Forbidden Magic

Disclaimer: I don't own victorious

A/N: You may find some familiar names, all of which are made to fit the particular theme of this story. Familiar practicioners of witchcraft may be present.


Chapter 7 (Answers, or More Questions?)

Jade awoke to sound of her dog frantically snarling and chewing at a something. Her eyes shot open and she sat up with a start. A sudden breeze struck her face, cooling her cheeks. Perplexed, she glanced to the window, now cracked open. "I thought I closed that last night…" Her hand moved to her chest and she hurried over to the window and shut it, then looked down to her dog.

Spike was gnawing at a slip of paper, but more shocking to her was that his teeth were not tearing through it. She bent over, sweeping her hand in front of Spike. "Shoo, go on boy." Spike dropped the paper, whimpering as she grabbed it off the floor, studying it closely.

It looked to be torn out of a journal and had a glossy tint to it that, along with the note scribbled down, led her to believe someone may have enchanted the object to avoid destruction. Jade… Her heart took an anxious skip and she looked down to the dog. Spike bowed his head and slowly licked at her leg, tickling her. Please come to Echo Park at the tip of Grand View Dr. overlooking the Elysian Reservoir. 12:00 sharp. Go alone, do not bring your boyfriend-friends-or your parents. You will find answers from the coven that will try to answer your difficult questions, they will know to expect you. You will not find me there, but I will come to you-when the time is right.

Jade tucked her hair behind her ear and looked up and out the window. Her heartbeat grew heavy and her body began to chill. Who would send her this note? Why? The more pressing question was, did she dare to go? "I-I don't…" It was the 'come alone' aspect that terrified her. Even if she wanted to involve her mom or dad, the mention of them being asked not to come was a bit frightening for her. She took a deep breath, her eyes flickered over the letters once more and her body shuddered for a second. "Coven…so the person practices witchcraft." It wasn't anyone she knew, that was clear to her.

She was tempted to take Spike, but as she gazed down to her dog, she felt a terrible pit growing in her stomach. He was still whimpering as though he was scared of something. Crouching down, Jade rubbed the dog's head and kissed the small space between his eyes. "It's all right Spike. What's wrong?" She leaned back and looked to the note once more, picking up a distinct odor of herbal ingredients. "Protection herbs?" Someone went out of their way to get this to her, but what was the reason for the herbs? There was no evil force here.

"Jade!" Morgan's shout startled her upright. She looked to her closed door and furrowed her brow. "Get up already, your breakfast is getting cold! Do not make me drag you out of the bed!"

"Coming, mother." She folded the paper and pushed it into her nightgown's pant pocket.

At high noon, Jade made her way to the location instructed and found a path into the wooded area. A lump formed in her throat as she followed it. Soon she came to a clearing that had a Cliffside overlooking the reservoir. At the edge was a circle of benches around a small metal circle the park used for people burn wood and start a campfire.

Seated were five older women. One was a tall woman with greying hair, a straight face, and gentle smile. She was wearing a yellow tee and denim jeans. Beside her was a woman with a similar face but with a pink turtleneck and brown jeans. On the other side of them were two twins, dark skinned and with curly black hair. They seemed to be the youngest of the group, but still older than she was. They were both wearing purple outfits. In the middle, sitting at the far end, was a middle aged woman with long brown hair.

A black cat shot out from between her legs and hopped up on the empty bench. For a minute, she thought she could detect a flicker of a smile on the cat's lips, which startled her. The women looked towards her, each acknowledging her presence. "Um…I thought there were more to a coven?" She flinched with embarrassment. How was that the first thing out of her mouth?

"Sometimes there are," Replied the brunette, "But we're the ones that were asked to be here." The woman rose to her feet and walked forward, putting her hand to her chest. "I'm Piper." She turned to the group sitting down, pointing towards each of them. "The cat is Salem. The twins are Camryn and Alexandra, and the two women there are Zelda and Hilda. We lead this coven during the meetings…you must be Jade?"

"Yeah. Jade West. I guess you're the leader of the coven?"

"Not exactly, but for today I'm leading this meeting. We assume you have questions?"

"Yeah, sort of. I mean…" She scratched at her hair and closed her eyes, shaking her head. She never fathomed being in this situation, to actually speak with actual practicing witches. "I'm just really starting to learn about witchcraft. I was thinking maybe…I don't know, there's a certain warlock I've been trying to find while also trying to find out about this type of dark magic I've come across." The women frowned and Jade inhaled once more. "I'm not practicing it, though…"

"What's the dark magic?" Camryn asked.

"Well, recently I helped release a soul bound spirit of my friend's brother. It was bound to a puppet by a mysterious warlock that tempted him with the teaching in the moment of his brother's death." She saw Hilda and Zelda shoot a look at each other, each biting their lips anxiously. Piper's eyebrows flattened and her arms crossed over her chest.

"Soul binding is an incredibly powerful type of dark magic. It takes a lot to release a bound spirit. You were able to pull off that ritual?"

"Well yes and no. I know humans are much harder-and I only released the spirit from a puppet. I don't know a lot about witchcraft, so…yeah…My dog was chewing on that note someone sent me-for some reason he wasn't able to tear it."

"Of course not." Piper took the sheet of paper from her and tugged at the sides. The paper creased and stretched, but it did not tear. "There is a type of protective spell placed on it to prevent destruction."

"Why? There's nothing dangerous about my house-or well, my dog. I do have an abusive mother, but that's another issue altogether." Jade looked towards the cat and started to smile to cover up the nervous vibe she was receiving from its studious yellow eyes. "Anyway. I did want to know how to detect one of these bound spirits, I guess."

"And if you found one, how exactly were you planning on releasing it? A puppet is one thing, but a human-as you realize-is another altogether." While looking to the others, she began to get the feeling they knew more about her than they were letting off. What of the mysterious note sender? Who was she-and Jade could only assume it was a she since these women were. "But if you were to run into one, there are ways to tell-one of those things being their own personality. They would be much different than they were in life. If they were peaceful, calm, they'd be angry and bitter. There are many behavior patterns that would be there. Over the years they'd began to decay, slowly, and constant itching would be a possible sign of that."

"Have you ever met one of these people?" She walked forward with Piper and sat down next to the cat. Piper returned to her own bench, but did not sit. She turned back around and looked into Jade's eyes with a broad range of experience and wisdom. "Maybe?"

"I've met a lot of things with my sisters, but a soul bound against its will? I think I may have seen one. They do get violent, though, murderous. A witch might bind a soul for the purpose of killing someone without themselves being traced." Piper unfolded her arms and sighed heavily. "Unless it's random, then it could be a different thing altogether."

She recalled the article from the night before and instantly jerked upright. "Soul devouring? Could that be it?" Piper raised an eyebrow. "I read an article last night that talked about witches who would somehow devour a spirit to take in eternal youth or immortality. Like the Sanders sisters did."

"It's possible," Zelda answered. "That is a big case of dark magic. Breaking the laws of the world in such a way could have devastating consequences. It may also be a witch that does not follow the wiccan religion."

"How would I find the warlock though?"

"If you did, how would you fight him?"

"I…don't know…" Piper chuckled and Jade's head fell. She felt so little in the presence of those much more experienced with witchcraft. "It's true, I have a lot to learn, but I also just want to stop this person before they cause more havoc."

"A witch or warlock that eats souls gains also the energy of that person," Alexandria remarked. Jade turned her eyes towards the twin with the ponytail and furrowed her brow. "So depending on how long this person has been on the earth, they would be fairly powerful."

"Well. I'd be careful…I just want to solve this mystery. If I figure out who it is, maybe I could come to you guys?"

"We'd be more than happy to help you out," Piper answered. "We can teach you whatever you'd like to know about the craft. It takes a lot of patience though, and you'll never learn if you don't try."

"Okay. Another thing. Why does it feel like I'm being watched? I mean-the note kind of implies it…" Piper frowned at her and lifted her shoulders.

"Unfortunately that is something I can't reveal at this time. There is a good reason for everything, but all in good time." She bit the lower corner of her lip and looked down as Piper moved towards her. The woman's hands drifted to her lower jaw and her gaze drifted up to hers. "Just relax Jade, everything will be made clear to you soon. You can't know everything yet, but when the time is right, you will. It's our job to prepare you for that."

"For what? Prepare me for what?"

Piper held the note up and Jade gazed curiously at the handwriting. "The person that wrote this note will answer that question for you."

"That's not helpful…"

"I know, and I'm sorry, but she was very specific."

Jade curled her fingers into her palms, grasping her pants firmly between her knuckles. Hilda cleared her throat and Jade's eyes snapped towards the woman. "You went to the cemetery recently, correct?" She was taken aback by the woman's question, but at the same time, not surprised that she would know. With everything these women knew, it couldn't be helped. "You should return there this Saturday night."

"Why? What will be there?"

"An answer to one of your questions."

"Okay." She answered with a defeated sigh. Whenever the one watching her chose to reveal herself, that was when she'd get the answer to the other burning question of hers: Who were these women? How did they know anything about her, and why were they even interested in her?

For the first time since she started looking at witchcraft, she was scared. At the same time, she felt a peculiar kind of calmness that seemed to lull her into a strange state of security.


So the cemetery, what may she find at the cemetery? Same one she went to before. So maybe the person that's been watching Jade isn't bad, but what's the connection? I can almost guarantee you won't figure out the connection, haha.