Coven of Wolves

by Peter Saenz

  Brian says, “Hey, that sword is priceless. I had to give up a really rare manuscript owned by Aleksei Musin-Pushkin for it. Unless you have something that’s totally going to blow my mind, it’s not for sale. Unless..”

  “Unless what?”, I ask.

  “I’ll take the dog. I could use a telepathic dog.”, Brian says.

  “No way!”, I shout. “Fenrus isn’t just a dog. And he’s WAY more precious than some stupid sword. The dog isn’t up for negotiations.”

  At this I feel warmth and love emanating from Fenrus. He barks in agreement.

  “Fine”, Brian says. “How about some magic lessons. Something tells me I’m gonna need more than just a baseball bat if those goons decide to come back.”

  Tobias looks sadly at Brian and says, “I wish we could Brian, but magic isn’t something just anyone can conjure up. You have to be born with some type of magical leaning. If you don’t have that, then you can’t tap into the necessary elements and keys needed to create real magic.”

  “Then sorry, the sword’s not for sale.”

  Tobias puts the sword back into it’s scabbard and shoves it back into Brian’s hands. “Fine. We’ve wasted enough time here as it is. Come on Devin. We have to go.”

  The three of us leave Brian in the panic room and make our way to the front of the store. As we do, we see a couple lighted patrol cars arrive and park at the curb in front of the store. I turn back to Brian, who has followed us out and say, “Looks like the police finally arrived. I seriously doubt they would believe the supernatural part of the break in, but if you could please just leave us out of your statement, I would greatly appreciate it.”

  Brian says, “Yeah, no problem.” He then rubs the leather bracelet I gave him. “And thank you.”

  I nod, turning to Tobias and Fenrus. We are about to magically leave before the police notices us when Brian says, “Wait!” He takes the sword in scabbard, now hanging from one of his arms, and tosses it toward us. Once Tobias catches it, Brian says, “I don’t only deal in artifacts. I do have use for knowledge as well. Promise me you’ll come back from time to time to answer some questions, and the sword is yours. Deal?”

  Tobias smiles at Brian and says, “Deal.”

  As the bell from the front door dings open, the three of us magically will ourselves into Anna’s car parked outside. Left alone to greet the police officers, Brian says to himself, “No one’s gonna fuckin’ believe a word of what just happened.”

  §

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  The Cauldron

  We park several blocks away from our destination. The sun has already begun to set and I can feel a strangeness in the air. Afraid that Anna’s expensive car will stand out in the mostly industrial surroundings, I create a glamour spell to hide the car’s appearance. Anyone passing by it will only see a very old abandoned car, and will have the urge to leave it be. We sit in the car, waiting for what seems like eternity. I look at the clock on the dash board and realize it’s only been 5 minutes.

  “So, the place is only a few blocks that way. What should we do next?”, Tobias asks nervously.

  “Well, Fenrus thought we could use the sword from the store somehow. Let’s see if it can help us now.”, I answer.

  Tobias takes the sword off of his arm and removes it from the scabbard. He holds it in front of us as we wait for it to do something special. When nothing happens, I hear Fenrus in my head say, “Lay your hands on the blade.”

  We do and I am happy to discover the metal isn’t made of silver. An eerie feeling comes over me though. I can sense Tobias is having the same experience. The feeling ripples out and around the car. We look around us and are surprised by what we see. What originally had been an empty street has now become a bustling roadway crowded with people. Their faint figures fade in and out of focus, revealing to us that they are not truly members of the living anymore. They carry sad expressions on their faces, walking along is if in solitude despite their large numbers.

  “Are those the witch ghosts Fenrus told us about?”, I ask.

  In my head I hear, “Yes. Look at their clothes. What does that tell you?”

  I tell Tobias that Fenrus wants us to notice their clothes. Taking a better look, I notice that hardly any of their clothing matches the same era. Some people are wearing Victorian dress, some are wearing suits right out of the 50s, and yet others are wearing modern clothes I see all the time.

  In a whisper I hear Tobias say, “They’ve been killing witches here for decades. Those poor people.”

  Fenrus’ voice says, “Speak to one of them. They will be able to tell you where Mika is being hidden.”

  Before I can say anything, Tobias says, “There. That one. She’s wearing modern clothes. She probably knows the most recent lay-out of The Cauldron. Let’s see if she can help us.”

  I nod at Tobias then turn to look at the ghost he motioned to. She is wearing black skinny jeans, with white colored tennis shoes, and a Twilight t-shirt. Her ruffled hair and sad, puffy eyes give her a look of lost confusion.

  I take one hand and hold it over one of Tobias’. We both concentrate on the ghost of the young girl, asking her to join us. She looks at us with a look of fear and is about to run. Suddenly she notices Fenrus and begins to calm down. She drifts closer to us and stops, standing through the car hood. In a very weak voice I hear her say, “Your dog...I had one just like him. His name was Sport. What’s your dog’s name?”

  I put on my most sincere smile and say, “Fenrus. He’s very friendly. My name is Devin, and this is Tobias. What’s yours?”

  The girl looks down at her feet and says, “Wendy.”

  Tobias says, “It’s very nice to meet you Wendy.”

  Wendy looks up at us and says, “You’re nice. You’re witches, like me, aren’t you?”

  I reply, “Yes, we are. How did you know?”

  The dark circles under her eyes deepen as she says, “I’ve only known witches to be able to see me. They always bring witches here. Even the ones in blindfolds notice me sometimes. They call out asking for help...” At this Wendy puts her hands to her face and sobs.

  Tobias says, “Hey, don’t cry. We’re sorry if we upset you. We didn’t mean to.”

  Wendy wipes away a tear and says, “It’s okay. It’s just really hard sometimes. I’m stuck here, you know. All of us are. It’s always the same. They make you promise after promise, telling you that if you stay with them and do what they want, they will be able to make all your wishes come true. Then when you tell them no, that you want to go home, they say that your home is with them. That if you ever try to leave, they’ll kill you and make you wander here forever. They did it to me. That’s why I’m here now. No matter how hard I try, I can’t go beyond this point. None of us can.”

  I say, “The others, some of them look like they’ve been here for many, many years. Did the same people who kidnapped you do this to them too?”

  Wendy wipes away the remainder of her tears with the side of her palm and says, “No. They were forced to be here by others before them. They told me that the same family has been doing this for a long time. When one of them dies, a new one takes their place.”

  Tobias says, “Wendy, one of our friends may be in there now. Have you seen her? Did anyone new come this way?”

  Wendy replies, “They killed the last one yesterday. The main one was very mad. Said that he needed a new witch to replace her. He goes to places where witches might be. Green places, Wicca stores...anywhere that they can find a new one. That’s how they found me. They...they just came back with a new girl a couple hours ago. She’s pretty.”

  I ask, “Can you tell us more about what she looks like?”

  Wendy smiles and says, “She smells like flowers. She has dark hair, medium complexion, and pretty green eyes.”

  Tobias asks, “Wendy, it’s very important that we know exactly where she’s at.”

  Confused, Wendy says, “The Cauldron of course.”

  “Yes”, I sa
y, “but we need to know where in the building she is and how many people are guarding her.”

  Still confused, Wendy says, “She’s in the basement. In the secret room. You’re not going there, are you?” She sees the look of determination in our eyes and says, “No! You can’t! They’ll kill you too! Run away. You need to go away from here or they’ll kill you too!”

  Ignoring her pleas, Tobias asks, “Wendy, do you know how many witches we’re going to have to go through?”

  Now in tears again, Wendy says, “Please don’t. I can’t bear any more deaths. Once you go in, you’ll never be able to leave. Please!”

  Tobias calmly says, “Wendy, the girl in there is like my sister. If you had a sister when you were alive, you’d understand. Please, help us know what we’re going into or else we WILL die after all...like you.”

  Wendy chokes back a few sobs. After a few moments, she says, “The main one has a brother and a sister who are witches too. They fight with each other all the time about who will be next in line to take over ‘the business’. They have three other witches under them at the moment, and about 12 paid guards to watch the building to make sure no one escapes. The guards are human, but they’re all very big and strong.”

  I turn to Tobias and say, “We might be able to take on the humans, but the 6 witches...that’s another story entirely.”

  Tobias smirks and says, “This from a guy who stood against a whole coven on his own several times over?”

  I smirk back and say, “True, but at least then I knew who I was going up against. We’ll be going into this one blind. Are you ready to take that leap?”

  “For Mika? Yes.”, Tobias answers back. He then turns to Wendy again and says, “Wendy, with this sword I’ll be able to see you even if you try to hide yourself from everyone else. When we go in, do you think you could guide us to where Mika is being held?”

  Hesitantly, Wendy says, “Yes, but if they put that disk thing around your neck, you’re going to be helpless, just like her. They’ll either make you into one of them or...you’ll be wandering this area forever, like me.”

  Tobias looks at me. “I’m still going in there Devin, but if they capture us too, then...well... we’re all fucked.”

  I ponder his words a moment. Something dawns on me and I take out the bloodied rags I used to bind mine and Tobias’ hands earlier from my pocket.

  Tobias asks, “What are you going to do with those?”

  “I’m going to make sure that if we ARE captured, that we’re the last witches those bastards are ever going to take.” I then turn to Fenrus and say, “Fenrus, can you sense if the wolves are still in the city?”

  Fenrus phases out of the car and appears on the sidewalk outside. Wendy gasps with excitement. Fenrus then puts his nose up into the air and takes a deep breath in. After he exhales, he turns to me and mentally says, “Yes. They’re a few miles east.”

  Tobias pulls my shoulder toward him and says, “Devin, what are you going to do?”

  I hold the bloodied rags between us and say, “Giving us insurance.” I will myself to appear beside Fenrus, outside of the car. I hold the rags toward him and ask, “Fenrus, can you take the scent from these rags and make sure the wolves follow their trail back to The Cauldron?”

  In my head I hear Fenrus say, “Yes.”

  “Good. Then I want you to take these. The moment Tobias and I enter the building, you see to it that the wolves have a way of tracking us back here. If they really are a few miles away, then that should give us enough time to get Mika and escape before they arrive at The Cauldron.”

  Tobias suddenly appears beside me saying, “That’s insane! Those werewolves will kill us ALL as soon as they find us!”

  I turn to Tobias. “Exactly. If we aren’t able to get Mika out of there after all, then the wolves will see to it that no more witches will die at the hands of the Initiators.” Tobias looks at me for a good long while, mulling over what I just said. He fidgets with his sword for a moment before he eventually backs away, showing that he agrees with my plan. “Thank you”, I say. “I’m not holding your sword anymore, so I can’t see or hear Wendy. Is she still here?”

  Tobias points beside Fenrus and says, “She’s standing there, petting Fenrus.”

  “Good”, I say. “Wendy, can you go into The Cauldron and let us know where Mika is right now?”

  Tobias says, “She said yes. She said she’ll be back in a moment. I can’t see her anymore.”

  “Alright then.”, I say. “So now we wait.”

  Tobias takes the scabbard off of his arm and places it and the sword on the ground beside him. He then takes my Synoro sword off of my shoulder and places it on the ground beside his. Tobias takes my hands into his and begins to move downward, into an Indian style sitting position. I follow suit. Tobias then lets go of one of my hands and uses it to pet Fenrus. I do the same. Within a few moments I can feel a warm circle is created. The bond I had formed with both Tobias and Fenrus physically reappears in my mind. Their thoughts become my thoughts. Together in one voice, the three of us say a silent prayer to the mother goddess Gaea. We ask her to watch over us and help protect us from those that would harm us. We ask that she help guide us in our actions so that we can save the life of not only Mika, but of any other person the Initiators may harm in the future.

  When our prayer is over, Tobias reaches for his sword and rests it on his lap, in the hopes that Wendy might have returned with news. A look of surprise appears on his face. He turns to me and says, “Devin, place your hand on the sword.”

  When I do, I am suddenly aware of a large group of ghost witches surrounding us. I somehow know they are aware of what we mean to do. The feeling of hope emanates from each of them, as they bow their heads toward us.

  “They felt your devotion to the Goddess. It’s something they haven’t felt in a very long time.”

  We look to see Wendy now standing beside us. “They all will help you in any way they can.”

  “Thank you”, I say.

  Moved by the gesture, Tobias clears his throat and asks, “Were you able to find out anything?”

  “Yeah”, Wendy says. “She’s definitely still in the secret room. The three main ones are in the basement room beside her. They’re trying to figure out what angle they can use to make her one of them.”

  “And the other witches, and the guards?”, I ask.

  “Four of the guards are outside of the building patrolling the parking lot, back door, and main entrance. Four are inside on the main floor with the three other witches, two guards are down in the basement guarding the secret room, and the other two guards have the night off.”

  Tobias asks, “What do you think is the best way we should get in?”

  Wendy smiles and says, “Through the front door.”

  “Really?”, I ask.

  Wendy says, “Yeah. The Cauldron is a gothic night club. You know, black fingernail polish and lipstick? It’s a front for what really happens in the basement. They just opened the doors an hour ago. If you can mix in with the crowd, no one will think anything of it.”

  “Wow, this is going to take me back”, I tell her. I turn to Tobias and say, “I had a brief Goth phase when I was in high school.”

  Tobias says, “Well, then this should be a piece of cake. We’ll glamour ourselves into different clothes and make-up, walk in, sneak past the guards and witches on the main floor, go downstairs, take out the Initiators and 2 guards, grab Mika, then get the hell out of there.”

  “Goddess willing”, I reply. I bend down to Fenrus’ level. “Alright Fenrus, after you lead the werewolves back to The Cauldron, I want you to stay hidden. Do you understand? If those Initiators find out about you, there’s no telling what they’ll do. Only make yourself known if absolutely necessary, you got it?”

  In my head I hear Fenrus’ voice say, “Got it. Only, Devin, please be careful.”

  I give Fenrus a big hug and say, “I will.” When I let go, I transform the rags into a black dog
collar and place it around Fenrus’ neck. I then stand and turn to Tobias. “Alright then, let’s do this.”

  Tobias and I close our eyes and imagine a new look for ourselves. I imagine myself with black spiked hair, white face powder, black eye liner and lipstick, a spiked dog collar, ripped white shirt, black skinny jeans, and black biker boots. I then will the vision to become reality. When I open my eyes I see that the spell has worked. I then look at Tobias and see that he’s successfully transformed himself as well. His head is now shaved, he’s wearing black eyeliner, a black fishnet top, bondage bracelets, ripped blue jeans, and shin high Doc Martin boots. I do get a slight chill when I see he is holding a cane in one hand. I know it is really the witch sword in disguise, but I can’t help but think of Luke and everything he and the coven has done to me. Suddenly I can relate to Mika’s plight a lot more intimately.

  “What do you think?”, Tobias asks me.

  I grin and say, “I think when this is all over, you and I are gonna have to re-visit this again.”

  Tobias blushes. Then with his free hand, he locks arms with me. I can feel his scabbard lightly bump into me as it rests on his back. Although I can feel it, the scabbard remains visually hidden beneath the glamour spell. Similarly, my own Synoro sword is hidden underneath my own glamour spell as well.

  “Can you still see Wendy and the others?”, I ask Tobias, pointing at his cane.

  “Yeah”, he replies. “I’m still wearing the bracelet Anna gave us. Can you still sense me magically?”

  “No”, I answer back. “Once Fenrus leaves us, I won’t have that luxury myself anymore. I’m gonna have to try to reign in my magic a bit. I don’t want any of those witches sensing the glamour spell around me.”

  We walk the remaining few blocks toward the intersection of The Cauldron. When we see the building, I turn to Fenrus and tell him he can go. He licks my hand, then turns and disappears into the night. I hear Tobias take in a huge breath and say, “Here goes everything.”

  We continue walking toward the entrance doors. When we get there I spot one of the guys who attacked Mika earlier standing beside the red velvet ropes leading into the building. He stops us and asks for our IDs. Tobias looks at me, signaling that he will handle it. He then turns to the bouncer and clouds his mind for a moment, allowing us time to sneak past him and into the club. He does the same trick to the cashier who asks us for the admission fee to get in.