by Ann Atkins
Where was I? I had never seen this place before. I stood in a large room with peeling wallpaper and a faded, floral couch and chairs. There was no one else around, so I decided to give myself a tour and search for the house’s occupants.
I discovered a huge kitchen and dining room. There were also a couple of bedrooms and bathrooms but no people. Everything was covered in layers of dust, and it didn’t look as if anyone had lived here in a while, but then I came to a staircase, and against my better judgment, I climbed.
As I got closer to the top, I heard the rumble of voices and laughter, and for one heart-stopping moment, I was reminded of the trap the incubus had laid for me. But this felt different, I wasn’t afraid this time, and instead of forcing myself to take the next step, I had to stop myself from running. I knew that voice, and I knew that laugh. I had only heard it in my dreams, but it felt as familiar as if I’d heard it everyday of my life.
I finally reached the door, and my hand trembled as I turned the knob. It was another small bedroom, and two women were sitting on the floor holding hands. Their hair was blowing back as if stirred by an unseen wind, and they were both surrounded by a soft pink glow. A circle of lit candles surrounded them, and drops of moisture crystallized in the air and hung there like diamonds. A few small potted plants near them began to flower, and they floated about a half an inch off of the floor.
I knew enough to recognize that they were working a spell and infusing it with the power of the elements. I also knew exactly what the spell was for, because the two women sitting there were Sarah and my mother.
Her hair was a couple of shades lighter than mine, but our eyes were the same. A lot of her facial features resembled mine as well, and she had the same look on her face that I always got when I was concentrating.
I knew this couldn’t be real, because she was dead, but part of me was hoping I was wrong. “Momma?” I whispered, half hoping that she would look up, but of course, she didn’t.
I moved a little closer and sat down on the foot of the bed as I watched them. I was studying them so closely, that when the light suddenly faded and my mother gasped, I almost fell off of the bed.
“Are you okay, Alex?” Sarah asked with great concern.
She smiled and placed her hands on her very pregnant belly. “I’m fine, she just gave me a good, strong kick to remind me how tough she is. This ones a fighter,” she said affectionately. “I just wish she wouldn’t have to fight alone.”
“Alex, nothing is going to happen to either one of you! You will be there for her, but you’ve got to believe it. This battle can’t be won if you’ve already conceded defeat,” she said, squeezing Alex’s hands between her own.
“I’ve seen visions of her future, Sarah, and I’m not there; none of us are. What’s going to become of my little girl without me?” she asked with a quiver in her voice.
“She will be fine! That’s what the spell is for. No one will be able to hurt her as long as it is in effect.”
“You’re wrong,” she whispered with tears swimming in her eyes. “If they get her, she’ll never know a parent’s love. She’ll be treated with contempt and hatred at worst and neglect and indifference at best. She’ll never know how special she is, or how loved and wanted she was, and it breaks my heart.”
“Alex, who have you seen with her in these visions?”
My mother smiled, but it wasn’t the kind of smile that makes you want to smile in return; it was the kind of smile that breaks your heart. “She’s so incredibly beautiful, Sarah, but he can’t see that; all he sees is an experiment. An annoying experiment that he must wait eighteen years to run his tests on, and he will make her pay for that. He won’t be able to lay a hand on her, but he’ll make sure she knows what a burden she is.”
“Who is he Alex? Who was the man in the vision?” Sarah asked again, looking as if she were going to be sick.
“The devil himself, Dr. David Chamberlain.”
“No,” Sarah whispered.
“Yep, the head honcho of their psycho monster hunting squad. He’d want to keep her close. All that power in one little girl, there’s no way he would risk letting anyone else take her. He’d be too afraid that one of his underlings would run off with his golden lab rat!”
“But the future isn’t set in stone, Alex. Not every vision you’ve ever had has come true. You were able to save Josh—I mean Mason, and I have to believe that we’ll be able to save her, too,” Sarah said, placing a hand over my mother’s belly.
Apparently, I chose that exact moment to kick, because Sarah laughed and my mother smiled. “See? She agrees with me.”
“I hope you’re right … but if I’m not around, promise me that you’ll find her. Promise me you’ll tell her about all of this and help her understand. Promise me … that you’ll tell her how much I loved her,” my mother begged.
“Oh, Alex, of course I—”
She was abruptly cut off by raised voices and the sounds of fighting from below. Several gunshots were fired in rapid succession, causing my ears to ring and my heart to race.
The two women shared a brief look of horror before getting quickly to their feet and heading for the door. My mother’s hand closed around the doorknob at the same time Sarah flattened herself against it.
“Alex, there are six men standing guard outside. You don’t need to go down there. Let them deal with this.”
“But you’re going,” my mom said stubbornly.
“Yes, but I’m not eight months pregnant and swaying on my feet from exhaustion.”
“Sarah, they need us both, especially with Brian and five of the others gone!” Then, she paused as a terrified look crossed her face. “Do you think it was a trap? Can it be a coincidence that just when we find out where David is hiding and decide to take the fight to him, we’re attacked?”
“Alex, if you’re right, and they were just trying to split us up to make picking us off easier, that means there’s a traitor amongst us. That puts the number of people fighting for us down to five. I have to get down there!”
“Not without me. Sheridan was the one who gave us that phony tip, and I’m going to make sure she pays for it!” my mother yelled, looking quite fierce. But the effect was ruined by the fact that she almost passed out, and Sarah had to grab her arm to keep her from falling over.
“I know that the spell protecting the baby also protects you—as long as you’re carrying her—but it can’t protect you from being taken, and if you get down there and pass out, all they’ll have to do is pick you up and carry you out the door. And after she’s born, you’ll no longer be safe; he will kill you, and she’ll be completely at his mercy. Is that what you want?”
By the look on her face, I could see that Sarah had gotten through to her, but she didn’t like it. It wasn’t in her nature to hide when those she loved were in danger. In this case, she’d just needed to be reminded that there was something she loved even more—me.
Tears were streaming down her face, but she allowed Sarah to lead her over to the bed where she lay down. Sarah was out the door in an instant, and to my surprise, Mom didn’t immediately jump back to her feet and follow. I soon realized it was because she simply didn’t have the strength, and I lay down beside her and cried with her.
I tried to reach out and stroke her hair, but my hand passed right through her. I even said her name a couple of times, but she couldn’t hear me. I had never felt so close to her, and yet she was still so far away. And for the first time, I truly understood the blessing and the curse of these powers. I was with her, but she couldn’t see me or feel me beside her. And the visions had shown her that I would be taken, but she hadn’t known when or how it would happen.
The sounds of battle continued below us, and both of us were powerless to change its outcome. All we could do was wait, and part of me almost wished I could wake up, but the other part wanted to stay here with her forever.
“It’s okay baby girl,” she cooed, rubbing her swollen stomach. “Mo
mma will always protect you, no matter what, even if I’m not here, the spell will keep you safe until they find you, and they will, Allison. I’ve seen that, too. I’ve seen what a beautiful woman you will become, but for now, all you are is my baby girl,” she whispered, wrapping her arms around her middle as if she were hugging me. Then, she began to softly sing in a language that I couldn’t understand, but it didn’t matter. The love in her eyes and the sound of her sweet voice transcended words.
“I love you too, Momma,” I whispered, even though I knew she couldn’t hear me.
The beauty and tranquility of the moment was shattered by an ear-splitting scream from below.
“Sarah,” my mother whispered as she started struggling to sit up. Somehow, she found the strength, but she was still unsteady on her feet. She walked to the door as quickly as she could and opened it. She padded down the hall silently on bare feet, and I followed.
She had to hold onto the banister to keep from falling down the stairs, but when she was halfway down, she stopped. The walls were splattered with blood and bodies littered the floor. Furniture was knocked over and broken, and those who were still fighting looked almost as bad as the bodies strewn around them.
Most of the bodies, she didn’t recognize, but she counted four of our own among the dead. Sheridan was fighting against Sarah, so including Sarah and Mason, we only had three people fighting for us, and there were easily ten against us.
Sheridan had Sarah backed into a corner, and a fireball sat in the palm of her hand. I noticed several burn marks on Sarah’s face, neck, and arms, but I didn’t see a mark on Sheridan. Why wasn’t Sarah fighting back?
I did not have very long to ponder that question, because Sheridan released the ball of fire and it ignited Sarah’s hair. She screamed in agony and fell to the floor while Sheridan laughed, and with a wave of her hand, the flames were gone.
“Are you ready to tell me how to break that protection spell?”
Apparently, the caster was the only one who could remove it, and my mom had been careful not to let anyone know but her and Sarah.
“I’ll tell you,” Sarah whimpered, and my mouth flew open in shock. “You’ll have to perform the unbinding spell by the light of a full moon.”
“What else?” she asked eagerly.
I saw the ghost of a smile touch her lips before she answered. “You’ll have to wear a pink tutu and do the hokey pokey.”
Sheridan screamed in frustration and created another orb of fire that was as big as a beach ball. “Do not play with me Sarah! I will use any means necessary to extract the information from you. And if I slip up and accidentally kill you … well, that’s my bad. Or is it yours?”
A sound of primal rage filled the air, and I noticed that Mason was struggling to reach his mother. The other members of David’s team had finally managed to subdue him and another man that I didn’t know. There were eight men holding him back, but they should have been no match for his preternatural strength and speed. What was going on? Why had Sarah and Mason been defeated so easily?
No one was fighting anymore, but the battle was definitely not over. An unnatural quietness filled the room and ice crept into my veins as a much younger, but still crazed, David Chamberlain walked into the room.
He began to slowly walk toward Sheridan and Sarah. When he stopped, he grabbed Sheridan and kissed her. I wasn’t sure if I could throw-up in a dream or not, but I certainly felt like it.
When he released her, he turned to Sarah. “So nice to see you again my dear,” he said with a smirk.
The anger and disgust on her face betrayed none of the fear I knew she must have been feeling. “And you as well,” she replied calmly. “I only wish it were under nicer circumstances, like your funeral.”
He seemed to find that insanely amusing and started to laugh like the madman he was. “I’d forgotten how charming your macabre jokes can be,” he said, wiping tears from his eyes.
“Let me go,” she said through gritted teeth, “and I’ll show you just how serious I am.”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that, sweetheart, but you are quite right; the time for idle chitchat has passed, so let’s get serious,” he said as he opened his coat and drew out a large knife.
My mother, who had been frozen in shock until this moment, was jolted back to reality. “No,” she screamed, and flung her arm toward him, trying to knock the knife from his hand.
“Why, Alexandria, you’re glowing. Pregnancy agrees with you, even if you are carrying a demon child.”
“Don’t. Talk. About. My. Baby.”
“Don’t you mean my baby?” he asked with a grin.
“Why do you even want her, if her powers are so evil?”
“Because, in my hands, they can be used for good, not evil,” he explained slowly, as if she were stupid.
Mason, Sarah, and the unknown man struggled to no avail, and although Alex was weak, she still should have been able to send that knife flying, but she hadn’t. That’s when she realized that he must have done something to inhibit their powers, which greatly reduced their chances of escape and survival.
“Now, why don’t you come on down here and chat before your friends go up in flames?”
She slowly began to make her way down the stairs. She knew refusing would do no good. Sarah and Mason couldn’t help her, and she certainly could not fight them on her own.
The closer she got to the bottom of the stairs, the more frantic Mason became, and when her feet touched the bottom step, he broke away. He grabbed two of the men, giving their heads a vicious twist and breaking their necks. He managed to knock one more unconscious before he was restrained again.
“Mason, I would suggest that you hear me out! One more outburst like that and your mother will be nothing but ashes!”
Alex sent him a small smile and gave a very subtle shake of her head. She was trying to stall for time, and I think he got the message.
She walked into the living room and sat on a faded chair, because she could barely stand. “Go ahead,” she told him, “but if you’re just going to ask me how to break the spell again you’re wasting your time.”
“I’m sure I will eventually solve that problem on my own, if she is born, that is,” he said, sounding bored.
“What do you mean if she’s born?”
“Oh, just a little spell I’ve had a couple of covens working on. You see, I got to thinking, and I know that your spell is probably weak, because you don’t have a coven. So, I wondered if my spell would be strong enough to counteract yours?”
“What spell?” my mother asked with a quiver in her voice.
“I’m so glad you asked. The spell in question links my life with hers.”
“You’d need her DNA to do that, and since she hasn’t been born, I’m pretty sure you don’t have it,” Alex said condescendingly.
“Don’t I? She has the same DNA as her parents, and Sheridan was kind enough to give me a lock of hair from both of you,” he said smugly.
“So what are you saying? If you can’t have her, you’ll kill yourself and her out of spite?” she asked incredulously.
“I will plunge this knife into my stomach, and all three of you will be affected. You and Brian would probably survive, but I doubt she would. We have something in common. We both want her, and we’re both willing to die for her. The only difference is, I don’t care if she dies in the process. She’s only useful if I can harness her powers, and to do that, I need access to the child. So it’s up to you to decide, will she be useful, or will she be dead?”
“I don’t believe you’d actually kill yourself over this.”
“You’re wrong. Keeping that power from the wrong hands would be worth the sacrifice. Allow me to demonstrate,” he said before dragging the knife across his abdomen.
My mother gasped and looked down to find her light pink dress stained with red blotches. The dress was ripped open across her belly, and a deep gash oozed blood underneath. I watched her touch the wound with s
haking hands as she tried to stop the flow of blood, and then she looked up and saw the fanatical gleam in his eyes. He truly believed what he was saying, and he wouldn’t hesitate to kill me, even at the cost of his own life.
This time she could not disguise her fear and panic. “No, please, I’ll do whatever you want. Just don’t hurt my little girl,” she begged.
A cold, cruel smile played across his lips. “I want you to walk out of here of your own free will and come with me.”
Mason and Sarah both began to protest loudly, and she looked back and forth between them and David.
“Tick-tock Alexandria. You have sixty seconds to make your choice, or I’ll make it for you,” he said, pressing the knife against his stomach once again.
“We will never let her walk out of this house with you,” Mason spat at him.
“Won’t you?” he asked. “Are you really willing to lose the little witch again, before she’s even drawn her first breath? I think not!”
“She’s an innocent little baby! How can you do this?” Sarah wailed.
“There is nothing innocent about her. She is an abomination! And the only way I will allow her to live … is with me.”
“You have to let him take me,” my mother pleaded. “At least this way she has a chance. Please, please, don’t provoke him into killing her!”
Seeing my mother so scared and desperate must have snapped something inside them, because their struggles increased, and they broke free. Sarah threw one of the men across the room, and Mason plunged his hand into the chest of another, crushing his heart. Two more necks were snapped, and the last man ran out the door.
The monster that always lurked beneath their skin had emerged as they advanced on David, and that’s when he plunged the knife deep into his abdomen. My mother cried out and fell to the floor, and as they ran to her side, the glowing eyes returned to normal.
They both ripped open their wrists. Sarah pressed hers to my mother’s mouth, and Mason held his wrist over the deep wound in her abdomen. Their quick thinking saved my life, but since we were linked, unfortunately, David was healed as well.