone from our Coven. If there is a glimpse of you spotted when the sun rises tomorrow morning, you will be eligible for execution. Meeting dismissed.”
I’m frozen as the witches hover around me, undoing my chains, as well as those bound to Mushroom and Marcus. We’re escorted from the room, but none of us speak until we’re pushed outside and left alone to stare at one another in the dark.
“Banished,” Mushroom says and runs her tongue along her lip. “Imagine that.”
“It’s better than whatever Chase is going to get,” I remind her. “At the very least, we’re free.”
“You’re not upset?” Marcus asks, surprise in his voice as he looks down at me.
I shake my head. “I’ve always kind of hated it here. Ian was the only one who ever made it feel worthwhile and he…he was never right for me. I can’t wait to get out of here.”
“Where will you go?” Marcus asks.
I freeze at the coldness of the question. For some reason, I had assumed he would invite me with him. After all, the book still needs to be returned to Reddick for the curse to be broken, but he could do that part alone, couldn’t he?
“I…I don’t know,” I finally say and look at the ground, feeling the slight sting of rejection.
“Hey, don’t look like that. The reason I’m asking is I’m not going home either.”
I scrunch my face, intrigued by his words. “But why? You haven’t been banished.”
“No but there’s just nothing left for me there. Pickpocketing drunk girls and occasionally dabbling in black magic? That’s not much of a life, even for a demon. Besides, I’m sure they found the demon I killed.”
I purse my lips. “So, what do you suggest?”
“Isn’t it obvious, silly?” Mushroom pipes up. “He’s saying we should start over somewhere new.”
Marcus sends her a crooked smile. “Exactly. It’ll be just like in the old days when witches and demons got along before the war ever came to be.” He extends his hand to me. “What do you say?”
I set my hand on his open palm. “That sounds like a wonderful idea.”
“But first the book,” Mushroom reminds us.
My shoulders droop. “Abigail never did tell us where she hid it.”
“No matter, her little kitty sang like a canary for me. Pardon the irony.”
Marcus and I exchange mischievous smiles as Mushroom changes back into her cat form and disappears into the trees a second after flashing a signal in tail twists and bends..
“She says, ‘Be back in a minute,’ ” I translate.
Marcus laughs and I look at him. “What?”
“It’s just crazy that you can understand her while she’s a cat.”
I shrug and watch her disappear. “In time you’ll learn to speak all things Mushroom.”
“That’ll be the day,” he says and Mushroom emerges from the foliage once again.
She’s in her human form this time and holds a beaten leather-bound book out to me. “Ta-da.”
“That’s the best magic in the world,” I reply and take the book from her.
“Where was it hidden?” Marcus asks. “You were gone for like, fifteen seconds.”
“Under a rock,” Mushroom says brightly and laughs. “Abigail wasn’t as smart as she thought she was.”
I laugh with her as my eyes drop to the book again. It’s far heavier than it should be but it’s not a physical weight I feel. This book not only contains the entire history of the demon and witch races, it was also the reason behind Ian’s death�
�and it killed me too, in a way.
I would be such a different person if Ian was still alive.
That thought is jolting.
22.
WE GO BACK to my house and gather essentials like food, clothes, and blankets. I take nothing of sentimental value because nearly everything I own reminds me of Ian in some shape or form. Where I’m going, I don’t want to be reminded of what I can’t change. It’s strange to look around and think it’ll be the last time I’ll see this place I’ve come to call home, but the thought is hardly a whisper, and surprisingly, easy to ignore.
Mushroom resumes her cat form and spends the beginning of the journey draped across my shoulders—her reward for a job well done. Marcus stays by my side the entire time, never straying ahead or falling behind. When we hit the border, I stand there for a moment, just staring back across the land—and life—that I’m leaving behind.
“Will you miss it?” Marcus asks.
I stare for a moment longer before I tear my gaze away. “Not like I thought I would.”
He smiles and sets his hand on my shoulder, gently guiding me deeper into his land and away from this place in which I am to never return. Mushroom swipes her paw across my collarbone and I know that’s her way of offering me her comfort. I tap her paw, stroking the fur gently, before releasing her.
“Don’t tell me if I’m wrong…but you already seem happier, witchy,” Marcus says.
I reply with a smile. “I’m just lost in thought.”
“Good thoughts I hope.”
The last time I had walked this path, I had had no idea of what to expect. Even though things are up in the air right now, I feel as if I have real control over my life that I’ve never had before. We don’t take the exact same route, of course. We make sure to take a wide circle around the bar since we have no idea whether or not the mob will still be searching for us. When we pass the alley that had led to Marcus’ home, I stop and look at him.
“Don’t you want to see your house one last time?” I ask.
He shakes his head and keeps walking with barely a second of thought. “The last time was enough for me.”
I follow his lead and subconsciously, we resume our leader-and-lost-puppy-form of travel. I’m still admittedly frightened of Reddick and with Mushroom draped across my shoulders, I’m afraid for me and her. After all, I have no idea how demons even feel about familiars.
Marcus must sense the change in my emotions because he encourages me to stay in his shadows as we head inside the creepy building cloaked in darkness.
Reddick is standing by the door as if he knew we would appear. As we emerge side by side, he smiles at us both like we’re at a high school reunion. “It feels as if it’s been years since I’ve seen your smiling faces!”
His gaze turns to me and I realize he’s looking at Mushroom. “Well, furball, I don’t believe we’ve met.”
“We have the book,” I say, dropping to my knees before Reddick can focus any more attention on Mushroom. She skitters to the floor and hides in the shadows behind Marcus’ legs as I open my backpack and pull out the book like it’s a giant gem. It is, in a way.
Reddick’s eyes glow with delight as he takes it from me. “This is it all right.” Reddick opens his jacket and I see a long, curved knife strapped on the inside. On the other side, it’s blank but there’s a pocket there that Reddick sticks the book into.
I glance to Marcus wondering if it was really for the best to give a dabbler of black magic a book filled with secrets of the world, but for some reason it feels right. I know that he’s close to the Old Demons and there’s a feeling in my gut that assures me it’ll find its way back to the library.
“You, come here,” Reddick says to Marcus as I work on tying my backpack shut.
Marcus nods and lets his fingers dance across the top of my head before he complies. Mushroom, exposed to Reddick’s line of sight once again, skitters behind me to hide, crouching down to make herself look smaller than I’ve ever seen her.
“Can’t you make yourself into a kitten so you can be even easier to hide?” I whisper to her.
She blinks but doesn’t look amused by the question.
I glance toward Reddick and Marcus as they stand face to face, staring one another down. Reddick reaches out, setting his hand on Marcus’ right shoulder. “This will hurt,” he informs him then glances past Marcus to me as I stand up off the floor. “For both of you.”
He grabs Marcus’ left arm and we both scream out. I drop back to my knees again and look up at Marcus who is still on his feet. I imagine that without Reddick to hold him up, he would most likely be on the ground as well. The pain deepens and a white light blasts out from my arm, matching the light coming out of Marcus. When Reddick finally lets go, the light and pain fades away and the tattoos are gone.
REDDICK, WITH THE book tucked against his breast, is surprisingly pleasant and wishes us safe travels before he disappears into the depths of his home.
We watch for the better part of a minute. “I can’t tell if we made a friend of him or if he’s still an enemy,” I muse at last.
Marcus laughs. “Same here.”
I scoop up Mushroom and we leave the old shack, wandering out into the night with laughter in our throats, and hope in our hearts.
About The Author
Kayla Krantz is fascinated by the dark and macabre. Stephen King is her all-time inspiration mixed in with a little bit of Eminem and some faint remnants of the works of Edgar Allen Poe. When she began writing, she started in horror but somehow drifted into thriller. She loves the 1988 movie Heathers. Kayla was born and raised in Michigan but traveled across the country to where she currently resides in Texas.
She has ideas for books in many genres which she hopes to write and publish in the future.
facebook.com/kaylakrantzwriter
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Other Works By This Author
Dead by Morning
(Rituals of the Night Book One)
Obsession is deadly.
No one learns that better than Luna Ketz, a pessimistic high school senior. Caught between the intentions of her Muslim father and business-minded mother, boys are the last thing on Luna’s mind, but this fact doesn’t detour mysterious bad boy Chance Welfrey from trying to gain her affection.
Luna doesn’t think twice about him until girls at their high school begin to disappear. Girls who tended to hurt her. Girls she wished would disappear. When she receives a call from a long-lost friend, normalcy goes out the window as she’s plunged into the paranormal. There’s a world beneath the surface of the unconscious mind, and the killer knows how to navigate it. Luna is in danger and although she can avoid the killer in reality, she cannot avoid him in her dreams.
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously.
The Moon Warriors: A Novella
Copyright@ 2018 Kayla Krantz
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods except in the case of brief quotations embodied in articles or reviews without written permission by the publisher.
Cover by Raven Heidrich
Edited by Raven Heidrich
First Edition October 2018
Table of Contents
The Moon Warriors
Kayla Krantz
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About The Author
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