Chapter 49
Chapter Forty-Nine
Astral and I make a huge pentagram on the grass with salt. Luckily, it’s a clear day today, only a soft breeze. The sky is clear as the sun shines brightly down on us. Tobias watches his perfect lawn with not a blade of grass out of place.
“You know I only just repaired the grass from you last time you destroyed it, and now you're mixing salt in it,” he whines.
“For someone as dominant and intimidating as you, I never pictured you being a green thumb when I met you,” I retort.
“I just like my lawn and gardens looking nice, nothing wrong with wanting nice grass.” I shake my head as I hear multiple cars driving down the driveway. Looking up, five cars drive toward the house before stopping out the front.
“Are you sure they won’t notify the council?” I ask Astral, worried they might come for my son if they find out.
“Positive, witches stick to themselves, especially when it comes to magic and power; none of us want it falling into the wrong hands.” We walk around greeting them.
The car doors open, and women jump out. There are about twelve women who get out, all peering around nervously.
Astral introduces everyone and explains what’s going on with Thaddeus.
Some look skeptical, others scared, and I realize the situation is more dire than I first thought.
I also noticed by their Auras that there were three air users, three water, three earth and three fire users here. Leaving me and the oracle the only spirit users.
“Why so many?” I ask Astral. Making her turn to me.
“His magic at the moment is contained inside him and still weak, but once we draw on it, it will awaken and fight against us. It won’t be trapped easily.
Unfortunately, you and I are the only spirit users alive, so it will take its toll on us the most. Especially you because your magic is tainted and you’re Thaddeus’s mother so it may even try to reach out to you recognizing you as a safe place, but you mustn’t give into it.
Suddenly Josiah and Caroline pull up. Caroline jumps out of the car. “What’s this I hear about witches coming and doing stuff to my grandson? I demand answers now,” she says stalking over. Josiah walks over calmly, placing a hand on Caroline’s shoulder, making her relax. Tobias and Theo come out.
“Come, we will explain,” he says, waving his mother into the house.
She eyes us suspiciously before stalking inside.
The witches all come out the back to the pentagram and I watch as each one lines up behind their elemental point.
Astral moves to the center and pulls five small blades from her pocket.
She then walks over and hands the first witch at each point a blade, before bringing the last blade and standing on the top point with me.
I watch horrified as each one slices their palm before holding it over the point dripping blood into the pentagram.
They then move, handing the knife to the next and they do the same.
Astral does the same before handing me the blade.
“This doesn’t feel very hygienic” I tell her as I slice my palm and imitate her actions. Astral chuckles.
“You will be fine, you're dead already anyway, what’s the worst that can happen,” she laughs. Each witch then circles around the outer ring of the pentagram and Caroline walks out with Thaddeus in her arms.
“I’m telling you witches now, harm even one follicle of hair on that kid’s head and I will eat every one of you,” she says, flashing her fangs for emphasis before placing him in the center of the Pentagram.
He grabs fistfuls of the grass, making his father groan as he pulls it from the roots.
I chuckle before a silence falls over everyone as they join hands.
I watch the magic go from hand to hand, spreading through each person before finally reaching me.
I gasp at its strength as we channel each other’s power.
When the magic hits Astral, she shudders, and her eyes glaze over before turning an eerie white.
Thaddeus must be able to feel the power as he stops and watches for a second before going back to ripping the grass out.
Astral starts muttering under her breath, gazing up at the sky before staring straight ahead.
She chants in a foreign language, and each witch’s eyes glaze over matching Astral’s.
They chant one by one and when I feel it roll over me, I shudder and become frozen in place, my lips moving yet I don’t understand the words leaving them, but I can feel power building to immeasurable levels.
Suddenly Thaddeus squeals loudly and my eyes snap to him.
They burn brightly, flickering between the silver to gold and red then go black even his sclera’s go black.
I want to go to him and tell him he is okay, yet I can’t move a muscle.
Locked in place. I see Caroline go to step forward, Josiah pulling her back.
At first, I don’t understand why. Until I see it.
There is a thick mist escaping from my son.
He isn’t in any pain as it slips out of his fingertips and toes.
It pours out of him before forming a cloud above him, growing in size.
The clear sky turns to night as strong winds whip around us.
The cold of the wind stings my skin. Lightning cracks above us, and I glance toward Astral.
All the witches stare at her in alarm as we watch my son’s magic grow bigger.
Zapping loudly, angry, and malevolent. The temperature drops massively.
I can see our breath in the air and the sky turn dark and angry.
The noise is so loud as the winds pick up to hurricane levels.
I think we were going to be blown away when suddenly the ground moves. Roots shoot from the ground and wrap around everyone’s feet, holding us in place.
Everyone has stopped chanting now and I feel the energy coming from my son’s magic and it terrifies me.
I thought my magic was dark, but I can’t imagine anything more terrifying than the magic that is in my son.
If my magic was dark, his is a black hole; nothing could escape it as I feel myself being drawn to it.
It starts absorbing everyone’s power. Consuming our magic like it is nothing but air The air becomes trapped in my lungs as I fight the urge to let go of Astral hands.
“Hold the circle, don’t let it break,” Astral screams. Sweat beads all over my body as I fight against the urge to let go and run.
“Keep it centered, push it inside itself.” I try to do as she says but it’s like pushing on a brick wall.
Everyone straining, trying to hold on when suddenly I felt it pierce me.
The magic hitting me in the center of my chest. Stabbing pain radiates throughout my body and I feel every hair on my body stand on end.
“Fight it, Imogen, it can feel your magic . Ground yourself.” Her voice is hypnotic, running through my head.
Suddenly I see images flashing before my eyes.
Like an old black-and-white movie. Images of my childhood, images of my mother.
Memories flooding into me and memories of my father.
Memories I didn’t know existed, suppressed, and hidden away.
He was always there, then he would leave taking the memories with him and each time taking a piece of my mother who was left to find the only happiness she could, in the bottom of a bottle.
Only to return and her light return, and him leave once again, and I recognize that sadness that fell over her.
It was the sadness of being without your mate.
Memories of my magic before my mother took it away, memories of her giving hers up for me.
The last memory I have of my father is at a park and a woman I instantly recognize as Bianca arguing with him. I was just a child at the time.
Memories of my mother dying, memories of Tobias and Theo and the months of being together. Every memory we shared all flashing before my eyes at lightning speed.
I hear Astral screaming for me to find my grounding and push the magic out.
That’s when the picture stills and I find it.
My grounding place, my meaning for living.
The very person my life is worth fighting for.
The one thing that matters most in this world.
My son is smiling back at me as he grasps air for me to pick him up.
That one image, yet in it I feel nothing but love.
Nothing but acceptance. The one person I would lay my life down for, repeatedly, just to make sure he could live his.
I feel tears run down my cheek and a strength I never knew I had build within me as I feel light consume me.
I scream as I feel it burst from me, shoving the darkness back before wrapping around the darkness, gripping it tightly.
My surroundings become that of the yard and the witches surrounding me.
Like an elastic band, everything snaps back into place.
My magic grips the darkness, strangling it and holding it in place, when suddenly Astral breaks the circle but my magic still holds.
She then walks to the center of the circle with my bracelet in her hand and I watch amazed as it is sucked into the charm before I feel the ground shake and air rushes past us.
Then everything stills. The clouds up above are clearing and the storm is dissipating.
Astral then walks over and places the bracelet in my hand. “Keep this safe,” she says. I nod before placing it on my wrist. The pendant glows angry but trapped forever, concealed within the confines of the vines and pentagram.
Silence falls over everyone before everyone murmurs excitedly, and I am left feeling nothing less than whole.
For once, my life finally makes sense as a new sense of clarity washes over me.
Bending down, I pick up Thaddeus and he happily tugs on my shirt.
I kiss his head and Tobias and Theo come over hugging us.
“I saw him,” I whisper.
“Saw who?” Theo asks.
“My father, he was always there. I just didn’t know it,” I tell them. Everyone stays for coffee and lunch and by the time everyone leaves I am exhausted. Crawling in bed, I lay between Theo and Tobias, Thaddeus asleep in his crib.
“What a week,” I mutter, completely drained.
“Hmm, its nearly over though. One more obstacle than it is done,” Tobias says, rolling over and wrapping his arm around my waist.
“Are you nervous about tomorrow?” I shake my head as barbaric as it is to fight to the death, I’m not nervous. I just want it all over so we can move on with our lives.
“No, I can handle Bianca. It’s after that I am nervous about.”
“Why is that?” he asks.
“Because we can finally move on with our lives. We have always had distractions, things getting in the way, it will be strange when it’s just all of us for eternity,” I tell them.
“What do you mean?” Theo asks, rolling over to face me.
“I mean that after it is all said and done, I need to do what my mother did to protect me. I need to give up my magic and become like you.”