The War on Witches (13 page)

Not that anyone would be looking at the light show. The news would be about the huge creature approaching the young witch, looking like he was about to kill her.

Austin had to do something. He had to stop Isaac, but there was no way he'd be able to clear the destruction in time to reach her. Isaac was already raising his paw-like hands and another fireball was forming. There was nothing between the creature and Alysha to stop it from killing her.

“NO!” Austin held out his hands and green spiraling lights shot from his fingers. They zipped across the room, striking the monster in the back, forcing it to unleash a howl of pain and rage.

The Isaac thing was unsteady on its feet, but it did not fall. Instead, it turned toward Austin with what appeared to be a smile on its face.

Austin held up his hands, examining them, wondering what the hell had just happened. Did those lights come from him? What were they? Could they stop the creature?

That last question was all that mattered as the Isaac thing took a step forward, leaving Alysha safely behind as it moved toward Austin.

Piper took in the world around her as Paige completed the orb. It wasn't the first time she and her sisters popped up in the middle of a storm of trouble, and this one didn't disappoint. A big red and silver demon was fighting off a guy that threw spiraling green laser beams while their Innocent created a fireworks display that was hardly even a distraction. Smashed paintings and broken walls littered the gallery surrounding them all. “This must be the place,” Piper said.

“I told you we didn't have time to brew the potion,” Phoebe said.

“It's a good thing
we
did, because we're going to need it.” Paige nodded toward the spectators taking in the view. Some were cowering in fear in the far corners of the gallery, but most of them were pushing one another out of the way to get the best view as they recorded it for posterity—and for posting later—on their cell phones.

“Not good,” Phoebe said. “Not good at all.”

“One problem at a time,” Piper said. “Let's start with the demon in the middle of the room.”

Paige sighed. “If I had a dollar for every time we said—”

“Down!” Piper pushed her sisters to the ground as a fireball came their way. It hit the wall behind them, incinerating two ugly paintings of fairies that bore no resemblance to actual fairies whatsoever.

Piper and her sisters were back on their feet in time to watch as the demon grabbed the kid with the laser spirals and blinked out of existence, leaving Alysha behind, along with a few dozen wide-eyed witnesses who all had their cell phones trained on the witch.

“Okay, folks. The evening show is over.” Piper discreetly pulled the three potion bottles out of her bag and handed them to her sisters. “Thank you all for taking part in our little performance art piece. Hope everyone enjoyed it as much as we did.”

Both Paige and Phoebe let out a sarcastic huff behind her.

A thoroughly agitated older man pushed his way out of the crowd. “Performance piece, my ass. This is
my
gallery showing. There was no performance piece scheduled for tonight. And even if there were, I'd never allow such a scene that would destroy my precious artwork.”

Piper nodded toward Alysha, subtly indicating the girl should make her way over to the Charmed Ones. She picked up on the move and took a few slow steps in their direction while the artist raged on about his “works of lyrical genius with a hint of hipster sarcasm.”

“Yeah, okay,” Piper said. “You know what?”

The artist finally stopped babbling and waited for her to continue.

“Now!” Piper threw her potion bottle, followed by Phoebe and Paige.

The three bottles broke together in the center of the floor as green, blue, and red swirling smoke curled together and wafted over the room.

“Alysha, come closer,” Paige called.

As soon as the girl was within a couple of feet of the Charmed Ones, Paige held out her hands and created an orb shield. The newest evolution of her power protected all four of them in a translucent light blue bubble that kept the memory potion from affecting them.

“That should wipe their memories of everything that happened tonight,” Piper explained to Alysha.

“What about the cell phones?” Alysha asked. “Do you have a potion that erases digital images?”

“That would be nice,” Phoebe said. “But no.”

“Once the potion has taken effect I'll freeze everyone,” Piper said. “Then we can erase all the recordings. Afterward, we'll escort everyone out, pull the fire alarm, and sneak off in the confusion.”

“Until then, we wait for the potion to clear,” Paige said, hands still raised to create the bubble. “Anybody want to play twenty questions?”

The Isaac thing had Austin in a chokehold and he couldn't get free. Even if he could, he wasn't sure what he could do. The creature was too strong for Austin to fight. Its muscles were nearly crushing Austin's neck and he was pretty sure it wasn't even trying to hurt him. The thing that used to be Isaac smelled slightly of sulfur and something Austin had never smelled before. Its skin felt scaly, scratching him where it met his flesh.

Austin had to concentrate on the creature. He had to find a way out. But all his mind could focus on was the crazy light show that burst from his fingers. Maybe that was the solution. If only he could remember how he made the spiraling lights come out in the first place.

“Stop struggling,” Isaac said, his voice deeper and more gruff than usual.

They were back at headquarters, in Isaac's private chamber. It was empty. None of his followers were there, but Austin wasn't sure if that was good or bad.

Austin wondered if there might be a few people in the next room. A new stack of Books of Light sat on the table. Obviously, some of the group had returned to drop them off and restock with other empty ones. If they were in the building he could call for help.

And then what?

What would normal humans with no magical powers do against the creature? Sure, they'd be shocked and outraged that they were following something cut from the same dark cloth as witches—if witches were even truly a dark power. But what then? Even if someone found Isaac's gun, would it be any use on the thing that held Austin? The muscled arm around Austin's neck relaxed as the creature released him. Austin wanted to run. He wanted to throw his hands out and create those spiraling laser lights, but he didn't know how. He thought of a half dozen things he could try to do to escape, but it was all useless because he didn't know what the thing that held him could do to him in return. The fireballs it used earlier might only be one weapon in its arsenal. Did it breathe fire too? Could it teleport Austin straight to Hell?

“What are you?” Austin asked between gasping breaths. It felt good to take in air again without struggling. Once he got past the initial spasms he breathed deeply.

The red and silver skin began to fade as the hulking beast grew smaller. It blurred slightly as it changed, only stopping once it was Isaac again. The man that had been their leader stood in front of Austin, shirtless and shoeless, but Isaac all the same.

“Sorry about that,” Isaac said as he walked over to the closet. “But I wanted to give a good show for the cameras. I figured it would look best if I were in my natural state.”

“And what's that?” Austin asked. His eyes flitted around the room. There was only one door. No windows. Why hadn't he noticed that before?

“Demon,” Isaac said matter-of-factly as he dressed in a fresh shirt. “But the question I think you'd rather know the answer to is what are
you?
”

“A witch, obviously,” Austin said. “But why didn't you tell me sooner? Why aren't you trying to steal my powers?”

“All in good time,” Isaac replied. “But you're not a witch.”

Austin was going to be sick. “Am I like you? A demon?”

“You should be so lucky,” Isaac replied with a laugh. “No. Not a demon. Not a sorcerer. Not a seer. Not a vampire, werewolf, or Frankenstein's monster. Come on, Austin, you can do it. You were warm when you said you were a witch.”

Austin
was
sick. His stomach roiled and he was afraid if he opened his mouth he would vomit what little he'd had for dinner. It was bad enough to find out that he wasn't the person he'd thought he was all his life. He might not be a
person
at all. But that wasn't the truly disgusting part. This was all some kind of game to Isaac. He was taking pleasure in Austin's pain. That was a level of disgusting that Austin couldn't fathom.

“Oh, come now, Austin, you're much smarter than that,” Isaac prodded, slipping into a pair of sandals. “If you're not a witch, then you're a . . .”

“Warlock?” Austin whispered.

“Give the boy a prize!” Isaac clapped him on the back so hard that Austin almost did lose his dinner.

“But isn't a warlock just another name for a male witch?” Austin asked.

“You're confusing mythologies,” Isaac said. “Or you watch too much classic television. No, a warlock is similar to a witch, but somewhat different. They are unnatural enemies.”

“So warlocks are good?” Austin asked, though he was pretty sure he knew the answer.

“Depends on who you ask.”

They stared at one another. Austin examined Isaac, looking for some clue to the demon inside him, but only seeing the man. He didn't want to trigger a return of the creature, but he didn't even know if that was a concern. Did the demon force itself out of Isaac's body? Or could Isaac control it, like flicking a switch?

“I have a million questions,” Austin finally said. “Will you answer any of them?”

Isaac motioned to the newest stack of books. “Follow me with those Books of Light and I'll consider what I want you to know.”

Austin looked at the books. The idea of helping a demon sickened Austin even more, but it was the easiest way to find out more about warlocks and what it meant to be one. It would also help stall Isaac while Austin came up with some kind of plan to escape. It was possible that warlocks were more powerful than demons. If Austin could figure out how to use his power, he could possibly take out Isaac before the demon became a threat again.

“How long have you known I was a warlock?” Austin asked as he reluctantly picked up four of the books. “Since you read my college application essay?”

Isaac laughed as he waved for Austin to follow him. “I knew who you were before you wrote that stupid essay. Discovering you was what led to my plan. This whole thing is really thanks to you, Austin.”

“You're welcome.”

Isaac glanced back at Austin as he opened the double doors leading to the church. “I appreciate people who can maintain their sense of humor when their world is falling apart. That trait will serve you well should you have a future.”

Austin glared at Isaac as he followed him out to the pulpit. “Then you've been planning this for—”

“Years,” Isaac said. “It took time to get all the pieces in place.”

“Why not just tell me I was a warlock and teach me to use my powers? You could have set up a video camera at any time. You didn't need to involve Alysha. And what's with these books anyway?”

“I had to play things close to the vest,” Isaac said, stopping him at the altar. “Couldn't risk anyone knowing what I was up to. And I don't have the time for magic lessons—I needed you to activate your powers when the time was right. The best way to do that was to force it out of you.”

“Why?”

“You're special,” Isaac said.

Austin still felt queasy as he looked out at the empty church. Even if he had called out for help earlier, it wouldn't have mattered. They were alone in the building.

“So my parents were warlocks too?” Austin asked. “Not some innocent humans killed by a witch?”

Isaac held up a hand. “One moment, please.”

The pile of books was starting to get heavy, but Austin didn't complain as he watched Isaac raise his arms in front of him, turning his hands so the palms faced up. Isaac's eyes flashed as all the pews in the church disappeared.

“Much better,” Isaac said. “Where were we?”

“My parents. The witch that supposedly killed them.”

“Oh, yes,” Isaac said as he walked toward the back of the church. “Your father was a warlock. Your mother? Just a weak mortal who married the wrong man. And yes, a witch did kill them. I just left out the part where the witch was defending herself because your father was trying to kill her first. You see, there's nothing warlocks enjoy more than collecting the powers of witches.”

“Like we're doing?” Austin asked as he followed him across the now-empty nave.

“
Exactly
as we're doing.” Isaac opened a door at the back of the church. It was some kind of small storage room filled with wooden pedestals. They looked like music stands. Isaac stepped into the dark room and emerged with two pedestals in each of his hands.

“So why not team up with warlocks? Why go to all this trouble?”

“Who said I wasn't working with warlocks?” Isaac said as he walked to the front of the church. “Although I wouldn't consider it a ‘team-up.' Neither would they.”

“Then if you've already got warlocks on your side, why me? I don't even know what to call the power I have.”

“I don't care about your power,” Isaac said, placing a pedestal on the floor several feet in front of the altar. “I care about
you
. . . your line.”

“My line?” Austin asked. “What line? I don't have any relatives on my father's side.”

“Exactly,” Isaac said. “You're the last. Not even one of those distant cousins I mentioned earlier.”

Isaac indicated that Austin should put one of the books down on the pedestal that he'd just positioned. It took some maneuvering, but Austin was able to slide the bottom book out of the pile and rest it on the stand. Isaac then motioned for Austin to open the book. He did as instructed. It didn't seem to matter which page he opened it to. The red writing meant nothing to Austin; it didn't even look like a recognizable language. He wondered when Isaac had trained the others to read that language. Austin had received no such lessons, but then Isaac had already said that he wasn't much for teaching.

But Austin's mind wasn't really focused on the books. There was something nagging him. Something about families. It didn't take long to make the connection. “Are you telling me that there was a warlock on the jury in the Salem witch trials?”

“Close,” Isaac said as he put down the next pedestal. “It's a little more complicated than that, Austin
Herrick.
”

Austin placed the book on the second pedestal. “Am I supposed to understand why you're saying my last name like that?”

Isaac positioned the next stand. “Well, now, that's another little surprise. You don't actually descend from the family of the jurist that condemned all those witches to death.”

“You faked those genealogical charts you showed me?” Austin dropped off the next book. “But how? I don't know much about my dad's family, but I know the name goes back centuries.”

“Indeed it does,” Isaac said as he placed the fourth stand. “It is an old, old family. And many centuries ago the head of that family took in an orphaned child. He gave the child his name. You happen to descend from that very child.”

Austin held tight to the last book in his arms. “You're saying a member of the jury that tried and convicted women for witchcraft adopted a baby warlock?”

Isaac laughed. “Not knowingly. The misguided fool thought he was taking in the child of a friend. The child of a man killed by the only true witch ever burned during the Salem witch trials. You are the last living descendant of the warlock who caused that witch to be condemned to her death. You are the great-great-great-great-great-great-grandson of Matthew Tate, the one warlock inextricably tied to the most powerful line of witches the world has ever seen. His blood runs through your veins. And that is exactly what I need to battle the Charmed Ones.”