by Candis Vargo
The only thing I could do was laugh because I didn’t trust myself to speak. I was too scared that it might all disappear. I haven’t laughed since the last time I was with Chace, and damn it felt good to laugh.
I finally had the answers I had been seeking. The only thing I had to do was actually try. God, if only my mother could have seen me. I could just imagine the things she would say. Pixies haven’t had powers like this in centuries. I knew she would be proud.
I forgot there was anyone else here until I heard Molly neighing loudly behind me. I turned around and Em’s face looked like one of a ghost. After she blinked several times, her expression changed into one I knew my mother would have for me right now.
At first I couldn’t figure out how to let my powers to fall. It took me a moment to remember I had to allow it, so I realized I had to release it. As I released my powers, I felt the roots slither down my legs and the air blow away into the trees. I watched the water flow back into the pond and the heat from the sun returned to normal. After releasing my powers I ran over to Em and hugged her as tight as I could.
“I did it! I did it! Em I fucking did it!” I yelled with excitement.
“I know…I know,” Em said hugging me back.
Molly neighed as she nudged her head in between Em and me. I guess she was getting jealous and wanted some attention too. I released Em and grabbed ahold of Molly’s neck.
“I did it girl. Can you believe it? I actually did it,” I said to Molly, knowing she could understand me.
“Karma,” Em said as I released Molly, “do you have any idea what you just did? You just conjured up the four elements of the Earth.”
“Wow. That was…that was amazing. I’ve never felt anything like it. I just felt it. All if it, I felt it and it just came to me. Now I know what my mother meant by my powers being all around me,” a knowing smile played across my face.
“That was some serious power Karma. How did that happen?”
“I don’t know…it just happened, I guess. It’s like it became a part of me, like it made me complete. Why? What do you think it means?”
“I have not the slightest idea. But my God, it was beautiful.”
“We haven’t had powers like this in a long time. I wonder why it came to me. I need to learn how to use it more. There has to be more use for it.”
I was more determined than ever to learn everything I could about my magic. I knew there had to be much more I could do with it. I didn’t know much about the powers I had received, but I was about to find out. Em and Molly sat there for a while and watched me as I tried to work on each element individually.
At first I was just conjuring them up one by one just to get used to it. The next thing I did was see how far I could push them. I started with the water.
It came to me as naturally as it did the first time. The only difference was this time I kept my eyes open. I watched the water as it flowed under my feet. Once it stopped I held out my hand. Beckoning it into my hand, it came as naturally as it flowed from the pond. I have seen some amazing things in my life, but none of it was like this.
Holding the ball of water, I began moving it from one hand to the other trying to get a feel for it. I couldn’t resist what I was about to do next, but it was a ball of water. I grabbed the water with both hands and threw it out into the pond like I was throwing a baseball. When it was flying through the air it didn’t stay round. It straightened out and became more of a sword. I didn’t know what it was going to do, but it wasn’t stopping like I thought it would. The thought scared me so I released the water and moved onto the next element.
I didn’t know if I could cause an earthquake or not, but I didn’t want to risk it. Summoning Earth the same way I did before, I focused on a maple tree that was the closest to me. The roots didn’t move, but I could feel the connection after a few seconds passed by. I didn’t know what exactly I could do with a tree, so I started thinking about the most beautiful maple tree I have seen. I closed my eyes and I pictured it in my head, remembering how it looked as old as the Pixie race itself. It was short and fat, with enough branches to hold more than one tree house. I pictured the hole in the trunk of the tree which I saw a squirrel run out of.
When I heard Em gasp I opened my eyes and let out a gasp of my own. It looked like it was the exact same maple tree from my memories. But it wasn’t. Somehow I managed to transform this tree into the one I remembered. I thought if I released Earth the tree would return back to its normal shape. I thought wrong. As I released it, it stayed the same. I was glad more people didn’t go to the pond because someone would notice. It would be kind of hard to miss.
When I summoned Fire the heat from the sun returned. It got so warm I felt like I was in Australia. I felt the force of the connection, but I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know if I would burn if I tried to hold it in my hand like I did water, so I didn’t try that. I couldn’t think of anything to transform it into so I could try to test it. When I heard a twig snap from behind me I knew what I was going to try.
I focused on a stick not too far from the pond. I let the heat radiate off of me and willed it over to the stick. With only a little smoke rising from the stick, I focused harder. That’s when it caught on fire. I let go of Fire and summoned Water once again. I had to keep working with everything until I figured it out. I summoned the water over to the stick to put out the flames. It worked.
When I summoned Air again, I wanted to try something a little different. I knew the connection was made when the rustling of the trees felt like they spoke to my soul. I remembered when I was a little girl my mother would sing me a song called “Whispers in the Wind” and I wondered if it was true. When I tested the limits of the air, I asked with all of my heart and soul who this Demon was.
The wind blew harder as the trees swayed. I could hear the crackling of branches as they fell from the trees that filled the woods. That’s when I heard it. It sounded like millions of whispers that I knew only I could hear it. The whispers began to die down as one spoke the loudest ‘It’s in the name. The name.’ Right then I knew what that meant. I released Air and turned to face Molly and Em.
Molly and Em weren’t the only ones standing there. I couldn’t miss Roland since he stood out so well. I was so drawn into my powers that I didn’t notice when he showed up.
“So that’s what your powers are,” he said with a smile as big as the one Em wore.
“We need to go, now!” I began flying toward the house. I could have just made myself appear there but I would have left Em and Molly behind.
Roland helped Em on Molly and ran by them the entire way back to my house. Once we got there we didn’t even bother putting Molly in the stable. Roland, Em, and I ran inside and up the stairs to my bedroom. On our way up I told Em I needed her notes she took while we were at her Gram’s.
Em dung underneath my bed and pulled out her notes.
“Do you want to tell me what this is about?” Roland asked.
“Karma, what are you looking for?” Em asked after I didn’t answer Roland.
I began flipping through the pages erratically. I knew exactly what I was looking for. When I finally found it I realized it all made perfect sense. Everything Gram said, the way Em has been acting and why the Coven had to keep it all a secret. I saw it all right there in front of me.
“I know that you knew who it was Em,” I said. “You don’t have to tell me. I know who it is too.”
Not only did I find out which Prince it was but I knew who it was.
Chapter 21
Roland didn’t understand at first. I think it was more of a mixture of not understanding and not wanting to understand. I had to explain to him how it was all in the name. How it was staring us right in the face the whole time.
The uneasiness I felt…the way people around me acted. I understood it all now. Once Roland finally understood he was more outraged than me. I wasn’t angry as much as I was astounded. All this time I didn’t know but yet it wa
s in plain sight. It was right in front of my face, slapping me every chance it had.
It was all in the name. Mammon was the Prince of Greed. Leviathan was the Prince of Envy. It was all in the name. Mammon made no sense at all. Leviathan made perfect sense.
The Prince of Envy is the one who said our souls belong to hell. He is the one that wanted this war more than anything. He is the one who set everything up. He posed as Roland to rush the union, knowing it would have the opposite effect. He followed me that night, he sent Chace to Hell. And I was going to send him back.
Leviathan. The Prince of Hell. I had to say the name as slow as I could before I fully realized, but it didn’t take me long. When I said it slow enough I could hear the resemblance. Lev-ia-than. Leviathan. Ethan. Leviathan was Ethan.
All this time Em was walking around knowing it was her boyfriend that did all of those things. The sorrow I saw in her eyes from the pain of knowing it was him, yet she still comforted me. She had to go on knowing her boyfriend sent mine to Hell and killed my mother. I finally understood why she was determined to help me find my powers. Why she used so much magic to bring my mother to me and would do whatever it took to get Chace back. I finally understood.
A part of me wanted to hate her for not telling me sooner, but I knew that would be wrong. I know if she told me before I was ready, I would have ended up in Hell with Chace. I despised the fact that she didn’t tell me but at the same, time I appreciated it. I knew we had a strong friendship that no one could possibly destroy; I just never realized how strong it actually was.
Em began to cry silently to herself as I was explaining everything to Roland. She tried to hide her tears the best she could but I still saw them. I knew what it was like to lose someone, especially someone you love. I only knew what I felt to lose them by death, not the way she did. I realized it was my turn to be strong…to be her shoulder to cry on.
As I reached over and hugged Em she said, “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry Karma.”
“You don’t have anything to be sorry for. I understand. I didn’t before, but I swear to you I understand now. I’m the one that’s sorry. I swear to God I will make him pay Em. God Em, how long have you known?” I asked.
“Since the meeting after you got out of the hospital. The eyes, you said something about the eyes. I remember seeing those eyes once when we…when we had sex.”
I didn’t know what I could say to try and make her feel better, so I just held her in my arms and let her cry.
I didn’t know if Roland was smart enough to stay back and let us be, or if he was completely entranced by the notes Em took. Either way, I wasn’t complaining. Em was finally able to cry because I finally understood.
My heart didn’t sink and my stomach didn’t ache. I was still going to get Chace back, but right now my goal was to send Ethan back to Hell. That son of a bitch was going to get what he deserved. I didn’t completely know how to use my powers, but I had them. One way or another I was going use them to send him to Hell.
Once Em’s sobs began to die down I pulled away so we all could talk. We needed to figure out exactly what to do.
“We need a plan,” my voice was so cold I didn’t even recognize it.
“I have a plan. I’m going to kill the bastard!” Roland yelled.
“You can’t just kill him,” Em spoke in her shaky voice. “He’s not a vampire so you can’t shove a silver steel though his heart. He’s not a Fallen so you can’t cut off his wings. He’s everything and nothing at the same time. He’s a Demon.”
“She’s right Roland. You can’t kill a Demon. Let alone a Prince of Hell.”
“Then what the fuck are we supposed to do? Slap him on the wrist and tell him he’s been a bad doggy?” Roland said. I’ve never heard him so upset over something to speak like this, but I couldn’t blame him.
“We have to send him back to Hell,” Em said. Her voice was more solid than the last time she spoke. “But here’s the problem with that. By God you can’t let him scare you. Demons can smell fear a mile away, probably further. They can see right through any fake confidence anyone has. He has been feeding off of us all along. I know he didn’t plan on you getting your memories back,” Em glanced at me as she sniffled. “That caught him off guard. I can guarantee you he didn’t plan on anyone figuring him out this soon.”
“So at least we have some sort of an advantage. But we seriously need a plan if we’re going to do this. And we are going to do this. We can either call him out in front of everyone, or we can do it alone,” I said.
No matter what we chose, I knew I could do it. I wasn’t scared and I wasn’t sad. I wasn’t even numb. I haven’t been this determined in my life. I always wanted to find the killer of my mother and I finally did. I was going to get vengeance for all the people I loved that he had hurt. My only regret was that I wouldn’t be able to make him drown in his own blood.
“No,” Roland said. “Not alone. We have better chance of survival if we call a meeting and have him there. There will be more witches to try and send him back to Hell, and the other three races for protection. I can guarantee you the Fallen will want to be there too.”
“Okay, let’s go tell Father to call a meeting,” I said.
“When?” Em asked me as she wiped the last tear off of her face.
“Tonight,” Roland and I said in sync.
We told my father everything from beginning to end, still leaving out the part about visiting Em’s Gram. It took longer than we had anticipated but it was a long story. From the look on his face I knew he had only one thing on his mind, death. We figured sending Ethan back to Hell would be a worse punishment than if we could actually kill him. Lucifer probably had no idea what he was doing up here and we were sure he was going to get a horrible punishment for stealing the Dagger. Whatever reward Ethan had hoped to receive, he wasn’t going to get it. We didn’t know what his actual goal was for coming here but we did know one thing; we weren’t going to let him stay any longer.
We asked everyone to show up an hour before Ethan was to come. We had thought it would be best to inform them first and attempt a surprise attack on Ethan.
After we informed everyone of what we had discovered they all acted like they were ready for the Great War all over again. Lord Matthias took it the hardest out of the group. He kept saying over and over how he couldn’t believe it. Ethan was practically his own son. He raised him from the time he was reborn. I couldn’t begin to imagine how horrible he felt knowing he cared for an imposter. Everything, from the beginning, was a lie.
The Coven was pleased that I found a connection. They thought it was him but they said they couldn’t be positive. All it took was a connection that was in front of our faces the whole time.
The Fallen all had the same expressions on their faces. You could easily tell they were more than ready to take their vengeance. Their bodies were tense and their hands were clenched in fists. You could see their chests rise with every deep breath they took.
We all discussed a plan of attack before we moved outside and prepared. As soon as Ethan walked close enough to us the witches would begin to cast. I didn’t know what spell they were going to use to try to send him to Hell, but I hoped it would work. They would be standing behind the Vamps for protection and the Fallen would be on both sides. The Pixies would stay in the back and prepare to teleport ourselves behind Ethan if things turned out bad for us. We had our swords held behind us, ready to fight.
We weren’t sure what would happen if things didn’t go the way we planned. Even though we told everyone that they couldn’t fear him, you could see it in their eyes. They were scared shitless. There were only a few of us who weren’t. And I was one of them.
Everyone’s back up plan was to fight. Mine was completely different.
Chapter 22
We waited patiently outside the back door for him to show up. Instead of getting into form, we all acted as though we were waiting for him before we held the meeting. You could hear the fear in
the voices around us as everyone pretended to carry on small talk. I knew Ethan would sense that before he even walked up. I just hoped he wouldn’t know why until we started.
One by one the conversations dimmed down as we spotted Ethan. Everyone tried nonchalantly to get into formation. I was more certain than I ever was that if need be, my back up plan would work. Instantly the witches began to cast speaking in whispers under their breath. I don’t know how Em possessed the strength she did, I couldn’t imagine having to send the one you loved to Hell. It was hard enough having them sent there by someone else. She carried on with determination and not a hint of fear or sadness in her eyes.
I looked at Roland and I didn’t know how much longer he would be able to control his rage. His hands were clenched at his side and he looked like a tiger getting ready to bounce on his prey.
It didn’t take long for Ethan, I mean Leviathan to notice what was going on. He didn’t look fearful or show any signs of distress. I watched as he slowly reached his hand behind his back and pulled out the dagger. It was the same dagger that sent Chace’s soul to Hell. The Soul Dagger.
The Coven began to chant as fast as they could. I could hear them stumbling over their words out of fear. I knew Leviathan could hear it too because he was in the form of a Vamp and I knew the Demon in him sensed the fear long before he arrived.
The Fallen spread their wings and stood guard. The Vamps flashed their fangs and let out a hiss that sounded like something I could imagine coming from an alligator.
Us Pixies balanced ourselves with our swords and readied to move behind him. I was the only one who didn’t. I was reading up for a different plan of attack. I didn’t know if the strength I possessed was from the bracelet or if it was just stupidity. Either way, I wasn’t scared.
The voices of the witches became as shaky as their bodies. They were losing it. As they tried to hurry their spells, one by one they started losing their place. Leviathan just smiled. It was the same sinister smile I saw in my dreams.