The Fall of Witchcraft

by Claudia Silva

  She'd been a vampire for about a year and she missed a lot of the things she used to do when she was human. The simple things, like going out for coffee or to the movies.

  Dylan thinks I’m supposed to just go out on missions, practice shooting a gun, and wait to be debriefed, but life is more than that, you know? she'd once said.

  Following the parking spot numbers on the wall, Will followed the line of cars until he faced a clean and shiny gray BMW. It was beautiful. It looked brand new. Was his position in the vampire agency in such good standing he deserved this car?

  He didn’t know what to make of it. The vampires were lending him a beautiful car, were letting him go out on his own, and were paying for all of his living expenses. Sweet. He'd certainly come a long way from sleeping on the floor and being everybody's punching bag when he was a member of a werewolf pack.

  William couldn’t help but smile in triumph as he got into the driver’s seat smelling the new leather and feeling the comfort of the drive. He could get used to this. Like Josh had said, the keys were already in the ignition. Turning the key, he heard the soft rumbling of the engine. “Yeah, baby, it was most definitely worth almost dying for this,” he told himself.

  He had no idea what kind of day it was about to become.

  October 20th, 2000

  10:01 A.M.

  William followed the directions Josh gave him to The Crimson Building. Although anxiety filled him all the way, and he was forced to rely on his breathing exercises to calm down, he got to his destination in one piece. It was never easy to drive on unfamiliar roads in a borrowed car.

  As he stared at the crimson-colored letters from the parking lot, he wondered if the vampires had thought much on what to name their building or if naming it The Crimson Building had been an obvious choice. He smiled to himself thinking someone had thought of words that related to blood or fangs or vampires when brainstorming names. Perhaps vampires had a sense of humor after all.

  The building was in the outskirts of the city and didn’t look as old as he'd pictured it at first. A little scared to get out of the car, Will instead wondered how long ago they had built the building; he then spent a moment trying to estimate how many floors there were behind the glass walls. The parking lot was large and pretty full, which made him wonder if the building housed other firms or businesses or if it was just another den of vampires much like the agency was.

  Before turning off the engine, he noted the time. 10:03 A.M. He was late.

  Taking a deep breath, he began his way to the building’s lobby in his the new slacks, jacket, polo shirt and brown shoes he'd bought for the special occasion. It had been Rebecca who'd taken him shopping the week before, and as he remembered the time they’d spent together that day, he wished she could be there with him now. In the back of his mind, he still resented Dylan thinking it'd been he who'd created some excuse-mission to wreck his plans for that day.

  I'm sorry, Will, but I have to work, Rebecca told him before leaving that morning. Really? It wasn’t a secret the wonderful and annoying werewolf hunter hated Will’s guts. It was just too convenient. For the record, Will didn’t hate Dylan; he didn’t particularly like him or dislike him. It was when Dylan acted like he was stealing his girl’s time that bothered Will the most.

  Rebecca didn’t see it that way. She knew who she loved, and she knew who her friends were. She didn't seem to understand why there should be jealousy. She spent time with William because she wanted to and she didn't need to ask permission to do so. Dylan had never stopped her, either. So far, at least.

  William enjoyed being her friend. He sat for hours at some coffee shop or another hearing Rebecca talk about her new life as a vampire, hunting werewolves, her past… and even Dylan. In fact, she talked so much he couldn't get many words out about himself. Not that there was much to tell, but still.

  Thinking about what was and what could be, Will walked with his hands in his pockets across the parking lot with the wind blowing his light brown hair from one side to the other recklessly. Fall was much milder in Tennessee than how it was in Chicago. Winter would be friendlier, too, and he was glad. One thing he wouldn't miss about Chicago was the cold, hard winter where it was dangerous to go outside because people could literally die.

  The south brought better weather, and he welcomed the change.

  William helped the woman in front of him into the building by opening the door for her before walking to the man sitting behind a fancy counter. The scent of vampire blood lingered in the lobby; faint and easy to ignore.

  “May I help you, sir?” the man asked in a polite tone.

  “I’m here to see Jake Anders?”

  The man turned to point to a list of names and their office numbers displayed on a tall framed window on the wall just next to the elevators. William walked over to search for the lawyer's name when he heard the man say, “Eighth floor.”

  “Great,” he turned with a smile. “Thanks.”

  The fancy elevator ride was smooth and when Will got out on the eighth floor, he took a deep breath, letting the vampire scent inside. The words Harrison & Associates were carved in crimson glass letters behind a desk - he knew he was in the right place. Approaching the desk, Will waited for the human woman behind it to finish a call, wondering if she had any idea what her employers were.

  “May I help you?” she offered a smile once she put the receiver down. Her hair was white, held by a bun behind her head, and the make up she wore looked natural.

  “Hi,” Will smiled back, “I’m here to see Jake Anders? I have an appointment at ten.”

  With a kind smile, the receptionist turned to look at her computer monitor.

  “Mr. Woods?” she asked.

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  This time, the lady offered an even bigger smile. “Of course, Mr. Woods. Mr. Anders is expecting you. I will let his secretary know you’re here. Would you like to take a seat while you wait?”

  Her open palm invited him to a series of green sofas on each side of the elevator doors. William missed seeing them when he arrived. Nodding, he walked to sit down, feeling the soft fabric under his palms as he brushed the cushion with both hands. It'd been a while since someone treated him with this amount of respect or since he visited a place as luxurious. He imagined this was how people would treat an older man.

  The clock over the crimson letters behind the receptionist desk soon read twelve minutes past ten, making Will wonder if the lawyer was upset by his tardiness and he was being punished for it. His doubts were soon erased when he spotted Jacob Anders walking straight toward him offering a welcoming hand for Will to shake. Dressed in a suit and tie, Jake looked happy to see him.

  “How are you, Will?” Jake Anders said like they were old friends when in fact they’d only met briefly at the safe house the evening everyone heard his life story. “Tell me, Will. How is the agency treating you?”

  Automatically, Will’s hand went to the collar around his neck; the symbol that represented the vampires’ distrust. “Not too bad, actually.”

  “I’ve heard nothing but good things.”

  This made Will blush a little. He had done his best to show how civil he could be and it seemed to be working. If only the vampires cared to get to know him a little better, they would see what a great person he was and everything would be perfect. He knew it would take time and he couldn’t blame them for their lack of trust. One thing he had a lot of was time, and he was willing to wait as long as it took to be accepted.

  “And how have you been?” Will asked this time.

  “Great!” exclaimed Jacob. “Life is good.” A silence followed. “Come on, let’s get a little more privacy. Should we walk to my office?”

  William shrugged. “Sure, lead the way.”

  Vampire and werewolf walked across the eighth floor until they reached a corner office. As he walked, Will was quick to identify the vampires in the building. They were easy to find. Since they could smell him just as he could them,
they turned around in his direction with a look of disgust. Will didn’t care about ugly looks, in fact, he expected them. He was used to them.

  “Come right in,” offered Jake. “Do you want anything? Coffee? Water? Soda?”

  Will shook his head, “No, thanks. I’m fine. A little nervous, perhaps.”

  This made Jake frown, “Nervous? Why should you be nervous? I'd be excited if I were you. I mean, you’ll be getting a new identity, a clean slate. Not just that, we'll delete everything you ever were. No one will be able to find you even if they tried. Not even a paper trail of who you used to be. Nothing.”

  “Yes,” agreed William. “I appreciate that. I know I should be happy and grateful, but this is still very new to me and it scares me. I guess part of me thinks one day one of you will wake me up and I'll find a hand inside my chest.” Will regretted saying that last thing in front of the lawyer.

  “Tsk, tsk,” Jake moved his index finger from left to right. “Don’t be so negative. It'll be fine. Lucius has agreed to keep you and everybody follows Lucius’s orders.”

  “So I’ve heard.”

  “In fact,” Jake let himself fall on his leather chair behind his desk, inviting Will to join him. “If anyone ever hurt you, I don't doubt there would be severe consequences. We aren’t supposed to kill the innocent, you see.”

  But, you want to? Will almost asked, stopping himself in time. The vampires always acted like such saints, was it possible they could control their urges with ease? Like werewolves, they also had an instinct that drove them: drinking blood. Perhaps the elite, as Will called them, had a different way to remain rational. The other vampires, the ones his New York pack used to fight on the streets of New York, were a totally different breed of vampire - weaker in more ways than one.

  “I’m an innocent,” gulped Will. “You should know I am.”

  “I believe you, Lucius believes you. Heck, if he didn’t, we wouldn’t have gone to all this trouble to keep you.”

  All that trouble? He knew Jake hadn’t said it to upset him, but it had hurt all the same.

  “I’m just grateful, that’s all. For everything you’ve done for me. All of you.”

  “Don’t sweat it, Will,” Jake swatted him away. “Now, let’s get down to business, shall we?”

  Not five minutes had passed when there was a knock on the door.

  “Mr. Anders?” A young, short-haired woman peeked inside. Like most employees in the firm, she was human, too.

  “We’re working, Denise. Can it wait?”

  “It’s Mr. Lucius on line one, sir. Says it’s urgent.”

  Will saw Jake stop in his tracks, his expression worried him.

  “Thanks, I’ll take it.” Jake dismissed his secretary by pointing to the door. Taking the receiver, he answered the call. “Hello?”

  It was Will’s superhuman sense of hearing which allowed him to hear the conversation. He didn’t like to overhear as a rule, but it was hard not to.

  “Jake, Dylan is on his way. He is bringing the last surviving witches with him,” Lucius was saying.

  Jake’s eyes grew wide. “Really? What happened? How many are left?”

  “It’s only Victoria and four others.”

  “You can’t be serious?”

  “One of them is hurt,” the director added.

  “Then, take her to a hospital?”

  “We can’t. Werewolf scratch.”

  “Oh, no.”

  Lucius sighed, “I have to confess, I don’t know what to make of all this. I can’t bring them to the agency, you see. If the traitor is with them and is pretending to be one of the victims, I cannot reveal the location of the agency to her.”

  “Out of the survivors, who else, besides Victoria, knows where it is?”

  “Just Victoria, the rest of the witches who knew are dead or presumed dead.”

  Jake paused, for a moment he glanced at William, sure he was overhearing the conversation. “Do you think one of them revealed the location of the agency to the killer?”

  “If they did, we haven’t been attacked. I have called all the vampire agents back to headquarters just in case we need to act.”

  Jake nodded in understanding. “All right, where is Dylan now?”

  “On his way,” Lucius replied. “I just hung up with him; they’re about thirty minutes away.”

  “All right,” Jake said, “We’ll take them in. They can stay as long as you need. We can move a few sofas to the conference room while we figure out what else to do.”

  “Yes, those were my thoughts,” Lucius said. “I’ll need you to tell the others. I need at least one of you to stay with them through the night. Never leave them alone. Understood?”

  “Yes. Understood.” The director hung up the phone after those last words. Jake returned the receiver in slow motion. “Did you hear that?” Will had heard. “We’re about to have some company.”

  October 20th, 2000

  10:53 A.M.

  The call left Will and Jake speechless for a few minutes.

  Snapping out of his trance, Jake took the receiver again, “Denise, I need to see all associates in the conference room, asap.”

  Will didn’t know what to do or say. He wasn’t sure if he should stay or leave. The vampire stood up and prepared to exit his office. Before he disappeared, he turned to Will, “This will only take a minute,” Jake said. “Stay here, I’ll be right back.”

  Will tried to relax on the chair, but he was too agitated for that. Instead, he listened to the commotion outside the office. With his supernatural sense of hearing, he followed the other vampires as they gathered in a room, eager to learn more about what was going on. Yet when the door closed, everything went silent. A soundproof room, he figured. Clever. In an office where lawyers and clients could overhear a conversation, it didn't surprise him they had built soundproof rooms. It made perfect sense. As perfect as it was, it disappointed him because now he wouldn’t be able to listen in to what they were about to say.

  Will couldn't stay in the dark trapped in an office. Standing up, he walked to open the door, and from there, he could see the vampires inside the conference room listening as Jake debriefed them on the situation. There weren’t many vampires working for the firm - counting Jake, they were just three men and a woman. That made for four vampires in the entire building. Everybody else who worked in the office was human.

  It occurred to him no witches worked there, either. If Lucius had announced the only surviving witches were on their way, it meant there weren't any in the building. Somehow it didn't make sense for the Head Witch to be disconnected from a place like this. The witches would have benefited if one of them worked for the law firm. Unless they had their own offices. Had. Crazy to think it was all gone now.

  The vampires ended their meeting and Jake stormed out of the conference room to come back to his office.

  “Maybe I should leave,” Will suggested when Jake was close. “We could do this another day.”

  “Nonsense,” Jake dismissed the thought. “We can start.” The lawyer then stopped, studying Will. “Unless you have someplace else to be.”

  Will gulped, “Uhm, no. Not really.”

  “Thought so.” Jake fixed his tie and sat down behind his desk again, finally opening the folder waiting on it. “Let’s do this.”

  Throughout the process, Will couldn’t help but wonder what was really going on outside those walls. He'd been the one who'd alerted them about the traitorous witch helping the werewolves. They'd all looked confused and surprised at first, perhaps even a little incredulous, when Will had suggested it. Maybe if they'd done something about it sooner, they wouldn’t be in this culprit.

  When Rebecca called him the day before to let him know she was traveling to Virginia on her day off with Dylan, Will should've known there was something very, very wrong. Whatever it was, he hadn’t expected the imminent extinction of witchcraft.

  What could have prompted the werewolves to start their attack on the witc
hes so suddenly? Will wasn’t sure. He hoped it hadn’t been his defection that sped up their plans. He wasn’t ready to be responsible for the death of over a hundred witches.

  While Jake was busy explaining the process of his new identity, Will was far away thinking about the massacre that was happening even as they spoke. It was hard to focus on the issue at hand, but Jake went over the information as many times as Will needed. The birth certificate, social security number, passport; everything was there. Not just that, Jake also explained how his firm left a trail of Will’s made up ancestors created to simulate how his assets would pass from one generation to the next when it was time to start over with a new identity.

  Just thinking about the logistics of it all gave Will a headache and was grateful to his new friends’ efforts and willingness to help. Having his heart ripped out of his chest for a few minutes had been sacrifice enough for all the wealth of resources he'd gained when the vampires called him a friend.

  The knock on the door made him jump. Jake’s secretary peeked through the door opening, her short hair framing her face.

  “Are they here?” Jake raised his eyes to meet hers.

  “Yes, sir,” Denise told him. “They just entered the lobby downstairs and…” The woman stopped, biting her lower lip as she hesitated.

  “What is it?”

  “I think we need to call an ambulance.”

  Will and Jake exchanged a quick glance. “Let’s not do anything, yet, Denise.”

  The secretary frowned in confusion. “All right,” she forced herself to say, disagreement on her face.

  “Come on, Will,” Jake stood up, leaving the papers Will had just signed in a neat pile on the desk. “Let’s see what we can do to help.”

  Will followed the lawyer to the elevator just in time to see the doors open.