Legacy 207: The Perks of Being a Warlock
Part 5
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A maniacal laugh echoed through the cemetery as Lena blurred through the mists at superhuman speed. Grace prepared for an attack as she summoned fire in her hands, though the half-demon could strike from any direction. Meanwhile, Asher had engaged Wulfric in a fight not far from her. Asher fired bolts of green energy from his eyes, though he was countered by Wulfric, who shot fire bolts from his own eyes. The attacks collided in the air, causing an explosion that temporarily lit up the cemetery. Grace saw movement behind her and threw a fireball, though she only hit mist.
"Too slow, warlock." Lena said.
"Why don't you come out and face me?" Grace asked. "Scared you won't be able to beat me in a fair fight?"
"Do you honestly think I'd fall for a cheap taunt like that?" Lena replied.
"Well, you do seem cheap, so it was worth the shot." Grace remarked.
Grace heard a growl and was hit from behind by a blur, sending her crashing into a gravestone. In a dazed moment, she saw Lena charge at her, though the redhead was chased off when three darts of light pierced the ground in front of her. Izzy appeared next to Grace and helped her up.
"She's too fast." Izzy noted. "We need to slow her down."
"Go for the legs next time." Grace replied. "I'll lure her out, you wait for the perfect time to strike. Once she is crippled, I'll take her out."
"I… alright." Izzy said hesitantly. "I'll do it."
"I know you don't want to kill her." Laura replied. "You won't have to, because after being knocked around this much, I really want to do it myself."
Izzy looked a little disturbed by her comment, but she nodded in agreement and hid behind the gravestone. Grace looked around at the mist and saw a blurred figure move around in circles. From the corner of her eye, she saw Asher and Wulfric were still fighting, trading optic blasts back and forth from behind cover. They looked like children playing soldier, causing Grace to roll her eyes in annoyance. They should leave the real fight to the women anyway.
"Stay focused." Lena sneered as she shot past her and knocked her down again.
"I'm getting really sick of this." Grace noted as she got back up.
"Then let's end it." Lena said.
Lena charged at Grace head-on. Grace launched a fireball at her, though the half-Manticore suddenly changed directions and shot to the side. Sensing another sneak attack, Grace blinked out of the way and reappeared a few feet to the left, flinging a fireball to the spot where she used to stand. As expected, Lena tried to attack from behind and was struck by the fireball. She screamed in pain as her arm was burned. Grace wasted no time and flung her arm, sending Lena flying into a small mausoleum. However, before she could throw another fireball, Lena blurred away.
"You're good." Lena noted from within the mist. "Better than I expected from a warlock."
"I could say the same about you." Grace said as she took cover behind a statue. "Why work for a man like Wulfric?"
"He offered me a chance when I was down on my luck." Lena replied.
"So?" Grace asked. "That doesn't mean he owns you. Do you really want to be his guard dog forever?"
"I'm much more than that." Lena snarled.
"Maybe, but you'll always be in his shadow, always second place." Grace noted. "Is that really what you want?"
"And you have it so much better?" Lena asked. "You are nothing but warlock trash, hated by everyone."
"At least I'm independent." Grace said. "I promised myself I'd never be bow down to anyone ever again, especially not a man."
"Big talk for someone who is about to die." Lena replied.
Grace realized that Lena could not be talked down. This was always going to end with one of them vanquishing the other. The warlock side of her longed for the kill. She stepped out from her cover and hurled a fireball to draw Lena's attention. The redhead took the bait and charged forward, so Grace used her secret weapon, a blinding potion she had kept hidden. The moment the potion hit the ground, a flash of light temporarily blinded Lena.
"Izzy now!" Grace called out.
Izzy jumped out from behind the gravestone and threw a light dart that pierced Lena's lower leg. The redhead screamed as she felt to the ground. Grace walked towards her and summoned a fireball.
"I thought you wanted a fair fight?" Lena hissed.
"You said it yourself, I'm just warlock trash." Grace remarked. "We don't fight fair."
Lena glared at her as Grace threw the fireball, striking her in the chest and setting her ablaze. The half-Manticore let out a deafening sonic scream as the flames consumed her, leaving only ashes and charred bones behind.
"That was brutal." Izzy said.
"This is what it means to be a warlock." Grace replied. "You needed to see it."
"I guess you're right." Izzy admitted.
"Come on, we need to help Asher." Grace noted.
Grace and Izzy ran to the front of the mausoleum, where Asher and Wulfric were still fighting. Their optic powers were caught in a power struggle, though the demon seemed to gain the upper hand as Asher was losing ground. Grace held out her hand and pinned Wulfric to the wall.
"Thanks, love." Asher said as he caught his breath.
"Sure thing." Grace replied.
"No, where is Lena?" Wulfric asked shocked.
"She's gone." Grace noted. "And you're about to be next."
"Don't underestimate me, warlock." Wulfric snapped at her.
Wulfric screamed furiously and unleashed a powerful force blast that knocked everyone off their feet. Freed from Grace's telekinetic hold, Wulfric formed a ring of red energy in his hands, which he threw at Izzy. The ring attached itself around her neck and lifted her off the ground, leaving her to struggle for air.
"You little witch, you caused all of this." Wulfric sneered as he tightened the ring. "You just had to go and save that worthless businessman."
"Let her go!" Grace demanded.
"Interesting." Wulfric noted. "Do you honestly care about this girl, warlock?"
"I… Your problem isn't with her." Grace replied. "I'm the one who killed your girlfriend. Let her go and we'll settle this."
"You do care." Wulfric noted. "You're even weaker than I imagined. Do you even know what you are? Why you exist? You are…"
Before Wulfric could finish, he gasped as he was stabbed in the back by Asher, who had blinked in behind him. As the athame began draining the demon's powers, Izzy was freed when the energy ring faded away. Wulfric attempted to break away, but Asher grabbed him by the throat. The power broker screamed as his magic was completely drained, causing him to be reduced to dust.
"This feels amazing!" Asher said excited as power surged through him.
"Easy there." Grace replied hesitantly, getting a little nervous about the glance in his eyes.
"Of course." Asher said. "Sorry, it was just the rush."
"It's over, right?" Izzy asked. "Wulfric is gone, which means my innocent and countless others are safe. We did it."
"Yeah, Wulfric is gone." Grace noted. "Though I suspect his spot will soon be filled by another power broker, that's how things work in the Underworld."
"Let's get what we came for." Asher said. "After all these years, I'll finally learn the truth."
"Don't you mean we?" Grace asked with a frown.
"Of course." Asher quickly said. "Let's open the vault."
Grace walked over to the spot where she had dropped the ruby and picked it up. Even though Wulfric and Lena were gone, she had a feeling the danger was not over. She didn't like the look in Asher's eyes when he absorbed those powers. As she turned around, Grace looked at the two statues and remembered she had to make a choice, knowledge or power. Her first thought was to choose knowledge, but with Asher in this state, she was doubting her decision.
"Remember why we're here." Izzy said. "We all want answers about where we came from, to learn what it means to be a warlock."
"It could be a trick." Asher countered. "A warlock always seeks more power. Perhaps we should choose what any warlock would."
"Well, they always say that knowledge is power, don't they?" Grace noted.
Grace took a breath and made her choice. She needed to stick to her original plan, to find the answers they were looking for. If Asher became a problem, she would deal with him herself. She placed the ruby inside the empty eye socket of the statue with the owl. The ruby started to glow and door of the mausoleum trembled before opening.
"This is it." Asher said. "Let's go."
Grace nodded as the three of them entered the mausoleum. They headed down a stone stairway, which was illuminated by torches that ignited on their own. At the end of the stairway, they reached a large room with several stone sarcophaguses. In the back, there was a vault door of dark metal. As they passed the sarcophaguses, Grace noticed the name Blackwell was chiseled into them.
"Looks like the entire family is here." Grace remarked. "How cozy."
"They are not relevant." Asher noted. "What we seek is behind that vault door."
Grace noticed a platform in front of the vault with runic symbols on it. She had seen enough movies to know a platform like that could trigger a trap, but there was only one way forward. The moment she stepped on the platform, the runes began to glow in a pale light. Mist rose up from the ground and started to swirl together into the shape of a regal looking woman with long white hair.
"Blessed be, travelers." The woman said.
"Who are you?" Grace asked.
"My name is Delphine Blackwell." The woman said. "I am the guardian of this vault."
"Are you a spirit?" Izzy asked.
"No, I am a memory, a sort of spiritual echo that remains here." Delphine explained. "I was left here by the real Delphine prior to her death centuries ago. My purpose is to provide you with the answers you seek."
"Why did we have to make a choice between knowledge and power?" Asher asked. "Why not grant us both?"
"You cannot seek one without the other, for both are the same." Delphine noted. "The Blackwell line swore an oath to protect and preserve the history of warlocks and witches alike."
"You talk in riddles." Asher said impatiently. "Are you saying there is no real power here?"
"If offensive magic is what you seek, then you shall be disappointed." Delphine replied. "Our line believes that true power lies in our history."
"What would have happened if we had chosen the other statue?" Grace asked.
"You would have triggered a defensive spell that would have incinerated you instantly." Delphine noted calmly. "I designed the spell myself."
"We came here looking for answers." Izzy said. "We want to know more about warlocks."
"A witch with the blood of a warlock." Delphine noted as she looked at Izzy. "How we all started."
"What do you mean?" Grace asked.
"Warlocks and witches were born from the same unity." Delphine replied. "They are two sides of the same coin, connected and intertwined. We all share common blood."
"Warlocks don't bleed." Asher remarked annoyed.
"No, we don't anymore." Delphine replied. "Not since we were cursed to this fate."
"Tell us the story, please." Izzy said.
"I will tell you and show you, my children." Delphine replied.
Delphine held out her hands and mists began to swirl around them. The echo did not speak, but Grace heard her words in her head as they took shape in the mist, depicting her story.
"At the dawn of mankind, two young lovers ran away from home as their love was forbidden by their village. Far away from their home, they found a source of pure magic, a nexus. The nexus infused the lovers with magic and turned them into the first witches. The woman would channel her magic through positive emotions, while the man found he had less control of the magic and could only channel it through negative emotions."
"Despite their differences, the lovers lived in harmony with nature and had many children, who inherited their magic. However, the woman missed her village deeply and would often return in secret. One of these times, she witnessed a demon attacking a young child and used her magic to protect the child. This act was witnessed by the Elders, who met with the woman and revealed her destiny was to protect those in need."
"The woman returned to her lover and explained what had happened. She could not stand by and let evil harm those she cared about, so she implored her lover to return to the village. Sadly, they were met with fear and anger. When a villager tried to harm the children, the man lashed out to protect his children. However, the magic inside him surged and he lashed out again, this time for vengeance."
"The woman watched in horror as her lover attacked the people she had sworn to protect. When he would not stop, she was forced to act and accidentally took his life. She pleaded with the Elders to save him, but the Elders sensed darkness in his heart and refused. They sensed the same darkness in their sons and warned the woman that history would repeat itself."
"The woman spent years trying to find a way to prevent her children from falling to the darkness and created a special blade to take away their magic. However, their eldest son shared the darkness of his father and refused to give up his power. He took the blade from his mother and took her life, stealing her power and causing nature itself to turn against the boy and curse him. Grieving their mother, his siblings banished the boy into exile. That is how the first warlock was born."
Delphine stopped talking and the mist surrounding them faded away. Grace needed a moment to process everything she heard. She had the answers she wanted, to know what it meant to be a warlock. It meant a life of loneliness in the pursuit of power. Their kind would not have existed if they had been willing to give up their magic in the first place.
"This is bullshit." Asher said angrily.
"This is the truth about our origin." Delphine replied. "This is how witches and warlocks came into existence and were caught up in an eternal cycle of violence."
"I don't care about any of that." Asher snapped as he fired an energy bolt at her, causing the echo to fade away. "I came here to learn about our origin so we could become stronger. Warlocks are meant to be the superior race, not a cheap knockoff of witches."
"We can't change the past." Grace said. "Asher, we know the truth now, you can't keep searching for answers that don't exist."
"No, this isn't how it was supposed to go." Asher noted bitterly. "I was meant to rebuild our legacy, I need to restore my family name. The Rowe line is meant to be the greatest of all warlocks."
"The Rowe line?" Grace asked with a frown.
"Yes, our families have history, Grace." Asher replied. "The Rowe family was destined to give rise to the greatest warlocks of all time, three brothers. We were so close but then your aunts intervened, vanquishing my father before he even knew I existed."
"So your father and uncles were meant to become the evil Charmed Ones?" Grace asked.
"They were, but witches stopped them." Asher said. "That doesn't mean it's over, though. Grace, we share a connection. We can bring two of the most powerful bloodlines together."
"What are you saying?" Grace asked stunned.
"Think about it." Asher continued. "We are perfect together, Grace. I know you feel it too. Together, we can bring forth a new generation of warlocks, the evil Charmed Ones."
"You can't be serious." Izzy remarked. "Grace, please tell me you're not considering this."
"Shut up, witch." Asher snapped at her. "You don't even belong here!"
Asher threw a ring of red energy at Izzy. The ring wrapped around her neck and lifted her off the air again. Grace stepped forward to help her, but Asher took her arm and pulled her closer to him. He looked at her with his beautiful blue eyes, silently pleading her to stand by him.
"Please, Grace." Asher whispered. "I need you. All you have to do is let her die. You don't have to be alone anymore."
Grace hesitated. She wasn't sure what to do. She had found the answers she was looking for, but learned that being a warlock meant being alone. Asher offered her an escape from her loneliness, to have something resembling love and a family again. He was gorgeous and charming, but in the end, he was just a weak man. The same type of man that had turned her into a warlock. He might need her, but Grace did not need him.
"Sorry, love." Grace said. "I prefer to be independent."
Grace held out her hand and telekinetically pinned Asher to the vault door, causing him to release his grip on Izzy. The warlock screamed angrily and fired bolts of energy from his eyes, though Grace deflected them with a hand wave. She summoned a fireball and nodded at Izzy, who crawled up and threw a light dart at Asher. Grace then hurled her fireball, combining their magic into a flaming spear that pierced Asher through the chest, vanquishing him in a fiery explosion.
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