CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Arthur had a headache. That was all he could register when he initially woke up. He quickly realized that someone was standing over him and tried to jump away. Chains prevented him from getting very far. Arthur tried to swing at the person.

"Whoa! Easy, Fearful Leader. Cedric's just trying to help," Donnie said.

"Get away from me, you bastard!" Arthur snapped.

"It's nice to see you, too, Arthur," Donnie mumbled.

"Prove you're Donnie!"

Donnie frowned. "I think he's still concussed, Cedric," he said.

"He's almost fully healed," Cedric replied.

Arthur tried to cast an attack spell, but nothing happened.

"Arthur, sweetheart, stop that," Juniper said soothingly. "You'll only hurt yourself trying. Cedric is the only one whose magick is working."

"Juniper..." Arthur said softly. He realized where he must be as he spotted the others. Turning to Donnie, he said, "You really are Donnie."

"Well, I'm not Ronnie, so..." Donnie began.

"I'm sorry," Arthur apologized. "Judas used your form to trick me. I thought you escaped and were injured. By the time I figured out that it wasn't you, I was too late."

"We're trying to find a way out of here," Reid said. "I don't suppose you have any ideas, Oh Great Founder of the Teenage Warlock Rebellion?"

"Aurora," Arthur replied. "She can astral project anywhere."

"An astral projection can't save us," Mary said softly.

"You'd be surprised what Aurora is capable of," Arthur countered. "Besides, she's already working on trying to find us. She has been ever since Donnie disappeared."

"Arthur... How's my brother?" Donnie asked. "I can't feel him here..."

"Ronnie's safe," Arthur replied. "He's a hot freaking mess, but he's still standing."

Donnie closed his eyes and exhaled slowly, visibly relieved. Arthur put a hand on his shoulder gently, sensing that no matter what physical torture he'd endured, nothing hurt as much as not being able to sense his twin did.

"Magick doesn't work here," Reid said. "Aurora won't be able to project in."

"Actually, she might be able to," Cedric said.

"What do you mean?" Arthur asked.

"Someone reached me in my dreams. If Aurora is as powerful as you say, she might be able to connect to you or Donnie while you sleep or meditate. She'd need one of you to anchor her here, but in theory, she may be able to find us."

"If I could find a way to connect to Deanna, Aurora could anchor herself to me, but I can't even connect to my twin," Donnie said.

"Kit," Arthur said suddenly.

"What about her?"

"Is there any water in this place?"

"Not that I've seen," Reid replied. "If we weren't in a realm where time seems to be somewhat suspended, we'd have all died of dehydration by now."

Cedric paused thoughtfully. "There is always water. Humans are literally made of water," he said slowly. "Arthur, if you can tap into the water inside of your body, you might be able to connect to Kit. She's the strongest hydrokinetic I've ever met. The only one who comes close to matching her skills is Killian."

"I'll give it a try," Arthur decided. "Donnie, can you anchor me?"

"I've got you," Donnie promised. He sat beside Arthur and took his hand.

"Here goes nothing," Arthur mumbled.

He closed his eyes and focused on the water that made up his body. As he did, he reached out to Kit.

S.O.S, Kit... Can you hear me? Arthur thought.

Initially, he didn't get a response. Then, slowly, he sensed her magick flowing through him. He couldn't hear her, but he knew she was with him.

I'm with the kidnapped warlocks. I need to connect to Aurora. Can you do that for me?

He waited, half expecting a sign that she'd heard him, but all he got was an eventual sense that they were no longer alone.

Aurora has entered the chat, Arthur thought. He couldn't figure out what to do since it seemed he could only broadcast, not receive messages. Finally, he focused on his surroundings and forced an image into Kit and Aurora's minds. He sent a sense of the energy of the place as well. He hoped that would be enough.

~*~

"Did you feel that?" Kit asked Aurora.

"Definitely," Aurora replied. "I think I know how to find them, but I need help."

"Should I call the other Sisters of Bridget?"

"No, not yet. Beth literally just had a baby. Deanna's stressed enough, and Maya needs to be there for Ronnie. Ro's got slayer duty tonight, and you need to stay with Lydia. Besides, I think I need the kids."

"You don't mean Lilith and Pandora, right?"

"My daughters are still a little young for rescue missions. I was talking about the Salem Shadows."

Kit nodded. "Killian and Genie will help, and where Genie goes, Solstice seems to follow lately. I'm sure the other kids will help, too," she said.

"Ask Joey to track me and open a door to my astral self in about an hour. That should give me enough time to get to the missing warlocks."

"You've got it... Be careful, Aurora."

"I can handle this, Kit. This bastard's going to pay for everything he's done."

Aurora headed home to grab a couple of protection charms. Lilith and Pandora were at her mother's house, so she decided she might as well stay home to project to the warlocks. It would keep her body safe, and Ro knew better than to disturb her if she came home and found her meditating.

Sitting in the sacred space she shared with Ro and their daughters, Aurora cast a circle of protection and focused on the task at hand. No matter what, she was determined to find Donnie, Arthur, and everyone else and bring them home safely.

~*~

An hour later, most of the Salem Shadows had gathered in their sanctuary. AJ was still smiling and thinking about his new baby sister. Lyric was almost as excited as he was. Chris was visibly nervous. He stayed close to Joey as they waited to make their move. Roxy stood with Jason and Angelina. Solstice stood beside Genie, keeping her as calm as she could.

Echo noticed that Killian looked restless. She moved closer to him. "Are you okay?" She asked.

"Judas has my dad, so no, not really," Killian replied.

"We're going to get him back. Don't worry," Echo insisted.

The door opened and Danika stepped inside. "Sorry I'm late, guys... Justin's outside. He wants to help," she said.

"Justin who?" Chris asked.

"Justin Lodge. He's Kelly's son," Danika explained.

"Justin's an E.V.S. member," Solstice protested.

"He's not a bad guy, Solstice," Danika insisted. "Kelly's actually pretty great, too. Yes, she's a warlock, but she has morals. There are lines she won't cross. Justin only joined because he is expected to continue his bloodline. Anyway, he's one of the only people I've known my entire life. I trust him."

"Yet you didn't bring him inside," Jason pointed out.

"Well, this sanctuary was originally only for those with Vitti blood and our guardian. Now, it's for the Shadows, too. It seems wrong to bring anyone else inside," Danika replied. "Kelly's never been inside, either, or my aunt Heather."

"We should let Justin help," Genie said. "I think he's supposed to."

"Alright," Joey agreed. "When a clairvoyant and a prophetess say we should do something, it's best to listen. Follow me outside and I'll open the door to Aurora."

Everyone followed Joey out of the house. Justin stood outside looking a little bit uncertain. "I just want to help," he said awkwardly.

"Why, exactly?" Solstice asked suspiciously.

"Look, this guy has abducted several people my mother and I care about. Juniper Garcia is like my grandmother. Reid and Bev are my mother's good friends. I've known them my entire life. Jezebel Horner taught me how to cast my first protection spell, and Mary Baines was my third grade teacher. Cedric is my friend Melanie's father. Donnie was part of my mom's high school E.V.S. chapter, and Arthur is my friend Lionel's older brother. I have a reason to want to bring all of them home alive. Are you going to let me help or not?"

"You're coming with us," Joey replied firmly. "Angelina, would you mind grounding me?"

"Of course not," Angelina replied. She quickly took his hand. Joey focused on finding Aurora's astral self. When he finally sensed her, he opened up a door.

"Alright, Shadows," Joey said. "Let's go save some warlocks!"

~*~

Bev had endured more torture than she should have been able to survive. Somehow, she was still alive. Her body was weak, but her mind was in tact, and Judas hadn't drained much of her magick yet.

"Come on, Bev," she mumbled. "You can get yourself out of this."

"I'm afraid that's not possible," Judas said as he entered through a portal. It left a buzz of energy, and Bev knew that was the way out, but getting there would not be easy. She needed to trick Judas into releasing her from her restraints.

"No more," Bev whimpered very convincingly. She kept her surface thoughts focused on desperation and weakness. "Please... I'll do it. I'll help you capture Chad... Just don't hurt me anymore."

Judas considered her words thoughtfully. "I'd like to trust you, but-" He began.

"I'll take a blood oath," Bev said firmly. "I will pledge my loyalty to you, Judas... Please just let me go."

He smiled then, knowing that warlock blood oaths were completely unbreakable once taken. "Excellent," he said. He pulled out a ritual dagger, but hesitated. "Your hands will need to be unchained for this," he admitted.

I'm scared. I can't do this anymore. I love Chad, but he isn't worth this torture, Bev forced herself to think, keeping her true thoughts hidden where no one could sense them. Judas can give me power so I'm never vulnerable like this again.

Judas read her mind, just as she'd hoped. "Very well," he said with a smile. He freed her hands before giving her the dagger.

Bev held the dagger in trembling hands. She had to be convincing or Judas would kill her. "I can't work magick here," Bev reminded him.

"You are correct," Judas replied. He used a different dagger to cut his palm. Light burst out of it. As the light rolled over Bev, she was able to trigger just enough of her own magick to start a blood oath.

"I, Bev Charleston, pledge my loyalty now and forever, to the one who will protect and empower me," she began. She cut her own palm, allowing the blood oath to begin to form. "I shed my blood in service to-" She began before swiftly stabbing Judas with the blade. "Chad Ko!"

Judas let out a roar of rage before trying to attack her, but Bev was already on the move. Using Judas's Light, she broke the shackles on her feet and dove toward the portal he always entered through. She sent the last of his Light at the portal, activating it and throwing herself through it before it sealed shut.

She landed with a hard thud and immediately had to dodge an attack from Aurora, who sent a gust of wind at her that would have slammed her into the nearest wall and knocked her out.

"Bev!" Reid cried, running toward her. "Thank Gods... I thought he killed you!"

"Sorry," Aurora added. "We assumed when the portal opened up that you were Judas."

"Your magick works here," Bev realized.

"My body is in Salem, perfectly safe. Judas can't block me from accessing my magick because I'm not fully here. The calvary's coming. Get ready."

"Judas will be here soon. I hurt him, but not seriously," Bev replied. She paused as she looked at Cedric. "Your energy is similar to his... You have his sort of magick, don't you?"

"I'm still learning," Cedric admitted, "but yes."

"You can weaken his barrier spells and help us get out of here," Bev realized. "You can get us access to our magick. He won't expect that yet. I think he believes you're still unaware of your true powers."

"Work fast, Cedric," Arthur advised. "I don't think we have much time."

As a door appeared in the room, Aurora smiled. "Now we're talking," she said.

Joey stepped into the room, followed by the Salem Shadows and Justin.

"Dad!" Killian and Genie cried in unison as they ran toward Arthur.

"I'm okay," Arthur reassured them quickly. "Mostly."

"Mom saw this," Genie explained. "Judas intentionally trapped her in her worst memory to keep her from warning you."

"Is Lydia okay?" Arthur asked.

"I brought her back into awareness."

Arthur kissed Genie's forehead. "Good job, honey," he said proudly.

Chris's hands started sparking. He was thoroughly confused as he noticed that every time they sparked, a small burst of Light shot out of Cedric's hands.

"Your energy is reacting to each other," Bev realized. "Cedric's getting stronger with you here."

"She's right, Chris,"  Roxy said. "Cedric started radiating with power when you started to misfire."

"My soul is the child of two of the Powers That Be," Cedric blurted out. "Are you?"

"Wait, what?" Donnie asked.

"Lou Anne told me... My father's dead, but my mother is Carolyn. I suppose there's no point in hiding it when it's clearly time for each of us to lay our cards on the table." Cedric paused before repeating, "Are you like me, Chris?"

"I don't think so," Chris replied.

"Shooter," Danika said softly. "Shooter's soul comes from the Powers That Be, and Chris is both his incarnated son and his soul's son, so he comes from the same energy."

"How do you know? Visions shouldn't work here," Mary said in confusion.

"Clairvoyance can't be blocked. I just know things sometimes," Danika explained. "Your own abilities were blocked because of how injured you were."

"This can't leave this room," Joey said firmly. "Shooter doesn't know. I'm sure of that. And it would put a target on his head if we told anyone."

"He's immortal," Angelina reminded him gently.

"He can't die, but he can get hurt, and I'm not about to let that happen."

"We won't tell anyone, Joey," Arthur promised.

"Warlock's honor," Donnie joked. "Wait, warlocks don't have any... Rebel warlock's honor."

"Cedric, if you work with Chris, you should be able to get the barriers down," Danika said.

"Wait," Jason said. He sighed. "Does anyone have a mirror?"

"I promise you're a perfectly pretty puppy, wolf boy," Echo teased him.

"Not for that... Guys, there's something I need to tell you. There's another Shadow. She lives in the In-Between, and I just met her. She says she's one of us. I think I believe her... And she's Lou Anne's kid."

Joey's eyes widened in surprise. "Lou Anne's kids don't incarnate," he said.

"This one did. Her soul was actually born in the realm of the incarnated. Her dad was from Mirror."

"Did someone attack Lou Anne?" Joey demanded angrily. It was rare that he showed anger like that, but he didn't tolerate certain acts.

"No. He saved her life and their energy merged and made a kid. Anyway, she's Mirror Solstice's cousin."

"What?" Solstice asked in confusion.

"Josh was her dad?" Joey asked. "Wait... I remember her! Mirror Josh's energy must have hidden Lou Anne's... I took her there for her safety, but I never saw her again."

"Is it true, Joey? Is she one of us?" Angelina asked.

"I think so... It feels right," Joey admitted. He paused before asking, "Dani?"

Danika pulled out the scroll. Surprisingly, it began to glow.

It read, I missed one, too...

"What can you tell us about her?" Joey asked.

The scroll remained blank. "Again, I need a mirror," Jason said.

Angelina pulled a compact mirror out of her purse. Jason looked at it and found his reflection staring back at him. "How do we pull her into our worlds?" Mirror Jason asked.

"You don't," Thyme said as her face appeared in the compact. "The traitor can't know about me yet. Have Chris and Cedric touch the mirror. I'll lend them energy to break the barrier... Then, please ask Joey to telepathically seal this information in the minds of our team so Judas can't retrieve it. Echo can make the others forget."

"When will you join us physically?" Jason asked.

"When you're in the sanctuary. It's the only place where I can stay hidden until it's time to show myself to the traitor."

"I'll ask Aunt Rikki to make you a talisman," Danika promised.

"Joey can bring me through later. For now, get Cedric and Chris to touch the mirror."

Cedric touched the mirror right away. Chris hesitated. "Go on," Joey said. "You can trust her, Chris."

Chris touched the mirror. Light began flowing out of it and into Chris and Cedric. The barrier cracked open just enough to allow everyone's magick to get through.

Donnie snapped his fingers and a rainbow-colored unicorn horn appeared on Reid's head. He started laughing and said, "Yes, people! Magick is back!"

Reid reached up and felt the horn on his head. He shot a glare at Donnie that made Arthur burst out laughing. Reid waved his hand and made the horn vanish.

Suddenly, the portal opened. Judas stormed into the room radiating with much more power than he usually did. He immediately took aim at Bev.

Danika jumped in front of Bev and easily deflected the death spell Judas had conjured. It shattered harmlessly.

"You're going to have to try harder than that," Danika said firmly.

"I accept your challenge, Child," Judas replied coldly.

Several shadow creatures began appearing in the room. "Um, who ordered the creatures of the night?" Donnie asked.

"Guys, you know what to do," Joey said.

The Salem Shadows immediately sprang into action. Most focused on the shadow creatures, but Danika kept her attention on Judas. He seemed mildly amused by her magickal skills, but not overly concerned.

As Danika shot a powerful attack spell at his third eye, Judas actually let out a cry of pain. That was when amusement turned to rage.

"None of you were meant to exist!" He snapped.

"What do you mean, Judy?" Echo taunted him.

"Do not call me that," Judas snapped. "I won't tolerate disrespect."

"My dude, we're teenagers," Jason pointed out while he battled against a shadow warlock.

"Disrespect is our specialty," Chris added as he shot energy right at Judas's chest, knocking the traitor backwards into a wall.

"Hey, Jude... You're a butthead," Lyric sang as she staked a shadow vampire.

"You're a loser, and won't get better," Jagger chimed in as he put down a shadow wolf.

"Stop that!" Judas shouted.

"Look, he's turning purple with anger!" Killian pointed out.

"Whoa... I think you need to take a breath, Judas," Angelina said. "Purple's really not your color."

"The Silver Society doesn't reproduce!" Judas said in frustration. "Jade broke that rule of the cycle when Joey was conceived, but the rest of you weren't meant to follow!"

Joey paused. "What are you talking about?" He asked.

"You are all new souls. This is your first incarnation. The Silver Society members always die young, so they choose not to try to have families. This life was different... They chose to live their own lives and build families. They started young because they knew they wouldn't live long... But it wasn't meant to happen. And now, I'm going to correct that error!"

Judas began gathering far more strength than one entity should possess. The entire realm started to shake.

"Joey, honey, now might be a good time to open another door," Aurora suggested.

"I'm a bit occupied at the moment," he replied as a shadow leopard jumped on him and tried to maul him.

Roxy ripped the leopard off of Joey with impressive strength. "Bad kitty!" She snapped.

The leopard growled at her. Roxy growled back and added in a hiss for good measure. The leopard hesitated before assuming a submissive stance.

"That's right, kitty," she said. "No challenging royals." She quickly cut the leopard's head off, freeing it from the shadow vessel.

Danika went another round against Judas. She was glowing with a tremendous amount of power. She began to levitate as she continued facing off against the evil Power That Be. 

"Holy crap," Aurora mumbled.

"Is she okay?" Angelina added in concern.

"She's channeling the magick of the entire Vitti line," Justin explained. "They are unified under her. She'll be exhausted when this is over, but she's okay for right now."

"Has she done this before?" Joey asked.

"Only for short training sessions, but it's okay. I can spot her."

"You two are closer than I thought," AJ said.

"Are you dating?" Echo asked curiously.

"We're not into labels," Justin replied, "but Danika and I have basically been best friends since we were toddlers. We just don't tell anyone that since her identity is a mystery to most people."

As Danika's eyes glowed pure white, Judas slammed against the ceiling. He crumpled to the floor and didn't get back up.

"Danika Ko, you've been holding out on us!" Roxy declared.

Danika was still glowing and levitating. "Dani, come back," Justin said soothingly. "The main threat is down."

Danika slowly drifted back toward the ground. She landed on her feet, then swiftly collapsed into Justin's arms, falling unconscious.

Joey opened a door. "Take her to Chad," he said. He looked at the warlocks. "Get out of here. We'll cover you guys, then follow."

Bev offered her hand to Reid as he struggled to get back on his feet. He stood up and said, "Let's go the hell home."

Cedric scooped Jezebel up in his arms. "I'll bring you back from this trauma, Jez," he vowed. He passed her to Arthur. "Take her and go," he said. "I'm staying until the kids leave. I can help Chris."

Arthur nodded, careful to support Jezebel. Donnie turned to Mary and Juniper and grandly said, "Allow me to escort you to safety, M'Ladies." He looped his arms around theirs and began to head toward the door.

Just as Reid and Bev reached the door, it was swarmed by shadow creatures. Aurora sent a tornado at some of them, blowing them out of the way.

Unfortunately, in all of the chaos, no one noticed that Judas had recovered. He sent a nasty hex right at Arthur.

"Dad!" Genie screamed in warning as she realized what was happening.

Arthur had no time to react. He shielded Jezebel with his body and braced himself for the attack, but nothing happened.

Confused, Arthur looked up and spotted Juniper at his feet. The elderly warlock looked at him with a sad smile as the light began to fade from her eyes.

"Juniper!" Arthur cried in horror. He shifted Jezebel into Donnie's arms before kneeling beside her.

"You take care of them, my sweet boy," Juniper said weakly. "And let them take care of you, too."

"Hold on, Juniper," Arthur said. "We'll get you help."

Cedric ran to Juniper's side, but he couldn't heal her wounds. "I'm losing her," he said softly, his tone both horrified and devastated.

"Miss Juniper, stay with us," Mary begged through her tears. 

Angelina joined the healing efforts immediately, which prompted Lyric and Echo to join in as well. Roxy looked at Angelina and shook her head, already sensing the same thing that Angelina refused to accept.

"It's her time," Roxy said softly.

Genie began to cry, unable to stop herself. Judas saw the moment of vulnerability and sent a spell toward her. Solstice dove in front of her, knocking Genie to the floor and shielding her with her body.

"Sol!" Joey screamed as the spell attacked Solstice. There was blood everywhere. He tried to ignore that as he began to cast a healing spell.

"Solstice needs help," Jason said to Angelina. "You guys need to shift your focus... You can't save this woman, but you can save Solstice."

Echo was already on the move. Lyric followed quickly behind her. Angelina looked at the warlocks sadly. "I'm sorry," she said softly.

"You did everything that you could," Cedric replied. "Go help your friend."

Genie clung to Solstice as Joey tried to deflect more attacks from Judas. Chris took his hand, and working together, they created a protective shield around Solstice and those who surrounded her.

"She's going to be okay," Angelina said in relief. "She's already healing."

AJ had shifted his focus to helping the warlocks escape. He held off the shadow creatures using physical attacks as well as telekinesis. Jagger joined him, and they increased their efforts, taking down most of the remaining shadow creatures.

"Run, guys," AJ said. "This is your best chance."

"But... Juniper," Mary began.

"We'll bring her body home," Donnie promised. He cast a quick spell that made Juniper's body float toward the door. "Are you good, Fearful Leader?" He asked Arthur.

"I'm not leaving yet," Arthur said firmly.

"Then I'm staying, too." Donnie turned toward Reid. "Take Jez through. Keep her and Mary safe. Bev, watch their backs in case this dummy screws up."

"Hey!" Reid protested.

"I've got them," Bev promised. She guided Mary through the door. Reid followed with Jezebel in his arms.

As Judas seemed to focus again, Arthur unleashed all of his grief and rage upon the traitor. The amount of power that burst from him was more than anyone had ever witnessed him use before. Under normal circumstances, it still probably wouldn't have been enough to harm a Power That Be, but Danika had already weakened Judas.

As Arthur and Judas went blow for blow with magickal attacks, Chris frowned. "Arthur can't keep this up for long," he said. "Judas is regaining his strength more by the second."

"Take my hand," Cedric said. "We can help him."

The two worked together, still channeling Thyme's energy while hiding it behind their own. As they launched a singular powerful attack, Judas burst into flames. Arthur continued attacking him as the others put down the remaining shadow creatures.

Judas started to lose control of his shapeshifting. His skin tone rapidly lightened, and his height steadily began to increase. Realizing what was happening, Judas had a choice to make... He could continue to fight and risk revealing his true identity, or he could flee. As Angelina cast a uniquely powerful death spell that only a Reaper could wield, Judas chose the latter. He vanished in a blinding flash of pure Light.

Angelina's legs almost gave out on her. Jason steadied her, not letting her go as she continued to tremble.

"Are you okay, Princess?" He asked.

"I've never actually used that spell before," Angelina admitted. "It's only supposed to be used in emergencies. My mom and Aunt Deenie created it when they were teenagers."

"You did great, Lina," Joey said. "But now, you need to rest."

Arthur was still radiating with power. He had paled significantly, but still looked like he wanted to go a few more rounds with Judas. Killian sent a wave of water at his father and wrapped it around him, pulling the excess energy out.

Arthur sank to his knees and started to cry. Genie immediately wrapped her arms around him, trying to comfort him. Donnie put a hand on Arthur's back and said, "It's okay, Fearful Leader... Let it out."

"She was a good woman," Arthur said softly.

"The best," Cedric agreed.

Arthur sighed and allowed Donnie to help him back to his feet. "Let's get the hell out of here," he said.

Joey began to guide everyone toward the door, a somber procession toward freedom. They'd survived, but they'd lost one of the people they were supposed to rescue, and each of them felt the impact of that loss in their own way.

"Leaving sounds like an excellent plan," Solstice suddenly said with a groan.

"Sol!" Genie cried, running back to her side. She flung her arms around her. "Are you okay?"

Solstice pulled Genie as close as she could. "I'm fine," she promised.

"Are you sure? I mean, you were really hurt, and I thought-"

Solstice stunned everyone, including herself, as she kissed Genie. She let her lips linger there for a few moments before pulling away. "I'm fine, Genie," she said again.

Echo let out a cheer. No one else dared to make a sound, but Joey smiled approvingly.

"Alright, you guys heard Arthur," Solstice said. "Let's get the hell out of here."