by J. E. Cluney
My father stood with some others, including a man I recognized as another warlock. There were some powerful witches, a couple of vamps, and a few true shifters with him.
The Council reinforcements by the looks of them.
“Here,” I said softly as I clicked my fingers, magicking some clothes onto Ollie.
No need for us to meet these Council members with him naked.
I hurried over with Ollie in tow, and my father let out a breath of relief as I joined him.
“Thank God you’re here. Did you get the dagger?” he asked instantly, his face drawn and worry lines marring his brow.
“We did, but only Allison can use it, as he used banshee magic when sticking his soul in it,” I explained quickly as the other warlock stepped forth.
“Well now, this thing here sure is strong,” the warlock noted as he eyed the dagger in Ollie’s hands. His Southern accent made me believe he’d come from the States, and he was African-American in appearance, with a rather slim figure. He wore a dark brown suit and matching hat, and I got the strangest New Orleans vibe from him.
Allison had been begging us to watch The Originals with her, and I’d given in and watched some.
“Yes, dark warlock magic,” my father agreed softly.
I flinched as the warding rippled, and I turned to face the people on the other side, pounding on the warding in their attempt to break through.
“We’ve been trying to bring this warding down, all of us working together and even siphoning magic from the true supes and vampires, but he’s reinforcing it with powerful dark magic,” my father said in exasperation as he focused back on the warding.
He’d lost his suit jacket at some point, and his hair had lost its perfectly manicured look, as a few short strands of greying hair hung into his eyes.
I’d never seen him look so flustered before.
“Here, I picked up these. They can help, can’t they?” I said as I pulled out the two artifacts I’d lifted from the hoard.
One was a cursed pendant with powerful dark magic, which I knew could be harnessed and used if needed. The other was a warlock relic I’d recognized from old history books. It’d been owned by a family of warlocks, who’d infused their magic into it to protect their family over the years.
It’d gone missing back in the 1600s.
“Yes, yes, we can use this,” my father said as he accepted the warlock sphere. It resembled a small crystal ball, although it was a deep blue in color.
“That’s some incredible dark magic on that,” the warlock said as he frowned at the pendant. “You’re lucky you can even hold it. I feel the curse on it is meant to kill any wearer,” he said as his dark eyes met mine with curiosity. “Where’d you get these?”
“That doesn’t matter. We need to bring this warding down. Can you harness the dark magic in it to work against the warding?” my father asked in a rush.
“Yes, although it could wreck the original warding that was laid,” the warlock said as he pursed his lips.
“That doesn’t matter. We can lay new warding after,” my father replied, brushing off his concerns. “We need to save everyone. The townsfolk come first.”
The warlock nodded, and I racked my brain for his name. I’d heard it before.
Abel. Yes, that was it.
“Right, we have the manpower to rebuild it,” Abel said with a nod as he reached out for the pendant.
I hesitated for only a moment before handing it over.
He was with the Council, and clearly, my father trusted him.
He nodded gratefully, and my father held out his hand.
“Will you allow me to siphon your magic as well? We can bring it down if we all work together,” my father said as he looked to the witches around him.
I nodded and accepted his outstretched hand as he held the sphere in his other.
He ordered the witches to connect hands, and the witch on his far side reached over and placed one hand on top of the sphere.
I closed my eyes, dropping down all my barriers as I felt my father’s magic draw my own forth.
He began chanting softly, and Abel stepped up alongside him, casting his own spell as my father used all the magic from everyone around us to fight against the warding.
I clenched my jaw, feeling Allison’s worry for me as my magic was slowly drained in the attempt.
But I could feel the warding fighting back, struggling against the sudden new wave of powerful magic pressing against it and working to tear it down.
Our combined magic weaved together, magnifying itself along with Abel’s dark magic that he hurled at it, taking care to direct it all at the warding.
I shuddered as my magic spiked, and the warding let out a deafening boom as it crumbled before us like magical glass.
The voices of those who were trapped before us cut through the air, and my father released my hand as he moved into action to restore some order.
“You okay?” Ollie asked softly as he stepped up beside me and rested a hand on my shoulder.
“Yeah, I’ll be fine,” I muttered as I straightened myself. My magic had been greatly depleted, but it would return to full capacity in a matter of hours.
I reached out mentally, seeking out Allison, and swore when I found her and the others taking refuge in a witch business. They’d been debating moving from the location, but before they could move, some witches had found them.
My sister and Emma were doing their best to fight them off, along with…Walter.
I frowned as I realized just who was with her but shook my head. I’d dig for the answers later, right now, I needed to help them.
I held my hand up, intent to portal us to Allison, but a loud shriek had my eyes flicking skyward.
My father cursed as the Council vampires flitted into action, moving the townsfolk who were staring wide-eyed at the dive-bombing shadow creatures.
Great, these bastards again.
I called forth my portal but leaped backwards as a shadow creature dropped from above me, smashing into my portal.
I watched in frustration as darkness engulfed my portal, and it vanished as the creature manifested properly before me.
“Shit,” Ollie growled as I began casting magic, striking down the shadow creatures alongside the other witches and two warlocks.
The sheer size of the shadow creatures had changed, their forms bigger than before and their numbers far more extensive as they started to blot out the moon and stars as a layer of them descended over us.
I continued attempting to create portals, but the creatures snuffed them out instantly with ease.
“We need to get the dagger to Allison!” I shouted out as Ollie ducked down, dodging a swipe from one of the creatures as he protected the dagger.
Now that I was looking closely at the attacking force, I realized with a sudden sickness that they were after Ollie.
They were here for him.
For the dagger.
Ollie realized this as he shot me a distressed look as I held them at bay as best I could.
‘Get out of here!’ I mentally commanded.
Ollie nodded as he turned away, moving into a full-blown run.
His body shifted and morphed, and in a matter of seconds, the golden dragon was launching into the sky, spewing flames at the creatures that swarmed around him.
My father appeared beside me, noting the dire situation as the creatures shrouded Ollie from view, and I nodded knowingly at him as his eyes glowed.
He took my hand, and we both shot out powerful blasts of lightning magic towards Ollie.
It exploded around him, crackling and striking down all the shadow creatures that were blocking his path and attempting to drag him down.
I ground my teeth as I bowed forward, sucking in shallow breaths of air as my magic levels dropped low.
I just hoped it was enough to provide him safe passage.
“We need to protect the town. You can do this,” my father said firmly as he tightened his grip on my hand.
I nodded, knowing I could muster up my strength.
We needed to save everyone.
I just had to have faith in Ollie and my mate.
They could handle the rest.
They had to.
9
I shot forth as the door was flung open and a witch flew in.
Emma hurled magic at her, but she deflected it with ease.
Not that it mattered. It was enough of a distraction.
I slammed my hand into her chest, gritting my teeth as my banshee side tore the spirit from her body and quickly destroyed it.
Cathy and Emma were holding the place down well, although Walter was assisting them.
They were doing their best to only let one or two attacking witches in for me to deal with, and this one had been my third that I’d rescued from a spirit.
Marcus was tending to them now in the corner with Rebecca, while Trish, Brad, and Skip were allowing Walter to siphon off them to keep himself from depleting his own magic.
“Shit, I think they’ve caught on,” Emma gasped out as she looked over to me from the window. “They’re pulling back. I’d say it’s likely they’ll just try to bring the building down on us and flush us out,” she said quickly.
“Why would you think that?” Skip said with a grunt as Walter continued siphoning his magic.
The building rumbled around us, and Emma gave him a knowing look as he muttered in frustration.
“I can hold it, but I don’t want to deplete your friends,” Walter said as he held his glowing hands out to the side.
“Well, guess now’s a good time for my help, huh?”
I frowned as Mabel appeared before us, giving me a wink as she strode out the front door.
My banshee magic tugged forth, and I allowed Mabel to work with my banshee as she summoned two extra spirits.
I didn’t recognize them as I moved to lean on the doorframe, staring out as Mabel and the two other witch spirits bore down on the ones outside.
Walter joined me, still siphoning from Skip as he assisted the three ghosts, and the witches outside began howling in pain as they fell to the ground.
“Now’s your chance,” Walter said, and I shot out, quickly killing off the spirits possessing the remaining five witches.
I bowed over, resting my hands on my knees as I trembled after freeing the last witch.
All of this use of my powers was exhausting me, and I knew Skip was drained too, having been the main one alongside Brad to be siphoned. Walter hadn’t felt comfortable siphoning much from Trish, despite her grumbles that she could handle it.
Emma and Cathy darted out, helping the confused and disorientated witches back inside as Marcus helped them bandage up a few scrapes and cuts they’d acquired somehow.
“You okay?” Walter asked softly.
“I have to be. I’m the only one who can do this,” I muttered as I righted myself, ignoring the dull ache in my temple.
“Doesn’t mean it’s easy. Take a break, we’re out of danger for now. Your mates have returned, and Ollie is bringing you the dagger. You need to regain some strength,” Walter said as Skip rested a hand on my shoulder.
“He’s right,” Skip stated, and I sighed and nodded as he led me back inside.
I sunk down to the floor, accepting a bottle of water that Marcus had found.
Mabel’s two helper witches dissipated, and the strain on my banshee eased as they went back to the spirit world.
“Well, it seems things are going well. I can’t see too far ahead, but I can sense the odds have changed. Joseph will not be pleased,” Mabel said as she stepped up to stand before me. “You’ve done a great job here. Walter has laid a warding on this building, I can feel it,” she mused as she glanced around us curiously. “It will stop any more spirits possessing the witches within. I’m sure they all need some recovery time anyway.”
“Good, that’s good,” I said with a sigh as I leaned my head back against the wall, wishing this headache would go away. It was the last thing I needed right now.
“Hey, everything is going to be okay,” Marcus murmured, and his cool hand on my temple was a welcome relief.
“Here, let me see if I can alleviate that headache,” Walter said softly as he joined us and knelt down beside us.
He touched his slightly transparent hand to my forehead, and I let out a breath of relief as the headache started to fade.
Mabel shuffled to the side, apologizing as she bumped into Marcus.
She froze up, her eyes glazing over as Walter pulled back to look at her carefully.
“Mabel? Everything okay?” he asked.
Mabel sucked in a deep breath as her eyes returned to normal. She frowned for a moment before nodding.
“Yes, everything is fine,” she said softly as she gave Marcus a tender smile.
“You sure?” I asked, and she just nodded warmly.
“Yes, don’t you worry. Nothing new that I saw that is relevant. Now, how about we see that these witches are feeling back to their usual selves?” Mabel mused as she turned and shuffled over to the huddled group of witches.
Emma had finished chatting with them and calming them down, and she moved to join us off to the side.
“Wish I knew where my mom and aunt were,” Emma muttered as she cast a concerned glance back at the disorientated witches.
“They’ll be fine. Maybe a few scrapes like these ladies, but nothing to stress about. Besides, I imagine when we deal with Joseph, his magic over them will perish,” Marcus said as he looked to confirmation from Walter.
“Yes, that would be correct. Without his magic assisting with the possessions, I’m certain the witches will all be able to dispel the spirits within themselves,” he said with a firm nod.
“Good, good,” Emma murmured as she slid down the wall to sit next to me. “Thank you for saving me. And for calling George,” she said softly.
“You’re my best friend, of course I’d help you. And George was worried sick, he needed to hear from you,” I said with a soft smile as she rested her head on my shoulder.
A true friend. I’d never had one until Emma, not like this. She knew me better than anyone else I’d called a friend before.
Sure, I had my mates, but a close friend like her was just as important.
I gazed over at Rebecca and Cathy. Perhaps they would be considered more than just people I knew once we made it out of this.
I’d call them friends too.
Cathy had helped us, as had Rebecca, and she’d clearly grown within herself.
They both had.
As if they heard my thoughts, both women looked over at me, offering me small smiles. Rebecca rose and checked her phone again, while Cathy sat down with the other witches after having explained what had happened and how they were safe in this building.
“So what’s the plan now?” Trish asked as Brad helped her sit down on the floor. “You better help me back up, I think that’ll be the hard part,” she muttered, and Brad just chuckled softly as he sat down beside her and patted her knee.
“I’m always here to help you,” he said sweetly.
“I can just see Hayley rolling her eyes,” I said with a smirk, and Trish gave me a cheeky grin and wink. “As for the plan though, wait here for Ollie. He’s coming to find me, and I don’t want to make it any more difficult for him by moving,” I stated.
“Sounds good. We’ve probably dealt with most of the witches now too, right? I doubt there’s that many more who are psychic in this town,” Trish said as she tossed a look back at the huddled witches.
I felt sorry for them, as they all looked so confused and worried. To be controlled like that and then to suddenly find yourself so vulnerable? I’d hate it. They were stuck here until Joseph was handled.
I knew Walter wasn’t able to ward each one of them like he had done for Emma. He needed to conserve his power too.
After all, he’d be right there with me when I went up against Joseph.
“When O
llie comes, we’ll need to find Joseph, any ideas on how?” Marcus asked.
“Yes. Each of these women has a trace of his magic in them. I can use it to track him down, if they’re willing to help,” Walter said.
“Good, we’ll ask them,” Marcus said, then rose and headed over to speak with them.
So this was really it.
As long as Ollie got here safely, I would be on the move to take down Joseph.
To kill him.
The thought terrified me.
Taking on an undead warlock who was murdering supes and stealing their magic? How did I hope to stand a chance?
“Hey, you’ll be fine. You’ve got this, and you’re not alone, either,” Skip said, his voice low as he sat down on my other side and took my hand.
“I’ll be there with you. That man deserves to burn for everything he’s done,” Emma said as she lifted her head, those grey eyes furious and determined.
‘You have me. This is something we will do together,’ my banshee said, her soft, echoing voice rising up within me.
At least she had faith.
I pursed my lips, trying to clamp down my pounding heart and fighting the urge to take shallow breaths. Skip tightened his hand on mine as it began to shake, and he gave me a comforting, soft smile as I rested my head on his shoulder.
I needed to believe in myself.
I was the only one who could do this now.
I had to save everyone.
Fuck. That was a huge responsibility.
‘You can do it. We all believe in you,’ Marcus said tenderly.
I could feel their deep worry and fear for me, but they also knew giving in and refusing to allow me to do this would result in many dead.
Including all of us most likely.
This had to be done, even if they hated it.
I reached out, wanting to check in on Lucas. He and the Council members were still dealing with the shadow creatures that had hammered down on them, but they were winning, the numbers of the monsters having dwindled drastically.
I hated knowing we were all split up.
We’d be reunited soon enough though.
Most of us.
I just prayed we all survived this.
A thunderous roar rose up outside, and the witches cried and gasped, calming down only when Cathy and Marcus reassured them.