Damned and Cursed (Book 9): Witch Trial

by Glenn Bullion

  He plucked his feather from its pouch, and ran up the wall.

  All the practice, the training, had finally paid off. Kevin was close to rivaling Alex, maybe even Victoria. He ran along the ceiling, keeping three fingers on the feather. He leaped across bookshelves with ease. His own fire magic wasn't as strong. He didn't know how they unleashed one fireball after another. But he flung his own explosive magic. Aggie and her companions took shelter behind a desk. High in the ceiling, he paused for a moment to rearm. He unleashed potion after potion. Fog, fear magic, trapping potions.

  Nothing seemed to work. Witches were immune to so much.

  The bookshelf he'd used to trap the first witch began to move. Kevin pulled another ice vial and threw it. It struck home, trapping Aggie's companion and the entire bookshelf in ice.

  That was the only window Aggie needed to unleash another fireball.

  The magic smacked him in the chest. Half the potions across his shoulder straps shattered. He fell halfway from the ceiling before regaining the grip on his feather. He landed on another bookshelf and dove forward, narrowly dodging another fireball. Crawling like a spider, he pulled himself along the side, away from Aggie, and used the books as handholds. The pain was almost overwhelming.

  A quick sip of water fixed that.

  He hid behind the front counter, on his hands and knees. It was only a matter of seconds before Aggie used her own magic to see through objects. He didn't have much time.

  "Kevin," she said. "You involved someone else? That beautiful woman? Why?"

  He risked a look around the desk, to get his bearings. Aggie again stood near the center of the library, confident in her dominance. She rubbed her hands together, and a light formed in her palm. Kevin thought it was another fireball, but the light hovered above her, like one of his mothballs.

  The light moved about the library, stopping occasionally to glow. He didn't know how to make one, or how to control it, but he knew what it did.

  It was searching for him.

  "We're past the point where I'm promising to let everyone else go," Aggie said. "And that's your fault."

  A voice echoed from his ring.

  "Kevin!"

  He covered it with his palm, to muffle the noise.

  "Leese. Where are you?"

  "I'm in a side office. They didn't see me sneak in here. Look…I'm sorry. All the potions I have, they're broke. At least most of them. I didn't even notice. Whether it was here, or at the school, I don't know."

  His own magical gear was in similar shape. His clothes were covered in a mix of various potions, now useless.

  "It's okay. Do you still have that phone I gave you?"

  A short pause as she searched for it.

  "Yeah."

  "Take a picture of the wall next to you. Keep it low."

  "Why?"

  "It'll upload to my cloud storage. Then—"

  "Okay, okay. Hold on."

  Kevin closed his eyes, running through the steps in his mind. He was careful setting the process up. He was careful in everything.

  All his phones were set to upload new photos to his cloud account. The computer in the war room retrieved them, printed them automatically.

  The final piece of the puzzle were portals.

  He opened one directly to his printer, using the side of the desk as a surface. Not a large portal, just a foot wide, enough to reach an arm through. The printer had just finished Leese's photo, spitting it into a basket on the floor. He retrieved and used it to create yet another portal.

  Leese gasped when he crawled through.

  "It's just me," he said.

  She grabbed his shoulders and pulled him. The gesture wasn't necessary, but appreciated. Half of the office wall was a glass window, peering out into the library. Kevin and Leese didn't dare stand. Closing the portal behind him, he slipped on his glasses. Both lenses were broken, so he reached into one of Leese's pouches. Hers were still intact.

  Aggie's light moved above the library. It wouldn't be long before it fanned out into the smaller rooms.

  "We don't have much magic left," Leese said. "What do we do?"

  He smiled, drawing a confused look from her. Another photo from his belt, another small portal. He reached again into the war room, feeling along the wall. His fingers found the metal rods first, then felt the stitching in the ammunition belts.

  He retrieved two, one for each of them. Closing the portal, he eyed Leese as he helped her out of one belt and slipped on another. It was strangely intimate, wielding magic together.

  "You look good in this, too," he said.

  She marveled at the fresh belt, a new set of magic.

  "Shit, Kevin," she said.

  Leese didn't know she was the inspiration for all of Kevin's work. He'd been caught without magic too many times. Too many people he cared about had been hurt. He wouldn't be unprepared again.

  She helped him into his own belt. They went slow, to keep the vials from bumping into each other. He watched Aggie the entire time through the wall.

  "Oh, no," he said.

  "What's going on?"

  He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

  "She's…undoing everything I did."

  The fog was already gone, the separate fires put out. The light continued to search as Aggie approached the block of ice. She rubbed something in between her hands and placed a palm on the ice. It melted instantly. Her witch companion fell to her knees, gasping for breath. Aggie put an arm around her and gave her a cup of water.

  Kevin pulled out a seashell and stared at Marie. She was still in the cage, a look of fury in her eyes.

  "Marie," he whispered.

  She froze. Spinning in place, she searched frantically for the voice. Caroline sat on the other end of the cage, staring at her like she was insane.

  "It's me. Don't talk," he warned. "Just whisper, I can hear you. Are you okay?"

  He put his ear to the shell.

  "A little chilly, but I'll live."

  "Can you change? Break out of that thing?"

  "No. This cage, somehow, it's stopping me. They put some magical bullshit on the bars. We're not going anywhere. I ripped them to shreds, but couldn't finish them off. I'm starting to hate witches."

  "Just hang tight. We'll come up with something."

  "What happened?" Leese asked. She gestured to her arms and touched Kevin's hand. "How come we're not invisible?"

  "I don't know. Aggie was ready for us." He shook his head sadly, irritated at himself. "Just like Martha said they'd be. She said they had more magic than I ever dreamed…."

  Kevin didn't finish, his mouth hanging open. A smile spread across his face.

  The answer came.

  "Kevin?"

  He was quiet, still putting the plan together in his mind. It was beautifully simple. Still, he'd need Leese's help.

  "Hey!" she said, waving her hand in front of him. "What's going—?"

  He caught her hand and kissed her.

  Memories rushed back, feelings that never went away. Somewhere in his jumbled thoughts, he knew he'd overstepped. Leese had probably moved on. Even if something was still there, kissing in the middle of a battle was not the smartest idea.

  He pulled away.

  "Sorry. I—"

  Leese kissed him. She went a step further with an embrace, throwing her arms around his neck. He held her tight, enjoying the feel of her. They were both a mess. Leese's entire right side was covered in blood. Her shirt was mangled. Kevin was tired and beaten. None of that mattered.

  The vials on their belts clanged, bringing them back to reality. They dropped prone to the floor. Kevin peered through the wall, holding his breath, but they weren't heard.

  "Kevin," Aggie called. "Your magic is amazing for someone so young. But please, come out before—"

  "Aggie."

  The voice came from the other side of the library. Kevin's heart skipped a beat when he saw Martha, walking through a portal. In his haste, he forgot to close the
m. She'd crossed from the war room, to the boarding school, to her own library.

  With a cruel twist, the portal finally closed on its own, the magic running out.

  Aggie's coven raced forward. Martha begged off by waving her arm. Aggie approached cautiously.

  Martha was crying.

  "I'm…sorry. You don't know how much this hurts to say. You…were right."

  Kevin and Leese looked at each other. She risked a slow glance through the window, while Kevin watched through the wall.

  "What?" Aggie said.

  "Kevin. He needs to be stopped."

  "What is she doing?" Leese whispered.

  He didn't know.

  Aggie wasn't convinced. Her coven flanked her. One held a fireball.

  Martha wasn't fazed.

  "This is a very fast change of heart," she said.

  "He's built something. Something terrible. And I can't support him, or what he's done."

  "Martha?" Caroline called. She sat next to Marie, gripping the cage bars. Her eyes spoke of hurt and betrayal.

  "Caroline. I'm sorry. You did everything to try to help me. It's taken me a lifetime to figure this out. But…I should have stopped Ana and Tom. I could have. They were wonderful people, but love among us, it only leads to hurt. Love doesn't conquer all."

  Kevin thought he'd be ill when he noticed her clutching something to her chest.

  "Here," she said, approaching Aggie. "Here's his book."

  Leese squeezed his shoulder.

  "Oh, God."

  His book was on the table next to Betty the couch, half a world away. She'd taken it, like it was her own, giving it away. Aggie flipped through the pages.

  "Making vampires immune to light." She shook her head. "So dangerous."

  There was a growl behind Aggie.

  "Martha," Marie said. Her muscles were taut as she rested on the balls of her feet. She glared at each member of the coven. "When I get out of here—"

  "You shut up!" Martha shouted. "This doesn't have anything to do with you! Just be glad Aggie hasn't killed you yet."

  Kevin smirked. It dawned on him what she was doing.

  "She's stalling," he said. "Giving us time. And we've wasted enough. Are you ready?"

  "What are we doing?"

  He opened a pouch and flipped through his photos, searching for the right one. Panic set in as he neared the end of the pile. Finally, he found it, and created the portal.

  Leese frowned when he reached in and pulled through four plungers.

  "What are those?"

  "One in each corner of the room," he said. "I'll handle this side, closest to them. You handle over there."

  "They're plungers."

  "I know. I said the same thing." He pulled a vial. "More fog. I'll go first. Once they start dealing with me, you go." He pointed again. "Both corners. Okay?"

  She took a breath and nodded.

  Another potion, this time from her belt.

  "This is for you. Right before you take off, drink it."

  "What is it?"

  "It makes you quiet, muffles all noise around you within a few feet. You can run full speed, and they won't hear you."

  "Are you sure?"

  "No," he admitted, sighing. "I've never used it before, and I don't think it will last long. That's why I'm going first. Are you up for this?"

  She gave him one last kiss before dropping to a knee near the door. Clutching the potion to her chest, she gave a thumbs-up.

  Kevin opened the door and ran. It was five seconds before anyone even noticed. He tossed the fog in between himself and the coven. The white haze quickly spread.

  He dropped one plunger in the corner.

  A fireball whirled by, narrowly missing his head. He felt the heat on the back of his neck.

  There were confused shouts, Aggie screeching orders. Through the fog, a witch reared back to throw something. Martha knocked her to the floor with her shoulder.

  Behind the chaos, Leese dropped her first plunger in the corner. They didn't even notice her. The silence potion worked. He'd have to remember to make more, figure out how to make it last.

  What looked like a perfume bottle flew past, breaking against the wall next to him. Aggie unleashed a wall of ice of her own, blocking his path. More fireballs came in varying colors. Kevin held up his palm, blocking their magic, while pulling the marker from his belt. He drew a portal directly on the ice and jumped through.

  Looking across the room, he saw Leese dropping another plunger, at the same time he dropped his own.

  There was no powerful display of magic, no light show. It was rather the opposite. The wall of ice behind him melted, leaving only a mass of water on the carpet. The water itself faded after a moment, as did Aggie's magical light above them. The fog disappeared, folding in on itself, and the fireballs two of the witches held went up in smoke. The small fires spread about the library vanished, leaving only charred wood and ruined books.

  Now that the fog was gone, he could see the coven clearly. One of them had Martha pinned to the ground, her hands around her throat. Kevin rushed forward, but Leese was quicker.

  His jaw dropped when she grabbed a chair.

  Leese's face twisted like he'd never seen it before. She brought the chair down on the witch as hard as she could, shattering it into pieces. Every witch raced to their allies. Aggie pulled back her wounded. Leese dragged Martha away, with Kevin joining them a moment later. Martha gasped and coughed. He helped her into a sitting position, never taking his eyes off the coven.

  In the scuffle, Martha had knocked his book to the floor. He reached out and retrieved it.

  For the first time since he'd met her, there was hate in Aggie's eyes. She gestured for the coven to stay back. They were ready to rush and attack, strike with their bare hands.

  "You lied to me," Aggie said, staring at Martha. "Again."

  "I'm sorry, Aggie. But I'll say it. Again. What you're doing is wrong."

  Aggie sighed.

  "This again." She pointed to the plungers. "Smart. Did you teach him that? Remember when we first used the nullifying field?"

  "I do. The first spell that the entire coven created."

  "It brings back memories."

  Kevin put a hand on Leese's knee as they held Martha. Simply touching her relaxed him, took the edge away.

  "Is there any way we can talk about this?" Kevin asked.

  "There! Do you see?" Martha said. "Even now, after all of this, he wants to talk. Why do we have to keep fighting?"

  "Because—" Aggie pointed to the book. "The world isn't ready. It's not even ready for magic. But you. It's definitely not ready for the cure for a werewolf, vampires that can walk in the day. Or immortality."

  "But why—?"

  "Enough. Enough talking. What do we do now, Kevin? Do we punch it out, like old boxers?" She crossed her arms arrogantly. "Old ladies or not, we still outnumber you."

  There was a laugh from off to the side.

  "That's where the babysitter comes in."

  Everyone turned to see Marie, standing outside the cage. The magic powering the cage had vanished along with everything else.

  Kevin had gotten to know Marie during her stay. He considered her a good friend. She was fun to spend time with. He enjoyed just sitting on a bar stool next to her. Like Victoria, there was wisdom there, trapped in a youthful body, that was always disarming.

  Unlike Victoria, her restraint needed work.

  The look in her eyes scared him.

  "Oh?" she said. "The smugness? The confidence? Where did it go?"

  Caroline ran toward them, grabbing Martha by the shoulders. She eyed each of them.

  "We should leave," she said. "Marie…she's not happy."

  Aggie took a step back, her coven following. The confidence that Marie referred to had turned to fear.

  "Listen, this doesn't—"

  "Enough talking." Marie stepped forward. She was still naked, but there was nothing sensual in her movements. Her missi
ng hair grew back, and she tossed it over her shoulder. "You said that. And when you did, you basically killed yourselves."

  Kevin gently ushered everyone toward the door, away from Marie. They locked eyes for a second, and her expression softened, telling him everything was going to be okay.

  Then the anger returned.

  "Kevin and Martha both have been trying to make peace with you. Without violence. You didn't want that. Now, I'll show you violence. I'm going to kill all of you." She pointed to a witch. "I think I'll start with you." A snarl escaped when she glared at Aggie. "And I'll save you for last."

  Caroline made it to the door first. She held it open for Martha. Leese was next, with Kevin bringing up the rear. He turned and peered through the window.

  Marie lay on the floor on her side. At first, he thought Aggie had somehow done something, got the better of how.

  Then Marie changed.

  Her legs broke at an unnatural angle. Her shoulders contorted and twisted. Hair spread all over her body.

  One tried to run for a corner, grab a plunger, maybe disrupt the nullifying field. But it was no use.

  She was on them too quickly.

  A fountain of blood sprayed upward, and that's when Kevin shut his eyes and turned around. Leese hugged him and put her head on his shoulder, taking deep breaths. He let his fingers drift through her hair. The screams were haunting. Martha was visibly shaken. Caroline cried quietly.

  "I didn't want this," Martha said. "I…."

  She couldn't talk. Caroline hugged her, and the remaining witches from their coven cried together.

  Kevin wanted to be there for Martha, his teacher and friend. But his night wasn't yet over.

  "I have to go."

  The misery on Martha's face nearly choked him up. All she could do was nod.

  He handed his spell-book to Caroline.

  "Will you watch this for me?"

  Caroline accepted and helped Martha walk away from the library.

  Kevin took Leese's hand and went in the opposite direction, down the street. Sanders was still quiet, victims of whatever sleep magic Aggie and her coven cast hours ago. Leese noticed the silence, the lack of life, but said nothing. She simply stared oddly at a couple sleeping in the front seat of their car.