by Logan Jacobs
He threw the weapon with all his strength, and when it whipped past my face, I could feel one of its blades as it grazed across my skin and cut my flesh open.
When I turned around to see where it landed, Circe stood there in total shock, and the star was wedged right in the middle of her forehead. We were all momentarily stunned, but as blood dripped down her forehead, her lips curled up into a wicked smile before she pulled the weapon out of her skull and then licked the blood from the blade.
“Delicious,” the serpentine witch cackled as her forked tongue swirled around the metal. “Would you like a taste?”
Before any of the bewildered men could respond, Circe retracted her hand and flung the weapon back the way it came. The star-shaped dagger plunged into the left eye of her attacker and killed him instantly. His body collapsed to the floor, and the clanging of his armor against the stone floor echoed around the massive church.
“Fucking heathens!” a soldier growled as he stood tall in front of their cowering prince. “For God’s sake, someone attack! If we die, at least we’ll die defending our holy ruler!”
“Don’t you get it?” I chuckled with a wide grin. “Your men might be stupid, but they know death when they see it… and it’s not a question of if you’ll die. Oh, no, you will certainly die here and now.”
“He’s right,” Vanessa snickered as two men grew red-faced and tried to run toward her. “You worthless fools are about to meet a most painful end. Intermissum!”
The soldiers froze in their tracks, and the sound of breaking bones echoed through the air as their bodies twisted, bucked, and convulsed. We watched with glee as all their bones broke, and while the other women shouted spell after spell at the other men, I glanced at all the drawn longswords and pictured them puncturing the necks of their masters. In my heart, I longed to see them hovering in the air, with their ends pointed right at the guards’ throats, and I craved to see the fear in the men’s eyes right before their holy weapons snatched the life right out of them.
I opened my heart to Satan and willed the swords to leave the hands of their masters. Then I recited the incantation inside my head.
Motus.
In seconds, the armed men stopped trying to near us, and their eyes widened with fear and disbelief as their hands violently shook until their swords began to retract from their tight grips. As they quickly lost control of their weapons and the swords levitated into midair, the men all took small steps back, abandoned their prince, and began to run for the open doors.
But I was too quick.
With my mind, I forced the doors to close, and even though the men desperately tried to pry them open, it was useless.
And deep in their withered hearts, they knew it.
“What are you doing?” the prince shrieked as he gawked back at his disloyal men. “You’re supposed to protect me! I am your holy ruler! I’ll have your heads for this!”
The men didn’t listen, though. They were too preoccupied trying to escape, and they didn’t have time to turn around before I sent the suspended swords straight through the backs of their heads. The steel ran through their skulls and pinned them to the closed doors like macabre puppets, and each man’s body violently trembled before they went limp.
“No!” the prince wailed as he looked around, and in that moment, he looked more like a terrified child than some magnificent ruler. “Y-You can’t do this!”
“Oh, we can,” Vanessa chuckled as she raised her wand high and aimed it right at the pompous little prince, “and we will.”
Cole! Alexander’s panic-filled voice rang through my head. We’ve got company! They’ve just appeared out of nowhere, I’m sorry!
Panic flooded through my body, and before Vanessa could enact her revenge, the church doors burst into a thousand splinters as deep, gray smoke filled the air. The smolder reeked of burnt wood, and when the mist finally cleared, we were staring upon a row of priests, all dressed in gold-and-purple robes, precisely like the one hanging by the altar.
Then they raised their hands simultaneously, and before anyone could say a word, their eyes glowed a brilliant shade of green as an icy chill filled the air.
“Conscendo!” they intoned in deep echoing voices.
Suddenly, a bright light hit my body, and I could barely breathe as I was lifted upward and hovered in the air. I maintained a tight grip on my wand as I dangled high above the ground, but it took all my willpower not to let it slip out from my fingers.
“Master!” my coven cried out, but my throat was so closed up, I couldn’t utter a word.
Then my body went soaring backward, and I crashed into the marble altar behind me. I hit the rock with such force, I thought I could feel my head splitting open. It took a long moment before the air returned to my lungs, but I finally forced myself to sit up.
While my coven stared at me with concern, Vanessa had her back turned to me as she raised her wand to attack the holy priests.
But then the priests sent her, the familiars, and the other women flying backward, and each woman landed with a brutal thud in different corners of the church. When they didn’t move an inch, I felt a fit of searing anger coursing through my aching body, and it overpowered any other sensation brewing inside me.
Cole, the woman from my dreams echoed. Destroy them all! Don’t let them win… not now.
“I know,” I grunted as I stood up with all my might and fortitude.
“Look,” a priest with dark, reddish-brown hair chuckled. “He’s still alive.”
“Yeah,” I snapped. “I am, you dumb motherfucker.”
As I stared around the church, I took in the image of the unconscious women, the cowering prince, and the smirking priests who dragged that poor witch into the church and watched as Samara cut her open. I felt years of anger and revenge pounding through my body, and they consumed every fiber of my entity. I was beyond furious about what these men had done and what they planned to do. I longed to see them bleed and suffer for their sins, and above all else, I wanted it to be by my hand.
So, as I stared at the Wicca-hating stained-glass windows, filled with loathing against our kind and pride for the unholy blood that had been spilled, I imagined the delicate glass bursting into the sharpest pieces of shards I could muster.
Modus antiquorum.
A grin broke across my face as the windows ruptured, and thousands of colorful shards of glass lingered in the air, as they awaited my command. They hung in the air like deadly drops of rain, and I could see the fear spreading across the priests’ faces.
“N-No,” muttered the same priest with the dark-auburn hair. “Wait, p-perhaps we can come to an agreement? You clearly possess great power, one that I admit… we might have underestimated. If you come with us, we’ll forget about this little clash with the prince and his guards.”
“W-What?” the prince stuttered as he wildly looked around. “How dare you! I will see you all burn for this--”
“Silence him,” the man ordered, right before another priest retrieved a small blade and then swiftly sliced it across the young prince’s throat.
The pathetic ruler dropped to his knees and clutched for dear life onto his open gullet like he could possibly stop the blood from slipping out through his fingers. He choked and gurgled as he feebly clung onto the remnants of his life, and I stared back at the priests as they smiled at me from ear-to-ear.
“See?” The leader grinned. “I can be reasonable. Now, let’s just calm down and talk about this like civilized men, shall we?”
“No,” I growled as I slowly shook my head. “Let’s not.”
Before he could answer, I snapped my fingers, and all the shards of glass went soaring through the air and penetrated the priests all over their bodies. I grinned as I pictured the glass going deeper and deeper into their flesh and stabbing every organ in their holy-worshipping bodies, but as glorious as it was to see the glass wedge deeper into every single priest, I couldn’t stop smiling as I stared into the eyes of the head p
riest.
The spark of life drained from his eyes as pieces of stained-glass windows plunged deeper into his flesh, and I edged closer to him and smiled when our noses were nearly touching.
“N-No,” he gurgled as he raised a bloody hand above his face. “M-Mercy, please.”
“Did you show any mercy when the witches begged for their lives?” I growled as he dropped to his knees. “When women were burned at the stake… did you stop to show them mercy?”
“I-I-I,” he began, but before he could utter his final words, I whipped out my own blade and grabbed him by the back of his head.
“Just shut the fuck up,” I demanded before I shoved my blade through his gaping mouth and twisted the hilt up against the back of his skull for good measure, “and fucking die.”
When his body fell to the floor with a thump, I heard the others stirring around the church, and the first one to stand on her feet was Vanessa. The professor glanced around, and a small smile crept across her face when she realized what I had done.
“Not bad, Cole,” she praised as she staggered toward me and then glanced at the dead bodies amassed throughout the church.
“Thanks,” I said as I looked at the other women who were pulling themselves up from the ground, and their familiars were sniffing around the dead bodies as they tried to see what else they could eat.
“Satan,” Akira groaned as she rubbed the back of her neck. “That fucking hurt.”
“Well, it looks like our master certainly made sure their deaths were as painful as possible,” Vesta remarked as she studied the glass-covered corpses. “Look at them… they look so still and fearful. Their faces will surely remain in my mind for years to come.”
“Yes, and as lovely as they are,” Vanessa said as she pushed back her hair and smoothed down her skirts. “We need to move it.”
“Agreed.” I nodded. “Samara knows we’re here, so let’s get that cross and shadow port the hell out of here.”
Without wasting another second, I bolted toward the tapestry and swept the fabric out of the way. Then I eagerly pushed the hidden door open, and as the women followed me down the stone steps, an icy wind swept past my neck and face and made my hair stand on end.
“Satan, what a horrid place,” Beatrix muttered as we ventured further.
“The soil,” Faye whispered as she planted her feet on the ground. “Why does it send such a shiver up my body?”
“It’s soaked with Wicca blood,” Vanessa growled. “Fucking barbarians… wait, look, Cole, over there.”
The chest we’d seen in the memory incantation was plastered against the dusty stone wall, and despite being held down here for Satan knows how long, it seemed to be in pristine condition. There was no sign of wear on it, no scratches, and not even one particle of dust.
As I stared at the gold lock with the intricate patterns, I thought back to the vision and how Samara had opened it, and then I bent down and began to fiddle with the lock as Vanessa looked over my shoulder.
“Do you remember how to unlock it?” she asked as she pressed her warm, sweet-scented body next to mine.
“Yes,” I said as her breath tickled my neck. “Every step.”
I carefully placed my fingers around the lock and slowly twisted the gold puzzle twice to the left, once to the right, and then pushed the small knob upward.
When the last step was complete, the lock made a clicking noise that echoed throughout the cellar, and the women all took a step back as the latch began to reorganize itself, then unlock, right before the lid gently pried open.
“There we go,” I chuckled when I pushed back the lid, and there, deep inside, was something covered in thick, red velvet.
“Are we sure it’s the cross?” Vanessa whispered as she reached for the corners, but I gently placed a hand over hers and stopped her.
“Allow me,” I offered. “I don’t want you to burn yourself.”
“Fine,” the professor said after a long moment. “Suit yourself.”
I gently pulled the corners of the fabric aside, and when I unwrapped the cross, the gold stung my eyes, and the diamonds shone brighter than the sun. A sharp pain spread through my head, and I knew Vanessa felt the same when she groaned and flinched back, so I swiftly but carefully covered the artifact back up, grabbed it, and shoved it into my pocket.
“We’ve got the first relic now,” I said before I slammed the chest shut.
Cole, Alexander’s voice echoed inside my head. You need to get out of there… there’s an army headed your way!
“Stay where you are,” I ordered aloud. “We’re coming to you.”
“Master?” Morgana frowned. “What’s going on?”
“What do you mean we’re coming to you?” Vanessa asked.
“We’re going to shadow port to the roof,” I said, “and destroy this entire fucking kingdom.”
“Cole, I’m not sure about that--” Vanessa began.
“Professor, you even said so yourself,” I interjected in a rushed voice. “Let’s destroy this poisonous realm once and for all.”
“I was caught up in the moment,” Vanessa breathed as her eyes flicked down to the chest, “and we have what we need.”
“But that’s not enough,” I pushed. “Don’t you want to see the entire city burn for their sins against our kind? We can destroy another one of Samara’s beloved kingdoms and show that bitch just who she’s been dealing with. Besides, we’ve done it before, and she already knows we’re here.”
“Alright,” Vanessa said as a slow smile crawled across her lovely face. “Let’s do it.”
When the professor snapped her fingers, we were wrapped in purple mist, and my body soared upward until we found ourselves on the very top of the church roof. I gazed out at the small pebble stoned houses and the narrow streets that curved like silver rivers through the city, and I thought of the holy market, with their degrading items for sale, and the vendors who waved Wicca heads in the air and hoped to receive coin for it. I remembered the children playing with dolls made from witch skin and hair, and as every small detail swirled like a violent ocean storm through my mind, I willed the natural elements to obey my orders.
As my anger ensued and grew even more powerful, I imagined the entire city crumbling into ash and dust. I thought of the kingdom sinking down into the pits of hell and bodies being crushed beneath falling buildings and statues.
“So,” Vanessa muttered as she stood by my side. “How do you want to destroy them?”
“I think we should open up the earth,” I said. “Let’s plunge this city down into hell’s depths and let the bodies rot there for all eternity.”
“I like that idea,” Circe purred as she licked her lips with her forked tongue. “I want to hear their screams echo through the air.”
“Me, too,” Akira growled like a starved wolf. “Let’s kill them all.”
“Together,” I agreed before I pulled out my blade and cut into my skin. “Everyone, draw some blood, join our hands together, and use our combined power to diminish every single soul.”
After the women passed the blade around and slit their palms open, we linked hands, and dark clouds began to appear in the sky and wash over the clear blue as we stared out at the city. The earth then began to shake, and cracks appeared in the city cobblestones.
“Interficiam carne mea, mutata tempestate,” we recited in unison.
Suddenly, the sky turned black as night, and the ground began to split open as the chorus of thunder rang through the air. A shrill wind swept past our faces as the buildings began to crumble to the earth, and the beautiful sound of terrified screams and panicked voices instantly echoed up from the ground and sent glorious ecstasy gushing through my body.
I beckoned their pathetic world to come crashing down, and soon, the ground opened up like a giant’s mouth, ready to swallow everything whole. More and more horrified screams reverberated through the air, and I grinned as their world sunk into the pits of the earth. As we relished in the des
tructive glory we ensued, I could feel the church shaking, and when I turned to look at the others, each one had a murderous grin across her face. Even the familiars, with their dog-like faces, seemed to be enjoying the chaotic view in front of them, and when the screams started to die, Vanessa pulled away and took a deep, long breath.
“Now, let’s get the hell out of here,” she chuckled before she snapped her fingers, and we were whisked away from this disintegrated city.
But as we tossed and turned through space, I could feel something wrapping its fingers around my throat, and whatever had its merciless hold on me, it wasn’t going to let go. I fought back as it attempted to snatch the life right out of me, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t seem to shake the feeling.
You bastard! Samara’s voice roared inside my head. How dare you! Do you think now that you’ve destroyed one of my loyal kingdoms and retrieved the cross that you’ve won? No, far from it. I vow to track you down, and when I do, I will stab you in the heart with that cross, and the last thing you’ll see before you leave this world will be my face, smiling down at you. Fool, you should have taken my offer. You could have been my king, but now you’ll be my prey.
As much as I wanted to answer, my lips felt like they were sewn shut, and my life-force was slowly vanishing from existence. Then everything came to a halt, and the women chuckled and jumped with pride in the middle of an emerald forest.
But I felt my eyesight growing blurry, and my hearing was failing.
“Cole?” Vanessa asked as her smile died. “What’s wrong?”
I could barely hear her, but the last thing I did catch before the world went black was the sound of the women screaming my name in terror.
Chapter 13
When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was an orange, baking glow just a few feet ahead of me, and it took me a long moment to realize it was a crackling campfire. I could feel the flames warming my sore body, and when I forced myself to sit up, I groaned as the world spun and my head throbbed.