by Dani Swanson
“Do we have our powers back?” Thea asked as she started to conjure a fireball, but it was no longer the normal orange flames as it was a hotter flame in blue.
“We have some of our powers, some of other people’s powers….it’s like a new hybrid witch. You may have weaker powers from what you once had, but you might have stronger ones that you never had before. Unfortunately, we won’t have time to figure that out.” Penelope was watching the large shadows amongst the haze stomp closer to where they were standing. “We need to find your cat.”
Thea had no other questions for her grandmother as she pushed through the brush calling for Fig.
Charles was stumbling through the forest while carrying the crystal - the whole while he was holding his head and fighting against the optical headache he was feeling from his new glowing eye.
“Fig! Fig! Where are you?!” Thea was going hoarse from calling for her cat.
Cricket and the Baba Yaga had knocked over most of the trees leading to the castle. Lightning bolts and fireballs were raging from their hands, taking out more of the Circle of Owls and the members of the kingdom than doing damage to each other. The sun was starting to rise off in the distance, reflecting off the haze of the fires. Screams of the combatants that were being stepped on or ignited by the two witches echoed throughout the land. Those who were left on either side of the fight had started to retreat when the wall of the kingdom crumbled under a stray blast of the Ether.
Amongst the chaos Thea, Penelope and Charles made it to where Fig was laying, weakly meowing back when his name was called. He was so weak he could barely lift his head. The tip of his tail was missing, and he had lost a lot of blood. He was laying across the top of his sister, shielding her from all the debris from the fallen trees. Thea dropped to her knees and placed her hands onto her sweet cat, but her healing powers were weaker than they had ever been before. Penelope joined her granddaughter on the ground and between the two of them, the energy of healing flowed through their fingertips and into the cats, taking away their injuries and healing their weakened bodies. Soon, the two witches were spewing the black bile and the cats were on their feet, ready to charge back into the fight.
“We need to get the stone between Cricket and the Baba Yaga. We’ll use the Ether and Charles is going to help boost our powers.” Penelope was talking over her shoulder as she started toward the battle. Charles followed on her heels. “You need to throw it into the stream and then grab each one of our hands. Do you understand?”
Charles nodded nervously as he turned the crystal in his hand to find the best place to grip it.
They crouched behind a fallen tree, waiting for there to be a space between the two.
“NOW!”
Penelope started to push the Ether out with the Baba Yaga, though the stream was weak, but still assisting against the push. Charles heaved the crystal as high as he could aiming for the exact point to where the Ether and the flames met. He stood between the two witches, connecting the two witches like a chain of paper dolls – Thea and Penelope each had their free hand raised, pushing into the crystal.
The shadows of souls within the crystal illuminated onto the trees, swirling as they tried to escape. Cricket pushed harder, the flame from her jaws came out hotter than before. Unbeknownst to her, Cricket was helping with Penelope’s plan.
Charles never had a feeling of that magnitude before today. He could feel the tickle of electricity go through his heart and out his hands as if he was the source of the power and Thea and Penelope were pulling it through his fingertips.
Penelope made eye contact with Fig and Tinker and nodded at them. The cats started to grow as they nuzzled each other’s heads, twirling around together, making one massive cat. The fire and ice mixed causing what Penelope referred to as Storm. The electricity that came off the cat was enough to light up the early morning sky. It charged Cricket, who stopped streaming the fire to the crystal to now protect herself from the cat that was charging her. She dropped down onto all four and morphed into the Grimalkin.
The massive cat charged at the Grimalkin, charging through the stream of fire, and tackled the Grimalkin. They rolled through the grass, burning everything, they touched. The Grimalkin was able to roll over the top of the cat and started to bite the jugular of Storm. The massive cat stopped fighting back and laid lifeless for a moment.
The witches pushed harder with the Ether. Thea had sweat dripping down her forehead her hair was matted to the back of her neck. She was shaking, scared. She started to panic as she could see the lump on the ground of their two cats. The tears started to flow.
Charles didn’t know what he was doing but was trying to follow directions being yelled by Penelope. The magic lit his witch’s eye, allowing him to see the auras pushing their way to the edges of the crystal.
“We need to push harder!” Penelope watched as Cricket gracefully made her way to her feet and calmly was making her way to the crystal.
“Think of the anger that you have brewing in the pit of your stomach! Your fear! Use that as your energy, Thea!” Her grandmother’s words floated in her head.
Thea had flashes of her father and mother being trapped in a cage. Of waking up on the bank of the lake with her memory wiped out. Being stalked by the Grimalkin. Being locked in the dungeon. Almost being killed – multiple times. All of this was filling her with anger and stewing in her stomach until she felt like she was going to explode. From her stomach through her veins and to the very tips of her fingers, where it was met by an equal force from Penelope’s hand. She opened her eyes to see the white light of the Ether going into the crystal. The crystal shattered with a sound like breaking glass – the souls and the magic from all of those trapped within soared out of it with such a force that it knocked everyone from their feet, pushing them back to the trees.
The magic and the souls left the crystal and went to Cricket as if she was calling for it -drawing the energy to her like a magnet. She started to laugh as her skin glowed brighter with every piece she absorbed. Her body rose up, levitating in the air with her hands extended to the sky. She started to slowly rotate as her hair swarmed around her spinning her into a cocoon.
The laughter started to fade as Cricket fell silent. Her skin started turning red and was burning from within. She started to panic and then a high-pitched scream escaped her throat – loud enough that it shook the castle walls, causing it to crumble beneath the battle.
Cricket’s cocoon continued to spin around her until nothing could be seen of Cricket’s body. Inside, Cricket was trapped in the darkness – her skin was burning, and she couldn’t move her arms. The cocoon tighten- squeezing Cricket until she was crushed under the pressure turning her into nothing more than dust, which fell to the ground. The Baba Yaga blew a breath that started a strong wind – spreading her ashes through the sky – leaving no trace of the witch behind.
The sun was starting to raise in the East, and the noise of the battle was nonexistent – those who had survived cautiously made their way to the clearing in the trees.
“Is she….dead?” Dean questioned with his sword drawn, warily walking up to join Thea.
“It looks to be that way.” Thea said as she finally eased into Dean’s embrace. He helped her walk over to the two cats, once again healing them from their injuries.
“No. I can still see her.” Charles said as he looked through his witch’s eye. “What did you do to me?” He said as he turned to Penelope, who was busily tucking pieces of the crystal into her pockets, Thea’s bag and into the dress of the Baba Yaga.
“I merely helped you with your own power, Charles.”
The Baba Yaga nodded at Penelope before taking the largest chunk of the crystal and swallowing it whole. She, retreated into the trees with a lone surviving dragon following her overhead. Patting the pocket with the shards of crystal in it, she stopped and turned, looking at all the death that had taken place. There were no members of The Circle who stayed behind, most of them died in the battle- the rest ran f
or their lives when the castle fell. Those who survived from the Kingdom of Owls were bloodied, struggling to move as they came from the shadows into the sunlight.
So much that I have created has been ruined by greed – the innocent creatures and forest that was lost.
Thea and Penelope could hear the words of the Baba Yaga in their heads as they watched the ancient witch raise her hands above her head, making the rain fall from a cloudless sky, putting out the cinders and flames.
“They say that sun showers are lucky.” Lola emerged from the trees to join the others. She was no longer a furry squirrel but was back in her human form. “Maybe that will help the few of my people who are left.”
“You’re back to being a human.” Thea smiled as Lola just shrugged.
The rain washed away the ash. It washed away the battle.
“What happened to Cricket? And Lilly? Wait…where’s Agatha?” Thea spun around looking through the trees, stepping over the bodies that were scattered on the ground. She found her, laying against the tree, her back had been broken – leaving her lifeless body in the grass. “Oh no….” Thea’s voice was barely audible. “She’s dead.”
They all sat in silence as they took in everything that had happen to them. The loss of their friends – loss of the castle.
The bodies of the fallen – both friend and foe were brought to the clearing where Cricket was last seen. They were burned once the rain had stopped.
Before the sun was high in the sky, Thea had a pyre made, and the twins were cremated together as Thea knew they would want to be – after all, they were apart of each other, and that’s how they were meant to be. The muddy purple that made up the bit of their essence which was left within the shells of their bodies danced up to the sky as the fire burned. Penelope raised her hands as the essence swirled in the sky and pushed it into Thea. Thea could feel their power swim in her belly.
“Why did you do that? I don’t want any more power.” Her face was twisted in confusion as her grandmother just looked back at her and smiled.
“The power won’t be for you, my love. You’re just holding it for someone.”
Thea started to question what was happening, but her grandmother hushed her as they watched their fallen friends get a proper send off.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Thea, Dean and Charles escorted Penelope back through the mountains to be with the Ice King. They stayed there for quite some time treating it as a vacation after their long adventures. They spent their days visiting with Penelope and Irving and their evenings playing in the snow with the penguins. Thea started calling Penelope “grammy” per her request, as they made up for many years of bonding that Thea had lost.
“Grammy, can I ask you something?” Thea was winding yarn for Penelope to work on the scarf she was knitting.
“What’s that dear?”
“Why did you keep some of the crystal? Why am I carrying this around with me?” In her hand she held multiple chunks from the crystal.
Penelope just smiled as she calmly set her knitting down on her lap and started to pet the silky fur of Tinker laying next to her.
“Do you remember when you were told that no one witch deserves all of the power? Well, though the Baba Yaga is one of the most ancient beings of power that there is in this world, she doesn’t need to have all the power either. If the witches of the world, and even the creatures are to have any fighting chance, she can’t have all the power either…..though she now thinks that she has all the power.”
“But who are we to make that decision for everyone?”
“We my dear, are the ones who fight against the evil.” Penelope dug into her pockets and pulled out three viles full of purple dust that Thea knew all too well what it was. “You will have enough power back to be a Supreme once you take the rest of the powders.”
“I feel like I have most of my powers back already….like they rejuvenated themselves.” She moved her hand with a flick of her wrist and a small fireball appeared that she quickly snuffed out.
“That’s because you’re a healer, sweetheart. You can’t heal yourself from the outside, but your powers are healing from within.”
“But what about all the other witches that are probably missing some of their magic?”
“Do you want to give it back to them? If you give it to the good covens, it will also go to the bad ones.”
“I don’t want to have all the power. I’ve seen what it turns people into.” Thea was uncomfortable with the idea of having so much power and having to take on that responsibility.
“Wait until the wind is blowing strong, then let the dust go outside of the Izotzan Kingdom. The powers will be restored.” Penelope struggled to hide her disappointment that the one offspring she had that had a good heart didn’t want the power. She picked her knitting back up and forced a smile. “You are the one that was supposed to be the Supreme, ya know.”
“I’ve heard that a lot Grammy. But no one asked me if I wanted to be it.” She got up from her seat and gave her grandma a kiss on the cheek. “But I’ll do what’s best for the masses.”
Thea, Fig and the brothers stayed long enough to see Penelope become the Ice Queen, officially, when she married Irving in the Ice Palace. When the festivities had ended, they all decided it was time to go back to warmer weather.
Thea waited until the wind was blowing hard one day and went outside with the powder she had from her Grammy. She spun in a circle and watch the whirlwind of magic flow in the wind. It blew away and went to all the creatures and witches that were lacking their full magical abilities.
For the first time, in a long time she felt whole. Not only was she happy to have that burden lifted from her own shoulders, she was able to give back to the magical community throughout the kingdoms. She had a burden lifted from her shoulders as she no longer had all of the magic, and thus did not have to be a supreme for any coven in the future.
Thea did keep the few chunks of the crystal that had been put in her bag. She wasn’t sure what to do with them, if she was going to give them back to the Baba Yaga or to grind them down and put them back out into the Ether for those that needed it.
Dean, Fig, and Thea moved to the Winding Woods and built a small cabin where they could live under the cloak of magic that was left in the trees.
Charles also moved to the Winding Woods. When Thea let the dust out into the world, his magic was part of it, and he became stronger too. In his transplanted eye he could catch glimpse of people and things that were happening in their life. Occasionally, he could even see something that hadn’t happened yet.
He knew that Lilly had run away when the fighting had started. Once her collar was off and the fighting had broken out, she was gone. He wasn’t sure where she had run to, but when she was running, she was running in the shape of a white cat. Cricket had failed to take all her magic, and Lilly was still able to shape shift. He saw her surround by elves, and he assumed that she had gone to live with her father’s family.
Charles was dead on with Lilly. She did reconnect with her father, who happened to be the elf in the Circle of Owls. He had tried to free her when she was in the dungeon, but failed. He had seen her fall, after Cricket stole the power of the Grimalkin from her and saved her. They ran from the battle and made a home amongst the elves, who accepted Lilly as one of their own. She got to do her favorite thing, changing into the white cat and watching people from afar.
He even was able to see Sorgin once, but it was if she could see him looking at her. He could feel her looking back at him in the eye and smiling. She said, “I miss you, Charles.” Which scared him to the point that he shut his eye. When he reopened it, he couldn’t find her again.
It seemed to be a boring existence, living in the Winding Woods. Thea would practice her magic and studied the books that she could still get her hands on. Dean continued to add onto their home and built one nearby for Charles. Fig ran in the woods, playing with the magical creatures he found. Everything seemed happy.
Thea wanted to see the good in the world and believed that she had been through so much trauma that everything was going to be smooth going forward, Charles on the other hand, didn’t believe that any of it was over.
“There is no more Grimalkin. You said Lilly is a white cat now. The Grimalkin died with Cricket.”
“That’s the problem Thea! There wasn’t a body. You have no proof that Cricket even died!”
The fight was the same whenever Charles would see a shadow in the Winding Woods that reminded him of the Grimalkin. He would tell Thea and his brother what he saw, and they either didn’t believe him or didn’t want to believe him.
“Do you know how I know I’m right? You still don’t have all your memories back! That means the Grimalkin is still out there! The magic that took your memories is still alive.” He calmed his voice as he finished his thought. He needed her to believe him so that he stopped dreaming about the Grimalkin stalking through the night.
“I know that it sounds crazy, but I can see things that are going to happen. Like how my brother is about to bring you a present. You can cast fireballs, but the rest of us don’t see that as crazy.” Charles nodded toward the window to where Dean could be seen hurrying in from his shed.
“Thea? I made you something. I figured with this, you won’t have to worry about losing it.” He held out his hand to show her a small crystal necklace that had a carving of a purple sparrow.
“That was very thoughtful of you.” She kissed him on the cheek while watching Charles out of the corner of her eye.
Thea couldn’t ignore what he was telling her anymore. She felt that in her soul when other magic had been reversed after the battle. Though she kept her fear to herself and argued that it was just as if a human hit their head and lost their memory.
“Charles, even if you are seeing a Grimalkin, and even if it is Cricket, it will be someone else’s turn to fight her. The evil never ends. Just like our lives – there is no end to our stories; only beginnings. Even after we die, our stories continue. I’m tired of fighting. I’m tired of chasing a notion that we can rid the evil from the world and make Erresuma this “safe place”.” Her hands were moving as quickly as her words were coming from her lips.
