Witch Rising

by Paige McKenzie

  Crowe was surely smiling down at him from wherever she was.

  A familiar face. Two familiar faces. In the distance, Binx and her friend Ridley were heading in his direction, toward City Hall.

  Ridley was carrying a HUMANS FIRST sign. Binx was carrying a sign with the New Order symbol.

  ShadowKnight froze. The New Order symbol… that meant Libertas would target her, too.

  Pokedragon, no!

  25

  WHAT’S PAST IS PROLOGUE

  There are no spells for happy endings. Not yet, anyway.

  (FROM THE GOOD BOOK OF MAGIC AND MENTALISM BY CALLIXTA CROWE)

  “I’m burning this sign as soon as we’re done here,” Binx muttered as she and Ridley made their way toward City Hall. “I feel so gross carrying it, even if it is for super-important disguise purposes.”

  “I know exactly what you mean,” Ridley replied. She cupped a hand over her eyes and scanned the crowd. Main Street was usually so chill—just teens and families strolling around and shopping and going to cafés—but at the moment, it felt more like a mosh pit under a gray October sky. A chilly breeze carried with it the deliciously salty-sweet smell of caramel corn from somewhere in the neighborhood—maybe the Candy Company, Harmony’s favorite store? It was such a jarring disconnect against the backdrop of an Antima gathering.

  “Do you see him?” she asked Binx.

  “No. He’s gotta be here somewhere. Seriously, we can’t lose him again.”

  “I know. We won’t.”

  The two girls continued in the direction of City Hall, pushing through the thickly packed rallygoers sporting their New Order patches and hate signs and pitchforks—were they protest symbols or weapons? She and Binx had been following ShadowKnight for the past half hour, losing him twice along the way but eventually finding him again. Now they’d lost him for a third time, and the rally was about to begin.

  Last night, Binx had sent him a pretend-olive-branch message that Ridley helped her to compose, but he never responded. So at the moment, they were resorting to merely keeping tabs on him. Which they were doing only half-successfully.

  They still didn’t know what Libertas was, exactly. Was it benign, like an attitude-adjustment spell that would make everyone love one another? Or chaos-causing? Or something else altogether? Ridley was genuinely conflicted, and Binx didn’t seem to have a clearer idea, either. On the one hand, she knew Binx wanted to believe Libertas was just a magical version of what she’d originally understood it to be—an activist group formed to protest peacefully and work for positive change. But on the other hand, they didn’t trust ShadowKnight—perhaps he was out for blood?

  Ridley’s phone buzzed with a new text. It was from Iris:

  Hello! It’s Iris! FYI I’m with Aysha patrolling Church Street. I think Greta is still over on Pleasant Street. With Terrence or whatever his name is. How are you guys doing and have you heard from Div and Mira?

  “It’s Iris, with an update. Nothing urgent,” Ridley explained to Binx. She then typed a reply to Iris, filling her in on everything and adding that Div and Mira were currently with Hunter and Colter and maybe their mom and Mira’s dad, too, presumably near the main stage. She also reminded Iris that Div and Mira were totally incommunicado because they didn’t want to blow their cover.

  A few seconds, another text came in from Iris:

  Breaking news! Aysha heard someone say the president and his motorcade just arrived at City Hall.

  Ohmigosh, it’s starting. But before Ridley could relay Iris’s message, Binx held up her phone, her eyes flashing excitedly. “Look!”

  Ridley peered at the screen. It said:

  Ditch your sign ASAP. Dirrogh.

  “Who sent this to you?” Ridley asked, confused.

  “It’s from ShadowKnight, finally! It just came through on our private server.”

  “O-kay. What does it mean, though? What’s a ‘dirrogh’ or however you pronounce it?”

  “You mean where. It’s a location from a Witchworld mod. It’s pronounced deer-ogg.”

  “O-kay,” Ridley repeated. “Why is he texting ‘Dirrogh’ to you? And why does he want you to ditch your sign? Do you think this has anything to do with Libertas?”

  Binx lifted her gaze and frowned at her sign, which bore the New Order logo with the letters N and O snaking through the flames. “I have noooo idea. He must realize the sign’s just a prop to blend in, right? Plus, didn’t we see him with a sign, too?”

  “Well, technically I don’t think he was carrying a New Order sign. I think he was carrying the ‘humans first’ one, like me.”

  “Same difference.” Binx furrowed her brows. “Why did he write ‘Dirrogh,’ though? Obviously he’s talking about the elf clans of Dirrogh. They were—lemme try to remember—yeah, they were the sworn enemies of the Kasorkya rebel witches. They had like a hundred-year war going on. In fact, that mod was called ‘WitchWorldWar.’”

  “Can you write him back and ask him to translate? Oh, but first, I was just about to tell you… Iris said the president’s arrived.”

  “What? Oh, hex!” Binx exclaimed, pocketing her phone. “Okay, think, think, think. What should we do now?”

  “Calumnia,” Ridley murmured. It was the third time she’d evoked it in the past ten minutes, and it was probably not even necessary, because Div had cast her advanced calumnia prototype on all of them. Calm down, Stone. “I think we should stick to Div’s orders. She and Mira are covering the president angle and working on a way to keep him from signing the bill, right? Iris, Aysha, Greta, and Torrence are still patrolling and making sure no one’s getting hurt. You and I need to focus on ShadowKnight. Can you trace his current location through your private server with your, you know, geolocating, um, shortcut? Or is that not a thing?”

  “Yeah, of course it’s a thing. Smart!”

  As Binx went to work on the spell, Ridley slid her backpack off her shoulders and reached inside to make sure Paganini was still there. Named after the nineteenth-century violin virtuoso Niccolò Paganini, this was her wand, and she’d enchanted it to look like a bow. She’d been keeping it hidden away in her closet lately, per Greta’s orders—and Div’s, too—that the two covens leave their magical items at home.

  Ridley had brought Paganini here today, though, in case she needed to draw on stronger powers. Or rather, in case she needed a tool to help intensify her own inner powers.

  What was ShadowKnight up to?

  Ridley knew they had to stop him if he was here to harm the anti-witch protesters and the president; they might be the enemy, but violence wasn’t the answer. Still, they needed him to help bring Penelope back. If Ridley and Binx and their respective covens crossed him, would they be forever closing that door? Would Ridley lose Penelope to death twice?

  A loud cheer. Past a heavily guarded rope barricade in front of City Hall, President David Ingraham was ascending the main stage and waving to the crowd. Even from a distance, Ridley could see his expression—smugness and superiority masked by fake humility and friendliness. He wore a navy suit, white shirt, and bright red tie.

  Ridley elbowed Binx, who was poring over something on her phone. “There’s the president!”

  “I know, I know! I think I figured out ShadowKnight’s location. He’s”—Binx pointed to the far end of the roped-off area—“over there, I think, next to that family wearing those disgusting New Order T-shirts.”

  “Excellent! Let’s go!”

  Binx grabbed her arm. “Wait! I may have figured out something else, and it’s not good.”

  “What?”

  “I looked it up. The elves of Dirrogh. They were defeated—no, more like massacred—by the rebel witches of Kasorkya. The witches invented something called a W-move that delivered a deadly virus. This virus targeted the elves and only the elves.”

  Ridley didn’t like where this was going. “Yes… and?”

  “And I’m guessing that’s what Libertas is. I think ShadowKnight came up with a W-move that w
ill deliver a deadly virus, probably to all the New Order followers here. Or maybe even all the humans.”

  “Oh my god!”

  “Exactly. We need to stop him, like, now. And we won’t be able to do it alone.”

  “Reinforcements,” Ridley agreed, and started texting.

  “—and I’m pleased to announce that I will be signing the historic new law, Title 6, Section 129A, before you today,” President Ingraham was saying to the crowd. “But first, let me tell you about some of its highlights….”

  “We’re running out of time,” Ridley whispered to the others.

  She was hiding in an alley between the public library and the bank, along with Binx and the eight other witches. She and Binx had summoned Iris, Greta, Torrence, and Aysha on an emergency ASAP basis. Div and Mira had joined them, too, along with Dr. Jessup; the three of them had managed to slip away from the rest of the Jessups and Mr. Jahani temporarily during the president’s speech, saying that they had to take care of a possible media disaster that was unfolding nearby. The surprise tenth witch was Aunt Viola, who’d appeared suddenly by Ridley’s side just minutes ago. “I had a vision you needed me,” she had explained with a small smile.

  After evoking calumnia again for no good reason, Ridley had made lightning-fast introductions, not mentioning to her aunt that Dr. Jessup was Callixta Crowe’s famous descendant. There would be opportunities for that conversation later… assuming they all survived the rally.

  Which was a big assumption.

  “Listen up, everyone. I suggest we cast a group prohibere tempus spell to begin with,” Dr. Jessup said, her voice steady and matter-of-fact as though she were talking her medical team through a surgery. “We can create a bubble of protection around ourselves with obice, then prohibere tempus will freeze time outside the bubble for about sixty seconds. During those sixty seconds, the president won’t be able to sign his bill, and ShadowKnight won’t be able to deploy Libertas. It’ll buy us time.”

  “What happens after the sixty seconds, though?” Aysha pointed out. “The president’s still gonna sign his bill, and ShadowKnight’s still gonna set off his deadly video game weapon, and the haters, if any of them survive, are still gonna hate us.”

  “May I add my two cents to this discussion?” Aunt Viola spoke up. “Ridley’s been keeping me updated over the past few days. She mentioned that Callixta Crowe sent Maximus Hobbes into our dimension through a portal, which means that the portal likely still exists. Which also means that we can send him back where he came from. Or I can, anyway… I specialize in interdimensional work.”

  Dr. Jessup quirked an eyebrow. “That’s a fantastic idea! That still leaves the problem of the president’s bill, though. Not to mention the anti-witch forces in general.”

  Iris turned to Binx. “Hey, fellow Witchworlder… didn’t you say that ShadowKnight’s using a W-move to distribute his virus? Like the rebel witches did in that nasty, ugly war between them and the elves of Dirrogh, although maybe the elves deserved it because of their campaign to permanently destroy the ecology of Kasorkya and make the witchdom a barren wasteland?”

  Binx nodded. “Yes.”

  “Wellllll… if he’s using a W-move, that means he’s carrying around a W-stone, amiright? What if we steal the W-stone from him before he deploys it and before we time-blast him back to the nineteenth century? We could then change up the stone by replacing the deadly virus with a spell or some other magical remedy that makes everyone stop hating witches. Including the president. Sorry, let me rephrase… that makes everyone, including the president, stop hating witches. And then, bam! We’ll be like the rebel witches except instead of killing everyone, we’ll be spreading love and harmony and world peace.”

  Silence.

  “Hmm. That’s not a terrible idea,” Div said after a moment.

  Iris beamed. “Wow, thank you! That’s a huge compliment, coming from you!”

  “I could use mobilus to steal the W-stone,” Aysha offered. She was an expert at telekinesis.

  Div nodded. “Excellent.”

  “What would we replace the virus with, though? Does anyone know a spell that would make everyone stop hating witches?” Greta asked.

  “Actually, I’ve been working on something like that,” Torrence volunteered. “It’s a combination of a love potion”—he glanced briefly at Iris, blushing—“and a version of praetereo that might make people forget that witches and humans are enemies.”

  Why is Torrence blushing? Ridley wondered.

  “Blech.” Iris crossed her arms over her chest and glared at Torrence. Then her expression softened slightly. “Fine, okay. Actually, that sounds kind of genius.”

  Torrence exhaled. “Oh, good.”

  “Thank you, Iris and Torrence and Aysha. Let’s try it.” Dr. Jessup craned her neck and glanced in the direction of the main stage. “The president is wrapping up his speech. If we’re going to do obice and prohibere tempus, it’s now or never. Everyone join hands, please.”

  The other witches obeyed.

  “Obice,” Dr. Jessup called out.

  “Obice,” the others echoed.

  Ridley watched as an invisible barrier rose from the ground and encircled their small group, like an iridescent bubble. “Cool!”

  “You can see that, Ridley?” Dr. Jessup said, surprised.

  “Yes.”

  “Interesting. That’s a rare power.”

  “My niece is very powerful,” Aunt Viola said proudly.

  “Apparently. Now, everyone… close your eyes and focus on the idea of freezing time. And repeat after me. Prohibere tempus…”

  “Prohibere tempus.”

  Ridley felt an almost seismic energy shudder through her and the other witches. She squeezed Aunt Viola’s and Binx’s hands a little harder.

  “You can open your eyes now,” she heard Dr. Jessup say.

  Ridley did so, and practically fainted from shock and wonder at the sight that greeted her. Outside of the obice bubble, the world had become completely still. The president and the crowd had frozen in place. Nearby, a robin was suspended in air, midflight.

  “We have sixty seconds before the time spell expires…. Aysha, please cast mobilus now,” Dr. Jessup ordered her.

  Aysha complied.

  “We can’t undo the bubble and take physical possession of the W-stone until the sixty seconds are up. Otherwise, we’ll all be frozen in time, too,” Dr. Jessup went on. “At exactly the sixty-second mark, Iris and Torrence? You’ll need to grab the W-stone and make your magical alterations to it. Then, deploy the stone as fast as you can, or at least before ShadowKnight figures out what happened and resorts to a plan B.”

  “What about the virus, though? It’s inside the W-stone, right? How do we get it out of there without having it make us sick?” Mira asked.

  Binx gasped. “That’s why he told me to ditch my New Order sign! The rebel witches designed their virus to target the Dirroghian elves’ coat of arms. Guys, ShadowKnight must have designed his virus to target the New Order symbol!” She stopped and scanned the circle of faces. “Dr. Jessup, you need to get rid of your shoulder patch. I’m going to get rid of my sign. Anyone else have the symbol anywhere on their bodies?”

  Everyone shook their heads. Binx and Dr. Jessup hastily dispensed with their symbols using praetervolo.

  “I managed to locate ShadowKnight’s W-stone and summon it. It should be here as soon as the time freeze ends,” Aysha said.

  “Well done, Aysha.” Dr. Jessup peered at her watch, her expression hardening. “The sixty seconds are up in three… two… one… obice converso!”

  The iridescent bubble protecting the ten of them vanished, just as a small, shiny purple object flew through the air toward them. Iris caught the W-stone, and she and Torrence began working on it immediately, their heads bent close together. Beyond, the robin resumed its flight. The president resumed his speech. The crowd resumed its clapping and cheering. And at the edge of the crowd, ShadowKnight was digging frant
ically through his pockets.

  “Aunt Viola, is the portal ready?” Ridley asked nervously.

  “I need another minute, darling girl,” Aunt Viola replied. She waved her hands in the air and muttered under her breath.

  Just then, ShadowKnight pivoted back and forth, scanning the crowd. Eventually, he turned, his gaze locked onto the alleyway where Ridley and the others stood. He dropped his HUMANS FIRST sign and began running toward them, his face radiating fury.

  “Aunt Viola?” Ridley nudged.

  “Let me help you,” Dr. Jessup said to Viola. “The rest of you… can you slow him down, please?”

  “I can do that,” Div replied, stepping forward. “Modero!”

  Her spell had its desired effect, and ShadowKnight’s steps faltered to a walk. But then his lips moved, and he began running again. Obviously, he had some sort of counterspell.

  “We think we’ve got it!” Torrence said, holding up the W-stone.

  “It’s my supreme honor to sign this bill before you today,” the president was saying on the main stage. He picked up a pen and held it over a black binder.

  “Deploy it… now!” Dr. Jessup commanded.

  Torrence handed the stone to Iris. “You should do the honors.”

  “W-stone, go!” Iris shouted, flinging it toward the crowd.

  The purple stone fell to the ground and burst into flames, or rather, a massive cloud of energy. Soon, the cloud broke into slender silver threads that flew, sizzling and sparking through the air. They sought out and landed on all the New Order symbols—on shoulder patches, on T-shirts, on signs.

  And on the president’s lapel.

  Ridley held her breath. Would this crazy plan work? Or would it fail miserably, and they would all be arrested on the spot?

  The president looked stunned for a moment. And then he gazed at the pen in his hand and at the black binder. He set down the pen and closed the binder.

  “As I was saying, it’s time for a change,” he announced. “It’s time to heal the divisions between humans and witches. We must learn to coexist.”