The Twenty-Sided Sorceress 4
Annie Bellet
Jade and Alek put up wards to prevent vermin from getting into her shop and apartment. She suspects the witches that have given her 30 days to leave town have been the ones behind her recent sprinkler and roach problems. Jade uses the knowledge she has gained from eating the assassin’s heart. Alek offered to talk to them as a Justice, but the faith in the Justices has been shaky since one almost took out an entire wolf pack. Harper leaves to go back to her mom’s, who is delaying reopening her Bed and Breakfast. She still has Levi and Junebug staying with her. Jade and Alek go up to the apartment above the store. They are about to get in the shower together when there is a knock at the door. Vivian (vet, wolf shifter) is there, covered in blood, and asking Jade for help.
Vivian tells them they don’t necessarily need healing, but Yosemite (mountain man that rarely comes into town) needs her help. She leads them to the barn at the Bed and Breakfast. Jade notices everyone seems angry as they go in. She gets to the only occupied stall and sees Yosemite holding a bleeding unicorn. Jade looks at it and knows there is something (spell, curse) that is preventing it from healing itself. She starts using her magic to poke at the magic that is coating the animal. She gets happy feelings and thinks about when she met her second family. Ji-hoon found her and took her home. Kayla and Sophie were reluctant until Jade told them her family kicked her out for being different. The unicorn continues to draw off of Jade’s happy memories until he is healed. Max goes to collect their horses while everyone else goes inside to discuss what has happened. Yosemite shows Jade pictures on a phone of three unicorns that didn’t survive. He has the Bitterroot pack watching their bodies. Ezee says they will help and Jade notices his affectionate touch on Yosemite. Jade reaches out her power and sees Yosemite is a druid. He admits this freely but laughs when Jade asks if Brie is his sister. Jade is exhausted. She and Alek leave with the promise to check on the unicorn the next day. When they get back to Jade’s apartment, someone is waiting for them. They get out of Alek’s truck. Jade recognizes the heart-shaped lock necklace the girl is wearing and knows she is bound to Samir. The girl says her name is Tess and that she needs protection.
Wolf appears as they go inside to question Tess. Jade starts asking questions and Alec acts as her lie detector. Tess tells them she has come because Jade seems to be the only one Samir shows any sort of hesitation about fighting with. She doesn’t know where he lives because he would always fly her in and out. She believes she will be safest with Jade, who is probably the only person that has a chance of defeating Samir. Tess reveals that she was born before the American civil war. Jade makes her take off the necklace that connects her to Samir. Tess does it with an impressively small amount of magic. Jade tells her to run and hide without using magic. Tess begs to stay, but Jade cannot let such a risk stay so close to her. Tess leaves. Alec points out Jade’s actions were cruel but necessary. Jade thinks about her second family and how if the ended up dead for taking her in.
The gang has all been pitching in to take care of the unicorn, which they named Lir (after the prince from the Last Unicorn), Alec leaves early with Yosemite to go into the woods. Brie comes into Jade’s shop to apologize with mini cupcakes. Yosemite told her about Jade helping the unicorn and Ciaran said she was different than other sorcerers. Someone she loved was lured away by one and then had her heart eaten. After Brie leaves, Jade waits for Harper to come in and works on translating car manuals from Japanese into English. Harper comes in that afternoon and they enjoy the cupcakes together. Jade is about to tell her about Tess, both of their phones start to ring. They don’t get a chance to answer because Peggy, a witch, comes in to warn Jade that her month is up and she has to be out of town by dawn. Harper chews her out with a string of insults and profanity. Peggy destroys the electronics in the shop and leaves. Harper wants to go after her, but Jade points out they have to find out what Levi and Ezee were calling about. Brie runs into the shop to tell them they have to get to the Henhouse because it is under attack.
Harper drives Jade to the Bed and Breakfast as fast as possible. They arrive to see their friends already trying to fight off a pack of one-eyed, horned demon dogs. Jade uses the opportunity to let out her frustration by fighting them. Brie appears beside her with a long glowing sword. She tells Jade to aim for the eye, and they start killing off the pack. They get in front of the barn to protect it. Levi shifts into human form to tell Jade there are at least a couple dozen of the Fomoire hounds trying to get into the barn. Ezee has already been injured and is inside the barn. Levi assures her he will be fine. They fight off the first couple waves of demon dogs, but the attempt seems hopeless as more keep coming. Jade runs low on power and knows she won’t be able to use much more magic without passing out. She pulls out Samir’s dagger and starts using it to fend off the Fomoire hounds. She isn’t able to fight very well with it and Levi ends up getting hurt. Tess appears and gets a chunk ripped out of her stomach saving him. Yosemite and Alek come rushing in from the woods with the Bitterroot pack and start helping them fight. Even the trees help them. The demons take off. Jade looks to make sure all of her friends are safe before she passes out with Harper and Vivian helping her inside the house.
Jade wakes up with her head in Alek’s lap. She gets up to get water and a shirt, but instead stops to listen to Brie and Yosemite talk. He wants to go into the woods with her and Alek, but she wants him to stay and guard Lir. Jade offers to go with her and Alek. Brie goes to watch over the barn while they sleep. Yosemite goes follows her outside. Ezee comes up to explain to Jade that Yosemite will rest better while touching the earth. She asks about their relationship, but Ezee says it isn’t anything serious. She asks about the Fomorians and he tells her they were supposed to be the original inhabitants of Ireland. They are rumored to be very evil, but he notes that the conquerers might have over exaggerated. Jade gathers everyone together and tells them how she met Tess and sent her away. Since she ended up saving Levi, no one is as ready to do that again. Jade goes to talk to her.
After having Alek put up a soundproof barrier around them, Jade starts to question Tess. She asks if she is responsible for the strange things that have been happening. Tess says that she didn’t do them, but admits she may be the reason they are happening. She thinks Clyde, Samir’s other apprentice, has come to retrieve her. She explains that she has been acting like she doesn’t have much power so that Samir will not harvest her heart. She admits that she has eaten one heart, but doesn’t fancy eating Clyde’s, who she thinks is sinister. Her magic is all about time manipulations. She has tried a few other things, but mostly if it doesn’t focus around her main skill, it tends to fail. Jade asks her what Clyde’s magic smells like. Tess is confused and hasn’t heard of anyone being able to sense someone else’s magic without having eaten their heart. Jade wonders if Samir is able to do this or just her. She decides to let Tess stay and leaves her to rest. Jade joins her friend and warns them to be careful around Tess.
Jade goes back to her place to get supplies and close up her shop. She visits Lir and asks for some extra luck. Yosemite has a theory and Tess says it is feasible for Clyde. Balor Birugderc led the Fomoire against the Tuatha De Danann and was killed. His head was passed down threw time and was eventually buried in America. They think Samir and Clyde have learned how to peal back the lid of Balor’s evil eye. Yosemite and Alek lead the way through the woods and they end up camping that night. The next day, they come to a piece of the forest that looks like it has had a fire. Yosemite thinks it is the affect of Balor’s eye. Something moves and catches Jade’s eye, but when she looks, there doesn’t appear to be anything there. Suddenly a giant rock starts coming right for them.
The forest is too sick for Yosemite to call on it for help. Alek in tiger form doesn’t have much effect on the beast. Jade decides to use the Kamehameha from DBZ and focuses her energy into a ball and pushes it at the creature. It flies back and she goes up to it to see it bleeding a strange ichor. She focuses on turning it into mud. When Jade wakes up the next morning, Yosemite tells here there are two more guardians and a Fomoire pack guarding the head. Jade suggests they get everyone and come back with more firepower. Yosemite explains that even if they did get to the head, they would not be able to close the lid. The ritual that has to be performed was written in a dead language in a book there is only three copies of. Jade is ready to go get the book and explains she has been able to read any language she has seen so far. Yosemite insists they travel back to the Hen House via the leaf-way to avoid loosing any more time.
One of the guardians starts coming down the hill after them with a rider on its back. Jade knows it is Clyde. The other guardian is behind them and there is some sort of snake creeping around her. Jade tells Yosemite and Alek to get ready while she distracts them. She throws another Kamehameha wave at Clyde and then runs to jump into the leaf-way after Alec. She swirls through the green void and then lands at the Henhouse. Alek helps her up and she goes inside to find her friends introducing Tess to Firefly. She goes to shower and plans to explain what happened afterwards.
Yosemite believes they have at least a days worth of travel ahead of Clyde and his pack. Ciaran and Brie decide they will go into the woods to slow them down. Yosemite is ready to leave the next morning. Jade asks Alek to stay behind because he needs food and rest. She asks Ezee to come with her to split drive time and smiles at how well he gets along with Yosemite. Jade dreams dreams that she is Haruki running through a field of bamboo to get to his target. He sees two woman and throws his spell blade at one. The woman disappears and his mother turns to ask him how he knew he hit the correct woman. He noticed her hair didn’t move in the wind. She tells him to be observant because nothing is as it seems. Jade wakes from her dream/memory to find Ezee has driven the entire way to the warehouse where the Archivist is supposed to have the book. He tells Jade that he isn’t going in with them and promises to honk the horn if he has any trouble. They go inside and meet the Archivist, Noah Gray. Jade quickly realizes he is a vampire and becomes uneasy. Her dagger falls out of its sheath and Noah grabs it. He tells her it tries to leave her because she doesn’t have its twin. He tells them he needs a week of Jade’s time translating before he will let them look at the book. When Jade explains they don’t have time, Noah offers to take the dagger in exchange. Jade agrees to it on the condition they get to keep the book. Once the deal is final, Noah reveals he has the twin and goes back and gets the book for them. Jade leaves in a hurry. Ezee drives as Jade searches the book. She tells them they better hope the unicorn is still safe. That is when Levi calls.
The call turns out to be a false alarm and Jade drives the rest of the way back while explaining what she read to Yosemite. When they get back, Jade gives Alek a quick summary. He is glad she and Brie aren’t fighting anymore and mentions that Brie seems like a different person. They go try to go to sleep, but Jade feels too uneasy. She goes to talk to Tess and asks her about her experience with Samir. Tess tells her that her grandmother took her away from her father after her mom died giving birth to her. Her grandmother had the magic for healing and would use it to help everyone. When Samir came for her, she hid Tess under the bed and put some sort of spell on her. Samir ate her heart and then looked right at Tess before leaving. She spent her life hiding from Samir, but she used magic to save herself from an exploding kiln and he found her. She came to find Jade because Samir and Clyde have both been getting worse. She asks how Jade how she found out about Samir. Jade tells her she read his journals because he left them lying around and she was bored. Tess asks to be informed of their plan and Jade tells her she will, with no intent of actually doing so. Things start falling into place in Jade’s mind and she is pretty sure they aren’t winning.
Jade pulls Alek outside with her to join Yosemite. She tells them her plan and that Brie is in intregal part of it. Yosemite is not comfortable with deceiving Jade’s friends, but Alek points out that Jade’s instincts have served them well in the past. They all agree and go inside. Once the others hear the plan, Harper objects. Jade explains she needs more people to stay behind with Lir because that is the more important job, and they need to keep their team small and quiet. Once everyone is agreed to their roles, they split into their two groups. Brie asks Yosemite if he trusts Jade and he says he does. Jade goes to check on Tess before they leave. Jade is a little put off by Tess’ religious belief that God will handle everything, but admits she grew up in a cult where her messed up grandfather did horrible things to keep his own religion. She still isn’t willing to trust Tess yet, but asks if having their hearts eaten is really the only way they can die. Tess admits that she is not positive, but it is the only way she has seen.
Everyone heads to the Druid’s grove and Jade sends her friends away with Lir. Alek and Ciaran are not happy about the real plan, but Brie is fine with the sorceress fighting her own kind. Jade makes a big show of starting the ritual and is actually working two spells at once. The second one is to make a fake copy of herself out of a log. Tess arrives and stabs the fake-Jade in the back. The real Jade is not surprised, though she was hoping she was wrong. Jade and Tess start fighting using their powers. Eventually, Tess pins Jade and stabs her in the side. Jade is able to get her knife out and stab Tess in the sternum. She uses magic to give her hand claws and rips out Tess’ heart. Tess tells her to eat it and Jade does. Suddenly, she has Tess’ memories and realizes this was her plan all along to do her part to defeat Samir.
Jade starts to heal herself, but doesn’t have much time before Clyde shows up with two guardians. One is like a giant stone cat and the other like the first one - kind of a mix between a turtle and an insect. Alek takes on the cat and Brie seems to split into multiple versions of herself to fight the other. Ciaran goes after her. Jade starts fighting Clyde while Tess gives her information about him. He had hoped to eat Tess’ heart and bring back Jade’s to Samir. Jade starts to fight him off, but the black slime of his magic is too much for her weakened state. She falls to her knees and puts up her shield around her. She waits for Clyde to get cocky and approach her. When he is close enough with his guard down, she attacks him and continually stabs him in the chest. Her friends return as the guardians disappear and the forest starts to heal. Balor’s Eye has been closed and the soul of the wild helps Jade heal. Brie encourages Jade to eat his heart, but she doesn’t want him in her, so she rips it out of his chest and puts it in the bag he was going to use to take hers to Samir.
The rest of their group arrives in the grove. Jade notices Ciaran is holding a red-headed child and believes it is Brie. He takes her away in a cloud of gold before any questions can be asked. Jade knows she will have to explain everything, but decides she can’t do it just then. She tells them Tess needs to be buried in a Christian cemetery and Levi says he knows a priest they can talk to about it. They make the trek back to the Henhouse and after a shower, Jade asks Alek to hid Clyde’s heart far away so she won’t be tempted to put the filth in her body. He agrees and she goes to sleep. The next day, they find a grave to put Tess in. The stone marking it is so old that it is unreadable. Jade uses her magic to mark it for Tess. Jade spends the next week cleaning up the shop and taking care of regulars. Brie comes by and explains she is sort of Morrigan (goddess of war). She is really three goddesses, Brigit, Airmid, and Macha, tied to a druid and a fey. When she uses her power, she becomes less (the child) and has to be restored by the memories of Ciaran and Iollan. She apologizes for her quick judgement of Jade and offers her help if Jades needs it. Jade admits that she does need something. A week later, Jade attends the witch’s secret coven meeting in the basement of the library. She releases duffle bags full of ladybugs and knocks out their lights and cell phones. She warns them that any hex they put on her will come back to them threefold. That night before bed, she warns Alek that Samir will come for her himself this time.
The Emissary from the Council comes to Alek while he is sleeping. He knows it isn’t just a dream as the figure shifting between human and different animals approaches. The Emissary tells him he must give Jade up to Samir to save everyone else. Even when he is shown the bodies and damage to his own self, he refuses. He takes off the feather and drops it on the ground at the Emissary’s feet. He has made his decision.