Warrior (Book Three of The Silver Society)

Chapter One

CHAPTER ONE

They had sealed the oath in blood. Thirteen warlocks stood in the damp basement gathered around a large black cauldron. Each had contributed three drops of blood to the fire.

"The girl must die," Gabriel Martinez, the high priest who was leading the circle, said.

"Are you certain? Isn't there another way?" A woman asked nervously.

"You knew from the day she was born what she was," Gabriel replied. "We all knew that it might come to this. You must dispose of her, or we will."

"She doesn't know," the man standing beside the woman protested.

"She will. The time is coming. She is going to remember, and when she does, she will be a danger to us all."

"Please... She's only a child..."

"She's fourteen. She'll be fifteen soon enough. Her soul will unlock, and when she remembers what she is, she will be our downfall."

"You make it sound so simple. We can't just kill her. The others tried and failed every time. She is well protected," the woman protested.

"You two have never tried. You must."

"Please don't ask us to do this," the man begged.

"It has to be you. It is vital that Bethany dies before her fifteenth birthday."

The man looked to the woman, his eyes begging her to say something, but she lowered her head and hid her tears. She could not betray the warlocks. She had never been strong enough to fight them. That was why he stayed, after all. She needed him, and he loved her. No one else could protect her from the vows she had taken. This once, though, he wished she had the ability to fight. This was not just a random killing. They were being ordered to kill an innocent girl who didn't have any idea what the prophecies said about her. His heart broke as he realized they had no choice but to comply.

~*~

On the other side of Salem, Massachusetts, Bethany Ashford sat brushing her long blonde hair. She paused and studied her reflection in the mirror. "Do I look okay?" She asked Jade Collins, her "bodyguard" and close friend.

Jade lived with the Ashfords, who had taken her in after she ran away to Salem a couple of months earlier. They knew she was an orphan, although they didn't know that Jade had killed her parents in self-defense using a spell. The Ashfords knew that Jade was strange, but they didn't know just how strange. Beth's parents were just about as mortal as anyone could get, and Jade tried her best not to scare them off. After all, not only had they taken in Jade, who was a Pagan and a Goth, but they had taken in her son, Joey, and asked no questions when he just popped up and she told them he was hers. She liked the Ashfords, even if they were fairly religious Christian mortals.

Maggie Ashford was a heart surgeon who loved cooking. Her husband, Lewis, was a lawyer. Their oldest child, Kevin, was away at college on a football scholarship. Jade had never met him, but from everything she'd heard from Beth and her parents, he sounded like a really nice guy.

"You look fine, Beth," Jade said.

"Are you sure? I mean, Randy's going to be here soon and..." Beth began.

"And you want to look perfect for your little boyfriend," Jade interrupted her. "I know, Beth. You've been freaking out all day about this date. It's just Randy. What's the big deal?"

"It's our two month anniversary," Beth replied as if that should explain everything.

"Oh," was all Jade could think of to say. The whole two month anniversary meant very little to Jade. Although she had a boyfriend now, she'd never been the type to have a relationship before, and she didn't really understand why dating someone for eight weeks was worthy of special recognition.