West Coast Witch (27 page)

The two almost immediately flew at each other. Amy had my knife, and Lucien seemed
to be unarmed. However, as I saw it, Lucien was bigger, and he could outreach her.
Added to her injuries, it looked like Amy was at a disadvantage.

The two seemed to move into a quick pace of fighting. Amy was slower, but she blocked
his blows with skill. The two seemed on something of an equal footing. Lucien moved
and twisted with a dancer’s grace, but Amy seemed to block each punch, chop, and kick
with a precise manner. She wasn’t stylish, but efficient and disciplined.

However, Amy seemed to be playing the defensive. She only made a few thrusts compared
to Lucien’s many. “Give in,” Lucien said. “Give up, and yield. I’ll make it quick,
Amy.”

Amy whirled on him, spurred by the taunt. She moved in for a thrust, but took a punch
from Lucien before she could make the cut. She staggered back, and came through a
flurry of blows. Each she was just a little slower on defending. I could see her struggling
to keep up, panting as she labored to keep the defense.

Lucien was freaking tireless. The man didn’t relent for a moment. He just kept attacking,
and finally, he landed the second blow. It sent Amy sprawling on the ground, and I
had to resist the urge to just rush to her side.

Lucien circled her, chuckling as he spoke. “See? You’re weak. I’m strong, and I’m
not even a fraction of your age. It’s just proof of what you are. A useless, old,
failure.”

Amy slowly stood. She found her footing after a moment of steadying. “Yes, just keep
at it, Lucien. Let us just see how tough you really are.”

He lunged, again, and this time, Amy was ready. She side-stepped, and slashed his
arm with the knife. Steam rose up from the wound, hissing from the silver. Amy then
twirled again, and stabbed him in the shoulder. She pulled the knife, leaving another
steaming cloud rising from him.

“How is that for useless?” She spat down onto the floor, grinning savagely.

“This has outlived its usefulness.” The vampire rose back to his feet. He moved, faster
than he had before. His fist slammed into Amy, tossing her onto her back. “It’s been
fun, really, but I must be going.”

He moved his hands out wide, spreading them. He hissed a word in a language I didn’t
recognize. My senses lit up, practically, with the power that flew from him. I staggered
back, just watching. The air seemed to just rip open until a white hole was in front
of Lucien.

“Tata.” He waved, and stepped through it. And just like that, he was gone, with the
white hole still there.

Amy pulled herself to her feet. “Eric, I am sorry.” She said. “I did not expect him
to do this.”

“Well, what is it?” I asked, gesturing to the hole. I walked around it. It looked,
strangely, like a door, or the opening to a cave. It was flat, but either side shone
with a bright white light.

“It is a portal, Eric. To the Other Side.”

“The Other Side. That’s mentioned in my mother’s notes. What is it?” I could feel
something from the portal. It was Arcane, but what else was there? Where did it lead?

“It is a parallel reality to our own, a separate world. Over there, magic is still
strong, but…things lie there. Things that humanity should not see.”

“What happens if I step through here?” I asked.

“You will be on the Other Side, where Lucien opened the portal to. With those wounds,
I do not think he could have gone too far. But you cannot do that. You would have
to bargain with the Fae or something else to get back.”

“I can’t let him go, Amy.” I looked to her, and said. “I’m going, and whether you
want to follow is up to you.”

“Eric, do not do this!” She grabbed my arm.

“I can’t let him hunt Sam again, or you.” I grabbed her wrist with my free hand. “Are
you coming?”

“Stupid, stupid witch.”

We stepped through together.

The first thing that hit me was the cold. As soon as we stepped through, there was
a moment of agonizing cold that swept through me, sending shivers throughout my entire
body.

We came out on a cobblestone road in the middle of a city. The buildings surrounding
us were like a medieval metropolis. Large stone buildings stretched into the sky,
with towers and small forts interspersed between them. We stood in a road stretching
for as far as we could see, with a dense fog limiting our view further than about
a hundred yards.

“Well, this is…odd.” I murmured. “Not exactly what I expected.”

There was a hissing behind us, as the portal disappeared.
 
“It is a world, at least in some way similar to our own.”

“Should we get looking for Lucien?”

“We should move quickly. The less time we spend here, the better.” She said.

I looked around. The forest was quiet, but I didn’t like that. “Yea, let’s go.” We
moved as quickly as Amy’s injuries would allow. I kept watch around the forest, pistol
held up and at the ready.

“He could be in these buildings.” I suggested.

“No, he would not. You stray too far from the road here, and certain things may not
appreciate it.”

“Certain things?”

“You think all the monsters are just fairy tales? The Other Side is home to all things
inhuman, ready to cross over into our world. The only safe places are the roads and
the castles of the Fae.”

“And by Fae, I’m guessing we’re not talking about Cinderella’s fairy godmother, are
we?”

She shook her head. “Shakespeare, the Celts. They had the right ideas. The Fae are
inhuman, even if they do look like us. They used to spend equal times in our realm
and theirs, and while they often keep out of affairs on Earth, they are not exactly
friendly folk.”

“Great.” I murmured. “Let’s keep at it then. I want to get home. However we figure
out how to do it.”

It was dusk here, with the twilight sun making the city look even more foreboding.
The tall gray buildings seemed alien in how well they were constructed. This wasn't
earth, but perhaps something influenced by it. It almost looked like how a large bustling
city would have looked if it had been built using medieval technology.

“Who lives here in this city? Is this the entirety of the Other Side?” I asked Amy.

“Another time. This is not really the best time to give you a lesson in dimensional
mythology.”

“Do tell him, you only have so little time left.”

Lucien’s voice sent both of us turning behind us. He was behind us. How did that happen?

“Give it up.” I said, drawing the sights of my forty-five at his chest. “No trial
by combat this time. It’s over.”

“And here it begins.” He snarled, and then he moved.

I started to lay on the trigger, trying to hit him. However, the vampire moved faster
than the weres had. I couldn’t follow him, and before I knew it, he was right in front
of me.

His hand hit at my trigger hand, and I yelped as I dropped the gun. It clattered to
the cobblestones, and Lucien shoved me across the path. I fell down, and I grunted
as the pain spread through me.

Amy lunged at Lucien, roaring as she rushed. This time, it was Lucien who side-stepped
her. He maneuvered away from her, and kicked at her back. Amy broke into a tumble,
sent sprawling onto her stomach.

“You really didn’t play that one smart, witch. If she’d taught you anything, she’d
know that if I had the power to open up a portal here, I could defeat you still.”

“Do shut up.” Amy hissed. She tried pushing herself up to her hands and knees, but
Lucien was on her in a second. His foot planted into her back, and Amy gasped as she
found the ground again.

I tried bringing myself up, but my body protested with exquisite pain. “Shit.” I moaned
as I felt my arms give out.

“He’s not even a real witch, is he?” Lucien taunted Amy. “He hasn’t shown any real
skill. Maybe it’s a fluke. Maybe he’s just got a tiny bit of talent. He’s useless,
a weakling. The last thing he’ll get to remember is watching me kill you.”

Rage burned in me. I wanted to punch his stupid face in. I wanted to give the asshole
a second eye he couldn’t use. I pushed myself up to my feet, slowly. “You’re not going
to kill her.” I grunted in pain as I slumped slightly forward. I was sure something
was broken, but I could dwell on that later.

“And what are you going to do, human?”

“I'm going to take you down.” I said. I couldn’t let him hurt Amy any more. I reached
out with my senses, and found this place to be entirely different in its magic.

Magic was everywhere here. It wasn’t the same magic that I’d felt before. Here, it
was like I was in the middle of a river, and I could only bring some to my mouth to
drink from a little at a time. The place practically hummed with magic. My mind formed
the idea of it, thinking back on what Amy had told me about conjuring.

I shoved my right hand forward, and shouted. “FEU!” The French word was what I focused
on, like I was an artillery sergeant ordering a battery.

But nothing happened. The magic was still pounding through my body, burning my blood.
I felt my entire body break out in a sweat, and I started to tremble. “Shit,” I grunted.
It hadn't worked. I thought fire would be the solution. Amy had said fire was the
thing that all things were equal under. Maybe it wasn't the answer.

“Like I said,” Lucien said. “Talentless. Witches are extinct, a relic of the past.
He'll be consumed by the energy, burned alive.”

I could feel my brain heating up, my vision blurring. Was this really what happened?
The pain was filling me, and I cursed myself, for being so cocky. I thought about
how I was failing Amy, failing my heritage.

And then it hit me. My mother's book. Witches had the potential energy of a nuke.
Maybe it had to come within. I imagined, in my head, just the energy coming from me,
pure force.

I shoved my hand again, and just thought on the energy, and forcing it forward. It
hurt like a bitch, and I screamed in pain as I thought of saving Amy, of getting payback
for what he did to Sam.

“Take it, asshole.” A white ball of energy shot from my hand, streaking across the
street. He flew back when the spell hit his chest, like a toy scooped up by a child
and tossed away. The
 
pale energy ate at his clothes and skin, turning it black with burns. When the spell
died down, every bone in my body was screaming at me to stop. But I was too into it
now. Adrenaline had won the day, and I wasn’t going to stop now.

I picked up my pistol, ignoring every protesting ache and pain, and walked towards
Lucien. My vision started to clear, the magic now gone from me, expended now. The
metal of the gun felt cool in my hand as I walked towards him, my hand still hot from
the fire it had just unleashed. I didn’t even think about the fact that I had just
blasted a man with magic. All I cared about was ending this.

I put my foot on his burnt chest. “Any last words?” I asked him.

“Please, mercy,” He croaked. But when he smiled at me for mercy, I saw his fangs.
I thought about how Damian had bit me, just so they could try to find out how much
I knew about Raymond Francis. I thought about how Sam had been tortured at this man’s
orders. I thought about what he had done to Amy. I thought about Raymond Francis in
the dumpster, dead.

“This isn’t mercy. It's justice, Lucien. By the power given to me as Knight of the
Bay, I pass sentence on you.” I aimed the barrel of the gun at his forehead, and fired.

The silver in the round sent steam pouring from his head, as his lifeless, shocked
eyes, stared up at me.

I don’t know how long I stood there, just looking down at him. Eventually, I heard
Amy whisper. “It is over, Eric. You will be okay.” She had gotten up, slowly, and
was standing behind me.

“I just killed him.” I whispered.

“He deserved it. This is the job of the Knights. Which, by the way, I will have to
yell at you for that when we get back.”

“How do we get back?” I asked.

“I guess we continue down the road, see about finding-“ A sound of footsteps hushed
her. “Oh no.”

“What, ‘oh no’?” I asked.

“That spell. The spell you did. It has drawn them.”

I looked back to Amy. Her eyes were darting towards the buildings, and she started
to back away, towards the center of the street. “What is…them?”

“Things we do not want to meet.” She shook her head. “We cannot outrun them.”

“I thought you said they couldn’t get on the roads. That they were safe.”

“Usually.” Amy whispered. “But when they are drawn, well, I had not expected that.”

“Then what do we do?”

“We find an alternative plan.” Amy thought for a moment. “You need to learn a new
spell, fast.”

“A spell? Won’t that draw them closer, whatever they are?”

“Yes, but it is a risk we will have to take.” Amy said. “There is a lot of magic here,
Eric. You will not need a circle to do this.”