BEWITCHED

13. You're Harshing My JuJu

With the long drive home and turning onto the road that passed a few abandoned buildings, Octavia could feel the magic around the city dwindle from the suburbs. It was almost as if the magic got sucked dry by the inhabitants that lurked around the city at night, draining the blood of innocent lives. Taking a deep breath as it came out as a sigh, Octavia parked her SUV right outside the apartment building when a dark figure walked from the front door leading in. Taking her time while grabbing her things, Octavia stepped out just in time to see Cameron rush over to help her. His silence was killing her, a sign something was terribly wrong.

"Cam"

"We should head upstairs. You'll want to hear everything." Sensing through her magic, Octavia could feel there was a small group of witches as she dreaded the walk up to her loft where Cameron fled. 

Releasing the barrier spells that protected the loft, a small group of all female witches stood from her couch and chairs, worrisome looks on their faces, and not just that; Octavia could smell fresh blood on two of the witches. Cameron's face squinted in pain. He hadn't fed in days. Dropping her stuff onto a table near the front door, she slowly and carefully walked over to the women.

"Octavia Sera, we meet at last. My name is Elizabeth Owens, and this is my coven. We're very sorry to have barged in while you were gone, but we had no other choice or places to seek refugee." The woman known as Elizabeth stepped forward. Her blue eyes and golden hair stood out despite her young age. Octavia guessed she was only in her 40s, maybe younger. Nodding for her to continue, Octavia tried to keep an eye on Cameron, understanding how hungry the vampire must've been. 

"There's no easy way to speak about this. Witches are getting brutally murdered in and around the city of Dallas-"

"Yeah, I know," Octavia spoke a little too quickly. 

"I reached out for help from a small coven in the suburbs to find someone. They were attacked, and one elder witch is missing." Octavia spoke the truth as the coven reacted in a way the hybrid didn't see coming. Elizabeth stepped closer to Octavia with pure fear in her eyes. 

"Has any more news about Sofie surfaced? The covens around the city's outskirts will not speak to anyone out of fear." Elizabeth's voice cracked right when she spoke Sofie's name. This wasn't the way Octavia needed the conversation to go but she knew she couldn't lie on the spot. Placing her hands on her hips, Octavia kept her violet eyes on the coven. 

"From what Cameron and I know of Sofie's whereabouts, we know a vampire is responsible. But for your attacks-"

"We believe that as well." A young teenage girl stepped forward as Octavia looked back at her. 

She was covered in fresh blood, a sign she was the one who got attacked. Octavia crossed the room to inspect the marks that still bled from her arms. They didn't look that deep, but it was enough that magic could heal them quickly. No wonder Cameron was having a hard time standing in the room. Octavia felt relief, knowing the smell of fresh human blood didn't cause her to go insane. 

"Thanks to magic, we got away." The teenage girl said as Octavia twisted her arms gently to look over more bites, making the hybrid frown. 

"I can brew a potion that'll heal these pretty quick if you don't mind the taste of lavender-flavored cake," Octavia spoke in a gentle tone as the women expressed confusion but stayed silent as Octavia did what she said. 

Stirring the potion in a small cauldron, Octavia had told Cameron to leave almost immediately as she sensed his sudden urge to attack the teenage girl, which wasn't going to happen around the hybrid. She felt stressed like humans do. Her phone then vibrated on the kitchen counter. Looking down slightly, Eric's name popped up on the lit-up screen. Some part of Octavia wanted to answer it, but she didn't. At that moment, there was nothing he could do, despite the emotions he and Godric must've been feeling at the moment. If anything, they would make the situation worse. With the witch community being small in Texas , Octavia felt the need to protect them, despite her mixed species.