A Magical Destiny: Witches of Branswell Trilogy, #3

By Ira Fox

Blood Lines! Evil Schemes! And Revenge!

 

For most of her life, Skylar Thorne spent her days agonizing over what happened to her mother. Painful memories and disturbing dreams reveal bits and pieces of the events surrounding her mother's disappearance.

 

So, when a simple spell unveiled everything, magic should've eased her pain.

 

But it didn't. Instead, the 19-year-old witch is left with rage that blurs the lines between good and evil.

 

Come along for the conclusion of this fantastical story!

 

Start reading now...

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Narmeri
• Release date: Feb 10, 2023
• ISBN: 9781956133097

Book preview

Chapter 1

Skylar Thorne spent many years thinking she was evil. For as long as she could remember, fires tended to spontaneously start around her whenever things would get stressful. By the time she was ten, she had resolved to the idea that there was something seriously wrong with her.

Growing up, there was no one in her life to tell her she was a witch or that there were magical beings out there with far freakier abilities. For months, she had practiced controlling her fire-starting urges, and she finally did. She learned how to calm herself so that the flames would never ignite or to stop them when they happened quicker than she could prevent them.

But then she met Julian Kaloz, who was floating from one foster home to the next just like her, and she was back to square one—starting fires left and right. Chaos replaced the emotional stability she worked hard to cultivate.

So, of course, it wasn't a surprise at all to Skylar that she found herself in the demonic underworld because of Julian.

All she wanted to do was protect Julian. For some reason, when she read that spell to travel to a loved one, Skylar assumed it would take her somewhere… different. Yes, indeed, the underworld was strange, and it was as gloomy and disgusting as Roxanne said it was.

Everything before Skylar was pitch dark. The whisper-soft fluttering of her eyelashes against her skin was the only indication that she had even unclosed her eyes. Otherwise, she would assume that she was still wrapped in the cocooned bliss of dreams.

Please, God. She closed her eyes, whispering. Please, please.

The young witch was hoping it was all nothing but a nightmare, but when she opened her eyes though, she was still in the suffocating darkness. Skylar worried there wasn't a drop of precious golden sunshine to reach her in whatever confined space she was in.

Okay. She sighed, running her hands through her hair—pushing them to the back. Think, Skylar. She closed her eyes and then opened them. Think.

Through her disorientation, Skylar instinctively understood she was far from the surface of her world. Everything was different where she was. The air was heavier, like a weighted blanket, pressing down on top of her. It weighed on her body and threatened to steal every last breath from her lungs—each inhale getting harder than the previous. Her bones ached with the same discomfort from lying for hours on a cold, hard floor.

However, a small thought began to form in her. Fire. Maybe this was the one time in her life when her fire issue was helpful.

That's it!

But she had never started fires by choice before. It was always out of her control. Sure, she learned to stop the flames, but she never discovered how to ignite them in the first place.

Immediately, she came up with the idea that she needed a stressful event. Skylar had to laugh when she realized she was already in one. Her whole life was one stressful event after another these days, and all she had to do was to focus.

Julian.

Skylar closed her eyes, and she imagined Julian in trouble. Demons were torturing him, and he was screaming for his life.

She opened her eyes.

Nothing.

The young woman closed her eyes again, and soon the same thing was happening.

Skylar tried to swallow, but her mouth was a desert. She let out a slight cough, anything to clear her throat. Hesitantly, she pushed herself up but ran smack into a wall.

Maybe Roxanne was right when she warned Skylar not to do anything without talking to her first. The young woman didn't regret her desire to save Julian, but she wished she had taken the time to wake Roxanne before reading that spell.

She threw one hand up to her pounding head, her fingers feeling a bump.

Who's there! a woman's sinister voice said.

Skylar froze. She tried to place the direction of the voice, but it echoed and was all over the place.

The sound of a metal door opening came before Skylar could think of anything else, but she at least could see the small light that appeared to her left—faint and distant.

The young witch concentrated, and she saw the silhouette of the woman in the doorway.

Not one word, Skylar, she thought.

And just like that, the woman closed the door, and Skylar didn't waste a moment walking in that direction. The closer she got, the more the hum of voices released unfamiliar sounds, almost like words. When she reached the door, it wouldn't open—Skylar realized it probably only opened from the other side.

But when she heard footsteps, Skylar's instincts made her place her back against the wall.

The door opened wide, and whoever it was had retreated as if the person expected her to follow them.

Slowly, Skylar made her way to the door and walked through it to the other side. Her light gaze fell upon the horde of demons in front of her.

This was the darkest pit of the universe. The underworld, where demons gather and unsung horrors culminate. It was where the worst were sent to pay for their sins, their crimes.

The worst of the very worst.

And now she was here too.

And so was her love, Julian.

Chapter 2

Kristen Walker has had many magical visions in her life, but none like the one that spooked her out of her mind the night before. In it, she was in a valley in California, burning. But it was when she came out of the vision—that was when the terror in her began. The Walker family's grimoire holds an entry that matched—to the last details—the vision she had, and it warned of a horrible future to come. As far as she could tell, their town was going to be burned to the ground by a powerful—and probably furious—witch. And because she knew she was given the vision to somehow stop it, Kristen was totally lost as to how to go about doing that.

Walker witches had many troubles in the magical world. They became easy targets, and many demons tried to kill them, trying to steal their coveted powers. Every one of them could see into the future, make killer potions, and cast the most potent spells any magical being had ever seen. From the old Celtic cultures to the New World, they ducked and vanquished the many who came after them for centuries.

Branswell had served them well over the centuries. They were some of the earliest outsiders to come to the place, and they immediately found friends in the natives. To this day, descendants of some of those people sometimes showed up at Kristen's door, sharing pieces of her family history.

When Rebecca, Kristen's oldest aunt, married a witch hunter, the Walker witches thought they had found the excuse to finally get out of the council. After all, it was forbidden, and they had a dark secret to protect. So, when the council leaders gave them the ultimatum to stay and get rid of the undesired son-in-law or leave, the Walker witches shocked them by bowing out.

Of course, council members had no idea that Elizabeth, Kristen's grandmother, stripped her human son-in-law of all of his acquired demonic buddies. He let her vanquish some twenty powerful demons over six months, as Rebecca refused to entertain any other ideas.

Yet, as Kristen lay on her bed that night, under a high ceiling decorated with family history, she questioned if her grandmother had made the right choice back then. She wondered what her life would have been like if she could go to the council members for support. All she had was her cousin, Carmen, who lived far away in Los Angeles, and Xander, the young local with whom she had the purest of friendships, even though their association was looked at with suspicion by members of the magical community.

And now she was in a bind. She couldn't talk to Xander because he was still connected to the council, and she worried her cousin would trouble herself by coming to Branswell.

Didn't Rebecca, Carmen's mother, move away because the council members were so hostile to her and her new family? So, there was no point telling Carmen about this vision unless Kristen was willing to go to Los Angeles and be there for however long it took to get to the bottom of it.

The young Walker witch laughed about the irony of it all. This town detested her family, but it was now looking a lot like the Walker witch would be the one to save it. Wouldn't that be something?

Kristen's shoulders weren't only weighed down with the heavy burden of her apocalyptic vision, oh no. This young Walker witch still had to tend to old family responsibilities, including helping Miko escape Roxanne's grip. She wasn't the first Walker witch to help him evade the Graham witches, but she certainly didn't want to be the one who violated that decades-old pact.

What would those people—the members of Branswell's witches council—say if they knew that not only was she helping a criminal vampire but that she also had vivid, sensual dreams with him? What if they found out that this was a vampire known for having worked with demons against witches from that very council in the past? What would they do if they knew she liked those unsightly dreams? What would they do if they knew she even wondered what would've happened had she done what Rebecca did all those years ago?

She shook her head as she brought a pillow to her chest.

They would kill me. Kristen closed her, whispering. They would actually kill me.

Luna, the council's current leader, wasn't like Sybil, the woman who controlled the council when Kristen's aunt did the unthinkable. Luna didn't have the same restrictions as Sybil, who feared the other Anglo-Saxon witches in the council could unite against her. Luna was a Peruvian witch who had no ties to any old familial dramas. The gringos meant nothing to her, and she would vanquish any trouble on the spot.

No, the council had changed.

Luna wouldn't allow things like that.

So, as Kristen went through the house the following morning, sniffing out Miko, who she had hoped sneaked through the night and was hiding in plain sight, she feared for her life.

She went back to the grimoire one more time, searching for an answer. There had to be something to say it was okay to hook up with a vampire. She also wished and hoped an entry would lead her to how to go about saving her hometown.

When Carmen called her several hours later, Kristen was still in her pajamas and hadn't had a bite of breakfast. It was nearly noon, and her entire system, let alone thoughts, was centered on a man with fangs, who was hopefully at least seven hours away in Chicago, and doom was looming over her hometown.

Kristen? Are you there?

She sniffled. Yes, I uh… did some cleaning up today; the dust must have gotten to me.

No, she wanted to say, I'm afraid for my life and the life of every innocent person in this town—not to mention I have the hots for an evil vampire.

Oh? Carmen sounded unconvinced, even though she quickly moved on to another subject. Listen, I've been getting all sorts of visions.

Kristen listened with interest. Maybe Carmen shared her burden more than she realized. Wouldn't it be wonderful if Carmen had the same vision?

I've had four in the last day. Carmen paused for a hot second. Has anything strange happened to you in the last few days?

Kristen chuckled. I live in Branswell; the strange is normal.

Carmen said she was being serious. Although she spoke to Kristen daily, she didn't bring it up before, convinced it had something to do with her life in Los Angeles. However, she started thinking that maybe it had something to do with Kristen. She had several visions that she now believed were all about Kristen.

I don't know why I didn't realize this sooner.

Kristen frowned. What kind of visions?

Like bad ones, Kristen. Really, really bad ones. She paused for a second. In fact, I'm thinking about coming out and keeping you company.

Kristen's heart jumped in her throat. She wanted to scream and tell her cousin everything, but she immediately reminded herself that the last thing she would want was for Carmen to be in Branswell—you know, in case the place went up in smoke.

Kristen? Carmen jilted her out of her thoughts. Are you there?

Yeah. Kristen wanted to make sure Carmen had the same vision before she said more. So, tell me about these visions?

Well, I don't know what to tell you; a demon shows up, you freeze, and you die. Carmen said that like she was reading the news—1, 2, and 3. I mean, what more do you need to know? Then Carmen sighed. I'm worried, Kristen.

Kristen closed her eyes. Carmen wasn't talking about that vision after all. Anything else was pointless to discuss.

Look, I don't think it's necessary for you to leave your coven for little 'ole me. I can take care of myself.

Carmen said she had a bad feeling about all of it. She made Kristen swear that she was going to cast protection spells around the house.

At every window and door… like your life depends on it. Remember not to go out after dark, always lock your doors, don't make friends with your neighbors, and certainly don't help children that fall off their bikes.

Kristen's face flushed. Wasn't it just recently when she and Miko witnessed that? A little girl fell off her bike, and, yes, Kristen helped her. She recalled how Miko had predicted the little girl would fall down.

That's so creepy, Kristen murmured.

What's that?

Uhm, nothing. Kristen rolled her eyes. Nothing.

Of course, her cousin was always spooky like that. The young witch sat down, listening to Carmen—the nearest relative that was still alive, even if she was thousands of miles away on the other side of the country.

The handsome man who might be coming or was recently there, I'd be suspicious of him. She paused. Don't trust him, Kristen.

Dude, I'm literally spell-protection overload as it is. She scoffed. I'm so sick of all this!

Carmen said things would get bad but that Kristen should trust the process. As long as she cast the specific spells Carmen was going to recommend, she should be fine. That was because Carmen had an exciting piece of news to reveal to Kristen.

The demon that will come to you next, or with you recently, will fall. You do what you always do, she added. But fear not, for this demon will not see real victory.

So, Rore was going to fail, and that made Kristen happy. The last thing she would ever want was to place Xander in harm's way. Even though she had made her own assurances, it felt so good to get confirmation from Carmen.

Thank you for telling me that. Kristen sighed. That's super helpful.

Finally, Carmen had a prophecy she wanted Kristen to keep in mind.

The young witch listened with interest as she took out her notebook and pen—ready to scribble down the events she knew would come to pass.

When the black cat joins the pack of wolves under the full moon, victory will be at hand for our kind. Carmen then hummed, and to Kristen, it sounded like her cousin was trying to remember her own prophecy. Then Carmen cleared her throat and continued. And when the pack howls to the following moon, it'll usher in an era of darkness. Carmen paused. That's all I got.

Kristen wrote it all down very quickly. Black cat. Wolves. Full moon. Victory. Our kind. New era. Darkness.

Is the black cat, uhm, is it familiar to me?

Carmen chuckled. Wake up, Kristen. This is a prophecy, not a nine-hundred number. It'll be your job to figure it out.

Kristen laughed. She couldn't believe she could laugh… when her world could turn upside down at any moment.

You really came to deliver a lot today, huh? Kristen smiled, her eyes closed. Thanks for making me laugh, at least.

I'm really sorry, cuz, Carmen said. I know I'm throwing a whole bunch of stuff at you with this, but I just couldn't keep it to myself any longer.

I'm glad you told me. Kristen took a deep breath. I really am.

Walker witches couldn't demand visions for personal purposes, Carmen reminded her cousin, but they could ingest the right herbs to promote a state of coincidences.

Kristen needed to make tea twice a day, composed of three ingredients: common nettle, lucerne, and raspberry leaf. The herbs needed to be in equal amounts, and all together crushed should be no more than one teaspoon.

By doing that, Carmen noted, it would place Kristen in a situation where visions for others could have side meanings for her, especially as it relates to this particular prophecy.

Kristen, I really believe this prophecy will free our family.

The young witch smiled. Maybe she was that future witch her ancestors had predicted centuries before. She closed her eyes, full of hope, allowing herself to think she could live to see the Walker curse being lifted in her lifetime.

I will start tomorrow, Kristen said.

Chapter 3

Rore didn't have to wait long to find her witch. Kristen's vision manifested just as expected. Only a handful of days had gone by when the demon first noticed a pair of eyes fixed upon her from across the place in the old milk factory. They belonged to a young man. At first, she saw the demonic illusion, and it amused her. Whoever helped him whip it up had a great sense of humor, making a rabbit look dangerous in the company of foxes.

But, of course, whoever helped the young witch had no idea this demon had her own good magic to play with. She traced her perfectly polished forefinger across Kristen's necklace. When she put it on, she was briefly blinded by the light—instinctively placing her hand in front of her face to cover her eyes.

When the demon took her hand away from her face, she saw the real witch. He was unquestionably a lot more handsome than she expected. It looked as if he hadn't shaved in a while, but not in a disheveled way. His blonde hair was pulled into a loose ponytail behind his head. The shine on the forehead above his crystal blue eyes reminded her of someone.

Magnus. She took a deep breath, a burning sensation coursing through her—these flames were as familiar as home. Magnus Frost.

Magnus Frost was a great wizard she once met in Yelcho, in Chile, where she was trying to kill a prince of the Tol tribes—a man destined to kill her queen. She and Elsa had transformed themselves into witches, and it was only Magnus that could see through their great good magic. What was good about it if they could purchase it? The witch who sold them the thing met her demise months later, as she said nothing about the abilities of certain magical beings to see through her illusion.

Rore smiled at the memory, and how ironic it was she was encountering the opposite. Here was a young witch, with no experience, trying to pass himself off as a demon.

She looked at him and the young, inexperienced demons around him, who were broadly unaware of the great danger that sat in their midst. If they knew he could strike them down with the flicker of his electrocuting hands, they would undoubtedly have not sat so close to him if not run.

Nevertheless, Rore didn't have to worry about the kid—she had Kristen on her side. She knew