Magestorm: The Embracing (12 page)

3
3

The Grand was quieter than normal, with word of Lila’s illness quickly spreading.
 
Everyone was worried where it came from, and if it could be contagious.
 
Several witches decided to take their minds off things by meeting in the c
ouncil room and playing cards.

At the front door, two werewolves stood guard, instead of the usual one.
 
Xander must be
nervous;
at least that’s what they figured.
 
There had never been more than one guard at the main door.
 
Then again, there had never been a guard
at the back door, either.

“You think that witc
hes’ illness was intentional?”

Tyler shrugged at Dougan.
 
A man of few words, he didn’t want to speculate on something they’d likely never know the answer to.
 
Besides, if it was some sort of attack, he wanted to be
on alert for anything else.
 

“Either way, extra guards tells us what Xander thinks.
 
Why don’t you do a walk around, just to be
safe?
 
Nobody is breaking in here on
our watch.”

“You got it, Ty.”

The werewolf walked down the stairs and circled around the left side of the building.
 
He wasn’t gone more than five minutes when a loud crash came from around the corner.
 
Dougan
ran
back into view with panic all o
ver his face.

“Someone crashed
through the wall around back!”

“Jesus C
hrist!
 
Cover the front door.”

Tyler ran around the building to the back and, sure enough, there was a large hole in the wall.
 
It led into an empty bedroom, and the door inside was broken in half.
 
He followed the carnage into the hallway and spotted the intrude
r just a short distance ahead.

“Stop!
 
I suggest you surrender, or
you’ll be in a world of hurt.”

The creature turned around and looked back at Tyler with dead eyes.
 
It was nearly six and a half feet tall, and one arm didn’t match the rest of his body.
 
It was even more obvious by the stitches holding it on.
 
It was a dull greenish color, compared to the pale s
kin over the rest of its body.

“Last chance, fucker.”

Without a word, the humanoid beast charged him.
 
Surprised by the decision, the werewolf barely changed form before impact.
 
The invader sent Tyler flying backwards, down the hall, and skidding to a halt.
 
A painful cough confirmed he had broken ribs from the impact
.

Another crash could be heard in the distance, and then screams and sounds of violence began to fill the place.
 
Spells were shouted, but the rampage continued, and Tyler wondered how many invade
rs were actually in the Grand.

The creature that attacked him apparently deemed him no longer a threat, and proceeded to pound through another wall and disappear
ed
from view.
 
The werewolf wondered if his lungs were punctured, and how painful it would be to heal from this.
 
He struggled to his feet and started following after his attacker, slowly but determined.

A second creature, this time with an off-colored leg, walked by the hole in the wall.
 
As soon as Tyler stepped through the doorway, a powerful fist sent him flying again.
 
Gasping for breath and sure more ribs were broken, he wasn
’t sure he could get up again.

The monster looked at him and was apparently satisfied with the result, as it didn’t come over to finish the job.
 
He was now sure they were guarding something, or someone.
 
With every ounce of strength he had left, he crawled down the hallway, desperate to reach the lobby and find help.
 
The cries and sounds of destruction seemed to be winding down, and he could only hope that it meant the othe
rs were doing better than him.

In the lobby there were nearly a dozen bodies strewn about.
 
Near the front door lay Dougan, his neck clearly broken.
 
Some were witches, others
werewolves,
and all were injured or killed in horrible ways
.
 
Most weren’t moving at all.

A loud crash in the distance
signaled
that the monsters had found what they were looking for.
 
After a few bangs, all became qu
iet.
 
It was a horrible sound.

Finally footsteps started marching towards the lobby and Tyler dragged himself to some potted plants in the lobby, hiding behind them.
 
It left a bitter taste in his mouth, but he knew it was best to try and survive, so at least he could give a repo
rt on what happened to Xander.

Four monsters stepped into the lobby and marched towards the front door.
 
They were all mismatched in some way: a left arm for one, right arm for another.
 
The third had a left leg that didn’t match, and the forth, a right leg.
 
None of them spoke or showed any emotion or even effort with their movements.
 
They were something Tyler had never seen before.

In between them was a woman he recognized.
 
She was a witch, a member of the council, though he wasn’t sure which one.
 
In her hands was a something bundled in
cloth.
 
Whatever was in there must be supremely important.
 
The woman stopped at one of the witches laying on the ground and just starting to move again.

“Sorry dear, can’t
have you working against me.”

With a nod to one of her followers, the creature stomped the injured woman on the head and she stopped moving.
 
Tyler cringed and shuttered at the sight.
 
The coldness was beyond anything he’d seen before, and now he just hoped he was hidden well eno
ugh to not face the same fate.

With a quick glance around the room, the witch was satisfied with the carnage.
 
The five of them departed and the wolf wished he could just lay there and hope his healing could mend his extensive wounds.
 
Far across the lobby was a phone, and he slow
ly dragged himself towards it.

He pulled on the cord until the phone fell to the floor and he dialed 9-1-1.
 
The operator assured him ambulances and police were on their way.
 
Now Tyler wished he would just pass out from the pain, but that mercy wasn’t coming.
 
The quietness of death pounded in his ears until finally sirens broke it up and there was some hope of survival.

34

Dhane walked into the hospital and asked for Lila’s room number.
 
The long walk down the hallway and up the stairs let him prepare himself for how badly she might look.
 
He reache
d the room and glanced inside.

In the bed, nearly as pale as the sheets she was laying on, she appeared dead.
 
His heart sank.
 
The monitors seemed to show th
at she was still alive though.

“Sir, can I help you?” a nurse a
sked with concern on her face.

“I just got into town to che
ck on my friend.
 
How is she?”

“We haven’t been able to figure out what’s wrong.
 
It doe
sn’t look
to
good, I’m sorry.”

With a nod he looked back at Lila and wondered if anything would have been different had he stayed.
 
After watching silently for what seemed like an eternity, he reached for the handle, and a woman’s han
d stopped him from turning it.

“Dhane, I’m glad you made it.”

Cassandra seemed so sad right then.
 
She pulled him close for a hug as tears fell from her eyes.
 
There had to be something comforting to say, but neither could come up with the words.
 
Dhane followed the council head down the hall to the waiting room.
 
Xander threw him a half smile, the best he could muster, and Amber stoo
d, bowed, and then hugged him.

Several nurses went running past and down the elevator, nearly knocking over Terrance, who was returning from the vending m
achines with Hostess cupcakes.

“What the Hell is that all about?” he asked while opening the plastic.
 
Exchanging nods with Dhane, h
e continued on to Lila’s room.

“
I’ll check and see what’s up.”

Xander walked off in a hurry and D
hane sat down with the others.

“Wha
t happened to her, Cassandra?”

“We’re not exactly sure.
 
We did find a cross in her room, which had her blood on it, and a substance they can’t identify.
 
She had a cut on her hand which apparently is w
here she got infected.”

He shook his head in frustration.
 
The unanswered questions would haunt him, he knew that for sure.
 
Someone knew the truth, and he planned to start by finding Charles and b
eating the answers out of him.

Xander
ran
back into the room
and everyone stood up quickly.

“It’s the Gr
and.
 
There’s been an attack.”

Without another word, they all tore out of the hospital and into cars.
 
Within fifteen minutes they reached the war zone.
 
They were all dumbfounded when they got there, looking at the devastation that had occurred.
 
An ambulance tore away as Cassandra, Amber, and Nicole slipped in among the chaos.
 
There was nothing the police could do to keep anyone out, as they were all searching for survivors and helping those they
could.

“Excuse me,
officer,
do
you know what happened here?”

The policeman looked over Dhane and didn’t see him as a threat.
 
More likely, he thought the mage was a reporter who lucked upon this st
ory so soon after it happened.

“Not really sure.
 
Looks almost like a war took place inside.
 
I’m not sure if there will be any survivors.
 
We only have one so far, and he was in bad shape.
 
They just
took him off to the hospital.”

The cop pointed towards the road where the ambulance had sped off and Dhane glanced to Xander.
 
With a nod, the werewolf got back into his car and headed to the hospital.
 
A quick ‘thank you’ to the cop, and Dhane headed around the back, to his private entrance.
 
Inside, he noticed his
room was completely ransacked.

He was instantly glad he didn’t stop here first and drop off his luggage.
 
Surely whoever did this was searching for Algernon’s spell book, the new one he discovered in Hallow Falls.
 
Of course, that begged the question of h
ow they knew the book existed.

With nothing left to bother trying to salvage, Dhane headed out into the hallway to begin knocking on doors.
 
Hopefully someone survived this, but things weren’t looking good.
 
One by one he knocked, then checked each room using his spell to unlock them.
 
Each was empty
.

Having no luck, he headed downstairs and found the others, clearly distraught.
 
As was typical lately, there were no words to comfort or make anything better.
 
Any despair that existed inside Dhane quickly left, and rage took its place.
 
Whoever did this
was going to pay.

Without a word he stormed out of the Grand and got back into his car.
 
Fast and furious, he sped to the hospital and parked next to Xander’s car.
 
On his way across the parking
log
,
Xander
and Terrance came out of the hospital and they m
et halfway.

“Who surviv
ed, and has he said anything?”

“It was Tyler, who was on guard duty.
 
Four unknown creatures decimated the place, led by a witch.
 
A witch from
your
council.”

Xander was fuming.
 
After what happened with Rachel less than a year ago, to have another traitor on the council was more than he could take.
 
It wasn’t Dhane’s fault, but with dead members of the werewolf community, the community he was supposed to lead and watch over, ange
r was getting the best of him.

“Son of bitch!
 
Who
was it?”

“From the description he gave, I believe it was Elisabeth.
 
I called the Grand and got hold of Cassandra.
 
She said Algernon’s book was taken.
 
With the carnage she caused, this has
to be an ultimate power play.”

The question remained of how to find her and stop her.
 
Nobody knew it, but Dhane had the ultimate counter-weapon to the book Elisabeth had taken.
 
The real spell book contained so much more, though she may realize the other book was lacking
and start searching for more.

“I’m going to go check out her new place, the one Charles moved out of.
 
I have a suspicion that they’re connected somehow.
 
Can you two get the remaini
ng witches to someplace safe?”

“I have a safe house I’ve kept since the days Sebastian was in charge.
 
Always figured
he’d
be the one to force me to use it by doing something reckless and stupid.
 
Here’s the phone number.
 
Call me after you check out Elisabeth’s p
lace and we’ll go from there.”

Dhane took the slip of paper and shoved it in his pocket before getting back into his car and speeding off, leaving the werewolves to take care of the witches.
 
Soon he was parked in front of the building that held the penthouse he needed to search.
 
Darkness was quickly approaching, and he knew the best approach was stealth.
 
He was tir
ed of sneaking around, though.

With focus and anger, he charged into the building and to the elevator.
 
He pressed the button and waited as the elevator climbed.
 
His focus was distracted by the memory of coming
here and almost being killed once before.
 
That wouldn’t happen this time.
 
At least the internal
pep talk seemed to be working.

The doors opened and he marched up to the door and cast the spell to unlock it.
 
Storming inside, he found... nothing.
 
There were no furnishings, no unpacked boxes, not a thing.
 
Room by room he searched, but she
had never even moved in here.

Why the Hell did you come here then?

He remembered the safe and headed back over to the dining area.
 
The door was unlocked, and inside it smelled like formaldehyde.
 
There were numerous wall sockets, meaning a lot of power had been needed in here.
 
But for what, he had no idea.
 
After pacing for several minutes, trying to come up with another idea of where she might be, the realization sunk in that he had no clue.
 
It was jus
t like when Charles left.
 

No trace, and for all anyone knew, they could be starting their own council in another town, gaining power.
 
Inevitably, they would come back here to finish what they started.
 
At least Dhane could use the real spell book to prepare for that day.
 
He strolled out of the safe and caught a glimpse of a figure out of the corner of his eye.
 
Without a second thought, he grabbed the figure by the throat an
d slammed it against the wall.

“So glad you r
emember that I like it rough.”

Dhane’s grip loosened and she proceeded to knee him in the groin and knock him to the ground.
 
In a flash she was on top of him, pinning his arms out at this sides.
 
She leaned in and smelled his nec
k, licked her lips and smiled.

“I remember how good you tasted before.
 
Mind if I give it another go?”

“Yes, I do.”

Whether sheer willpower gave him the strength, or if she really wanted him to take control, he wasn’t sure.
 
He was able to get his arms free and knock her off him.
 
Pinning her down, he had to fight hard to resist the temptation to strike her.

“What the fuck
are you doing here, Heather?”

“I thou
ght you might have missed me.”

“Dream on.
 
You’ve got great timi
ng, you blood sucking psycho.”

He stood up, letting her go, much to her disappointment.
 
With a huff, she got to her feet and walked over to the safe.
 
Dhane dreamed of shoving her
inside and locking her in it.

“You know, I have some interesting sources around town,” she began.
 
“I heard of an attack on the witches today, by one of their o
wn.”

“And?”

She had his attention now, and she loved it.
 
If there were more time, she would draw this out for eternity, him needing what
she had.
 
Now wasn’t the time.

“I know where the witch is hiding.
 
I fear to tell you, however.
 
With the book, she
’ll be too powerful for you.”

“She’s not the only one with a boo
k.
 
Now tell me where she is.”

Heather’s e
yes lit up.
 
“You do have it!”

“WHERE?”
 
He was fed up with her and
his anger was about to erupt.

“Okay, but I wouldn’t go alone.
 
Her monsters are immune to your magic, so you’ll need some brute force.
 
She’s hiding out at the old abando
ned hospital.
 
I’ll show you.”