Hidden Magic: The Call of The Prophecy

By Tiffany Kahapea

In the heart of Chicago, beneath the veil of mundane reality, six sisters find themselves thrust into a world of magic, mystery, and peril. Bound by blood and an ancient lineage, their lives take a surprising turn when they unexpectedly inherit extraordinary powers, powers that hold the key to an age-old

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tiffany Kahapea
• Release date: Feb 1, 2023
• ISBN: 9798985719604

Book preview

Chapter 1

The Sisters’ Sorrows

Chicago. The city known around the world for its crime and corruption. The city where mass shootings are reported on the news almost every day. Many people wonder how someone could live in such a place but my sisters and I call it home. We grew up on the city's south side with our wonderful mother who worked tirelessly to make sure we had a decent childhood, and she always made time for family outings and vacations.

There are six of us. Miranda, Mary, Annie, Sydney, Stephanie, and Ashley. Also, my best friend Rebecca. She's practically my sister since she grew up with us. We live in a modest five-bedroom three-bathroom house in a relatively nice area. Even though our neighborhood is nice, we've had our fair share of brawls. Because of this, mom made sure we knew how to fight.

Miranda took up boxing, I learned judo, Annie learned mixed martial arts, Sydney learned karate, Stephanie learned Muay Thai, and Ashley learned jiu-jitsu. The neighborhood knew us as the brawling six; brawling seven if we counted Rebecca and her krav maga skills. If you messed with one of us, you messed with all of us. We're a tight group of siblings and family means everything to us.

We don't know our father and mom refuses to talk about him. She'd only say, good riddance to him, I hope he rots in hell, and he's a filthy scum bag, any time we'd ask about him. Our mother is what some people call weird, but we like to think of her as eccentric. She's always smiling, dancing, singing, and laughing. Lately, she's been telling crazy stories about seers, magic, and demons trying to take over the world. To us, these fictional stories are fun and entertaining but to her they're real.

She really believes magic exists in the world and that one-day chaos will arise. Unfortunately, her delusions are getting worse. She painted the windows black so no one can see into the house. She smashed all the tv's and other electronics in fear of someone listening. She's even suspicious of other people and refuses to go outside.

Now she's talking to herself and acting creepier than usual. Her behavior is out of hand, but we have no idea how to help her and I regret letting this go on for so long. We still live at home because mom's mental state and behavior is so unpredictable.

Miranda drops her fork with a heavy sigh, I'm going to have mom committed.

I shove my chair back, What? We're gathered around the dining room table eating dinner. You cannot commit mom, are you crazy?

I don't know, Mary. This may be a good thing, Stephanie whispers while pushing the food around on her plate.

Miranda rolls her eyes at me, Mom is getting more unstable by the day. She doesn't recognize us anymore, what day it is, or hell, maybe not even the damn year.

I think we should all talk about this and take a vote instead of Miranda calling the shots like she always does, Sydney chimes in.

Sydney and Miranda never really see eye to eye and I'm always stuck being the mediator. With Miranda being the oldest, she tends to take on the maternal role in our mom's absence. It can be tiresome but she means well. She stepped in and divvied up household jobs for everyone in mom's absence. That way the house is always clean and food is always on the table.

Ashley lets out a huff and rolls her eyes. Well, I think that whatever we do, we do it fast because this is ridiculous. I'm tired of getting weird looks while I'm out because everyone thinks our mother is crazy.

Look, let's finally commit her to a hospital where she can receive the help she needs. We can visit her whenever we want but there's nothing more we can do, Miranda replies.

Quietness descends over the dining room, each of us lost in thought over what to do with mom. It's heartbreaking because we all love her so much. I miss the days when she smiled and laughed. She'd do silly dances around the house while singing weird songs. This whole situation is too depressing to think about. I don't know how things turned out so bad. As the thought crosses my mind, a loud noise comes from the back of the house.

Miranda jumps from the table, What the hell was that?

I think it came from mom's room, Ashley yells as she runs down the hallway. The rest of us jump up and follow suit. Mysterious noises coming from mom's room happen all the time but this time seems different.

Ashley is tugging hard on the door as we approach, The door is locked.

We begin banging and kicking the door as we listen to more commotion and screaming. Each of us yell mom's name through the door, but she doesn't respond. Worrisome crashing and loud banging noises can be heard, and we're pounding on the door so hard it's starting to splinter. We're so panicked we don't realize the room had gone completely silent.

Suddenly, Miranda comes running toward the door with a sledgehammer. Move!

She swings and hits the lock on the door. It splinters a little and after a couple of hits, the door swings open.

Mom? we say in unison but receive no answer.

I inch into the room to see her lying lifeless on the bed. Blood is everywhere, the bed is disheveled, the dressers are knocked over, and glass is everywhere from broken windows.

No, no, no, she can't be, Ashley murmurs as she slides down the wall to the floor. She was just sleeping.

Ashley's voice grows louder as she becomes hysterical, How can this be? What happened? Miranda, what happened!

Miranda walks around the room surveying the damage. With tears streaming down her face, she speaks one word. Mom?

She climbs onto the bed and gathers mom in her lap. Her shoulders are shaking hard from crying as she frantically wipes the blood off mom's lifeless face.

Mom? Wake up, please. We need you. Please don't leave us, she says as she cries harder.

I stand in the doorway frozen at the scene in front of me. Ashley is crying in the corner, Sydney and Stephanie are crying on the floor, and Miranda is crying on the bed holding our dead mother. I can hear Annie in the kitchen on the phone with emergency services and I have no idea what to do. This can't be happening. We were just discussing how to get mom the help she needed. I'm still motionless as questions run wild in my head.

What happened?

Why was she screaming?

Who broke the windows and trashed her room?

This can't have been her, could it?

What are we supposed to tell the police?

This is all too much. Then, it finally hits me. Mom's dead. She. Is. Dead. The world goes dark as I faint and hit the floor.

My mind is this big empty void. This vast space of nothingness but I can hear voices nearby. Someone is calling my name so, I open my eyes and I see Annie leaning over me.

Are you okay? she asks with a worried look. You fainted while I was on the phone with the paramedics and the police.

Everything starts swirling back to the present. My mother is dead. I start to tremble as a cry breaks free from my lips. Annie sits down and holds me as my cries escalate. I'm crying for the loss of a mother, crying for my sisters, and crying for this entire fucked up situation.

I take a deep breath and wipe my eyes, Where's mom, Annie? Tell me this is just a dream?

She looks at me with tears in her eyes, She's dead, Mary. You fainted in her room.

I pull back as Annie starts to stand, and she helps me up just as emergency services arrive. As soon as they make it in the house, they start rendering aid to mom, but I know it's too late. I'm not sure how long I was out but I know she's not coming back no matter what they do.

She's just as lifeless as she was when we found her. The police start pulling each of us aside to collect our statements. First Miranda, then Annie, me, Stephanie, Ashley, and finally Sydney. The whole time I'm thinking this has got to be the worse day in the history of days.

They're going to take the body to the Medical Examiner, Miranda says as emergency services finish what they're doing. She's shivering, no doubt from the shock of mom's death. They don't suspect we had anything to do with how mom died. She takes a deep shuttering breath. Once everything is done, we can start preparing for the funeral.

She stares blankly into space as she starts spouting off things that need to be done but the police tell us we can't touch anything until they finish their work so, we head to our rooms to wait things out.

Turning around, I walk slowly to my room. I count the stairs as I go up, remembering all the times we played on them as children. Sliding down on cardboard boxes, falling down, and even falling up the stairs while laughing hysterically.

My steps falter in the upstairs hallway as I glance sadly at all the photos hanging on the walls. Photos from our birthdays, Christmases, elementary school graduations, family trips, proms, and high school graduations. We're all smiling and laughing without a care in the world and I had no idea our lives would turn out this way.

Finally, I make it to my room and fall heavily on the bed. It is here that I let out all of my sorrows. I'm crying so hard the bed is shaking from the force of it. So many tears are streaming down my face as I remember what we lost and what could have been. Until finally, I drift off to sleep.

After a couple of days of merely existing around each other, we finally get the all-clear to clean the house and plan for the funeral. The police are done with their investigation and the medical examiner is finished with the autopsy. It's been ruled that mom died of a heart attack.

We're shocked by their findings, especially after what we told them. None of us were in the room with her and it's hard to believe all the commotion was caused simply by her having a heart attack. Unfortunately, neither of us had any evidence contrary to what they found. Miranda's voice penetrates my thoughts.

Mary, you can start with cleaning the kitchen. Sydney and Stephanie, you guys can start cleaning the common areas, she tells us while looking around at anything but our faces. Annie and Ashley can clean everything else while I start cleaning mom's room.

After shaking our heads okay, we start cleaning in our designated areas. As I'm loading the dishwasher, I hear someone pounding on the door.

Oh my God guys, open up! the frantic female voice yells.

It's Rebecca! I shout as I run to open the door. Oh my God, you came.

Of course I came, she says while wiping her eyes. Miranda called and told me your mom died. What was I supposed to do, sit at home and wonder if you guys were okay?

She walks through the front door, taking off her coat and shoes along the way. What do you need me to do?

Everyone gets to work on cleaning the house. I clean the kitchen and dining room, then sweep and mop those areas. Sydney and Stephanie clean the living room, den, and then vacuum. Annie, Ashley, and Rebecca clean everything else. Windows, shelves, laundry, and whatever else that needs cleaning, and we are almost done. I turn around and walk down the hallway toward mom's room. Miranda is standing in the middle of the room with a vacant expression.

Why is there so much blood? she mumbles while looking around. How was this a heart attack?

Moving quickly, I hug Miranda tightly, I don't know. We may never know, but all we can do is take it one day at a time.

Ashley walks through the door looking at all the mess. You know mom was unstable. She could have broken the window and cut herself. She could have worked herself up so much that it gave her a heart attack. But we'll never know because none of us were in the room.

Come on, we'll clean her room together, I say as I grab Miranda's hand.

Slowly, everyone joins us as we clean the damage in mom's room. We're sweeping away all the pain and agony. Mopping and rinsing away the tears. Throwing out the trash and cleaning dirty memories away from the home. Once we finish, all that's left is an empty room full of dead memories and the only option we have is to pull together and move on.

It's been two years since mom passed away. We still live at home because neither of us can bear to move away from each other and things are basically back to normal. Well, as normal as can be given the tragedy we all endured. Miranda is still the overbearing and mothering sister she's always been.

She works for a local law firm downtown. Annie is back to her usual calm and collected demeanor. She teaches second grade at Rose Park Elementary School. Sydney and Stephanie are usually never too far from each other. Sydney is a police officer for the Chicago Police Department and Stephanie works for the city as an environmental ecologist. Ashley is a forensic medical examiner for Cook County and Rebecca and I are Cook County Sheriffs.

We enjoy our jobs, but we love the time we spend together more. Every day we make sure to eat breakfast and dinner together. As I'm driving on patrol, I start laughing at the memory of last night's fish tacos, made by Miranda, when my phone rings. Looking at the screen, I see it's Annie calling.

Hello, house of beauty this is cutie, I say into the phone while holding back a smile. Annie hates it when I answer the phone like that.

She groans into the phone, Ugh, why do you always act so childish? I swear I don't know why we still put up with your shenanigans.

You put up with my shenanigans because you love me and I keep your asses out of jail, I say while laughing. What's up?

I put on my turn signal to make a left-hand turn. It's my lunch break and I'd just gotten off Lake Shore Drive at Canal Street. I love going to the polish stand down here. There's nothing like having a burger loaded up with sautéed onions and mustard splashed all over.

Annie's irritated tone cuts through my thoughts, Mary, are you even listening to me?

Oops, sorry. I was too busy fantasizing about the food I'm about to eat, I sing into the phone.

She lets out a frustrated sigh, I said, what are you making for dinner tonight because I refuse to eat those fish tacos Miranda made last night. I mean, why do we continue to let her cook? Do we want food poisoning?

Her dramatic statement makes me laugh. What do you want me to make for dinner?

Annie is quiet for a moment. She does this when she's thinking of something we'd all eat. Unfortunately, that's no easy thing to do because our likes and dislikes are very different and very interesting.

Oh, I've got it! she shouts into the phone. How about you make a good ole southern dinner? she says with a country accent. Everybody loves it when you cook like that.

Her terrible accent puts a smile on my face, Okay, I can do that. I'll swing by the store on the way home to pick up what I need.

She lets out a happy shriek, Great! I'll see you at home. Bye!

As I say goodbye, I step out of the cruiser and into the line at the polish stand. The stand's not overly crowded at this time of day nor is it excessively hot out so, I'm able to pick up my food rather quickly. I spend the rest of the day driving around on the Dan Ryan expressway giving out a few tickets here and there, but I'm ready to be on my way home.

As the end of my shift approaches, I drive to the station, walk through the door, down to the weapons room, and turn in my gun. After signing the required paperwork for weapons turn-in, I go to the locker room to change. When I walk into the room, I see Rebecca standing at her locker getting ready for her overnight shift.

Hey, Bec. How's it going? I ask noticing her disheveled look.

It's going. I swear it seems like the days are shorter when you work overnight shifts, she replies dramatically.

I shake my head at her statement because I told her she wouldn't like working nights when she got the job, but she chose it anyway. I walk over to my locker and quickly change into my civilian clothes while making a mental note not to forget to pick up what I need for dinner. Once finished, I close and lock my locker.

See you later, Bec, I say as I walk out the door.

All I hear on the way out is a mumbled see ya. Rebecca is not a social person when she's on the night shift. Soon, I make it to the store, pick up what I need, and make it home with enough time to start dinner.

Ashley walks over to the kitchen island to peek into the grocery bags I'd just sat down. What are you making tonight, Mary?

Well, Annie called me and practically begged me to make dinner tonight. I'd hate for us to die of food poisoning from the fish tacos Miranda made last night, I reply smiling.

I did not beg, Annie yells out from the living room.

Miranda rolls her eyes at our teasing, You will not get food poisoning from the fish tacos. She throws her hands in the air. I swear, you guys act like you're going to die every time I cook.

Sydney quirks her brow at Miranda, We're still wondering why we let you cook in the first place.

Yeah, aren't we still recovering from the last time she cooked? Stephanie asks. I believe Miranda made meatloaf, but she didn't cook it all the way through.

Stephanie starts laughing so hard at the memory that tears are coming from the corner of her eyes.

I'm trying to hold back my laughter, Okay, guys. Give her a break. At least she tries to cook for us. I look down at the bags of groceries. Tonight, I'm making fried chicken, sweet potatoes, greens, and cornbread.

With that being said, I go to the spice cabinet and start taking down the spices I'll need for dinner. I open the packages of chicken wings and drumsticks. Pointing my chicken-coated fingers at each one of my sisters, I allocate tasks that they can help me with. Ashley is picking the greens at the table, Miranda is mixing the cornbread on the counter, and Sydney and Stephanie are peeling the sweet potatoes near the trash can. Soon, I realize that Annie's not in the kitchen. Just as I start to call her name, I feel the ground shaking.

Did you guys feel that? I ask.

Only blank stares answer my question and now I think I imagined it. No one noticed the ground shaking. I shrug my shoulders thinking maybe I did imagine it, so I brush it aside and got back to seasoning the chicken.

A couple of minutes later, I feel the ground shake again. I drop the chicken wing as I lose my balance, Okay, please tell me you guys felt that?

Yeah, I felt it. What the hell is that? Stephanie asks. We don't experience earthquakes in Chicago.

I never get the chance to respond because the ground and house starts shaking uncontrollably. Dishes are falling out of the cabinets, the refrigerator doors pop open and food spills out, and cracks start to form along the walls and across the ceiling. We've never been in an earthquake before, so for the first couple of seconds, we're frozen to the spot unsure of what to do. Suddenly, Miranda moves into action.

Move away from the windows! she yells as she gathers us. Head toward the basement and hide under something, now.

Ashley, Sydney, and I run toward the basement door as Miranda holds it open with Stephanie behind her. I turn around to yell for Annie to come with us, but she's frozen in the hallway mid-stride. It appears as if she started coming our way but something stopped her as she was running. Suddenly, I feel my body freeze and the only thing I can move are my eyes. I try to look around for the rest of my sisters or to hear if they made it to the basement but I can't see much of my surroundings.

It's as if some unknown force has stopped us where we are as the house shakes and crumbles around us. Suddenly, my sisters and I cry out in agony as we are lifted into the air. Light shoots from our bodies and it feels as if all the bones in my body are breaking and mending over and over again.

My blood feels as if it's boiling beneath my skin as the pain increases. My head is pounding like it would if someone was hitting me repeatedly with a bat. It feels like the pain is lasting forever but just as I think I can't take it anymore, we drop to the floor and darkness takes over.

Every bone in my body feels like it's been hit by an eighteen-wheeler truck. I can't move anything without pain shooting through my entire body. I reach up to touch my head but I can barely move. Breathing even hurts and I try to sit up but its pure agony.

I don't remember being hit by something or falling off anything and I can't remember what happened. My last memory is of me being in the kitchen with my sisters prepping dinner. Wrenching my eyes open, I take in my surroundings and realize I'm still at home. I breathe a sigh of relief until I start to panic.

Where are my sisters?

Are they okay?

Why is the house so quiet?

I try to speak, but my mouth is too dry. It takes a couple of swallows but I finally manage to spit some words out.

Miranda? I call out in a scratchy voice.

Ow, what happened? Ashley whines.

My fucking body hurts all over, Miranda groans.

Ugh, what the hell? Sydney says as she finally wakes.

I glance around to make sure everyone is okay.

Where's Annie and Stephanie? I ask, this time louder.

Geesh, quit fucking yelling, Annie says as she rolls over on the floor.

Finally, Stephanie speaks, I feel like shit.

I let out a sigh of relief because we're all here, and we're all alive but what the actual fuck? I try hard to remember something but nothing resurfaces. I don't know how long we lay there, but we finally manage to move off the floor. The house is a mess, food is everywhere, liquids are spilled, cracks in the ceiling and walls, and dirt and debris on the floors. I look out the window and notice that it's morning.

You guys, it's morning, I tell my sisters.

They turn around and a collective gasp rings out in the room. Luckily for us, it's the weekend, and we don't have to worry about being late for work, but I'm confused as to how we went from cooking dinner to waking up in extreme pain this morning with no memory.

Ashley, did you slip something in the water last night? Sydney asks while Stephanie is giving Ashley a dirty look. She's always up to something so it wouldn't surprise me if she pulled this stunt.

No, I did not put anything in anything last night. If you'll notice, I'm feeling like shit on the bottom of a shoe like the rest of you, Ashley responds angrily.

Look guys, I don't know what the hell is going on or what happened but let's clean up and shower. Then we'll come back down and see if anyone can remember anything, I say sluggishly as I make my way to one of the bathrooms.

After everything is cleaned and everybody is done showering, we gather around the kitchen table. Before anyone can utter a single word, someone is banging on the front door.

Who the hell is that? I ask as I leave the kitchen to answer the door.

To my surprise, it's Rebecca although I'm not sure why she's here. It's morning, so she'd have gotten off work not too long ago.

I move aside to let her in, Hey Bec, what's up?

She ignores me as we slowly make our way down the hall back to the kitchen. When we enter, she just sits down at the table. I find this odd because Rebecca doesn't usually stop by after her shift is over. She usually goes straight home and is comatose as soon as her head hits the pillow.

Rebecca, what are you doing here? Didn't you just leave work? Annie asks her.

Miranda waves her hand dismissively, No worries about that. Rebecca, did you experience the earthquake last night?

Still, Rebecca only sat in the chair and stared blankly. It's like she's here but not here, lost in her own world without noticing her surroundings. Suddenly, Rebecca turns in the chair and starts murmuring. I walk closer to hear what she's saying, but she's speaking too low for me to hear. I ask if she's okay, but she only speaks louder. Chanting the same thing over and over again;

"You have gone through the turning

Now it's time to heed this warning

The sisters six will be fearsome

The fight against evil will be gruesome

This magical right was given at birth

To prevent total dominion over Earth

Now is the time to answer the call

To defeat the one called Master to All,"

Rebecca blinks away the blank stare, Hey, guys what's up? Then she realizes she's at our house. What am I doing here? How did I even get here?

She's looking around in confusion but at this moment we're all confused. I don't understand what Rebecca is talking about and I hope she's not having a mental break from the stress of working so much.

I bend low to look directly into her eyes, "Rebecca, you were mumbling the same poem repeatedly. Something about the turning and saving the earth or whatnot. Do you remember any of that?"

She stares at each of us for a moment and I begin to get an uneasy feeling about this whole situation. I do not like the looks that are passing over her face.

I started chanting the prophecy didn't I? she asks suddenly.

She hops out of the chair and starts pacing the kitchen while saying things like me and my big mouth, why do I have the gift of insight, and I didn't ask for this shit!

She finally stops pacing the kitchen and looks at us with sorrow in her eyes. I am so sorry guys. There are some things that you need to be aware of and I'm not sure how you're going to take it.

What the hell are you talking about? Miranda shouts.

It's time for me to intervene before this situation gets out of hand. Things can go downhill very quickly when Miranda is upset, especially when she's not feeling well.

Everybody needs to calm down. Apparently, Rebecca has information about the freaky shit going on, and we need to give her a chance to explain, I say hoping like hell to get everyone's attention.

Turning towards Rebecca, I tell her to start talking. The sooner we find out what's going on, the sooner we can move on and get back to normal.

Chapter 2

The Secrets Within

Rebecca hesitates for a few minutes. No doubt she's trying to figure out how to explain all the bizarre shit that's going on. It worries me that she didn't even know she came here in the first place.

Okay, guys. I don't know how to explain this without sounding insane, Rebecca says interrupting my train of thought.

She wrings her hands before continuing, First off, there is a whole new world that exists that I did not know of until recently. I'd only come into my powers— if I can call it that, she murmurs— a few months ago.

I mean, I thought I was going crazy. Saying things without knowing, ending up in places without knowing how I got there, and then today at your house! she yells.

Rebecca begins to pace the room again while telling us she didn't know this had anything to do with us. During this time, my sisters and I are looking at each other with worry.

Rebecca spins around and leans on the table, Okay so long story short, I am what is called a seer. That's the un-fucking-fortunate gift of insight. She puffs before rolling her eyes. I can see things. Sometimes the sight is murky or unclear, and other times its straight regurgitation of prophecies like today.

What the fuck does that even mean? What are you talking about? Miranda yells as she walks closer to Rebecca.

I'm trying to tell you, Rebecca yells back. "You guys are the prophecy. Six sisters with incredible magical powers that will defeat what is called the Master to All."

I lift a hand with one finger up to interject, Uh, I hate to burst your mystical bubble, but we don't have any magical powers. Has everyone gone insane?

Listen, I wouldn't be here if you guys didn't go through what is called the turning, Rebecca replies.

The turning? we all repeat in unison.

Yes. Did anything weird happen last night? she asks. I only got a glimpse of this event a few months ago. Now, I realize it was you guys I saw in the vision.

Only silence answers her question. We're at a loss for words over everything she just told us. Either what Rebecca is telling us is true or she's slowly losing her mind like mom did and I can't handle that.

Finally, I answer her question, Yes, something weird happened last night. We woke up this morning in pain and no memory of what happened. Care to explain that?

Rebecca goes on to explain that she only ended up at our house this morning because something had activated the prophecy which in turn triggered the turning. The turning is the process we went through last night and it activated the powers passed on to us at birth.

Wait a damn minute, Sydney interrupts. Who did these supposed powers come from? It couldn't have been from mom. She was as normal as normal could be.

Yeah, we thought she was crazy, but she was fine, wasn't she? She knew what was going on, Stephanie added in shock.

Look guys, I can only tell you what I see, Rebecca replies. My best guess is that your powers must be passed down from your father.

Ashley spins around with an angry expression, We don't know our father. We've never even met him. Mom would never talk about him.

It's then that Rebecca just stares at us with confusion. She's looking at us like we're missing an important piece of some unknown puzzle.

She folds her arms and gives us an incredulous look, So, you all have the same father but neither of you met him? How is it that your mom managed to birth six children by the same man without them having met him?

We stand around in stunned silence. I never looked at it that way before and how could I have not noticed it. Whenever we'd ask about him, mom would start shouting and cursing his name. Maybe mom did know something and it resulted in her going crazy. We treated her like she was crazy and now I feel even more guilty for the way we handled it.

Annie breaks the silence first, Fine, since you say we inherited the magical powers passed down to us by the father we've never met before, what are our powers because besides us feeling like shit, we still seem pretty damn normal.

Rebecca lets out an agitated sigh before answering, I don't know, but we can talk to my grandmother. She's a seer as well, and she's been helping me since I thought I lost my mind a couple of months ago. Hell, I thought she was making up stories to go along with what I told her but now I see that there is some truth to what she said.

Everyone starts moving toward the door but I put up a hand to stop them, Wait. Rebecca, you've been going through this for months and haven't said anything to us? What exactly did your grandmother tell you?

What exactly was I supposed to say, Mary? Rebecca replies angrily. Hey, guys. I've been having mysterious and creepy visions lately but that's okay, my grandmother is seeing the same so things are good. Should I have said something along those lines given what you went through with your mother?

My shoulders sag in shame at her outburst, I'm sorry. I don't mean to make you mad. It's just that this is all so messed up.

I feel the same way. I don't fully understand what's happening. The only thing my grandmother said to me was that she knew this was coming and things are as they are meant to be. Other than that, she's tight-lipped about what she sees and what she knows. Something about how visions can always change and that talking about them enforces that change, Rebecca replies.

Well how very cryptic of her, Ashley says sarcastically.

With nothing else to say, we put on our shoes and coats then leave the house. Rebecca, Ashley, Annie, and I ride in her car while Miranda, Sydney, and Stephanie drive in Miranda's SUV. We're slowly making our way down Stony Island Avenue when Rebecca turns up the radio and starts singing loudly.

I shake my head and laugh because Rebecca is so silly. The drive takes us less than twenty minutes due to light traffic and by the time we arrive at her grandmother's house, we are all singing loudly and laughing hysterically. Rebecca parks the car as she belts out the last of the song playing on the radio. We get out, lock the doors, and walk toward the house.

Okay, guys. Let me go in and see if she's awake, Rebecca says to us as we walk into the house.

No need, Becca. I have been waiting for you, her grandmother says as we shut the door. She assesses us for a few moments. You are here to seek answers to many questions but I can only offer a few. The gift of insight is a very tricky gift to use.

I step closer to hug her, It's so nice to see you again. How have you been?

I have been better. No need for pleasantries, my darling. I know you are eager to find out what powers you have inherited, she says before turning around and walking towards her room. While I can tell you your powers, I do not know who your father is. That has been hidden from my sight. I am sorry.

We gaze at each other in surprise because this is getting kind of freaky. Sure, I want to know who he is but I didn't voice that out loud. We follow her back to her room where she has chairs set up for each of us. She really had been expecting us.

Now Miranda dear, you will be first. Hold out your hand with your palm facing down and I will put my hand with my palm facing up against yours. It will be the same for each of you so listen closely. When I close my eyes, you may experience a tiny shock, something similar to static electricity. I will do this with each of you, Rebecca's grandmother instructs. Are you ready?

Miranda nods yes and Rebecca's grandmother closes her eyes before swaying side to side. We're all so in tune with what she's doing that we jump in surprise when Miranda lets out a tiny yelp as she feels a shock.

Next, Rebecca's grandmother shouts when she's done.

I go up next and the same thing happens. This is repeated until she's done with each of us. We sit in the room in silence, staring at her as she stares back at us. Finally, she stands to walk over by the window.

My darlings, I can see that primary magical gifts with sub-magical abilities have been bestowed upon you, she declares.

She walks over and puts a hand on Miranda's shoulder, Miranda, you are gifted conjuration with sub-magical abilities of creation, magiportation, and summoning. You can transport anything, living or not, to any specified location, create anything and everything from nothing, organic or inorganic, teleport, and summon any object or organism.

She moves to me and places her hand on my shoulder, Mary, you are gifted the ability of illusion with sub-magical abilities of illusive appearance and psychosomatic illusions. You can create illusions, change to appear as anything you want, and create illusions so real that it causes physical effects on the intended target.

Next, she moves and places a hand on Annie's shoulder. Annie, your magical gift is enchantment with sub-magical abilities to manipulate emotions, mental state, and telepathy. You can manipulate other magic, sense and manipulate emotions of people and animals, control thoughts and minds, and communicate with or read other's minds.

She moves to Sydney, Sydney, you have the magical gift of abjuration with sub-magical abilities of regeneration, healing, power support, and generating force fields. You can provide protection and healing, regenerate from damage caused by magic, heal yourself or others, and enhance the powers of others.

She moves to Stephanie and tries to place her hand on her shoulder but Stephanie moves away.

However, this doesn't offend her in the slightest as she continues speaking, Stephanie, you're gifted nature magic with sub-magic of animal, elemental, plant, and weather manipulation. You can draw upon the forces of nature, influence animal behavior, control earth, water, air, fire and plant life, and influence the weather.

She skips touching Ashley and gives her a dubious look, Finally Ashley, your gift is distinct. It is necromancy with sub-magical abilities of reanimation, immortality, and manipulation of the undead. You can manipulate death and the dead, you are immortal due to your ability to resurrect yourself and can control any undead.

Rebecca's grandmother walks back around to sit in her chair before looking at us expectantly, Do you have any questions?

Ashley shoots out of the chair, Yes, I have questions. What the hell was all of that? It's like you were speaking another language.

I'm still sitting in the chair, trying to process everything Rebecca's grandmother just told us when suddenly, a loud commotion outside of the house interrupts our meeting.

Rebecca runs into the room in a panic, Some people are trying to break into the house!

We race out of the room toward the living room windows and I'm shocked at what I see. At least ten people are surrounding the house trying to break in by banging on the doors, the windows, and the outside walls. They hit with so much force that it shakes the entire house. I don't know how much more damage it can take and these people are determined to break in.

I'm not sure if people is the correct word to describe them though. They appeared human but had grayish bumpy skin, horns coming out of their heads, black eyes, and hands with nails long enough to be used as claws.

Can someone tell me I'm not crazy? Tell me you are seeing this too? Stephanie yells out. What the hell are they?

Those are demons, Rebecca's grandmother replies from behind us. The prophecy has been activated. Since you are the fated ones to prevent total dominion over the earth, they will try to stop you, maybe even kill you if necessary.

My eyes almost pop out of my head at her statement and how nonchalantly she said it. This is so fucked up. I don't know how we got in this situation, especially when we don't know anything about magic and demons and whatnot. I scramble through my thoughts, trying to remember anything mom said about demons and magic but nothing comes to mind. I turn to run toward the room just as two demons break through the front door. We turn around at the sound with a gasp.

Shit, Ashley whispers.

Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, Stephanie repeats over and over again.

A loud crash sounds behind us as two more demons break through the windows.

Fuck! Miranda yells as she and I turn around to face them.

This is bad. This is very, very bad. We are surrounded by demons and I look at my sisters wondering why all this is happening or if I am in fact dreaming. Upon seeing the fearful looks in their eyes, I start to doubt the notion of this being a dream. I change my terrified look to one of determination and change to my fighting stance. I'm letting them know that if this is real, I'm not going down without a fight. They follow my lead, each one getting ready to go down fighting if necessary. If these demons are here to kill us, we're not going to make it easy for them.

Well, well, well. Will you look at that, Aromech? They are attempting to fight us, laughs one of the demons.

Who the hell are you guys and what do you want? Ashley asks.

I am Torran. This,— he says while tilting his head toward the other demon in front of us— is Aromech. He glances behind us to where my sisters are facing the other two demons and says, That is Bolrath and Orthraz. The rest of them do not matter. They are here to do our bidding."

Bidding? What would that entail? Miranda replies snidely.

You will watch your tongue, human, Aromech yells at her. We are demons of the Nether World. We serve our Demon Masters who in turn serve the Master to All. We are here to make sure the prophecy remains unfulfilled. By any means necessary.

Ashley