I step on the gas and turn right skidding, praying to the Goddess so she can help us to avoid any police car because we can't waste time if they stop us for speeding... We cannot give a good explanation either. No officer would believe that a demon is going to attack a baby and we're the witch and druid that will save her, above all because we look like two crazy ladies wearing our coats on top of our pyjamas and some sneakers, our hairs is a mess too. I can't waste time casting a spell that could manipulate their minds to forget they've seen us.
"Vinnia, hurry up and call everybody, you have to get to Louisa's apartment as fast as possible," Iselen yells at her phone, sitting next to me while trying not to hit the door when the car veers again.
"What's wrong?" I ask when I see her shaking her head while throwing the phone in her backpack that's on the backseat.
"She already knew it, apparently, the entire coven noticed that something was wrong with you, they were all awake and getting dressed, waiting for your call..."
"Of course they knew, we're very close and energy flows between all the sisters even if we're not performing a ritual," I answer relieved when we arrive to Louisa's street. "They must've woken up at the same time you were shaking my shoulders in bed."
"Elvira is still here helping to take care of the baby and Aletta will be the first one getting to the apartment because she lives nearby... Where do you think the bitch is?" My girl asks jumping out of the car after I park carelessly in front of the building. The street is quiet, the lampposts light up the sidewalk and a tabby cat stares at us with curiosity but Abrahel and her minions are no where to be seen. "My druid is anxious and worried but the hunter can't sense the demon, I don't understand it..."
"It doesn't matter, my love, hurry up." I run towards the door casting a spell that opens it violently, Iselen follows me while we climb up the stairs two at a time ignoring the elevator, gasping for air, everything seems quiet and it's possible that nothing bad is happening here, maybe this is a false alarm and the bitch was just trying to fool me so I had a nervous breakdown. "Fuck!"
I should've imagined this since I've done the same in my apartment: Louisa casted a spell that soundproofs and seals the walls of her home so her neighbours can't hear us when we gather here. It's easier to keep them ignorant of what's going on than explaining why we're dragging furniture from here to there, dancing and singing, or why our houses always smell of incense, burnt herbs and candle wax. I can feel violence and evil pulsing behind the door while we stop for a second to catch our breaths... I look at Iselen hesitating but the druid frowns and shakes her head, clenching her jaw. She's been studying hard and I know she can fight in a basic way but she's not an expert handling magic yet and I don't want her to get hurt.
"I'll walk behind you if you want... but I'm not staying here," she growls with determination and I smile, feeling proud deep inside.
"Are you ready, love?" Iselen nods and I whisper an order for the door to open. A gust of hot wind pushes us back and we struggle to get into the apartment trying not to fall and land on our asses, there're books all over the floor, overturned furniture and torn leaves from Ivy's plants are flying in the air while the negative energy makes the walls creak.
"Oh my God," the druid whispers next to me, scared, protecting her head with her arms because a photo frame almost bangs her forehead when a shelf shakes. "Louisa!"
"Here!" My sister answers from the bedroom and we both run to the corridor, or rather, we try because the wind is still determined to push us back and books, flower pots and porcelain figurines are flying all over the place, crashing against us. Iselen grabs my coat and pulls hard, stopping me abruptly.
"Watch out!" I open my eyes, startled, staring at the knife stuck in a painting frame right in front of my face, it came flying from the kitchen one second ago and almost stabbed my neck. "Ruby, I'm scared..."
"Calm down," I whisper casting a shield spell that covers us and prevents the apartment stuff from hitting us while we keep walking and manage to reach the room. The situation is terrible and my heart skips a beat when I spot Elvira standing in the middle of the carpet whispering something, focused on the shadows that are dancing on the walls, sliding closer between the furniture, extending their thin arms and claws towards Diana who's crying desperately while her mother leans over her crib to protect her with her body. The negative energy makes the building foundations and windows shake, glasses shatter but the Mexican witch remains firm and the protective spells around the crib are powerful. No demon can fight the love my coven feels for Diana.
"Ruby!" someone yells behind me.
"Careful with the knives!" Iselen answers and Aletta stops abruptly, staring at Louisa's cutlery that's stuck in the wall right in front of her face in disbelief. Kanti holds her breath behind her and Lester casts a shield spell over them to be able to walk down the corridor safely. I push my druid towards Louisa so she can help her to calm down the baby while I stand next to Elvira despite the stormy wind swirling around us. I put my hand on her shoulder and link my energy to hers to make her spell more powerful instead of casting a new one myself, my sister recognizes me immediately and she seems to relax a little, relieved.
Aletta joins us and also Lester, our combined power keeps the nasty shadows away from the crib but it's not enough to kick their asses out and I don't have that wonderful sexual energy I managed to gather thanks to my druid to attack them: I need to remain firm here till my entire coven arrives. Elvira staggers, exhausted, and I squeeze her shoulder gently giving her a quiet order, the Mexican witch nods and steps back, slowly, drawing back her power so I can take control of the spell and lead my sisters again. Suddenly, I notice some kind of grey fog lurking on the other side of the broken window, trying to get in, and small lightning flash across these weird disgusting clouds. Things are getting ugly...
"Ruby!"
"Thyra, hurry up!" I yell. "Be careful with the knives!"
"What the actual...?" Savannah growls surprised from the corridor and all my sisters manage to reach the bedroom one minute later. "Louisa, your favourite athame has flown from the altar in the living room and almost stabbed me."
"We'll talk about it later, help me to push these shadows outside..." The girls run towards me, leaning her hands on their shoulders, getting linked to me through my druid who's hugging my waist standing behind me. The baby has stopped crying thanks to Kanti or maybe Diana feels better now that we're all here and her mom feels calmer surrounded by her sisters. I focus on their energy: pure, clean and vibrant, so familiar and pleasant, giving me strength and balance while the Goddess is carrying us in her heart. We're invincible together.
I smirk mischievously and cast an attack spell, a flash of light blinds us while shadows back down fast, they dig their claws into the wall trying to stay in the room and manage to scratch the paint... they may be like ghosts but their energy is real and they're capable of hurting us. My spell is too powerful anyway and shoves the shadows out, a warm wind pushes the fog away and the shards of glass go back to the window, fixing it like it was never broken. Suddenly, silence falls over the building and I can only hear my sisters' heavy breathing. Everything is a mess around us, like a bomb has exploded in the apartment while we look at each other in disbelief.
"Don't worry, Louisa, the baby is okay," Kanti whispers bringing us back to reality and the Italian girl nods, getting closer to the crib wearily. Suddenly, Lester points at something on the other side of the window and opens his eyes wide in shock, running out of the bedroom, startling us. I hesitate for a second and decide to follow him, jumping over turned chairs, slipping because of the broken sauce jars and food containers that have fallen from the open fridge and stepping on the books scattered around. Some knives and forks are stuck to the corridor wall and there're sharp pieces of glass from broken bottles everywhere so we must walk carefully. Luckily, the stairs are perfect and neighbours keep sleeping like nothing weird is going on.
"Where are you going?" I ask confused but my brother doesn't answer, he keeps stomping down the steps till stopping abruptly, pointing at the sidewalk.
"Hijas de puta..." someone growls angrily behind me and I turn around to look at the druid utterly shocked, I speak enough Spanish to understand that and I know my girl never curses so rudely, usually.
"Iselen!" I mumble outraged but the beautiful lady shrugs and ignores me, getting closer to Lester who's standing near four witches that have passed out in the middle of the dark and deserted street. Zalir and her minions are pale, sweat coats their foreheads and they're breathing heavily but don't have any injuries, apparently.
"Did they do this?" my girl asks in disbelief and I move closer too, shaking my head.
"No, they aren't powerful enough but could've channelled the demon's energy... that's why the hunter didn't feel her close, because she wasn't here. She's never here, she doesn't need it to kill or wreak havoc, and we don't know where her den is located... because of these idiots... Hey, Sleeping Beauties..." I growl kicking Tamar's side to try to wake them up. The witches moan and open their eyes slowly, confused at first and scared later when they notice the three of us standing in front of them. Zalir opens her mouth to say something but seems to think it twice when she realizes we're frowning angrily and tries to sit down despite it's pretty obvious she's too tired to escape running.
"What happened?" she asks puzzled, looking around like she's expecting that bitch of a boss she has to show up suddenly.
"What do you think, you idiot? The demon ran away leaving you behind, unconscious and exposed," I answer with rage. "You'll pay for this, damned spoiled brats..."
"But she promised us that..." a tear runs down Zalir's cheek while my druid looks at her like she can't believe what she's hearing, leaning forward to talk to the witch very slowly, emphasizing every word as if Zalir were a toddler.
"This may sound weird to you but demons never keep their promises, you can't trust them... Do you understand? What are we going to do with them?" Iselen turns around to look at me while I ponder different options, I know what I'd like to do but, unfortunately, torture and murder are crimes and, in addition to that, the Goddess wouldn't like to see us getting involved in that, so I heave a sigh and point at Lester.
"Call the Council, they have to come here to arrest and interrogate them before choosing a punishment. We need to help Louisa to clean her apartment and cast new protective spells around Diana Siena."
"All right, I'll wait here for them... even if I don't think they're in good condition to escape from us," my brother stares at the four witches, shaking his head. "Liberty Bagels will be open most likely and I'll buy a good breakfast for us all, I think we really need to regain strength."
"Great idea, my friend. Sausage, egg and cheese for me, please... and another one with bacon and jalapeño, don't forget about the classic with salmon and another with turkey..." Lester chuckles and nods.
"Cream cheese and blueberries..." Iselen whispers behind me, licking her lips.
"I'll bring everything they have on the menu, we've wasted too much energy tonight..."
"You're a keeper, Lester, and Kanti is a lucky girl," I answer winking at him.
*****
"Namaste, Ruby. Girls, are you all right? Louisa, did you bring the baby with you?" Yalitza asks bewildered when we walk in The Lotus Flower dragging our feet, flopping down on couches and chairs, exhausted.
"Yes, I wanted to come with my sisters and hear what those bitches have to say about this and Diana is calmer now, she's fallen asleep in her stroller." Louisa smiles when the pub owner leans forward to check if the baby is okay, relieved.
"I'm so happy to see her. Do you want to eat or drink anything?" Some of my sisters let out a moan, shaking their heads, and I can't help chuckling.
"No, thank you, Yalitza. We've been helping to clean her apartment and, fortunately, it doesn't look like a war zone anymore," I answer sighing. "Lester brought us tons of bagels and coffee and that kept us awake for some time but we've spent lot of energy, have slept very little and we're exhausted now... If we drink more coffee, we'll have a nervous breakdown."
"Okay, I'll make some tea with ginseng and passionfruit, it's delicious and will clear your minds, I promise."
"Sounds good," I answer straightening my back when seeing the members of the Council living in New York walking in the pub, dragging Zalir and her minions pulling their arms, fording them to sit down on some chairs. They still look terrible and their hair is a mess, makeup is running down their faces and stockings are torn, they seem to have lost their natural arrogance. The truth is that things don't look good for them and the entire magic community in this country will despise and ignore them from now on. Bulgakov, the old Russian guy who sent us the witness that managed to stop his cousin before she jumped through the window, shakes my hand and smiles.
"I heard you had a bit of excitement tonight."
"You can't even imagine it," I answer introducing my druid to the tall man with white hair and rosy cheeks that looks like the kind wizard of a fairy tale, but he has a legendary bad temper when he's angry.
"What are we going to do with these witches?" he asks frowning and I shrug.
"I don't care, honestly, I only want to hear what they have to say about their boss... The punishment is up to you although I vote for ostracism, these haughty idiots only want to stand out and feel important. I think that turning them into outcasts of the magical society would be the worst punishment, they wouldn't have access to pubs, meetings and shelters." Bulgakov nods, pensively.
"We don't know who she is or where she is," Zalir whispers scared when she notices we're all watching her deadly serious. "We only talked to her in person once, when she introduced herself to us and proposed a plan, but later we only spoke on the phone and she called us with a hidden number."
"Which means she's way smarter than you are," Yalitza snaps at her when she comes back carrying a tray and starts handing cups of fragrant tea. Just one sip is enough for me to feel better, I don't know what our friend puts in her tea but it does wonders for our sore muscles and exhausted brains.
"Okay, do you know how she picks out her victims?" I ask and the stupid witches seem to think about it.
"She doesn't follow a pattern, as far as I know, she's very interested in energy but I don't know what kind. She doesn't choose the most powerful people, usually," Zalir answers confused.
"Once again, this means she's smarter than you are," I reply snorting. "She's not looking for power but witches with a strong connection to Mother Nature because they can channel more energy, that's why she wanted Diana Siena despite she's a baby."
"Where did you meet her?" Iselen asks putting her cup on the table. "Where did you bump into her the first time?"
"At the airport, one year ago, when we came back from our winter vacation..." An idea makes its way through my mind like a flash and I lean back on the couch, lost in my thought, while they keep talking around me. "She asked us if we wanted to be her agents in NY."
"I guess this means she has agents in other cities," the Russian warlock shakes his head. "Damn it, she could be anywhere and keep killing, what are we going to do to find her and stop her?"
"What was she wearing?" I ask suddenly, startling the witches that look at each other, perplexed.
"I think it was a dark blue or maybe dark grey suit," Aradia answers, hesitating, and her friends nod while my sisters stare at me puzzled.
"Like the one an American Airlines flight attendant would wear?" I suggest kindly and Ivy straightens her back, looking at me with a flash of pride in her eyes given that her theory is going to be confirmed. "When she visited me in my dreams, she was wearing a dull suit and white shirt that looked like a uniform."
"Well, she wasn't wearing the colourful neckerchief," Zalir whispers nodding. "But yes, she could be a flight attendant. I remember she didn't stand out in that environment, she was an average young and cute girl and I thought she was a liar. Who would have thought that someone so... normal would be the Queen of Succubi? That's what she says... The truth is that she didn't get my attention till I felt the powerful magical energy swirling around her body."
"You were right, Ivy," I smile at my sister and she smiles back sadly.
"That's great but it doesn't help, I mean, American Airlines have more than 25,000 flight attendants working for them. How are we going to find one if we don't even know her real name?"
"Maybe we should let her come to us, instead," Iselenwhispers behind me and I turn around to look at her, bewildered, while shetakes one of her grandma's books from the backpack.