Nova: Daughters of Darkness (2 page)

Nova decided it was probably time to step in. "Branna," she said sharply, "obviously this is not their fault, nor ours, it just is." Nova continued with authority, "What I want to know is when and where this is supposed to go down?" She turned to her father, seeking the answers.

"To be honest," he said, "the prophecy is pretty vague. It simply states:

'Three by three they march in time,

Their beating hearts, their words rhyme.

Destruction wrought to those who dare,

Stand against three sisters' fair'
."

Nova waited, sensing somehow there was more.

"They call you the 'Daughters of Darkness'." That last statement took them all a step back.

"Wait," said Kyna, finally speaking. "Why the Daughters of Darkness?"

"Because," said their father, reluctantly. With a sigh, he continued, "It is said that each one of you carries a piece of the dark Underworld within you, which is what you will draw your power from to defeat the demon."

Everyone sat silent, contemplating the thought that they carried a piece of the evil Underworld within their bodies.

As if reading their thoughts, their father spoke softly. "The darkness is not just within your body, it is within your very soul."

Chapter 3

Darkness in our souls?
thought Nova. Looking over at her sisters, she saw that there was fire and determination in Branna's eyes and Kyna's were filled with tears and fear, but there was a quiet strength there that Nova respected. For herself, Nova knew she would go to the ends of the earth if it meant protecting her family, especially her sisters. There wasn't a demon alive that would be able to stand against her if the ones she loved were in harm's way.

"Wait a minute," Branna said, interrupting their thoughts. "Why the hell didn't Kyna see this crazy shit coming in all her glitchy flashes over the years?" she demanded. "She is some kind of seer, why couldn't she
see
this?"

"Branna you know how that works for her" said Niamh. "However, your father and I have been discussing the possibilities of that." She continued, "Seers, as we all know, do not always see themselves so easily, Kyna less so than most," she said with affection. "So the best we could figure, is that because the prophecy directly affects her, she didn't get any flashes of insight."

"Okay" Branna said slowly, accepting that response. "Then explain to me why the hell you kept this from us all these years, rather than preparing us?"

Nova kept quiet when Branna began to yell obscenities, to be honest, she had been wondering the same thing.

"I mean, this is bullshit. You are giving us nothing, no sense of direction, no pertinent information,
nothing
we can use to explain why
we
are the ones that have to do this." Pacing back and forth, agitated by the whole situation, she continued. "Someone please tell me why the fuck we have to do this?"

At this, their father became angry "Branna," he yelled sharply. "That's enough. You will address us with respect and refrain from using profanity, no matter what you are feeling."

Branna slumped on the couch, arms crossed over her chest defiantly, knowing that it was in her best interest to keep her mouth shut at this point.

Angrily, he shoved a hand through his hair. "And as far as not telling you, we have carried the burden of this knowledge for twenty-three years, since the day Nova was born with the mark of the three. You cannot imagine the torment in our hearts over the years; the nights we held each other and cried over the fate our babies would have to face." His voice cracked with emotion. "I am your father and as such am meant to protect you."

Nova and her sisters sat frozen in shock as tears began rolling down his face. Their mother was crying softly in her chair. They had never seen their father cry...ever.

"But," he cleared his throat, struggling to finish, "in this, I cannot. It is already in motion, and to try and stop it would mean having to destroy the final key."

Shock registered on all their faces, along with a feeling of hopelessness. No one could destroy the key; the key was Kyna.

"So, you see," said their mother, bringing them all back from their morbid thoughts, "we had to let the prophecy play out. You are meant to destroy this demon and bring peace to our world." She gave them a watery smile. "However, we can tell you this; those who have carried the knowledge of the prophecy with them over the centuries believe the battle is to be fought in its original location. In Ireland"

Nova was lost in thought, thinking of all the times their parents had forced them to study their magic and repeat spells over and over again until they were flawless. Repetitively having them exercise their elements and powers until they could use them almost without thought. Then all the physical training, the self-defense classes their father claimed were "just in case".

"You were training us" she suddenly said. "All these years, all the practicing and the endless exercises. It was your way of ensuring we would be ready when this day came."

"Yes," her father said simply.

Kyna looked up, and her eyes lost focus. Nova knew from years of experience that she was seeing something none of them could see. Knowing it would only be a minute or so before she was present in this moment again, they all waited until her eyes were once again clear.

Branna was the first to speak once Kyna's eyes became clear again, "Did you see something about this?" She hated to pounce on her right after a vision. Kyna usually needed a moment to clear the image from her mind.

"No," Kyna said regretfully. "It was something else." She looked away, afraid Branna would see through her vague response and demand she tell her what she saw.

Nova interjected, "It's how it is meant to be. You saw what you were meant to and that is all you can do." She turned to her parents. "We will just have to resume our old training schedule for the next couple of weeks and celebrate Kyna's birthday with the same joy we always do."

Turning back to her sisters, she continued, "We will leave the following morning for Ireland."

Her mother and father embraced them all, filling their arms with as much love as they could project.

"May the light be with you," their mother said softly, her voice thick with unshed tears.

Chapter 4

Drake stood, stretching his powerful, muscular body. He could feel the powers of the Daughters of Darkness beckoning him, taunting him to come and destroy them. The time was almost here for him to unleash his hatred and evil upon the world. He could almost taste the sweet nectar of victory and was already envisioning himself as king of his new world. The anticipation was fueling his need. Once the portal opened, he would fulfill that need with a vengeance not seen in thousands of years.

Nova walked into The Shell Lounge in Portland's historic Old Port. Branna and Kyna were already well established inside and celebrating Kyna's twenty-first birthday. After a quick stop at the bar for a vodka and cranberry, Nova made her way over to the couch they had claimed.

"Nova!" Kyna said excitedly. "Come meet these handsome gentlemen who have been buying us the yummiest cosmos," she said, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. Although some would consider them handsome, they were a little too slick for Nova's taste. The ring leader was clearly a big fan of fake tanning, which did nothing for his mousy brown hair and eyes. His beta had premature balding and he was compensating with unnaturally huge muscles. While the third friend was the evident lackey. Smaller than the other two, he was there just to make them look good. Nova almost felt sorry for him, with his acne scars and carrot colored hair, until he winked at her while licking his lips. With a shudder, Nova made a beeline for Branna.

"Seriously, Kyna? What have we been here all of thirty minutes? Can't we look around a bit before you hook up with a stage five clinger?" suggested Branna from her seat on the couch. Her nose wrinkled in a grimace when she glanced at the guys.

Especially when scar face sat down and put his hand on her leg. With a sleazy smirk, he said, "hey girl."

Branna let out a huff of disgust, "Listen boys," she said as she flung his hand off her leg. "We're not here to be your entertainment for the night. So take a walk." When none of the guys seemed to pay her any mind, Nova saw the storm that started to brew in Branna's eyes as she gave her a look that said,
what the fuck.

Standing up, Branna said. "You there, pretty boy"

Ring leader pointed to himself, "Me?" he asked.

"Yup, talking to you Slick Rick. How about you and your boys take your greasy over-done hair and cheap cologne and move it the fuck along. I'll be damned if I'm going to waste a perfectly good one night stand on overcompensating douche turds." Branna exclaimed.

Nova turned away so that they wouldn't see the smirk on her face; Branna's audacity never failed to amuse her. As she looked around the bar with its thumping music and bad lighting she caught sight of the most gorgeous man she had ever seen leaning on the door jamb beneath the exit sign. He was tall, well over six feet with coal black hair and enough muscle to make his body as fun as an amusement park ride. Nova couldn't see his eyes, but she imagined them being a dark brown, almost black with a sensual gleam in them. She could practically feel the heat of his gaze from where she stood. She turned to her sisters to point him out, but when she turned back he was gone. Nova didn't see him again but couldn't get the sight of his amazing body and gorgeous face out of her head. Unable to stop her gaze from wandering the bar all night, trying to catch sight of him again, she would have sworn she felt eyes burning into her back.

The girls danced well into the night in the mass of sweaty, drunken bodies, closing Shell down around two a.m. Nova, having only had the one drink before she switched to water, offered to drive her sisters home, but Branna and Kyna both had pre-arranged rides for themselves. Bidding them both goodnight, she walked to the parking garage from the bar, again feeling as if she was being watched intently. Feeling a little unsettled, she began to walk faster, glancing nervously behind her to be sure she wasn't being followed. Working herself into a mini panic attack, she fumbled trying to find her keys in the bottom of her bag.

(Keep your keys handy to be able to quickly enter your vehicle) Nova heard her self-defense instructor saying in her head.
Survival basics 101, idiot
, she thought to herself. She now understood why they tell you these things. Frustrated with herself and feeling increasingly aware that she was alone in a deserted parking garage, she looked around one last time before finally freeing her keys from her bag. Quickly unlocking the door, she jumped into her vehicle, and locked the doors. Once she calmed down a little, she actually felt stupid for having reacted the way she did. Nova gave a shaky laugh at herself, started her car, backed up and pulled out of the garage; never noticing the man standing in the shadows watching her drive away.

Drake had watched the sisters drink, dance, and have fun all night, wondering how these stunning young girls planned to take on the likes of him. They were supposed to be warrior witches, battle ready, and able to take on his power at a moment's notice. These were beautiful young women, with seemingly no care in the world. He couldn't help but notice Nova and how the light reflected off her porcelain skin or how her hair shone like diamonds under the dance floor lights. It was going to be a travesty to have to kill such a beautiful woman, but Drake quickly pushed those feelings down. This was war and she was his enemy. Although, sometimes to defeat your enemy, you have to get to know your enemy. That could get...interesting.

Chapter 5

The next morning Nova woke up early to make sure all the things she had packed were in order and ready to go. Being so organized had its perks. She was able to sit and have a leisurely cup of coffee before meeting Branna and Kyna and beginning this insane journey to save the world. Save the world, god it sounded so unimaginable. They weren't super heroes, or even exceptionally powerful witches. I mean, sure, they each had a firm grasp on their talents and were adept in hand to hand combat, but they were barely into their twenties and were now flying halfway across the world to battle a crazed demon who thought he could just come up and own everything. Nova hated this, but she hated the thought of some punk ass demon getting his scaly, grimy hands on any part of their world even more.

Nova loaded up her car, made sure her neighbor was all set with a spare key and Morrigan's feeding schedule and she was still the first to arrive at the airport, with Kyna and their parent's right behind her.

"Where's Branna?"she asked.

Kyna smirked. "She found herself a tall dark and scruffy and took him home; she should be taking the walk of shame right about now."

Both Nova and Branna liked their men tall dark and handsome, Branna just happened to like hers with three day old stubble and clothes that had seen better days.

Just when Nova was beginning to think she would miss their flight, Branna sauntered into their terminal. She looked as though she had been poured into the skin tight leather pants she wore. A ripped up purple tank top under her vintage bomber jacket and a very satisfied grin beneath her aviators completed the outfit. Nova's brow furrowed in disapproval, she was more comfortable in her cargo pants, sneakers and a hoodie that expressed how
Tattooed Chicks Do It Better
.