by Tamsin Baker
“This isn’t blood,” she finally said. “This is the poison they infected her with.” She moved out of the room and returned with a huge bowl and a knife.
When she picked up the knife, I stepped forward. “You aren’t going to open that, are you?”
If it was, indeed, the poison that had been killing Kadie, I did not understand how opening a bag of it would help anything.
I didn’t want that stuff anywhere near Kadie again. I didn’t want there to be a chance that she could get infected again – or anyone else, for that matter.
“Only one way to find out what she was actually poisoned with.” Margaret’s tone was obvious as though I should have thought about it before I opened my mouth and asked the question. I didn’t want to admit it, but she might have been right.
Margaret sliced open the bag with a quick flick of the knife along the plastic, and black gunk oozed into the bowl like a vomiting swamp. I sneered as I watched it. A heavy, metallic scent clawed its way out of the bag and hung out in my nostrils. I wasn’t sure I would be able to rid myself of it for a long, long time. I held my breath while the two Witches gagged.
“Take it outside!” Simone screamed as she fell to the ground in a fit of retching. Her shoulders bobbed up and down in spasms she couldn’t control. Her voice was garbled, like speaking was difficult for her to do.
Margaret grabbed the bowl and hurried out the open window. I heard it crash to the street below, the bowl shattering into in pieces.
I followed her and watched as she spilled it onto the grass in the backyard. The green grass hissed and burned, slowly dying before my very eyes, as though it had been hit with acid. Smoke or steam – I could not tell which – rose from where the poison touched the grass.
“What the hell was in that?” I asked.
“Cyanide and hemlock, among other things,” the Witch panted, staggering back to bed. Simone seemed to have a better grip on herself and was able to stand at her full height now that the poison wasn’t tainting this room.
I put an arm around her waist and helped Margaret to a sitting position in the chair Simone had been resting in before she started wiping Kadie’s body. Simone left the room, muttering something about opening the front door and all the windows in the house to rid the house of the evil.
“I hope that was worth it.” I said, glancing at the women who looked deathly pale and quite distressed.
Margaret should never have opened that inside, but no point in laying blame now.
“Now that we know for sure what is poisoning her, I’m afraid we’re going to need more than a few herbs to bring her back,” Simone said, her mouth drawing into a painful grimace. She could not look at me. Instead, her eyes dropped to her hands, to the washcloth. She paused wiping down Kadie, almost as though there was no point in doing so. Not anymore, anyway.
“What do you mean?” I asked, frowning at the young Witch. My mouth went dry at Simone’s words and it took everything in me to refrain from demanding answers. I needed to be patient if I wanted them to keep talking to me, to keep helping me.
Simone coughed a few times and then drew in a few deep breaths near an open window. She dropped the cloth to the floor, discarding it as though it was a mere piece of trash and nothing more.
“I mean, that concoction is more clever than I first realized,” she said. “It is designed to seep slowly into a victim, inflict pain and torture, ripping out the insides of a Witch. Then, after that, it, kills its victim. And ensure she can never come back.”
“What do you mean, never come back?” My heart stopped. My mouth pressed into a thin line once I said the words. There was so much more I wanted to say, so much more I needed clarification on. And yet, I waited. I did not want to make any assumptions. I did not want to think about things if they were not true. I wanted them to tell me – I needed them to tell me what was going on with Kadie and what we could do to save her.
We had to save her.
Still, Simone’s words confused me. What did she mean about Kadie never coming back. I always thought death was always finite. Since when could Witches come back from the dead?
Margaret stepped forward and sat down on the chair next to the empty bed, her skin still the color of ash.
“Simone doesn’t mean in the flesh,” the older Witch explained, her voice low. “Not technically, anyway. But we have some special religious nights throughout the year when our communication abilities with our elders and relatives who have passed on are enhanced. This poison they’ve mixed up would make sure that Kadie could never return for any of that. She would be cut off from this world once she left it. And all of her magic with it. And if that happened, she would be lost to us forever. There’s no coming back from it.”
I struggled to comprehend the information the Witches were giving me. So, they were telling me that this poison was designed to not only kill the Witch who took it, but destroy her very soul as well? Was that what Simone meant when she said that Kadie’s soul had changed? Had she already reached a point where she could not come back?
“Do you think this poison has been used on all those other girls?” I swallowed hard as I remembered the girl they’d left to rot on the table. Guilt gnawed at my gut for leaving her but I knew I could not bring her back. I could not risk exposing Tabitha, Simone, Margaret, and Kadie to more poison if the dead Witch had been poisoned. I was not sure how the poison worked but I did not want to exploit my ignorance.
I should tell Margaret and Simone about the Witch – perhaps they knew her - but later. Once Kadie was better I would take them there myself so they could see her. If she was still there, of course.
“What do you mean?” they asked me at the same time.
“I don’t know,” I admitted, “but based on what you’ve both told me, it almost seems as though the Demons are trying to steal these Witches’ power. Their magic. I don’t know why or how. I don’t know how they target certain Witches. But it’s the only thing that makes sense right now.”
Margaret nodded slowly, her eyebrows drawing down into a thoughtful frown. “I’m afraid so, but for what purpose?”
A hardness fell over my body as the anger set in. My mind raced with possibilities. I thought about what I knew about Demons. I thought about what I knew about Witches. “There’s only ever one purpose for beings of evil,” I said. “Power. Witches must have a magic not even Demons are privy to. Perhaps they are threatened by it. Perhaps it is something that can cause actual harm. But I would not be surprised if they are eliminating threats and stealing the magic for themselves so they can grow more powerful themselves. So they can be unmatched, even against angels.”
I needed to stop them before they worked out how to harness these girls’ magic. Especially Kadie’s. She seemed to be unusually powerful. I wondered if the demons knew that. I wondered if she had been targeted for that specific reason or if it had just been a coincidence, if they knew Kadie was as powerful as she was or if they only knew she was a Witch.
“What are you going to do about it, Angel?” Margaret asked me suddenly, her eyes glittering with an anger I also felt. I knew she wasn’t taking her anger out on me. I knew she did not like any Witch threatened by Demons, threatened by anyone.
I understood. That raw anger was burning inside of me as well.
“I’m going to find whoever it is that is doing this, and stop them,” I promised. “And if that means tearing a hole in the fabric of space and time, and diving into Hell, I will.”
I meant every word I said even if it sounded dramatic. I intended to get to the source, before they found a way to us.
The younger Witch stepped closer to me, reaching a hand out as though seeking a connection. I allowed her to take it, offering what she needed.
I needed it as well.
“You need to be careful, Gabriel,” she said, her voice gentle but also filled with a warning. “Your son is very important, and he will need you.” There was something off with her tone, something that did not sound l
ike how she normally did. I glanced over at her, ripping my eyes away from Kadie and looking at Simone. Her eyes glowed with that strange silver essence they had sometimes. I realized her voice was monotone, as though she was in some sort of trance.
“What are you?” I asked and she dropped her gaze from mine as though embarrassed. She shook her head, snapping out of whatever trance she had been in, her cheeks turning pink.
“She’s a Witch who hasn’t even come into her powers yet,” Margaret said, though it didn’t really answer my question.
It was no matter. Mage, magician, powerful Witch or fortune-teller. As long as Simone fought on our side, her true calling was not my concern. She was powerful. She was knowledgeable. And my gut told me she was loyal. We would be lucky to have her on our side. We needed her to fight for our side. But I could not make her if she did not want to. I could not make either of them stay if they wanted to retreat.
“Shall I take either of you back to your homes now?” I asked as my restlessness began to shiver through me once again.
There was a war coming and I needed to be prepared for it. I needed to know who would cower and who would fight.
“I’m staying with Kadie,” Simone declared, grabbing for the blanket that covered Kadie’s body as though I would tear her away from her patient. Her eyes were fierce, daring me to argue with her, daring me to tell her that she must leave.
I had been bred to read humans well, and Simone had no ill intent towards Kadie. Quite the opposite. She was fiercely protective of the fallen Witch, even though she barely knew her. I appreciated that fierceness, that unwavering loyalty. There were not many people in this world who possessed such traits.
I turned towards Margaret, who nodded her head.
“I will come with you,” she said, agreeing with her niece.
She was firm in her conviction, and while there wasn’t the same passion her niece had, it relieved me all the same.
“I need to make more medicines for Kadie if she has any hope of returning to us.”
There was one more question that had been tickling the back of my mind and I had to ask it, despite my fear of the answer.
“Will my son be all right?” I forced out. I had purposefully attempted not to think about him while I was here. It would not help being torn down the middle with one part of me with Kadie and the other with my son. I needed to be completely present if I was going to succeed at my mission. I could not let anyone or anything distract me. And yet, this was important. I needed to know about the safety of my son. Because if my son wasn’t safe, what was the point of all of this besides saving Kadie? “After all, he was inside his mother when she was poisoned.”
Margaret chewed on her lips in worry for a moment.
“I believe so, although I have not seen him,” Margaret said. She refused to give me false hope, which I appreciated. “Your child is half-immortal, which will give him a strength we do not possess. And as a human woman, Kadie’s body was designed to protect her babes while taking the brunt of any abuse herself. He got the best of both worlds, I would hope.”
The babe had looked well when I’d seen him with Jasmine, so for the moment, I needed to focus on that. I couldn’t let myself focus on negative possibilities. It would eat me alive and drive me insane. I had to remind myself my son was safe. It was the only way I’d be able to think of how to defeat the Demons and get rid of any threat against us.
“All right.” That made me feel better. Slightly. “I will drop you back home, and gather whatever information you think I need. Because the next step, I’m afraid, is to go back to the room where Kadie was held and force my way into their dimension.”
I wasn’t sure but my gut feeling told me that they were jumping from Hell to the castle, like the castle was a portal. It was the only thing that made sense. My mind kept replaying the Demon from before, how he manifested from nothing and suddenly arrived with no warning at all.
Margaret’s shocked gasp filled the room. “You won’t survive that, Gabriel,” she stated. I did not know why she made that assumption or how she could know about Angels and our abilities. But I wasn’t going to let her certainty deter me.
“Maybe,” I acknowledged with a nod. “But I can’t think of any other way. And something must be done or nothing will change.”
“You rushing into danger won’t save Kadie,” Margaret said, her voice stoic, her eyes narrowed at me at though she was angry at me and my decision.
“Perhaps not. But maybe it will help other potential victims, including the Witches who are getting stolen. I can’t say for sure why the Demons want the Witches, but I think it has to do with them seeking power. And if I can stop them, even if it means going to their dimension to do it, it will all have been worth it. I do not want Kadie’s suffering to be in vain.”
And it was true. I needed to confront whatever force was trying to steal the Witches power. Or already had.
I tried not to think about the possibility of them being successful. In truth, I had no idea what I was getting into. I did not understand the risks. I worried that they would be more powerful than I could ever be, but I could not continue to stand by and do nothing.
Margaret waved her hands at me. “I will call a council meeting,” she announced. “I’m sure we can find others who will fight with you. Help you. It can’t possibly end this way. And you shouldn’t have to do this alone.”
I slowed down my thinking, taking in what the Witches around me were saying. I wasn’t into suicide missions, but I was very willing to give my life for the protection of this world and for the people in it. However, I wanted to know my sacrifice would make a difference to those I loved. I did not want to do this if it would be in vain, if it wasn’t going to matter at the end of the day.
“Perhaps I could continue to fight Demons as I have been?” I said, tilting my head to the side. I was open to hearing what they had to say. “Kill as many as I can. Protect my son and let him grow.”
To be the warrior we have been waiting for.
Tabitha’s voice sounded in my head and I turned to watch her rush into the room. Rush as must as she could, at least. I stepped towards her, ready to help her if need be, but she shot me a look that told me not to even think about assisting her when she was fully capable of handling things on her own. Tabitha’s pride was nearly as bad as my own.
Before I could speak with her, however, I noticed the tension in her lips and forehead. Something was wrong.
“What is happening, Tabitha?” I asked. My body tensed, as though it was preparing for war.
I could not shake a wave of happiness as it crashed over me, despite the anxiety I felt coursing through Tabitha, despite the own rigidness my body was experiencing. She looked so much better than she had earlier in the day. This gave me hope – not only for my Agent but for Kadie as well. If Tabitha was getting better, surely that meant Kadie had the potential to as well.
“Gabriel!” Tabitha exclaimed, cutting me out of my thoughts. “You need to get to your son. I sense Demons closing in on him.”
She didn’t need to tell me twice.
I took off at a run and blasted through the front door and into the sky. I should have grabbed him the second time I went to visit Jasmine. My instincts told me to take him with me, but I refrained. I did not want to bring him into this war. I thought if he was with me, he would distract me.
And now, I was told I was wrong.
Tabitha always had an annoying way of sharing bad news with a smile on her face. Then again, the fact that she had this information was extremely helpful. I did not want to think about what could have happened if Tabitha hadn’t been able to say anything in the first place.
I flew through the air, heat tingling in my spine even at this height above the Earth. Damn it. I pushed harder and wove through the sky over New York City and down to Jasmine’s street. I did not think I had ever made it to her home so quickly. My wings – already ruined due to my last encounter with Demons – were strained. I
t felt like they wanted to collapse off of my back, I pushed them so hard. Still, I was here.
My feet hit the pavement and an eerie quiet descended on me. It was still early evening, darkness had not yet fallen, yet I could feel the Demons in the darkness. Waiting for the opportune moment to strike. It would be any time. I needed to act quickly.
I ran to the front door and banged on the wood. I did not care if I broke the door down – though a small logical part of my mind told me that if I did do that to the door, it would take away a layer of protection from Jasmine and her family. Still, I could not remove the urgency in my knocking. I needed to see my son. Now.
Nobody came. I banged again.
Dammit.
My spine tingled with a Demon’s approach. I turned, ready to take my anger out on the bastard only to find nobody there.
I growled.
Fuck this.
I slammed my body against the door and cracked it right down the middle. I needed to get to my son and I’d always been welcome in this home. Maybe Jasmine’s husband wasn’t my biggest fan, but I was positive he at least understood that I had saved his wife’s life.
“Jasmine!” I yelled out as I raced through each of the rooms of her house. She’d said she wouldn’t leave and yet the entire house was empty. Where were they? Panic infiltrated my bloodstream and prevented any coherent thoughts from entering my mind. It was as though I was acting on instinct because there was absolutely no way I had the capability of rationalizing what was going on.
When I reached the kitchen, there was food sitting on the table, uneaten. Toys scattered across the floor, as though children had been playing only recently. I faltered. What happened here? Where was my son? Where was Jasmine and her family?
Then there was a woman’s terrified scream from below.
“No!”
I didn’t think, I just reacted. I immediately headed for the front room where there was a staircase that led to their cellar. They had to be there. That was the only place I hadn’t checked. God, I needed them to be there, unharmed..
