To Have And To Hold

Smoke On The Water, Part II

Chapter Sixty-Four: Smoke On The Water...Part II

TATIANA

Priscilla was sitting with Horacio while I gathered my things to take to Mystic Fire before the breakfast gathering began. I kindly declined their invitation to join, telling Nicholas that since Talon had sweetly volunteered to stay with Horacio during the wedding, I wanted him to at least take part in the morning festivities.

Appearing in the vacant room at the main house where I secretly hung my wardrobe for the upcoming weddings, I pulled my dress bag earmarked for today, placing it on the bed before turning back towards the closet, attempting to stop myself from walking back in. Unfortunately, it was a wasted effort as Horacio’s continued unknown fate weighed heavily on my heart...

Staring at the thick white plastic garment bag for what seemed like forever, I placed my hands together before bringing them up to press against my mouth—the internal battle continuing until it finally wore me down and I reluctantly pulled the dress from the rack, hanging it on the door and slowly unzipping the front...

I loved my wedding dress—the long, fitted off-white silky sparkling material subtlety gleaming, even beneath the dim light. While remaining modest with a thick sheer of the same color, the cut-out sides that hit from high up my waist to the top of my hip were outlined in small sequins with three lines of tiny rhinestones that came down into a V, accentuating my tiny curves. The high neck, long sleeves, and fanned out mermaid bottom of the skirt that contained intricate long embroidered intersecting lines coming together perfectly to form a simple, elegant, patterned look, was to be capped off by a surprise for my Horacio—for everyone—but now...

“Tati, are you alright?” Aruna’s soft, loving voice suddenly interrupted my thoughts as she unexpectedly entered the room. I was unable to reply right away, leading her to worriedly come over to stand beside me, her arms wrapping around my shoulders as she murmured in awe, “Oh, Tati! I’m sorry, I know you were wanting to keep this a secret, but Raven linked saying she was very concerned about you—what a lovely dress!”

“Mmmmm,” the hummed reply the only one I could give in my highly distressed state.

Squeezing my shoulders, Aruna affectionately whispered in my ear, “You’re going to take Horacio’s breath away when he sees you walking down the aisle in this dress. It will happen, you know—your wedding day. Deep in my heart, I know that to be true, Tati. In the meantime, keep that beautiful head of yours high—just as your King would want you to—just as I know Aldric wants me to do today.”

Grabbing a tight hold of her hand, I gently dropped my head onto Aruna’s shoulder, softly replying, “I’m glad Raven had you come here, Aruna. I love you so very dearly.”

“Let’s finish getting your things together, shall we?” Aruna sweetly urged, “The calm before the storm of activity ahead of us. At least it will be one filled with only joy and happy tears.”

**************

SAPHIRA

All had gathered at my house right on time, joining me in my little room of witchery, surrounding the boiling pot of steamy broth...

Each taking hold of their ingredient, we began our work bringing forth the dark magic in our Rain of Plague spell...

Dropping in the calamus, I stoically beckoned, “Dark magic, we call upon thee—come forth for our enemy and all to see.”

Temora threw in the ephedra, emphatically stating, “It’s time for their death, the reason for our call—a painful demise only you can deliver to all.”

A wicked grin on her face, Theodora added the sassafras, cooing afterwards, “Desperate times, desperate measures, bring forth the darkness to overcome the light.”

Uma’s expression was hesitant as she held the oleander over the cauldron, her gloved hand carefully dropping it in finally, reluctantly exhaling out, “A plague is how we request it will end, one so deadly they will be given no time to fight.”

Cordelia carried the same look of apprehension as she almost inaudibly murmured, cautiously adding the water hemlock, her hand protected as well, “The powers you may face will be those that reach vast and wide.”

Her lips pressed tightly together, Enora stoically let the rosary pea fall in, “Which is why we request that you veil your cloud until the right moment—in the bright blue sky you must hide.”

Elvira was next, depositing the belladonna, our deadly nightshade, “A hex as we are vexed, melee that can only be brought forth from the pits of hell.”

Shaking despite her best efforts, Elveena managed to force her voice to come out steady and clear, allowing the aconite to fall, “Rise up, rain down—a cloud of your instant death to form from this spell.”

Although worried that I had saved her for last, Azora fulfilled my wishes, carefully placing her handful of machineel from her protected hand, softly murmuring, “From the depths—the darkest form of sorcery—we will release you to bring your wanted peril and despair.”

A satisfied grin crossing my face, I added our last ingredient—ricin, before saying the last needed words to seal the ingredients together, “When it is time, you will be set free—by two of the same blonde hair.”

The final words were said together, just as the instructions in my book of spells dictated that we do...

“A reign of terror, your wishes granted by us all. The final toll decided by you, but if we fail, we know several will still have to fall.”

The large black cauldron began to fiercely bubble, rock, and shake before blaringly shooting up into the air, pitch black streams of magic creeping out from the top to furiously wrap around it and crossing over one another until smoke was all that could be seen and it ignited a fiery orange-red, slowly descending down to set back down in front of us—the grey cloud filled with black watery plague now contained in a round jar—patiently waiting to be set freed...

**************

I sent word to Igor that all was in place and Enora and Elvira were about to be dispatched, my home filled with the silence that would make one think I was alone, but I wasn’t as all nine of us were sitting around my long dining room table...

With tears in her eyes, Elveena sat between Enora and Elvira, beside herself with eyes full of fear. Their littlest sister wrapped up in their arms, my two friends were trying to provide much needed comfort as she harshly whispered, “I know of both your talents, so I am trusting you to come back to me, you hear?”

“We will not leave your side, Elveena, and after this is done, we can move on,” Enora lovingly whispered, running her fingers along the stray wisps of Elveena’s blonde hair, gently placing them behind her ear.

“Sister and I have even agreed that you can pick the place we live this time,” Elvira soothed, “Somewhere peaceful—with lots of flowers for you to admire.”

“Planning to move again?” I mockingly retorted, “Do you ever stay in one place for more than a few years?”

Enora gravely replied, “You know that we don’t, Saphira—not since our family home burned to the ground years ago taking our parents with it. I don’t know that any place will truly feel like home again.”

“Well, regardless, it’s time for you two to go and for Elveena to return to your current abode,” I excitedly sang out, “Come back here when you complete the job at hand, and we will celebrate our victory together.”

Hugging one another tightly, Enora, Elvira, and Elveena disappeared from the room, leaving the rest of us anxiously anticipating their return...

Suddenly, Azora stood up, appearing tearful as she desolately informed me, “I’ve done as you’ve asked, Saphira. I’m going to see Mother. Let me know when you require my return. I just hope for all our sakes this dangerous plan works.”

Before I could say anything, Azora was gone, as Temora sarcastically laughed out, “At least Azora fulfilled her responsibilities to our effort. I say good riddance to her and her depressive presence. It continues to amaze me that Minki gave birth to such a weakling. The vast sorcery she inherited is a waste with that girl.”

Sending Azora a private message that I understood her reluctance to stay and would keep her posted as she visited with Minki, I sat back in my chair, concentrating all my efforts on bringing forth a vision allowing me to see our attack unfold...

**************

TATIANA

Lying next to Horacio, I was making my last pleas for his awakening when I heard the calls—their voices coming across as faint whispers, “The wings of the Fairy Queen, we call upon you now. Bring us before you as only you know how.”

I whisked my hand out in front of me, appearing by my bench and bringing forth the four sorceresses, three almost identical older blonde-haired women, only age appearing to separate them—all with blue eyes, triangular faces, tiny chins, and pencil-thin lips.

And one who I knew was my most reluctant—Azora—anxiously stood beside them, appearing to be the youngest of the four, possibly in her forties, her silky brown hair sprinkled with silver.

Azora’s full, rounded face and big brown eyes were fraught as she urgently inquired, “Is Mystic Fire protected from Saphira’s view?”

“Yes—Raven and I have made sure of that,” I curiously returned, “Why?”

The eldest-looking of the four, who, based on Ursula’s descriptions, was Enora, held out a round jar that contained a tumultuous billowy grey cloud inside, as she cautiously informed me, “Because I have no doubt Saphira is looking for us there—executing an attack planned for Alpha Nicholas and Alpha Madeline’s wedding day.”

There was a sense of urgency in their tones that instantly brought forth great alarm as Azora soberly stated, “We don’t have much time, Tatiana. Right now, Saphira’s discovery of our betrayal is the least of our worries. What has been put in motion is far more dangerous—for everyone—but especially Enora, Elvira, and Elveena.”

My heart stopped as they explained what Enora held in her wrinkled, age-spotted hands—and their own plan bravely and ingeniously put in place. The fragile glass jar holding a lethal dark magic spell that somehow, had to be dispelled—something that whether I liked it or not, I knew I couldn’t do alone...

***********

The lake—the one place that brought me peace—felt like it too was being taken away from me by fate. Fluttering my wings, I kept myself steady in the air as Raven and I created a wide protective barrier over my favorite spot to keep our black magic prisoner contained—right up to the edge of the water where my bench sat.

As we quickly elongated the shield along the bank to allow us more room to work, I couldn’t help but once more question fate and its intentions for me. The relentless testing of my limits and endless battles to thwart complete and utter devastation...a momentary thought I had to push to the side for later, as time was critical in the mission that we were being forced to embark on...

Encasing the jar in my aura, I removed it from Enora’s grasp, sending it high into the air to hover over the center of the lake. My mind working quickly, I had come up with what I hoped was the right solution, though my hasty explanation and execution left all our loved ones I brought forth with no time to react, which in truth, was probably the best scenario....

I was grateful that Raven and Remi were alone in their childhood homes at Mystic Fire, linking my two confused young loves that I was bringing them back to Crescent Moon.

Fortunate circumstance continued as Nicholas, Lorenzo, Soren, and Mahan had not yet gone down to breakfast, allowing me to quietly bring them forward—as well as my sisters, Loa, and Ursula. I gave them strict instructions to link no one until all was explained, hurriedly filling them in on the planned attack, which sent everyone reeling in horror and shock, staring up at the glass jar in unadulterated fear...

While all four of my beloved Alphas had many questions they wanted to ask, they relented when I steadfastly informed them that there was no time—in this instance, they just had to trust me—their responses relegated to slow, silent nods as they agreed to my wishes.

I instructed Nicholas to keep everyone inside the main house and send word out to everyone in our pack that they needed to go to their homes and remain there until he told them otherwise before sending my highly reluctant family back to Aruna’s wing—Lorenzo’s expression full of anxious trepidation as he disappeared from my sight. I had already shown Raven a vision of what I felt needed to be done, next relaying the necessary details to Remi and the rest of my sorceresses...

Knowing we were going to need harnessed powers and Remi’s healing magic to break the spell, I brought forth a half-sphere, instructing my sorcery sisters to place three hearty strikes into it, each to be followed by an insurmountable dose of Remi’s restorative curing powers, directing her to utilize the same extreme velocity and strength she used on me in the Forest of the Vines when I was at death’s door, as I felt it was the only way to prevent the inevitable demise of many from the dangerous and deadly Rain of Plague spell Saphira had chosen to put in place...

Backing up several feet, Remi’s sleek brown ponytail bounced back and forth as she readied herself, concentrating hard on the center of my dome while extending her arms out and firming her stance as my fellow sorceresses swiftly did as I asked, each of their palms glowing in their signature colors before they sent broad, vicious beams into the contained area.

Her timing, as always, perfect, Remi then sent her healing spirit sprinting forward before leaping into the air to viciously pummel into the dome, the force of her entry causing the earth to shake beneath our feet—beams of Remi’s therapeutic powers joining the powerful combined effort, spinning around the multicolored magic relentlessly throughout the dome...

Quickly sending two additional rounds of their magic into the enclosure, I was preparing to send everyone back to the main house when a wide-eyed Azora came forward, extending out an enormous, opened spell book, solemnly stating, “I don’t know if this will help, but my mother—she wrote some notes about reversing dark magic spells—I marked the pages. But after seeing you just now, I’m not sure you need any assistance from anyone, especially me.”

Looking past her at the three sisters, who were staring at me with wild-eyed wonder, I sincerely returned, “On the contrary, you four have provided a great deal of assistance, waiting to summon me until you had the potion in hand. By doing that, you chose to save hundreds of lives, including those of my family—thank you.”

Motioning for Raven to join me, we read over Minki’s notes as I politely continued, “Raven and I have each read our spell books cover to cover many times, which also had passages about dark magic, but I appreciate your willingness to share your private spell book with us and your mother’s insights on the matter.”

“Of course,” Azora kindly returned, “All four of us wish to help in any way we can.”

The perfectly penned notes were much like our own—Azora’s mother underlining the fact that concerned me the most—DARK MAGIC DEMANDS RETRIBUTION FOR IT’S CALL. Hopefully, between Raven and I, our plan would work, overcoming that caveat...

With a tense smile on my face, I looked up at the four sorceresses, expelling four streams of green out, apologetically stating as shackles appeared on their wrists, “Please know that these are merely precautionary—a protective measure until Raven and I can eradicate the spell. The promises made to you will be honored.”

Nodding to my sisters, Loa, and Ursula to send everyone back home, Persephone tearfully pleaded, “Do what must be done, but—protect yourselves—both of you.”

“Always—and as discussed, you will help remove everyone from Crescent Moon, including yourselves, if things don’t go as planned,” I adoringly returned, looking around afterwards to see all had the same expressions of terrified apprehension.

Loa’s intense gaze was dead set on Raven, who smiled before devotedly murmuring, “We’ve got this, Aunt Loa. All will be well.”

“Tati—” Reina worriedly exhaled out as Persephone shot me a tearful look of worry and despair, leading me to emphatically whisper just before they disappeared from the bank, “Trust me, Sisters.”

Turning to Raven, I staunchly exhaled out, “You know the plan, Raven, but be ready for anything. And if we find this battle cannot be won, I want you to promise me that you will ensure everyone is safely removed from Crescent Moon and taken to Mystic Fire—and that you will join them—leaving me here to fend off the spell.”

Her jaw dropping, Raven adamantly argued, “Auntie! Absolutely not! I—”

“You have a responsibility not only to our family and pack, but to everyone, Raven,” I resolutely interrupted, “It is imperative for the future of all that the Firebird Phoenix remain alive—and for those powers to be carried on one day by the daughter you and Talon will bring into the world. Promise me if it comes down to it, you will not only save everyone here, but yourself—please.”

“It won’t come to that. Just as I told Aunt Loa and Talon—all will be well,” Raven earnestly replied, “But if it will ease your mind, fine—I promise.”

And now here we were—Raven and I about to face our greatest challenge together as we finished putting our safety net in place. Extending my glistening wingspan out to its fullest extent, we directed my half-globe to lift high above us in the sky as I decisively exhaled out—

“I AM THE STORM!”

*************

NICHOLAS

Nicholas, bring me home! I—I can’t just sit here while Auntie and Raven are—

No, Madeline. I’m already worried about our people and our family here, not to mention the danger Raven and Auntie are currently in. It puts my mind at ease knowing you and the girls are far away from this Rain of Plague.

I’m worried about everyone too! If Auntie and Raven can’t—

If their plan doesn’t work, everyone here will be sent to Mystic Fire, including me. I promise, my Alpha—I will keep you informed of what’s happening…

Feeling helpless was not something I ever handled well and yet, I found myself once more completely and utterly powerless over what was happening on my own land by Igor and Saphira. All-consuming anger was something else I didn’t feel often, but I felt it now—overwhelmingly so...

I did as Auntie asked, sending out an urgent link to all of Crescent Moon to go inside their homes and remain there until I cleared them to leave. Standing in front of one of Mother’s large picture windows with my fellow Council members, Loa, Badru, Alastor, Gavin, and Spiros, I peered down at the wide glass opening not far from us where Mother and Priscilla were holding Jace’s hands with Aunt Persephone, Artem, Aunt Reina, Ronan, and Aunt Alta standing on either side of them. Carson and Beast had their hands resting on his shoulders from behind as they peered out at the lake.

My Delta—my brother—was beside himself, splotches of red covering his face as Jace fought to not allow his rage to spill out, staring intently out the window as everyone was trying their best to comfort him and I did what I could to ease his mind through our links. But we all knew it was a futile effort, as two of the women he held closest to his heart were putting their lives on the line to save us all...

Everyone else was watching from the large glass doors and windows of Mother’s balcony to the right of them. Ursula and Kingston were kind enough to stand with our four shackled witches—two of whom were supposed to execute this deadly attack at my wedding—thanking fate for its kind choice to be on our side, but still pleading with my three other Council members as I had done since we left the lake...

“All of you should go to Mystic Fire,” I fiercely murmured.

His gaze unrelenting as he watched Raven and Auntie in dumbfounded wonderment, Uncle Soren rasped out, “Like the rest of our family has informed you, my boy, we aren’t going anywhere unless we are told there is no other choice, so stop wasting your breath. While it may sound foolish, this is a time for solidarity—not just for you, but for Raven and Tati as well.”

“While I understand your desire for us to think differently, Soren is right, Nicholas,” Mahan despairingly said, “Foolish or not, we will not leave you in your time of need. Especially me, as I continue to feel I bear a great deal of responsibility for this. We will all stay and support you, unless Tati and Raven tell Loa and the others otherwise.”

“We’re lucky Auntie was able to get a message to Azora and those four made the choice they did,” Spiros discreetly murmured, “If this spell had been released at Mystic Fire, the devastation would have been astronomical.”

“That is an understatement, Spiros,” Badru despondently replied, “Over the many years I’ve hunted Igor, he has never been so vile and reprehensible as this.”

“What he planned to do today—this wasn’t going to be just an attack against us, but hundreds of packs,” Gavin dismally added, “And I’m sure Igor had plans to take advantage of the chaos that would have ensued afterwards.”

“Which is why their fates are officially sealed,” Lorenzo coldly drawled out under his breath, “Once we find them, all involved will receive immediate death sentences for this unbelievable lethal act of treachery.”

“Wouldn’t matter if you imposed it or not, Father,” Alastor seethed, “After all they’ve done? Their fates were already sealed. Let’s just hope Raven and our Winged Angel’s plan works.”

Watching intently as Raven and Auntie sent the enormous dome high above them while hovering over the middle of the water, we all jumped when it suddenly ignited, sending a massive colorful cloud of intertwined magic expanding across what was once a bright blue sky until it covered the entire length of their sparkling protected perimeter.

Our eyes widened as Remi’s intense healing streams suddenly became lightning bolts that crashed all around Auntie’s defensive orb—loud, deafening cracks of thunder so powerful, the windows vibrated with every bright white jagged strike that descended from the magically created storm.

Auntie and Raven’s mouths began moving then, undoubtedly reciting the incantation that would set the perilous cloud of death and destruction in motion—the scene in front of me both intimidating and frightening, but necessary as we were facing the darkest and deadliest side of sorcery…