Cora (Of Earth or Erda)

by Skye, Relina

  "How recently?" she asked with a touch of annoyance in her tone.

  "Oh... a couple of hours ago. Take the healing potions back to Demetrius, and distribute the combat potions from the bottom shelves. Give them to anyone who can still fight." Bending down, I stuffed as many as my pockets could hold in order to avoid her burning glare. Muttering something under her breath, she went to his closet to find another bag. I would have loved to stay and assist her, but I needed to help. "Keep the cloak on when you go back downstairs.”

  "But it's yours." She raised her brows when looking up at me.

  "Right now you need it more than I do. I'm going to attempt to contact the National Council.” Without another word, I high-tailed it out of the office and down the hall.

  Chapter Eleven

  "Martha Sterling informed us of the situation." The robotic, dull voice of the National Council's receptionist came through the line in a boring monotone.

  "Good. How long until reinforcements get here? We're dying. Children are in danger, and worse, the Winds and Shore covens are practicing Ripping Ceremonies."

  His tone changed into an accusing one. "Ripping Ceremonies? And how would you know that?"

  "Because I saw them do it on the Arcane Plane. It was very obvious. The magic and life force of the witch on the altar were being ripped from her against her will."

  "What's the Arcane Plane?"

  She was taking way too long, so I tried to explain it to her as fast as possible. "You know, when you shift your sight to view the powers that other witches and wizards possess? You can also see their life forces in the form of shadows, like silhouettes... Anyway, I witnessed them forcibly removing the powers and life force from one of my witches. If I don't survive to see this through, you have to make sure the NHC insists the Silver Shore and Silver Winds covens are held accountable for murdering my people!"

  The clicking of a keyboard filled in the void of silence on the other line. "And you said your name is Cora King, the High Priestess of the Silver Chalice Coven? There is no record of that ability listed in our files."

  My palm smacked my forehead. "Listen, everyone can bloody well see the Arcane Plane! We're witches, for Frigga's sake! Just get our allies here. Or there won't be any Silver Chalice members left, and the NHC will have a whole mess of warlocks high on our life forces to deal with!"

  I ended the call. Gosh, I wish I could have slammed a phone down, but right now, as I stood up, locked in Ian's bathroom, all I had was his cell phone.

  Glancing at the mirror stone again, I willed it to show me Ian, but all it allowed me to see was the same image as before.

  "Show me Martha Sterling's phone number." The image popped up on the stone. Dialing it into the phone, it only rang once.

  "Cora!"

  "Martha? How did you..."

  "It's a sixth sense, dear. We're less than an hour away."

  "What? No. Your coven has sacrificed..."

  "Oh, hush. I felt something was wrong a couple of days ago and Skyped your sister. Bloody internet, I couldn't tell she was lying. The feeling got worse and then I started to have nightmares. Anyway, the whole coven is on the way. Except the children and the Maiden. Cauldron and Hills should be arriving too any minute. They've been cleaning up the mess at your High Priest and Summoner's households all day."

  "I... I don't know what to say." My lip quivered against my will.

  "Hush, dear. It's not time to shed any tears yet." Her voice sounded a bit far away. "Drive faster!"

  "We're going a hundred-and-twenty, Ma! We're going to get pulled over again!"

  "I don't care if we get pulled over!" Her voice got louder. "Really, why the NHC ever outlawed broom travel is beyond me. We'd already be there by now!"

  The sound of a rolling train slamming into the building caused the entire structure to shudder. "Hills and Cauldron are here. I’ve got to go. Don't kill yourselves before you get here!"

  I turned off the phone and rushed out of the bathroom.

  A large boulder crashed into my chest, sending me back into the shower. Pieces of tile rained into my hair. Everything around me blurred for a few seconds before returning to focus.

  "He's dead because of you!" Mascara stained the ivory cheeks of the red-haired girl with lavender-colored eyes. Those were the first things to register in my brain. Her smallish hands clasped down on my neck and as she squeezed, she wailed louder than a banshee, "You stupid, stupid bitch!" My head smacked the wall yet again.

  Dazed, I tried to stand, but the tile was too slick. "Who?" I gasped.

  "Who?!" She squeezed my throat really hard before screaming. "IAN! IAN MEAD is dead!"

  "No!" I tried to pull her fingers away from my throat, but without the proper leverage, I could only flail like a fish out of water. My vision grew darker around the edges. Another loud smack caused pieces of the ceiling to crumble on top of us.

  "Please, Sonya, you... you don't... know that."

  She dropped me.

  Gasping, I slid to the opposite side of the shower to try to get away from her.

  "I don't? Really?" Her form shifted, taking on that of a black cat. It was the same black cat I'd seen in the garage when I first got back here.

  "No... You can't transform like that..." My vision shifted to the Arcane Plane. Threads of Ian's tattered magic wrapped around hers. But while most magic ripped from a witch looked like it had been pulled apart like string cheese, his magic seemed to be attempting to merge with hers in several different places. Traces of his life force swirled around her, straining to do the same thing, but what shocked me the most was the separate entity I saw growing in her womb.

  Tuning my vision back to our plane, I found her standing in her natural form. "They came at us right before first light. Your sister let them into the main house. Most of the adults and seniors were paralyzed with potions that were shot into their veins with needles as they slept. The only people who avoided being captured were those who arose early, or were already performing their duties.

  “When we came to, we were seated in the auditorium. They dragged each of the council members forward first. Your sister was furious that several were missing, but calmed down after she was promised they’d find them later since they had to get started. If Ian had been on patrol..." She sobbed. "He might have escaped. But he wasn't."

  "He was with you?" I rubbed my throat as the bruises started to heal.

  She nodded. "They found us in bed together. Told him he had to pledge allegiance to the Silver Shore and Silver Winds covens and their allies."

  "He refused?"

  "Even when they held a knife to our baby, he still refused to join them. I... I couldn't let them kill us, so I told them I'd join. If they’d just leave Ian alone." Her knees trembled, unable to support her weight anymore.

  "They refused?" I whispered.

  "They made me help them rip the magic from his soul."

  Pulling myself up, I crawled over to her. "Sonya, if you love your child, transfer Ian's powers to it. The National High Council is on its way. Any witch suspected of warlock activity will be automatically put to death."

  Her eyes widened and the pupils turned into pinpoints. "But won't they know?"

  "A child can absorb his or her parent's magic if it is given to them freely. " I slowly stood. Extending my hand toward her, I continued to speak. "Lie down on his bed and think of him and what he would want. I'll lock the doors. You should be safe until help arrives."

  Taking my hand, she stood, "I still blame you, you know."

  "I do." There was too much for me to do to try to convince her not to.

  Wiping her eyes with her sleeves, Sonya followed me out of the bathroom.

  "And Sonya, if you smell smoke, don't hesitate. Transform into a cat and get out of here." Leaving her behind, I rushed as fast as I could back to Ben's office. Hilda was gone, having left the shelves practically empty.

  When I hit the stairs, I felt the building shake again.

  Our allies had
arrived! Only a handful of witches, wizards, and warlocks were engaged in magical combat in the foyer. The main battle played out in front of me through the wide opened double front doors. Sounds of lightning bolts striking cracked the sound barrier, sending sparks in every direction. Fireballs deflected off each other, leaving scorch marks in their wake.

  Music stands no longer blocked the auditorium doors. Inside, I managed to get a glimpse of Demetrius and his healers feeding potions to the wounded, while several Hills and Cauldron members were attending to the more severe cases.

  My feet could not get me outside fast enough. I pulled a potion from my sweater vest pocket. Cold to the touch, I knew it was an ice potion.

  Spotting Liam Swift, I hurled the potion at his head. He never knew what hit him. Instantly, he turned into an ice sculpture. The ironic thing about witches, wizards, and even warlocks who are seemingly frozen to death is this: with the right spell, they can be thawed out.

  So it wasn't a death blow. That came when a now conscious Graham Swift saw his brother shatter as a stray lightning bolt from their allies struck him directly in the chest.

  Turning his focus on me, Graham charged with his magic gathering in his palms.

  Pulling out a random potion, ‘cause I didn't get a chance to check the label, I chucked it at him.

  Unfortunately, my aim was slightly off and when I say slightly, I mean it hit the wrong person. The good thing was he was also a part of their coven. The bad thing was I didn't have time to defend myself. A tsunami slammed into me, filling my lungs with water.

  Unable to breathe, the only thing I could do was to try to throw one last potion, but even that fell short. The glass didn't shatter although it wouldn't have helped since it landed only a few feet away.

  "Now you die!" He blasted me with a fresh wave of water magic.

  My vision blurred and my brain screamed out in rage. Before, I used his magic to recover my memories, and I could have absorbed his attack. But now, I was empty of his lingering essence.

  A flash gave my vision a temporary light to see Graham flying backwards. The wave pulled back far enough to take the pressure off my chest.

  "Damn it, Cora! You ruined everything." Kacie slammed her fist down on my chest. "Just," "breathe!" .

  Water spewed from my lungs. Coughing, my chest felt like it would collapse on itself. Kacie... Kacie saved me? I wanted to know why, but soon discovered it was better not to know. I unfortunately learned that only after her foot made contact with my stomach.

  Cough, "Kacie... please." Gasp. My lungs burned and a coppery taste filled my mouth.

  "Kacie, please do this. Kacie, please do that. Kacie, run the coven. Kacie... Kacie... Kacie... You,” "Ungrateful" "Bitch!"

  A black spider web of magic landed on my half-sister. Instantly, her color paled and her eyes rolled into the back of her head. Her body turned to dust before she ever hit the ground.

  "Whine, whine, whine; how is it that you haven't killed her already?" My father's voice rang in my ears, but all I could see were his shoes. Raising my chin, I caught sight of Rune Armstrong. A nasty scar zigzagged across his ribs.

  Stepping away from me, I lost him again as he charged forward into the heart of the battle.

  "Silver Isles attack!" Martha's voice echoed off the broken facade of the nearby building.

  I'm not sure how long I lay there, but with each second that passed, my natural healing ability stitched together my broken ribs and healed my bruised organs.

  "Cora!" The concerned look on my stepfather's oblong face hovered above mine. "Drink this." He pressed a potion to my lips. Tingling sensations slid down my throat and into my stomach. "Better?"

  "A bit." I wiped my lips with my sleeve.

  "Your mother..."

  Reaching up, I caressed his cheek with my hand. "I'm sorry."

  His brows turned down and his lip quivered.

  "Go into the auditorium and help the healers. You need to keep yourself alive to raise your sons."

  A lost look crossed his hazel eyes, but he kept it together long enough to get to his feet. Staggering toward the open front door, I caught a glimpse of James Swift charging him with a large ice sword in hand.

  With all of the strength I could muster, I pulled myself up and threw one of the potions from my jeans pocket at him. It shattered just short of his feet, but as he stepped, the soil beneath him liquefied. It literally looked like he stepped off the side of a swimming pool into ten feet of water. Then, just like that, the ground solidified, locking the water witch underground.

  All around me the fighting finally dwindled down. Martha dove out of the way when my father sent a lightning bolt at her. Seeing his mother almost get killed, Zander hurled an ice spear into my father's chest.

  Breaking the spear, Rune attempted to pull it out, but his hands couldn’t grasp the slippery substance.

  With the grace of a gymnast, Martha rolled and sprang to her feet. Lunging at Rune, an ice saber materialized in her hand seconds before slicing his head off.

  Staggering down the front steps, Walter rejoined the battle. Or at least, he attempted to. He didn't see me and tripped over my legs. Trying to catch himself, he stumbled several feet, giving me the chance to pull out another potion. Before he could react, I chucked it at his head.

  Crumbling into himself, his body exploded in a spectacular burst of dust.

  Damn, Ben's potions were really scary.

  Finally, my body healed enough to allow me to get back onto my feet. I caught sight of Graham doing the same thing. An ice saber formed in his hands. Heading in my direction, I threw another potion at him. This time, he used his sword like a baseball bat. The potion should have gone flying back at me, but his sword was made out of ice. Instead, the potion and blade shattered at the same time. What looked like acid rained down on his face. The splotches burned and grew larger and wider until they covered his entire body. Unable to stop the burning, he ran and eventually collapsed, before being reduced to nothing more than a patch of burnt grass.

  Chapter Twelve

  My allies gained the upper hand. Yes, they were still fighting, and yes, there were still people being killed, but by the time the sun finally set, the battle was over.

  Exhaustion pulled me down to my knees. Every fiber of my being was drained of life. Staring into space, my brain vaguely registered the remaining Silver Shore and Silver Winds members as they were being collected into the library.

  Martha, who still looked like a supermodel despite the excess soot in her hair and blood on her clothes, found me in a catatonic state.

  "Come on, Cora. There is still work to be done. We need to sort out the wounded." She waved to someone to come to our side. "Drink this elixir. It will give you an energy boost for the next two hours. That should be enough time to get some of this mess in a more manageable order."

  Similar to the potion I swallowed earlier in the evening, the elixir rejuvenated my nerves enough to give me an I drank five espressos in the span of an hour sensation.

  "Thank you. I don't know how I'm ever going to repay you and your coven and our allies."

  A sad smile crossed her lips. "You're not going to. I'm afraid your coven has been disbanded by the National High Council."

  "Wait? What?"

  "Don't you remember? You invoked the sacred laws when you recognized the presence of warlocks. Now, don't fear for those who remained loyal. I put in a good word for you, and the National High Council agreed to allow any witch and wizard whose magic is still clean to be absorbed into Silver Hills, Cauldron, or my own coven. Silver Hills agreed to take in the survivors from your High Priest's household, and Cauldron is accepting the survivors from the Summoner's household. Which leaves me to take in your surviving members. Well, all of them, save you."

  "I don't understand."

  "I honestly don't understand myself. I'd be more than willing to have you live with us, but the High Council argued that you neglected
to call their attention to what was going on when the situation first occurred, making you partially responsible. Henceforth, under the authority of the National High Council bestowed upon me on this 29th day of April, you are officially an exiled witch." Her brows knitted together. "That hurts me more than you know, dear. I don't sense any ill intent on your part, which is why the NHC let you live."

  Ice gripped my soul. "I... I..." Clenching my eyes shut, it was pointless to fight their directive. In the end, it was my fault. I neglected to inform them of my crippled status for fear of being taken advantage of; and, as a result, my coven suffered far greater than I ever could. "What happens now?"

  "We mourn, dear. We mourn."

  ***

  That night, we sorted the bodies of all the witches and wizards who had their powers and life forces stripped from their souls, rendering them basically human. Their shells did not automatically turn to dust, however, and would take much longer to do so on their own.

  The Silver Cauldron High Priestess informed me that the bonfire which was still ablaze was actually a funeral pyre. And that she needed to send some of her witches and wizards back to the other two locations to ensure the funeral pyres there were kept ablaze until dawn on Beltane. She believed that conducting proper funeral services would help the fallen enter the Summer-lands without delay, despite losing all their magic.

  I had no way to know if that were true or not. I gave her leave to release her witches and wizards, and we continued to perform funerary ceremonies for our dead and those who were burned without such an honor.

  Since I disbanded my own coven, apparently, I had the power to disband the Silver Winds and Silver Shore covens as well. Martha informed me that the National High Council had sent their elite Watchmen to relocate any witch or wizard who did not participate in the attack on my former coven. Mainly they intended to make sure that any children, elderly, and noncombatant adults, whose magic was still clean, were absorbed by their coven's allies, or transferred to the National Headquarters.