Cora (Of Earth or Erda)

by Skye, Relina

  "No!" She took a step backwards. "You're trying to confuse me!"

  Now that I had a bit of a charge, I pictured the sleeping potion in Ben's office. "I wouldn't dream of doing that," I warned her as I pictured the potion dropping in front of Kacie's feet.

  The glass shattered and wisps of dream magic swirled around my sister. Meanwhile, I pictured the wake-up potion in my hand before I quickly downed it.

  Falling forward, I caught my sister before her head hit the ground. Pulling her to the side, I was tempted to siphon off her newly acquired magic and make it my own, since it didn't belong to her anyway. As tempting as that seemed, I couldn't allow myself to sink down to her level.

  It would have been easy to just jump into a car and drive off, forgetting everything that was going on here. But I knew I couldn't do that either. Was that why Kacie came here in the first place? Was she trying to escape? Thinking of Ben, I only wanted to get back to him.

  I found the stairs and hurried to the bottom. To my right side were more cars, and to my left was the entrance to the basement of the main house. Inside the basement, I found groaning warlocks being carried in on stretchers. Once an open spot was found, they were dropped off before their medics hurried out of the room to carry the next warlock to safety. There were only a small handful of healers ministering to their needs.

  Not good, I thought. Cautiously, I tiptoed around the unconscious patients who were currently too out of it to care that I was there.

  Dr. Putnam and Candace were busy with a patient and didn't see me enter. Rhiannon, our Mistress of Healing, was working on another witch. Whether or not she was a hostage or a volunteer, I couldn’t tell. Ben was nowhere to be found.

  Almost to the stairs, I made the mistake of stepping on a broken potion vial.

  More than a handful of heads turned toward me. Great. Before I could react, I saw the build-up of electricity coming alive in several pairs of eyes. It felt awful throwing a potion at them since they were injured, but I had no other choice.

  Their eyes glazed over, enlarging their pupils, and their heads tilted to the side. Pink hearts popped over their heads.

  Crap. A love potion.... and they were all making eye contact with me.

  "Wow, you’re pretty," said a young woman with a black eye. "Can I help you with something?" Her voice took on a seductive tone.

  "No, I want to help her!" interrupted a man.

  Huh... if a small vial could convince about six people to love me, what could a large one do?

  "What's going on here?" Putnam asked. His eyes widened at finding me there. "You!" Then his eyes narrowed and his face turned red.

  "Wow, Doc, you need to cool down, or you’re going to have a heart attack." I threw him a smirk.

  "Can I get him an ice pack for you?" another woman asked as she started to get up, but quickly gasped after standing on a leg that looked like it was cut up pretty bad.

  "Sure!" I said as loudly as possible. "I'd love that!"

  Visualizing the potions in Ben's office, I silently thanked him for making so many.

  "Wait… what?" Putnam took a step back. Anyone who was awake had their eyes fastened on me.

  I pictured the love potion dropping in the middle of the room. Little pink hearts popped over the heads of each and every person there. It didn't matter if they were in pain or badly hurt, their gazes remained on me.

  "You know what I would love more than anything?" I gave them all a bright smile.

  "What?"

  "Tell us!"

  "Yeah, tell us!"

  Should I? Yeah, they deserved it. "I would love for you to go upstairs and fight all of the members of the Silver Winds and Silver Shore covens who have hurt the Silver Chalice members."

  "Okay!"

  "Love to!"

  Staggering to their feet, those who could move quicker than the others practically ran up the steps. "Putnam, Candace, and Rhiannon. Front and center, right here."

  The healers staggered over to me in their love-stoked fog. "Go upstairs and start healing the Silver Chalice members who remained loyal to me and to this coven."

  "Absolutely." Candace beamed.

  Before they could turn away, I said one more thing. "Have any of you seen Ben?"

  "Not since yesterday," said Rhiannon. "The Swifts have him."

  Putnam and Candace nodded.

  Well, crap. I just hoped he was still alive and safe in the panic room with Rune.

  Following my love-stoked followers up the stairs to the main floor, I heard a new wave of screaming and shouting. Mainly the shouts were, "What are you doing?” Or "Hey, stop that!" And my favorite, "Are you effing crazy?"

  Dodging the volley of attacks from my lovesick helpers, I moved through the house to reach the library. Notably, it was good to see the threesome still frozen in place, although the ones that were itchy and chasing ghosts were not in the same places. One of the ghost chasers lay on the ground in a bloody heap, as if he chased a ghost right off the balcony. Another one kept running into the wall.

  Moving toward the statue of Thoth, I found one of the witches who had the itches. She was practically peeling off her skin with a knife. Not being one who likes to watch someone suffer, I took a small statue of Atlas off a shelf, and knocked her on the head. Was she dead? Nah, but at least she wasn't cutting herself up anymore.

  Heading downstairs, I gave the room a quick look around, but didn't find anyone. That didn't mean someone wasn't hiding. Using the Arcane Plane to detect other people's silhouettes and powers, I walked around the perimeter of the room. Not finding anyone, I moved onto the bunk rooms. They proved empty as well, along with the bathrooms. When I moved to check behind the counters, I tripped. Catching myself with my elbows, I winced, thinking about the potions in my pockets. Despite the throbbing pain, I did my best to ignore it and look for what I tripped over.

  Curious. There was nothing there, but my feet felt like they snagged on something. Reaching over, I felt material sliding through my fingers. An invisibility cloak! Rune was wearing it earlier when I used the mirror stone.

  Smacking my palm to my forehead, I recalled the mirror stone. Using the last of the magic I absorbed from Kacie, I willed it to appear in my hand. So much had happened in such a short amount of time that I was forgetting to utilize all of my resources.

  Show me Ben. The image blurred and the healer appeared to have his hands over Graham's still body. Next to him, Liam looked like he was ready to rip his head off if he didn't heal his brother.

  Not wanting to waste time, I asked it to show me Natalie. Her image appeared, with a few of the children in the background munching on some fast food. They appeared to be okay. Good.

  Show me Kacie. My sister stood in the middle of the foyer, watching my lovesick followers throwing themselves at their coven members. Pushing past two men, wrestling and knocking into the wall, she rushed toward the ballroom.

  Who else? Ian. Show me Ian. The image shifted to an aerial view of the building. Ashes bellowed up from the bonfire as the breeze carried them away.

  That was strange. Did he take on the form of a bug and I'm just not seeing him? But I couldn't dwell on the sickening feeling my gut was starting to brew.

  Rune. Show me my father. The image blurred to show the once vibrant man staggering in the dining hall. His wound was still wide open. Several women from his coven, who were tending to their wounded, rushed to his side.

  Not wanting to waist anymore time, I put the mirror stone in my back pocket. With the invisibility cloak in hand, I ran back toward the steps. By the time I reached the top, it hung on my shoulders, and I managed to draw the hood up.

  The library was oddly quiet. I took that as a sign things were not going well for my coven members. Rushing past the frozen threesome, I reentered the main foyer. A barricade of music stands blocked my entry into the auditorium. However, the Silver Shore and Silver Winds members, although less in numbers, were still alive, or at least engaged in fighting each other.

&nb
sp; Ducking random projectiles, I maneuvered myself to enter the concert hall from the stage entrance.

  Finding a locked door, I silently prayed someone was on the other side. "Let me in!" I banged on it loud enough for someone to hear, but not loud enough to distract the warlocks in the foyer. "It's the High Priestess, Cora King. If anyone hears me, please let me in." I pulled down my cowl. I did not want to waste anymore magic unlocking the damn door.

  A loud thump came from within, followed by a "shush!” The door cracked open. At first, I didn't see anything, but then I looked down into a pair of widening brown eyes.

  "It's you!” squealed his voice. "Where is the rest of you?" The door opened further, allowing me to slide in. Locking the door, the child turned back toward me.

  "One of the Silver Winds members dropped this before we fought." I opened the front of the cloak so he could see the rest of me.

  "Nice!" He grabbed my hand and pulled me across the stage. "We're hiding in here.” Stopping, he bent down to pull up one of the floorboards, but surprisingly, a trap door slid open like a pocket door.

  With the curtain pulled back, I couldn't see if there was anyone else in the auditorium.

  "I found the High Priestess!" he squealed again as the door slid open.

  "Shush!" a score of voices responded.

  A small orb of light came from someone's hands. "High Priestess?" The familiar voice of my household's Bard harmoniously drifted up to me. He was standing up to help the boy slip back down into the stage hole. Climbing out himself, he closed the trap door before turning toward me. "We've been down there for four days. If not for our meager supplies, we would surely have died of dehydration."

  "The situation isn't resolved yet." I tiptoed toward the curtain. Glancing out, I saw about fifty coven members wounded and passed out. The loyal familiars kept watch over the masters who possessed them. Motioning for him to join me, I pointed to everyone in the auditorium. "Are they loyal to us? Or are they traitors?"

  Adjusting the glasses on his beak of a nose, he squinted at the display of injured witches and wizards. As he thought about his answer, I transferred my sight to the Arcane Plane. Most of the witches and wizards present revealed little to no magic left for them to call upon. I couldn't see any evidence of warlock activity.

  "Loyal. I had no idea so many were out there." Shaking his head, he sighed. "I'm not a combat wizard, nor is anyone in my choir. We were practicing for Beltane when the alarm went off." He mopped the sweat off his brow with a handkerchief before tucking it back into his pants pocket.

  "Are any of them healers?" I knew I could have just looked at their ribbons of power, but that would have taken too long. It was easier just to ask.

  He straightened his bowtie. "Those of us who are descended from Apollo have some healing magic." Marching back to the hole, he opened it once more.

  I didn't wait for him to follow me, but instead, headed down into the audience. Immediately, I recognized several faces from the group of witches that I’d awoken earlier. Pulling my cloak off, I hooked it over my arm before asking, "Who’s in charge?"

  "I guess that would be me," said a smallish, feminine voice. With large, amber eyes and a twitchy nose, she reminded me of the cat I saw perched on her shoulder.

  "Mistress Hilda.” I knelt in front of the petite woman. Often mistaken for a teenager, Hilda Kraft was the eldest member of my council. Mistress of Rune-craft, her bloodline's strongest connection to the gods and goddesses came from Frigga. "Master Demetrius will assist in healing, along with any members of his choir that are able to help."

  Sounds of anguish drifted into the auditorium from the foyer. I tried to tune them out.

  "Never would have considered casting a love spell on the enemy to work for us." She patted my shoulder. "We could have used you days ago!"

  "I know." The shame of her statement drained me of energy. Pulling a handful of potions out of my sweater vest pocket, I looked around. "Anyone strong enough to continue to fight?"

  Looking me straight in the eye, she stated, "We need reinforcements, High Priestess."

  "The High Priest and Summoner have betrayed us. At least, that's what I managed to get out of Kacie."

  "And the Maiden?"

  "Dead."

  "How does Kacie know... Oh... dear. She didn't, did she?"

  "She did."

  A wave of emotions played across her face. "Well, that explains a lot actually. The runes hinted at a betrayal from within as well as from outside. But they were too vague for me to know the depth of that betrayal. Our only hope now lies in our allies."

  "Do you think that’s wise? Many of the Winds and Shore members have already turned toward being warlocks. They've absorbed the magic and life forces of others, even if it was against their will."

  "Warlocks..." she whispered. "We must end this before the craze spreads. Once a coven is infected with that type of obsession, they never stop. And if there are no more witches and wizards left to suck dry, they'll turn to the humans. Personally, I think they're worse than vampires. At least, those leeches have a fatal weakness you can exploit. But warlocks…" Her head shook.

  As far as I knew, vampires didn't exist. Not in this dimension, anyway. "You're right. The National High Council warned us about the possibility of the reemergence of warlocks at the Annual National Meeting when I was first appointed High Priestess. I'm afraid by discouraging the practice of becoming a warlock; it encouraged the weak to do drastic things."

  "Form a circle, everyone," the Bard announced as he stepped off the side of the stage. He led his choir members down the aisle along the perimeter of the auditorium, stopping every so often to announce, "Those of you who can move, come closer. We're going to blend our magic and try to stabilize as many of you as possible."

  Those who could respond did so. Those who couldn't were helped by some of the non-healing choir members who ventured out of their hiding spots under the stage.

  "We'll have to defend this position for as long as possible.” I handed out a few potions to a couple of the choir members. "I don't know what these do, but they're better than nothing. I need a volunteer to come with me up to Master Fletcher's office. He has more potions up there that we can use."

  "I'll go with you." Hilda placed her hand on my arm once more.

  Leaving several choir members to guard the doors, we went out through the back stage door. With the cloak wrapped around the two of us, it was a tight fit, but we slipped up the stairs unnoticed.

  Unfortunately, the love potion looked like it was starting to wear off. Granted, there were a lot of people lying around unconscious, and dead warlock dust was caked all over everything, but a few continued fighting.

  Once we got to the second floor, I stopped, and said, "Keep going." I slid out of the cloak and tucked myself into a slight recess in the wall where a table and two accent chairs used to be. "I've got an idea."

  "As you wish." Hilda didn't hesitate. She was on a mission, and would not let anything get in her way.

  Once I heard her footsteps hurrying up the stairs, I moved out of my hiding place. Running alongside the balcony, I dropped my last two potions on the remaining fighters below. From one vial, a green mist swirled up. Anyone who smelled, caused the person who smelled it transformed into a frog. The other one caused the floor to be so slippery, no one could stand, no matter how hard they tried.

  Sprinting back toward the stairs, I double-timed it until I reached Ben's door. Hopefully, no one saw or heard me, but I couldn't be sure.

  Flinging the door open, I ducked inside.

  "You!" Walter Swift jumped off the examination bed. He grabbed his pants from falling before tucking himself back into his boxers and zipping the front of his pants closed. "How did you get up here?"

  "I have my ways."

  Shifting my gaze to the Arcane Plane, I saw his ice magic charging into his hands.

  "Would you like me to show you all the secret passages? This old house is full of them. Did you know the
Silver Chalice is one of the oldest covens in New York? Our first High Priestess was an English Duchess who was impregnated by Cernunnos, the Celtic fertility god. She wasn't an actual witch, but did possess some clairvoyant abilities. You see, the humans during that day and age did not look kindly on her for getting pregnant outside of marriage. So her family disowned her. She took what valuables she could smuggle out of her family estate with the help of several loyal servants and made her way to the new world. They're the ones who established this main building. It mirrors a lot of the architecture that was coming out of England at the time. Rumor has it those priceless artifacts are hidden somewhere inside this very building." Totally pulled that out of my ass, but I hoped it might convince him not to kill me.

  Interestingly enough, since my vision was in another plane, I saw Hilda's petite form entering the room through the apartment.

  Walter took a step. Raising his arms, he shook his head. "Nice try."

  Whack!

  Walter's eyes rolled in the back of his skull as he fell forward.

  Pulling the hood down, Hilda gave me a hard look. "That's the biggest bunch of Minotaur shit I've ever heard!"

  "Of course it is! He's an archaeology TA. I thought the historical implications of it would distract him enough for you to do something since I'm clean out of magic and potions."

  She nodded. Turning toward the wall of potions, we saw many of the healing ones were missing . However, there were still enough to at least help some of our members.

  Hilda quickly filled Ben's satchel. It was the one he used to carry his students’ papers to and from the classrooms. She loaded it with the last of the healing potions.

  Meanwhile, I ran over to the desk to try the landline. Of course, it was dead. With Hilda distracted, I pulled the mirror stone from my pocket.

  Show me a cell phone that I can use to call for help, I thought. The image shifted to a phone on the floor in a bedroom. Recognizing the comforter, I knew it belonged to Ian.

  "What's that?" My head snapped to the left to find Hilda's eyes widening as she stared at the image. "You have a mirror stone?"

  "Recently acquired." My cheeks warmed. How could I not hear her approach?