by Raven Steele
She repeated the words over and over. The chant became more of a spell the longer she said them until her stomach relaxed, and she was able to straighten. The black abyss still filled her, but there was no longer a storm lingering near the edges of her subconscious threating to tear through the dark, emotionless wall.
She was ready now. She would not think about her past actions, Alarica’s or Eve’s, and she would not think about Lucien. But most of all, she would not remember driving a wooden stake into Charlie’s back.
Eve only had one single thought: kill Boaz.
Chapter 41
Lucien followed Henry back into the living room and past Eve, sitting on the couch staring at the wall opposite her, her expression blank. He resisted the urge to go to her. Instead, he flexed his jaw and his fists to the pain burning inside his chest. She had asked for space, and so he was going to give it to her, no matter how badly he wanted to comfort her.
Henry opened the door leading into the garage. Lucien was taken aback by how un-garage like the space was. Instead of concrete, thin mats covered the floor of the four-car garage, except for a ten by ten area in the corner that looked like it was used for casting spells. There were shelves along the back wall that held all kinds of magic trinkets: herbs, stones, incense and many others. Lucien didn’t recognize a lot of them. The other walls were made of shiny metal.
Lucien ran his fingers along the paneling. “What is this place?”
Henry walked to the back and began placing objects from the shelves into an open bag. “It was used for training Deific agents years ago. Before the Deific buildings installed their own.”
“What are the walls made out of?”
“They are a thick alloy aluminum. It’s both soundproof and fireproof.”
“Did you train most of them?” Lucien asked.
Henry placed a large stone into the bag and straightened. “I trained Charlie here. He was one of my best students.”
“I’m sorry,” was all Lucien could say.
Charlie’s death would be difficult on everyone for years to come. He had benefited the lives of so many. Lucien considered him his first best friend, whereas Henry had a different bond with him, more like a father and son relationship. As for Eve, Charlie had been the first person to offer her another life. He had brought light into her dark world and had helped her find peace.
“Will Eve be okay?” Lucien asked, his voice quiet.
“I felt a lot of darkness when I was inside of Eve’s head, not evil mind you, but more like she has allowed a heavy blanket to smother her emotions. As long as she allows herself to grieve soon, she will recover.” Henry zipped the duffle bag closed and picked it up.
“When this is all over, Henry, I’m going to take Eve far away from here.”
“I expected as much.” He walked to a nearby door leading outside. “I’m going to the stadium early to set up a few things. Meet me there at midnight, on the pitcher’s mound.”
After Henry left, Lucien returned to Eve. He didn’t sit on the same couch as her, but on a chair in the corner of the room. He pretended to be doing something on his phone, and then he read for a while. He snuck a glance at her several times. She didn’t move once. Just stared at the wall completely emotionless for hours. It worried him immensely.
“What happened to the necklace?” Eve asked, disrupting the silence.
“It’s safe.”
“Where?”
“I have it in my jacket pocket. Do you want it?”
“I want to hide it away where no one will ever find it.” Her voice was barely audible.
“I’ll make sure you get it.”
“Thank you.”
Maybe if Eve could get rid of the necklace in a place where only she knew, she might begin to feel safer. He hoped.
Lucien checked the time on his phone. 11:00 p.m. “It’s time.”
Eve stood without a word and walked toward the front door. Lucien hurried to open it for her. She didn’t glance at him as she passed by, but he managed to catch a glimpse of her eyes. There was something missing from them, but he couldn’t say what, exactly.
The entire drive there, Lucien struggled to know what to say. He opened his mouth several times, but then closed it again. She didn’t glance over at him, barely moved, in fact. Only once did she curl the fingers on her right hand and relax them again.
After parking the car a short distance away from the stadium, he knew he had to say something. He cleared his throat.
“We will get through this,” he said. “Boaz will not win.”
“It might be easier if he did,” she said and opened the door. She was out before Lucien could ask her what she meant.
He made his way to the first level of the stadium. The sound of his footsteps against the concrete floor broke through the stillness of the night and echoed all around him. The shadows in the cavernous concourse felt more alive somehow. There was almost a palpable heaviness to them that made him think of ghosts, and he wondered if perhaps there wasn’t something supernatural about the ground the stadium had been built on. A sudden chill cooled his skin, but he didn’t think it had anything to do with the weather.
He reached the top of the stairs leading down to the baseball field. Eve had just reached it and was walking toward home plate. He had never been more worried for her. Just like with the stadium, he felt there was something off about her beyond not wanting to grieve.
Descending the stairs, he spotted Henry on the other side of the field walking toward Eve. The light of the full moon hanging in the night sky lit up their dark silhouettes, as if they were shadows that had detached from the haunted stadium.
Lucien crossed the field to greet them, feeling strangely inferior. They knew so much more magic than he did, especially that of the ancient language. He hoped his incompetence wouldn’t be their downfall.
Henry was handing Eve something when Lucien reached them. He turned to Lucien. “This is yours.”
Lucien recognized it. “A bloodstone.”
“Yes. I’ll be performing a spell similar to the one you did back at my house to cloak you and Eve, but this one won’t so much be a cloaking spell, but more of a containing spell. We don’t want any light or sounds escaping this stadium. We need to be invisible to the outside world, but not to Boaz.”
Lucien glanced at Eve. She was staring down at two stones in her hand, her thumb running over a thick blood vein on one of them. Her lips were barely moving as if she was saying something, but no sound came out.
“It will take the strength of all four families to perform this spell.” Henry pointed to the north corner. “Lucien, as a Brady, you stand over there and face the stone north. Eve, you have east and south for both the Segurs and Whitmores. As an Archer, I will be west and will be standing over here. I want you both to concentrate on the stone’s power. I will be the one to link them. Ready?”
Eve turned and walked away.
As soon as she was out of earshot, Lucien whispered, “Something’s wrong with her.”
It was a moment before Henry said, “She will get better. All the events since her birth have led up to this moment. She has been through unimaginable horrors, but soon she will be free.”
“I don’t know if she will ever be free. Memories are their own prison.” Lucien recalled how for centuries he had shut himself off from the world so he wouldn’t have to remember his role in unleashing the black plague. It was still difficult to think about: all of those people who suffered and died because of him.
Henry glanced up at the full moon. “It’s time. There is power in the moon tonight.”
Lucien walked north. When he was a ways out, he turned and glanced at the others. Both of them were holding their stone upwards. Lucien did the same.
Several minutes passed before he finally felt something. The stone grew warm, then hot, almost to the point where he couldn’t hold on to it. He concentrated on the warmth, on the power the stone contained. Some of it flowed into him, but that w
as when he realized it wasn’t the stone’s power he was feeling, but Henry’s.
Eve’s energy came a moment later. The connection between them opened and, for just a fraction of a second, Lucien caught a glimpse of her mind. What he saw almost made him drop the stone and go to her at once. There were shadows there, smothering parts of her, and Eve wasn’t just welcoming them, she was inviting them in, asking to forget. It was an action that could have severe consequences if she wasn’t careful. He had almost made the same mistake, but, by sheer luck, he was successful in blocking only the memories he wanted.
“It’s done,” Henry called. “Place your stone where you stand.”
Lucien did as he said and returned to the pitcher’s mound with the others. He glanced at Eve sideways, but she was staring straight ahead, expressionless.
“What now?” she asked.
“Lucien, you need to release the cloaking spell,” Henry said. “I’m going to conceal myself until just the right moment.”
“When will that be?” Lucien asked.
“I’ll know it when I see it. Just remember, we have the blood and power of all four original witch families standing right here. We have the ability to beat Boaz. We did it before, and we can do it again. Believe in each other.” Henry looked at both of them. “Tonight, we kill Boaz.”
Henry touched them each on the shoulder, a gentle squeeze of encouragement, and walked away. Shadows swallowed him whole, leaving Lucien and Eve alone.
“Before I release the spell,” Lucien said to Eve, “you need to stop what you’re doing.”
“What am I doing?” she asked but didn’t look at him.
“You’re shutting off your memories. It’s dangerous.”
Her lips pressed tightly together. “You don’t know what I know, what I see every second of every day.”
“You’re right, I don’t. If I could take them away from you, I would, but all I can do is be here for you. I’ll listen to you and comfort you in whatever way you need for as long as it takes. Together we can work through the pain. I love you, Eve.”
He reached to take her in his arms, but she stepped away.
“I need time. Please.” Her bottom lip trembled. “Let’s just finish this.”
“Of course. I’m sorry.” He clamped his jaw closed, his heart threatening to break from the pain in her voice. “Are you ready?”
She barely nodded.
He inhaled deeply and focused on the air around him, the way it breathed against his skin, his weight against the ground, the smell of an approaching storm tainted by old beer and hot dogs. Once he was grounded, he thought of the cloaking spell and the energy he could now feel pulsing around him and Eve.
“Exstingui,” he whispered.
The energy dissipated into a puff of smoke and rose into the air.
“How long do you think we will need to wait?” he asked. When Eve didn’t answer, he glanced at her. Her eyes were closed. “Eve?”
“Not long,” she said. “I’m calling him now.”
Lucien kept his head on a swivel. Shadows seemed to be moving everywhere around them, as if they had been awakened from a deep sleep. For the most part, phantoms and ghosts were harmless, but he had seen a few of them in his time become drunk on too much supernatural power. The amount of energy about to be unleashed within the stadium’s walls was sure to intoxicate many of the undead. He only hoped they didn’t become violent, making his job harder.
Eve opened her eyes. “He’s here.”
Chapter 42
Fog billowed out from the concourse entrances and onto the baseball field. It spread across the grass, coating it in a heavy, freezing mist. Eve focused on it, searching for a part of it that was darker than the rest. Boaz was hidden within it somewhere.
“It’s just a spell,” Lucien said next to her. “I think I can get rid of it.”
The fog parted and surrounded them. It slid across Eve’s skin, making her jump. She never wanted to feel Boaz’s touch again.
“I’m going to search for him,” she said.
“No! We must stay together.” Lucien reached for her, but she slipped from his grasp.
The best way to protect Lucien was to kill Boaz before Boaz had the chance to speak. Eve was grossly aware of what Alarica had done with him and didn’t want Lucien to know any of it. He would never be able to look at her the same way.
She pushed her way through the fog; it swirled around her, wetting her hair and skin. She could feel Lucien’s energy becoming a part of it as he attempted to push it back. Lucien was strong, far stronger than he knew, but it was a journey he would have to learn for himself. She wasn’t sure she would be around to see it.
She was about to take a step when something hissed beneath her foot. A black snake slithered past her, and then another. Several more appeared from within the fog, sliding under and over each other. She tiptoed through them. One of them struck at her, and she jumped back.
She stopped and gritted her teeth. “Enough with the cheap tricks! Fight me already!”
A voice whispered through the mist: “Your time is coming, Love, but I need to finish what you failed to complete. Lucien must die!”
Eve’s breathing quickened, and she whirled around in a complete circle. Which way was Lucien? She couldn’t see anything through this fog.
Choosing a direction, she ran. “Lucien!”
He didn’t respond, but a moment later, the fog began to lift into the air. She spotted Lucien on the other side of the field. Behind him, a dark mist was rising.
Before Boaz could reach Lucien, Eve shot her hand forward, sending a strong gust of power toward Boaz. Instead of the intended reaction of shoving the dark entity back, it spread and opened, as if a mouth, and swallowed her energy.
“Watch out!” she yelled as the last of the fog dissipated into the air.
Lucien ducked and rolled just as Boaz materialized behind him, swinging a sword where Lucien’s head had been.
“Why do you keep escaping death?” Boaz growled. He swung the sword again, and Lucien barely had time to dodge it.
Before Boaz could attempt another swing at Lucien, Eve whispered, “Inflecto,” and curled her fingers into her hand. The end of the sword Boaz was holding curled in, making it impossible for him to stab Lucien.
Boaz glanced back at her. “I’ll get to you in a minute, Love.”
Lucien plowed into him so hard the both of them skidded upon the grass for several feet, leaving behind an angry scar upon the ground. Lucien raised his fists and punched Boaz repeatedly. His movements were so fast they became a blur. And even though Boaz’s head was bouncing upon the ground from the motion, Boaz was laughing.
Eve focused her powers on containing Boaz. If Lucien could keep him distracted long enough, she might be able to create some kind of cocoon to hold him while Henry destroyed him.
“Enough!” Boaz said and shoved Lucien into the air.
Lucien hit the ground over a dozen feet away. Boaz rose to a standing position as if a ghost from its grave. He raised one hand at Eve, preventing her from moving forward. She concentrated hard to push past it, but his strength had grown tenfold since Alarica had released his powers from the necklace. Pulse racing, she even tried to teleport to another part of the stadium, but his magic held her in place. It was going to take a few minutes to get through.
Lucien moved to jump up, but Boaz knocked him over.
“Stay down,” Boaz said.
Lucien struggled, but no matter how hard he fought, he couldn’t break free. Eve worried about what Boaz might do next. She hoped whatever it was, Henry would show himself to prevent it.
The ground began to rumble with the focal point directly beneath Lucien. All at once, six long strands of rebar shot straight out of the ground, spraying dirt in all directions. They curved in a candy cane formation directly over Lucien. His eyes widened just as the ends drove into his body: one in each shoulder, hip, and knee. He grunted in pain but did not cry out.
“Lucie
n!” Eve shouted.
Boaz turned on her. “You call his name now, but it wasn’t more than three days ago when you were calling mine.”
She wasn’t listening. Both her hands were pressed to the invisible wall, trying desperately to break through.
“I know you remember, Eve,” Boaz said. “But let me refresh your memory just in case.”
The giant Jumbotron hanging high in the corner of the stadium turned on. Static blared through the speakers, making Eve cover her ears, but then she heard her own voice, loud and seductive. She dropped her hands.
“You are delicious. Every square inch.”
Color drained from Eve’s face and her knees went weak. She was on the screen, almost entirely nude. But it wasn’t her — it was Alarica made to look like her. Boaz was lying on a bed in front of her.
“Is this how you like me, Boaz?” Alarica crawled across the bed to him. “As Eve?”
“Stop this,” Eve whispered. She didn’t dare look over at Lucien to see his reaction, but from the corner of her eye she saw him still struggling to get free.
Boaz strolled over to her and came to stand on the other side of the invisible barrier. “We were made for each other. There is no other that I have felt such passion for. Join me, Eve. We could be unstoppable!”
Beyond him on the giant screen, Alarica was kissing Boaz and writhing against him. Never before had she truly wanted to die until right then. It was one thing to have these memories trapped inside her head, but a whole other having Lucien be a witness to one of them.
She couldn’t think about that right now. Lucien would die if she didn’t act quickly. She returned her focus to the wall, digging deep into the recesses of her mind to find the magic she would need to break through.
“You won’t join me then?” Boaz asked. “Fine. Lucien dies.”
He walked over to Lucien and raised his hands, but before he could, a voice boomed: “You have destroyed too many lives, scarred too many people. No more!”
Henry strolled onto the field, his long black jacket whipping in the wind. The strength surrounding him pulsed outward, almost as if a wave of static electricity. Eve had no idea he was capable of this much power! It spurred her on, igniting a fury hotter than any fire.