Chapter 126 - The Question For Another Time

The crowd exploded with questions and exclamations once again. Ghost leaned to my ear to shout, "They must've been madder than me!" in this weirdly cheerful, considering the circumstances, manner. Elena gave her mic a few more taps to quiet everyone down.

"Yes, the situation is grim, but it's no reason to panic! Our coven isn't under a direct attack. This might end up being a world-changing event, but this isn't the worst that could, and had to have happened to Nightingale Coven. First, I'm going to relay the situation as it develops in the current moment and explain what we know about the demon. The summonings were forbidden since before Christ, and I would be surprised if many of you know about more than the most gruesome details."

I turned away from the screen and turned towards Ghost with a question that has been plaguing me for the last minute. "If this is a demon, then what about biblical demons and angels?" I whispered.

"Legends," Ghost whispered back. "Based on stuff like this." He pointed at the screen, where the video was paused on the image of the demon.

"Demons and angels described in the Bible were never seen in real life. But ever since the first witches, some of us tried to walk through the inner depths of our wells and see the other side. Some saw themselves, some the world around, and some saw other worlds completely. They looked at them and then they touched them. This was an era of wild magic, of spirits roaming the Earth en masse. At the time, people thought the creatures were gods. Or, sometimes, demons and angels. Not all of them are powerful, though weaker ones are rarely summoned. Not all of them are malevolent, though even benign ones are dangerous and unpredictable. Some are even documented."

Elena made a pause in her lecture, then gestured at her assistant with the laptop. The image on the screen changed to a photo, a clear photo of the demon.

What was a ball of fire on the muddy video turned out to be just several flaming rings forming something akin to a ball. The rings, dark under the flames, were covered in ridges and each had two rows of what looked like… eyes? Round, beady eyes of a fish. In the middle of the ball of the rings, was a solid core that looked molten.

"I know the Elder of Eternalroot Coven. She wouldn't have summoned a creature she didn't know about, and there must be records of it in the Eternalroot's books. There might be records in our coven's ones. It will remain to be seen." Elena let out a huff through her nostrils.

"It also still unclear if there's anything left of Eternalroot Coven. There had been no news from its members. Th vampires had already called the Circle, but the police are already trying to contain the demon. I have information that until now it had not acted in an actively destructive manner, but the news at this point are highly unclear. Other covens in the country agreed to help to identify the demon. For now, everyone's primary task is to contain, destroy or banish the demon as soon as possible. The real question is what happens after."

Elena paused, letting a heavy silence to descend on the people until a vaguely familiar girl from the front row (I think she tried to suck up to me when I first got to the coven) raised a hand. "What happens after, Elder Elena?" she shot in a trembling voice.

"There are two ways," was Elena's immediate reply. "We can work with vampires, and probably with the government by that point, to cover up the entire story. Of course, it would be impossible to clear everyone's memory, but with enough propaganda, people could be forced to believe many things. Or, we can instead step into the light."

A wave of murmurs and gasps went through the gathered people. "More like be kicked into it," Ghost murmured next to me. I just frowned in confusion at the turn of the speech.

"Yes, the decision the witches were torn on for the last century. As the acceptance and tolerance of people of different race, skin colour and sexual orientation grew, we asked ourself more and more often if we could be accepted as well. This," Elena motioned on the screen with a wry smile, "isn't how our First Contact should've gone, of course. But we can fix it, show everyone that we shouldn't be judged by the worst of our kind. I'm sure that by now even some vampires, especially the younger ones, think that their First Commandment grew too old."

A hubbub of voices and arguments rose once again, only to be sharply interrupted. "I want all of you to think of what would you like to choose, but we don't have to choose now. First, we have to contain the demon. Those of you who have combat training, report to Marshal Clara after this gathering is concluded." Elena gestured at one of her assistants. "The rest, don't leave the headquarters and come to my deputy," she pointed at the woman with the laptop now, "with all organisational problems."

"What we will do?" some young man asked timidly.

"Take care," Elena cut him down and looked at everyone else. "The safety of our coven is of the utmost importance. If you have friends or family members outside of the headquarters, you may contact them and offer them sanctuary inside the coven with my deputy's permission. Until we negotiate the plan of action with the vampire Circle and other witches of the city, we have to stay put and stay safe." She took another breath. "This concludes our gathering. Diana… you and Ghost, meet me in my office."

She put away the microphone and left, her entourage following. For a few seconds, the quiet that still hang around until the trail of silence left by Elena's presence dissipated and the chaos ensued once again.

Ghost beamed at me and motioned for us to move.