by Ashley McLeo
On Earth, green, yellow, and purple spots popped into being before the gaping blackness of the portal in the basement—a blackness that was shrinking with every mile Evelyn’s pneuma flew through space. Maybe if she hurries it will trap the king in there and he’ll never be able to get out. This can all end here.
Not a second later Evelyn’s heart stopped as a faint glimmer of gold emerged from the shrinking darkness and stole what remained of her breath.
Plans and Pancakes
Lily slumped in her chair. Her brain felt sluggish, as if had been taken over by a fog, and they weren’t even close to done. By the time they had finished explaining the triplets’ strange birth, the prophecy, Hypatia’s reproduction of Seraphina’s tome, what had happened at the Battle of Alexandria, and finally the finding of Seraphina’s tome, they were well into the small hours of the night. After hearing the triplets’ story and reading Nora’s letter, which Annika had had the foresight to grab, the Sisters of Salem agreed to help them.
Jane, the Sisters of Salem high priestess, proclaimed they would spread the word in their coven, city, and from there the world. Everyone agreed that the triplets’ tale and destiny would only be told to those with supernatural blood and only if the coven members trusted their confidant without fail.
“No point in involving anyone who may root for the other side,” Aoife pointed out.
“Or anyone who has no chance of standing up to witches, vampires, weres, and other supes. Not to mention possibly Noro,” Annika added. “Humans have no place in this war, even if they benefit from our fighting it.”
Over two dozen local coven members had joined them in the library, now fitted with a meeting table and chairs like the one across the hall, to devise a plan of attack. Lily soon realized that the diversity of creatures she had seen when they walked into the safe house was only a tiny representation of the members of the Sisters of Salem. So far, she’d been introduced to at least three elves, two dwarves, a fairy, and a vampire. She’d jumped as the vamp entered the room, unused to seeing them in non-threatening situations. Jane, who’d spotted Lily’s reaction, made a point of introducing her to the vampire, Celestine, who had once been a witch.
“We’ve got a sizable group, so let’s get down to business. Anyone have any ideas on how to rescue Evelyn? Bonus points if it’s easily implemented. The sooner we get to her, the better,” Brigit spoke from her half of the head of the table she shared with Jane. As the official leaders of the movement, Brigit and Jane were tasked with the job of keeping everyone on track and as civil as possible.
Alistair raised his hand, and Brigit raised her eyebrows. “You don’t have to raise your hand, Alistair. What’s your idea?”
“Forgive me. I thought it wise.” The room burst into nervous giggles recalling the stringent magical threats Brigit and Jane had employed five minutes ago if the crowd didn’t settle down and use their inside voices.
“Ha. Ha. I take your point,” Brigit smirked.
“I called Roman’s mother during your family’s meeting. Roman has not called home nor returned to the hotel where he is staying in the city for three days now. This, for a man who speaks to his family daily, is as you may guess . . . distressing. When I last had lunch with him two weeks ago, he mentioned a weekend getaway at an upstate mansion surrounded by woods to woo his lady. Knowing what I know of Evelyn, the home would have to be quite impressive to get her to agree to go, would it not? While New York has many such homes, how many are rentals? Perhaps they are even advertised online? It’s not concrete but I suggest we should start there.”
“Excellent idea, Alistair,” Jane said. She pointed out five Sisters of Salem coven members and instructed them to find such a home. “Search for a luxury rental that goes for thousands of dollars a night. Even better if it’s secluded. Why else would they have stolen money from the Locksleys already? Make calls to the landlord. Make up any story you must to get information on if it’s rented out this weekend and the renter’s names.”
“I think next we should start a list of the skills everyone here can bring to the table,” Brigit said. “That way our attack squads will be well-rounded and equally powerful. We’ll need diversity of power. I’m positive Empusa and Amon will have more fighters than they did in Alexandria and they’ll be more diverse in their strengths and weaknesses.”
A coven member rolled a double-sided whiteboard in from the meeting room, and two lines formed. Jane, who knew her coven members’ primary powers, dug a bit deeper for more nuanced magics they could leverage in a fight. Brigit took down only people’s strongest magics. Mary, Gwenn, and Aoife took those already assessed, situated them into three large groups, and asked them to demonstrate their powers so they could evaluate relative strength of skills. Rena, Annika, and Selma made a food run to fuel all the people that had shown up and would soon need energy to fight.
Lily watched as lists overtook the front of the white board, forcing them to use the back. She read words like therionlogy, enerkinesis and elenchus. She saw a man transform into a rat and back again in the space of thirty seconds and a witch cast the strongest abbero charm Lily had ever seen, tossing a full grown man the length of the long room with ease. She shook her head. My world is so small compared to this one.
“It’s overwhelming, isn’t it? I guess it isn’t helping that we haven’t slept either.”
Lily nodded. Sara was right. She doubted she could string two intelligent sentences together at this point. Making sense of what everyone was saying around her was out of the question. “Wanna lay our heads down? Rest our eyes a bit? We’re going to need energy for a rescue mission. I can’t fight like this.”
Sara complied without a word, her copper eyes closing before they disappeared into the folds of her arms.
Lily’s loud snore awoke her hours later. Lifting her head from her folded arms, she stretched and completed a few neck circles to loosen up. Something moved out of the corner of her eye. She turned to see Sara, pressed up against the wall and floating in a perfect half moon pose. Passed out supernaturals on cots littered the room. It seemed that once the assessment was complete, everyone had turned in for a much needed nap. What did they decide? Have they figured out where Evelyn is being kept? Lily searched for Brigit and found her passed out in a chair by the fire, her mouth hanging wide open. The whiteboard with four neat columns of names sat to her right.
A loud rumble disrupted the sound of wheezing breath and shifting bodies. Lily clenched her stomach and realized she was starving. I wonder where the kitchen is? There’s no way I can wait to eat until all these people wake up. She stood gingerly and tried to find the best possible route to the door without disturbing anyone. Mom told me not to waste my magic but . . . She glanced at Brigit to make sure she was still soundly sleeping. Oh screw it! What good is it being a witch if I can’t use my magic for fun sometimes? And it will be faster . . .
“Volvari,” Lily pointed at herself and her body rose in the air.
“Motus,” she whispered and swept her arm in a path toward the door. She flew slowly and a bit shakily, above the sleeping bodies to the door. Her eyes latched onto a young man with chiseled cheekbones, raven dark hair, full red lips, and brown creamy skin sleeping peacefully on the floor. Whoa, how did I not see him before? Lily dipped a foot lower as she levitated above the man and he rolled to his back. She looked away quickly, not wanting to be caught and urged her body forward through the air. Clearly, doing magic and hot guys don’t mix. Good thing I don’t see hot guys that often . . . Or ever.
“Finum,” Lily muttered when she reached the edge of the room. Her body fell through air and she landed clumsily but with a proud grin on her face. Not bad for my first try! I could probably have managed at least twenty more feet.
Sara eased the door closed as she joined Lily. “Showing off a little, I see?” Sara teased.
“I couldn’t wait until I found my way out of that maze. Are you as hungry as I am?” Lily whispered, hoping Sara hadn’t seen her c
hecking out the guy and nearly falling out of the air.
“Starving,” Sara agreed. “I was waiting for you to wake up, I didn’t want to go wandering around alone.”
She could see why. Lily wouldn’t want to be wandering in a strange coven safe house alone either. Who knows what other types of crazy we may find?
The pair crept down the hall listening at doors and opening them softly. There were a few offices decorated with heavy wood desks and huge bookshelves and a small gym but most were guest bedrooms filled with slumbering supernaturals. The only empty bedroom Lily found was the one boasting two hospital-style beds with IV hookups next to it. I suppose we are in a safe house, Lily raised an eyebrow and closed the door. Accidents and fights are sure to happen in the magical world. Especially in a city the size of New York. I bet supernatural creatures would go to any length to avoid a human hospital.
Sara stopped and sniffed the air, “Do you smell that?”
Lily sniffed too and nearly began drooling. Bacon! And . . . pancakes? Oh please let there be pancakes.
They followed their noses to a door at the end of the hall.
“Hello, girls,” Celestine called out over the kitchen island as they opened the door. “Come! Come! Have a seat. There’s food ready, but I’ve got a lot to do before the army arrives.”
“You made all this?” Lily asked, staring at the piles of pancakes, heaps of bacon, and mounds of sautéed veggies on the white marble counter.
“Well of course I made it! Everyone else had to sleep, but I was wide awake. Perks or curse of being a vampire, depending on how you look at it.”
“But I thought vampires only needed blood to survive? Why would you bother learning how to cook like this if you don’t eat?” Lily asked staring at the perfect golden pancakes.
“As I said last night, I wasn’t always a vampire. In my first life, I was a witch. There are many like us, turned witches. We tend to run together or with other witches, or both. There are five of us in this coven alone, a high proportion, but this is New York, so I suppose that fits.” Celestine shrugged.
“When I was a witch, I owned a little bakery in Toulouse, France, where I grew up. I lived for my bakery. I was also a healer so I often put medicinal herbs and tinctures into my bakes when I knew illness was going around. You are right in thinking that food, especially cooked food, does not hold the same pull over me. I will eat in the company of humans so I appear normal but I get no nourishment from it. However, I still find the act of cooking and baking a pleasurable way to spend the hours.”
“Wow,” Sara said, hopping onto a stool and helping herself to a plate.
Celestine grinned and went back to work, assembling and mixing a new bowl of pancake batter as if on autopilot. Behind her the curtains blew inward with a warm breeze to reveal a bright, sunny day with palm trees blowing outside.
Lily froze, momentarily perplexed and snorted when she realized she was staring at the scenery of the day. Whoever put that one up has a sense of humor. I bet it’s freezing outside. I wonder if every room is the same? She was just easing into a chair tucked beneath the island when the phone rang. Celestine and Sara looked at her expectantly. One had her hands covered in batter, and the other’s face was already stuffed with food. Lily sighed and walked to the phone hanging on the kitchen wall.
“Hello?”
“Good morning. Is this Miss Berghert? The one who called about Peacock Manor for rent on Wooster Lane?”
Lily racked her brains. Which one is Miss Berghert?
“Yes,” she lied, unwilling to go searching for the mystery woman.
“This is Marty Mindel, property manager of Peacock Manor. Sorry to call you so early, but you said it was urgent and I’m an early riser. Anyhow the manor house is in use this weekend to the next, but if you can put off your elopement another week, it’s all yours.”
“Oh, um I wonder if I could reason with the people staying there? Did the renter leave a name or number that I could call? Perhaps we could share part of the property? I’ll make it worth both your time,” the lies slipped off her tongue, leaving Lily impressed with herself.
Marty paused on the other end of the line. Lily pictured him working out if the monetary gain would be enough to give up client information. He decided it was.
“I don’t usually do this but it’s a vast property and there’s only supposed to be two people there this weekend. The guy who rented it is Roman Simons. Seemed like a nice guy. I don’t see him turning down a couple that’s been through so much like you two. You got a pen handy for his number? If it’s fine with Mr. Simons, it’s fine with me.”
“I’m ready.” She memorized the number as he gave it to her. “I’ll call you back if he says yes and we’ll work out the fee. Thank you.” Lily hung up and walked to the fridge where a scribble-filled grocery list hung and jotted down the number.
Oh my Goddess!
“Was that another of Shefali’s friends? I swear she must know half the witches in India with the number of calls I’ve picked up this morning offering to help,” Celestine asked, pouring another round of batter onto the griddle.
“I know where they’re keeping Evelyn. The property management person gave me the property name and Roman’s phone number . . . what should we do?” Lily asked wide eyed.
Celestine wiped her hands in her apron, a steely glint in her eye. “Go wake the others and tell them breakfast is ready. Then we fight.”
Black
The blackness engulfing Evelyn lifted slightly, though the energy to open her eyes remained elusive. A profound sense of aloneness punctuated by curious stabs of envy overcame her and she gave up trying to pry herself from the depths.
But Evelyn wasn’t alone.
The voices closest to her were congratulatory, overtaking the whispers of those that surrounded them.
A whimper.
A moan.
A deep, thoughtful sound.
In bits and pieces, words began to make sense.
“You will move her. Now that I am here, I will see to it she cedes her power. I can already feel the magic of this place strengthening me. No doubt I have many hard days ahead, but shortly I, and all other fata, shall be strong once more. We will be as we were thousands of years ago during the rise of the Ancients, before Hecate denied us her magic,” a regal voice echoed off stone.
“Yes, your highness. Truth be told, I doubt she’d survive down here anyhow.”
Evelyn would have shuddered in revulsion at the second voice, Noro’s voice, if only she had the energy.
“Witch!”
“Yes, Master Noro?” a person who sounded like a mouse squeaked.
“Take Eve to a more comfortable room so she may heal.”
“Should I put her with the other? The one we caught down here?”
“The other? No, you idiot creature. His conditions are scarcely better than hers. Upstairs, near Empusa and Amon’s quarters. You three help. See to it Eve is handled gently.”
The only response was the shuffle of feet and hands on her skin. Rough calloused hands. Hands with long, dagger-like nails. Soft, smooth ones. Thin, bony ones.
Evelyn’s body lifted from the cold, damp stone, bolstered by hands that dare not let her drop.
A door creaked, and she was moving, air flowing over her swaths of naked skin and rags. Footsteps rang down a corridor, and the hands grew rougher.
Evelyn groaned.
“The witch is waking up,” a high, eager voice said.
A pair of hands stiffened beneath her.
“Don’t you dare give me that look, Alma. Noro will know if we hurt her,” another voice said.
“How? He’s too busy with King Dim—what the hell?!”
A loud pounding upon wood trampled their whispers and the dagger-like nails dug into Evelyn’s back. Her eyelids fluttered, sending her body into spasms of pain. She began slipping back toward the dark. Toward peace.
“Quiet! It’s the incubus. I bet he can sense her or something. In
cubus are freaky like that.”
And the night reclaimed her.
Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta
Lily turned to check that the caravan was still behind them. Growing up in a part of Oregon that got little snow, she’d always dreaded driving in the stuff. Even after four years of college on the East Coast, visions of cars flipping into mounds of packed snow had Lily wringing her hands and turning in her seat so often that Aoife had offered her a compact mirror.
“They’ll be fine, Lil,” Brigit said from the other side of Sara. “They live in New York and know how to handle snow. Don’t worry, we’ll all get there in one piece.”
Lily recognized how laughable it was to be so concerned over a possible car accident when they were literally driving hundreds of miles to fight other supernatural creatures. All in all, thirty-five people had arrived at the safe house and stayed to fight, a few of them slipping in only moments before they were set to leave. In fact, the largest challenge they’d faced in regards to their army was not convincing anyone to fight, but rather finding available cars and drivers. Who knew only a small percentage of such a large city could drive?
“The rest stop is a couple miles away on the right,” Jane said from the driver’s seat. “Aoife, would you instruct the others to turn in there? I know we’re in a hurry, Brigit, but we need to go over the plan once more. Most of the latecomers only heard it once. These people are risking their lives; the least we can do is make sure they know where to be.”
Brigit’s mouth flattened but she tamed the mother lion within. She’d grown increasingly frustrated with how long it took to form an army and at one point uncharacteristically threatened to go save Evelyn on her own. It was only Gwenn’s level-headed insistence that they needed each and every fighter there if they were to save Evelyn from the Acolytes that kept Brigit at the safe house.
