LAILAH #2
On silent feet, I felt Jay come up behind me.
I would have never known if my power hadn’t been out and swirling around me.
It was ready for a fight, having gotten a taste of it with Muriel.
Neither one of us spoke as we waited, tension high in the air around us.
This was going to be our first stand as Elementi Warriors united with Synergy. A declaration of war.
“Brayden, I understand you are upset that your girlfriend got kicked out of the house, but we have to consider what is best for your mother. She is not well, and I fear that the next thing to set her off will do permanent damage,” Ms. Tabitha said, her voice the only sound in the silent night.
“You’re someone she will listen to. If you explain that what happened had nothing to do with Lailah, she would believe it,” Brayden pleaded as they walked into the garden.
Ms. Tabitha stopped and turned to Brayden with a gentle hand on his arm. “She is my boss and someone I care about. Using my position like that wouldn’t be right. This is a family matter and should be handled as such.”
Taking a deep breath, I steadied myself before I called out. “You’re right, this is a family matter we need to talk about.”
Ms. Tabitha stiffened ever so slightly as she turned her head to look at me.
Unmasked hatred and anger were alight in her eyes upon seeing me.
“What would you know about this family? I have been with them for almost two years. Looking after them, nurturing the little ones, and protecting their ailing mother.”
I unfurled my power even more, letting it fill the garden, and when it reached her, she flinched. No normal human would have been able to feel my energy in such an open space.
“Ms. Tabitha, I believe you are nurturing the whole family, but I also think it’s for your own agenda,” I said, proud that my voice was strong and even as I approached her.
“I got the pleasure of meeting your real boss the other day. He seemed to think that I might be useful to him, so I was surprised that he would send such an attack on us on the sledding trail.”
Ms. Tabitha paled, and her eyes flicked around, searching for a way out. As I had been talking, the boys made a circle around us, and each of them had their blessed weapons in hand. If she tried to escape, then she would be met with force.
“I had trouble placing you, because I know you're not a demon.
You aren't like the other greater demons I have interacted with that hide in the shell of a human, but you're also not a mid-level either. You have been around for two years, and most known cases say that your body can only survive a few months before it begins to deteriorate. So… what are you, Ms. Tabitha?” I mused, watching for any signal she would attack or flee.
“I am a true follower of the Dark Lord!” she snarled.
At this admission, her appearance began to change.
Her eyes bled completely black, and her skin turned sallower and grayer.
Black veins appeared on her skin, crawling up her throat and around her eyes.
She looked like what you'd think a dark witch would look like.
Her gray hair was released from its bun and floated around her, adding to her creepy look.
“For years, I have trained in the Dark Lord's ways. I was blessed with his seal, granting me access to his demonic powers.” Ms. Tabitha said, showing us a symbol on the back of her hand.
“While the world was waiting for you to be born, our Dark Lord and master was creating an army. We of the Dark Army cannot be traced like demons, and our ability to infiltrate the Elementi is unparalleled.” Her voice boomed around us, aided by her magic.
Holy shit. This is not at all what I thought was going to happen.
“What are you going to do now, Synergy?” Ms. Tabitha sneered. “If you think you can simply kill me, then I should warn you that I tied my life force to his mother. Not only do I control her mind, but her life as well!” she said, starting to cackle.
My eyes shot over to Brayden. Nothing we’d prepared for would deal with a situation like this.
“Oh, does that change your mind on killing me? Look at you, so pathetic worrying about the death of one woman when she created the tool that the Dark Lord needed to gain more followers to his cause. The Elementi’s time is up, and the Dark Army will rule the world.
You can’t stop us. The wheels have already been set in motion,” she taunted.
My heart skipped a beat as understanding hit. “What did you do?! We know what Adriana was making, but she hadn’t even developed an actual serum yet.”
Tabitha looked at me with her emotionless black eyes and gave me an exaggerated frown.
“Oh, you poor thing. You think we care for playing by the rules? Who needs that when all it takes is the right cocktail and some demon venom in the guise of a miracle drug? The rich and powerful don’t want to wait; they will do anything, pay anything, for a cure to whatever ails them.
Even if it hasn’t been tested or approved.
Besides, if one of the top pharmaceutical companies in the world produced it, who’s to challenge it? ”
“NO! My father would never allow something like that to happen,” Hudson barked, taking a step forward.
“Silly boy, what do you know? You hardly even speak to your family since your parents divorced. You hide away and hope that it was all a lie,” Tabitha said, baring her teeth at Hudson.
His face was stricken as her verbal attack struck a nerve. I could see the truth of her words in his eyes and the pain that was flooding them.
Oh, she did not just fuck with my family!
Trusting my gut and my powers, I lashed out at Tabitha, pulling strength from all the boys.
I blended all of our powers together into a ball, then thrust it at her.
It glowed bright white as it slammed Tabitha, but it was blocked by a shield of bright green flames.
The attack enraged Tabitha, and she spoke words I didn’t understand, a flaming green sword appearing in her hands.
I felt my power manifest my own weapons.
The battle had begun.