‘I think we should try.’ Robin answered as he settled down into the couch.
Mitch nodded in agreement, ‘me too. Tomorrow night?’
‘Works for me. Hey, pass me a soda will you?’
Mitch crossed the kitchen to the fridge, pulling the door open and reaching in for a soda. Robin was Mitch’s cousin, best friend and closest confidant. They’d been through school together, joined the academy together, and found their place within the Force together.
They shared an apartment on the outskirts of Corin, often working the nightshifts which involved them stalking the streets, ensuring no unwitting human found themselves in trouble.
‘Catch.’ Mitch said, tossing the soda at Robin.
The can slammed into Robins shoulder, hit the couch and bounced onto the floor before he even had the chance to turn his head.
‘What the hell?’ He snapped, retrieving the soda.
‘I did warn you.’
‘Funnily enough, warning me after you throw the can, doesn’t really give me enough time to react.’ Robin countered, reaching for the tab.
‘Hey, you might not wa-‘ but before Mitch could finish, Robin had already opened the can.
Mitch dove behind the counter just as fizz began spraying from the small opening.
‘God,’ he heard Robin shout, followed by a bang and what sounded like a waterfall. ‘Stop!’
Mitch waited a minute longer after the shouting subsided before peeking up over the bench. He collapsed in a fit of laughter at the sight of Robin, sitting there, soda dripping from his red hair, his eyelashes, the tip of his nose and chin. He’d thrown the can at the wall, which had exploded it further, saturating the lounge room in the fizzy substance.
‘I blame you entirely.’ Robin said as Mitch gathered himself, attempting to stand and reach for the paper towel.
‘I did war-‘
‘Don’t you dare.’ Robin said, and Mitch found himself doubled over, laughter erupting from him again.
Finally, after Mitch had managed to compose himself and fetch two cloths and a bucket of hot water, the two set to work on cleaning up the mess.
‘What did you think of the service today?’ Robin asked after a moment’s silence. He’d never been one for holding a grudge.
Mitch raised an eyebrow, ‘it was nice. Sad. I really felt for the girl.’
‘Yeah. Just made me wonder is all. They seem honest.’
Mitch agreed, turning to the TV and setting to work cleaning down the screen.
‘What if it is all a lie? What they said.’
Mitch shrugged, ‘then it’s a lie.’
‘And if it ends up being true?’
‘Then we fight, like we were trained.’
‘I’m sure it’s not true.’ Robin said, though his voice wavered slightly.
Mitch nodded, nevertheless he couldn’t help but wonder if, perhaps, the group’s claims held merit. He felt it, deep down, that something was wrong. Someone was lying, but who?
Neither he nor Robin had enough information to draw a conclusion, but one thing was for sure, if the Enchanted were in danger, then it was their job to protect them. They were members of the Force, and the Enchanted always came first.
Chapter Eight
New Recruits
The golden locks of the weakling’s hair fell in Erebus’ eyes as he paced the length of his dark, damp, dirty office, deep in thought. Upon his next pivot, he flung out his hand, and a blaring red ball of lightening shot from his palm into the vase of rotting flowers that sat atop his desk, shattering it into a thousand little shards.
‘Should have been a million pieces.’ He growled, despising the soft tone of the weakling’s voice.
The knowledge that only a few tunnels away sat the strong, powerful body of Cara Harmer, infuriated him, for he was only reminded of the fact that the stupid woman simply would not relinquish the information he required. He was fed up with his current body; his pathetic, feeble body, weakened by sickness. The fact that there was nothing he could do to alter his situation only angered him further. His attempts at locating a Sorcerer who knew of the Charm had, so far, been futile, but he did not lose faith. There was a Sorcerer out there who knew of the Charm, for Cara had to have acquired it from someone, and as soon as Erebus discovered who, he’d finally have all he needed; the charm, Cara’s body, and, in time, Laura’s power.
His only issue was, however, the wait. He could not emerge until he had a functioning body, unlike the weaklings. His near death from a simple knife wound proved that he was in no fit state to fight. In addition, he had enough pride to demand appearing before the Enchanted, ready for battle, and with the ability to win.
With that in mind, he knew the time to declare war was drawing near. The Sargent had been training his men, and the Wicked were stronger, smarter, and larger in number than the Enchanted realised. They were close to ready, and he would need to be too. He was running out of time, which was why he was so angry, pacing from wall to wall.
Erebus was not stupid. He understood that he and his followers might not necessarily win the war. However, despite the small voice in his mind that was constantly reminding him of that, he couldn’t disguise the fact that he truly believed the Wicked had a very real chance at success. Of course, he didn’t allow his confidence to make him lazy. He’d made that mistake during his last battle, which had, in turn, resulted in the loss of his body and him having to strike a deal with the Devils in order to have his soul locked away in a Devils blessed box to preserve it for… well, he still wasn’t sure how long. His memory was a little patchy. Emerging from the box had left him lost and confused, however with a little help from the Sargent, most of his memories began to return, and he snapped into action.
From the Sargent’s insistence that the Wicked were ready for their final stage of training; to Erebus’ best Wicked working on the cause behind obtaining a stronger body; to the undergoing experiments, required due to the complications encountered during the conversion process; to the preparing of the Wicked and Devils for war, Erebus recognised that there was still much to do. Regardless, everything was slowly but surely falling into place.
He pulled up short in his pacing, slamming his fists down onto the desk. It vibrated under his outburst, papers sliding to the ground. Was holding back in torturing Cara really worth it? He did not want a damaged body, but he was running out of time. The Devils, who had promised their allegiance under the guise that Erebus would gift them with both the ruling of Heaven and Hell after the war, were growing restless. He stood stock still for a moment, calming himself, then turned for the door, the decision made. It was time to pay Cara another visit.
~
‘We’ll all keep in contact through these,’ Leo said, passing out a small walkie-talkie to each of his students along with enough batteries to last everyone two weeks.
‘What about people listening in on us?’ Gemma asked, turning her walkie-talkie on, ensuring it was indeed working.
‘And will they work no matter where we are?’ Drew inquired, checking his own radio over.
Leo answered Drew first. ‘These ones are designed – by me I might add – to work anywhere, yes.’ He then turned to Gemma. ‘As for listening in, I’ve managed to place a block of sorts on our particular channel which will muffle our voices to anyone listening in on a device other than our own. But for precautions, we’ll speak in code. No addressing people by name and skirt around speaking events and locations outright, unless it’s life or death.’
‘While the radios are mainly to be used to pass on information, everyone is to check in once a day at the least. If we don’t hear from one of your groups for more than twenty-four hours we’ll be coming after you. Understood?’ Stella added, and Laura heard the waver in her voice.
She was afraid. Not of what was to come, but of what could happen to her students. Laura recognised then how much both Stella and Leo despised having to sit back and watch as the people they swore to protect with their lives
readied themselves to leave.
The group agreed with Stella’s notion immediately, and Laura saw the relief that briefly flooded Leo’s features.
‘Otherwise,’ Stella continued. ‘Only keep the radios switched on if you’re not in a situation where them going off will compromise you.’
‘What about you two?’ Grace asked in a small voice.
‘We’ll be okay. We’ll cover your disappearance and pass on necessary information.’ Stella said lightly, resting a hand on Grace’s arm, comforting her.
The group fell quiet as they each studied their radios, unable to quite fathom that they would be leaving the safety of the Manor soon. They all knew, however, that the Manor would not remain safe if they didn’t complete their missions.
‘We’re going to be in a lot of trouble when we return, aren’t we?’ Logan asked, though it was more of a statement.
Laura sighed, ‘let’s just hope we’ve gathered enough proof of Erebus’ existence to convince them of our innocence.’
Drew cleared his throat. ‘And if we don’t?’
They each glanced at one another, unsure what to say.
‘I don’t know.’ Stella said finally. ‘But I do know that we’re running out of time. The Enchanted won’t survive if we don’t prove to them that they’re in danger. If we can show them that, then we might have a chance at stopping Erebus.’
Logan glanced up at Stella, and Laura knew what he was going to say before the words left his lips.
‘War is inevitable isn’t it?’
Stella hesitated. ‘I believe so.’
‘Our only chance at winning is to ensure everyone is ready.’ Leo said.
They fell quiet for a time, stuck in their own thoughts, until Leo pressed forward with their plans, confirming everyone’s knowledge of the mission.
Leo and Stella would, as already discussed, hide the groups escape. Logan, Grace and Gemma were to return to the Lost City in attempt to track down Erebus. It was also decided that if the opportunity to rescue Cara or Caspian’s soul were to arise, they were to take it. That left Laura and Drew, who would follow the clue until they either discovered what the riddle hid, or the others called for backup, which would only happen if they found Erebus.
Silence descended upon the group once more as the seriousness of the situation dawned on them. They hadn’t discussed the possibility of failure, though they all knew it was likely they would return empty handed. But they couldn’t think like that. Hope was all they had.
~
Cara shook uncontrollably as the next bucket of iced water was tossed at her, slamming into her curled up body with such brute force that it sent prickles of pain along her skin. Her teeth chattered and her eyes watered as her body slowly froze up. But she wouldn’t give in. Not ever.
‘Oh my dear Cara.’ Erebus hissed. ‘You play the role of a strong little Enchanted, but I know, deep down, you are weak. Do you know why? Because you love. And it’s that love that leads you to do stupid things. Now tell me, Cara, how do I perform the swap?’
Cara glanced up in time to see the blond boy that appeared to accompany Erebus everywhere step away from his leader and into the shadows, no emotion showing on his face as he watched her quietly. Her eyes flickered back to Erebus.
‘You’re wrong Erebus.’ She said hoarsely.
The next load of iced water hit her before she could tuck her face back into her arms, and the coldness bit into her cheeks. She clenched her teeth, forcing down her cries as she allowed the next wave of shivers to pass over her. Her eyes fluttered open briefly, but it was enough to catch the flare of red that grew in Erebus’ hands. Lightening.
‘If you do that, you’ll destroy this body. It’ll be weaker than the one you currently have.’ She whispered through the uncontrollable trembles of pain that tormented her body.
‘Perhaps there’s no longer any point in keeping you.’ Erebus said, turning his hand towards her.
‘Don’t be ridiculous. You need me.’ Cara hissed, bitting down on the inside of her cheeks to stop her teeth from chattering.
‘I do need you, yes. I need you to tell me how to perform the possession.’
‘I know. Which is why I won’t ever tell you. You will never have my daughter.’
‘Your little Laura will be safe, if you do tell me Cara. If you allow me to take your body instead, I will leave her alone.’
Cara scoffed. ‘I don’t believe you for a second.’
‘Cara, believing me is the only thing that can save her. So tell me, how do you work the Charm?’
Cara bared her teeth. ‘Never.’
Erebus’ face turned from mock to fury as his lightening flared. Cara knew that her time was up, and she tensed, squeezing her eyes shut, tucking her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around her head, bracing herself for the shock that was to come.
Laura. She would live for Laura. She would fight for Laura. It was all for Laura. Her miracle child. She would protect her baby with her life.
When the pain hit, it almost broke her. But she remained strong, even as the screams tore from her throat. She would not give in. Never.
~
‘Passing the guards was easy the other night, it surely won’t be much of a challenge.’ Laura reasoned as they poured over the layout of the Manor and its surrounding properties.
‘Stop.’
Laura felt her body freeze up immediately at the huskily spoken word and fear was quick to flood her veins, twisting her insides into tight, worrisome knots. Her eyes shot to those of her companions, who were turning slowly towards the Library’s doorway. Laura, too, glanced over her shoulder to find the two young Force boys, Mitch and Robin, standing in the entrance, eyeing them suspiciously.
‘What are you two doing here? You know that despite our house arrest you’re not allowed inside the manor without our permission.’ Stella protested as both Mitch and Robin crossed the room, pausing at the sight of the walkie-talkies and papers strewn across the table.
Laura could feel her heart in her throat as she stared at the two boys in disbelief. It was all over. Just like that.
Mitch unexpectedly broke the silence. ‘You won’t slip past the Guards as easily as you think. They’ve set up triple precautions since the funeral. If you want to escape, you’ll need inside help.’
That was when Laura noticed the bags slung over each of the boys shoulders. Her breath caught as confusion clouded her thoughts. Were the two Force boys trying to help them?
Gemma voiced the question they were all thinking. ‘Why are you telling us this?’
‘Because we’re coming with you.’ Robin told them, as if it were as simple as that.
Drew scoffed and Gemma crossed her arms, an eyebrow raised in question.
‘You’re what?’ Grace squeaked.
‘We’re coming with you.’ Mitch repeated for Robin.
‘Right. Absolutely! Come along, we could really use the help.’ Gemma said sarcastically with a roll of her eyes. ‘Do you honestly expect us to believe you’ve had a sudden change of heart? Don’t be ridiculous. Hurry up and turn us over already.’
Mitch mimicked Gemma’s eye roll, a scoff of his own escaping his lips. ‘Sure. Because we just spent two and a half hours sneaking in here to turn you over. You lot are in a pretty bad situation. No one believes you. You need all the allies you can get. And Robin and I are offering you that.’
Leo eyed the two young Wizards wearily as he removed his glasses. ‘How did you know we were preparing to leave? Tonight of all nights?’
Robin shrugged. ‘To be honest, it was a fluke that we chose to seek you out tonight. We planned on offering our assistance, though we didn’t realise it would be required so soon.’
‘Required? You appear to be fairly certain of yourselves.’ Logan said slowly.
‘Like I said, you need help. We’re here to do just that.’ Mitch told them.
‘So you want to help us track down Erebus? You believe he has returned?’ Stella pressed
, the doubt imminent in her voice.
‘I...’ Mitch opened his mouth, the hesitation clear, before closing it, undoubtedly thinking through his answer. Finally, he continued. ‘Erebus’ return is… well it’s hard to comprehend. Not without solid evidence.’
‘However,’ Robin continued solemnly. ‘We’re sworn to protect the Enchanted. If they are, indeed, under threat, we will do what we have to to save them.’
‘So, if you still aren’t convinced we’re telling the truth, why do you want to help us?’ Stella inquired, her eyes narrowing in on the two boys.
Robin glanced at Mitch before answering. ‘We’ve been suspicious for a while. Something’s going on, even if we aren’t sure what. Mr Stark wouldn’t go to such efforts to cover up your story if there wasn’t at least some truth to it.’
Leo raised an eyebrow. ‘Covering it up? Why?’
Mitch shrugged, ‘why else do people choose not to believe you? They’re afraid. Mr Stark is trying to keep everyone calm by claiming your story is a lie. It’s much easier to pretend it’s not true than to face the prospect of, well, war as your story predicts.’
‘So, because of that, you believe there is at least some truth to our story? You believe the Enchanted are in danger, and you want to protect them?’ Leo asked.
‘Yes.’ Mitch answered simply.
‘We would be going against our oaths as Force Members if we did not at least follow up on your claims. If we find they aren’t true, no harm done. If we discover the Enchanted are in danger, we can convince them of your innocence and begin preparing for… well, whatever we need to be ready for.’ Robin added.
‘You do understand that we struggle to believe you won’t betray us.’ Grace said wearily, crossing her own arms.
‘Of course we understand. If it helps, we swear our intentions are honourable.’ Robin informed her.
‘So you’ll risk being outcast, even punished, by the Force, just to help us?’ Drew asked disbelievingly.
‘Like we said, we serve the Enchanted. We’ll do all we can to protect our race. We can’t ignore the signs. Something’s brewing, we can feel it.’ Robin insisted.
The Sacrifice (Wicked Book 2) Page 9