Chosen Chapter 7: City of Darkness
Part 8
Xxx
Billie was stunned and stood there frozen. All she could do was stare in silence as the screaming vampire queen erupted into flames, leaving a shocked Taylor behind. All around the greenhouse, vampires erupted in flames as the entire hive was vanquished, though Taylor somehow remained. As the queen was reduced to ashes, a pale red mist rose up from the ashes and entered Taylor through her nostrils and mouth. The newly turned vampire gasped as she was lifted from the ground and became engulfed in a red glow.
"What is going on? Why did you do that?" Billie asked as Taylor hit the ground after the light faded.
"She got in my way, I told her I wanted to be the one to kill you." Taylor replied. "Considering our former friendship and all."
"How are you still alive?" Billie asked. "You're supposed to be connected to your queen."
"I am the queen now." Taylor explained. "When a queen dies, so does her entire hive. But when she is killed by one of her own, a new queen emerges."
"Well, too bad you're still going to die." Billie remarked.
Billie held out her hand and the stake telekinetically flew into her hand. She tried pierce her former friend's heart, though Taylor grabbed her arm and threw the stake away. She painfully twisted her arm until Billie was unable to move.
"I don't think so." Taylor hissed as her fangs grew. "Without Irena clouding my mind, I am able to think clearly. Nothing has changed between us, I still hate you for what happened to me."
"So kill me." Billie replied harshly. "One of us is going to die tonight."
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Taylor asked with a frown. "You're different."
"I stopped caring." Billie replied. "And I am not the only one who has changed. So are we going to fight or what?"
"Tempting, but not right now." Taylor said. "You see, I actually want you to destroy the Brotherhood first. Those bastards sacrificed me in their stupid ritual. I lost my life for this stupid dome. So go ahead and vanquish them, give them what they deserve."
"And what about you?" Billie replied. "Am I supposed to let you go?"
"I am sure we will cross paths again soon." Taylor replied.
Taylor released Billie and turned into a bat before flying away through a window. Billie was left dazed. She had missed her chance to kill Taylor, but at least the first queen was gone. One down and only two left to go. Billie looked down at her unconscious friends and realized they were only slowing her down. She did not need them to take out the Brotherhood any more. She was the one who wanted to be the one to end them, and she knew where Klea would be. She would suffer for what she had done to Mikelle. Without waking up the others, Billie grabbed her bag of weapons and headed to City Hall.
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Klea smiled as she walked across the grand hallway of City Hall with beautiful marble floors and modern artwork. There was a large round skylight in the ceiling that would typically bath the hall in light. Klea had to admit she did miss the sun, but it was a small price to pay for power. She stopped and looked at a modern artwork, it was stunning. Perhaps she would set up office here, as it was far more to her taste. It brought back memories of her time with the Brotherhood of the Thorn, living in the mortal world while taking over businesses. Back then she was just a lackey, but she had come a long way since then. Now she was in charge. As she turned around, she was surprised by the sudden arrival of Bacarra. However, she was able to contain her surprise.
"Bacarra, what brings you here?" Klea asked in a calm tone.
"We need to talk." Bacarra said angrily. "You tried to kill the witches and instead let them escape. Now Irena is vanquished, again bringing our destruction one step closer."
"Our poor little queen. We'll miss her." Klea remarked uncaring.
"Don't you see what is happening here?" Bacarra asked. "It is all falling apart. The witches are winning. It could have been over if you had just brought them to me. You betrayed me!"
"I never betrayed you, dear." Klea replied. "I wanted to end the threat, which would have worked if your warlock had not hesitated. Either way, I have my own interests to think about as well. After all, I do have a seat at the table."
"I guess I was a fool for believing you had any real loyalty toward me." Bacarra said disappointed.
"Oh, please." Klea said annoyed. "We have sex, it's nothing more than that. Besides, every single member of the Brotherhood joined for a reason. I am no exception. I never made it a secret that I wanted more power."
"So now you want to rule the city?" Bacarra remarked. "Like a child playing with dolls?"
Klea lashed out at him and her nails scraped his cheek. She had intended to infect him with a weak poison, but for some reason, nothing happened.
"Surprised? Your poison won't work on me." Bacarra explained. "I took precautions. Irena was right, you are a snake."
"I simply want what I deserve." Klea said. "You think this brotherhood would have functioned without me? You would have ripped each other to shreds long ago if I had not mediated. I am not one of your minions."
"We could have ruled this city together." Bacarra replied.
"I have no interest in being a consort when I can rule myself." Klea said. "You would have never accepted me as a true equal."
"Perhaps you're right." Bacarra said. "After all, we were just using each other, right? It was only a matter of time before the power struggle began."
"And I am not losing." Klea said determined.
"But my dear, you're powerless against me. Incendiares Globus." Bacarra said. As he spoke the latin phrase, a sphere of fire formed in his hand.
"You still need me." Klea replied as she backed away, with a little desperation in her voice.
"You have made it clear I can't trust you." Bacarra said with a frown. "You think I would allow you back in my bed with your venom?"
"Fine." Klea replied with a glare. "You were a lousy lover in the first place."
Bacarra screamed angrily and threw the sphere of fire, though Klea avoided it and quickly turned invisible except for her eyes. She quickly moved behind a statue and hid from view. She was about to shimmer away, when the doors flew open. She turned around and saw the blonde witch enter.
Billie waved her hand and the door closed behind her. She seemed bitter, like she was on a path of vengeance for her fallen friend. Klea would have smiled if she had not been in danger.
"Where is she?" Billie asked coldly when she stepped toward Bacarra.
"I am wondering that myself." Bacarra replied as he looked around, though Klea had already moved to another spot where she could not be seen.
"She is mine." Billie said. "She will pay for what she did to my friend."
"In case you missed it, Miss Jenkins, I own this city." Bacarra replied. "Your petty revenge means nothing to me. In fact, I think I might just kill you myself."
"You can certainly try." Billie replied with a confident smile as she revealed an athame. "You were second on my list anyway."
"So determined." Bacarra remarked. "After everything, I expected to find you crying in a corner over all the lives you destroyed."
"You don't know anything about me." Billie replied. "I decided to channel it all into killing you."
"And then what?" Bacarra asked.
"Don't care." Billie replied. "I am done talking."
Billie flung her arm and the large statue next to Bacarra tipped over. The warlock quickly blinked away and reappeared behind her. He threw a fire ball, though Billie levitated and flipped over him. She then threw her athame and hit him in the shoulder. Bacarra cursed and pulled it out.
"You're lucky I don't bleed, witch." Bacarra remarked. "If you had ruined this suit, I would have made you suffer."
Bacarra raised his hand and cast a latin spell, "Vitibus Folliculus". Suddenly, vines erupted from the marble floor and wrapped around Billie, tying her arms and legs. She struggled, but was quickly trapped in place. Bacarra smiled as he walked over to her with the athame in his hand.
"I am going to enjoy this." Bacarra said. "One little stab and your powers are mine."
"Forget it." Billie replied.
The blonde witch squinted her eyes and Bacarra was telekinetically thrown back. Bacarra smirked as he stood back up and wiped his suit clean.
"Fine, you can wait." Bacarra said as he waved his hand, which caused the vines to wrap around her more tightly until she cried out in pain. "I have another problem to deal with. Aspectus Invisus."
Klea gasped shocked when she suddenly became visible. She tried to shimmer away, but Bacarra appeared besides her in a blink and threw her across the room, where she landing in front of the vines binding Billie. One vine wrapped around her leg, keeping her in place.
"You think you can rule this city alone?" Klea called out. "Allow me to live and I can bring order. I already have the mayor under my control. We can still be together."
"But then we come back to the part where I can't trust you." Bacarra replied as he formed another fire ball in his hand. "I think I will just kill you and be done with it."
"No!" Billie called out angrily as she struggled.
Just when Bacarra was about to vanquish Klea, the door of City Hall opened once more and the other witches and their friends came running in. The guardian unleashed a blast of energy that threw Bacarra across the room, while the firestarter used his flames to destroy the vines trapping Billie. However, Klea herself remained trapped and silently cursed them.
"Missed us?" Hope asked.
"I didn't need your help." Billie remarked angrily.
"What were you thinking running off on your own like that?" Violet asked.
Before Billie could answer, Bacarra blinked from the ground and reappeared in front of them. "Always these interruptions." He remarked in an annoyed tone.
"It is over, Bacarra." Duncan said. "Your plans are ruined."
"We are putting a stop to you." Violet added. "The Chosen spell?"
The others nodded and started casting a spell. Bacarra screamed and threw a final fire ball, though Billie deviated it and hit him in the chest while chanting, causing him to catch fire.
"The Chosen call, collective power,
Vanquish this evil within this hour."
Bacarra screamed as the spell took effect and fire burning on his chest started to swirl around him in thin streams. The streams encircled him until they cut right through his body like razors. He was still screaming as he exploded into millions of black particles that evaporated in smoke.
"We did it." Violet said relieved.
"Not quite yet." Billie remarked determined.
Klea quickly realized the vines around her leg were gone and disappeared in a shimmer. She reappeared behind the Chosen and grabbed Billie by the arm. As she spread her poison, the arm of the blonde witch was covered in black veins. Billie cried out in pain and fell to the ground. Violet rushed to her aid, while the others all turned to attack Klea. Duncan held out his hand and conjured a metallic sphere.
"Hold on." Klea said as she raised her hands defensively. "Kill me and she dies as well."
"Like we would believe you." Jake said with a frown. "She is bluffing."
"How can we be sure?" Hope asked.
"We can't." Duncan admitted.
"We can't let her live! She killed Mikelle!" Tyler called out angrily. "I will torch her myself."
"No wait!" Hope quickly said as she grabbed his arms and held him down.
"Duncan, we need to do something!" Violet said desperately.
"What do you want?" Duncan asked as he turned to Klea.
"Allow me to leave and I will cure her." Klea said. "I will take down the dome and we will go our separate ways. Vanquish me, she dies and the dome remains. In that case, you will be trapped here until your deaths."
"No…" Billie whispered weakly.
"We don't have a choice." Violet said. "What is more important?"
"Violet is right." Duncan said.
"No." Billie repeated, this time louder.
"They are right, Billie." Hope said. "Nothing is more important than your life."
"I... said…no!" Billie replied as she struggled to breathe.
As she struggled, Billie suddenly flung her hand. The athame Bacarra had been holding flew up from the floor and hit Klea in her stomach. She felt a sharp pain and stumbled back as she looked at the blade. It was burning her from the inside and flames appeared. She was not ready yet. This could not be her end. She had worked too long and hard to get where she was. She screamed out at the large skylight in the ceiling as she felt fire consume her. What followed was a powerful explosion that caused the earth to tremble. In the distance, something shattered.
Xxx
As she had done every day since the dome appeared, Paige Matthews waited for a miracle as she stood in the morning sun. It had been over ten days now and she was still cut off from everyone she loved. She hoped Billie and the others would find a way. Suddenly there was a trembling and Paige nearly lost her balance. The entire area was shaking. A moment later, Kevin appeared next to her in a column of orbs, dressed in a white robe.
"Something is happening." Kevin said.
"You think?" Paige remarked as the trembling continued.
Paige looked at the dome and saw cracks of light starting to appear in the darkness with each tremor. When enough cracks had formed, the dome suddenly shattered and disappeared in a flash. The city of San Francisco appeared out of nowhere and Paige heard Kevin cheering next to her. She wanted to do the same thing, but first she needed to know her loved ones were safe. Her sisters, Henry, Tyler and Billie. When she thought about Billie, she suddenly felt a sharp pang of pain in her heart. She immediately realized something was very wrong.
"They did it." Kevin said with a smile. "If we act quickly, we can still prevent a mass exposure of magic. I need to meet with the council and the tribunal right away."
"I need to go." Paige said without listening to him.
"Where? What is going on?" Kevin asked concerned.
Without waiting a second longer to answer him, Paige dissolved into a swirl of orbs and headed into the city. She did not care about exposure, she needed to hurry. Time was running out. She just hoped it wasn't already too late.
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