The World After

Chapter 5 – The Plan

“How strong are your powers?” Erica looked at The General, her brow raised. She rolled her eyes at the question before lifting her shoulder.

“Funny, I should ask you the same, but I can’t, because you have none. My magic will get the trick done in what Demonio is asking of me. However, what you have done for him besides f**k things up?”

“Witch or not, I will drain you where you stand,” he threatened, his fangs showing, which only caused her to laugh.

“Oh, really, a flash of those and I’m to be scared? Do you not know that I nearly killed that b***h Fire, so you little vampires don’t scare me, ever.”

“Fire is weak, she’s not me,” The General growled up, ready to rip this witch limb from f*****g limb.

“Children, really, is this how you are to act?” Demonio asked, walking into the room and glancing between the two of them. “You remind me of little kids, and I don’t need that problem, so fix this s**t right now! I don’t need a f*****g war brewing between my men in charge,” the God said, walking over to Erica. “What do you see?”

“I don’t see anything, I’m not a sightseer,” she told him. She was old, had lived a hell of a life, and fought in more battles than the other two serving this God, so she felt she had a justification in standing up to him. Yes, she served the Dark Arts, had no problem with that, and she knew to whom she served, but that didn’t mean that she wouldn’t stand up for herself, even to him.

“My apologies, should I get one?” Her lips twitched at that.

“None would serve you, nor serve the purpose for which you are going after this, Demonio. So, no, don’t even ask. I can’t see, it’s not my power, it’s not any witch’s power. But I can sense.”

“And what is that you are picking up on?” he questioned, stepping even closer to her.

“What you are asking of me will drain me, you know this, right? I can’t maintain it for long.” The General snorted but the God cut his eyes at the vampire, who quickly took a step backward.

“Erica is stronger than you, bloodsucker, regardless of how ruthless you are to your own kind, she is ten times more horrible to all kinds. Let her do her work, which is what I have asked of her. And there is no need for further comment from you,” Demonio told him.

“Yes, sir,” The General said, being properly chastised.

“Now, Erica, please proceed.” She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply, allowing her powers to soar through space. Her hands reached out but in her mind’s eyes, she could see them floating through the air, being cold by the surrounding air, and the speed at which she was going. Finally, it stopped, and she focused on what she was picking up.

She felt the presence of the group and sensed how they were sitting outside, in some open field. She frowned, picking up on more than just the two leaders though. With a surge of power, she pushed onward, using most of her powers to not only hide the land but to actually allow her to see. She wasn’t a sightseer, this was true, but in this form, with pretty much all her power, she could pick up shady images, but nothing beyond that. She also knew that with such a force as she was putting out, others would be able to pick up on the shift. And she knew that witches were working with Grayson and Fire; she already had a list going so she could make sure they died horribly for it; traitors!

She frowned as she picked up on the two embracing and slowly her senses moved over the land, picking up a child-like form. No, not child, children; there were two, and they were strong, the power coming in waves off of them in something she had never felt before. These weren’t ordinary children, and, in her mind, she refused to believe that a vampire and a wolf could dare have them. But from what she was picking up, she could see that the power both Grayson and Fire had could be put forth to create these two.

With a gasp, she watched one of the children transform and she pulled back, hearing the deep growl. But the flash of white was something she never expected to see. With a groan, her mind swirled back to her, and she collapsed on the floor. Demonio was quick to help her yet gave her the space she needed as well. She couldn’t explain to him what she saw when she herself was struggling to understand. He lifted her up in his arms and took her to her room, laying her on the bed.

“Can you tell me?” he asked, sitting on the edge. The door opened but she couldn’t glance at the other two men. She stared at the wall, still in a semi-daze, and tried to find the power to speak.

“There’s four,” she muttered, still trying to piece everything together.

“Four, what’s four?” the god asked, and she closed her eyes, taking a shuddering breath.

“They have kids,” she whispered. Saying it out loud made it real and finally, her eyes focused on him. “Grayson and Fire have kids. I don’t know how, I don’t know of any kind of magic that can make that happen, but they have kids. I saw one shift.”

“Shift?” Francis said, confused by that. “Kids don’t shift, it’s impossible to shift at a young age.”

“Vampires don’t have kids either, Alpha,” Erica said, giving him a nasty look, “though hazy, I swear I saw a young girl shift into a white wolf.”

“There are no white wolves either,” Francis said, trying to sound like he had any type of knowledge, which he might of, but not here, and not with this.

“Right, and wolves and vampires don’t mate,” Erica growled out. “We no longer live in a world where we know everything, Francis. I saw the marks, Fire and Grayson are mated, and they have kids. Which I’m surprised you never commented on, because wouldn’t you have seen them?” Francis shut his mouth at that. They all had seen them, sure, just never believed it, it was impossible.

“We’re underestimating something here,” Demonio said, getting off the bed. All eyes turned to him. “I’m not fighting this war with just wolves, vampires, and witches. I’m fighting this war against other Gods. Regardless of whether you believe in them, or not, they’re helping Grayson and Fire. I don’t know to what degree, but this, those kids, come from the help of them.”

“Sir, you say that both Grayson and Fire have powers that help your demons, right?” Erica asked. She hadn’t seen nearly as much as the other two had when it came to his demons, but she had heard of course. She had also seen them rampage through certain villages and then die out just as quickly.

“Yes, why?”

“Wouldn’t these kids give something to them as well? Even if magic helped bring them into this world, the blood of both Grayson and Fire run through them. They could give something as well.”

“And how do you suggest getting their blood tested, Erica? Wolves are very protective over their pups, I highly doubt Grayson, or Fire for that matter, are going to let us get close enough to grab one and then poke them,” Francis said, crossing his arms. He was frustrated with the idea, but even angrier at himself. He was close enough and he could have done something, but his mind refused to believe what he was seeing. Of course, he never thought he would see the day the Gods fought against each other either. He believed in Sol, Lunella, and Mundias; always had. He just didn’t know there was something between them and Demonio.

“You’re right, Francis. They won’t let us. However, I do have a plan, if Demonio allows it.” The God lifted a brow in question. “It’s something that needs to happen fast and be precise about it; there is no room for error on this.”

“What are you thinking?”

“Mind control,” she answered The General’s question. “I can’t do wolves or vampires, but I can tap into the power of other witches. It’s not easy, and like anything else that’s extremely dangerous, it drains me. I can control a witch around them, not the ones they have, but others, to be able to draw blood. But the window of me doing that and me losing my power is mere seconds. If I can’t get what we need, then I need someone there to grab them, or to poke them.” Hell, even talking about it was dangerous, and in her realm, could get her killed. There were things supernatural’s didn’t go against their kind, and controlling was one of them. It was a power she learned in the dark arts, and she had only done it twice before. Each time had left her laying on the ground of her room, near death from what she had spent. She wasn’t about to tell the god that though; he would shut the plan down. However, this was the best, and really, the only option they had. All three of them were flagged now and they would be easily stopped before they could even get close enough to do what they needed to be done.

“So be it,” Demonio said, his lips lifting into an evil sneer.