Chaos and Order, Darkness and Light

The Barn

Erik

The trip to the Barn was admittedly, an unexpectedly quite one, aside from Victoria's snoring. The Barn was in upstate Pennsylvania, deep in the woods and miles away from any town. A haven for any and all witches passing through the area it also served as a base of operations for the order of the pentacle.

"Eric, where are we?" Victoria asked her voice still groggy from the night's rest.

"We just moved through the Pennsylvania/Jersey turnpike. In about an hour and a half we will arrive at the Barn."

"Wait a minute, you are taking me to a barn?" She asked incredulously.

I chuckled a bit before I replied. "No I am taking you to the Barn, It's a safe haven for witches. Also my order's base. You'll be safe there."

She didn't respond, instead she just stared through the window for the next half hour. After a bit of silence I decided to turn on the radio. One of my favorite songs came on and I began bobbing my head and humming along.

"You listen to Shinedown?" Victoria asked as she perked her head up.

"Yeah, they are a great band."

Victoria nodded and began to sing along. Her voice was wonderful, the high pitch of her voice carried well with the sounds of the guitar and drums.

"Wow your voice is amazing Victoria." I comment as we pass through the last town.

"Thank you! And you can call me Tori, everyone does." She said after finishing the last note of the song.

"Alright Tori," I said as I turned off the main road and onto a stretch of dirt. "We should be there in about a few minutes."

Tori nodded her head and looked out the window. "So what do you want with me anyway? I'm not a great witch, I'm not super powerful, and my parents told me I shouldn't worry about it."

My fists clutched the steering wheel so tight my knuckles turned ghostly pale and I felt the wheel bend under my grasp. "What do you mean they told you not to worry about your magic?" I asked through clenched teeth.

Her eyes widened and she instinctively moved back towards the car door. "Th-they said if I didn't want to learn I didn't have to. I wanted to be a normal girl."

A thousand thoughts ran through my head but I didn't speak any of them I just drove through the wards and sighed as the landscape changed.

What was once a dark, thick forest was now a wide open field and in the center of it stood a bright red barn, the white panels positioned to form a large pentacle on every side and a large brass weather vane stood up top, but instead of the traditional rooster a large owl spread it's wing east and west right now.

"That's amazing!" Tori exclaimed as she jolted forward in her seat.

"It's a basic disillusionment ward, you should have mastered this by the time you were ten." I said. The Barn door opened and three other people walked out.

As the car stopped and I got out of the car I turned and looked towards the three figures. One I immediately recognized as Tom, as the only male of the three he towered over the two women.

"She wasn't trained!" I yelled out at him and he stopped in his tracks with the two women right behind him. I didn't bother to wait for a response. I just marched forward and stopped a few feet from the group.

"Erik Let me explain." Tom said as he held up his hands.

"No there is no explaining this! You were charged with raising and training her, you failed to train her and she almost died because of it."

Suddenly the left most woman spoke up, "Tori almost died?" She asked as she turned away from us and ran to Tori catching her in a long hug a few feet behind the rest of us.

"Mom I'm fine, really he's exaggerating." Tori said surprised by Elain's sudden hug. "And why did none of you tell me about shadow monsters trying to kill me?" She said looking first to Elain and then to Tom.

Elain pushed her dirty blonde hair out of the way and looked Tori in the eyes. "Sweetie I am so sorry we both are. But we believed you would be safe, you were untrained and out of the way at school we-"

I cut her off abruptly, "You left her alone in New York, at the height of the worst battle we have ever seen! If you had done your god damned job and trained her, or at least told me sooner that she wasn't trained we could have gotten her out sooner and maybe Sarah Beth wouldn't have died!" I yelled marching off towards the barn.

As I entered the enchanted walls of our stronghold I felt at home almost immediately. The barn door opened and the third woman entered. A short but beautiful woman her jet black hair matched her black lipstick, both of which complimenting her olive skin.

"Erik I know you are upset at Tom and Elain, we both are, and Nathan will be too once he gets back. I am so sorry that you lost Sarah Beth." She looked deep into my eyes my icy blue ones meeting her chocolate brown ones. I felt the expression on my face soften as I stared into her eyes, even more so when I felt her lip's briefly touch mine.

"Ahem," Rang the distinct sound of Tom clearing his throat. "We have a lot to discuss. I would rather Nathan be here but that can't be helped. She sighed and turned around hopping lightly onto the counter we were standing next to. Tom pointed to her, "Tori this is Jodi. She specializes in water magic and her and Erik make up the dark half of the Order. Nathan Works with air and he and myself are the light half. Right now he is off on a mission so you will meet him eventually."

"Wait," Tori cut him off before turning to Elain. "If those two are the dark half and Dad and this Nathan guy are the light half, where do you fit in?"

Jodi rolled her eyes and Elain chuckled a bit before responding. "I am the Neutral part, and I specialize in energy itself. I guess you could say I am one of a kind."

"She most certainly is." Tom said before kissing Elain quickly.

"If you two are done the introductions I really should show Tori to her room." I said walking off stopping only to make sure that Tori was following me.

"So, my parents are powerful witches?" She asked as we walked past several smaller rooms.

"Yes, Elain is the strongest of us all. Specializing in pure energy makes her the most adaptable out of the five of us. And Tom works with earth, he is a powerful guardian."

"What was he talking about when he said dark half and light half?"

"When a witch turns twenty they are claimed for the light or the dark. Those claimed for the dark have more offensive capabilities, strategists and warriors. The light witches are more defensive, they make up the powerful healers and guardians. Before you ask no neither one is better than the other. Being claimed by the dark does not make you evil and I have no Idea what side you will be claimed."

"Wow" She said visibly taken aback. "That's pretty freaking standoffish. What did I do to piss you off?"

"You did nothing, it's just stress, plus these are all things you should know by now. Now because Tom and Elain didn't train you we all have to alongside our regular duties."

"Well gee, sorry I'm such an inconvenience for you and your girlfriend, it's pretty obvious she doesn't like me very much."

I groaned audibly in annoyance. "She is not my girlfriend and you need to stop acting like a whiny teenager. Besides she doesn't like most people, she probably planned thirteen ways to kill you before she knew your name. It's in her nature, she is a warrior." I open a solid oak door into a large bedroom. "This is your room, now if you'll excuse me I have to talk to everyone else about how huge of a mess we are in." I walked away and heard the door slam shut.