Crowned In Shadows by Amber Ella Monroe
Chapter 6
Sadie
Ididn’t want to involve other covens much less square off with them, but we had no choice. Well, that wasn’t entirely true. We did have choices, but this choice would get us much closer to defeating Asmodeus in half the time.
The Nightbox coven, an assembly of witch-demon hybrids, were said to safeguard a ethereal iron disc with the power to fuel the spell needed to end Asmodeus. The disc didn’t belong to them in the first place.
According to my father, they stole it from his brother’s coven when they were attacked. It had been his brother’s job to get it back since he was the one who let it go, but his coven feared the Nightbox coven because they were known to be very possessive over their possessions and had the power to possess both human and supernaturals. However, I was determined to retrieve the artifact, and my protectors were willing to support me no matter what.
We arrived at the Nightbox Coven in the dead of night. It was located in a thick forest where no mortal man would ever go for fear of getting lost inside and pricked by vines which reminded me of the same vines I deprived of energy in the void.
A huge castle appeared abandoned but I knew better. Most of the grounds were surrounded by large walls and the towers guarded by dozens of witch-demon hybrids. They didn’t even look human anymore. They looked like a cross between their former human selves and leathery-skinned goblins. They were armed with swords, lances and crossbows and had taken up defensive positions around the compound. We could sense their presence from miles away, it was as if they were on alert for any kind of threat.
I kept up the protective barrier around myself and my men because I had no idea if they would strike first and ask questions later. After all, these coven members were said to still be possessed by the dust demons which gave them their powers.
The gates opened automatically to our presence, revealing a large courtyard illuminated by torches and guarded by even more of them. There were statues carved out of white marble adorning the walls; each one depicting a powerful figure from folklore or mythology looking down upon us with disdainful expressions. I could feel their oppressive energy pressing down on me, like a reminder that this place was not meant for us to enter without permission or consequence.
Altair, Dominik, and Morpheus moved cautiously about me, each taking ahold of some part of my body–refusing to let go, probably for fear of separation.
I could feel the tension in the air as we arrived. Their gazes shot daggers at us, and their fingers twitched as though they were yearning to reach for their weapons. The Nightbox members were standing in a tight circle, and I could hear their hushed conversations. I stepped forward and raised my hands, palms facing outwards in a peaceful gesture. I hoped that my open-heartedness would show them that we were willing to come to a mutually beneficial agreement.
A sinister figure stalked away from the group, his hunched posture exuding menace. His wild eyes, full of hate and fear, glistened beneath an unkempt shock of hair. The man’s bushy brows arched above a hooked nose that seemed to give him a cross between a wizard and a goblin-like appearance. With a deep and guttural voice, he growled, “What do you want?”
“Are you Handel?”
He gave me a slight nod of acknowledgment, his eyes widening in surprise when I said his name. If my memory was correct, Handel had been coven leader for more than one hundred years.
“That’s me,” he said. “Why are you here? Get straight to the point, Carrier witch.”
There’s was no sense in arguing with that. Time wasn’t on anyone’s side these days. I preferred to get straight to the point, anyway.
“You are in possession of a disc that once belonged to my father,” I said.
“Once is the key word,” Handel called out.
“It’s my understanding that the ethereal disc does not belong with you,” I said, between tight lips.
He stood tall, a fierce glare in his eyes. “No matter what you offer, we will not part with the magical artifact,” he declared, the determination in his voice echoing off the walls. “We have fought too hard to keep it safe. You will not take it from us without a fight.”
Dominik let out an angry snarl, and Altair and Morpheus responded with their own hostile energy, the air between them crackling with tension. I could sense that a battle was imminent.
I met his gaze, determined. “I don’t want trouble. I just want the disc.”
Handel’s gaze sharpened as his eyes widened, a wild look of barely restrained violence sparking in their depths. “Then you want trouble,” he snarled.
The heavy clanking of the gates as they swung closed behind us startled me. It sounded like a cell door slamming shut, like a prison being sealed. I realized that they had locked up the gates behind us—trapping us inside castle grounds like prisoners in our own right.
“Set us free this instant or I swear I will set this castle and your woods ablaze,” I told Handel, menacingly.
“Why would I do that? You’re the most sought after witch in this land!” he bellowed incredulously.
“How do you know me?” I gasped.
“Oh, I know you. Youngest daughter of Jorah Carrier; the man who tried to raise an ancient evil from the ground.” His voice trembled.
“You know about that?”
“Word travels fast,” he scoffed. “Your sister has been out stirring trouble with unlikely allies...and enemies, it seems.”
“What do you know of my sister?” I snapped.
“No more than you!” he sneered. “She’s just like your father, isn’t she? If you think you can come in here and demand we hand over that disc you are sorely mistaken! Not only that, you bring demons of mass destruction into my forest!” His voice seethed with a cold controlled rage, eyes dark and menacing as a chill of dread slowly spread throughout the forest.
The air grew thick with palpable anger. Altair, Morpheus, and Dominik seemed ready to burst, and I knew I had no power to restrain them if they erupted in rage. The tension in the air was so strong that I could almost taste it, as if it were a living thing, bearing down upon us with the force of a storm.
My hands shook uncontrollably as I pleaded. “I cannot do this without it. He should never have been brought back from the dead in the first place!”
“Your family created this horror, now you must find another way to fix it.” His voice was cold and unforgiving. I knew he was right, but the thought of failure filled me with dread.
My anger intensified. I could feel the tension settle in the air as I tried to explain the danger we were in. “My father died because of Asmodeus,” I said, my eyes desperately searching the faces of the Nightbox coven. But there was no response, only a stony stillness that made my heart sink.
Handel finally spoke up, his voice loud and commanding in the heavy atmosphere. “Well then, he got what he deserves. Leave him to his fate.” he scowled, his gaze like knives on my skin.
I swallowed, feeling the weight of all their eyes bearing down on me. “But he wasn’t just my father… He was once your protector, too,” I pleaded. “Can you not understand the danger Asmodeus poses?”
I spoke without exaggerations. The Nightbox coven was a sister coven to ours before fierce ammunition, in the form of vitriol between my father and Handel, divided us. But that happened before my sister and I were ever born. We had enemies before we were ever born.
Handel laughed. “We’re not going to help you. Jorah did us a disservice, kicking us out and abandoning us. We did what we had to, and now we are what we are. We’ve always wanted the privilege of killing your father,” the man said, his voice filled with malice. “But since he’s already dead, we’ll settle for your head instead.”
My men shot forward, forming impenetrable blocks of flesh and steel between me and the threat. Their muscles tensed and their bodies became rigid as a wall of defense as they morphed into fully formed demons. I could sense the fear and trepidation in the air, feel the overwhelming power radiating from the opposing force.
My heart pounded as I counted the Nightbox witches. There were dozens of them. We were outnumbered. Did we stand a chance against them?