High Witch Box Set

by Mona Hanna

  It was hard work, but as time went by, the witches grew more competent and confident. The shape-shifters learned to change into animals at virtually the same time. Those who would control fire and water stood in a line, throwing fire balls and dousing them with water. Those who could call things to themselves initially called as many weapons as they could to the field from their homes nearby, and then they worked together to bring the items to themselves over and over again, at the same time. The witches who were psychic joined hands, trying to have a vision of how the battle would play out. Everyone worked all night, until finally it was time for them to all cast a spell together.

  “Everyone,” Ariel called out, standing in the middle of the field. “I know we’re all tired, but we have one last thing to do before we can rest until dawn. We need to try to use our magic all together, all at once, in one group. It won’t be like in the final battle, but it will be good practice. Try to assemble into rows, separated by core power, and we’ll begin.”

  Brayden watched as the women did as instructed, and then Ariel and Hallie stood before them. Ariel told the women who could control fire to create a small fire ball above their hand when she said so. She instructed the shape-shifters to shift at her command. Those who could call items would bring a weapon to themselves, and the psychic women were to try to have a vision all at once.

  Ariel paused until everyone was silent and waiting. Then she ordered them to begin.

  Brayden had never seen anything like it. It was amazing. They were astonishing. They were powerful.

  They were ready.

  Chapter 22

  “I’m so tired,” Ariel said. She sat beside Brayden on the grass before one of the fires. She leaned her head against his shoulder, and he put his arm around her. It was a couple of hours before dawn. She felt truly exhausted.

  “Do you want to have a quick sleep? I’ll wake you when it’s time.”

  “No, I can’t sleep now. I’m too anxious. I can’t believe this is happening. Look at where we are. Look at what’s happening.”

  Brayden kissed her on the forehead. “Remember when we first met? You were too scared to use your powers. I fell so in love with you straight away, and I was amazed at how your magic grew as you trained. You were amazing. You are amazing. You used to be so quiet, so shy, but now look at you—speaking in front of the crowd, being a leader, so brave and strong. I love you so much. I couldn’t love you any more.”

  Ariel lifted her head to look at him. “Kiss me—really kiss me.”

  Brayden gazed at her, then put his hand on her face and leaned towards her.

  Ariel wrapped her arms around his neck as their lips met. She felt like she hadn’t truly kissed him in ages. She moved her mouth with his, played with his tongue, enjoyed every moment. She clung to him, wanted him to know how much she loved him. How much she needed him.

  He held on to her tightly, continuing to kiss her before finally breaking away.

  Ariel kissed his lips quickly a couple of times before looking into his eyes. “I want to be with you soon,” she whispered. “The way we used to be, all the time. I miss you so much. I need you to hold me, to touch me. Oh how I miss you.”

  “I’m always here,” Brayden said, “but I know what you mean. I miss you too. And believe me, I miss being with you, so much. When we go back home, after a while, I’ll see if we can get my mother to look after Erica, and then we can relax. You certainly deserve it. I want to take care of you. And kiss you, for days on end.”

  Ariel smiled. “My darling. My sweetness. My love. Be safe during the fight. Keep yourself safe. I’ll always love you.”

  Ariel kissed him once more, then snuggled up to him. She enjoyed being close to him, feeling him hold her. She wanted to make sure she didn’t drift off to sleep, though. But still, she shut her eyes, breathed in Brayden’s scent, and tried to relax. She sat in his arms until it shortly before dawn.

  Then everyone had to move.

  ***

  The coven stood in the grassy space behind where the inn had stood. They faced the expanse before them. Dawn was just about to come.

  Ariel and Hallie stood in front of the group. All the men stood far off to the side. The other witches were standing in rows, ready and waiting.

  It was a cold morning, a cool breeze gently blowing around. Ariel reached out and took Hallie’s hand. Hallie gave a reassuring squeeze. Ariel was so nervous, standing there in the dark. Then dawn broke through, the sun gently illuminating their surroundings.

  As expected, Innes appeared several feet away from them on the grass. He nodded to them all. “High Witches,” he called out. “Will you come to me, to stop my tirade? Will you surrender to me?”

  “No!” Ariel yelled. “We will never surrender. You will have to fight us—all of us!”

  Innes nodded once more. “So be it.”

  Then he did nothing. Just stood there for a long moment.

  Ariel wondered what was going on when suddenly the ground began to rumble and shake beneath them. Ariel almost lost her footing when Hallie reached out and righted her. Ariel started to panic—this was something that could make everything fall apart.

  She quickly turned around. “Grab each other’s hands—now!” she shouted. She desperately hoped the witches had their extra power so they could fight back.

  “I don’t feel it!” a woman shouted over the loud quaking.

  “Me neither!” someone else cried.

  Ariel gritted her teeth. This was a disaster. “Hallie, we have to stop this ourselves. Help me.”

  Hallie took Ariel’s hand again, and they concentrated hard on stilling the ground. Ariel growled, sweat coming off her brow as she focused on making the grass beneath them stop moving. Finally, it ceased.

  Ariel breathed a sigh of relief. “You will not defeat us!” she shouted. “Never!”

  Innes only smiled, then held his arms out. Ariel grew panicky again, then realized why the other witches didn’t feel their extra power. He had to physically threaten them. They had to be in a position where they were about to be attacked. They had to get him to attack them all at once.

  And he knew that, which was why he made the ground shake. Enough to alarm them, but not a direct physical threat. Ariel realized this was going to be harder than she thought.

  “Everyone! Give him all you have. Fire, weapons, anything. Attack him!”

  There was a pause, a hesitation. Ariel felt so afraid—then the witches acted. Fire balls were thrown at Innes. Knives were hurled. He stood there, motionless, then cast out a huge wave of purple light, three stories high and just as wide, which lurched forward and destroyed all that came at him in silver flashes.

  Ariel growled as the wave of purple light faded away. The knives and fire were gone, vanished. She turned and looked at the other witches—she could tell they didn’t have their extra power yet. It was the same thing—Innes had fought back but didn’t attack everyone at once. All he had done was destroy what they’d thrown at him, not try to hurt the witches themselves. It wasn’t working.

  Ariel stared at Innes. She hated him so much. Act, she thought. Do something. Fight us! She knew she was being slightly mad, but they couldn’t really hurt him until the witches received the power, and that wouldn’t happen unless he fought. So fight! Fight!

  There was nothing at first. Innes merely stood there, motionless—then he thrust out both his arms and enormous blue flames thundered towards them.

  Ariel screamed. “Get ready!” she called out. She put out her hands, and Hallie did the same. She prepared to unleash torrents of water to combat the fire coming towards them. But they need more. Her and Hallie needed help. Would it come?

  The scorching heat of the fire was upon them. Ariel and Hallie made water pour out to hit it, but it was futile—it was like trying to put out a bonfire with a cup of water. Ariel cried out as the flames came. She threw her arm across her face to try and shield herself from the pain she knew she was about to feel. But nothing could have p
repared her for what happened next.

  Suddenly, there came an almighty howling. Ariel whirled around—all of the witches’ bodies were glowing silver. They were frozen to the spot—the howling was coming from the white auras floating above their bodies. Ariel peered at the auras. Then she realized what they were.

  Spirits.

  Heavens, are they dead? But no, Ariel knew, as the spirits soared up and thundered towards the fire. The air became filled with an ice-cold breeze as they whirled by. Ariel turned back around and saw the souls of the witches pour over the blue fire, surrounding it and swirling through the flames, the freezing entities turning the fire to nothing. The howling became deafening as all that was left in their wake was the scorched ground.

  The spirits headed towards Innes.

  Innes stepped backward, then thrust out his arms again. His eyes widened as he seemed to be wondering what spell to cast, but it was too late. The spirits hurled towards him, lifted him up, held him in the air. Innes screamed as hands clawed at him, and then a giant hole ripped through the sky. A blazing ball of fire, a white-hot flame, flickered over it. Innes was shoved through the fire, into the portal. There was a final scream as the spirits floated away. Then the hole in the sky closed, the fire ball disappeared, and all was silent.

  Ariel blinked, watching as the now-silent spirits floated back towards the witches. She whirled around again and saw the spirits go back into the bodies of the women, who were still frozen and glowing. Then the woman all collapsed to the ground.

  The witches began to sit up and rub their heads. Ariel looked at Hallie, who took her hand.

  “I can’t believe they all had an out-of-body experience at once,” Hallie said, staring at the women.

  Ariel nodded, also astonished. “I can’t believe any of this.” She sighed deeply, rubbing her own head, then looked around, wondering where the men were. A moment of terror filled her heart, worry that something had happened to them, but she breathed a sigh of relief as she saw Brayden, Sean, Raven, and Cameron approach them. “Brayden!” she cried, renewed energy filling her. She rushed into his arms, and he twirled her around. “We did it—they did it!”

  “Yes, you all did, my darling,” he said, quickly kissing her. “I knew you would.”

  Ariel laughed gleefully, then looked over at Hallie and Sean, wrapped in each other’s arms, kissing. She giggled, then looked back at Brayden. “Oh, let’s go back to the children,” she said. “Once we know the witches are alright, I want to see Erica. Then I want to sleep! For a month!”

  Brayden laughed. “Anything you want.”

  Ariel gazed at the witches. They were standing now. She had to make sure they were okay, but she wanted more than that. She didn’t want to just leave them—she wanted to see them again, soon. She had much more to share with them. They weren’t done. Her coven needed to continue, and it would be only one of many covens.

  Chapter 23

  There was a loud knock at the door. Alexandra gasped and ran towards it, hurling it open. Cameron bustled through and picked her up in his arms.

  “They did it—they won!” he cried, carrying her over to the settee and sitting down with her in his lap. “I’ve never seen anything like it. I have so much to tell you. How are the girls?”

  “Fine—everyone’s fine,” Alexandra said, quickly kissing him. “Tell me everything.”

  Cameron recounted the tale of what had happened, while Ariel, Brayden, Hallie, Sean, and Raven walked inside.

  Alexandra noticed that young Sera walked in after them, then shut the door. She smiled at the girl, then looked back at Cameron. “That’s astonishing!” Alexandra said. “I’m so glad they succeeded! And what about the other witches?”

  “Ariel asked them to meet her back in the field tomorrow afternoon. She said she had something to discuss with them. Right now, though, we all need sleep, although there isn’t really room for all of us here.”

  Alexandra looked at everyone. “Oh, we’ll fit. Nina is still asleep in the spare bedroom with her family. I’ll wake them shortly and they can go home, and then Ariel and Brayden can take the spare bedroom with Erica, and I guess Hallie and Sean can take my bed. You and Raven and Sera will have to make do in this room. You can sleep on one of the settees? Me and Julia already slept, so we’re fine.”

  “I’ll sleep on the floor and Raven and Sera can have the settees,” Cameron said. “Wake me this afternoon. I want to spend as much time as I can with you.”

  Alexandra smiled, then kissed him. “You did so well. I’m so proud of you, helping them. My love. My hero.” She moved to kiss him again, but Cameron stopped her.

  “My love?” he whispered. “Do you mean that?”

  She blushed, suddenly feeling exposed and silly. “I… I… don’t embarrass me.”

  “Because you’re my love,” he whispered again. “My love, my sweetness, my light. My everything. I adore you. I broke my promise about not going another day without making love to you. Something I intend to rectify very soon.”

  Alexandra blushed once more. “We have to get all these people out of my house first.”

  Cameron laughed. “I have a house too, you know.” He gazed at her warmly.

  Alexandra smiled. “I need to visit your house soon…”

  ***

  Hallie fell onto Alexandra’s freshly changed bed. She stretched out, then curled into a ball while Sean climbed onto bed next to her and drew the blanket over them. She was exhausted—she felt like she hadn’t slept in days. She sighed deeply, then looked at her husband. “I love you,” she breathed, her eyes drifting closed. She felt Sean place his arm around her waist.

  “I love you too.”

  Hallie smiled to herself, then felt herself falling asleep. Then there was a quiet knock at the door.

  “What is it?” Sean asked.

  Hallie reluctantly sat up and looked at the door. To her surprise, Sera opened it and stood before them.

  “I’m so sorry to bother you,” she said. “I just had to say something to Hallie. My gift is being able to receive visions. I’ve never been very good at understanding them, but I had one when the women in my group were trying to get visions as part of preparing. It—it was about you. It was about you and Sean’s future.”

  Hallie swallowed, desperately hoping Sera hadn’t seen something dark. Hadn’t they been through enough?

  “I didn’t see much—it was just you and Sean, sitting on the back steps of a house, watching two small boys play together. The boys were twins. They had red hair like Sean and blue eyes like you. Then—and for some reason, this seemed important—the boys ran up to you and said, ‘Mama.’ I guess I saw you and Sean with your children. I don’t know why I saw it, but…”

  “Stop, please stop,” Hallie said, sniffing. She couldn’t bear it. “I’m sorry, but your vision is wrong. It has to be. Please… please go…” Hallie began to cry, so distraught at the perfect image that would never be. She grasped at Sean, and he bundled her in his arms. Hallie waited for Sera to leave but was surprised to hear her speak again.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you. Like I said, I’ve never been very good at understanding my visions. I even heard their names, but I guess that was wrong too. I’ll go now.”

  “What were their names?” Sean asked.

  Hallie looked at him, wondering why he would ask. She just wanted to forget all this and lie down.

  “Uh, James and Caeden.”

  Hallie stared at her, stunned. “But, James is my father’s name, and Caeden is Sean’s father’s name. How could you possibly know…?” Hallie looked at Sean. His eyes lit up.

  “You always believed your visions, and Ariel’s. Why not Sera’s?”

  Hallie smiled sheepishly. “Do you think…?”

  “Yes, I think. Sera, thank you so much. If you don’t mind, we need to get some sleep now.”

  Sera nodded, then left the room, shutting the door after her. Hallie gazed into Sean’s eyes, grinning at him. He grabbed he
r and laid her down on the bed, lying on top of her and kissing her neck.

  “Sean! I’m too tired!” Hallie said, laughing.

  “No time for sleep—we have to make a baby.”

  “We have months for that!” Hallie said, giggling once more, but her resolve was already dwindling. “Oh, my love. Alright, but be quick.”

  Sean burst out laughing. “Can’t imagine I’ll hear that again,” he said, then kissed her lips.

  Hallie returned his kiss, so happy, so in love. Children! Twins!

  Twins? Oh!

  ***

  Ariel awoke in the late afternoon. She found Brayden sitting up in bed, holding Erica in his arms. “How long have you been awake?” she asked, sitting up.

  “Not long,” Brayden replied. “Did you sleep well?”

  Ariel yawned. “Yes, very well. And I had some wonderful dreams, about you and Erica and our lives together. It was lovely! I’m pleased we can relax today, because we have a lot to do tomorrow. I’m going to talk to the other witches, then I think it’s time we went home. I always want to be involved in Alexandra and Julia’s life, but we’ve been in her house long enough. We should finish the rest of our time with Hallie and Sean at our place, before they have to leave.”

  Ariel quieted, looking at her hands while she thought of Hallie and Sean returning home. She was going to miss them terribly. There was something she needed to ask Hallie, and she wasn’t sure how her friend would react. But it was very important, very necessary, and Ariel felt that Hallie would understand. She was going to ask her to do something special.

  There was a knock on the door. “Come in,” Ariel said.

  Hallie opened the door and walked through, a huge smile on her face. “I’m so glad you’re awake—there’s something I need to tell you,” Hallie said, coming over and sitting on the end of the bed. “Sera came to me earlier today and said she’d had a vision about me. She said she saw me with twin boys! Ariel, she said I’d have children! I’m so happy!”