A Ritual of Fire

by J. L. Hendricks

  Bullets tore through the metal frame of our vehicle as the enemy unloaded on us. The pounding noise was so loud, it reminded me of a time when hail the size of baseballs rained down on my truck while I was in Texas on an assignment.

  With my excellent hearing, I would have a headache when this was all over with. The only thing keeping it at bay was the adrenaline coursing through my system.

  I tore off the bottom of my shirt and wrapped the material around the hole in my arm. It wasn’t pretty, but it would do. Thankfully, the pain was minimal. As long as I could keep the blood from flowing, I would heal quickly.

  Another volley of bullets hit our rear quarter panel, sending it spinning off into the night. Too bad it didn’t fly back and crash into the Dodge chasing us.

  “Some help here would be nice,” I called over to Stella. “I heard we had two of the strongest witches on the continent in the vehicle. Is there something you can do?”

  I understood Stella was driving, but her mom just sat there in her magical bubble not doing anything to help. There had to be something she could do. A nice fireball would have been awesome, or maybe some form of levitation could be used to destroy the car chasing us.

  Mara gave me a pointed look. “I have already shielded the tires. Even if they aim at our wheels, they won’t penetrate. There are too many people around to witness anything else I might do to help. If I broke the paranormal rules, the FBI might send someone to arrest me.”

  Vlad caught my eye and smirked. He wasn’t going to let me live this down. I had actually asked for magical help after I told him how much I hated witches.

  Taking a deep breath and forcing down the pain, I reloaded my AK-47 and waited until I could clench my hand around it once more. Satisfied, I readied myself. As soon as the bullets stopped flying, I put my upper body out the window and began shooting.

  Stella weaved in and out of traffic. Thankfully, it was rather light. Between the late-night hour and the eco-terrorist attacks, most people were staying indoors tonight.

  “Veer to the left so I can get a good angle on these guys,” I ordered Stella.

  “As soon as a pocket opens up, I will.” Stella stayed in her lane for a few more seconds, slowing down before shouting, “Now!” She swerved to the fast lane, giving me an opening.

  Trusting in my precise reflexes, training, and excellent vision, I squeezed the trigger. My first round blew their windshield into a spiraling web of cracks moments before it slammed into his neck in a spray of red. The next round hit his head, blowing the rest of what remained of his life out across the seat.

  The driver swerved over to the other side. The only guy left alive I could see was the driver.

  “Vlad, did you take out any of them? I got two.” I figured since the men were so large, they could only fit four shifters into the Charger.

  “I stopped the shooter on my side. If there is a fifth in there, I can’t see him. Can you?” Vlad shimmied back inside and pulled out the magazine from his gun.

  “Looks like it’s just their driver, now.” I looked back through our broken rear window and scanned the car to see if anyone else was moving.

  Other cars were trying to get out of our way. Some veered over to the slow lane and onto the side of the freeway, others just slowed down so they were behind us while a few sped up. Probably thought they could outrun us and our guns. Stupid. They should have pulled over to the side or gotten off at the next exit.

  “I’m out. Hand me one of the Glocks and some spare ammo.” Vlad called out to no one in particular. “Those magazines don’t match mine.”

  I wasn’t sure if he thought Mara would give it to him or if he expected me to stop what I was doing and get him armed again. When no one moved to do as he said, he leaned back inside and picked up a loaded Glock from the front center console.

  “Thanks,” he grumbled.

  I was almost out of ammo anyway and would have had to come back inside to reload in a few seconds. Hopefully, when I hung out the window again I could cause enough damage to force our pursuer to lose speed. Or crash. I would have preferred a crash, as long as the civilians weren’t in the way.

  My target would have to be their tires. From our angle, it would be tough to hit them though.

  “Hit their engine, try to kill it,” I yelled back to Vlad before I threw two more loaded magazines on his seat.

  “I’m trying, but you’re the one with the AK-47,” he yelled back.

  “Fair enough, I’m going to try and crash them.” I leaned back out with my new magazine, the last one for the AK-47, and began firing at its engine.

  The barrage of bullets blew the hood off, sending it right over the top of the Dodge. Smoke billowed out of the engine as it wheezed and coughed.

  “Punch it! I think their engine’s gonna blow.” The smoke coming out of the front told me something was either very wrong or very right, depending on what a person wanted from this situation.

  As we pulled further away from them, I shot into the engine again, unloading the rest of the clip.

  It happened so fast, like something straight out of the movies. The engine blew and the driver lost control. Smoke poured out of the front of the vehicle even thicker than just a few seconds before.

  The car veered toward the center divider which was a concrete barrier. The tires screeched up the concrete and more smoke covered the wheels. It looked as though the brakes didn’t work or Vlad had killed the driver so his foot was still on the gas.

  With no braking to stop it, the car kept going up the concrete barrier and eventually gravity took over, flipping it on its top. The metal grating on the blacktop of the freeway actually hurt my ears. Most humans wouldn’t be as bothered by the sound since they did not pick up on all sound frequencies at the level shifters did. It was like someone scratching their fingernails along a chalkboard, but times one hundred.

  If the driver was still alive, he had to be hurting. I hoped none of them survived this. I doubted they were the last of their rebel group but as long as no one knew what we were driving and where we were heading, we were safe.

  “Did you kill them all?” Stella asked.

  I turned back in my seat, facing forward as she raced down the freeway, thankful we were in a Hummer instead of my old sedan. There was no way we would have survived the firefight in an Oldsmobile. Even though the H2 was a civilian vehicle, it was built on the bones of a military SUV. It was too bad they didn’t make these anymore.

  “Certainly hope so,” I said. “We should be safe to head to your secret house but first, I think we should make our way back to Palmdale and check out the last crime scene. Nobody would expect us to go there now. It’s probably the safest time to do it.” If the witches could identify the magic used, we just might be able to find the sickos responsible for these ritualistic murders.

  The past twenty-four hours had been seriously intense, and normally I’d call it in, but with the phones down, I didn’t want to waste the time going in. Besides, that’d probably just leave us with mounds of paperwork.

  Between the latest murder scene, the biker gang, the witches, and now a freeway chase and firefight, I honestly didn’t know how I was going to get through the next day if things didn’t slow down.

  Without the phones working, I doubted local cops would be receiving a call anytime soon about this freeway chase. As a federal agent, it was my duty to call local dispatch and let them know what just happened but without phone service, I couldn’t. If I had my car still, I could have used the radio and called it in.

  I couldn’t control the situation, I could only hope and pray everyone got out of our way and no stray bullets hit anyone.

  10

  Alyson

  Stella slowed down and headed toward the freeway exit. “Where is the latest crime scene?”

  “Turn around and head back up to Palmdale, exit at West Palmdale Boulevard, and I’ll direct you from there,” I explained. “Also, take a side road instead of getting back on the 5, at least
until we pass the accident location. I don’t want any possible survivors to see us heading back the way we came.” I doubted there were any survivors but shifters were tough, one just never knew.

  Black Hummers were very common in Los Angeles, but a black Hummer with bullet holes, busted windows, and a missing rear quarter panel would make us stand out like a sore thumb.

  By the time we made it back to the crime scene, it was already after midnight. We would have to hurry up if we wanted to get Vlad indoors safely before the sun rose.

  “Mara, how are you feeling? Did the jostling or the bullets hurt you?” Vlad asked as he helped the old lady down from the car.

  “Don’t worry about me. I’m fine. I already told you I had my shield up. It saved me the pain from the off-roading as well. Let’s get this done. I’m tired. Most of us old ladies go to bed by nine.” Mara giggled as she walked up to the door and waited for us.

  I shook my head, looking to Stella. “Your mom is kinda crazy. You do know this, right?”

  Stella suppressed a laugh. “Yup, and I wouldn’t have her any other way. I just hope I’m half as spry when I’m her age.”

  “Preach it.” It would be good for anyone to have as much energy as Mara when they were in their seventies. For me, seventy would still be young so I better still have a ton of energy. Dragons were supposed to live for several hundred years, if they weren’t hunted down and murdered.

  Vlad pulled the police tape aside and opened the door. “Mara, please try not to disturb anything in the house, if you can help it. Even though photos have been taken and evidence collected, you never know when the techs need to come back for something new.”

  “It’s not my first crime scene. I’ve been called in to assist with too many murders to count. Stand back and let me work.” A purple glow emanated around Mara’s body and she closed her eyes.

  Mara’s lips were moving, but I couldn’t hear any words. She seemed to be chanting something. Since it wasn’t audible, I wondered if she was just meditating to get in the mood, considering most witches needed to say their incantations aloud in order for them to work. Only a handful could silently speak the words to make a spell work.

  Was Mara one of those?

  If so, she was a very powerful witch. It could be why the werewolves showed up at the witch’s lair. Now that I thought about it, they couldn’t have known we were there. It may have been fate that brought us to her lair. I doubt they would have gotten away if Vlad and I hadn’t been there to help.

  The glow around Mara changed to red and her hands moved in a circle in front of her. She picked something out of her satchel and threw it into the ritual room.

  “Flames and Cauldrons. I hope she didn’t just contaminate the crime scene with some herbs.” I shook my head and prayed whatever she was doing wouldn’t leave any evidence or trace of her presence.

  “Don’t worry,” Stella murmured, all her attention on her mom. “She’s performing a spell to uncloak any incantations which were performed here. Once she’s all done, the ingredients she just used will disappear. The goddess will take them as an offering to her realm.”

  I looked to Vlad and raised my eyebrows and mouthed, “Goddess?”

  Vlad put a finger up to his lips and mouthed, “Shh.”

  These people and their crazy beliefs. I knew witches worshipped something other than God, but to hear them talking about it was just freaky.

  All at once, the entire house lit up with a white light so bright, I could hardly see. As it dissipated, I could see characters in the air hovering over the spot where the dead body was discovered. After a moment, those characters resolved into words, mostly in Latin or at least I thought it was Latin. I didn’t speak anything other than English and a few phrases in conversational Russian thanks to Vlad’s lessons.

  I wanted badly to ask questions. Something inside told me to keep quiet and wait. My time to ask questions couldn’t be too far off.

  Another pop sounded, almost like a gunshot, and I looked around before realizing the aura surrounding Mara had disappeared. She slouched onto the ground, and both Vlad and Stella ran for her.

  “Mother, are you all right?” Stella held her mother’s head in her lap while Vlad checked her pulse.

  “Yes, dear. I’m fine. Just tired. I did tell you it was way past my bedtime, didn’t I?” Mara must have been feeling decent to be cracking jokes.

  Stella and Vlad helped her up.

  “So, what does this all mean? I saw the Latin scrolling through the air over the crime scene.” I bit my lip in anticipation of some answers.

  “It means you were right. It’s black magic. I know this spell. Let’s leave and I’ll tell you all about it.” Mara stepped out of Stella’s arms and made for the front door.

  “Wait, let me go first, just to be safe.” I went outside and scanned the area to ensure it was safe.

  “Come on, let’s get out of here.” Vlad took Mara by the arm and led her to the Hummer.

  Stella had cast a protective spell on the vehicle to ensure no one messed with it while we were inside. “It’s clear. No one touched it.”

  As soon as we were back on the 14 freeway, I turned around and looked at Mara. “Well?”

  Mara narrowed her eyes and looked out the front window. “I didn’t realize anyone even knew this spell. It should have died when I was just a girl. The council of that time outlawed it and made it a worldwide law. Anyone caught even looking into this spell would receive instant death. There are no second chances for disobeying this law.”

  “Is there any sort of spell book that would still have it listed?” I wasn’t up on all of the witch’s lore or laws, or even what they did, but how could a spell be lost if it was known only sixty years ago? Someone, somewhere would still have it listed, possibly in an old book or inside a safe.

  “The council ordered every witch to destroy any evidence of this spell, and then they had each coven leader question their members about it. All covens swore an oath stating everyone who had any knowledge had destroyed it. Either someone went rogue, which is almost unheard of, or a book which had been long forgotten was recently unearthed with the spell.” Since Mara was the leader of her coven as well as the North American council, she would most likely be honor-bound to find the individual who cast it.

  “What does the spell do?” Vlad asked what was on my mind.

  “It destroys the world.”

  Vlad looked at me with wide, redeyes. He was always the calm, collected one, but now, he looked like he was about to shift into his vampiric form. I didn’t mind his red eyes and fangs, but I knew he hated for others to see him lose it.

  He looked out his side window and sat silently.

  “Are you saying someone actually created a spell to end the world? How is that possible?” My headache was coming on. Forget the adrenaline rush from earlier, the dread of what’s actually happening was going to kill me.

  “I am sworn to secrecy. However, you should know what the outcome would be should they complete the spell.” Mara looked down at her trembling hands. I hadn’t seen this woman so much as sweat since I met her. Bullets were ricocheting off her and she smiled. Her obvious fear was working to put me into a panic attack.

  “What? Do they summon an asteroid or something? A planet-killer?” It had happened before. The dinosaurs are extinct from what was assumed to be an asteroid. It could happen again.

  “No. The spell opens the veil between our world and Hell. All of the demons waiting for the dead will be unleashed here on Earth. No one would survive for long.”

  I did not expect that one.

  “So, Hell is real? We’re looking at a Biblical end-of-the-world scenario and all that kind of stuff? Plagues and horsemen of the apocalypse type of days, is that what we have to look forward to?” I’ve read the Bible, I know what it says. I just didn’t think it was real. Still don’t if I’m honest with myself.

  There had to be another possibility, like an alternate dimension. I have met a few ver
y intelligent humans who believe demons are just paranormal creatures from another reality.

  The FBI even has a team of scientists who were studying the Multiverse Theory. While I wasn’t a scientist, one of my previous partners was. He explained this possibility to me and it actually made sense. We just couldn’t prove it yet. If demons made it here via this magical spell, it just might be what we needed to prove it, which sounded like the only silver lining to the whole thing.

  “Those who survive the plagues would wish for death during the initial onslaught.” Mara was all doom and gloom, just what we needed.

  “What about magic? Could your kind help keep it at bay?” Mara was the strongest witch I had ever heard of, surely she could do something.

  “No. Even if there were hundreds of me here on Earth, we couldn’t stop it once it starts. Our best bet is to stop the ritual before they finish it. The blood of one hundred paranormal creatures are needed for it. Based on what you told me and those I have lost, they must have at least twenty-five rituals completed by now.” It was a good thing Mara was on our side or else we would still be grasping in the dark for clues when the apocalypse happened.

  “Mother, I think it’s time,” Stella said cryptically. “I know you don’t like them, but we need their help.”

  “Who’s help?” Vlad asked.

  “Without a phone, we can’t reach out to the other covens of the world very easily. With enough witches, we could reach one or two covens telepathically and let them know what’s going on. In order to have enough strength, I need another coven leader.” Mara glared at Vlad with cold, hard, meaningful eyes.

  “You don’t mean those nutcases in Venice? Surely, you could do this without them, right?” Vlad let out a deep breath and put his head in his hands.

  “Hello! New to the group here. Who’s in Venice?” I wasn’t following what they were talking about. Some nutcase in Venice? Didn’t we already have a nutcase in the Hummer?