Chapter 22
As Akira and Vesta ran off to fetch the weapons and armor, I glanced at the professors and took a deep breath. I saw the muddled confusion and concern embedded deep within their eyes, but I still knew they were prepared for anything.
Even if the possibility of death lurked on the horizon.
“It seems we have no time to devise a proper plan,” I explained in a rushed voice. “So, we won’t be flying the dragons directly to Vipera… we clearly don’t have enough time. Headmistress Theodora, if we work together, surely we can transport every dragon, shadow, and Wicca all at once?”
“It can be done,” Theodora answered as she chewed on her bottom lip, “but it certainly won’t be easy… in fact, it will take a great sum of power and energy.”
“It’s our only chance,” I said as I glanced around the room. “We’re running out of time and options, Headmistress.”
“I know,” she sighed, and her blue eyes darted around the banquet hall. “This is certainly not how I wanted things to pan out, but perhaps the dark spirits have another plan for us.”
“We’re here!” Vesta called out with Akira by her side. “We come bearing arms!”
Together, the two witches commanded a stream of weapons and armor to float into the banquet hall, and as they narrowed their eyes at the artifacts of warfare, they managed to guide them toward the tables and then carefully set them down. As I stared at the weapons, I spotted silver daggers, gold lances, longswords, granite-tinted axes, and other deadly arms I knew the women could handle.
Even if we were acting with haste, we wouldn’t be traveling unprepared.
“Excellent!” Theodora cried out as she clasped her hands together. “Now, everyone, gear up and be quick about it… time is of the essence.”
Without missing a beat, all the women gathered around the table and began to dress in shimmering gold and silver armor. As they quickly adorned themselves with assorted weapons, I followed suit and grabbed the largest silver breastplate I could find and secured it across my waist with brown leather straps.
“Um, Headmistress?” Beatrix peeped as she struggled to secure her own armor across her voluptuous breasts.
“Yes, Miss Beatrix?” Theodora responded as she stared at the light-haired witch with curious eyes.
“I-I-I think I know a protection charm…” she stuttered as a deep blush crept across her cheeks. “I’d been reading about one used during the First Dawn… you know, when witches still garbed armor?”
“And?” Theodora gently pushed.
“I-I think I can cast it upon our breastplates,” Beatrix struggled to explain. “It won’t protect us from all sorts of spells, but I think it would be better than nothing.”
“Well, then.” Theodora smiled with shimmering eyes. “What are you waiting for? Cast it upon the women.”
“Err,” Beatrix said in a faint voice as she glanced around the room. “Excuse me? Everyone…?”
“Hey!” I cried out in a commanding voice, and all motion stopped at once. “Beatrix believes she knows of a charm that will keep you safe from certain spells. Once you have put on your armor, gather around her… Beatrix, do you think it will take long?”
“No.” She shook her head. “It’s a very simple incantation.”
“Perfect,” I replied as armored women started to approach the light-haired brunette.
When everyone was dressed and geared up, we huddled in a group and faced Beatrix and Theodora, but before the knowledgeable charm witch cast her spell, she turned awkwardly to look at the older woman.
“Headmistress?” she asked in a quiet voice. “Are you not going to gear up as well?”
“I’m afraid not,” Theodora responded with a small smile. “It is seen as a weakness for the leader of a Wicca legion to garb themselves in armor. But please, do not concern yourself with my well-being. I can take care of myself. Now, go on and enact the charm if you please.”
“Err, right,” Beatrix muttered before she cleared her throat and stared upon the crowd. Then she raised her wand, aimed it above us, and closed her eyes. “Praesidio!”
Suddenly, a blast of shimmering purple light spurted out from the tip of her wand and exploded right above us, and witches gasped and awed as the light turned into glittering specks that fell upon us like snowfall and coated our armor.
“I don’t feel any different,” Akira grunted by my side.
“I don’t think you’re supposed to, Akira,” Morgana huffed. “It simply coats the armor. Duh.”
“Thank you, Miss Beatrix.” Theodora smiled. “Now, before we go, you’d better place the charm on yourself.”
“Oh, right.” Beatrix blushed before she repeated the incantation above her head.
“Alright,” I sighed as I turned to look at my coven and Circe. “Are you ready to kick some elder ass?”
“Absolutely,” Circe said as she bounced on her feet. “I’m thoroughly excited.”
“Of course, you are,” Akira snickered.
“I swear, when this is over, I’m smoking an entire bowl of pixie hash,” Nyx muttered as she adjusted her breastplate.
“Oh, master… before I forget,” Vesta purred as she reached behind her waistband. “I brought your bonded weapon… after you collapsed, I took it and put it in a safe place for you.”
“Thank you, Vesta.” I winked before I took the blade from her delicate hand and sheathed it. “I don’t know what I’d do without any of you.”
“Of course, master,” the elvish witch responded as she blushed a deep lilac-rose.
“Now, I need you all to quickly ensure everyone is geared up and ready to go,” I instructed before I looked around the banquet hall and spotted the pale-blonde Shadow professor, “and while you do that, I need to have a brief moment with Professor Luna.”
“Yes, master,” my women echoed as I parted from them and approached the Shadow professor.
“Ah, Cole,” Luna said as soon as she saw me. “I assume you’re about to ask me about the shadows?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact… I am,” I replied. “Will you be able to transport all the shadows from their dwelling within the woods? Last time we had to go to them… but perhaps we can bring them here to save time?”
“Yes, I’m sure I’ll be able to manage, Cole,” the blonde-haired Wicca responded in an offended tone. “I just need a little room to breathe… summoning your own shadow is one thing, but summoning groups of shadows all at once… that’s something else entirely. It’s an ancient incantation that takes an immense amount of energy and power, and although shadows are ours to control by nature, they are complicated beings, and the longer they thrive outside of our bodies, the more they try to become their own being entirely. But it’s me… and really, there’s nothing I can’t handle.”
I was about to offer her my help, but judging by her cocked eyebrow and the hand on her hip, I had a feeling she wanted me to take a step back and let her work. So, I raised my hands in defense and took a small step back.
“I’ll let you work your magic then,” I said, “but please be quick about it.”
In response, Luna glared at me, rolled up her sleeves, and glanced around the room before she took in a deep breath. She then tilted her head back and raised her hands high into the air.
“Ego convocabo omnes untethered vocem meam obumbratio,” the blonde-haired professor chanted as the room quickly darkened, and a deep green hue swallowed the banquet hall whole. “Adhuc enim, et non ex nobis pars obliviscatur eius.”
In moments, everything trembled, and a deep chill swept through the entire room and killed all the candles. Then a giant black cloud spewed in the air and drifted toward the center of the room. When it finally cleared, a deep groan sounded and penetrated my eardrums, and then thousands of black silhouettes were flying through the hall and drifting like black ghosts above our heads. Through the dark fog, I spotted one enormous crimson shadow hovering closer toward me, and when his glowing eyes bored into mine, I felt the strangest sense of comfort wash over me.
Now, after everything we’d been through, he felt like my unholy guardian, ever watchful and diligent, even if he was technically a part of me. It was the oddest connection, but I didn’t question it any further because we had another battle to win.
“Hello, brother.” I smiled as I stared upon his red, ethereal magnificence. “We need your help once more. War is on the horizon, and I will need you to fight for me, along with all your shadow sisters. When we leave the Scholomance dwelling, I give you permission to rip through the throats of elder men and other soldiers who fight by their side. Then, when the time is right, I will call upon you to help me, but in the meantime, kill as many enemies as you can. That’s an order.”
Without missing a beat, my ghost-like companion bowed before me, and for a moment, I wondered if I was imagining things. His horns looked even larger than the last time I saw him, and I wondered if he could be growing in both strength and power, but I knew that was a conversation for another time.
“Look, the dragons are outside!” Faye cried out as she and Professor Evanora ran into the banquet hall.
I was so deeply immersed with the other tasks at hand, I didn’t even notice that my redheaded Wicca and the pink-haired professor had left the room and summoned the great beasts.
“Well done!” Theodora and I responded at the same time.
I felt a swell of pride as the winged beasts growled with feral grace outside of the academy, and as I gazed upon the thousands of armed women and our shadow doubles, I knew we’d be able to burn those elder bastards to charred smithereens.
They had underestimated us once more, and I couldn’t wait to see the look on their angelic fucking faces when they realized we’d built an entire army.
“The dragons are ready to taste blood and scorch flesh,” Evanora’s voice echoed with absolute pride. “I think we should leave soon… they are growing more impatient by the second. I can feel it.”
Evanora was right. Although we didn’t have time to formulate a proper plan, I knew we were fucking ready to take on the elder asshole king and his bastard minions. Time might not have been on our sides, but we had other and more powerful reinforcements to fight with, and the only thing we had left to do was to shadow port the hell out of here and get to Vipera.
“Headmistress,” I said as I stared at her beautiful but exhausted face. “Excuse me for being so forward, but I think we’d better get our asses to Vipera.”
“Agreed,” Theodora said without hesitation. “Now, for this shadow transportation, we’re going to need more than two minds to send everything and everyone to the Vipera realm. Cole… you and your coven must join the professors and me in a line. Then we must link hands… I know it will be difficult to transport everything and everyone when you’ve never been to Vipera’s realm, except for Nyx, of course, so that is why we must connect to one another so my knowledge might transform into your consciousness. Once that is accomplished, you must focus on the women before you… the shadows above us… and the dragons swarming around the castle just outside. Then utter the shadow porting incantation when I say so. Understood?”
“Yes, Headmistress,” we answered all at once.
As Theodora instructed, we all linked hands and formed a line in the front of the room, and I could feel everyone taking in a deep breath as we welcomed the darkness into our hearts. We stared upon the armed and armored women, and they all studied us with wide eyes and tightly pursed lips as they grasped firmly onto their weapons and wands. As I continued to peer into their warmongering eyes, I took another deep breath and welcomed Satan into my core. Then, before I prepared myself to utter the words which would send us off into the heart of battle, I prayed to the dark lord to watch over the women and protect my coven.
I knew He would be with us every step of the way.
Once my heart was open to deep, utter darkness, I closed my eyes and felt Theodora’s knowledge coursing through my hands, up to my arms, through my veins, and into my vast, open mind. As the image of the Vipera Academy pooled into my consciousness, I could feel searing power crawling beneath my skin and penetrating my bones, and I equipped myself to gather all our reinforcements to this other realm.
“Now!” Theodora bellowed.
“Hos parere imperio!” we all shouted at once, and then the entire packed banquet hall disappeared from view.
My body violently tossed, turned, and tumbled through realms, and when the world came to a halt, we all landed feet first on the outskirts of a cold, misty emerald green forest. The women, dragons, and shadows were surrounding us, and everyone took a brief moment to catch their breaths and look around.
The sky above us was deep, burnt orange, and the clouds were as red as fresh blood. The pine trees behind us were a pale olive-green, and a light film of snow coated their leaves. The soil beneath us was as black as night, but specks of frost made it appear like it was covered with diamonds.
As beautiful as the scenery was, what truly caught my attention was the towering charcoal-black castle in front of us and the giant, white beasts that were flying around it. Parts of the academy were on fire, and the mysterious, ivory creatures were perched on pointed towers while others were flying near the ground. It seemed like the winged creatures were scouring for witches to snatch from the earth and tear them to pieces like terrified lambs. Even from afar, we could hear screaming, and the smell of smoke was wafting through the evening winter sky.
My heart sank because, as fast as we had acted, I knew we couldn’t save everyone.
“What are those creatures?” Beatrix breathed as she stood by my side. “I’ve never seen them before.”
“Serpens,” Faye said in a small, terrified voice. “They are ancient, holy white beasts… made from the blood of dragons but transformed to obey elder orders. I never thought I’d see one in my lifetime.”
The creatures were unquestionably enormous, even from afar, and it was clear to me that they once derived from dragons since there were certain similarities in their features. Both were covered from head to toe in shimmering scales, but these elder-made creatures possessed ivory white scales, and their necks were slimmer and longer than a dragon’s. Their wings were different in form as well, and they resembled elder feathery appendages more than anything. As far as I could tell, these serpens did not breathe fire, but I could still tell they were swift, deadly, and cunning animals. Elders garbed in shimmering armor were sitting on their steeds and carrying bows and arrows as they flew through the sky, and they killed witches who were fighting for their lives by windows and on the roof.
“Well,” Akira sighed as she stood diligently by my side. “It seems they upgraded from a herd of horses to a cluster of serpens…”
“And, so what?” Professor Evanora smirked with her chin raised. “I say we attack them with our dragons and see just whose beasts are more powerful.”
“Meanwhile, I will take those who choose to bond with their shadows, and we will tear through the hallways and rip the elders apart,” Luna added as she looked at Crimson and Olivia.
“I’ll join you, Luna,” Crimson said as she stared at the dark shadows. “I harbor more skill when it comes to shadows… the abilities between shadow and necromancy are immensely similar, as you know.”
“Of course.” Luna nodded. “Olivia? Will you join the dragon riders?”
“Yes,” the silver-haired professor responded. “I am an excellent rider if I do say so myself.”
“Very well… in the meantime, I will shadow port myself and the armed women inside the castle,” Theodora said, and for some reason, I could feel my heart drop with terrifying dread because I could sense what she was about to say next. “Should I run into the king… I cannot say what will happen, but I will use all my power and might against him.”
“Headmistress?” I asked with raised eyebrows. “No… the king wants me… I can’t let you fight him in my stead.”
“Cole,” Theodora said in a firm voice. “We have no idea what Satan plans for my fate… now, forget about me and focus on your task. For now, you and the others will ride the dragons and rid those bastards from the sky. Then… you may enter the castle and do whatever must be done inside the walls of Vipera. Do not question my commands, for even if you are powerful, I still hold more experience than you.”
I thought about arguing with Theodora, but I knew better than to contradict her wishes. After all, she was still my headmistress, and the last thing I wanted to do was disobey or disrespect her wishes in front of the others.
“Yes, Headmistress,” I answered after a moment before I turned to our gathered army and raised my voice. “Come on! All those who will ride the skies with me… climb onto a dragon and let’s get a move on! We have blood to spill, souls to take, and beasts to tear apart.”
As the women cried out in a bloodthirsty roar, my crimson double hovered in front of me, and his eyes glowed with savagery and a thirst for elder souls. Without sharing a word, I knew what he was thinking. Even after voicing my orders, he still wanted to bond with me and combine our abilities, but now was not the time.
“Not yet,” I whispered. “What I need you to do is take all the shadows, both bonded and single, to rid the skies, halls, and grounds of any elders you can find. Now, go! Hurry!”
My towering red brother bowed slowly before he briefly turned to look at the others, and Luna and Crimson quickly gathered the women who were masters at the skill of ancient shadow bonding. Before they all departed, they uttered the ancient incantation to bind themselves to their black shadows and fly off into the sky, with my red silhouette leading the way.
“Excellent,” I breathed before I turned to the dragons. “Now, let’s climb on.”
“I’ll lead,” Evanora instructed as we ran to climb on top of the beasts.
“Err, Cole!” Circe called out as she sprinted toward me. “I’m still not familiar with dragon riding… perhaps I could join you?”
“Of course,” I said before I narrowed my eyes at her.
Motus.
The serpentine witch gasped as her body ascended into the sky, and I willed her to sit on my dragon.
“Let’s fucking do this!” she cried out, and her eyes were filled with exhilaration as she stared down at me with an eager smile.
Before I hooked my feet into the scales of my dragon, I glanced upon his great emerald magnificence and his glowing, serpentine eyes. As I clambered on top of the beast, I could feel a resonating growl deep within his chest, but it was not a menacing sound. In fact, it felt as if he were welcoming me onto his back because he was eager to tear through the sky. I could feel his heart beating and thriving for blood and flesh, and as soon as I was on his back, I turned to look at my coven, the other women, and Evanora and Olivia. Then we all silently nodded at each other before we all leaned forward on our dragons.
“Fly!” I commanded, and my stomach lunged upward and then violently dropped as my loyal beast flew into the sky and soared toward the castle.
“Woohoooooo!” Circe cried out in elation as we swept through the crimson clouds, and I could feel everyone’s lust for elder blood as we drew closer toward the serpens and their masters. Then our dragons let out a thunderous chorus of roars as we neared the white soaring beasts, and suddenly, the elders who were riding their serpens turned sharply to gawk at us, right before we began to tear them into bloody ribbons.
“Look out!” an elder soldier cried out right before Faye swooped down and used her dragon’s claws to knock him right off his serpen’s back.
“Too fucking late!” the redhead shouted as she flew upward and began to rip soldiers from their beasts and tear into the necks of the white serpens.
I watched with immense pride as my dragon snatched a white serpen by its long neck and chomped down on its scaled flesh. As the two animals danced a bloody waltz through the heavens, the elder with deep brown hair riding the ivory creature stared at me with wide, furious eyes, and the corners of his lips twitched down into a deep, trembling frown.
“You!” he snarled with pure contempt. “It’s you!”
“That’s right, fucker,” I growled just before I pulled out my wand and aimed it right in between his eyes. “Dissulto!”
Bright crimson light hit the elder right in his forehead, and a scream left his lips as he tumbled downward and impaled himself on a giant pike on top of a lower tower.
I stared down at the elder’s lifeless body, and I had to steady myself on my dragon as he tore red and white chunks out from the neck of the wriggling serpen. Circe tightened her grasp around my waist as I held onto my dragon’s hide, and the blonde Wicca cried out in glee as my beast sunk his teeth right into the gorge of the ivory creature, and then, with one quick tear, finally ripped its whole throat out and tossed it aside. The serpen couldn’t even cry out in pain as its massive body descended toward the ground while thick blood rained through the sky, and he crashed to his death.
“Well done, master!” Morgana cried out, and when I turned around, I saw the bookworm hovering above me, and her dragon had chunks of white meat in its jaws while a thick trail of blood seeped out from the corners of its giant mouth.
“You, too!” I laughed with pride. “Keep going! Let’s bring hell down upon these fuckers!”
Morgana firmly nodded in my direction before she guided her dragon higher into the sky and swarmed toward another elder, and then her beast tore straight through the serpen’s chest. I watched with morbid fascination as the wingless elder tumbled from the back of his creature, and he screamed in terror as he descended out of sight.
As I flew through the blood-hued sky, I realized the other women were just as skilled when it came to murdering elders and their serpens, but as with war, luck wasn’t totally on everyone’s side. Before I could even cry out to warn a risen Wicca in front of me, an elder shot an arrow in her direction, and it plunged right through her left eye. I winced as she looked at me with pure shock, right before the spark of life completely drained from her other eye, and she fell from her dragon.
“Oh, no,” Circe whispered behind me, but then I felt her hand rise as she aimed her wand at the arrow shooting elder. “Impes!”
A neon yellow light spurted past my face and hit the elder right in his chest, and I watched with fascination as his entire body convulsed, and his veins glowed bright red before he tumbled from his serpen and fell through the scarlet clouds.
“Well done!” I commended. “Where have you been hiding that spell, Circe?”
“I have no idea!” she giggled with glee. “I suppose it was embedded deep within my memories!”
As I glanced all around me, I could see elders and serpens being ripped into shreds, but my heart fell when I saw a few dragons flying without Wiccas on their backs.
“Stay alert,” I cried out as screams echoed through the clouds, “and burn them all! Command your beasts to spew fire and light up the entire fucking sky with flames! Let’s bring hell down upon these fucking holy worshippers!”
As soon as the command left my lips, all the dragons began to stream rivers of fire out from their snouts, and elder screams filled the air as their charred and blackened bodies tumbled down to the ground. I could feel my own dragon’s body sweltering with heat as I pressed my hands against his scaled covered neck, and a low growl resonated inside his chest. Then he spouted out a cloud of blistering flames in the direction of another elder with wheat-blond hair and wide silver eyes.
The elder desperately tried to swerve his beast out of the way, but he was too fucking slow. A broad, bloodthirsty smile broke across my face as his pain-filled screams filled the air, and both he and his serpen turned into plummeting charcoal corpses.
“I think we’ve killed them all!” Circe cried out, and when I studied the sky, I realized she was right.
There were no more serpens or elders in sight.
“Hell, yeah!” I called back before I glanced around to summon my coven and Beatrix. “Morgana, Faye, Vesta, Nyx, Akira, Beatrix, follow me!”
No matter how far away they were, my coven was able to hear my command, and within seconds, they all soared in our direction and hovered nearby on their dragons to await my next order. Beatrix happened to be nearby, too, and when they were all listening, I took a deep breath and focused on each one of them.
“We need to get inside the castle,” I explained. “We have to help Theodora and the other women take out any soldiers remaining inside.”
“How do you want to slip inside, master?” Morgana asked.
“We can break one of the windows using motus,” Penelope suggested with wide eyes.
“Good idea,” I answered.
“And while you do that, we’ll stay outside and ensure no more soldiers or beasts invade the skies,” a familiar voice said from behind me.
When I swerved my head around, I saw Evanora and Olivia hovering on their dragons with determined eyes and clenched jaws.
“Alright,” I agreed. “We never know if the elders will be sending more reinforcements, so be on the lookout… and be careful!”
“You, too,” Olivia responded as she firmly nodded in our direction.
As they took off, I glanced down at the burning castle and found a window high up off the ground but just below us. I could hear screaming echoing from inside, and I knew we had to act quickly to save as many Vipera women as possible.
I swiftly narrowed my eyes at the tall, stained glass window and cleared my mind before I imagined the entire thing shattering into a thousand colorful shards of glass.
Motus.
In the next moment, the entire window exploded into pieces, and the smell of burned flesh quickly intensified as wisps of dark smoke seeped out from the opening.
“Fly down to that window,” I whispered to my dragon.
The beast growled before he carefully floated down toward the opening, and when I was close enough to slip inside, I peered in through the broken window.
Inside, absolute chaos was brewing. Witches and soldiers were frantically running in every direction, and blasts of color erupted anarchically throughout the hallways. Screams and voices echoed above the madness, and the crackling of fire intensified with each passing second.
“I’ll go first,” I instructed as I stared at the other witches. “There’s fire and utter madness within, but not enough to deter us from going inside and fighting.”
As I began to slip inside the crumbling Vipera Academy, I might have spoken too soon because in the next moment, out of nowhere, I felt someone grab onto my arm and yank me forward. He was incredibly strong, and his tug sent me tumbling to the ground and crashing against a stone wall. My head hit the wall with so much force my vision instantly blurred, and I could feel warm blood soaking the back of my head.
“Master!” I heard my coven scream.
When my vision cleared, I saw a towering man with pale, porcelain skin and shoulder-length blond hair approaching me. He wore a golden-breastplate and knee-high brown boots, and there was a satisfied smirk playing on his lips as he took giant steps toward me.
“The king will be pleased when I tell him I have crushed your skull with my boot,” his deep voice growled.
Without waiting another second, I pulled out my wand and aimed it right between his glowing green eyes.
“Tardesco!” I screamed.
A blast of light hit the giant elder, and he stumbled back as the other women began spilling into the sweltering corridor. The elder’s eyes narrowed in confusion as his movements grew slower, and then, as he stumbled closer to the open window, the women quickly moved out of the way.
But whoever this man was, his body must have been more resistant to the ancient spell because I could see his fingers twitching as he fought against the paralyzing incantation.
“Hey, asshole!” Nyx shouted before she stepped in front of him. “Have a nice trip.”
Before the giant elder could react, the blue-skinned witch blew a cloud of green smoke into his face, and in seconds, his expression went completely slack-jawed. Then he stopped moving entirely, and Nyx used all her force to shove him out the window.
The bastard couldn’t even cry out in shock as he fell to his death, and the women all regarded the blue-skinned witch with proud smiles and bright eyes as she dusted off her hands.
“Nice one, horns.” Akira grinned.
“Thanks,” Nyx snickered. “I decided after the last attack to always carry a little bit of this numbing powder with me.”
“Excellent thinking,” I groaned as I stood up and rubbed at the back of my throbbing head.
Before anyone could respond, I sensed something coming our way, and when I turned to the left, a cluster of soldiers were heading in our direction, and one of them had already notched an arrow. I aimed my wand at them, but before I could utter a word, the arrow shot through the air. The projectile whipped past me and toward Circe, but Faye shoved the blonde serpentine witch out of the way, and the weapon pierced the redhead right in her chest.
“Faye!” I shouted as she screamed out in pain, and the others huddled around her.
Boiling blood coursed through my veins, and without wasting another moment, I turned to face the group of men who dared to attack my women. The ground trembled as my rage grew, and the elders’ faces all fell as a cold chill swept over them. I pictured ripping their elder hearts from their shielded chests, and with all my willpower and strength, I summoned the darkness to come to my aid and kill these motherfuckers.
Modus antiquorum.
All the soldiers stopped moving, and their faces turned pale as they clutched onto their chests with twitching mouths and tear-filled eyes. They screamed out as their armor violently trembled, and then, all at once, giant gold-hued hearts spewed out from their chests and splattered onto the floor. Deep red blood covered their deviant-looking hearts, and to my surprise, they still pumped, even outside of their elder bodies.
As I neared the elders who were all buckled over and whimpering in agony, I slowly bent down to pick up one of the hearts, and the man who had shot the arrow looked at me with pleading, glassy eyes as I held onto his beating heart.
“Your king decided to fuck with the wrong Wiccas,” I growled just before I crushed the entire organ in the palm of my hand, and hot blood trickled down my wrist as the arrow wielding elder burst into blue flames.
“Conflo!” Circe’s voice echoed from behind me, and all the hearts exploded into ashes.
Then all the elders cried out one last time before they combusted into a blue inferno.
“Fuck,” Akira breathed as we stared at the remaining azure embers. “How…?”
“They can live for a while after their golden hearts are separated from their bodies,” Morgana explained, “but not for long.”
“Fucking roaches,” Akira grunted as her black eyes shone with roused hatred. “Why am I not surprised?”
“Well, either way,” I growled. “That was a hell of a lot more satisfying.”
Cole! the woman’s voice from my dreams rebounded inside my mind. You must find the banquet hall at once! Theodora is in danger… the king has found her!
“Fuck,” I breathed in sheer panic before I turned to the others. “Listen, we need to go! We have to help Theodora. I think the king has her.”
“Then let’s go!” Morgana urged with wide blue eyes.
“Faye,” I said as I stared at the bleeding redhead. “Will you be able to run?”
“Yes, master,” she responded with a weak smile before she ripped the still protruding arrow out of her chest. “You should know by now I’m much stronger than I look.”
“I know the way!” Nyx offered as she looked at each of us. “Come on!”
The others nodded before we sprinted down the hall with our wands extended in front of us. Shadows, students, and soldiers were running in every direction as we headed for the Vipera banquet hall, and as we fled to help our headmistress, we made sure to take out as many elders and mortal men as possible along the way.
“How close are we, Nyx?” I asked as Morgana used the ancient spell of dissulto to knock out an elder who sharply turned the corner and tried to surprise us.
“Not far!” the blue-skinned witch panted. “We’re almost there!”
Then we turned a corner, and just a few feet in front of us was a large mahogany door with gold embellishments carved along the sides. I didn’t need Nyx to tell me these were the doors leading to the banquet hall because not only could I sense a great danger lurking from within, but there were two elders standing watch at each side of the grand entranceway.
As soon as they saw us, they narrowed their bright eyes in our direction and curled up their lips in disgust. One of them had bright red hair and shimmering amber-toned eyes, while the other was a tad bit shorter with close-cropped brown hair and silver-blue eyes.
“It’s him.” The tall elder with the crimson hair scowled. “Let’s kill the male witch.”
“The king will certainly be pleased if we do,” the other cackled. “Let’s make it slow.”
“Or not,” I growled before we all aimed our wands at the duo. “It’s all of us against you two, morons.”
No one needed instruction before we all blasted different incantations in the elders’ direction. Each of us emitted a different spell simultaneously, and both men hit the wall with a thunderous thump as their bodies convulsed, spasmed, and twitched like spiders were crawling through their veins.
When they went entirely limp, Akira stood by my side and then whispered into my ear.
“May I cut their throats with my bonded blade, master?” she begged. “I’d love to watch the life drain out from their holy bodies.”
“You may.” I nodded.
Arousal and satisfaction coursed through my entire body as the black-haired beauty lowered herself to the fallen elders’ level, and without hesitation, she pulled out her dagger and slashed deeply across their throats one by one.
“What a neat and steady hand you have, Akira,” Vesta purred. “I do believe you are getting quite talented when it comes to throat-slitting.”
“Thank you, Vesta.” The black-eyed witch grinned before she tucked her blade back into her waistband.
“Alright,” I said as I studied the door. “There’s no need to use the periculum incantation to sense what’s behind these doors. We all know who’s waiting for me, so I need you to stay close and alert. We have no idea just how powerful Donovan truly is.”
“Yes, master,” my coven answered in unison while Circe and Beatrix nodded in agreement.
“We can do this,” Beatrix added with a small smile. “Can’t we?”
“That’s fucking right,” I said before I pushed back my shoulders, took a deep breath, and then opened the door.
The first thing I noticed was that the Vipera banquet hall was quite expansive and remarkably similar to the one in Scholomance. Long, white candles hovered in the air while patterned, bloody rugs swept across the black marble floors.
“So, you’ve decided to make your grand entrance,” a familiar voice echoed, and my entire body instantly flooded with searing rage. “I was wondering when you’d finally show up.”
“I can’t exactly say the same for you,” I shouted with my wand aimed in front of me. “Per usual, I can only hear your annoying voice. Why don’t you man up and show yourself?”
“But of course,” the king chuckled. “How terribly rude of me.”
In seconds, a golden cloud of dust erupted before us, and the shimmering particles stung my eyes and blocked my throat. The women violently began to cough and gasp for air, and the sensation was almost too much to bear.
“Does that sting?” his menacing voice cackled. “Don’t worry… you’ll only feel it for a bit.”
Before I could answer, a giant thump echoed from behind me, and when I spun around, I was horrified to see the women lying unconscious on the ground with their wands still held tightly within their grasps. They looked like a group of sleeping statues, with their lips parted open and their chests rising and falling with each steady breath.
Thank Satan, they seemed to simply be in a deep sleep and nothing worse.
“Sorry about that,” the king muttered from behind me. “A part of me wanted your damn bitches to watch you die… but I think they would have just gotten in the way, don’t you? Now, face me… man to elder.”
When I slowly turned around, I was finally able to see King Donovan’s fucking face. The man was tall, about my height, with piercing yellow-green eyes and snow-white hair. He had a strong jaw and a robust build, and he was dressed in a blinding gold armor that stung my eyes like the sun. To my surprise, he barely had any weapons on him, except for one small dagger dangling by his side.
“Where’s Theodora?” I growled.
“It doesn’t matter,” he replied with a gleaming white smile. “What only matters now is you and me… I’ve been waiting a long time to face you, Cole. Your name has been a poison on everyone’s lips, and I think it’s time we put an end to your little charade once and for all… don’t you?”
“Just shut the fuck up,” I snarled as I aimed my wand in between his eyes and summoned the darkness to come rushing to my side. “Praeteritum!”
As the room grew dark, a sudden glow surrounded the king, and my heart sank with dread when nothing happened to him. His taunting smile widened, even though I expected him to scream and beg for mercy like his general did when I used the same incantation to destroy him.
“Did you think I would be as careless and as weak as my general?” King Donovan chuckled. “No, I came prepared this time… and Cole, I promise you… I will make you suffer. Praevolo.”
Suddenly, a blast of blinding red light spurted out from the palm of his hand and hit me straight in the chest. Even with Beatrix’s charm, it sent me flying back into a stone wall behind me, and I landed with a painful thud as I reopened my wound until hot blood trickled down the back of my head. My eyesight instantly grew hazy as hot bile rose up into my throat, but I still forced myself to get back up onto my feet.
“I knew I was going to enjoy killing you little by little, Cole,” King Donovan taunted as he raised his hand in my direction once more. “Tragicum.”
As a searing red light came speeding in my direction, I quickly closed my eyes and opened my black heart to the darkness. No matter how strong he was, I refused to let him win, and I knew I only stood a chance with joint, hellish power at my side.
I needed my shadow, or rather, I needed myself in full force, no matter how power-draining it would be.
I had to finish this once and for all.
Nunc apparet.
I’m coming, my shadow’s voice echoed. Just hold on, Cole.
Right before the crimson beam could hit me and cause any more damage, the air suddenly turned dark. Then a cold chill crept through the entire banquet hall, and shivers ran down my skin as my red shadow darted over and blocked the spell from killing me. His body turned into flames, and I knew that if it hadn’t been for him and our connection, my body would have instantly turned into ashes.
“No!” King Donovan screamed. “This can’t be… you should be burning! No Wicca has ever blocked my flaming curse before!”
Let’s kill this fucker, my shadow chuckled inside my head. Slowly.
I had no idea how his voice could seep into my mind without our bodies and soul bonded as one, but I knew that was a question best saved for another time. So, without any further hesitation, I took a deep breath and steadied my rapidly beating heart before I raised my wand and looked at my hellish half.
“Teneat corpus tuum!” I cried out with all my strength.
As my shadow crept into my body, and my skin turned to red mist, I could feel our great power connecting and flowing through my veins like a searing river. My heart pounded fiercely inside my body, and I could feel myself growing larger and towering above the elder as my horns, hands, and entire frame grew in size and supremacy.
“No!” King Donovan shouted. “God’s power flows through me!”
“And the Devil’s command flows in me, motherfucker,” I retorted, and my voice was much deeper and louder, like a monstrous echo within the deepest cavern of hell.
As I stared down at the elder king, all my rage, power, and lust for death took over my senses, and for a moment, I felt like I could command oceans, burn realms, conquer kingdoms, and devour the souls of every single last elder in the heavens.
For at that moment, I was death incarnate. And King Donovan was about to taste my wrath, fury, and vengeance.
As I raised my giant, ghostly hand, the elder’s silver eyes widened in disbelief and horror, right before I uttered the incantation to put this all to a fucking end.
“Modus antiquorum!”
As the spell left my wispy lips, I pictured consuming the heart, flesh, and bones from his entire fucking soul.
Soon, the room darkened until it was blacker than night, and everything began to shake. Rubble cascaded from the ceiling and tumbled downward, and even through the darkness, I could see King Donovan’s glowing eyes widen with terror as he opened his mouth to cry out. Then he tried to raise a trembling hand in front of him as if he could stop me from stealing his soul. He fought back as much as he could, but once I penetrated his glowing aura, I could see how truly malicious he was. The elder might have been masking himself as an angel of purity and good, but deep down, he was just as evil as I was.
But it didn’t matter because, in the end, I was far more powerful than he ever anticipated, and now, he was paying for it, both in body and soul.
A final, long drawn out scream left his lips as his radiant soul seeped out from his gaping mouth and into my own body. As I devoured his entity, he slowly began to turn into an ashy skeleton, but before he crumbled into a pile of dust, the remnants of his glowing eyes bored into mine, and with the last ounce of strength he had left, he uttered his final words.
“God warned me about you… I should have listened.”
Then he turned into nothingness, and when I was staring down at nothing but a pile of ashes, I took in a long, deep breath and let the calm wash over me.
We did it, Cole, my shadow echoed. We’ve killed God’s right-hand man.