Page 17 of Lunar Diamonds
As for shadow witches, they were classed as enemies of society, literally hiding in the shadows. Traitors, using their own brand of corrupted shimmer magic.
There’d always been shimmer witches causing trouble throughout the years. Some worse than others. Magic was a neutral energy, the intent of spell or potion a witch’s prerogative. But Kane Kingwood took it to the next level. He found a way to change magic, slaughtering fifty victims in a mass ritual killing to create shadow magic. Apparently, he poured that blood over some Hecate Crystals, corrupting them and the magic.
People like me weren’t privy tothosedetails.
From there, he built House Kingwood and recruited thousands from around the world to his cause. He created the shades to boost his army—a real megalomaniac to his rotten core.
Kane was the apocalyptic threat for that generation of sacred witches. But the triplets of House Aurora failed to defeat him, the siblings too busy with petty infighting, tainted by their celebrity status. Fame went to their heads, along with their power.
Many lost their lives in the Battle of Coldharbour Downs, the High Coven had to step in to take down the Kingwood army. They succeeded, although the shades remained, as well as shadow magic. But it sealed the coven’s dominance, their power having increased over the years on a global scale. From then on, sacred power was deemed irrelevant, and House Aurora fell into disgrace, changing the course of magic forever.
The High Coven came down hard. They removed all grimoires from public access, implementing heavy magical regulation. They’d become that powerful, taking over the government completely. With no aggression, just a rapid transfer of power.
Within days, they introduced mandatory power-binding at birth—an injection administered into a witch infant to neutralize magical activity until puberty kicked in. From that point, seeing as the change in hormones counteracted the effects of the injection, the child was fitted with a witch bangle. For life. They suppressed magic, granting access to the three heavily diluted spells approved by the High Coven. Any attempt to remove the bangle resulted in a minimum of ten years in prison with hard labor.
Witchcops were given access to more spells to do their duty, but not many.
I traced a finger along my bangle, the surgical steel still warm, its red light dim.
How different things were before my time. Free to read grimoires, no heavy regulations, the world a super magical place. But maybe that wasn’t so great. I’d read true stories of dangerous witches, of spells gone awry. We didn’t have any of that now, living in relative peace. Shades aside, of course.
When the next apocalyptic threat came, the might of the High Coven would keep us safe. No chosen triplets born to save us all, probably sparing Coldharbour from being the epicenter of drama.
The Auroras refused to move into a less populated area due to the city being a holy site where Hecate blessed the first of their bloodline. But with that being dead in the water, the High Coven would probably be the targets now, and they had headquarters across the world.
Okay, enough of this. The blue thing was clearly a dream, brought on by today’s experience and my little breakdowns.
Time for a shower and a spiced rum.
My phone rang. It was Danny, a friend and the owner of the Glitter Fox Bar—my favorite hangout spot in the city.
They held the best karaoke nights. Always epic. Always healing.
“Hey, Danny,” I answered.
“Darling. What happened at the library?”
I told him.
“Good lord! Are you okay?”
“Nothing a nap won’t heal.”
Hearing his voice brightened my afternoon. It felt homely, like a warm hug.
“Do you need to talk? I can come over with soup and a willing ear.”
Ugh. I despised soup. “I’m fine. I just need to rest for a bit. But thanks for the offer.”
He sighed.“You take care, then.”
I read between the lines, the sigh barely hiding his disappointment. I knew Danny well enough to pick up on the signs. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“Cut the crap and spill it.”
He laughed.“You see right through me. Well, we’re having a karaoke competition tonight. A last-minute thing Lee came up with in a moment of madness. Plastered it all over social media this morning. It’s gone mental. I’m surprised you didn’t see it on your break.”
