Council of Magic

by J. L. Hendricks

  “Damien, what are you doing here this early? We didn’t make any plans last night for an early breakfast, did we?” I tightened the robe around my waist and decided I didn’t want to mar his beautiful face with my fist after all.

  “Sorry, Kat. I caught a werewolf last night. Can I come in? You’re gonna want to hear this. So is Jenna.” Damien looked nervous as he combed his fingers through his hair. I guess he had a right to worry. He did wake a house full of women way too early in the morning.

  “Can it wait for them to get up at a normal time?” I opened the door so he could enter.

  Damien shook his head. “I’m afraid not. This is time sensitive. We have to get a move on as soon as we can, if we want to make sure Mandy’s safe.”

  I did a double-take when he mentioned the girl from last night. She was one of Jenna’s customers. “What’s going on?”

  “Please, wake up Jenna, and I’ll tell you both all about it over a beignet and café au lait. My treat. We just need to hurry up.” Damien strode into the kitchen and reached inside the fridge for a water bottle.

  It was already hot, today would be a difficult day if the heat index rose too high. I’m glad he was drinking water already. Maybe I should skip the coffee and get a tea instead. Nah.

  All four of us girls wanted to hear what was going on so we all followed Damien to our favorite café a few blocks away. Café Du Monde may be known the world over for their beignet’s but I was more interested in a quieter café which actually served better pastries and coffee. It was our little secret. I had no plans to share my secret with anyone outside of my inner circle.

  The five of us ordered and took a table in the back corner as far from anyone as we could get. It only gave us one table of buffer space. Even though I didn’t share my secret, others had discovered this little gem on the edges of the French Quarter.

  Everything in the café was handmade, including the tables which were all handmade from solid oak. They didn’t teeter on their legs like so many other tables did. These were solid wood, and short of a hurricane, didn’t move much. The matching chairs were comfortable. The owners of the café made cushions to match the patchwork quilt window coverings.

  The place gave off a comfy vibe. It felt like you were sitting in your grandma’s kitchen, chatting over French pastries and custom made café au lait or iced tea. I could spend hours in here reading or chatting with my friends.

  Damien took the seat next to mine and got right to business. “Last night after dropping Kat off I came across a werewolf.”

  I put my hand out to stop him. “You mean the monster kind? Not the wolf shifter kind?”

  “Yes. I know you haven’t had any experience with them, yet. I have to warn you all to be very cautious when out at night on a full moon. I think the rogue vamps have brought them here.”

  If anyone other than Damien had said this, I would have laughed them away. After all of the issues we’ve had with the rogue vamps this year, I believed they would do something so evil.

  “How do we defend against them?” I could see the wheels churning in Jenna’s eyes. She enjoyed using the charms the witches gave us, even if it took a lot out of her. However, she was trying to find other ways of defeating any of the paranormals who attacked.

  For some reason, it was much easier for me to use the magical charms. I didn’t tire out like she did or my other sisters. Although, to be fair, I haven’t used many of them. Jenna has used the most out of all of us.

  “The best thing is to stay away. Never run from them. They will see you as easy prey if you do. Carry some of the force field charms as well as the electrocution ones. Those will work best if one gets too close to you. And never, I mean NEVER, go out alone on a full moon.” Damien was a bit intense this morning. His fight with the beast must have been pretty bad.

  “Did something bad happen with your fight last night? You did kill it, right? You told us you always kill them.” I looked over the rim of my glass of iced tea, and watched the shadows cross Damien’s face. Something happened.

  “We did not kill it. I captured it and took it back to the compound. When the sun came up, and it reverted back to its human form, everyone was very happy I captured instead of killed.” The sigh coming from Damien told me everything I needed to know.

  “Who was it? OH! NO! Please don’t tell me it was Mandy’s boyfriend.” A chill went through me when I realized he mentioned her this morning and the danger she was in.

  “I’m sorry. It was. The vampires targeted him when he was home this summer.” Damien proceeded to tell us all about his experience with Brad and what they learned.

  “What are we sitting around here for? Let’s go get Mandy and take her to her boyfriend.” I stood up and looked at everyone around the table. None of us had finished our breakfast.

  I wasn’t going to sit around and wait for them to lazily eat while one of our customers could be in mortal danger. Sure, the vamps can’t go out right now, but that wouldn’t stop their acolytes from trying to get Mandy to follow them. All they had to do was tell her Brad was injured, and she would follow them anywhere.

  “I have her cell number. I’ll give her a call and tell her to get ready. Also, not to leave with anyone but us.” Jenna pulled out her cell and dialed Mandy.

  “It went to voicemail. Maybe she isn’t up yet?” Jenna left a message asking her to wait for us and to go nowhere and talk to no one.

  “Let’s go. Hopefully she’s sleeping in.” Damien stood and led us all outside.

  Since we had walked here, we had to walk back to my place to get his SUV.

  The entire way to Mandy’s dorm, I worried about her and where she might be. It was too early for class, wasn’t it? “Hey, what time do classes start? Not before nine in the morning, right?”

  Indie had taken a couple of classes after we graduated. None of us had a college degree. Indie thought it would be a good idea to have some business classes since we ran our own business. Too bad she felt none of the courses helped her learn how to manage a small business.

  Indie was in the back seat and piped up, “Some classes begin as early as seven. Most start at eight in the morning. She could have been on her way to class when we called. Someone in her dorm will know when her first class starts today.”

  “Damien, do you know which dorm Mandy lives in?” Jenna asked.

  “Yes, Brad told me her dorm name when I said I would go get her. He did say she has an early class. However, like you, I thought none started until nine in the morning. With the way these college kids party, I have no idea how anyone shows up to a class any earlier than noon.” The chuckle coming from Damien was contagious. I couldn’t help but join in.

  How did someone attend college in NOLA and not party all of the time? Most students must have taken later classes. Bourbon Street was always full of college students until late at night. It was part of the charm of the French Quarter, young and good looking partiers along the streets and in the clubs. We catered to them with our concerts.

  When we pulled up to the dorm, it was just after eight in the morning. Not a lot of activity in the area.

  “I’ll go and see if she’s here. It’s probably better if you stay here and wait. I’ll let you know if I learn anything. These dorms have a lot of security, and you can’t just walk in. At least she’s got some protection.” I hopped out of the van and headed to the entrance.

  When I walked in I wondered where I was. The place was very quiet and sterile. The walls were painted beige and had doctor’s office type of paintings on one wall, and the other featured images from campus. There were hanging photos full of students and also some with the older buildings on campus.

  There was a tall check-in desk with two people behind it. The desk had to be at least four feet high. One of the girls behind the counter could barely see over it. To my left was a locked door and to the right was a little area with vending machines. The floor was a tile which reminded me of a hospital.

  “Good morning, how
can we help you?” The perky blonde who was barely tall enough to see over the counter addressed me.

  “I’m here to see Mandy Thompson.” I rested my arms on the counter as I waited for the girl to look up Mandy in their directory.

  The blonde picked up the phone and called Mandy. While the phone was ringing she asked me, “What’s your name?”

  “Kat Deveroix. I called earlier but she didn’t answer. I’m actually a little bit worried about her.” Not a lie, I really was worried.

  The more I thought about what was going on, the more I realized how much trouble Mandy was in. They may have some security here, but if an acolyte wanted in, he would find a way to get in.

  “No answer. Was she expecting you?” Blondie asked once she hung up the phone.

  “Not this early. Is there a way to know if she’s in class or not? I know she had a class this morning, I just didn’t think to ask her what time it started.” Things weren’t looking too good for me.

  I needed to know if Mandy was safe, or not. This girl wouldn’t be able to let me know anything I really needed.

  “Sorry, you’re welcome to sit in the lobby and wait. If she had an eight A.M. class, she should be back around nine-thirty. There’s a café not too far away. They make pretty decent fraps, if you want to hang out there? I can let her know when she arrives you were looking for her.” The girl took out a binder and flipped to some pages, waiting for my answer.

  “I’ll hang out here and wait for her. Thanks.” I walked over to the sitting area and texted Damien the news as soon as I sat down.

  About an hour later I heard noise outside, and it caused the hairs on the back of my neck to stand on end. I jumped up and ran outside.

  “Mandy! Run!” I yelled as I ran toward her and her attackers.

  She had three beefy guys following her. With Damien and my sisters, we could protect her from them. Even if they were MMA fighters.

  I think.

  Mandy ran to me while Damien jumped out of the SUV and ran toward the guys right behind her. I couldn’t believe we were on a campus, one which had a history of girls being abducted from, and no one was doing anything about a girl being chased by three huge guys.

  So glad I didn’t bother with college!

  With my hands inside my bag, I fumbled around looking for the extra small bag which held the magical charms. It was a fabric bag with a zipper closure and wasn’t too difficult for my fingers to locate.

  What was difficult, was running and trying to find the right charm or spell to pull out. I had an assortment of them all. I didn’t want to blow a hole on the campus grounds, so the red spell was out. All of my bracelet charms only worked for the person wearing the bracelet. I needed the pink, brown, and yellow stones.

  Of course, I would first pick out the red and then the blue. The two most destructive ones. “Ah! Take that!” I threw a pink spell at the guy in the lead. It hit his chest and created a force field between him and Mandy.

  It gave me the time I needed to get to her and put her behind me while I threw a yellow stone at one of the other guys. “Boom!” A nice loud sound echoed off his chest where it hit him. He was thrown back at least ten feet and fell on the sidewalk. If he wasn’t knocked out, then he was much more than an acolyte.

  That left one guy, and Damien was grappling with him.

  I dragged Mandy as she was panting and gasping for breath. “Who? What?” She asked between breaths.

  “Get in the car, we’ll tell you on our way.” I guided her to the SUV knowing Damien would get whatever he needed from the other guy. It was important we were all in the car, waiting, as soon as Damien was done.

  “I need some things from my room. I also need to let Brad know what’s going on. What is going on?” As her breath slowed down to normal her face crinkled in confusion.

  “We have Brad. He’s safe. I was waiting for you to get out of class. If Damien can take care of these guys, we can clean your room out.”

  There was no easy way to this, so I just blurted it out. “You have to drop out. I’m sorry. Your life is in danger here on campus. Maybe next term you can return, once it’s all settled.” I shrugged.

  It didn’t look good for Mandy and UNO. If I was in her shoes, once I found out what was going on, I would be out of here for good.

  The girls who survived being kidnapped by the vamps all wanted to leave, too. Once they were released from the hospital they went home. There were still two girls in the hospital. I heard they had requested to be transferred to their hometowns. I couldn’t blame them for wanting out of here as soon as they could.

  The guy stuck behind the pink force field finally got out. I wasn’t ready for him. When Mandy’s eyes bulged out of her head, I knew I was in trouble, but it was too late.

  A beefy arm wrapped around my neck, and he swung my body around and threw me to the ground. Thank the good Lord I had time to twist one of the charms on my wrist.

  I landed with a thud, but the force field surrounding me kept me from banging my head so hard I would have died. As it was, I was still pretty woozy and had to shake my head a few times to get rid of the stars. Even hitting the sides of the force field with the velocity in which I was thrown was enough to jumble my brain, as well as cause a massive headache.

  “Whoa, are there two of you?” I asked as my eyes tried to focus on the brute in front of me.

  His back was to me, and he held Mandy by the hand. “Come with me. You’re much safer with us. Brad asked me to come and get you.”

  “No. You aren’t the safe one. They are!” Mandy pointed to me and tried to get her wrist out of his hand.

  “They want to kill Brad. Don’t listen to them. We’ll keep you and your boyfriend safe.”

  “Living with us will be the best life you could ever imagine. Parties all the time. You won’t even have to go to school anymore.” This guy didn’t know Mandy, she loved school. I overheard her telling Jenna she was a nursing student.

  “Screw that! I want to go to school.” She tried to pull back again only to be thwarted.

  I was on the ground and having a hard time getting up. I wondered where my sisters were. They should have hopped out of the SUV to help the second they saw Mandy in trouble.

  I felt something cold splash on me when a drink carrier full of frappuccinos dropped next to me.

  Indie stopped and asked, “Are you alright? What happened?”

  “Acolytes, that’s what happened.” I put my arm up, and Indie helped me to stand up.

  Jenna and Sam went right up to the big guy holding Mandy’s wrist. Sam pulled out a stone, I couldn’t make out the color. She slammed it on the big oaf’s head, and purple smoke began to snake along the guy’s body.

  Jenna was working the acolyte’s fingers, trying to get them off Mandy’s hand.

  Indie dragged me further from the commotion while Jenna pulled Mandy back to the SUV, and Sam crossed her arms and smirked as she walked around to the front of the guy. He reached for her, but she had already activated a shield. His big hands bounced off her.

  The purple haze began to snake around the guy’s head and throat. It took the shape of a lasso and squeezed his neck. It must have been really taut as his eyes were bulging out of his head, and his fingers were red trying to get the hazy lasso off his neck.

  When the guy’s head turned red, I knew he was going to die. It wasn’t something I wanted. None of us wanted to kill humans, even acolytes. However, we had decided if it was us or them, they would die, and we wouldn’t lose sleep over it.

  The guy, who had to be close to six-feet, five-inches and over two hundred and fifty pounds, fell to the ground and was trying to gasp for air. The spell had effectively shut the air to his lungs off. All of us, Mandy included, stood there watching as the man died. Even if we wanted to stop it, we couldn’t. None of us had magic, and so we couldn’t counteract the spell.

  “Hey, what happened?” I jumped when Damien sidled up to me.

  I grasped my chest with my left ha
nd and pounded my right fist on his arm. “Don’t sneak up on me like that! I could have attacked you with a spell.” My heart was still beating crazy fast, and my chest actually hurt from it.

  “Sorry, is there any way to stop the spell?” He stood next to me and was focused on the body lying on the ground not three feet away.

  “No. None of us have a counteractive spell. He would have killed Mandy if he’d gotten ahold of her. Who knows how many other innocents he sent to their grave by grabbing them for the vamps.” I wasn’t going to be upset about this death. It was his own fault for attacking us.

  “Don’t worry about it. These guys were evil. If they were sent here, my guess is they were going to be turned to vamps if this was a success. The vamps always give them a trial. If they pass, they get to become a vampire, as long as they survive the process. Sometimes the vampires get extra hungry and have a hard time stopping.” Damien didn’t seem the least bit upset about what was happening.

  I turned around, and both of the other guys were knocked out but lying on the ground behind us. “What now?”

  “We have to take the body with us. We can’t leave it here for campus security. They won’t know how to handle it. First, we have to wait for the spell to dissipate. It’s too dangerous to get near the body right now.” Damien turned around and took one of the unconscious guys and dragged him to the back of the SUV.

  “What’s going on? What is that around his neck?” Mandy’s face was covered in tear streaks. Her body was shivering, and she was about to have a nervous breakdown if the fear on her face was any indicator.

  “I used a magical spell on him. It’s killing him.” Sam patted Mandy on her back. “Come on, let’s get inside the car. You don’t need to watch this.”

  “You just killed a guy, and no one even cares? What’s wrong with you!” A full hysterical fit was really close now. Poor Mandy.

  “Mandy, he works for the vampires who turned your boyfriend into a monster. They would have served you up as dessert to the vamps if we didn’t step in and help.” Telling her this way was the worst. If she could have held it together a bit longer, I would have waited until Brad was with us.