The End & The Beginning

           It was close to dawn when Ollivander Wand walked up the brick steps. His jaw was clenched, the toothpick wavering between his teeth as he lifted the door knocker and let it drop. It echoed behind the door and down into the hall behind. This wasn’t his ideal morning but the night before hadn’t been ideal either. He waited with his hands in pockets, hat drawn low over his head to protect against the rising sun. 

Minutes passed and there was no one at the door. Ollivander knocked again, hoping to awaken whoever was in the house. No such luck. He gave a third knock. This time, he heard someone heading towards the door. 

As soon as it opened, he found himself face to face with ​​Calpurnia Cupp. The man looked at her with a small smile, but before he could get a word out, she stopped him, “It is not even six in the morning, the hell is your deal?” He looked at her, only able to see the bonnet containing her hair and the pale baby blue bathrobe wrapped around her. 

Ollivander’s smile faltered slightly. “Good morning to you, too, Calpurnia,” he replied, his voice quiet but rough, almost raspy. “We need to talk.” 

Her eyes rolled back so far, he thought they might go back into her head. “Can’t it wait until later?” She bit back a yawn, “Like after lunch.” The woman started to close the door but he stuck out his hand, keeping it open as he refused to leave. 

“We don’t have time for that. Soleil and Beaumont are going to be waiting for us soon so I need to get you up to speed.” He plastered on a tight lipped smile, not a fan of the situation. “Hope your coffee is ready to go.” 

The pair found their way inside with Calpurnia starting the coffee maker earlier than the set timer. Ollivander sat down at the dining room table, leaning back with a hand running through his hair. He thought back onto what he was told. He had no idea who could’ve been behind this ordeal. His lip twitched into a small sneer. It was quick to fade as the woman turned back to him with two cups of coffee in her hands. “No sugar or cream, right?” she asked, placing the cup in front of him. 

With a grunt, Ollivander picked up the cup. The two of them had known each other for a long time and had considered each other friends since they were kids. They grew up as the heirs to their families so it only made sense. 

Calpurnia sighed as she sat across from him, adjusting her robe. “So. What brings you here to wake me up so early?” she questioned, taking a sip from her own cup. She didn’t bother trying to hide the tiredness in her features. 

“I got a couple of frantic calls before I had a chance to get to bed,” he started. The room was silent, tapping his finger against the cup, his ring clinked against the ceramic. “Apparently, Koro got a call from Flint who got a call from Tandien who…as of now, won’t say who he got the call from. A clean up was needed somewhere downtown and when they got there, it wasn’t pretty.” He took another sip, pausing a moment to get his thoughts in order. 

“I went down there to see it myself, or at least what was left. I wanted to know just what the hell was going on and what was making them so frantic. When I did get there, it was such a… It was bad. We couldn’t tell just how bad it was at first but you know how the Kardos are. They wanted to get it cleaned up as soon as possible. Blood was everywhere. All of them were absolutely mutilated, Cal. We found seven bodies but we couldn’t ID them, their heads were gone. I did what I could to try to get what info I could but ah… I still have no idea what could’ve done something like that.” 

Calpurnia kept her gaze fixed on him as he explained. She continued to drink her coffee until her cup was empty, her mind starting to clear from sleepiness. It began to settle upon her just what she was being told. “Wait, wait, what? Seven people that we most likely don’t have any relation to have been killed and decapitated?” she reiterated, standing to refill her cup. 

Ollivander nodded when she turned back to him. “I would say yes, but it would only be half true,” he said, pulling out his phone. The woman walked back over, watching from over his shoulder as he pulled up his photos. The last photos taken were fairly gruesome. Each one was of a bloody symbol. Calpurnia recognized them almost immediately. 

The hand not holding her cup reached back to her collarbone where a small teacup had been tattooed as soon as she turned eighteen. It was a tradition all of them had been through. She knew Ollivander had a similar tattoo of a wand on his collarbone. Their counterparts in the other sectors had similar tattoos as well just with other symbols. 

The same symbols the bodies in the photos held. 

Two held tattoos of the same cup. One held a tattoo of a wand. Two held tattoos of swords. The last two held tattoos of pentacles. 

Calpurnia sighed as she took another sip from the mug. “Well shit,” she grumbled, going back to her seat. She wasn’t sure where to go from here. 

Seven of their people were dead, their heads were gone and unable to be found. “Tandien hasn’t found anything out,” he said, turning off his phone and putting it to the side. “Last I heard, he reported straight to Aster.” Her eyebrows knit together at that. 

Each sector worked together to maintain some sort of harmony but within, they had their own hierarchy. The Kardos family was very strict, their chain of command being closely followed. Tandien was low on that chain. He would report to the person a notch higher but due to this case, he went straight to the second in command. It was unusual. 

She put down her mug and rubbed her temples, exhaling slowly. She had heard of a lower in the Kardos family skipping ahead only once before. Two days later, their tattoo had been branded over with them being cast out of the family. They took it more seriously than the rest of the families. 

The silence in the air hung heavy. 

Ollivander looked down at the cup in his hands. “Like I mentioned when I got here, there’s a meeting with Soleil and Beaumont. It’s more of a brunch,” he said. “They want it to be just us four with Tandien.” 

A bitter huff left Calpurnia’s lips. “Seriously?” she said, tapping her fingers against the table. “Fuck that, Kai is coming with me.” At the mention of her oldest daughter, Ollivander’s jaw tensed. His eyes narrowed at her. 

“You know they aren’t going to be happy with that.” 

“I don’t care. One day, she is going to take over so she needs to be as involved as we are.” Calpurnia took a long sip from her cup, standing as she swallowed. “Thank you for letting me know, I’ll walk you out.” 

Ollivander watched her as she walked towards him. He wanted to argue back, try to talk her out of bringing Kai with them, but he knew that there would be no changing her mind. “Alright. I’ll text you where the meeting’s taking place.” 

A few hours later, the side room of Tarocchi Diner was prepared for a private party. The large room held a circular table in the center with a pool table to one side and a large television to the other. The family-run business had always worked with the four families, providing their back rooms as meeting spaces. Their eldest child had always taken care of them, getting their food and drinks. 

Now, he was preparing the room for their last minute meeting. Everything had to be perfect and in certain positions. The television had to be set to the right channel. The pool table had to be pre-set the way Mr. Coyne preferred. The lights had to be lowered enough to not be too harsh for Ms. Kardos’s eyes. 

The set menu was being prepared and the drinks were waiting to be made. All left to do was wait. 

The first to arrive was Soleil Kardos and her underling, Tandien. They walked in, heads held high as power radiated off of them. Drinks were made as soon as they stepped foot in the diner and ready to be served as soon as they arrived in the room. Beaumont Coyne was soon to follow, settling in his chair across from Soleil, Tandien seated to her right. 

He smiled at her, picking up his drink as soon as it was set down. “Hello again, Sol. Were you able to get any sleep after last night?” There was a snark in his question, mixed with the smile on his lips as he took a sip. 

Soleil sneered at him, picking up her own drink. She didn’t bother to answer his question, knowing full well he knew the answer. The circles under her eyes were almost a staple of her look but under the room’s light, they were darker. “None of your damned business.” 

Chuckling, Beaumont rested back against his seat. He turned to the television, watching as it broadcasted nine news channels, each one muted but the headline readable. He scanned each of them, searching for anything that could be considered alarming. So far, there haven't been any reports about last night’s activities. 

The two of them weren’t on good terms with each other as they were with the other two. But they were civil. They played along. Their businesses were opposite each other. Soleil was always cleaning up the messes that Beaumont would leave behind. 

She wouldn’t have minded if it wasn’t for the fact that he called whenever he so pleased. A chemical spill in a small lab? There would be a call. Someone overdosed in a safe house? Didn’t matter the time. Biological hazard wreaking havoc in a distribution center? The size of the mess didn’t matter. 

Tandien sat next to Soleil, keeping his gaze away from the two of them. Of course, he would appear respectful of them, looking them in the eyes if they spoke to him, but he kept his gaze away otherwise. He hadn’t been listening to the two converse anyways. His mind ran amuck with the thoughts of the preceding night. The bags under his eyes were the result of the sleepless clean up. 

It wasn’t long before Ollivander arrived, alone like they had agreed. He gave a nod to the other two and sat in his seat, not bothering with a verbal greeting. He certainly looked more refreshed than he had earlier that morning, more put together in his choice of a two piece suit. One could assume he had nothing but meetings that day. It admittedly wouldn’t be too far off. 

He waited until after his drink was dropped off to speak to the rest of them, “Cal is gonna be a bit late. She’s bringing Kai.” He took a sip of his drink as the other two stood up straighter. 

“What?” Beaumont said, leaning forwards with his elbows on the table. “Didn’t you tell her it was only supposed to be the five of us?” The smirk he held towards Soleil had been replaced by an annoyed frown, his lip twitching and contorting his nose slightly. 

Soleil crossed her arms over her chest, one hand reaching up to rub her temple in annoyance. Yes, she could understand wanting the second in command to be knowledgeable of business meetings, but they had decided that this had to be just among the heads. Considering the victims were part of the lesser subsectors, it was important to keep it within only those who needed to know. A child was not part of that group. 

“I mean, I did but you know how she is. Did you really think she would listen?” Ollivander snorted, taking another sip. “She doesn’t do any business without her eldest.” He ignored the looks the others gave him. He knew neither of them were happy with the information but it was too late. 

Calpurnia walked in, looking as if she hadn’t been woken up before dawn with Kai walking behind her. The head of the Cupp family didn’t bother looking at the others as she sat down at her seat, the eldest of her children sitting next to her. 

Fuel was added to the flames as Soleil and Beaumont looked at the bored and almost dismissive expression on Kai’s face. The air was tense as they exchanged a subtle look. They barely agreed on anything but found themselves sharing the same thought. Both wanted to speak up on the additional guest but knew it would only cause a rift. They resolved to keeping their mouths shut. 

The Tarocchi child who had been bringing the drinks dropped off the Cupps’ drinks before informing them the food would be out. 

With a tight smile, Calpurnia turned to the others, looking at each of them. “So. Who wants to go first?” 

All of them turned to Tandein who sat straighter at the attention. He looked to Soleil who nodded for him to go ahead. “Well… It’s hard to really say what happened. I got a call from an unknown number at, like, eleven forty, which isn’t out of the ordinary. They said that a deal went wrong and they needed a clean. Didn’t give much information other than that and the address,” he explained with a small shrug. He reached his hand up, rubbing his shoulder in a self-soothing way. 

His expression contorted as he recollected the night. “I gathered my team and supplies and we just went ahead to the location. None of us knew what to expect so we prepared for the worst, that’s what we always do. It…,” he trailed off, getting a haunted look in his gaze as it turned downward. “It was a lot worse than what we thought. Blood was like…covering the room. Like, it was on the walls and ceiling. I’ve seen a lot of horrid shit before, but this was just worse.” 

Out of the four families, only Calpurnia hadn’t seen any of the crime scene. She listened more intently as Tandien spoke. “Were there, like, any signs of a struggle or fight?” she asked, brow furrowed. 

He shook his head. “That was the most confusing part. There should have been some sort of struggle but we couldn’t find any signs of one. No bullet holes, no other injuries on the bodies. Their heads were just ripped from their bodies,” he responded, clenching his jaw as he thought back. 

The memory was so harsh, mostly filled with dark red. He remembered how the bodies were covered. They had tried to find the heads but they had vanished. Tandien knew what a decapitation was supposed to look like. What he found was not normal. Instead of a rough cut, the skin around each neck was torn. Someone or something had ripped their heads off their bodies. He could hardly stomach the sight of torn veins still oozing blood, the ligaments, tendons, and muscles all resembling shredded cuts of meat. He was sure after this he would turn to a vegetarian diet. 

Ollivander watched the boy, listening to each word spoken. He wasn’t sure how to react to the information. Tearing skin alone was difficult but to tear off their head, bones included? He could barely wrap his head around it, “We need to figure out who this could possibly be.” 

“I don’t think we’re looking for a ‘who’, Ollie,” Beaumont stated. “I think we’re looking for more of a ‘what’.” He knocked back the rest of his drink. The others looked at him as if he just spoke Latin. To be fair, his assumption shouldn’t have caught them off guard. New technology, new machinery was being created all the time. If there was something that could tear off heads, it couldn’t be a person. 

They went silent as servers filed into the room, setting down plates in front of each of them. It was only until a minute after they left did they decide to continue the discussion. 

Kai looked around the room at each of them, “If that’s the case, then we should look into everyone we know who might be able to create something like that.” She knew that there was a chance she shouldn’t have opened her mouth but it was a valid question. Soleil looked at her with narrowed eyes. 

The head of the Kardos family thought back to try to remember any of her family’s enemies. But that was a hard task. They had eliminated all of them, taking no chances at being overthrown or defeated. It was a similar tale for Beaumont, she knew. She cleaned those messes up personally. 

For the other heads, it was a more difficult answer. They had always tried to play it safe, making sure there weren’t any disputes between them and the other families in the state. That was a strange thing, for the Cupps dealt with gambles and the Wands dealt with weapons. It seemed almost impossible that those two would have kept so much peace. 

Calpurnia and Ollivander exchanged a glance at each other. Their ways of dealing with their enemies were more…outsourced. Contained. Calpurnia knew that if Soleil had gotten wind of that, then their own feud would be on the horizon. 

Not wanting to start that fight, she cleared her throat and picked up the silverware. “Well, we can’t really think on an empty stomach, right?” she gave them a tight-lipped smile. 

The six of them began to eat, each of them hungry in their own ways. Late nights of interrogations and huntings always did take a toll on them. 

None of them thought it strange the way each meal was the same. An omelet with biscuits and gravy. There was nothing odd about it. There shouldn’t have been, anyways. The omelet was a bit fishy but that was only in taste. Tarocchi Diner must have gotten a fresh delivery that morning. 

Only after a few bites did each of them realize the sudden stiffness in their joints. The way their muscles started to go limp. The way their breaths became more shallow. The way their jaws started locking up mid bite. The way, one by one, their bodies slumped forwards onto the table. 

They couldn’t move their heads as they heard footsteps enter the room. Two pairs of footsteps. “Wow… That worked way faster than I thought it would,” a soft voice giggled. “I thought it would take at least, like, five minutes or something like that.”

A chuckle came from the other person as he walked around the room, “I told you it was rapid.” The voice was familiar. It was familiar in a way that it shouldn’t have been. Both voices were, really. His hands wrapped around each person seated at the table, pulling them upright so that the two newcomers could be seen. 

The one resetting them was the Tarocchi child, the one who had served them their drinks and helped to prepare their food. He had moved around the room, grabbing lengths of rope before going back to tie each of them to their chairs. 

The other had their back turned to the table. She was unpacking a bag, the contents kept out of sight. She made sure each one was set down carefully. 

A choked noise came from Ollivander when she turned. She gave him a bright smile. “Hi, Daddy.” 

The youngest child of the Wand family stood in front of them all. In one hand, was a dagger. The other rested on the counter the other objects were. An innocent smile was plastered on her face, her gaze almost doe-like. “I’m so sorry to do this to you all,” she claimed. “But I want you to know that I really don’t mean any harm.” 

Zephyr Wand’s voice was light and sweet. It astounded them that someone like her could be behind this. She had always come off as wanting out of the world they lived in, leaving the room whenever violence was mentioned. This was someone else entirely. 

Sending a small look towards Aleister Tarocchi, they broke out in laughter. “You do the sweet persona so well, Zee,” he chuckled. She gave a mock bow, her doe eyes turning sharp like a blade.

“Thank you, thank you.” Zephyr waved around the dagger, her manicured nails holding the handle like you would a kitchen knife. She was quite skilled. The innocent facade had faded and was replaced with a venomous grin. “Ya know, I had really hoped that all of you would’ve been at the crime scene,” she said, looking towards Calpurnia for a moment. “It would’ve been a lot easier to complete the ritual that way.” 

She took the jar and pried it open with the tip of the dagger. The liquid was dark, the exact color hard to decipher due to the light. But as soon as the top was off, the copper smell was almost immediately identifiable. She poured it in the center of the table, watching as it spread out, slowly rolling towards each person. 

The heads of the families were unable to move. They could only move their eyes to watch as Zephyr went back to the items she had brought. She put down the dagger and instead picked up two of the items. 

Kai turned her gaze towards Aleister, hoping that she might be able to silently plead him for help. Unfortunately for her, he didn’t care about their safety. He was working on his own accord. He had his own hopes and his own goals that could be achieved this way. 

“I know all of you might be asking yourself some questions,” Zephyr said with a sickly sweet tone. “Like, ‘why are you doing this?’ or ‘what about your family?’. Yeah, so, I found out some information that was hidden.” 

She looked around at them once more. She kept the information to herself as if waiting for a drumroll to finish. As if hearing her thoughts, Aleister drummed his fingers on the back of Ollivander’s chair. “Turns out, I’m adopted! Yeah, lol, you guys aren’t my real family so I don’t really care about you. I did find out who they really are.” 

Aleister chuckled and moved around the table to stand by her side. She handed him a couple items, nodding towards who they were supposed to go by. In each hand, he took the small figures of an infinity symbol and sunflower. The infinity symbol was set in front of Beaumont. The sunflower was placed in front of Calpurnia. 

He went back to Zephyr and took a couple more of the items. He took the globe and apple from her outstretched hands. The globe was placed in front of Ollivander. The apple was placed in front of Soleil. 

The heads of the families didn’t understand the significance. All they could do was watch. Kai let out a choked groan, trying to move. She still couldn’t move. She wasn’t able to speak. She looked towards Zephyr who locked eyes with her. “You should really stop trying,” she said. “You all ate tetrodotoxin. I would say you’ll be fine after a few days but… well, you’ll see.”

She laughed to herself as if she just told a funny joke. The girl grinned and took the last few items on the table. Zephyr walked over and set two pennies down in front of Kai. “You’ll all be okay,” she said with a smile. Walking around, she placed a white rose in front of Tandien. 

But… There was only one item left. 

One item was left and Aleister took a note of it. 

“Hey, Zee?” he said, turning to watch as she walked back to the table. “Are we missing someone?” He didn’t want to make an assumption but only six items had been passed out. Only six people were seated at the table. One had to be missing. 

Zephyr smiled and picked up the item, turning to him, “Not quite. One last item for one last person, of course, but we’re not missing anyone.” He frowned. He wasn’t sure what exactly she meant. It wasn’t uncommon for her sentences to not make any sense so he had to trust her. 

She walked closer to him, putting her hand on his chest, a gesture that sent his heart racing. A heat crept up on his cheeks as he straightened his back slightly. His reactions were quick. But they weren’t quick enough. 

Before he could say anything, a noose was slipped around his neck and quickly tightened. Zephyr had wrapped the remaining rope around her hands, pulling it taught. She watched as Aleister’s eyes widened in shock, attempting to pull it away from his neck. Her grip was strong, almost leaning down on the rope with her body weight. 

His breathing was cut off, replaced with gasped attempts to breathe. His face began to become more flushed. Blood was rushing to his head, aided by his already flushed look. The whites of his eyes started to tinge pink. He scraped against the rope, trying to get space between his skin and the rope. 

With a sneer, she yanked on the rope. “Stop moving, it’s gonna make things worse! For me, at least,” she grunted, slapping his hands away from his neck. He fell to his knees, unable to stand from the lack of oxygen to his muscles. Zephyr watched as his limbs began twitching. The blood making his face flushed was losing oxygen. His skin was turning paler. The rest of his body was soon to follow. 

Zephyr was almost tempted to release her grip a little but that would just be cruel. She yanked on the rope one last time, letting herself fall back. A sharp snap echoed in the room. Zephyr was worried that the rope broke, but looking at the body in front of her, the rope was still intact. 

The rope had snapped his neck. 

She smiled before sighing. “Ugh! Now I have to get him to the table,” she complained, rolling her head back. Looking at the body for a moment, she shrugged. “Oh well. It should still work if he’s, like, right here.” 

The rope dropped from her hands as she went back towards the table. She waved her hand dismissively at those who were seated. They were still bound and paralyzed. The toxin was working far better than she thought. 

It was silent in the room. She was going to deal with it. “So, I know you guys are probably wondering why I’ve been doing this,” she started, opting to speak as she finished setting things up. “I told you the thing about you not being my family and what not, but on a deeper level, I don’t really like how this ‘business’ has been running. Like, you have four leaders who disagree at every turn for what? There should be one person in charge of everything but none of you agree. None of you can just do as you’re told. It’s annoying.” 

She went to her back and pulled out a deck of cards encased in a box. The box was stained red, as if whatever it was had been poured on it. She opened the box and dumped the cards into her hand. “So I decided to take matters into my own hands! Of course, with the help of the people who I found out is my real family,” she said, pausing a moment after. Her eyebrows knit together as she thought about whether or not she had made sense. Zephyr waved it off. She knew what she meant and that was more important. 

“Anyways! I’m sure you guys are probably wondering who my real family is but it doesn’t matter. You won’t be around long enough to meet them,” she stated, chuckling. She went around the table, putting a card in front of them and next to the objects. Each card held a figure on it. “But I’ll be able to see them super duper soon.” 

Each of the cards were placed, even one for Aleister being placed on his chest. She moved back from the group, looking back at the box. She cleared her throat before reading, “Te obtestor, ut te domum reducat, ut te exeat. Ingredere in Terram nostram, illis potentiam tuam, ostende illis dignitatem tuam. Recipio te permissurum, ut septem offero.” 

The Latin words sunk into each of them. The drying blood on the table started to bubble, steam beginning to rise. If they could make a sound, Zephyr was sure they would be screaming. She just stood back and watched.

Aleister was the first to be affected. Cracks could be heard from his body. His ribs broke outwards, breaking through his skin. The way the bones broke made it appear like a dying spider. As blood leaked from his body, a hand erupted from the corpse and grabbed onto one of the exposed ribs. Zephyr started to get excited as she watched a woman climb out of the body. 

The woman stood from the ground, no sign of blood to be found on her body. She was dressed in Victorian mourning clothes, the dress more modest with a steep bustle and high neckline. The main dress was black, with lace and trim details a dark purple. The rope in her hands was the center of attention. At the end was a head, torn at the neck.

As soon as she emerged, the room was filled with snaps and cracks. Bones were breaking. Breathing had stopped. Blood was pouring. The lights in the room flickered. 

It was only moments later that each body was destroyed. Their heads had rolled back, rips in the skin traveling across their bodies. Zephyr looked at each of the bodies as they ripped. 

Ollivander - her father - was the one of most interest to her. The skin of his neck had ripped to the point that his head was barely hanging onto the rest of his body. 

Soleil’s face had ripped in half, exposing the bone and cartilage underneath. It traveled down her neck and chest. 

Calpurnia’s body had steam rising from her skin. It was burning, starting from her stomach and reaching out. 

Kai was slumped down in the chair, blood leaking from her ears, nose, mouth, and eyes. Her skin had started to boil and bloat as if she had been left in water. 

Tandien’s skin was sliding off the bone, being stripped from his body. It was leaving muscle behind, some organs becoming liquified and dripping from his skull. 

Beaumont had become pale, his skin becoming lighter than paper and even bone. His skin was tearing as it dried and tightened over the muscle. 

Zephyr smiled as the bodies broke down and decayed, leaving behind new forms. They stood and turned to her. Grins broke across their faces, especially the two who stepped forwards. The man and woman were a pair. 

Dressed in deep red, the man radiated overwhelming intimidation. He stood at the forefront of the group. The outfit was more of a warlord’s. His face was mauled, claw marks healed over a missing eye and elongating his mouth. A sharpened staff was clutched in one hand, the other on the small of the woman’s back. He was like an emperor. He was the Emperor.

The woman was beautiful, her light blue dress long and strapless and contrasting the man’s outfit. The ends of her dress appeared tattered, splattered in what looked like dried blood. Other than that, her features were hard to describe. She was simply beautiful. Powerful. The Empress to match. 

They moved towards her with outstretched hands. The woman smiled at her with fondness, “Thank you for bringing us home, daughter. You are a real child of Tarocchi.”