Chosen, A New Chapter 4
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Author's Note:
Sorry the update took so long. It's vacation time and I had to deal with a computer crash. Hope you enjoy the next chapter and please review.
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It was already getting late when doctor Robert Hastings left the hospital from the elevator to the parking garage. His shift was supposed to end an hour ago, but a last-minute emergency had taken him longer than expected. When Robert checked his cell phone, he noticed he had several missed calls from his wife. They were supposed to have dinner with her parents that evening, so for Robert working late wasn't that big of a deal.
Roberts walked to his car, which was parked on his own private lot. Being head of the cardiology department did have some perks, like having a company car and a personal parking lot. It were the little things that made up for the long hours he spent in the hospital. Not that his job was bad, though, who else could say they were saving lives on a daily basis? Robert actually loved his job, he could just get frustrated after a long day.
Robert was about to reach his car when a man suddenly stepped from behind a pillar, blacking the way. It was a very tall man dressed in black with unnatural white skin. His eyes were also completely black, which further suggested this was no ordinary man.
Since moving to San Francisco, Robert had heard and seen some pretty unusual stuff. Stuff that could not be explained logically. There was something really weird about this city and Robert reckoned this man was a part of that.
"Look, I don't want trouble." Robert said while raising his hands. "I'll give you the keys, you can have the car."
"I have no interest in your car, mortal." The man said in a low, threatening tone.
"Then what do you want?" Robert asked. "Money, drugs? I can get it for you."
"There is nothing you can offer me." The man said. "All I want is your soul!"
The strange man held out his hand and clenched his fist. Immediately, Robert felt a grip around his throat and forced him to his knees. Robert reached for his throat but felt nothing, still something was squeezing tightly, cutting off his air supply. Robert tried to scream for help but his screams were silent. As he started feeling dizzy and began to see black dots, he stared up at the ghostly white man that was suffocating him without even touching him. The last thing he saw was a demonic smile of the man's face. Then everything went black.
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The grand halls of Magic School were lit by a familiar blue light as Mikelle and Duncan appeared in a swirl of orbs. The whitelighter and former student looked around and noticed the hall was deserted. Duncan had not been back at Magic school since he graduated two years ago and he was surprised that the school had not changed at all. There was no evidence that the school had been run over by demons for an entire year.
"Where is everyone?" Mikelle asked as she looked around the empty hall.
"Probably in class." Duncan replied as he walked over to a bookcase and picked out a heavy leather bound book.
"So this place was trashed by demons?" Mikelle asked. "It looks nice."
"Yeah, it was completely rebuilt after the Charmed Ones reclaimed Magic School." Duncan explained. "As if nothing ever happened."
"We should get working on the vanquishing potion." Mikelle said. "Are you sure this place has everything we need?"
"Of course." Duncan replied. "Magic School had the largest collection of herbs and ingredients."
"And you're sure you can make the potion?" Mikelle asked.
"I'm sure." Duncan said as he put the book on a table and flipped it to the right page. "Potions was my best class. I got this."
Duncan walked over a cabinet and started collecting the necessary ingredients. The most important ingredient in a vanquishing potion for Grimlocks was shisandra root, which was pretty rare. Luckily Magic school had it in store. Duncan then placed them on the table and started cutting up the ingredients with a knife he conjured out of thin air.
"Are you sure you can use this stuff without asking?" Mikelle asked.
"Pretty, sure." Duncan said. "Magic School is open to all. Could you get me a caldron? They're in those cabinets over there."
"Whatever." Mikelle replied and went to get the caldron.
"So you're Violet's whitelighter now, huh?" Duncan asked. "Do you have a lot of charges?"
"Not really." Mikelle replied. "A couple, but Violet is the most important now because she's new and because of the whole chosen thing."
"So how long have you been a whitelighter?" Duncan asked as Mikelle handed him the caldron.
"Not too long, maybe a year and a half or something." Mikelle replied.
"Oh, can I ask how it happened?" Duncan asked carefully, knowing someone had to die to become a whitelighter, making it somewhat a sensitive subject.
"Sure." Mikelle replied casually. "I was killed by a darklighter."
"I'm sorry." Duncan said.
"It's okay." Mikelle replied. "In a weird way, dying was the best thing that ever happened to me. I was pretty messed up in life, all I did was drink and get into fights. Becoming a whitelighter has given me a purpose."
"But don't you miss it, your old life?" Duncan asked.
"There wasn't much to miss." Mikelle replied. "How long is this potion going to take?"
"It should take about an hour." Duncan answered.
"Okay, you keep working on that." Mikelle said and walked away.
"Where are you going?" Duncan called after her.
"I'm gonna see it I can get a drink around here somewhere." Mikelle called back before she disappeared from sight as she cut a corner.
Duncan shook his head and continued working on the vanquishing potion. Preparing it was a pretty delicate process so perhaps it was better if it was quiet. Duncan checked the book again and saw he needed a golden or orange candle. Not bothering to look for one, he raised his hand and conjured up an orange candle.
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When Violet, Billie and Paige arrived back at the parking lot where professor York was killed by that demon, Violet noticed the place was deserted. It was already getting dark and the lot was only lit by a few street lanterns, though they could still clearly see the police tape that sealed off the area.
Making sure there was nobody around, the three women went underneath the tape and headed toward the bushes where the sewage entrance was hidden.
"It's here." Violet said while pointing at the entrance. "This is where I got my premonition thingy."
"Looks like it hasn't been used in ages." Billie remarked.
"Grimlocks don't always have to use the entrances themselves, they can create portals." Paige said. "So they can move around quickly without being noticed."
"We're not really going in there, are we?" Violet asked nervously.
"We have to save those little girls." Billie replied.
"Right I know, but it's dark down there, and filthy and they're might be rats." Violet said.
"Nobody said being a witch was a glamorous job." Paige replied with a smile.
"I guess, and those girls need our help. They were really scared." Violet realized. "So what is the plan here?"
"We go in, get the girls and get out." Billie said confidently.
"And what if that demon shows up?" Violet asked.
"We run." Paige said. "Our powers not strong enough the vanquish him, only hold him off. We need the potion to vanquish the Grimlock."
"Okay. Here goes nothing." Billie said.
Billie stepped forward and held out her hands. Suddenly the sewer entrance below her started to move. Violet watched amazed as the manhole cover suddenly levitated into the air and landed on the grass next to the entrance. She wished she had an awesome power like that instead of being able to see those horrible things.
"After you." Paige said.
Billie shrugged and jumped down the hole, landing a few feet below the others in the dark sewer. Violet moved closer to the entrance and looked down, only to be greeted by the foul smell of sewage.
"Oh god." Violet said as she stepped back and covered her nose.
"I know." Paige, who had also covered her nose, said. "But we don't have any time to waste."
"You're right." Violet said reluctantly and climbed down into the sewer.
A few seconds later the three of them were standing down in the pitch-black sewer. Without her sight, Violet sense of smell seemed to be running overtime. The stench of the sewer was almost unbearable.
"We're gonna need a light." Billie said.
"I can help with that." Paige said.
Suddenly a ball of swirling blue lights appeared in Paige's hand, which Violet knew were called orbs. Paige threw the ball of orbs up in the air, where it exploded into smaller orbs of golden light, which enlightened the sewer tunnel for them. Normally the lights would have been pretty, but down here not so much.
"Okay, Violet, you need to look carefully if there is anything you recognize." Billie said.
"Right." Violet replied.
Violet wondered if she would be able to find the girls based on her premonition. All the images had been blurry and dark. There wasn't much to go on, but the one thing that was clear was how scared those little girls were. She couldn't let them down. Violet stepped forward down the dark tunnel, carefully examining everything that could help her find them, with Billie and Paige right behind her. She just hoped she knew what she was doing.
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Appearing from a portal, the Grimlock dropped down in a dark tunnel. As he walked back to his lair, he was having trouble seeing, though it wasn't because of the darkness. The sight he had stolen from the little girls was already fading away. Soon he would have to take another child in order to continue his killing spree and kill all of his marks. Only then would they accept him.
The Grimlock was getting closer to his lair when he suddenly heard voices coming from another tunnel. He quickly ducked in a vent and waited. Not long after the voices got louder, a light appeared in the tunnel and three women appeared. Witches, the Grimlock immediately realized. He grinned, witches always had a strong aura of good and killing a bunch of witches would certainly impress them.
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As Billie and Paige followed Violet through the sewer tunnels, the blonde witch started to doubt if Violet really knew where she was going. From what Billie had heard, her premonition was blurry at best, so maybe Violet didn't know where the girls were. Still, it was the only lead they had at the moment. She needed to trust Violet, after all they were in this together now. They had become a part of something greater, which connected them in more than one way.
"How are you doing, Violet?" Billie asked.
"I'm not sure, none of this looks familiar." Violet said desperately.
"Don't worry." Paige said reassuring. "You received that premonition for a reason. You just have to trust in yourself."
"Paige is right." Billie added. "You can do this."
"I guess." Violet said doubtfully.
When the witches reached a crossroads Violet let out a small yelp of panic and looked down the tunnels in front of them. Billie senses that she had no idea what to do now.
"Which way is it?" Billie asked.
"I don't know." Violet said softly and trembling.
"Yes, you do, I know you can do this, Violet." Billie tried to encourage her. "You were given a gift, you're a witch now. You just need to trust your intuition. Just close your eyes and think about the girls. Where are they?"
Violet did as Billie said and closed her eyes to focus, though she still seemed insecure. Meanwhile Paige gave Billie an approving smile. The two of them waited as the redheaded witch focused on finding the girls. After a few second, Violet opened her eyes and pointed down the left tunnel with a new determination.
"It's there, I know it." Violet said.
Violet turned to the others and suddenly screamed. Billie and Paige quickly spun around to see the Grimlock standing behind them. Before Billie could react, the Grimlock flung his arm and hit her across the face, throwing her back against the tunnel. He then reached out his hand at Paige and a golden aura appeared around her, which started chocking her.
Billie quickly crawled back up and flung her arm, sending the Grimlock flying across the tunnel telekinetically. Before she could do anything else, the pale demon created a portal and disappeared. Billie ran toward Paige, who was still coughing, and helped her up.
"Are you okay?" Billie asked.
"I'm fine." Paige said. "We need to get out of here, there is nothing we can do without the vanquishing potion. Where is Violet?"
Billie quickly spun around and looked at the spot where Violet stood, but she had vanished. Did the Grimlock get her? He could have easily formed a portal and grabbed her from behind. Billie called out Violet's name, but there was no answer.
"We need to go." Paige said.
"We can't leave Violet." Billie argued.
"We don't have a choice, Billie." Paige said. "Without the potion, we don't stand a chance. The Grimlock won't kill her yet. He will use her to lure us in."
"I'm not leaving." Billie said determined. "You go get the potion. I'll keep looking. I'll keep the Grimlock at distance so he won't be able to choke me."
"Billie." Paige said warningly.
"I'm not leaving her behind, Paige!" Billie repeated.
"I understand." Paige said eventually. "I will get the potion and hurry back. "
In a swirl of orbs, Paige disappeared from the tunnel. Unfortunately, with her, her lights also disappeared, leaving Billie standing in the dark. She had to admit she did not think this through entirely. She reached into her pocket and got out her cell phone, which produced a small pale light in the dark tunnel. Billie reluctantly stepped forward and continued her way to rescue her friend.
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Back at Magic School, Duncan was just finishing up on the potion and poured the green substance in small bottles. He wondered how the others were doing, since he could not shake the weird feeling that something had gone wrong. He hoped it was just a feeling and tried to forget about it as he continued working on the potion.
"It is done?" Mikelle asked as she walked into the Grand Hall.
"Yeah, it's ready." Duncan said. "Got enough to vanquish a small army of Grimlocks. Where have you been?"
"Told you I went to find a drink." Mikelle replied. "But there is not a single beer in this place."
"We're in a school." Duncan remarked. "What did you expect?"
"Whatever." Mikelle replied. "I just got word from the Elders. The Grimlock killed another innocent. A doctor."
"What?" Duncan asked shocked.
"He was killed in the garage of the hospital." Mikelle replied. "The police are there now."
"We need to stop him before he kills someone else." Duncan said. "Or before he hurts those little girls."
At that moment, Paige appeared in the hall in a swirl of orbs. From the look on her face Duncan could tell something was wrong. It seemed his bad feeling was not just his imagination.
"Paige." Mikelle said. "What is going on?"
"The Grimlock attacked us." Paige said. "He has Violet. We need to hurry."
"The vanquishing potion is ready. Let's go." Duncan said as he collected the potions.
"Right." Paige said. "Mikelle, you stay here. If we find the girls, I'll orb them here for safety. Someone needs to take care of them."
"I'm not good with kids." Mikelle said somewhat overwhelmed.
"Don't worry, you're in a school remember?" Duncan said.
Duncan walked over to Paige and handed her some of the potions. The others be put in the pockets of his jacket. He was somewhat surprised by how calm he was. He figured he'd be terrified when he would have to face a demon in battle, but right now that didn't matter. Billie and Violet were more important now. Ever since the ritual, it was like they had become part of him and he couldn't let them down.
"Ready?" Paige asked.
"Yeah." Duncan said, right before Paige put a hand on his shoulder and carried him off in a wave of orbs.
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For a moment, Violet forgot where she was. Then it all came rushing back to her. The sewer tunnels, the little girls, the demon. It had felt like a bad dream but it was all true. The last thing she remembered was the demon attacking Billie and Paige. It had started chocking Paige until Billie scared it off. Then the world around her had gone dark, as if she had been dragged into an ocean of darkness. She felt the strong grip of the Grimlock around her as it pulled her into a portal. Then things went black.
Violet sat up and looked around. She instantly recognized where she was. It was dark and wet and she was trapped in a cage. It was the room from her premonition, the one where the little girls were being held. Just then Violet her soft crying behind her.
She turned around and saw the two little girls sitting in the corner. Both looked about eight or nine years old, one with brown hair and the other blonde. Both were dirty and were scared to death. However, the most shocking was that their eyes were blank. They were blind.
"Hey, hello." Violet said softly and friendly.
"Who are you?" One of the girls asked.
"Don't worry. My name is Violet." Violet said. "Me and my friends came to safe you. What are your names?"
"My name is Zoey." The blonde girl said. "This is Becca, but she stopped talking a while ago."
"Are you girls okay?" Violet asked.
"We can't see. The monster stole our eyes." Zoey said.
"Don't worry, Zoey." Violet said reassuring. "My friends will come for us."
Suddenly something smashed against the cage. Like metal hitting metal. Violet looked up and saw the Grimlock standing there holding a steel pipe. From close by he looked ever more terrifying and inhuman.
"No talking." The Grimlock said.
"You won't get away with this." Violet said, trying to sound confident for the girls, despite the fact she was just as scared.
"I said no talking." The Grimlock said angrily.
The Grimlock held out his hand and Violet felt a force pressing down on her throat. As she looked down she saw a golden aura around herself. She tried to struggle but she couldn't catch her breath. She had known for sure the others would save her, but right now she was scared they would never get there in time. In a few seconds she would be dead.
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