Chapter 6
As the queen’s men rounded in on us, I maintained my stance and regarded the veiled woman with nothing but utter contempt. Even through her cover-up, I could see her wicked and hate-filled smile glowering beneath the beautiful fabric, and I knew she would do everything within her power to see us burn at the stake.
While the men grew closer, none of my women made a move. They were silently waiting for my command, so I looked up and tried to see what I could use to my advantage, and I quickly studied the massive chandelier that dangled and glowed high above us. I smiled to myself when I pictured the massive ornament falling and crushing the soldiers, but if this was indeed my next plan of attack, I had to be quick.
Our lives depended on it.
Even though the men were hastily nearing us with their blades extended, I closed my eyes and forced myself to focus on the darkness that always guarded and guided me. I willed the evil spirits to be with me and summoned my inner wickedness to stand by my side as I controlled the elements to do my unholy bidding.
When a dozen or so guards were exactly where I wanted them to be, I opened my eyes, narrowed them at the heavy, dangling ornament, and willed it to come crashing down to break bones and take souls.
Motus.
In moments, there was a crackling noise, like the sound of metal coming apart, and then the chandelier came cascading down upon the queen’s men. The last and most satisfying sound they made before they were crushed into a pile of broken bones and armor was their terrified and shocked screams.
I smiled to myself as the queen stumbled backward and then placed a trembling hand over her heart as if Satan himself was standing before her. Her remaining men looked pale faced, and their eyes were glassy and filled with horror. I knew they were in shock and rendered dumbfounded, and a few of them even appeared to be on the verge of fainting.
“Witchcraft,” she hissed as her snake-green eyes narrowed at me.
I knew the queen was using all her willpower to glower at me with nothing but disdain, but I thought I saw a tint of fear in those soulless orbs of hers.
“That’s right, bitch,” Nyx exclaimed before she tossed back her hood. “Motherfucking witchcraft. Hail Satan.”
The queen took another stumbling step backward, and her men also gasped with horror and shock as they gazed upon the fully blue witch with protruding red horns.
“Damn Wiccas… kill them!” the queen shrieked, but she didn’t sound like a powerful queen who was in total control of her emotions. Instead, she reminded me of a little girl, terrified of a spider who crawled uninvited into her bedroom in the dead of night. “Kill them all!”
It took them a moment, but soon, the men were obeying her commands and nearing us once more, and it didn’t take long for one of my women to attack.
“Volant!” Nyx screamed as she pulled out her wand and aimed it at a handful of guards coming our way.
They violently flew back into the wall of the library, and those who weren’t wearing their helmets crushed their skulls against the wood and sunk limply to the floor, while their brains and blood covered the walls like a fresh coat of red paint mixed with bits of pink, glistening gore.
“Fuck this!” one knight yelled before he spun around and fled the library.
A few others followed him, but a handful remained behind to stay by the queen’s side.
“You cowards!” the queen bellowed. “I’ll hang you for treason, you ball-less bastards! The rest of you stop gawking and kill them! For the love of God, do something!”
“Attack with all you’ve got!” I commanded as I stared up at the stone ceiling. “Now!
The other women whipped out their wands, aimed their steady hands at the Wicca-hating soldiers, and prepared to wreak havoc on each fucker.
“Dissulto!” Morgana screamed, and a flash of bright red light hit a cluster of men who had listened to their queen and charged in our direction.
“Stupefaciunt!” Penelope cried out as another group of men went soaring backward.
“Contundito!” Circe roared, and as her spell hit a guard, his knees gave out, and we could hear the echoing crunch of his bones breaking before he fell to the floor and let out a bloodcurdling scream.
“Well done!” I cheered, and I was relieved I decided to bring a more mature and advanced Wicca with us, even if we barely knew anything about her or her past.
While the other women were busy blasting spell after spell, I focused again on the crumbling ceiling and willed the stones to rain down upon the queen’s men, and soon, the room was an explosion of colors and tumbling rocks.
As the chaos ensued, I knew which ancient and vastly powerful spell would kill the remaining men. I was slightly hesitant to use it since it would take a substantial amount of my energy and willpower, but if it could bring the madness to an end, I was willing to do it. So, as my witches blasted their incantations and took out the soldiers, I stood there and once again summoned my inner darkness and malevolent strength to come to my aid. As I concentrated on the unholy power that had consumed my entire entity, I aimed my wand at the dozens of men left in the chaotic room. Then I took in a deep breath before I shouted with all my strength and determination to see their downfall.
“Praeteritum!”
In moments, the room darkened and grew ice-cold, and every man who was still alive and mobile crouched down in utter agony and let out piercing screams as their terrible pasts and former sins came back to haunt them, literally to death. I knew they could feel the flames of every Wicca they’d burned, the last breaths of each citizen they hanged, and the deep, buried regret they harbored for all the pain, loss, and agony they’d inflicted in this world.
“Noooo!” one guard shrieked while he covered his ears. “Make it stoooooop!”
I could feel my body weakening as the men slowly turned to ashes and dust, but then a different kind of sensation took over my mind and body. I’d used this spell before, to kill the elder general, and I knew what the side-effects would feel like, but this was something else entirely. It frightened me because I could feel my mind leaving this world and preparing to enter another.
And I couldn’t leave my women.
Not now.
“Cole?” Faye cried out. “What’s wrong?”
“I-I don’t know,” I replied through gritted teeth.
As my world darkened, I stared at the lone queen and gazed into her terrified green eyes.
Show her no mercy, said the woman from my dreams. Look at what she has done to us. Make her pay with fire and blood!
My entire body convulsed as the library left my eyes and was replaced with the same view I’d witnessed inside Theodora’s office.
Once again, I found myself standing by the edge of a rugged cliff, where a row of stakes stood before me. The air was frigid, and the sky was a shade of merciless, steel gray. I could hear screams echoing in chorus with the shrill cries of the piercing wind, and when I looked through the mist, I saw another group of women being dragged with rusty chains by a group of cloaked holy men.
However, this time, instead of a king and pregnant queen leading the men and confined women to the stakes, it was the veiled queen herself, and she had her hands neatly folded in front of her as the witches cried out in agony and struggled to walk to their deaths.
“Tie them to their posts,” the queen ordered in a low growl.
Her obedient men didn’t say a word as the group of Wiccas were heartlessly secured to the wooden posts. When the last woman was tied to her fate, she spat at the queen’s feet and then stared straight into her menacing, emerald eyes.
“You will pay dearly for this, you God-loving bitch,” the Wicca snarled.
“Oh,” the queen purred, “I have already paid greatly for it.”
To my shock, the queen slowly unclasped her veil and revealed her face. In my lifetime, I’d seen a great deal of horrendous looking creatures, but I was still taken aback by her hideous appearance. Even Sweeny, the Wicca from our first year, with her scarred skin and gashed mouth, didn’t appear as hideously deformed as the woman in front of me was.
The queen’s skin was covered in massive boils and seemed to be putrid like a decayed corpse, and two holes in each cheek exposed her rotted, yellow teeth and swollen, bleeding gums. There was also a giant cleft in her mouth, and it made her lips seem twice the average size.
“As you can see, your kind decided to mark me with your hideous nature, long ago,” she cooed just before she covered her face back up. “Not only did you see fit to deform me, but you also stole the life of my mother. The sight of her gruesome child killed her immediately… do you not think that was punishment enough?”
“You should have never sought us out,” the Wicca snapped back. “We never disturbed you before your bastard of a father decided to seek us out for his vendetta.”
“You will do well not to speak ill of my father,” the queen growled before she took a step back.
As she did so, one of her men began to approach the pyre with a tall, white candle, but then the queen raised her hand to stop him.
“My queen--?” he began.
“I will light the flames,” she instructed in a firm voice. “Please, pass me the candle.”
“Yes, my queen,” he said in a hesitant tone.
The queen immediately snatched the candle from his withered hands and then gazed upon the helpless women with contempt and satisfaction glowing in her green eyes. She took her time to light each pyre, and as the flames began to lick at the bloody and bruised feet of each witch, the queen began to cackle like a madwoman.
It took them a good while, but eventually, the witches bellowed from the excruciating pain as the fire devoured their flesh and melted their bones.
“You should be thanking me!” Delphina screamed over their cries of agony. “I’m sending you back to hell where you belong!”
The last thing I heard before I was abruptly pulled out the vision was the cruel laughter of the queen resonating above the pain-filled screams of the Wiccas. I could feel their wrath, anguish, and helplessness, even when my soul returned to the cruel domain of Delphina’s realm and body littered library.
“You,” I snarled as I stared long and hard at the masked queen. “You’re even crueler than the Wiccas you sought out to murder in cold and callous blood… I’ll be sure to see you suffer the same fate as my fellow witches.”
“What do you--” she began, but it was too late.
My eyes darted over to the flaming scones along the walls, and with every ounce of strength I had left in my body, I forced them to complete my bidding.
Motus.
In the next moment, the flames flew in great balls of fire toward the queen, and her eyes widened in disbelief and horror as the flames climbed up her body and began to scorch her alive. She screamed and waved her hands up into the air as the inferno burned her flesh and clothing, and as her skin blackened and charred, I stood in place and watched her slow and painful demise with pure satisfaction.
I wanted her death to be agonizing, and I wanted her to feel every nerve ending and fiber burning and melting away into oblivion. Her deafening screams were like music to my ears, and the smile on my face only widened as she collapsed to the floor and feebly attempted to diminish the growing flames that had consumed her entire body.
There was still life left within her, and even though I knew it would take a heavy toll on my body, I was ready for her to feel another kind of pain.
I wanted her to feel every ounce of fear she had caused each Wicca in her lifetime.
She deserved that, and more.
So, as I stared at her burning body, I narrowed my eyes at her form and willed the dark spirits to consume my body as I tortured her one final time. Then I slowly lifted my wand, and without remorse or hesitation, I uttered the last words she would ever hear.
“Praeteritum!”
The spell hit her body, and she let out a feral, ear-splitting scream that echoed throughout the entire castle. Then her body burned and bled from the boils erupting all over her singed skin, and she violently shook and sobbed as the sins from her past came back to collect their due.
With one final scream, an explosion of blood, guts, and bones filled the air and splattered everywhere. I could feel her gore all over my skin, and as I licked my lips, the taste of her scorched, sour blood filled me with a savage kind of satisfaction.
“Cole,” Akira whispered as she took a step closer toward me. “That was fucking amazing… but… how are you holding up?”
“That was an incredible amount of power to use, master,” Morgana added in a faint voice. “Even if it was well overdue.”
“I know,” I panted.
I turned around and snatched the precious Defero stone before I shoved it deep inside my cloak pocket. As I did so, my legs felt weak like jelly, and my head was throbbing with an unbearable kind of pain like someone was repeatedly stabbing my skull with a sharpened blade. It was even difficult to breathe normally, but still, I knew my work was not yet finished.
“We need to get to the roof,” I whispered.
“What?” Beatrix asked with wide, dark eyes. “No, we should leave… surely there must be more guards on their way--”
“What did we say about questioning our master?” Akira hissed.
“But--” the light-haired brunette protested, but I already had my wand aimed at them.
“Hos parere imperio,” I muttered, and in seconds, we were wrapped in a cloud of shimmering purple smoke.
As we tumbled through space, I envisioned the castle’s rooftop and willed our bodies to stand on top of the palace safely. Then, in mere moments, we found ourselves exactly where I wanted us to be.
I gazed down, and we must have been thousands of feet up in the air. The people below us were no bigger than ants, and we were so high up that birds were flying under us. The wispy, white clouds passed by us like a veil of smoke as we stood there, like deadly gods, gazing down upon our mortal slaves.
“Cole,” Faye whispered as she stood by my side, “so, are you going to do it? Are you going to kill them all?”
“Yes,” I affirmed. “Every… single… last… one.”
“Unholy shittttt,” Akira snickered in an exaggerated and excited voice. “This is going to be fucking epic.”
“Shall we help you, Cole?” Circe asked in a demure voice. “Your body has already taken a great toll… perhaps we should recite the incantation together.”
“Is it the same one you used earlier?” Beatrix asked in a small, embarrassed voice. “When you stopped the rain?”
“Yes,” I replied without looking at her. “Everyone, pull out your wands and aim them at the sky. Picture the most chaotic forces of nature obeying your will and bring hell down upon these holy-worshipping motherfuckers.”
The women did as they were told, and I took a deep, sharp breath as I stared into the open sky and willed the elements to obey my silent commands. I pictured a blood-filled storm, and I imagined the ocean with fire for waves consuming the streets and burning everything in its path.
When my heart was filled with hate and vengeance, I briefly looked at the others and then nodded.
“Now,” I commanded as I gazed back down at the holy kingdom of Ved Havet. “Kill them all.”
“Yes, master,” my coven echoed obediently before they cut their palms open with the secare spell.
Beatrix and Circe also split their skin open as I cut into my flesh, and when we were all bleeding, I was ready to destroy every last mortal.
“Interficiam carne mea, mutata tempestate,” we chanted in unison.
In seconds, the sky darkened to crimson, and soon, the sound of thunder rang through the air. Thick, fat droplets of blood began to pour down onto the kingdom, and the sound of confused and terrified screams echoed up from the ground. As the rain grew heavier, I looked out toward their beloved ocean, and with all my willpower, I beckoned the water to boil enough to melt the skin off people’s bones.
Soon, the waves grew as tall as buildings and came crashing down upon the streets of Ved Havet. More and more petrified screams reverberated through the blood-filled air, and I watched as the scorching water began to drown and burn people alive.
No one was safe from our wrath as the scalding water began to bring houses down and crush everyone inside. Churches, inns, taverns, and all forms of livelihood crumbled into the water, and the rancid, overwhelming smell of burned skin filled the air. When the screams slowly died down, and we were left staring out at a flooded, dead city, my heart was filled with peace. Even those who sought refuge in this damn castle would soon have nowhere to go. The entire kingdom was flooded with steaming water, and it would stay that way for all eternity.
Before anyone could remark on the glorious anarchy we had summoned, I heard a voice inside my head as we were wrapped up in a cloud of familiar purple smoke.
Well done, Cole, the woman from my dreams echoed. You gave them what they deserved.
Then we were tossed and turned through realms, and in minutes, we found ourselves back in Theodora’s office, where a warm fire was crackling and soft music was playing. My entire body felt weak, hollow, and exhausted, but I still managed to pull myself up from Theodora’s floor and look around the room.
“You were successful,” Theodora stated as she sat at her desk.
She was wearing a deep blue velvet dress, and her dark hair was up in a neat bun. She quickly stepped away from her chair and strolled over to me, with her eyes locked onto my pocket.
“Yes,” I said.
“If you’d please, Cole,” she said as she opened her hand.
“Err, right,” I said as I remembered the stone.
I reached into my pocket and wrapped my fingers around the cold, rough exterior. Despite its somewhat generous size, the Defero felt light as a feather when I retrieved it from my cloak. For a moment, I studied its extraordinary, exotic beauty, and the small, diamond clusters ebbed within its ebony core. The light refracted off the stone and shone along the wall like starlight, and I found myself unable to look away.
“Beautiful, is it not?” Theodora chuckled.
“Yes.” I nodded before I quickly placed it into the palm of her hand.
“A Defero can have a strange effect on those it comes into contact with,” Headmistress Theodora commented as she twirled the stone in her hand. “The effects are like an intoxicating drug… but alas, you are strong in mind and spirit, and therefore, it does not possess the same power over you, Cole.”
“Good to know,” I answered with a sigh.
Theodora glanced at each of us, and a small smile broke across her face.
“You all must be terribly exhausted,” she remarked.
“Yes, Headmistress,” Nyx muttered as she rubbed at her temples. “I’m completely drained… I can’t even begin to imagine how Cole must feel.”
“Pretty wiped,” I chuckled.
“Then, off with you all.” Theodora smiled and pointed to the door. “Get a good night’s rest… tomorrow will be your first class since the attack.”
“Yes, Headmistress,” the women responded before we headed toward the door.
I began to follow the witches out of the office, but then Theodora’s soft voice stopped me in my tracks.
“Well done, Cole,” she repeated. “I truly mean that.”
“Of course, Headmistress,” I responded before I turned to flash her a tired but genuine smile. “Goodnight.”
“Goodnight,” she replied before I left her office and closed the door.
“Can you guys believe how fucking awesome we are?” Akira squealed in delight as we headed down the empty corridors. “I mean… we took out an entire kingdom.”
“Your powers are extraordinary for Wiccas your age,” Circe said in a soft voice. “I must admit… I was taken aback. Now, if you don’t mind, I will be heading up to my quarters. Goodnight.”
Before she turned around, her vibrant, blue, serpentine eyes bored into mine, and then she graced me with an almost seductive smile. My entire body coursed with electricity as I watched her stroll around a corner and then disappear from view.
“She’s a little weird and quiet,” Nyx said once she was gone, “but I think she’s cool.”
“She’s more advanced than us,” Morgana said with wide, blue eyes. “I think that’s certainly a benefit… imagine what we can learn from her? Especially in the classroom.”
“Speaking of classrooms,” Beatrix yawned. “I’d better retire for the night as well… see you all in the morning.”
We bade the light-haired brunette goodbye before she disappeared down the hall, and when it was just my coven and me, we continued to make our way to the common room.
As soon as we stepped into our private quarters, Alexander flew by my side and then nipped fiercely at my earlobe.
“Ouch!” I exclaimed. “Man, what the hell was that for?”
For disappearing, he yelled. You inconsiderate prick! You had Silvia and I worried sick.
“Satan, sorry,” I groaned as I rubbed at my throbbing ear. “Next time, a small lecture will do. No need to get physical.
I should slap you with my wing, he continued, but this time, I’ll let you off with a warning.
“How considerate,” I muttered.
Unlike you, he huffed. Well, now that I know you’re alive… we’ll be going back to sleep.
“Goodnight, asshole.” I smirked as he flew to a corner to snuggle next to Silvia.
The room was empty aside for the two lovebirds, so I imagined the other familiars were all in their rooms.
“I’m off to bed,” Akira yawned. “That was one hell of a night… or day… or however time works through that fucking realm.”
“Me, too,” Faye said as she stretched. “Goodnight, master.”
“Yeah, goodnight, master,” Morgana added. “Sleep well. We have class tomorrow.”
“He knows, Morgana,” Vesta purred as she played with a shimmering, sage-green lock of hair. “Thank Satan… I’m back to my beautiful form.”
“Fucking hell,” Penelope muttered as she rolled her eyes. “Goodnight, master.”
“Goodnight, everyone,” I replied as they slowly clambered up the stairs and into their bedrooms.
Because of my exhausted state of mind, it took me a moment to realize Nyx was still standing there at the foot of the stairwell and just looking at me.
“Err, master,” she said before she looked down at her feet. “I don’t have a room yet…”
“Oh, of course,” I said as I slapped my forehead. “How could I forget? Sorry, it has been a long night. Come along. I’ll make you one.”
“But master,” she began, “I don’t want to exert you. You already used so much magic back there.”
“Do not think twice about it.” I smiled. “I’d be more than happy to provide you with a bedroom. You are one of mine, after all, and I want to take care of you.”
“Thank you, master,” she answered with a small blush.
“Let’s go,” I said as I made my way up the stairs.
We both headed into the narrow hallway, where there was a row of bedroom doors, and I glanced at the sapphire blue witch and then flashed her a warm smile.
“Well?” I chuckled. “Where do you want yours to be? Between Akira and Morgana… or perhaps between Penelope and Faye… or…?”
“I think I’ll take a space at the end of the line,” the blue-skinned witch answered with a slow shrug. “Doesn’t matter which one.”
“Very well,” I said before I rolled up my sleeves and then aimed my wand at the bare space on the right. “Here goes nothing.”
I cleared my throat and narrowed my eyes at the space. I envisioned a room that would match Nyx’s laid-back personality, but also one that would be both comfortable and stylish for the cool and collected Wicca.
When I felt as if I was ready, I flicked my wrist and recited the incantation.
“Crescere per voluntatem meam!”
Instantly, a door appeared among the others, and I could feel my energy draining as all the items I pictured inside my mind became existent behind the closed door. When the spell was complete, I sucked in a sharp breath of air and then turned to look at Nyx.
“It’s finished.” I grinned. “Do you want to step inside and take a look?”
“Only if we do it together,” she murmured with a mischievous glint in her indigo eyes.
I chuckled before I gently pushed the door open and then stared at a sapphire blue bedroom with a queen-sized bed placed in the center. A sheer canopy hung over the deep blue satin sheets, and the bed was decorated with patterned pillows and woven blankets. There were dozens of herbs hanging from the ceiling, and by a small, wooden desk at the end of the room, I noticed a row of variously shaped pipes. Gold pots and jars of exotic flowers littered the floor, and there were rows of candles glowing in each corner of the room.
The entire bedroom was tinted a deep blue, just like Nyx’s velvety skin, and the warm glow emitting from the candles along with the scent of spiced herbs sent a pleasant thrill through my body.
“Do you like it?” I asked as I turned to her.
“I do,” she breathed with wide eyes. “Thank you, master. It’s… it’s wonderful. Better than I could have even dreamed. You know me so well.”
“Of course,” I answered. “I’ll leave you to it, then--”
As I turned around, Nyx reached out to snatch my hand and looked at me with half-hooded eyes. Then she bit down on her lip and took a step closer toward me.
“I want to thank you properly, master,” she whispered into my ear.
When she stepped back, she was already unfastening her buttons, and in an instant, all my dwindling energy returned to its full strength. Blood rushed to my cock as she slowly began to strip naked for me, and when she was only garbed in a forest-green lace bralette and panties, I smiled in pure satisfaction.
Tonight was going to be a very long night.