It was midnight again. A part of me was expecting my body to be teleported back to the arena or to another hellish venue for the midnight trial. Nothing happened... Yet. I sat in the darkness of my room, waiting, watching. It's been less than twenty four hours since everything happened. I lost everything that night. I lost myself, I lost my friends, I lost my familiar, and even my family. I could never look at my mum with the same eyes again now that I had my memories back.
The only thing that I had were the shadows, and I wouldn't let Loretta take them away from me. So, I watched. The mirror before me revealed a dark room where five people were discussing. Unknown to my dear Auntie Hilda, I'd bugged her with a surveillance demon before we parted a few hours ago. If she thought I trusted her after she almost had me killed, she was mistaken. Now, she was having a meeting with the other councillors of the Britain sorcery council. She had said she would relay all that happened to them.
How Asmodeus was Cain Ackles in disguise, how he hijacked the spell and freed the shadow queen, and how Nicolas and I had tried to seal her back. She did tell them everything. She even mentioned how we saved and healed her. But was that all? No.
"The people will see the sorcery council as incompetent if they found out," a female elf said. She was an high elf. With impossible beauty and flawless build.
"Moreso, Councillor Ackles failed to kill the remaining black-eyed children and the blood of darkness," a man said.
"Councillor Blackstone," Auntie Hilda turned towards him fiercely, "I did everything I could. And if I remember correctly, you're the one who tasked Asmodeus with handling security. You should also remember that your son is one of those black-eyed children."
The councillor scoffed. "He's no son of mine," he said. "No one must find out about what happened that night, and the truth about the shadows."
"The sorcery council will loose its footing if that happened. Chaos will ensue," another councillor said.
"Then I believe we all know what to do," the last of them said. It was a young man with a very smooth voice. But his red eyes and the run on his forehead were testaments to his true nature. A demon. Why was there a demon on the sorcery council? "The best way to get out of a problem is to shift the blame."
Auntie Hilda nodded. "The world will know that the blood of darkness with the help of the black-eyed children freed the shadow queen," she said. "Let it be known in all the realms that whoever can captures Kim Anabeth Aldrich or any of the surviving three black-eyed children will be highly rewarded."
"All in favour, say, aye," the demon said.
"Aye," they all choroused.
I stopped the scrying spell. If they wanted a monster, I would gladly give them one. But firstly, I had plans to enact.
It was midnight again. A part of me was expecting my body to be teleported back to the arena or to another hellish venue for the midnight trial. Nothing happened... Yet. I sat in the darkness of my room, waiting, watching. It's been less than twenty four hours since everything happened. I lost everything that night. I lost myself, I lost my friends, I lost my familiar, and even my family. I could never look at my mum with the same eyes again now that I had my memories back.
The only thing that I had were the shadows, and I wouldn't let Loretta take them away from me. So, I watched. The mirror before me revealed a dark room where five people were discussing. Unknown to my dear Auntie Hilda, I'd bugged her with a surveillance demon before we parted a few hours ago. If she thought I trusted her after she almost had me killed, she was mistaken. Now, she was having a meeting with the other councillors of the Britain sorcery council. She had said she would relay all that happened to them.
How Asmodeus was Cain Ackles in disguise, how he hijacked the spell and freed the shadow queen, and how Nicolas and I had tried to seal her back. She did tell them everything. She even mentioned how we saved and healed her. But was that all? No.
"The people will see the sorcery council as incompetent if they found out," a female elf said. She was an high elf. With impossible beauty and flawless build.
"Moreso, Councillor Ackles failed to kill the remaining black-eyed children and the blood of darkness," a man said.
"Councillor Blackstone," Auntie Hilda turned towards him fiercely, "I did everything I could. And if I remember correctly, you're the one who tasked Asmodeus with handling security. You should also remember that your son is one of those black-eyed children."
The councillor scoffed. "He's no son of mine," he said. "No one must find out about what happened that night, and the truth about the shadows."
"The sorcery council will loose its footing if that happened. Chaos will ensue," another councillor said.
"Then I believe we all know what to do," the last of them said. It was a young man with a very smooth voice. But his red eyes and the run on his forehead were testaments to his true nature. A demon. Why was there a demon on the sorcery council? "The best way to get out of a problem is to shift the blame."
Auntie Hilda nodded. "The world will know that the blood of darkness with the help of the black-eyed children freed the shadow queen," she said. "Let it be known in all the realms that whoever can captures Kim Anabeth Aldrich or any of the surviving three black-eyed children will be highly rewarded."
"All in favour, say, aye," the demon said.
"Aye," they all choroused.
I stopped the scrying spell. If they wanted a monster, I would gladly give them one. But firstly, I had plans to enact.
* * *
ORACLE
WITCH HUNT IN BRITAIN
A FEW HOURS AGO, THE SORCERY COUNCIL REVEALED THAT NOT ONLY DOES THE BLOOD OF DARKNESS EXIST, SHE HAS ALSO MANAGED TO RELEASE THE SHADOW QUEEN. ALTHOUGH THE SORCERY COUNCIL HAS BEEN ABLE TO KEEP THE SHADOW QUEEN BOUND TO THE BLACKSTONE CASTLE, IT IS NOT CERTAIN HOW LONG SHE WILL REMAIN BOUND.
THE COUNCIL HAS, HOWEVER, RELEASED A CRY OF HELP TO THE WORLD SORCERY LEADERS AND SORCERERS AROUND THE WORLD TO HELP CAPTURE THE BLOOD OF DARKNESS AND HER ALLIES. THE NAMES GIVEN ARE AS FOLLOWS; KIM ALDRICH. NICOLAS BLACKSTONE. MIKOTO HIROYAMA. AYESHA RASHAD.
IT HAS BEEN MADE KNOWN THAT THEY ARE ALL CONSIDERED DANGEROUS AND ARMED WITH POWERFUL MAGICKS AND...
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Once upon a Midnight | BOOK I
Fantasía•2021 WATTYS SHORTLIST• Fifteen were called, Five will be selected, Ten must die. Sixteen years ago, the shadow war took place. The Shadow Queen and her shadows fought against the combined forces of Sorcerers from around the world. The Sorcerers s...
