Dark Realms (40 page)

I closed my eyes, and within seconds, felt
myself being sucked into the vortex. This time I kept my eyes
closed and pictured Tyler’s face, praying we’d find him alive.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

“Get down,” whispered Bailey when we landed
in the darkness next to a swimming pool behind a white colonial
mansion.

“I think we missed the woods but found the
party,” I said, staring at the impressive house in surprise. It was
almost midnight, the place was lit up like a Christmas tree, and
music flowed from somewhere inside.

“Definitely looks like a party,” whispered
Trixie, as dozens of shadows moved behind the curtained windows of
the house. “This could be very bad.”

“Or it might just make it easier for us to
sneak inside,” said Bailey.

“Who has a swimming pool when your house
faces the ocean?” whispered Kala, as we crouched down and moved
towards a light blue cabana for cover.

“Vivian,” answered Rebecca. “The woman has
an insatiable appetite for luxury when she isn’t trying to destroy
those she hates.”

“It’s amazing how totally different two twin
sisters could be,” said Kala. “Mom’s not a spender and would never
treat herself to anything. She won’t even spend the money to get
her hair cut.”

“But it always looks good,” I winked. “I
think we now know why.”

“Oh…” smiled Kala, “that makes sense.”

“Okay, so here’s the plan,” interrupted
Bailey. “Trixie and I will slip inside and look around.”

“I don’t know if it’s going to be that easy.
Vivian is probably having some kind of celebration,” said Rebecca
with a grim smile, “and I’m sure her guests aren’t the kind you’d
want to mess around with. They’re probably part of her coven.”

“Oh crap,” I said, biting my lower lip.
Dealing with Vivian was bad enough, but an entire coven of witches?
It was too scary to imagine but too real to ignore. As far as I was
concerned, things weren’t looking very good for the White-witch
team.

“Don’t worry, Kendra,” said Bailey, with a
reassuring smile. “Danger isn’t new to our world.”

Could he also read minds?

He took a step back and seconds later,
appeared before us as a sleek, white cat.

“Oh!” gasped Kala, her eyes round.

“Splendid idea,” smiled Trixie. Then, in the
blink of an eye, she changed into the form of a small gray
mouse.

“Be careful,” whispered Rebecca, as they
took off towards the house, both on four legs.

“What should we do now?” I whispered,
shivering. The wind was cool and I was kicking myself for not
wearing any kind of jacket.

She rubbed her forehead. “We’ll wait a bit
for them to report back. If it takes too long, however, I’m going
to try and find a way to get inside of the house.”

“You said that Vivian could sense if we were
close or if someone was using magic. How come she doesn’t know
we’re here right now?” I asked. “Especially after teleporting?”

“Fortunately for us, she lives by the ocean,
which sometimes blocks a witch’s radar. If she knew we were here,
I’m sure we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now.”

“Speaking of magic, can’t you just use yours
now to get us inside?” asked Kala.

“Unfortunately, no. She has a spell around
her house, blocking any unwanted… guests,” she said, closing her
eyes. She raised her hands in the air and exhaled, slowly. “Try and
see if you can feel it, too.”

I closed my eyes and raised my hands. “Uh,
sorry, I’m not feeling anything.”

“I do,” whispered Kala.

I turned to her in surprise. “What does it
feel like?”

Her forehead wrinkled in concentration. “Um,
it just kind of makes my skin tingle. Almost feels like
pin-prickles, I guess.”

“Yes,” said Rebecca. “Very good.”

“Why can’t I feel it?” I asked, closing my
eyes to try again.

“Because of me,” stated my new wand,
apparently in the chatting mood again.

I opened my eyes and stared at it in
surprise. “You?”

“Yes. That menial spell of
hers isn’t strong enough to keep you out, as long as you
have
me
in your
possession,” said the wand, in a smug tone.

“Awesome,” I grinned.

“Just thought I’d put my two cents in. Now,
carry on,” said the wand.

“Wands aren’t much for small talk, are
they?” I asked after a few minutes of silence.

“
No” replied Rebecca. “Some
never even speak at all; which can sometimes be a good
thing.”

“I heard that, madam,” snapped the wand.
“Not amusing.”

“I didn’t mean you, personally. What is your
name, by the way?” she asked the wand.

The wand didn’t answer.

“See, they can be very stubborn,” whispered
Rebecca.

“I’m not daft,” snapped the wand. “My name
is Chloe. Now, if you’d like my advice, I would stop wasting
precious time and send us into that house.”

Surprisingly, I agreed. “I’m with Chloe.
Something tells me that Tyler’s time is running out, as well as our
mother’s.”

Rebecca paled. “Okay, um…I just hate to send
you in there alone…”

“She has me,” said Chloe. “Now, prepare for
our ascent, child.”

I raised my eyebrows. “What?”

The next thing I knew, the wand began to
glow and I soon found myself in a dark library.

“Stay still,” whispered Chloe.

Before I could ask her why, a dog began to
growl.

I whipped my head around towards the sound
and found myself staring into the eyes of a large Doberman
Pincher.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

“Uh, nice puppy?” I squeaked.

The dog growled louder and then began baring
its teeth.

“Chloe, a little help?”

“Casting spells is your department, dear.
I’m your instrument, not your instructor.”

I raised the wand. “Uh…Go away?”

Nothing happened.

“Chloe?”

“Look, I can’t do this for you, and in order
for the spell to work, you need to actually have faith that it
will. Try harder, witch.”

Witch?

I pursed my
lips
. That’s right – I really was a witch,
wasn’t I?

I took a deep breath, aimed the wand, and
this time, put every ounce of faith in my command. “Depart!”

The dog turned around and bolted out of the
room.

“Nice,” I smiled, nodding in approval.

“Quickly, we must locate the boy and the
Shape-shifters.”

Crap.

“Are they
all
in
trouble?”

“Yes,” said the wand. “I believe so. I sense
a growing frenzy down below.”

“Shouldn’t we tell Rebecca? So she can
help?”

“There’s no time. Prepare yourself.”

Before I could protest, she transported me
into a dark hallway in another part of the house, where I could
hear several voices emulating from a nearby room.

“I say we keep
him
and kill the girl,”
snarled a woman with a deep, husky voice. “I’m sure we could find
many uses for him.”

“Behave, Beldora!” chuckled another woman.
“He’s much too young for you, anyway.”

“I’m only one-hundred and seven… besides,
he’s a Shape-shifter – he’s probably a century older than me!”

“Calm down, ladies,” interrupted Vivian.
“You can do whatever you’d like with these two. My concern is that
they’re not here alone. We need to search the premises and destroy
anyone not welcome. Now, we should go quickly.”

Crap.

A doorway down the hallway flew open and I
quickly pointed the wand at myself and whispered. “Hide, Invisible,
Conceal.”

The wand lit up and then disappeared, along
with my arm, and hopefully – the rest of me.

The first two women who stepped out of the
doorway stopped abruptly. Both wore black gothic-styled robes.

“Did you hear something?” asked the taller
one with long, blonde hair and red-painted lips.

The other woman had dark hair pulled into a
bun and piercing eyes that seemed to stare right through me from
down the hallway. “I’m not sure.”

“Quit dawdling,” commanded Vivian, stepping
around them. Her robe was made of red velvet, and obviously much
more luxurious than the others. “We need to move quickly.”

“Yes, Vivian,” replied both women.

I watched in horror as ten other women, also
dressed in black robes, stepped out of the room and began following
Vivian, who was heading in my direction. All of the blood rushed to
my ears.

Crap…crap…crap…

As they grew closer, I held my breath and
pushed myself back against the wall, praying that they wouldn’t
somehow sense me there.

“What about Tyler?” asked the blonde with
the ruby-red lips. “Have you made a decision yet?”

A cruel smile spread across Vivian’s face as
she passed me by. “I’m going to make sure his mother gets to watch
him take his last breath, but not before I make them both suffer
miserably.”

Chapter Twenty-Nine

As soon as the witches were gone, I rushed
down the hallway and entered what appeared to be some kind of large
gathering room. Three blue sofas along with six gold-colored chairs
were arranged in a circle, and lying on the floor in the center,
were Trixie and Bailey in their human forms.

“Oh, my God, what happened?” I asked, moving
towards them.

“Spell,” replied Bailey in a hoarse
voice.

Both of their faces were twisted in pain,
and although I couldn’t see any restraints, it was obvious that
they were somehow being subdued.

I raised the wand and started spouting off
commands. “Release curse! Immunity! Remove Bonds!”

“You’re wasting your time,” sighed Chloe. “I
can’t remove this curse.”

“Chloe? How can I help?” I whispered loudly.
“They’re in horrible pain. How can we stop it?”

“Kill Vivian,” replied a familiar voice.

I turned around and found him hanging, in
what appeared to be, some kind of human birdcage.

“Oh, thank God, Tyler!” I cried, rushing
towards him. Thankfully, he appeared to be in good health and not
suffering, like the Shape-shifters.

“Kendra? Is it really you? Where in the heck
are you?” he asked, staring right past me.

“I’m invisible.” I touched his fingers
through the cage. “Are you all right?”

He smiled grimly. “Oh, I’m peachy. These
witches really know how to throw a shindig.”

I smiled. “I know you can’t
see me, but… I’m
so
happy to see you.” My lips began to tremble. “I thought she
might have…”

His squeezed my fingers. “Hey, it’s okay. I
haven’t been hurt, just made a little uncomfortable in this stupid
cage. Nothing like Bailey and Trixie.” His face darkened. “She’s
placed some kind of spell, rendering them helpless and obviously in
a lot of pain.”

Just then, Mark stepped through the doorway.
“Talking to yourself, vampire?” he asked with a smirk.

Tyler released my fingers
and moved away. “Look who’s talking,
witch
.”

Mark scowled. “I’m a
warlock,
imbecile
,
and
it would be wise to show me some respect if you’d like to live
another hour.”

Tyler’s face grew serious and he stared at
him with intensity.

Mark snorted. “Don’t even try it, Enchanter,
mother has placed a spell on me, to protect me from your lame
antics.”

Tyler sneered. “Need mother to protect you,
huh?”

“Obviously, you do as well – otherwise you
wouldn’t be here in the first place.”

“Why don’t you let me out of this cage and
we’ll settle this like two guys instead of our mothers’… pets? Or
don’t you believe you’re man enough?”

Mark’s eyes narrowed. “You
couldn’t put me down if I
let
you. You’re a skinny little twerp who doesn’t know
when to shut his hole.”

“Just what I thought, you’re scared of me,”
chuckled Tyler, staring at his nails.

His face grew red and he clenched his fists
at his side. “Screw you. I could take you with my hands tied behind
my back.”

“Is that right?”

“Hey, I know what you’re doing, freak.
You’re just trying to trick me into letting you out.”

“Even if you let me out, I’m surrounded by
witches. That must make you feel safer, hiding behind the skirts of
all of these women.”

“Shut up, douchebag!”

Tyler folded his arms across his chest.
“Obviously, you can’t make me. Not by yourself.”

Mark’s eyes burned with
hate. “That’s it. You want to fight? Fine. I’m not afraid of you!
Your powers are
dead
here, Enchanter!” he spat, pulling out a long, skinny wand
from his back pocket. He aimed it at the cage. “You want to use
bare knuckles? Well, I’m down with that. Release!”

The cage door opened and I held my
breath.

Tyler crawled out and then stood up, facing
Mark. “What are you waiting for?” he asked with a cocky grin.

Mark put his wand back into his pocket and
before I could blink, launched himself at Tyler, knocking him
backwards and onto the wood-paneled floor.

“You think I need magic to break you,
smartass?” growled Mark, who was now on top of Tyler and pulling
his fist back. “Think again!”

Before Mark could follow through with his
punch, Tyler reached up, grabbed him by the neck, and shoved his
aside with more strength than I would have thought he had. Then he
moved behind Mark, slid his arm around his neck, and put him in a
choke-hold. After a few seconds, Mark’s eyes rolled into the back
of his head and he went limp.

“Oh, my God,” I gasped, still in shock. “Is
he dead?”

“No, just unconscious for a bit. Here, take
his wand,” he said, holding it out to me.