Cora (Of Earth or Erda)

by Skye, Relina

  My gaze automatically shifted to the Arcane Plane. Green magic desperately tried to cling to its well of power, but was being pulled from the body of the witch. It was divided by five and threaded to the witches who were standing there, waiting to absorb it. The witch's life force twisted back and forth, unable to free her physical body of the sedative that kept it immobilized. Her life force dimmed faster by the second, and seemed to be siphoned off and redistributed to those who awaited it.

  "WARLOCKS!" I screamed loud enough that all of the glass from the vaulted ceiling shattered, raining shards down on those who were inside the casting circle. The distraction was enough to halt their actions, and spare the unfortunate witch the total loss of her powers and life force.

  Mentally, I transported the fog potion out of my pocket to shatter inside the casting circle. Clouds rapidly bloomed, covering the entire room. Before Graham and James could react, I sent an electric pulse of my father’s magic into their bodies, knocking them out as effectively as a taser.

  "YOU ARE IN VIOLATION OF ARCANE LAW SET FORTH BY ODIN, ISIS, HECKETE, DANU, ZEUS, LAOZI AND GANESHA AT THE DAWN OF THE NEW AGE. YOUR COVENS ARE DISBANDED. YOUR LIVES ARE HEREBY FORFEITED."

  Keeping my gaze in the Arcane Plane, I could see where everyone stood. The silhouettes showed several people holding various wounds from the broken glass. Others looked around to find the direction of the attack. But due to the amount of people in the casting circle, the noise of their confusion was deafening since no one realized what happened.

  Jogging over to the tables where the unconscious witches and wizards lay, I used a large amount of my remaining reserves to cast a spell. Chanting, I whispered. "Wake, wake, wake as Aurora spreads the dawn. Then scatter like a fawn." A warm, spherical glow blossomed from my chest, bathing the sleeping witches and wizards with its healing light.

  Movement spread across the tables. Behind me, I felt the surge of powers from the air witches and wizards who were trying to blow the fog out of the room, but were hopelessly unsuccessful.

  Silver Chalice witches scattered from where they lay as soon as they regained enough mobility to do so.

  The fog thinned. Shadows of the warlocks bled through the bleak remains of the mist. A lightning bolt streaked past my head, nearly taking out one of the men who recently woke up.

  "We're under attack!" he shrieked, inciting more discharges of lightning along with spiraling stakes of solid ice, which were vaulted in our direction.

  "Defensive positions!" I heard my warden master order. Crashes from the tables being pushed over thundered throughout the ballroom. Good thing the earth witches and wizards from my coven were able to shield themselves. The bad thing was that now they had about fifty warlocks who were aiming to take them out. Luckily for us, the majority of the offense couldn’t figure out how to use their new powers, and basically only managed to sprout several new trees in odd places.

  "Vine attack!" I ordered. Those who knew what that meant channeled their earth magic through the ground to sprout vines in front of the warlocks. While aiming to wrap tenacious vines around their hands and feet, each earth witch and wizard left themselves exposed to the random attacks of others. But as long as some of my earth witches were successful, we could end the fight before it started.

  Some of the vines were weaker than others and easily broken. Our response didn't seem like it was enough. "Sinkhole!" I ordered next as several of my coven members were struck by lightning, ice, fireballs, or rocks.

  Those that were still standing shifted their focus. Planting our hands on the ground, we sent ribbons of magic to the center of the room where the casting circle was now somewhat broken. A pocket in the earth appeared as the dirt that once resided there pushed up through the flooring.

  Screams erupted from the warlocks as the ground crumbled beneath their feet. The foundation of the building groaned, threatening to implode from the sudden structural change.

  "Retreat!" the Master-at-Arms yelled. As much as I hated leaving a witch or wizard behind, there was nothing I could do to save the poor woman who still lay immobile on the altar. Had I enough magic left inside me, I'd have transported her to the adjoining hallway. Rushing toward the exits, we ran into the warlocks who were now partying.

  Their movements were labored and their casting sloppy. It would only be through sheer, dumb luck if any of them could actually hit those of us who remained.

  As magic reserves dwindled on both sides, conventional weapons came out. Mainly, people picked up whatever they could find. Some of the witches and wizards from the ballroom who survived the sinkhole and were now attempting to join the battle.

  Knowing we needed more ammunition, I picked up a leg from a broken chair and used it as a club. Two young girls came to my aid when they saw one of the water witches aiming to take me out.

  "High Priestess, what can we do? There are too many of them!" the older girl shrieked.

  "Potions. We need combat potions."

  "The library!" both exclaimed.

  Pulling me along with them, the elder of the two raised a wall of dirt as a fireball headed our way. Snuffing it out, we ignored the drunken witch and continue to sprint toward the library.

  "We stockpiled potions in case of emergency," the younger girl explained.

  "They may not work," the older one said.

  "It's better than nothing," I replied, pushing the doors open.

  "Eww! That's just gross." The younger girl gagged when we stumbled upon several adults participating in a drunken orgy. How the heck could they remain so unfazed by all the noise coming from the rest of the building?

  "They're the least of our worries." I ushered them out of sight behind a bookshelf. "Where is this stockpile?"

  "Behind the farming books in the back." The older girl started to run. "Come on!"

  Following the two girls, we almost reached our destination when the library doors slammed open. A small group of witches and wizards who were still volleying their magic at each other, crashed into the dozen or so witches and wizards now mindlessly fornicating.

  Screams and complaints erupted from them. The more sober ones attempted to help their fellow coven members.

  The younger of the two girls I was with reached the bookshelf. She began pulling the large volumes from their shelves, and I saw row after row after row filled with their potions.

  Grabbing a garbage can, the older girl dumped all the contents and slid as many of the bottles and vials as she could into the bin. Meanwhile, I picked up a couple of the ones that fell on the ground.

  "Wait!” I found the small dark bottles had no labels and the glass was tinted so dark, I couldn't see the color of the liquid. "How do we tell which is which?"

  "You don't,” the older girl explained. “They're combat potions. Just chuck them at the bad guys."

  Turning my attention back on the witches and wizards in the front of the room, I realized my coven members were being overwhelmed. One after another, they turned to dust.

  Pulling my arm back, I threw the first bottle as hard as I could into the threesome that was so preoccupied they didn’t stop.

  The glass cracked and spirals of light blue air puffed out. At first, nothing happened, but then I noticed a discolored, three-foot circle radiating out from the broken glass. Everything within the circle stopped moving. They were frozen solid.

  "See?" said the older girl as she stood. She shifted a few books to get a better look at the results of the broken potion.

  "Got it. Hope you two have good throwing arms." I gave her a quick poke in her bicep.

  The younger girl winced before her eyes widened. "Duck!" A fireball exploded behind our heads, setting the books on fire. Above, the sprinklers turned on, spraying us with an anti-flame potion.

  Launching the next potion in the direction that the fireball originated from, the glass shattered on impact. At first, I thought it was a dud, but then, several naked witches and wizards shrieked in terror. Others ran their fingernails up and do
wn their bodies, and when that didn't help, they launched themselves at anything with an edge to scratch their skin.

  Now that our coven members were either dust or lying incapacitated, everyone who remained was turning their attention on us. My two young friends launched their potions two at a time at the remaining enemy.

  "This way." I pulled them in the direction of an emergency exit since the one we came through was blocked by people either itching, chasing invisible spectra, or frozen in place.

  I thought things couldn't get any worse—but I was wrong. Outside, we found the charred remains of several buildings, including the classrooms and the dormitories. Only the main building and carriage house seemed to still be intact.

  In the distance, the bright glow of a bonfire roared up into the sky. Normally, it would have been half that height and lit only on the high holidays. But for some reason, the festival grounds glowed brightly. Maybe there were two bonfires lit, and not just one?

  "What's that smell?" the younger girl asked as we started to make our way over to the carriage house. My intent was to put the two girls in a car and tell the older one, who could drive, to head to Silver Isles.

  "I... I... don't want to know," sobbed the older girl.

  Near the playground, I spotted a small group of kids poking their heads out from their hiding spaces in the playhouses and jungle gym. Upon seeing us, one stood and began to speak, but another child cupped her hand over his mouth and pulled him back down.

  Behind us, the screams from inside the building started to die down with the passing of each minute. I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad one.

  Approaching the kids, we came to a stop. Even though I couldn't see them on this plane of existence, I believed they were listening. "We're going to get you out of here," I immediately promised.

  When I placed my hand on the older girl's shoulder, I paused and tried to recall her name.

  "Natalie." She gave the other children a warm smile.

  Several of the smaller children stuck their heads out of plastic windows to verify that Natalie was really there. Spontaneously, they left their shelters.

  "Natalie is going to drive you to the Silver Isles complex."

  She stopped and gave me a hard look. "No, I'm not."

  "Yes, you are."

  "I want to help you." She turned her chin up.

  "You are, by saving their lives. I don't know what the Silver Winds and Shore covens intend to do with them if they find them. Your best bet is to get to our allies. They will protect you." Seeing the look of defiance on her face, I then added, "As your High Priestess, consider that an order."

  "Fine." Holding up one of the small potions, she turned back to the dozen or so four-to-twelve-year-olds and said, “You are each going to pick a potion. Drop your potion only if a bad witch or wizard tries to grabs you. Okay?"

  The little ones nodded their heads.

  Natalie's friend tapped me on the arm.

  "High Priestess?"

  "Yes..." Shoot, I couldn't remember her name either. "Sweetheart?"

  "Delilah. My name's Delilah." Her head tilted slightly to the side.

  My eyes widened a bit. "Tabatha's daughter! I'm sorry I didn't recognize you." How could I? The child was covered in dirt, and her hair was off her face from being pulled into a messy ponytail. On second thought, I should have known. A good High Priestess should learn everyone's name, even those who did not live in her household.

  "It's okay. Anyway, we're going to need money for gas and food. I don't think they've," she pointed to the younger kids, "eaten in a while."

  "Right." Pulling the rest of the potions out of the garbage can and into my pockets, I had to think for a few seconds about that. "I believe there is an envelope in the glove compartment of each vehicle with five hundred dollars in cash. The tank should be full, and the address to the Silver Isles is programmed into the navigation system. When you're off these grounds and safe, contact Martha Sterling. Her son is on his way here with their delegation for Beltane. They should be able to meet you somewhere on the road. Don't let them come! Their coven has lost too many people. Oh, and have them fill in Silver Hills and Silver Cauldron. Be sure they know our High Priest and Summoner betrayed us." Somewhere in the middle of what I was saying, all of the children stopped to listen. "I know that was a lot to take in, but I have faith in all of you. Ready?" I asked the group.

  The younger ones looked like they were on the verge of tears, but they fought courageously to keep it together. We left the garbage can behind and continued toward the carriage house.

  "High Priestess?" one of the older boys tugged on my sleeve.

  "Yes... Calvin?"

  "That's my brother." He pointed to a boy who looked identical to him, save the shade of their auburn hair.

  "Sorry.” I kept my gaze focused on our surroundings to make sure no one could jump out at us. "Peter? No, that's your younger brother. Marshal?"

  "Why the Silver Isles? Hills and Cauldron are closer."

  "You may be too young to remember, but a few years ago, there was an attack here on one of our big festival days."

  "I was six, and I do remember."

  "Good. The Isles lost a lot of members. To help stabilize their numbers, we sent seven men and women to marry into their coven. We didn't need to do that with Hills and Cauldron."

  "My Aunt Clarissa lives there!" An eight-year-old girl, Betty, I think was her name, looked a bit more hopeful.

  "That's great!" I said with as much enthusiasm as I could muster without sounding dumb. "Those adults will probably remember some of you. Whereas in Hills and Cauldron, all of the adults are strangers."

  My gaze shifted. I wanted to make sure they understood what I was saying, when out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a small group of fire warlocks charging toward us from the bonfire. They shouted at us to stop, but we didn't listen. Natalie picked up one of the smaller children while Delilah did the same. I was the only one with free hands at the moment and kept my potions ready if the fire witches decide to attack the kids.

  Half of the fire warlocks moved toward the main house, leaving three to come after us. Once we reached the carriage house, Natalie entered first while I waited for the fire warlocks. The youngest children handed me their potions as they followed the teenagers. Only Natalie, Delilah, Marshal, Calvin, and Betty held onto theirs.

  When the last child was inside the building, I slammed the door to deflect a fireball. Not one to waste time, I countered their attack by throwing one of my potions at them. If they had been any further away, the potion wouldn't have made much difference, but since they were only about twenty feet away, one of my potions landed at their feet. Lavender fog billowed up out of the vial, engulfing them in its mist. All three of them stopped and fell to the ground. Their chests gently lifted up and down, indicating they were all asleep.

  Following the kids, I quickly caught up to them as they ran down a flight of stairs to the garage.

  "Where are you going?” I heard Kacie's voice before I hit the bottom of the stairwell.

  "To safety," Natalie responded. "In case you hadn't noticed, all of the adults have lost their minds and are killing each other."

  "I don't understand. All of you should have been taken to safety a couple of days ago."

  "Well, we weren't," Delilah replied with anger in her voice. "We just woke up in a pile of people in the ballroom."

  "That... that must have been a mistake." Kacie sounded confused.

  "We're wasting time," a little boy complained.

  "I want my mommy,” said one of the youngest children, sounding on the verge of tears.

  The high-pitched shrills of several crying children caused Kacie to scream. "Fine, go! The keys for the van are in the glove compartment."

  Standing just out of view, I watched the kids pile up into one of the large, white vans we used whenever we needed to travel to our other households and allied covens.

  Once they were out of sight and headi
ng up the ramp to the surface, I stepped out into the open. Kacie's back was toward me.

  Shifting my gaze to the Arcane Plane, I saw her powers building up in her hands. Her air magic was from a different father than mine. Was he descended from Odin like I was? Or could he have been from Zeus or Baal’s lines? I didn't know if I’d absorb it. Kacie had never attacked me with her magic before, nor had I attacked her with mine. She was an empathic too, so there was no way to hide my emotions from her.

  Her attack came in the form of a lightning bolt that zigzagged through the air. All I could think about was begging the gods to allow me to absorb it. Drawing the explosive current into my core would either fry my internal organs, or charge my well. When I didn't automatically die, I knew I was absorbing its magic. Strangely enough, I recognized its signature. She used my father's powers against me the same way I used water magic in the past. And less than a few seconds later, Kacie knew it too.

  Roaring in frustration, she tried something new. Taking a page out of our mother's book on how to handle bad situations, she began to scream at me. "Disappointment!? You're freaking feeling disappointed in me?"

  "Yes, Kacie, I am. You're better than the Swift brothers and Rune Armstrong. Yet, you chose to follow their lead, and now most of our coven is dead. So, yes, I'm disappointed in you. You've shamed our bloodline." I swallowed. "Why couldn't you have just been happy with Zander?"

  "Zander?" She looked lost. "He feels nothing for me. Nothing for anyone else either. He was the best I could get. So I passed."

  "Zander doesn't feel anything for anyone because his emotions have a natural shield. It's written in his powers." Now that I had my memories back, I could understand better. That's what I saw when looking at him. Kacie may have been able to read other people's emotions, but either she couldn't understand how to read ribbons of magic, or she just chose not to.

  "You're lying. You always lie to me." Electricity flared into her fists once more.

  "If mother had gotten it her way, she would have insisted on having you transferred to Silver Isles. You could have had everything you wanted, Kacie. A great guy, a new home, and a chance to learn new things."