K
I knew he was good with the mind, but seeing it with my own eyes sent chills down my spine.
Within minutes, ten to twelve students entered the room.
"Guys, I know this is a tough situation, but this is your time to save your family, friends, and loved ones," Tris said, extending his hand toward them and casting a spell.
"I've bound you all with a time-limiting memory spell. You have one hour—after that, you'll forget everything you've done here," he added.
"Now start reading the books and tell me everything you learn about the mind spell."
Everyone grabbed a book and found a corner to begin reading.
Bryan arrived with a witch. She was very old, with white hair, a black gown, and barely able to walk with a stick.
"Thank you for coming. I need to ask you something," Tris said as he gently held her hand and helped her sit down.
"Haha... you're the one we waited for so long. 'Fire must unite'..." Her voice was painfully slow.
Thank God Tris interrupted her.
"Ma'am, we're out of time and need your help. We'll have plenty of time for stories later," he said, kneeling in front of her.
She smiled at him. "What do you want, my child?"
"Can you sense that dark magic? It's Archi? Please, explain it to us." Tris asked still holding her hands. He is fast in catching up things.
"This... is... so... dark. I've.. never..sensed.. anything.. like.. this.. in.. my.. life," she said.
Why is she so damn slow? Just talk a little faster, Granny! It's frustrating.
"Can you track it?" Tris asked.
"Yes, my love. It's growing slowly and spreading west. It's a mixture of many kinds of magic..." She closed her eyes and said in her own pace..S..L..O..W..L..Y.
She was still talking with speed of snail.
"Does it remind you of anything? Or anyone?" Tris asked carefully.
"Hmmm... now that you ask, yes, it does remind me of someone," she said.
"Someone?" Siya asked.
"A long time ago, there was a witch whose used to Archi was similar like this," the old witch said, trailing off.
"Siya, record this please," Tris instructed.
Siya pulled out her phone and began recording.
"When I was young and studying at the warlock school, I had a friend. I don't remember her name—we weren't friends for long—but I still remember her Archi clearly. She was amazing."
"Was?" That word stuck in everyone's mind.
"She's dead now. I attended her funeral. It was grand—witches from around the world were invited," she said with an odd brightness. Show some respect for the dead, Granny.
"You said it's a mixture. What else can you sense?" Tris asked.
"Dark magic always demands sacrifice," she replied with a creepy smile. "I can sense around seven witches' energy."
"You mean they killed seven witches for this spell?" I was stunned.
"Do we have any chance of winning?" Tris asked, visibly tense.
"Hmm. If you want to win, you'll have to kill at least eight witches," she said with a laugh.
Shit. This is spiraling out of control. How cruel can be that person to do something like this.
"We need alternatives," Tris said. "Seven witches, one powerful witch, mind destroyer spell, and strong Archi. What else are we missing?"
"You need more, Tris?" I asked, unable to believe how bad things were getting.
"What is the purpose of sending such a powerful spell here?" Siya wondered aloud.
"I bet the HQ is panicking too," I added.
"HQ? We have one?" Tris was shocked.
"Yes. Your mate's office, Tris. You think he just wanders around all day?" Okay, Tris was right about him wandering, but still...
"Can we contact HQ directly? Knowing their situation might help us find a solution," Tris said.
"We'll need a witch for that," Siya replied, resting her head on her mate's shoulder.
"I can do it. Sitting here doing nothing is just aging me faster," Granny muttered and cast a spell.
A glowing yellow portal appeared on the wall—it connected us to HQ. We could see what was happening on the other side.
All the alphas were seated around a square table—Bro, Dad, Uncle Z, Olivia, and five other clan alphas with their betas. They were staring at a map with red markers showing the spread of dark magic.
The discussion was intense—until we popped up.
"Leo, what's going on?" Tris practically jumped through the portal.
"Tris, this thing is out of control. We're still trying to figure it out," Bro came close to the portal.
"What about the people?" Tris looked worried.
"We had witches cast sleep spells. Most of the area is covered, but it keeps moving. Thanks for your advice". Bro said. "At least it's moving slowly. We've evacuated the areas it's heading to."
"We just found out we can't kill it," Tris sighed. "Do we have sealing witches, who can seal this thing?"
"Yes. We'll gather them," Bro nodded at Jermy, who understood immediately and moved to take action.
"You said that witches are in the field casting sleeping spell, It doesn't affect witches?" Tris asked.
"It does. But they sealed themselves before entering. That helped." He said, stroking his chin like he was deep in thought
"Can they do that for werewolf too?" Tris asked.
"Yeah... it could work." He eyed Tris. "No way. You're not going." His face tensed with unease.
"I have to. I need to inspect the affected people. Do you have someone to find the cure?" Tris raised his voice.
"We have people for that," Bro said, clearly frustrated.
"I need to see it myself, confirm it that is going well" Tris insisted.
"Fine. I'm going with you." He decided and about to jump from the portal but stopped by Albert.
The whole chamber fell silent.
"No need. Your people need you here. K will go with me." Tris assured.
"Jermy," bro called.
"No. You need him more," Tris cut him off. "Any werewolf will do. We'll leave in thirty minutes. Be ready."
The portal vanished.
"I can go with you," I offered.
"Stay and watch the students. Let me know if you find anything," Tris said.
"Siya, call in some sealing witches and healers. We might need them too," Tris ordered. She contacted through link.
"Ma'am, I need your help finding a solution. I'm still a kid when it comes to magic," he said, holding Granny's hand.
She chuckled.
"I think I found something, sir," one of the students said, approaching with a book.
"The mixture spell is bound to one of the sacrificed witches to contain its power. If you want to break it, you need something that belonged to her, the blood of an animal, and a witch willing to sacrifice herself by absorbing the dark magic."
"Good. Let's look for more options, because that's not happening," Tris said, patting her shoulder with a fake smile.
"Oh God. Killing ten witches? We're screwed," I muttered.
"Sealing is the best option for now. Let's stick to that," Tris said.
Just then, three sealing witches and three healers arrived.
"Okay. Let's begin," Tris said.
They stood behind us, cut their palms, and placed a spell on our backs using their blood. Blue light surged through our bodies, then vanished.
"What's your name?" Tris asked one of the sealing witches—she wore stylish jeans, a black crop top and jacket, with curly brown hair and dark eyes.
"Bethiny," she replied.
"And you?" Tris asked a healer—a simple-looking guy, same height as Jermy, black hair neatly combed, a mole on his neck, wearing a plain t-shirt and pants.
"Ranthor, sir," he replied stiffly, expressionless. Did he come straight from military training? No muscles though.
"Okay, you're coming with us. We may need you," Tris said.
Another student walked up. "It can be helped," she said, handing Tris a book and pointing to a specific page.
"It says if you want to overpower the dark magic, you must kill a dark magic witch."
What the hell? Where are we supposed to find one of those?
"Apparently, a supreme witch—who knows the exact energy needed to shut it down—can also stop it."
"How many supreme witches do we have?" Tris asked.
"Two for now," I said. "But we can contact distant relatives."
"Don't forget, the one who does it must die," Tris reminded us.
"We're not on good terms with them anyway. Let's move on," I said, noticing Siya signaling me to shut up.
"Seven witches... is there anyone who can handle the power of seven witches? Even my own power feels too much sometimes," Tris said. Flames spiraled from his hand like a fiery ribbon.
"Maybe the witch handling those seven powers is a supreme witch," Siya said. "There were many battles between supreme witches and dark magic users. They gave each other tough fights."
"Who are the supreme witches here?" Tris asked.
"Your mom, aunt shalina, dummy. My mom was this close to getting the title, but love..." I sighed.
"How many types of witches are there? Maybe they killed one from each type to create a complex spell that no single witch can counter," Tris said.
"How do you happen to think like that?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.
"If I wanted to do something big, that's how I'd plan it," he said with a dark smile.
I looked at Siya.
'You better not pick a fight with him,' she said through our link.
'I love him. Why would I do that? Ha...ha,' I responded, trying not to look nervous. It's better to keep distance—he's giving me chills now.
"Let's go," Tris said.
And just like that, those of us heading into the field left the room.