Chosen Chapter 6: The Gemini Factor
Part 8
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In the penthouse overlooking the San Francisco bay, the former residence of the Source of All Evil, several candles were burning around a round glass table in a dark room. Two cloaked figures sat in two of the five seats and the demon Klea stood by the window looking outside. The cloaked female impatiently tapped her nails on the table. In the blink of an eye, the warlock Bacarra appeared and sat down at the table. As he appeared, Klea turned around and walked over to the table, placing her hands on one of the empty chairs.
"Vinum Appareo." Bacarra spoke and a large glass of red wine appeared in his hand.
"Finally." The cloaked female said. "Is it done?"
"Everything is ready for the final part." Bacarra replied as he took a sip. "I am sure the Elders detected my preparations across town, but with the Chosen chasing after the twins, they are powerless to figure out what was happening right under their noses."
"So this city will finally be ours." The cloaked female replied with a satisfied smile.
"Our months of planning will finally pay off." The other cloaked figure spoke telepathically.
"We must still take the final step." Klea reminded them cautiously as she walked around the table. "One final spell to complete the ritual, one final sacrifice. And as you requested, I have found everything we need."
Klea snapped her fingers and two large demonic guards came into the room. One held an ancient looking stone bowl in his hands, while the other was dragging a young woman in chains across the floor. The guard carrying the innocent dropped her on the floor and she rolled in the light, revealing it was Taylor. Even though she was bound and gagged, she screamed and struggled as the guard picked her up again and dragged her to the table.
"I know any innocent would do, but I decided to go for the personal touch." Klea explained. "She is a close friend of that little witch Billie."
"Excellent." Bacarra replied with a content smile as he lifted Taylor's chin and looked at her. "She will make a fine human sacrifice. You have proven your worth countless of times already, Klea, but with this act, I believe you have finally earned the right to become a true member of the Brotherhood."
"Agreed." The cloaked female replied and the other cloaked figure nodded as well. "Take a seat, Klea, you have earned it."
"Thank you, my brothers." Klea replied with a small nod as she sat down in the chair glowing with pride and satisfaction.
"Now then, I believe it is time to finish what we started months ago." Bacarra said as he stood up. "Put the sacrifice on the table."
The demonic guard nodded and lifted Taylor up with a single arm, placing her on the glass table. Taylor cried through her gag the chains around her arms and legs were spread across the table and bound her in her place. Bacarra circled the table and held out his hand. As he cast the spell "Teleportato", an athame appeared in his hands. The second guard placed the stone bowl on the table and took a bow. Both guards then stepped back into the shadows. Bacarra took the bowl in his hand and moved closer to Taylor, leaning over to whisper in her ear.
"Before I start the spell, I want to you know a little secret." Bacarra whispered. "The reason you are here is because of your friend Billie. She has been lying to you all this time."
Taylor's eyes widened in shock and she screamed and struggled, though her pleading cries were muffled by the gag. Bacarra sighed and raised the athame above his head. He whispered a few words and then plunged the athame down. As the blade struck, the desperate pleading faded away and were replaced with dead silence. Bacarra held the bowl close to Taylor and let it fill with the blood dripping down from her neck. When the bowl was filled with innocent blood, he walked away and opened the doors to the balcony with a wave of his hand.
"It is time." Bacarra said. "This city and all those within belong to the Brotherhood now."
Bacarra placed the bowl with blood on the balustrade and held his hands over it. He closed his eyes and started casting a spell that he had been preparing for months. The ultimate spell that would forever claim this city. As he started to cast the spell, the blood under his hands started to boil.
"With innocent blood, the forces of evil invoke,
Engulf this city in eternal night's cloak
Shackles of space and time, we seek destroyed,
To move this city through the dimensional void
Banish these grounds from mortal domain,
To bring endless darkness and eternal reign"
As he finished the spell, Bacarra opened his eyes and removed his hands. The boiling blood caught fire. Across the city, huge streams of fire rose up from the ground into the sky. Where the streams hit the clouds, they turned into a swirling dark storm. A darkness emerged from the clouds that slowly started to spread across the entire city. As Bacarra watched the result of his efforts, he was joined on the balcony by his fellow Brotherhood members. They each smiled as they knew the city was theirs for the taking.
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Duncan stood frozen as the helicopter circled in the air above them and he dropped one of the vials on the floor, causing it to shatter. Homeland Security had arrived to take the twins. But was it for justice or for something else entirely? He knew the government had experimented with magic before. He did not want either of the twins to be used as lab rats. Nobody deserved that. He looked around for a way out, but the sirens were surrounding them, meaning that armed agents could charge in at any minute.
"What do we do?" Duncan asked in a panic.
"No, I am not going to jail!" Nick yelled as he broke through his ties and stood up. He raised his hand and formed a Fire Ball. "Never!"
"Stop." Billie snapped at him as she waved her fingers and flung the Fire Ball from his hands, tossing it into the empty pool. "Nobody is turning you over."
"Then what are we going to do?" Violet asked nervously. "If we let them go, the government will come after us as well."
"And if we run, Bacarra will come after us." Nathan added as his brother released him from his ties. "Besides, as long as we got these demonic powers inside us, we're a danger. We need the potion."
"But if you take the potion, you will lose all your powers." Duncan said. "You will be defenseless."
"Can't we just extract the demonic powers?" Nick asked.
"Maybe, if you both drink half a potion, it will be strong enough to strip the demonic powers without stripping your own powers." Duncan reasoned.
"And then what?" Nathan asked.
"Then you run." Billie said determined. "Last time the government experimented with magic, a virus nearly killed me. I don't even want to think what they could do with the two of you."
"You would trust us enough to let us go?" Nick asked surprised.
"Like I said, trust you need to earn." Billie replied. "From what I've heard, you have had crappy lives, but you're not evil, so I am giving you the chance to prove you can be good."
"Are you sure about this?" Duncan asked.
"This was your idea." Billie replied. "You wanted to them a chance, right?"
"I… don't know." Duncan looked at Nathan, who looked at him with surprise. "I want to believe you can be good."
"Then let us prove it." Nathan said as he stepped forward and looked at him. "I am sorry for what happened. All I can do is try to make up for it someday."
"Okay." Duncan said after a moment and reached into his pocket for the potion. "Here."
"Thank you." Nathan replied with a faint smile as he took the potion and their touch lingered for a moment and their eyes were locked.
"Okay, guys." Nick remarked impatiently as he appeared between them and grabbed the potion. "We're running out of time. You can do this some other time."
There was a ruffling in the hallway and the door to the pool flew open. Billie held out her hand and telekinetically pushed it shut, keeping it in place against the agents about to charge in. "Any time now." She remarked as she struggled to keep it shut against the agents.
Nick nodded and took a sip of the potion. He then handed it to Nathan and he finished the potion. Both shivered and a moment later, red orbs emerged from their bodies and dispersed into the air. A wave of relief seemed to wash over the twins as they were freed of the demonic powers.
"Thank you." Nathan said. "For giving us a chance."
"You're welcome." Duncan replied with a faint smile.
"We will have Bacarra and Homeland Security after us, so have to run." Nathan said. "I don't know when we'll be able to stop. I hate running like this, but we don't have a choice."
"I know." Duncan replied. "Just go. We'll find a way to stop Bacarra somehow."
"Let's go, little brother." Nick remarked impatiently.
"Okay, Billie, get the door?" Nathan asked.
"Sure, I can't hold it much longer anyway." Billie replied.
Nathan gave Duncan one last meaningful look and then placed a hand on his brother's shoulder. They disappeared in a blur and burst through the door. As he stared at the door, he wondered if they would ever come back and if they really could be good. A moment later, armed agents stormed in in full SWAT armor, followed by agent Murphy in a bulletproof vest. Violet dropped the crossbow and Duncan quickly made it disappear. Meanwhile, a tired Billie leaned down against a chair.
"Where are they?" Murphy demanded to know.
"You just missed them." Billie replied with a sigh. "We could not overpower them. They got away."
"I don't believe you, I have had agents keep an eye of you ever since you first called me." Murphy replied. "We got an I.D. on the twins and I am pretty sure you just helped them escape."
"But you can't prove that, right?" Violet asked doubtfully.
"No, I can't, but I can bring you all in for questioning and more." Murphy replied. "I will get to the bottom of this one way or the other."
"I wouldn't suggest that." Billie replied confidently. "You see, I am not the girl I was last time we met, agent Murphy. I got new friends now, and together, we are equally powerful as the Charmed Ones. You could try to arrest us, but you will not get far."
"Did you just threaten me?" Murphy asked with an angry frown.
"No, just telling you the government has no business with magic." Billie replied.
"This is not over, Billie." Murphy replied annoyed. "I will get those twins, they will answer for their crimes, and if I find out you helped them escape, you will be in trouble as well."
"Good luck with that." Duncan remarked. "Can we go now?"
"For now." Murphy replied. "But I am keeping an eye on you. This is not over."
Agent Murphy recalled his agents and they left the room. A few moments later, the helicopter above them flew away and Duncan let out a relieved sigh. With nothing left keeping them there, the Chosen left the old gym, all feeling relieved at least one problem was taken care off. They headed outside and started walking back to their own dorms. As they left the building, the last government cars just drove off into the night.
"So what now?" Violet asked.
"We need to find out what the hell is going on with the Brotherhood." Billie replied.
As they continued walking, Mikelle suddenly appeared before them in a column of orbs. "Guys, we got a huge problem…"
Before she could explain further, they suddenly felt the ground rumble and a huge stream of fire erupted from the ground behind the campus. Duncan turned around and saw more streams of fire rise all across the city into the clouds. A storm front gathered a shadow started to emerge out of nowhere. It spread across the sky and started covering the entire city in darkness. Duncan instantly realized that whatever the Brotherhood had been planning, it had worked.
"Oh crap." Billie remarked as darkness engulfed them.
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To Be Continued
Author's Note:
Thanks to everyone who read the story and I hope you will all review! The story will pick up in the next chapter of my Chosen series.