Empyrean witch demigodde.., p.25
Empyrean Witch: Demigoddess Chronicles Book 1, page 25
“Julia, what is it?” Cassie stood beside me, her eyes knowing and worried.
I spoke softly. “She left it here. I saw it.”
I started across the cave, not waiting as the others fell in behind me. I scanned the ceiling for that formation like jagged teeth. I picked up my pace, nearly running as I saw it, that one broken stalactite. “Here! She left it here!”
Then I stopped abruptly. I looked up once more to be sure, then at the rock wall before me, where a jagged hole had been punched through the stone. I shook my head. “No, it can’t be.”
Kiaran caught up to me. “What’s wrong? What did you see?”
I felt numb. My voice came out soft and weak. “They got here first. Somehow, they figured it out.”
Cassie now stood at my side too. “Are you sure?”
I clenched my eyes, rage rising inside me as I thought of everything we’d been through. Everything I’d been through as I’d watched Phoenix die, as I’d been hunted and nearly killed, and how that jagged hole resembled the one now left in my life, the past I thought I knew obliterated and replaced by nothing but shadows.
“Yes, I’m sure,” I said. “It’s gone.”
Moments passed while no one spoke, the only sound that of the fluttering of bats high above us as they continued to circle.
Finally, Cassie turned to Kiaran. “So, what now? Does she need all three?”
Another moment passed as he hesitated. “To fully manifest the spell, yes. At least, that's my understanding.”
Cassie nodded as she gave that some thought. “And you thought that spell was our only hope.”
Kiaran shrugged. “Well, maybe not your only hope. After all, you each have powers.”
In other words, we were screwed. We’d already seen how well our powers stood up against those we were facing. So far, essentially not at all.
“Fucking great,” Cassie muttered. “So, basically we're using peashooters against machine guns.”
Again, Kiaran shrugged. “Magically speaking, more or less.”
“Glad to know you didn't think I was being literal,” Cassie quipped. She turned on her heel and added, “Well, I say we get the hell out of here before—”
She stopped as her eyes widened. I spun around to see that we weren't going anywhere. Across the cave, the entrance was blocked by a creature that had to be at least eight feet tall, its body seeming both gaunt and powerful at the same time. Ribs protruded from an elongated torso, while its arms, legs and chest bulged with muscle. A bizarre juxtaposing of starvation and strength. It had hands ending in long curved talons, and a head like a bison, except with a freakishly oversized jaw. Twisting horns jutted from a partially exposed skull.
“I’m thinking the made up old story might just be true,” Cassie said.
“Really?” Autumn said. “Does this seem like the right time to you?”
The creature glared with fiery eyes and opened its mouth to reveal rows of spiky teeth. Its low growl echoed through the chamber.
Cassie spoke in a wary tone. “At first, I was thinking demon. But that’s not what I’m getting.”
“Me neither,” Autumn said. “What the hell is that thing?”
Beatrice stepped up beside us. “If I were to take a guess, I’d say we're looking at a wendigo.”
Cassie’s head snapped in her direction. “Isn’t that a mythological creature?”
Beatrice raised an eyebrow. “Apparently not.”
As if sick of our chatter, the creature started toward us, its first few lumbering steps shaking the stone floor beneath our feet. Then it broke into a run.
“Brace yourselves, people!” Beatrice shouted. She crossed her hands over each other and thrust them out to launch a burst of violet light across the cave. The force she'd unleashed hit the creature full-on, but it merely stumbled back, then regained its balance and starting running again.
“What the fuck?” Cassie cried out. “I don’t care what that thing is! What’s making it that strong?”
Her words echoed my thoughts exactly. Beatrice was a powerful mage. A magical charge like that should have thrown the creature across the cavern. At the very least, if not killed it outright.
Cassie fired off a sizzling strike of veil witch magic, followed by another, as Autumn launched an attack of her own. Their charges had even less effect, barely breaking the creature’s stride.
“Definitely not a demon!” Cassie yelled.
“And it sure as hell isn’t a ghost!” Autumn called back.
At least their combined attempts bought Beatrice enough time to open a portal, a spinning circle of sparks expanding behind us. “Go!” she yelled. “I’ll be right behind you!”
With one hand, Beatrice kept the portal open, her other ablaze with violet fire. She used that force to create a shield, keeping the creature at bay.
Kiaran ran up beside her, claws already tearing through the ends of his fingers. He tore his shirt open as bristling black fur rippled down both of his shoulders. The creature locked eyes on him, primal magic calling to primal magic.
“That can’t work!” Beatrice said. “Go with them!”
My eyes shot to the creature again as it struggled to fight through Beatrice’s shield. Somehow, it kept advancing. Cassie was right. It shouldn’t have been possible.
That’s when I saw it.
“Look!” I pointed to the exposed part of the creature’s skull, where light glinted green between its horns. “That has to be it!”
Kiaran stopped himself from launching forward, his face and hands already shifting back. Flesh replaced fur as pale gray eyes morphed back into blue. His gaze followed mine as he saw it too.
He turned to me again. “Use your power, Julia! You need to trust it!”
In what felt like a frozen moment, I saw Hannah's face within my mind. I felt the fear she’d felt for her child, along with her flicker of hope. I heard her words again—the words of the mother I’d never known.
They must never know what you are.
But they did know, didn’t they? And trying to hide it would no longer keep me safe. Nor would it protect anyone around me. Kiaran was right. I had no choice but to claim my legacy. And right now there was only one way to do that.
Suddenly, power surged in my core, spreading outward to thrum through me. Light flared at my hands, blindingly bright as I raised my upturned palms. I narrowed my eyes at the creature, taking aim as I called out, “Cassie! Autumn! Try again now!”
Two more crackling orbs streaked through the air in the same instant that I launched the light I’d just summoned. Three charges merged as one, their coalescing force creating a shockwave. The wendigo flew backwards, tumbling over rock and stone to slam against the wall at the back of the cave. For one brief moment, I thought it was over, that the creature had to be broken. But then it rose again and started back toward us.
Something wild rose up inside me as I called out, “So that's the way you want to play? Then fine! Let's fucking play!”
I thrust out my hands again, light surging from my palms to engulf the creature entirely. Without even thinking about it, I snapped that force upward and yanked the wendigo off the ground. I held it suspended and helpless in a web of white light. I grit my teeth and tapped into the energy that filled this chamber. Pain, suffering, desperation and fear, all created at the hands of an insatiable beast. I channeled that psychic resonance into my newfound power. In the same way that Kiaran had showed me how to manifest healing care and compassion, I now fueled my magic with white-hot rage.
I narrowed my eyes to slits and let out a roar that I never would have guessed having in me. The wendigo threw its arms out and thrashed its head against the building pressure. It let out one last bellowing howl and then exploded, flesh, fur and blood raining down to collect in a gory heap. The echo of the creature's fury faded, to be replaced by a clinking sound as something small bounced across the floor. I looked down to see a trail of spattered blood leading toward the glowing stone at my feet.
“I believe that’s yours,” Kiaran said.
Ew, gross. Was he kidding? But I didn’t get to think past that before the stone leapt into my hand, then pulsed in a brilliant green flash.
I gasped and my body stiffened as I arched my back. Pain coursed through me, sizzling in my blood and spreading out through my veins—something deep, old and powerful taking root within me. My upper arm burned like my flesh was on fire. I tore my jacket off and threw it aside, then yanked up my sleeve, my eyes widening at the sight of the symbol glowing on my skin. A glyph of some sort, comprised of ornate and delicate lines. Then the burning subsided as the marking started to fade.
From what felt like a million miles away, I heard Autumn say, “What’s that on her arm?”
“A rune,” Beatrice said. “An ancient witch rune.”
I heard Cassie speak next. “What does it mean?”
Beatrice spoke softly. “Foresight. It means foresight.”
“What it means,” Kiaran said, “is that Julia is a demigoddess.”
A few moments passed as his words sank in, and with them the irrefutable truth. In that moment, I knew I could no longer fool myself. There’d be no going back to the way things had been. Whatever my future held, I couldn’t say. For now, that would remain in my blind spot. I knew just one thing for certain. I had no choice but to claim my legacy—the same legacy from which, long ago, a frightened young woman had tried to protect me.
Epilogue
Later that night, my eyes opened to the darkness of my bedroom. I stared at the ceiling, listening to the rain and thinking it must have been a dream that woke me up. Maybe I'd been revisited by one of the million nightmares I’d been having lately. Or, even more likely, I’d experienced a new one born of the nightmarish events I'd gone through earlier in those tunnels and in that cavern. I waited but nothing came to mind. No frightening images, no sense of impending danger. My heart wasn’t pounding and my forehead wasn’t clammy with sweat. In fact, I’d been sleeping soundly for the first time in weeks.
Then I realized what it was.
The skin on my arm was tingling. No, more than tingling. It felt warm, almost to the point of burning. I pulled my arm out from beneath the covers, hoping that the cool air would help. A soft gasp escaped my lips. The rune, which had faded beneath my skin entirely, had revealed itself again, those ornate lines glowing with golden light.
I sat up, threw my covers back and swung my legs off the bed. I crossed through the darkness of my room and opened the door. As I walked down the hall, I felt sure that something was guiding me. That the new magic within me was compelling me forward, taking me toward something I needed to see.
I walked into the living room and my breath hitched in my throat. A figure stood at my window, a shadowy form, her silhouette backlit by the streetlights outside. She was slight and not very tall. A ghost, I thought. She had to be. Had she once lived in this place that I'd so recently claimed? If so, why was she just now showing herself?
I watched as she lifted her hand and pressed her finger to the foggy glass, where she drew what looked like a symbol. Two triangles tipped on their sides to meet at each apex. Possibly a butterfly, a bowtie, or a simple drawing of an upended hourglass. As if just then sensing my presence, she turned to face me. My heart started pounding as I saw who she was. A moment later, she faded, leaving behind only the symbol she’d drawn. Then that faded too as the fog crept back over the glass.
And then I remained in the darkened room, where just a moment ago I'd stood facing myself.
*
Keep following Julia’s adventures in Dark Coven Rising: Demigoddess Chronicles Book 2! Grab your copy today!
Dark Coven Rising: Demigoddess Chronicles Book 2
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About J. S. Malcom
J. S. Malcom is the author of the Realm Watchers urban fantasy series, of which Autumn Winters is just the beginning. J. S. lives in Richmond, Virginia, a town full of history and ghosts (not to mention, many other supernatural creatures, including Julia, Autumn and Cassie).
Author Note
Around this time last year (right on Halloween, actually), I published Realms of Lightning and Dragons, the sixth book in the Fae Witch Chronicles series. Not long after, I started playing with the idea of developing a new series for Cassie’s best pal and onetime body roommate, Julia. As a character, I knew that Cassie would be a hard act to follow. I also really enjoy writing Cassie as a character. So, I decided I’d try a split point of view approach this time around, where most of the chapters would be in Julia’s voice while here and there we’d here from Cassie too. The holidays came around and, out of curiosity, I decided to share a few chapters in my newsletter. These were still in the drafting state, but I was curious to see how readers would react. Well, the feedback I received was universally positive. Encouraged, I kept going and by summer I’d finished drafting three new books. Empyrean Witch: Demigoddess Chronicles Book 1 is the first of those books. The other two will be coming along quite soon (hopefully, within the next two or three months). If you’re reading this, it probably means you just finished the first book in Julia’s new series. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it!
As always, I’d like to express heartfelt gratitude to all who “beta-read” an earlier draft of this novel. I greatly appreciate your taking the time to share your thoughts, as well as helping to catch those edits that still needed to happen. Thank you to Carmen Repsold, Deborah MacArthur, Gretchen Byard, Jennifer Mantura, Marja Coons-Torn, Debi Deason, Patrick Winters, Lacey Lane, Lori Kis, Susan Warr, Andrea van der Westhuizen, Tammy Baker, Jennifer Ryan, Kim Brown, Diane Changala, Tamara Ingram, Rachel Karfit, Karen Oney, Jennifer Ryan, Jenine Hightower, Jen Simmerman, Ed Carr, Jen Simmerman, Gary Weber, Donna Swenson and Sara Borders. Many thanks also to Kim, Darja, Tanja and Milo at Deranged Doctor Design for creating such stunning book covers.
© 2019 J.S. Malcom
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J.S. Malcom, Empyrean Witch: Demigoddess Chronicles Book 1
