Witchling Wars

by Shawn Knightley

  Ellinor smiled a few feet away, pleased with Arthur’s decision.

  “We still have the problem of the remnants of the Catach-Brayin running wild across the United States,” Arthur announced to the entire room. “I’ve heard rumors that a coven of them is forming in the Rocky Mountains. One we don’t have control of and we can’t hope to gain influence over.” He turned back to Tobias. “If you, Tobias Vallas, kill every last member of the Catach-Brayin, or have them swear an oath of loyalty to the vixra so they can be harnessed and controlled then you will have what you want. I will grant you mortality and the span of one human life to live as you wish.”

  “You want me to kill the vampires I’ve spent centuries acquiring and training?” Tobias spat. I could sense he wanted to tear Arthur’s head from his body. And somehow, he managed to stay in control of his impulses. That didn’t stop his fangs from peeking through his lips as he snarled. He was barely able to control his rage.

  “Whether they die or not is up to them. If they swear an oath of loyalty to the vixra and agree to harness their wild cravings for blood, then they may be of use to us in the future should war become inevitable. You wanted to train vampires to survive. This is your opportunity to do so under our supervision. And if they choose not to, then yes, you will kill them. As far as living out a human life with the woman you loved, lucky for you there’s not much of a difference between them other than time.”

  Arthur’s words were binding. An order. One that Tobias couldn’t refuse.

  “And you,” he said, looking at Georgeanna who was still standing between him and Tobias with a look of shock on her face. “You will help him. You’ve spent years running and surviving. You know better than most how to stay under the radar. You will help Tobias find the rest of the Catach-Brayin. Once they have all either been found or killed, I will grant you both your freedom and your mortality. What you choose to do with it is of your own free will.”

  I could sense the seething anger ripping through Tobias’s skin. And I knew the vixra in the room were equally as aware of it.

  “We must test him first,” said Ellinor. She raised her hand and beckoned for a man standing by a door in the corner to open it. He did so and I watched as Eli dragged Daniel inside the large room. He was still completely paralyzed from Nathaniel stabbing him with his own knife. Even so, the vixra didn’t take any chances. Daniel’s arms and legs were tied up in the same magical blue cord that bound my arms and legs when I was Brian and Ragna’s prisoner. Even his mouth was gagged with it.

  Arthur withdrew a knife from inside his coat pocket. The same knife Victor had used to paralyze me and Nathaniel. He handed it to Tobias.

  “This man deceived you,” Arthur said to him. “He’s the man responsible for your kind even existing. He waited for an opportunity to force the prophecy to be fulfilled. But not to help the survival of witchlings. He wanted all vixra dead. He tried forcing Miss Ashwood to mark you in order to bring about an end to our kind. I might not have been opposed to Miss Ashwood marking you at first, Mr. Vallas. Even I saw the benefits of such a union. But not anymore. The mark was nearly complete between Miss Ashwood and Mr. Stapleton before Drostan, also known as Daniel Clark, severed it. And according to what my sources tell me inside the United States government, Miss Ashwood’s unintentional display on the White House lawn has exposed witchlings to a degree that can never be salvaged. The prophecy… has been fully realized.”

  There were a few gasps in the room as the vixra heard his words.

  “We may only have a short amount of time to prepare before a war is upon us,” Arthur continued. “Time that we need to manipulate events in our favor.”

  Was that true? Had I unintentionally fulfilled the prophecy? I did mark Nathaniel but it wasn’t complete before Daniel severed it. Did that even matter? I exposed witchling magic before humans on the White House lawn. That wasn’t intentional either. And Arthur was probably right. The damage couldn’t be contained.

  Arthur walked up to Daniel. Daniel may not have been able to move, but his lust for vengeance, his desire to see everyone in the room dead at his feet, was overpowering.

  “Thank you, Drostan,” Arthur said to him. “Your centuries of servitude were well-executed. But now your betrayal has made your punishment, your penitence, and your very existence an inconvenience to all witchlings. I see no reason to prolong the inevitable. Particularly for a man who sees fit to turn innocent human souls into croxa. A crime punishable by death. As if your crimes so many centuries ago weren’t enough to merit death. The vixra made the fatal mistake of taking pity on you once before. They offered you enslavement in exchange for making your sins right. I see no reason to be lenient any longer.”

  He turned and gave Tobias the knife. “Daniel’s immortality has been removed. You may kill him,” he ordered.

  For the first time since I entered the room, I could sense Tobias actually feeling a hint of satisfaction. Of release.

  Arthur didn’t have to command his new slave to kill Drostan. Or Daniel. Whatever his name was. He had betrayed Tobias on countless levels. Tobias would gladly kill him.

  Tobias left Georgeanna’s side and walked over to Daniel. Then he lunged right for him and swung the knife into his neck, slicing his head right off his body. I could hear the bone break and flesh being torn apart. Blood sputtered from his neck for a couple seconds before falling to the floor. The green cord enslaving him slipped off into the pool of blood spreading over the floor and disintegrated into nothing.

  Georgeanna and I were the only ones in the entire room who let out a gasp at the sight of it all.

  “A bit hasty, Tobias,” said Arthur as he took out a handkerchief to wipe away a spot of blood that spattered on his jacket.

  “He’ll do fine,” Ellinor said before turning her attention to me. “One more thing.”

  She gave Nathaniel a signal that he could stand up. He did so and waited for her to speak, knowing that he was on strict orders to behave this time.

  “You made quite the display on the White House lawn,” she said to me. “Falling through a vixra tunnel and using a time loop to recover from a bullet wound. Quite impressive.” Her eyes drifted over to Edmund standing behind Nathaniel. I had little doubt that she was perfectly aware of who gave me access to five seconds of time travel through the tunnels. Edmund didn’t appear bothered by her accusatory glance. “There’s little doubt that certain figures in the United States government are scratching their heads right now. And the last thing we want is the display being publicized in the media. Fix this for us, Harper Ashwood, and your recklessness will be forgiven.”

  “What about the prophecy?” I asked. “Arthur said I had to mark Tobias.”

  “Tobias belongs to us now. He will be allowed mortality once he has completed the tasks assigned to him and the remaining vampires of the Catach-Brayin have been apprehended and dealt with properly. Otherwise, given your recent exposure, I have little doubt that the prophecy has already been fulfilled.” She said the last bit with a sneer at Daniel’s corpse. “As I said, help us do damage control and you will be permitted to live your life in peace.”

  “You mean I can go home to Dilton?”

  She stifled a laugh. “No. Not in Dilton. You will be housed near the Matthews in the Hungarian countryside so we can keep an eye on you. I believe your sister is lodged nearby. The two of you will have each other. Unless Mr. Stapleton finds room for you in his home near the Mátra Mountains.”

  His home?

  ‘Hungary? All this time Nathaniel’s house was in the Hungarian countryside?’

  I nearly smiled at the realization. That was why it was easy for Eli to give him vixra blood. Nathaniel built a home near the Matthews. And apparently, it wasn’t as much of a secret location as Nathaniel thought. If Ellinor knew where he lived, that meant other vixra did too.

  ‘The vixra keep a closer eye on things than they give themselves credit for.’

  “What do you say, Harper Ashwood?” Ellinor as
ked. “Would you be willing to play the part of the hunter one last time?”

  Chapter 14

  I’m not quite sure what I was expecting. Blazing flames burning my skin like the fireballs that came out of Isaac’s hands, or maybe the stinging of shooting pain like when Madison shot vixra magic at me through my grandfather’s wand. Or even the sharp blade of Victor’s magically enchanted dagger when he stabbed me in the gut.

  This was nothing like that.

  Eli lifted his hands up to my head and placed one on each side. Then he let the faint green glow of his vixra magic flood through his hands. Just enough to subtly enhance my magic. At first, it sent waves of electricity through my skin. And gradually it seeped through me and into my mind.

  “Close your eyes,” Eli told me.

  It was a few minutes after midnight. We were standing outside the White House near the gate where tourists would congregate to take pictures during the day. Only we weren’t taking pictures. We were after a visual image of a different sort.

  I calmed my breathing and did my best to focus on my anger, just like Tobias taught me. Only after a few seconds, I realized that I didn’t need it. Not with Eli guiding me through the vision and assisting me with his magic.

  “Explore each and every room,” he said.

  I did as he commanded and let the darkness under my eyelids change into something else. I could see inside the White House. I weaved through the various rooms. Some I recognized from my visit as a tourist months ago after my leg healed while I was living with Tobias. Others, I had never seen before.

  There were men entering through a side door in the back with briefcases in their hands and suits that would make any normal person stand up a little straighter when they walked in. Were they military? FBI? NSA? I wasn’t sure. But something serious happened. And they were there to discuss the potential repercussions.

  They walked straight into a meeting room that I was certain wasn’t on the map for tourists visiting on a daily basis. I let my consciousness follow them through the thick white door to see a long table. The president was sitting at the head of it.

  “Who do you see?” Eli asked me.

  “President McAllaster,” I answered.

  “Who else?”

  I opened my eyes for a brief moment. Nathaniel was watching me. He gave a small nod, trying to encourage me. But I couldn’t help it. I was nervous.

  “Close your eyes,” Eli reminded me. “Keep them closed. And peer into their minds.”

  “I’ve never done that before.”

  “That’s why I’m here. We need to know how serious this is. Now focus.”

  I did what he said and closed my eyes again. The green glow from his hands pierced through the bottom of my eyelids and then slowly disappeared as my vision went back to see the men and women entering the room with the long wooden table to sit down. Each of them stood strong in stature. Each of great importance.

  I looked at the man who sat across from the president at the table. I let my mind drift over to him and slowly fold around his body, trying to sense for anything I possibly could to give me a hint as to who he was. Once I knew, my heartbeat quickened.

  “Tell me,” Eli insisted.

  “The Head of the FBI,” I whispered. I let my consciousness slip from the man before me and to the man seated next to him. Then the next. And then the next. Onward until I knew each and every man and woman entering the room and sitting at the table. “The Director of Central Intelligence. The White House Chief of Staff. The Secretary of State. Secretary of Defense. Director of the NSA. Secretary of Homeland Security. And the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.”

  I didn’t need to open my eyes to know that Eli was almost as uneasy as I was.

  ‘Good lord. What have I done? What did I cause to happen?’

  “Focus Harper,” said Eli, almost as if he could sense my anxiety. “We have a job to do.”

  I felt his magic intensify as he let more seep through me. “Okay,” I said.

  “Tell me more. What’s happening?”

  I let my vision expand over the room hidden by thick walls. In a top-secret meeting no one was meant to know about. What I saw didn’t exactly ease the tension building in my shoulders.

  The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff opened up his briefcase and placed photographs on the table before the president. President McAllaster took them in his hands and passed them along to others seated at the table. It was a photograph of Victor with his arm digging into the vixra tunnel, ripping it open as sparks flew through the air. I could see the back of my head as my red hair wafted in the breeze. There was bright gold magic glowing in my palm. And worse. There were two of me. One that had been shot through the chest by Secret Service agents, then another that was five seconds in the past. The security cameras caught a photograph of me right before I changed the past and pushed my body away from the bullets.

  “What is this?” The president asked, pointing at the magic in my hands.

  “We don’t know for certain,” said the Head of the FBI. A tall woman with black hair and honey-colored eyes took one of the photographs into her hands. It was a close up of my face. “But this is the same young woman that was in the news weeks ago concerning Congressman Carlton’s murder trial. Her name is Harper Ashwood. The psychic from Georgia who apparently helped the Dilton police department find the dead body of Congressman Larsen’s daughter, Samantha Larsen. She disappeared after the trial and hasn’t been seen since. At least until this photograph was taken after she intruded on the White House lawn.”

  ‘Ellinor was right. The prophecy has been fulfilled. I exposed all witchlings.’

  “Alright,” said President McAllaster. “But once again, what is this?” he emphasized the ball of gold light in my hands.

  “We don’t know,” she answered. “I heard that members of the Secret Service who witnessed the occurrence use the word magic.”

  President McAllaster laughed. He looked slightly offended that anyone would even entertain such an idea. “Magic? You’re joking right?”

  No one at the table laughed. They didn’t share in his mild mocking of the situation.

  “Mr. President,” the Secretary of Defense spoke up. A strong man whose arms looked thick enough to crush boulders even with his formal uniform on. “We can’t possibly know what that is. The best we can guess is that its some sort of weapon. And if it’s not a weapon, it’s something we need to understand, harness, and control.”

  President McAllaster sat back in his chair with his arms folded.

  The Secretary of Defense stood up from his chair. He was a foot taller than anyone else in the room. “We have a recording you need to watch, Mr. President. Maybe it will help you understand the gravity of the situation.” He walked over to a TV screen hooked up on the wall and turned it on. Then he nodded to another man in the opposite corner of the room.

  ‘He prepared for this. He wants permission to start hunting me down. Or all of us.’

  The president watched the video of me fighting off Victor, me trying to escape him, Victor tearing a hole in the air behind him to hold the vixra tunnel open, and finally how I shoved myself to the side after I appeared out of nowhere with a bullet wound in my chest. Then I disappeared all over again after changing the past entirely so I was never shot. All the while with my magic showing in my hand like a golden ball of powerful light that lit up everything within five feet of me. And for the grand finale, Victor shot out a ball of fire from his hand and used a lasso of flames to drag me toward the vixra tunnel behind him before we both disappeared.

  Once the tape was over, every man and woman in the room turned to look at President McAllaster. There was nothing humorous in his expression anymore.

  “Mr. President,” the Head of the FBI spoke up. “We need to find Harper Ashwood. And this man she’s with. They appeared on the White House lawn. If they didn’t mean to harm you then they meant to do harm to others. And if they can do things like that,” she said pointing t
o the paused image of the vixra tunnel closing up behind Victor and me, “then they’re more than capable of doing other things. Unimaginable things.”

  “What do we know about her?” the president asked, taking the whole situation a little more seriously.

  The meeting continued for another twenty minutes before everyone in the room quietly dispersed. They discussed my past. How I lost Caleb, my history as a town psychic, and the Congressman’s trial. Then other strange cases of people claiming to see witchlings but no formal reports being made. And the potential destruction of something like this reaching the ears of the press.

  “We don’t need a leak to the media right now,” said the president. “Everything you’ve seen and heard in this room must be kept top secret. I don’t want it discussed over emails or any other means that can be hacked or uncovered. It’s a matter of top security clearance.”

  There was silence in the room for a few seconds as he tapped his fingers on the long table.

  “This isn’t some children’s fantasy book,” he continued. “It’s real life. If people know that others exist who can do things we don’t understand such as that, there will be mass hysteria. A..um…”

  “Witch hunt?” The Director of Central Intelligence chimed in.

  The president let out a deep breath. “We will continue this once we know more. But if there are more who can do what Ashwood can do, who knows how much damage they’ve already caused. Or will cause in the future.”

  “Which is why we need to control them and know everything we can. It starts with her,” said the Secretary of Defense as he picked up an image of me on the table. My magic was weaving through my hand, circling my fingers and piercing through my palm. “Give me permission, sir, and I will use the full extent of my power to find her and others like her.”

  “Permission granted,” said the President. “Come back when you know more.”