by T S Paul
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Author Notes
What's Next?
Mysterious Hearts
Shade of Honor
Marcella's Garden Cookbook
The Badger Hole Bar Food Cookbook
More Books by the Author
Copyrights
Chapter 1
The room was dark. So dark, I couldn't even see my own hands. Water dripped from the walls. Each drop making a plopping noise as it echoed somewhere in the darkness. The very air was like a blanket of moisture encompassing my entire being. "Where am I?"
My voice echoed off into the distance. The sound of it made me dizzy. "Where?" This time I said it almost like a prayer. My last thoughts were of the new assignment and the possible advantage that Fergus would bring us. A talking Unicorn would be a boon to investigating the species. That is of course if he would cooperate in the first place. None of that mattered though. I needed to know what this place was and how I got here. Mumbling a short cantrip spell I cast a light spell into being. Looking down, I almost screamed!
Bones! As far as the light reached the entire floor of the cave was covered in bones. Pools of water lay here and there. My light spell floated above me like a glowing ball. Mentally I pushed it out farther to see if a path lay through the horror. Flickering shadows moved down the walls as the ball moved. Now that I could see the bones I began to notice the smell. The scent of rotting meat filled the air. I tried to tell myself it was all in my mind. The ball of light bobbed and weaved through the cave I found myself in. How did I get here and where is the rest of my team? A flash of something caught my eye as my light reached the far edge.
Navigating through the gloom, constantly stepping over the bones, I felt like a female version of Theseus. With luck, there wouldn't be a Minotaur at the end of my journey. I was lost in a cave of horror without a solid clue of how I got here. Such is my life.
In the distance, something glittered in the subdued glow. The bobbing light showed glimpses of shapes and sizes, but I could not make out what they were. Moving forward, the image resolved as I approached closer. It was some kind of altar, but what was its purpose?
Gold and silver covered the altar. What I saw flashing were gem encrusted goblets and priceless statues of the Gods as well as trappings of the modern world. Cell phones older than me as well as what appeared to be my own lay scattered on the floor. Swords and axes lay piled amongst rifles and handguns. This was a monument to war and destruction. I might not worship Mars, but I could see his handy work. Peering closer, I looked at the God statues themselves. Worn from centuries of handling, the features were hard to see. I was mistaken. Honorable Mars and Odin had never been here. This massacre was a tribute to the God of chaos and war. All of this belonged to Set!
"Why am I here?" Once again, the cave echoed my words.
"Who says you are?"
Spinning around, I saw several black-clad figures standing in the distance. A faint putrid green glow clung to them as if it was painted on them.
"What?" I felt my eyes widen as the eyes of the figure in front began to glow with the same sickly green color.
"This place is ours. It always has been and always will be. To get here, you must join the order and sacrifice to Set. Only then will you earn the honor of a chance to join us." The words dripped like venom from the mouth of the ancient woman standing in front of me.
"Set." My eyes narrowed in concentration. The word was echoed throughout the cavern, unlike the ancient woman's words.
The woman stepped out of the shadows followed by a half dozen others. Each drew a sacrificial dagger and held it positioned low with a tight grip. My ball of light made the blades shine with unholy light. "What say you Child of Light? Will you join us and fulfill the potential that your family saw in you years ago or will you die? This is your moment of truth. I swear by Set and our Goddess that we will either possess you or kill you!" The women continued to glide toward me faster now.
Mumbling, I cast a freeze spell followed by several fireballs. None of what I threw at them worked. They moved closer and closer to me. Starting to panic, I backed up. Not watching where I was walking, my feet hit one of the skeletons. It caused me to lose my balance and fall backward. One minute I was backing away, the next I was on my ass with a rib cage locked firmly around my ankle. Shaking my leg like a cat with a rubber band on its paw, I tried to stand. Hearing laughter, I looked up.
"So, the mighty fall. Get up, little Witch. It's not like you have anywhere to go." The green-eyed woman waved her hand and torches suddenly lit along the walls of the cave.
Still struggling, I kicked the old bones off and forced myself up. The walls all around me were now faintly lit. There were no exits.
"Submit to us, Agatha Blackmore. We offer training and power the likes of which this world has never seen."
Finding my voice, at last, I yelled my response. "I submit to no one. Not you or your God of chaos. My choices are my own. You may attack me now, but you will never break those that stand against you."
"Pretty words. But we know different don't we, young Witch. We are aware of the doubt and hurt that infests your heart. You will belong to us one day. Fate is fickle that way." The woman raised her arm, tossing the knife she held straight at my head.
Using skill, I didn't know I had, I managed to catch the blade. Shocked I stared at it in surprise. All those sessions with Cat and Chuck seemed to have paid off finally.
"Impressive. Try stopping this one." A glowing green ball of flames headed straight at me.
Screaming, I covered my head with my hands. I could feel the heat of the flames as the fireball touched my skin and then nothing.
"Agatha! Agatha wake up!" Someone grabbed me and shook me by the shoulders.
Opening my eyes, I looked up into the cerulean blue of Cat's eyes. To me, her eyes resembled the ocean. They had such depth if you looked hard and long you might imagine the wave crashing upon the shore.
"You were screaming. Are you sure you're OK?" Looking past Cat, I could see Bill and Chuck, weapons drawn, peering in every direction. Anastasia must have been driving because I could feel the bus slowing to a stop, the air brakes squealing.
Blinking a few times, I tried to clear my head. "Nightmare. I was having a nightmare."
"Sweetie, in the four-plus years I've known you I have never heard a sound such as that come out of you. Are you sure you're alright?"
Pulling myself up, I slid my legs off the couch and sat up. "I'm fine. It was just a bad dream." As I shifted around a small object bounced off the couch and onto the floor.
Chuck bent over grabbing the object and handing it to me. "Not safe to sleep with weapons, Aggy."
In his hand was a small ornate knife. The blade shimmered a sickly green in the light. I shivered. If that was a dream, how did the knife appear? Reaching out my hand, I took the blade from Chuck.
"This is your only warning. We will meet soon, and we will break you." The voice from my dream drifted through my head, causing my hand to shake and the knife to hit the floor once more.
<<<>>>
"Are you sure you're O
K?" Anastasia looked down at me.
"I'm fine. Not sure where that came from, but fine. Have you ever heard of something like this happening, Ana?"
Ana stepped back from me and sat in one of the chairs. "As you know, my people are old. Some of us are older than human civilization and memory. You and your Grandmother may know Magick, but the Vampire race has lived it for far longer. Vampire Sorcerers are a thing of legend, but we still pass on our tales and stories about them. Dreamwalking is one such story. They were the rarest of the rare in terms of power. Those who could interact within a dream. Make the unreal become real. Either that was left by a Dream Walker who entered your dream, or you entered theirs. Only the Gods can do both." Ana pointed to the knife which now lay on the table.
"Dreamwalking is not something Grandmother ever mentioned to me. I will call her and ask. Who do you think they were?"
"The women from your dream?" Ana gestured to the knife.
"Yes. That cave too. Set is a powerful God, but his worship is not approved by much of our world." Paganism, in general, wasn't approved of either by mundanes. But according to various government institutions, the practice of different forms of Paganism is growing.
"The others may disagree with me, but I think they were our most recent adversaries. The Strega. We know they have a power base somewhere. Why not underground?" Ana gestured toward the ground.
"That is what concerns me the most. Where underground? Here? In Europe? They have had a century to hide and prepare. If. If that was a true dream. We will see them again, and soon if I actually did walk in a dream."
Anastasia nodded. "Yes, we will see them again. I will analyze the knife and send the results to the Director. Do you want me to contact them for you?"
"No. It's my job. At least we know what is coming for us in the future. We have entirely too many enemies. Did you know about the existence of the World Council?"
Ana's head jerked in my direction. She stared at me for what seemed like half a minute before answering. "That is ... We are not..." She stopped. Shaking her head, she smiled at me. "Some secrets are very hard to speak of. Yes, I know of the World Council. Its existence is one of the last great mysteries of our world. The humans either don't know it or don't believe in it. How did you learn of it?"
"Grandmother. She told me she is the leader of the Council. It's why the Witches Council is afraid of her."
"That explains a few things. The former Director wondered how she had gotten so powerful. I did try to explain to him about Witches and lineage but, well, you remember how dense he was." Ana shook her head.
"Yes. He did look kind of funny just hanging up in the air like that though. Grandmother didn't go into very much detail, but she did say it was made up of all the races native to this world. What does that mean exactly? Can you tell me?" I had plenty of questions, but grandmother only told me the basics.
Squinting Anastasia leaned back in her chair and rubbed her forehead. "You are of age then. That is why she told you of its existence. Each race has one or more representatives on the Council. Currently, there are twelve members. Legend has it that there was once a great deal more. Witches, Weres, Vampires, and Goblins you may already know about. Yes?"
I nodded. Goblin kind was something only mentioned in the texts I had, but I wasn't about to tell her that.
"What you don't know about is Dwarves, Draugr, Dvergr, Gargoyles, Fae, Mer folk, and others. I am a bit out of the loop when it comes to who the others may be. I can tell you that the Were had more than one representative on the Council. They are selected two ways: hereditary and by appointment. If your Grandmother is on the Council, you are the next one to take the position unless your mother is able. Is she?"
"Teegan is not fit. Aunt Camilla kept her locked away in that sanitarium for years. They fed her so many pills and other medicines that she barely knows what year it is now. Grandmother and the healers are working with her. When I saw her recently, she could barely say my name. She, like Camilla, never finished her Magick training. Her power is gone. She won't ever be as I remember her from childhood." I hung my head in the sadness of the memory and stared at the floor.
"So that would-be no. What about Camilla's daughters, your cousins?" Anastasia sounded very serious.
"Winter and Autumn are still getting over the loss of their mother and stepfather. As part of the investigation, I talked to Winter. Camilla admitted to killing Harrison and all the others. Washington thinks she hired the Missionaries to do it for her. It would explain how she got involved with them in the first place and how none of the murders, looked like murders. Trust me when I say the State Police investigated each of her husband's deaths. I don't think my cousins have been told about the Council, even though they are older than me."
"That sounds like a fun conversation you had."
I blew out a breath. "Yeah. Fun. The fact that we lost Camilla's body, or she got away didn't help."
"She has to be dead. No one could have survived a hit from those fireballs."
"Maybe. I might have if it was me. Some spells allow the user to defend against most anything if you know how to use them properly. She could have learned. Regardless, there is an APB out for her and the remaining Missionaries of Death. As you well know." I motioned toward the computer stations.
"True. So, as I was saying. You may be the heir to the Council. Those that are appointed only get that way when a hereditary member has no heirs or is killed unexpectedly. It happens. When I was on..." Ana held up her hands as if to stop me. "When I was associated with the Vampire rulers in Russia, the representative was an ancient named Clearchus. I have no idea if he survived the Purge or was killed. If he's still around, you need to watch your back. He's about as trustworthy as your Aunt."
"You didn't mention Dragons. Are they on the Council too?"
"No. Dragons are not of this world. They come from somewhere else. Since you are of age, you were told of the doors to other worlds? Or is that something only the Vampires are aware of?" Ana leaned forward and looked me in the eye. I could feel her at the back of my mind but ignored it. She was just testing me, again.
"Still testing?" I smiled at her.
"A girl has to have options. I'm a Vampire, remember? We like to have backup plans. It's a cultural thing. Check with any Vampire on the planet, and they will have at least one way out of any current situation they are in. Even me. It's how we're wired."
"Dragons?" I looked back at her.
"Dragons. They come from another world or universe. Some say many worlds and universes. It depends on who you're listening to. I wasn't truthfully keeping any of this secret from you Agatha, but everyone takes certain oaths when they get information such as this. Secrets make the world turn around."
"And they come through the ways? The hallways between the Universes?" Ana gave me another sharp look
"They do. Portals and doors exist both naturally and artificially. There were several such doorways in our old cities. What has happened to them is a mystery. They might be how the Dragons get here, but I think there are many other ways. How do you know about the halls?"
I debated with myself. Should I tell Ana about my summer adventure? "Grandmother."
"OK. Does that answer your question about the Council?" Ana looked at me funny. I don't think she believed me about the Halls.
"So, they gather and do what? Negotiate?"
"Yes. They are the ones that make the laws and rules that the Witches Council enforces. They are the real power on this planet." That statement alone blew me away. Grandmother Blackmore was the Queen of the world!
<<<>>>
My finding a knife in a dream was big news to Director Mills. She told me to write it up and submit it for filing. It did worry me that too many secrets about me and the world we live in were going into those selfsame files. I understood Grandmother's point about age and secrets. We couldn't really be trusted with certain things until we were older and knew our place in the world. It still bothered me on a cer
tain level. How much of what I was discovering should I be sharing with the Mundanes? Humanity wasn't known for keeping secrets all that well. Calling Grandmother seemed to be my go-to for answers these days.
"Agatha, you did what?"
"I had a dream encounter with what we think was the Strega in a hidden cave. Grandmother, they had an altar dedicated to Set, surrounded by skeletons."
"Could this be triggered by your recent battle with them?" Grandmother sounded concerned.
"Maybe? I don't know. Grandmother, I interacted with them. One of them threw a knife at me, and I caught it. I found it in the real world after I woke up. What does that mean?"
There was complete silence on the other end of the line. I could scarcely hear her breathing. "Grandmother? Are you still there?"
The silence continued for just another moment. Finally, I heard her take a deep breath. "Agatha, are you trying to say you dream walked?"
