Coven of Wolves (17 page)

I look at the ground beside me and see the unconscious form of Tobias and a very groggy Fenrus. Suddenly Mika's front door swings open and Anna rushes in. She is surprised to see us on the ground and rushes over to us.

"What happened?"

I try very hard to catch my breath and say to her, "Something happened during a spell. Mika, she's in trouble!"

Sekhmet appears from behind Anna and quickly prances over to Fenrus. The two familiars nuzzle noses, which seems to help Fenrus regain his strength somewhat. Similarly, I begin to feel a bit better as well. Anna and I move over to Tobias to make sure he's alright. I lift him into my arms and he begins to come to. When he opens his eyes, he looks deep into mine. His beautiful hazel eyes take on a warm brown shade. As we look into each other, I know he's alright.

I look down and see Tobias' hand is still bleeding. We're both too weak to try a healing spell, which does take a good amount of energy to project. So instead I take off my shirt and rip it in two. I use one half of the shirt to wrap his bleeding hand, forming a makeshift bandage. With the other, I wrap my own hand in kind.

Anna places her hands over each of us and begins speaking in ancient Egyptian. After a few moments our hands feel somewhat better and the bleeding stops. When her spell is over, she says to each of us, "You two have been enchanted. There doesn't seem to be any negative aspects I can sense, but something happened to alter both of your auras somewhat."

"That's not important right now. I just saw Mika being kidnapped by a group of Initiators! She's in terrible danger!"

Anna gets a look of concern on her face. "I sensed something was wrong. I felt her anguish so I ran down here as fast as I could. I've been trying to magically see where she is and what happened to her, but something is blocking my vision."

"It must be the witch I saw with the rest of the Initiators. They put a strange disk around Mika's neck. I sense it somehow blocks magic."

Tobias says, "A strange disk? It must be a Hexing Stock. Puritans used them on witches during the witch hunts in Europe and the early settlements of America. They inhibit a witch's gifts, leaving them defenseless to protect themselves magically."

Anna's eyes glaze over and I can tell she is trying to locate Mika again. When her eyes revert to normal, she says, "Nothing. Devin, could you see where Mika was when the Initiators arrived?"

"She was at a store called Curious Collectibles. She went there to ask the store owner some questions. The Initiators were holding him captive while they went after Mika."

Anna says, "I know that place. It's on Irving and 16th."

Tobias interjects saying, "I remember how to get to those streets. If we leave now maybe we'll be able to track their essence back to where Mika is."

I hold Tobias and say, "You're not going anywhere. You've lost some blood and aren't yet strong enough."

With a firm tone Tobias says, "Devin, we've both lost blood but I'm not letting Anna go by herself against a group of Initiators. To hell with the coven and the werewolves. Mika is like a sister to me and I'm not going to leave her out there to die."

Before I can realize what I'm saying I hear the words "I love you" leave my lips.

Tobias smiles and says, "Ditto". I take off the bloody bandage from his hand and inspect the wound. Thanks to Anna's spell, it has completely healed. I take off my bandage and see the same result.

After putting the bloodied bandages into my pocket, I look over to Anna, ready to tell her that we're both coming with her whether she likes it or not. Instead, I'm surprised to see she is already standing at the door, waiting for us to follow her. I nuzzle Fenrus' fur, signaling him to come with us. For some reason I instinctively grab hold of the Synoro sword on the ground. I see one of Mika's empty scabbards nearby and place the Synoro sword inside it. I swing the harness around my chest and feel the sword fall securely in place on my back. Tobias and I then walk over to Anna. When we reach her, Anna extends her hand. On her palm materializes two brown leather bands. Etched into the leather is a cat's eye and several Egyptian hieroglyphs around it.

"I was meaning to give you both these bands after All Hollow's Eve, once you've left my home. They are enchanted to help hide it's wearer from other magical beings and their magic. Powerful magic might be able to break through the enchantment's veil, but they still should be able to help you somewhat once you leave my protection."

Tobias and I each take a band and examine them. The energy from the leather pulses in my hand. When I put the band on my wrist, I can see a clear coat of magic envelope me then disappear. The same thing happens to Tobias. When I look at him I still see the same Tobias, but magically can no longer sense anything coming from him. It's almost as if he didn't exist at all. I try magically scanning for Tobias' devotional necklace, but nothing. The expression on his face tells me he senses the same from me.

"Thank you", I tell Anna. She nods and wills the door to open, allowing us to leave the building. The elevator takes us to an underground garage. Anna walks us over to a stall where a large car is parked with a car cover draped over it. Tobias reaches for the front of the cover and dramatically throws it off to the side. Underneath is a beautifully kept silver Rolls Royce. The metal is still shiny, as if it had just been taken off of the factory production line.

Tobias turns to us and says, "I'm driving."

Anna gets into the passenger seat with Sekhmet curling up on her lap as she fastens her safety belt. Fenrus and I climb into the back. No sooner do I close the door than Tobias has the car revved and peeling out of the building. Tobias zooms around several slow moving cars, but much like our previous experience with Mika's driving, no one outside of the car seems to notice. I look over to Anna and see that it's not her that is glamouring our dangerous driving, but Sekhmet. The magic slowly streams out of him as he lays curled up in Anna's lap purring with his eyes closed.

After a few blocks I can feel the protective magic that shielded us in Anna's apartment building slowly begin to fade. After a few more blocks, it disappears altogether. I rub the leather band Anna gave me, hoping it's own set of magic will hide us long enough to find Mika.

We arrive at the destination in no time. As we approach the building there's no sign of disturbance at all. Once we walk in however, things couldn't be more different. The store is in complete disarray. Broken candles and mini-statues of gods are scattered across the floor, and jars of herbs sitting on the counters are shattered, filling the store with a smell of wilderness and fauna. Along the far wall I can see the store owner from my previous spirit travel picking up several books from the floor and placing them back on the shelves that previously housed them. His dark hair is unkempt, as if he were just in a tousling match with someone. His vintage Smiths t-shirt is ripped and dirty, which only seems to match the condition of his blue jeans. I notice one of the shoe laces on his black and white Converse All-Star shoes has come undone as well. The jingling bell of the open door alerts him to our presence. With a defeated voice of sadness he says, "I'm sorry folks. I forgot to put up the closed sign on the door. As you can see, the store was just ransacked and robbed. The store's probably gonna be closed for the next few days."

Anna steps forward and asks, "Do you remember me? I used to come here a few years ago. Since then I've had my grand-daughter stop in to pick up supplies for me on occasion. Her name's Mika? Pretty dark complected girl with green eyes, like mine?"

The look on his face completely freezes with terror as the last book in his hand drops to the ground. He then notices the sword handle behind my shoulder and slowly begins to back away saying, "I don't know anything...lee-leave me alone. The cops will be here any minute."

Tobias says, "We're not here to hurt you. We're just trying to find Mika. We think she's in danger. Do you know where the others took her?"

The store owner moves himself behind a suit of armor and begins eyeing the sword displayed along with it. "How do you know there were others? How do you know they took her?"

I say, "We don't have a lot of time. They could be miles away from here by now doing Gods knows what. If you know where they've gone, just tell us and we'll be on our way."

The guy says, "I told you, I don't know where they've gone. One minute I'm talking with your friend and the next thing I know, a gang of goons comes into my store and starts tearing up the place. If I knew where they were headed, believe me, I'd tell you!"

Frustrated, Anna says, "This is getting us nowhere." Anna bends down and picks up Sekhmet into her arms and strokes him. Sekhmet's eyes turn white in response. Anna then locks eyes with the store owner. He suddenly goes limp. The fear and anxiety on his face completely disappear. Instead he gets a sleepy, almost day dreamy look on his face. In an ethereal voice I've never heard before, Anna says to him, "What is your name?"

Sheepishly the man says, "Brian."

Still in the ethereal voice, Anna responds, "It's nice to meet you Brian. Now Brian, do you remember the people who came here earlier?"

Brian nods.

"Do you know who they are?"

Brian slowly shakes his head from side to side.

"Do you know where they took my grand-daughter?"

Brian gets a questioning look on his face and says, "I think they used magic on each other."

Anna replies, "Yes, now, do you know where they took my grand-daughter?"

"I think they might be witches. Not the kooky witches that come to buy things in my store, but the real kind. You know, like Samantha from Bewitched."

Sternly, Anna says, "Brian, you must focus now. Do you know where they took my grand-daughter?"

Brian appears deep in thought for a moment, then says, "No, I don't, but some of the people I'm in contact with online say that there's a place near Lockwood Street and Fischer Avenue called The Cauldron. Said a lot of freaky shit goes on down there. Witchy stuff. If the people who took her really are witches, they might have taken her there."

"Lockwood and Fischer?"

"Yeah, but I wouldn't go down there if I were you. It's way too dangerous for an old broad like yourself. If your grand-daughter is there, you might want to bring more people with you. A lot more. People turn up missing around there all the time."

Anna stops petting Sekhmet and his eyes revert back to normal. She sets Sekhmet down on the ground and in her own voice again, Anna says, "Thank you Brian. You've been really helpful."

Brian gets a head rush expression on his face and tries to shake it off. When he seems back to his senses again, he looks at us as if we had just tried pulling one over on him. "How did you do that? You just Jedi Mind Tricked me, didn't you?"

The lot of us turn to leave when Brian runs over and stands in front of us. He happily says, "Come on, admit it. You just zapped my brain or something to get me to talk, didn't you? What are you guys, CIA? Are you part of some sort of paranormal government agency or something?"

When we walk around him and edge closer to the door he shouts, "I have the Bracelet of Bastet".

At this, Anna freezes in her tracks. She turns back to him and very matter of factly says, "You don't. The Bracelet of Bastet has been lost to the ages. It hasn't been seen in over a thousand years."

Brian smirks, crossing his arms in front of him. "Well, I don't know what to tell you but I have a bracelet that is designed exactly like the necklace you're wearing. Seems to me it's not a very common pattern now, is it?"

Anna instinctively feels at her neck, expecting the Eye of Bastet to be in it's hidden cameo form. Instead she realizes it has reverted back to it's original necklace state. Astonished, she says, "What do you know about the bracelet?"

Brian shifts his hands into his pockets and leans back onto the balls of his feet saying, "I know that one of my childless online clients was very protective of it and had it willed to me once he passed away. According to him, the bracelet is part of a jewelry set Pharaoh's and priestesses wore in ancient times. In all, there's supposed to be three items in the set: the necklace you're wearing, the bracelet, and a ring. The set was broken up and hidden a long time ago by some cult that has since disappeared. No one's ever seen any of the pieces united since then...until now."

Tobias flings his hand dismissively at Brian and he suddenly freezes in place. Tobias then turns to Anna and says, "We're wasting time. No disrespect to your devotion to Bastet, but we have a solid lead on where Mika might be. Why are we standing here talking about a bracelet?"

With hope in her eyes, Anna says, "You don't understand. As you know, only a select few witches have the ability to transport themselves from one place to another. And even then, they can only travel a few feet at a time before the effort becomes too exhausting. The Jewels of Bastet are said to hold tremendous power. Each item carries with it a particular gift to it's wearer. The amulet can channel a witch's gifts, either lowering or increasing it's potency when needed. The bracelet is said to allow the witch wearing it to travel great distances in the blink of an eye. The ring gives it's wearer eternal youth. Don't you see? If we were to have access to the bracelet, we'd be able to travel to where Mika is being held, get her, then travel back to safety before anyone realizes what is happening. We NEED that bracelet."

I ask, "Then why don't we just make him tell us where it is and take it."

Anna shakes her head and says, "Bastet's items can not be taken. They're enchanted to always return to their owner when called upon. No, if we have any chance of possessing the bracelet, we need to have it's owner give it to us by his own free will. Magic can not take part in it."

"Then what do you expect we should do?", I ask.

I then hear Fenrus' voice in my head say, "Offer a trade."

I look at him and ask, "Trade what? We don't have anything to give."

Suddenly I hear a new voice in my head say, "Knowledge is power. Offer him knowledge on something he desperately wants to know." I turn to Sekhmet and know it was him that just spoke to me.