The Dark Passage: Rise Of The Dark Coven (Book 2)

Chapter One

"Agatha, what about Adana?", Evelyn said to Agatha as she moved quickly around the room.

"What about her?", Agatha asked.

Evelyn stopped in her tracks, in shock of what Agatha had just said.

"How can you ask that? She is your child. She is just a baby. How can you just up and leave her like this?".

Agatha stopped her packing and looked at Evelyn, frustrated. She'd been watching Lawrence from afar, waiting for him to come and see about his child but he never returned back to the village. Agatha felt it had something to do with her sister, Glinda. She was always following around and trying to fix what she felt were Agatha's mistakes.

When Agatha first saw Lawrence, she knew he was meant for her. Everyone assumed it had something to do with Agatha's hatred for the night crawlers. She did in fact despise them, and felt they shouldn't be running a kingdom with more than just their kind. This was different though. It was the way he smiled at her; she could feel it in her soul. She knew had he not been a vampire and was a human, it would've been her he was married to, not Amethyst. She wasn't going to let that stop her. She approached Lawrence one day in the courtyard, and like she expected, he rejected her because of their differences. As he walked away from her, she placed a small lusting spell onto him. She watched as he slowly turned around. Once facing her, the look in his eyes was completely different from the one he had before.

He would come to her hut in the village late at night wearing nothing but a cloak to hide his identity. They tussled around like animals in heat night after night. When Agatha realized she was carrying the result of their passionate nights, she couldn't wait to share the news with Lawrence. She put on one of the dresses she knew he loved and waited at the edge of the forest for him like she always did. The sun was rising before Agatha finally accepted he wasn't going to show. It wasn't like him not to and not give a reason. Once Adana was born, Agatha ran back to her hut and grabbed her cloak and placed the hood over her head. She traveled to the kingdom and used her magic to be able to see inside of the castle without actually stepping in. Her eyes searched around until she finally saw him. He was embracing the queen lovingly, kissing her as if Agatha never existed. Agatha pulled her sight back and ran back home, humiliated. How could she believe that the king would stay with a lone witch like her? She decided she's just give all her attention to her child. Agatha saw how different she was. And as she grew she also realized that her daughter had as much a right to the kingdom as the twins that just so happened to be born a few months after Adana's second birthday.

"I am doing this for her", Agatha said becoming irritated with Evelyn's judgmental tone.

"Explain to me how you expect me to believe that. Your obsession with Larfire is ... it's toxic".

"It's not an obsession!", Agatha yelled.

"So, what do you call it?".

"These night crawlers have been running the kingdom for centuries. You and I both know that having them do it is the ending of it all. All it's going to take is one short fused vampire and we'll be eliminated. But that has nothing to do with this. Lawrence and I conceived. He received word that I had his child, I made sure of it. Yet he still hasn't come to see her. WE deserve to be welcomed into the kingdom. And I'm going to make sure of that ... even if it's the death of me".

Evelyn opened her mouth to say more but stopped when Adana silently walked into the room. She swiftly moved her feet over to Agatha, hugging her legs. Agatha signed and picked her up. Adana looked up at her mother and softly laughed. Her fangs poked through her gums and she leaned in and nibbles on Agatha's shoulder. Agatha winced in pain, abruptly dropping Adana on the floor. Adana looked up confused then began to cry. Agatha rolled her eyes and grabbed her bag.

"Just ... take care of her until I get back".

Agatha pulled the hood of her cloak over her head and walked out of the hut, closing the slightly broken wooden door behind her. Evelyn reached down and picked up Adana. She began singing a sweet lullaby to calm her tears. Adana sniffled then smiled up at Evelyn, showing her fangs again. Evelyn got an idea and scolded herself for not thinking of it earlier. She said a quick chant and suddenly a small voodoo type doll appeared midair. Evelyn grabbed it and handed it to Adana. Adana examined it, trying to figure out exactly what it was. She innocently giggled and bit down on the doll. Her fangs punctured through the fabric of the doll and blood oozed into her mouth. Adana laughed louder out of excitement and continued to bite the doll. Evelyn kissed her forehead and walked out of the hut, knowing it would never be occupied again. Agatha could give all the excuses she wanted, Evelyn knew the truth. She cast a spell on Lawrence, he didn't do what he did willingly. So, she couldn't expect him to suddenly have an interest on a child he didn't want to conceive. This was about power, it always had been.

Agatha approached Evelyn some time ago, speaking of a prophecy that the witches would one day rule the land. Evelyn thought she was bat shit crazy, but she had just been exiled from her own coven. She needed refuge and it seemed Agatha was going to give it to her. Over time Evelyn grew to love Agatha as a sister. Much more than her own sister Glinda did. Glinda constantly looked down on Agatha and pointed the finger at her. Evelyn mostly embraced it. She didn't believe in a dark or natural magic. Or a right or wrong way to practice. The craft was the craft and that's what the coven they built was about. They looked in all areas of the world and found witches like them. Alone and rejected by everyone. They called ourselves the black coven. Not because of the "dark magic" people said they did but because of the fear they brought to everyone. People feared that they didn't follow any rules, it made them lethal. In Evelyn's opinion, they were more powerful than any coven, even the grand one.

Evelyn entered her own hut and sat Adana on the rugged floor. Her son, Mekhi, slid off the couch and walked over to Adana. He saw Adana's fangs and poked at them out of curiosity, piercing his small finger a little. His initial cry startled Evelyn. She quickly grabbed him and placed some mud she had on the table over his finger.

"Be careful, Khi".

"Mommy, she bit me".

Evelyn looked down at Adana, whom now looked ashamed. Evelyn knew she had some work to do with her.

"She didn't mean to, Khi. She didn't mean to".