by Sammy King
Ada closed her eyes to try and block out the pain. She bit down on her lip, feeling blood begin to fill her mouth. Ada opened her mouth just as a scream forced its way from her lips. Ada flung her head back and let the scream escape her lungs filling the woods around her. Soon the only sound she could hear was her voice in a high pitched screech.
Suddenly the light died, everything went black. Silence returned. The pain fell away from her as Ada slowly opened her eyes and looked down at her naked body. It was glowing the most brilliant blue. Ada looked around; the stones had become dim and no longer shined. The Witches had grown silent and with their eyes closed they swayed back and forth in a trance like state. Ada looked around at the women and caught the eye of Morrigan; her green eyes sparkled in the dark. She nodded towards Ada and held out the anointed oil that she had in a small bottle. Morrigan stepped into the circle of the stones and stood beside Ada.
“With this oil, I anoint you the Queen of Witches. You now hold the power of the foremothers beginning with the Nephilim Kaia.” Morrigan said as she splashed the oil over Ada’s body.
The scent of sandalwood and lavender filled her nostrils. Ada closed her eyes and allowed the oil to soak into her skin. As she stood with her eyes closed she felt a presence beside her and opened her eyes. Beside Ada, stood Kaia, her golden hair flowing down to her waist, her eyes a blue Ada had never seen before. Kaia’s beauty oozed from her and Ada couldn’t help but stare.
“Child you are strong. Just as strong as every other woman that has preceded you” she said.
Ada bowed down and leant forward placing her lips to Kaia’s feet. Kaia bent over and stroked Ada’s hair, placing her fingers under her chin so that Ada faced her. Kaia whispered an ancestral prayer over her, sprinkling Ada with the ancestral ash of her foremothers before she turned and walked into the forest. Ada closed her eyes again. She felt hands on her shoulder and opened her eyes to see Morrigan standing next to her.
“Come child, we need to eat now” she spoke gently.
Ada stood and looked around to see the other women were already dressed and heading back towards the coven. When Ada arrived she noticed that the window that had been broken the night before had been fixed and the sun had started to peak its head above the earth. The birds were singing their first songs of the morning.
Ada sent a feeler out to her Father and to her surprise felt him. She could sense that he was sleeping and in his own home. She felt a sense of relief, but confusion. He felt completely calm, as if nothing had happened at all. She couldn’t read Kade’s emotions properly. She stopped at the door of the coven and continued to send her feelers over her Father. She reached into his body, searching for any damage, for any sign that Abaddon had attacked him. But there was nothing. Movement caught her eye and Ada looked over to see Morrigan beckoning her inside. Ada smiled at her aunt, who stood with a creased brow and entered the coven to join the frivolity.
Chapter Twenty Nine
“Did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage?” Pink Floyd
Ada went into the dining room that as usual was filled with both Witches and food. Everyone had a plate piled high chattering amongst themselves, sharing their visions and experiences. Ada looked about the room and noticed Karla standing in the doorway watching the goings on with an amused smile on her face. Ada smiled glad to see someone who she had quickly come to know as a friend. Karla’s smile grew as Ada approached her.
“Wow that must have been some ceremony. I’ve never seen so many Witches in one place and the food that is going on” Karla said with a shake of her head.
Ada laughed and hugged Karla, tugging her out of the room into the foyer.
“I feel that my Dad is home, is he alright?” Ada said.
Karla nodded and took Ada’s hand, leading her outside into the garden. It felt like it had been so long since Ada had seen the morning light. The sounds and scents were like a delicious delight to her, the birds sung their good morning songs and the dew sizzled under the sun’s kisses. Ada wanted to dance and sing, she felt happy and at peace.
“Yes. He was in a tunnel between your home and Abaddon’s. I didn’t even know Abaddon had dug a tunnel. But he arrived at the Aje Authority just after you left with Morrigan.” Karla explained.
“Did you tell him how stupid he was?” Ada asked.
Karla gave Ada a wry smile and nodded her head.
“I think he is expecting to hear from you tonight” she said with a smile.
“I bet he is” Ada snorted out a laugh.
Both women went back inside arm in arm and after Ada had eaten, grounding herself and her energy, she headed back to the bedroom that was temporarily hers while Abaddon had decided to turn her house into a war zone. Travis was stretched out on the bed reading one of the spell books from the coven’s library.
“Anything interesting?” Ada asked climbing onto the bed beside Travis and curling into his side.
“There is an interesting spell for longer lasting and more intense sex in here” he said with a smile winking at her.
Ada laughed and shook her head.
“I don’t think we need that just yet” she said through a yawn.
Travis lifted up the edge of the blanket and Ada slid in under the covers. Her eyes felt heavy and she knew sleep wasn’t very far away. He put the book to the side table and pulled Ada into his arms.
“Mmm you smell really nice, like flowers” he said sniffing her hair.
“It’s the oil that Morrigan sprinkled on me” she said through another yawn.
Travis kissed the top of her head and wrapped his arms tight around her edging her into a deep sleep. When she awoke Travis wasn’t in the bed. She sat up and saw that night had fallen again. Her sleep pattern had been so out of whack since the attack on Travis which seemed so long ago. Ada slid out of bed and padded her way out to the room she could hear voices coming from. As she rounded the door of the library she saw Morrigan, Travis, Kade and Karla sitting around in the lounge chairs.
“Hey, what are you all doing?” Ada said from the door.
The chatter stopped and they all turned to look at her. Morrigan smiled and waved her in.
“We were reminiscing” Morrigan said.
Ada smiled as she went into the room, she turned to her Father and eyed him trying to read him, but she could feel that Kade was doing his best to shut her out.
‘I’ll deal with you later’ she spoke into his mind, which bought a small smirk across his lips and his eyes glinted in amusement.
Ada relaxed a little and slid down onto the floor beside Travis.
“Your Aunt was telling me about when you were little” Travis said with amusement in his voice.
“Well you were there for most of it” Ada replied.
Travis was the same age as Ada. They were pretty much inseparable until their teenage years when she started to learn more about her rite as a Witch and Travis got interested in girls and sport.
“You were a terror” Morrigan said.
Kade laughed and leaned back into his chair.
“She was spirited” he said.
Ada bought her knee’s to her chest and rested her chin on them.
‘Mum isn’t dead, you saw that’ she said to Kade’s mind and felt him stiffen in his chair.
‘I know’ he replied.
Kade stood and held his hand out to Ada. She took it and stood beside him.
“We are going to take a walk” Kade said.
Ada and Kade headed outside to the garden. They sat down on the small white seat hidden amongst vines of wisteria. The night air was crisp and Ada could see her breath condense in front of her face.
“Did you always know she was alive?” Ada asked turning to her Father.
Kade shook his head.
“No I saw her there in the rocks. I don’t know how Abaddon did that with her body. But he had me convinced” he said.
Ada let out a sigh and ran her hand over her face.
&nb
sp; “I don’t know how to defeat him Dad” she said feeling her voice crack under the weight of the sadness she felt.
“You are strong. We are all strong. We can defeat him. We will defeat him” Kade said as he stared off into the distance.
“We keep saying we need a plan. But how do we plan against an Angel? He knows our moves before we do. He is so powerful” Ada asked.
Kade looked at her and nodded.
“Our plan is to have no plan. This attack needs to be organic. We need all the Paranaturals we can get to rise up against him. We need to attack him at once.” Kade said.
“Then we need to lure him somehow.” Ada said running her hand through her hair. “The woods. We need to lure him to the Warlock sacred stones where he is holding Mum. We can ambush him there”
Kade tapped his lips and nodded.
“You’re right. We are going to need a lot of Paranaturals” Kade said.
“Can we gather them through the Aje Authority? We have so many different Paranatural groups there that can assist us.” Ada asked.
Kade stood suddenly and turned to her.
“I’ll go and start gathering them now. We will meet here tomorrow night and go through a slight plan on what we can do” Kade said. “I know some Warlocks that aren’t interested in supporting Abaddon. They might be a good starting point”
Ada smiled and took Kade’s hand in hers.
‘Be careful’ she said into his mind.
Kade leant forward and kissed her third eye, lingering there for a moment.
‘Always’ he spoke before vanishing at Vampire speed.
Ada sighed and ran her hands through her hair before heading back into the coven.
Chapter Thirty
“As I fight for one last prayer I keep holding on, no love to believe in as I drag the devil down. I will stand alone no longer defeated” Breaking Benjamin
When Ada went back into the library Travis looked up and smiled.
“Where is Kade?” he asked.
Ada smiled and flopped down on his lap, briefly kissing his lips.
“He has gone to the Aje Authority to rally up support; we are going to take Abaddon down” Ada spoke.
Travis, Karla and Morrigan all nodded their heads and gave sounds of agreement.
“It’s time” Morrigan spoke.
When the moon was high in the sky the following night, the coven was bustling with Paranaturals and human’s alike. They all came with one agenda; to bring the end of Abaddon. Ada hadn’t seen so many different groups gathered in one place. The coven was literally bursting at the seams and the noise level resembled a rock concert without the music.
The Vampires gathered together, the Witches in another group, the Fairies beside the big bay window. The Werewolves wrestled with one another throughout the room and the Warlocks sat quietly watching the event unfold. Kade climbed to the top of the dining table and whistled. The noise ceased and everyone turned into his direction.
“Thank you everyone for coming. As you know we have all lived in peace for centuries; Paranaturals and humans alike. Abaddon threatens to disrupt our way of life and this will have an adverse effect not only for us but future generations. It is something we cannot tolerate” Kade said.
The groups nodded and murmured amongst themselves.
“So why haven’t we already killed him?” roared one of the Werewolves.
There was a cheer go through the crowd like a rumbling thunder. Kade raised his hand until silence fell over the room again.
“We need to be strategic. Remember he is an Angel; God’s favourite Angel who fell. He is more powerful than any of us. We need to be prepared for what might happen” Kade said. “I want to give you all an opportunity to walk away from this war. If you don’t feel you can take him on, if you are afraid, if you aren’t prepared to possibly die then we can’t have you. You will be a liability”
The murmur rumbled through the room again. Ada looked around at all the faces and different breeds of people that filled the coven. There was no one that seemed to be afraid. They all wanted the same thing. To see Abaddon destroyed. Ada felt a hand entwine with hers and she turned to see Travis beside her.
“I don’t want you to fight” she said quietly to him.
Travis set his jaw in determination and shook his head.
“I’m going to fight. I’m not leaving your side” he said.
Ada felt panic grip at her throat as she tightened her fingers around his.
“You promise me you don’t leave my side then” she said through gritted teeth.
Travis gave Ada a sly smirk and nodded his head. His eyes read his victorious win.
“Right if there is no one leaving let’s get on with the plan” Kade spoke.
The room went silent as Kade explained the plan that he and the Aje Authority had come up with. He explained that they would send in the Werewolves to the home in which Abaddon was holed up in. The Werewolves would act as a distraction and drive him into the woods. They would go in waves, the weakest first followed by the strongest of the Were’s last. As Kade was explaining the Werewolves roll in the upcoming battle there was a crack of thunder that split the atmosphere. Instantly Ada felt her body tense.
‘He’s already here’ Ada screamed to her Father’s mind.
The Werewolves began to howl and bark. They were starting to leap over one another the atmosphere was suddenly electric. The noise level was rising. Suddenly there was a shriek from the back of the room. Ada spun on her heel to see where the sound came from. It was a Witch who had been standing with her back to the entrance, who now was nothing more than a pile of ash. Wings filled the entrance, black feathers floated throughout the room. A bright light flooded in over the top of all their heads.
“You want a battle? I’ve brought the war” Abaddon roared a deafening boom.
Abaddon locked his eyes with Ada as he flicked his hand. Within an instant, there were flames licking at the walls, the furniture, floor and roof. An intense heat filled the room and screams echoed through the coven, people moved aimlessly in a panic searching for somewhere to escape, window’s shattered as bodies leapt over one another trying to escape the inferno. Travis gripped Ada’s hand and dragged her through the panicked crowd and grabbed hold of a chair. He threw it through the big bay window and pulled Ada behind him into the grounds of the coven.
‘Through the bay window’ Ada screamed into her Father’s mind.
Travis and Ada ran for the woods, a blur moved past her and she recognised the energy as that of her Father. Suddenly there were more blurs moving through the woods around them as other Vampires fled past her. Ada and Travis came to a grinding halt when they reached the sacred Warlock stones. Merza was still chained in the centre but she was levitating off the ground. Her eyes glowed a dark red.
“What the hell is he doing to her?” Ada screamed.
“He is drawing her powers into the stones” a familiar voice spoke behind her.
Ada turned to see Dane. She rubbed her eyes in disbelief and shook her head. Kade was suddenly standing beside her. His aura glowing a deep red. His teeth elongated and his face twisted into a horrifying anger. Ada put her hand on Kade’s chest to calm him.
“How are you not dead?” she spoke, trying to keep her voice calm.
Dane smiled and stepped towards her. Travis stepped between Ada and Dane. Dane’s eyes flicked to Travis before a smirk crept along his lips.
“Stupid human. You think you can do anything to protect her?” Dane spat, before flicking his hand and sending Travis hurtling through the air.
Travis fell backwards and landed with a thud onto the ground. The Vampires that stood around, all with their teeth elongated, a red aura oozing throughout the stones and woods and their eyes glowing deep crimson, picked Travis off the ground and held him up by the arms.
“Travis” Ada cried as she lurched forward towards him.
“He is fine; stupid Witch” Dane spat.
Ada stopped and turned
on her heel as she cocked her head to the side and narrowed her eyes. Dane stepped forward closer still to Ada and put his finger under her chin. She flinched back and he smiled an evil grin. His eyes sparkled in the night.
“We could have made a great pair” he said.
Ada wrenched her face away from him.
“Why so shy lovely lady. It’s not what you were screaming only a matter of weeks before?” Dane said taking her face again, this time squeezing her cheeks hard.
Ada reached up and fingered her amulet, closing her eyes and feeling power leave her. She felt Dane let go of her face and jump back with the electric jolt that shocked into his body. His eyes flickered with fear. Ada smiled wryly.
“I’m not shy Dane” she said.
Dane narrowed his eyes and slowly shook his head.
“So I guess you’re wondering how I survived?” Dane asked with a wry smile.
Ada continued to glare at him. Kade stepped in beside her, his anger oozing from his body.
“Oh for fuck’s sake calm down Vampire” Dane said to Kade. “You can’t defeat me”
Kade growled and lurched forward, Ada placed her hand on Kade’s arm and he stopped turning to face her. His face reading confusion as he slowly shook his head.
‘Why not let me kill him?’ he spoke into her mind.
‘I want to know how he lived’ she said.
Kade nodded and stepped back to the group of Vampires that still surrounded her.
“Well Dane, tell me, how did you survive?” she asked.
Dane smiled and folded his arms across his chest as he rocked back onto his heels.
“It was a good try Ada, you really tried hard. But it was only a vision. You were held in stasis like your sweet Mother there” he said waving his hand towards Merza. “For a daughter of a Nephilim you’re a moron. You can’t kill in a vision”
Ada shook her head.
“Then how did it become that Abaddon said that I had killed you?” she asked frowning.
Dane laughed.
“It was an act. And look here you are, here I am” Dane said pointing between the two of them.
A wind whipped up around them and dust floated up into Ada’s eyes. She shielded her face and watched as Abaddon flapped his great black wings to stand beside Dane.