The Darkside

Closer to the Edge

We watched confused as the shadow appeared, but as it neared us, I recognised who it was.

"Mother of Magic, I can explain... This was an accident, I didn't mean to hurt Brian," I said.

"Oh, don't worry, I'm only here to help," she replied, laying her hand on his chest.

A sudden white light appeared from it and Brian opened his eyes. He was healed.

"Thank you, Mother of Magic. You have no idea how grateful we are," I said.

"I know, I know," she said.

"Wait, who's this exactly?" Anastasia asked, confused.

"Oh, she's the mother of all witches. I last met her when I made a stupid mistake," I said.

"Wait, how come you haven't come to our aid before, then?" Arya asked.

"You can't expect me to appear every time a witch finds themselves in trouble, can you? I only come when the situation is dire and there's no other option," she replied before disappearing.

"Well, that was delightful," Brian said, sitting up.

"Brian, you're okay!" I said, hugging him, and so did the rest afterwards.

"I need to wear armour next time. I can't be sure if you'd stab me again," he said, chuckling.

"Very funny," I replied.

"I think it's about time we get out of here, girls," Aunt Cassie said, turning around.

There were hordes of demons running towards us from the other end of the hall.

"Okay, time to leave," Brian said, teleporting us out of there.

"Wait, something's got my leg!" Melissa said as we left the Demonic Domain.

When we reappeared at our house, we saw that there was a stowaway. We all chanted and sent it flying against the wall. I then took the sword and drove it into its heart, watching it burn before my eyes into a pile of ash.

Brian left soon after and I fell on my favourite chair and closed my eyes for a few minutes. Melissa said she was exhausted and went to bed. Aunt Cassie did the same. Arya and Anastasia sat with me in the living room.

"Thanks, Arya," I said.

"For what?" she asked.

"I know it wasn't really fair of me to ask you if you wanted to stay behind that time. And if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be here right now, and neither would Brian," I replied.

"That's nothing, Octavia. Besides...what are sisters for?" she asked, smiling.

"Sorry to disrupt your bonding time, but I am curious... What 'stupid mistake' did you make so that the Mother of Magic herself had to come down and deal with it?" Anastasia asked.

I sighed heavily as I looked at her with a blank expression for a few seconds.

"I accidentally cursed Christen to relive his past where his family died, but it was an accident," I said.

"Wait, when was this?" Anastasia asked.

"Back when I had to deal with the juangrands," I said.

"Oh... I'm really sorry, sis," she replied.

"It's okay, it's all in the past now," I said.

"Wait, what happened?" Arya asked.

I then had to fill her in about Charlie and Melissa turning into juangrands and the entire ordeal that led us to find out that Anastasia was our sister.

"I feel so bad thinking about all that now," Anastasia said.

"It's alright, don't worry about it," I replied, "And honestly, I'm surprised that, with your temper, you didn't end up shooting Charlie without going through all that trouble to curse him. I know he can be really insensitive at times."

Talking about recent events, we went from one topic to another until we were deep in conversation about so many different issues, past and present. I was glad that we were bonding, but I was also feeling exhausted. I checked the time and it was quite late.

"It's already 1:00 a.m. I think I'll go to bed," I said, yawning.

"I suppose I could use some sleep, too," Arya said.

"Alright, then. Let's continue this tomorrow," I said, getting up and going upstairs.

I went into my room and fell on the bed, face-first on my pillow. I could feel my eyes getting heavier and my mind going blank. But it lasted not a minute as I was suddenly awakened by screaming.

"Melissa!" I yelled, running towards her room as Aunt Cassie and the rest also came out to the hallway.