The Fall of Witchcraft

by Claudia Silva

  Dylan stood in front of the group, with an unconscious woman in his arms. The woman’s clothes were torn and covered in blood. Behind them, Will spotted Rebecca. They exchanged a quick smile although she was back in werewolf hunter mode a second later. They weren’t there for a good time, they were in the middle of a crisis that could result in life or death.

  Apart from Rebecca, Will also recognized Victoria, the Head Witch of the Twelve Covens. She was the empath who'd helped him prove his was being truthful when he’d shared his tale. Although she looked regal as always, with her necklaces, rings, and bracelets, Victoria looked tired and older, somehow. Her smooth black skin looked aged, her green eyes had lost their vivacity.

  Three more witches exited the elevator with them. Two of them, older women in their sixties, Will calculated, and one looking as young as Rebecca was.

  “Where can I put her?” Dylan asked a frozen crowd. The entire firm had stopped what they were doing to stare at the new visitors. The human staff wondering why in the world a strange entourage had shown up with a wounded and unconscious woman instead of having gone to a hospital.

  “The conference room,” Jake replied. “We moved a few sofas there. They can all stay there and rest while we figure out what to do.”

  William watched while listening to the rest of the crowd whispering in their confusion with one another. It made him wonder, more than ever, if the humans who worked there had any idea who their employers were. He had the feeling they were all in the dark.

  “Sir, are you sure you don’t want us to call an ambulance?” started Denise again, walking next to Jake as he guided Dylan and the rest to the conference room in question.

  “Yes, Denise, I’m sure,” he told her, unsure of how to explain. “But, it would be a good idea to gather everyone to let them know what’s going on. Could you help me with that? Tell everyone I will talk to them in a few minutes in the lounge.”

  Denise agreed, happy to have something to do. “Ok, yes. Yes, sir.”

  The secretary was scared; Will could smell the fear coming out of her every pore. They were all scared, all but the vampire lawyers who watched as Jake guided the werewolf hunters and their guests to the room they had prepared for them.

  Not sure what to do or where to go, Will followed the werewolf hunters. Perhaps if he got a few minutes alone with Rebecca he'd learn more about what was going on. Or perhaps they could give him something to do to help. After everything the vampires had done for him, he was glad to pay it forward if they needed it.

  Will stood under the door’s frame watching the witches take a seat in one of the cushioned chairs around the table while Dylan placed the wounded woman on one of the three green sofas they had dragged from the lobby. The conference room was wide enough to accommodate all of them.

  It was then that Will stopped in his tracks, standing straighter as he identified a scent. No. It couldn’t be. It was faint, but it was there... and it was unmistakable. Turning to look at the three vampires in the room, he tried to see if either Dylan, Rebecca or Jake could smell it, too. Maybe they did and they refused to accept it, kept it a secret to avoid scaring the terrified women they had brought with them. Or maybe it was something only another werewolf could smell.

  “We need to take her to a hospital, Dylan,” Jake was saying.

  “We can’t,” Dylan replied. Next to him, the Head Witch looked like someone had died (and someone had, many had). Dylan turned to look at her, trying to sound sympathetic. “Her bleeding stopped. She won't die.”

  This didn’t convince Jake, “Yes, but-”

  “We are not moving her from this spot until we get an idea on what to do next, Jake.”

  Will used their argument to slip his way into the conference room, walking until he reached Rebecca’s side.

  “Hey,” she said under her breath as he approached her.

  “I need to tell you something,” he whispered.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Not here, I don’t want to alarm anyone,” continued Will.

  “What is it, Will?” It was Dylan who spoke, loud enough to make everyone in that conference room turn to look at them. Will looked at him incredulous at his lack of tact. Dylan Torrence hadn't exchanged a word with him ever since he'd pulled his ailing body out of that bank vault when he’d almost died trying to get accepted into the agency.

  “Will?” Rebecca repeated behind him.

  “It’s-,” He didn’t want to say it now. Not out loud. He didn’t want to create any more panic. “Can you… feel it?”

  For a long time, Dylan just stared at him, his brow showing how he was analyzing the information, trying to infer what he was going to say. When he nodded, he said: “Yes.”

  Giving one step closer to the werewolf hunter, Will started, “Then, we can’t… we-”

  “We can’t take her to the hospital, for one,” informed Dylan.

  “Wait, what are you two going on about?” Jake asked.

  When Dylan and Will refused to answer, Rebecca was forced to do it for them. “She's infected, isn’t she?”

  “Yes,” Dylan stated.

  Jake ran to close the conference room’s door. Turning back he hissed, “Are you saying this is a werewolf in the making, right here?”

  “That is exactly what we're saying,” Dylan stated.

  The Head Witch, who had been listening, let out a sobbed. Throwing herself on top of the unconscious witch on the sofa, she couldn’t stop her grief. Everyone in the room stared at her in shock and silence, including the other three witches present.

  “What will happen to her?” The youngest witch, a woman with piercing blue eyes and black hair asked.

  Dylan turned to look at her. “She will turn into a werewolf.”

  “How?” One of the older witches, the older one with dark skin and gray hair, asked.

  The werewolf hunter now turned to face her. “I don’t know how it works for werewolves, but I can now smell the scent of the wolf in her. Will can smell it, too, and he's a werewolf.”

  This made everyone turn to look at him in disgust, trying to figure out why in the world one of the ruthless beasts they all feared and hunted was in the room with them. Will’s heightened sense of hearing caught their heartbeats quicken, their bodies shifting uneasily. Perhaps Dylan shouldn't have revealed that important piece of information so carelessly.

  “You are a werewolf?” the other older woman asked with narrowed eyes. “How is this possible?”

  “Well, I was scratched and-” William began.

  “No, how is it possible you are standing here, with us?” the witch rephrased. “How can you be in a room with these werewolf hunters and still be alive?”

  “This is William Woods.” It was the Head Witch who spoke, tears still wetting her face. “This is the one who came to warn us there was a traitor in our midst. The one who came to prepare us for what was to come… what has come. I sat there, listening to his tale and… and did nothing.”

  “Don’t blame yourself, Victoria,” the old witch stood up and walked to her, comforting her. The Head Witch, once so proud and strong, seemed to melt in her arms with grief.

  The youngest witch asked, “You aren’t dangerous?”

  Will answered that question with a scoff. “No, I’m not.”

  Her eyes lit up after hearing his answer. “Then, that means Evelyn should be fine, right? If he can be normal even if he’s a werewolf, then-”

  “I’m afraid not,” Will stopped her.

  “What do you mean?” They all turned to him once more, trying to understand why their lives had changed so much in a few days.

  “He means,” Dylan answered for him, “women cannot be werewolves.”

  The old witch with the darker skin said, “But, you just said she's infected. You said she's becoming a werewolf.”

  “And she is,” repeated William. “Werewolves kill all women who are turned. None of them survive. It's not safe to let them live.”

  “Why?”
they all seemed to ask in unison.

  Once more, Dylan Torrence answer for him. “We have always believed if men are unpredictable and violent, then women are even more volatile.” He turned to Will to confirm his theory.

  “Yes.” Will elaborated, “Women are dangerous even to male werewolves. They are backstabbing, unpredictable, conniving creatures; not to mention strong. Not to be trusted. The packs always kill them to save themselves the trouble. Even if they didn’t, the women would kill each other while wreaking havoc in the pack at the same time. Male werewolves, however dangerous they may be, are no match for a female.”

  Once more, silence followed his explanation. They all seemed to be absorbing the new reality and trying to make sense of it. Not only that, they wondered what their next course of action would be and if they were ready to take it.

  “We have to kill her?” the youngest witch said.

  Will didn't want to answer that question, but Dylan was ready to do it. “I don’t see any other way.”

  October 20th, 2000

  11:20 A.M.

  It had taken only a few minutes for Jake and Will to get acquainted with the surviving witches of what they now referred to as the Twelve Coven Massacre.

  Will had only known about the empaths in Victoria and teleporters in the now deceased Oralia Paz and Jasmine Powell. Now, he found the new witches' powers interesting and powerful.

  Although the youngest witch, a woman named Liliana Porter, was an empath like the Head Witch, the other two had very different abilities. Daisy Hart was a deleter, which meant she had the power to erase people's minds. Will couldn't imagine the extent of what a power like hers could do for the vampires. With this magic, Ms. Hart could make any human forget they’d ever seen a vampire or a werewolf, leaving them on their blissful ignorance once again. It was a powerful ability that could make these witches dangerous if they weren’t careful. What was there to stop them from erasing the mind of anyone they wished to fulfill their own purposes? What was there to stop them from deleting the memories of any other witch to make them forget they had committed a crime like the attack on the Twelve Covens?

  The women looked harmless, but appearances could be deceiving. He knew this better than most.

  Then there was the other witch, Carolina Peterson, with the ability to move things with her mind. Was there anything to stop her from moving a knife into someone's throat? She didn’t even need to be near her victims to end their lives. Just like Daisy, Carolina could be dangerous if she chose to be, but why wasn’t she?

  It dawned on Will that vampires and werewolves weren’t the only creatures to be feared after all. These women may look harmless, but they were nothing of the kind; inside them their power brewed, ready to be used. Just like a vampire or a werewolf, it all depended on what was on the inside that could mean the difference between being a force for good or evil.

  Clearly, someone with a dark soul would be capable of terrible deeds, regardless of the species. The Twelve Coven Massacre was proof of that. Will couldn't believe no other witch had decided to rebel like the one responsible for the massacre before. How had the witches maintain control for so many years?

  What had changed? What power could this witch possessed that made her such an efficient killer when trying to murder dozens of powerful human beings? What was so special about this one that not one of the others had defended against her?

  “Mr. Torrence,” Will heard her whisper his name, turning to look at Dylan.

  The Head Witch, Victoria, had calmed down but her eyes were still red from her tears. She walked to Rebecca and Dylan, who'd been talking about their ruined weekend as if this crisis was an inconvenience. Jake wasn't around, having left to talk with the rest of the firm’s staff, and Will was sitting down next to a still sleeping Evelyn, guarding the future werewolf in case she opened her eyes.

  William found himself watching the exchange between the witch and the vampires just like everyone else in the room. It was a confusing moment for all of them, and they yearned for answers.

  “I need to speak to you,” she gave her back to the other witches while she whispered.

  “Is there something wrong?” They were waiting to hear from Lucius. Dylan wasn't happy with his babysitting job. He was a man of action. He was desperate to find out what the next step in the plan was.

  “I was trusted with a great secret, Mr. Torrence,” Victoria took a deep breath. “A secret I feel is appropriate I share with you now.”

  Secret? wondered Will, his attention now focused on the conversation.

  “What is it?” The werewolf hunter himself sounded interested.

  Victoria Palmer turned to look at the wounded Evelyn before turning to look at the three witches waiting behind the conference table. Whatever she about to say was of utmost importance.

  “When I became the Head Witch,” Victoria began, “something was passed down to me by the previous Head Witch. A secret.” She paused. She looked to be struggling with the decision to share this story with the room, but the situation was forcing her to break her silence. “It’s a truth hidden from the Covens for centuries. A rule meant to be followed and never broken. A mandate that could be confused with cruelty if not handled with care.”

  Dylan turned to face her with interest, Rebecca did the same. Crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes, he said, “I’m listening.”

  He wasn’t the only one listening. The Head Witch now had the entire room glued to her every word.

  “There was a teleporter, Sofia Pearson, let her soul rest in peace, who traveled to our Coven after the Montana Massacre. She teleported after having been wounded by the same knife that killed her sisters. Somehow she came to us, appearing inside the Colorado Coven bleeding to death. She died a few minutes after her appearance, but before she lost consciousness, she told us the witch that attacked them could do things none of the others could.”

  “What do you mean?” Rebecca asked. “Some new power?”

  “No,” Victoria shook her head, troubled. “No. She could use all of our abilities.”

  Carolina stood up to speak. “You mean she wasn't restricted to just one?”

  For a moment Victoria stared at her, feeling she'd betrayed them by keeping this information. “I’m saying her magical potential had been released,” she confirmed. “Or perhaps she's one we could not cap when she was a child.”

  “Cap?” Carolina said, anger boiling inside her. “You take away our magic?”

  Daisy spoke next. “Help us understand. Are you saying we all have the power to erase minds, move things with our minds, to teleport, to-?”

  “We are born with different abilities, not just one,” announced Victoria. “There are abilities we all share, like becoming invisible, for instance. Then, there are those abilities only some of us are born with. My ability, the power to tell if someone is lying, is one very rare ability.” The Head Witch turned to the young Liliana Porter. “Lily was chosen as an empath because she displayed that ability as a child. We do not have many empaths and so the rest of her abilities were blocked at a young age. Those who can control the weather are also rare and most of them keep that ability.”

  “What about teleportation? Or telekinesis?” Carolina asked her, not quite understanding what this all meant.

  “Common, yes. As far as I know.”

  “Wait a minute, are you saying we could have defended ourselves from the killer?” Daisy sounded calm, yet a wave of underlying anger could be perceived in her tone. “We could've prevented the deaths of all our sisters?”

  “I-” Tears rolled down the Head Witch’s cheeks once more. They all looked at her, but not with pity - not this time. This was new information none of them ever expected to hear. Not even Dylan had guessed this was the truth, he who had worked with the Twelve Covens for decades. Will could tell he was just as surprised.

  The werewolf hunter sighed. “Your blocked abilities,” he stated. “Can they be restored?”

  “Yes, there are way
s,” she nodded. “There is, among us, a witch we call a nullifier.” Will though this was the perfect title for her ability; to drain power from a gifted person. “If my ability is rare, nullifiers are born once in each generation. A nullifier can contain, or release power. When one is identified…”

  “Who identifies the powers in each witch, Victoria? Is it the nullifier, as well?” interrupted Carolina.

  “She does,” the Head Witch answered. “The name of our nullifier is Emilia Black, and she just so happens to reside in this city.”

  Rebecca gasped, “Wait, she lives here?”

  “Yes,” Victoria said. “At this point, I think it’s more than mere coincidence. You see, some say nullifiers have the ability to look into the future.”

  The women looked from one face to another, appalled. Clairvoyance and telepathy weren’t abilities witches possessed. There wasn't a witch alive who was known to use them.

  “Then,” Dylan stated, “her powers aren’t blocked.”

  “No.”

  “That means we could use her, we could-”

  “She is ninety-four years of age,” stated Victoria. “Sometimes I think she keeps herself alive only because we keep looking for another nullifier. We have been waiting for one for a long time. I don't know why one hasn't been born to replace her. Then again, it's an inexact science. I don't understand it myself.”

  Carolina seemed to have calmed herself before saying, “Can she restore our power?”

  The Head Witch turned to look at her. “Yes, I believe she can.”

  “Then we must go to her.”

  “No,” Dylan stopped them. “Our orders are to keep you here. Where you’ll be safe.”

  “Can we bring her to them?” Rebecca asked. “I can go get her.” She turned to Victoria, “If you tell me where to find her, I will go right away.”

  Victoria knew she had to agree. “I'll write her address, do you have paper and pen?” she asked to no one in particular.

  It was Lily who stood up, reaching for one of the notepads on the table, one with the law firm's logo. She took a black pen and handed it to her mentor. “You can use this, Ms. Palmer.”