65: Trial and Error – Pt. 3

As Victoria stepped into the door, she felt the overwhelming fount of energy. Something truly evil resided in this place and she sensed the intense force as it quickened to life. Losing all sense of self, she felt weightless and floated forward as if her feet did not touch the ground.

In the center of the room was a ritual stone, much like the one she’d seen in her many dreams of this place. Without encouragement, she took her position on top of the stone bed, resting her head just beneath the candles and stared up at the ceiling. 

Soon, five other women, dressed in similar garb entered the room, each taking a position around the table to form the five points of the pentagram. The north-most woman began the incantation and the others joined in. They too, floated, weightless as though the notion of gravity did not exist inside the chamber.

Victoria closed her eyes and waited. It didn’t take long before she felt the power flow through her. Her body slowly began to rise from the platform and, as she opened her eyes again, she watched the scene play out. The northern witch had an Athamé gripped above her and Victoria’s breath quickened. One slice, she hissed but remained still as she felt the blade burn through the flesh of her left arm. 

Then again, in a flash, the right received a matching mark. The woman placed the blade again on the table and the chanting grew louder. Golden light formed above her and slowly drifted down until she was completely surrounded within the warmth of its rays. Victoria’s body was pushed forward until she stood erect and words hummed in her head, forcing their way through her subconscious. “Restituo nativitas filia. Benedicite. Benedicite,” she chanted.

The room exploded in a burst of light. The women surrounding Victoria were thrown against the walls and she was lifted higher into the air and suspended above everything. Light absorbed into her as the onlookers gawked in fascination. Gradually, she descended until again she rested atop the stone bed. When it was all over, the women pulled themselves from the floor and quietly exited the room.

“Did it work?” Rowan asked, watching Victoria’s lifeless body as she remained prone on the table below.

“We shall see soon,” Emery replied. “Now comes her true test.”

He nodded to a guard stationed at the door and they watched as he pulled Victoria from the slab and carried her into an adjoining room. The spectators adjusted their positions to better view what came next. In the room below them was an arena where supernatural beings tested themselves in trials by combat. An unconscious Victoria was tossed onto the dirt floor and left to fend for herself against an onslaught of competitors, the first: an ogre.

“Come on,” Derrick whispered. Rowan smirked, sensing his uneasiness as they watched the large beast charge with a large double-sided ax drawn towards Victoria who still lay unwittingly in its path. 

But, as the creature reached her, her body was tossed forward onto both feet and, with hands raised, she released a blast of electricity that stunned the monster. “Fulgurite!” Its weapon fell and it too dropped, clutching at its throat as Victoria slowly moved forward.

“To the death!” She heard Julian shout above her. 

“Lacera!” Squeezing her hands tighter, the force of her magic tore the creature’s throat, reducing airflow until it finally ceased to breathe. The crowd above her exploded in cheer but, she did not get a moment’s rest. 

Entering through the door behind her was her next opponent. The gait of the hirsute quadrupedal was all too familiar and Victoria braced herself for impact as the werewolf rushed for her. With arms outstretched preparing for the tackle, the animal gripped her on both sides and together, they landed on their backs on the other side of the arena.

The wolf was up first, lifting its elongated snout to the sky as it let out a powerful roar. A sharp pain seared down her arm and Victoria looked down to find three large gashes carved into her flesh. The skin around the wound was charred as though the monster’s talons were created by hell’s fire.

Quickly, she clambered to her feet, moving away to gain some much needed distance as her blood soaked the dirt beneath her. And as the beast’s yellow eyes refocused on her, she began a new incantation. “Incendio!” The animal caught fire mid-air as it lunged for her, its charred remains landing hard on the ground beside her. 

Victoria placed her hand over her wound and, with closed eyes, chanted “Sana et Mederi.” The deep lacerations began to heal as a bright blue light flashed beneath her fingers. Again, she heard the sound of the door opening to the arena and glanced behind her. Entering now was a demon, one that reminded her of Derrick’s friend Freddy with similar markings on his face. Victoria’s eyes widened in shock as she took in the sight of the creature.

The beast wasted no time as it rushed, full sprint, into the arena. “Abscondete,” Victoria whispered, and right in front of its eyes, she vanished. There was a collective gasp throughout the audience, the Elders included as they watched the demon search for her.  

A sneer curled its lip and it visibly sniffed the air, picking up Victoria’s scent. “Ostendete.” She reappeared behind him and it turned, angry eyes gleaming brightly as it darted its forked tongue towards her. “Aqua facient solida!” The fiend became frozen solid in the middle of the arena floor. 

Satisfied with the spell, Victoria circled around the sculpture, watching as the brute’s eyes followed her every step. And with a flick of her wrist, “Fractura,” the ice crumbled into tiny pieces, the water dissolving into the dirt.

“Congratulations,” Emery shouted down to her, “You have bested your opponent. However, you are far from done. There is still one last test before we are certain you are worthy of your new gift.”

After the physical portion of the test concluded, Victoria remained in the center of the arena for the mental portion. This time, her opponent was a trickster demon; a creature she’d previously been introduced to thanks to Brad Devereux. And before she could speak a word, she felt her body seize, her throat lock up and her hands lock against her. 

Her pulse elevated as her breathing grew shallow. She felt herself being thrown into another realm and she landed on the ground of some unknown location. Gasping for air, Victoria tried to think up a way out of her situation. Her voice was lost to her and she no longer had the use of her hands. 

Trees rustled around her as cool air blew through them. Turning, she stared up at the bright blue sky above her, trying to encourage her body to move, to act, to speak but, nothing worked. The demon was in her head. She could feel him rifling through her memories of past loves, past deeds and past sins. The last image she saw was of the woman from the park.

A tear rolled down the side of her face as she watched the scene replay over and over again. The sound of the woman’s cry as the bullet drove through her. The way her neck snapped back as it ripped into her skull. The bright spray of blood as it exited out the back of her head. The silence that came next once the jogger collapsed to the ground.

“What’s happening?” Derrick asked as they continued watching Victoria lie motionless in the bottom of the arena.

“The trickster is playing her against her own emotions. The witch has to find a way to overcome her pain if she expects to free herself and unlock her true potential,” Julian explained.

Rowan again smirked as he leaned into Derrick and whispered, “Sound familiar, Mate?”

“What happens if she doesn’t?” he asked, ignoring his Sire’s comment.

“She will remain trapped in her own mind,” Emery replied.

“Come on, Victoria. You can do this.” 

Let go. Victoria lay silently on the ground as leaves fell softly around her. Over and over again she heard the shot. She watched the woman fall and felt the pain of her death. She thought she had found an escape, drowning herself in work but, there was no escaping her guilt. She was responsible for someone’s untimely demise. In the ten years she worked for the Avondale Police Department, she only had to discharge her service weapon a total of three times but, none of them resulted in death. Let go of all the pain.

Victoria closed her eyes. A small spark of light shone behind her eyelids. “Derrick.” His name fell from her lips in a small whisper but, it was the catalyst she needed. Victoria felt her finger twitch. Her body was reawakening. The sound of the gun firing exploded again behind her.  And she began to move. 

“Vinculum abrumperes. Dimittis. Vinculum abrumperes. Dimittis. Dimittis.” She continued chanting until she felt her strength return and was finally able to stand. The trickster fell back and watched as Victoria started forward. Hands at her side, her lips trembled as she slowly regained her faculties. 

“Please. I wanted to bring you peace. Resolve your sins. I was only trying to help.”

“That’s what everyone says. You’re just like Rowan and Loretta and Derrick. You tell me you want to help but, I’m always the one left to deal. So you know what?” She lifted her hands above her head, bringing them down in a ball of light as the sky flashed with fire. Bolts of electricity thundered to the ground, igniting the arena floor in every place they hit. Surrounded by fire, Victoria’s eyes turned completely white as she looked down at the demon cowering at her feet. “You and the others can go to hell!”

Lifting her head, the shroud of fire raged from all sides of her towards the prone man, she watched as his body became engulfed in bright orange flames. He screamed as the fire consumed him, leaving nothing more than a pile of ash. “She’s done it,” Julian said, watching the trickster body flicker into ash. “And without a spell.”

“She will be the one,” Emery agreed as he turned to exit the room.

“What does that mean?” Derrick asked, turning from the window as Victoria was helped back into the chamber.

“It means when the day comes, she will be called upon to do what the other witches before her have: cage the destroyer.”

“So she’s free to go?”

“Yes,” Julian nodded. “You may take her home. Keep her safe, Edmund.”

“Thank you.” Derrick rushed from the room and down the stairs towards the chamber to Victoria. As he entered the room, she was just redressing. She turned with a scowl and he placed his hands in front of him defensively. “We can leave. It’s ok.”

“No, it’s not. Nothing is ok. You let Rowan kidnap me! You allowed them to bring alive my worst fucking nightmare and then throw me in a room where monsters repeatedly tried to kill me. No, Derrick, nothing is ok.”

Before he had a chance to speak, Victoria stormed from the room. Derrick afforded one last glance above to the observation deck and caught the end of Rowan’s smug expression before running to catch Victoria. “I’m so—”

“Save it! You really think I care? I can’t even look at you right now. You were supposed to protect me, Derrick. And instead, you…I can’t believe you!”

“Excuse me,” Victoria heard the familiar soft tone of the Elder behind her and stopped. She knew it was too good to be true. “Before you go,” Julian said, stopping Victoria just outside in the garden. He pulled an item from his coat pocket and handed it to her. Pulling open the top, she hid a smile seeing a mystic talisman. Etched into the face was a large stone pillar with mountains just behind them.

“You’re…”

“An ancient, yes. My family predates the original pact, in fact, it was my mother that helped summon the witches to defeat the Destroyer when last he came. This is the Earth Shaker; the talisman that controls natural elements of the earth. It won’t help if you’re unable to locate the others but, it’s a step in the right direction. Good luck.”

“The Destroyer, is he still…”

“His resting place is guarded 24/7 by our bravest and strongest forces. He is under miles of earth and concrete and secured underground by wards created by the seven covens. Once you’ve found the last charm, we can combine them and reinforce the magics that imprison him even more. That is why it is vital you stay on task and work to strengthen your power.”

“She’s done tremendous work thus far,” Derrick replied, smiling proudly in Victoria’s direction.

“But we have a long road ahead of us,” Victoria added. “And I’ll do my best. Thank you again, Julian.”

Derrick watched and waited as the van pulled away from his house and drove the corner off his block. “They’re gone.” He turned to see an angry expression on Victoria’s face and could only imagine the resentment harnessed behind the look. That signature smirk crossed his lips and he opened his arms wide, beckoning her forward.

“You did great,” he laughed and caught her as she jumped against his chest. Swinging her around, a large smile appeared on her face and she leaned down to take his mouth in a long, passionate kiss, moaning into it as she felt his tongue snake across her lips.

“That was scary,” she remarked as the kiss broke and Derrick placed her on her feet again. “I thought for sure I was done for.”

“I told you it would be brutal. I’m sorry about the circumstances but, I knew this was coming when Rowan showed up.”

“Rowan,” she replied tersely. “I can’t believe there was ever a time you two were really friends. That guy has been nothing but a…ugh I just want to strangle him!” she continued as Derrick nodded.

“Well, unfortunately, strangling would have had no effect given the fact that he doesn’t breathe but, I understand. I used to be just like him, I mean we did everything together; hard to believe I know. I’d like to think I’ve since upgraded to a less insensitive asshole instead of the morally corrupt asshole I once was.”

“That doesn’t sound like much of an upgrade,” she said, lightly teasing his lips with hers.

“Trust me it is. You’ve seen me at my worst, Victoria, imagine how I was without a moral compass of any kind.” 

“You mean me?” she asked, jutting a thumb at herself. Victoria smiled as she turned away, her thoughts returning to the events earlier in the day.

She felt Derrick’s hand slip around her waist and leaned back against him as his lips kissed down her arm. “I was scared too, Victoria.”

“Well you have more practice at not showing it because I couldn’t tell.”

“And I’m sorry about that. I had to sell it. They couldn’t know that I’d given you a head’s up otherwise your trials would have ended very differently.” He paused briefly, reading her emotions as she thought for a moment and he smiled to himself. “You did amazing controlling your thoughts tonight, keeping up the impression of being pissed at me. If they even suspected…” he paused and shook his head. “That really was impressive.”

“It was easy. I just thought about seeing you kiss that blonde bitch at your club and it seemed to work in my favor.”

Derrick laughed and she felt his chest rumble against her. “So the truth comes out. You’re a jealous little witch.” Spinning in his arms, she reached up and wrapped herself around his neck as she gazed longingly into his eyes.

“You’re mine, Mr. Constantine. I’ll not share you with another ever again. You’ll do well to remember that.” 

“Yes, Ma’am,” he grinned before planting a sweet kiss on her mouth. “And now that that’s settled, we should probably discuss what you and your Mom talked about. I saw her at Moonlight.” 

“You sure you want to get into that right now?” she asked, giving him an unreadable look that broke into a smile as she slowly walked her fingers down his chest. “Because, I was kinda hoping…”

“Say no more, Detective,” Derrick said, scooping Victoria into his arms as he started for the stairs. 

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**Author’s Note: Victoria’s incantation during the ritual – “Restore the lineage to the daughter.” Bless. Bless. Victoria’s incantation during the trial: With the ogre: “Shock,” and “Tear.” With the wolf: “Fire!” “Heal and Cure.” With the demon: “Hide,” “Show,” “Make water solid,” “Fracture.” And finally, during the trial by mind: “Sever the bond. Release. Sever the bond. Release. Release.” **

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