Coven of Wolves (23 page)

The look on Mika's face becomes stoic. "What do we have to do?"

Tobias takes the sword and moves it onto Mika's lap. "Simply lay your hands on it and focus on who you want to see."

Mika bites her lip, looking at Tobias with fear. Tobias consoles her and says, "I'll be right here beside you."

I go over and sit on the other side of Mika and say, "Me too."

Mika mouths the word 'thanks' and slowly places her hands on the blade. I look at Tobias and we both place our hands on the sword as well, hoping to help amplify Mika's request.

After a few moments, a strange feeling overcomes us, similar to the first time Tobias and I used the sword. Several figures shift in and out of focus in front of us but no matter how hard we try, the spirit of Anna cannot be found. A sense of relief emanates from Mika. At least we know that Anna is still alive out there. We're about to remove our hands from the sword when suddenly three figures begin to come into view. Two women and a male, all in their late forties to early fifties. Although I've never seen them before in my life, something about them seems very familiar to me.

"Mom? Dad?", Tobias asks in a very shaky voice.

"Mom? Is that you?" Mika also asks.

Suddenly the familiar faces make sense to me. Looking closer, two of the figures look very much like Tobias. They must be his parents, Alex and Chloe. Similarly, the third figure I notice does resemble Mika. They both share the same jade green eyes. She must be Lizzy, Anna's daughter.

The three specters smile at their children as they become fully formed. I can only imagine what Tobias and Mika are feeling. A gasp of joy escapes their lips.

Tobias shouts out, saying, "What are you doing here?"

The ghost I'm assuming to be Chloe answers, "We're here to warn you. There's a lot to go over so there's not a lot of time, but before I say anything else, you have to know that Anna is not dead."

"She's not?", Mika asks with hope in her voice.

Her mother replies, "No, she not. At least, she's not on the spirit plane with us. We don't know exactly what's happened to her, but at least keep in faith that she's still alive." Lizzy looks upon Mika with loving eyes. "Oh little girl, how I miss you."

Mika wipes away her tears and says, "I miss you too."

Alex then says, "What you should also know is that our car accident wasn't an accident at all. We were murdered."

Horrified, Tobias exclaims, "What?"

Chloe answers, "Yes, by the same witch you're running from now. Malik. He had members of his coven watch over us to see when we would all be together and vulnerable. It was Malik who made the car explode. We didn't sense his magic until it was too late."

Choking back tears, Tobias shouts, "No!"

Lizzy says to Tobias, "He killed us so that you would become weaker to him, easier to join his coven. With us out of the way, there is no one to question you joining him. He would be able to sweep in and have his coven take our place as your family." She sees the emotional devastation on Tobias' face. "You mustn't mourn our passing." Then to Mika, "Neither of you. What was done can't be changed. It's the future that matters. You three are in terrible danger. That is what you must focus on. That's what's important right now."

Chloe interjects, "Tomorrow is All Hollow's Eve. You already know that Malik and his coven were waiting for that day to attack you, but you still don't know the real reason why he chose that day to begin with."

I comment by saying, "According to Anna, All Hollow's Eve is a sacred day for witches. The walls between our world and the spirit world is the thinnest. We make contact with our loved ones who've passed on, offering them warm wishes and thanks."

Alex says, "You're right. That's what most witches celebrate that day for. Unfortunately, the walls between our worlds being so transparent, it leaves easy access for other things to enter your world as well. Malik is using All Hollow's Eve to help bring over evil entities to help defeat the both of you. What he's bringing over are demons."

A cold shiver runs down my spine. I look over at Tobias and Mika and suddenly I feel a sick knot forming at the base of my stomach.

Alex continues, "He's convinced the other members of his coven to allow their bodies to serve as hosts for the demons. In Malik's mind, the demons will help augment this coven's power to a level where murdering the two of you would be a lot easier to accomplish. What he doesn't realize is that demons are master liars. Any agreement they make with Malik will be cast aside once they are given access to the mortal world. The three of you must be on your guard at all times. No matter what happens, you can't let those demons run free. If they're allowed to stay in your world, they will literally bring about hell on earth."

Mika asks, "What can we do to stop them?"

Lizzy replies, "You have to destroy the host bodies. Malik's people are willingly offering themselves over to these demons. Their physical bodies anchor the demons to your world, and there's no exorcizing them. The only way for them to be free is if the demons leave on their own accord, and that's something a demon will never do. With those demons inside them, your former coven will be extremely powerful and savagely dangerous. I'm not going to kid you. It's not going to be easy."

Alex includes, "Once the host bodies are destroyed, you need to spiritually send the demons back to their true plane of existence. But you must be sure that it's done before All Hollow's Eve ends. Once it ends, the walls between your world and theirs become sealed again and the demons are free to roam, getting stronger every day. They will look for more victims to possess and torment."

I motion to the room around me and tell them, "But we're stuck here in the meanwhile. If we try to leave to stop Malik, we'll not only have Malik and the coven to deal with, but the werewolves will be on our tail all over again."

Chloe takes a few steps toward me and gets down to my level. "The werewolves are the key to your success Devin. Somehow, you must get them to side with you to help fight the demons. As you've already seen, magic has very little effect on them. They are perfect weapons you can use in your fight against Malik."

Feeling displaced, I say, "Have you seen the way they've treated us? Their leaders gave orders to bring us in dead or alive! We're an inconvenience to them they'd rather not have."

Tenderly Alex tells me, "But you've already shown that you have some sway with them. The werewolves would have easily killed all three of you but look at you now...still alive and well. Don't sell yourself short Devin. You are a bigger piece to these wolves' lives than you give yourself credit for. We have faith in you."

Chloe then stands up and adds, "You're being held just outside of Portland, Oregon on the outskirts of Tryon Creek State Natural Area. You won't have time to return to Los Angeles. You're going to have to make your stand here. That works in your favor though. Malik will have to waste energy trying to locate you here. Take advantage of that time. Convince the werewolves to help you. It's your only chance."

I think a moment, mulling over different scenarios. "We have to find my father. If we can convince him and my brother to join us, we might have a better chance at getting more of the wolves to help us too."

Mika says, "It's a start, but how are we going to get out of here? There's too many wolves around, and we don't even know where your father is."

Tobias agrees, saying, "Mika's right. Even if we could somehow locate your dad, we can only teleport a few feet at a time. Once we're outside this room, the wolves will spot us. If that happens, then we're dead. They've scent marked us too, so we can't even glamour ourselves to look like other people."

A smile comes across my face. "Actually Tobias, there's one person we know that has the ability to teleport however far he wants without hitting a wall."

Confused, Tobias says, "The only person I know of who can teleport great distances is...Devin, you can't mean Luke. He's part of the coven coming after us."

Lizzy interjects, saying, "Not anymore. We've been keeping a close eye on you AND the coven. The boy you call Luke has left Malik very recently."

I include, "She's right. Right before I saw Mika being kidnapped by the Initiators during my spirit travel, I saw Luke attempting to leave the coven. Zack caught him trying to escape and attacked him. I helped him escape."

Shocked, Tobias asks me, "You helped him escape?"

Remorseful, I answer, "I couldn't help it. You know the hell he and the others put me through. I know I should have just let him meet his own justice, but I couldn't stand by and let those bastards step on anyone else. Luke or not, no one deserves what I had to go through."

With a tinge of shame in his voice, Tobias says, "I'm sorry. You're right. But what makes you think Luke will help us?"

I say, "Luke is on the run, just like we are. I have a feeling that as soon as Malik is done with us, they'll be going after Luke too. If we can somehow get Luke here and convince him that he stands a better chance fighting Malik with us rather than alone, perhaps he'll be willing to help us get to my dad in time."

Mika asks, "But if he's trying to hide from Malik, what makes you think we'll be able to find him? And if we do find him, how are we going to get him here?"

Suddenly defeated, I answer, "I have no idea."

Tobias then says, "Wait a minute... Aren't Luke's devotional gods Erebus and Nyx?"

Surprised, Mika asks, "Erebus and Nyx? The Greek gods of darkness and night? Those are gods rarely called upon in Wiccan devotion."

Tobias says, "Exactly. Devoted followers like Luke ought to be VERY rare and special to them. So special in fact that they might be willing to pass along a message to him in order to keep him safe."

"So how do we contact these gods?", I ask.

Lizzy replies, "We might be able to help you with that. Erebus and Nyx also have strong ties to the Underworld. Since we're already dead, we can travel to their realm to see if we can reason with them to get Luke to join you here."

Chloe says, "We're going to have to act fast though. All Hollow's Eve is tomorrow. I'm sure Malik and his coven are preparing as we speak."

The three spirits then stand close to one another, looking at Tobias and Mika longingly. Noticing that both Tobias and Mika are about to protest their sudden departure, Alex says, "No matter what happens, we'll be with you two. Always."

As the three spirits begin to vanish, they say in one voice, "Blessed be."

Tobias gets up from the bunk and begins pacing in the middle of the room. The look on his face is pure fury. "He killed our parents! That bastard killed our parents!"

Mika begins sobbing into her hands. I put my arms around her, hoping to console her. Her head falls onto my shoulder as she continues crying. Knowing what little time we have, I say, "We've got to focus. You two will get your revenge tomorrow when Malik comes after us. In the meantime, your family is working on getting Luke here to us. We can't let their effort be in vain. We need to find out where my dad is so that we can give Luke a location to send us to once he gets here." I notice that Tobias hasn't stopped pacing. "Tobias! Focus!"

Tobias stops and looks at me. "I'm sorry. I'm just so angry!"

"I know.", I say. "But just being angry isn't going to help us. Channel your anger into something positive. What can we do to find my dad?"

Mika slowly takes her head off of my shoulder and wipes away her tears. She then says, "We can astral project ourselves to search the compound. Someone has to stay behind to snap us back if anything happens, but if two of us look, it'll take a lot less time."

Tobias says, "Mika and I'll go. It'll take our minds off things for a while."

"You sure?", I ask.

Tobias answers, "Positive. Now, we're gonna need something to create a circle on the floor."

I reach into my pocket and pull out a white piece of chalk. "Here. Take this. I used it to form the circle in Mika's apartment."

Tobias takes it from me and says, "Perfect." He then draws a protective circle on the ground and lines it's walls with protective runes and incantations. Mika then joins him in the circle where they hold each other for a few minutes. After their emotions subside, they sit within the circle, ready for the process to start. Tobias then offers me the chalk piece, which I get up and take from him. He then says, "If Luke or any of the wolves arrive before we're finished searching, hide the circle visually and glamour us to be sleeping in one of the sets of beds."

"Will do.", I say. "Just...be careful."

Both Tobias and Mika smile weakly at me then go straight into their breathing techniques. They then close their eyes and I know the ritual has silently begun. I use the time by myself to meditate and prepare myself magically for what lies ahead.

30 to 40 minutes pass by before Tobias and Mika stir. When they open their eyes and look at me, I know they've found my father. They give their thanks to the protection circle and rush over to me.

Mika says, "Your father is about A1/2 mile from here, set into the forest. They have an arena there where it looks like something big is gonna happen."

Tobias continues, "All of the Synoro Archons are there and it looks like the Basque Archons have assembled as well. Both packs have a team of phalanx soldiers waiting in their prospective places. Your father is in closed quarters with your brother, his mother, and Nicholas. They're preparing for what looks like his trials. Devin, the soldiers...they look like they mean business. We heard the Archons speaking to them. Their orders are to kill Damon and show him no mercy."

"Damn it.", I say. "I didn't think the trials would be happening so soon." I look into Tobias' eyes and I know there's something else he's not telling me. "What is it? What else is happening?"

Mika takes me by the shoulder and gently faces me toward her. "Devin, the wolves have your mom as well. She's being held in a closed off cell in the basement. It looks like she's been drugged. She...doesn't look so good."

The sensation of ice begins to fill my veins. My mother? Here? How could they? Does my father know about it? A million different thoughts enter my head, but I try to push them away as best I can. Focus. What can we do to save her in the process?