Chapter 68

I pull away feeling a little better. “She will be okay,” Misty whispers then opens a book. I glance at the text. The writing is just a load of gibberish with a few symbols thrown in.
“You can understand that?” I ask pointing at the book.
She laughs at the expression on my face. “Yes, sorry, it must look very peculiar to you.” She waves her hand over the text, and the writing turns to English. “All the spells and potion books have a charm placed upon them. If one of these books came into the hands of a human, the results could be devastating.”
“Oh, I am sure no human would know what a hogweed is.” I laugh.
We spend most of the afternoon in the kitchen making various potions that can either hurt or kill various kinds of demons. I learned a lot, and I was glad Misty did not hold back and answered all my questions.
At the end of the day, we curl up on either end of the couch. “I never asked before,” I say. “But what happened with Justin?”
“He was using us. I don’t know what his plan was exactly, but the prophecy and the council messed them up. I do know you were part of his plan though. He kind of just rambled about a load of random stuff no one understands. James took the sword from him and placed it back in its rightful place. No one knows how he managed to take it, but it had been missing for some time.”
I’m now more confused than ever. “Where did he go?” I ask, afraid of what the Michaels had done to him.
“The council burst in looking for you. The fae realm had just been destroyed. Henry believes if you are dead, then it will put a stop to the king. He also believes the reason he wanted you to marry his son, is so that even if you escaped, you would be under his control.”
I sit up. “Do you believe that too, Misty?” I ask because the thought has never occurred to me.
“No, I don’t. You are not linked to Lucifer by any kind of blood bond. I think he wanted you for your power, like the other witches,” she answers with a wink.
“What about your father?” I am in two minds whether to ask the question or not.
“My father has done what I can only calla runner. Which makes me believe what Justin was saying was true. Chris knows more than he is saying. I can tell. You know Chris though; he can keep a secret.” She shrugs.
“I’m sorry,” I say, more to comfort her than anything else.
“It’s okay. It’s not your fault.”
The boys appear in the center of the room, all three are covered in scratches and cuts.
“What happened to you lot?” Misty asks.
“My father now has demons patrolling the streets,” Cole answers as he heads out of the room. He seems moodier than normal. I make a mental note to speak with him later.
“Did you make the potions?” James asks.
“Yes, they’re on the kitchen side.” James heads down to the kitchen.
Chris looks at us both. “We have been given an ultimatum. We attack Lucifer and his army within the next three days, or the council will come for Kayla.”
“What?” Misty jumps up. “We are nowhere near ready.” She flounces out and follows James to the kitchen. Chris sits beside me and pulls me into his arms. “Don’t worry, we have a plan. We have our own army, so everything will be fine. James will collaborate with you on your powers tomorrow. We need to teach you how to fight and defend yourself.”
“Three days? Do you think that’s enough time?” I know I will never learn what I need to in such a short amount of time.
“You are stronger than you think, Kayla. You just need to believe in yourself. We believe in you.” He lifts up my face and places a light kiss on my lips. He then takes my hand, and we walk to the kitchen.
James has a map laid out on the kitchen table. He sticks different colored pins into the paper. “We noticed there are more demons located here, and that many other demons seem to gravitate to this spot. Our guess is that this is where the portal lies. It seems to be feeding them energy. Therefore, I believe if we attack in this area, many, if not all, of Lucifer’s army will show. We need to find a way to push them back through the portal and close it. A number of witches are working on how we can do this. We will station our army around these areas.” He points to the pins stuck into the map. The pins make a colorful circle that highlights an X on the map where they think the portal is.
I study the map closely and notice a smaller outer ring. “What are these pins for?”
“These men will stand in reserve in case any of the demons escape the inner circle,” James explains. Hope springs to life. The plan sounds good enough. The problem is there’s only one way to close the portal, and it involves me. I know what I must do.
I doubt the witches will be able to find another way in the time available. I must follow my destiny, the path that has been laid out for me to take.
“So, what are these pins for?” Misty asks, pointing to four separate locations which have two pins clumped together on each.
“The green pins indicate witches. For example, I have placed a witch here with an angel. This witch can control water, which is why she is placed near the sea. She will be on high ground overlooking the battle and help us with the demons that don’t get along with water.
“The angel beside her has got the gift of pure light. He has an excellent aim and can control his ball of light from a great distance.
“Here is where Emily and Jackson will be stationed. Emily has power over earth, so I have placed her near the marshlands, which will feed her gift. Jackson has the gift of emotions; he can make the strongest of angel’s cry and feel helpless. From their viewpoint, he will be a major help.
“Stacey and Lucy are here. Stacey has the power over fire. She will create a ring of flames around the outer ring of warriors trapping us all in place. Lucy’s gift is being able to investigate people’s minds. She will scan the demons for any useful information she can gain.
“Finally, we have Lexis and Ricky. Lexis has the power over air and Ricky can control people’s actions. He can make people move at will.
“I have placed each witch on the high ground along with an angel, in the event they need to escape.” He then begins placing brown pins around the witches and angels on high grounds.
“Each witch and angel will be protected by three wolves,” he explains.
“James, do you think that is wise? We can’t really trust the wolves” Chris states matter of factly.