Coven of Wolves (18 page)

With that, I remove Tobias' hold spell and walk up to Brian. When he sees the look on my face, he takes a few steps back. As forcefully as I can, I tell him, "Someone we care about is in danger. If we don't get to her soon she could die. No more games. You can stop wasting our time by either offering us the bracelet to give us a change at saving her; or you can keep playing your games without us until those witches come back to finish the job they started."

This, I can see, gives Brian the necessary scare I needed. "They-they're gonna come back?"

Now I smirk and cross my arms. "Who's to say? Most magical witches like to keep our presence hidden from normal people. I can tell you this much though: those Initiators either want to use you for something later or were too much in a hurry to tie up loose ends. Either way, you'll be seeing them again."

A sickening look come across his face. "I'm listening."

"I have something that can help you stay under their radar. And more than that, I can tell you about the broken Synoro sword you had earlier." The mention of the sword suddenly peeks his interest. I remove my own sword from it's scabbard and show it to him. Brian gets a look of confusion.

"That sword looks exactly like the one what was stolen, except it isn't broken.", Brian states.

"This sword is one of many. I know all about the people who stole your sword from you. I'll offer you this: give us the bracelet and I'll give you the means to hide yourself from the witches AND the knowledge of who attacked you and why. Deal?"

Brian pauses a moment, then nods his head slowly. "Deal."

Anna then says, "Good. Now, where is the bracelet?"

Brian says, "Here, in the back. After the sword break in, I don't like to keep any of the rarer pieces out in the open anymore. Follow me."

We follow Brian through a set of curtains and into the back of the store. Lots of strange items fill wall shelves. A petrified monkey who seems to be over a hundred years old sits beside a large raven's claw holding a dark crystal orb. Scrolls and parchment lay underneath posters of long forgotten silent films. Normally I'd be interested in exploring a room like this more but the thought of finding Mika keeps me focused on the task at hand.

We head over to one wall containing a large framed poster advertising a circus freak show from the 1800s. Brian pushes on the left side of the door sized frame. The frame then clicks and swings open, revealing a hidden panic room behind it. Brian flicks a switch and suddenly we find ourselves in a room containing a small supply of food and water in one small corner. The main of the room however is filled with glass enclosed display cases, each spotlighting one oddity after another.

The moment Anna enters the room, her necklace begins to shimmer. A small wooden box on one of the shelves begins to move slightly. Anna gasps saying, "That's it."

Brian moves over to the box and removes it from it's glass housing. "I haven't been able to figure much out about this bracelet other than it always appears in my hand whenever I wish for it hard enough. The person who had it before me told me that it will always return to me unless I officially offer it up to someone else. If you keep your promise to me, it's yours."

I can magically sense he is speaking the truth. "Fine", I say. I take off the leather bracelet Anna had given me earlier and offer it to Brian.

Horrified, Tobias says, "Devin, what are you doing? You need that to hide yourself from..."

I take Tobias' hand and say, "It'll be fine. I can have Fenrus mask my presence until Anna can create a new band for me. We need his bracelet Tobias. It may already be too late." Again, I offer the bracelet to Brian. "This will shield you from anyone trying to find you magically. It should buy you enough time to run to safety if the witches come back."

Brian takes it, seeing that Tobias is wearing one also. "Guess I'm not the only one on the run then?"

Tobias angrily says, "No, you're not."

Brian puts the bracelet on and just as Tobias before him, I can't magically sense Brian's presence at all.

"As for the sword and who stole it from you..." I begin to say.

"More witches?", Brian asks.

"No, not witches. This." I place the palm of my hand on Brian's forehead and flood his mind with images of the werewolf scenes we had experienced earlier. The effort takes a strain on the both of us, causing me to have to lean against a wall for support. Tobias moves behind Brian to help him stand upright. After a few moments Brian looks at the lot of us and says, "Werewolves? Are you fucking kidding me? They really exist?"

Tobias, obviously annoyed, says, "We're witches. Do you doubt that?"

Catching himself, Brian says, "Sorry, you're right. Whoa, this is just way too much to take in at once." Brian takes a deep breath inward. "But a promise is a promise."

Brian holds up the wooden box and hands it over to Anna. "I offer you this gift willingly. Do with it as you will."

With shaking hands Anna accepts it. The contents of the box begins to shine brightly through the cracks of the ancient box. Anna slowly lifts the small latch, revealing a beautifully created bracelet inside. It's markings perfectly match the necklace she wears completely. "I can't believe it. After so long, to have two of the pieces finally together again."

"Put it on Anna.", I say. "Let's save Mika."

With a newfound giddiness, Anna puts the bracelet on. Tobias helps her with the clasp. When the bracelet is finally affixed, Anna instinctively morphs back into her white priestess clothing, causing Brian to gasp in awe. Sekhmet jumps into Anna's arms and begins to purr.

"This is amazing! I've never felt so..."

And with that Anna and Sekhmet suddenly disappear into nothingness. Tobias, Fenrus and I look on in disbelief. We glance around the room in vain, hoping she simply moved herself to another location nearby. Nothing. We then scan for any mystical energy around the building to see if there's any trace of her anywhere to be found. Again, nothing.

Breaking our concentration, Brian shouts, "What the hell just happened? One minute the old broad is here, the next she's gone?"

I can feel Tobias gathering energy around him. He uses that strength to lift Brian by the collar of his shirt and slam him against a set of glass shelves. "What did you do?!"

Brian tries to force Tobias' hand open, but to no avail. "Nothing! Fuck, I didn't do anything! I promise!" He then turns to me and says, "Get your fucking boyfriend off of me!"

I put one hand on the arm Tobias is using to hold up Brian. "Tobias, he didn't have anything to do with Anna's disappearance. I scanned him magically when we first got here. He's human. You need to put him down."

Tobias gathers himself mentally and loosens his grip on Brian. Brian slowly slides back down to the ground. "I'm sorry. I just have no idea what the hell is going on anymore. I'm sorry."

Brian smoothes down his shirt and nods in acceptance. Tobias then turns to me and says, "Devin, what are we going to do? I can't sense Anna anywhere. It's like she just vanished without a trace. The magic from the bracelet was so potent...you don't think it destroyed her, do you?"

I look at Fenrus to see if perhaps he might have any insight. The only thing I can feel emanating from him is a sense of confusion. I then bend down and ask Fenrus if he thinks Anna could be dead. Fenrus mentally answers back, "No, not dead. Just not here. Pulled elsewhere else by very strong magic." He then whimpers. "Can't sense Sekhmet anymore either."

Brian then says, "Whoa, you're telling me your telepathically communicating with your dog?" I give Brian a look of annoyance. He responds by putting his hands up in front of him, and backs up.

"According to Fenrus, he doesn't think Anna is dead. Only that some other force pulled her away to some other location. It must be pretty far away. The link he had with Sekhmet is gone too. We have no way of knowing who took them, or when or if they're ever going to return."

Tobias slumps his shoulders and says, "And without Anna and Sekhmet, our chances of saving Mika just went out the window as well."

I walk over to Tobias and put his face into my hands. "No, don't say that. Look at me, we do have a chance. We are going to The Cauldron and we're not leaving until we have Mika with us. I promise you Tobias, we WILL save her. I mean it."

A tear falls from one of Tobias' eyes. "I don't know what I would do if I didn't have you Devin."

I hold him in my arms and say, "I'm never leaving you Tobias. We're going to get through this. I don't know how, but we will."

I hear Fenrus bark and look to see what's sparking his attention. When we turn to see where he's at, we see him pawing at a long, slender case on an opposing wall.

Brian shouts, "Hey, control your dog, man. I have some very valuable items back here. None of this stuff can be replaced. If he breaks anything, you're gonna be paying me some serious moolah."

I ask Brian, "What do you have in that drawer?"

Brian replies, "It's a sword, used during the witch trials in Europe. It's over 400 years old. One of my clients traded it to me for another item in my collection."

"Can we see it?", I ask.

Brian looks nervously at the two of us, then walks over to the case and slides it open. He reaches in and pulls out a beautifully handled sword resting in a detailed scabbard. He looks at the sword nervously, then reluctantly hands it over to Tobias. "Just be very careful with it, please. I'm still trying to research it's exact origins."

Tobias holds the sword's scabbard in his hands and says, "This sword still has magic lingering from it." Tobias removes the sword from the scabbard and looks it over. "Countless witches have been killed with this sword. I can still sense the magical blood that used to coat it."

I look at Tobias and say, "Focus. That happened a long time ago. There has to be a reason why it attracted Fenrus' attention. Let's find out and be on our way. Mika needs us."

Tobias takes a few deep breaths and says, "Sorry. I just got a rush of images the moment I released the sword from it's cover. Fenrus, what's so special about this sword?"

In my head I hear Fenrus' voice. I repeat everything he says to Tobias and Brian. "The sword helps connect to the spirit world. Specifically, ghosts of witches who've died by foul play. It will help you connect with any witches who might have been killed by the Initiators."

Tobias gulps and asks, "So you think Mika might already have been...killed?"

Fenrus has me say, "No, not dead yet. But will help you get advantage from the already dead."

Tobias says, "I guess it's better than nothing. Brian, what can we give you for this sword?"

Brian says, "Hey, that sword is priceless. I had to give up a really rare manuscript owned by Aleksei Musin-Pushkin for it. Unless you have something that's totally going to blow my mind, it's not for sale. Unless.."

"Unless what?", I ask.

"I'll take the dog. I could use a telepathic dog.", Brian says.

"No way!", I shout. "Fenrus isn't just a dog. And he's WAY more precious than some stupid sword. The dog isn't up for negotiations."

At this I feel warmth and love emanating from Fenrus. He barks in agreement.

"Fine", Brian says. "How about some magic lessons. Something tells me I'm gonna need more than just a baseball bat if those goons decide to come back."

Tobias looks sadly at Brian and says, "I wish we could Brian, but magic isn't something just anyone can conjure up. You have to be born with some type of magical leaning. If you don't have that, then you can't tap into the necessary elements and keys needed to create real magic."

"Then sorry, the sword's not for sale."

Tobias puts the sword back into it's scabbard and shoves it back into Brian's hands. "Fine. We've wasted enough time here as it is. Come on Devin. We have to go."

The three of us leave Brian in the panic room and make our way to the front of the store. As we do, we see a couple lighted patrol cars arrive and park at the curb in front of the store. I turn back to Brian, who has followed us out and say, "Looks like the police finally arrived. I seriously doubt they would believe the supernatural part of the break in, but if you could please just leave us out of your statement, I would greatly appreciate it."

Brian says, "Yeah, no problem." He then rubs the leather bracelet I gave him. "And thank you."

I nod, turning to Tobias and Fenrus. We are about to magically leave before the police notices us when Brian says, "Wait!" He takes the sword in scabbard, now hanging from one of his arms, and tosses it toward us. Once Tobias catches it, Brian says, "I don't only deal in artifacts. I do have use for knowledge as well. Promise me you'll come back from time to time to answer some questions, and the sword is yours. Deal?"

Tobias smiles at Brian and says, "Deal."

As the bell from the front door dings open, the three of us magically will ourselves into Anna's car parked outside. Left alone to greet the police officers, Brian says to himself, "No one's gonna fuckin' believe a word of what just happened."

• • •

We park several blocks away from our destination. The sun has already begun to set and I can feel a strangeness in the air. Afraid that Anna's expensive car will stand out in the mostly industrial surroundings, I create a glamour spell to hide the car's appearance. Anyone passing by it will only see a very old abandoned car, and will have the urge to leave it be. We sit in the car, waiting for what seems like eternity. I look at the clock on the dash board and realize it's only been 5 minutes.

"So, the place is only a few blocks that way. What should we do next?", Tobias asks nervously.

"Well, Fenrus thought we could use the sword from the store somehow. Let's see if it can help us now.", I answer.

Tobias takes the sword off of his arm and removes it from the scabbard. He holds it in front of us as we wait for it to do something special. When nothing happens, I hear Fenrus in my head say, "Lay your hands on the blade."

We do and I am happy to discover the metal isn't made of silver. An eerie feeling comes over me though. I can sense Tobias is having the same experience. The feeling ripples out and around the car. We look around us and are surprised by what we see. What originally had been an empty street has now become a bustling roadway crowded with people. Their faint figures fade in and out of focus, revealing to us that they are not truly members of the living anymore. They carry sad expressions on their faces, walking along is if in solitude despite their large numbers.