by Celeste Raye
“Yes, well, what are we going to do? Does anyone else feel the same way about it?”
“I don’t think anyone else heard your premonition or what all was said. They just see a chance for a little adventure, and most are jumping on the chance.”
“Maybe we could talk some sense into him?”
Fred shook his head sadly. “I don’t really think that is an option right now. That’s not Broch. I mean it is, but it’s not. You know?”
Cira agreed. “Yes, I do, unfortunately.”
Cira was feeling guilty because she had denied him help. He’d asked for it, wanted her to come back to the clan house, but she’d refused. If Cira would have been there, would he have still been taken over?
Broch wanted to stop Cira, as soon as he saw her at the door. There was no way that he could say anything though. Marl had made sure of that. She was not going to let him have control of any of his body. Broch was under her spell, and there was nothing he could do about it.
So, when the door burst open, his heart flopped in his chest, and he heard Marl laughing. Broch did not know if the sound was coming from his mind, or if she was actually laughing out loud.
“So, you are the little witch that couldn't keep her nose out of my business?”
Cira agreed that's what she was. She eyed the witch that was aging now.
“And you're the witch that needs to be put down like a dog, from what I hear.”
Cira had several of his clan behind her, and his fear only intensified. It's not like he could stop any of it from happening. All he could do was yell inside his head and listen to the evil witch laugh hysterically. It got so loud at some point that Broch was having a hard time understanding and hearing what was going on around him.
“You made a mistake coming here, little girl.”
Broch watched in horror as Marl threw a lightning bolt at Cira, as well as Fred. None of this would have happened if he would have just listened. Or if he would have never met Marl to begin with.
He was blaming himself and watching helplessly as they were attacked. Both of them flew backward and Broch was sure that they were both dead. No one could have survived that.
Marl giggled and looked at the other shifters that we're watching it all happen.
She looked over to Broch and told him to get his clan in order.
“Tell them to heel, Broch, or I will get rid of your whole clan. I don't need them. I need you.”
Broch was able to say a few words, but it was only the words that the witch wanted him to say. He would have agreed to it anyway, just to keep them safe.
“You didn't have to kill them.”
“I certainly didn't have to leave them alive. I don't need either one of them for anything. I need you, and that's only because of who you are and how strong you are. There are others that can replace you. I could get rid of the whole Clendon clan and no one would bat an eye. You really need to think about what you want to leave behind.
Broch was thinking about a lot of things, but there was no point in arguing with Marl. He had certainly already learned his lesson about that. He couldn't win, no matter how hard he tried.
“Can we just go? If you don't need them, let's just get out of here and get to whatever you have planned.”
Marl seemed to consider it for a moment, but instead of agreeing to anything, she just started throwing fireballs in the direction of the clan that was retreating. He heard a few of them yell and scream, but Broch was not able to check on them. He wasn't able to do anything but to follow the witch out of the house.
“Now you can change, Broch. It would be easier if you could just give me a ride. I don't want to run or walk that far.”
Just like she had made him change out of his bear form, Marl made him change again. He was devastated by all of the events he was leaving behind. Broch didn’t know if he wanted to go on.
Not only was his cousin dead, but Cira as well. The girl that had an innocent crush on him and the one that he had pushed back so many times. Of course, now that she was gone and it wasn't an option anymore, Broch started to see Cira for who she truly was. She was a beautiful woman that he should have paid more attention to. That was a mistake that he was never going to be able to live down, if he was able to live anything down, considering his present company.
Broch tried to push it all away. It didn’t matter. It was over, and there was nothing that he was going to be able to do about it. What was done, was done, and now Broch had to figure out a way to go on. He wasn’t going to be able to think about the past. It was dead now, just like Cira and any hope he had of something real.
Chapter Eleven
Cira woke up slowly, and it felt like every part of her body was hurting. She looked over to see that Fred was right next to her. After a moment, she was able to get her wits together, and she went to check the man to see if he had a pulse. Cira was worried that he didn't. There was something in the way he was laying on the floor. His neck was at an odd angle, and she knew pretty quickly that he was gone.
She sat up and looked around the hallway where she had been attacked. There were two other bodies behind her, and they looked about as bad off as Fred did. She checked them too, just to make sure that they were actually dead, and then went outside to see if she could find anybody else. There was no one else in the house, and there was no one else around it. Cira had this eerie feeling that they thought that she was dead as well. Cira just hoped that there was more of the Clendon clan still alive.
Her mind went to Broch, and she felt a stabbing pain in her heart. She had always had feelings for Broch, even when she was far too young to even be taken seriously. Even though Cira knew that there was no way the two of them could be together back then, she had always held out some bit of hope.
Cira felt like fate was involved with the two of them. She’d had a few visions that lined up with her idea that he was the man she was meant to be with. Now, she was wondering if everything she had seen and believed in her life was wrong. Maybe her mother was right, and her visions were off.
But that couldn’t be. She had said that there would be an end to the Clendon clan, and it would come from a witch. She hadn't known that it would be ten years later, but it felt like the exact moment that she had warned him about.
With no one around to help or bounce ideas off of, Cira decided that she was going to have to take a trip. It was the same trip she had been thinking about earlier, but now it seemed even more necessary. They had to find out who Marl Stein was and what she was capable of.
The pain in her body told her that she was rather strong, so she didn't need the stories to prove that. Fred’s dead body attested to that strength. Cira just needed to know how in the hell she was supposed to stop a witch as strong and powerful as Marl was.
It all seemed impossible, but Cira was going to do her best to carry on. She didn’t have another choice.
“Get the door, Connie. I don't know who it is, but I can feel it’s a witch.”
Connie looked up from her book at the woman across from her and she said that she would. She heard the doorbell about the time she was almost there.
“Sure, I’ll get it. Are we expecting anyone?”
Dahlia shrugged. “No, but it feels like it, doesn’t it? I have had this strange feeling for a while, like we’re going to meet the fourth member of our little group.”
Connie was surprised by the information. “The fourth?”
“Yes, all of the information that I have been reading on witch power, we need to have four witches to really be effective. We can start our own coven with four.”
“I thought that we needed twelve or thirteen for a coven?” Connie looked confused, and her hand was poised to open the door.
“No, it’s not about the number per se. It’s more about the power of each one. We are strong enough with the three of us, but I think a fourth will tip us over the edge. Then maybe we won’t have to worry about Marl not dying. Maybe we can finally get her to die this time.�
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Connie just smiled. “Well, that’s a lot to bank on a ringing doorbell, Dahlia.”
“I know, but I am telling you now, this is it.”
Connie didn't quite believe that, but she had to answer the door anyway.
They had lost Marl somehow. No amount of tracking spells or location spells could find her. The only way they were going to get control of the Stein witch that had caused so much trouble for all of them was to take her down.
Connie’s feeling of the witch was getting stronger the longer she stood by the door. She could feel power on the other side, and it sent up an alarm. It wasn't the same as being around Marl, but there was definitely a familiarity that she felt because of it.
The door opened, and on the other side of the door was Cira. She certainly had the look of a witch down pat.
“Yes?”
If Connie wouldn’t have had the feeling, she still would've known. There was just something about Cira that she was immediately drawn to. Suddenly, Connie thought that Dahlia might be right.
“Can I help you?”
“Yes, but I'm not really quite sure how to say this.”
Connie stopped her. “It looks like you have quite a mouthful to say. Why don't you come in and we can discuss it over tea?”
Cira was immediately relieved. “Thank you. I know this is going to be a strange question, because we have never met before, but do you know why I'm here?”
“I do.” Dahlia was standing not too far from the entrance. “Why don't you come inside? I know exactly why you are here, Cira, and you don't know how happy I am to finally meet you.”
Connie and Cira were both confused, but Dahlia seemed to have all the answers. Dahlia looked over at Connie and told her that she had called Jazz over.
“She will be here in a few minutes and then we can get started. I am so happy that you came, Cira.”
“Started?” Cira still was not quite sure what she had walked into, but she wanted answers. It felt like she was going to get them there.
“Yes, you are here to talk about Marl Stein, right? Trust me when we say that we are four women that all have one main goal. If we work together, we can finally stop her once and for all.”
Cira was baffled that not only did they know so much about Marl, but the confidence that the woman displayed that she could actually be stopped.
“I have heard a lot of things about the witch, but I'm not sure what I can believe and what I shouldn't. From what I've been told, it seems like she would be almost impossible to defend myself against.”
Dahlia settled down and decided that a few things could be said before Jazz got there.
“From the start, the best thing you can do is believe everything that you have heard. Not only that, you should also think about the fact that there is probably more to it.”
Cira thanked Connie, who was bringing her something to drink. They both seemed so calm about it, but Cira couldn't be calm. Broch was in the women's grasps, and she did not even know why he had been taken in the first place. She needed answers, and she needed help to get him back.
“That is not at all what I came here to hear. Someone I love, or I care for very deeply, has been taken by her. Not only that, she killed several of his family members and he did nothing about it. She has some sort of spell on him. I've never seen one that was so strong before. Not on a shifter.”
“Yes, the Stein witches have been around for a very long time. She is so old that nobody actually knows how old she is. I don't even think she does anymore. One thing is for certain though: if you are trying to get your boyfriend back, or whoever he is, all you have to do is stay here. This is where she will be coming.”
Cira took a sip of the tea and then asked Dahlia how she knew so much about her. Connie and Dahlia both filled her in a little bit on the situation they had experienced with Marl, until Jazz got there. There was a lot to hear, and Cira could feel herself getting lightheaded. This was far more than she had imagined. Way more than she wanted to think about.
“So, what is she coming here for?”
Dahlia just smiled and shrugged. “She is coming here for the potion of immortality. Marl Stein wants to live forever, and we three have promised and made a pact that we will not let that happen. She has lived long enough.”
Cira didn't know what to say. It was all happening too quickly, and the lightheadedness was coming back, followed by an image.
After a moment, all she saw was black.
When Cira came to, there were three women staring down at her, and it took her a moment to remember where she was and what had put her in that position in the first place. She was fighting back tears, and pain, and too many emotions that were settling in.
“Are you alright?”
Cira did not know the woman who asked the question. She was beautiful, and if she hadn't recognized the other two, she might have thought that she was an angel.
Connie checked her eyes and asked her again if she was okay. Cira nodded her head that she was, asking what happened. She felt strange and woozy.
“I think you fainted. Has that ever happened to you before?”
Cira told Dahlia that it had not happened. She did not remember it anyway. All she remembered was getting overwhelmed, and since Cira had never been in that sort of situation before, she wasn't sure if that was just her body’s way of dealing with the impossible.
She sat up and apologized. Cira did not even want to think about what they thought of her. She came to the door unannounced and came in, asking questions about an evil witch. Then she had gone on to pass out in front of them when they started giving her the news. She was embarrassed and feeling rather weak at the moment.
“Can you help her sit up and tell her that she has no reason to be embarrassed,” Connie came to Cira’s rescue.
“Trust me; we understand all too well what it is like to realize that you have to go up against such a woman. Just be happy that she has been knocked down a bit after she killed her sister. That's why we're so strong and she is getting weaker by the day.”
Cira just shook her head in disbelief. “She has been weakened?”
All three women nodded their heads in unison.
“Yeah, imagine her as she was not too long ago. She used to have all of her sister’s powers, as well her own. Marl Stein used to be invincible; she had the closest thing to immortality that she could get. But now we can defeat her.”
Cira liked the idea of that. But there was another nagging thought in her head.
“Yes, but what was it I heard about an immortality potion? That would certainly dampen the plans of us taking her down.”
Dahlia agreed. “You're right. If she gets ahold of this potion, then it won't just be our heads on the chopping block. That's why I'm so happy you're here. You're going to help us take down one of the strongest witches to ever walk the planet. You think you’re up for it?”
Cira swallowed hard. She wasn't sure if she was or not. But at the end of the day, none of that mattered. While she was worried about Broch and what was happening to him, Cira also started to realize that it wasn’t just her and Broch. Marl was messing with a lot of people. She didn’t have to do it all alone. What a relief.
Chapter Twelve
Broch was miserable. Marl used him for all sorts of things that he didn’t want to do, in and out of the bedroom. He had killed six people under her command, and the countless broken bones that he’d administered finding her an army were more than he wanted to deal with. He wanted her out of his mind, and he wanted control back of his body.
“You are pouting again, Broch. You know that I can hear your thoughts. There is no sense in trying to think of a way to escape. There isn’t one. Plain and simple.”
He tried to settle his mind because he was about to do her bidding again anyway. It wasn't like he could fight her. Broch had been trying relentlessly, until even his soul was tired. He couldn't feel his body as much anymore, like it was getting disconnected. Soon, Broch was sure
that he wouldn't be himself any longer.
Marl Stein kept talking about three witches that she was coming after. They were powerful, and if he had heard her correctly, two of them were family. He didn't understand all of it, and he wasn't even going to try. The old witch was very confident that she was going to find the witches, and then she was going to find exactly what she was looking for.
Broch did not know the three witches that she was going after, but he still found himself thinking about Cira quite a bit. Cira had been innocent in all of it. She had just been trying to help keep his clan safe. He had failed; his clan was in the wind, and Cira was dead. Broch didn’t know which one of those things were worse. There was a pain in his chest that had nothing to do with the witch that was trapped in his body.
“My dear Broch, you really are simple-minded, aren't you?”
He heard the words echoing in his head.
“You're upset, and you're thinking about her because you loved her. It’s so sweet. Too bad it is all for nothing now.”
Broch found the very idea of it laughable, but it didn't matter now. It was time to be in motion, and Broch found himself attacking a fellow shifter that he had never met before. The attacks didn’t make sense. Nothing that had to do with Marl did.
He was restrained just short of killing the man, and he asked her why she did it.
“I wanted to send a message. The three witches and their shifter lovers are hiding from me. They've been in hiding ever since I burned down their last village. As soon as I send a few messages, they will come for me. They will think that they are on the offensive, but unbeknownst to them, I will be on the defense the whole time. We will let up on the spell I have on us to keep us from being found, and then they will come right to us.”
“You really think that will work?”
Marl agreed mentally. “Of course, I do. I always get what I want.”
Broch didn’t comment either way. He was trying his best to understand what was going on around him. The shifter was practically dead when he was done, but it wasn't even like it was him anymore. He was just a spectator in all of this. This was the Marl Stein Show. He was just a player in her game.
