Chapter 22

Savannah's POV

I took a deep breath and tapped inside my magic. It was swirling, but this time I could grip it firmly. I concentrated on the part that I needed. It was different and when I got a relatively steady grip on it I yanked it out. Hundreds of little threads were coming out of it, forming a tangled mass. I could feel the power flowing from deep inside the ball into the threads. Shutting that flow down was easy. It was the same as I did with my own magic. I no longer could feel the flow and I was relieved. I let go of the ball and it fused with my own magic once again. Just as I finished there was a banging on the door. They were here.

“Dorothea, open up!” - it was Jeremy.

“What is it, again?”

“You know well what I want. Where is she?”

“I heard you were looking for me, Jeremy. What do you want?”

“Oh, here you are. I think you know what I want.”

“Yes, I know. I also know that you're terrorizing my people. I don't think that's a wise idea. I'm the one who can decide whether to lift the curse or not. If I were you, I'd be careful.”

“It's cute that you think you're in charge. You're not. I have a trick or two up my sleeves.”

“You mean Dalia? Yes, I know.”

“How?”

“Let that be my secret. Now, let's go somewhere else and stop harassing the witches.”

“Fine by me. Where do you want to go?”

“On my last visit I saw this huge field. What about that? There's plenty of space there.”

“Now, look at that. Do you know what happened there?”

“I don't, but I have a feeling you'll tell me by the time we reach it.”

I knew very well what happened there. I still had the element of surprise. If we got this right, Dalia would be out of the equation and Jeremy would be alone. As I was intentionally fumbling with my shoes I told Dorothea to call as many of the witches to the field as possible. She nodded and I let out a relieved sigh.

“You know, I didn't think you'd show up here. Dalia told me how pathetic you were when she left. Let's just hope you're not as useless as she thought you were for the sake of these witches.”

“Is it a good idea to threaten me?”

“You can't do anything to me. You can't even control your magic, let alone hurt me.”

“You're right. So I have to ask. Why do you think I know how to lift the curse?”

“You have to figure that out, preferably before I die. I was a fool for not realizing who you were when you visited. I let you slip through my fingers. I won't make that mistake again.”

“You think you're so clever, yet I was the one who came here. You couldn't even find out where I live.”

“It's hard to search for someone when you literally cannot leave the town.”

“If you say so.”

He didn't say anything else. We reached the field and Dalia was already there.

“I'm glad to see that you've found something to do so quickly, Dalia.”

“Who would've thought, right?”

“Right. Let me ask you something. How could you side with him?”

“He saw my potential. Nobody else did. My mother refused to make me the coven leader and when she finally did, you took it from me. I want to take back what's mine.”

“And what's your plan for that? You can't kill me unless I lift the curse. After that, maybe.”

“I know that. I'm not an idiot.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“Yes. I've gotten the upper hand here. I'm stronger than you. You can't even control your magic. You cannot learn that in a week. You've dumber than I thought, showing up here all alone.”

“I have to admit, you weren't in the picture when I decided to come here. I had to reassess the situation, but I've got it under control now. Enough of this nonsense now, I want to go home. What do you want, Jeremy?”

“I have leverage on you. You'll lift the curse in exchange for that.”

“And what that might be?”

“It's about your family.”

“What do you mean? My parents left us with my sister and she's living her best life.”

“Foolish girl! They're not your family, they never were. I know who your biological parents are. After you lift the curse, I'll tell you everything you need to know.”

“I don't believe you. They're my biological family.”

“If you say so. Come out and tie her.”

Suddenly about 20 men were running towards me with ropes in their hands. That's all I needed. I tapped into my magic and let it loose. In a blink of any eye they were on the ground, unconscious. Jeremy's facial expression was hilarious. Utter disbelief was all I could see.

“You weren't expecting that, were you? Seems like your little informant got something wrong.”

“How? You cannot learn to control your magic in a week.”

“Yet I did just that, Dalia.”

She was about to say something, when I saw a group of women approaching. They actually came. When they were close, they stopped and just observed. I could see that Dalia was torn between the two sides. It wasn't just her against me. It was against the other witches too. Their expressions were neutral, but that didn't mean anything at all.

“Do it Dalia. You know what I promised you.”

“I don't know. It's not just her anymore. I don't think I'll be able to win if the others join too.”

“They're not strong. I made sure that they won't use their powers apart from making potions. You only have to take down one person.”

“Fine. If something goes wrong don't blame me. I told you no.”

I was hoping that she'd say no, but she betrayed her sisters. She chose their tormentor. I was worried about what Jeremy said. The witches haven't been using their powers. I was all alone if our previous plan didn't work. Dalia closed her eyes and when she opened them I saw determination and rage in them. This was bad, really bad. I didn't know her plan, but I did my own preparation. I started casting the strongest defense spell Martha had taught me. As I finished, a strong force shot out of Dalia's hands, but it couldn't reach me. As soon as she released it, the magic ball just burst and vanished. It worked. She couldn't cast a spell.

“What the hell was that? I thought you were strong!”

“I am, but I can't do anything if the coven leader denies access to my powers. She shouldn't be able to do that.”

“You're right. I shouldn't, but here we are. I'm not a stupid, weak woman you saw when we met. I'm stronger than you could ever be. This is the proof. Leave him, Dalia and come home.”

“That's not my home, it never was. Everything became worse when you appeared. You have to pay for that.”

“And what's your plan exactly? You can't cast a spell.”

“I should be though. I left the coven and all the ties behind. A coven leader can only control the witches who are still part of the coven. I don't know how you are doing this, but I'll figure that out eventually. When I do, I'll make sure that this mojo will no longer work on me.”

“Why do you hate your family so much? They didn't do anything. This petty jealousy of yours will end you. You can still turn back to the right direction.”

“This is the right direction.”

“I'm sorry to hear that. I was hoping that there's some good left in you. When we met there was. Now it's gone. I can only feel jealousy, rage and revenge. I have no other choice, but cut your ability to do magic as long as you're alive.”

“You can't do that. It's prohibited.”

“I think my sisters will agree with me when I tell them what you've done. You betrayed them and betrayal is unforgivable.”

“Then do it. I'll find a loophole and that'll be the end of you.”

“Do as you please. Now go, you were defeated.”