Pack Wars

Chapter 7 - Who's in Charge

~ Castle Mooreswell (Present Time…) ~

Master Harold panted heavily as he turned his head to glance across at Master Pallius at the other end of the room. Both Masters were slowly lowering their open palms after having used their powers to rid themselves of their werewolf intruders, and in turn protect their coven.

The basement was filled with thick green clouds of smoke, slowly dissolving off into the air around the few remaining witches, who were now being carefully led out through the main entrance to head back upstairs after such a terrifying ordeal.

They were being returned to their dorm rooms to retire for the night.

Lady Miradene stood at the front entrance to the basement, her blue eyes locked firmly on Master Harold as she continued guiding her witches away from the scene of c*****e they had been locked in until now.

Everything had happened so quickly; it was hard to remember exactly how it all went down…

-

~ Flashback (10 Minutes Ago…) ~

Master Pallius had initiated the attack on the wolves, hurtling an energy blast straight at Delta Wren and in turn prompting his fellow witches to immediately launch into a fearsome attack along with him.

Blasts were simultaneously flying through the air; all aimed directly at the intruding wolves. Unfortunately for them, they hadn’t seen the sudden attack coming until it was too late.

Some of the wolves were able to charge at nearby witches with hopes of attacking them, but within a matter of seconds, majority of the assailants had been destroyed by the Masters and Ladies of the Coven.

Only a few escaped, among them was Delta Wren.

Screams filled the air as the thick green smoke slowly began to fade, revealing their vanquished enemy’s bodies lying lifelessly on the floor with massive holes in their chests.

It was a gamble of course, but one that had proven worthwhile…

-

~ (Present Time…) ~

Once the room had been cleared out, only the Masters and Ladies remained as the coven’s council members stood assessing the damage.

“That was far too close, Harold.” Sabitha suddenly broke their awkward silence, staring down at the body of one of the wolves, a massive hole in his back.

“It could have been worse…” Pallius countered. 

He kicked the wolf’s body resting just below his boots in an effort to ensure that it was in fact deceased as he added, “I mean, we could have all been senselessly slaughtered by them instead...”

Sabitha rolled her eyes, shaking her head at his snide comment.

“Why can’t you take this a little more seriously, Pallius?” she snapped angrily.

“There will be severe repercussions for what took place tonight. You know this!”

“She’s right.” Harold chimed in now.

“The wolves have broken the sacred treaty we share with them. This will no doubt lead to a full-scale war between werewolves and witches. It is nothing to joke about.”

“So what happens now?” Miradene asked hoping to change the subject as she looked to the others.

“And where is the Grand Master? We need to make contact with him immediately and inform him of what happened here.”

Pallius shook his head.

“Miradene, it’s not necessary-”

“-No, she’s right.” Harold cut in over him sternly.

“Xandaar needs to be aware of the possible threat of war against the wolves from this day forward, even on his current assignment with Zara. We must make contact as soon as-”

“-That won’t be necessary Master Harold…”

The unmistakably familiar voice chimed in from the entryway, alerting the others to quickly turn their heads to see the hooded figure standing there. His glowing purple eyes peered back at them with a serious expression as his chest heaved in and out heavily. He had several new cuts across his face and blood spatters across his clothing, but he was somehow alive.

“Grand Master Xandaar, you’re here?” Pallius queried in confusion.

“What happened to you?” Miradene asked, her brows furrowing in concern.

“Is that blood yours?”

Sabitha chimed in also, “Wait, where’s Zara?”

Their barrage of questions had suddenly halted at the simple gesture of his raised gloved hand as he lowered his head slightly, appearing to take a moment to compose himself before speaking.

Sensing his obvious distress, the others proceeded to move in closer, as if to assist him in some way.

“Xandaar, what happened?” Miradene asked, a little softer than she had before as her hand reached out and rested on his upper arm.

“We were attacked in the council chambers.” he began to explain.

Their expressions changed to show serious concern now.

“What?”

Once again, he raised his gloved hand and spoke.

“Relax, she got out of it alive. She’s currently somewhere in Hallow Woods. I teleported her there before they attacked…”

He grunted, grabbing at his side now and alerting them all to the large laceration across his side, slowly seeping out warm crimson blood.

The others assisted him to come across and be seated on a chair, each of the two Masters holding onto his shoulders to steady him as they did so.

“So, she’s out there, all alone?” Sabitha confirmed, seemingly showing fear in her eyes now.

“I had little choice. I couldn’t risk her being harmed.” Xandaar explained, hunched over in the chair.

“Sit back.” Miradene commanded him gently, helping him to do so.

She then reached into a small pouch nestled beneath her ceremonial robe and pulled out a handful of what looked like a dry leafy substance. Shoving in directly into her mouth she began to chew vigorously, then swallowing it down her throat.

“So what did I miss?” Xandaar asked, raising his left brow in question.

As they continued their conversation, Miradene worked her magic to begin healing her Grand Master’s wound. She crouched down beside him and held out both of her hands.

Having just ingested an extremely powerful herb that aided in healing, she could now use her powers to increase his healing time substantially.

Her open palms began to glow an ominous green shade as her powers were activated.

Masters and Ladies of the Council’s powers had always appeared green in shade when in use. The colour of one’s power indicated their level of magic. Xandaar’s appeared purple, showing his obviously higher level when compared with the others.

After only a few minutes of her work, Miradene reopened her eyes and lowered her hands with a smile as she looked up at Xandaar.

Miradene had always liked Xandaar, though she never found enough courage to admit it to him. He was her Grand Master; such a union would not be appropriate. But her heart longed for him, for his touch.

Watching as she stood back up, Xandaar smiled as he nodded his head in thanks.

“What’s our next move?” Pallius asked, crossing his arms across his broad chest.

Xandaar stood up and began to march out through the open doorway, the others following along behind him quickly as their conversation continued.

“First we must find Zara. The longer she is out there on her own the more likely it is that she will encounter someone or something dangerous…”

“But she could be anywhere by now…” Sabitha added.

“The Viewing Window will show us her exact current location.” Xandaar reminded them of the obvious as they turned a corner.

“Ok, so we locate her, but then what?” Harold asked.

Xandaar replied quickly, “I go after her-”

He was surprised as Pallius grabbed him by his arm, causing him to face the Master in question.

“-Wait, do you really think that wise? Those things could come after her again, and in greater numbers than before.”

Xandaar remained silent for a moment, simply staring down the Master who currently held his arm. 

As the Grand Master’s glowing purple eyes darted down at Pallius’ hand, still gripping his arm, the Master got the hint and quickly released his hold.

“My apologies, Grand Master. I meant no disrespect.”

“I understand your concern for my wellbeing, Master Pallius, but it’s imperative that we find the girl and get her somewhere safe as soon as possible. I will take on this mission myself to ensure it is done correctly. In the meantime, all of you will remain here to keep watch over the Coven until my return…”

He paused and looked them each in the eye, one at a time.

“Is that understood?”

“Of course, Grand Master.” several replied in unison.

Pallius was seemingly uncertain of this decision and had replied a little softer than the others as his dark eyes darted down towards the ground in a display of defiance.

With one final glare, no doubt to remind Pallius just who was in charge here, Xandaar turned on his heel and continued marching off down the corridor followed closely by the others.

They were on their way to the Council Chambers to use the Viewing Window to help locate Zara.