Chapter 8

"I still can't believe you were going to run off by yourself to find some crazy cult," Luna said crossing her arms.

Dusk simply leaned against the wall with her arms crossed and looked at Thorn with disappointment.

Thorn sat slumped in a chair and merely stared at the ground in silence.

"What if you went to this place and got hurt or worse?" Luna asked. "What if you never came back from that place? How do think our fans will react to that? How do you think Dusk and I will take it?"

Thorn's face reddened. She fidgeted in her seat, adjusted her clothes that didn't need adjusting and continued to avoid looking at her friends. After a few awkward moments, she sighed and looked up at her friends.

"I'm sorry. I didn't think this through," Thorn confessed.

"Hmph. No kidding," Luna responded.

Thorn hesitated for a moment. She recognized that Luna's anger and frustration with her was absolutely justified. She had no plans and no idea what would happen if she went to Albany by herself. But that wasn't the worse of it. Thinking about Luna's words made her feel uneasy. How could I have been so selfish? She mentally asked herself that question several times but had no answer. She glanced away from her friends in an attempt to mitigate the discomfort, yet it seemed to do the opposite. She looked around the room, never looking at any one spot for more than a second until she spotted the shattered mirror. Like a relentless weed growing in her mind, thoughts of witches, magic and the inscribed object resurfaced. Thorn shook her head but the thoughts kept coming back.

"Luna, Dusk, I'm really sorry," Thorn began as she stood up. "But I need to know what I am."

The black-haired girl pointed at the broken mirror.

"How the hell was I able to shatter the mirror without touching it or anything else?" Thorn exclaimed. "How was I able to get that object to show us the coordinates? What about that green barrier-thingy I made or whatever it was I threw at the ghost?"

Luna was silent. The keyboardist rubbed her head and sighed as she looked away from Thorn. Thorn knew she had no answer. But in the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Dusk smirking.

"What's so funny?" Thorn said while pouting.

"Nothing," Dusk stated. "But we already know you did those things with magic."

"Um, well, how come I was never able to do any magic before last night?" Thorn responded with what was perhaps the question that haunted her the most.

Dusk stopped leaning against the wall and walked to Thorn.

"No idea," Dusk said with a shrug. "But we're going to find out."

Luna quickly stepped forward and cut Dusk off.

"No, don't even say it," Luna demanded.

Dusk smirked. "Oh yeah," she began. "We're all going Albany."

"Wait. You're serious?" Thorn asked with slight smile.

"Hell yeah," Dusk cheered.

"But it's too dangerous for you to go," Thorn said as her smile diminished.

"Oh please, now you sound like Luna," Dusk said waving her hand. "I've been to parties that were more dangerous than anything those masked freaks could do to us. Besides, we already survived two ghosts, what else could possibly happen."

Thorn smiled at her friend's willingness to venture into the unknown with her.

"You're both insane," Luna sighed as she took a few steps away from Dusk and Thorn.

Dusk and Thorn turned to Luna, the former taking a few steps toward the redhead.

"Come on Kim! She needs to go," Dusk said raising her hands in the air.

"But it's too dangerous," Luna affirmed, though it sounded more like a plea than her standing her ground.

Dusk rolled her eyes. "Can you quit it with the 'it's too dangerous', I've heard it too many times already."

"But it's true," Luna muttered and Thorn noticed the slight hint of fear in her voice.

"Oh come on!" Dusk shouted. "What makes you think it's safe here? What if Thorn accidentally goes all Carrie on someone or turns someone into a frog or some other crazy shit! She needs to go to Albany and learn more about her powers. Going there with her is the only way we can help her and make sure she's safe."

Thorn flinched and even Luna seemed taken back by Dusk's comments. I could actually hurt somebody Thorn thought for the first time and shuddered. She glanced over to Dusk and Luna. What if I hurt them or k…? Thorn closed her eyes and shook her head. Don't even think that. But the thought lingered and Thorn felt queasy. No, I won't let that happen. Thorn opened her eyes, took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. A Wiccan does not hurt or kill people and I will not let myself do either to anyone.

"Dusk's right," Thorn said as she walked between the two. "I'm a danger to everyone around me. Including you two."

Dusk and Luna both opened their mouths as if they were about to say something but didn't.

"I need to go to those coordinates and learn how to deal with whatever it is I have," she continued.

She glanced over to Dusk. "You're still going to come with me, aren't you?" Thorn asked with a half-smile.

"You bet," the blonde replied.

Thorn turned to Luna. The keyboardist nervously glanced around the room for a few moments before sighing.

"Fine, I'll go," Luna said with reluctance. "But can we at least take some time to prepare ourselves?"

Thorn nodded. "Thanks Luna," she said before turning slightly so she could also address Dusk. "Pack whatever you think we might need and we'll meet at the back entrance in fifteen minutes."

Dusk nodded before hurrying off into another room with an almost child-like excitement. Thorn smiled as she watched her friend vanish into the other room.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Luna sighed before she parted ways from Thorn and headed toward the door.

As Luna exited the room, Thorn turned and headed to the back of the dressing room to gather some things. But as she made her way to her bags, she thought about Luna's concerns. She shook her head and ignored those thoughts. She was ever closer to getting the answers she so desperately craved and she wasn't going to let a few negative thoughts stop her.

A cool breeze blew through the performance center parking lot causing Thorn to button up her jacket as she stood outside the back entrance. She took out her red-and-black phone and read the time—11:12 PM. She sighed as she returned her phone to her purse and peered through the tinted glass doors. All she saw was an empty hallway with a single ceiling light that flickered. Thorn frowned and turned away from the door.

"Where are they?" she sighed as she took out her phone and checked the time again; still 11:12 PM.

"Ugh," Thorn groaned as she slid the phone back into her purse.

The Wiccan leaned against the building and gazed out into the night. Numerous street lights illuminated the parking lot and revealed that there were plenty of cars still around. Thorn took another glance at the doors. She half-expected them to swing open, but nothing happened. She groaned and checked her phone for a third time. But as she was putting her phone away, she heard some footsteps from inside the building. She smiled as the doors opened and out came Dusk and Luna.

"Alright, let's get this started," Dusk said rubbing her hands together before turning to Thorn. "So what's the plan?"

"Yeah Thorn, what exactly is your plan?" Luna said crossing her arm.

Thorn hesitated for a moment as she glared at Luna. The redhead was still clearly upset about this whole impromptu trip.

"Well, I texted Gus that we were going into town to celebrate a successful, last minute performance and he was fine with that," Thorn explained.

"Okay, so how do we get there? Not exactly like we could take the tour bus for a ride. I'm sure the studio would love that," Luna said almost condescendingly.

"Pfft. It's pretty simple. We'll just get a cab," Thorn said.

Luna gave dismissive chuckle. "That's good. And if we have to split because this cult tries to sacrifice us or something, we'll just call a cab and wait the ten, fifteen, minutes for it show up. Hopefully nothing bad happens during that time."

Thorn grimaced and quickly swore under her breath. As much as it annoyed her, Luna had a point. If things headed south, they needed a car they could get to immediately; waiting for someone else to arrive wouldn't work.

Thorn looked out into the parking lot and groaned at seeing so many cars just sitting right in front of her, yet they might as well have been miles away. Thorn sighed as her plan fell apart by such a simple thing as lack of transportation. But as she looked out into the parking lot, some commotion by one car parked on the edge of the lot by the woods caught her attention. She could see several people standing around the back of the car laughing, talking and—more importantly—drinking, quite bit based on how many cans were littered at their feet.

"I know how we're going to get a car," Thorn said with a grin as she walked over to the group.

Thorn hurried across the parking with Luna and Dusk close behind her. They quickly neared the group, who were completely oblivious to the girls. As they got closer, Thorn saw that the group consisted of three girls and two guys and a few of them were wearing Hex Girls themed clothes, likely merchandise they picked up after the concert. Thorn also noted a couple coolers and confirmed that they were indeed drinking cheap beer. Getting closer, Thorn winced as she caught the strong scent of weed coming from the group. Yet she kept walking and until she was only a few yards away.

"Holy shit! It's the Hex Girls!" one of the girls cheered causing the others to turn their attention to the band.

"In the flesh," Thorn said with a smile.

"It's like, killer to meet you three," another girl stuttered as she tried to get up from a lawn chair but fell back into it laughing.

"It's killer to meet you too," Thorn said trying her best to keep calm in awkward moment.

"Hey, you girls want some hash or something?" one of the guys mumbled.

"Uh, yes," Dusk chimed in as she tried to walk past Thorn.

Thorn frowned and jabbed Dusk with her elbow.

"What was that for?" Dusk asked rubbing her side.

But Thorn just gave her a stern look. The blonde realized her mistake and reluctantly turned down the guy's offer. With that minor distraction dealt with, Thorn turned her attention toward the car and promptly sighed. The vehicle was in pretty rough shape; the dull blue body was covered in scratches and dents, the antennae for the radio was snapped off, one of the rear taillights was busted and the front bumper was held together with duct tape. It certainly wasn't anything Thorn would've been caught driving in under normal circumstances, but she was desperate and the car could (hopefully) get the three of them to where they needed to be.

Thorn tapped the roof of the car and turned to the group once me.

"So, whose ride is this?" Thorn asked.

"Oh, um uh, mine," the second guy proclaimed as he stumbled to the front the car, his face bright red.

"It's such a nice car," Thorn lied with smile as she walked around to the front of the car.

"Oh yeah thanks," the guy said as leaned up against the hood of his car. "I…I do all the uh work myself."

"Is that so?" Thorn said with feigned interest she took a few steps closer to the car's owner.

"Yeah, I um j…just got the um uh…," the poor guy stared but the rest of what he said came out as an incoherent mess of slurred sounds.

"That's nice," Thorn said as she placed her hand on the guys trembling hand. "But I need ask a favor of you."

The man gulped. His was face was even redder than before and Thorn felt that his hand was quite tense. With his other hand, he wiped his forehead.

"Um what do you uh want," he asked, his word barely coherent.

"Dusk, Luna and I need to pick something up in Albany but our manager won't let us go," Thorn said feigning sadness. "So we were wondering if we could borrow your car."

"Umm…" the guy mumbled.

Thorn sighed. The car owner was no longer listening and was blatantly checking her out. Thorn rolled her eyes and pulled her hand away from his. This isn't getting me anywhere.

"Listen dude, I need borrow your car now," Thorn said snapping her fingers in the guy's face.

The guy blinked repeatedly.

"What? Oh um, I dunno," the guy said while rubbing his head and turning his attention toward the car.

"Let 'em use your car," one of the drunk girls interjected. "We were gonna leave it here overnight anyways, cause Jill is gonna pick us up."

Thorn smiled.

"Hear that, Jill is going to pick you all up," Thorn said. "Now why don't you give me the car keys, then grab another beer and relax till Jill arrives. I'll have your car back here in the morning."

"Yeah," the guy said as started nodding.

"Yeah," Thorn said. "Now get the keys."

The guy kept nodding and stumbled over to a backpack laying on the ground. He fumbled through it for a minute before retrieving the car keys. He went back to Thorn and handed her the keys.

"Don't get like pulled over or something," the guy said slurring his words.

"Oh thank you, you're the best," Thorn said giving the guy a brief hug. He then walked back to his friends smiling.

Thorn called for Luna and Dusk, who were partially listening to the drunk girls talk, before running over to the driver's side of the car. She opened the door and jumped into the driver's seat. She quickly started up the car as Luna got into the passenger seat still level-headed as usual, while Dusk entered the back of the car in a fit of laughter.

"What's so funny?" Thorn asked as she backed out the parking spot.

"Hehehe. You just stole some drunk guy's car!" Dusk laughed.

"I did NOT steal his car," Thorn said raising her voice. "He said I could borrow it!"

"Eh, whatever you say Thorn," Dusk said as she wiped a tear from her eye.

"I didn't steal anything," Thorn insisted as she turned onto the main road.

"I hate to burst your bubble but Dusk is right, you stole this car," Luna stated.

Thorn gripped the steering wheel tightly and grimaced. She went to defend herself but Luna quickly cut her off.

"Yes, you stole the car. That guy was clearly under the influence and couldn't actually consent to giving you the car. So you took advantage of him and stole his car," Luna concluded.

"I…" Thorn began.

She was at a loss for words. She shook her head as she looked down the road. She slowed the car to a stop as she reached a red light. She then turned to Luna.

"I'm going to return it when we get back," she said to Luna, but it sounded like it was more to herself than to her friend.

"Doesn't matter you stole a car. I just hope we get back before he sobers up and he doesn't remember any this," Luna said.

In the back seat, Dusk continued to laugh as she rummaged through whatever stuff was in the back. Luna quickly turned around.

"Dusk this isn't funny," Luna angrily said.

"Yeah it is," Dusk retorted. "Cause Thorn's the last person I would've thought would steal a car."

"And that's not concerning to you?" Luna said.

Thorn listened to them argue about her actions. True, it wasn't her proudest moment and it wasn't something she'd ordinarily do, but at the moment it was the only way she could think of to get a vehicle. As the argument dragged on, Thorn wanted to end and the more she heard, angrier she got. After a few minutes she finally snapped.

"Will you two just shut up and drop this!" Thorn shouted.

The two girls quickly stopped speaking and were taken back by Thorn's outrage. Even the Wiccan herself was startled by her own outburst. Thorn closed her eyes, took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. No. This going too far. Calm down. Don't let anything happen. She reopened her eyes and resumed driving when the light turned green.

"I'm sorry," Thorn quietly said just audible enough for her friends to hear.

The car remained silent. Thorn attempted to turn on the radio, but remembered that car's antenna was missing. She sighed and glanced over to Luna. The keyboardist was leaning back in her seat and stared out the window.

"Luna…" Thorn began.

But Luna adjusted herself so that her back was partially turned to Thorn. Thorn sighed as she glanced around the front of the car looking for something to diffuse the tension.

"Dusk, did you find anything neat back there?" Thorn asked.

Thorn heard a bag tear open followed by the crunching of chips.

"Hey, Luna want some chips?" Dusk asked while offering her the bag.

"I'm good thanks," the redhead replied without looking away from the window.

Dusk went back to munching on the snack she found. Hearing the chips crunch made Thorn's stomach rumble; she hadn't eaten since before the concert.

"Hey, can I get some chips?" Thorn asked.

Aside from the crinkling of the bag and Dusk chewing, there was no response. Thorn frowned but after a moment, the chewing stopped and a small smile spread across her face.

"Sick. There's a bottle of vodka. I'll save that for later," Dusk commented before grabbing another handful of chips.

Thorn's smile faded as she returned her attention back to the road. Everything was already going badly and they had barely left the parking lot. Thorn sighed. This was going to be a long and tense drive.

Indeed, the silence was overwhelming. For the entire hour long trip, there was nothing but the occasional jolt from the car as it a pothole. No joke, no sarcastic comment, no insightful conversation. And Thorn hated every second of it. It was a torment of her own making as the silence said more than what any words could ever express. Yet even here, Thorn reassured herself that what she would find in the arcane and esoteric would make up for her actions. But as her she took the exit off the interstate and her destination lay only a few miles away, she felt unsure of herself; a tiny nagging voice in the back of her mind asking if she was making the right choice.

The car bumped along a gravel road until it stopped at the corner of a metal gate. Thorn exited the car and put the keys in her purse. As the car lights went off, Thorn was taken back by how dark it was; the dense tree cover blocked out what little moonlight there was and if it wasn't for a single light above the gate's entrance, it'd be too dark to see her hand right in front of her face.

"So, this is it, huh," Dusk said, finally breaking the silence between the girls.

"I guess so," Thorn replied.

Thorn took a deep breath and walked to the gate, Luna and Dusk right behind her. After a few minutes, they stood under the iridescent light.

"So, how do we get in?" Dusk asked.

Thorn looked around the gate and noticed what she thought was a box on one of the posts. Closer inspection revealed that it was an intercom station.

"Uh, hello," Thorn said as she pressed the single button on the intercom.

"Take three steps back from the gate and face the camera," a loud voice commanded causing the three girls to jump back.

The Hex Girls took three steps back as instructed. Thorn looked around the gate to find the camera but couldn't spot it.

"It's above the intercom," Luna bluntly stated, though Thorn couldn't shake the feeling that there was hostility in her tone.

Thorn blushed as both her friends were waiting on her to complete the instructions. Indeed, on the top of the railing above the intercom was a small, nondescript camera aimed right at them; the blinking red light was the only way she even spotted it.

"Identify yourselves and your purpose for being here," the voice over the intercom ordered.

Thorn hesitated. She glanced over to Dusk and Luna half expecting them to answer the question. Luna raised an eyebrow.

"This is all you," the redhead coldly said.

Thorn looked at the camera. "I'm Thorn. This is Dusk and Luna," the Wiccan said gesturing to her friends.

She paused again and gulped.

"We're here because of, um, this," she said as she pulled out the object with the coordinates from her purse and held it up to the camera.

Whoever was on the other side of the intercom didn't respond. There was static coming from the intercom confirming that it was still on. She turned to her friends but they just shrugged.

"So you three are witches then, correct?" the voice unexpectedly resumed.

"No, I'm not a witch," Luna quickly corrected.

"Me neither," Dusk added.

Both girls immediately stared at Thorn. The black-haired girl nervously murmured to herself as all eyes (and camera lens) were on her. She bit her lip as her eyes darted back and forth between her friends and the camera. Her body tensed up as she was forced to confront the accumulation two days' worth of turmoil and finally face the truth. With a heavy sigh, Thorn looked into the camera lens and said the three words she never thought she'd say.

"I'm a witch."

With that there were no more lies and no more denial. The truth was out and there was no going back; no way to backpedal like she did after the concert. Thorn sighed as her body relaxed. She felt, for the first time since Shardon, sure of herself.

"FINALLY," Dusk said while raising her hands. "This whole self-denial shit was getting really annoying."

Thorn feigned a laugh and blushed.

The gate buzzed as the mechanical gate slowly swung open, bringing Thorn out of her thoughts.

"Proceed to the building and enter through the door. You will await further instructions once inside. Failure to oblige will result in immediate termination," the speaker said before the intercom went silent.

With the answers to her questions within reach, Thorn passed through the gate and hurried toward the building.

"I don't like the sound of 'immediate termination' if we don't listen these people," Luna said she begrudgingly followed Thorn.

"We'll be fine," Thorn replied completely ignoring the fact that the gate was closing behind them. Nothing was going to scare her away from getting her answers.

After a short walk, the black-haired girl was the first to arrive at the building. With its chipping paint, crumbling roof and cracked brick walls covered in a tangle of Poison Ivy and Virginia Creeper, one could easily mistake the single-story building for being abandoned had it not been for a lone flickering light over a rust covered door. Dusk even joked that the building was perfect for a cult.

With a slight push, Thorn opened the door and had to briefly shield her eyes. The room they entered was white and everything was polished to the point where the ceiling lights gleamed off the surfaces and blanketed the room in a blinding light. After minute or so, Thorn's eyes adjusted to the increased light levels and she noticed that the room was empty; no windows, doors, furniture or any other discernible features.

"Okay, this isn't what I expected," Thorn said as she tried to spot some feature in vast whiteness.

"Yeah, I'm surprised this wasn't some dark candlelit room with a bunch of hooded guys chanting in a circle," Dusk joked.

Thorn chuckled to herself as the three of them continued deeper into the featureless room.

THUD!

"Ow!" Thorn shouted as she stumbled backwards.

The black-haired girl rubbed her forehead and looked at where she had just walked. To her surprise, there was nothing there, even though it felt like she had just walked face-first into a brick wall.

"What the hell was that?" Dusk asked as she and Luna had walked past Thorn without incident.

"I don't know," Thorn said still reeling from the incident.

Thorn raised her hand and slowly approached the spot she couldn't pass. Her eyes widened as she felt an external force press up against her hand. Confused, she tried pushing against the force but this only made the force push back against her harder. She swiped her hands across the force looking for a switch or something similar but there was nothing. Her heart raced as she moved toward the walls, but no matter where she tried to proceed farther into the room, she encountered the unseen force.

"I can't get through," Thorn gasped.

"What's stopping you?" Dusk asked as she walked over to Thorn.

"I don't know," Thorn replied.

Dusk and Luna walked over to where Thorn was trying to cross. Dusk waved her hand just inches from Thorn's face and nothing happened. The blonde took a step to the side of Thorn and jumped over the spot without incident.

"There's nothing there," Dusk stated.

Luna stepped over the spot and confirmed Dusk's statement.

"What exactly do you feel blocking you?" Luna asked.

"Nothing! I don't feel anything," Thorn exclaimed. "It's like I'm being pushed away by something."

Luna looked over the ground for a moment before shrugging in defeat. Thorn dropped to her knees and combed over the floor with her hands. She wanted to find something. A button. A crack. An engraved symbol. Anything to explain why she couldn't go farther into the room. After a few minutes, she sat on the floor and sighed.

"After everything I went through, I'm stopped by something I can't even see," Thorn said her face turning red.

"Hey," Dusk said as she sat down next to Thorn. "I know this sucks and all, but we'll figure it out. I mean, we did solve that stone thing."

Thorn's eyes widened and smile spread across her face.

"Dusk, you're a genius," Thorn exclaimed as she stood up.

"Um, Okay. Thanks," Dusk said she turned to see what Thorn was up.

The black-haired girl stood a little over arm's reach away from the force. She raised her hand and focused on empty floor. She took a deep breath.

"Revēlō!" Thorn shouted.

Thorn smiled as she watched a small blueish-white glow appear on the part of the floor she had focused on. The glow lengthened into a straight line no more than a few inches in length, gradually extending until it reached the two walls. Upon hitting the walls, there was a bright flash of blue light.

"Unbelievable," Thorn said as the light dissipated.

Before her eyes was what she could only describe as clear 'wall' that shimmered in the artificial light from the ceiling. Shifting gleams of refracted light appeared and disappeared as they drifted across the 'wall' like clouds moving across the sky. Thorn reached out and placed her hand on the 'wall'. Like before, she felt the force pushing back on her hand. She smiled. While she still couldn't get through the barrier, she made progress.

"This is pretty cool," Dusk laughed as she stood in the middle of the barrier. "It doesn't affect me."

"Yeah, now I just get have to get over," Thorn chuckled as she watched her friends.

Suddenly, the barrier flickered several times before it disappeared entirely.

"What did you two do?" Luna asked with much concern. The redhead was trembling

"Nothing," Thorn replied.

But as the bewildered guitarist looked to back of the room, she saw an unseen door slide open. Her heart skipped a beat as she saw an individual enter the room. The figure was dressed identically to Matella; the pointed hat suggested that the figure was a mage. The figure took a few steps forward and another similarly dressed individual stepped out. But what came after caused Thorn to start backing up. Three more figures entered the room clad in black ballistics vests and shoulder pads embellished with gold and crimson markings, dark gray military slacks, black combat boots and an intimidating black helmet and visor. But more worrisome, all three of them were armed with assault rifles that were pointed at the three musicians.

"We're dead," cried Luna as she got on her knees while Dusk tried to get her up.

Upon seeing Luna surrender, Thorn froze. Her body trembled, her heart was pounding and she struggled to catch her breath. Time itself seemed to move slower as the guards neared her friends. She watched as the armed cultists shouted for the two girls to not move and keep their hands raised all the while keeping the rifles aimed at them. The shouts echoed in her head and instinct took over. Fight or flight. Get away or defend her friends. A simultaneously simple yet complex choice she didn't even have to think about making. She didn't notice her hands clenching into a fist and the dark blue light emitting from them. She didn't notice herself running nor did she notice herself raising her arm to throw the blue bolt of magic. Unfortunately for her, she also didn't notice the warlock who was well aware of her.

"Capiō!"

The warlock's shout broke Thorn's focus and she gasped when she became aware of both what she was about do and the warlock. But it was too late. Two green rings formed around Thorn; one around her mid drift and the other around her legs. The upper ring quickly contracted and pinned her arms to her sides and caused the energy bolt to fade away before she could throw it. Thorn felt the second ring pin her legs together. She promptly fell to the floor from her own momentum.

"You were ordered to wait for instructions when inside," the warlock said looking down at Thorn. "And under normal circumstances I would not hesitate to kill you three."

Thorn scowled at the masked warlock and grunted as she rolled onto her side in a vain attempt to escape.

"Hehe. You're lucky one of the higher ups is expecting you," he concluded.

He turned to one of the armed guards.

"You three take the blonde and the redhead in for processing," the warlock ordered. "We'll process the witch."

"Understood sir," one of the guards said before turning to Dusk and Luna. "Alright get up! Keep your hands above your head and start walking!"

Thorn could only watch as Dusk and Luna were escorted to the door.

"No!" Thorn shouted as her friends disappeared into the darkness.

Thorn tried again to break free, but the magic coils were too strong. All she managed to do was wiggle around a bit and fall back onto her stomach.

"If you three had just followed directions, none of this would've happened," the warlock said kneeling down in front of Thorn. "But no, you had disrupt the barrier and needlessly complicate things."

"If you bastards even think of hurting them I'll…" Thorn yelled before stopping at the realization of what she was going to say wasn't very Wiccan of her.

"You'll what, kill me? Please. You're not the first person to threaten me," he said with a dismissive chuckle. "Now assuming they don't do anything stupid, the blonde and redhead will be fine."

Thorn just glared at the warlock as he got up.

"We're going to bring you into processing. Let's make this easy so you don't end up dead as I really don't want to deal with a pissed off Matella," he explained.

With a wave of his hand, the green coil around Thorn's legs vanished. The second warlock helped her to feet.

"You'll lose the second coil when we get to processing," the main warlock said. "Now follow me."

Without much of a choice, Thorn followed the warlock through the door and farther into the building.

A/N

Hey everyone. First of all thanks to everyone who left a review or provided feedback; every bit of insight and feedback helps. Hope everyone enjoyed this longer chapter. As a minor update, I'll have a lot more free time for the rest of the month, so I might be able to get two chapters posted a week. That said, I can't guarantee anything outside of the usual Friday update, but don't be surprised if you see something pop up in the middle of the week.