“I suppose there is no use hiding the truth from you any longer,” Clara Barnes took a deep breath. “Ms. Palmer called the office in the morning while I wasn’t here. She was… concerned. Mary, who spoke to her, noticed this concern and told me about it. When she told me why she'd called, it fed my own worries.”
“Worries?” another witch asked. They were all sitting around four rectangular tables creating a wide square when put together.
“I had a feeling, too,” Madyson Cox, a deleter confessed. “I had… a dream.”
“I did, as well,” said a veteran, Samantha Lee. “As an empath, I sometimes get these visions. I’ve heard the others get them as well from time to time.”
“Ms. Palmer is an empath,” stated Sofia. “Should we be worried, then? Did she act on a premonition?”
“But, worried about what?” Madyson asked. “What’s going on? I haven't heard anything.”
Clara Barnes took her time before answering. There was no way delaying the truth any further would help anyone. They deserved to know. “Seven of the Covens have gone dark. No one is answering our calls. We can’t reach any of these witches. Ms. Palmer has asked the vampires to investigate and, since I’ve not received any positive news, I can only assume the worst.”
“They’re dead?” Mary, the young ghost, became invisible after the words were spoken. Coming back, she added, “All of them?”
“I’m expecting a call from Ms. Palmer any time now. As I understood, the vampires were traveling to the seven Covens right after she made the call to their director. I’m sure they'll find evidence of what is happening soon and they will let us know.”
“I can teleport to the Arizona and California Covens. I’ve been there before. I can do it now and-”
“No, child,” Ms. Barnes stopped Sofia. “It appears the teleporters are the first being targeted. Few are missing from the remaining Covens. Since they’re the ones who can move around faster to spread the news, whoever is behind this is taking care of them. In fact, I am pleasantly surprised to see you here today. I am glad no one has hurt you or Lydia.”
“So,” Mary began, “that means Susan and Jackie are… gone?”
Samantha Lee ignored her and said, “There are over one hundred witches in the country, Clara, surely you don’t think it's possible someone has somehow killed half of them in a few days.”
“When did all this begin?” asked Mary Jackson, her voice breaking.
“We first failed to contact the Covens this morning, but as Sofia says, we'd heard reports of individual witches not answering summons since... perhaps a couple of days ago?” Clara Barnes explained. “We didn’t think much of anything at first. After all, we all have our lives to live. We're all busy and may not always be available to answer a call. We were wrong not to worry, it appears.”
The oldest teleporter, Lydia Saucedo stood up, her fist on the table, “We cannot hide here while our sisters are in danger, Clara. We can’t!”
“Lydia… you must understand-”
“Those bloodsuckers don’t care about us, all they do is use our abilities for their own needs. We cannot rely on them to help us. We need to help ourselves. We need to fight back!”
Clara lost her patience. Standing up, she raised her voice, “Fight who? What are we fighting against, Lydia? Do you have any idea? Whoever it is must know us. In fact, in our last leadership meeting, Ms. Palmer mentioned the young werewolf the vampires took in said one of our own was a traitor.”
“A traitor?” gasped Samantha Lee. “How long ago did you learn this? Why haven’t our empaths questioned everyone in our Covens? If there is a traitor, then-”
“They have,” Ms. Barnes revealed. “There are two empaths close to our Head Witch who have been quietly asking questions.”
“What?” Madyson Cox couldn't believe what she was hearing. “What are you saying?”
“We decided in the Council meeting we did not want to create a panic. Also, we didn’t want to alert the traitor we suspected anyone. We then decided to bring two empaths into the room and we assigned them a mission. Ms. Palmer chose her most trusted aides.”
“I assume they haven’t found anyone,” stated the teleporter, Sofia Pearson.
“No,” Clara Barnes shook her head, looking at the table below her. “And now-”
“And now here we are. Hiding,” insisted Lydia. “This can’t possibly be the right choice, Clara. Let Sofia and I go, we can help more than you think.”
“You will do no such thing, Lydia,” Ms. Barnes was forced to raise her voice again. “We will wait until I receive further instructions from Ms. Palmer. Until such time we will all stay here. Vigilant.”
There was a sudden silence in the room. Then, Mary’s sweet voice spoke, “One of us could be a traitor, then.”
The murmurs in the room didn’t last long. The whispers were cut off by Samantha, the empath, “Well, I can ask everyone a question. It’s as easy as that.”
“What if you’re the traitor?” asked the veteran teleporter, Lydia. “What then?”
“I’m not,” said Samantha Lee. “But I guess we should all be ready to protect ourselves should the traitor be in the room.”
“Maybe it’s one of the witches we can't contact. Like Susan,” someone voiced.
“Or Jackie.”
“I don’t like this,” Mary whispered.
“Ladies!” Clara Barnes called them to silence with a tone of authority, “The last thing we need is to doubt each other. We are here and we are safe, let’s not make this situation any more than it is.” Then, “I do think it’s a good idea for Sam to ask around. We waste nothing and it can bring a peace of mind, which we desperately need. Once Sam has spoken to you, feel free to wander around the offices, but don’t go anywhere alone. At all possible, try to remain in this room. As soon as I get a call from Ms. Palmer, I will let you know.”
Right after she said it, the leader of the Montana Coven regretted telling them to spread out. However, what right did she have to keep them prisoner? It was bad enough they had to stay hidden inside the building, a place with only three rooms and no windows. Clara Barnes could control matter with a thought, but she couldn’t control everything.
There was nothing left to do, but wait. The feeling of danger still present in her heart. She only hoped her witches would survive whatever was going on. She hoped they would be all right.
October 19th, 2000
7:18 P.M.
The empath, Samantha Lee, asked her questions. Most of the women stayed where they were instead of wondering about. They were afraid, Samantha could tell. She had known these women ever since each one had joined the Coven. She had started the same year they had recruited their leader, Clara Barnes. They were the same age and were now close friends even when one had grown up to lead a Coven and the other one hadn't. Most of the witches that were part of the Coven when they started were either retired or dead, with only a few still active. It wasn’t common for a witch to die on duty, but it was common for them to die young. Perhaps because of the energy required to perform their unique ability they lost their life-force prematurely. Some called them spells, some called them magic, some just called them powers. Samantha didn’t care. She didn’t even care they still called themselves witches. It seemed a very archaic term now.
Looking at their worried faces, Samantha couldn't imagine any of these brave women betraying their sisters. Thinking about each of them, she couldn't find a reason that would lead them to choose a dark path.
If what they said was true, it meant the traitor had created some allegiance with the werewolves. She didn’t know any werewolves and couldn’t see any of her sisters, not in this Coven or the rest, getting close enough to a werewolf to strike a deal that would benefit her. Weren’t werewolves supposed to be wild and unpredictable beasts? It was the vampire agency who dealt with them, not the Covens. The vampires were not only immortal, they had super senses and a healing factor to help them survive an attack by those monsters
. Witches were just human women. Fragile. They had abilities humans didn’t have, yes - like her ability to tell if someone was lying, but these abilities didn't make them invulnerable in any way. They rarely called some of her sisters into action, not all powers were as useful as others. Telekinetics like Clara Barnes, their leader, were more involved. Clara could move things with her thoughts and she had gotten more powerful as she grew older, but even she kept her distance from the bloody battles when her presence was required in the field. Telekinetics had an additional way to protect themselves; since they were young, they taught them to create invisible shields around themselves to serve as protection. That was the closest any of them got to be invincible.
Her conversation with the teleporter, Lydia Saucedo, had revealed nothing to worry about. She was clean. It had been awkward talking to her knowing she was trying to find out if she was the traitor. The conversation had felt forced and uncomfortable. Lydia was a witch who already belonged to the Coven when Samantha joined. She was, perhaps, the oldest witch in the room.
As she finished with Lydia, the empath glanced in Clara Barnes's direction. They exchanged a silent look. Clara nodded in understanding and went back to listening to Mary Jackson as she went on and on about her fears.
What happened next was so sudden they had only a few minutes to react.
In the middle of the room, between the four rectangular tables where the witches sat forming a square, a cloaked figure appeared. Her appearance was so abrupt and unexpected the room became silent - still - in an instant.
Clara Barnes stood up to face the stranger. Her face showed confusion when she said, “You?” The witch who had teleported turned to look at Clara Barnes with a wicked smile. Samantha recognized her, too. She was a young witch who did not have the ability to teleport. Not to their knowledge. Then, how?
This new revelation left them frozen in shock. The uninvited witch used this to her advantage. In the blink of an eye, she disappeared again to reappeared behind the teleporter, Lydia. Using the knife she held in her right hand, she slashed her throat without thinking twice. She's killing the teleporters first, Samantha thought in terror. That way no one gets out. But, where was Sofia?
The women screamed in terror at the sight watching the killer disappear again. This time, she moved behind their leader. They all watched as Clara Barnes’s throat bled when the knife cut through her throat, becoming the second victim. The other telekinetic was next. Yes, of course, get rid of the dangerous witches first.
After the third death, the remaining women snapped out of their trance, running for the door. All but Samantha, who watched horrified as the intruder raised one arm with fingers outstretched, and by doing so, moving a table in front of the door, blocking the exit and harming Mary in the process.
In a matter of seconds, she vanished again. Every time she reappeared another witch found her bloody end. Even Mary, who had turned invisible after the table had hit her leg, wasn't safe from the blade.
One by one they fell. One by one their throats were slit as their lives came to a cruel end.
The bodies soon surrounded Samantha who hadn't moved from where she stood, shaking.
The killer looked around her, her knife smeared with blood, until she stopped to stare at her last victim. There was no place the empath could go, no teleporter to help her, and no telekinetic to snatch the weapon from her hand. Not even their atmokinetic had survived to summon lightning inside the room. They had all died without defending themselves. Why? Her friends lay still and dead amidst a pool of blood a few feet away.
“Why are you doing this?” Samantha’s lips quivered in terror.
“You remember me, Ms. Lee, uh? Do you?” the assassin asked.
She did. “But, you-”
“Shhh.” Her free index finger moved to her lips, silencing her. “I promise I'll make it quick.”
October 19th, 2000
7:22 P.M.
Sofia Pearson had gone to the bathroom. The rest of the women who'd been there with her had already come out of the room, but not her. After what Ms. Barnes had said, she needed to be alone. She thought about her friends at the Iowa Coven wondering if they were in danger or if they were already dead. In fact, she was thinking maybe she should teleport to find them... or if she should teleport somewhere where she'd be safe. Someplace no one knew how to find her. The only reason she didn’t leave was because she felt a strong allegiance to Ms. Barnes and the others. If only they had agreed to let Ms. Saucedo and her teleport them to another location. Being locked up in a closed building didn’t make her feel safe at all. They would only need to teleport seven witches out. They could make two rounds, each taking two or three witches at a time. But, where would they go? Where was it safe? It had to be a place no one else knew about. A place where no one would think to find them.
Outside, she could hear the murmurs as the others talked about what was happening to the rest of the Covens. Sofia had no desire to be there with them. She needed time to find her bearings and think, or perhaps decide if she would leave them behind.
At least they should consider going to the Grand Coven in Colorado. Sofia had been there before. It would be an easy place to teleport to. She was certain Lydia knew the place as well. It shouldn’t matter if they showed up unannounced. It was an emergency. In fact, she was certain that's what the Head Witch would tell Ms. Barnes to do once she called again. Come to the Colorado Coven, she could almost hear Ms. Palmer’s silky voice.
She took a while to realize something was going on outside the bathroom. It took her time to notice the murmurs from outside had ceased. Her heart beat rapidly even before the screaming began. Something horrible was happening outside. They were being attacked!
Her first thought was to escape. It would be easy to put her plan into action. All she had to do was picture another location and she would be there. She would have done it in a heartbeat if it weren’t for her sisters. She couldn’t abandon them. She needed to at least try to save one of them. But, how?
Walking to the bathroom door she heard the muffled screams dying down. They were killing them. Whoever was outside was killing the witches of the Montana Coven. No…
From the dead silence, she heard someone speak. Samantha Lee, the empath, was still alive.
“Why are you doing this?” It was Ms. Lee’s voice. The kind and silent woman who always asked how she was when they had their meetings. The one who’d been trying to find the traitor. Had she found her? Was that the reason for the pandemonium that ensued?
Sofia opened the door slowly until she could see outside the bathroom. Standing alone she saw Samantha Lee, around her, the corpses of her sisters bathed in blood. No. Tears formed, threatening to slide down her cheeks.
Samantha Lee was not alone. There was a strange woman with a dark cloak standing in front of her. It had to be the killer - the traitor. Who was she? She couldn't see her face.
“You remember me, Ms. Lee, uh? Do you?” Why did the assassin know her name? What was going on? She wanted to see her, but she was giving her back to her. Perhaps she should wait until she found out her identity and then teleport to Ms. Palmer and let her know who the traitor was. Then again, what if she didn’t recognize her? Maybe she should teleport to Ms. Lee and then teleport them both out of there before it was too late.
“But, you-” Ms. Lee began.
“Shhh.” The traitor's free index finger was on her lips, silencing the empath. “I promise I'll make it quick.”
It had to be now or never. Sofia tried to teleport to Ms. Lee, but found she couldn’t move. There was an invisible force preventing her from teleporting, preventing her from moving at all. No, it wasn’t possible! What was going on? Who was this woman?
With her body frozen, the young teleporter saw the killer slash Ms. Lee’s throat from one side to the other effortlessly. The empath fell on her knees, hands on her neck as she choked on her own blood. Sofia saw her drop on the old carpet with a loud thud.
“And now
you,” the voice came from behind her, so close to her ear. The cloaked woman had disappeared and was now standing behind her. Sofia’s eyes grew wide when the knife entered her back. The teleporter felt the pain, tasted the blood coming out of her mouth and then, with everything she had, with every single drop of energy she could find, she pictured the Colorado Coven. Her heart almost exploded from the effort, but when she opened her eyes again and looked around, she found the Colorado Coven had replaced the bathroom.
The knife wasn't on her back anymore, but the pain hadn't gone away. “Help,” she gasped, her voice too weak to be heard.
A woman saw her and ran in her direction. Sophia knew she was a friend. She wore a brown skirt and white shirt, her blond hair was pulled over her head in a bun. “Somebody, call an ambulance!” she heard her shout.
There were more women coming to her aid, among them the Head Witch herself. Sofia was losing strength, she had needed most of her energy to teleport out of the Montana Coven against the force that was stopping her. It didn’t matter, good women now surrounded her. They would help her.
“Child,” it was Ms. Palmer’s voice. Sofia felt her warm hand take her cold one. “What happened?”
“She came,” Sofia was coughing blood, her voice came out in gasps, her breathing sounded hollow. “They are all dead, Ms. Palmer. She killed them all.”
“How is this possible?”
“She had-” Darkness was coming, Sofia could feel her soul wanting to leave her body. “She could use many abilities, not just one and she…” She wanted to say more, much more. If only everything around her wasn’t turning so fuzzy.
“It’s okay, child,” Ms. Palmer rocked her, trying to suppress her own tears. “It’s okay. Better if you save your strength.”
Sofia did what she was told, she was so tired. Her heavy eyelids began to close. She forgot the pain on her back as she fell asleep, never to wake up again.
The Fall of Witchcraft Page 8
