Chosen Chapter 17: War of the Wizards
Part 4
Xxx
At the Chosen residence, a portal from Magic School opened and Billie and the others stepped through. While she was glad that Tyler and Hope had decided to fight with them, it also meant they were putting their lives at risk. She had taken them to the school for their own safety, along with the Charmed Ones. She wanted her loved ones to be safe, but after their conversation with the Elders, she understood they had to make their own choices. However, she would still do everything in her power to protect her friends.
"You're back." Nick said.
As the portal closed behind them, Billie saw Nick and Nathan sitting on the couch, waiting for them to return. The twins were surprised to see they weren't alone and rose to their feet.
"What are they do doing here?" Nathan asked.
"Excuse me, we're as much part of this fight as you are." Hope replied.
"Hey, I'm not complaining." Nathan noted. "We need all the magical power we can get."
"That's what we're here for." Tyler added smugly.
"Did the Elders have anything useful to add?" Nick asked.
"Not really." Billie replied. "They are depending on us to end this. They're just sitting in wait."
"They're protecting the school and a lot of young magical beings." Duncan added with a frown. "It's not like they're doing nothing."
"I know." Billie replied reluctantly. "It just feels like they could do more, like actually fight."
"Well, when have the Elders ever been proactive?" Nick remarked.
"It just means we're back at square one." Billie said.
"Are you kidding?" Tyler asked. "Look around the room, we're all powerful here. We can take the fight to Ambrose and get Violet back."
"It's not as simple as that, Tyler." Duncan said. "Ambrose will see us coming and kill her before we can make a move. Keeping our distance is probably the only thing keeping her alive."
"So we just sit and wait?" Tyler asked angrily. "In that case, I could have just as easily stayed at the school."
"Maybe you should have, kid." Nick remarked.
"Look, bickering amongst ourselves isn't going to solve anything." Billie called out. "We're all on the same side here."
"Billie is right." Duncan said.
"It's getting late." Billie continued. "Maybe we should all get some sleep and try to think of something in the morning. Hope, you can take Violet's room and Tyler can crash on the couch."
Everyone nodded in agreement and starting moving upstairs. Before they could get far, blue spirals formed in the middle of living room. Fearing an attack from the wizards, everyone got ready for a fight. Billie and Hope both raised their hands defensively, while Duncan summoned a crossbow and Tyler created fire in both his hands. At the same time, the twins both revealed an athame. As the spirals formed into two figures, they were all shocked to see Ramsey and Violet appear. Billie could not believe her eyes and tears formed upon seeing her friend safe and sound.
"Violet." Duncan said shocked. "You're okay?"
"It could be a trap." Nick warned him. "Why is she here with him?"
"Everyone, please." Violet called out. "Stand down. I can explain everything."
"How do we know it's really you?" Hope asked. "No offense."
Violet nodded and flicked her hand at Ramsey, freezing him in place. Believing it to really be her friend, Billie ran over and hugged her as tightly as she could. Tears were rolling down her eyes, but she didn't care. She could only imagine what she had gone through as a prisoner. Getting caught up in the emotion, Violet started to cry as well.
"Wait." Billie said after a moment and stepped back. "How did you escape?"
"It's a long story." Violet replied. "I owe it all to Ramsey. He is on our side."
"Are you sure?" Duncan asked.
"I am." Violet said. "But we have to hurry. Ambrose is furious that we escaped and he knows where we live. We're not safe here."
"Where should we go?" Hope asked.
"Somewhere Ambrose can't find us." Violet said.
"I know a place where nobody will think to look." Duncan replied.
"Alright." Billie said. "Let's gather what we need and leave in five."
The rest of the group nodded and spread out, leaving Billie alone with Violet and the frozen Ramsey. Billie grabbed Violet by the arms and scanned her to make sure she wasn't harmed. She would make the wizards suffer if they had tortured her friend.
"Don't worry, Billie." Violet said. "I'm tougher than I used to be. Besides, Ambrose had no intention of hurting me as long as he thought I was useful."
"I know you're tough." Billie replied proudly. "I've always known that, Vi."
"How is Arthur?" Violet asked. "Where is he?"
"He is fine, though a little stressed." Billie noted. "He is on Atlantis taking care of magical beings infected by the virus."
"Of course he is." Violet replied with a faint smile. "I missed that obsessive mind of his."
After a few moments, everyone gathered back in the living room with spare clothes, weapons and magical supplies. Violet unfroze Ramsey and quickly informed him about what was going on. Billie wasn't sure if they could really trust the wizard, though she decided to place her trust in Violet's judgment.
"We should head out." Billie said. "Before…"
At that moment, an earthquake caused the house to tremble and made everyone lose their balance. Billie knew it could only mean one thing and ran to the window. As she feared, Bryant and Harper were standing on the front lawn. When the female wizard spotted her, she fired a bolt of lightning and Billie ducked. The window shattered and the lightning barely missed her. As Bryant raised his fists, the house continued to tremble and cracks appeared on the wall. The windows shattered and furniture fell over. During the chaos, Duncan drew a circle on the floor with chalk and started casting a spell. Once he was finished, a portal opened in the floor.
"Everyone jump in!" Duncan called out.
Billie waited as her friends jumped through the portal one by one until only she and Duncan were left. As the house fell apart around them, Billie ran to the portal, avoiding pieces of the ceiling falling down. Before she could reach the portal, however, the wall crumbled down and Bryant and Harper entered the house.
"They're getting away!" Harper screamed when she saw the portal.
"Then do something." Bryant yelled.
Harper fired a bolt of lightning at the portal, though Billie used her power to redirect it at Bryant. He quickly defended himself by turning to stone, causing him to be unaffected by the lightning. Meanwhile, Duncan fired his crossbow and hit Harper in the shoulder, causing her to scream out in pain. Seeing her home being destroyed around her, Billie angrily unleashed a wave of telekinetic energy and blasted the wizards through the remains of the wall. With the last support gone, the ceiling stared to come down. Duncan grabbed Billie and ducked into the portal, causing it to close behind them.
Xxx
On the grounds of a red-brick mansion in Portland, a circular portal opened a few feet above the grass. One by one, the Chosen and their friends fell through and landed on the ground. And it closed once they were all through. When Duncan saw the mansion, he knew his spell had worked perfectly, apart from the rough landing. Despite that, he was anything but happy to be back here, as it brought back a lot of painful memories. Everyone crawled up and wiped the dust off their clothes.
"Where are we?" Billie asked confused.
"My childhood home." Duncan admitted.
"What are we doing here?" Nick asked.
"We needed somewhere safe. Somewhere nobody would look." Duncan replied. "My parents cast a cloaking spell on the house for privacy, so nobody will be able to find us."
"Are your parents here?" Billie asked.
"No, I heard they went into hiding the moment they heard about the virus." Duncan said. "We have the place to ourselves."
"Oh my god." Violet said trembling. "Our home. It's destroyed."
"It doesn't matter." Duncan said, suppressing his anger. "This is war and we need to keep going."
"Duncan is right." Billie said. "We're together and that's all that matters. Let's go inside."
As the group started heading for the mansion, Duncan stayed back a moment and took a deep breath. He felt a hand on his shoulder and saw Nathan was standing next to him.
"Are you sure about this?" Nathan asked. "There must be bad memories here."
"It's just a place to stay." Duncan replied. "Besides, we don't have time to delve into childhood memories right now. But thank you."
Nathan smiled and he took his hand. Once they reached the door, Duncan found the spare key in the usual hiding spot and let the others inside. After dropping off their luggage, they gathered in the dining room and circled the table. It was time to plan their next move and figure out what to do with Ramsey. Violet began telling the others about everything that happened during her captivity and how they managed to escape.
"You can turn into water?" Billie asked with a frown.
"Yeah, I'm a scientist, so when I discovered my powers, I started testing their limits." Ramsey explained. "I quickly mastered them, but I kept it hidden from my father. I didn't want to be forced to fight like Bryant and Harper."
"No, you prefer to sit back and create deadly viruses instead." Nick remarked.
"It was never meant to be released." Ramsey said. "My father manipulated me. Everything I did was to please him, but Violet helped me realize he's a monster."
"You still created it." Billie said harshly. "No matter what your reasons or intentions were, you will have to face the consequences."
"I know." Ramsey admitted. "I will take full responsibility for my actions once my father is stopped."
"Easier said than done." Tyler noted.
"Guys, we can talk about assigning blame later." Violet said. "The only reason I was able to escape is Ramsey. Besides, he has a way to stop the virus."
"Wait, what?" Duncan asked. "Are you serious?"
"My father wanted the virus to threaten the magical community, or so he told me." Ramsey explained. "I never intended for it to be used, but I designed a cure in case it was ever accidentally released."
"A cure." Billie said. "You mean we can actually fight this thing?"
A wave of relief washed over the group, as they finally had something to hold onto. Duncan had been feeling powerless this entire time. With a cure, they had the means to end the outbreak, finally giving them a true goal. While it gave him hope, Duncan decided it was best to stay grounded until they actually had the cure in their hands. Ramsey still needed to prove himself.
"It's going to be difficult." Ramsey said. "The virus is a complex combination of science and magic, so the cure is the same. I'll need a lab and some very rare magical ingredients."
"At least we have a plan." Billie said.
"This is amazing!" Tyler said excited.
"Just hold on." Duncan said. "Not to be the skeptical one, but we don't for sure if it's real."
"I believe him." Violet said determined. "When I was a prisoner, I had a dream that was also a vision. I was meant to be there to find Ramsey, to convince him to stand up to his father. I have to believe this cure is the reason for all of it."
"Are you sure?" Duncan asked.
"I am." Violet replied. "I believe there is good in him."
"I'm willing to believe it." Hope said. "It's not like we have any other options."
"I'm not sure we can trust him, so I'll keep a close eye on him." Nick added.
"So we're in agreement." Billie said. "This cure is our best shot at stopping this war."
"Agreed." Duncan said. "Ramsey, tell us about the cure."
"I know how to create it." Ramsey replied. "The difficult part is getting the magical ingredients. I'll need a lab to work in while you gather the ingredients for me."
"We can use the mayor's lab." Billie said. "We'll call Murphy and tell him what's going on."
"I'll need some time to prepare first." Ramsey admitted. "I'm pretty exhausted and my mind is a little blank at the moment, I'm sorry."
"Don't worry, we're all tired." Violet said. "Maybe we should all get some sleep."
"That's probably for the best." Duncan replied. "There are plenty of bedrooms."
"What about him?" Nick asked as he pointed at Ramsey. "Are we going to let him run free?"
"We're not keeping him prisoner." Violet said determined. "I trust him."
"It's alright, Violet." Ramsey said. "I have no reason to leave, since my father will kill me for betraying him but I will comply with whatever you want."
After a quick discussion, the majority of the group decided it was best to not fully trust Ramsey yet. They agreed to lock him in a bedroom and cast a spell to dampen his powers. Once that was done, Duncan assigned everyone to their bedrooms. As he brought Violet to the last bedroom, Duncan hugged his friend, something he had not able to do in all the chaos.
"I'm okay." Violet assured him.
"I know." Duncan said. "I'm just glad you're back. Have you been able to reach Arthur?"
"No, I tried calling him, but no luck." Violet replied reluctantly. "I wish he was here."
"We can go get him first thing in the morning." Duncan said. "Have a good night."
Violet gave Duncan another hug before closing the door and he headed to his own bedroom. Walking through his childhood home after all these years felt weird. He looked at the pictures on the wall and the memories came flooding back. As the youngest of four, Duncan was always ignored, as nothing he did was ever special or good enough. When he came out as teenager, it got even worse, as his parents and siblings refused to accept it.
Duncan entered his childhood bedroom and found a shirtless Nathan waiting for him on the bed, which was a pleasant sight after a long day. He lied down next to his boyfriend and felt his arms around him. It gave him some much needed comfort.
"What's it like being back?" Nathan asked.
"Weird." Duncan replied.
"How long has it been since you've seen your parents?" Nathan asked.
"Almost three years." Duncan said. "After I told them I was going to attend a mortal college. Just one more mistake in their eyes."
"Do you miss them?" Nathan asked.
"Yes and no." Duncan admitted. "I used to want their approval, but now I feel like I have a new family. People that actually accept me and I want in my life."
"Am I part of that family?" Nathan asked.
"Of course." Duncan said as he looked him in the eyes. "You know I love you."
"Just checking." Nathan remarked with a smirk.
Nathan tenderly kissed him on the lips. Duncan returned his kiss more passionately and they started making out. The last days had been stressful and it was far from over. It was important to have moments like these to be together, especially when it could be the last time. Nathan sat on Duncan's lap and took off his shirt before starting to kiss his neck and chest. It felt really good, especially once his lips started moving further down.
Xxx