The older witch attacked first, channelling the shadows in the room into a spiraling beam that caught Lila by surprise. However, her mother saw it coming and raised a temporary light shield to fend off the unraveling magic. Alondra glanced at her and snarled,

"Don't interfere, Sarah. She challenged me. The fight is between us only."

"You really don't think I'm going to sit idle while you try to murder my daughter, do you?"

"If you know what's good for you, that's exactly what you will do."

Alondra summoned even more shadows at her fingertips and shot them directly at Lila's mother. Sarah deflected the first wave but not the second, the intensity of the spell lifting her in the air and throwing her outside the room. The doors immediately locked behind her, trapping Lila inside.

"Much better," Alondra said. "Now, hit me with all you have!"

"With pleasure," Lila replied. Despite still being weak from all the energy she had spent earlier in the day, Penelope's safety was more important than all the pain and ache within. She would drain every ounce of her spirit to get her back.

The good witch interlocked her fingers and created her own protective shield that took the shape of a rainbow-colored dome. Then, she began expanding it forward, slowly engulfing the furniture. Alondra's magic stream bounced off the dome's reflective surface but couldn't push its way through. Behind its protection, Lila invoked a thin spear of light with the brightness of a thousand suns and positioned it directly in front of her. Blinded by the dome's chromatic reflections, Alondra only saw it when it hit her chest and made her fall behind the desk.

"Neat trick, but not enough," she said, touching the floor. Ripples of power reverberated across the surface turning solid matter into something akin to sticky quicksand. It latched on to Lila's feet and legs, dragging her down and her protection with it. She could hear her mother pounding at the door behind her but the mystical barriers outside didn't budge. Lila stretched her arms and conjured a levitation spell, gently floating towards the ceiling. Alondra wasted no time and blasted her with another energy beam that had her bang her head against the corner of the room and fall down. The shadows crept on her and...

"I think that's enough," Alondra said, returning everything to normal with a single snap of her fingers. She opened the office doors and sat down with a cigarette in hand. "You've got some spunk, dear, but I'm afraid that's not enough to go against her."

"Stand up and fight!" Lila struggled to get up. "Let's finish this."

"There's nothing to finish. I never meant you any harm. I was just assessing your skills."

"What?"

"I believe what she's saying was this was all a test," Sarah said as she walked back in. "Are you okay?"

"My head hurts but I'll be fine. What do you mean it was a test? What sort of sick game is this?"

"That's what I'm wondering as well. Care to explain, Alondra? If you're not affiliated with that wench, then why are there traces of her dark energy all around us?"

"Because she was here, and not that long ago. She tried to recruit me for her cause but I've been around for far too long to be so easily persuaded. I refused her offer and I'll keep on doing so for as long as I live. There's no doubt in my mind that we're superior to humans and that our time will come, but the sign of evil isn't the answer."

"And you couldn't have just said so?" Lila spat, held by her mother's arms as she limped her way towards a chair.

"No. You two came in hot and looking for a fight so I had to give you one no matter how brief. It was a good exercise but you're not ready to face her."

"I already did..." Lila sat down, her muscles sore but already healing. Downstairs, the party was getting livelier again.

"And no doubt got your ass kicked. The talent is there because you're your mother's daughter after all but talent is not enough to go against someone as powerful as her and hope to win. You need something else."

"And what's that?"

"Cunning... and the ability to fight fire with fire through unconventional means."

"What do you know about her, Alondra?" Sarah asked. "Who is this practitioner of the dark arts?"

"Her name is Tabitha. Tabitha Blackwood. She hails from North Rhine-Westphalia and has lived there in seclusion for hundreds of years from what I could tell. However, she recently got a taste for the magic world once again and has been wreaking havoc for a while. She even has her claws on the Council already."

"Yeah, I met an inquisitor who's keen on doing her bidding..." Lila said.

"Just one? You're lucky then. There are many more in the shadows. Things have changed a lot in the Congregatio in the last decade."

"You don't need to tell me that..." Sarah interjected. "What else do you know, Alondra?"

"Only that she plans to take over eventually and destroy all barriers between our world and theirs. She's a power hungry bitch who will stop at nothing to get what she wants, but she's not omnipotent. If she were, we wouldn't be having this conversation."

"If she's so bloodthirsty, I'm surprised you're still standing."

"Why? I've lived a long life and know dark magic better than most. I saw her plans coming from a mile away and so I covered my bases."

"In other words, you agreed to ignore her, is that it? You refused to join her but decided not to do anything to stop her."

"That's what I told her at least. Tabitha has some good ideas, I'll give her that, but she's missing the big picture. Wannabe dictators don't last long in our world. Everything she's been working for will backfire on her eventually."

"Why are you so sure of that?"

"Because there are many people like your daughter here who will not stand still, so allow me to tell you what I told them. Unity is the key. What you're missing is what they have to offer. Make use of their talents and you will break the cycle."

"You're talking about a resistance movement..." Lila muttered.

"Of course, I am, dear. You're not the first she's wronged and failed to silence as well. Like I said, she's not omnipotent. Do you want to rescue your friend? You better be prepared to join the revolution then."

"I want to know more. Who are these people and where can I find them?"

"Easy there, Lila. It's not as easy as saying you want in. There are rules and procedures in place for both your protection and theirs."

"The hell with rules and procedures! The longer we sit on our asses doing nothing the stronger this bitch becomes. How many more does she need to enslave before we show her who we really are?"

"She really is your daughter, alright!" Alondra chuckled, looking at Sarah. "Girl, you keep losing battle after battle going after her and now you're talking about rushing in once more. Why do you want to fail so hard? Listen to me, you need to get stronger!"

"Then teach me."

"What?"

"Teach me what you know about dark magic and how to defend myself against the sign of evil. Let me borrow your expertise to do what you were afraid to do."

"Afraid? Oh, you've got everything all wrong, dear. This isn't about fear but self-preservation. I'm not afraid of her but I know I can't win on my own so I choose the guise of neutrality to keep on living. You would do the same if you had lived as long as I have. Recognizing our limits is the first key to success. If you want lessons, I can arrange that, but why should I bother when you already have the best teacher by your side? Ask your mother."

"Mom? What does she mean by that?" Lila asked.,

"Go on, Sarah. Tell her what I mean," Alondra grinned. "This is not really the time for secrets, is it?"

"Mom?"

"Damn you, Alondra!" Sarah shook her head. "I should have known you'd find a way to turn this against me."

"That's not what I'm doing at all. It's not my fault you never told her the whole truth about what you did while you were a part of the Council. This is your chance, so use it well."

"Mother, please tell me what the fuck is going on right now!" Lila looked at her like a scared animal in a cage. "What does she mean?"

Sarah sighed, restless hands on her lap, and a faint smile on her lips. "The reason why I recognized the mark right away when you showed me those pics is because I used it myself a few times in the past. Under direct supervision, of course, but it happened."

"What?" Lila gasped. "No! Why would you do such a thing? How can you have used it?"

"It's... complicated. Fuck, I never wanted you to know this! Not like this."

"If it's complicated, make it simple! I'm tired of secrets and being played around like a puppet all the time. Tell me everything and do it now."

Sarah nodded and the words flowed to her lips like sweet poison, awakening a part of her life she had hoped to never revisit. 

"There was a time when the Council believed in stricter forms of punishment, you know this. I helped abolish many of those medieval practices but not before... not before I tried and experimented with some of them. It was part of my official duties as an Inquisitor."

"Inqui...? No! You were never..."

"I was, Lila. Not for long, but I served in the Inquisition when I joined the Council. Back then, we had strict interrogation techniques far more invasive than anything we use now, and some of them were based off dark magic. Among other things, we used temporary binding rituals to ensure the subject's compliance. They were distilled forms of the actual spells but incredibly potent, nonetheless. The sign of evil was one of those. I used it as a reference and studied the effects - both short and long-term - of its usage. The main incantations had already been banished but there were no regulations in place for these modified versions. Magic was evolving and we needed to get ahead of the times, so..."

"... you tortured people."

"Yes,, I did. I'm not proud of it but it was the only way to know for sure. It was this research that allowed me to pass the necessary reforms the Congregatio desperately needed. I'm sorry, Lila. I truly am."

"Shit!" the young witch exclaimed, not knowing who to trust anymore. Her mother, her own flesh and blood, had been a harbinger of evil. Even if her actions had been used to save lives in the future, they were still ethically wrong. That was not the way magic was supposed to be used.

"I can't believe this! How could have you lied to me all these years? I thought you were above this obnoxious behaviors! I thought you were one of the good ones!"

"I am. We all do things we regret. One bad deed doesn't erase all the good ones in my life but I still regret it. I wish I didn't know as much as I do, but perhaps I needed to."

"Listen to your mother, Lila," Alondra said with a grin. "Life is more than black and white, darkness and light. Sometimes, the truth lies in the shades between them. It was important for you to know the truth."

"But now what? Where does that leave us?"

"Closer to your goal. The knowledge your mother has amassed over the years will be crucial for the fight ahead but, like I said, you'll need help if you want to take on Tabitha and her cronies. Do you really want to go forward with this?"

"Do you still need to ask?" Lila growled. "Whatever it takes to bring that bitch down!"

"That's what I wanted to hear."

((to be continued))