Hidden Runes

by G. Bailey

  "Agreed," Azi growls. I glance at the houses, seeing the one with a number four hanging off the door. We walk up the steps, and I lift my hand, knocking the door a few times. I knock again when no one answers right away, and finally the door opens, and an older teenage boy with scruffy hair answers.

  "Is Eella here?" I ask, and the kid doesn’t even look at us really as he types on his phone.

  "The foster kid? Yeah. I will get my mum," he says and leaves the door open. "Come in."

  The boy runs off up the stairs of the messy house with its wallpaper falling off and no carpet on the wooden planks of the floor. Beer bottles are all over the sofa, and this place looks like shit.

  Suddenly, a little three-, maybe four-year-old girl runs down the stairs. Her white hair is long, covering her body nearly as she is skinny and wearing old, ripped clothes. Her shoes look too big for her, causing her to nearly trip when she moves. When she stops at the bottom of the stairs, she lifts her face to look at me, her eyes are the very image of mine. Of my mum’s. Goddamn, she is beautiful and doesn’t look one thing like her parents but is the very image of my mum.

  "Eella, right?" I ask, and she nervously looks away from me as a woman storms down the stairs. She roughly grabs Eella's arm, cutting her with her nails as she lifts her up like a doll.

  "Did you set fire to your bed again, you little shit?" she demands an answer. Before I can even say a word, Azi is stepping forward.

  "I suggest you let Eella go before I burn your arm off and feed you it, human," Azi threatens, and the woman jumps back, dropping a crying Eella on the floor. I run and pick her up into my arms, stepping back as the woman runs up the stairs screaming demon.

  "I'm going to make a payment to shut her up," Azi says. I nod in agreement as I look at Eella in my arms. She is so light for her age.

  "Can I see?" I ask her, nodding at her arm. She sobs as she shows me the cuts, and I rest my hand over her arm, calling my healing rune. Her sobs disappear as I heal her, and she looks up at me in shock.

  "Who are you?" she quietly asks, not pronouncing all the words right, but I understand her.

  "My name is Evie, and I'm your auntie. You are a Protector like me, Eella Ravenwood. Also, don't worry, I used to accidentally set fire to things at your age, too. It's nothing to be worried about," I kindly tell her. I instantly know I would do anything to protect her, like she is my own. She feels like my own as I hold her, staring into her small face.

  "Didn’t mean to," she says and reaches out to touch my blue hair. "Blue."

  "Don't worry about it, and you like my hair, huh?" I ask, and she shyly nods. "Do you want to come home with me? It's much better than here, and you will be with family."

  "Ok," she says, still looking worried, but I don't expect much more yet. I kiss her forehead as I hold my other hand out and call a portal. It's time to take her home.

  Epilogue

  Several Years Later…

  "Agreed and allowed," I reply to Keeper Grey, and he nods once, going to help the demon that came to us for help. I rest back in my throne, wishing it was a little more comfy with my bad back these days.

  "You should be resting, Blue," Connor softly suggests, and I just shake my head at him. Azi, Trex and Nix are teaching at the demon and Protector school, as they do twice a week. Connor has taken his studies with the keepers again, and I know he loves learning. I've taken up bacon cooking in my spare time; it's the perfect hobby. Hali is off with her boyfriend, who I’ve not decided if I like or not yet.

  "I'm eight months pregnant, and I can sit in a big chair," I reply, "though I'm pretty hungry," I add in. Connor chuckles and stands up, stretching from the two hours we have been stuck in this meeting we have once a month. It’s the only time the throne room is open to all, and anyone can come ask for help or for changes that need to be made. It has helped to keep peace these last five years.

  The throne room opens again, and this time, Eella runs in, laughing as my son chases her. Eella’s long white hair is up in a ponytail, and she looks so happy as she looks after her brother. I don't remember what day it was that Eella sat down with us all and told us she wanted to call us mum and dad. I know it made me cry, and since that day, she is my daughter.

  "No fireballs in the throne room!" Connor shouts, and Eella stops, pouting as she catches the fireball Danike just threw at her and makes it disappear.

  "But, dad, we were having fun," Danike whines, crossing his tiny arms against his chest. Danike has black hair, dark blue eyes and a cheeky smile that's been there since he was born.

  "Outside with the fireballs though. I know you think it's cool now you have your powers, but fire tends to burn people," I interject, and he purses his lips.

  "Told you so," Eella adds in and smiles at me. "Sorry, dad. Sorry, mum," Eella and Danike say together, and I chuckle as Eella makes a small portal to what looks like the royal gardens before they both run through it.

  "You might want to follow them. We don't need the royal gardens burning down. Again," I say, remembering how mad the keepers were the last time it happened.

  "Shit," Connor mutters, calling a portal. "I got it." I laugh as he jumps through the portal, and the throne room is silent once again. I rest my hands on my bump, feeling my daughter moving around and kicking me. I can't wait to meet her, and my family will be complete in ways I never expected to have. I'm the assassin turned queen, who now has everything she has ever wanted.

  Bonus Content

  Please keep reading for a bonus story exclusive to this box set called Death Marked Witch. (A Demon’s Fall Novella)

  Description

  I’m the witch with a death mark.

  But the second I killed the witch who took my mother’s life…the mark disappeared.

  Leaving me as nothing more than a normal witch.

  It was everything I always wanted...I think?

  Turns out, being normal is far worse.

  This is the story of how my mistake, my one moment of revenge, nearly took everything I ever wanted from me.

  My name is Hali. I’m a death marked witch.

  One Hundred Eight

  Hali

  “Evie, come on. It’s one party,” I moan, lying back on my bed as the angry blue haired woman stands over me in a light green dressing down. Her hair is a mess, sticking up in all angles but she still is so pretty.

  As she glares at me, narrowing her eyes further. Maybe she isn’t that pretty when she is mad. I sit up, knowing I’m in big trouble for tonight and a small part of me wants to tell Evie it was worth her anger. That small part of me is stupid as Evie is scary and I should stay silent. I wouldn’t have been caught if it wasn’t for my high heels that my best friend told me I should wear. They make one hell of a noise. “Don’t tell Connor, Trex or Nix. Or Azi, please. They will be so mad.”

  Evie just raises an eyebrow. “Are you seriously more scared of their reaction over mine?”

  After thinking about it for more a second, I realise she has a point. “Fine, I’m sorry.”

  Evie takes a deep breath before sitting on the edge of the bed next to me and picking up my hand. Evie might not be my mother but she is my mom in every sense of the word. I owe her my life and I respect her more than I can admit to anyone. She fought the world and landed on top, and I can only wish I could do the same thing. I’m eighteen and still the world sees me as a monster because of the mark on the back of my neck. Tonight the popular demon in my school held a party just outside of the city boarder, where I’m not allowed to go.

  But everyone else is. Only I’m not because of the stupid mark.

  A mark I wish I could remove then Evie would let me go to parties with the demons and whoever I damn well wished.

  “I understand why you wanted to go out with your friends but you can’t leave the city, Hali. You get that right?” she asks me and I take my hand from hers.

  “Yes,” I whisper, rubbing my hands together. “I just wanted to escape for a moment. I’m always stuck here
and after my birthday three days ago…”

  “It’s normal for witch powers to come in late. We have greatly researched the subject,” she quickly interrupts me. “greatly researched” means we re-read the five books on witches the city has and then nothing.

  There is literally no information about witches, they almost as well hidden as reapers.

  “No matter what research you do, it isn’t what I need. The answers lie with the witches and we both know it,” I remind her.

  “Hali…,” she whispers, feeling sorry for me.

  Shaking my head, I kick my high heels off and play with the steam of my black dress which is covered in sequins. It’s itchy and I don’t like dresses, but that wasn’t the point of tonight. In fact, there was no point of tonight. My best friend got sick and didn’t come, and everyone at school is scared of Evie so they don’t talk to me. “I’m not a kid anyone. I know the death mark on my neck means the witches will always kill me first and ask questions later.”

  Her face clouds with anger. “If anyone lays a finger on you, I will destroy them.”

  Ah, that is why I have no friends. Death threats from Evie can really creep some people out.

  I chuckle, knowing Evie’s threat is a promise. I rest my head on her shoulder and suck in a deep breath. I wish my mother was here to advise me. I wish so many things that are impossible to have. The door creaks open and head of white hair peeps in. Eella is Evie’s niece, technically, but in every way that matters she is her mum.

  And my sister in every sense too. I open my arms for her and she rushes to me, her long white hair falling around her shoulders as she climbs into my lap.

  “Bad dreams?” Evie softly asks Eella, who nods as Evie strokes her hair.

  “Wanna have a sleepover in my bed?” I ask Eella and she looks up at me, a big grin on her face. “I can protect you from all the nightmares.”

  “Yes please,” she says and climbs off my lap, getting herself comfy in my bed, on my pillow. I chuckle with Evie as two seconds later we hear light snoring and I wonder if Eella was even awake at all.

  “I can protect you too, Hali. I just can’t give you everything you want,” Evie softly says. “This was so much easier when you were a kid, and not a woman. I don’t know how to give you freedom and protect you from them.”

  I nod, feeling bad she feels guilty at all. That wasn’t what I wanted. “I know. I will just have to find new things to want for my future.”

  Evie’s eyes search mine before she leans over and kisses the side of my head before leaving my room. I strip off and get into my pyjamas, leaving my braided hair down before climbing into bed next to Eella.

  I shouldn’t want more…but I do.

  And the longer I think about it. The more I realise I will never get more than what I have right now.

  A witch death mark on my neck makes sure of it.

  One Hundred Nine

  Hali

  “You’re getting fast, kid,” Trex exclaims, examining the line of daggers I’ve threw in a line at the target, starting with the face all the way down to the left leg. Oddly I always go left…and I try not to think of the reasons why when I’m right handed. Trex pulls the daggers out before placing them back in the holders by the wall. Out of all Evie’s mates, I’m closest to Trex I think. Either way he spends a lot of his time training me and teaching me how to defend myself without magic. Walking over, he stops, crossing his arms. “Can we talk for a second?”

  I wipe the sweat off my forehead, nodding once. I grab a hoodie from a chair near the door, flinging it over my shoulders to cover up my tank top and leggings from the cold air. We go outside the training room into the royal gardens before taking a seat under the new statue of Evie’s mother, the old queen. The statue is a woman holding hands with an angel…Evie’s father. They both look at each other with pure love and this statue stands as a reminder that love comes before the throne. I remember the old garden and the statue that sat in the middle of it before it was destroyed in the war, and it only represented a queen that could fight with a bow and looked lost in her eyes. This statue is perfect and everything Evie wants the throne to mean. It makes me think back to one my more recent dreams, where I dance with a shadow of a man under this statue in a white dress. My dreams never show me faces, or make much sense, but I know they show my future.

  Trex runs a hand through his short hair before narrowing his eyes on me. “Evie is worried about you and what the future holds for you. You are getting older, kid, and as much as we would like to keep you hidden from the world we are well aware you want to explore and live in it like any normal young adult.”

  A strange mixture of hope and longing fills my heart. “With that being said, there is a massive new demon city in America, much bigger than ours and full of possibilities. You could go there to work in the new schools being made. We know you want to be a teacher and there are many young. Azi’s brother is leading the city under Evie’s rule and we all trust Seth with you.”

  Seth, urgh. We have never gotten along but I like his daughter.

  “And far away from the witches,” I add in, knowing that is the real reason. The royal witches live here in the united kingdom and so close to our own city. “And it means Evie can invite the witches into the city.”

  “We want peace and a way for them to leave you alone. We all believe making peace with them could mean a deal about you,” Trex softly suggests and I all but laugh. The queen, in fact any royal, would not make a deal about me. I’m a threat. The death mark on my neck means that one day I will kill a royal because it is my destiny. Every witch is born with a mark that decides their fate.

  It's the reason my mother is dead. The reason Evie killed countless witches to protect me.

  “Oka-,” I gulp as something sharp hits the side of my ribs, the shock of the pain blocking out everything as I cough on something metallic, stinging my mouth. I look down, expecting to see my smooth dark skin of my stomach but instead there is a dagger in my side, blood pouring down my ribs. I look up to see a woman I have never seen before but something in my mind tells me she is a witch, even before I see her silver eyes just like mine.

  All witches have silver eyes.

  I fall to the stone floor in front of me, hearing Trex’s shouts as I gasp for air.

  “Why would you do that?” Trex roars. “She is a child! You will fucking die for this! Let me go!”

  “What I did is save my people. I am the queen of the witches and my people will burn this city down before you could kill me,” the queen replies sourly. I roll onto my back, gasping from the pain as I look up to see Trex held in the air by silver glittering magic. He fights and struggles as he watches me, guilt and panic clear in his eyes. “Now you must sleep and she will be gone before you wake.”

  Trex roars my name as the silver magic suddenly leaves the bubble and rushes to his body. The second it touches him, his head drops and his body is slowly dropped onto the floor.

  “Trex…,” I whisper in pain. I know it’s pointless to call for help. This attack was planned…and I’m going to die.

  The queen walks over to me, folding her arms neatly together in front of her as she looks down at me like I’m dirt. Her long black, mostly grey hair is held up in a tight bun, a glittering silver crown resting on her head. She is far more pretty than I thought she would be. Her clothes are casual, not what I would expect a witch to wear and I have no clue why I’m focusing on these things when I know I’m going to die. Evie is out of the city with the children, Nix, Azi and Connor. The royal protectors and demons won’t stand a chance against the queen and we both know it.

  “For years I have feared you and your actions. It is over so quickly I never should have,” she softly states with an arched eyebrow. “Death marked witches are said to be born when a queen takes the witch throne with an evil heart. As you were born under my rule, it means my heart must be evil and cold to set such a curse as you alive.”

  “Th-is is e-v-il,” I whisper, coughing
on more of my own blood even as I try to speak. She sneers and shakes her head, like the thought is nothing.

  “You are nothing,” she replies with a sneer. “I have made sure of it. I expected to face a powerful witch whose magic would have told them of my threat but instead I got you. A powerless child who is nothing.”

  Tears sting my eyes as she repeats the word nothing again and again until it’s all I can hear. A scream leaves my lips as my skin suddenly feels like it’s burning and burning, all building up to something. Only when I open my eyes, the world is brighter than I’ve ever seen it and like I’m not hurt at all. I stand up to face the queen like nothing is wrong.

  Even though I can’t hear her words over the null silence, I recognise the pure fear in her eyes.

  Just before the world feels like it explodes around me and I take the queen down with me.

  “Wake up, Hali. Please,” I hear Evie plead and it breaks my heart to hear her so upset. “I promised your mum I would keep you safe. Hell, I’ve failed.”

  “No you haven’t,” I groggily whisper, feeling like my body has been hit by a train. Not that I know what that feels like.

  But I imagine it hurts like this. Everything is blurry as I stare up at Evie above me, her blue hair is the only clear thing about her.

  “Thank bacon you’re okay,” Evie sighs and it almost makes me laugh that she has replaced god with bacon. Almost.

  “Did I kill Trex?” I all but cry.

  “No, no, no,” Evie softly says, taking my hand. “You destroyed my garden, the training room but somehow you placed a magic shield around Trex and three other protectors that were nearby.”