by Alexis Batty
“It’s three in the morning and the council would still be in full swing if it wasn’t for the fact that they are all out hunting down the rest of the cult members,” assurs Nicholas. “I was there, but I was late due to the fact that our daughter just gave birth to her first child.”
“If you two want, there are showers you can get cleaned up before you leave,” suggests Oona.
My parent’s faces jump out at me. I turn to Ash. “My parents, did you tell them what happened?”
“No, of course not. They would’ve tried something irrational. We all felt it was best to keep them out of this until we got you back,” promises Ash.
“Then it would be best for us to shower and change here. They’re not to know that I got injured,” I order pointing my finger at everyone in the room. “They’ll probably try to ground me as it is for getting kidnapped. They won’t care that I’m an adult.”
“Come this way,” said Oona as she ushers us to the bathrooms.
Ash watches as Oona follows me into the bathroom. I’m still in my corset dress. It’s a little weird having someone I don’t know, who is also apparently my Aunt, help me get undressed. She’s only there for a few seconds. Instead of physically loosening the ties, she uses magic. She smiles as she lays them on the counter.
The bathroom is simple, much like the one I had before finding out I was a witch. Habit brings my eyes to the mirror as I remove my earrings. My skin is very pale, much paler than normal.
Dried blood covers my neck and collar next to my shoulder that had once been an oozing mass of blood. My hair that was once beautifully done now hung limp and lifeless.
Tracks of blood are partially cleaned away from my cheeks by my tears and smeared in others from when I blew my nose with my sleeve.
The dress sleeve is sliced open. A hole just big enough for Morgana’s knife is at my shoulder. The blood hasn’t completely dried in places. It’s hard to see the blood stain if you just looked at the color. You have to feel where the fabric has hardened.
I rip the dress off. It lies in a heap on the floor reminding me of the horrible things done to me. Anger rises inside me like never before. It boils under my skin as my lips curl back. I pick the dress up and throw it as far as I can. I scream silently in my head. If I had screamed out loud, Ash would come running in to save me, but I don’t want to be saved. I want to destroy everything around me.
The next person that even looks at me funny will be in for a rude awakening. I’m not sure I can control myself and it’s scary. If I let my anger consume me then I will be just as bad as they are. Decisions are going to have to be made and I need to regain control of myself.
A few deep breathes help calm me. The anger is still there but it’s contained, for now at least. I turn to the shower turning it as hot as it can go.
The heat stings my skin, but the spray hides my tears. I keep my eyes closed, not wanting to watch the water turn red. Blindly, I grab the soap and scrub myself clean. After I washed my body, I scrub my scalp and hair. It’s probably safe to open my eyes, but I go back to scrubbing my body again with eyes still shut. I repeat this process several times until my skin hurts to touch.
Finally, I turn off the water. Stepping out of the shower reveals a new set of clothes and a missing dress. My jewelry is still there. The clothes turn out to be a very comfortable pair of yoga pants and t-shirt. They are heavenly.
There isn’t a brush for my hair; probably their way of making sure I actually emerge from the bathroom. Sighing I make my way to the door stopping only to put the necklace back on. It was given to me by my mother and I can’t just abandon it. The rest of the jewelry I hold onto.
19
There are a lot of people downstairs. It looks like all the other council members are here plus several more. They must be done at the caves. Now I really wished there had been a brush; I didn’t want to have to deal with people yet. Just as I think of turning and running back into the bathroom, every eye turns to look at me. Gulp.
I jump as something brushes against my arm. Ash chuckles next to me.
“You won't be laughing when I make you wear a bell around your neck,” I warn Ash while jabbing a finger into his side. It feels like poking a warm rock.
Ash laughs louder at my scowl.
I grin mischievously at him. He shifts slightly and is accompanied by the unmistakable jingling of bells. A few of the witches chuckle mumbling to each other.
“How did you do that?”
I tilt the head to the side debating whether or not to tell him. He looks a little shaken by the thought that I possibly used magic on him. I didn’t.
“It’s relatively simple. I put a spell on your shirt so that every time it moves, it jingles,” I shrug.
He doesn’t look relieved. We walk down the stairs together. Ash has his hand on the small of my back as I wrap my arms around myself. There are a lot of powerful people in the room. I feel miniscule as they all watch me.
An older man that looks remarkably similar to Ash steps forward first. “I’m Mark, Ash’s father. You’ve no idea how happy it makes me seeing you alive and well,” said Mark. “If you ever need help keeping this Pup in line, I’ll be happy to help you.”
“Bring it on Old Wolf,” said Ash while growling playfully.
Mark pushes Ash’s shoulder. Ash steps back slightly. My finger nearly broke when I poked him. His dad can push him hard enough forcing him to step back.
“Please, let me introduce the rest of our pack mates that are here tonight.”
Mark introduces me to a small group of people in the room. I already know Willow from earlier, but this time she’s no longer playing the nice, helpful hostess. She is a tired battle-worn warrior ready for sleep. Willow smiles grimly, but there’s a flicker of light in her eyes. Most of the lupines look ready to go back to battle, until you look at their eyes. They’re all tired. Almost, everyone in this room is used to being in bed right now.
“We have some information we need to go over,” said Oona after the introductions.
“How important is this information? Can it wait for everyone to get a few hours of sleep?” I ask. My concern for everyone else’s welfare outweighs my need for information.
Everyone glances at each other. Xerxes and a slightly younger man step forward. The man looks similar to Xerxes except his eyes. He has amazing gray eyes that draw you.
“There are some things we need to discuss now, but most of it can wait,” answers Xerxes.
“Ok hit me with it,” I sigh. Ash maneuvers me to a chair and forces me to sit. Automatically, I pull my feet up and tuck them under me waiting for the bad news to hit.
Xerxes gestures to the man next to him, “This is my brother, Darius.” Fun more relatives.
I nod my head in acknowledgement.
“Most of the members of the Koesmoes Order have been apprehended or killed. Most of those apprehended will have to be executed. They’ve all performed acts that break very fundamental or ancient witchcraft laws. We know for certain that at least two individuals are missing. Juliana and another witch named Dayla are still at large. They must be found over the next few days, or we risk the possibility of them trying to spread their influence again,” Darius informs me gravely. “We have people working on it, but until they are found we must tread carefully. There’s no reason for you to risk your safety, so it would be wise to stay either here in Oona’s house or in your own house. Xerxes house would be acceptable as well.”
“I understand. Wouldn’t it be easier to get a vampire to search the cult member’s minds to find any other possible missing members or other useful information?” I ask.
“That would be easier, but none of us know of a vampire strong enough or willing to help us. Most of them are inclined to let everyone fight their own battles. The strong ones have usually lived long enough to realize it isn’t worth it, so unless you know of a vampire who has the ability and would be sympathetic to our situation, it isn’t worth thinking about,” answers
Darius.
I look at Ash. He has a large smile. We both say Kyle at the same time.
All the witches in the room look at us strangely. There’s a lot of work I’m going to have to do with them. It seems that there’s a lack of communication between the family witches and pretty much anyone else. Isolationism is one of the reasons we’re in the situation.
Ash turns to Xerxes, “Kyle is his street name. Most of you would recognize his, uh, current alias Tristan Van Wieren. He’s a work associate. He developed a fondness for Gwen after the incident when this pretty much all started for her. He’s proven to be, well, tenacious in trying to help solve that case.”
“How?” asks Darius.
“Well um,” Ash looks a little sheepish.
I watch Mark roll his eyes. “He’s been so busy worried about everything that he has failed to mention to Gwen that the case is closed. The vamps punishment was carried out by Tristan; such is his right as the head of the vampire council.”
Cringing I ask, “Was it, Dax?”
“Yes,” sighs Ash. “Kyle, or Tristan if you prefer, discovered that Dax well he wasn’t so innocent. Him knocking you over the head and then feeding off of you was, well rather tame compared to some of the other things he’s done. You were lucky he wanted you to join him as his queen otherwise you would have been dead.”
“That’s gross,” I reply shuddering at the thought of being stuck with Dax. “What did Kyle do?”
Ash looks up at the ceiling and refuses to answer. He’s being stubborn, so I turn to Mark.
Mark rolls his eyes at Ash. “You know she is a big girl and can handle it,” scoffs Mark. Ash doesn’t budge. “Tristan killed him.”
“So he cut his head off.”
“More of ripped his head off,” shrugs Mark.
“Dad, can you talk to Garion? Get him to talk to Kyle, so we can move on to whatever else we need to move on to,” sighs Ash.
“I already have. They’re on their way to the library. Oona if you could please provide someone to get him, I would appreciate it.”
Oona gestures behind her.
I sit staring at the people in the room. It seems that my suggestion and the fact that it appears to be working has distracted everyone from whatever else needed to be said. From the sounds of it, a new plan is being formulated.
My mind wanders back to when I was stuck in that chair. Like a nightmare, I watch as Morgana slices my arm open and thrusts that knife into my shoulder. Over and over, it all plays in my head. No one notices I’m stuck in hell.
“Oh honey, stop it!” gasps Kyle. “We’ll make sure they’re never in a position to hurt you or anyone else ever again.” Vampires have super speed as well because before I can even react to hearing his voice Kyle is crouched in front of me. Horror splays across his face. He relives my nightmare with me. I still can’t get it to stop.
Ash is trying to get my attention, but Kyle is the one person I can tell what happened to me without having to speak.
Tears slid down my cheeks but I barely register them. Kyle sits silently watching the scene as I look back at Casper’s final scream. He watches the strange woman appear saving me from Morgana.
After watching my healing, he does the one thing I need from someone who truly knows. Kyle takes me to the kitchen and hands me a plate.
“Smash it. Destroy it. Do what you need to do to let it all out,” Kyle whispers.
The crowd in the room has dwindled down to a handful of people. I see my reflection in the polished metal cabinets. I realize I’m tired of crying, tired of feeling victimized over and over by my memories, tired of the anxiety, and tired of the pain. I’m so tired of suppressing my anger.
Kyle gives me a small smile and nods.
I look at the plate in my hands as my anger boils higher and higher. The plate shatters as I scream. I throw the two pieces left in my hands to the ground with another scream a deafening crash comes from the cabinets. Everything has shattered, but I’m not done.
There’s still more destruction that I need to unleash, part of me fights the urge to break more things, but the vase on the table catches my attention. Water and flowers fall as the vase shatters. Several more vases are decimated from a glance.
Breathing is harder, and I can feel myself starting to weaken. Magic is supposed to be used when you are in some state of control, but right now I’m feral and lashing out at whatever my eyes land on.
Luckily, Ash catches me as I collapse from exhaustion. We sit on the floor as he cradles me close to his body. His body heat infuses its way through to my core calming my frayed nerves.
My emotions settle releasing another torrent of tears. As much as I’m tired of crying, I haven’t fully allowed myself to let the tears fall. I cry long after my tears dry up sobbing into Ash’s chest. Slowly, exhaustion creeps up on me slowing my sobs till I’m nearly asleep.
Kyle’s gasp pulls my head up. On the table in front of Xerxes, Oona, and Nicholas is Morgana’s knife. “Where did you get that?” I demand as I scramble to my feet.
“It was found in the caves. This knife is special Gw-” starts Xerxes.
“I know that,” I hiss at a barely audible level. Ash stiffens next to me. Louder I ask, “There was a boy, Casper, the last place I saw that knife was buried in his skull. Why do you have it? What are you going to do with it?”
“That has yet to be decided,” answers Oona.
“Give it to me,” I demand. My eyes haven’t moved from watching the knife. I’m afraid if I blink or lose sight of it, it would be gone haunting me for the rest of my life.
“Gwen, this needs to be talked about. There are certain magical beasts that can only be killed with this knife. We need-” explains Xerxes.
“Oh please, how often have you heard of a wild griffin? They were tamed for a reason. Besides they are far more civilized, then you could possibly imagine,” sneers Kyle. “Give it to her, and it will never see the light of day. That way it will never be used on anyone else again. No one deserves that.”
I walk over to the table only to discover I can’t bring myself to touch it.
Ash picks it up and holds it far away from me. “We’ll take it back home, and you can do whatever you want with it.”
“It cannot be destroyed, nor will it ever rust. That knife has survived over a millennia and will continue to do so,” warns Oona.
“Fine,” I reply emotionlessly. Casper pops into my head. This time it’s a happy memory of us laughing over some horrible movie on TV. “What are you doing with Casper and any of the other bodies?”
“That also has yet to be decided,” sighs Oona.
“Casper saved my life. He’s a hero and should be treated as such,” I advise. “I would like the families to have a chance to claim their dead. If they don’t want to, that’s fine. I can certainly understand that. They’ll be given a proper burial or whatever is traditional for them. You know what I mean.”
“We’ll take care of it. The Vega family is going to have to be reorganized,” adds Oona.
“Can’t they do that themselves?” I ask.
“They will, but you’ll need to oversee the debate and give the final approval of the person chosen,” answers Nicholas.
“Fine,” I agree.
“You need to go to bed, Gwen,” said Ash.
“Yeah,” I mumble.
“There’s a room-”
“No. Thank you but, I miss my room, and my parents will be worried if they wake up without me there,” I answer. “Xerxes knows how to reach me.”
“I do as well,” informs Nicholas.
Xerxes went very still. You can see the wheels trying to work and move, but he’s having a hard time coming to any type of conclusion.
“Goodnight Uncle Nick and Pops,” I cackle as I grab Ash’s hand. Nicholas and Xerxes are staring at each other horrified. Finally, I had a piece of information that someone else didn’t. It’s nice to drop a bombshell on someone else, rather than having one dropped on me.
> Kyle doubles over laughing. Our eyes lock for a second and he winks at me. I smile back and decide it’s best to leave for now. I’ll talk to Kyle later.
Ash is laughing as we appear in the front room of my house. The knife is still in his hand. I have to deal with that now.
“Set that on the table please,” I whisper.
Grim-faced, Ash placed the knife on the table.
“Binawalka, this knife is dangerous in the wrong hands. People have suffered from it, I have suffered. Please, hide it where it will never be found. Even griffins deserve a better death.” I watch as the knife disappears lost to who knows where protected by the most ancient magic I have access to. “Thank you.”
A sigh of relief drains me of the last bit of tension holding me together.
Ash catches me and carries me up the stairs to my room.
“I would tell you that I can walk by myself, but I’m not actually sure I can.”
“I wouldn’t put you down anyways. I need the reassurance that you’re here with me,” confesses Ash.
I close my eyes and sink into his warmth. I have become addicted to his warmth. It’s peaceful in his arms, and it’s been such a long night. I fall asleep before Ash reaches the top of the stairs.
20
Dreaming is such a weird experience. Sometimes your dreams are made up of places and people you have never met before. Other times you have a hard time remembering if it was a dream.
The room I’m sitting in is exceptionally beautiful and strange. I’m not even sure I can actually call it a room. There’re no walls, but I can’t see much besides the blonde warrior from the caves.
She’s sitting on a bench cooing to an owl. The spear, shield, and helmet are missing this time. She’s less intimidating this way. Her blonde hair is still in a braid that rests on the ground. It has to be heavy.
“Actually, I don’t have any issues with it. There are certain blessings that come from being what I am,” says the woman as she smiles at me.