Chapter 22
As the battle at the Library of Congress raged on, Chad found himself cornered by Damien. The Aether Pirate captain loomed over him, a dark aura pulsing around his imposing form.
"Join us, young Word Warrior," Damien said, his voice hypnotic and alluring. "I can teach you to harness the true power of your abilities. Together, we could reshape reality to whatever we want it to be."
Chad's mind reeled, torn between fear and a dangerous curiosity. For a brief moment, he imagined the possibilities. Like the ability to bend the very fabric of existence to his will. But then he thought of Brianna, of the L.A.W., of all they'd fought to protect.
"Never," Chad growled, mustering his courage. With a burst of adrenaline, he ducked under Damien's outstretched arm and sprinted down the parallel universe’s idea of the library. It was dark and musty. Perfect for hiding, until he could find his way back to the other side.
Chad's heart pounded as he raced through the twisted version of the Library of Congress. The shelves loomed impossibly tall, books shifting and rearranging themselves as he passed. Shadows danced at the edge of his vision, and he could hear Damien's laughter echoing from multiple directions.
"You can't hide from me, boy," Damien's voice boomed. "This is my domain. Every shadow, every whisper… they all serve me here."
Chad ducked behind a massive bookcase, trying to catch his breath and think. He needed to find a way back to his own reality, but how? As he pondered his next move, a faint shimmer caught his eye. There, between two shelves, the air seemed to ripple and distort.
An anomaly. A tear in the fabric of reality and possibly his ticket home.
Before Damien could locate him, a memory surfaced.
It was something Dr. Emerson had told him during their training sessions.
The power of a Word Warrior comes not just from the words themselves, but from the intention behind them.
Could he whisper a spell and get out of there before the pirate captain bound him to this reality, forever?
Chad closed his eyes, focusing all of his concentration on that shimmering anomaly. He pictured his friends back in the Library of Congress, fighting to protect their world. He thought of Brianna, her smile, her unwavering support. With crystal clear intention, he whispered:
"Portal, open for me, alone. Guide me home, to the witch’s crone. So mote it be."
To his amazement, the anomaly began to expand, the air shimmering and swirling into a discernible gateway. Through it, he could make out the familiar shelves of the real Library of Congress. Victoria and Rayna threw fireballs at the Aether Pirate, Cassandra. She ducked and weaved.
"No!" Damien's enraged roar shook the very foundations of the twisted library. "You will not escape me!"
Chad didn't hesitate. He dove through the portal just as Damien's grasping hands reached for him. He tumbled onto the floor of the library at Bas’s feet, the sounds of battle filling his ears and the smell of smoke filling his nose. “Portal close!” he shouted.
A hand pushed against the anomaly a split second after it closed. Bas threw a strengthening spell at it.
"Chad!" Bas's voice was filled with relief and concern as she kneeled by his side. "Are you hurt?"
He shook his head, still catching his breath. "No, I'm okay. But we need to find Dr. Emerson and the others before they get hurt by these remaining bastards."
Together, they made their way through the chaotic library, dodging spells and ducking behind bookshelves for cover. As they approached the main entrance, they could see the rest of the L.A.W. team engaged in a fierce battle with Cassandra and her crew.
Dr. Emerson was at the front lines, his wand shooting out bolts of lightning as he shouted orders to the witches. Chad's heart swelled with pride as he watched them fight against impossible odds.
"We have to help them," Bas said determinedly.
They joined in the fray, their combined magic helping to turn the tide in their favor. Cassandra's crew was quickly overwhelmed, and the pirate first-mate herself was no match for the combined might of L.A.W.
In a final burst of desperation, Cassandra raised her cutlass high and bellowed a curse at Chad and Bas. But before she could finish casting it, Dr. Emerson's wand shot out a beam of pure light that struck Cassandra square in the chest.
With one last scream of defiance, Cassandra vanished into thin air—banished back to whatever dark dimension she had come from.
The remaining Aether Pirates, without their leader to guide them, quickly surrendered. The battle was won. Dr. Emerson banished them with a wide sweep of his wand. Chad wondered where the heck he had been hiding that thing.
As the dust settled and everyone caught their breath, Bas addressed the team with a proud smile. "Today we have proven once again that nothing can defeat us when we stand united," she said firmly. "We are not just a team. We are a family. That’s a strength the other side doesn’t have."
Amidst cheers and hugs of celebration, Chad couldn't help but feel grateful for everything he had learned and experienced with the L.A.W. They were more than just his friends and allies. They were a formidable force for good, and he was humbled to be part of it.
Soon, Bas was shoring up the broken back wall, while the rest of the witches looked on, impressed.
“Very cool, Bas. Can you teach us to do that?” Rayna asked.
“Yeah, it would come in handy next time one of my potions blows up,” Magda joked.
“Later,” Bas said, as she smoothed the remaining cracks.
The library looked as if nothing had happened there. “Meanwhile, why don’t the rest of you put your own protection spells on this place. I can’t always be around to do it for you.” Her posture slumped, and she looked extremely tired.
“Right,” Joell nodded. She seemed to be the one to step up whenever Bas was unavailable. “Gather, sisters! Let’s pool our power.”
The witches held hands. When Chad stepped into view, they grinned. “Join us, brother!” Joell added. She reached for his hand.
A warm flutter settled in his chest. He smiled and took the welcoming hands offered to him.
“Though pirates try to invade and plunder, nothing here will be torn asunder,” Joell said. “Does that sound good to everyone?”
“Maybe say ‘Our reality will not be torn asunder’ instead of ‘nothing’?” Chad suggested.
“Oh, yes! The goddess could misinterpret that, and our efforts would be useless. Thanks, Chad. You are indeed a Word Wizard as well as a Word Warrior.”
“Just the result of training with Dr. Emerson all these weeks.”
“And how about saying IF pirates try to invade instead of implying WHEN they do,” Dr. Emerson added.
Joell nodded. “Again, thank you. I am willing to be corrected to get it right.”
He shrugged, “Just the result of practicing with Chad all these weeks.”
Bas chuckled.
The witches and Chad joined hands and chanted, “If pirates try to invade and plunder, our reality won’t be torn asunder.”
A shimmer began to grow from the witches themselves. Chad tried to see if his own aura was adding to the whole, and it appeared that it was. The light grew in size and intensity, radiating out to encompass the entire floor of the library.
“Hold…” Joell said. “Push your power through the ceiling and the floor, to encompass the entire building.”
The witches concentrated. The light seemed to seep into the ceiling, floor, and walls, and then dissipate, leaving only a faint shimmer over everything.
The remaining witches who’d stayed outside the fracas rushed in. Brianna threw her arms around Chad’s neck and punctuated her words by kissing him repeatedly. “I was (kiss) so scared (kiss) when Lioness (kiss) drew your (kiss) capture!”
“Should you have shown that to her, Lioness?” Chad asked.
The remote viewing artist straightened her spine. “Absolutely. We don’t hide the truth from each other,” she bristled. “This is why we were worried about your romantic involvement. But you both promised you could be objective under all circumstances.”
Brianna released Chad and jammed her hands on her hips. “Did I rush in to help, Lioness? No, I did not. I was ordered to stay outside until it was over, and that’s what I did.”
Lioness nodded, albeit reluctantly. “Noted.”
Chad wondered briefly if perhaps Lioness was jealous, but he decided to keep that thought to himself. He also wondered if any of the witches had significant others. He had heard about Rayna’s man-pets, but he had the impression that they weren’t a sexual group.
Be that as it may, the battle was over. The library was being restored to its pre-battle condition, and they had won the day.
As the group made their way back to the L.A.W. mansion, still in Tennessee, a sense of relief mixed with lingering tension hung in the air. The battle at the Library of Congress had been won, but everyone knew this was far from over. The Aether Pirates would regroup and probably strike again.
Back at the mansion, Bas called an immediate debriefing session. The witches and Chad gathered in the grand war room, some still bearing minor injuries from the fight. Magda was cleaning and bandaging her fellow witches’ cuts and applying a poultice to their bruises.
"Well done, everyone," Bas began. Her emerald eyes scanned the room. "We've managed to repel this attack and protect the library. But we can't afford to rest on our laurels. The Aether Pirates will be back, and they'll be more determined than ever."
“How do you know they’ll be back? Didn’t you banish them?” Brianna asked.
“These leaders are dangerous psychopaths. Those following them appear to be fanatics too. I cannot see them giving up.”
Dr. Emerson nodded gravely. "Indeed. And now that they know we've moved the Codex Temporis, they'll want to locate it. I think for everyone’s safety, I should keep it and not reveal its location.”