Playing with Magic (Elemental Trilogy Book 2) (21 page)

“No one controls us,” Anatha said as she let her power out. The crumbling building caught on fire. “This town is dirty.”

Autumn felt herself fighting to come back to the surface. The element wanted to take over and stay out and play. “No,” she said, knowing that thought wasn’t hers. She pulled away from Anatha and Mabon.

“We can’t destroy innocent people!” The power fading, she fell weakly to the ground, drained. She started crying. Mabon picked her up, carrying her in his arms. No power between them, just them as sister and brother.

“I felt it. Our power wanted to destroy,” Mabon said.

She nodded as he smoothed her hair down. “I felt it. We are not killers. I want to go home,” she whispered. “My real home.”

“Okay,” he said, holding her tighter. Pavana screamed behind them.

Anatha looked around as another building caught on fire.
Did I do that?
She had, and she wanted to bring down the town. She wanted to burn everything in it. Shaken, she ran off in the other direction, away from her brother and cousins.

“Anatha!” Aarawn called out, but she turned a corner and disappeared from view.

****

Strong hands hauled Rowan to his feet. “A good sacrifice,” the person said in a deep voice.

“They are,” a feminine voice replied.

“Ouch!” Envy cried out. “Wait until I get this thing off my head!”

The people laughed. “Move it,” the man said, holding Rowan. He started dragging him out into a lit room.

“What’s going on?” Drake demanded.

“You will see,” a voice said.

“Our sacrifices!” A man screamed.

“Papa, the cleaners will be dining happy tonight,” someone cried out.

“Yes they will,” he said, ripping off what was covering Rowan’s head. He blinked in the bright light. When his eyes focused, he saw everyone in town. He looked over and saw Kelsey at the door of some weird fence, blocking the living room from the dining room. She was silently weeping and wouldn’t meet his eyes.

“Before we give the cleaners our sacrifices, let us welcome a new member to our family,” Papa said as Nancy, Misty, and River walked forward. “Welcome, River.”

“Welcome home, River!” People shouted around them. River did meet Rowan’s eyes. He saw blind panic in them. Whatever he had planned didn’t seem to be going the way he wanted it to.

“Kelsey, the door,” Papa said. She opened it without saying anything. The man holding Rowan pushed him in. He moved out of the way, so he wasn’t the pillow for the others, as they too were shoved in. Shuffling in the back grabbed their attention. 

“Oh, shit,” Linden said in a frightened whisper.

Rowan’s mouth fell open as his eyes focused on the infected coming towards them. His family. Zombies. He sat down hard. Disbelieving what his eyes saw. His son, who looked exactly like him, ambled forward.

He shook his head. “No.”

River stared too. And then his eyes fell on his own little brother. He felt the air get slammed out of his body, looking around, disturbed. His mother watched through the bars. He saw the same crazed look in her eyes as the others when he looked around at the other faces in the room.

“How could you?” he whispered.

She turned to look at him. “What dear?”

“Your own child. How could you keep him like this? It’s a sin against God to leave him like that,” he said, wiping away at his tears angrily. He went to the fence.

“Rowan, get up!” He screamed. “You have to get up. Remember Autumn’s guide to surviving Halloween?”

“Autumn,” he whispered as his fuzzy brain came slowly back together. He looked at his family.
They are not your family anymore
, her voice said in his head. They are just the remaining husks. He nodded to himself and stood up. He went to the fence. River pulled a 9 mm Glock out of his pants and handed it to him.

“It’s all in their heads,” he whispered, and River nodded.

“What was that?” Papa asked. “Liar! Sinner!” He ran to him.

“No, no!” Nancy said, standing in front of River. “He knows no better, please, don’t hurt him.”

“In the chamber!” Someone else shouted.

“Yes,” Papa said, taking a hold of River himself. Kelsey opened the door, and he shoved him in.

Drake came over and helped him to his feet. Gunshots and screams sounded behind him. “I told you so,” River told him bitterly.

The gun clicked empty after five shots. “Dammit, River, do you have any more on you?”

“I forgot,” River said after checking his empty pockets.

“Oh, great. What now?” Drake said as he took a step back. Envy was behind him as they all backed up against the wall.

“God’s way of saying we should have died when we got off the tour bus,” River said, watching the infected slowly advance towards them. “Rowan, I love you.”

“I love
  
”

The door exploded open. “Sick bastards,” someone said as gunshots rang out. All the infected littered the ground motionless. River looked over. It was the man in black who had caught the river on fire. He smiled at them.

“Hi, guys. Lucky for you I got here in time. You all want to go to California and talk to those witches. This plague is bugging me.” He turned with a big gun in each hand and aimed at the people staring at him in wide eyed shock. “Let them out, freaks!”

Kelsey opened the gate. River and the rest scrambled out.

“Thanks,” River said.

“Don’t mention it. I might have been here earlier, but another cult was trying to sacrifice me.”

“How did you know about this?” Rowan asked as they walked through the parted people.

“Well, I have a sense for this metaphysical shit. I’m like one of those watering rod things. I am attracted to weird shit. And this is pretty damn weird.”

“You know what? Let’s go to California,” Rowan said. “I think they proved we overstayed our welcome.”

“Sure,” the man said. “Although, you all will have to lead the way. My sense of direction is terrible. By the way, how did it feel to come close to being infected?”

Rowan stopped. “Mister, what did you do before this plague?”

“I am a monster hunter back home,” he said as they left the house.

“Monsters?”

He turned, looking at the group. “You know, monsters. Werewolves, vampires, yeti.”

“Bigfoot?” River asked.

“No way. Bigfoots are just made up,” he laughed.

“Wow. I think he is crazy,” Ivy Lee whispered.

“And I can say the same about you.”

Envy looked around. “Where are our babies?!”

“Let’s get the babies and get the hell out of here,” Drake said.

“Here.” Pops handed Drake a gun before the group broke up.

“So tell me more about this world you live in,” River said.

“In my world, when you marry you take on the woman’s last name. Betty Pops,” he said in a dreamy way. “God bless her soul, but she was one hot babe, alive. It was also her idea to name our daughter Candy.” He looked at them. “We got to go. I have to make sure my daughter is okay. I swear I don’t trust that crazy Indian sidekick of hers.”

****

“Anatha,” Davies said, opening his door. “What’s wrong?”

She came in, looking at his bag. “Are you leaving?”

He nodded. “It’s time for me to make my way back south,” he said, looking at her seriously. “You can come with me.”

“Why woul
   
” she stopped. She thought about going home. She wanted to go home. But she wanted to be with him. She couldn’t see herself without him. She would shrivel and die like a fish without water. He was her water. And her mouth voiced the only word her mind could think of. “Okay.”

“Let’s go,” he said, taking her hand. He put his bag in the back of his car and opened the passenger side door for her. “When we get to my home, I will show you things no other man can.”

The excitement tickled her as she shivered with lust. She couldn’t help the small giggle that escaped her lips. “Okay,” she said with anticipation.

He got into the car, starting it up. He flipped it into gear and drove through town. They passed Aarawn. He had barely picked up his hand to say hi, when Davies stepped on the gas.

“Say bye-bye, baby,” he whispered to her.

“Bye!” she said as he played with the binding spell in his pocket.

Chapter 17

“My bags are packed. I’ve left a note for Pyrus,” Autumn said and saw the others staring at her. “What?”

“Davies took off with Anatha,” Mabon said as Aarawn walked out from another room. He carried a mirror and took a seat on the couch. Slicing his finger with his pocketknife, he rubbed it on the back of the mirror.

“Mirror bright, mirror light. Show me my sister, show me Anatha,” he said, breathing along the surface. The mirror fogged as everyone gathered around to watch. At first, nothing happened. And then a picture of Anatha and Davies appeared.

“At least they’re okay,” he said.

“What made her go? Did he force her?” Autumn said, watching the two. The picture fogged and showed something. She tilted her head. “It’s a piece of paper.”

“Tied with string,” Stefan said.

“Binding spell,” Shantaina said.

“Where are they going?” Stefan asked.

“Autumn,” Aarawn said. She knew what he had thought of, she had too. She sat beside him and took his hand. Together they tried to reach Anatha, but they got nothing.

“Sounds like TV fuzz,” she said quietly to herself.

“Davies,” he said.  They entered Davies’ mind. The evil and hate flooded them. Autumn wanted to turn back, but Aarawn wouldn’t let her break connection, pressing forward. They walked in the labyrinth of his mind.

“And me without my string,” Autumn said, looking around the slime covered walls.

Up ahead of them was a picture of someone who looked a lot like Pavana. “Moorgun,” Aarawn said as they looked up at it. “Maybe the file under the picture will tell us where he’s going.” They walked over, listening to dripping noises.

“It’s like a creepy leaky basement in here,” Autumn said, shivering as Aarawn opened a drawer. “We might find some creature in here.  It’s like a scary movie.” She looked around, nervous. She had never been in a madman’s head and never planned on being in one again after this. As she looked around, she noticed it looked exactly like it should be. A madman’s creation. She made a face, bringing her attention back to her cousin.

“Look,” he said, handing her a paper.

“Bryce McCreddy. 1545 West Ave. Los Banos,” she said, reading down the paper. “Home of the most beautiful witch in the world. Eww.”

“I know where Los Banos is,” he said, taking the paper and stuffing it back in the drawer.

“So do I. I had some family who lived there. That’s not far from where I live.”

“What are you doing?” An ugly puddle of goo asked, coming over to them.

They looked at each other. “Davies, I mean Bryce, bring her back!” Aarawn shouted.

“GET OUT OF MY HEAD!”

They were pushed back into their bodies. “That was interesting,” Autumn said, rubbing her temples. “It hurt too.”

“So?” Mabon asked.

“They are going to Moorgun,” Aarawn said.

“Yes, and we don’t know where she lives.”

“We do now,” Autumn said, standing up. “Let’s get her.”

Aarawn went to the door. “You’re going home. I’m going after her myself.”

“But.”

“No,” he said, walking out the door.

“Adair!”

“Yes,” he said, appearing behind her, scaring her half to death. “Stay with Aarawn.”

“He has Bane.”

“So,” she said, hands on hips. “Don’t make me point my finger at you.”

****

Pyrus stood by the parking lot. Her shopping cart filled with junk and a mangy dog she had picked up off the street. It yapped as people passed her. She sat down by the empty building, which was the way down to the bottom. She sat, watching and waiting. People passed, thinking nothing of her. Her bird perched on her shoulder whispering something to her. She whispered back. A group of kids whispered amongst themselves about the crazy woman as they passed her. She sat waiting for Anatha.

****

“Home!” Autumn said as she read the highway sign. “We’re almost there. Okay, find somewhere to pull over. I have to pee.”

“That, I didn’t need to know, and that makes over seven times since we left,” Stefan said behind the wheel.

“You have something sitting on your bladder and see what happens.”

“Fine.” He pulled off at the next exit indicating a rest stop.

She jumped out, rushed to the bathroom, and then paused. Dancing foot to foot, she waited for her brother. “Here, Mabon!”

“I’m here,” he said, holding a gun. He went into the bathroom, and she heard him kick open stalls. She had a sneak attack by a zombie the second time they stopped for her. He came out. “All clear.”

“Good.” She went into a stall and did her business. After she had washed her hands, she went to the entrance and stopped. She turned and looked around for what had caught her attention.

“The graffiti,” she told herself. She looked at the wall. Sure enough Anatha’s writing. She’s always marked were she’s been. She walked out. “Anatha and Bryce were here.”

“Yes,” he said, looking down at something on the ground. She looked at it, feeling nauseous.

“Blood.”

“It’s dried but recent.”

“How do you know?” she asked, looking at Stefan and Shantaina waiting in front of the van.

“I was taught to hunt by a master.”

“Is it her blood or his?”

“I’m not that good.”

****

Bryce looked over at an unconscious Anatha. Her pesky brother had been in his head earlier, and it had made him mad. She had a head wound, nothing serious, and the bleeding had stopped. He had wanted to have his way with her but caught himself. He would have killed her too. Death and sex: that thought turned him on as he watched the road.

Soon,
he told himself.

****

Aarawn stepped on the pedal. He wasn’t far behind now, he knew. That’s why he hefted the fastest car he could find. “I’m coming, Anatha,” he said, watching the road.

****

Pyrus didn’t look up as a car pulled into the parking lot. She heard Davies curse to himself as he tried to wake Anatha. “Need some help, sonny?” she asked.

“I have no need, old bat. Go away. This is private property,” he said, not paying attention to her.

“Like I don’t know,” she said, getting to her feet.

“You,” he said, recognizing her. “How did you know?”

“I have my ways and contacts.”

“You better leave. There are so many witches downstairs who would like to talk to you.”

She dropped her jacket to the ground. “Let them come. You have something of mine.”

He laughed, looking down at Anatha. “Her? She’s Moorgun’s now, and then,” he dropped his voice to a threatening whisper, “she’ll be mine.”

“I don’t think so.” She went over to him. He put his hand out, making a circle around him and his car.

“Go away, old lady. Say goodbye to your other grandchildren.  They won’t be alive in two more months. And then you can join them wherever they are going, because when the Dark Lord reins over the Earth, you, as well as the other purities, will die.”

“You think this can stop me?” She asked, motioning to the circle.

His eyes lit up. “You want to duel?”

She nodded. “I win, I take Anatha with me. You win, you keep her.”

He brought the circle down. “Sounds good.” He started to build a circle around them. Pyrus let out a shriek of rage and ran to him with an eleven inch silver blade. She shoved it into his chest and moved the blade down.

“Not fair,” he said, walking back. He put his hands over the bottom of the wound, trying to hold in his guts. But it wasn’t doing much good as they oozed through his fingers.

She stood over him. “I might be a witch, but family comes first before witch duty.” She went over to Anatha.

Moorgun came out of the building. She walked over to Bryce, keeping an eye on Pyrus, who was too busy helping her granddaughter to notice her. She bent down, looking at him. She ran a finger over his lovely body.
My body
, she thought angrily. He looked up at her and whispered for her to help.

“Always Pyrus,” she spoke out loud.

Pyrus turned as Anatha woke up. “Moorgun.”

“You always put family before anything. For that is your demise.” She pulled her own blade from her robe. She slit Bryce’s throat in a quick movement.

With his death, the spell over Anatha broke. She looked around. “Pyrus, what’s happening?”

Pyrus hushed her. “Nothing. Just stay in the car.”

“He was my pretty boy,” Moorgun said, eyeing the wound Pyrus had given him. She cut into his chest, exposing his heart. “They are not black, like I thought, if a person is bad. Mother told me people’s hearts turn black when they lie and sin. I saw her heart was not black when I cut into her. No, she had no black heart, even though she had sinned against my father. Sure, he was a sinner, but I loved him. Even if he liked Pavana more. I knew with mother out of the way, that might change.”

“You’re sick. Your line has always been sick.”

Moorgun reached her hand inside the wound, brought Bryce’s heart to her face, and sniffed it like a dog. “Daddy’s heart wasn’t black either,” she said, taking a bite. She chewed a few times and swallowed, letting the extra blood trickle down her chin.

“Your family values are what killed you, Pyrus,” she said, taking another bite.

“Well at least I know where you gain power to stay alive.”

She looked down at the heart. “Eating this?” She giggled girlishly. “No. This is just a snack. My Lord keeps me alive.” She dropped the heart. “Your grandchildren share your love.”

A car pulled up. Aarawn jumped out of the car. “Pyrus?”

“You shouldn’t have come, Aarawn,” she said, turning away from Moorgun.

Moorgun lifted her own blade. Quick as a cat, she moved. Anatha had time to call out to Pyrus. She turned her own blade, ready to strike, but it was too late. The blow hit her in the heart.

“I told you, didn’t I,” she said over Pyrus’s dead body. Her attention went to Anatha and Aarawn as he tried to get her out of the car. Her head pounded, and she had no memory of how she got there.

“Air and Fire,” she said and put her hand in her pocket, pulling out some dust. She held her palm open and blew it at them. “Sleep, my lovelies.”

“Anatha?” Aarawn said, yawning. “We have to get away.”

“I can’t,” she said sleepily. “I’m too tired.” She fell asleep as he passed out beside her.

“Grab them,” Moorgun said to the two other witches standing there. She turned, disappearing into the building. Another witch came out right when they grabbed Anatha by the feet and shoulders.

The witch walked over to Pyrus. A tear fell from an ice blue eye. “Hey you, grab someone else to get the dude,” one of the other witches said.

Three more came out behind her. Crystal looked around her. She couldn’t fight them off. “Sorry, Anatha. We will be back.”

“What?” someone asked. She ran to the car, pushing Aarawn over. She slammed the door, forgetting the seatbelt, and gunned the car, leaving everyone stunned, staring after her.

****

Autumn jumped out of the van, keys in hand, as she made her way to the stairs leading up to her apartment. She was halfway up when a great pain ripped through her chest. She blanked out and woke up with Mabon in a white room. There were no windows or doors.

“What’s going on?” she asked him.

“I don’t know,” he said, walking to her and taking her hand.

“You’re in a dream state,” Pyrus said, walking to them through the white wall.

“So we are all dreaming?” he asked.

“I’m not,” she smiled sadly at him.

“What?” His voice confused as he looked her.

“I felt a great pain, and then nothing,” Autumn said, rubbing her chest.

“I have passed over, my darlings,” she said. “I cannot be here too long.”

“Passed,” Mabon said, shaking his head. “No.”

“Yes.” She took him in her arms, hugging him. “Watch over your sister,” she told him before letting go.

She hugged Autumn. “Listen to Adair. Sometimes the monkey knows what he’s saying.”

“But.” She said and woke up.

“But what?” Doctor Rinsland said as he fiddled with something at the table.

She pushed herself up. “Doctor Rinsland?”

“Surprised to see me?” She nodded. “I loved hanging out with you guys so much I decided to move here. Plus I heard you needed a doctor. And look at this, my first patients are you and your brother.”

“Is Mabon okay?” she asked, looking around.

“Yeah, my nurse Hazel is looking in on him right now. Now to the matter at hand, you’ve been asleep for five days.”

“Five days?” Her hand went to her stomach. “Is the baby okay?”