WITCH SHIfT

Mar

A blinding red flash enveloped the entire hill above the lodge. It drew everyones attention and then I heard a cackle of laughter coming from across me. I was locked in battle with Snow, JP’s mom, and she was the one laughing.

Charlie was standing with me and he looked horrified at the red flash and my heart began falling in my chest. “Well I guess we will have to keep you alive now Charles. We will need someone to carry on the line. I will train your children myself now that your brother is gone.”

Charlie began crying as he held the shield strong in front of us. Everyone was locked in battles and Charlie and I came immediately to take on his mother. She needed to be stopped and now we had no choice. My heart was lost and with it so was my care whether I lived or died. That would make anyone reckless and reckless I became.

I walked past the shield and headed toward her. I walked with a purpose and I would be damned if she could throw anything at me that would stop me. “Mar,” Charlie screamed.

She laughed, and when I say laugh, I mean cackle. She really was a wicked witch. I just wish I had a pot of water to throw on her. I watched as she formed a red ball in her hand and then she threw it at me. I formed a ball of blue in mine and when the red ball came to me I caught it in my own turning the spell green.

She lost her smile. I gained mine. I threw it back at her. Where once she had shields they were now gone. It would just take a simple killing spell to finish this. I had to. If I didn’t finish her she could kill others that were my friends and family. I had to kill her. JP might hate me if he was still alive, he might not, but he would always know that I did it and I didn’t know what that would do to us.

It couldn’t be helped. The problem was they were bent on controlling the world and I couldn’t let them. Our world was fucked up enough without her having her way. I readied the spell that I knew would finish the job. It was a small ball of red in my hand just waiting to be thrown. I had to. I reached back to throw.

The guardian materialized in front of me next to Snow and grabbed her. Then he disappeared. What the hell just happened? I looked at Charlie and he looked as confused as I did. Just then another flash of red came from the mountain top and we both turned to look.

What the hell was going on? Just then Harvey came out of the lodge holding a bloody head and LeBeouf was supporting him. I ran to Harvey and helped LeBeouf get him somewhere where he could sit down.

“Harvey, are you ok?” I screamed at him.

“Mar, please, my head. I was in a containment spell. They were using me to lure you here. I see that part of their plan worked.” He said still dripping blood.

Just them my mother came running over. “I’ll take care of him, your father and sister need your help.”

I looked over through the fighting and found them locked in battle with three women of all different ages. Dad was not holding up well and Carolyn was trying to fight all three, she wouldn’t last much longer.

“Charlie, with me,” I said out loud not looking to see if he was following me or not.

I could visualize even with all of them where the spells were coming from and what form they took. Carolyn had switched from trying to disarm them to trying to kill them and the other side was launching just as deadly spells back at her. Her shields were wavering and she wouldn’t last much longer.

Charlie was beside me as we got close and I looked at him and he nodded. He threw up a shield and rushed to Carolyn’s side in front of my father. The shield was strong again. I could see it and I let out the breath I had been holding. Then I turned to the three women and smiled. I knew it wasn’t a friendly one but I wasn’t in a friendly mood.

“How about you try me bitches.” I said as I began walking toward them.

The youngest of the group threw something at me but I caught it like I had before and threw it back at her with a little of my own magic to go with it. It went through her shield and hit her square in the chest. She was out and now there were just two of them left.

They gave up on Carolyn and focused on me. “Who are you?” The middle aged one asked.

“I am Maryse Oliver, and you should not have fucked with my family.” I said getting closer and closer.

“She’s a level one,” she said out loud and the older one just looked at her like she was brain dead.

“Does she look like a level one, kill her!” The oldest screamed.

It took me a second but then it hit me, I knew these people. I looked at the girl lying prone on the ground and yup, it clicked. “The Truesdall Witches,” I said sneering. “I have a bone to pick with you.”

I intercepted the curse and threw it at a tree. I needed these two alive. The older one formed a curse next and instead of red it was black. She was pissing me off now. I quickly sent a spell of my own at her not realizing that I wasn’t drawing on anyone anymore and this was all coming right from me.

My small spear of magic pierced hers and she screamed as the black began leaking out of the ball she formed and began falling on her. We all watched as she screamed and tore at her clothes. Note to self, not fun watching an older woman stripping her clothes off to avoid evil spells.

“What did you do to her?” The middle aged of the three asked.

“To make a long story short, I pierced the spell she was going to throw. The magic from the spell fell on her and it doesn’t look pleasant.” I responded.

“I’ll kill you,” she said beginning to make her own spell. I pierced it before it could grow into anything too dangerous. She still screamed when it fell back on her but not like her mother did.

“Don’t try anything again or I will lose my patience. The only reason you are still alive is because I need you to do something, now sit there and behave.” I said to her icily.

“I won’t do anything for you bitch.”

I didn’t need to say a word. I just visualized what I wanted and let my magic flow. It took all of them over and pinned them to the ground in a very straight and orderly line. None of them could move or speak and I knew the oldest must be screaming on the inside from the pain but I didn’t care. That’s what happened when you played with deadly curses.

I walked over to Carolyn and Charlie who were supporting dad after they got him sat up. “How are you dad?”

“Better now,” he said still a little groggy. “Did I hear you say they were the Truesdall witches?”

“Yup, imagine that huh. Must be all the nasty people like to hang out together. Shit Charlie, I’m sorry.”

“No worries Mar. My parents aren’t on my good list right now. Of course I do wonder where my mother went and I wonder if JP is alright.”

“Shit, JP, we need to get to him.” I said standing up as another red flash came from the mountain.

“Mar, he needs to do this one himself.” Charlie said and the other two nodded.

How the hell was I supposed to sit here and not go to his rescue? Oh shit, did I just think that? I guess that was the only reason I needed. I nodded back at Charlie and we helped my dad to his feet and I went to see where else I could help stop the small fighting still going on before someone got seriously hurt.

JP

That was the fifth spell I deflected and he didn’t seem to be tiring. We couldn’t keep going like this, or at least I couldn’t. “Father, for the last time, surrender and let us take you in. I don’t want to have to kill you.”

His laughter was becoming quite clear throughout this little battle we had going on. “I’m not sure from which side you got your sense of humor, but it is beginning to get on my nerves,” he said making another deep red ball of magic to throw at me.

I deflected that one as well. My shields were still strong and I wasn’t tiring but I didn’t like how long I had been away from Mar and my friends. This could have all been a delay tactic to keep me occupied and the feeling made a knot in my stomach.

“Sorry father I can’t keep trying to get you to understand, I’ve already been gone from the others too long.” I said concentrating on his shield. His wasn’t like mine, if he could even see it. His was more like a woven net to absorb balls of spells as they came at him, not that I had thrown any yet.

I wondered if I could send a tight beam of magic through a gap in the net and hit him. It was worth a shot at any rate. I watched again as he formed another spell and as he did the net would widen as he drew power to make the spell, interesting. Toward the end of the crafting the holes in the net were as big as my fist. I just needed to get one spell through it.

Using my pinkie I fastened a spell to my mind and aimed. I let it go and watched as it traveled the distance and slipped through his shield and hit him in the forehead. His shield crumbled and so did he as he hit the ground. I could see his aura and I knew he wasn’t out, he was faking, to a point.

“Get up father I know you are playing possum, before I just throw another harder spell at you, that you can’t avoid.” I said tired of the games.

He did get up and seemed to dust himself off. Instead he reached behind him and pulled a gun. He pointed it at me and fired. Time froze as the bullet rushed toward me. I had no idea if a magic shield would stop a bullet like it had the vehicle, I never tried. I doubt it would if he resorted to it being as small as it was. I thought of Mar and wished we had more time together.

No, in Mar’s words, this is bullshit. I’m not going out like this. I wove my shield tighter and tighter as the bullet came toward me till my shield took on corporeal form. The bullet hit and stopped. I staggered back from the impact a bit but held my feet.

More bullets began hitting the shield. Finally after what felt like forever but was probably only seconds he ran out of ammo. I was mad now. I had enough. I formed a spear in my mind and my magic took the form. One throw and it was over, I thought of Mar and Charlie, and let it fly.

Before my spear struck, the Guardian materialized out of nowhere. He grabbed my father and they disappeared. “What the hell?” I shouted.

They were gone. Why would the Guardian help him? He was on our side I thought. I was confused beyond all reason. Then I remembered Mar. I went running to see if she was ok, because at this point I knew my life would never be complete without her.