by Logan Jacobs
“I hear it, too,” Morgana whispered back. “I hate it.”
Even though the melody was beautiful, it seemed like it was warning us to turn back, and each note sent a violent shiver down my spine and reached the ends of my fingertips. My body felt rigid and cold, and each step was painful like I was stepping on shards of glass.
“What is that horrid feeling?” Circe asked, and when she spoke, a cloud of silver mist slipped out from her pink lips. “I feel like something is pushing me away and numbing my insides.”
“It’s Samara’s magic,” Vanessa responded in a low growl. “As we venture forward, we must be careful… there could be all kinds of mirages, beasts of magic lurking in here, so keep your eyes open and your minds alert. Don’t fall for any of her holy fucking tricks.”
“Yes, Professor,” we responded as we continued onward.
I’m sorry, Cole, the woman from my dreams said. I thought you would be safer in here, but I feel a dark presence in the air…
“So do I,” I muttered.
As the cave grew deeper and darker, I felt like we were walking through purgatory. No one dared to say a single word as we pushed ourselves to move through the icy belly, and the further we went, the harder it was to move our bodies.
The music I heard when we first stepped inside started to suddenly grow louder, and for a moment, it felt like my ears were about to bleed. I nearly stopped to press my hands against my ears, but I knew that would be useless. As I desperately tried to push the feeling away, Vanessa suddenly stopped in her tracks, and even though her back was turned to me, a sinking, dangerous feeling settled into the pit of my stomach.
“Mother?” the professor called out as she frantically turned around. Her mouth curved down into a deep frown, and her eyes were blank, like she wasn’t really in there anymore. “Mother, is that you? No… please! Don’t die! We’re so close! We’ve nearly reached the artifact.”
“P-Professor?” Beatrix stuttered in a terrified voice. “Cole, what’s happening to her?”
Before I could respond, Vanessa’s blue eyes suddenly shifted color and began to turn into a mix between ocean-blue and silver-green.
It took me a moment to remember where I’d seen such an unusual color before, and when I realized it was the same eyes as Samara’s, my blood ran ice cold.
“No,” I whispered.
“Cole?” Marina whimpered. “What’s happening to her?”
My voice caught inside my throat, and we all watched in horror as Vanessa suddenly crouched down to the cave floor and pressed her hands against her chest like she couldn’t breathe no matter how hard she gulped in breaths of air. Then she violently shook her head and slapped her hands against her ears, and at that moment, I’d never seen her look so terrified.
“Get out!” the professor screamed, and her voice echoed throughout the cave. “Leave me alone!”
“Keep fighting it, Vanessa!” I said as I lowered myself to her level, grabbed her shoulders, and shook her. “Fight her! Don’t let her take over you! Not again! Not now!”
Vanessa’s eyes were glassy as she knelt on the cave floor and shook her head back and forth. A wave of different emotions took over her beautiful face as she tried to force Samara out of her head, but when she slowly stared up at me and a wide, cruel smile spread across her face, I knew Samara was in there.
“Hello, Cole,” Samara cooed in Vanessa’s voice. “You should’ve taken my offer when you had the chance… now, I’m afraid it’s too late.”
“Master?” Morgana asked in a cracked voice. “W-What is she talking about?”
Before I could answer, a resounding noise spread through the cave, and the ground began to shake like an army was headed right for us.
“Now, don’t worry, Cole,” Samara’s voice chuckled from Vanessa’s lips. “I’ll make sure your death is as painful as possible.”
“Pull out your wands,” I whispered to the others while I stared into Samara’s eyes. “We are going to have to do this without Vanessa.”
Chapter 17
“Unholy hell!” Marina screamed as her lavender eyes darted in random directions. “I-I think the cave walls are moving! Look!”
To my horror, I quickly realized the former siren was right. The stone cavern walls were visibly shaking, and I could detect movement beneath the rock, like bodies were fighting to break through the robust barrier. Then I saw the outline of human-like fists pounding against the interior, and I knew whatever was trying to escape would soon be free.
“We’ve got to move it,” I ordered in a rushed voice. “I don’t know what the hell those things are, but surely Samara sent them to kill us.”
“I-I think they’re gargoyles,” Morgana panted as she waved her wand in frantic circles.
“What?” Nyx gasped. “Like the kind of statues surrounding Scholomance?”
“Only to come alive and kick our asses kind of statues?” Beatrix asked in a quivering voice.
“Yes!” the bookworm shrieked in an impatient tone. “Gargoyles aren’t made. They were once living creatures who were placed under a permanent paralyzing curse by Wiccas! The only way to kill them other than that is by sunlight. Satan, pick up a book once in a while, will you?”
“Then why can’t we just paralyze them?” Marina demanded.
“Because the spell can only be placed on one creature at a time,” the brunette explained. “There is no way we can freeze them all at the same time, not unless we were an army.”
“As much as I love a good lesson,” Penelope squeaked, “can we shut up and think of a plan to get the hell out of here?”
“What about Vanessa?” Akira asked with eyes as wide as dinner plates. “She can’t even move, and by the looks of it, we still have a long way to go before we reach the end of the cave.”
Akira also had a point because when I glanced down at the professor, she was crouched down to the floor and rocking her body back and forth as she pressed her hands against her ears. When she spoke, her voice fluctuated between her own and Samara’s, and I knew it was killing her to fight against the elder woman.
Cole? Alexander’s voice ricocheted inside my head, and his tone was laden with concern. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I don’t think there’s a way out of here…
“Wait, what?” I questioned. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
“What’s wrong, master?” Circe asked.
We’re fucked, Alexander said in my head. That’s what’s wrong... I flew ahead for a moment and didn’t see a way out. Just a dead end. So, yeah, tell blondie we’re fucked.
“You’ve made that point perfectly clear, Alexander,” I snapped back. “Alright… first things first. We have to help Vanessa. She’s not under the protection of a blood pact, and in this state, she’s a fucking sitting duck. Keep a lookout and guard us while I try to pull this bitch out of her body.”
“Well, whatever you’re going to do, Cole,” Beatrix breathed as her panic-filled eyes wandered around the cave and at the moving rocks that were beginning to change into people. “You’d better get a start on it.”
“Ignore her quivering voice, master,” Akira snarled. “We’ve got your back.”
“And we trust your judgment,” Morgana added. “Don’t concern yourself with anything except Vanessa… we’ll protect you both.”
“Thanks,” I breathed as I stared down at the shivering professor.
I lowered myself down to Vanessa’s level and brushed back her long strands of hair that were stuck to her flushed and clammy face. As I stared into her vacant, color-shifting eyes, I could see her internally fighting against Samara. Vanessa was strong, but clearly, so was Samara, and I had no idea how I would be able to pull that elder bitch out of her, but I knew I had to try.
Cole, the dream woman’s voice resonated inside my head. You must use an ancient incantation of both elder and Wicca magic to pull her out! It’s the only way!
“Well, that’s fucking great,” I muttered under my breath, “bu
t I’ve never conducted elder magic before. I have no idea what to do.”
Just repeat after me… eca viribus meis… et valedixit, ubi sunt nemo te voluit! she instructed in a firm voice. Cole, it may be painful, to a point where you feel the world vanishing before your eyes, but please, do not give into its command. Overcome it and prove you are worthy to behold its incredible power!
“So be it… I see no other way,” I whispered as the others had their wands aimed at eye-level. I knew we were almost out of time as the walls shuddered and broke apart, and Beatrix was right. If I was going to do something, now was the time. “Everyone, form a circle around us, and whatever you do, keep your eyes peeled and hands steady! I’m going to try something I’ve never done before…”
“Yes, master!” my coven answered in confident voices, despite the chaos brewing around us.
“You can count on us,” Marina added as her lavender eyes narrowed at the breaking walls. “I didn’t escape a life of confinement just to die like this. Fuck that, we’re going to win!”
As the women and familiars huddled around us, I lowered myself further to her level, got down on my knees, and gripped her by the shoulders. When our noses were practically touching, I looked deeply into her stormy eyes and forced myself to smile.
“I know you’re in there, Vanessa,” I whispered as I squeezed a little tighter, but then my smile died as I glared into her altered, silver-green eyes. “As for you, Samara, you’d better get the fuck out of there, or I’ll use my power to pull you out, and I’m sure it will be an incredibly painful feeling, so leave now, or I’ll be forced to do whatever it takes to make you leave.”
“Oh, is that so?” Samara’s voice cackled from Vanessa’s full, red lips. “I think you’re bluffing, and I think you know your fate. You and your filthy whores will die here in this cave. By God’s will, I will see you dead at the end of this.”
“I gave you a fair warning,” I retorted in a dangerously low voice. “Now, be prepared to feel my unwavering power, you holy fucking cunt.”
“Whatever you say, little boy,” her harsh voice chuckled. “I dare you.”
Without wasting any more breath on this bitch, I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and tried not to focus on the trembling walls or growing war cries that were coming from every corner of the cave. Instead, I peered deeply into the possessed professor’s eyes and willed myself to disregard everything else around me.
I had no idea what was about to happen, and I had no clue if this was going to work, but I had to give it a shot. So, with all my unholy will, I pictured Samara’s essence leaving the professor’s body before I uttered the perilous incantation.
“Eca viribus meis et valedixit, ubi sunt nemo te voluit!” I cried out with all my vigor and willpower, and my head felt like it almost exploded, but I kept on my feet.
Suddenly, Vanessa’s trembling body violently jerked forward, and her vibrant, multicolored eyes darkened and shifted as she fought between her own soul and Samara’s insistent one. As her screams changed in pitch and reverberated around us like a fierce winter wind, the cave walls finally broke, and deep, ravening growls echoed throughout the cave.
Even as chaos ensued, my eyes never left Vanessa’s, and I shook her by the shoulders and tightened my hold to the point where my nails were biting through the thin fabric of her dress. She was as limp as a ragdoll, and her varying-colored eyes were rolling into the back of her head as a foreign language left her lips. While she spewed unknown words, the women shouted various incantations as they fought against Samara’s creatures, and even the familiars were attacking the stony creatures and doing their best to keep them at bay.
“Hey, look behind us!” Beatrix called out. “There’s more of them, and they’re gaining on us!”
When I swiftly turned my head, I saw a group of naked, stone men and women with deep-green eyes marching toward us. They had human features, but they also possessed horns on their heads and long, claw-like fingers. Deep growls spilled from their cruel lips as they stalked toward us, and at first, their movements were lazy and clumsy, but as they drew nearer, their eyes became hungrier, and they became faster.
I turned back to look at Vanessa, and I could see her still fighting against Samara’s power.
“C-C-Cole,” Vanessa stuttered. “Whatever you did, I-I think it’s working… she’s furious--”
“You fucking bastard!” Samara’s voice cut in sharply, and Vanessa’s pale-blue eyes changed back to the elder’s stormy sea-green ones. “Do you think just because you’ve used hybrid magic that y-y-you can defeat me--”
“Cole!” Vanessa’s voice suddenly shrieked as she covered her ears. “Satan, help me!”
“Vanessa!” I said as I shook the professor’s shoulders with more force. “I’ve done my part, now fight any trace left of her! You’re stronger than that bitch, and by Satan, you will let her know it.”
At that moment, Vanessa’s glassy eyes stared up at me, and her lips slowly stopped moving. I gazed deeper into her eyes, and I felt like I was peering into every corner of her soul. I could see her venomous, proud, and stubborn side, and her will to fight against the intrusive bitch who was desperately trying to hold onto the strong-willed professor.
“Do it again, Cole,” Vanessa’s voice grunted as sweat dripped down her forehead. “I-I think it might work this time. I-I just need one more push.”
“Alright,” I said before I clutched tighter onto Vanessa, and the growls and shouts of spells hitting against stone grew louder.
“Cole?” Beatrix said as her voice trembled. “What should we do? They keep coming!”
“Just keep firing,” I said as I stared hard into Vanessa’s eyes and took another deep breath. “I’ll get us out of here soon enough.”
The women’s voices reverberated through the cave as their spells hit the advancing beings, one by one. I did my best to block them out as I prepared to repeat the incantation, and even though it would take an immense amount of my energy and power, I was willing to do it for Vanessa.
“Volant!” Akira screamed in the background.
“Glacio!” Morgana shouted after.
“Impes!” Circe cried out.
On and on it went as the women did their best to slaughter the incoming, stone-skinned enemies, but even as they fought against them, I knew they needed our help. They were resilient women, especially together, but with Vanessa’s and mine powers combined, I knew we’d be unstoppable against any enemy and any barrier.
So, no matter what it took, I had to pull that bitch out of the professor.
And now.
When I was ready, I glanced back at Vanessa and dug my nails even deeper into her shoulders. Then I stared at each delicate feature on her flawless face and took a sharp breath.
Repeat the incantation, Cole! the woman from the painting demanded inside my head. One more push, and Samara will be gone!
“Eca viribus meis et valedixit,” I chanted, and when I peered into Vanessa’s eyes, her irises were swirling into varied colors like a brewing, violent storm. “Ubi sunt nemo te voluit!”
Vanessa tossed back her head and gritted her teeth, and I could see blood dripping down her clenched hands as she dug her nails into her flesh.
“Cole,” Vanessa gasped as she clenched her jaw, and her face grew slick with sweat. “The fucking bitch won’t leave.”
“Make her,” I grunted as I shook her. “You’re far stronger than her.”
“O-Oh, really?” Samara’s voice slipped from Vanessa’s lips. “Are you truly sure that’s the case?”
“Yeah, I am,” I snarled. “I can hear the tremor in your voice.”
Vanessa’s lips parted open once more, but before she could move her tongue again, she squeezed her eyes shut and vehemently shook her head. Then she gasped for air, and her eyes widened like she just sprouted from under the deepest depths of the ocean.
I gazed into her face, and I could see her eyes slowly returning to their natural color as she sucked
in gulps of air. Her breasts heaved up and down as she stared back at me, and when a small smile curled across her face, I knew she’d fully returned, and Samara was long gone.
“Thank you, Cole,” the professor whispered before she slowly stood on her feet and rolled back her shoulders, and the venomous flame of life returned to her eyes. “Now, let’s kill these stone-faced motherfuckers, shall we?”
“Let’s,” I agreed as I nodded my head and rose to my feet.
When we both turned around and faced the oncoming attackers, I kept my wand aimed high and directed it at a cluster of staggering gargoyles with bright eyes and sharp, ivory teeth.
“Dissulto!” I yelled with all my might.
A bright-crimson light erupted from the tip of my wand and went straight toward a group of stone-skinned foes. When my spell hit them right in the center of their chests, their torsos exploded and revealed a set of gory insides, like that of a flesh-made animal. Blood, specs of internal organs, and shards of rib-bones burst into the air as the beasts soared backward, and their bodies hit the stone wall with a magnificent thud and then crumbled into a rain of pebbles and gore.
When I turned around and saw more gargoyles emerging, though, I knew we had to make a run for it.
Cole, there is only a dead-end, Alexander said inside my head. Remember?
“And I intend to break through it,” I growled.
Ohhh, shit, Alex muttered.
“Come on, keep them at bay as we run!” I ordered as I turned my back on the living gargoyles and sprinted onward. “I’ll try and get us out of here.”
“Yes, master!” my coven called out as they picked up the pace and ran behind me.
Alexander flew ahead of me, and Vanessa ran by my side with her wolf on her heels. As the gargoyles growls grew louder from behind us, I heard the women occasionally crying out spells to try and hold them back for as long as possible, but I knew it would only buy us a little more time because no matter how many we took out, more would only appear.
When we came to a dead-end, I pressed my hand against the cold stone and took a deep breath. I felt weak after pulling Samara out, and Vanessa knew it. I could tell by the tint of sympathy in her eyes when she looked at me.