It wasn't hard to find a witch in Aron City. But good witches were scarce. The witches in the Underground could perform basic spells, they could read minds and they could give out trinkets and amulets that could be used for protection. That was all, their powers were limited without a coven.
Proper witches had power, but their powers were regulated. Every witch belonged to a coven. In fact, after werewolves and Lycans, witches had one of the most organised hierarchy in the Supernatural world.
No magic or spell could ever be done without the coven's knowledge, they were all connected magically. This made finding a witch hard, no witch wanted to risk the wrath of the coven by doing free spells. But Hunt Adler had his ways.
Aidas Vladimir had chosen to recruit his vampires at the Night Court in preparation for wherever it was they would rescue Lacey from. Imelda had chosen to go with Hunt to get the witch. Hunt didn't hesitate in trying to get Information about what business Lacey did with Aidas but she managed not to divulge any important information.
Lycan packs were always friends with at least one witch coven. The two Supernaturals were always doing themselves favours. That was what made it easy enough for Hunt to find a coven.
Witches could rarely perform a spell without taking something in return and they rarely requested for money.
And as years passed they got creative with their methods of payment. Which made working with them difficult.
The witch coven's meeting ground wasn't the best of places to be at night but desperate times called for desperate measures.
The temperature dropped as Imelda and Hunt entered into the massive underground chamber where the witch coven was. They had been walking for quite a while, sending a violent chill down their spines. Light reached neither wall nor ceiling, confining vision to a small circle of flickering orange cast by the torch; inky black water sloshed against a narrow strip of land that disappeared into the darkness before they and the jagged teeth of stone descend from the shadows above.
Fortunately, the moment Hunt Adler introduced himself to the witches who guarded their sanctuary, they were ushered in immediately.
Their coven leader sat atop a throne that seemed to have been wrought from iron. She looked intrigued to see them. Most of her hair and body was engulfed in a wooly dark cloak and the little they could see on her face was blood red lipstick and midnight black eyes.
"If you require a witch Alpha, then you know what you must do."
The coven leader named Marlene said with a raised eyebrow and Hunt and Imelda shared a look.
"What do you desire in exchange for a witch?"
He asked and the woman shrugged.
"It all depends on what you want."
"Nothing much. Just a simple location spell."
"Ahhhh. And for who might that be?"
The witch persisted and Hunt rolled his eyes. He hated how inquisitive they were. They were practically busy bodies. They liked to store away bits and bits of information about Supernaturals and trade them to other witches for money or small favours.
A witch could not be trusted with secrets.
"My girlfriend. She went missing last night. We've been trying to find her."
"Ah. And what is she? Lycan or wolf?"
He shifted from one foot to the other. The questions were unavoidable, but he didn't like them one bit.
"No, she's human. And this is a matter of great urgency please."
"Will you give us a witch or not."
Imelda asked and the coven leader smirked.
There was a prolonged silence in the cavern as they all waited for the coven leader's answer. She could refuse, he knew she could. But she wouldn't be able to pass off a chance to know more about the mysterious Alpha Lycan and his human girlfriend. Perhaps it was information she could trade later when the time was right.
"Very well then. I'll give you a witch."
She said as she signalled to her right hand.
"And payment?"
Hunt asked with a raised eyebrow and the coven leave shrugged.
"We'll discuss that later. It is a matter of urgency isn't it?"
Something was fishy. They never accepted payments before a job. Something was definitely up her sleeves but Hunt didn't have the time nor the patience to even ask.
A witch came out of the shadows with a sling back across her shoulder.
She was wearing a dark hoodie which covered must of her feature but Hunt could still see her dark olive skin and curly shock of red hair that the hoodie couldn't cover. Her name was Ola.
"Let's go. We don't have much time."
She said and Hunt shared a look with Imelda before they both took off.
They arrived at Lacey's apartment a few minutes later. The witch had insisted that it was the best place to do the spell and Hunt and Imelda did not complain.
They watched as the witch started with drawing strange symbols on the floor and lighting scented candles. Her bag was filled with different kinds of herbs and religious salt and water. And she was so meticulous in the work that she did that Imelda was impressed.
"This is hers?"
She asked as she raised the hairbrush again to confirm before plucking a few hairs off it.
"Yes it it."
"Good. Let's hope this helps find her."
The witch murmured.
"It should work. Aren't location spells supposed to be very accurate?"
Imelda asked and the witch nodded.
"Yes, they are. But there are a few Supernaturals that have the ability to block our powers and influence."
"Just try it first. At least you should be able to get a vision of where she is. "
Hunt snapped and Ola narrowed her eyes at him.
"Don't rush me and both of you don't say a word. This is a very delicate procedure."
"Just get on with it!"
Imelda urged and the witch cursed under her breath.
She started with a string of incantations that Imelda and Hunt couldn't understand, then it got even more serious when the air turned chilly and breezy.
The incantations grew louder and Hunt and Imelda took several steps back as it appeared that the witch was in some sort of force field.
Suddenly it sounded like the witch was choking as she held on to her throat and struggled to breath.
"Should we help her?"
Hunt asked as he made her move to meet her.
"No! Wait!"
It stopped suddenly after all that.
The witch slowly opened her eyes. Breathing heavily while Imelda and Hunt heaved sighs of relief.
"You didn't tell me she was Fae."
She questioned and Hunt shrugged. He had intentionally left that part out.
"Half Fae. She's still human."
There was a long pause, the witch was still staring straight into the dark.
"No. She's barely human. And I don't know where she is."
"What? Not even a vision?"
She stood up and started packing up her stuff, ignoring the hopeless questions of Imelda and Hunt.
"Nothing. Perhaps if you had told my coven leader what she really was she would have sent someone capable enough to deal with Faes."
She snapped. She started packing her things angrily, flinging the dry herbs and everything back into her bag.
She was leaving. She turned sharply to leave the room and Imelda held her arm.
"Ugh! Do you at least have something for us? Did you really see nothing."
There was hesitation in her eyes as her eyes darted around quickly before she sighed.
"I did. I saw her. But I didn't get her location. Something was blocking me. Another powerful force that had been put in place. "
"It can't be Candy. She hasn't even gone through the Settling yet. Right?"
Hunt asked as he turned to Imelda who shrugged.
"Even if she has which I doubt, she wouldn't be able to master her powers so fast. It's impossible!"
Ola shrugged.
"Then there must have been another powerful Fae around. Because I could definitely feel her power trying to suffocate me."
"Will that be all?"
The witch asked and Hunt nodded.
She had really been of little use to them.
"Yes. That'll be all."
She walked out of the room, then paused and peeped back in.
"If you can find the Faes. You can find her."
And that was the problem.
Hunt groaned as he collapsed on the bed.
No one had seen a Fae in years.
"What do we do now?"
Imelda asked as she paced around the room.
"From the little I know about Faes, no one has seen them in years."
Not all of them except Lila.
The thought popped into Hunt's head and he turned to Imelda sitting upright.
"Lila was Fae."
"Half Fae."
Imelda corrected and Hunt nodded his head in agreement.
"Yes, you're right about that. But that's not the point."
"Before she died. Her mother seemed to believe she was going through the Settling..."
"That was around the time she also ran away. We believe that she went to look for her birth mother."
"How? Do you think she found her?"
He shrugged. He didn't know. He didn't know if Lila had found her birth mother. But from the little he knew about the woman, she wasn't the best of mothers.
"Well... It's quite possible she did. We really would never know. But the thing is, one thing Lila and Candy both have in common is the fact that they share the same birth mother."
"Lila disappeared during her Settling. Candy also disappeared during her Settling. Are you seeing a pattern here?"
Hunt urged an Imelda gasped in realisation.
"Oh gods! It's even much worse than I imagined."
She whispered and Hunt became perplexed.
"What? What is it?"
"I... I read somewhere that after the settling Faes get strong. Unimaginably strong, they inherit their power in it's most raw form and they can be quite dangerous during this time."
"What are you getting at Imelda?"
"Of course, only a Fae would have this sort of information and not just any Fae, a strong one. One who knew Lila and Lacey."
"Wait! You think it's..."
"Yes. It's their birth mother. And if my gut instincts are correct, she's no Ordinary Fae."
Chills ran down their backs. Yes, Faes were private creatures, their existence would have been unknown if not that they popped up once in a few years. But they could be very dangerous.
"But? Why?"
Imelda laughed.
"Why else? Power! Power like that is so rare, it must be highly coveted. I mean! Halfbreeds are rare! Maybe that's why she kept them out of her world."
"Well... It certainly explains something."
Hunt thought as he folded his arms.
"What?"
"Why Faes rarely mate with any other than their kind."
Imelda shook her head.
"Oh no.. It's not that. It's much more worse than that."
"It's forbidden with the Faes. If there are half breeds like Lila and Lacey, they would kill them."