Supernatural Fiction posted April 12, 2015 Chapters:  ...14 15 -16- 17... 


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The Berwick Witches Series: Book One

A chapter in the book Dark Covenant

Blood Moon/Part 2

by amahra




Background
New Berwick, Illinois--a mystic place where witches rule under the watchful eyes of the Dominions.
(Recap from previous chapter)
Ten year old Russell Sooner was kidnapped while he searched for a baseball in the woods. His parents became frantic when Sheriff Wayne Tilbert, his deputies, and hundreds of volunteers failed to find the boy.  Under a full moon, the women chained the werewolves down in the mine shaft; and Jewel, with the help of Beatrice, prepared Russell for the spell—the wolves only hope for the moon cure.


In the thick tenebrous of Norwick Forest, Russell lay semi-conscious upon the altar and moaned. Beatrice dipped her finger into the crimson pool of werewolf blood and drew an ancient Greek symbol on his forehead—translation, doma, meaning gift.  

After Beatrice prepared the boy, Jewel lifted her Athame and held it up to the sky; the blade glittered in the moonlight. She brought it down, slit the palm of her hand and allowed her blood to spill into a wooden cup of potion. She passed the cup to Beatrice who placed it to Russell's resisting lips—holding his nose until he swallowed. Beatrice cleaned the Athame and returned it to the red velvet case.

Jewel opened the Grimoire to the spell that was written in Greek. She and Beatrice held hands and chanted the incantation.

*****

Deep within the mine shaft, the howling of the chained wolves echoed against the stone ceiling. Three women, Kelly, Rosa and Delveen who had faith in Jewel’s spell returned to the mine to witness the long-desired end to the men's suffering.  The full moon had taken its toll; the men thrashed about—pulling against the chains so hard, some of the rusty links dripped with blood. 

The women huddled against the wall as the men snarled two inch fangs at them—their irises turning a yellowish hue.  The women held fast against the near deafening howls.  But the sound of several chains spilling to the gravel floor sent them running for the only exit. 

Once outside, they locked the door and drove their van in front of it. They sat in the van holding hands and prayed to the goddess. Within a few minutes into their praying, several wolves violently shook the door—causing the van to rock. Then one by one, nails popped out of the door hinge; the women broke hands and screamed for Delveen to take off. The tires created a mini dust storm as the van jetted away. 

Because Jewel and Beatrice were Covenant witches, they were over their heads with this new spell. Only sorcerers knew the danger of using the spell alone; it had affected the moon and had given some older and stronger wolves more strength; doubled chains and a locked door could not hold them. Unknown to Jewel, a second spell was needed to mystify the chains before casting the moon spell; it was the same spell evil witches used to imprison demonic traitors.

The van wove in and out as Delveen's hands shook uncontrollably. Rosa’s paranoia, seeing wolves at every turn, didn’t help. Delveen eased on the brake while rounding a sharp curve, but lost control of the wheel when she swerved to avoid hitting a deer. She crashed into a tree and was knocked unconscious.  Kelly opened the door and jumped out of the back seat.  She tried opening the driver's side, but it was jammed. She jerked on it several times before it opened.  "Don't just sit there, help me!" She yelled to Rosa.

Rosa sat staring like she was frozen. Kelly reached across the unconscious woman and slapped Rosa across the face. Rosa appeared to come out of her weird state of mind; she scrambled out of the car and hurried around to help. They dragged Delveen out and lifted her onto the back seat. Then Kelly got into the driver's seat and turned the key—nothing happened.  She tried numerous times—but nothing.

"I think I saw something!" Rosa said, looking into the rear view mirror.

"What? What?"

"May .... Maybe I didn't. I'm not sure. Can we just go? Please!"

"I'm trying to, damn it!" Kelly snapped. After a few more tries, she leaned back. "I think its dead."

"No!  This can't be happening."

"It's ...  it's going to be fine."

"Fine? It's not going to be fine. No one knows we're out here; and even if they did, no one will come for us. Why did I listen to you? Why?" 

"I'm sorry. I got us into this. I'll get us out."

"How?" Rosa snapped. "You said there was no way they could get out of those chains."

Before Kelly could answer, Delveen eased up into a sitting position—blood streaming down her face. "What happened?"  she asked, grabbing her head.

"We're going to die. That's what," Rosa chuckled coldly.

They sat quietly in the dark with Delveen weaving in a daze.

*****

The chanting became more intense. The spell formed into a green mist, rose and hovered over the altar. Then suddenly the clouds parted, as if the moon had blown them away. Jewel's irises rolled to the back of her head and remained. They looked like two tiny boiled eggs in their slits. A thick fog gathered at the foot of the altar, and the boy rose several inches in the air. Lightning cracked the sky; thunder roared like a thousand bears in mortal combat. Rain came down—heavy as hail, tearing branches from trees. But the sacred altar remained dry; the green mist acted as its roof top—hard as concrete and slick as a duck's back.

The boy ascended several feet. Lightning lit up the sky as bright as daybreak; some trees caught fire and split in two. He rolled straight up into a standing position stiff as a board, in mid-air—his hands at his side—fingers pointing downward. His eyes flashed open: first all-white, then totally black. He grinned sinisterly, showing tiny sharp fangs. Then the rain turned to blood. It colored the clouds that moved across the moon—making it appear a crimson red. Another roar of thunder and a flash of lightning blew a car-size hole in the dirt a few feet from the altar. A red mass like a man-size blood clot rose out of the ground and formed into a body with no face. It floated over to the boy; without eyes, it appeared to read the child's forehead. Then the child willingly opened his mouth, and a hole in the creature's face sucked his soul like vacuuming white smoke from a chimney.

*****


Kelly and Rosa sat like statues and chanted to the goddess as the blood rain beat hard against the van, tinting the windows. Delveen had passed out a second time and lay on the backseat.

A startling bump hit the van like a ramming bull. The jolt knocked the women against the dash board. 

"What was that!?" Rosa shouted.

Kelly said nothing—just peered nervously around the car, not being able to see out of the windows. Then the van rocked back and forth, shot up in the air seven feet, and then slammed to the ground.

"It's the wolves! They're out! Great goddess, help us!" Rosa bellowed.

Massive paws wiped the blood from the windows; snouts, fangs and yellow eyes mashed against the glass. Kelly was a minor witch and didn't have strong abilities. She said an incantation that mystified the van, protecting the doors and windows. The wolves surrounded the van and struck hard blows against the panes and tried ripping out the doors, but the van held.

"Are we safe now?" Rosa asked.

"Not really! It will only hold a short while."

"What?" Rosa’s eyes grew wide as she stared into the beastly faces—their snarling mouths dripping Saliva. "Oh Kelly, we were fools to come out here. I don't think the spell worked."

Kelly reached into the glove compartment and pulled out three silver knives. "Here, take this. This will buy us some time."

"O' ... okay."

"You crawl in the back with Delveen. Any part of them that comes through a window, don't hesitate. You stab."

Rosa nodded. She let the seat back as far as it would go and climbed over and onto the back seat. She gently shoved Delveen to the floor. The blood rain continued to pour like every blood bank in the world had exploded over Grey Scott Falls. Rosa kept looking quickly from window to window, holding the knife up in her hand. She made little stabs in the air liked she was practicing.

Kelly straddled the center console, holding knives in both hands. She looked straight ahead, letting her peripheral vision take care of the side windows. The wolves saw the knives but were too driven out of their minds for blood to back off. They would simply have to feel that sting of death. Not being able to get to the women, enraged them and they started beating the glass again. The banging went on for nearly twenty minutes like bombs bursting in rapid succession, but the windows held. 

Lightning struck a tree and sent it crashing in front of the car.  The burning tree was totally ignored by the wolves that were too focused on devouring the women. Suddenly, a tiny crack etched into the windshield.

"The spell is fading. Get ready!" Kelly said, panting deeply.

Rosa's lips quivered as a small crack pierced the window to the right of her. "Mine’s cracking too," she said in a child-like voice.

"Okay, just do what I said."

Rosa watched tiny cracks slowly snake across the window like someone had speeded up a video of an invisible spider spinning a web. "It's crac...king."  Then the windows appeared like a poorly constructed road map. "It's really cracking," Rosa cried.

Kelly said nothing, but stared straight into the beastly faces as they pounded the windshield.  Every window began to look like crushed ice. And the women held their breath and tightened their grips on their daggers. The spell was still holding, but only by a thread.

Suddenly the back right window caved. The blood rain splashed through, blinding Rosa temporarily. Her eyes wide as saucers, she jumped back, exposing the unconscious woman.

Only one wolf at a time could fit through the small window. A huge dark paw shot in; it could barely reach Rosa. But the tip of its claws raked across her face. She gritted her teeth and stabbed the paw—sending the wolf howling back like an injured pup.  Another paw reached in and took a swipe--attempting to knock the knife out of her hand. Rosa sliced it open.  Another window caved. Kelly braced herself and cut the first snout that forced through the window. One by one the other windows followed suit, and a wolf was in every opening.  The women fought for their lives. Their silver blades glittered as they sliced and stabbed in every direction like lightning itself was defending them; claws and fangs slashed the women's hands and arms as they fought desperately to stay alive. 

Then everything stopped; the wolves rescinded.  The injured ones lay on the ground in fetal positions, shaking from the effects of the silver. The women were ankle high in blood that continued to pour through the shattered windows. Partly blind from the blood rain getting into her eyes, Kelly wiped her stained face with the back of her hand. She kept blinking as she waited for another attack. The wolves looked upon their fallen brothers, and then slowly turning their heads, glared at the women—baring the full length of their fangs.

"Shit!" Kelly whispered.

"Here they come!" Rosa said. But this time, she snarled right back at them.

Several wolves rushed towards them. The women readied themselves, but it was a trick. The wolves lifted the van over their heads—tilting it then shook it violently so the women would fall out through the windows.

"Hold on!" Kelly yelled. She dropped one knife so she could hold on.  Her hand started to slip. Quickly grabbing with the other hand caused the second knife to fall. It pinged when it hit the concrete.

"Delveen! No!" Rosa yelled as she helplessly watched Delveen’s limp body slide through the opening and spill onto the ground.

Rosa screamed hysterically and deliberately let go, viciously slashing a wolf. As he fell, she landed on top of him and rolled off.  He lay howling in pain.  Every muscle in Kelly's arm quivered as she tried to hold on. But her fingers weakened and she tumbled out. The wolves tossed the 4500 lb. Dodge Caravan aside like a toy.  They slowly surrounded the women, snarling loudly, their yellow eyes all aflame, and strings of saliva dripped from their opened mouths. Rosa held the dagger out in front of her and stabbed at them, but was attacked from behind. One sunk his teeth into her shoulder, while another slashed her arm causing her to drop the blade.  A group of wolves descended upon Kelly; she lowered her head and cracked her face into a cry, their hot breaths just inches from her head. She looked over at Rosa who was covered in wolves. Kelly tightened her jaw and waited for the first bite, when suddenly the blood rain turned to water and drove the blood out of her eyes. The wolves, still inches from her face, were frozen like some mysterious mechanism had switched them all off at the same time. They seemed in a trance.

They looked up at the sky with amazement. A red cloud slowly parted, revealing a sparkling white glorious moon.  They appeared to suddenly lose interest in the women; some turned about in a circle like they were confused. Some closed their eyes, letting the rain wash against their faces. When they opened them, their eyes were brown and blue again.  Rosa pulled away from her now bewildered attackers.  She scrambled to Delveen on her knees and gathered her up in her arms. Kelly crawled to Rosa's side. The women sat huddled and held each other as the beasts appeared to be mesmerized by the moon.

The wolves stood on hind legs with their paws in the air—then on feet with hands in the air. Their naked bodies were free of fur; their bones cracked, connecting back into shapes of men. Their opened-mouth smiles welcomed the full moon for the first time. They swallowed the rain as if it could cleanse their souls from centuries of bloodlust and shame. The thunder and lightning stopped; the rain became like a spring shower. The blood washed into the earth and disappeared.

*****







 



Recognized


New Berwick, Illinois is comprised of four regions: Falcon Haven, Northern and Southern Greyscott Falls, Sheerfield City and Ironforge.

Main Characters

Northern Greyscott Falls:

River Porter....... Main Character
Jewel Porter....... River's wife
Their daughters....Chelsey, Abby, Dria, and Becca

Southern Greyscott Falls:

Dex Porter.........River's brother
Matthew (Matt) Porter... Dex's son
Jan Porter ....Dex's wife and Jewel's cousin/sister-in-law
Raymond Carter.. Dex's neighbor
Debbie Carter... Raymond's mother

Falcon Haven:

Beatrice ....... Jewel's best friend
Kayla Morrison.. Beatrice's niece

Sheerfield City:

Wayne Tilbert....... Sheriff of Sheerfield City
Reece Tilbert....... Wayne's wife/Sheerfield Bank president
Veronica (Ronnie) Tilbert...Wayne daughter/Kayla's BFF
Christopher Tilbert.........Wayne and Reece's son
Christa......................Veronica and Kayla's BFF
Bob Wilson..................Sheerfield City Coroner

Ironforge:

Corina Brewer...............Sorcerer
Hollie Brewer...............Corina's sister/Sorcerer
Gunner Lenox................Sorcerer
Amber Moore.................Sorcerer

Supporting Cast

New Berwick residents


Art Work: Her Eyes by Diane Azdamar at dianae.cgsociety.org
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