Playing With Monsters

by Amelia Hutchins

  “And the demons around Lena?” he asked.

  “They are attracted to power that happens around the time of the Awakening. The coven had a few girls go missing before the Awakening and once the big event happens, the coven holes up in the abbey and the demons can’t get to the young witches. After the Harvest is over and they are done breeding, the elders will train the new witches on how to use their powers to defend themselves. With Lena being pushed out of the abbey, they think she’s easy prey.”

  “Are you sure they don’t think she’s the seal? What if word got out about the seal being released?” Zahruk rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

  “That’s doubtful. Until today, only a few outside of my own people know what happened and I trust those few implicitly. I don’t believe she is Katarina; she failed all the tests that I use to find her reincarnations and I would have sensed her essence by now, especially with her powers in play. I will have to wait for the witches to be released from the abbey to know for sure which one is the reincarnation. Lena’s a welcome distraction from knowing that soon, I’ll kill Katarina and disappear from the lives of this coven until I feel the pull again. I am trying to think of ways to keep tabs on the coven, just in case they disappear again. The last time they abandoned their homes, it took quite a bit of time and resources to find them again and I have other responsibilities to see to. I can’t wait around for her to be reborn again and I really haven’t been able to spare the manpower to leave a spy behind, although I may have to consider it.”

  “You said you’ve modified the coven’s memories and made suggestions to the high priestess before. Can’t you just do it again and prevent them from running?” Ryder was trying to be so reasonable over something he really had no fucking clue about and I chuckled dryly.

  “That’s part of the problem; I can make suggestions and I can tweak their perception of events, however the strongest ones, over time, will always break the conditioning and when their memories come back, they have trouble determining reality from the implant and invariably, that’s when they run.”

  “I no longer wonder why you are so cold,” Ristan said; his eyes drifted to Olivia and I was sure he was considering what he’d do if he lived in my shoes. “I thought Tèrran demons were ruled by Lucifer, what does he think about them coming here, not to mention what happened to the seal?”

  “Lucifer doesn’t know about the seal and I am sure he is the one sending many of them here,” I replied honestly. “He’s grasping for things that he shouldn’t be and after what he pulled the other night, I think he needs a reminder of who I am.”

  “I thought you were his right-hand man?” Ryder asked carefully. His keen, golden eyes watched me for a sign, but found none.

  “I am not one of his demons and neither are my people. Rumors are easy to spread, but then you already knew that, Dark Prince.”

  “Then who the hell are you?” Ristan asked, his eyes moving to Spyder, who was stepping out of the shadows from my connecting bedroom.

  “Pray this world never needs to ask that question, demon,” I mumbled as a light turned on inside the cottage.

  “The hellhounds have arrived and are patrolling, Lucian; Lena is protected,” Spyder said as his eyes moved to Zahruk’s, who had inched closer to Ryder.

  “Wait, you are controlling hellhounds?” Ristan asked, his eyes growing large.

  “Indeed,” I replied, turning to look at Ryder. “Don’t get in my way on this one,” I said.

  “You have to kill the woman you love, on an endless loop to protect worlds,” he mused, his golden eyes expressing his disbelief while concealing his keen intellect. “That has to take a toll on you. Is there anything else that can be done to remove it?”

  “If there was any other way, don’t you think I would have taken it by now?” I laughed soundlessly. “Now you know why I am the way I am, but considering the choice, you’d be strong enough to do the same. Had Katarina known what she’d done, she would have taken her own life; unfortunately, after the seal attached itself to her, she was struggling between bouts of insanity and lucidity as she tried to resist it. Katarina was a powerful witch and I had to make the decision for her before the seal could grow any stronger, and with her being human, I didn’t know if it would kill her or drive her insane. Killing her was merciful at that point.”

  “I understand why you do it, Lucian, but I know that the Gods enjoy tricks, they always place a safeguard on things; you just have to figure out how to get past it and unlock the puzzle pieces.”

  I laughed grimly as Spyder snorted at how simple he made it sound, and Layton moved onto the balcony with his hair freed and wild as it moved down his back in an array of different colors.

  “We have a problem; seems someone started trouble inside the abbey. The coven is divided; half want to come for Lena, the other half is moving to kick the first half out of the coven. It’s a cluster fuck of witches bickering.”

  “That’s not my problem,” I replied.

  “It is when Helen was just seen with Lucifer, plotting to kill Lena,” he replied, already reaching behind him to redo his hair into that fucking bun. “Told you that bitch was poison—and her daughter? She just agreed to become Lucifer’s bride.”

  “I guess he left out the part of eternal hell as her honeymoon?” I smirked, imaging the little princess in hell; Cassidy wouldn’t survive it, but then not many could.

  “Lucian, the high priestess’s head was the rest of his price for the deal,” Layton continued, and I flinched.

  “I guess it’s time to send Lucifer back to where he belongs,” I whispered, enjoying the darkness that swirled inside of me. “Ryder, take your people home. It’s not a request. You are not part of this dispute; you have your hands full with your own conflict.”

  “You think I’m leaving the fate of the worlds up to you?” he countered.

  I smiled, letting him see the blue hellfire that swirled behind my eyes. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you, Ryder.”

  “I’ll take it into consideration, but Synthia won’t leave the demons to overrun the humans, so neither can I.”

  “Women are trouble, but then I’m sure you’re aware of it,” I replied, watching the cottage as yet another light turned on. She was having problems sleeping, or she was fighting off the need to fuck. “If your woman and her uncle plan on helping Lena with her powers, you may want to try a different tactic; camping in her yard won’t get her out; Lena is different. She doesn’t move towards people; she moves away from them.”

  “Synthia won’t let her be alone, and she shouldn’t be. If what you say is true, that girl’s in danger,” he argued.

  “You think I’d let them get that close to her?” I smiled.

  “I think you need more eyes to find the seal, and you’ll need our help soon enough,” Ryder said before he sifted, taking his men with him.

  “Pray that isn’t the case, because if I do, this world is heading for something that will change it forever,” I mumbled as I turned to look Spyder. “The coven needs to be protected as well, go.”

  “You know we can’t enter the main sanctuary of the abbey,” he said, watching me. “Lucian, Lena is the most powerful witch of the coven that we’ve seen so far. You need to figure out if she’s Katarina; maybe you’re too close to her to see it, but we do.”

  “Is that what you think?” I asked carefully, noting he had doubt in his eyes as well. “I think I have spilled enough innocent blood over the centuries; I find myself not willing to spill more. It won’t stop us from our other responsibilities, though, nor will we cease the killing of those whose souls are bound for hell for their deeds. The bitch buried in the yard murdered children and deserved to meet her fate. There will always be more like her. If Lena turns out to be Katarina, I will not falter the course. I’ll take her someplace where it can be done properly.”

 
Chapter Thirty-Nine

  ~Magdalena

  Smoke billowed from the village; thick black plumes of it filled the otherwise beautiful sky. My hands were covered in blood, my dress as well. Tears slid down my cheeks as I stumbled over a body, and fell to the ground beside it. I struggled to get back up, my hands slipping over the blood that was mixing with the mud.

  “Get up,” a woman said; her green eyes watched me carefully. “Get up now. You need to listen to me.”

  “What happened here?” I whispered through the pain in my throat.

  “Death came for us,” she whispered; her hands smoothed her dress, and bother her hands and dress were covered in blood. I looked back down my own dress, noting the blood spatters were an exact match. “I need for you to cast a spell; you have to repeat the words after me. Hurry, there isn’t much time!”

  “Repeat what?” I asked, watching as she looked around, her own eyes full of unshed tears.

  “The curse is blocking you; you have to say the words with me before it’s too late.”

  What? “What curse?” I questioned as I slipped again in the mud, and cried out as my backside landed on a rock.

  “That’s not important,” she muttered as she reached down to help me to my feet. The moment I was on steadier ground, she pulled me with her to a clearing. “Say the spell, it’s the only way to save your coven; the curse won’t let you remember until he is ready to close the trap, but we can fix that.”

  “I’m what?” I asked, wiping my hands on the dress as she did the same.

  “You did this to yourself,” she whispered absently. “We did this.”

  “Did what?” I asked, wondering where the hell she’d escaped from. As far as I knew, there were no looney bins around Metaline Falls. “You’re not making sense.”

  “Say the words!” she cried. Her eyes welled with blood and a few blood tears slipped down her cheeks.

  “That isn’t right,” I muttered, watching as she shook her head and her eyes gained focus and clarity.

  “Undo the curse that claims the mind; remove it from this space and time. Open my mind from the chains that bind, that let me see through space and time. Hear my call to here and now, release the curse that holds me bound. Let me see what he’s erased, give me back my mind in this time and place.”

  I looked at her, and her eyes once again filled with blood, and turned black. I stepped back, but then she was there, her nails digging into my flesh as she screamed for me to repeat the words. It hurt, and her desperation shook me from my stupor.

  “Let go!” I screamed and pushed against her.

  “Listen to her,” another woman said, and then the field was filled with women. All of them were talking at once, and I covered my ears as their voices painfully assaulted me.

  “Listen to her, or share our fate,” they whispered in hushed tones that made my ears feel like nails were scraping across a chalkboard.

  “You must remember, you must free us! He comes for you, he’s close. Can’t you feel it? The death he brings?” they said in unison as they too, began to bleed from their eyes. “Find the grimoires, and undo the curse, you must! It’s the only way we can be set free to rest.”

  They began chanting, even as more and more people arrived in the field, each joining the chant. They were dead, all of them. I looked around, noting the blue of their lips, and the black veins that rose and fanned out like lacy spider webs through their delicate porcelain skin. They hadn’t looked dead to begin with, but with each word they chanted, they began to look more like decaying corpses.

  “Say it! We don’t have long,” the first one said, her eyes watching me with terror. “We’ve only enough power to do this now, you must! If you fail, everything is lost.”

  “Fine,” I whispered through my terror as I watched one of the women fall to the ground, and nothing but dust remained where she had fallen.

  “Undo the curse…that claims the mind; remove it from this…space and time. Open my mind from the chains that bind, that let me see through space and…time. Hear my call to here and now, release the curse that holds me bound. Let me see what he’s erased, give me back my mind in this time and place…”

  They all started chanting it and I could feel the magic of the spell working inside of me. Heat and pain lanced through me, forcing me to my knees. I coughed up blood, and with each word, I started to disintegrate with them. I cried out, looking around as smoke from the burning village continued to rise to the sky; I could smell the pungent scent of certain herbs that I was sure were forbidden by the coven to be used in witchcraft rituals.

  “Stop, stop it!” I screamed as hands touched me, sending memories into my mind. “No! I don’t want that!” I sobbed as one after another sliced through me with nails and sharp bones. Their skin was decomposing as they touched me.

  “Find our grimoires, you must. They hold clues to what he’s done, and how to undo the curse, sweet child. You fear us, but we are a part of you,” the first woman said with her eyes now clear of blood. “You’re our last hope, this ends with you.”

  “What does that mean?” I asked, even as I felt the scratching of bones through my flesh.

  “Wake up, Lena,” she said softly, her hands touching my face.

  I shoved her away and started to run from her. There were ashes everywhere. The sky was thick with smoke, and my bare feet slipped through the mud and ash as I ran from the woman who seemed to be gliding as she chased me. As if she was straight out of a horror movie.

  “Lena!” she shouted.

  “Magdalena, wake up!”

  I sat up in bed. My body was covered in a sheen of sweat and my eyes were wet from crying. I looked around, looking into my mother’s eyes as she touched my cheek comfortingly.

  “Lena,” she whispered as she hugged me to her.

  “Mom, what are you doing here?” I whispered even as I wiped my eyes.

  “I left the coven,” she admitted. “If they won’t accept you, then I won’t accept them. Grandma is here as well,” she replied as she wiped the hair from my face. “I didn’t throw you away. I needed to stay long enough to make sure Helen didn’t succeed in stripping your powers.”

  “She can actually do that?” I asked, still shaking off the nightmare.

  “With the coven’s support, it’s possible, but Tabitha has moved against her, and put her in her place,” Grandma said as she moved into the room, her eyes wide as she hiked a thumb over her shoulder, indicating the front of the house. “Seems like you attracted Fae, and they’ve taken up residence in our front yard.”

  “They’re with some witches from the Guild,” I said wrinkling my nose.

  “What?” my grandmother whispered, wringing her hands. “Magdalena, no,” she mumbled. “How? How did they find you, or did you bring them here?”

  “I didn’t bring them here, and it’s a long story. Why are you here?” I asked, hating that they were. I was happy that they had chosen me over coven politics, but leaving the coven had severe consequences. “Please tell me you can go back.”

  “Why would we?” Grandma asked, her blue eyes smiling. “Missy, you’re our blood. What happened with Benjamin happened because we couldn’t help him,” she said softly. “You don’t think we wanted to? We’ve been a part of this coven since we were born, but this happened to you because of Helen using the coven laws to her own advantage and not because of anything you did. We made a choice, Lena. We chose you; our bloodline will continue to flourish with or without the coven. Fitzgeralds always stick together.”

  “But you shouldn’t have had to choose, Helen doesn’t own the coven,” I replied, shivering as something inside of me stirred. My mind was replaying something from the dream, along with a chant.

  “Lena, are you well?” my mother asked, her hand moving to my forehead before I could reply. “You
’re feverish,” she said, already removing the cloak she wore and heading into the kitchen as I followed. She smiled as I groaned at the types of herbs she was selecting out of the cupboard as grandma started the stove.

  “I’m fine, I promise. We have bigger problems, like the Fae camped out in the front yard?”

  “They can’t come in here,” Grandma said, as she joined my mother in breaking up the herbs and packing them into the diffusers.

  “One already did, and I’m not drinking that,” I replied. Oh, hell no. Grandma was badass in the kitchen, she could cook a lot of things, but she’d also several of the recipes for the nasty-tasting potions and tonics we’d sold at the store.

  “No?” she laughed, and my mom shook her head with a soft smile. “You’re so much like your mother was at your age. I think ‘no’ was her favorite word.”

  “No offense, Grandma, but tonics are really not your strong suit,” I mumbled, even though I was smiling. They weren’t willing to leave me on my own, and they’d come for me, after all. “Will Kendra be safe at the abbey?” I asked, watching as their smiles faltered, giving them away.

  “Kendra will be fine, she’s a Fitzgerald,” they replied together, as if they’d rehearsed it.

  “And us, will we be fine?”

  “Guild witches and the Fae are camping together in the front yard, and demons are hunting us; Lena, nothing is going to be fine ever again. We will survive this, though, we are Fitzgeralds. We haven’t come this far to be taken down by a few demons, or a Warlock from the Guild.”