Chapter 29: Battle Preparations

Chapter 29 Battle Preparations

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Darkness was lurking in shadows further. The shadows were seen creeping behind the Kellyn’s every corner. They would feel like they were being haunted and hunted at the same time. They had talked to the other witch’s whose help they were enlisting and they all concurred that the shadows were running rampant. The entire witch crew had used protection spells on each other and therefore the shadows did not try to attack anyone. They could try to inhibit the witch’s soul and take possession of them and use them for darkness, but the witches protected each other from this. They walked in pairs now wherever they went. Some had moved in with others temporarily so that no witch was left alone. Melanie knew her birdcage was the portal to the dark shadows coming through, but she had no idea, nor did her mom, on how to seal it shut. One witch suggested they get rid of it, but Melanie knew no matter where it was, it was the portal. How had a magical wishing birdcage become so dark? Lucious heard his mom contemplating the birdcage and he slowly walked in. He had not been feeling too well lately and she thought he was coming down with a cold, but he said he had touched the birdcage awhile back and it stung him. He said, “Mom my light shown the dark evil and Fenrir the way to our world.” He collapsed into her arms crying and saying he was sorry over and over. Melanie was stunned. Frozen in fear that her boy was responsible for this and not knowing what to say, so she hugged him tighter than ever and told him it was not his fault. Dark magic is strong and no match for a four-year-old witch. Melanie and Lucious called grandma and asked her to come over right away. If Lucious was the key, perhaps there was a way to use him and his magic to seal the gate to hell that had been opened.

Melanie’s mom, Melanie, and Lucious sat on the couch. Melanie had told her mom what had happened. They all agreed Lucious was not responsible. They called Penelope and her friends and everyone came to gather and debate on the way to proceed. They would not be able to reclaim the shadows now roaming the earth, but they might be able to stop more from coming through. As they spoke of how to handle the situation the cage began to howl and they all had to cover their ears quickly. The noise caused so much pain in their eardrums, but they did not know how to stop it. The cage howled and howled and a burst of light gust out of the bird cage and they were blinded by it and just as quickly as it appeared, it then disappeared and a single red ribbon was left in the cage. They knew the lore of the Fenrir said it was held by a special ribbon made by the dwarves and they feared all the noise and light was the Fenrir escaping his imprisonment. They all were stunned into silence. They collectively glared at the ribbon and fear gripped them all. Everyone was rattling in their seats, they were mumbling disbeliefs under their breath, and they all felt a rush of despair. Who could they turn to who had the power to end this before it took over humanity? They grappled over it for hours. One name came to everyone’s lips, one name that made them tremble in fear, Gerd!

Melanie and her mom had vanquished Gerd to an undisclosed realm. They COULD get her out of it, but they were opening Satan’s door if they brought her back. They would have to do it on their terms, but they were not sure they could discuss them with Gerd before they brought her back. They would need her aid in dealing with Fenrir that was defiantly trying to get to them, but then they would have to vanquish Gerd again. They wondered if they could even control Gerd. Perhaps they would bring the powerful enchantress back and she would not help, but run to take over the world herself. They were in such a pickle. How would they bring evil back to capture more evil when not knowing if the first evil would even succeed or help with the second evil? They were all getting headaches. All this thinking hurt their heads and they decided to call it a night. It was after 2 AM and everyone was drained. They would do no one any good this way. They decided to go get some sleep and convene at 8 pm the next night. They would report on the shadows they have seen and talked about Fenrir, darkness, and Gerd.

The next night at 8 pm all the witches arrived. Astonishingly no one saw any shadows that day. The shadows had gone dark and everyone knew that was not a good sign. Fenrir was making his dark shadows stay put so that he could use all the dark evil energy to cross into their world. It was a matter of days and they had to ask fast. They agreed to summon Gerd, but if they did it collectively they could send one witch to cross over to her and see if she would even agree to help her. It was a risky move because the witch could be taken by Gerd and never come back. They would need to decide who would be the one to cross over. They discussed who would be most persuasive with Gerd. Melanie volunteered, but the other witches said she was one of the people who put here there and she was more likely to refuse her. They had only one chance and did not want to risk any error. Penelope said she would do it. Everyone disagreed. She was a sage witch and though powerful with her tinctures she would not be powerful enough to persuade Gerd to aid them. Then a new witch to the group stepped up and whispered: “I’ll go.” Everyone kept discussing. Then she said again louder this time “I’ll go!” Everyone turned to look at Alice. She was a tiny little thing; she was 4’5” and perhaps ninety pounds. She was meek and timid and, and, and, they stopped and just stared at her. She was shining light out of her pores. Lucious could not believe her eyes, she was just like him! He gasped and ran to her. They hugged each other tightly. No one had really known Alice’s powers before, but now they know, she was a lighter. She lit up the darkness like little Lucious. When he let her go he was a glow as well. She said “I can bring Gerd back full of light and she will be of service to us willingly. Everyone doubted that and Alice was so young. They all hung their heads; Alice was the best shot they had. They tried to think of other means to bring Gerd back, but they exhausted every avenue they could come up with. Alice was going to have to pull off a miracle.