Life Passed

A Transgender Paranormal Fantasy

From the Paranormal Visitor Universe

Chapter Eleven: War Council

By Sasha Zarya Nexus

Can the circles bond to defend against Elias and his followers?
Can Helen use her last majick against Elias and his followers to save Tabitha's circle?

Copyright 2008, 2025 by Sasha Zarya Nexus.
All Rights Reserved.

Author's Note:

This book, in it's entirety, is available on my Patreon. BCTS will get weekly postings on Tuesdays to complete it here. Patreon Free Members can read my new complete book by chapters, Things We Do for Love

The community's ultimatum giving us one week to leave Cedar Hollow or face systematic persecution had galvanized both sides of the conflict into open warfare. But as I woke up that morning to the sound of breaking glass and angry voices outside our house, I realized that Deacon Amon Crane had decided not to wait for our answer.

"Minuet, get away from the window!" Michelle called out urgently as I peered through my bedroom curtains at the crowd gathering in our front yard. At least twenty people stood on our lawn, some carrying signs with biblical verses, others holding what looked suspiciously like torches despite the morning sunlight.

The Celtic Triquetra necklace around my neck had been burning hot since I'd awakened, and I could feel Laura's doing the same through our telepathic connection. Something terrible was about to happen—not just to us, but to all the circles simultaneously.

Minuet, can you hear me? Laura's voice echoed in my mind, tight with fear.

Yes. Are they at your house too?

Worse. They've surrounded the community center where Mom's circle was supposed to meet this morning. Tabitha's trapped inside with six other women.

The full scope of Crane's strategy became clear. While Elias provided the charismatic leadership and supernatural power, Crane was the tactical mind—and he'd planned a coordinated assault designed to overwhelm all our defenses at once.

The Coordinated Attack
Michelle burst into my room, her face pale but determined. "We need to get to Tabitha. Now. Crane's people have surrounded the community center, and Gladys just called—they've blocked all the exits."

"What about the other circles?" I asked, pulling on my clothes with hands that trembled despite my efforts to stay calm.

"Under attack simultaneously. The Moonrise Circle's meeting place was vandalized overnight, and Marcus from the Oakwood Coven called to say his family's been getting threatening phone calls all morning."

Helen's spiritual form materialized beside us, her energy more agitated than I'd ever seen it. "This is Elias's doing. He's learned to coordinate the elemental's power with Crane's organizational skills. They're trying to scatter us before we can unite our defenses."

As we rushed downstairs, I could hear the crowd outside growing larger and more aggressive. Through the living room window, I saw Crane himself standing at the center of the group, his cold eyes fixed on our house with predatory satisfaction.

"Demons!" someone shouted. "Come out and face the judgment of the righteous!"

"We know you're in there, corrupting that innocent child!" another voice called out, clearly referring to me.

Michelle's protective instincts flared. "They're not getting near you, Minnie. We'll go out the back and take the forest path to the community center."

But as we reached the kitchen, the sound of splintering wood from the back door told us that Crane had anticipated that strategy as well. His followers had surrounded the entire house.

Tabitha Under Siege
Through Laura's telepathic connection, I could see what was happening at the community center. Tabitha and six other women from various circles had been meeting to plan their defense against Elias when Crane's people had surrounded the building. Unlike the relatively peaceful harassment at our house, the situation there was turning violent.

"They're trying to break down the doors," Laura's mental voice was strained with effort as she helped her mother and the other women barricade themselves inside. "Tabitha's trying to cast protective wards, but there are too many of them, and some of them are carrying iron weapons."

Iron—the one metal that could disrupt magical energy and cause serious harm to practitioners. Crane had done his research.

Can you get out? I asked.

The windows are too high, and they've got people watching every exit. Tabitha says we need to hold out until the other circles can mount a rescue, but...

Laura's mental voice trailed off, and through our connection, I felt her terror as the sound of breaking glass echoed through the community center. Crane's followers were no longer content to simply surround the building—they were actively trying to break in.

Helen's Desperate Gambit
"I have to help them," Helen said, her spiritual form beginning to glow with accumulated energy. "But if I manifest physically to protect Tabitha's circle, it will drain most of my remaining power. I might not be able to return."

"No!" I protested. "We need you. I need you."

"Sprite, sometimes love requires sacrifice. Tabitha and those women will die if someone doesn't intervene, and right now, I'm the only one with enough power to make a difference."

Michelle grabbed my hand, her own Celtic Triquetra necklace pulsing with urgent light. "Helen's right. We can't let them be hurt because we're afraid of losing our guide."

The weight of the decision pressed down on me like a physical force. Helen had already sacrificed her own reincarnation to give me authentic life—how could I ask her to sacrifice even more?

But before I could respond, the sound of our front door splintering made the choice for us. Crane's followers had decided to take direct action.

"Michelle Johnson!" Crane's voice carried clearly through the house. "Bring out the child. We know what she really is, and we won't allow her corruption to spread further."

The Battle Begins
Helen's spiritual form blazed with protective fury. "That's enough. No one threatens my sisters."

She disappeared from our kitchen, and through Laura's connection, I felt the sudden shift in energy at the community center. Helen had manifested physically there, her spiritual energy taking on enough substance to create a barrier between Crane's followers and the trapped women.

But the effort was enormous. Even from miles away, I could feel Helen's life force draining rapidly as she maintained her physical presence against the iron weapons and sheer numbers of their attackers.

"We have to help her," I said, the Celtic Triquetra necklace around my neck now glowing bright enough to be visible through my shirt.

"How?" Michelle asked. "We're trapped here, and even if we could get out, what could we do against that many people?"

The answer came from an unexpected source—my own awakening powers. The Triskelion symbol that had appeared on the back of my necklace during Helen's previous visit was now pulsing with its own inner light, and I could feel ancient magic flowing through me like electricity.

"I can help her," I said, surprised by the certainty in my young voice. "The power of three—Helen taught us that it's stronger than any individual force. If I can connect with her and Laura simultaneously..."

"Absolutely not," Michelle said firmly. "You're twelve years old. This is too dangerous."

But Laura's mental voice cut through our argument with desperate urgency. Minuet, Tabitha's been hurt. One of them got through Helen's barrier with an iron blade. She's bleeding badly, and Helen's getting weaker.

The Power of Three Awakens
I closed my eyes and reached out through the Celtic Triquetra necklace, feeling for the connections that bound our sisterhood together. Helen's energy was there, blazing but fading as she fought to protect Tabitha's circle. Laura's was bright with fear and determination as she tried to help the wounded women.

And beneath it all, I felt something else—the ancient magic that had been awakened by Helen's transformation of me, the power that connected all three generations of our sisterhood across time and space.

"I can do this," I said, opening my eyes to meet Michelle's worried gaze. "But I need you to anchor me. The power of three requires all three of us."

Michelle looked torn between her protective instincts and her understanding of what was at stake. Finally, she nodded. "What do you need me to do?"

"Hold my hands. Focus on the connection between our necklaces. And whatever happens, don't let go."

As Michelle took my hands, I felt the circuit complete. The Celtic Triquetra necklaces—mine, Michelle's, and Helen's—formed a triangle of power that transcended physical distance. Through that connection, I could channel my awakening abilities to support Helen's desperate defense.

The Elemental Responds
But as our combined power flowed toward the community center, something unexpected happened. The fire elemental within Elias sensed the magical energy we were channeling, and it responded with rage.

Through the broken front door, I could see the crowd on our lawn suddenly stepping back in fear as the temperature around our house began to rise. Elias Vire emerged from behind the group, his eyes flickering with that unnatural inner flame.

"So," he said, his voice carrying clearly through the morning air, "the demons reveal their true nature at last."

The air around him began to shimmer with heat, and I realized with growing horror that he was preparing to manifest the elemental's power directly—not just the controlled flames he'd used for his previous attacks, but the full destructive force of the ancient fire spirit.

"Michelle," I whispered, "we need to get out of here. Now."

But it was too late. Elias raised his hands, and flames erupted from his palms, not aimed at us directly but at the house itself. He intended to burn us out, forcing us into the open where his followers could deal with us.

The Impossible Choice
As fire began to spread across our roof, I faced an impossible choice. I could maintain the connection with Helen, helping her protect Tabitha's circle but leaving Michelle and myself trapped in a burning house. Or I could break the connection to focus on our own escape, abandoning Helen when she needed us most.

The Celtic Triquetra necklace around my neck pulsed with warmth, and suddenly I heard Helen's voice—not through our spiritual connection, but speaking directly into my mind.

"Sprite, you have to choose. Save yourself and Michelle, or save Tabitha's circle. I can't protect both."

The weight of the decision was crushing. How could a twelve-year-old girl choose who lived and who died?

But as the flames spread closer and the smoke began to fill our house, I realized that Helen had already made her choice. She was asking me to make mine, trusting that whatever I decided would be guided by love rather than fear.

Laura, I called out through our telepathic connection, I'm going to try something. But if it doesn't work, tell everyone that we tried.

What are you going to do?

Something Helen taught me. Love is always stronger than hate, even when hate burns with elemental fire.

The Gambit
Instead of choosing between saving ourselves or saving Tabitha's circle, I chose a third option—one that Helen's teachings had prepared me for, even if I hadn't understood it at the time.

I opened myself completely to the Celtic Triquetra's power, not just channeling it to Helen or using it for protection, but allowing it to flow through me in all directions. To Helen at the community center, to Laura and her mother's circle, to Michelle beside me, and even—most dangerously—toward Elias himself.

"Minuet, what are you doing?" Michelle gasped as the necklace around my neck began to glow so brightly it was painful to look at.

"Trying to reach Ruth," I said, my twelve-year-old voice steady despite the chaos around us. "Helen said love could transform even the most twisted souls. Let's find out if she was right."

The power that flowed out of me wasn't the force that Elias expected—it wasn't an attack or a defense, but something he had no preparation for: pure, unconditional love directed at the frightened girl named Ruth who was still buried somewhere deep inside his rage.

For a moment, the flames around our house flickered and dimmed. Elias stumbled backward, his eyes widening with confusion and something that might have been recognition.

But the fire elemental within him roared back with doubled fury, and the flames erupted higher than before. My gambit had failed—or had it?

As the fire closed in around us and the smoke grew thicker, I felt Helen's presence one last time, not fading but transforming into something new. The battle for our community's soul was far from over, but the real war—the one fought with love instead of force—had finally begun.

The Celtic sisterhood would face its greatest test yet, and I, Minuet—the girl who had been passed a life of authentic possibility—would stand at its center, armed with nothing but love and the unbreakable bonds of chosen family.

The flames reached for us with elemental hunger, but we would not go quietly into that darkness. The power of three was awakening, and with it, the hope that even the most ancient hatred could be transformed by love's redeeming fire.