Bound by Magic

by Nicole Coverdale

  “Whoa. That’s it?” she asked, glancing over her shoulder at Josslyn. “That’s where that thing came out of?”

  “Yes, and the beetles,” Josslyn said, as they neared the hole. She stared down into the dark depths, swallowing. “Julie, I think I’m having second thoughts about this. I don’t want to go down there!”

  “Neither do I!” Julie cried. “But Josslyn, your daughters are in danger. We need to know what’s down there. We need to know what’s going on!”

  “Right.” Josslyn sighed, closing her eyes. She placed her hand on the ground, ice zinging from her fingers, and made a ladder all the way down into the depths of darkness.

  “Well, that’s one way to get down there,” Julie muttered, rolling her eyes. “That’s so cool!”

  “Yeah, yeah. I know. I have the coolest power in the world,” Josslyn muttered, as she started down the ladder. “I heard your power is growing too.”

  “Yup. I dream things now,” Julie said, waiting for Josslyn to disappear, and quickly following after her. She shivered, the coldness of the ladder piercing through her hand, and she gritted her teeth. Now be careful, Julie. This is very slippery! “I had no idea a thing such as the wasteland existed!”

  “You and me both,” Josslyn said, sighing. “But if it wasn’t for your dream, we would’ve never known about Dad, or Liam.”

  “Liam.” Julie narrowed her eyes. “Do you think it’s true? What that God said? That Sky’s…”

  “Let’s not think about that,” Josslyn said, cutting her off. “I can’t think about that right now.” She couldn’t think about anything, other than the task at hand. If she did, she would certainly break down. Her daughters were missing! Taken by killer insects, for a ritual none of them knew anything about. Not to mention there was a God, who was hell bent on getting rid of them. What was he going to do? They were the strongest witches of all time! He couldn’t just get rid of them!

  She blew out another breath, dropping to the ground underneath her, and waiting for Julie to join her. “Okay, we’re down here. Where do we go next?” she asked, pointing her flashlight.

  “Josslyn!” Julie grabbed her by the arm, lowering her hand. “They’ll see us!”

  “We don’t even know who they are!” Josslyn snapped, but flicked off her flashlight, and walked along the tunnel. She brushed her hand along the dirt wall, cocking her head. “I think I hear something.”

  “Yeah, squeaking,” Julie said, pointing up above them, to where the large beetles were. “What are they doing?”

  “Sleeping, I think,” Josslyn said, cringing, as the beetles hovered above them. “But I hear something else. Chanting.”

  Julie nodded. “I hear it too.” She peered around the corner, glancing over Josslyn’s shoulder, her eyes widening when she saw the five, horned demons gathered around a rectangular table as they chanted. Her eyes zoning in on the glass containers around the edge of the room. “Oh my God.”

  “What?”

  “Look.” Julie pointing to the glass capsule lying on the wall, behind the demons. “It’s Satan!”

  “They pulled him out of the wasteland?” Josslyn asked, as she stared at the glass container holding the demon. “What do they need him for?”

  “The ritual?” Julie asked. “But he’s not the only demon that’s been pulled from the wasteland, Joss. Look, there’s Tony, the evil witch, and…”

  “And Dad,” Josslyn said, finishing her sentence. “But there’s someone missing, Julie.”

  “Who?”

  “Elijah.”

  Julie bit her lip, not responding.

  “Julie?”

  “How do I know?” she snapped, quickly lowering her voice, so the demons wouldn’t hear her. “It’s not like I know what they’re doing.”

  “Right. Sorry.” Josslyn stared at the demons, suddenly wondering about that thing she had seen in the hole earlier. Who had been down here?

  “Josslyn, look.” Julie pointed, as a loud thump echoed through the area. They turned their heads, staring at the large, gray monster with tentacles as it neared the table.

  “So, did you find it yet?” the beast asked, turning to stare at the demons around the table. “Did you find the sapphire?”

  “No, sir, not yet,” one of the demons said, turning to look at the beast as he stared at them. “The witches are foiling our attempts.”

  “Even with all of this black magic here!” the beast shouted, his voice rippling through the air. The ground shook, and everyone startled.

  “There’s not enough of it, sir. We’re missing a key ingredient.”

  “Of course. Elijah,” the demon said, sighing. He turned, walking in front of the glass containers around the room, stopping to stare at Satan. “Something’s not right,” he said, softly, tapping a tentacle against his head. “Something’s off.”

  “You don’t think he’s dead?”

  “I think that witch, might have fooled all of us. Including her sisters,” the demon said. “And because of that, the ritual cannot be completed. Because of that, I will not be able to release my brother!” He let out a shout. “I need food!” His gray tentacles shot out, grasping the young girl lying on the floor at his feet, sucking the blood from her. “Oh, the power!”

  “Oh my God!” Julie clapped a hand over her mouth, feeling sick.

  “His brother?” Josslyn asked, averting her gaze. “Julie, what is he talking about?”

  “Hell if I know.”

  “Hey. Do you smell that?” One of the horned demons sniffed. “I smell…”

  “A witch.” The demon said, letting go of the girl, her body falling limp and sniffing as well, his eyes zeroing in on them as they peered around the corner. “There! Get them!”

  “Julie! Run!” Josslyn shouted, grabbing Julie by the hand, and racing down the tunnel. “The ladder! It’s…”

  “It melted!” Julie cried, sliding to a stop, and glancing over her shoulder at the demons as they raced after them. “Joss…”

  “There’s no way out!” Josslyn cried, as they backed up, their backs hitting the wall of the tunnel as the demons neared them. “Julie…” She grabbed her hand, closing her eyes, and then they disappeared in a reign of ice.

  “Josslyn! You just teleported!” Julie cried, as they appeared back inside the house, staring at Josslyn in shock. “Did you know you could do that?”

  “Not at all!” Josslyn cried. “I just felt this insane need to get away, and then suddenly, I just could!”

  “Well, I guess my power’s not the only one that’s growing,” Julie muttered, turning, and hurrying up the stairs.

  “Hey, Julie! Where are you going?”

  “To the book! I need to read up on that myth. There’s got to be something about this brother, and those demons.”

  “But we should talk to Jade, and the others!”

  “You call them. I’m going to get the book.”

  “Wait.” Josslyn hurried after Julie, slamming the door shut behind her. She regarded her sister. “Julie, about what they said about you down there…”

  “Forget it. It doesn’t matter.”

  “They basically just called you a liar, Julie! Are you really going to stand there as if it doesn’t matter?”

  Julie sighed, opening the book, and flipping through the pages. “Well, there’s something I have to tell you.”

  “There you guys are!” Leslie appeared in a ray of light next to them. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you!”

  “Did you find Sky?”

  Leslie shook her head. “No. I’ve been in contact with the other Gods, and the angels, but no one seems to know anything. They’ve disappeared from the face of the earth. But that’s not why I’ve been looking for you. It seems that whoever is looking to resurrect Cyrus, is collecting the demons you’ve vanquished.”

  “Yes, we know,” Josslyn said, glancing over Julie’s shoulder as she flipped through the book. “We saw them.”

  “You saw them? Where?”

&nb
sp; “Where I first saw that monster, but it wasn’t Cyrus, it was his brother.”

  “His brother?”

  “Yes. Mathias,” Julie said, stabbing a finger at the page. “Cyrus’s brother, way back in the time the sapphire was scattered. It says here, that Mathias was sentenced to death years ago, before Cyrus was even born. He was the son of Melinda’s father…” she trailed off. “Which means he was Melinda’s brother!”

  “And I thought our family was screwed up,” Josslyn muttered. “Look. It says that Mathias grew up in the castle with his father, years before Melinda was even born. He was to inherit the throne, but he was banished from the castle on his eighteenth birthday.”

  “Why?”

  “Something about killing… his own brother,” Julie whispered. “Another offspring of the King. He was more adept to the ways of the castle, and he was the King’s favorite. Mathias was livid over it and took Daniel for a ride. He…” She shook her head. “I can’t say it.”

  “He knocked him off his horse, tied him up to the trees, and watched, while the wolves ate him,” Leslie said, shuddering. “Oh! What a way to die.”

  “And he brought the bones back to his father,” Julie said. “Eew! That’s just gross!”

  “Agreed,” Josslyn said. “It says here, that Mathias was kept in seclusion for years. No one knew of him. Not Cyrus, not Melinda, until the day Cyrus’s mother died. On her death bed, she told him about Mathias, and that’s when Cyrus found his brother in the dungeon. Dead, from years of starvation and neglect. It was that moment he decided he wanted to get revenge for his brother, which is why he sought the sapphire of Raj.”

  “But how did Mathias get resurrected?” Julie asked, leaning forward.

  “By these,” Josslyn said, pointing to the identical horned demons they’d seen in the pit. “They’re called Scrivers. There was a group of them, back in the time when all of this went down. Demons, loyal to Cyrus’s family. They did everything they could to save the boys, but it wasn’t enough, but there was a prophecy. In the year, 2019, when Saturn is at its closest to earth, a spell shall be cast to free the brothers from entombment.”

  “That was yesterday!” Julie cried.

  “Yes, and it says here, if the sapphire is put together, and enchanted with the greatest of all evil, the brothers will be fully restored and able to claim what is rightfully theirs.”

  “The hidden city.”

  “Yup.”

  “Well, then I guess, we’d better go find this sapphire!” Julie cried, slamming the book closed. “They can’t get to the hidden city! If they do, history will be re-written, wait…” she stopped, frowning. “Cyrus was a scientist, Josslyn. A scientist who specialized in exorcisms. Do you think that’s what Liam wants from him? His research?”

  “Maybe, but we don’t have time to think about that, Julie!” Josslyn cried. “We have to get to Jade and the others. They have no idea who and all is after this sapphire!”

  “But you can’t go after the sapphire!” Leslie cut in. “If you put it back together, and any of those demons get a hold of it…”

  “We’ll do everything to assure that doesn’t happen,” Josslyn said, knowing exactly what the angel was going to say. “Julie, come on. We have to go,” she said, grabbing her by the arm. “But before we do, I need to ask you something.”

  “What?”

  “Is Elijah… alive?”

  Julie stared at Josslyn, suddenly not knowing what to say. What could she say? Should she lie… again? Josslyn would understand, wouldn’t she? After all, Elijah was the father of her children.

  “Julie, I asked you a question,” Josslyn said, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “Is Elijah really dead?”

  Julie sighed. “No.”

  “What?” Josslyn’s eyes grew wide. “But Julie! I saw you throw the potion! How could he still be alive?”

  “Because I said a spell in my head, before I tossed the potion,” Julie said, finally coming clean, feeling as if a weight were lifting off her shoulders. “Josslyn, you guys left me with no choice. He was my husband! The father of my child.” She held a and to her stomach, feeling love for the child growing inside of her. “And you guys were asking me to do the impossible. To choose between you or him. I couldn’t choose!”

  “He was a demon, Julie!” Josslyn cried. “A demon trying to kill us! Who nearly killed my children!”

  “And he apologized for that,” Julie said. “You don’t know him the way I do, Josslyn.”

  “And you don’t know him the way I do!” Josslyn snapped. “He’s conniving, and he’ll use you, Julie. It’s what he does. He’s not trustworthy, or worth of your time!”

  “That’s my decision to make,” Julie said, softly. “But it doesn’t matter. I don’t want anything to do with him anymore, Josslyn. He broke my trust, when he took my memories, and lied to me. I could never trust him.”

  “So he’ll just come after us… again,” Josslyn muttered. “Perfect.”

  “Josslyn, I was hoping you would understand.”

  “Well, I don’t,” Josslyn told her. “I don’t understand any of it, Julie! I’m trying to. I really am, but I don’t understand how you can love someone like that. How you can lie to us. How… oh man. Jade is going to blow a gasket when she finds out.”

  “I’m not going to tell her.”

  “You have to!” Josslyn cried. “The whole point of this prophecy is to use the greatest of evils. The evils, that we fought, and without Elijah there’s a void in the prophecy. A prophecy only the greatest of evils…” She froze suddenly, staring at Julie. “You.”

  “What?”

  “You! You’re the evil that’s missing for the prophecy!” Josslyn cried. “You have the devil’s child inside of you. You have a darkness in you none of us can understand.”

  “But I don’t want to tap into the darkness!”

  “Then let’s keep it that way,” Josslyn said, grabbing her by the hand. “Come on. Let’s go.”

  “Where?”

  “To keep this prophecy from happening.”

  “Do you see it?” Jorja asked, several hours later, as she squinted through the binoculars at the top of the lighthouse.

  “I don’t see anything,” Jade said, squinting through her own binoculars. “It’s so dark!”

  “I told you we should have waited until tomorrow,” Jasmine said, crossing her arms in front of her chest, and tapping her foot anxiously against the floor. “We won’t be able to do anything now.”

  “Jasmine…” Jade trailed off, her mouth dropping open, as a reign of icicles rippled through the lighthouse. Julie and Josslyn appearing before them. “Joss?”

  “You’re not the only one who can teleport anymore, sis,” Josslyn said, grinning at Jade’s shocked expression. “But enough of that we have something to tell you. About this whole mess we’re in.”

  “What?”

  “Well, in order for Cyrus to become human again, he needs the sapphire and the girls.”

  “Well, we know that.”

  “And in order to get to the hidden city, the sapphire needs to be put back together, charged with the darkest of evils. Which is why, they have taken the darkest of evils from the wasteland.”

  “You’re not saying…”

  “They’re going to use the power of all the demons we have defeated,” Julie said.

  “But that would include… everyone we ever fought!” Jasmine cried. “Including Satan!”

  “And the witch,” Jade added.

  “And Elijah,” Jorja said.

  “Ah. Not exactly,” Josslyn said, glancing at Julie. “You’d better tell them, or I will.”

  “Tell us what?”

  “That I didn’t really vanquish Elijah,” Julie said, softly.

  “You what?”

  Jade’s eyes grew wide. “Julie, we saw you throw that potion! There’s no way he could have ever survived that!”

  “He could, if she said a spell beforehand,” Jorja said, glancing at Juli
e. “Right, Julie?”

  Julie nodded. “Yes, but when I said the spell, I ended up sending him to the wasteland anyways. The Scrivers, who are the ones who took them from the wasteland, must have opened some sort of vortex, and he escaped.”

  “So he’s just out there? And you lied to us?” Jade asked, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “Julie! I trusted you! We all did! You were supposed to make the right decision.”

  “And what decision is that? The one you wanted me to make?” Julie asked, her eyes flashing black, as her temper snapped. “Oh, everything is all fine and dandy, as long as Jade approves, right? God, I am so sick of you, always acting like you have to be the one who’s right. Always being pissed, when things don’t go your way. Deal with it, Jade! I crossed to the dark side, because I saved all of our lives on Halloween. I fell in love with a man who you don’t approve of, and you asked me to make an impossible decision!”

  “Julie…”

  “No, Josslyn, let me have this!” Julie snapped, shushing her sister. “All of you have to understand that I am not poor, little Julie anymore. I am not going to break. I am strong. Stronger than I have ever been, and I promise you, I can handle whatever comes next!”

  “Even your sister sabotaging your future?” Jorja muttered under her breath

  “What?” Julie stared at Jorja. “What are you talking about?”

  “Jorja, don’t you dare.”

  “You want everyone to be honest, you better be able to handle the repercussions,” Jorja said, sending Jade a glare. “Jade talked to the chief of police after your interview this morning, Julie. You’re not getting the job.”

  “You what?” Julie swung toward Jade. “I can’t believe you! Of all the things you have done…ahh!”

  She stomped her feet on the ground, the lighthouse shaking underneath them.

  “Julie, please, you have to understand,” Jade said, holding her hands up. “I couldn’t let you go through with it. You’ll get yourself killed!”

  “That’s my decision, Jade,” Julie said, seething. “Not yours. I’m an adult, Jade, and just because you don’t trust me doesn’t mean you get to go ahead and make decisions for me.”