On the lower end of downtown, along the coast of the Sound, the Hunters hid away in an auction house warehouse. Though not abandoned, the location was determined to be barely used. That was good enough seeing as they had no intentions of remaining in the city for much longer.
Shaw was meditating in the center of a room with expensive clutter lining the walls, the objects ranging from refurbished home accessories to miscellaneous cultural objects. He sat on his knees, resting both his hands on his thighs as he slowly breathed in. The next step needed to be determined as there had already been two failed attempts at killing the Apostate.
However, his focus was off due to the state of this modern Templar. He had not seen nor spoken with the Eldermen before leaving on this mission because his orders came quickly after his resurrection. Now he wished he had been more forthright about making an audience instead of doing as he was told without question. Too much had changed for him to understand how that could be possible. He needed answers. But those would only come once the mission was over.
One exhale and Shaw gradually opened his eyes as he sensed magic in the area.
A Hunter stepped into the room to declare what was already known, “They found us again.”
Rachael, Emily, Marcy, and Olivia stood at the four corners of the building as they enacted their plan. Each had transcribed a rune on the ground and was chanting the script of a magic spell. Their combined power distorted the area around them causing orbs of energy to form in the air before being absorbed into their bodies and out their hand into the wall. Luminescent, blue energy traced over the complete exterior of the building to trap those who were inside.
The Hunters now had nowhere to go. However, they could not simply be left here, because eventually, the magic would fade. This was nothing more than a way to prevent them from running, because if they were to escape, they would just come back again and again. This needed to end now.
The four Witches entered to confront their enemy.
Shaw was quickly stepping through a hallway as he moved toward one of several pockets of magic that indicated the presence of the Witches. However, he was brought to a stop. What he was tracking had suddenly moved right passed him even though there was nobody.
His first assumption was an invisibility spell which was dismissed soon after. Had that been the case, sounds and the aura of one’s presence would not have been hidden. What passed by was more like a ghost.
Then, from a glimpse in the reflection of a shiny doorknob, he noticed two women running down the hall in the direction where he had just come. He understood right away what was going on. The Witches were traveling through the Mirror Realm to move around the warehouse and avoid directly confronting him. He was no fool but followed, regardless that this would be a trap.
Emily and Olivia made their way around the perimeter hallways of the building, carefully walking through, peeking around corners, and checking rooms. The last thing they wanted was to be ambushed since they intended to do the ambushing.
“Are you sure we’ll be safe from him?” Olivia asked.
“As long as everything goes as planned,” Emily gave a not-so-reassuring reassurance. “Let’s hope he’s distracted enough by Rachael and Marcy while we deal with the other Hunters—”
Rifle rounds and shotgun blasts blew holes in the wall from an adjacent hallway, filling the building with a wake of gunfire that did not stop until the Hunters were certain that nobody should have survived the onslaught. Then no sound was made at all as the dust slowly settled. Eventually, one of the three Hunters began approaching the destroyed area to check.
Jeremiah placed a shoulder on the man to stop him from getting closer. Instead of going over, an empty bullet casing was picked up from the ground and thrown at the crumbling wall. A small discharge of electricity could be heard, and blue sparks were seen making the metal object dance. It appeared a lightning trap had been set with the intent to disable any who approached.
The Witches had never been behind that wall. What was heard had been a decoy voice. Jeremiah understood right away that they were the ones being hunted.
“Chrocs” was heard cast somewhere else. Jeremiah tried to determine from where and for what reason. The why became apparent as heat quickly filled the hallway and soon the surrounding walls began to burn away as roaring flames tore through. One direction became sealed off by the fire which forced only the other way to run, an obvious trap. But staying in this furnace was not an option. The three Hunters went to meet what could be their end, and Jeremiah led the way.
The corner at the end was rounded and right away they were between two threats. The building was falling apart behind them, and a Witch was right before them with her arm aimed. Jeremiah stopped and stood even as flames brushed his back. The shotgun in his hands was aimed. She cast “Rikest,” and he fired. The pellets met the power causing the metal to scatter which also dragged the lightning in every direction other than straight. He pumped the empty shell out of the gun and fired again, and again, as he stepped forward while suppressing his enemy with shot after shot. The other two Hunters kept running forward.
Emily had to abandon her position, taking cover to one side of the passage where she placed her hands against the wall. On the opposite side was Olivia who already had both her hands placed in a similar fashion. Together they cast, “Potrus!” The woodwork that made up the building began to grow and shape into branches that sealed off the way.
Jeremiah and the others stood before the blockade of roots as the fire continued to encroach on them.
“The wall,” he directed, and they began to beat away the drywall until there was a hole wide enough for them to fit through. Yet even this seemed planned. He had to assume another trap awaited. He warned, “Be careful of the floor,” and then he was the first to enter with a jump.
Instead of landing on his feet, he landed on his prosthetic hand and balanced his weight. Another lightning trap triggered as he felt energy charge the air. But the material of the fake arm was insolated enough to keep him from being electrocuted. He pushed off the ground and landed on the other side of the room safely. However, the trap was still active. He knew, as did the other two Hunters, that they would not be able to cross with him. Of course, they did not want to be consumed by the fire, so they threw themselves into the trap and were incapacitated by the intense shock.
Emily felt reassured that their part of the plan was accomplished. She assumed the Hunters were smart enough to try escaping either through the wall or the ceiling, and when they did, they would be non-lethally put out of commission by her traps. And, even if they were not, the fire was time sensitive and would smolder away so that the building did not burn down, nor would they be burned to death, but hopefully, be knocked unconscious by asphyxiation.
Unfortunately, not everything went as intended as a nearby door opened and a Hunter stepped through. Surprised or not, Emily did not hesitate to cast, “Al Tes!” A force pulled the gun from his hands into hers. However, she was unsure how to use the thing.
Jeremiah rushed the moment he was disarmed, and he drew a knife in place of the other weapon. By the time she had hold of the gun, he was halfway across the hall, and by the time she aimed, he was already striking before she could defend herself.
Olivia had as much been surprised by the emergence of the Hunter. When he started charging, she quickly thought about what she could do and already knew. She had prepared for the need to fight and was holding an acorn.
Back at the house, Marcy enlightened Olivia that she had an affinity for nature, and a simple spell had been taught. Now, with that knowledge, she did as she had been instructed, squeezing the acorn as tightly as possible, hoping to force magic into it. Arm winded back to throw the seedling over Emily’s shoulder as “Potrus” was cast. But there was no knowing if it would work. It did before when sealing the hallway. But Emily had as much been responsible for the casting of that spell. This one was cast by Olivia alone. She did not know if she believed enough. She did not know if she was truly a Witch. She earned her answer as the acorn burst open into tangling roots that ensnared the Hunter.
Olivia was elated by what she had just done. That was her first spell, cast completely on her own. She wanted to jump up joyously. But her feelings came crashing as she fell back on her feet. Her novice skills were realized when seeing that she had not completely succeeded. The Hunter was wrapped up in the roots, but not well enough. One arm had been able to reach out from the entanglement. She watched in horror as the knife slashed.
Yet, the killing blow was held off from being dealt. Instead, the edge pressed against Emily’s throat, threatening to take her life with a simple swipe. Jeremiah ordered, “Set me free.”
“Don’t,” Emily warned. “He’ll kill me either way.”
“You really think that?” He challenged. “You would’ve already been dead if it wasn’t for me.”
Emily did recall his interference back at her home and had to ask, “Why didn’t you let him kill me? I’m a Witch, your sworn enemy. Why is your organization only interested in Marcy?”
“That’s not my place to say,” Jeremiah avoided an answer. “And don’t bother asking Shaw. He knows even less than the rest of us.”
What he said brought up a new question that she did not understand, “How can your leader know nothing?
“He’s just a weapon of the past,” Jeremiah revealed. “We’ve been having a hard time dealing with your Apostate friend. He was revived as our solution. But things have gotten out of control. I can see now that this mission is another failure.”
“So, what?” She assumed, “You’re just going to leave as if you can? We’ve already got you beat—”
“And I have a knife to your throat,” he reminded.
“A price to pay to make sure none of you bother my friends again,” Emily was not manipulated by the threat.
“Until our orders are fulfilled or revoked, Hunters won’t stop coming,” he made her courage seem moot.
“Maybe,” she considered, with the understanding that, “But if you go back with the information you learned, it’ll be much harder to stop you the next time you attack. Better to not let that happen.”
“True,” he had to admit to her point. The knife was withdrawn and flipped in his hand to be held passively in surrender. “What will you do then?”
Rachael and Marcy rushed through the Mirror Realm as they looked for any place inside the building where the predetermined ritual could be conducted. None of the large, open storage rooms were good enough, and one by one, each that was happened upon was ruled out. They soon ended up in the office wing and the first room they entered was the perfect place. All the furniture had been pushed aside, rows of desks placed and piled in the back corner along with the chairs. The rest was left open. Most importantly, there was a closet in the back, opposite the entrance.
They exited the Mirror Realm back into the real world by using the reflection in a window that the room had.
“I’m sure he noticed us when we ran by,” Rachael expected.
“I’ll make sure there are no interruptions until you’re ready,” Marcy swore.
“I’ll try to be as quick as I can.”
Rachael made a beeline to the closet and placed down a bag that she began rummaging through. Several items were pulled out, two glass cups, a bottle of water, paper, a broken-down cardboard box, and a roll of tape. One of the glasses was filled one-seventh full of water, her name and age were written down on the paper, and the box was assembled. She entered the closet with everything.
The inside was filled with darkness but not completely so. Light slipped through the seams, mainly from beneath the door. The illumination rose to make the floor and some of the walls visible. But overhead was completely black seeming to extend into infinity. However, for this ritual to work, there needed to be absolutely no light. That was easily fixed by using the tape to cover the cracks.
With everything ready, there was no time to waste. Rachael began by taking a seat inside the box. Doing so made her feel like a cat. The thought was worth a smile, but she remembered the importance of what she needed to do. The piece of paper was placed into the glass containing the water. Using what little math skills she still retained from her school days, she squared her age getting the number five-hundred and twenty-nine. Then she began counting in her head up to that number. This would take almost nine minutes.
Shaw had followed the traces of magic to the room and, entering, he encountered the enemy he had been seeking to destroy. Marcy stood in his way, very clearly protecting the door on the other side. Between the two of them, three Doblo Pesimas spells had already been cast to keep him at bay.
“I didn’t think you’d catch on so fast,” she greeted.
He was not one to be distracted by conversation when there was a possible time constraint. But he did pause to determine what was more important. His mission was to destroy the Apostate that very obviously wanted him to try at this moment. However, whatever was going on beyond that door could be his downfall if he let himself be distracted by her taunt. Still, if he destroyed her quickly enough, whatever was going on might not matter in the end. He decided whatever opportunity came first, getting rid of her or getting passed her, he would take.
He walked up and planted his hand firmly on the wall of bloody light. First, he took a breath in, then pushed hard as he exhaled. Large cracks appeared on the first layer as well as many small fractures on the supporting layers. He breathed in again and pushed as he exhaled. The first layer shattered and the second almost went at the same time. Another breath in …
Marcy stood prepared.
… one final push. The second and third layers shattered—
“Doblo Respa,” was cast. As the remnants of the barrier fell to the ground, unused beads of blood, that were embedded inside the walls, took shape and erupted as deadly lances. Shaw was quick to raise his arms in defense as he evaded backward. But being surrounded by the corporeal fragments of bloody light made going uninjured impossible and his skin was pierced. After having backed away, he reacted just as fast, dragging his hands over his arms to knock free any shards that had stuck him so they could not be used for further magic.
In the seconds following, Marcy was aiming her arm to cast, “Doblo Rikest.” Red lightning struck at him with great volatility. He dodged in a way that avoided being hit directly, but the energy exploded when striking the wall behind him. Bolts scattered, inflicting collateral. He ignored any pain as he rushed to get in close. That was where he would have the advantage like the last time they fought.
Marcy began to backpedal as she lifted her arms to cast “Chrocs Pesimas.” From the floor rose a wall of fire.
Shaw jumped straight through, disregarding whatever damage he knew he was going to receive. The mission was more important than the second-degree burns inflicted on his skin. His only precaution was to cover his eyes otherwise they would have melted. However, he was aware that, by blinding himself, the Witch was provided an opportunity to act on.
A fist full of silver salt was at the ready to be cast right when he emerged on the other side. As he reopened his eyes, however, he was caught off guard. He had expected her to move back even further since her advantage would be a fight at range. But she was striking with her arm like a spear.
He reacted fast enough to grab hold of her fingers. But her attack already had so much momentum built that he could not stop her. His own fist was shoved into his stomach as if he had punched himself, though, that distributed the force to prevent being punched through his body. He was lifted and smashed into the ceiling.
From the lifted position, Shaw was able to regain control. He yanked her arm away which allowed him to fall, then he pushed off from the ceiling to come down with greater force, and as he dropped, he grabbed her by the back of the head and slammed her face into the ground. He was kneeling in front of where she lay, keeping her pinned with one hand, and about to reach for his knife with the other.
Marcy strained to lift her head from beneath his hand. With a smile revealed on her face and blood running down her brow, she cast, “Ila Motem.” Her body became completely covered in flames.
Shaw did not care as the flesh of his hand began to burn and bubble with boils. He had his target at his mercy and that was the important thing. But then she raised both arms to be aimed at him. He still had the silver dust and could dispel anything she cast, even from this position. That was, of course, if she was casting from the front. He realized the danger. The magic could be transferred from the wall of fire to her, effectively hitting him from behind. That would burn him entirely to ash. So, quickly, he shifted his position around her arms to be over the top of her which subsequently pinned her beneath his entire weight. Again, he did not care as his legs were scorched black.
Marcy slammed her hands down as she cast “Lalqus.” She was propelled up from the floor, launching him upward along with her, and slamming him into the ceiling again. As they both began to fall, she spun and slashed. He blocked and struck. She took the hit and hit back. They both hit the ground and began to scrap like animals. She clawed and bit. He punched and kicked. Blow for blow was being delivered. Then there was a shove, and they were suddenly separated.
Shaw rolled to recover from being thrown apart and found himself right by the closet door where he intended to be. He reached for the handle …
Rachael finally reached the number. The contents of the one glass were emptied into the other. Now all she needed to do was open the door and there would be another world on the other side.
Shaw pulled— An eruption of power threw the door wide, the force of which would have knocked any normal man to the ground. He had certainly been staggered but remained standing, his feet anchored to the floor as he resisted the pulling vortex that was trying to drag him inside. Though, the power of a cosmic rift could not truly be battled by any real means. He found himself taking unwanted steps closer, and with each, the more he had to struggle. But he kept getting closer, close enough that he took hold of the doorframe to keep fighting against the inevitable.
He ended up too close. His legs were lifted out from under him and were consumed by the hungry space. One hand lost grip, and he was left hanging only by the tips of his fingers. In this position, he was now looking back into the room he had just fought to get across. Marcy was standing by the entrance of the room, looking proud for having tricked him.
From the reflection in the window emerged Rachael. Though, while in the closet, all she had to do was open the door to find herself in another world, that was not the goal. The plan was to leave a Gateway open. So, she completed the ritual and exited the pocket space using the Mirror Realm. If anybody opened the closet from the wrong side, the result would be this tear between realities. Everything went exactly as intended.
The other two Witches then appeared at the entrance of the room. Shaw was left to understand he lost. But that loss was made even greater when his pride took a hit.
Emily had a shotgun with her when she arrived. She watched with contempt contentment as he struggled against the vortex. She aimed the gun from her hip. How easily she could end him. But he was already done for. Shooting him now would only fulfill her selfish need for revenge. So, she dropped the gun instead.
Shaw seemed surprised and angered by her choice as if he had been proven wrong about something he believed his whole life. As a desperate final action, he reached into his coat and threw a metal spike made of silver. The vortex affected the trajectory causing the object to barely miss Emily and embed into the wall next to her head. The last of his strength was lost after that and he fell into the Gateway.
The Hunters were finally defeated. It had not even been a full day since they made themselves known and yet this triumph felt long needed. After having been such a threat, seeking death and bringing destruction, their now absence left the four women paralyzed by a sense of divine relief. The chaotic whir of the vortex became more like white noise.
Emily took a few steps into the room and swept her arm as she cast Lalqus to slam the closet door. The silence that followed the Bang! felt endlessly deep and entirely still. They took another motionless moment.
Marcy stepped up behind Emily with a very soft concern held inside her curiosity as she wondered, “What happened to the other Hunters? You were supposed to bring them here to be thrown into the Gateway.”
“I didn’t kill them, if that’s what you’re worried about,” Emily made sure to let her know right away.
“Then that can only mean you let them go,” Marcy ventured. “I was worried that you might do something bad, but I truly did not expect you to act the complete opposite.”
“Well,” Emily’s tone was filled with uncertainty, “I didn’t think I was going to set them free either. But things changed. There was a knife to my throat and a conversation that followed. In the end … this definitely wasn’t for the best but … a life for a life, and all. I was spared back at my house by one of the Hunters, so I spared them whatever fate lies beyond that door.”
Marcy, instead of saying any more on the matter, already certain that Emily had made the proper considerations, moved on to what was most important, “Shall we go save Andy?”
“Back to the forest?” Emily presumed.
Marcy shook her head against the assumption. “I would need to get another access key. Unfortunately, with what happened back at the bazaar, I’m absolutely certain we’ve all been blacklisted. There will be no more using any of the Otherworldly marketplaces. But,” looking to Rachael, “didn’t you figure out a way?”
Rachael looked to the floor with a bothered expression. She spoke, “That’s what I was doing when I went on my own. And I did figure out something. But. It. Involves. Talking with the Devil.” She looked to Emily who would be the voice of reason.
“We’re really just becoming Apostates, aren’t we?” Emily said as both a sarcastic remark and an honest concern. “Alright, no point turning back now.”
“Really?” Rachael was worried to hear Emily agree so readily.
Emily sighed. “We have, what?” She looked at her cellphone to find that it was fried by residual magic. The other three women pulled out their own phones, Marcy’s having been crushed during her fight and Olivia’s fried as well. Only Rachael’s still worked.
She read the time, “It’s two. That gives us four hours until we can summon him. As well, we have four hours before we lose that chance.”
“If we’re going to deal with the Devil,” Emily understood, “we will need all that time to prepare as well as,” she scanned her hand around the area, “recover from this shit. Wasting any of it to try finding another way, then not finding another way, and then going in blind and exhausted is stupid. Yes, I would prefer a different option. But we have none. We can’t forget, time is against us. The longer we keep taking, the less likely Andy will be alive once we get to him.”
The morbid reminder acted as more of a motivation than anything else. All four held steadfast determination to see this through to the end.