by Katie M John
From the barn, Bunny’s shouts dominated the scene. Whatever was happening in there, it wasn’t good. Fox was torn between rushing to the aid of Violet, whose bright red blood spattered the snow like glinting rubies, or heading towards Bunny who was clearly fighting her own battle – and by the sound of it, possibly losing. Before she could choose, Fox saw Swan raise her wand high in the air. The night sky channelled down into a swirling vortex above its tip. The mass grew denser and darker, and Fox shuddered as she understood her sister was calling on the negative energies of the universe: she was summoning black magic to defeat black magic. Seeing that Swan had the situation in hand, Fox fled to the barn to assist with Bunny.
There’s another reason you’re heading in the opposite direction though, isn’t there? the internal said. You’re afraid of her! Fox glanced back, to see her sister, awesome and powerful, cloaked in darkness. The swirling mass of air had become something solid and monstrous. It was her sister’s demon, a reflection of the latent darkness within, formed from the death and decay found within the balance of nature. Once the demon was fully formed, Swan struck her wand down in the direction of the panther, which now slunk backwards into its own bones. It understood a greater power had entered the theatre. The demon flew down on the pitiful creature. Just as Fox was about to enter the barn to the sound of the panther’s death throes, something in the distance moved, causing her to stop and turn back towards Swan and Violet.
Lilith watched the whole episode between Nigella and Swan Meadowsweet with fascination. She had completely underestimated the Meadowsweets. Never, in her wildest imaginings, had she thought a Meadowsweet, a Guardian, no less, would resort to the use of Dark Arts. She wasn’t sure if she was impressed or disappointed; there was something noble in having your enemy on an opposing side. With Nigella’s denizen defeated, and Swan Meadowsweet’s terrifying demon stalking the ground between them, there was little she could do. She looked over to the barn, where her youngest sibling was still fighting off the other Meadowsweets; by the sound of it, the battle was fierce. An almighty cracking sound preluded the collapse of part of the roof. Looking up to the full moon, Lilith saw that the time was now. If they were ever to reach their end goal, she had to put an end to this overblown playground scrap as soon as possible. She ran in the direction of the barn.
*
Jeremiah stopped at the sound of something bloody and monstrous up ahead in the shadows of the forest. The sound of snarling filled the air with the strange resemblance of thunder. Whatever lay ahead did not belong to reality but nightmares. He looked up through the mess of branches to the navy-blue sky. It offered no answer. The snowfall had at least stopped a little while ago, leaving the earth quiet and soft. The woods were heavy with nighttime, reminding him of the lines from Shakespeare, “Nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark.” The words rang round his head in the voice of a ghost and he shivered with their presence.
In the distance, a bright flash of light bounced off the snow and cast coloured lights of green and orange into the sky. He really didn’t want to move towards the unearthly chaos that was going on beyond the trees, but nevertheless he found his feet continued to step one in front of the other, leading him towards whatever horrors lay ahead.
A rustling noise behind him made him stop and turn. Something was moving towards him. He dipped behind the fattest tree at hand and peered round it. It was pointless; the shadows were too full. Jeremiah tried to calm his breathing but the white clouds they formed betrayed his whereabouts. He leant his head back against the tree, wishing somehow he could melt into it. The rustling stopped, the creature also becoming aware it was not alone. Great, Jeremiah thought, Trouble in front of me, trouble behind me – that’s the story of my life.
The low hoot of an owl travelled through the scraggly trees. Jeremiah’s ears alerted to the noise and dared for a moment to hope everything might be okay. Then it sounded again and he sighed with relief; he’d recognise that call anywhere. He cupped his hands together and returned the call.
Satisfied he was in the company of friend, he stepped out into view.
“Uncle Daniel,” Jeremiah whispered urgently, “how did you find me?”
His uncle flashed him a condescending grin and nodded his head in the direction of the imprinted footfalls. “You really have to ask,” he said, approaching his nephew and wrapping him up in a strong side-hug. “I thought I told you to stay put.”
Jeremiah shrugged his shoulders. “Yeah about that – I’ll explain later.” He looked back in the direction of the eerie light show and the cracking sound of high-voltage energy. “Is that ….?” Jeremiah didn’t need to finish his sentence before Daniel nodded and replied,
“Sure is, we’ve got to hurry. They have a child and if we don’t act now, then there’s a chance we will be too late to save her.”
A terrible whooshing sound filled the air and both men looked up to see a black tornado began to spin wildly in the air above the clearing.
“What in God’s name is that?” Jeremiah asked, his eyes wide with confusion.
“That’s not good. Normally, I’d tell you to wait here for me, but I might need your help with this. Come on,” he said, already heading off.
Jeremiah was forced to jog in order to catch up, a task made more difficult by his eyes’ refusal to stop watching the swirling mass of black air. It became increasingly opaque, taking on form and substance like a living thing. Its sinister, awesome presence was palpable even from a distance.
“Is that…” Jeremiah stumbled over the words he could never have imagined himself asking. “Is that magic?”
“Yes, dear boy – of the very blackest kind.” Daniel stopped, causing Jeremiah to nearly fall over him. Daniel pulled off his knapsack and rummaged around it until he finally located what he was searching for. He withdrew a set of long distance night vision goggles. “Whoever is summoning that force needs to be destroyed on the spot. It is demonic.”
Jeremiah let the words hang in his thoughts. “Destroyed.” Jeremiah’s world had suddenly tilted into the realm of insanity. He didn’t get long to consider the consequences of what they were about to do as another flash of light was followed by a blood-curdling growl.
Daniel explained, “My guess is, there are battling covens; it’s probably a power match to claim the ritual. Knowing which covens live in this territory, my guess is it is probably the Meadowsweets and Ravenhearts.”
Daniel set off in the direction of the clearing, leaving Jeremiah skittering behind him. Impulsively, he felt the need to defend the Meadowsweet sisters, but he wasn’t sure he could – not until he’d seen with his own eyes what the hell was going on. As Daniel continued his potted briefing of the enemy, Jeremiah remained silent. His uncle was talking about them all as if such names should be alien to him, as if they were nothing more than names plucked from some genealogy book, but they weren’t; he knew both families well. For Christ’s sake, he went to college with some of them; he’d watched them eat soggy egg sandwiches in the canteen and scribble down their maths homework in fear of gaining a detention – he could hardly believe that all along, they’d been a powerhouse of dark magic and black rituals.
“Historically,” Daniel continued, “the Meadowsweets have declared themselves as Guardians, which are like guardians against the Dark Arts, practicing only white magic. It has meant the higher powers have turned a blind eye, whilst engaging in more urgent matters. The Ravenhearts, well let’s just say, their bloodline has a little more nefarious reputation. It was thought the last ‘intervention’ by our establishment might have taught them a lesson – clearly not.”
“So the Meadowsweets are safe then?” Jeremiah asked.
Daniel turned on his heel. “Safe? What a strange word to use. What do you mean?” he asked shaking his head.
“You said they were Guardians; that they only practice white magic – so that makes them on our side, right?” he asked, hopefully.
Daniel coughed out a laugh and shoo
k his head. “No, my dear boy, they are still Witches. That still makes them mistresses of deception and deceit. Who knows what their true nature really is? There’s been rumor of certain activities within both covens over the last year that have not gone unnoticed by the…”
“What kind of practices?” Jeremiah asked.
He didn’t get his answer. They had reached the boundary of the woods and had a full view of the carnage taking place; at the center of which was Swan Meadowsweet with her wand held high in the air above her. Forces of darkness twirled and danced above it like a macabre ballet dancer until it shaped into the form of a large black beast, which flew through the air towards another creature cowering on the ground.
Before Jeremiah could stop himself, he uttered the low cry of, “No!”
*
The dark demon, having done its job of tearing out the panther’s throat, once again took its ethereal form of dark mist and turned itself into a reverse vortex before being sucked up into the starry night. Daniel was already charging towards its mistress with his bible extended out in front of him like a shield. Swan Meadowsweet turned to see his approach. Her golden tresses and milk-blond skin gave her an almost angelic luminosity.
“Turn, Witch – face your judge and redeemer!”
Swan was startled by the presence of the man striding towards her; his ridiculous eyewear gave him a slightly comical look. However, the closer he got, the less funny he appeared, and Swan responded defensively, raising her wand in his direction. Fox saw the man draw out a pistol from the leather holder behind his back and all at once, the world seemed less certain.
“Mistress of darkness, you must be destroyed,” he called.
Swan looked panicked, and clearly the man could sense her volatility. Fox started to walk towards them. Somebody had to try and stop the madness. With every step Fox took, flashes of the possible future assaulted her. The visions stopped her properly being able to see what was happening. The sound of the pistol firing kicked her instincts, and she sped across the distance towards the travelling bullet. She grasped at it, moving through the air like some highly trained goalkeeper. The heat of the bullet seared the flesh of her skin and she felt pain beyond what she thought possible. She fell to the ground and her hot burning flesh hissed against the snow.
She had no idea what had just happened, all she was aware of was the pain, and the feeling of acid-burning metal in her palm. She dropped the bullet into the snow; still not believing she had managed to cover such a distance and catch a moving bullet. She was not alone in her incredulity. All three of them turned to each other in amazement. Swan, gathering her wits about her, reached down and pulled Fox to a standing position. Daniel, unsure of what powers he was really facing, searched out Jeremiah, alerting Fox’s attention to the boy standing at the edge of the trees. Her heartbeat jumped out of synch and the sensation was almost as painful as her hand.
“Jay!” the man shouted, beckoning for him to advance towards the barn, “Go and find the child.”
Fox watched Jeremiah run off in the direction of the barn, which was also filled with chaotic activity. It sounded as if all Hell itself was breaking loose; and there was a real possibility it was.
After a moment of hesitation, Jeremiah ran off in the direction of the barn. All of Fox’s instincts urged her to follow him, knowing there was no chance of him surviving the battle raging between the two covens. But the strange, unknown man continued to stand in front of her sister with a look of destruction in his eye.
Swan held out both hands in submission; her defensive panic turned to an eerie calm. She tilted her head in innocence. “Please, it’s not what you think. Please, I need to tend to my cousin. It really isn’t what you think,” she pleaded. Tears traced down her cheeks.
At her feet, Violet let out a faint moan. Violet’s hand, which had been stemming the blood flow, had now fallen from her neck and a steady scarlet puddle grew in the snow. The man looked down at the girl dying on the ground but no sympathy registered on his face.
“Silence, Witch, your kind does not deserve compassion. I know black magic, and I know what needs to be done.”
“But please,” Swan begged, “she’s innocent. She was trying to help the child.” Her voice dropped, “I was trying to help the child.”
The man’s hand relaxed on the pistol and he let it fall to his side. Swan’s charms were powerful. But just as Fox was about to sigh a breath of relief, he returned the pistol to its original position, aimed directly at Swan’s heart.
“How about a deal?” Swan offered. “You let me help my cousin and I’ll hand myself over to you willingly, without a fight?”
“No!” Fox cried. “You can’t do that, you’ve done nothing wrong.”
The man looked into Swan’s eyes and it was as if he were able to see right into her soul.
“Very well,” he nodded, “and you understand the fate that awaits a Witch who calls forth Demons?”
Swan nodded solemnly before dropping to her knees and laying her hands over Violet’s wound. Fox locked eyes with the man, hoping he could feel her feelings of hatred towards him.
“She’s not a Black Witch. She’s not demonic!” she cried, but his face was stern.
“Are you denying what we all witnessed?” he asked.
Fox had no answer. She still wasn’t sure what it was her sister had summoned, or how she’d gained the powers or knowledge to do so. Before she could answer, a scream came from the barn and with it, a bright burst of red light that gave the impression the barn had exploded.
Swan turned to Fox and said flatly, “You need to go and check on Bunny.”
Fox looked briefly at her and then turned to the barn. Dark shadows crawled all over the red-lit barn; minions were seeping out of whatever portal the Ravenhearts had managed to open.
“You need to check Bunny got away. It doesn’t look good,” Swan said.
Fox reached out for her sister with her thoughts, but there was nothing; all receptors were down. Swan saw the look of doubt in her sister’s eyes and begged her to go.
“Please, go and save Bunny. I’ll be okay, honestly, I’ll be okay.”
Fox knew she was trying to convince herself as much as anybody else.
The scene inside the barn was chaotic. Flames licked the walls and minion demons slid amongst them. Prim and Lilith were locked in a fierce battle; equally matched in powers, it would simply be a matter of who got distracted or tired the first. Explosions of energy burst all around them; scratches covered each of their faces. The psychic trauma flowing between the two of them caused their limbs to flail and jerk. Fox looked at Prim and knew there was nothing she could do to help; any interference would probably cause more damage than good.
It took Fox several moments of searching before she caught sight of Bunny and the child. The mirror lay shattered on the floor. Fox had no time to ask what had happened. The baby was held above the heat, flames and demons in a protective bubble – the work of Bunny, who was near the door, battling with Nigella and holding her own admirably. Nigella was bent double, trying to undo a knot of rope Bunny had managed to cast around Nigella’s waist. The rope was tightening, causing Nigella to emit a small squeak and a mouthful of expletives.
A voice in Fox’s ear caused her to turn.
“Take the child and go.” It was Jeremiah.
She looked at him, her eyes wide with confusion. “Why are you here?” she mouthed.
“There’s no time for that now. Just take the baby and go. I’ll follow you later.”
Fox turned back to the fight between Bunny and Nigella. It was all under control. Nigella was now tied tightly to one of the supporting beams and her wand lay uselessly out of reach. Even with her extensive powers, there looked no danger of her breaking Bunny’s binding spell.
Bunny lifted her wand in the direction of her cousin Prim and a blinding white light of energy broke through the flames and bathed her cousin in energy-rich power. The surge was enough for the spell she was bu
ilding and within moments, Lilith fell ungracefully to the floor. Her wand splintered into two, and minions swarmed over her like lice, nipping at her skin. Lilith phased out, disappearing from in front of them.
Fox rushed to Prim’s side. “Where’s Thalia?” she asked.
Prim looked around before shrugging. “I don’t know, I thought she was outside with you.”
Suddenly there was a scream, and Nigella burst out of the bonds and ran towards Bunny and the child. Jeremiah saw her intention and ran towards her at speed. They collided in a messy and brutal, bruising heap. As Jeremiah fell, the palm of his hand fell flat against Nigella’s chest and she let out a blood-curdling scream before falling deathly quiet in a faint.
Bunny cradled the child to her. She felt surprisingly heavy sitting on her hip.
“Do you think it’s finished?”
“For now,” Fox said.
“And Violet?” Prim asked.
“Rose and Swan are with her,” Fox replied.
With the disappearance of Lilith, and Nigella unconscious, whatever power the minions of The Ancient Ones were feeding off, faded. The light in the barn returned to its normal ink-blue, and everything stilled. Fox, Bunny, and Prim left Jeremiah behind and walked out back towards the bloody scene outside.
At first, Fox couldn’t process the scene in front of her. Violet still lie on the ground, with Rose’s cloak spread over her, giving the impression of some dark fallen angel. Rose crouched by her side, moving her hands up and down over her sister’s body, a white healing light emitted from the palms of her hands. Swan was not there, and neither was the man.