The Fall of Witchcraft

by Claudia Silva

  Both Carolina and Daisy gave a quiet cheer, moving closer to her. “Would you like something to eat, dear? Lily brought you some oatmeal,” Carolina offered.

  “Maybe some coffee?” Evelyn sat down. She still looked weak, but at least she was in the mend. “Is there any milk?”

  “There is,” Lily said, “I’ll go get s-”

  The sound of a window breaking came from downstairs, making them all jump. The four of them looked at each other, silently fearing the worst. They were under attack.

  “Where is Victoria?” was the first thing Evelyn asked.

  “Her study,” Lily replied.

  “We must get her out of there.” With that, Evelyn teleported out of the room.

  “No, Evelyn, you mustn’t!” Daisy’s shouts were in vain. The teleporter had already disappeared.

  They heard another window brake, the women downstairs screamed, yet not loud enough to cover the sound of growling.

  October 20th, 2000

  9:34 A.M.

  The screams and howls sounded like out of a nightmare. Lily Porter watched horrified as Evelyn teleported out of the safety of the room. Without thinking, she ran to the door, and when she opened it the growling and the gutting sounds of her sisters dying increased tenfold.

  “Get back here, child!” Daisy called.

  She couldn't go back. It was now too late; she had to see them. She had to see the werewolves. With trembling legs, she reached the end of the second story hall until she took the handrail with both hands. It was a blur of brown and black fur mixed with human skin and blood. Most of the women were already dead, and the rest used what they could to protect themselves - hiding under furniture, turning invisible. The few telekinetics pushed the beasts away with all their might, but for how long?

  In her shock, Lily counted at least six wolves inside the once luxurious cabin. The massacre continued while she stood there frozen by the handrail in terror - that was until one of them saw her. A werewolf who’d just ripped a witch’s neck with his long fangs turned to look straight at her. Its eyes were yellow, but she could tell they were eerily human, a shadow of what it'd once been.

  Looking at its next target, the beast walked in her direction, its front paws soon touched the end of the stairs as it prepared to climb up. All Lily could do was try to keep breathing as she watched the monster approach her with calculated steps. Why wasn’t she moving? Why didn’t she go back to the room to escape this monstrosity?

  Right then, something touched her arm making her jump and scream. It was Carolina. The telekinetic pulled her back while raising a hand filled to the brim with metal bracelets and fancy rings in front of the werewolf. With her power, she forced the werewolf back until it lost its footing, falling back down the stairs. That would buy them some time, but not much. They would soon come for them.

  Carolina then guided Lily back in the room where Daisy waited. Closing the door behind her, the telekinetic ordered her to help move a heavy dresser in front of the door. The barricade wouldn’t last forever, but at least it would detain the beasts.

  She was about to ask about Evelyn when the teleporter reappeared on the bed, the Head Witch by her side.

  “Victoria!” gasped Carolina in relief. Daisy ran as fast as she could to Evelyn’s side, who looked too weak to stay awake.

  “How is she?” the Head Witch asked, seeing how much energy Evelyn had lost by teleporting so soon.

  “She’ll be all right,” sighed Daisy. “But, if we stand any chance of getting out of here alive, she will need to take all four of us out with her and I don't know if she can do it.”

  “No,” Victoria said, “There must be another way.”

  “But, Ms. Palmer,” Lily sobbed. “We need to get out of here. Those things are outside!”

  “Where would we go?” Carolina asked. “Even if Evelyn could teleport us out, would she take us to the vampire agency?”

  Victoria Palmer was quiet for a moment. The silence increased their awareness of the horrible acts taking place outside the door. The Head Witch didn’t have much time to think things through because she jumped with the rest as the door rumbled from the outside. The werewolves were trying to get in by any means necessary.

  Victoria turned to Evelyn. “Do you know any of their safe houses?” she asked her.

  For a moment, Evelyn didn’t seem to know what she meant, but soon understanding came to her face. “Yes, I do, several of them.”

  “The one closest to them,” Victoria suggested, “Think of that one.”

  “Closest?” wondered Evelyn, her energy returning. “You are talking about the vampire agency, aren’t you? I don't know where it is.”

  “Their agency is in Tennessee,” revealed the Head Witch. “We should not go there directly, I don’t think it’s safe. Do you know a safe-house near there?”

  She took a moment to think, then Evelyn nodded her head in response. “I’ve been to one there. A long time ago.”

  The door trembled every time the werewolves hit it with the weight of their bodies. The scratching sound made them all shiver as the beasts tried to claw their way in, eager to rip them to shreds.

  “I need you to take us there,” Victoria turned to look at her with hope in her eyes, knowing she was asking too much. “Please.”

  “She’ll die! She’s still too weak,” reminded Daisy. “She needs more time.”

  Victoria turned to look at the door, the wood was already giving in. They had a few more minutes, maybe less. Lily could see the frustration in the Head Witch’s face, her inability to protect her witches had never been so great. They were all dead, all of them. Except for the five surviving women in that room, the Twelve Covens had fallen. The werewolves had won.

  “We should get ready.” The Head Witch asked them to get closer. Lily did as they told her, kneeling on the bed next to Evelyn, who was now strong enough to sit down. She must know teleporting them out would kill her.

  “Hold on to each other,” Evelyn instructed. She seemed to be ready to jump even if it would cost her her life. “I’ll need to wait until the last moment, I need as much time as I can to gather my strength.”

  "Take from us, child," Ms. Palmer urged. "Take what you need."

  Lily cried, “We don’t have much time, Evelyn!”

  The werewolves broke the door down. The dresser came falling in front of the frightened women. Lily panicked again, breaking the circle, instinctively running to a corner of the room in terror.

  “Lily!” shouted Ms. Palmer, standing up as she went to get her back. The rest of the witches stood up, following her to reach the frightened girl who had broken their hold. The werewolves were now in the room, the scent of wet human blood saturated the air as it dripped from their fur. There were three in front of them now, ready to attack.

  “Now, Evelyn!” shouted Victoria Palmer. “You can do this child, now!”

  Lily opened her eyes wide as she saw a wolf jump towards them, its claws open, his long, sharp fangs ready for the kill. Closing her eyes, Lily waited to be mauled to death. Except, she somehow heard the tweeting of birds, felt the wind on her face, and smelled dried leaves coming from the trees.

  Opening her eyes, she realized they were now in a forest. Next to her, Evelyn was convulsing in pain on the wet grass, a big red gash on her back.

  A werewolf had scratched her.

  October 20th, 2000

  9:47 A.M.

  Lily sat on the cool grass as she waited for something to happen.

  The October mornings were getting cooler in Colorado and the forest where Evelyn had teleported them to wasn't any different. There were tall trees around her, which blocked the warm Fall sun rays from reaching her skin. Rubbing her arms with her hands, she stared at the still shaking teleporter moaning in pain a few feet away. At least she was still alive. The older witches, the telekinetic, Carolina Peterson, and the deleter, Daisy Hart, sat next to her. Evelyn’s head rested on Daisy’s lap, while Carolina held her hands. The teleporter�
��s back was red with her blood, her blouse shredded where the werewolf had scratched her before their escape.

  It had been her fault, Lily thought. If she hadn’t broken their circle, this wouldn’t have happened.

  As quickly as the thought had entered her mind, it left her. She would gain nothing by over-thinking an accident. Besides, at least she was still alive while hundreds of witches were dead.

  They should all count their blessings.

  The Head Witch and her mentor, Victoria Palmer, had been looking into a small keypad on the wall of a small brick building that looked like it’d seen better days. The Pecan, they’d called it - no doubt a building belonging to the secret agency the vampires worked for, one of their safe houses. The four brick walls around it looked scratched by a hundred claws. It was clear werewolves had found this building and had tried to break into it not too long ago. On one wall, they could see what remained of a splatter of blood no one had bothered to clean up. A battle had taken place here, and there was evidence still lingering on the building.

  “I got it,” the Head Witched announced with joy. Turning around, her green eyes lit up when she finally unlocked the door. “Wait here,” she told the two witches sitting next to the ailing teleporter. She then turned to look at her assistant, “Come with me, Lily. I may need your help.”

  Lily’s heart skipped a beat. She wasn’t sure if she was excited to be helpful or scared to discover what lurked inside the dark building. Regardless of her feelings, she didn't hesitate to stand up, stretch a little, and follow her mentor inside.

  Victoria had been right in her initial assessment of The Pecan; the werewolves had cut the power, leaving the inside of the building with little to no visibility. Because the building had no windows, the only light entering came from the opened door. There was a long hallway before them as they stepped inside, and Lily could see doors leading to rooms where the vampires took care of affairs they didn't want the rest of humanity to know about.

  Victoria announced, “The first door on the left should lead to a room with the auxiliary power switch. In that room, there should also be a phone.”

  “I can hardly see anything,” Lily whispered, her words echoed inside the building.

  “Don’t worry,” Ms. Palmer said, “I’ve been to this safe house many times in my years working for The Twelve Cov-” The Head Witch almost choked on her own words and Lily understood why. It felt strange to say The Twelve Covens when they knew they didn’t exist anymore. Taking a deep breath, Ms. Palmer continued. “Take my hand. I can only hope we can restore power long enough to call the agency for help.”

  “Yes, Ms. Palmer.”

  There was just enough light to take them to the first door on the left, yet once they opened it, little got inside the room. Regardless of the darkness, Victoria Palmer dawdled touching her surroundings with her free hand and taking her protégé with her other.

  “It should be right about here,” she announced. “I feel it. I will let you go, dear. I should be able to start the generator.” Lily let go of her hand, waiting in the darkness that surrounded them, losing her sense of space, and feeling the need to hold on to something. Reaching, she soon found the smooth wall.

  The lights turned on and a buzzing began which made them both jump, but at least they could now see where they were. The room was small, with a desk equipped with a computer, phone, and a fax machine. Apart from that, the room had no other furniture. Lily couldn't imagine what the vampires had done in this room, nor who they were calling. Somehow, she imagined the worst. Perhaps this was where they brought their victims when they needed to satisfy their need for human blood.

  The Head Witch wasted no time. Taking the receiver with one hand, she dialed the number she knew by heart.

  “Josh. It’s Ms. Palmer,” she said with urgency. “We were attacked a few minutes before and five of us teleported to The Pecan. My teleporter is critically hurt and we have no other way to communicate with you.” There was a brief pause. “I turned on the emergency generator, but I don’t know how long it’ll last.” Once more, a pause. “Yes. Yes. We will be waiting. Thank you.”

  “What did they say?” Lily asked after the receiver had left her mentor’s ear.

  “They are sending agents.”

  “Vampires?” Lily had never met a vampire secret agent. She wasn’t so sure how she felt about meeting one now. It had turned out to be a day of firsts since she'd seen werewolves kill and was about to meet vampires.

  “Yes, dear, vampires,” Victoria confirmed. “See if you can find anything to help Evelyn with. There is a supply room here. It’s the last door on the right.” Lily nodded, happy to have something to do to help take her mind off things. “Hurry, I don’t know how long we'll be able to keep this building illuminated.”

  “Yes, Ms. Palmer.” Lily obeyed.

  “And Lily?” The Head Witch called. “Yell if you run into any trouble.”

  Lily stopped for a moment, not sure what kind of trouble she could potentially run into. Nodding, she said, “Yes, Ms. Palmer.”

  October 20th, 2000

  10:07 A.M.

  Lily watched Daisy Hart help Carolina turn Evelyn face down after she'd found several medical supplies in the safe house. She knew vampires were almost invulnerable, and that made her wonder why they felt they needed to stock their safe houses with bandages and alcohol; she was grateful they had, but it made her wonder.

  Evelyn screamed and moaned in pain as the two older witches tried to move her. It seemed to hurt her when they tore the back of her blouse off her back, leaving her half naked on the grass and trembling from the cold, but they didn't dare move her to the inside of the building. The wound on her back looked worse than they'd imagined. It seemed to be growing, turning wider and deeper. Lily didn’t know what that meant, but doubted it meant anything good.

  “Pass me the alcohol.” Daisy put her hand out. Lily did as she was told.

  “The boy... William,” began Ms. Palmer as if they were all familiar with his case. “He told us he became a werewolf from a scratch. Not a bite, but a scratch.”

  All three of them turned to look at her in horror, all except Evelyn who was in so much pain they doubted she knew where they were or what they were saying.

  “Do you think she'll turn into a monster?” Lily asked.

  “She should have died from teleporting all four of us, and yet she lives. Perhaps…” Victoria Palmer was shaking her head from side to side. “I wish I knew more. That’s all I can tell you. Right now all we can do is hope this is not what is happening to our dearest Evelyn.”

  The words failed to bring anyone comfort. On the contrary, it helped them look at the suffering teleporter differently. Pity, disgust, sadness, regret. There were only five of them left and one of them was about to lose her life, or worse.

  Turning to look at Victoria Palmer showed Lily that whatever she was feeling was nothing compared to what the Head With was going through. It’d been in her lifetime that all the witches in North America had perished. The fall of witchcraft had happened under her watch. What would happen next? How would the Twelve Covens return if all the witches who were left were underaged? How would they find them? Who would teach them how their power worked?

  Ms. Palmer must know how to recruit them. She always knew who to call and when to call and what to say when it was time to bring women into a Coven. There had to be a magical way to identify new witches - there had to be. If only Lily knew how to find them. If only she knew the secrets only the Head Witch seemed to possess. She would call the younger witches to come and fight America’s supernatural forces with her. She wouldn't care how old they were or what power they had, she would accept them all and teach them as best she could. She would be a great Head Witch, of that she was sure.

  But, how could she find them? What was the secret?

  Perhaps they could call the retired witches who were still alive? What had happened to them? Why hadn’t they been called? Where were they?
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  “Lily!” They had been calling her while she'd been lost in her thoughts.

  “I’m sorry.” She handed them the bandages now. Taking a quick look at Evelyn’s back Lily could not decide if the claw marks were looking better or getting worse, but the woman had stopped trembling. “What’s wrong with Evelyn now?”

  “She passed out,” Carolina said, “from the pain. That and the stress from teleporting all of us.”

  “Listen.” Victoria stopped them. It had been a few minutes since they'd called the agency. No more than half an hour had passed. “It’s a car.” If these vampires came from their headquarters, then it couldn't be far.

  They all went silent, trying to listen to what the Head Witch was listening to.

  “She’s right,” Carolina said. “They’re near.”

  Daisy stood up, leaving the unconscious Evelyn on the soft ground. “Will they take us to their agency?”

  “Perhaps,” Victoria sighed.

  “It's the only safe place for us now,” Daisy added. “We must go there. They must take us there.”

  “It may not be wise to reveal their location yet,” Victoria confessed. “Only a select few are allowed inside and the situation calls for secrecy now more than ever. I don’t think it's where they'll take us.”

  This seemed to enrage Daisy. “With all due respect, Victoria, we are the select few.”

  The Head Witch looked around into each of their faces. “Forgive me, but none of you know their location. We must keep it that way for now.”

  Daisy began again. “Whether we know where their agency is located is irrelevant now. We aren’t safe. We won't be safe anywhere else. We need to-”

  The Head Witch raised her hand to stop her. “There is a traitor among us. It may be you, Daisy. Or you, Carolina.” Lily opened her mouth to speak, she knew they suspected her, too. Victoria continued. “Even Evelyn could be the traitor.”

  It was Carolina’s turn to talk. “Or the traitor is someone else, far away, silently plotting our demise while we wait here, out in the open, without protection.”