chapter 95

Imogen’s POV

Astral and I made a huge pentagram on the grass with salt. Luckily, it was a clear day today,

only a soft breeze. The sky clear as the sun shone brightly down on us. Tobias watching his perfect

lawn with not a blade of grass out of place.

“You know I only just repaired the grass from you last time you destroyed it, and now your

mixing salt in it,” he whinged.

“For someone as dominant and intimidating as you, I never pictured you being a green thumb

when I met you,” I retorted.

“I just like my lawn and gardens looking nice, nothing wrong with wanting nice grass.” I shake

my head as I hear multiple cars driving down the driveway. Looking up, five cars drive toward the

house before stopping out the front.

“Are you sure they won't notify the council?” I ask Astral, worried they might come for my son if

they find out.

“Positive, witches stick to themselves, especially when it comes to magic and power, none of us

want it falling into the wrongs hands” She tells me as we walk around greeting them. The car doors

open, and women jump out. There were about twelve women who got out, all looking around

nervously. Astral introduces everyone and explains what's going on with Thaddeus. Some look

sceptical, others scared, and I realise the situation is more dire than I first thought.

I also noticed by their Auras that there were three air users, three water, three earth and three

fire users here. Leaving me and the oracle the only spirit users.

“Why so many?” I ask Astral. Making her turn to me.

“His magic at the moment is contained inside him and still weak, but once we draw on it. It will

awaken and fight against us. It won't be trapped easily. Unfortunately, you and I are the only spirit

users alive, so it will take its toll on us the most. Especially you because your magic is tainted and

you're Thaddeus's mother so it may even try to reach out to you recognising you as a safe place,

but you mustn't give into it.

Suddenly Josiah and Caroline pull up. Caroline jumps out of the car. “What's this I hear about

witches coming and doing stuff to my grandson I demand answers now” She says walking over.

Josiah walks over calmly placing a hand on Caroline's shoulder making her relax. Tobias and Theo

walk out.

“Come, we will explain,” he says waving his mother into the house. She eyes us suspiciously

before stalking inside. The witches all walk out the back to the pentagram and I watch as each one

lines up behind their elemental point. Astral moves to the centre and pulls five small blades from

her pocket. She then walks over and hands the first witch at each point a blade, before bringing the

last blade and standing on the top point with me. I watch horrified as each one slices their palm

before holding it over the point dripping blood into the pentagram, they then move handing the

knife to the next and they do the same.

Astral does the same before handing me the blade.

“This doesn't feel very hygienic” I tell her as I slice my palm and imitate her actions. Astral

chuckles.

“You will be fine, your dead already anyway what the worst that could happen” She laughs. Each

witch, then circles around the outer ring of the pentagram and Caroline walks out with Thaddeus in

her arms.

“I'm telling you witches now, harm even one follicle of hair on that kid's head and I will eat

every one of you,” she says flashing her fangs for emphasis before placing him in the centre of the

Pentagram. He grabs fistfuls of the grass, making his father groan as he pulls it from the roots. I

chuckle before a silence falls over everyone as they join hands.

I watch the magic go from hand to hand, spreading through each person before finally

reaching me. I gasp at its strength as we channel each other's power. When the magic hits Astral,

she shudders, and her eyes glaze over before turning an eerie white. Thaddeus must be able to feel

the power as he stops and watches for a second before going back to ripping the grass out.

Astral starts muttering under her breath, looking up at the sky before looking straight ahead.

She chants in a foreign language and I watch as each witch's eyes glaze over matching Astral's. They

chant one by one and when I feel it roll over me. I shudder and become frozen in place, my lips

moving yet I don’t understand the words leaving them, but I can feel power building to

immeasurable levels. Suddenly Thaddeus squeals loudly and my eyes snap to his. They burn brightly

flickering between the silver to gold and red then go black even his scleras go black. I want to go to

him and tell him he is okay, yet I can't move a muscle. Locked in place. I see Caroline go to step

forward, Josiah pulls her back.

At first, 1 didn't understand why. Until I saw it. There was a thick mist escaping from my son. He

wasn't in any pain as it slipped out of his fingertips and toes. It poured out of him before forming a

cloud above him, growing in size. The clear sky turned to night as strong winds whipped around us.

The cold of the wind stinging my skin. Lightening cracked above us, and I looked towards Astral. All

the witches looking to her in alarm as we watched my son’s magic grow bigger. Zapping loudly,

angry, and malevolent. The temperature dropped massively. I could see our breath in the air and the

sky turned dark and angry. The noise was so loud as the winds picked up to hurricane levels.

I thought we were going to be blown away when suddenly I felt the ground move. Roots

shooting from the ground and wrapping around everyone's feet, holding us in place.

Everyone had stopped chanting now and I could feel the energy coming of my son’s magic and

it terrified me. I thought my magic was dark, but I couldn't imagine anything more terrifying as the

magic that was my son. If my magic were dark, his was a black hole nothing could escape it as I felt

myself being drawn to it. It started absorbing everyone's power. Consuming our magic like it was

nothing but air. I felt the air become trapped in my lungs as I fought the urge to let go of Astral

hands.

“Hold the circle, don't let it break” Astral screamed. Sweat beaded all over my body as I fought

against the urge to let go and run.

“Keep it centred, push it inside itself” I tried to do as she said but it was like pushing on a brick

wall. Everyone straining, trying to hold on when suddenly I felt it pierce me. The magic hitting me in

the centre of my chest. Stabbing pain radiating throughout my body and I felt every hair on my

body stand on end.

“Fight it Imogen, it can feel your magic. Ground yourself’ Her voice hypnotic, running through

my head. Suddenly I see images flashing before my eyes. Like an old black-and-white movie. Images

of my childhood, images of my mother. Memories flooding into me and memories of my father.

Memories I didn’t know existed, suppressed, and hidden away. He was always there, then he would

leave taking the memories with him and each time taking a piece of my mother who was left to find

the only happiness she could, in the bottom of a bottle. Only to return and her light would return,

only for it to leave once he would go again, and I recognised that sadness that fell over her. It was

the sadness of being without your mate. Memories of my magic before my mother took it away,

memories of her giving hers up for me. The last memory I have of my father is at a park and a

woman I instantly recognised as Bianca arguing with him. I was just a child at the time.

Memories of my mother dying, memories of Tobias and Theo and the months of being

together. Every memory we shared all flashing before my eyes at lightning speed.

I hear Astral screaming for me to find my grounding and push the magic out. That's when the

picture stills and I find it. My grounding place, my meaning for living. The very person my life is

worth fighting for. The one thing that matters most in this world. My son smiling back at me as he

grasps air for me to pick him up. That one image, yet in it I felt nothing but love. Nothing but

acceptance. The one person I would lay my life down for, repeatedly, just to make sure he could live

his.

I feel tears run down my cheek and a strength I never knew I had built within me as I feel light

consume me. I scream as I feel it burst from me, shoving the darkness back before wrapping around

the darkness, gripping it tightly. My surroundings becoming that of the yard and the witches

surrounding me. Like an elastic band, everything snaps back into place. I watch as my magic grips

the darkness, strangling it and holding it in place, when suddenly Astral breaks the circle but my

magic still holds. She then walks to the centre of the circle with my bracelet in her hand and I watch

amazed as it is sucked into the charm before I feel the ground shake and air rushes past us before

everything stills. The clouds up above clearing and storm dissipating.

Astral then walks over and places the bracelet in my hand. “Keep this safe” She says. I nod

before placing it on my wrist. The pendant glows angry but trapped forever, concealed within the

confines of the vines and pentagram.

Silence falls over everyone before everyone murmurs excitedly, and I am left feeling nothing

less than whole. For once, my life finally making sense as a new sense of clarity washes over me.

Bending down, I pick up Thaddeus and he happily tugs on my shirt. I kiss his head and Tobias and

Theo come over hugging us.

“I saw him?” I whisper.

“Saw who?” Theo asks.

“My father, he was always there I just didn't know it" I tell them. Everyone stays for coffee and

lunch and by the time everyone leaves I am exhausted. Crawling in bed, I lay between Theo and

Tobias. Thaddeus asleep in his crib.

“What a week?” I mutter, completely drained.

“Hmm, its nearly over though one more obstacle than it is done,” Tobias says, rolling over and

wrapping his arm around my waist.

“Are you nervous about tomorrow?" I shake my head as barbaric as it was to fight to the death,

I wasn't nervous. I just wanted it all over with so we can move on with our lives.

“No, I can handle Bianca. It's after that I am nervous about.”

“Why is that?” he asks.

“Because we can finally move on with our lives. We have always had distractions, things getting

in the way, it will be strange when it's just all of us for eternity” I tell them.

“What do you mean?” Theo asks, rolling over to face me.

“I mean that after it is all said done, I need to do what my mother did to protect me. I need to

give up my magic and become like you.”