Blessed: Southern Line Of Wi'tche, #1

By J Asheley Brown

The battle lines have been drawn between the Light and the Dark. The long war has taken one of the Light's best soldiers, Arianne Rowan, the Elder Wi'tche and Leader of the Southern Coven of Witches. But there is no time to mourn because her husband Leo Rowan and their three teenage daughters Ariel, Alexis and Adrienne must prepare for yet another war. Someone or something has been destroying covens all over the world and soon the Southern Coven will be the only one left standing against the tide of darkness. 

Will Ariel, Alexis and Adrienne Rowan be able to set aside their grief and deal with personality and magical flaws before it is too late? Will Leo Rowan be able to properly guide his three charges,  his remaining links to his loving wife? These three young witches must prove to themselves and the world that they have been Blessed to be the last line of defense. 

Author's note: This story is not complete. It will be Released in a series of "Episodes" and is meant to be read like you are watching one of your favorite TV shows each week. Enjoy and stay tuned for Episode 2. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: J Asheley Brown
• Release date: Jan 8, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393201441

J Asheley Brown

J Asheley Brown has self published over 50 books ranging from poetry to young adult fiction and everything inbetween. He is the Creator and Editor-in-chief of a poetry publication called Poet Speak Magazine which is both an online and print magazine. When he is not busy writing he is creating and designing book covers for his company, J ASH B DESIGNS. The hardworking author is a man of faith and also a musician.

Book preview

Chapter 1

LEO couldn’t shift fast enough. For some reason he couldn’t teleport either. It was a bad time for his powers to be on the fritz. He had to keep moving, had to outpace the demons on his heels. He tried spell after spell but nothing was working, he was just too drained. Running after and away from demons all night and hunting down other creatures of the dark always exacted a heavy price on a witch’s body. Leo knew he should have cut his nightly hunt short hours ago. He used to never get so tired so fast before but then again he always had a partner working by his side, helping him eliminate all enemies.

He didn’t have that luxury on this night. When he first stepped into the dark forest surrounding his home, everything was eerily silent, not something that usually happened in the woods. The bitter cold of the autumn night seeped into his bones bypassing the insulation of his heavy cloak. His ears were attuned to every crackle of tree limbs and rustling in the bushes but something was different about this night like all the sound had been sucked out of the world. For a split second he almost turned back around to leave the woods but he wasn’t about to let silence, even a weird silence, stop him from blowing off some steam. Something was going to die this night, his sword wanted to taste a little death. It didn’t take long for his wish to come true.

A few minutes after entering the woods, he stumbled across a demon hunting ground. It was the smell that hit him first, acrid and smoky with a taste of rot and neglect hanging in the air combined with a sulfuric element that was hard to dismiss. Leo knew what he was about to face and he cursed under his breath, the smell was unmistakable. Demon scent. Not one or two but a whole group. Leo began slipping his sword from his back and muttering a spell under his breath. In the heat of battle he would need all the air in his lungs to execute fighting skills. He relished a physical fight and longed to plunge his sword into the empty hearted chest of a demon.

Looking around the dark bark of a massive oak he was standing behind, his guess about what he would find was confirmed. Ten or so demons were lumbering around a huge fire pit dug out of the ground. On opposite ends of the pit stood two wooden poles and hung up between them, rotating around and around like a grilled piece of meat, was a dead body. Leo didn’t need to stare long because he knew there was no longer any hope for whoever it was that unfortunately got caught in this demonic trap. But he swore he would avenge their death and enjoy every moment of it too.

Letting loose his spell, a blue fire sprang forth from his sword, engulfing the entire length of the blade. Only two things could end a demon: fire and decapitation. He wanted the odds to be more than even and in his favor. He wanted the foul creatures to feel their deaths at his hands.

From years of study he knew that demons could feel. They were not the wraith like, diaphanous entities floating around like they were portrayed on television and the movies. Demons had corporeal bodies, vengeful spirits encased in the mortal coil, and could blend in among the human population. Only a witch could see past their glamour of a normal human face and spy out the true identity hiding beneath. Witches were naturally attuned to the awful smell of demons, hell scent. Humans couldn’t smell it and didn’t know how grateful they should be, it was not for the faint of heart.

Leo walked away from the oak tree, stomping hard on dry fallen branches and crashing loudly through bushes as he made his way towards his demonic victims. The demons witnessed his wild approach as every dark head swiveled around to see the foolish human who would dare to interrupt their feast. Leo enjoyed seeing the fire in their black eyes go out as he began slicing through the tendons in their necks, his fiery sword barely slowing down and never catching on bones and muscles. His weapon of light, infused with the magic of his bloodline, would not fail him. He knew no sense of time.