by Raven Snow
“Michael—” Holly began. He needed to find the others. What had happened to them in the explosion?
“I’m on it,” Michael replied before she could finish. He darted off into the confused crowd with inhuman speed, his footsteps trailing green smoke as he ran.
“After him,” the woman ordered. ”I have this one.”
Her five companions disappeared into the crowd after Michael, sending some of the panicked patrons tumbling to the ground as they tried to escape Capricorn’s destroyed nightclub.
“You think that you can win against me!” the woman shouted.
“Against my master?”
“Master...” Holly contemplated. “You mean monster? Leonardo Viteri doesn’t care about you, me, or anyone. You’re nothing.”
“You speak a name that you have just learned. You speak, but you know nothing!”
The woman raised both of her arms and pointed them outwards from her chest towards Holly. A burst of red energy erupted from her hands, shooting straight at Holly.
Holly held her ground. She knew that she could have easily dodged an attack like this, but there were dozens of people behind her that were still trying to squeeze through the crumbling exit—people who were running for safety and comfort.
Holly took the force of the blast square in the chest.
The room lit up bright red again for a couple of seconds and then, almost instantly, darkened once more. Holly crawled out of the crumpled remains of the bar that she and Michael had been sitting at a few minutes ago. A few shards of glass were poking out of her arms, and her dress had been soaked in a mixture of wine and vodka.
Holly brushed off her arms as she got to her feet, sending pieces of red-tinged glass clattering to the floor.
“My turn.” Holly smirked as she flew into the air in an instant, propelled by what looked like bursts of blue flames at the heels of her shoes.
The woman swung her hand wildly at Holly, sending three more blasts rocketing off towards her. Holly used her magic to roll out of the way in midair. The blasts crashed into the ceiling, sending paneling and wiring flying everywhere.
The back of Holly’s heel came down on the small space between the woman’s right shoulder and her neck. Holly felt the joint in the woman’s shoulder give way as she fell to the floor.
~~~
When Michael had darted off to find Megan and Duncan, he only had one thought rattling around in his mind. Protect the team.
As much as he hated to admit it, Holly was right to question his motives for joining the group. After all, oracles were just supposed to be messengers, nothing more. They were supposed to pass along what they had seen and then move on. This was why they often lived alone, loveless.
Their lives were too cold, too complicated.
Michael didn't see them as friends yet, but he knew that if someone was put out of commission, then the team would be weaker. And that could jeopardize the entire mission.
Michael heard the attack before he saw it out of the corner of his eye.
A small line of white-hot flames had burnt a line right through the carpet where he had just been standing. Michael stopped running and turned around to face his pursuers. The two witches and three warlocks that were standing in front of him al had the same white-hot flames flowing chaotically around their hands and up their arms.
“You sure there are enough of you?” Michael joked as he relaxed his stance, waiting for their next attack. “Come on, then.”
The three men sprang towards him first, swinging their hands down at him as the flames extended to form what looked like swords of fire.
Michael clenched his right fist as they charged at him. Then, when they were only a few feet away he opened his palm wide. The air around his hand crackled loudly, and a clap of thunder erupted in the room.
A few girls screamed once more as a blade of electricity—dancing lightning—glowed brightly and danced chaotically y in Michael’s hand.
Michael swung the lightning blade around and parried away the swords of fire that were coming at him. As the men came back around for more attacks, Michael slowly started to step into an unmistakable rhythm of parries and swings. Al of the terrified onlookers that saw his face saw that he was grinning widely, like a child having the time of his life.
The two witches who had held back pointed their index fingers at the cluster of fighters, trying to get a clear shot at Michael. “Humph,” one of them groaned. “It doesn’t matter if we hit those idiots. Master Viteri was clear that failure was not an option.”
“Honey, with that hairstyle and that tacky bodysuit,” Capricorn’s voice angrily sneered from behind the two women, “you’ve already failed.”
Capricorn was holding the charred remains of her microphone stand in her hand, pointing it upwards in the air like a baton. Both women turned around, trying to jump out of the way as she brought it down swiftly, pointing it towards them.
“Plus,” she said, smiling. “I hate gate crashers...”
A column of frigid air poured out of the end of the microphone stand and began to envelop the two women, slowing their movements and causing frost to accumulate on their skin. When the mist cleared, both women were left frozen side by side, their mouths open wide in surprise, like two hideous ice sculptures.
“I do love a woman who can appreciate art.” Michael chuckled as he walked over and stood beside her. “Why didn’t you mention Capricorn, the artistic ice witch?”
“That’s the one part that my charms can’t make everyone love,”
Capricorn replied. “Now they know. Everything is going to change...” She gazed longingly at the hundreds of people that were trying to escape the miniature magic warzone that had exploded onto her dance floor.
“We'll see about that,” Michael whispered as he glanced at the unconscious bodies of the three men that had been fighting him. “Did you see Megan? Duncan?”
“They’re safe,” Capricorn mumbled as a few of her fans came shuffling over towards her. Some of them were staring at her, terrified, while others were drooling in awe. “They’re in my dressing room.”
“Good,” Michael replied as he looked through the crowd over to where he thought he could vaguely see the dark outline of Holly. She was standing over her opponent. “I'll go check on Holly.”
“Darling…” Capricorn started to speak in her usual seductive tone as he began to walk away.
Michael turned to face her, and as she looked up at him, she shifted her tone before speaking again.
“Michael,” she repeated, more seriously this time. “I want in. Whatever it is that’s going on, whatever you guys came all the way to Italy to do, I want in.”
“Oh,” Michael smiled. “And why the change of heart, pop princess?”
“Because this seems like something that’s really worth doing.” she slipped back on her usually cocky smile. “And you seem like people worth doing it with.”
~~~
“You won't be casting spells with that hand for at least a few days,”
Holly proclaimed as she stood over the crouching woman. “Should I put both of them out of commission?” she threatened as she flexed her arm. “Or are you going to tell me where I can find your master?”
“Of course I’ll tell you.” The woman smiled grotesquely as she started to speak. “Master Viteri wants you to come. He needs an audience for his undertaking.”
CHAPTER 23 - Click Here To See More
They had left the bad guys knocked out and run from the hotel long before the cops and several other government agencies had shown up.
Capricorn groaned as she scrolled through the live feed of the celebrity news videos that were currently being posted about her.
Famous pop star Capricorn is secretly a witch? Click here to see more.
19 ways that Capricorn and her radical magical terrorist fans may have permanently damaged the skyline of Milan.
“They’re crucifying me!” Capricorn groaned as they all piled into a l
avishly decorated apartment that had heavily curtained windows.
“Yeah, well , better you than us.” Duncan laughed.
“Duncan,” Holly warned. “Play nice.”
“That’s true, Duncan,” Michael joined in, and laughed as well . “I heard that she has the numbers of the most skilled and sleaziest lawyers in Italy in her phone. She’ll be fine.”
“Jerks,” Capricorn muttered. She playfully slapped Michael on the cheek and walked towards the kitchen, bumping him with her hip as she passed.
Megan looked from Capricorn’s back to the slyly smiling Michael. “All it took was an attack by a team of evil henchmen. You’re already wrapped around her finger.”
“Now let us find the person who has you wound so tightly around theirs,” Michael replied.
“Mildred,” Holly said as the rest of the team gathered around her. “The girl whose shoulder I dislocated—”
“Nice one, by the way,” Duncan interrupted as he kissed her on the cheek and sat down beside her.
“Mildred,” Holly continued, “said that Viteri was waiting for us at his mansion just outside of Milan.”
Megan brought up surveillance footage and photos of the mansion on the three large TVs that were mounted on the wall .
“Cute place,” Capricorn scoffed as she walked into the room. “But is anyone else worried about the way Ms. Jumpsuit said that her master was waiting for us? I think this sounds like a trap.”
“And since when are you a part of us?” Holly scoffed back.
“Is that how it is, Holly?” Capricorn looked her up and down, laughing.
“I give you a place to stay, I give you food to eat, and I keep you from having to fight your way through hotel security—you’re welcome by the way—and now that I want to help—H.E.L.P.—you on your crazy mission, now I’m not good enough.
“Capricorn, enough!” Holly started to raise her voice. They were getting derailed by this selfish pop star. Even now she was making this whole situation about herself.
“Ask Michael,” Capricorn continued. “I saved him from dying. Just after he took out three warlocks. His vote has to count for something.”
“Three?” Megan said curiously at the mention of the feat.
Michael shrugged. “Maybe ‘dying’ is too strong of a word.” He smiled at Capricorn. “I could have been badly hurt. Let’s leave it at that.”
“Cocky much?” Capricorn shot at him as she crossed the short distance between them and landed in his lap.
Capricorn was in her element; she had already taken his lips between her own and pressed herself hard against his chest.
Michael couldn’t fight her charms now.
“Enough!” Holly’s voice commanded as they pulled away from each other a second later. “As long as you guys get a room when you do...” Holly gestured awkwardly towards the chair where they were sitting. “Do that, then you can help with the mission.”
“Thank you, boss,” Capricorn teased as she curled up in Michael’s lap, batted her fake eyelashes, and gave Holly her undivided attention.
Holly told them all what Mildred had said. Leonardo Viteri was planning to use magical powers that he had siphoned off from all of the oracles that he had abducted. He had them al locked in his ritual chamber that was located under his mansion. Twenty-nine hours from now, when the full moon was at its zenith above the building, Viteri was going to perform his dark ritual.
“He will wipe this existence away and start over anew.” Mildred had muttered just before they knocked her out and left the destroyed hotel room.
“So this is it,” Megan said as she closed the laptop. “Everything that we’ve been fighting for.”
Megan looked at Holly with a pained expression in her eyes. Holly could see that she was looking for guidance. Even though Megan was the older one, she had always looked to Holly whenever things got bad.
“We’re getting them back, Meg,” Holly said as she squeezed Duncan’s hand tightly.
“Look,” Duncan said. He stood up and began pacing slowly in front of them. “We know that no one wants to say what they’re thinking, so I’ll just be the one to do it.”
Michael nodded to Duncan. Holly could see that some measure of understanding had developed between them in the aftermath of the attack at the hotel. Duncan still did not fully understand what Michael’s motives were. However, Duncan did know that Michael had stuck around when things had gotten messy, and that hadn’t been an easy thing to do.
“This is a trap,” Duncan continued. “Valor, Leonardo Viteri, they want us to come.”
“So what?” Megan blurted out angrily. “This is your sister we’re talking about. We have to go!”
“I wasn’t saying that we weren’t going.” Duncan smiled kindly at her, looking past her insult. “We just need to be prepared for the trap that we’re going to be walking into.”
“Duncan is right,” Michael replied as he lifted Capricorn off of himself and stood up. “We have a lot of planning to do.” He clasped a hand on Duncan’s shoulder and smiled.
CHAPTER 24 - Listen To My Voice
A large tremor rocked the foundation of the Chateau Viteri; sending the birds that had been sleeping in the nearby oak tree flying off noisily into the night. Down in the underground levels of the mansion, deep below the earth, a large hole had been blown into the wall that separated the basement from the municipal storm drain.
“Told you I could do it in one punch,” Holly panted. She lowered her fist and the glowing blue energy that had been swirling around it slowly dissipated.
Holly stepped carefully over the chunks of rubble that had been blasted into the wall. Duncan and Megan followed right behind her, fanning away the dust that still lingered in the air.
“I stand corrected,” Duncan replied. He began to examine the room that they had walked into. “The schematics said that this is a medical storeroom?” He asked Megan.
“Pharmaceutical Inventory Database, according to Mr. Viteri.” Megan rolled her eyes as she wiped a thick layer of dust off of her tablet.
“First a sewer and now blasting through dusty walls like savages,”
Capricorn remarked as she stumbled into the room. “Michael, darling, I don’t know how you manage this.”
Michael shot her a sarcastic smile. Then he turned his attention back to where they were and what they were about to do. The team collected themselves and moved briskly towards the door that stood opposite the hole that they had just entered through.
Duncan opened the door and walked out into the bright hallway that stretched out in both directions. “All right, we need to split up and find—”
“Do you hear that?” Capricorn interrupted him, her eyes wide.
“What are you talking about now?” Holly grumbled.
Then she heard it too, a small buzzing in her ear that got increasingly louder as she focused on it. Then the buzzing grew loud enough that she heard what it actually was: words.
The whispering voice of a man echoed deep within the most private recesses of her mind. It was repeating one thing over and over: “ Come.”
While the simple fact that a disembodied voice was beckoning them forward
was enough to alarm Holly, something else about the voice began to inject pure fear into her body.
Holly looked around at her teammates, who were now glancing around and looking confused. They, too, were hearing the disembodied voice that sounded as if it were coming from inside their own heads.
“I’m not the only one hearing this, right?” Megan shuddered as her face grew pale.
“It’s Viteri,” Michael stated brusquely. “He’s chanting. It’s a spell; he’s trying to instill fear into you.” He looked at Duncan, who was the only person who seemed to hear the chanting and be unaffected by it. “This is djinn magic.”
Duncan nodded. Then he looked from Megan and Capricorn, both wide-eyed and pale, to Holly, who looked like she was about to either throw up or punch someone.
; “Listen to my voice,” Duncan commanded his team. Capricorn reached out and hugged Megan, who had started to sob and rock back and forth on her heels. “Remember why we are here—why you are here.” Duncan looked desperately around at his teammates as his spell slowly started to settle over them.
“Try again,” Michael groaned as he ran his fingerers through his hair.
The muscles in his face were tense; he didn’t know how much longer he could fight Viteri’s spell.
Fear started to press in on Duncan—not fear that came from Viteri’s spell, but rather the fear of losing his friends and his sister to this madness, this chaos. Capricorn and Megan had collapsed onto the floor beside each other, their eyes still wide in horror and their sobs echoing in the room.
Duncan looked over to Holly, who had fallen to her knees with her head cradled in her hands.
“Please...Duncan...” She groaned as her entire body trembled.
“We will be granted...release from this spell only after...we are driven mad!” Michael shouted angrily at Duncan. “Djinn,” Michael ordered, “cast the spell again.”
Duncan snapped back to reality and began focusing his magic on his friends again.
“Listen to my voice,” Duncan commanded loudly as he cast the spell again.
Holly could feel the effects of Viteri’s spell lessening as Duncan spoke, but the fear began to set in again almost immediately when he stopped.
Duncan looked around angrily. Holly had now collapsed on the floor beside Michael, who was sitting on the floor and rocking back and forth with his head in his hands and his back to the wall .
Duncan closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. “I said!” Duncan bellowed to the ceiling. “Listen! To! Me!”
“Your friends have heard you, Mr. Haven.”
Duncan opened his eyes. The basement room that they had been standing in had been replaced with towering, polished ebony walls and spiraling columns that stretched up towards a vaulted ceiling.
Dressed in a finely tailored business suit, and standing over the crouched figures of Holly and Michael, was a man that cast an intimidating shadow over the team.
