The Order of The Whitening and The New Beginning
The Order of The Whitening and The Threat to Mankind
The Order of the Whitening and Clarina and Luke

Closing her eyes, Clarina shifted her focus from the here to the where. She may be here now, but this isn’t where she needed to be. Her magic tingled and spiked out from her fingers as she concentrated everything she had to figure out where she was and who sent her here.

Slowly, the mirage of Luke evaporated in the ether as the smokescreen began to eviscerate around her. It whipped her hair around her eyes that were still red from the tears spilt after seeing her past love. The force of the magic fighting her stung her body as it lashed out her as she tried to destroy it. It was familiar, the magic keeping her here, wherever here was. Something she knew once and not that long ago. A power not felt for a while yet she just couldn’t quite figure out its source.

Gritting her teeth through the pain, Clarina called for witches from the order past and present to help get back to her reality.

Not this warped image playing out like a movie in front of her. With no idea how long she been gone from the manor or even if she was still on the same plane as the one she lived her life, Clarina was scared.

She was walking into whatever was happening blind with no idea what was waiting for her. The fear growing in the pit of her stomach was crippling and she could feel the bile rising in her throat as she tried to regain her composure. But she couldn’t hold it down. Exhaustion dragged at her body until she was nothing more than a sobbing heap on the floor.

Lost to her tears, Clarina gave in to the powerful magic being used to create this illusion. The unnatural power being used to keep her imprisoned in her memories, in her past, drowning in the heartbreak of losing Luke. And she cried. For Luke, for White Manor, for the remaining witches in the coven and for herself, trapped here and not strong enough to find her way back to protect those she loved the most.

Then she felt it. Subtly at first, then stronger as it gained motion.

A whip at her already messy hair, a nudge on her crumpled body. Something was here with her. She felt it more emotionally than she could feel it physically. The power coursing through the stagnant air around her. Crackling as it weaved its way to where she lay. When it connected to her own magic she knew. Mixing with her power, Clarina knew Deandra was here. It was her magic that was coursing through her own veins. Rising to her feet, she channelled everything she and Deandra were to blast the remainder of the spell apart and return her to her family who needed her at White Manor.

Opening her eyes as she stood, Deandra was over her left shoulder standing slightly back as if she was worried about her presence would be taken. Her eyes closed in concentration. To her right, Clarina felt new magic weave its way into the new power she had formed between her own and Deandra’s magic. In harmony, all three magics intertwined. Only this time, the source of the newest power source remained out of sight. But she didn’t need to see who it was to know where it was coming from.

Bolstered by the support of coven members past, Clarina ended the spell and watched as the cloudy web of nightmares vanished leaving Clarina and Deandra standing in the kitchen on the ground floor of White Manor. That had to be Deandra, her own power was physically unable to remove her from place to place.

Still, her mentor, friend and ally remained silent. A tentative smile graced her pale features as she nodded towards the staircase. The threat was up there. Clarina could feel something evil spreading its tentacles around the manor and taking hold of the coven one by one. It was trying to break down the forcefield in place to break out of its prison and wreak havoc on the outside world.

As she made her way silently up the majestic staircase, she connected with each member of the coven one by one.

Her heart broke and tears once more filled her eyes as she felt the magic from three fellow witches explode as they succumbed to power that sought to extinguish their lives. She had to be quick if wanted to save them all but first, she needed to put a stop to the source of that power.

Pulling on the borrowed magic coursing through her veins, Clarina rounded the corner at the top of the second floor and came face to face with her foe. She sensed it was a member of The Whitening gone rogue and now she had her proof. Stood before her now was the youngest and newest member of the coven, Janey.

Clarina gasped as she took in the sight of Janey hovering mid-air over the body of Breanna. Breanna was dying and Janey, her would be murderer. Sucking the magic back into her, Janey screeched as she caught sight of Clarina and Deandra now intertwined and a magical force to be reckoned with.

The shock was enough for Breanna to be able to break free from Janey’s hold and join her new and former leader as they fought to control Janey and reverse whatever she was trying to pull off. As she fought, the dark magic spun in the air as its original master commanded it to do its bidding. Clarina could see now, it wasn’t Janey. it looked liked Janey and talked like Janey but as she held her gaze, she knew Janey was dead.

This was the work of The Disciples.

Never in her wildest nightmares did she think this would be how they would claw their way to Earth. But it was too late, the evil was here and as the protection spell came crashing down around White Manor, Clarina knew the fight wasn’t over. The war at White Manor may have ended for now but, The Disciples had won and the threat hadn’t been contained.

As all remaining members of the coven descended on the hallway to restore their magic and heal together they mourned. For Janey, for Deandra and for Earth. They needed help if they were going to defeat the order that sought to unleash the source of all evil upon Earth and the reality they called home.