by Logan Jacobs
“I know,” I whispered to myself. “Nyx is right.”
“What did you say, master?” Vesta asked as she cocked her head to the side.
“I said Nyx is right,” I repeated as I stood up and regarded each beautiful and strong Wicca. “Come on… we need to speak with Theodora… we all know which academy that bastard was threatening to attack.”
“Fuck…” Akira said as her black eyes grew wide with realization. “Vipera.”
“Yeah,” I growled, “and we can’t just go back to our rooms and pretend everything is fine and fucking dandy… we need to do something. Vipera is a school devoted to Satan, so we should help them.”
“Cole’s right, and I refuse to let them get away with this,” Nyx hissed as she bared her teeth. “I know my home is with all of you now… but that doesn’t erase the time I spent at Vipera. I can’t abandon my other sisters.”
“And you won’t,” I said with unwavering vindication in my voice. “Come on, we’ll speak to Theodora together. I promise we won’t stand back while Vipera suffers.”
The others nodded, stood up, and trailed after me as I slowly approached the headmistress and the other professors, but the dark-haired Theodora was so immersed in conversation with the other women that she didn’t even hear my footsteps.
“Headmistress?” I said with her back turned to me. “May we have a word?”
When Theodora spun around to look at me, there was a concoction of emotions swirling in her glassy, blue eyes. I could feel her wrath, her concern, and her aching heart as she stared back at me, and it stung my soul to see her hurting so. I knew her heart was bleeding for her beloved daughter, but we had to prepare for battle right now.
“Yes, Cole?” Theodora asked in a firm voice. “I think I know what you’re about to say.”
“Well, we need to discuss what just occurred,” I said in a gentle tone. “I know you’re probably worried about Vanessa, but knowing her, she will recover stronger than ever--”
“Yes, I’m sure she will,” Theodora answered with a small smile, “and you’re correct… we do need to discuss what happened. These possessions have been happening a little too frequently for my liking, and even with the protective charms and spells we’ve placed around Scholomance, it would seem the elders are only growing in power when it comes to infiltrating the minds of even the greatest Wiccas. We’re just waiting for Professor Olivia to return from the High Court.”
“The High Court?” Beatrix repeated with wide brown eyes.
“Do you think they’ll help us, Headmistress?” Morgana asked in a small voice. “I mean… I’m assuming we’re going to help whoever that bastard was threatening, but surely the High Court women would want to help their sisters? No matter where they come from?”
“It’s difficult to say,” Theodora responded without missing a beat. “I do hope they’ll come to our aid, but I cannot say for certain… my powers, as strong as they may be, are currently unclear when it comes to the women of the High Court. What I do know is that they do care for our well-being, but it is unusual for them to leave their posts to come to the aid of others… but hopefully, Olivia can use her powers of persuasion to convince them we’ll need their help. King Donovan is a powerful foe. We will need all the help we can find, and we both know who he was threatening--”
“Vipera,” Nyx interjected with wide eyes. “He was totally threatening Vipera, wasn’t he, Headmistress?”
“My premonition instincts would indicate yes,” Theodora sighed heavily. “I’ve been sensing a heavy cloud over their domain for quite some time now… but no matter how many owls I’ve sent to the Vipera headmistress, I haven’t heard a word. She is a strong woman, but she is also a stubborn one.”
“Well, it doesn’t matter!” Akira added in an agitated tone. “We have to do something! Forgive me for being so blunt, Headmistress, but we can’t just stand by and let that asshole kill our sisters! Nyx may be one of us now, but she was a part of the Vipera Academy not so long ago. As a coven sister, I’m forced to voice my opinion on the matter… no matter how bold.”
“No, I fully agree with you, Miss Akira,” Theodora said as she shook her head. “We’ll have to get there before the elder gods do… I have no idea how much time we have, but I know it’s not much… ”
“So, let’s organize!” I prompted. “We’ve done it before, and we can do it again.”
“Only this time, things will have to be a little different,” Theodora said as her unwavering eyes bored into mine. “Instead of using our students as soldiers, we will use our new armies to defend the walls of Vipera. As much as I want to protect my sisters, I will not use any more Scholomance students… other than you lot, of course. I have a feeling you would find a way to rush to their aid, even if I tied you all inside the forbidden dungeons.”
Before any of us could utter another word, Headmistress Theodora snapped her fingers. After a moment or two, a giant cloud of smoke erupted in the middle of the banquet hall, and when the mist dispersed, the room was crowded with resurrected Wiccas, transformed sirens, and all the women from hell. They were all looking at one another in confusion, and as they stared upon the headmistress and each other, frantic muttering broke out.
“Silence!” Theodora bellowed as she raised her hands up into the air. “I demand silence!”
All the women’s mouths clamped shut simultaneously, but their eyes were still dark with surprise as the headmistress regarded every one with narrowed eyes and pursed lips.
“I have summoned you all here with a great purpose,” Theodora finally explained as thick silence fell upon everyone like a heavy curtain. “We will be heading for battle… I know some of you have just grown accustomed to life in Scholomance, but we need your help. Another sister academy is in grave danger, and we need to rush to their aid. I know it’s sudden, but we must act swiftly.”
“We would follow you anywhere,” the former siren with the long, light purple hair said as she got down on her knees, and the rest of the women followed her lead. “After what you did for us, it’s the least we can do.”
As I stared upon the loyal women, I knew the transformed siren meant every word she said. All these Wiccas were grateful for the second chance of a new life, even if it would come to an end. I knew they were all yearning to show their appreciation, but also, there was an undeniable sense of bloodlust glittering deep within their eyes.
“Excellent.” I grinned as my eyes scanned the room filled with dedicated, bloodthirsty women. “Now that we have an army… we can devise a plan and get a move on.”
“Firstly, we must agree upon our mode of travel,” Theodora mused aloud.
“Shall we attack with shadows then, Headmistress?” Luna asked with wide, lavender eyes. “I’d love to attack those men with an army of dark, deadly silhouettes. We can bond ourselves to our doubles’ forms and fly there.”
“Or perhaps we can ride dragons?” Evanora suggested as she pulled up her long, pink hair. “We can tear through those bastards and cause a rain of blood to shower from the clouds.”
“Well, firstly, we have no idea if we can use either,” I interjected as I stared between the two professors.
“Whatever do you mean?” Evanora asked with a raised pink eyebrow.
“We have no idea which women are capable of dragon-riding or shadow bonding,” I explained.
“Actually, we do.” Luna smirked with twinkling, proud eyes. “The sirens show tremendous talent when it comes to shadow bonding. I was incredibly impressed when they mastered the skill on the first try.”
“I thought they were solely assigned to preschool lessons?” Morgana asked with an arched eyebrow.
“They were at first,” the pale-haired professor responded as she carefully studied the bookworm, “but they demonstrated so much talent in so little time that I decided to move them onto advanced, ancient magic.”
“So, why don’t we assign the sirens to their shadow doubles?” Faye recommended. “And others can ride on
dragons… Professor Evanora, who showed the most promise when it came to dragon riding?”
“Oh, I would say the resurrected women Crimson retrieved,” Evanora responded without missing a beat.
“What about the women from hell?” I asked. “What can we assign them to?”
“Well, since they just arrived… I have no idea who is capable of riding a dragon…” the pink-haired professor answered, “and as for the sirens… let’s just say dragon-riding wasn’t exactly their forte.”
“Probably since they’re still getting used to their legs,” Vesta mused aloud. “That makes sense.”
“But that still doesn’t answer the question about the women from hell,” I sighed. “Shall we simply arm them with weapons?”
“Why don’t you just ask us?” a voice demanded from afar. “Instead of assuming what we’re capable of.”
When I turned around, all the women were back on their feet and gathered into a tight-knit crowd. When my eyes darted around the expansive cluster, I realized the blonde-haired Wicca with the pale, tangerine eyes was the one who had spoken up. She was gazing upon me with her chin raised, and her eyes were brimming with savagery.
“Lavender is right,” a black-haired woman added, and I quickly recognized her as the witch whose heart I had ripped from her chest. “Some of us might have no recollection of our former talents and abilities, but that doesn’t apply to all of us. In fact, some of us are more than capable of using dark, ancient magic. Hell, we are full Wiccan and have already graduated from an academy.”
“That’s right.” A green-haired woman with shimmering blue eyes smiled. “For instance, I happen to be an excellent dragon rider. I used to tame and ride them for sport when I was a student, many, many years ago.”
“And I used to get full marks in my shadow classes,” added another voice from the crowd.
“Me, too!” another one said.
“And me!” someone else cried from afar.
The entire room was soon filled with frantic voices and overwhelming noise, and I couldn’t hear a word in edgewise. Judging by the headmistress’ face, I knew she was pleased by this outcome, but she still needed order and silence.
“Quiet!” Theodora commanded as she raised her hands up into the air, but a small satisfied smile was playing on her lips. “I see your point… you’re all capable, strong witches, and we’ll need that moving forward.”
The headmistress then turned to look at my coven and me, and as she folded her hands in front of her, she looked at each of us carefully before she continued.
“Well, it would seem Satan has heard our prayers,” she purred with shimmering blue eyes.
“And now that we have that sorted,” I said as I looked deeply at the headmistress. “Let’s give them the freedom to place themselves into whichever group they see fit.”
“I wholeheartedly agree,” Theodora responded after a moment of silence, and then she turned to look at the vast group of women before she cleared her throat. “All those who consider themselves to be expert dragon riders, please stand at the far end of the hall… and all those who are familiar with the art of ancient shadow bonding can stand on the right. All those who would prefer to use a weapon and or wand while being shadow ported into the Vipera Academy… stay where you are.”
Soon, the room began to divide, and I was more than pleased to see hundreds of hell-risen women following the resurrected witches toward the back of the room, while countless others situated themselves at the right end of the hall. A few witches remained in place with vacant looks in their eyes, but despite the loss they must have felt for not remembering their skills or knowing what talents they possessed, they didn’t show any signs of fear. Finally, when the room was still, and hundreds of Wiccas were collected in different sections of the room, a broad smile broke across my face, and I could feel my entire heart swelling with pride, hope, and lust for elder blood.
“Lovely,” Theodora purred as she gazed around the room. “I suppose that means we won’t have to shadow port too many Wiccas. This certainly makes devising a plan even easier.”
“So, now that we know who can ride dragons, shadow bond, and fight with wands and weapons, what’s the first step, Headmistress?” Beatrix asked with eager brown eyes.
“Well,” Theodora sighed as she folded her hands neatly in front of her, “I’ll take a quick trip over to the academy and inform the headmistress we’re there to help. She’s a stubborn one, but I’m sure once she sees the reinforcements we’re bringing, she’ll realize just how grave the situation truly is. And if she refuses our help, which is a slim possibility, we still won’t leave until we slaughter every elder bastard.”
“And after you inform the headmistress, then what?” I asked. “We need to situate ourselves on the perimeter, in the skies, and inside the castle.”
“Yes.” Theodora nodded in agreement. “Once I’ve got the Vipera women armed and ready, we will set up defenses along the ground and up in the sky. Now… I hope you’re all well rested because it’s going to be an exceptionally long, long night.”
“Yes, Headmistress,” we answered in unison.
“Now, of course, we cannot leave the academy defenseless, so--” Headmistress Theodora began until someone’s stern sounding voice interrupted her.
“Which is why we’ll be here to take care of the students should anything happen.”
When we spun around, I was both surprised and beyond pleased to see the High Court women all standing by the threshold with Professor Olivia by their sides.
“Madame Soulton!” Theodora gasped. “I didn’t sense you there.”
The beautiful, pale blonde Wicca with snake-green eyes smiled at Theodora as she waltzed toward us, and the other women all parted out of the way as she floated across the banquet hall and approached Theodora before she planted a small kiss on her cheek.
“After what happened last time, we decided it would be craven of us not to contribute in some way,” the beautiful blonde explained as she smiled at Theodora. “Olivia already informed us about your dear Vanessa… we vow to protect her and all the students here while you help defend the walls of Vipera. It’s not much, but we hope it will suffice.”
“Thank you,” Theodora breathed as she stared at the women of the High Court. “We truly appreciate it… in fact, I cannot thank you enough.”
“Well, now that we know Scholomance will be protected,” I started. “We have to get a move on… and quickly.”
“With that being said,” Vesta purred. “Shall I fetch the armor? I kept it in a safe room after the last attack.”
“We’ll also need weapons,” Akira added with a blood-thirsty grin. “I can grab them as well.”
“Yes, please, ladies… and be quick about it,” Headmistress Theodora answered before she turned to look at me. “Cole, before we proceed, may I please have a word with you in private?”
“Of course, Headmistress,” I responded.
Theodora smiled as she placed her hand on my back and gently led me away from the others, but as she did so, my coven stared at me with furrowed eyebrows and small frowns. I could tell by Theodora’s tone there was something else weighing heavily on her mind, and I had a feeling it had something to do with me and me alone.
“Cole,” she said when we were in a quiet corner and away from the others. “I need you to understand something before we carry on. It might not be easy to hear, but after everything you’ve endured, I’m sure this won’t come as a surprise to you… in fact, I have a feeling you already know what I’m about to tell you.”
“What is it?” I said as I narrowed my eyes at her. “I’m sure whatever it is, I can handle it.”
“Well,” she began as she pursed her lips. “This entire warning… King Donovan is toying with you… he spoke your name… I wasn’t even aware he knew you by name. This is concerning enough, but the point is, as soon as he spoke through Vanessa’s lips, I knew he was solely speaking to you. This whole attack is just to lure you int
o Vipera so he may face you.”
“Headmistress, with all due respect,” I said. “So what? I’m sure it’s nothing I haven’t faced before.”
“Ah, be careful, Cole,” Theodora warned as her pale eyes bored into mine. “King Donovan knows you will do whatever you can to protect and aid your fellow Wiccas, no matter what. He’s using Vipera to confront you specifically, and I sense he will do anything within his power to tear you into pieces in front of your beloved coven. He knows the Vipera women aren’t as equipped to deal with an attack, and he’s not only seeking revenge… he is specifically seeking you. He will stop at nothing to kill you, and facing him is in your future. I can feel it, but I’m afraid I cannot sense the outcome. You may be heading straight for death, and I know there’s nothing I can do or say to stop you from going into battle.”
“I figured,” I answered without hesitation. “I know he wants to kill me with his bare hands… he made that perfectly clear when he possessed Vanessa, and I’m not afraid. I will be prepared to face him, man to… well, you know what I mean.”
“Cole,” Theodora sighed as she rubbed at her temples. “I know your heart is filled with courage and determination… but do not underestimate him. Not for one second. He is powerful beyond measure… perhaps more powerful than anything you’ve ever encountered.”
“Perhaps he should be the one not to underestimate me,” I responded. “Please, Headmistress… I will be sure not to misjudge him. I know he harbors great power, but so do I. I’m ready.”
“Yes, I know,” Theodora said with a small smile. “Just please… be alert the entire time and do not falter in any way. Promise me.”
“I promise I won’t,” I vowed as I took a step closer toward her. “Now… let’s prepare the Wiccas with armor and weapons, and meanwhile, you can warn the Vipera headmistress about what’s to come.”
“Yes, I shall leave at once--” Theodora began, but she suddenly doubled over and pressed her fingers against her temples, like her head was going to explode.