Anarchy Rising

by Nicole Coverdale

  “But isn’t it getting a little cold for that?” Sky asked, glancing out as the snow blew outside. “I mean, it is October.”

  “Oh my! October! That means it’s almost Halloween!” Connor glanced at Sherilyn. “Mom, we’ve gotta start decorating for Halloween!”

  “Which means, you need to get the decorations out of the attic,” Stella said, as she rushed to the door, dressed in her scrubs, and reached for her coat.

  “You decorate for Halloween?” Sky asked.

  “Oh yeah!” Winston cried. “We make a day whole day out of it. The kids really enjoy it.”

  “But if you’re not up to it, we understand,” Sherilyn told him. “I know it’s a lot to take in.”

  “No. I thinkI’d like to experience, plus I’d like to meet everyone. The kids, your wives, your husband.” He glanced at you. “What about you? Are you married?”

  Connor laughed. “Oh, no! She is still very much single, much to mother’s dismay.”

  “Well, she is getting older!” Sherilyn cried, in her defense. She should at least think about settling down and having kids one of these days.”

  “Gee, Mom, thanks.” Stella stuck her tongue out at her mother. “Why am I the one who gets picked on? What about Sky?”

  “for all we know, he could be married,” Connor pointed out.

  “And with six kids!” Winston added.

  “God, I hope not!” Sky said, holding a hand to his heart, his heartbeat spiking at the thought of having six kids. I would go insane! “So, what else happens on Family Sunday,” he finally said, changing the subject.

  “Oh yeah. Right.” Connor laughed. “Well, like I said, we come home and play games, even though I think we’ll be playing games downstairs at Mom’s. There’s an air hockey table, a pool table, and so many board games! After that, we do something in the kitchen. Since it’s so close to Halloween, we’ll probably make Halloween cookies, then we top it off with a big feast before going home for the night.”

  “It sounds like a lot of work,” Sky said, eyeing everyone in the room. “And we’re going to put up Halloween decorations?”

  “Damn right we are!” Winston cried. “This is the best Family Sunday of the year!”

  “Alrighty then,” Sky said, waving his hands in the air. “I get it. I got it. Sorry, I asked.”

  Everyone laughed, and Sky smiled, staring at them suddenly thinking about how much he had missed out on. Where had he been for the last thirty years? Why wasn’t he dead, like they said he had been? How was he alive? And most of all… why couldn’t he remember anything? He could feel something trying to break free… but what? What was it? What was he forgetting about?”

  “So you’re up for it tomorrow, then?” Connor asked, breaking into his thoughts.

  “Absolutely!” Sky said. “I’m looking forward to it.”

  “Us too,” Connor said, glancing at his watch. “But I gotta go. I can’t leave the wife alone with the kids too long. She’ll go crazy!”

  “And I’ve got to get to the hospital,” Stella said, rushing past Connor, and out into the cold. “Bye Sky! Bye, Mom! I’ll see you tomorrow!”

  “I’ve gotta go too,” Winston said. “We’ve got a toddler, who definitely is in his terrible two’s. I know it’s going to be a long night. See you in the A.M!”

  The door slammed shut, silence filling the house, and Sky glanced at his mother. “Now what?”

  “Now we do dishes,” Sherilyn said, rolling her sleeves up. “You want to wash or dry?”

  Chapter 20

  “Let me go!” Josslyn shouted as she jerked free from the demon, digging her fingers into his eyes.

  “Agh!” The mud-covered demon screamed, his hold loosening on her, and Josslyn broke free. She dove upward, breaking free from the quicksand and letting out a long breath. “Woo! That was a battle!”

  “Josslyn! You’re alive!” Jorja cried as she struggled against the demon as he tried to take her under. “Watch out! Behind you!”

  “You didn’t really expect me to leave you and the rest of our sisters behind now, did you?” Josslyn asked, as she jerked her elbow back and striking the demon in the gut. He grunted, stumbling back and falling into the mud, and Josslyn took that moment to lunge forward, grabbing the log sticking out of the sand and slinging it around, striking the demon across the hand. “Come on!” She cried, struggling through the quicksand and grabbing Jorja by the hand. “We gotta go!”

  “But what about Jasmine?”

  “Jasmine!” Josslyn glanced over her shoulder, as she and Jorja broke free from the sand, scampering up onto the sand. Her heart thumping loudly in her chest, as Jasmine struggled against the demons trying to pull her under. “Jasmine, hold on!” She lifted her head, searching left, then right, then her eyes caught sight of the rope dangling from the trees. “I’m coming!”

  “Josslyn! What do you think you’re doing?’ Jorja asked, grabbing her arm, as she started to climb up the tree. “You can’t! It won’t work!”

  “You underestimate me, Jorja,” Josslyn said, shrugging Jorja’s hand off of her, and climbing the tree. She reached her hand up, grasping the branch, and pulled her self up. Her foot slid, and she gasped, her fingers tightening around the thick branch. She gritted her teeth, pulling herself up, and reaching for the next branch. A bird swung down, and she ducked, before reaching a hand and grabbing a hold of the rope. “Got it!”

  “Josslyn, I don’t think this is a very good idea!” Jorja shouted. “You’re full of quicksand! You could fall and hurt yourself!”

  “Oh, would you quit worrying, and just let me do this!” Josslyn yelled, rolling her eyes as she grabbed the rope. She yanked on it, nodding when it didn’t break, from where it was tied around the bark of the tree. “Good. We’re steady. Now, let’s go!” She let out a shout, swinging from the tree, her body propelling toward the quicksand where Jasmine was fighting off the demons. “Jasmine, stick out your hand!”

  “That’s never going to work!” Jorja shouted.

  “Shut up, Jorja!” Josslyn shouted as she swung downward. She extended her hand out, her hand wrapping around Jasmine’s, and pulling her free from the quicksand.

  “Oh my God! I can’t believe that worked!” Jasmine cried as they swung over the red stream of water.

  “Did you really ever doubt me?” Josslyn asked, grinning, as she glanced down at her sister.

  “Well, I did for a minute. I thought you two were leaving me!”

  “I would never leave you behind. Josslyn, the water!”

  “I know. Keep your feet up. If you let it touch you, you’ll lose your soul.”

  “Where did you hear that?”

  “From Gramps.”

  “Gramps?”

  “It’s a long story, now hold on.”

  Jasmine nodded, wrapping her arms around her sister, as they swung backward. “Now, jump!”

  They let go of the rope, falling to the sand.

  “Agh!” Jasmine groaned, rising to her feet, and wiping her hands down her pants. “This is just gross!” She cried as she stared down at her clay-covered body.

  “Oh my God! Jasmine! Josslyn!” Jorja raced forward, engulfing them both in hugs. “I can’t believe that worked!” she cried, glancing over at Josslyn. “How did you know that would work?”

  “I used to bungee jump when I was younger,” Josslyn said. “I loved the thrill, and I went with Gramps, who was as much of a thrill-seeker as I was. I remember something about the speed and the velocity giving you power. I knew it would give me what I needed to save Jasmine.”

  “I used to bungee jump!” Jorja cried, staring at Josslyn. “I knew I liked you for a reason!”

  “Maybe when all of this is over, we’ll go together,” Josslyn said.

  “I’d like that,” Jorja said. “Now come on, we gotta go! We’ve only got a few hours to get this sapphire!”

  “And the girls!”

  They turned, racing across the sand.

  “Hey, Joss, did you re
ally see Gramps?” Jasmine asked as she raced after her sister. “Or were you just messing with me?”

  “No, I saw him,” Josslyn said, glancing over at Jasmine, grinning. “I wouldn’t lie about something like that. He showed me something important.”

  “Like what?” Jorja asked as she jogged up next to Josslyn.

  “What life would be like if I died.”

  “What?” Jorja and Jasmine pulled her to a stop, whipping her around.

  “Josslyn, what the hell!”

  “Explain yourself!”

  “Okay, okay, Jeesh!” Josslyn held her hands up in surrender. “Do you remember just a little while ago, when I said that it didn’t matter what we did because we were going to die here?”

  “Yeah. So?”

  “Well, I actually believed we were going to die here,” Josslyn said. “Ever since we’ve become witches, I’ve felt this clock ticking, like our time is running short, and with all these things happening in our lives. The girls getting kidnapped constantly, the demons we’ve had to face. Remember Tony, Satan, the spider demon…”

  “And don’t forget the evil witch!” Jasmine added.

  “And of course Liam and the sapphire,” Jorja put in.

  “Exactly! It’s like our lives just get put on hold every time a supernatural crisis comes up. I don’t even have time to get my damned P.I. License!”

  “You’ll get it, Joss.”

  “When?” Josslyn snapped, turning to glare at her two sisters. “I was so excited when I bought that office, guys. I was going to do something with my life. Something good, and just for a second, when that demon was pulling me under I thought, what if I don’t fight. What if I just let him take me?”

  “Then what?”

  “I saw Gramps. He was like a guardian angel or something.”

  “Or like a ghost.”

  “You know, that sounds more accurate,” Josslyn said, laughing. “And what he showed me was so freaky! Like everyone was miserable!”

  “How so?”

  “Well, you and Sky were divorced,” Josslyn said, nodding to Jasmine. “And had a kid!”

  “You saw Sky?”

  “Yes, but remember, this is a totally different reality, Jasmine.”

  “But we had a kid?”

  Josslyn nodded. “A young girl, who looked just like you! And you were drinking. You’d lost your job.”

  “But I barely drink!”

  “Exactly what I said! And Josi…” She trailed off, not wanting to think about it.

  “What about Josi?”

  “She was dead!” Josslyn cried, tears filling her eyes at just the thought. “Jami and Jessi had moved on with their lives, but Josi, she turned to drugs after my death. She killed herself!” She slowed to a stop, lifting a hand to her mouth. “It was horrible!”

  “But it wasn’t real, Joss,” Jorja whispered, stopping, and pulling Josslyn in for a hug. “She’s still alive.”

  “I know, but it was so real!” Josslyn cried. “And Julie, she was evil, with two demon sons! And Jade, she never moved on. She never found love, she never opened her restaurant, and you…”

  “What about me?”

  “You died!”

  “What? How?”

  “Fighting to save me from the vampires.”

  “Well, at least I died a noble cause,” Jorja muttered.

  “Ah, guys.” Jasmine interrupted them, pointing just above them. “We have company.”

  “The beetles,” Josslyn said, wrinkling her nose. “Let’s be quiet. Very, very quiet. I don’t want them to hear us.”

  “The same goes for Liam,” Jorja said, as they disappeared into the bushes, weaving through trees. “Oh, look,” she said, pointing to the blue light illuminating just a few dozen feet before them. “It’s the sapphire.”

  “And just what are we going to do, once we get our hands on it?” Jasmine asked, panting.

  “Well, destroy it of course,” Josslyn said, rolling her eyes. “What else are we going to do with it.”

  “Josslyn, we can’t just destroy it!” Jorja cried. “I’ve been looking for this stone my whole life!”

  “You’re going to… eek!” Josslyn suddenly let out a screech, as a branch swung toward her.

  “Die, you monster!”

  She ducked, grabbing a hold of the branch, locking eyes with eyes so familiar to her own. “Jami?”

  “Mom?”

  “Oh my God! Jami!” Josslyn wrapped her arms around her daughter, pressing her cheek to her dark, auburn hair, tears filling her eyes. “I am so glad to see you!”

  “Us too,” Jessi said, hugging Jasmine, Jorja, then finally, Josslyn. She eyed their gray covered skin. “But what happened to you?”

  “That’s a story for later,” Josslyn told her. “I have been so worried about you! How did you get free?”

  “Jessi got us out,” Jami told her. “Her brain… it kind of exploded.”

  “What!”

  “Jami, you can’t just say it like that!” Jessi cried, jabbing Jami with her elbow. “I was in everyone’s head,” she told her mother and aunts. “And it was too much, the pain, and the glass capsules holding me kind of exploded.”

  “What about Josi and Jordyn?”

  “They were on the other side of the meadow. I couldn’t reach them, and then Liam showed up. He sent those beetles after us, that’s why we’re here. We were going to go get them. We figured we’d have a better chance of setting them free at night.”

  “We had a similar thought too,” Jorja said, nodding to the sapphire as it lay in the middle of the torches. “And we need to get that thing, but I’ve just got this feeling that the moment I touch that thing, some sort of alarm is going to go off.”

  “Which is why we need to do this right,” Jasmine said. “Jessi, Jami, why don’t you come with me and we’ll get the girls. You two…” She pointed at Josslyn and Jorja. “Go get the sapphire.”

  “I think you’re turning into Jade,” Josslyn said, eyeing Jasmine. “That was very authoritative.”

  “Oh, will you just shut up?” Jorja asked, rolling her eyes and shoving forward. Come on, let’s go!”

  They split up, Jasmine, Jami, and Jessi hurrying toward the glass capsules.

  “I can’t believe you guys were stuck in there,” Jasmine said, shuddering, as she stared at the glass capsule. “It looks so claustrophobic!”

  “Oh, it was,” Jami said, stopping and staring up at her sister as she was held captive inside. “There’s no ladder!”

  “We’ll just have to make our own,” Jasmine said, dropping to her hands and knees. “Jessi, climb on up!”

  “Ooh, it’s like a pyramid for cheerleading!” Jami cried as she climbed up on Jessi. “But we’re a little short!”

  “Maybe I can help?”

  “Mark! Oh my God! I completely forgot about you!” Jami cried. “Come on! Climb on up!”

  And who is this?” Jasmine asked, gritting her teeth from the weight of her nieces. Oh, they had better hurry up.

  “A hybrid that Liam kidnapped to experiment on.”

  “I hate that God,” Jasmine muttered. “But will you guys hurry up? This is not good on my back!”

  “Mine either!” Jessi cried.

  “Up I go!”

  Mark scrambled up, stepping up on Jami’s back, and wrapping his hands around the wooden walkway. He pulled himself up and flipped the lock, the door to the glass capsule flinging open.

  “Oh, thank God!” Josi cried, breaking free from the white goo that had risen halfway up the capsule. “In just a few minutes, I would have been drowning in poisonous beetle slop!” She scampered across the wooden walkway, stopping in front of the capsule holding Jordyn, and glancing at her mother. “You ready?”

  “Almost!” Jorja cried, ducking underneath the red laser beam, and somersaulting over another.

  “I am so glad you decided to do this,” Josslyn muttered, as she watched her sister. “I think I would have set off the alarm on the first laser
beam.”

  “Exactly the reason I’m doing this,” Jorja said, as she tiptoed over another laser beam, and did the limbo over the last, stopping in front of the sapphire. “Hello, beautiful,” she whispered, staring at the sapphire as it glowed.

  “Jorja!”

  “Right.” She glanced over at Jorja. “One. Tow. Three!” She grabbed the sapphire off the pedestal, just as Josi flipped the door to the capsule holding Jordyn. “Now, run!” she shouted, as the ground shook, and a loud, blaring noise filled their ears. “They’re coming!”

  Chapter 21

  “What is that?” Jade asked as she leaned forward, glancing over Alana’s shoulder at the green depths of the liquid dripping down the sides of the cauldron

  “One of my potions,” Alana said, as she dipped the syringe into the liquid, dropping a couple of drops onto the book. She stared down at the book as if mesmerized. “So this is your magical book, huh?”

  “Yup. It’s been passed down from generation to generation.”

  “I’ve heard about this thing,” Alana said, glancing over at Jade. “For centuries, demonic beings have been talking about an ancient book, more powerful then anything the underworld has ever seen. They say it’s worth dying for.”

  “Lots of demons have been trying to get their hands on the book for centuries,” Jade said. “Apparently, if evil gets a hold of it, everything could change.” She watched the green liquid roll over the cover, the symbol flashing across the cover, the brightness of the J’s glowing almost blinding her. “Whoa!” She shielded her eyes, blinking. “I see it! The symbol!”

  “Yup. It’s there,” Alana said, “It’s faint, but it’s thee. Looks like something’s blocking your magic…” She trailed off, suddenly jumping back, as ricocheted from the book. “What’s that?”

  “It’s the book’s way of protecting itself from evil,” Jade said, watching as the book shook, a hole opening up underneath it and swallowing it whole. “Hey!” She raced forward. “Where did it go?” She asked, jerking around to look at Alana. “What did you do with it?”

  “What do you mean, what did I do with it? It just disappeared!”