Chapter 34

At the mansion that was owned by Jonas, the High Priest of the Dark, Carman walked through its halls, with an escort on her heels. They did their best to keep with her strides, but they all knew their place and stayed behind her. The black dress she wore made her look as regal as a queen, and she moved like one as well.

Gliding forward with all the grace and elegance of the monarchs of a past age, Carman eventually came to a set of large black doors. She raised her hand and called upon her magic to push the doors open, ensuring they opened quick enough. As she reached them, they opened just enough to permit her to pass through. Her escort looked on in awe, and the woman scoffed quietly. If a simple cantrip such as a door opening awed them, then the people of this time were woefully under-prepared for beings like her.

“Ah, my Dark Lady, welcome!” Jonas said with a genuine smile as he bowed to her in deference.

“High Priest Jonas,” Carman said simply with a small smile, favoring the man for the moment. The hard pounding he had given her over the past day was appreciated, as Carman hadn’t been sated like that since ... ever!

“If I may introduce the leaders of the local covens. The Dark Mother of the Sisters of Arachne, the Dark Mother of the Daughters of Lillith, the Dark Mother of the Silent Shadow, and the Dark Father of the Sons of Anubis,” Jonas said by way of introduction.

“The Sons of Anubis? You are far from the lands of your origin,” Carman remarked as she surveyed the room.

“We go wherever there are men who wish to know of and follow our ways. Especially when it comes to port cities,” the brown-skinned man replied smoothly, while bowing in deference to the woman.

Carman smiled and nodded as she gazed at the four leaders of the witch and warlock covens that stood there. None of them was close to her in power, or were even a match for her, but they were powerful enough for her plans. They looked to her, waiting for her to seat herself, and Carman smiled at this. All four of them knew who she was and showed her the respect she was due.

She walked over to the head of the table where Jonas waited for her. As Carman neared the chair, he pulled it out for her and she nodded, gracefully taking a seat. The moment she was seated and comfortable, she then looked at the other four leaders and nodded. They then took a seat, with Jonas seating himself next to Carman. It might have seemed a bit presumptuous of him, but for bringing her back from death, he had earned that right. For now.

“Now that we are all here, we can begin with the business I called us here for,” Jonas began. He would have continued until he was rudely interrupted by one of the women who stood by the Dark Mother of the Sisters of Arachne.

“Pardon me, High Priest, but are you certain that this truly is Carman reborn?” the woman asked. She was young, no more than twenty years old, and carried herself with the arrogance and brashness of youth.

“You do not believe the word of the High Priest?” Carman asked, her voice like silk on the air.

“It is one thing to take the word of a High Priest, but quite another to see it for yourself,” the woman sassed. The Dark Mother who sat there next to her glared at the girl, but she ignored her mistress as she continued.

“How can we be sure that—” the girl got out before she was cut off.

“You really think that I am not Carman? That I am some pretender to the mantle of the Dark Witch?” Carman questioned as she stood.

The moment she was on her feet, Carman stopped suppressing her presence, letting it come to the fore. The Dark Mothers and the Dark Father sensed it immediately, their eyes widening in alarm. The girl must have sensed it as well, as her disdain fell from her face, replaced with pure awe.

“Do you truly believe that the High Priest would lie to such prominent practitioners of the Dark?” Carman wondered.

She let the full weight of the darkness she wielded hammer everyone there. Her power focused on the girl, making her gasp and cry out as she was assaulted by the dark energies. Fear bloomed on all their faces, knowing that Carman possessed enough raw power to end them all without so much as blinking. The apprentice knew right then that she had erred grievously and hoped that she could plea for mercy.

“Dark mistress, please forgive my apprentice!” the Dark Mother pleaded, ready to fall to her knees.

“I will hear it from her,” Carman said icily as she walked to the girl, who looked ready to wet herself at the Dark Witch’s approach.

“Forgive me, dark mistress!” the girl blubbered, her fear overpowering her. Carman smiled, as she knew that her mere presence had cowed the girl. It was heartening to see that she still had that effect on people, especially acolytes of the dark. If they couldn’t be cowed, then they would one day rise up against you, so they had to know their place. If they didn’t know, then often reminders such as this were necessary.

“Hmmm. You have stayed my hand from any violence. To earn forgiveness, you will serve me for the day, in whatever capacity I require, until midnight. Then, if you have served me amply, then you may return to your life. If not, then you will serve me each day after, until you have earned it,” Carman told the girl.

The girl’s eyes widened, but she nodded vigorously, not wishing to anger the Dark Witch further. She stayed there on her knees, waiting for her first command, hoping that Carman would not be a cruel mistress.

“Go and kneel next to my seat in supplication. Your head is to be bowed and you are not to speak unless spoken to, or unless I give you leave to. Am I understood?” Carman asked, and the girl nodded, as she got to her feet and padded over to where Carman had sat. She did as ordered, not uttering a single peep as she kneeled by the Dark Witch’s seat.

“Dark mistress ... is such servitude ... necessary? I only ask because that girl is ... my niece,” the Dark Mother queried, being careful with her selection of words.

“You worry for your niece’s safety? Put your mind at ease, Dark Mother, as I have no intent to harm her, nor will I allow her to come to harm while she is under my service,” Carman told the woman. Hearing these words erased the Dark Mother’s fears, and she visibly relaxed. She then nodded, knowing that if her apprentice was to be at her side again, then she would have to complete her penance.

“Now, if there are no other things that anyone feels the need to say, we can finally get down to the reason why you have all been gathered here,” Carman stated.

“Indeed! I would like to know what grand design you have in mind, exalted one!” the Dark Father told her respectfully.

“As would I! Many others would know what plans you have to bring us back to prominence,” another Dark Mother stated.

“I do have a plan, but the first step is critical for it to work. That first step being, that every practitioner of the Dark is to be brought under a single banner. My banner,” Carman told them all.

“You ... want them all to ... unify ... under you?” Jonas questioned, the very idea foreign to him.

“Yes. Is that a problem?” Carman asked with a tilt of her head.

“Ideally, no, as it is something that many have been trying to attain for years. Realistically, it will be ... more than a little difficult. Each group or coven in question has their own agenda, sets their own rules, and they love their independence. Few would willingly join with us even on the greatest of ideals,” Jonas told her seriously.

“Well, before, you didn’t have me here. Send for them to come here, to meet with me. They will all submit, or they will die. If we are to overcome our enemies and rise to take our rightful place as the rulers of this world, then we must be united. In the past, our enemies have used this as a means of weakening us, exploiting our disdain for one another to gain the upper hand. This ends now,” she told them firmly, making her place known.

“Who would we be fighting against?” one Dark Mother queried, wondering if there was anyone to fight.

“We have been informed that there is now a force of Gaians that have taken up residence within the city. Servants from what we’ve heard, maybe even a Shaman or two. Rumor suggests that there may even be a Druid among them,” Jonas replied, filling the woman in on what they knew.

“Gaians?? Here?!? I thought they were all wiped out!” the Dark Father rumbled, not happy with the news he was hearing.

“That might have been the case before, but they are seeing a resurgence in their ranks. How do you expect the Sons of Ceasar fell as they have? It wasn’t Dark magic that ended them. I would know, as I was at their ... former base of operations, which is little more than a ruin now. The residual magics that were there were of the corrupted form the Sons use and the other form was Gaian,” Jonas told them all.

“You are certain that it was Gaian magic you sensed?” one of the Dark Mothers questioned, her anxiety rising.

“Yes. You couldn’t mistake that incessant itch that Gaian magic leaves to those like us. It almost made my skin crawl,” Jonas shuddered in revulsion.

“So, we have a common enemy now. How long have you known about this?” the Dark Father queried.

“This intelligence was only brought to my attention recently. I was there at the Sons’ old base just yesterday to see it for myself. We may not be at odds with them now and they may yet not be aware of us, but I wouldn’t put it past them to come looking,” Jonas informed the man.

“Especially since Gaia may yet be waking with their arrival. If she is waking, then they will know of us before long. She knows all that happens upon this world, so don’t expect them to stay ignorant of us for much longer,” Carman told them.

“Which is why unity is so important!” one of the Dark Mothers stated. “I will return to my coven and have them gather everyone they know of. We will pledge ourselves to your cause, Dark Witch.”

“As will I and my warlocks. If Gaians have indeed returned, then we must be united if we are to stand a chance against them,” the Dark Father intoned with a nod. The others who were gathered there also voice similar sentiments, agreeing to the plan.

“Very good,” Jonas replied with a lick of surprise in his voice. “You all have your marching orders. Carry them out.”

Jonas and Carman exchanged goodbyes with the leaders of their covens before they were shown out. They both knew that using the threat of the returned Gaians would work in galvanizing the covens to start working together. While they rarely saw eye to eye on many issues, they all agreed that Gaians could not be tolerated to exist. The very existence of this group would be more than detrimental to their plans.

If the power levels of the Gaians became too great, then they would have a serious problem on their hands. Gaians, by their very nature, would root out and eradicate any darkness they found. The power of Gaia and the power of the Dark were complete opposites. Each one was anathema to the other, and each one was strong against each other.

While they had come by intelligence of their existence, who the Gaians were was still a mystery. Whoever these Gaians were, they were playing it smart, as none of their agents had a clue as to where they would start looking. Jonas was going to have to push his people a little harder, if they were to out these Gaians anytime soon.

It was something the network of spies was going to have to step up and do better. Unmasking and exposing the Gaians was paramount to their success. In finding out who they were, then it would be easy enough to run a smear campaign against them and everyone associated with them. Such a thing wouldn’t be easy and had to be done delicately, as Jonas had informed Carman earlier.

It wasn’t the medieval period, nor was it the dark ages, but there were still groups out there that could be harnessed for their own ends. Social media had proven much about how, in many ways, humanity hadn’t truly changed. All you had to do was give someone one bad thing to say about someone or some movement, and their imaginations would do the rest.

Even if things that people were accused of weren’t true, many of these so called ‘self-righteous’ types would eat it all up and jump on the bandwagon. Jonas smirked to himself as he thought of all the wonderfully delicious ways that he would use to thoroughly dismantle these Gaians. Once they were out of the way, then their plans could proceed without impediment.

Jason finished the paperwork with his signature and handed it back to the man who stood on the other side of the counter. The man smiled at the paper, then at Jason, sticking his hand out to shake Jason’s. Jason shook it and smiled back, knowing that this man was a very happy one now.

“Everything appears to be in order. We should have the metals you requested in the quantity you asked for in a few days. We will call you when they are ready for delivery,” the man told him.

“Glad to hear it! Remember, these metals must be one solid block, as per my request,” Jason reminded the man.

“They will be. Just be sure that you have the means to move it, as it will be heavy,” the man stated as he went and filed the papers away. “Will there be anything else?”

“No, that will be all. Thank you for your time!” Jason said happily as he walked away, waving goodbye. He stepped outside of the foundry’s office and walked to the car where Darnell and Luke were waiting.

“So, did you have enough to get the metals?” Darnell asked as Jason got in, hoping it was enough.

“Yeah, it was enough. Took a serious bite out of my pocketbook, but having a functioning spellforge is more important right now,” Jason stated as he buckled his seatbelt.

“Good to hear! Just spoke with the wife and they’ve picked up most, if not all, the crystals and such that they need to finish it,” Darnell stated as he started the car and drove away from the foundry.

“That’s wonderful news! What’s word on the Black Witch’s home, Luke?” Jason questioned, turning to his friend.

“Dominique, Aaliyah and Hayley are already in place, keeping an eye on things there. So far, little in the manner of change, but they think there might be something that she is supposed to do today. They were watching her putter around the house, like she was getting ready for something,” Luke told his friend.

“All right then! How long would it take us to get there, Darnell?” Jason wondered.

“Maybe twenty minutes to get to the neighborhood. I would recommend that we all head to her house on foot, one at a time, so we don’t draw too much attention to ourselves,” he advised.

“Sound plan. You guys get in position and I’ll join Karla in the van so we can keep an eye on things,” Luke stated, earning a nod from both men there.

Dominique looked over the magical wards that were guarding the place, and she was impressed with it. Not only was this woman careful, but the defenses were well constructed. It was obvious this woman knew what she was doing, and that prompted her to stay on her guard. Many of the spells guarding her home were simple, yet common sense ones that helped hide what was going on inside.

One of the basic ones was a spell of sound dampening, which reduced any noise made down to a mere whisper. Such a spell had its uses and was instrumental in keeping a low profile. There was also a spell of illusion, which made anything she was doing inside appear to be everyday sorts of things. Another handy spell to hide your daily routine, as nosy neighbors were always a problem.

She, along with Aaliyah and Hayley, had pierced the veil of illusion and saw what the woman was truly doing. Kathryn Syme looked like she was in some sort of hurry, gathering her purse, her keys and a few other items and papers before she hurried over to her garage. The three of them were in the van with Karla, looking over everything Luke had put together about her in a dossier while watching her.

“So, it seems like she actually gives a shit about the things she teaches,” Aaliyah stated, as she went over her scholastic and teaching histories.

“Really? Like what?” Karla asked, curious about what made this woman so interesting.

“Apparently, she is all about teaching about various books and such that many people wouldn’t even really touch. Several notations here about how she feels that the written word should not be suppressed for whatever reason. Though to be fair, some of the books she teaches would make ultra conservatives clutch their pearls in fear,” Aaliyah chuckled, reading over the reports.

“When it comes to blending in, it seems she doesn’t quite do it as she should,” Hayley agreed, as she remembered a few times that kids and teachers across the school called Ms. Syme a ‘firebrand’. Some people said it as a compliment, while others looked at it as a detriment.

“Regardless, the fact that she has so many people in her corner is a little worrying. Who knows what sorts of plans and such she has?” Dominique put forward, causing the others to nod in agreement.

“Hold up! It looks like she’s leaving!” Aaliyah stated as she watched the garage door open up. A red Toyota Trecel came down the lane, then pulled out onto the road before heading up to the nearest traffic light. Once she got there, the car turned down a road to the left, and they were left alone. Moments later, the slight tinkle of fairy wings sounded on the air and all three fairies enlarged to full size, surprising the rest of the girls.

“Eeeep!” Hayley yipped, still not accustomed to fairies appearing out of thin air like that.

“Well, what did you learn?” Karla asked, who had already adjusted to things that the fairy women did and was unfazed by them.

“Outside, it’s mostly illusion spells that keep the place safe and innocuous. There are a few alarm spells, but those are easily dismantled, so getting into the yard without her being warned won’t be an issue. There is a trap that is sitting by her porch that we will have to trigger if we are to get inside,” Phalmina told them.

“Trap? What kind of trap?” Dominique questioned.

“Poison bomb flowers. Get too close and they will blow, kicking up a massive cloud of poison. The poison itself can kill you if the dose is strong enough, but it mostly just incapacitates you. Then you lay there, completely awake, but paralyzed until the poison wears off,” Phalmina told them.

“How do you know this?” Hayley questioned.

“Just because I was a fairy princess, doesn’t mean that I would just sit around and lounge all day. I learned about herbs and botany, and how things grow. So when it comes to plants, herbs, poisons and such, I know my stuff,” the fairy woman stated with a smile.

“Good to know! What about you two? What did you do in your free time?” Aaliyah queried, wanting to know more about the fairies.

“I was a scribe in the court,” Emalia replied.

“I was an enchanter, crafting spells for others to use in their homes. Simple enchantments, such as turning on lights, making fire to cook food, things like that,” Daelina answered.

“All the modern day conveniences, with none of the hassle of wires, gas or other things,” Aaliyah said with a smile on her face. “I wish that things could have been more modern like that back in the day.”

“They were. For many communities who were true Gaian believers, there were many advancements and luxuries they all enjoyed because of magic,” Phalmina told the woman.

“What happened?” Dominique wondered, curious about how such things could just vanish with no trace or record of such wonders in the past.

“Christians. Need I say more?”

The rest of the women shook their heads, knowing full well how they used to be in the past. Purge and burn anything they didn’t understand or that which they could not control. It was either their way, or you found yourself being tortured to confess to ridiculous things. Things that made no logical sense, but that made Christian leaders look like they were right and telling the truth.

They would often just kill you in the end, just to prevent anyone from investigating the matter any further. Such people often hid behind their god as a means of justifying their actions. Many would say that they did this work in his name and that their work made him smile. The simple truth was they did these things to scare people into converting and that their ‘work’ would have made any god puke in disgust.

“Are those bomb flowers the only defense that Syme has in her yard?” Aaliyah questioned, wondering if they should risk it.

“From what we’ve managed to spot so far, yeah. We’re just waiting on Jason and Darnell to show up so we can start heading in,” Phalmina told them. Not even a few moments later, there was a knock on the back door of the van, which Emalia opened and smiled when she saw Jason, Luke and Darnell all waiting outside.

“Speak and they shall appear,” Emalia giggled, causing every lady to turn their heads.

They all smirked and then all three fairies shrank down and zipped off to the front yard, while the men walked right behind them, except Luke, who joined Karla in the van. Aaliyah, Dominique and Hayley also stepped out, stretching their limbs as they had already checked the neighborhood for any observers. Everyone nearby was off at work, with no one home, so their actions would go unnoticed.

The fairies were hovering in front of the footpath, weaving their magic to disable the alarm spells. It took a few minutes, but the soon enough, the spells were down and they could cross into the yard safely. Jason and Darnell were the first ones across, heading for the house, but waiting just a moment so Jason could handle the bomb flowers. He used a bolt spell, keeping it small so as not to make a huge mess of the place.

He threw it at one of the bomb flowers, causing it to go off and spray a blue luminescent haze into the air. The remaining flowers sensed the detonation, and all went in off in succession, just as Phalmina said they would. Once the poison was in the air, he called up a breath of wind to blow it up and away from them, clearing the area.

The moment it was above the house he made to push it away, but was beaten to it by an arriving Sheena. She called up a gust of wind and blew it away from the house, making it safe for them to proceed.

“Nice! You’re really good with that,” Jason commented, complimenting his fiancée.

“Why thank you, babe! Wind and fire have always been my forte,” the woman replied as she blushed slightly. Sheena walked up with a disguised Xaera, looking like the pair of them were besties, out for a leisurely stroll. They crossed into the yard, as did the trio of witches, getting out of the street.

While there was no one home in the immediate area, that didn’t mean that no one could show up. The fairies had not only disabled the illusion spell, but they also turned it so it would work for them as well. With Dominique’s help, the spell had been appropriated and turned to work for them. Now that they were in the yard, they were all safe from any casual observation, which is how they wanted things.

Once they made it to the front door, Dominique and Aaliyah got to work, using their magic to detect the spells they knew were there. They found the spells that Hayley had told them about, detecting nothing else that could give them away. Dominique smiled and was glad for the new loyalty this girl was showing. It boded well for her, as while the girl wanted justice for what had been done to her, she didn’t want to tread on others to get it.

It took another few minutes before the women got the alarms and traps on the front door, both magical and mundane, shut down. The moment they were off, Dominique used a quick cantrip and unlocked the door, swinging it wide open. Jason looked at the women, and they gave a quick nod, prompting him to step in with his magic ready to go.

The rest of the group flooded into the house, eyes open and magic at the ready, staying vigilant. While the entrance might have been well guarded, inside looked like it was something out of a normie’s home. They spread out to both floors, checking the main floor and the upstairs, searching for where Valerie might have been secreted away.

As they searched, the group found nothing in the house itself, aside from a few convenience cantrips. There was a sense of ... something in the woman’s bedroom, but they ignored for the moment as they continued their search. They had still found nothing that indicated where the woman they were looking for was being held.

“You know what? I take it back. It looks to me like this woman is doing a lot to hide what she is to the world,” Hayley blurted out, speaking her mind.

“You got that right! I don’t think that even Amy’s house is so neatly organized!” Daelina commented as she zipped around, double checking everything.

“One of the perks that comes with living alone. You know where everything is and don’t have to fuss about when someone else moves things,” Jason commented idly. Sheena and Phalmina fired him a dirty look, but Jason just shrugged and gave the women a look that told them it went both ways. They just rolled their eyes as they smirked and kept looking.

“One of Ms. Syme’s first lessons was about hiding in plain sight. As long as you look like you’re someone who is an everyday drone, no one notices you. When practicing Dark magic, that’s something that you can’t have enough of. Anonymity,” Hayley told them all.

“A good mentality to have when you are trying to hide. Few people ever truly see you coming if they don’t know you are there,” Aaliyah agreed. She then came to a section of the wall that was unadorned, which she found odd. She poked at it with her magic and found that it flinched and writhed, much like a living thing. This surprised the woman and then she smiled, as she recognized the magic that was in play here.

“I think I found it!” Aaliyah called out, as she brought her magic to bear, using it to strip away the illusion of the wall. It fought her at first, but she slowly started to win out against it, forcing it away from the wall. Dominique was the first to arrive at the spot, and quickly added her magical power to Aaliyah’s, giving the woman more to work with.

Aaliyah smiled at this, feeling the raw power that Dominique was letting her have, which made the fight that much easier. Hayley arrived after a few moments and did much the same thing, lending her mistress what power she had to assist with the spell. Darnell, Jason, and the others arrived a minute or so later and took up sentry positions around the trio.

Aaliyah had finally stripped away the illusions that kept the door hidden and she was now fighting with the enchantments that held it closed. They were well put together, as Kathryn had taken a lot of time to get the details and casting correct. This much was evident in how long it took to dismantle the locking enchantments, which took the better part of thirty minutes.

Now that those were dealt with, all that remained were the defensive and alarm ones, which the fairy women assisted with. Some of the runes were familiar to the fairies, having dealt with such magics before. With their combined might, the final defensive spell fell away after another ten minutes. Aaliyah nearly collapsed, as the amount of magic she had used was staggering, more than enough to wind her, like she’d run a mile.

“You OK, babe?” Darnell asked his wife, worry creasing his features.

“I’ll be ... all right, sweetie. It just ... took a lot more out of me ... is all,” Aaliyah replied.

“I’m surprised you even managed it!” Dominique stated as she opened the door, taking note of the runes that were etched on the inside of the doorframe. “This is the entrance to her personal sanctum!”

“A sanctum? What is a sanctum?” Jason asked, curious about what lay beyond.

“A sanctum is a place of sanctuary, but it is also a pocket dimension in some ways. Sanctums are often created as a means of isolating it from the outside world and from outside sources of magic,” Dominique explained.

“So, kind of like a vault of sorts, where you need a code to get either in or out, but nothing else comes in unless the owner wants it to?” Sheena questioned.

“That’s exactly right! So while inside, anything that happens is not seen or heard of by the outside world. Even magical things which would make this place the ideal one to hide Valerie in!” Dominique told them.

“Wait! You don’t know what kind of traps and such that Kathryn could have placed in there!” Phalmina warned, stopping Dominique before she stepped in.

The Egyptian woman huffed and backed away, seeing the logic of that and not wanting to alert the Black Witch that they had found her sanctum. The other fairies flew to the threshold and chanted, using their unique magic to check for traps. After a few moments, they detected none, then turned to the rest of the group and nodded.

Sighing in gratitude, Dominique was the first one through the doorway leading down into the basement. The fairies stayed ahead, checking for additional magical traps, but they found none. Once the group reached the bottom of the steps, they took in the sight of the sanctum around them.