by Logan Jacobs
“I can’t exactly say the same for you,” I shouted with my wand aimed in front of me. “Per usual, I can only hear your annoying voice. Why don’t you man up and show yourself?”
“But of course,” the king chuckled. “How terribly rude of me.”
In seconds, a golden cloud of dust erupted before us, and the shimmering particles stung my eyes and blocked my throat. The women violently began to cough and gasp for air, and the sensation was almost too much to bear.
“Does that sting?” his menacing voice cackled. “Don’t worry… you’ll only feel it for a bit.”
Before I could answer, a giant thump echoed from behind me, and when I spun around, I was horrified to see the women lying unconscious on the ground with their wands still held tightly within their grasps. They looked like a group of sleeping statues, with their lips parted open and their chests rising and falling with each steady breath.
Thank Satan, they seemed to simply be in a deep sleep and nothing worse.
“Sorry about that,” the king muttered from behind me. “A part of me wanted your damn bitches to watch you die… but I think they would have just gotten in the way, don’t you? Now, face me… man to elder.”
When I slowly turned around, I was finally able to see King Donovan’s fucking face. The man was tall, about my height, with piercing yellow-green eyes and snow-white hair. He had a strong jaw and a robust build, and he was dressed in a blinding gold armor that stung my eyes like the sun. To my surprise, he barely had any weapons on him, except for one small dagger dangling by his side.
“Where’s Theodora?” I growled.
“It doesn’t matter,” he replied with a gleaming white smile. “What only matters now is you and me… I’ve been waiting a long time to face you, Cole. Your name has been a poison on everyone’s lips, and I think it’s time we put an end to your little charade once and for all… don’t you?”
“Just shut the fuck up,” I snarled as I aimed my wand in between his eyes and summoned the darkness to come rushing to my side. “Praeteritum!”
As the room grew dark, a sudden glow surrounded the king, and my heart sank with dread when nothing happened to him. His taunting smile widened, even though I expected him to scream and beg for mercy like his general did when I used the same incantation to destroy him.
“Did you think I would be as careless and as weak as my general?” King Donovan chuckled. “No, I came prepared this time… and Cole, I promise you… I will make you suffer. Praevolo.”
Suddenly, a blast of blinding red light spurted out from the palm of his hand and hit me straight in the chest. Even with Beatrix’s charm, it sent me flying back into a stone wall behind me, and I landed with a painful thud as I reopened my wound until hot blood trickled down the back of my head. My eyesight instantly grew hazy as hot bile rose up into my throat, but I still forced myself to get back up onto my feet.
“I knew I was going to enjoy killing you little by little, Cole,” King Donovan taunted as he raised his hand in my direction once more. “Tragicum.”
As a searing red light came speeding in my direction, I quickly closed my eyes and opened my black heart to the darkness. No matter how strong he was, I refused to let him win, and I knew I only stood a chance with joint, hellish power at my side.
I needed my shadow, or rather, I needed myself in full force, no matter how power-draining it would be.
I had to finish this once and for all.
Nunc apparet.
I’m coming, my shadow’s voice echoed. Just hold on, Cole.
Right before the crimson beam could hit me and cause any more damage, the air suddenly turned dark. Then a cold chill crept through the entire banquet hall, and shivers ran down my skin as my red shadow darted over and blocked the spell from killing me. His body turned into flames, and I knew that if it hadn’t been for him and our connection, my body would have instantly turned into ashes.
“No!” King Donovan screamed. “This can’t be… you should be burning! No Wicca has ever blocked my flaming curse before!”
Let’s kill this fucker, my shadow chuckled inside my head. Slowly.
I had no idea how his voice could seep into my mind without our bodies and soul bonded as one, but I knew that was a question best saved for another time. So, without any further hesitation, I took a deep breath and steadied my rapidly beating heart before I raised my wand and looked at my hellish half.
“Teneat corpus tuum!” I cried out with all my strength.
As my shadow crept into my body, and my skin turned to red mist, I could feel our great power connecting and flowing through my veins like a searing river. My heart pounded fiercely inside my body, and I could feel myself growing larger and towering above the elder as my horns, hands, and entire frame grew in size and supremacy.
“No!” King Donovan shouted. “God’s power flows through me!”
“And the Devil’s command flows in me, motherfucker,” I retorted, and my voice was much deeper and louder, like a monstrous echo within the deepest cavern of hell.
As I stared down at the elder king, all my rage, power, and lust for death took over my senses, and for a moment, I felt like I could command oceans, burn realms, conquer kingdoms, and devour the souls of every single last elder in the heavens.
For at that moment, I was death incarnate. And King Donovan was about to taste my wrath, fury, and vengeance.
As I raised my giant, ghostly hand, the elder’s silver eyes widened in disbelief and horror, right before I uttered the incantation to put this all to a fucking end.
“Modus antiquorum!”
As the spell left my wispy lips, I pictured consuming the heart, flesh, and bones from his entire fucking soul.
Soon, the room darkened until it was blacker than night, and everything began to shake. Rubble cascaded from the ceiling and tumbled downward, and even through the darkness, I could see King Donovan’s glowing eyes widen with terror as he opened his mouth to cry out. Then he tried to raise a trembling hand in front of him as if he could stop me from stealing his soul. He fought back as much as he could, but once I penetrated his glowing aura, I could see how truly malicious he was. The elder might have been masking himself as an angel of purity and good, but deep down, he was just as evil as I was.
But it didn’t matter because, in the end, I was far more powerful than he ever anticipated, and now, he was paying for it, both in body and soul.
A final, long drawn out scream left his lips as his radiant soul seeped out from his gaping mouth and into my own body. As I devoured his entity, he slowly began to turn into an ashy skeleton, but before he crumbled into a pile of dust, the remnants of his glowing eyes bored into mine, and with the last ounce of strength he had left, he uttered his final words.
“God warned me about you… I should have listened.”
Then he turned into nothingness, and when I was staring down at nothing but a pile of ashes, I took in a long, deep breath and let the calm wash over me.
We did it, Cole, my shadow echoed. We’ve killed God’s right-hand man.
Chapter 23
Before I even had a chance to ask what he meant, I could feel my shadow leaving my body and floating away to be free.
At least for now.
“Cole!” Theodora’s voice echoed from the doorway, and when I spun around, I felt a mixture of relief and confusion wash over my body as I stared upon the unharmed headmistress. “I felt it in my heart… I knew it! You’ve destroyed the king!”
“Headmistress?” I breathed. “I… thought King Donovan took you. I heard the woman from my dreams. She told me you were taken.”
I’m so sorry, Cole, the woman’s voice suddenly said inside my head. I tried to push him out, but he overpowered me.
“Push who out?” I muttered.
“King Donovan,” Theodora sighed with wide eyes. “He masked his voice as someone close to you and convinced you to rush to the banquet hall.”
“What?” I gawked as the women began to s
tir awake. “He could do that?”
“All powerful elders can,” the headmistress replied as her eyes flicked around the room, “but we’ll discuss it later.”
“What the fuck happened?” Akira grunted as she rubbed furiously at her eyes and then looked between Theodora and me.
“Is the castle still under attack?” Beatrix asked in a trembling voice.
“Was the king in here?” Circe questioned with wandering serpentine eyes.
“One at a time,” Theodora quietly chuckled. “There is no need to panic any longer. The elders are dead, and Vipera has been saved.”
There was another crash by the door, and when we spun around, the professors were swarming inside with groups of Vipera students and newly reformed Scholomance students by their sides.
“We did it!” Evanora cried out, and her beautiful face was covered in black ash and specks of blood. “We slaughtered them all.”
“For now.” Theodora nodded. “In the meantime, I want everyone to listen to me carefully. I need you to shadow port all Scholomance women and beasts back to the castle. Then please inform the High Court that a new headmistress will need to be appointed to Vipera. But first… you all need an immense amount of rest and recovery.”
“You’re staying here, Headmistress?” Beatrix asked.
“For the time being,” Theodora responded. “I’ll have to help rebuild Vipera, and I do not have the heart to abandon their professors just yet. Cole, may I have a word with you before you depart?”
“Of course, Headmistress,” I answered as I followed her into a corner of the room.
When we were alone, Theodora looked deeply into my eyes, and a small smile played on the corners of her lips.
“Well done,” she whispered, but then her face slightly fell. “You defeated Donovan… but… there a few things I should warn you about.”
“What is it?” I asked, and I could feel deep concern swelling inside the pit of my stomach.
“I told you we’d discuss the voice you heard later, but I feel that in the meantime, I should warn you to be careful whenever the woman speaks to you,” she explained. “Without the proper instruction, you never know who is truly connecting with you… I feared this would happen, and I should have warned you earlier. Donovan was powerful, and he used an immense amount of his power to penetrate your mind. Be wary from here on out… and do not listen to her. At least not until you’ve learned how to control outside forces.”
“Understood, Headmistress,” I replied.
“Now,” she sighed as she stared deeply into my eyes. “You’d better rest as soon as you return to Scholomance. We’ll have plenty of work to do once you’ve recovered your strength.”
“I know,” I said as I rubbed the back of my throbbing head. “Are you sure you don’t need me to stay and help you rebuild?”
“No,” Theodora answered with a grateful smile, “but I do appreciate your offer. Now, please, join the others and return to Scholomance. I have plenty of work to do here… and my first order of business is to get up onto the roof and repair the exterior of the castle, so if you’ll excuse me.”
“Of course,” I said with my chin raised. “May Satan give you strength.”
“Thank you, Cole,” Theodora replied before she raised her hands up into the air and disappeared into a cloud of purple smoke.
When I returned to the blood-stained and exhausted women, we all joined hands and closed our eyes as we pictured the warmth and comfort of our beloved Scholomance, and in seconds, I could feel my body drifting through realms and returning to our own banquet hall.
“Fuck,” Akira sighed with relief once we were standing on familiar ground. “I’ve never been so grateful to be back at school.”
“Me, too,” Morgana added as she rubbed at her temples. “I’d be more grateful if we could go to bed, though.”
“Well, you heard what the headmistress said,” Evanora sighed as she glanced around the packed banquet hall. “Everyone deserves to clean up and rest. Intense courses will resume tomorrow, so enjoy your night as much as you can.”
As everyone slowly filed out of the banquet hall, my coven followed closely behind while Circe and Beatrix weakly bade us a pleasant rest before heading into their own quarters.
After I departed from my coven in the common room, I weakly climbed up the stairs, and as soon as I closed the door behind me, Cordelia’s shrill voice cut through the air.
“Ah, Mister Cole,” she said. “Shall I draw you a bath with some rejuvenates?”
“Yes, please, Cordelia,” I faintly answered. “I need it.”
I didn’t even wait until the tub was filled up to the brim before I tore off my clothes and breastplate and submerged myself into its pure comfort. The smell of lavender, lilac, and rose drifted through the air, and the aromatic scent made all my muscles instantly relax. Even my throbbing head was starting to heal, and after an hour or so, I found the last ounce of energy I had left, dried myself off, and then crawled into my bed, naked and utterly exhausted.
An abrupt, impatient knock roused me from my deep sleep, and before I could answer, another forceful knock followed.
“Master!” Akira’s voice called from behind the door. “May we please come in?”
“Of course,” I replied as I sat up and gingerly rubbed my eyes.
When the door opened, my mouth instantly dropped as I stared at the gorgeous, semi-naked women before me. Each witch from my coven was garbed in a different set of lace lingerie, and their cheeks were flushed as they slowly approached the foot of the bed.
“Master,” Morgana purred as she bowed before me. “We’ve brought you a gift… we’d meant to give it to you for quite some time now.”
“What is it?” I asked as my cock hardened like a titanium rod.
“You can come in now,” Vesta purred as she cocked her head toward the door.
In the next moment, Circe came floating inside the bedroom dressed in a sheer lavender gown that exposed her entire naked body, and my eyes trailed along her perfectly sculpted, porcelain frame, her bouncing breasts, rosy nipples, toned stomach, and plush thighs with a small patch of blonde hair in between her legs. Her lips were painted red, her serpentine eyes were lined with black eyeliner, and her long golden hair spilled across her shoulders and down to her hourglass waist.
“Fuck,” I growled. “You look incredible, Circe… all of you do.”
“Thank you, master,” Vesta purred as her silver eyes shone with pride. “We also brought you this.”
Vesta’s lavender arms had been folded behind her back, and when she brought her hands forward, I saw she grasped a beautifully crafted dagger. The hilt was made of deep, green leather and woven with strings of silver silk. The blade gleamed like moonlight, and each time it caught the light, it glittered like the stars.
“We made her a bonded weapon.” Akira smiled coyly. “We knew by the way you looked at her that you wanted her… both in body and soul.”
“And you were correct,” I grunted as I stared at the blonde witch’s perfect body. “Are you ready for what’s about to come, Circe? Once we begin… there will be no turning back, and then you will be mine forever.”
“Yes, Cole,” the serpentine witch answered without hesitation. “After the battle… when I nearly encountered death once more, I realized I didn’t want to return to the world of the dead. Instead, I want to be yours. You’re stronger than anyone I’ve ever met, even from what I remember from my past life. Please, take me tonight and ravish me in every way possible. I need you, Cole… more than anything. Fill me with your darkness, your seed, your essence, and I will be yours forever.”
A smirk played on my lips as I stood up from the bed and padded barefoot and naked toward the women, and Circe quickly got down on her knees and bowed before me while Akira and Faye held onto her shoulders.
“Stay just like that,” I ordered. “Now… hand me the blade so we may begin the ritual.”
“Yes, master,” Vesta sighed d
reamily as she placed it into my hand.
I lowered myself to the serpentine woman’s level, and I raised her chin so I could look deep into her snake-like eyes as I pressed the end of the dagger along her collarbone and then cut into her porcelain flesh. Circe moaned with arousal as I dragged the sharpened end along her skin, and when thick red blood dripped down to her breasts, she licked her full lips with her forked tongue and stared up at me with lust-filled eyes.
“Don’t move a fucking inch,” I ordered, “and close your eyes.”
“Yes--” she started, but then I pressed a finger against her moist lips.
“Don’t say a word,” I commanded before I trailed down to her open cut and swiped the blood off from her skin. “Not until I tell you to.”
I swiftly but carefully started to draw the bloody pentagram on the wooden floor, and when the symbol was complete, I turned to look upon the blonde Wicca and raised my hands up into the air.
“Open your heart to the darkness,” I began. “Allow yourself to feel the power of Satan as he seeps into the depths of your soul and every corner of your heart. Nothing else matters now except for the darkness and me. You will be mine to own, body and soul, and you will obey my every command.”
I raised my arms up higher into the air, and the room soon grew icier and darker, even before I began to utter the unholy, blood-bonding incantation.
“Vocai, et tenebras petere quod sit conjunctio fiet, et anima per sanguinem,” I chanted, and the flames from the candlelight and fireplace began to flicker. “Hae mulieres serve meus, et me in vita mea voluntati parere… now, say you are mine for all eternity.”
“I’m yours for all eternity, Cole,” the blonde witch repeated with a small smile, but her eyes were still tightly shut. “From here henceforward, I vow to call you my master, my king, and my husband.”
“In the ancient tongue, say you’re mine, and you will serve me for all eternity,” I commanded as I pressed my hand against her forehead.
“Si audierint et observaverint illum sicut animam meam in dominum!” the serpentine witch gasped in a breathy voice as a violent breeze swept throughout the room and nearly killed all the light.