The Wrath of Lilly

by J Middleton

  “Victoria.”

  Lilly watched her servant bow down to her. She had prepared them for this night. She promised this would be different from all others.

  A quiver shot through her. An uncontrollable squeal came out into the night when she thought of the rituals to come. Her army had proved their loyalty and she would never disappoint them. They had brought to her more souls and sacrifices. Her reward to them was power, and for that they would forever serve her.

  Lilly titled back her head and laughed, but her laughter was cut short when her sharp, red eyes caught a glimpse of a figure weaving through the dense fog. She playfully watched the form slowly creep forward. Curiosity seemed to outweigh her thoughts.

  It was Victoria. Just the sight of her made her blood rush.

  Victoria moved out into the night at the head of the line. The shadows were a thousand strong at least, she stood in the center between darkness and light. Her heart fell, her sense of reason replaced by pure anger. There was no time for emotions, the witches raced towards the dark spirts. She was stuck in the middle of them all, which meant she wasn’t going to stand there and do nothing. Gathering her powers, holding it close as both sides approached. Squeezing he strength like mystical singularity. She could feel the rush of heat and cool as the evil drew closer to her.

  Feeling their eyes upon her as she walked to towards the center of the street looking slightly to the right. Geneon was no were to be found. She knew right then that he was a liar.

  Victoria lifted her arms as if trying to embrace the multitude. She reached out to the darkness and the folds of her robe opened like the wings like a huge bird in flight. She opened her mouth to speak and the words that came with a force that was not her own. From the depths of her soul her revelation spilled out into the night and resounded throughout the valley. Her voice first began as a vibration she could feel in her throat, and its magnified in volume until it became a steady hum that shook the bellies of her sisters. Their voices joined hers and became a rhythmic hum. Their voices blending to create a powerful baritone that seemed to resonate from the very center of the earth.

  “Silence!” Victoria ordered. All but one sound was stilled.

  No one made a sound, and all you could hear, was the wind howling.

  Victoria stood staring at the dark souls, yearning a first glimpse of Lilly. There out of the darkness two fire-filled eyes appeared with the pupils glowing like embers. Then she stepped into the moonlight, and could see her form. The army fell to their knees and pressed their faces to the ground. A bolt of electricity shot through her.

  With Lilly’s two hands she reached for her face.

  “Come to me and join us. We can rule together as one.” Lilly was amused at her own irreverence.

  Victoria backup a step, as Lilly’s army initiates a straight path to her.

  “Mother, flee this place.” Victoria stared into her red glossy eyes that was caught in a net of wrinkles. The corner of her mouth curled into a smile.

  Lilly let out an insane laugh that was only a whisper. She wanted to explode, but she knew it would plenty of time to do so.

  Forcing her army to fall apart and split in a different direction. The rows of dark spirts were off balance but still moved closer. Vines blasted out of the ground and circled around the fellow witches throwing some to the ground crushing their bodies. Screams of agony filled the air around her.

  “Destroy them!” she commanded.

  Lilly raised her arms her eyes like orbs of light against the darkest night. She began to levitate and immediately transported within inches of Victoria’s face.

  “Mother stop.” Victoria yells.

  Suddenly a burst of wind ripped through the streets, forcing them to shield their eyes. Moments later she looked forward and there was Raven standing a few feet behind Lilly. Victoria watched her shot into the darkness leaving nothing but a dust storm behind her.

  Raven shot after her vanishing into a swirling dust devil. There was chaos, more dark spirts were sucked into the air as if gravity had been switched off.

  She heard agonizing screams followed by a banshee like cry. Something warm sprayed across her face, her armor was tainted red. Shocked for a moment as she realized it was blood. Making a quick glance to see who was the victim she saw a group of witches behind her. They were each split in half as if a massive blade sliced through them. Blood gushed out of them as their insides were showing. One of the witches was still moving. Her arms grabbed in front of her as she attempted to crawl towards Victoria. She froze not knowing what to do as one of her sister witches was slowly moving.

  The witch stopped to see that Victoria wasn’t looking directly at her. She tries to sit up. Then she turned around realizing something was wrong. She turns to see her legs a few feet away from her and the other witches laying limp. She attempted to scream but blood was poured out of her mouth and caused her to cough violently. She fell back to the ground facing Victoria. Reaching an arm out to her before she took her final breath. Victoria could see the life drain out of her eyes as the witch finally let goes. A look appeared in her eyes, a look that chilled her to the bone.

  Victoria screamed, as the power of her mother began to pour out of her. She could feel her body convulse, every limb superheating in an instant. Taking a few heaving breaths and then made her way back to the center of the line, burning every vine and evil spirit she could. Her eyes turned bloody with anger.

  Suddenly there was a loud noise, like a building fell. Then a flash of purple light. Thunder boomed in the heavens.

  Victoria drop low as a ball of fire barely missed her. She turned back around as a laugh emitted behind her.

  Then a sandstorm ripped through the streets tossing the witches into the air. Lilly soaring through the swirling dust, plucking them out of the air, one by one. Screams and cries echoes through the storm as the sky rained red. Lilly ripped the witches with her massive claws, tearing them to pieces with her hands.

  To the left it came out of now where with his enormous bat-like wings. The demon descended on her. It was like a meat grinder, tearing the vines into pieces. Before the dust had settled, the creature shot back into the air, and now it was flying towards Lilly. It lifted trees off the ground and tossed it aside like a toy. Then it caught sight of another large dark spirit, within seconds it destroyed them into black smoke.

  “No! No! No!” she yells. “This is my war! My victory!”

  Victoria watched Lilly soar upwards and hover for a moment, surveying the slaughter below. Then the demon slowly descended a few yards across from her with his eyes glowing like a tiger caught in the night.

  Victoria ducked as a fire ball flew across the sky. Her reaction wasn’t fast enough and a part struck in her in her arm. Blinding pain shot through her arm sending her muscles into spasms. She looked at her shoulder to still see red ashes seam in her shoulder. She quickly brushed it off her arm. Then it stopped.

  Chapter 25

  Her heart felt like it was pounding in her shoulder as blood began pour down her arm. Looking up she could see fire erupting from the creature’s mouth. Its eyes fired out with comet trails of flames. It collapsed to the ground flailing blindly, black smoke pouring from its mouth and eye sockets.

  The streets cleared as bodies laid mangled on top of debris. Victoria turned as she heard a noise coming from behind her. A limping figure was staggering towards her.

  “Mother!” he yells.

  “Vince!” she cried out, running towards him.

  “Look out!” he yells as he ran past her and raises his arm holding a large shard and runs it thought the demon. Victoria fell to her knees as tears fell from her eyes.

  Now Vince knew the true meaning of terror.

  The demon looked in the eyes of Vince as he continued to hold the shard as it turned quickly back into a figure. It laughed as he began to pull the shard out of him. It quickly punched Vince with its massive fist and sent the child flying across the road.

  “Vince!
” Victoria cried out as she watched her son fly into a building.

  It collapsed on top of him as wind and dust flew up in the air. Victoria, still holding her wounded shoulder ran towards the building until she heard a sword being drawn. She immediately turned not knowing who it was. Zac stood there with both arms on his blade as it began to glow with green symbols around his armor and blade. His armor had a metallic look with a cross carved on the front.

  “Don’t hurt my son you bastard!!!” Zac yells as he runs towards the demon.

  “Shadow hunter! What a pleasant surprise!” The demon spoke. It turned away from Lilly and faced Zac.

  “I was just getting warmed up with the unmarked child.” He points to the debris.

  “You will burn in hell for what you’ve done you damn vampire!” The sword glows even brighter. He brought his sword back and swung a mighty swing. The glow of the sword flew off the blade into a pure slice of energy flying towards him. Raven hit the blast into the air. The blast exploded as Raven noticed it made him bleed.

  “Hm.” He looked at Zac rushing straight at him.

  His move was just a distraction to give him the advantage to close their gap. Zac swings his sword cutting the front of his chest, across his chin and through his skull. The vampire stumbled back.

  Dark colored blood was spraying violently out of its body. His warns began to heal quickly as he stares into Zac eyes with rage.

  “Oh no you don’t!” Zac charges again.

  It was stopped by the monstrous hand of the vampire.

  “Your kind have been foolishly fighting in this world for long enough!” He yells as he strikes his hand into Zac’s chest.

  Zac gasps for air as the blade stab through him sticking out his back. Blood pours out as the vampire withdraws his hand. Before he could fall to the ground the beast grabs his head and lifts it into the air.

  “Zac!” Victoria yells running towards them. The vampire lefts his hand and with a force of wind he pushes Victoria out the way. She falls to the ground unconscious.

  “Victoria!” Glenda yells as her and Jessica run to her rescue. Before they could reach her a wall of fire rose in front of them. They look up to see Lilly staring at them from above.

  “Die!” Lilly yells as the wall of fire gets closer. Glenda and Jessica use their powers to try and stop the fire but the wall continued to push. They turned around to run but the dark spirits were surrounding them. They looked back at Lilly.

  “I’ve been wanting this for a long time! You needed to die a long time ago!” Lilly yells as the flames grew closer to them. Victoria wakes to see a wall of flames behind of her, Zac being held limp by the monster.

  “Is this what you want shadow hunter?” The vampire speaks. “Your dying as your weak family watches you suffer? “All you had to do was stay out of my way. Instead, you end your legacy with a pathetic performance. Too bad, your brother put up much more of a fight than you.” Suddenly a burst of anger came from Zac. He held his blade tightly as he stabs it into the vampire’s eye.

  “Ah!” The demon yells dropping Zac. He falls with his sword. Hitting the ground hard as his blade fell to the side. He looks up to see the vampire holding his face as dark blood oozed ran out of his eye.

  “Damn you!” The vampire yells as he plants his foot on Zac. He yells in pain as the vampire slowly crushes his chest.

  “Pathetic!” The vampire yells. “You’re weak!” It yells again as his face healed up. “You think your blessed blade will be enough to stop me?” He pushes his foot further as sounds of bones cracking started to emit.

  Zac made one last yell that echoed through the road. A loud eerie laugh was heard though the streets.

  Flames started to emit from the fallen building. It explodes as a small figure of flames emerge from the debris.

  “It can’t be” Lilly spoke as she saw her grandchild show his true power. Vince walks forward at Glenda and Jessica. He leans back and then makes a scream that sounded distorted. A red beam busted out of his mouth hitting the wall down and destroying anything in its path. Within seconds it faded away. Vince looked at the Vampire with his foot still on Zac.

  He yells as he rushed to the vampire and strikes him with his fist. The Vampire threw his arms up to block the move. The impact made the vampire fly back and then slide on the ground. He looks at the child as he sees the child channeled all his powers. The flames were violent, wrapping around his hand. He looks down to see his father unconscious and bleeding.

  Vince rage builds once again as he picks up his father’s sword and points it at the Vampire. The flames move from his hand to the sword. The flames turn green as the symbols fade away. Vince makes a war cry as he dashes at the monster. It prepares to block, but suddenly he vanishes. Shocked, Vampire looks around for him until feeling a blade slice through his shoulder from behind. Vince vanished again and appeared on the side. Then he spotted him again as a blade hit his other side. Angered, he begins to breathe fire all around him. The fire fades as he looks to see if he hit. Vince wasn’t there. He looks up at a red glow.

  Vince was in the air covered by a burning flame of orange and blue. He rushed straight at him with the blade facing forward. The blade pierced straight through the beast as a demonic yell ran from it. Vince removed the blade as the green flames remained in the vampire as it started to burn the wound. He yells as he slowly steps back.

  “This isn’t over!” The Vampire yells as wind gushes around and black crows fly surround him. Moments later they scatter as the vampire disappears.

  “No!” Lilly yells! “Your pathetic bird! Your supposed to fight!”

  “Your right!” The voice of the vampire cries out as birds fly in front of Lilly. Surrounding her completely, the crows swarm around her. She throws balls of fire at the birds but it was too overwhelming.

  “What is the meaning of this? Stop!” Lilly yells continues to burn the birds.

  “I am taking back what is mine Lilly, I warned you!” He replies.

  “What could possibly be yours?”

  “I told you witch!”

  Suddenly the demonic arm pierces through Lilly as the storm suddenly stops. The birds disperse as Lilly lays stunned with his arm though her. His hand was holding a black, beating heart. He yells as he pulls it out of her chest and body. Watching the black ooze hit the ground and disappear instantly. Lilly corpse like body came crashing to the ground.

  The heart continues to beat as Raven holds it. His other hand held a glass jar. It pops open on its own as the heart turns into glowing red dust and flows into the jar as the lid seals tightly. The vampire becomes surrounded by crows once again as he disappears into the moonlight.

  Chapter 26

  Victoria eyes landed on Zac as her eyes flushed with tears. She grabbed him and pull him to her chest.

  “Zac answer me!” She cries.

  Vince kneed down beside her with his arm around her shoulder.

  “Zac please don’t leave me!” She yells again. Time stopped as rain began to fall.

  Her words hung in the air between them, sucked the universe away from her in an instant. They just stared at the lifeless body as tears mix in with the rain.

  She had given all of herself, all of everything she cared about and loved, to do the job that she was asked to do. To be at the center of the war between evil and good. To fight the good fight. All to make sure that humankind was free to decide their own future.

  “Please talk to me!” She cried. “You have always fallen and gotten back up, drowned and resurfaced, burned and was reborn. Please recover get up!” She sobbing yells.

  Victoria knew that she was doing what she was supposed to do. She knew the balance was becoming more difficult to maintain. This war had been escalating since the day she was born.

  “This happened because I was here?” she cried. “If only I had disappeared. The balance had always maintained itself until I was born.”

  “Don’t blame yourself?” Glenda bent down to her side.

&n
bsp; “The balance has never been maintained, there is too much evil in this world.” She yelled back at her.

  “Victoria you and Zac help maintain the balance before it got worse.”

  “At what cost? Losing the things, I cared for, because of me!"

  Silence filled the streets as the wounded witches limped over towards her. The skies parted as the moon shined down brightly one them. The stars lit up the skies like a flicking light.

  “He’s gone.” Vince sobbed.

  Just as Victoria’s lips covered Zac mouth his body disappeared into the heavens. A white mist flooded into the sky. She watches as the mist continues into the stars until it totally disappears.

  Victoria sat next to the debris, her eyes closed as he could smell his aroma. Pushing her power throughout her body using it to heal her wounds. She could feel the balance shifting in her gut. Slowly she got up and walked towards her home stopping in front of the stone building with so much rage, and anger.

  “Face me! “she yells as she waited for a response but no one answered.

  Just then she heard something pop behind her, like a twig. Turning quickly, she seen his eyes.

  “I will never give myself to you!” she screams as she threw a large red orb towards him. The orb disappeared moments before it touched his skin.

  “Oh Victoria, you cannot destroy me. Surrender, are I will take what is mine.”

  “Never!” she yells.

  At that moment, he was in front of her. Within seconds his hand went around her waist as he flew in the air with her in his grip. Trying to pull away from his strong hold, it was no use he had her.

  “You gave me your name. You belong to me.” He whispers as he glides towards her with his hand grabbing her face.

  Epilogue

  Years have passed since the great battles against the evil spirit known as Lilly. Her days came to a final end by the hands of the Vampire known as Raven. Peacetime occurred soon after the war as both Lilly and Raven’s where nowhere to be found, however Victoria’s whereabouts were still unknown. Vince being devastated by both of his parents being gone, using his new-found gifts he became devoted to learning the ways of his parents learning both the ways of the white witch and the shadow hunter. Glenda took the responsibility of Vince by raising him and teaching him all she knew. Glenda also became a priestess due to being victorious of the several battles. After several years of keeping Vince safe and leading the witches, Glenda passed away at the age of 103. There was a huge gathering in honor of her devotion and leadership she provided of destroying evil. The gathering was noted to be one of the largest witch gatherings in history. Vince being given his guardian’s belongings and responsibilities, he declined all of it because he did not feel it was his place. He soon leaves and travels the world. Vince returned his father’s weapon to the resting place of the shadow hunters in honor of him. While he was there an old man of unknown origin created him a blade like Zak’s but instead of having green markings, it was replaced with a yellow glow; signifying Vince’s parents of red and green. Vince continues to travel from place to place, fighting any shadows lurking as his personal quest begins to search for his lost mother.