102 | SUFFERING AND SILENCE

The good mood forgotten, Blue and I start making phone calls. We both have our own ‘resources’ and allies we need to check up on since none of us have any idea about what just happened. Mom seems to be in great spirits, insisting on helping Blue check on the non-Wolven members of the Azure Pack. Through the bond of the Pack, Blue automatically knows how his Wolven Pack members are doing, but the other species don’t have the two-way connection like Wolven do.

I return to my house, leaving both Mom and Blue to deal with the Azure Pack, and start making calls to my allies. First, I call Khadija and Lee. Though I know my wolves are fine, the buzzing of my Pack in my head has been mellowed after their last shift. I would call out to them through the bond, but I don’t want to cause a panic, so I stick to phone-calls to communicate when things aren’t life-and-death.

The Berner Wolven are all accounted for and doing well. Calmer than before the full moon, and going about their day. When I mention the feeling I’d gotten before and the smells and chanting, Khadija tells me to get some rest and Lee asks if I’ve been exerting myself. I explain why I’m so worried, telling them about the necklace and odd reaction Mom got during the increased pressure. Since neither know much about Magic or witch items - aside from the bank - I end the call and start making other calls.

I get the same news from Darklight, though they had gone through the weirdness before us - about an hour before - and are still dealing with the aftermath. ‘Aftermath’ being that most of the dangerous supernaturals suddenly got a power boost, and a few lost control. Since Darklight uses more non-traditional/magical items, Shola tells me that a few of their enchanted items have spontaneous combusted or are so powered-up that they’ve become a safety issue. She’s still trying to get ahold of local Magicians to help her deal with that, so I let her go.

I call Hale, but the vamps at the Coven are fine. Hale had been resting at the time, not ‘sleeping’ per sea, but his eyes weren’t opened at the time so he can’t be sure if there had been any weirdness to the world like I’d seen. He does mention that his vamps all felt the pressure, but they all assumed it had just been a random shift in the atmosphere and brushed it off. Hale decides to go stay with Mom for a while when I tell him about the way I’d seen her eyes get glowy and glossy.

Mina and Ryker mention something similar, but the effects to the Vampire Court weren’t so intense since there are so little of the stronger/problematic vamps. The Vampire Court tries to be self-reliant, staying away from Magic practiced by witches, though they had picked up the weird pressure. Mina said it had looked more like a giant aura than shimmering chords of time - like I’d seen. She just saw a sort of reddish-purple shimmer to the air, but no chanting and no odd smells that she could detect.

Paris and her people are fine, not noticing more than the odd feeling before it passed. I know the Reiniers never used Magic or even allied themselves with any supernaturals outside of their own species, so that doesn’t surprise me. I attempt to get ahold of Craven, my cousin still running around the West, but he doesn’t answer. Instead, he sends me a recorded video, letting me know he’s fine - even displaying a newspaper with the day’s date - and asking me if something’s wrong.

I explain what I theorize has just happened in a voice message, asking him if he’s noticed anything weird in the last twenty-four hours. There’s a long gap between our responses, and I gather that Craven’s in one of the bad-reception portions of the West. Craven lets me know that he noticed the pressure a few hours back, but has been sticking to the more rural portions of the West so he can’t know for sure if Magic has been affected around him.

I try calling Nikki next, pressing the button on the weird stone she’d given me to summon her, but she doesn’t show up. Not even hours later, after I’ve clicked the hidden button over twenty times. Blue comes back to the house with his mental and emotional guard up…and I know something’s wrong.

“Is everyone okay?” I ask him, mentally probing the wall he’s put up. It’s not one of the permanent ones he’s put up before, but it’s still thick enough to shield his mind from mine.

“The Wolven are fine,” Blue tells me, his eyes darker than usual, almost pained. “But there are several others that aren’t. We have some witches and supernaturals in the Pack that rely on their Magical connection, and they’re not doing so hot.” He sighs, settling onto the bed beside me. His shoulders sag, a tired look passing over his face as he gently takes my hand in his. Worry rises in me, wondering what could be so bad if he’s taking this long to spell it all out to me.

“Not doing so hot meaning…?” I prompt him, narrowing my eyes at him. Blue sighs and turns to look at me.

“They’re experiencing some control issues,” He begins, running a hand through his hair and eyes unfocusing as he listens to reports from his Wolven. “We can’t handle the more powerful witches, they need a Clan to focus their Magic or witch Coven. Clans tend to be more democratic, so they flocks towards them, those groups being larger than the usual Coven with a maximum capacity of thirteen.” Blue explains, and drags his hand over his face. “The three witches who joined the Pack are lower level practitioners, they never had a specialty like most of the stronger Magicians do, so I thought it was fine.”

“But not anymore?” I frown, a little frustrated by what he’s saying. Blue drops his hand and looks at me, letting the mental block drop too.

“The pressure we felt wasn’t just ‘pressure’. It was something they call Magical backlash. The result of a spell or spells clashing and falling apart, scattering excess Magic. It’s not supposed to be so widespread-” Blue stops talking, staring at our hands as his mind whirls. I catch his fear and worry through the bond, the direction of his thoughts touching on the different Magics that have been used and the lives of the three witches who’ve lost control. “The witches told me they’re bodies are like sponges, soaking in Magical energy from nature, but the backlash was too strong - shouldn’t be so strong-” He sucks in a deep breath and forces himself to calm down as he starts rambling. “They’re in the infirmary, being monitored, but I don’t know what I can do for them. Their power’s grown too much for them to handle. The smallest wave of their hands or wrong word activates their Magic, and none of them can control it. I tried calling Mari, she’s the strongest Magician I know-”

“But she’s not answering.” I conclude for him, frowning as my own worry starts growing. I think back to the chanting and weird scents I’d picked up and the fear in me intensifies. *What if Mari lost control? What would happen if she had been closer to the backlash? Would her body be able to contain more Magic? Why can’t Blue get ahold of her if she’s fine?* Something’s wrong…and some part of me hovers over those questions, replaying them in my head as I try to follow the racing directions of Blue’s thoughts.

“No, she isn’t.” Blue confirms softly. “I’m sending a few people I trust to go look in on her.” He adds, holding my gaze, hoping that I’ll understand what he’s thinking so he won’t have to break the news to me out loud. “But by the way the three witches are reacting right now…”

“You don’t know if she’s okay.” I mutter, reading his mind and cringing as I see the writhing forms of three human-looking individuals in his memories. They were wreaking havoc on the infirmary before they had been sedated by Doc Blythe. Before Blue had left, he’d called Hale and asked if Doctor Quinn, the Coven’s Doc, would be able to help monitor the three. The witches eventually calmed down, but had to be strapped to stop them from flinging things across the room accidentally - even after they’d been sedated.

There had been an eerie glow to their violet eyes, eyes that had never glowed before, or even been more than a pale shade of purple. I think over the little I know about the Texas witch, feeling a small panic rise in me, as I recall how much power I’d felt in her aura. *How much more could a human body hold? If the weaker witches in Blue’s Pack are having a hard time after the backlash, how’s Mari holding up? Did the backlash even have enough juice to reach her in Texas?*

I mentally put together a timeline of when my allies felt the backlash, at what times, and the amount of pressure. Since both Craven and Shola noticed the effects hours before we did, I can only assume it came from the south. I chew my lip as I squeeze Blue’s hand, wondering what Blue’s people will find when they track down the witch.