Voices and light flooded Ivy's senses before she opened her eyes. She couldn't make out the words, but anxiousness and dread bridged the gap. Flashes of Ella running toward her and losing consciousness played like a film behind her eyes. She shook her head, making a mess of her curls, and gripped whatever fabric lay under her hands. The scene looped endlessly until her cameo played. After one final loop when the Ivy in the scene lost consciousness, her brown eyes shot open.
"Ivy." The voice came from beside her, dripping with pure terror.
Ivy shot up like a bullet to an upright position, now realizing she was in her bedroom. Ella lay beside her, still knocked unconscious. Her bloody shirt had been replaced with one of Ivy's. The earth witch tried to look down, but her vision got away with her.
"Ivy, it's okay." Marina came into view, the source of the voice, and put her hand over Ivy's. Peace filled every nerve in Ivy's body as she succumbed to Marina's power. Even after Marina removed her hand, Ivy's body preferred to bask in whatever Marina had done than process what had happened.
Aura sat next to her, fast asleep in one of the armchairs. A fuzzy blanket covered her. She stirred in her sleep and rolled to the other side. The pillow behind her head fell to the ground in the process. Aura jolted awake as her head hit the edge of the chair's back.
"Oh Ivy. You're awake." Aura let out a sigh and pulled her legs underneath her.
"What happened? Why's Ella still asleep? Why are we in my bedroom?" Ivy looked between the two witches. Despite the calm coming from Marina, Ivy's anxiety powered through.
"Ivy, one step at a time." Aura moved to the other side of the bed by Ella. She ran a hand over her forehead to check her temperature. Ella stirred, but her eyes remained closed.
Next, Aura tugged the t-shirt up to reveal a healed piece of skin. It was lightly pink like a scar, but where the gash had been was completely gone. Ivy's head jerked back in surprise. She could have sworn Ella was bleeding out when she caught her. Ivy gestured between herself and Ella in a way to ask a question without using words.
"Ivy," Marina forced Ivy to look at her with a gentle hand, "when did you learn how to heal people?"
Ivy shook her head, closing her eyes. She had never learned that skill. It wasn't something she knew how to do. Something else must have happened.
"No, I didn't..." Ivy trailed off, her eyes zoning out past them. "I was just so worried about Ella. She went down and we couldn't lose her."
"Your hand was over hers when we caught up to both of you," Aura stated covering the spot back up. "You were both out cold, your hands also drenched in blood. Before we carried you to the car, we checked her over. The gash was knitting itself closed. You were out cold so we couldn't ask you what had happened."
"Whatever you did to heal her used all of your energy," Marina finished, playing with one of Ivy's curls. "You likely saved her, Ivy."
Ivy looked down at Ella, who looked like a peaceful angel rather than the witty devil she enjoyed playing. The same witch who loved to tease Ivy to no end had almost perished. Ivy's heartstrings pulled, and water filled the edge of her vision. She took a deep breath to make herself realize the Ella was still alive and well. They would all live to fight another day.
"Did you two discover new powers as well?" Ivy inquired as she gestured for water to quench her thirst.
Aura and Marina shared a look between the two of them and dipped their heads. Ivy knew that meant they had before they even opened their mouths. Marina gestured for Aura to go first.
"I can levitate..." Aura answered sheepishly, her fiery hair falling in front of her face.
"You can fly?" Ivy's eyes grew wide. "That's impressive!"
"I didn't even notice until I realized that I wasn't actively pushing at the air around me." Her eyes stayed trained on Ella as if she could will her friend to wake up on command. "Marina discovered one too."
Marina moved away from Ivy's side and slouched against the wall. "Mine isn't as cool." She wrung her hands and kept her eyes cast downward. "You know how our bodies are made mostly of water, almost 60 percent?"
"Yeah..." Ivy's voice dropped in trepidation.
"Well, I can tap into that water." Marina met Ivy's curious gaze. "Whatever creature attacked me, I almost killed him by draining him of the water in his system...or by drowning him in his own water. His chest still moved when I left, but I didn't stick around long enough to find out if he survived."
By the slump of Marina's shoulders, Ivy knew the empath wasn't happy about this at all. The devastation rolled off her. The earth witch swung her legs off the bed and unsteadily approached Marina. She brought her in for a tight hug and rubbed circles into her back. Ivy didn't need to say a word. The hug was enough for the youngest witch.
"I wonder what Ella discovered..." Aura moved her eyes from them to the sleeping witch.
Almost on cue, the fire witch coughed, and her eyes fluttered open. A hand went to her side instinctively. She gasped when the felt nothing. Ella tried to sit up, but Aura forced her to remain horizontal. Ella's eyes bounced among the group, settling on Ivy.
"You saved me," she wheezed. "Whatever you did, you saved me."
Marina and Ivy slid onto the bed while Aura took a seat at Ella's side. "What do you remember?" Marina spoke up.
"Ivy running toward me and then everything went black." Ella's eyelids closed, but her eyes moved in hyper speed behind them trying to recall everything. "We must have been set up, or we are dealing with a very intelligent foe."
"You speak like we're in a comic book." Ivy shook her head with a wry smile.
"How did you heal the gash?" Ella's tone was forceful, almost knocking Ivy back.
Ivy shook her head. "I have no clue. I was just so worried about you and then I fell into the same darkness you did."
"What else did we discover?" Ella pulled her dark locks to the side, running her hands through it and working out the tangles. When her fingers caught on a knot, she deftly undid it and went about combing the rest of it until it all flowed. "I could hear you all talking, but I couldn't make out the words."
Aura launched into the recap using her journalist voice. Her voice moved quickly but evenly. She kept her emotions out of it, sticking to the facts. It made it easier for Ella to digest. At each new power, Ella nodded her head as if she were imagining the scene. When Aura finished, she asked Ella if she had discovered a new power.
"I think I did." Ella tapped her chin. By this point, she had inched up and sat with her head propped against the headboard. "The water came from all sides, but fury consumed me. Then my fire engulfed me, and no amount of water could extinguish it. I pushed it out. Whatever had been attacking me burned along with the forest in that clearing."
"Something is happening to our powers," Marina mused playing with the edge of the sheet. "Shouldn't they be getting weaker rather than growing?"
"They should," Aura confirmed. "That's what all the elders said, especially since our Pentacle was never fullly consecrated."
"It's only a matter of time before this gets back to them," Ivy pointed out from her spot amongst the pillows. "Word gets out around here. It's only a matter of time before someone on the Council hears about it."
"We don't mention our powers," Ella stated urgently. Her shoulders went rigid. "We have to figure that out before anyone else knows."
The other witches nodded in agreement. The silence settled over them before being interrupted by a groan in the living room. Ivy's eyebrow shot up. She recognized that groan but decided she would deal with it in a second.
"First, how do we always end up at my place?" Ivy teased the group.
"Proximity?" "Ease of access?" "Wine?"
At the wine, they burst out giggling. For a second, they forgot they had just battled an evil. They were just a bunch of women sharing a moment. A normal moment caught in the middle of an abnormal night. Ivy wiped the tears at the edge of her eyes as she tried to come down from the high of laughter.
"Second, what happened to my boyfriend? I know that was his groan."
Marina raised a hand guiltily. "I used my powers to lull him into a deep sleep as soon as he opened the door for us." Ivy looked her with surprise. "We couldn't have him asking questions about the night or getting in our way. You were unconscious. Neither of us wanted to deal with him."
"As long as he wakes up, I'm okay with that. I can explain in the morning." A yawn escaped through her lips. The exhaustion began to weigh on her. "Anyone feel like a good, ol' fashioned sleepover? There's enough room."
After the night they all had, nobody wanted to go home to their empty apartments. They all nodded without hesitation and settled into the bed. Shoulder to shoulder, they just barely fit, but none of them cared. They were just happy to be safe and in a bed.
"Night y'all," Aura said as she turned off the bedside lamp and descended the room into black. They all welcome sleep and the peace it brought.
A/N
Ah, a little Sunday treat for you all. Last night I was up late working on a chapter further along, and let me just say, I'm excited -does happy dance-
So I got a response as to how someone imagines Ella. Let's turn to the second oldest witch now, Aura. How do you imagine her?
Thank you all for all the love on this piece ❤️
#StayHomeSaveLives! Happy reading!