The Witch's Key

Episode 12: The Final Piece

I had never gotten dressed so quickly in my life. I was dying to find out what Uncle Martin knew about this demon.

I winced as I pulled my loose sweatpants off and tried to wriggle into a pair of tight jeans. It just wasn't going to happen. Martin had done a great job healing what he could, but the rest was going to take some time.

Instead, I threw on a pair of stretchy black leggings and a black tank top with my black and white converse high-tops.

Perfect demon investigating clothes, but more importantly, not too painful against my fresh burns.

Nothing I couldn't handle, though, and nothing compared to what Peyton and the others were facing.

I practically ran all the way to the kitchen to find Martin casually discussing the qualities of his new french press. How Kai could be this patient, I had no idea. There wasn't a calm bone in my body.

"Pour me a cup and let's do this," I said. "I can't believe you've been looking for this demon so long. You have to tell us everything you know as quickly as possible."

Martin smiled and slowly poured a cup of coffee, fixing it up exactly the way I liked it.

I fidgeted in my seat as I waited.

"Thank you," I said when he finally sat down and pushed the steaming mug toward me. "Now, spill it. What have you been keeping from us?"

"Patience is a virtue, dear girl."

"No, right now, it's a luxury we don't have," I said. "We're running out of time."

"Yes, yes," Martin said. "So we are."

He sighed and shook his head.

"I'm not certain where to begin, so I'll just go back to the first time I met this particular demon," he said. "His name, by the way, is Algrath. That might come in handy next time you encounter him."

I nodded and quickly repeated the name in my head several times. Speaking a demon's name could give you some level of power over it under the right circumstances.

"About fifty years ago, I was working with a Slayer named Renee," he said. There was a hint of sadness as he said her name that tugged at something deep inside me. "She was very talented. Together, we hunted down a particularly nasty demon named Regmothean. He was ancient and had grown greedy over the years, taking more and more until it was impossible for the Council to ignore his actions. It took several years, but Renee and I managed to capture Regmothean and imprison him in a series of mirrors."

I shook my head. A series of mirrors? I'd never heard of something like that before.

"Why not just a single mirror? I don't understand how you would imprison a single demon in multiple mirrors," I said.

"It's true that it isn't done very often. The process is complicated and time consuming, but in this case, quite necessary," Martin said. "We essentially fragmented the demon's soul into five different pieces and imprisoned them in five separate mirrors. The Council then hid those mirrors in five different secret locations."

"Okay, so what does this demon, Algrath, have to do with that other demon? I don't understand."

Kai made a strange sound and ran a hand through his hair. "I think I do," he said. "But I don't want to believe it."

"I'm afraid you're probably right," Martin said. "But I'll explain it as concisely as I can. Algrath is Regmothean's brother. I met him shortly after I helped to imprison Regmothean, and let's just say he was quite angry. He killed Renee and very nearly took my life, as well."