Page 89 of Bewitching the Wolf

“Malediction,” Otis mutters.

“Exactly,” Mom agrees. “Garth never wanted to share Earth’s bounty. He wanted it all for himself, and with Maeve doing his bidding, he believed he would once again rule Earth. Except things didn’t go according to plan. Garth soon tired of Maeve’s devotion and took a human lover.

“Maeve was devastated. In an act of revenge, she had a child with a demon king. Birthing a demon destroyed her body, and soon after, she withered away and died. But before she passed, she decreed that the DeVine family would raise her demon child as their own or she would revoke the dark magic and leave them to perish.”

A shiver runs down my spine. “That child was Marsha Winters, wasn’t it?”

Mom nods. “Yes. Marsha has been alive for centuries, wearing a glamor that disguises her as human, holding sway with her demonic spells over the Labyrinth. It was Marsha who turned Sparkle City into the most spectacular of all the domes. She used dark magic to invoke portal elevators, to program humans as her minions, and to vaporize those who thwarted her.”

I shake my head. “Gods, Mom, how did any white magic survive?”

“Well, that brings me to the second thread of this story. Back on Earth, my mother, Roxanne—your grandmother, Jax and Clem—married a wizard, and soon after, she gave birth to me. They lived a simple life, practicing the runes in a small area of Earth hidden from view, and entered the Labyrinth at a spot called One Moonbeam Lake to meet with their faithful followers, the mages and wixens and the like. They still had the three books of runes, and together they created the portal cape.

“During those long, dark years, my parents and their followers worked tirelessly on spells to break the malediction that bound the monsters to the Labyrinth. It paid off. A hundred years ago, the white magic quickened and peaked.”

“Which is when the rebellion happened,” Traggar says. “Of course, that makes sense.”

“Yes, but as you all know, it was a false hope. The white magic was not powerful enough to defeat the demonic forces, and my mother and father died in a hideous battle, after which the Golden Book of Runes was stolen by Marsha.

“Without its companion, the other two books went quiet, and our magic went into deep hibernation.”

A pall falls over the group, and I sense the collective sadness in the room.

After a moment, Mom continues. “Wolves and wixens had a bitter falling out after the Golden Book was stolen. Wolves said it was wixens’ fault for not hiding it properly. Wixens said it was wolves’ fault for not guarding it better. They squabbled about who was more talented in the ways of magic, but since neither could read the spells anymore, that was a waste of time. It was a sad state of affairs, and with my parents dead, there was a kind of anarchy in the Labyrinth for many years. In the process, the Red and Silver books went to different homes.”

“We held onto the Red Book,” Felicia says pensively. “And wolves kept the Silver Book.”

“Which helped neither wolves nor wixens,” Mom replies. “But both sides were a little, erm, too stubborn, shall we say, to back down.”

Traggar and Felicia exchange rueful glances.

I grin, and squeeze Tippy’s hand in mine. “That’d be right.”

She mock-glares at me, but her claws are retracted and her fingers squeeze mine right back.

“So, where were you, Mom, throughout all this?” Clem asks.

“I was a young child at the time of the rebellion. Orphaned, I was raised by a group of elfen folks on Earth. I lived many years quietly in a small cave with their people, my lifespan taking me through nearly a century before I reached adulthood. All that time, I practiced my skills in readiness for when the magic would quicken. The portal cape was my ally, my trusted and loyal friend throughout.

“When I finally came of age, our angel, Ariel, tasked me with retrieving the Golden Book. I was scared, I’ll admit, but I knew it was my duty as the High Priestess of our coven. So I infiltrated Sparkle City, disguised as a human. The only magic I had was one spell that would give me access to the portal cape in dire need. And thus, I lived as a human for many years.”

“How did you meet Dad?” Clem asks.

“Your father was one of a secret society of humans who still believed in the white magic. We were introduced, fell in love and had you both. By doing menial work, we managed to stay below the radar. That was why I became a cleaner. I had to gain access to the highest places, looking for the Golden Book, and what better way than to clean the homes and offices of the elite?”

“Oh Mom—all that back-breaking work you had to do!” Clem looks like she’s about to cry.

Impatient to hear more, I ask, “Did you find the Golden Book?”

“Yes, Jax, I found it. After many years, the authorities finally entrusted me with cleaning the Sparkle archive building. The basement housed a secret library, where books from before the apocalypse were kept under lock and key so that humans would never find out the truth. There was a famed writer from many moons ago, William Shakespeare. I’ll never forget his name, or that of the book, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. I was immediately drawn to it. When I opened it, all the pages had been removed but… there it was. Just a tiny little volume. No more than thirty pages of spells. And powerless without its companions.”

“Why did Marsha keep it? Why didn’t she just destroy it?”

“There was a rather neat spell my parents placed on the book in the event that something like this might happen. If a demon so much as touched the Golden Book, it would deliver them such a powerful pestilence they’d be laid up for months, even years. Marsha couldn’t risk that. So she had it thrown into the archives. Unfortunately, the evil eyes that watched the archives saw me take it and alerted her.

“I knew Marsha would soon find me. She knew that once the three books were re-united, the white magic would grow in strength and have the ability to overthrow her evil reign. She was prepared to stop at nothing to thwart me in my task.

“I had only one choice. I had to use my only rune and summon the cape. And that was how I sent the Golden Book back here.”