The Dark Passage: Queen of the Damned (Book 1)

Chapter Twenty-One

Geneva stumbled over her feet trying to walk. The guards placed a sack over her head, making it difficult for her to see where she was going. All her years of hiding came down to this. She was finally about to be sentenced by the coven.

All Geneva ever wanted to do was practice magic. She was fascinated by the power witches and warlocks hold. Both her and Agatha dreamt every night about becoming part of the coven, and one day their wish was granted.

Geneva didn't know at the time that they had made a deal with the grim reaper. Agatha was the one who summoned him and she didn't give Geneva much detail of what was happening. All she remembered was meeting Agatha in the woods nearby to their village. There was a man dressed in a dark cloak and Geneva was unable to make out his features. He instructed them to drink from the bowls he placed in front of them. Geneva was hesitant but gave in once she saw Agatha begin to drink whatever contents were inside. Agatha was older than Geneva, and she always felt that Agatha would always protect her. So, if Agatha could do it so could she.

After draining the contents, Geneva lost consciousness and when she awoke, she had more power than she could have ever imagined. She thought now that she had power her and Agatha could finally join the coven. Geneva found out shortly after from Agatha that they were impure and that if the coven found out they had artificial magic, it would be the death of them. All Geneva wanted was to practice magic, so not being part of the coven was a let down but at least she got what she wanted. To freely practice the art. Agatha, however, popped her bubble again and informed Geneva that their half of the reaper deal is to perform dark magic and do missions in the name of him. Geneva felt that was more of a prison than she was already in within her village, so she fled. And that is when she met Amethyst. She was kind enough to take her in, even with her knowing the two paths she was running from.

Geneva did all she could to stay away from dark magic since it was against the coven's laws. They could sense the darkness and be able to pinpoint where it's coming from the more a witch practices it. Geneva had only performed dark magic three times since she's had her magic, but she guessed those times were powerful enough for the coven to locate her. And now she has to face them for not only her sins but for Agatha's as well. Between the two, Agatha had performed more dark magic, however, she was always one step ahead of the coven and managed to stay from up under their radar.

The guards stopped walking, making Geneva stop as well since they were pulling her by the chains she was shackled to. One of the guards hit Geneva with a forceful punch in her lower back, making her fall to her knees in pain. They snatched the sack off her head, and it took some time for Geneva's eyes to adjust to the light. One they did, she realized she was in the grand court room where the coven does most of their sentencing. They sat behind their podiums and looked down at Geneva in disgust.

"We should behead you for all the chaos you and that sister of yours have caused", one of them spoke. She sat in the middle of them all so Geneva assumed she was the head witch.

"I -I am sorry grand-"

"You do not speak!", the witch said to Geneva cutting her off. "The magic within you is not blood born. We refuse to have those types of infestations in our nation".

All the witches placed their hands palm towards the ceilings. They all chanted the words "rimuovere il potere" five times. After the fifth time, Geneva felt a pain in her chest. She could feel the witches pulling the power out of her body. Blood began to pour out of her nose and eyes. It felt as if they were ripping a peace of every one of her organs and yanking it though her skin. Finally, the power was no longer within Geneva, and it floated in a black sphere in front of her eyes.

"Distruggere!", the head witch said and the sphere hardened and crumbled to ash onto the floor. They all stood to their feet and the room became a little darker, making Geneva fear for what was going to happen next.