Chapter 26
Sorcia and Marcus landed gently on the soft, leaf-covered earth, their boots crunching slightly as they surveyed the eerily silent forest. The stillness was unnerving, as if the forest itself was holding its breath.
Jace loped out from the shadows, his massive wolf form barely making a sound.
When he reached them, he shifted seamlessly into his human form, his muscular frame glinting faintly in the moonlight.
“What did you find out?” Jace asked, his voice a low rumble of frustration.
Marcus quickly relayed the information about the contaminated soil and toxic metals. As he spoke, Jace’s expression darkened. He lifted one bare foot, examining the sole as if expecting to see signs of the poison already seeping into his body.
“I knew something wasn’t right,” Jace growled, his fury barely contained. “Someone’s poisoning our forest.”
Sorcia stepped forward, her voice calm but determined. “I think I can fix this.”
“How?” Marcus asked, his brows furrowing as he glanced at her.
She didn’t answer immediately, instead letting her gaze sweep across the clearing. The moonlight painted everything in shades of silver and black, obscuring the finer details. Closing her eyes, she stilled her thoughts, tuning into the energy of the forest and the tainted earth beneath her feet.
After several moments of focused silence, she lifted her hands, her fingers curling slightly as if beckoning to the very soil. Her movements were deliberate, almost ritualistic, as if she were pleading with the earth to respond.
The ground began to tremble beneath them, a low rumble that sent loose leaves and debris skittering. But moments later, Sorcia stopped and opened her eyes, her face pale but resolute. “This problem is bigger than I thought,” she admitted, her voice tinged with both awe and frustration.
Marcus stepped closer, his hand steadying her shoulder. “You can’t do this alone. If you’re trying what I think you’re trying, you’ll need every bit of help you can get.”
She glanced down at the widening cracks in the dirt, already feeling the strain from the magic she’d expended. He was right—this wasn’t something she could fix by herself. Nodding, she pulled out her phone and quickly dialed Zelda.
“Zelda, I need your help,” she said without preamble.
“And the help of every witch on your team.” After a brief explanation, she ended the call and immediately dialed Jane, repeating her request. “Everyone,” she said to Marcus and Jace, her voice steady despite the enormity of the task. “I’m going to need the entire coven.”
Jace frowned, glancing up at the moonlit sky. “What the hell are you planning?” he asked, his confusion plain.
Marcus, always practical, snapped his fingers, and a pair of pants appeared in his hand. “You might want to put these on,” he suggested dryly. “A bunch of witches are about to show up, and some of them might find your, uh… lack of clothing distracting.”
Jace lifted a hand to silence Marcus, taking the pants with a sigh. “I get it,” he muttered, slipping them on just as the first pair of witches arrived.
The clearing began to fill quickly. The witches, flying low to avoid detection, landed gracefully in pairs, their robes and cloaks fluttering in the gentle night breeze. The darkness cloaked their arrival, but their combined energy was palpable, crackling in the air like static electricity.
Jane landed next, her expression grim. “More are on their way,” she announced, her voice steady but laced with urgency.
Within minutes, over two hundred witches stood in the clearing, their faces lit by a shared determination. The sphaera shimmered faintly above them, a testament to their unified presence and power.
“We’re ready,” Zelda said, her voice firm as she stepped forward, her gaze locking with Sorcia’s.
Sorcia took a deep breath, feeling the weight of the moment settle over her. “Let’s begin.”
Marcus’s voice cut through the tension, steady but commanding. “I think we have enough support for now. Let’s send out a message for the others to stand by.”
Sorcia nodded, her determination unwavering.
She raised her hand high, a burst of radiant light shooting from her fingers and rippling through the sphaera.
A tremor vibrated in the magical sphere, and every witch in the area turned to face their High Priestess, their expressions solemn and focused, awaiting her command.
“You’ve all done an excellent job of searching,” Sorcia began, her voice firm and resonating with authority.
“But Bethany is still missing. We know an elf is involved, though we don’t know how or why.
What we do know is that strange, unnatural things have happened in this area.
” She gestured toward Marcus, who stood tall and resolute beside her.
“We’ve had the soil analyzed. There are heavy metals in the ground that are hindering the wolves from tracking Bethany’s scent. Everything stops here.”
The witches leaned in, their attention riveted as Sorcia’s green eyes swept over them.
“We need to lift the heavy metals from this area so Jace and his pack can resume their search. I tried doing it on my own, but this requires all of us. Spread out into a circle. I’ll initiate the spell, and each of you will channel your powers to continue drawing the toxins out of the soil. Do you understand?”
A collective murmur of agreement rippled through the coven as they moved into position, forming a wide circle around Sorcia.
At her signal, Sorcia lifted her arms, her fingers trembling slightly with the effort as she began the incantation.
Her voice was clear, the ancient words resonating with power.
One by one, the witches took up the spell, their voices weaving into a harmonious chant.
The ground beneath them rumbled ominously, the trees swaying as if caught in an unnatural wind.
Bits of debris began floating into the air, swirling chaotically like a macabre snowstorm. Sorcia’s chest tightened as she pushed harder, her powers reaching deep into the earth. She could feel the toxic presence below, massive and resistant, entangled in roots and layers of dirt.
“Sorcia!” Marcus called out, his voice rising above the cacophony of the quaking ground and chanting witches. “Be careful!”
She heard him but didn’t respond, her focus narrowing to the dark force beneath her. Her muscles strained, her breath coming in gasps as she dug deeper, her magic clawing at the entrenched barrels of waste. Sweat beaded on her brow as her fingers curled tighter, her power surging.
Finally, the earth split open with a thunderous crack, and thirty rusting barrels erupted from the ground, hovering in the air as debris and toxic fumes spilled from their corroded surfaces.
“We need a dump truck!” Marcus shouted, his voice cutting through the chaos. He stepped forward, his hands glowing as he added his power to hers, steadying the barrels as they trembled under the weight of the remaining debris.
One witch broke from the circle to call for reinforcements. The disruption nearly knocked Sorcia off her feet, but Marcus was there, his power stabilizing her as she continued the spell. Her arms shook violently, her entire body trembling with the strain of holding the barrels aloft.
The distant rumble of engines signaled the arrival of the first dump truck.
Relief coursed through Sorcia, but she didn’t dare let up.
The sound of the truck revving was deafening as it pulled into position.
Together, with the combined strength of her coven, they began transferring the barrels into the truck bed.
One truck filled up, then another, and another. The process was grueling, the witches working in seamless harmony despite their visible exhaustion. By the time the last barrel was secured and ten trucks were loaded, Sorcia was barely standing.
Her knees buckled, and Marcus caught her before she hit the ground, scooping her into his arms. “Fix the soil,” he commanded softly to the nearest witches, his voice a mix of gratitude and authority.
The witches moved into action, their hands glowing as they began the delicate process of purifying the earth. Marcus carried Sorcia to the edge of the circle, his arms cradling her protectively as she rested against him, her head on his shoulder.
“It’s done,” he whispered, brushing a damp strand of hair from her face. “You did it, Sorcia.”
Her lips curved into a faint smile, her exhaustion too great for words, but the gratitude and determination in her eyes spoke volumes.
A noise to the left caught everyone’s attention.
Suddenly, Hortense appeared, her neon-green eyes widened, and she clasped her hands to her chest, trembling with excitement and awe.
The faint glow of her green aura pulsed as she stared at Sorcia, her gaze shifting between the witch and the suddenly detoxified forest. The ground beneath her feet seemed to hum, the energy of the purified soil radiating through her connection with the land.
“You…you saved my forest,” Hortense whispered, her voice breaking with emotion. She bowed her head, the glow around her intensifying as if the trees themselves were acknowledging Sorcia’s efforts. “Thank you. I cannot express what this means to me.”
Sorcia tried to respond, but her exhaustion was overwhelming. She managed a faint smile before her head lolled against the tree bark. Marcus knelt beside her, his hand resting on her shoulder protectively.
Marcus lifted her into his arms, then gently transferred Sorcia to the bed of pine needles and leaves that Hortense had summoned. “She’ll be okay,” he reassured the elf. “She just needs rest.”
“I’ve seen your pack,” Hortense said to Jace, her voice filled with a strange mixture of reverence and guilt.
“You’ve always respected the forest. I should have…
I should have trusted more.” Her gaze lingered on Jace, then Marcus, and finally returned to Sorcia, her voice quaking.
“Why would you help me when I was trying to hurt you? I didn’t stop Birchsmire when I should have. ”
Sorcia, weak but resolute, pushed herself up slightly, her breath shallow but her eyes steady. “Because the forest…your forest…is innocent,” she murmured. “It shouldn’t suffer for anyone’s mistakes—not yours, not Birchsmire’s.”
Tears welled up in Hortense’s glowing eyes. She reached out as if to touch Sorcia but stopped herself, her hands hovering uncertainly. “You saved what I love most,” she whispered. “But… Birchsmire. He lied. He said there were no other demons.”
The shock in her voice caught Marcus’s attention. “You didn’t know?” he asked, his tone sharp. “We suspect that Hazelton Birchsmire is trying to release the imprisoned demons. That’s why he took Bethany.”
Hortense staggered back, her green aura flickering wildly. “Release them?” she gasped. “No. That cannot happen! I didn’t—” She choked on her words, guilt and horror etched into her face. “I didn’t mean for this. I just wanted to save my forest!”
Sorcia nodded weakly, her voice soft but firm. “Then help us. Tell us where he’s taken Bethany. It’s not too late.”
The elf’s trembling hands dropped to her sides, and she squared her shoulders, her expression hardening with determination. “He has a place deep in the woods, hidden by an ancient barrier. I’ll take you there. But you must stop him before he completes whatever he’s planning.”
Marcus helped Sorcia sit up, his arm steadying her. “Lead the way,” he said, his voice filled with grim resolve.
Hortense turned, her aura flaring brighter as she faced the forest. “Follow me,” she said, her voice steadier now, charged with purpose. The trees around them rustled, as if preparing themselves for what was to come.