Dark Realms (41 page)

I grabbed it. Fortunately, it didn’t try
bonding with me. “What now?”

“Cast a spell.”

My eyes widened. “Can’t you?”

He frowned. “No, remember they’ve put some
kind of spell on me. My powers aren’t working at the moment.”

“But you can use a wand, can’t you?”

He shook his head. “A wand will only work
for a true witch.”

“But you’re half witch, aren’t you?”

“Half warlock, but I’ve never been able to
use a wand. They just don’t seem to work for me.”

“Oh.” I held out my own wand and pointed it
towards Mark. “Uh, disappear!?”

Nothing happened.

“Be gone!” I called out, shrilly.

Tyler rubbed the bridge of his nose. “You
really don’t know what you’re doing, do you?”

“Obviously, no,” I said,
suddenly angry. “This is
all
new to me. I mean, I haven’t had any training,
none
whatsoever. So guess what?” I raised
my voice. “I’m freaken’ winging it!”

“Sorry,” he said, looking embarrassed and
hurt.

I closed my eyes and
sighed. “No,
I’m
sorry,” I said. “You didn’t deserve that.”

Just then, Mark opened his eyes and reached
for Tyler. I pointed my wand at him and hollered, “Depart, dark
warlock!”

This time, he disappeared into thin air.

“Where’d he go?” I whispered.

Tyler stood up and brushed off his pants.
“Does it really matter?”

“I guess not.”

Bailey started moaning again. I turned
around and stared at him, feeling so helpless. “Tyler, we have to
help those two. I almost forgot.”

“Try using Mark’s wand,” he said, moving
towards Trixie, who now appeared to have passed out from whatever
pain she was feeling. “Since he’s Vivian’s son, you might be able
to somehow reverse the spell.”

“Can you actually do that? Reverse someone
else’s spell?”

“I don’t really know. But, it’s worth a
shot.”

I stared at Mark’s wand and bit the side of
my lower lip. “His wand is probably used for Black magic, though,
don’t you think?”

He shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. You should
still be able to use it.”

I was about to tell him about my wand and
what a mistake it would be if anyone else tried using it when
Vivian materialized next to Tyler. Fortunately, I was still
invisible.

“How did you get out of the
cage, and
where
in
the world is Mark?” she snarled, her blue eyes blazing with
fury.

“He let me out,” smirked Tyler, “and then
left to get us some tacos. If you’re nice, I’ll share some with
you.”

She scowled. “You think you’re pretty funny,
don’t you? Well, something is definitely amiss, here… but,” she
smiled triumphantly. “I know how to correct it.” She then snapped
her fingers.

“Mother!” hollered Tyler, as Rebecca and
Kala materialized with their captors, four of Vivian’s witches.

“Tyler,” she replied, her eyes filling with
tears. “Thank goodness, you’re okay.”

“What happened to them?” gasped Kala,
staring at Bailey and Trixie, who were now both, apparently,
unconscious.

“The same thing that’s going to happen to
you if you don’t tell me where your meddling sister is,” snarled
Vivian.

“I… I really don’t know,” said Kala, taking
a step backwards.

Vivian moved closer and grabbed her by the
jaw. She grinned evilly. “Do you think that just because we’re
family, I’d hesitate to kill you?”

Kala’s eyes filled with tears. “No, I’d
never make any assumptions about you. I swear.”

Vivian stared at Kala for a few more seconds
and then released her chin. “Good girl, now tell me where she is or
I’ll kill your friends, starting with… him,” she said, pointing
towards Tyler. She wrinkled her nose. “He’s already giving me a
headache.”

“Don’t you dare touch him,” snapped
Rebecca.

“Oh, and what are
you
going to do about
it?” asked Vivian, moving towards her. She put her hands on her
hips, and with a haughty look, snarled, “You pathetic little twit.
You can’t save him or anyone else in this room. You couldn’t even
save your husband,” she smiled coldly, “could you?”

Tyler roared in rage and launched at Vivian,
who immediately held out her hand and hollered, “Freeze!” stopping
him before he could reach her.

“Tyler,” choked Rebecca, breaking away from
one of the witches and rushing to his side. Unfortunately, he was
frozen in place, his face turning a frosty white and his lips a
deep blue.

“Oh, my God!” cried Kala, putting her hand
over her lips.

I couldn’t take it anymore. I aimed my wand
at Vivian and cried, “Depart!”

She disappeared.

“It worked?” I laughed, not quite believing
my eyes. “Seriously?”

The other four witches raised their own
wands in retaliation, but I’d been prepared for that. I pointed
Chloe at them and hollered, “Depart!” They too disappeared and I
squealed in joy.

Rebecca shook her head. “No, it can’t be
that easy.”

“Maybe it can,” I said excitedly. “Now, I
just have to figure out a way to become visible.” I pointed the
wand at myself and said, “Materialize.”

Nothing happened.

“Try ‘Appear’,” said Rebecca, who was now
crouched down next to Bailey and Trixie.

“Appear.”

“Kendra,” smiled Kala, rushing over and
throwing her arms around me. “I was so worried about you.”

“You should be more worried about yourself,”
cackled Vivian, materializing next to her.

“No!” gasped Kala.

Vivian turned to me and smiled coldly. “Did
you think you could get rid of me that easily, child? You obviously
don’t know what you’re doing.”

I glared at her. “The one thing I do know is
that you’re an evil woman and obviously didn’t deserve our
father.”

Her eyes narrowed. “That’s enough from
you.”

I raised my wand and yelled “Depart” once
more, but this time, nothing happened.

She patted her long, red hair and smiled.
“You’re such a novice.”

Rebecca pulled out a wand from her jacket,
pointed it towards Vivian, and cried, “Terminate.”

Nothing happened.

“See, your powers are
useless here. What interests me, however,” said Vivian, moving
towards me. “Is how
you
were able to cast a spell?”

My heart began to race as set my plan in
motion. I took a step backwards. “I’m not going to tell you unless
you release our mother from your curse, as well as the
Shape-shifters.”

She threw her head back and laughed.
“Clearly, you must be joking!”

“No, I’m serious,” I said, raising my wand
again. “Be seated!” I cried.

“How?!” she raged, her butt now planted in
one of the gold chairs.

“The wand,” blurted my sister, obviously
knowing where I was going with this. “It’s better than yours.”

“Nonsense,” hissed Vivian,
getting up from the chair. She raised her own wand. “My wand was
created by the great Isadora. There is
nothing
more powerful than this wand,
I assure you.”

“Well, her wand was made by a powerful
wizard,” said Kala. “And we can assure you that there is nothing
like it in all the world.”

I held my breath, wondering if there really
were wizards and if Vivian would actually fall for it.

Her eyes searched mine and I tried not to
blink. “A wizard created it, you say? How do you girls know this?”
asked Vivian.

“The wand told me,” I said.

Her eyebrows shot up. “Your wand
speaks?”

“Yes. All the time.” I smiled. “It tells
me…. secrets.”

“Secrets?” She held out her hand and snapped
her fingers. “Give it to me and… I’ll let you leave here
unscathed.”

I smiled coldly. “The only way I’m giving
you this wand is if you remove all of the curses, including my
mother’s.”

She snorted. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

I shrugged. “You know, I think this wand is
much too powerful for you anyway.”

“Ignorant girl,
nothing
is too powerful
for me.”

I made no move to give her the wand.

She sighed. “Okay, fine… hand me the wand
and I’ll let you leave here with your friends.”

I leaned forward. “Release
our
mother
from
your curse and I’ll
give
you the wand.”

She pointed her wand at Kala. “Enough of
these games – say goodbye to your sister.”

“No!” I shrieked, holding up my hand.
“Wait!”

Vivian lowered her wand.

“Uh, take the curse off of the
Shape-shifters and Tyler, and I’ll give you the wand freely.”

She stared at the wand in my hand and swore
under her breath. “Okay, fine.” Then she aimed her own wand at
Bailey and Trixie. “Release!”

The Shape-shifters’ faces both relaxed, as
did their bodies. Seconds later, they were both on their feet,
looking exhausted and confused, but no longer in pain.

“Are you okay?” I asked Trixie, as Bailey
held her up. She was much paler than her brother, and obviously not
quite as resilient.

She smiled weakly. “Nothing a few cups of
coffee couldn’t cure. Thank you, Kendra.”

“Or a few dead witches,” said Bailey,
glaring at Vivian.

“Don’t test me, shifter,” snapped Vivian.
“If you want to keep that gorgeous face of yours.”

He frowned but didn’t answer.

“What about Tyler?” I asked.

Sighing, Vivian aimed the wand towards him
and bellowed, “Defrost!”

“Thank goodness,” Rebecca cried, rushing to
his side as he began to thaw. She threw her arms around him and
began rubbing his pale cheeks, bringing color to his face.

“Mom,” he mumbled. “Too tight.”

“Sorry,” she said, loosening her grip.

“You okay?” I asked him.

“Other than being as cold as her heart, I’m
doing okay,” he answered.

Vivian ignored his snide comment. “Now, give
me the wand,” she demanded.

I took a deep breath and held it out to her.
“Take it, it’s yours.”

Chapter Thirty

Vivian stepped forward and took the wand
from me. Within seconds, it began to glow in her hand. She smiled,
triumphantly. “Ah… it’s a bonding wand, just like mine.”

Kala and I glanced at each other.

“Yes,” breathed Vivian, her blue eyes
gleaming with satisfaction. “The power inside of this wand is
great; I can feel it coursing through my veins.”

“How
does
that feel?” I asked, wondering
if I’d made a horrible mistake.
Was it
possible that the wand would add to her strength? Had I been
misled?

“It feels…” her eyes widened in surprise.
“What…what’s happening?”

I didn’t say anything, just watched in
wonder as her hand began to glow. Unlike mine, however, it was a
bright, crimson color.

“No,” she gasped, now trying to shake the
wand out of her hand. “No!”

The red light started to spread, traveling
up her arm, into her face, and from what I guessed, throughout the
rest of her body.

“What have you done?!” she bellowed. “What’s
happening to me?”

I watched her face contort in pain and
anguish as the wand’s magic continued its assault and my feelings
were muddled. As evil as she was, Vivian was still my mother’s
twin, and watching her go through so much agony was unsettling.

“Help me!” she screeched, falling to her
knees. She reached up and began pulling at her long, red hair.
“Please,” she sobbed, “someone, stop this!”

Seeing her so helpless and frightened
reminded me of my mother and my heart suddenly cried out for her.
No matter how much pain she’d already caused everyone else, she was
still part of my family and mom’s twin sister. There was no way I
could stand by and watch her suffer this way anymore.

There had to be another way.

My eyes welled up with tears and I took a
step forward to try and help her, when Rebecca placed a hand on my
shoulder. “Don’t.”

“But she’s dying!” I cried.

“So is your mother,” she
reminded me. “Listen.” She moved until she was blocking my view of
Vivian. “There is no other way to save your mom. It’s Vivian’s fate
or your mom’s. If she survives, your mother
will
most certainly die, and
eventually, Vivian will come for all of us.”

I turned towards Kala, who,
surprisingly, looked very calm. She caught me staring and smiled
grimly. “It
has
to
be this way. For mom’s sake.”

Letting out a ragged sigh, I nodded and
wiped my tears.

Tyler moved closer to me and put an arm
around my shoulders. “Hey,” he whispered into my ear. “I think it’s
over.”

Sighing, I stepped around Rebecca and looked
down at Vivian, whose eyes were now closed. I watched as the red
glow receded from her skin. From the stillness of her body, it was
obvious there was no life left inside of her.

“Let’s go check on mom,” I said, wiping a
few more stray tears. “Hopefully, this worked, and she’s been set
free from the curse.”

Just then, three more witches materialized
in the room.

“What have you done?” cried the blonde I’d
seen in the hallway earlier. She rushed to Vivian’s side and
kneeled down. “Vivian?”

Rebecca raised her wand and whispered, “This
is our cue to leave.”

“You’re not going anywhere,” said the
dark-haired witch with the bun, her wand raised threateningly.

“She’s dead!” screeched the blonde witch,
her eyes filled with rage. “Vivian’s dead!”

“Who killed her?” asked the third witch, an
older woman with grayish-black hair and a broad nose.