BLOOD WILL FLOW
Kirsten
Kyler called his parents to meet us here, while Branden, Keegan and Dylan called theirs. My house was going to be what I had officially dubbed the War Room, where we would do all the planning and getting things set into motion. I didn’t want to react to what the rogues did, and I wanted to make the first move and surprise them. Turnabout's fair play.
I waited impatiently, pacing in front of the lit fireplace as we waited for the rest of the group to show up. War was not in my repertoire, but I was a fast learner and I was so fucking motivated. They had messed with the wrong witch.
Rhydian stayed by my side since he had no family here or any other Camasotz close enough to be of any help. He was keeping me from losing control with the fury building inside me. It felt like my blood was boiling, and I was shaking all over. Occasionally I would rub my hands across my face, but it didn’t seem to help.
My mother sat in the armchair closest to the fireplace, trying to get as much warmth into her frail body. I wanted her to go back to bed, but she refused. Instead, she just went upstairs, took a shower, and came back looking more presentable in a pencil skirt and button-down blouse. She was going down swinging and looking great too, but that was my mother for you. I loved her any way I could take her.
Dylan was the first to return to the living room with his parents and sister in tow. I gave them a small smile, trying to show genuine gratitude that they were here, but there was so much on my mind that I just couldn’t push it away.
Macy came over to me and embraced me in a hug that was so tight it was hard to breathe, but I didn’t care. It was helping keep me together so I didn’t break down as she held me. “You’ll see your brother again, Kirsten. I promise you that. I’ve seen it.” Her whispered words were a soothing balm against my ravaged soul and made me feel so much better for starting a war.
“But how many will die because of what I caused?” I murmured back.
She kissed my cheek. “Not as many if you didn’t choose this path. It is the right path, even if blood will flow. It is the right path.” She repeated, trying to convince me.
As I was talking to Macy, Branden’s dad and Elder Cramen stepped into the living room, shrinking the space with their sheer size. I almost missed Rhianna behind them. She was more petite than the men, so, therefore, could easily be overlooked.
“Rhianna!” I went up to her; my hand held out to shake hers.
She knelt in front of me. “I am at your service, Kirsten. If I’d known what you were when we met, I would have been a little more respectful.”
I knelt in front of her, a shocked gasp coming from Macy and her mother. “Rhianna, I am just me. Treat me like I am normal, please?”
Rhianna looked deep into my eyes, looking for something, what, I didn’t know. “Okay.” She murmured, before helping me to my feet as she rose.
“Please, all of you. No bowing. It makes me feel weird.”
My mom smiled softly at me. “You might have to get used to it. You have a big destiny ahead of you.”
Kyler and Keegan brought their parents in during my talk with Rhianna, so I missed them. But when I saw them, I gave them gentle smiles too. My allies were coming together to help me defeat these Witch Hunters and get my brother back. With Macy’s prediction, I was feeling more confident.
I strolled back to the fireplace so I could address the room. “Thank you all for coming on such short notice. I don’t know if you were told or not, but let me say it again. My Protectors and I just got back from a meeting with the scoundrels who took my brother and threatened my life. They want me dead for no other reason than that I am a witch. I refused to comply because they made no promises to release my brother. They said it would lead to war if I didn’t surrender. As you can see, I did not surrender, nor will I. I officially declared war on them.”
“But I didn’t just do it for me. I did it for us all. I did it because if they kill me, they will then go on to wipe out the rest of witchkind and then move on to other supernaturals. At least that is what my Protectors and I believe. I am standing here, baring my soul to you right now, to ask for help. I cannot do this alone, but I will stand at the front. So, who is with me?” I stood there in the silence that followed my speech, my men standing with their parents until they decided to come to the front and kneel in front of me. It made me feel much stronger that they really would follow me anywhere.
My mother stood up next, moving to stand in front of me, kneeling in front with my Protectors. My fox, who was sitting on the arm of the couch, hopped down and came sprinting over, her red and black fur shining with the flickering flames.
I bent down to scoop her up, feeling the warm comfort she sent through the bond, and the love she harbored for me. I sent back my gratitude and love to her.
Macy came sprinting up next, a big grin on her face. She knelt behind my men, smiling at me the whole time. Her movement startled her parents out of their shock and they both moved in sync and with purpose to be beside their daughter. The more people that came to me, the better I felt about my decision.
I watched Branden’s dad with concern, but what surprised me the most was when Elder Cramen and his daughter stepped forward before the Alpha, kneeling in support of me. That got Branden’s dad moving pretty quickly to go down on his knees, creating a third row. The space in front of me was filling fast as one-by-one, the other two parents came to join in. I had the unanimous support of the supernaturals of this area and that made me happier than words could express. My heart felt like it would explode with the emotions flooding through me.
“Thank you all for your support. Now, does anyone know how to plan a war? In a way that won’t bring it to the attention of the humans? I really don’t want to get in trouble for defending myself and still have to be executed…” I tried to bring humor to this very serious situation, and I did get a few chuckles, so I considered that a win.
Rhydian lifted his head. “Maybe we should draw them out to a very secluded part of the forest, far from town, where not even the noise will be heard.”
I nodded as I watched Kyler’s parents start texting on their phones. “Do you have any input?”
Kyler’s dad looked up from his phone. “I actually like that idea. It makes perfect sense. So, I was just contacting our scouts to find the best place. That way we get a jump on this.”
“Good idea…” I waited for his name.
“Crian, like Brian but with a K sound, and this is my wife, Erica.” He motioned to his wife, who looked up from her screen to give me a broad smile.
“I’m just sending a few scouts out to find those defective Hunters. We need to know where they are for when we are ready to draw them out.” Her attention went back to her phone, so she missed me nodding in approval like I knew what I was doing.
I looked at the other parents, my eyebrow lifting. “What are all your names?” If we lost any of them, I wanted to know who helped me out so much, even if it didn’t start out their war.
Macy pointed at her dad, “That’s Brian, and my mother is Sarah. And you know my name.” She shot me a wink. I was really coming to like this young woman.
Keegan tapped his father’s shoulder and whispered something to him. His father looked at me with a shy smile. “I’m Jonathan, and my wife is Hilary.”
The wolf Alpha puffed out his chest. “I am Steven.” Rhianna poked Steven in the gut with a sharp finger, causing him to let out all the air he just inhaled.
I couldn’t help the laugh that escaped. It helped ease the tension in the room. “Well, ladies and gentlemen, I will try my best to get most of us out of this alive.”
Kirsten
I must have dozed off against Rhydian’s chest while we waited for some news from the scouts. The jingle had me snapping out pretty quickly, nearly colliding with Rhydian’s face. I rolled away, letting him stay asleep while I crawled towards Erica, who had her phone in her hands, sleep slowly seeping from her eyes.
“N
ews?” I whispered, nearly startling her.
She jumped, almost dropping the phone, but managed to grab it tighter at the last second. “Dear God, you scared me, child.” She set her phone onto her lap before rubbing the sleep off her face. Her husband was asleep, his back leaning against the front of the couch. “Scouts reported that the Hunters are camped out in an abandoned house on the outskirts of town. It peeves me that they think they can come into our town and threaten our residence. Our family has protected this area for centuries.”
I gently put my hand on her arm. “You are still protecting it. It is me they are after.”
“It won’t stop them from killing off the other witches if they can kill you. Plus, you live here now, and my son is part of your guard. You all are bonded, which makes you family. I know how a witch’s Protector bond works. I have witch friends.” It was her turn to lay her hand on me, providing comfort I didn’t know I needed.
We were silent for a few more minutes until her phone chimed again. When she looked at it, her face turned white. “Shit…”
I crept up next to her, sitting at her side. “What is it, Erica?”
She leaned her phone towards me so I could read the text.
We see approximately thirty or forty Hunters out here. But they are moving a lot, patrolling the premises and going inside and leaving. There could be more.
It was my turn to curse profusely. “Shit! Fuck! That is a lot. Do we have enough between the four of you to defeat them?”
Erica shrugged. “I am not sure. I know we have about fifteen or twenty Hunters that are ready for battle, but I don’t know about the others.”
“I want to say there are roughly fifty to sixty hunters there, just to overestimate. I would hate to underestimate and get so many people killed. So, if we have that many of our own… The witches and werewolves could easily count as two if they are trained, but Hunters against Hunters… And I don’t know the capabilities of the shifters… I am just now realizing I don’t know much at all about the supernatural world… That leaves me at a major disadvantage.” I was rambling, but I was also making sense in a very roundabout and confusing way.
Erica leaned towards her husband, gently shaking him awake. “Honey, wake up. I got a report back on the numbers. We have some more talking to do.”
Just then, his phone dinged, and it woke him up almost immediately. I was surprised at how fast he moved after being asleep. Crian snatched up his phone and read the text. Whatever was on it had him steeling his face. “We have a place. It is very secluded, about twenty miles out of town and not a single house or town within a fifteen-mile radius. It should be a good place to use.”
With that tidbit of knowledge, I scrambled up and started waking everyone, gently shaking people. Crian and Erica helped until everyone was awake, rubbing the sleep from their eyes and faces.
“We have a place and an approximate number of Hunters. With that information, we can start planning.” I just blurted the news but waved to Crian since he could talk about the locale better than I could.
He repeated what he told me, but also mentioned that it was in the forest with a large clearing and a slope in the middle, giving us the higher ground. I just nodded as I listened.
Erica stepped forward next with the news on numbers. That had everyone suddenly looking ill and turning to each other.
Before panic could ensue, I grabbed a marker off the coffee table and wrote down the species we had in this room on the wall. Thankfully Mom didn’t say anything. “Okay, I need a rough number of people from your group that are trained, even if it’s not actual physical battle but just loads of training. We need numbers.” I stepped in front of the wall that showed Hunters and wrote fifteen, choosing to put the lower number in case it was closer to that and not twenty. I turned and pointed to the witches. “Not counting me and my mom, who can fight, how many can you contribute to this? I don’t want anyone under the age of eighteen either.”
Crian looked to the ceiling while he counted on his fingers. “I’d say thirty, but no more than thirty-five.”
I wrote thirty on the wall and quickly moved on. I didn’t want to get my hopes up, but even with the witch's numbers, we were looking good so far.
“Jonathan, how many would you say?” I turned to look at him.
His wife was the one who answered, confidence echoing through her words. “Twenty-six. Most are just trained, but a few went to war, even if it was to fight like humans in the military.”
“That is still good. Thank you.” I wrote that on the wall, then moved to the Camasotz slot, writing one there. “Alpha?” I looked to Steven, who was looking at Elder Cramen.
“We have about eighty unless you don’t count the elders, then it’s only forty-nine.” Elder Cramen smiled at me. “But I would never underestimate us Elders. We are a very tough lot.”
That number shocked me so fast I nearly got whiplash. I did drop my pen when my mouth and hand went slack. “That many?”
Elder Cramen and Steven both nodded.
I bent down and snatched up my pen, writing forty-nine with a backslash followed by the number eighty. I would give those Elders a choice. They didn’t have to fight.
“Okay, we have the numbers on our side.”
34
WAR IS HERE
Kirsten
Everyone got in contact with their soldiers, and it was decided we would all convene on the clearing. Someone still had to draw the soldiers here, to which Dylan was quick to volunteer. I didn’t want to let him go, but he made great points. They already saw him, at least one did, and knew he was a witch associated with me. Secondly, he was very powerful in his own right and could protect himself. He at least was able to control his powers. With great trepidation, I allowed him to go. But I told him that if he died on the way here, I would find his body, bring him back and torture him very slowly. His response was just to chuckle.
Now, here I was at the top of the hill, pacing away, creating a deep furrow in the virgin snow. Everyone else was hiding in the trees again, except for the rest of my Protectors. They refused to leave my side, and I gave up trying to get them to hide too. So, they just watched me march back and forth.
“Kirsten, you know he can defend himself.” Rhydian may have logic on his side, but I was not going to listen to stupid logic. I wanted to be pissed at Dylan a little more. I had every right to be so fucking mad at him. He was risking his life for me.
I heard a hiss escape from several of my Protectors, causing me to jerk to a stop and look in the direction they all were facing. Dylan was racing towards me. No one was behind him—no one that I could see at the moment—but the way the others were holding themselves, they smelled something. Except in Kyler’s situation, he just had really good instincts.
With the way they were acting, and the way Dylan was scrambling up the slope, I knew they weren’t far behind him. And I was right. They came flooding out of the trees, swarming into the clearing, their numbers way more than the fifty or sixty I thought I overestimated. There had to be closer to one hundred and fifty Hunters. What did they do, bring all of them? For me? The thought was flattering and scary at the same time.
“Stop where you are!” I hollered across the field. I raised my hand for dramatic effect. That was Kyler’s idea since they didn’t know I couldn’t control my magic. They didn’t need to know either, so I was just supposed to threaten them. “If you don’t halt, I will be forced to kill you all where you stand!” I was schooled in this barely an hour ago. I had to let them know I was confident and that I was willing to kill them if it came to that. But of course, if I knew how to use my magic, I would do it.
The leader and his son stepped forward, leaving the safety of their numbers. “You would really kill this many people without a second thought? That just proves how much of a monster you really are.” He scoffed in disgust. “All Witches are monsters.”
I could feel my body start to shake at his insults; my blood felt hot as it coursed through my v
eins and I saw red at the corners. “Witches are not monsters. You all are the heathens who have caused so much needless death around you. No matter where you go, you feel the need to kill innocents and people who are just trying to live their own lives. It is you who kill without any thought. Me? I don’t take pleasure in anyone’s death. I’ve never killed before. But to protect my loved ones, I will hunt you to the ends of the Earth.” I spit the words out with so much anger and frustration. This man who spews hate could never understand anything about protecting anyone. He was a vile man whose heart was an inky blackness.
“You have one more chance to surrender. If you don’t, then you will be killed where you stand.” He seriously thought he had the upper hand—the fool. Even his men looked terrified, but they weren’t leaving. They were too brainwashed.
“I refuse to submit to what you call justice. It is just your way to justify murder. You just slap a name on it and call it good, that you are doing good, honest work, when in fact, you are doing the exact opposite. I refuse you!” I screamed the last words towards him.
He lifted his arm high in the air, and then dramatically let it fall forward, signaling the beginning of battle.
When the Hunters drew their swords, they ran straight for me. I dropped my arm, which was the signal for the supernatural army to come pouring out of the woods. Number wise, we would be evenly matched. But depending on training, of both Hunters and the other supes, that would inevitably bring out the winner of this encounter.
35
BLOOD ON MY HANDS
Kirsten
I watched, helplessly, as the people who pledged to fight on my behalf clashed with the Hunters trying to murder me and my kind. The noise was enough to leave my head ringing as people let out battle cries or screamed in pain. The sounds came from all around, so I couldn’t distinguish if it were my soldiers or theirs. Werewolves let out roars of fury as they sprinted into the melee. Various other animals, those of the shifters, joined in the attack, using teeth, claws and even their bodies as they slammed into the smaller figures.
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