Witch's Fury, page 21
“Just repeat after me,” Gilly said to Viv and Evee. “I saw it today when I went through my Grimoire. For it to work, though, you have to take all the anger and frustration you feel over all that’s happened to us in the last couple of weeks and let it bubble to the surface. Let it rise up until you want nothing more than to knock somebody out. Think of the loved ones we’ve lost, and let love follow those emotions. Mix them together, but let those emotions be your power source, not your brain.”
“And what could you possibly be whispering about at a time like this, you little pathetic bitch witch?” Cottle said to Gilly. “You think you’re going to connive some kind of trick to escape from me? That’s a laugh. I can take all of you down in one fell swoop. But I just can’t help but be greedy and take one at a time, making the others watch, feeling useless, helpless. I want to savor the look of horror in the eyes of your sisters and Elders while I take you down.”
“Leave them alone, Cottle,” Gunner said, suddenly appearing. He took a step forward. With a wave of his hand, Cottle sent Gunner flying to the opposite end of the float.
“Stay out of this, pissant, before I turn you into a groundhog,” Cottle said. “You’re taking the side of witches over your own. I never thought I’d see the day.”
“You’re not my own,” Gunner said, getting to his feet. “I don’t know what the hell you are, but I don’t want any part of it. I’m a sorcerer, not one of your stupid minions. What you’re doing is wrong. As sorcerers, we have a code we live by, and you’re certainly not living up to that.”
“Screw the code,” Cottle said. “I’m making up the codes now, and any to come. That’s what leaders of the universe do. As for you, I’ll simply take the miniscule powers you have and make them my own. Don’t want you to feel left out, right? When was the last spell you cast, Gunner? Two years ago?”
“That’s because I don’t like taking advantage of people the way you do,” Gunner said.
“Shut up!” Cottle said. “You don’t have any idea what you’re talking about, so the best thing you can do is keep your damn mouth shut.” Cottle put his fingers against his lips and moved them from right to left, like he was zippering them shut. Suddenly, Gunner’s mouth pinched closed, and he couldn’t open it to say anything further.
“Grab my hands now,” Gilly said to her sisters. “Take all the anger you feel toward that bastard, all of the passion you have for the ones you love—let that be the catalyst that drives this spell. Now hold your hands up. We’re going to say this spell twice to make sure it sticks. We’ll have to make it quick before he catches on and comes after us.”
Gilly studied the Elders. “I know you want to help, but it has to be just the three of us. I’m not sure why. Just something I know.”
Arabella nodded. “We understand more than you know.”
“The three of you, please do a support spell,” Gilly asked. “So that ours can be the most powerful it can be.”
“No problem,” Taka said.
“Of course,” Vanessa agreed.
Gilly turned to Gunner. “I know you can’t speak now, but please, in your mind, say a spell that will give extra powers to ours.”
Gunner nodded enthusiastically.
With that, Gilly, Viv and Evee, still holding hands, raised them up high.
“What are you up to now?” Cottle chortled. “Going to play ‘Ring Around the Rosie’?”
Gilly felt fury roll through her as she thought of how close she came to losing Viv, her missing Originals and all of the humans who’d lost their lives because of the asshole standing in the middle of the warehouse. All the Benders had sacrificed, even one of their own. In that moment, her mind and heart filled with Gavril, with his bravery and determination. With love for him.
Gilly could tell her sisters were experiencing the same emotions, for their grips tightened on her hands.
“Just repeat after me,” Gilly whispered to her sisters. Then said loudly,
Hochezamo, conja, marsailla mon.
Elementals far and wide.
Come hither and forgo thy pride.
“Stop!” Cottle screamed.
Bind together one to one.
And shout into the universal ear.
That every power in the cosmos may hear.
“Shut your mouth before I kill all of you right this minute!” Cottle began to transform into a Cartesian, standing at least ten feet tall, his head five times the size of a human’s.
Combine thy strength and open thee.
The folds of time to rid us of our enemy.
Hochezamo, conja, marsailla mon.
Let it be said.
Let it be done.
Forever!
With legs that looked like they belonged on a grizzly bear, Cottle was now on his feet, talons fully extended.
“Again!” Gilly shouted.
Having already gone through it once, the Triad spoke the spell in unison.
Hochezamo, conja, marsailla mon.
Elementals far and wide.
“Shut up!” Cottle yelled, quickening his pace toward them.
Come hither and forgo they pride.
Bind together—
“Noooo!” Cottle screamed.
One to one.
And shout into.
The universal ear.
That every power in the cosmos may hear.
Combine they strength and open thee.
The folds of time to rid us of our enemy.
“No! No!” Cottle’s voice began to shiver and shake, and he stood in place, his entire body trembling.
Hochezamo, conja, marsailla mon.
Let it be said.
Let it be done.
Then the Triad, the Elders and even Gunner, who was now able to move his mouth, shouted together, “FOREVER!”
As they watched, Cottle rose into the air and blipped out of sight, like a soap bubble that had burst. They heard a loud popping sound, and then a second one, a third, a fourth; they were up to ten before all went quiet.
“Oh, hell, no, you bastard. Not the tenth dimension. You’re going to the eleventh, where you’ll never be able to return,” Gilly said. “Hochezamo, conja, marsailla mon. Let it be said, Let it be done, now!”
And for the first time ever, for a Bender, for any of the Triad or any other being listening, there came one more popping sound. Trey Cottle had been pushed back to the eleventh dimension, from which there’d be no return. To a place where he’d be trapped forever.
In that moment, the scritch-scratching against the building stopped immediately. Gilly took off running for the open bay door, with Evee, Viv, the Elders and Gunner following closely behind.
When they reached the door, Gilly saw Gavril, Nikoli and Lucien standing just outside with their scabiors in hand and a look of shock on their face as they looked upward. Gilly followed their gaze and saw that there was not one rift left behind. The dusky sky was a starlit gray with a quarter moon.
“They just vanished,” Gavril said. “We were trying to close them up, you know, the ones closest to the bay doors, then suddenly, poof—every damn rift just disappeared.”
Everyone looked up at the sky. A normal sky. A riftless sky.
Gilly smiled and looked at Gavril. “It’s like you’ve always said. Chop off the head of the dog, and the rest of it will die. Cottle’s gone. In the eleventh dimension. He’ll never be back to harm us again.”
“How...how did you—”
“We’re the Triad,” Gilly said with a soft smile. “Had I not looked through the Grimoire earlier, I wouldn’t have seen the spell we needed to get rid of him. It saved our lives. The Cartesians are gone. With their leader gone, they’ve followed him to the eleventh dimension. Like sheep, one runs off a cliff, the rest follow because they’re too dumb to think for themselves. I feel it in my heart and soul that we’re free of them. We’re finally free.”
Chapter 24
“It feels weird, doesn’t it?” Viv said, as she and her sisters sat with the Elders at Bon Appetite, Evee’s café. They’d decided to meet there for an early breakfast.
“Which part?” Gilly asked.
“Which part what?” Taka asked, and then shoveled down a forkful of scrambled eggs.
Vanessa sipped on some orange juice. “She means, all of it feels weird.”
“That’s what I’m trying to understand,” Taka said.
“Oh, for the love of breakfast, eat your eggs and hush,” Vanessa said, and then took a big gulp of juice, emptying her glass.
Gilly did her best to help Taka understand. “Viv is saying that our lives feel weird right now. And I asked which part feels the weirdest.”
“Oh,” Taka said, dabbing the corners of her mouth with a napkin. “So which part feels the weirdest to you?”
“I don’t think there’s only one part,” Gilly said. “Everything is so different now.”
“Right,” Evee said and took a sip of coffee. “It got stranger still when the Benders left to tend to Ronan’s family.”
Viv nodded. “True. But you can’t blame them for hurrying out there so quickly. They could have bailed on us right when it happened. Instead, they stuck with us throughout the whole Cartesian ordeal.”
“We were very lucky to have them,” Arabella said. “If I’ve ever felt grateful that humans were around, I certainly was for them.”
“Well, you’ll be seeing more of them,” Gilly said. “Gavril told me they’d be back in about a week, as soon as they helped get their uncle’s affairs in order.”
“Why are they coming back if the Cartesians are gone?” Taka asked.
Vanessa and Arabella gave her a sideways glance that all but said, “You’re kidding, right?”
Taka shrugged her shoulders and sopped up the last of her grits with a piece of biscuit. Then she patted her stomach. “I’m so full, I can’t even swallow my own spit right now.”
“Ugh,” Viv said. “Maybe you should have stopped after the half pound of bacon you ate.”
“It wasn’t a half pound,” Taka assured her. “I just asked Margaret, Evee’s manager, to triple the order, which should have been only six slices. She put ten. Can I help it if I like bacon and Margaret likes me?”
Gilly chuckled. “Taka, you crack me up.”
“But you don’t think I’m like...cracked?” Taka asked.
“Oh, for Pete’s sake,” Vanessa said. “Do you have to fish for compliments? Of course you’re not cracked. A little pitted in a few places, but not cracked. You were a big help during all we went through, and I’m proud of you.”
Everyone sitting at the table stopped in midbite or middrink and looked from Vanessa to Taka.
Taka’s mouth dropped open, and then she snapped it shut when she realized she’d still been chewing on part of the biscuit. She quickly washed her food down with some water and eyed Vanessa. “You mean that? Like, you didn’t even shoot me a comeback. You really meant it?”
“Of course I did,” Vanessa said, and patted Taka’s hand.
Tears welled up in Taka’s eyes. “I’ll never forget this day as long as I live,” she said.
“I think there are quite a few days we won’t forget,” Arabella said. “And I’ve got to throw my two cents in, too. I’m proud of all of you. When things got really tough, not one of you gave up. You simply kept on fighting and hunting like all Circle of Sisters would.”
“Well, except for me,” Viv said with a smirk. “I evidently decided to take a nap through some of it.”
“That’s not even funny,” Gilly said to her. “You have no idea how hard we searched for you, how worried we were about you. We came so close to losing you.” She shook her head. “I don’t even like to think about it much less talk about it.”
“Then we’ll change the subject,” Arabella said. “But before I do, I have to admit, and I think Vanessa and Taka will agree. We were wrong about the Benders. I’d hate to think where we’d be now had it not been for them. And anyone who can make the three of you so happy can’t be bad certainly.” She smiled. “Now, something I’ve been wanting to know but never found the right time to ask,” she said to Gilly, “was, how did it feel to pop one of those suckers back into another dimension?”
Gilly grinned. “Glorious. Once the scabior was charged, it was pretty easy. All I had to do was aim, and the lightning bolt that came from the bloodstone on top of the scabior just seemed to know what to do.”
“Yeah, but you had to have a pretty good aim,” Evee said. “It’s not like the scabior did it all by itself.”
Gilly felt her cheeks grow warm. “Okay, so my aim was decent. Now can we talk about something else?”
“You know what feels pretty weird to me?” Viv said. “It’s going to the compound and not having to feed any of the Originals. Turning that entire place into a cattle ranch was a decent idea. We’re getting some great stock out of there and selling them for premium. Even better, no more wee hours of the morning. I can work eight to five like a normal person.”
“I hear that,” Evee and Gilly said in unison.
“Those early mornings were killers,” Gilly said. “I’d leave the bar and grill around two in the morning and couldn’t even take a nap before I had to start corralling the Chenilles for their feedings.”
“Want to know what’s better still?” Arabella asked.
All eyes zoomed in on her face.
“It’s that the Originals all came back, only as human. We don’t have them to feed anymore because they’re no longer turning into the creatures they were. And that’s because of you three.”
“As in me, Viv and Evee?” Gilly asked.
“That’s right,” Vanessa said.
“It’s all because of you,” Arabella said. She lowered her voice and glanced around to make sure no one was eavesdropping.
Arabella leaned into the table and lowered her voice. “As the Triad, you’ve been told the story about how the Nosferatu, Loup-Garous and Chenilles came to be in the first place, remember?”
“Yeah,” Gilly said. “The first Triad got pissed off at their boyfriends for cheating on them.”
Arabella grinned. “Close enough.”
“That first Triad was so angry over the incident, they collectively issued an incantation that they had no business messing with. It turned their betrotheds into the creatures you’ve been responsible for all these years.”
“But why did it have to follow so many generations?” Gilly asked. “We didn’t have anything to do with it. Doesn’t seem fair, does it?”
“I agree,” Taka said, and then burped.
“Although it didn’t seem fair,” Arabella said after giving Taka a disgusted look, “the creatures would never die, and someone had to watch over them. The Elders at the time simply added to the punishment curse that the ones who’d be responsible for them would be Triad, since they were the ones who created them.”
“Well, I’m glad things worked out the way they did,” Viv said. “It’s only been a couple of weeks since this all came down, but I’ve seen some of my Nosferatu in town in human form. I don’t think I’ve seen them so happy.”
“Same with my Chenille,” Gilly said.
“Ditto with my Loups,” Viv said.
Arabella wiped the corners of her mouth with a linen napkin and placed it on her plate, indicating she was done with breakfast. “Thanks to you, they’re all living normal lives.”
“What about them?” Taka asked.
“Them who?” Vanessa asked.
“The Triad, ding-dong. Don’t they get to live normal lives?”
Arabella studied Gilly’s, Viv’s and Evee’s faces. “Once a Triad, always a Triad,” she said. “That’s something that can’t ever be changed. You were born witches, and you will die witches. The same goes for me, Taka and Vanessa. It’s just part of who we are.”
“Being a witch isn’t such a bad thing,” Vanessa said. “You can always use your powers to help others, and for the love of biscuits, there are a lot of people here who can use your help.”
“You most certainly can,” a man said from beside them, startling everyone at the table.
Taka slapped a greasy hand to her heart. “Gunner, you almost gave me a heart attack!”
“I’m sorry for startling you,” Gunner, dressed in a gray-and-black pin-striped suit with a gray shirt and black tie, said. “I saw all of you sitting here and was hoping you’d have room for one more.”
“Of course,” Evee said, and then got up and grabbed a chair from one of the other tables. She placed it between her and Arabella. “Please have a seat.”
A look of embarrassment crossed Gunner’s face. “I hope your conversation wasn’t private. If it was, please let me know, and I’ll be happy to meet up with all of you some other time.”
“Not a conversation you can’t be involved in, that’s for sure,” Gilly said. “We’ve just been talking about how different things are now that the Originals are all humans. Our lives and sleep have certainly changed because of it. How about you? How’ve you been?”
Gunner settled himself into the offered seat with a huge smile on his face. “Life hasn’t been this good since... I don’t remember when.”
“I’m so glad to hear that,” Arabella said.
“How so?” Taka asked.
“Well, first of all, I don’t have to worry about Cottle and Black anymore. Both always gave me a hard time if I didn’t spend enough time with them. Now, with so much time on my hands, I’ve been able to open my own hardware store.”
“How wonderful,” Vanessa said.
“Oh, it’s not a huge place,” Gunner said, “but it makes me happy. I’ve kind of always been handy with tools and such, so helping others find just what they need is right up my alley.”
“Do you miss hanging out with the sorcerers?” Taka asked.
