Dougal is back with the coven and finds out whether or not his remedy is effective.

Brendan and Blane train their combined coven for war against Nathan.

Greatly outnumbered, Nathan with the help of Dougal comes up with a battle strategy.

Initial success in the battle goes to Brendan and Blane until the tables are turned. Despite the reversal of fortune, Brendan and Blane still appear to have the upper hand.

Here is a sample from the novella ‘A Tale of Witchcraft: War’.

9. WAR

PART I

The pain in Dougal’s head subsided as he looked forward. Nathan stood in front of him in the long cave, holding the flickering torch above his head. For Dougal, it had been more than thirty years since he had seen his coven leader.

               Nathan looked at the tall middle aged man who was now in front of him. Only a few seconds ago a 14 year old fresh faced boy had been standing in front of him. A young jubilant boy, willing to take on the challenge that had been set before him.

               Nathan looked at Dougal and saw that he was almost the same height as him, his hair had some grey in it and his face was slightly wrinkled. He could still see the curl of hair that annoyed Dougal at the front of his forehead. It too had a tinge of grey about it.  He noticed through the flickering torchlight that Dougal’s eyes were moist and he was sure that he could see tracks made by tears on his face. Dougal carried a heaviness and a sadness in his heart.

               “Was it harder that you thought it would be?” asked Nathan.

               Dougal was still thinking of the family he had left behind. His beautiful wife Anastasia, his gorgeous children Karan and James and also Dean who had not yet been born and who he would never see. He was aware that there was a strong possibility of a war and that he could possibly lose his life. He swallowed hard before replying to his leader.

               “Yes, it was a lot harder than I could ever have thought it would be,” said Dougal nodding his head.

               “Do you have what we require?” asked Nathan.

               Dougal raised the cloth bundle which was within his hand. “Yes, I have it here,” replied Dougal.

               “Will it be effective? Does it work?” asked Nathan.

               “It is as effective as I could make it. It took many of us many years to make it, but it has had great results and so it should work,” replied Dougal.

               “Then that is good enough for me. Now we must go now because we have no time to lose,” said Nathan. He handed Dougal his broom back which had been left in the cave before he walked through the seal as a young boy. Dougal took the broom and they both strode forward as fast as they could back through the cave.

The pair hurried out of the deep cave as quickly as they could muster. At the entrance to the cave Nathan extinguished the flame from the torch and discarded it before mounting his broom. He took off into the night sky followed immediately by Dougal.

Dougal loved being up on the broom and flying through the air once more. He had missed it for so many years and he had to admit that his flying was a little rusty. The flight was exhilarating and he could feel the adrenaline pumping through him once more. He took in sharp breaths as he did his best to keep up with the older and faster wizard. He felt that he had kept up more as a younger wizard and that with lack of practice he was now struggling.

               Nathan was aware that he was ahead of Dougal but he dare not decrease his speed. Time was of the essence and they had to reach Jezabel and Samantha as quickly as they could. For all he knew it could have already been too late, but all that he could do was hope that his wife had kept Samantha under control. He looked back to see that Dougal was trailing him. He smiled and beckoned the younger wizard on before looking forward and flying as fast as he could.

               Dougal gulped in air and held the broom tightly as he willed himself to fly faster. He did not want to let Nathan or jezebel down. They were flying over the woods now and Dougal was glad to see that Nathan was descending towards the canopy of the trees. They flew towards the opening in the woods and Nathan was the first to touch down in the overgrown garden. Dougal was amazed to see that everything had been as he had left it, but then realised that for Nathan they had only been gone for a couple of hours.

Nathan was the first to run into the cottage followed by Dougal. They heard the screaming coming from the bedroom before they entered. Samantha was yelling at Jezabel who was trying to calm her down. Nathan and Dougal burst into the small bedroom and Samantha in her enraged state seemed to take no notice of them. Jezabel looked up, relieved to see her husband and she was then surprised to see who she thought was a stranger beside him. She then realised that it was Dougal and turned her attention once more to the young witch on the bed.

               “Calm down Samantha, everything will be alright,” said Jezabel. “All we want to do is help you.”

               Samantha seethed once more as her eyes lit up. “I don’t need anyone to help me. I don’t want anyone to help me.”

               With that Samantha stretched her hands forward and Jezabel found herself in a vice like invisible grip. She was then thrown across the room and her back hit the wall before her head collided with it.

               Dougal realised that he was now in the nightmare he had had for so many nights. Those ghastly events he had imagined were now becoming a reality. His heart beat rapidly and was almost bursting through his chest as he looked at Jezabel on the floor. Her head had been cut, but only slightly and she was able to raise herself off the floor. Nathan looked on in relief as he saw his wife stand up once more. He knew that she had taken a lot of punishment, but that she would not be able to deal with much more of it.

               “Samantha, please calm down,” implored Jezabel. “We are your friends and we are here to look after you. We know that you can be calm and pleasant. Please be that quiet child again.”

               The words seemed to have no effect as her skin became a deeper shade of green. Her eyes shone brightly and she bared her teeth as she looked at the old witch menacingly.

               “I will not be quiet and you do not have the right to tell me what to do,” said Samantha.

               Nathan realised that if he was to save his wife and Dougal and himself that he had to take immediate action. He lunged forward and grabbed Samantha by the arm before she could raise it once more to strike down Jezabel. She took the cue and jumped on the other arm. Between the two of them they had her arms pinned to her body.

               The young witch was restrained but the demonic anger was swelling within her body. The couple were holding her as tightly as they could but they could feel Samantha becoming stronger and their grip beginning to loosen.

               “Quick Dougal, get the remedy ready and give it to her while we have her pinned down,” said Nathan.

               Dougal took the cloth bundle out from his robe relieved to see that it was still there. He placed it on the bedroom table and unrolled it to ensure the contents were all intact. He placed the needle to the syringe into one of the vials with the gene therapy remedy within it. He pulled on the plunger to bring the solution into the syringe. So far everything was working as he thought it would.

               “Hurry up Dougal, we can’t hold her down much longer,” said Nathan.

               “Pull her sleeve up so that I can see her shoulder,” said Dougal advancing with the prepared needle.

               Holding her wrist with one hand Nathan was able to expose Samantha’s shoulder.

               Dougal remembered the last time he had done this that the more irate patients had been held down by straps and with burly men. There was less movement and the administration of the therapy had been easier. The conditions were not in his favour now and the stakes were far higher.

               “Try to stop her from wriggling as much as you can,” said Dougal.

               Nathan and Jezabel held onto the young witch as tightly as they could but they could feel that their own strength was fading. Dougal knew that she would not be completely still but that he still had to administer the injection as best as he could.

               He found a suitable injection site in her shoulder and placed the needle on the skin. Applying some pressure the needle pierced the skin and entered the muscle. Samantha hissed and finding strength deep within her wriggled even more. Nathan and Jezabel mustered some more strength and tightened their grip on the young witch.

               Dougal kept as still as he could as he depressed the plunger on the syringe. Samantha let out a scream as the fluid went into her muscle. Once all the fluid had been released from the syringe through the needle Dougal retracted the syringe and stepped back. He was aware that now it was only a matter of waiting to allow the gene therapy to work within the young witch.

               Samantha relaxed slightly and Nathan felt safe enough to release his grip upon her. Jezabel waited for a minute longer and when she was convinced that Samantha’s rage had subsided she released the young witch’s arm and stepped back.

               “What happens now?” asked Jezabel.

               “We allow the remedy to take effect on Samantha. We tried this on many patients with great success and I am hoping that the therapy should cure Samantha from her ailment,” said Dougal.

               Jezabel allowed herself to smile and the anxiety she had felt since looking after Samantha for the past few hours subsided. She had faith in Dougal and his remedy and believed that whatever he had done would save Samantha and the coven.

               Samantha seemed to relax on the bed and her breathing returned to normal. Dougal knew that it took a few hours for the remedy to have optimal effect but the response that Samantha was showing to the injection was typical and that she was being cured.

               Jezabel looked at the child and could see that she was almost returning to her normal self. She could almost see a smile spreading on the young witch’s face.

               “Are you okay my child? How do you feel now? Do you feel any better?” asked Jezabel.

               The cloud seemed to be lifting from within Samantha’s mind. She could now think clearer and she was aware that she was in the room with three older beings, two wizards and one witch.

               “I don’t feel so warm now and my thinking isn’t as fuzzy,” said Samantha.

               “That is very good to hear my child,” said Nathan. “All you have to do is rest for a bit more and you should be as right as rain.”

               “Where are my mum and dad?” asked Samantha becoming excited. “Do they know where I am? Will they be coming for me?”

               Nathan was aware that bringing Samantha back to her mum and dad would be problematic. The citizens of Port Town were now aware that Samantha was a witch and although she was young they would still want to exact revenge for what she had done within the town. Taking Samantha back to her parents would endanger her and her parents and was out of the question.

This novella is available in both eBook and paperback formats from Amazon.

Kind Regards.

Alan

alanrove@hotmail.com