Chapter. 30
“PIPE!” Diana roared and took one step towards him. “THE.” Another step. “FUCK.” She stood nose to nose with him. “DOWN.” Lawrence gulped slowly, and after a heavy minute nodded and backed away. “Thank you all for your protection. Lord knows after what just happened to me, I’m glad for it. Now everyone stay calm, go home, and be ready when Anna tells you to move. We have a plan. We’re going to make the wards around Salem like Fort Knox-” Appropriately named considering Anna’s spirit guardian. “-and send the dark ones and all their little minions packing. I’m the one who was attacked, and you don’t see me pissing my pants to you? No? Good. Off you go.” Diana dismissed them and turned to face Anna and Elaina. The blonde was stunned, and the redhead was smirking like the cat who got the cream.
“All hail the coven mother.” Elaina called out, and the coven repeated the chant and dispersed quickly. Knox and Anna both looked at Elaina with suspicion. Anna couldn’t help but wonder if Elaina was talking about her, or the other Couper? She was guarded as she approached the pair like an outsider that hadn’t realised she was one until that moment. “Balls on this one huh?”
“Oh I’m going to throw up.” Diana nodded furiously with her arms folded. “As soon as we get home? Vomit is happening. Holy shit. Anna? I punched one witch, and told another one to pipe the fuck down. Shit shit shit.” She held the back of her neck and looked to Anna a former shell of her ballsy display. “I just got so mad. I’m sorry. I never meant to-I just-they weren’t listening and you looked worried and I just-”
“Went into big sister mode?” Elaina supplied with a grin. “You know you’ve made a solid enemy with Jessica and Olivia tonight?”
“Fuck.” Anna giggled. She couldn’t help herself. Diana was funny when she was panic cussing. “It’s gotta be the adrenaline that made be brave enough. I mean, I have no magic and I just…I’m going to hurl. Like, a lot.” Elaina just cackled and smacked her back playfully.
“You’ll be fine. Our coven mother is a super healer, so you’re in excellent hands.”
“Anna.” Diana threw herself at Anna and shook like a leaf. Anna smiled and hugged her back to sooth her. She was worried for a moment that Diana was exerting some sort of dominance with the coven, but it was clear now that she was highly strung and worried for her. she was being a protective sister. Anna wanted that, right? Still…the way the coven reacted to her? When she raised her voice and put her foot down? They’ve never listened to me like that…
“What happened? During the ceremony?”
The shadow demon did something to me. He was casting too… “Diana?”
“Yeah?” She shook her head, and realised that her voice had vanished and returned again. “As I was saying-” The monster said that he was claiming my…voice…oh shit. “I’m still hexed.” She groaned and covered her face with both hands. “What was done to me, ensures I can’t tell you what was done to me. I want to tell you about what happened, but I can’t.”
“But I released your voice?”
“I know but that was only-” -the first spell he cast. The second one make it…so I can’t talk about him. Her mouth moved but no words came out. “I can’t. It won’t come out whenever I try.”
“Why would he leave you unharmed, but unable to talk about what happened?” Elaina held her chin and then turned to listen to Yani. “You think he’s not finished with her? I suppose if that’s true she couldn’t call for help or warn us again if it came back?”
“Oh that’s just great.” Diana groaned and marched away with both hands on her shoulders. I’m a magicless sitting duck that he can come back and fuck with whenever he wants to. Why did he not hurt me? He wasn’t finished. She realised and moved her hands to her hips. I started clapping before he could finish whatever he was going to do to me. Maybe however the spell was meant to finish would have been really nasty…
Anna watched them both turn pensive and wonder about the motives of the shadow demon. She put her hands together over her front and turned to Knox, as she always did when unsure. He placed a humanoid hand on her shoulder and smiled to her.
“Don’t doubt yourself. You are the Coven Mother. What Diana said wasn’t wrong. It wasn’t her place, but her words were correct. You have a plan. It’s the best way to save us all. Now lead us Anna. Lead us to victory.”
“Okay.” Anna cleared her throat and summoned her courage. “Then I suggest we get to work right away ladies.” Diana and Elaina looked to Anna, eager to hear more about the plan. “Diana? How would you feel about recovering more of your memories tomorrow?”
“I’d say I’m going to recover more of them in my nightmares tonight.” She chuckled bitterly.
“I mean intentionally.” Anna walked up to her sister and took her hands. She didn’t react to the layers of dirt still clad to them and looked to have regained her determination. “Elaina is an excellent Astral walker. She could help you witness your own past by walking in your astral form through time and space.”
“Wow, wait, I could?” Elaina cleared her throat awkwardly and folded her arms.
“Astral walking? Is that how you found me before?” Diana asked curiously.
“Yeah. Astral projection.” The redhead nodded to Diana, before refocusing on the coven mother. “I mean, yeah I’m good at it, but Yani is my anchor and I have magic. For Diana to go astral walking I would have to be her anchor, which would stretch Yani’s magic pretty thin.”
“Not if you had a casting circle to act as your anchor.” Anna wound Diana’s arm around hers and slowly led the way back towards the Bentley.
“Clever.” Knox praised her. “Spread the load. Very clever.”
“That could work.” Elaina looked impressed too with the smile she wore as she nodded. “Yes it could. Let’s make it a date. In the mean time you should get some rest. It’s tiring to Astral project, and more worn out you are at the start, the shorter your astral walk will be before you have to tap out and come back to your body.”
“Great. So I’ll tell my night terrors to kiss my ass tonight as I need my beauty sleep, and then hop out of my body tomorrow to get some answers?” Diana retorted with buckets of sarcasm.
“Oh you’ll love it I’m sure. Like you said earlier? The sooner we get on with the plan, the sooner we can win this fight. Now to bed, and to battle tomorrow in the astral plane.”
“…sure, but first? Imma gonna hurl now.”