Wizard Hall Chronicles Box Set

by Sheryl Steines

  “Was it worth it?”

  “Was what worth it?”

  “You’re just trying to be an ass for the sake of it,” she said.

  “You’ll kill me when you see my human form. What difference does it make?” he asked.

  “And if I do that, what will happen? I come back to my parents both alive, both here? And all those people I saved because you bargained away information to save your life. Was it worthwhile ruining my life? Was yours happier because of the bargain you made?” she sneered.

  “My life was never happy, once my wife and son were dead,” he said.

  “The poor little vampire. We are on a time loop. And I will save the coven and your Viking village. And I will let you live with the pain of your family’s deaths. And you will do what you will do and I will stake you when it’s over. Because I cannot change one thing that doesn’t have to do with killing the demons.”

  “It must be so hard to realize you’ve lost again.” He smiled for a moment but stopped when he saw the anger in Annie’s eyes.

  “I haven’t lost anything. Eleven hundred years you get to relive your pain.” She held up the stake for him to see. “And this end, here, will meet your heart when I return.”

  “Maybe you will and maybe you won’t. You see, I know where the new market is.” He smiled broadly and gracefully set himself back on the cot facing the wall laughing.

  *

  “He laughed at me!” Annie said when they landed behind a tool shed in Gila Donaldson’s back yard.

  “What the hell did you expect? It’s Sturtagaard.” Ryan poked his head around the shed and looked into the yard, searching for prying neighbors.

  “I hate him!”

  “You can stake him when you come back,” Ryan said.

  “He claims he knows where the new market is,” Annie said as they stepped into the backyard. She glanced around at the patio, the swimming pool. They were alone.

  “You think he’s telling the truth?” Ryan asked. Annie looked through the window of the downstairs living area. It was empty.

  “I can work him over when you’re gone. He bothers me less than he bothers you,” Ryan suggested.

  “That’s up to you.” They turned the corner to the front yard. Annie looked up at the large house and saw the attic curtains fluttering. “She’s hiding in the attic again,” she said. “By the way, Sturtagaard did reiterate what his brother said. Gila Donaldson is the key,”

  “I wonder what that means,” Ryan said as he rang the doorbell.

  “I wonder if she’s actually the Gila Donaldson in the past. Like a time traveler.”

  Ryan chuckled. “You’re basing it on a dream.”

  “I didn’t dream about Sturtagaard.”

  Ryan glanced at her. “Kolgaar insisted you were at Tartarus, huh?”

  “Yes,”

  “That’s astral projection. Have you ever done that before?”

  “No.” Annie looked at the sky as a thunder clap roared above them. “The rain’s coming again.”

  I’m safe in the thunder.

  “Maybe you’re getting your powers early?” Ryan suggested.

  “She’s avoiding us. I know she’s home,” Annie said, pressing the doorbell a second time. This time they could hear footsteps patter against the wood floor.

  Gila Donaldson’s eyes grew wide when she noticed Annie standing with the Grand Marksman of the Wizard Council. She nodded and motioned for them to enter. Annie and Ryan exchanged looks and followed her inside. They took seats in the front room across from Gila. “I told you what I know.”

  “Kolgaar said you were in the past. And both he and Sturtagaard said you’re the key,” Annie said.

  Gila Donaldson looked at Annie, unsurprised by the pronouncement. “I’m not her, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

  “It was, actually. So, how are you the key?” Annie asked.

  “Someone had to set this up,” Gila said, no emotion in her voice.

  Annie could feel Ryan’s hand on her back. He squeezed lightly. “We understand that Annie has to go back,” he said. “We’re not finding anything useful in the archives or in the research. How do we guarantee she’s going to be safe without you telling us everything?”

  “I’m not supposed to say anything. This was a test for you. You will receive immense powers. The ancient ones wanted to make sure you’re worthy,” Gila said.

  Annie sat on the edge of the chair. “Listen carefully. I don’t care about the powers. I care about getting back home without dying or changing the future.”

  Thunder roared and shook the house, rattling the glass panes. Annie glanced outside, a shadow passed across the window. “Tell me what to do!” she implored.

  Gila sighed. “I was given very specific instructions on how to handle this—when to conjure the demon and bring Kolgaar back.” She stood and waved for them to join her.

  Ryan and Annie followed Gila to the back of the house, where they climbed a narrow staircase that led to a locked attic door. Gila cast a spell into the lock and turned the knob when the lock clicked open. With a flick of her wrist, a single bulb at the center of the room switched on with a dim, warm light.

  Annie scanned the attic. It was what she would expect from a house large enough for an altar room. Around the room were bookshelves filled with books and jars of herbs. Crystals lay across the flat surfaces and, most importantly, an altar sat at the center of the room with a Book of Shadows on top.

  Annie joined Gila at the altar, the book was opened to a page with Annie’s hand drawn face on it. Under the picture was the name Anaise. Annie perused the passage.

  “There’s too much here,” Gila said as she rummaged through the pages and ripped the necessary sections from the book. “You need this more than I do. If you don’t get the powers, I can’t guarantee what will happen.”

  “I’ll worry about that later. Thank you,” Annie said.

  “Is there anything else?” Ryan asked.

  Gila frowned and sat on an antique sofa. “If you’re okay not receiving the powers, then I might as well tell you the story.”

  Annie sat beside her on the sofa, the pages of the Book of Shadows still in her hands.

  “The coven prayed to the ancient ones. I’m sure you’ve heard of them if not believed in them at one time.”

  Annie did not. It was an ancient religion that meant nothing to her family. She nodded respectfully though.

  “The coven prayers were answered when they saw the face of Anaise in the fire. The face told them that she would come to the them and help them. But they wanted to know more. They called on the ancient ones again. This time, I received the message. It came about a year ago, and it’s then that I put the pieces into place based on those pages.” Gila touched the pages.

  “How old were you when you found out you’d be receiving the message?” Annie asked.

  Gila laughed. “I’ve known since I was a child. It was written in those pages and read to me like a bedtime story. I was instructed from a young age to pay attention and do what I needed to do to make the plan work. I created the talisman and got the statues to the past. I gave the coven instructions. We’re on a time loop of some kind.”

  “I had a dream last night that I was in the fire. In this dream, I told them my name and what would happen,” Annie said.

  Gila glanced at her with a worried expression. “You were really in the fire?”

  “It was a dream,” Annie insisted.

  Gila shook her head. “Did it feel real, like you were really there? Have you always been able to astral project?”

  Annie held the edge of the sofa with a tight grip. “No. I haven’t had that power,” she murmured.

  “The ancient ones. They’ve set this in motion when the coven called to them,” Gila explained.

  “Maybe not. You’re linked to the original coven through your relative with the same name. They prayed to the ancient ones and you received the message instead,” Ryan suggested.

&nbs
p; “Maybe that’s true. I don’t believe in the old magic either. But the coven does.” Gila smiled fondly.

  “I’ve heard the same stories growing up. But who are the ancient ones really?” Ryan asked.

  “They are the Fates.”

  “The Fates.” Annie looked at Ryan. “Clotho the Spinner, Lachesis the Apportioner, and Atropos the Inevitable.”

  “You know them?” Ryan asked.

  “Zola told me the folktales growing up. The Aloja fairies, they’re linked to them. They sent Zola to us,” Annie explained. “I always thought they were stories.”

  “Sometimes, the stories are based in truth,” Gila said. “Annie, we are linked to that point in time. Your magic, my blood. They are forever joined, and it seems like you and I have been floating between the two.”

  Annie glanced at the pages in her lap.

  “I can’t tell you more. I wasn’t supposed to tell you anything. We have to honor our roles in this,” Gila said.

  “Thank you for this. If I don’t get this power, I’ll be fine with it,” Annie said.

  Gila pulled a vial from her skirt pocket. “Here.”

  Annie recognized the blood and took the vial. She and Ryan followed Gila out of the house and said their goodbyes, teleporting themselves to Wizard Hall.

  Chapter 16

  Annie sat in a guest chair in her cubicle, which far more comfortable than the desk chair. She placed her legs on her desk and sank into the back cushion, reading the notes from the Donaldson Book of Shadows.

  “Did she talk to you?” Cham asked as he entered and sat beside her. Annie held up the pages. “And?”

  “It’s blood-to-blood. And apparently we’ve both been traipsing through time.”

  “Your dream really happened then? You astral projected?”

  Annie shrugged. “I guess. I don’t have that power though.”

  Cham sat on the edge of the chair and hung his head. “You went back to the past.”

  “Ironically, I’m the one who gave them the prophecy,” Annie said.

  Cham chuckled. “Time travel is headache inducing.”

  It was Annie’s turn to laugh. She handed him the page on portals. “It’s all here. How to open the portal. We need the talismans. And the Donaldson blood.”

  “It’s that simple,” he said.

  “Seems to be.”

  Cham read the pages. “I was hoping we wouldn’t find the answer. Then you couldn’t go back.” He handed her the sheets. “What do you need from me?”

  “Do we need permission from England? To go back?”

  “To the ninth century? Wizard Halls weren’t established back then. Mostly individual covens. I wouldn’t think you’d need to. I can check for you.”

  “Avrum’s been around since then. I should probably take some back with me in case I need to make a purchase.” She offered a wan smile knowing the highly prized ancient gold coins could be helpful.

  “What else?” He let his hand graze hers as she turned back to the pages.

  “I didn’t know you could open a portal to the past. Ryan was supposed to call a Wizard Council meeting to discuss.”

  Cham bit his lip as he thought. “Ryan hasn’t yet. But you’re right. It’s like a memory modification. You could change the future, this present,” he said.

  “Apparently, Gila’s been going back and forth.”

  “That’s a problem. I’ll talk to Ryan about that and verify if he’s talked to the Executive Council.”

  Annie turned and faced him, taking his hands in hers. “I need to prepare. The sooner I leave, the sooner I’ll be back.”

  “Baby, you could be back in five minutes with time travel,” he said.

  She reached over and kissed him. “Then I’ll see you in five.”

  *

  The emergency meeting was pulled together so quickly, Annie barely had time to pull out her Wizard Council wool robes. She was hot inside the heavy fabric and tugged at the collar as she waited near the back of the line for other council members to cast their spells into the lock box, gaining entry.

  When it was finally her turn, she cast the required spell, which opened the door for her, and she slipped in. She grabbed the agenda and walked into the large auditorium, which fit over five hundred people.

  Today, she wasn’t sitting in her assigned seat. She took her place beside Cham and Milo at the table on the bottom floor. They were surrounded on all three sides by seats that reached to the ceiling, the Grand Marksman’s chair behind them. Today, the second-in-command, James McIntosh took the seat. Annie glanced around and found Ryan sitting beside Gibbs in the Wizard Guard section.

  “Why isn’t Ryan presiding?” Annie asked Cham.

  Cham glanced over at the team. “He recused himself from this vote because of you. He thinks it will be close and doesn’t want to have to break a tie,” Cham answered as he fiddled with the projector.

  Sabrina Cuttlebrink, in addition to being the Wizard Hall librarian, was also the Wizard Council secretary. She made her way to the floor and sat in her seat near James McIntosh. She offered Annie an encouraging smile before preparing her duties.

  Annie’s palms, neck, and breasts were dripping in sweat. It was the vote, the lighting, her nerves. When the last Wizard Council member took their seat, the lights dimmed, and James McIntosh called the meeting to order.

  “Emergency meeting of the Wizard Council is now called into session by myself, James McIntosh, Vice Grand Marksman. I turn the proceedings over to Robert Chamsky, Assistant Department Manager of the Wizard Guard.” Cham nodded and stood at the podium. He clicked on the first picture that appeared on the screen above the Grand Marksman’s chair.

  “This demon and this man were found roaming a neighborhood in Evanston, Illinois, for the past week. After testing their clothing, the Wizard Hall lab determined they came from ninth century England, then known as an area called Northumbria.” Cham switched pictures. “In the course of the investigation, we discovered that the demon and the Viking were summoned here by the descendant of an original coven member named Gila Donaldson, who is in the auditorium today. The purpose of conjuring and bringing forth the man was to fulfill an ancient prophecy involving Anne Elizabeth Pearce, who is said to have killed the ancient demons in the past.” Cham clicked on the next picture, the prophecy itself.

  “This is the prophecy. You all have a copy of it in your packets. Also in your packets are copies of the Donaldson Book of Shadows. You’ll also find the decree that allows Sturtagaard the Vampire to remain alive, a letter from Jason Pearce to Anne Pearce about the prophecy, as well as a picture of Anne’s mother taken eight years after she supposedly died. As per the prophecy, Anne is to receive an ultimate power for her duty. We believe this in all in preparation for the Fraternitatem of Solomon to come back. We believe they are coming back for these powers.”

  A collective rise of surprise came over the crowd. Cham hit the gavel against the podium. “Please review the items in your packet. When you have questions, use your signals. I also want to inform you that Ryan Connelly isn’t presiding over today’s meeting due to his relationship with Anne and will not be available in the instance of a tie break.”

  The din rose around them as Cham sat beside Annie. “You okay?” he asked.

  “No. I feel sick,” she admitted.

  “Yeah, so do I.”

  When the din silenced, they could see the closest Wizard Council members reading through the packet.

  It was almost time for discussion.

  It came almost immediately.

  “I don’t even know where to begin but I have concerns sending our own people to the past.” Annie looked up to see a witch named Bertha who was the department manager for the Office of Special Requests. “How do we know she’ll get back? What are you doing to protect her?” Bertha remained standing. Her face pale and worried.

  “I’m bringing a team to help,” Annie said. “But the reality is, there are no regenerating demons in our time, so we kno
w someone killed them. As I’m the object of the prophecy, we believe that means me. I have notes from the original coven, including a description of the magic used. I risk my life all the time for this job. And this is one of those times. I fully accept the responsibility and realize there’s no guarantee that I’ll come back.” Speaking the words made it all too real and Annie felt dizzy.

  “What is the plan to get them back?” a wizard in the first row asked.

  Cham explained the opening of the portal and that they were still working on the exact procedure.

  “What about changing the future? How can we guarantee that won’t happen?” It was a council member Annie couldn’t recognize in the dim light.

  It’s a legitimate question.

  “We have the pages from the Donaldson Book of Shadows. It’s pretty clear on those pages what Annie had to do. She’ll follow those instructions and perform her duties with as little disturbance to England as possible.” Cham said.

  “But if not?” asked another.

  “The VAU is working on how to monitor the situation,” Graham Lightner offered.

  “But how will you know?” asked a council member.

  The disagreement raged on, as it should. They were all concerned how changing the past might change their present and future.

  Graham said, “We will find a way to make sure life doesn’t change. I have ideas that might work. How much time do we have?”

  Cham looked at Annie. Annie stood again. “I think we need to leave as soon as possible. Kolgaar is getting anxious. How soon can you have something?” she asked.

  Graham whispered to his second-in-command, the assistant manager named Sky Allen. He looked up at Annie. “We’ll test our theory immediately if the vote is for yes,” he said.

  “Is that enough?” a voice called out through the darkness.

  The discussion continued for another thirty minutes, the longest discussion the Wizard Council had ever had since Annie joined three years ago.

  When the voices calmed, James McIntosh said, “I call for the vote on whether to allow the Wizard Guard to open a time portal.”