Seeking Witches

by Cailee Francis

  “You must be Lisa. I’m sorry to inform you Agent Heriman was injured in the line of duty. I’ve taken over the case for the moment.”

  “What happened?” Lisa asked with a gasp. “Is he alright? He was just here earlier.”

  The new Enforcer nodded. “He is. I can’t really comment in detail, but he should be back to work in a day or two.”

  Rose hurried forward. “Can you at least tell us if it was related to this case?”

  The Enforcer seemed to weigh up her question, before grimacing. “It’s not the policy of…”

  “Please?” Lisa asked, folding her arms.

  The Enforcer hesitated, and then started to answer.

  In the same instant, Rose’s phone rang. She didn’t recognise the number offhand, but she’d saved Agent Heriman’s number into her phone and it came up with his name.

  “Never mind. That’s him now.”

  “Rose? This is Agent Heriman…”

  She held the phone to her ear, while she returned to the kitchen and flipped over the sandwiches. They were already cooked on one side and looked delicious.

  “Thanks for calling us. You should know that Agent Williams is here, and he told us you were injured. Are you alright?”

  “What? Oh, I’m fine. I’m just on the trail of your necromancer and I didn’t want anyone catching on.”

  “Oh alright,” she exclaimed, reasoning that at least he wasn’t injured. “Lisa’s found some information that might tie in with the necromancer. There was a man in the 1940s. Something-something Wade. Hang on, I’ll get the book.”

  She retrieved it from the living room, where Lisa and Agent Williams were still talking, and took it back into the kitchen. Realising the sandwiches were already cooked on the other side, Rose turned off the stove and lifted off the frying pan. Then she set the notebook down on the table and flipped it open to the marked page.

  “Here it is,” she said, glancing beneath the picture to find the man’s name. “Victor J. Wade. He raised the dead to attack his old high school. He was only twenty-one years old at the time, and according to the diary entry, he was executed. His attack resulted in the death of an Enforcer - Albert Franks, and Mrs April Briony and Mr Jonathan Dornal, who were teachers at the school. We don’t have access to their records but it’s possible it had something to do with it.”

  Agent Heriman was excited by the news. Rose could hear it in his voice.

  “Thank you for that! It actually connects with some other information I have. I’ll look into it and get back to you.”

  He hung up, and Rose shook her head and smiled. She didn’t even have to ask.

  It also reminded her that Agent Heriman could be secretive about what he’d learned when it suited him to be, but then it was a part of his job. Technically it was a part of hers now too.

  She washed her hands and got the sandwiches ready, then took one in to Alexis and the other one to Jamie. She stopped by the living room after that, where Agent Williams and Lisa were still talking.

  “The Enforcers will set up a magical perimeter outside. We don’t know when the suspect will arrive, but we’re anticipating in the next 12 hours.”

  Rose rested a hand on Lisa’s shoulder as she listened. She felt like she should’ve been more upset or discomforted by the fact the necromancer might make their move soon and attack, but she preferred a fight over waiting uncertainly.

  “What can I do to help?” she asked. “I’m not a magic user, although I am a succubus.”

  “Let us deal with the necromancer,” he said in true Enforcer fashion. “But should he get through – which is highly unlikely, the others could likely use your strength.”

  It reminded her of what had happened when they’d freed Raven. She could only hope this time that nothing went wrong, but when did that ever happen? It paid to be prepared and this time she resolved that she would be. Too much was depending on them to do otherwise.

  5

  The attack came in the early hours of the morning. It had been hard to rest knowing an attack could be imminent, but there were at least a few Enforcers on the property, and it had been a long day. Intent that they would not be killed in their sleep, Lisa had taken the first watch while the others got some necessary rest. While she stayed alert to her surroundings, Lisa pulled out a paranormal romance novel to read. She’d read her fair share of former coven members’ diaries and she needed a break from it, however short.

  She’d read a little over a chapter, when she felt something strike the ward hard. It was the magical energy equivalent of an earthquake, and she immediately dropped her book on the lounge. There were raised voices outside, but she couldn’t hear what they were saying. She didn’t linger to listen – she ran straight to the bedroom where Rose was sleeping – or trying to sleep.

  Rose sat bolt upright when Lisa pushed the door open and switched on the light.

  “What’s going on?” she asked, still fuzzy-headed from sleep. “He’s here?”

  Lisa nodded. “I think so, yeah.”

  “You get Alexis. I’ll find Jamie,” Rose exclaimed.

  She’d climbed into bed fully-dressed, so she was ready to go as she ran back out into the hallway.

  Jamie had already surfaced on his own.

  “Where is he?” Jamie asked, carrying an axe that Rose hadn’t seen before.

  “I have no idea,” she admitted, before she recoiled in shock. The front of the living room crashed inward, splintering wood, and shattering the glass of the window and the television.

  They dove out of the way, before whatever had damaged the cabin could do the same to them.

  It was unclear what had caused it – whether someone had crashed a car into the cabin or a magical burst of energy had struck it.

  “Rose!” Lisa screamed, as she ran out into the living room.

  The succubus climbed from beside the splintered wall and helped Jamie up. “I’m alright, Lisa. It’s okay. We’ve got to get out of here!” she exclaimed. “Where’s Alexis?”

  “Beside me,” Lisa said, and Alexis stepped into view so Rose could see her.

  Alexis appeared pale and worried, and Rose wouldn’t have been surprised if she looked the same way.

  “Summon Heriman,” she asked. “We knew they were coming, but there’s no point hanging around while he tries to pick us off.”

  Lisa chanted softly under her breath, as another hard object struck the cabin, only this time it was the kitchen.

  “Get us out of here!” Lisa demanded mid-chant, but nothing happened.

  “He’s not answering,” Lisa replied. “I don’t know why.”

  Rose sighed. “Maybe he’s unconscious or in a fight right now.”

  Lisa ran toward the front door and Rose followed, wondering what she’d do.

  “You can’t think of going out there?”

  Lisa turned back around. “What would you suggest? I’d rather be the hunter than the hunted. Alexis, can you shield us?”

  She nodded quickly. “I think so.”

  “You’re best off taking this,” Jamie said, as he handed Rose the axe. “I’m stronger with magic.”

  Rose’s murmur of “thank you,” went unheard as they opened the door and ventured outside, staying close together and sticking to the shadows. There were several trees to their left on the outer edge of the path that ran along the side of the cabin. The cars were parked in an open, grassy area in front of them. They were still there, other than Jamie’s hatchback, which looked like it had been thrown into the living room.

  Rose knew at once – if they’re capable of throwing cars around, there’s a very large issue.

  “My car!” Jamie gasped, his voice turning high-pitched. “I’m still paying it off.”

  “How is that necromancy?” Rose whispered, as they searched the night for signs of the perpetrator. “It’s just not.”

  “I believe they may have used Jamie’s car as a sacrifice,” Lisa explained sympathetically.

  Rose kept her vo
ice low. “Doesn’t a sacrifice have to be alive?”

  “Not necessarily.”

  “What would he need a sacrifice for?” Rose asked, more worried, if such a thing was possible.

  “To raise the dead or summon something.”

  “Guys, there’s movement out there!” Alexis gasped, as she tapped Lisa on the shoulder to get her attention.

  Rose focused her eyes on the darkness, but she couldn’t see anything moving.

  “I don’t – wait, I see it now,” Lisa replied.

  “Yeah, I think I do too,” Rose added nervously. “What is that?”

  Jamie beckoned to the others, and they didn’t argue. They followed him along the path that ran along the front of the cabin and around the side; their presence masked by the trees.

  As they rounded the corner, they spotted one of the Enforcers ahead of them on the ground.

  Rose looked around carefully, and then hurried forward to check on him. It was Agent Heriman, and he seemed alive, but he wasn’t moving. He looked like he was asleep. It was pretty much impossible to tell how injured he was in the darkness.

  She ran straight back over to the others. “Try contacting the other Enforcers. They need to help him and we need back-up here.”

  “I can,” Lisa replied, “and I will but the necromancer might hear me.” She kept her voice down as she began to chant.

  Meanwhile, Jamie crept ahead to peer around the back of the cabin. He stayed there for a long moment, before creeping back.

  “There are two of them out there. I don’t know if they’re human or summoned or what, but I can’t see any other Enforcers.”

  They all knew there were supposed to be more Enforcers around on the property.

  Alexis moved closer to Jamie. “What are they doing around there?”

  “Combining their energy magically, it looked like. Is it possible we have two necromancers?” Jamie asked, though he clearly didn’t want it to be true.

  Rose groaned. One was bad enough – terrible, in fact, but two? They needed the Enforcers here now.

  Jamie gasped. “Sshhh! I hear footsteps!”

  Rose listened hard and then she heard the crunch of footsteps approaching through the wet grass. She clutched the axe in her hand, the wooden handle cool against her palm. It felt a bit slippery – that would be sweat.

  There was a gasp of shock from her friends, but Rose didn’t see what had happened. She noticed a slight reverberation of energy around them, as though she sensed Alexis’s shield for the merest of moments and it shook, but then it disappeared again from her senses altogether.

  She wanted to ask what that was, but Rose held her breath.

  A sense of purpose seemed to pass between the coven members, and Alexis lifted her hands up, as though holding the shield strongly in place above them.

  Rose wondered what had just happened, but the coven members weren’t leaving, which meant she wasn’t. Rose would stand with Lisa to the end.

  An answer came as a woman in a dark coat and with long, curly hair walked straight out from among the trees ahead of them. The night was dark, but the filtering light from the cabin hinted at her features. Her eyes appeared sunken, but Rose quickly realised why. It was makeup – goth make-up?

  In the instant that followed, she inwardly groaned. She’d almost dismissed the goth woman Desmond had told her about, but Rose had mentioned her to Heriman. Rose remembered her name: Lily Devine.

  Now Heriman was unconscious on the ground, but perhaps he’d told someone else. He surely had notes saved, in whatever way Enforcer detectives did. It occurred to her too that Lisa had called for the Enforcers already, because her quiet chanting had stopped. These thoughts swirled through her mind in mere moments, and then she raised the axe. She wondered if she could really attack a person with it, even a necromancer. If her life was on the line, and Lisa’s, and the coven, then what choice did she have?

  The woman summoned a ball of flame into her hand, and this time Rose saw it. The subtleties of magic could be lost on her, but fire – that she could see.

  “This has been a long time coming!” the goth woman declared, as she unleashed the fireball, which only grew in size once it had left her palm.

  “Lily! Don’t do this!” Rose shouted, but the fireball was quick.

  The coven members scattered, though Rose covered Lisa protectively. They must’ve been close enough together because the flames bounced harmlessly off the shield around them. In that moment Rose saw it, as though it was superheated, before it cooled and became invisible to her senses once-more.

  “Good job Alexis!” Jamie exclaimed.

  The necromancer stared at Rose, and then threw up a hasty shield as Lisa fought back with a magical strike of her own.

  A man came running toward Lily; he looked ordinary, in a brown leather jacket and jeans.

  Rose didn’t recognise him, but Alexis apparently did. “You!”

  He chuckled, turning toward her. “Remembering now, are you? Yes, me. You were most helpful, Alexis. You talked so much, it was hard to shut you up. It’s amazing what a bit of magic can do, isn’t it?”

  Rose climbed back on to her feet, as did Lisa beside her.

  The necromancers weren’t going to hurt Lisa – she was definitive about that. Rose’s own powers surged beneath the surface begging to be used, but she doubted they’d be successful right now. The necromancers were on the offensive, and they would be wary of anything seductive she said or did, especially with an axe in her hand.

  “Why are you doing this?” Rose asked, hoping to stall them. She did care about the reasons, but it mattered more to protect Lisa and the rest of the coven right now.

  “Why?” the goth woman screamed.

  She might be Lily, but Rose couldn’t be sure, on account of never having met her personally.

  “That’s the unfortunate victim talking,” the man responded, nodding toward Rose.

  “Descended from murderers – all of you!” she seethed. “If the apple is rotten, so is the seed. You’re so proud of your coven and who you are – I can see it. I’ve heard your coven’s name all my life, but I know what you are. I’ve always known.”

  The man with her nodded. “So have I, sis, and it ends tonight.”

  “That’s not true,” Lisa replied, as another fireball flared to life in the goth woman’s hand. “I know who your grandfather was,” Lisa told her, “and it was the Enforcers who punished him. Not us or our parents. He killed people, but then so perhaps have you!”

  The man laughed. “No perhaps about it.”

  Rose felt sad for them – because they must be lost indeed to feel that way. Then there were all the people they must’ve hurt along the way, and might still hurt, including her friends.

  Rose and the coven members thought the goth woman would attack them with the second fireball, but she didn’t. She sent it up like a flare, and it cast the field behind the cabin in a suddenly bright orange-red light. Now more aware of their surroundings, they witnessed figures moving from the darkness beyond the light’s radius. There were figures lurching. It didn’t take long before the breeze carried with it a stench of death. There could be no doubt – the necromancers had summoned zombies.

  “There’s no getting away this time. Your friends in Las Vegas are dead and soon you’ll be joining them,” the male necromancer claimed. “Dead.”

  Rose and Lisa, Jamie and Alexis all had other plans. They’d been on the defensive since the first moment the cabin had been attacked, but they knew that had to change. The Enforcers weren’t there yet and delaying might not be enough. It seemed they were responsible for their own survival. They might not be a complete coven, but they were most of it, and they’d been preparing for trouble.

  Rose surged forward, swinging her axe, and managed to slice through the male necromancer’s jacket before his shield blocked her attempts to harm him. She wasn’t sure how badly she’d hurt him, but he recoiled back and was momentarily thrown off-balance. The temporary
peace had broken as the zombies converged, and three smaller, floating fireballs flared to life around the female necromancer.

  Lisa extended her hand, and Rose couldn’t tell what hit Lily, but it threw her back on the ground with massive force. Lily’s fireballs shot off in different directions. At first it appeared she’d lost control of them, but then she seemed to get it back. One shot toward the coven, while another flew at the cabin roof. A third struck the ground, extinguishing quickly in the darkness.

  Rose knocked the incoming fireball with the flat of her axe, knocking it away, where it flew straight back at Lily. She didn’t think it could be that hot, or that bad, or she assumed the woman’s shielding would block it, but she was wrong – it didn’t.

  The fire took to her dress quickly, and her attempts to bat at the flames and put them out failed miserably. The other fireball struck the cabin roof, but whether by luck or fate, it only burned for a moment before going out.

  Lily screamed as the fire burned her, and she summoned water to extinguish it. It was successful, but by then she lay on the grass, screaming in pain.

  Lily’s companion ran toward the zombies. Had they faltered? If so, he had control of them now.

  “I hate you!” Lily screamed, crying as she lashed out at Jamie.

  He put his hand on her head, holding her to the ground, and started chanting.

  Alexis’s voice soon mingled with his and Lisa’s after her. It didn’t last long before her screaming and rage-filled words stopped and she fell unconscious.

  When they looked around them, they saw the zombies coming. They were close now, and the male necromancer was ordering them forward, while he kept back behind them.

  “Where are the Enforcers?” Lisa asked, starting to panic. “Maybe we should go? Just get in the car and drive?”

  “What if they hit the car with us in it? There would be nowhere to go. No way to avoid it, and where would we drive? We’d be putting other people at risk too. The Enforcers will come. They know to find the necromancers here. I don’t understand why they aren’t here already, unless they’re somehow being blocked. Maybe they’re unconscious too?” Rose wondered aloud, not wanting to sound defeatist, but things weren’t looking up. At least they’d dealt with Lily, but her brother remained.