The Witch's Key

Episode 16: "A Lot To Learn"

"Their inaction, you mean," Britta said, standing. She never had been one for sitting still.

Britta was a petite, dark-haired Slayer who'd once acted as my mother's mentor decades ago. She almost always wore dark red lipstick that contrasted sharply with her pale, almost translucent skin.

She was short and small, but she was fast and feisty.

"The Council has failed us all in this matter," she said. "We all should have been alerted to Algrath's reappearance a decade ago when the seal on the first mirror was unlocked. They knew this was happening, and they've purposely done nothing to stop it."

"I think it's possible they've even been helping Algrath set his brother free." This came from the final Slayer of the five.

Darius. He'd been my father's closest friend since they were young boys. Their fathers had fought together as Slayers, too, once upon a time, and the two families had been inseparable for a long time.

His black hair was shaved close to his head, and there was a bit of white hair that had grown into his dark beard over the past few years. He wore black pants and a white t-shirt. I couldn't help but glance again at the scars criss-crossed against the dark skin of his arms.

Darius had been through some difficult times in his life, but he was one of the strongest men I'd ever known, both mentally and physically.

He pushed his chair back from the table and crossed one leg over the other, placing his hands together in his lap.

"I've been doing some research over the past twenty-four hours since we got the call from Martin," he said. "I've talked to a few of my friends, as well. When the mirrors were hidden, they were specifically cloaked with a powerful spell that should have been impossible to detect, even for a powerful demon like Algrath. So, how did he find them all so quickly without the help of someone who knew where they were?"

"Maybe he's grown more powerful over time, though," Gianna said. "Most powerful demons can see through illusions and invisibility spells. Maybe he'd grown strong enough to see through whatever cloaking spell was placed on them."

"Martin, you were part of the crew that first captured Regmothean," Darius said. "What do you think? Is there any chance the cloaking spells just weren't strong enough?"

Martin stroked his chin for a moment.

"It's always possible, but it's unlikely," he said. "To gain that level of power, Algrath would have needed to increase his power exponentially over a relatively short period of time. That would have taken massive human sacrifice. Thousands of lives."

Everyone in the room grew quiet. No one wanted to believe that could be a possibility. If thousands of humans had died by the hand of this demon, the Council would have known.

I shuddered.

"Let's say that isn't the case," Gowan said. "How else could Algrath have found the mirrors, if he couldn't locate them with his own magic? Are there other options than a member of the Council telling him where to look?"

Silence again, but beside me, Kai tensed and leaned forward, letting his head fall into his hands.

"What?" I asked, placing a hand gently on his arm.

He shook his head, then cleared his throat before sitting back.

"Some angels have the ability to see the actions of the purest souls," he said, his voice strained. "The Slayers placing the mirrors had the best, purest of intentions when they did it. It wouldn't be that difficult for a powerful enough angel to see where they placed those mirrors, even if it happened a hundred years ago."