Chapter 17
Thorn awoke. Or at least she assumed she did, as it was more a feeling of sudden awareness rather than waking up, like someone flipped a switch between nothing and something. That something, Thorn saw, was a hazy, blueish-gray void that seemed to go on forever. She tried to sit up and assess her surroundings further, but she couldn't move. She couldn't do as much as blink; in fact, she couldn't hear her own heartbeat or breathing. All she could do was stare into the endless expanse and think.
Is…is this the afterlife? Not that she was expecting pearly gates or fire and brimstone, but this didn't feel right.
No.
A new voice, deep, powerful and inhuman yet quick and calming, answered in her mind. Thorn felt comfort, like whatever was with her would keep her safe. She was relieved to know that she was (presumably) alive. But that moment of relief ended when she realized her friends were nowhere to be seen.
Dusk! Luna!
I have them.
Thorn watched has as two gray, rope-like tendrils hoisted Dusk and Luna into view. Their eyes were closed, but somehow Thorn knew they weren't dead and that they were safe.
Did you save us?
I did.
Why?
There was silence. Thorn wanted to frown. Whatever was here had saved them and Thorn had no explanation for why. Was it because she alerted this entity to the Fallen? Or did it have some other purpose for them? Or, contrary to the Fallen's words, something cared about them.
Who are you?
More silence.
Are you a god?
No.
She rattled her mind for what the cultists had called the Fallen.
A Cosmic? She wasn't sure what the difference between the two were.
No answer.
What do you want from us?
Again no answer.
Another tendril came into view, twisting and turning like a snake as it approached her. She wasn't afraid, if anything she felt at peace as the tendril coiled around her body. She didn't feel anything physical but she saw white light beyond her friends. The tendrils pulled her and her friends into the blinding light.
Where are you taking us?
Outside. There is much to be done.
Thorn sat up gasping and in a cold sweat. She patted herself down but found nothing. No tendril. No void. Just the loose earth beneath her and the crisp night air around her. She looked around; she was outside the building they initially entered.
"Thank you" she quietly whispered. She looked to the clear sky, hoping whatever saved her was looking down upon her. Of course, only the stars and a full moon shone through the trees.
She heard coughing nearby and looked toward the noise. Dusk and Luna were a few feet away dazed and confused.
"Where are we?" Luna groaned.
"Outside," Thorn stuttered as she recalled the departing words of whatever she encountered.
"How'd we get here?" Dusk asked rubbing her head; Luna shrugged.
"You don't remember?" Thorn asked.
"Remember what?" Luna replied.
"Yeah, I only remember us about to get crushed and then the next moment we're here," Dusk said.
Thorn wasn't sure if she should tell them about what she experienced, not that she fully understood what happened to her. Perhaps the Fallen was wrong. Maybe someone or something did care about them. She didn't have answers and, for the first time, was okay with that.
"Never mind," Thorn said with a smile. "All that matters is that we're here and we're together."
She got to her feet and helped her friends up. As they did, the ground shook behind them in one final, fierce tremor; it sounded like the entire underground complex collapsed. Thorn watched as the building buckled and sank into the ground. Dust rose into the sky while trees behind the former building fell.
Thorn simply watched with a somber gaze. So many cultists were dead and most of them didn't interact with her or her bandmates; only a handful of individuals lied, harmed or nearly killed her and her friends. Perhaps there were more people like George buried under the ruble. She gave them a moment of silence before sighing. It was all behind her. As Dusk said, move on. She turned to her friends.
"What a night," she said with a slight chuckle. "I still have to return that guy's car."
Dusk and Luna gave each other a confused look.
"Um, did you get brain damage or something?" Dusk asked.
"Nah, I just want to get back on the road and play some killer music," Thorn said. She started walking toward the gate. It was open and there were multiple, unmarked vans parked there, though she didn't see anyone.
Dusk and Luna followed her.
"What about your magic?" Luna questioned.
Thorn stopped. "What about it?"
"You never got real answers about it considering everything Matella said could be a lie," the redhead reasoned.
Thorn grinned. She twirled her finger in the air, leaving a trail of blue sparks.
"I'll just have to figure it out myself," she said with a wink. "Though, it'd be nice if I got some extra help along the way."
Dusk and Luna smiled and followed her to the car.
As they were walking by the vans, Thorn heard some rubble crumbling but made nothing of it. She then heard a click and assumed it was just more crumbling.
"Move!" Dusk shouted. Thorn gasped as Dusk grabbed her and Luna by the wrists and pulled them behind a van. Puffs of dirt sprung from the ground where she had been standing and the deafening cracks of gunfire ceased.
"Where'd it come from?" Dusk asked, trying to peek around the van.
"I don't know, I didn't see the shooter," Thorn said. She tried looking through the van's window but the window shattered as a bullet flew just over her. She dove to the ground and covered her head. Bullets pelted the van shattering the windows and showering the girls in glass. Then just as quickly as it began, the gunfire stopped.
"Is he out of bullets?" Luna quietly asked.
"I hope so," Thorn replied.
She heard someone dart across the open ground and slide behind another van between them and the gate. The shooter quickly reloaded.
"He moved," Thorn warned her friends.
"Damnit, he's trying to flank us," Dusk shouted.
She was correct. The rear driver's side light was shot out and a second volley of bullets hit the ground next to them. The girls scurried to the front of the van, narrowly avoiding the shots.
"I see him," Thorn grunted. She fired a bolt of green energy at the armed cultist taking cover behind the front of the second van.
The front of the adjacent van blew up and Thorn lost sight of the assailant in the dust and smoke.
"Tell me you hit him," Dusk begged.
Thorn didn't respond as she honestly didn't know. She peeked through the broken window. She saw the burning van and a broken assault rifle laying on the ground.
"I think we're good," Thorn replied with an exhausted sigh.
Something bounced off the roof of their van and fell to the ground less than a foot away from Thorn. She looked at the object. It resembled a dumbbell, maybe half a foot in length and a couple inches in width, and was covered in several metal circles.
Wait is that a…FUCK!
BANG!
She couldn't see and her ears were ringing. She clutched her head and fell to the ground. She screamed, although she couldn't hear herself do so. She laid on the ground, unable to protect herself or her friends from the approaching cultist.
Dusk crawled around the side of the van carefully to avoid the attention of their assailant. She got lucky, she was just out of range of the flash grenade. But Luna and Thorn weren't as fortunate as they were both stunned by the grenade, the latter taking the brunt of the flash.
Dusk drew her knife and prepared to defend her friends. She saw the cultist come into view. His uniform was charred and torn while his mask was damaged; the upper right portion of his mask was missing and Dusk could see his eye. A green eye. Cyrus.
"You blasphemed against the Fallen and destroyed my temple, which I could, somehow, careless about," he said seemingly more to Thorn than anyone else. "But you killed Matella and I cannot forgive you for that."
He drew a pistol. Without any concern for herself, Dusk ran around the van and charged Cyrus. But as she lunged for the gun, Cyrus spun around.
She grabbed his wrist and tried to push it aside. The gun went off.
"FUCK!" Dusk cried dropping the knife. The bullet grazed her waist and it felt like she had her hand on a burning stove. She gritted her teeth and despite the pain, she grabbed the barrel of the gun with her free hand and pushed away Cyrus's arm so the gun was pointing toward the woods. It went off again, firing aimlessly into the night. Cyrus slammed her into the side of the van, trying to free his arm but Dusk kept the gun pointed away from her. With all her strength, she bent Cyrus's wrist downward and the gun slipped out of his hand.
Dusk's head slammed into the van as Cyrus landed a punch with his free hand. The blow caused Dusk to let the gun fall to the ground. He landed several more punches and Dusk heard a crack; she was almost certain that her nose was now broken.
With her head throbbing and vision blurred, Dusk could do little as Cyrus grabbed her head and slammed it into his knee. Dusk teetered for a moment and collapsed. As she hit the ground she saw the gun and reached for it; she shouted as Cyrus stepped on her hand.
"I wanted to kill the witch first," Cyrus said. "She's the one that took her away from me." He picked up her knife and pulled her up by her hair, exposing her neck. "But if you want to die first, so be it."
She shivered as she felt the cold steel against her skin.
"I hope the black-haired bitch is watching so she understands the pain of losing a person she loves."
There was a muffled grunt as the knife fell away from her. Dusk's eyes widened as Luna jumped onto Cyrus's back, clawing and scratching at any exposed skin; Dusk couldn't remember a time when Luna was in a physical fight.
Cyrus stumbled backward from the additional weight and accidentally kicked the gun under the van. Dusk gritted her teeth and looked for her knife but couldn't find it. She saw the gun. Without thinking, she scrambled to her feet and dove for the firearm.
She nudged the pistol grip with her fingertips. She couldn't crawl under the van as the vehicle was too low to the ground. She desperately clawed at the handgun and the grip slowly turned to her. YES! She had it.
Luna shouted and there was a loud thud, like someone was thrown to the ground. A moment later, Cyrus grabbed Dusk's ankle and with one powerful tug, pulled her away from the van; the pull unexpected enough for Dusk to lose the gun.
Dusk kicked with all her might but Cyrus pinned her down with his legs. He was on top of her with the knife in hand. In a downward strike, he tried to stab her but Dusk grabbed the blade. The steel cut through her flesh and Dusk screamed. Cyrus twisted the knife, slicing the palms of her hands. She cried. Her grip on the blade weakened and her arms buckled. The knife fell closer to her and she cried for help.
No one answered.
Even in her painful state, Dusk held back the tears. She gritted her teeth and looked Cyrus in the eye. He stared at her with the hate and malice of someone who lost everything. Dusk gasped as she felt the prick of the knife tip against her chest. She couldn't hold her tears back any longer and she let them flow. Like her tears, she couldn't hold back the knife for much longer.
She could still see the afterimage of the grenade as she rubbed her eyes. She heard muffled shouts; people fighting, though she couldn't distinguish between individuals. Thorn tried sitting up but her headache was too much and she fell back down. The indistinct clamor slowly came into focus.
"Dusk," Thorn muttered.
She sat up and the headache resumed. She wanted to lay back down, but Dusk needed her. She struggled to her feet, barely keeping her balance. Through the fading afterimage, she saw the three of them. Luna was on the ground, clutching her face and groaning. But Dusk…Thorn only knew one other time when Dusk cried the way she was.
Thorn hobbled toward the fight, sparks of green energy forming around her hand.
"GET AWAY FROM HER!" Thorn fired a blast of green energy. The bolt of magic whizzed through the air like lightning hitting Cyrus in a loud smack. The cultist was propelled off Dusk and sent flying several feet away.
But Cyrus was resilient; he grunted as he quickly got back to his feet with the knife in hand.
"Don't even think about it," Thorn said. She focused on his arm. Cyrus shouted as his forearm twisted around, the bone snapping and the knife fell. Thorn clenched her fist and Cyrus grunted as he couldn't move. Thorn flicked her wrist and Cyrus was slammed into the van.
"Stay. Down." Thorn warned. She released her telekinetic grip and Cyrus slumped to the ground.
The Wiccan ran to her friends.
"Are you alright Jane?" Thorn asked.
Dusk wiped her tears away. "I've been better," she said as she winced when she tried to sit up.
Indeed, the blonde's face was bruised and bloodied, worse than any drunken fistfight she'd been in. But Thorn noticed how badly her hands were.
"We need to bandage your hands," Thorn said. She glanced at the knife and it flew to Thorn. She cut off her sleeves and wrapped Dusk's hands with them.
"Thanks," Dusk replied.
"We'll have to disinfect it when we get back, I have some herbal ointment we can use," Thorn added.
Dusk nodded. Thorn helped Dusk up and then her heart skipped a beat when she noticed the bullet wound.
"Your side its-"
"Tis but a scratch," Dusk chuckled.
Thorn frowned. "Don't joke with me. Is it really?"
"Yeah. It's not bleeding much and we can wait till we're back at the bus to treat it," Dusk responded with more seriousness. "Now let's help Luna."
Thorn sighed and the two turned to Luna. The redhead was still on the ground clutching her face.
"Let me see your face Kim," Thorn said as she knelt down to help her friend.
"It hurts," Luna groaned.
Thorn pulled Luna's hand away from her face.
"Oh get up, you just have a black eye," Dusk said.
Luna looked at Thorn for confirmation.
"You'll be fine," Thorn assured the worried girl. Luna sighed as Thorn and Dusk helped her up.
"Let's get out of here," Thorn said as they made their way to the gate.
But as they passed the van, Thorn caught a flutter of movement next to the vehicle. Her heart raced as she saw Cyrus reach for something under the van; a glimmer of moonlight revealed that it was a gun.
"NO!" She thrust her arm forward, unleashing a blast of telekinetic energy.
CRACK!
Thorn covered her mouth and shuddered as she heard the sickening crack of Cyrus's head hitting the van. His body fell sideways, smearing a line of blood on the van. Thorn couldn't stop staring at the empty, green eye that seemed to stare into her very soul.
"I…I…didn't mean to-" Thorn abruptly stopped. Her stomach ached and moments later, she threw up.
"Sally, it's okay," Dusk said grabbing Thorn by her shoulders after she was finished.
"I …killed him," she stuttered. "I killed him." She wrapped her arms around herself and shuddered; she couldn't look away from his eye.
"Don't look at him, look at us," Dusk said forcibly turning Thorn's head to them.
"It's not your fault," Luna said.
"You warned him and he didn't listen," Dusk added.
Despite her friends' assurances, her comments from the Wicca exhibit echoed in her mind: we try to help people and see the good in them. We don't kill. It was the last semblance of her past that she clung to. It separated her from all the mages she met; literally every single one of them—from the damned Ravencrofts and Alexander Levre to Matella, Zachariah and the other mage cultists—was a killer, tried to kill, or threatened to kill others. You're a witch and you'll kill someone inevitably; that's just the nature of magic and I know no mage who has escaped this. Matella was right. Thorn's eyes started tearing up. Sally McKnight, you will fall first. And when you do, I will laugh as you become what you fear, for no mage has escaped it. Thorn could almost hear the Fallen's sinister laugh mocking her. And now I'm one of them. She shivered and couldn't walk.
"Come on, let's get back to the car," Luna said, though Thorn wasn't really paying attention to her.
Dusk and Luna walked her from the van through the gate and to the car; she pictured Cyrus's dead eye for the entire time.
"Keys," Dusk said.
Thorn only half-acknowledged the blonde by handing her purse to Dusk. As Dusk dug through her purse in search of the keys, Thorn stared at the now unrecognizable reflection in the rear window, and it wasn't because of the bruises and dirt on her face. She quietly sobbed. Am I even a Wiccan?
The door opened and the witch's reflection was gone, replaced with the messy backseat of the car.
"Lay down, try to get some rest," Luna said clearing off the seats.
Thorn crawled onto the seat and pulled her knees to her chest and curled up in her spot. Luna sat next to her and Thorn rested her head on Luna's lap. Luna placed her hand on Thorn's shoulder; the witch didn't want her friend to leave.
The car started up.
"Luna, how the hell do we get back?" Dusk asked; she was exhausted.
"My phone's dead," Luna stated. "Just drive till you hit pavement, the interstate isn't far from there."
The car started moving but swiftly came to a stop.
"My head's fucking killing me and I'm injured, can you drive?" Dusk wearily said.
"I'm with Thorn," Luna replied without looking at Dusk. She seemed distant. "Take something for it."
Dusk sighed. "Take what?" Dusk glanced at Thorn. "Do you have something?"
Thorn continued to stare off into space, trapped in her own thoughts.
"Willow," she barely mumbled.
"What? Like the tree?" Dusk questioned.
"White willow bark, she has capsules in her purse," Luna angrily responded. "Take one and get driving."
The two got into a pointless argument as Dusk rummaged through the witch's purse. As Luna shifted in her seat, she accidentally nudged the bottle of vodka. Thorn watched the bottle roll across the floor and stop within arm's reach of her. An escape. She stared at it for what seemed like an eternity before giving in. She grabbed the bottle and drank. She kept drinking and didn't plan to stop until the pain was gone.
The bottle was yanked from her hands and she spilled vodka on herself.
"Holy fuck Sally! You can't be drinking!" Dusk yelled. She tossed the bottle out the car window.
Thorn whimpered.
"Hey relax," Luna calmly said patting the troubled girl's back. "I know this is tough, but Dusk's right, drinking is the last thing you should be doing." The redhead smiled. "We're both here for you Sally."
Thorn ever-so-slightly smiled.
"I just want to go back to playing music," Thorn said between sniffles. "No magic. No cults or gods; I don't even want to get answers to my magic or anything else. Just music and you two."
Luna looked away for a moment, before turning back to Thorn. "If that's what you want then I'll support it."
"Yeah," Dusk added after returning Thorn's purse to her. "I'd prefer it if we didn't have people trying to kill us every ten minutes."
The car started moving and the silent journey back to the world she knew began. But even with familiarity ahead of her, she knew things would never truly go back to normal. Her old self was dead, buried in the rubble, and the new woman that emerged from the ruins faced an uncertain future. But whatever happened next, Dusk and Luna would be at her side.
Thorn's smile grew a little larger and she stopped trembling. As the car left the dirt road and hit the actual pavement, Thorn found herself yawning. A few minutes later, she drifted into solace slumber.