by T S Paul
Child of Darkness
by TS Paul
BOOK EIGHT IN THE FEDERAL WITCH SERIES
Table of Contents
Title Page
Legal Stuff
Map
Magical Classification for the World of the Federal Witch
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Author Notes
Other Books by TS Paul
Legal Stuff
Copyright © 2018 T.S. Paul, All Rights Reserved.
Reproduction of any kind is strictly prohibited unless written permission granted by the author.
Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Edited by Laurie Holding
Formatted by Nina Morse
Magical Classification for the World of the Federal Witch
Class one The most basic of Magic user.
Telepathy
Mind Magic powers including telekinesis.
Class Two All the powers of a Class one
Pyrokenisis
Minor teleportation, small objects only
Basic Cantrips and housekeeping spells possible
Class twos are often called Hedge Witches
Class Three All the powers of a Class Two
Mid-level advanced Magic user.
Elemental affinity of one
Has all the Mind Magic powers including some rare ones. Necromancy, Clairvoyance, and Oracle
Has the ability to combine Mind Magic with Spell work
Class Four All the powers of a Class Three
Advanced Magic user
Usually has been trained
Power limits are measurable
Elemental affinity of all
Class Five or higher Has all the powers of a Class Four
Power Level is unknown
Chapter 1
“...Italian forces attacked the hidden monastery in a daring raid only to be assaulted by Demonic forces. Currently half of Italy’s Western Fleet is sailing for Reggio Calabria in the northern part of the island of Sicily. Because of the surprise attack, much of the Army is out of position and unable to quickly mobilize. However, National Guard and militia units are in contact and have prevented the loss of civilian lives. Government sources also inform us that compared to the Demon War seventy years ago, this is just a small threat. Defense minister Giuseppe Orlando stated in the recent press conference that “Italian forces will hold them back and destroy the Demonic incursion.” Sources close to the government are saying it was the fault of cultists that brought them to our world. His Holiness the Pope has not issued a statement, other than for the faithful to pray for their souls and the souls of the dead. It’s rumored that the Holy See’s forces were the ones attacking this morning.”
VBC five’s reporters were giving little credence to anything coming out of Italy. Or at least that is how it seemed to me.
“In other news, the American President Lawrence Talbot signed into law the Unicorn Protection Act. Ownership and possession of Unicorns are now illegal in the US as they have been proven to have a language and culture. Biological experts here in the United Kingdom dispute this assumption and are conducting their own tests. The Magnus Corporation, based out of British Columbia, has legal possession of the beasts. Administrators at the Royal Zoo anonymously informed this station that Gerald, the Zoo’s only Unicorn, has never spoken to them,” the reporter smiled at his own joke as the station went to commercial.
“Can we turn that off?” I asked. The note from Anastasia disturbed me. Did they expect to send us to Sicily? I was under the impression that the FBI didn’t operate all that well over there. Besides, the Europeans weren’t fond of paranormals of any flavor.
Chuck reached up and turned off the television before we all got to hear about Paralis, a new drug used for stopping children’s hyperactivity. I gave my head a little shake on that one. This country was cramming medications down everyone’s throats too much.
“Ana, what’s going on? Why does the central committee need us?” I asked.
The Vampire sighed. I knew it was forced because Ana didn’t need to breathe. “They don’t. Not really. It was as good of an excuse to get you all here though. Please sit down. I have a lot of information to tell you, and while the committee didn’t call for you, someone else did.”
I cocked my head and looked at her, “Are they sending us to Sicily?”
Ana shook her head negatively. “Not at this time. Please sit down.”
Waving my hand, I motioned for Cat, Chuck, and the new guy, Blake, to sit down. I slid into one of the computer section’s swivel chairs. “We’re down. What’s up?”
“You are going to have a lot of questions, but if you can let me finish, everything will be explained. Just under two years ago you returned to Briarwood while conducting a Federal Witness to safety. During your visit, you exposed your Aunt Camilla Fredericks’ murders and she, in turn, was kidnapped by the Missionaries of Death. When they tried to use her to get to you, she was killed by one of your fireballs. Am I correct in this?” Anastasia asked.
Bad memories popped up all over the place inside my head as Anastasia reiterated the past couple of years. All I could do was nod my head.
“It was discovered during clean up that Camilla’s body was missing. Both you and your grandmother conducted Magickal and mundane searches of the area, to no avail. A nationwide search was also conducted by the FBI for Camilla. She currently sits at the bottom of the most-wanted list. The Strega, an evil cult of Witches, was behind the entire thing and also faded into the background. FBI sources have informed us that the Missionaries are but the enforcers of the cult,” Anastasia informed me.
“Do we know where the Strega are then?” I asked.
“I’m getting there, hold on a bit longer, please. You’ve all seen the news. Sicily has a Demon incursion. What you don’t know is why. The Strega and their associates have been hiding in plain sight for more than a century, inside a former Catholic monastery. The locals thought they all had taken a vow of silence as the reason they never spoke. Our Vatican sources tell us that someone in the past two hundred years purchased the property but disguised it from both the government and the Holy See.” Ana paused and looked me straight in the eye. “We now know that Camilla didn’t die. She survived the fireball and was spirited away by the Strega.”
I felt my jaw drop open and my eyes widen in shock. Two years I’d spent dreaming of the fireball that I threw, killing a blood relative. My mother’s own sister. Bitch or not, Camilla was blood. “How? Better yet, how did they remove the body? Grandmother has that entire area locked down. Only parts of the Garden can be used for teleporting or transport spells, and very few know those.”
Camilla alive? My head whirled. She will have had two full years to plan and gather her own forces. We were so dead!
“It has been speculated that the proximity of one of her kidnappers altered the trajectory of the spell you threw and killed him instead. It’s all Magick to me. As for how they
got transported, we suspect Set,” Anastasia explained.
“Set, as in the Egyptian God Set?” Cat asked from behind me. She and Chuck were stretched out on the couch together.
“Yes. Set is but one of the Dark Gods that the Strega worship. Everyone on the bus knows that the Gods walk among us. We’ve seen it with our own eyes,” Anastasia waved at the ceiling and all around us.
“You people see Gods? Do you see fairies and ghosts as well? I was just starting to get into the groove, and now I find out you’re a bunch of loons. Why, oh why, did they put me here with you?” Blake whined.
Spinning my chair around, I faced the lone human in our group. “We like you as well, Blake. You knew coming onto this team that you had very large shoes to fill. Except for you, we’re all paranormals. And because of that, we see and hear things that are out of the range of human senses. Whether they are real or not is a matter of interpretation. I can have you reassigned like that,” I snapped my fingers. “If you want out.”
The human Agent shook his head and made a motion for Anastasia to continue.
I spun my chair back and smiled at the Vampire. It was nice to have my friend once again.
“As I was saying. Set. He took Camilla and those who rescued her to the Strega base in Sicily. We received a few reports over the Dark Web and through informants that the Strega had a large operation in the works but no idea of what or where it was. There were rumors they had a powerful and valuable captive as well.” Ana paused when Chuck raised his hand. “Chuck?”
“You keep saying we received or we found. Who is ‘we?’ I know the FBI doesn’t have much sway overseas,” Chuck said.
Anastasia looked at the big WereCat and shook her head. “Too smart.” She forced out another sigh and gave me a look. Reaching into a file on the table, she pulled out a pack of paper. “Sign these please, all of you.”
I took the paperwork and gave it quick once over. It was very similar to the non-disclosure-Top-Secret-Clearance form I was told to sign before getting my credentials. The most significant difference? This one said “National Security Agency” at the top. Looking over at Anastasia I held up my hands. “Which agency is this?”
“One that officially doesn’t exist. What that form means is if you speak of this conversation with anyone, it’s a straight ticket to Florence and the supermax there. This is the deep dark, kids.” Anastasia didn’t smile as she spoke.
“And if we refuse to sign them? What happens then?” Cat pulled away from Chuck and sat up straight.
Anastasia looked her in the eyes and spoke, “Then we have a problem. Your next assignment is going to tax every part of you. This is the worst thing we’ve ever sent you into, and if I don’t explain what’s going on you’ll go in blind and possibly be killed! I don’t want that, as I’m sure you don’t want that. This is for your protection only. Florence is the sort of hellhole that will make fighting Demons sound good. You don’t want to go there, Catherine.”
Cat turned to Chuck and whipped a pen out of the pocket protector he wore in his shirt. Grabbing the paper, she signed her legal name. Chuck took his pen back and signed as well.
“Blake?” Anastasia asked.
As our lone human turned in his paper, all eyes turned to me. I licked my lips and cocked my head to one side. “I signed one like this already.”
Anastasia snorted, “Sweetie, I’ve signed so many of these things since 1945 that they would fill this entire bus. Our Government runs on secrets and simply loves secrets. What this is protecting won’t stay secret for all that long. Trust me on that. Someone will leak it. Just don’t let it be you, or all of us go down.”
Breathing out a silent prayer to my Goddess I signed my name. My team means everything to me. It would kill me to give them up. Handing it back I vented my frustration. “Happy?”
“It simplifies things, that’s all. If it’s any consolation, I was mostly unaware of this information too. And let me tell you, that is near impossible to do. In 1959 Congress and the President passed the Magical Security Act. The primary goal was to establish the Magical Crime Division of the FBI,” Anastasia explained.
“MSA? We were taught that at the Academy. Why is that secret?” Chuck asked.
I looked over my shoulder and signaled Chuck to wait. “Ana, you told me about this. So did Jack. It’s the act that protects us if we commit a crime during the commission of our jobs.”
“It is. When the FBI was instructed to create this Division, Director Hoover complied. Only he didn’t like being told what to do or sharing any sort of power. He gave Jack the job right out of the Academy and expected him to fail. But that is another story. What you didn’t learn about the Act is what else it did,” Anastasia started to explain.
Chuck sat forward his eyes alight with questions. “Like what?”
“Funding for the Paranormal Initiative came from it. The initiative laid the foundation for the Bills that broke the reservation system. Its primary purpose was to set up the Paranormal Academy. Our government knew that they would need help to fight supernatural crime in the future. Crowley Prison was established by the Bill. Unknown to all but the President and the Joint Chiefs, another secret organization was created as well.” Anastasia paused for a moment. “Its name is ARCANE. It stands for Aircraft Research, Controls, Armaments, and New Equipment.”
Chuck screwed up his face and raised an eyebrow. “Uh, what?”
Anastasia smiled at Chuck’s expression. “It’s a cover name obviously. They have a factory and actually do produce weapons technology for our government.”
Chuck spoke up, “I know! I’ve bought some of the team gear from them.”
“Arcane isn’t just a factory. It’s an organization much like this one should be. They take direct action against supernatural threats worldwide,” Anastasia explained.
I couldn’t see where this was going and how it related to Camilla and my family, so I said something. “It’s like a sister agency then?”
Ana shook her head. “Not really, no. This one is completely human. It was created by humans for humans. They have strike teams set up all around the world to drop into hot situations at a moment’s notice. It was a team from Arcane that took on the Strega and is helping the Italians fight the Demon threat.”
Blake turned and stared at Ana with a funny look on his face. “How?”
“How what, Agent?” Ana replied.
“Humans. How do humans compete against… well, you?” Blake asked.
“From what I was told, Arcane units are a mix of weapons specialists and Mages. Humans do have them,” Ana pointed out.
“They do, but they’re scarce. Grandmother told me that you get one in fifty-thousand that can do more than light a candle or float a brick. Spellcasters are even rarer,” I cut in and explained.
Anastasia turned back to me. “Exactly. So Arcane dropped a strike team into Sicily at the same time the Italian army showed up. Demons were already swarming, but they managed to get inside the Strega stronghold and close the Portal.”
I blinked and felt my eyebrows rise. Pretty good for a group of humans. I’d taken down a Demon or two when I was younger and closing a Portal wasn’t something to joke about. “And?”
“And they found all the Strega dead inside. Whatever they raised killed every last one of them including their servants, the Mercenaries of Death. There were clues your Aunt may have been there, but if she was, she left or was taken somewhere else. The Demon Lord was gone as well,” Ana replied.
“Are we sure it was a Demon Lord?” I asked.
“Several Captain Demons and thousands of lesser Demons were set free. Only one of the Lords can do something like that. Or that is what we assume. It gets worse.” Anastasia looked at me with a frown. I could see her eyes as she gazed past me onto the team. “A second front in the war opened up a short while ago in California.”
I closed my eyes and said a prayer. Demons on US soil meant death.
“Where?” Cat asked.
&n
bsp; “The same place as last time. Conception, California,” Anastasia replied.
Chuck sighed and gave Ana a thumbs up. “We’re good then. That place is a fortress. Half our military budget goes to that place. They got to kick some Demon ass!”
Ana grimaced. “Sorry, Chuck. They broke through. The last report I had showed the new horde forming up outside of the ring of guns and heading both north and south.”
“Why are we sitting here then? California needs us!” Cat cried out.
Anastasia pressed a button on her desk, lighting the big screen up with a series of pictures. “These were taken around the time the Demons were first spotted in Sicily, a full month ago.”
Camilla or a woman that was the spitting image of her stood on a balcony somewhere looking down. Another shot showed her next to her daughter, Autumn Fredericks, in the same gallery. I could just make out a sizeable Naval ship in the background.
“A month?” I asked.
“Just about. A tourist spotted the Demon flying over northern Sicily. Vatican special forces, in cooperation with the military, investigated and discovered the infestation more than a week ago. Moving troops and equipment takes time. Time the surrounding area did not have. So the infestation grew. I was ordered to sit on those photos, Agatha. The Strega are on the most wanted list and needed to be investigated. Your aunt’s picture coming to light in the middle of that investigation tripped so many alarms you would think you were in the factory that makes them. The higher-ups were falling all over themselves to not link the two,” Ana explained.
“Who ordered you, Ana?” I asked.
The Vampire looked at me with something I’d never seen in her eyes before, sadness. “Agatha, you know who it had to be. She told me you’d want to charge over there and finish this right now. You and the team were so deep into the Werewolf killer that she told me to hold off. The intelligence division of both Arcane and the FBI think that she raised the Lord for the Strega. It would explain why she’s here alive and they’re all dead!”
I waved all that away and practically growled at her. “Who is it? I want you to say it!”