Wizard in a Witchy World (25 page)

Together, we watched a beach-ball sized stone rise from the bed of a pickup truck. The eighty-pound boulder hurtled toward the front door as if thrown by an invisible hand. Their aim wasn't exact and the rock flew wide, striking one of the portico's pillars, which only slowed its progress. The impact was less violent than the first attempt, evidence of which was lying broken in front of the main entrance doors. The witches wouldn’t have any trouble breaking in. Someone would figure out that only the doors and windows were enchanted against break-in. Those entrance points had become stronger than the surrounding structure. Nothing short of a spell circle would protect the entire house against a barrage of rocks and I’d never cast a shield anywhere near that big. One boulder through the front wall and the Left Hand would walk right into the house.

"Is this the effing middle-ages?" Maggie asked. "What's next? Boiling oil?"

"We've got to get out of here," I said. "This place is hardly a castle."

"And go out there with them?" Gabriella asked. "Can't we hole up in the lab?"

"This way," I said, running across the front of the house. I pulled my phone out and dialed Dukats. "Shit. They're blocking the signal. Try 911, Gabriella." I pushed through a hidden door in the paneling. We ran through to the back of the house and continued on to the family room where we'd left Clarita.

"Just going to have a little slumber party in the lab, monkey," I reassured her as I picked her from the couch. I shook my head angrily as I considered how much she'd been through in her short life. If I could end things tonight, I would.

Another boulder crashed into the front of the house. "We gotta move, Slade." Gabriella held the door to the back hallway open.

I rushed past her and swept my hand across the lock, opening the door to the stairwell. The three of us hustled down the stairs and I worked the tumblers on the door to the lab. I actually blew it the first time, but reset before I locked us out. I got the door open on the second attempt.

"You know what? I'm not doing this without food," Maggie said and sprinted off.

"Are you nuts?" My angst was lost on her as she disappeared. "Don't open this door for anyone." I handed Clarita to Gabriella.

"You can't go," Gabriella said.

"You'll be safe down here. I can't lose Maggie - she's my only family. Don't open the door." Gabriella looked down, obviously not happy, but allowed the door to close.

I caught up with Maggie in the kitchen just as another boulder crashed into the house. "Classic horror flick mistake." She yelled over her shoulder as she pulled out the box of burritos and the baggie of Mrs. Willoughby's cookies from the freezer.

"Never split up." I finished for her. "So, what are we doing here?" As I spoke, a boulder struck, punching through the front wall and landing in the vicinity of living room.

"Grab the beer." She pointed at the remnants of a 12-pack Amak had left behind.

"Seriously? They're almost through." I couldn't believe she was looking to get drunk. I grabbed the box, regardless.

She didn't answer and with arms full of frozen food, pushed through the swinging kitchen door and jogged to the back of the house. A flash of my sister's skin, from a part of her body that shall remain nameless, reminded me she was wearing only my leather coat. I felt it was worth the risk to divert momentarily as we ran through the family room, for a pile of my clothing.

"Hold this." I pushed the pile into her arms and swept the lockset with my hands.

"Is it really that easy for you?" she asked. "Last time I opened this door, it took me fifteen minutes."

"How'd you get the lab open?" The sound of yelling and crashing in the front of the house spurred us through the door.

"Would you believe I didn't?" She looked at me impishly, a sly grin and laughing eyes telling me there was a story there.

"I don't follow. You were obviously in there after Geoff died. How else would you get in there?"

"Let's just say, I'm tricky," she said.

Gabriella pulled the door open as we approached. "Don't
ever
do that to me again, Slade." She poked her finger into my chest as we entered.

"Left Hand has broken through the front of the house." I set my load down on a table.

"You have anything to heat these up with?" Maggie held an unopened box of frozen calzones in front of my face, trying to get my attention.

"How can you eat at a time like this?" Gabriella asked.

"Survival. My metabolism is recovering from being a raven." She popped open a beer and chugged it. "Alcohol is pretty ideal. It translates into fat faster than anything."

"How about you put clothes on and I'll heat up the food." I handed her my smallest pair of running shorts and a thick t-shirt. She shrugged and dropped my coat on the floor. I closed my eyes - lest they be burned from my head - and turned away.

"Don't be such a baby. I know for a fact you've seen plenty of naked women," she said.

I shook my head. "This is wrong on so many levels," I mumbled to myself, pulling four calzones from the box and pushing heat into them.

"How long can we hold out down here?" Gabriella asked.

"No idea. We need to keep trying for a phone signal. No way will the Left Hand keep up their siege if cops show up," I said.

"If they try hard enough, a group that size will eventually be able to break through all of the protections," Maggie said. "Although I'm under the impression this lab is stronger than the rest of the house."

"It is. The walls not backed up to earth are all magically reinforced," I said.

"You have the sight?" Maggie asked.

"You don't?" I handed her the warmed calzones.

"Don't judge, we're all different. Damn, you're handy. These are so much better warm."

I felt Gabriella's hand on my waist and turned in her direction. "What's the plan?" she asked.

"Do you think that passage is still open to the greenhouse?" I asked, looking at Maggie.

"Should be."

"I say we wait them out. If they break through the upper door, then we take the back exit," I said. "I'll rig an alarm in the upper passage." I picked up Clarita, who had attached herself to my leg and carried her to the small alcove off the main room.

I'd brought the enchanting reagents from my lab at Mrs. Willoughby's and organized them in the alcove. I pulled a block of paraffin, two crow's feathers, a pinch of dog's hair and a handful of other items off the shelves. I gave them to Clarita to hold, then picked her up, bringing everything back out. I set Clarita and the components on the table top next to Mom's large silver cauldron.

"What are you doing?" Gabriella asked.

"We're making an alarm." I smiled at Clarita, hoping to distract her from the tension we were all feeling. "Now, don't touch the pot. It’s going to get hot." I grabbed my spell book and looked for the enchantment I had in mind as Gabriella and Maggie pulled up stools.

One at a time, I handed the components to Clarita and had her drop them in the pot as the paraffin melted. "Now, for my least favorite part. We have to set the spell and that can only be done with the final ingredient - essence of wizard." Using a sharp, silvered knife, I quickly sliced into the palm of my hand. Clarita winced and reached for me. "Just a minute, monkey. I'm okay." I grabbed her hand and held the other over the cauldron, chanting "
Avem, avem
…" I hadn't thought about my connection with Clarita until I felt the surge of power through our hands. A puff of white smoke billowed upward as the spell set, the mixture turning into a clear frosting.

Clarita giggled.

I smiled despite the circumstances we found ourselves in and looked to Gabriella, who hadn't missed the moment. The girl who'd been traumatized to the point of not talking had found joy in the moment. It gave us hope.

I hadn't expected to sleep, but the sound of chirping birds woke me. I was sitting in the leather chair, slumped over the desk, drooling on its wooden surface. I checked my phone. It had taken the Left Hand two hours to break through the upper door. I'd been hoping Felicia would give up and regroup, maybe come at us another day. Apparently, they were in this for the long haul. I looked over to the fireplace where Gabriella and Clarita were curled up on blankets, fast asleep. It seemed cruel to wake them, but we had to go.

"You ready for this?" Maggie asked. She didn't look like she'd slept at all.

"Are you?" I asked.

"Oh yeah. I needed some downtime, but I'm good to go. You know, we're going to have to make a stand, right? They'll just chase us wherever we go."

"You don't think we can get help from the police?"

"No. Bad things happen to people who bring locals into the affairs of witches and wizards," she answered.

I'd heard this from others, but no one could tell me specifically where those bad things came from. "What kind of bad things?"

"They get removed like they never existed or end up having a mysterious accident. No one knows who's behind it, but I've seen the results and you don't want any part of it."

"I can't fight a war with a six-year-old next to me," I said.

"The Left Hand is coming for her. You can't avoid it," she said.

Gabriella sat up and looked around. "Is that your alarm?" The cheerful sounds of the bird alarm were annoyingly loud.

"It's time to get going," Maggie said as she crossed the room and swiveled a bookcase away from the back wall. The ornate, round door looked like it would better fit in a Tolkien story.

"You'll need to open it, bro. It's a wizard’s lock," Maggie said.

"Remind me to ask how you got out of here last time," I said as I cast my planar view and inspected the locking mechanism. It was every bit as complex as the lab's main door and I set to work moving the gears and tumblers into place. After a few minutes, the enchanted mechanism relented and I swung the door open. The passageway behind was only wide enough for a single person and too short to stand up in. The bricked walls gently curved into an arc, which formed the ceiling of the passage.

I sat in the entrance, holding the door open. "
Lucem
." I lit my ring and illuminated as much of the passage as I could. As far as I could see, it was in good repair. "Let's go. Maggie, you're last, make sure that door is closed behind you."

The floor of the passage was hard on the knees, but I could tell by the slope that we were rising rather quickly and wouldn't be crawling for long. At the end, the roof of the passage opened and I stood in a small room, just big enough for the four of us. I saw a ladder built into the wall and a trap door that led to the roof. I doused my ring and inspected the door in the mystical plane. It was one of the easy locks and I made quick work of it.

"Back into the passage. The door swings down and there could be junk on top," I said. Wordlessly, they all backed away.

I was glad I'd warned them. Once I released the brace, the door swung down and dirt, small rocks, glass and leaves poured through the new opening. I held the handle for a minute, staying quiet, concerned the falling detritus might have alerted someone. Not hearing anyone approach, I continued up the ladder. The sky was starting to lighten, although it was difficult to see through the thick canopy of the trees.

The opening was partially blocked by fallen branches and I cut my hand on a broken panel of glass that must have been part of the greenhouse as I tried to clear the debris. It took me a moment, but I pushed the limbs away enough so I could clamber out.

"Clear," I whispered.

Gabriella was next up the ladder, lifting Clarita to my waiting arms. Once out, Maggie pulled the trap door closed and we picked our way through the ramshackle structure. My thought was to work our way out the back of the property, find the golf course nearby and call for help once we had cell reception.

"You make me sick, Slade." Shaggy's growly voice caused my heart to sink. "The witches were sure you'd hide in your secret room, but I knew you'd run."

"Let the girls go. You can have me," I said, turning to his voice. He was flanked by the red wolf and the two others Lozano had shot. I knew lycan healed quickly, but that was ridiculous. They’d taken multiple shotgun blasts at close range not four hours previous. Clarita started crying, no doubt the voice of her mother's murderer too much for her.

"Bud, get the boss," he ordered and the smaller gray bounded off. "Boss said we can kill you all, as long as the kid makes it out. Hand her over and we'll make it quick.

Maggie stepped forward and pulled her shirt off, throwing it to the ground. Never taking her eyes off Shaggy or breaking stride, she closed the distance between them, wriggling out of her shorts along the way.

"Now, that's an option I hadn't considered. I like where your head's at," Shaggy leered at my sister. "Maybe a little more meat on those bones would be good, but…"

Maggie tipped her head as he spoke and I watched in horror as her body transformed not into a raven, but into that of a black panther. Before Shaggy could finish his sentence or react to the metamorphosis, she leapt. Too late, I pulled Clarita to me, trying to shield her eyes. Maggie had already locked on to Shaggy’s throat, riding him to the ground, her powerful back claws digging into his soft stomach.

Fred and the remaining wolf pack jumped back, startled by the transformation. They quickly recovered and rushed forward in defense of their alpha.

"
Adoloret
." I released the energy from my ruby ring and sprayed a gout of fire over Maggie's back. She released Shaggy for a moment and looked at me, her green eyes glowing in the night and unspeakable things hanging from her mouth. Convinced I wasn't trying to barbeque her, she returned her attention to Shaggy as Fred and his buddy turned tail and ran.

"Felix. They're here," Gabriella said. I followed her eyes to the approaching mob. Twenty people, in blood red robes flapping around their legs, rounded the far corner of the house. As expected, Left Hand was led by Felicia and Liise Straightrod with Phibbly close on their heels.

"Join us, sister. As a member of Whyte Wood, your place is by my side," Felicia shouted from twenty feet away. "I'd meant to talk to you before now, but this meddling wizard was always nearby. I saw how he used your grief and fear to twist your mind. Do not let this sorcerer turn you from your own kind! Only The Order of the Left Hand can restore purity to our bloodlines, Gabriella! Choose wisely. Do not stand against your sisters."

"You're behind all of this? You killed Victoria and Benita? They. They were my sisters," Gabriella yelled back.

"They gave me no choice. We've been planning to take Tenebris Manerium for years and when Slade showed up, we had to advance our plans."

"If you want the property, I'll just give it to you." I wasn't thrilled to hand it over, but if it got us out of here alive, I was in. "You let the four of us walk out of here and you'll have my blood-oath that I'll sign it over to you."

"Sorry. We need Clarita," Liise Straightrod replied, stepping forward, standing even with Felicia.

"David? Is that possible?" Felicia asked.

"I'm sure I could figure it out. But don't we need the kid?" Phibbly asked.

"We've made it this far, we need to finish this," Liise Straightrod rounded on Felicia. "The girl isn't optional."

"Think about it, dear." Felicia stroked the side of Straightrod's angular face lovingly. "We'd have the property. We could spend our days learning to unlock it."

Straightrod batted Felicia's hand away. "You dumb bitch. You just can't seem to get it through your thick head. It's all about the girl - a witch from the Baltazoss line of wizards. Without her, this is just a house."

Felicia's face changed from concern to agony and she slumped forward. Straightrod stepped aside, allowing her to fall as she withdrew a long, thin knife, still wet with the witch's blood.

"There will be no compromise!" Straightrod flung the knife at Maggie, its flight obviously magically guided. If I could have anticipated the move, I might have been able to stop it. But the knife flew true and buried itself into my sister’s side. She went limp and fell on top of Shaggy. "Kill them, but spare the girl."

I desperately wanted to run to Maggie, but the attack had begun in earnest. A great wind pushed through the trees, picking up debris as it swirled toward us. I had to turn away from my sister, shielding Clarita with my back.

"
Scutum
!" I brought up the shield. The onslaught was so powerful that the ring's energy drained at an alarming rate. Instinctively, I reached for the well of power I knew resided deep beneath my feet and was grateful when it responded to my call. With the additional power, I broadened the shield. I watched in amazement as the witch’s spell also gained power. Small trees were ripped from the ground and hurled against the shield, which deflected them up and around us.

"Move over to Maggie," Gabriella yelled, the noise of the maelstrom so great I could barely hear her. We were close enough that I moved enough to stretch the protective bubble out to include my sister. Gabriella knelt down and pulled the heavy panther off Shaggy's corpse, inspecting her wound. "It's bad, Felix. She won’t make it without help."

"I can't." I yelled back. "I'm barely holding on." The Left Hand's onslaught was intensifying. There was no doubt in my mind that if I let go, we'd be sandblasted into oblivion. Morbidly, I wondered how Straightrod thought Clarita would survive.

A small hand slipped into my own.

"No, Clarita," I said. "It's too dangerous." I would soon fail, but I'd use the last of my energy to shield her. I wasn't sure what would happen when I was completely expended and I couldn't risk being connected when that occurred. Straightrod knew I would never allow the child to die and was counting on simply burning me down. With twenty witches, even the power of the reservoir would not be enough. I couldn't channel the energy quickly enough to stand against their ever-strengthening storm.

"I'm losing it," I yelled to Gabriella. "Stay behind me."

Gabriella released Maggie and stood up, wrapping an arm around my waist and standing next to me. "My final act on this earth will not be to betray those who I love," she said, her lips inches from my ear.

I took a deep breath and stood firm, drawing energy even faster from the well beneath. It burned through me like lightning through the wires of a house struck in a storm. I knew I was in danger but I didn't care, too much relied on me.

We stood like this for what seemed like hours, but in reality, it was probably fifteen minutes. The witches had reached their peak and I was slowly, but surely losing ground.

"Felix. Look," Gabriella pointed to the trees not far from our position. Camille and the entire Katty clan had simply appeared next to the trees, looking for a way to get to us.

"They need a distraction," I said. "I can't let go of the shield." I was afraid that once down, I'd never get it back up.

A brilliant light, like a flare, lit up in the middle of the Left Hand and for a moment the storm lessened. When I turned back, Camille and the six Katty women had appeared next to my protective shield. I quickly opened it, allowing them to shelter within.

"Help Maggie!" I said. "That's my sister."

"You are holding them all?" Camille asked as the three older Kattys focused on Maggie.

"Not for long. I'm failing."

She grasped my hand and I felt the familiar request for joining.

"No! I can't," I said vehemently.

Camille considered me for a moment. "Then, what?"

Again, Clarita's small hand grabbed my own and I attempted to push her away. My strength was failing and she was so strong, I could no longer resist her. Temporary relief washed over me as we joined. I knew I'd end up burning her out just as badly as I had been, but for the moment, I appreciated the respite.

It was then that something quite unexpected occurred. Camille, having joined with Gabriella and the Katty sisters, both old and young, joined with Clarita.

"Nooo," I cried out. "You can't!"

"
Calm, child
." Camille spoke to me. "
You're safe
." It took me a moment to realize she was speaking to me in my mind.

"
You're in danger. Please let go
," I replied, panicking.

"
You are not the first to feel this way. Trust us
," Willow said. "
I know what you fear, but Clarita is protecting us. Can you not feel it
?"

I had no idea what I was feeling, aside from massive relief from the transfer of energy. "
The shield
." I panicked again.

"
It's a lovely shield
," Mari said. "
So strong
."

"
Manly, really
," Willow added.

I heard Cypress and Dande snigger.