The Opal Witch

Chapter Twenty: Shadow Demons

Declan

Declan wished he could appreciate the improvement the girls were showing. Even Ruby, with her constant frown and aversion to sweat, could keep pace for the entire round. Kitty kept Audra on her toes, and Sara Elizabeth, much to everyone's irritation, two rounds. Kitty claimed it was because of the physical conditioning the girl received during cheerleading practice.

"Just imagine how much better you'd be if you weren't a lazy bum. At least these last few weeks have knocked some chub off of you," Sara Elizabeth goaded Kitty as she passed her, wiping sweat from her face with a towel.

The earth rumbled gently and the ground beneath the Sara Elizabeth's feet buckled and sent her toppling over. Kitty didn't even try to hide the glow around her emeralds as she clutched her stomach in laughter. The laughter was brief because the cooler full of ice water found itself dumped over everyone sitting on the ground.

"What the hell?" Travis shouted, "Bad form. Bad form."

Ruby shot to her feet, a river of black kohl streaming down her pale face, the channeling stone around her neck flaring brightly before dimming as if she struggled to control it. She'd yet to demonstrate her powers, which had lulled Kitty and Sara Elizabeth into believing the girl was weak. Declan considered warning them. Fire witches were not to be trifled with on a good day, and Ruby didn't appear to have those. Audra's gaze linked with his and they both shrugged. Let Ruby teach them a lesson.

"Go for it, kid," the wind witch encouraged before moving to stand beside the tense sorcerer. Ruby didn't need further encouragement, and the frown on her lips became a wicked smile. Dark shadows curled around her black painted nails, and she let it drift to the instigators. Travis, far wiser than the neophyte witches, scrambled away as the bright green and rich blue of their channeling stones signaled they weren't going down without a fight.

"I'm surprised it took this long," Audra joked. "We had at least three shows of power in my first week of training. Though, it's usually among witches of the same element. Doesn't matter if you've got a dick or not, everyone wants to have a measuring contest."

Declan almost choked He still wasn't used to this century's lewdness, but every time he thought he was settling in, Audra proved him wrong. His heart clenched. Lux used to delight in making him blush, but he'd ruined any chance of finding that easy camaraderie with her again.

"What's up, dude? You look like you've been sucking on lemons. Does it have anything to do with our missing Circle member?"

He waited a moment to answer, wincing as the shadow spell Ruby cast struck the girls and the screaming started. This had never been a fair fight from the beginning; the fire witch had spell training almost as extensive as Audra's. The other girls were basically tossing raw power about and hoping it did as they willed it.

"She won't be back," he replied, the words like ash and dirt in his mouth. He'd thought she was lashing out in anger, but her absence proved otherwise. "Perhaps... perhaps it's best. We could talk to Phoebe about binding her powers. It would be safer than her running about with a channeling stone."

The petite witch beside him snorted. "You know, I don't know what the girl sees in you."

"Excuse me?"

"I thought you might have a little edge to you when I saw you two dry humping on the lawn."

"Dear god," Declan groaned.

"I mean, here you are a sorcerer- the High Sorcerer, ready to fornicate with the High Priestess. And then you play the safe card. I'd run off too."

"Were you not the one that chastised us for our relationship?"

Audra flipped her thick, red braid over her shoulder. "Yeah, because it got the results I needed in that moment. But I say a lot of shit I don't mean to motivate people. And I don't think you actually heard me condemn what y'all were doing. All I'm trying to say is that if you approach Lux to bound her powers, you can kiss any chance of reconciliation goodbye."