Moon Witch

Found

Julien and Rosemary walk swiftly through chilly streets. Leaves blow around their ankles as the pair sweeps their flashlights over the ground in front of them. Rose got the call from her mother to keep looking for Maggie. Tobias rendezvoused with Luna back at the house with little detail to the whereabouts of his witch. All the group knows is that she's somewhere out west in a squat brick building.

"Why did you let her get taken?" Rose demands suddenly. She had been silent up to this point.

"What was I supposed to do?" He defends.

"Take a bullet for her? Stand your ground? I don't know, maybe, don't be a coward?" Rose's words bite. Julien flinches with every syllable, but he knows he deserves it, "Mine and Maggie's father took a bullet for our mom once. It hit him right at the base of his skull and he was paralyzed from the waist down. They put him in a medically induced coma to try and save him, but he died while they were operating. But he saved our mother without even thinking about it because he knew that we needed her. A witch growing up without a mother seldom makes it alone in this world, even with the help of a coven."

"I never knew how he died, I'm sorry," Is all Julien can say. Rosemary shakes her head.

"Your apology means nothing. It wasn't you that killed him. But it was you that let my sister get kidnapped, and if this guy finds out what Maggie really is, then there's a very slim chance we'll find her alive," Her voice cracks. Julien's blood goes cold. He feels it drain from his face.

"What do you mean?" He asks, afraid of the answer.

"Maggie is the Moon Witch of legend. She's the most powerful witch to ever grace the earth, and burning her at the stake brings unlimited power to her murderer. She's only born when we need her the most. There hasn't been one born for over three hundred years. We all thought the legends were exactly that: legends.

And then came Maggie. I was six when she was born, and she came as a surprise to my parents. A happy surprise though. She was three when she started showing unusual magic. A magic far stronger than any infant should exhibit. Mom started coddling her more, teaching her how to harness her magic. I knew why, but a part of me was always jealous of Maggie. She got all of Mom's attention. And until she was thirteen, it was like that. She was thirteen when Dad was killed, and the minute the bullet hit him, Maggie screamed and a bright light filled the room. It was her anger that made that light and her anger that killed the person that shot our father. Mom went to the Elders with questions she was afraid would never be answered. But there was an answer, given to her by Elder Cybil. Our Maggie is the Moon Witch. That's why we always went into hiding every Halloween. That's also why she was never told the legend. All for her protection. And then you came along and had to fuck all that up."

"I didn't know any of that. If I had, I wouldn't have pushed her so hard to change the tradition. If I had known..." He trails off, stopping in his tracks because right in front of him is a squat brick building. There are two men standing guard at the front door, guns larger than life cradled in their hands, "This has to be it."

"It is. Duck into the underbrush, we need to come up with a game plan," Rose tugs her brother-in-law into the bushes lining the cracked sidewalks, "I'll distract them and you try and get through the door."

"What if the door's locked?" He's starting to think they should go to the police instead of trying to rescue Maggie on their own. Of course, he can't voice this.

"Don't worry about that. When I give the signal, get to steppin'," Rosemary gets up out of the bushes.

"What's the signal?" Julien whispers harshly, "Rose? God damn it!" Frustrated, he falls back on his behind and waits for Rosemary to give her mysterious signal.