Lucian
We’ve been waiting all weekend to hear what my grandfather had to tell us. I’m usually all for school, but I wanted this day to be over, so we can get our news. When the last bell rang for the day, all of us rushed to the car to get to my house as fast as we could. Now, we’re waiting for my grandfather to come home; which should be any minute. We’re all waiting in the living room while my grandmother is in the kitchen, cooking dinner.
“Lucian.” I turn and look at Zeke. “Do you have any idea what your grandfather is going to tell us?”
“All I know is that he has some good and bad news but didn’t want to go into detail until all of us were together. He wanted to do it this weekend, but I explained to him what was going on, and he agreed to wait until tonight. He said that it would give the guys he sent to Riverwalk a chance of getting back to him, and he could possibly have more information about Lorcan’s descendant.”
“Am I the only one who is tired of calling him that? I mean damn how hard is it to find out his name,” Max interjects.
“For once, I agree with Max,” Graydon states.
“Well, color me surprised. Callie you might want to write this down. Graydon agrees with me about something.” Graydon crosses his arms and glares at Max.
“I can just as quickly change my mind.”
“Don’t do that. This is a historic moment.”
“It’s about to be your last.”
“Enough,” I yell. “Can we all be serious for a second? We have too much going on for us to be acting this way.”
“He’s right,” my grandmother says from the kitchen doorway. “This is a time that all of you need to be on the same page, to band together and be stronger than ever. Quite frankly, I’m tired of all the bickering. Now, you either put your differences aside, or if you can’t, you can get the hell out. Callyn doesn’t need this kind of distraction, none of you do. You all have enough on your plates and inside fighting, even over stupid shit, isn’t doing any of you any favors.”
“Your grandmother is right,” my grandfather says.
I didn’t hear him come in, but when my grandmother starts talking you shut up and listen, and don’t you even think about talking above her, you’ll just make it worse.
“Since you're all here, we’re just going to get right to it. I’ve been in contact with the neighboring towns and some of the other councils. I made them aware of the situation. Once they talked to their people, they got back to me, and those who are willing to fight are going to be coming, in waves. Some are staying behind to protect those who can’t or won’t fight.”
“What are they doing to the ones who won’t fight and are capable?” I question.
“They are being monitored. The last thing we need is for more of them to start following this unnamed person. Which brings me to the next bit of news. The two scouts I sent to Riverwalk, there’s good and bad news. Bad news is, they still haven’t laid eyes on him, and they have no clue how big his army really is. They’ve only seen a handful of people, but we would be remiss to think that is all he has.”
“He has a base of operation somewhere.”
“Yes, Callie.”
“Sooo, we have to find out where it is.” Max says
“Yes. It would be a great advantage to us if we did. We could take out a lot of his army and gain the upper hand.”
“What about the witch? Do we have any information on her?” Callie asks.
“We have a bit more on her. She is the one walking around town asking about you. She’s trying to pass herself off as a relative of yours and that she is trying to find you.”
“Well, no one should be able to give her much information. I didn’t go anywhere besides school and the grocery store. Though why would she need to ask around about me. If we can find them by a simple location spell, couldn’t she just do the same?”
“My guess would be that she has, and she knows exactly where you are. I think it’s more of her trying to see who you were associated with and if they are on your side. Now, since you didn’t know who and what you were until you came here, there shouldn’t be a problem. We also have a picture of her. We can distribute that around and have everyone keep an eye for her. Once she sets foot in this town, we’ll know. We just have to be ready for her, for them.”
“I don’t understand. Why not just come here? He should be strong enough, especially with the help of a witch,” I state.
“It’s all a power play. He won’t get his hands dirty unless it’s his last resort. They always try to get others to do their dirty work for them. When their carefully laid plans come crashing down, that’s when he’ll strike, that’s when he’ll show his face.”
“So, what’s the good news then?”
“As of right now, there are no signs of them making any moves against us. Now, that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t have plans in the works. But this gives us time to train as many of the new people as possible. We may have a fighting chance.” My grandfather gets up and walks to the kitchen.
“Graydon, we’re going to have to talk to your father about using the gym to train. We may have to find a bigger area. Callie, you’re gonna have to talk to Alcina and we’re going to have to start training with her.”
“I’ll message her now.” I nod.
We have to prepare. With this guy’s power, let alone the witch’s, we need to have a power play on our side, because I don’t think that we’re powerful enough to take them on.
Callyn
Me: Hey.
Alcina: Hi. Is there something you needed?
Me: We feel like we should start training with you.
Alcina: How do you plan on doing that? I’m a witch.
Me: I know, but we have to find a way to work together, to make us all stronger.
Alcina: I understand that, but I don’t know how to go about that.
Me: We don’t either, but we have to try.
Alcina: Ok. Let me know when and where.
Me: I will. Also, we have a picture of Circe, and we learned a couple of things about Lorcan’s descendant.
The air pressure changed and Alcina stood before me.
“Do we have a name?”
“Not yet. Apparently, he is in hiding and having Circe and his followers do his bidding.”
“I figured as much. Can I see the picture?”
“Lucian, can you get your grandfather's phone? I want to show Alcina Circe’s picture.”
It only takes him a moment before he is placing the phone in my hand, the picture already on the screen. I turn the phone toward Alcina. She gasps the second she sees the picture.
“This can’t be,” she whispers.
“What?”
“She shouldn’t be alive. She looks just like the painting I’ve seen of her. No one is supposed to live that long. Yes, magical beings and shifters tend to live longer than a human, but not to this degree.”
“Are you saying what I think your saying?”
“Yes, this is Circe, she was alive over two hundred years ago.”
“How is this possible?”
“Very dark magic, blood magic. Let’s just say that once you go down that path, there is no coming back from it. The things you have to do…” she shudders. “You were right when you said we need to find a way to make us stronger. I thought Circe was a relative from the one two hundred years ago, but it’s not. She will have gained two hundred years of experience and magical knowledge. We need to get started soon, or we may all be doomed.”
Great just what we need a two hundred-year-old power tripping witch and a long lost relative on a revenge trip. Both with insurmountable power. How the hell are we going to beat that?