by Ivy Carter
“Our Mother has come.” One of the forest sprites stops her dancing and stands directly in front of me. “She has come in the flesh” She continues breathlessly. “It has been many years since she has graced this land with her physical presence. You must be special indeed.” She continues to gush on as if she is a four-year-old that is on her way to meet the big jolly guy for the first time. But I have stopped listening to her endless chatter. My eyes are riveted to a beautiful, mythical being gracefully moving toward me. I hear Jessa gasp and I know that she has seen her as well.
The being is all the colors of the forest combined. Her skin is the color of cool mocha, her hair is a mix of spring grass and deep mahogany, and her eyes are the most startling color of blue. Wearing a dress that seems to be made of leaves and draping, moving, vines. Her steps seem to float across the ground rather than walk on top of it. Every time her feet touch a space on the ground beneath her, flowers and fresh foliage spring to life in her wake.
Once she is touching distance of me, I am released of the strange paralysis that I had been trapped by.
“Be at peace child. I have come to bless you for culling the evil from this sacred place. I have also come to heal a slight that has been pushed upon you by someone that you trust. I may not be able to interfere in any way with your path. The Fate’s forbid it. But I can mend what has been so deeply broken.” Her soothing voice informs me.
The confusion must be written all over my face because she tuts at me and shakes her head.
“I have cleansed your skin of the markings of the blood scribe. The scribe’s blood no longer mixes ad mingles with your own. It would have eventually tried to take over your mind. I have leveled it. You still retain it’s knowledge, but I have stopped the demanding parasite before it could do you any real or lasting damage. The blood scribe is no more, scrubbed from this existence as he should have been long ago. All that he leaves behind is his knowledge which now belongs to you.” She explains in a voice full of power. It isn’t bloated and echoing like other deities that I have met. Her voice sounds as if it is a gentle spring flowing over river rocks. Soft and gentle. Yet able to eradicate anything displeasing her in a mere blink.
Shock runs through my veins like acid on speed. Eating away at everything that I have been told and come to believe.
“No.” The Goddess in front of me demands of me. “Do not start to doubt who you are and what you are capable of.” I start visibly at the tone of her voice. It isn’t maternal nor is it threatening. It is commanding. I am struck speechless by this being. Her power eclipses that even of my mother’s. I can feel the depth of it deep within my bones.
“I want to tell you a story. One that is very painful for me, so there will be no questions asked or clarifications given. Listen to my words well child and let them stand as a warning for you.”
“My name is Patria. Though throughout the sands of time many of called me many things. I live within the earth constantly nourishing it and punishing those who would destroy what is mine.” She gives me a pointed look and remember the thorns that ripped at me mere days ago.
“I once had a daughter, her name is…was Themis. Once One of the Goddesses of the Three.” There are no words, but surprise is freely flowing through me. “Being that she was blood of my blood and flesh of my flesh…I knew she was meant for glorious things. But too much power, along with the wrong guidance can corrupt. Bloat you on your own self-worth. She chose to take on one of Witch Kinds greatest enemies, alone, while she was still so very young. She had the power, the gifts that were her birthright. But she was not the one to bring balance to the Witches of the three. Not in that lifetime at least. Her gifts were those to give life, as mine are…not to take. She was not a middle being. Containing both light and darkness within her. Not a being like yourself.”
I nod mutely already knowing that I carry both light and darkness within my soul. The black pit of bubbling rage that cries out constantly for revenge. The love for my family that keeps me from crossing a line that I can never come back from. I know myself very well. So, I just nod mutely, agreeing with her assessment of myself.
“You have had many lives, child. Some more miraculous than others. But each one is a layer that has built you into a truly remarkable being. Fate has stamped you for the title of the Middle Goddess. You carry within you the power of balance, fore you are both light and chaos.”
“I have heard that it is called ascending. My aunt Morgana wanted me to ascend early, before I felt that I was ready. She wasn’t pleased when I turned her down.” I tell the being standing in front of me honestly. Letting her know that I have seen my path.
She nods as if agreeing with the decision that I have made.
“I have replenished you and your Vampire friend huddling close to the ground over there.” She points toward Jessa who is hugging the grass for dear life. I don’t know if she is doing it out of fear or respect but the sight of it makes me want to let out a peel of laughter. So, I do. It feels so good to laugh after feeling shrouded in shadow for so long. That is when I notice that the doubts about myself that have been tormenting me are now gone. As if they were never truly there at all.
“You have truly blessed me without measure.” I intone and bow my head at the neck in respectful thanks.
I also got the warning she was feeding me throughout her story. The story of her ill-fated daughter. It is truly a sad tale. But once that warns against going against your own instincts and letting others lead you when you should lead yourself. The person that has been leading me like a puppeteer is my mother. If she has led me false…I will find a way to find out how she did it and why. My eyes are open now, beyond that of a thankful child.
“I thank you.” I intone again.
“Jessa you can get up. She isn’t going to hurt either of us. If you take the time to notice, you aren’t hungry anymore. She has replenished you. Now stop being rude and thank the Goddess.” I smile as my best friend, my sister scrambles over toward us in her ridiculous shoes. She stops not far from where we are standing.
That’s when I notice that we have an audience. We are surrounded by unknown creatures within the forested foliage surrounding the clearing we are standing in. If they threaten me or mine, I will turn them to ash where they stand. I stiffen as if getting ready for an attack, but Patria holds up her hand and halts my defensive actions.
“Power calls to power child. These are the Leaders of the Clans, Packs and Covens that follow the Path of the Light. They have come to bear witness to their new Celios, to witness your strength and will. Play this part well for it will define you in the war to come.” With that cool command she leans forward as if the bestow a simple kiss upon my cheek.
Instead what she tells me in a mere whisper of sound rocks me to the soul.
“I have missed you my daughter, my Themis. May you be triumphant this day.”
When she pulls away, she shouts out for all to hear.
“I bless this endeavor. The beings of darkness have survived on the misery of others for far too long. Let our Light be successful in this mission that she has chosen to undertake.”
Before the last words are done ringing through the air, she is gone in a whirl of mist. There is a general unrest inside the forest now. As if they are all wondering what I will attempt now that the Mother Goddess has given her blessing and gone.
“What did she say to you? Others might not notice, but you are still my Ella. She freaked you down to your toes.”
I look at Jessa and wonder what she will think of me discovering yet another one of my past lives in so many hours.
“She called me by her daughter’s name, told that she has missed me with sadness lacing her voice.” I look at Jessa and she voices the one word for everything that I am feeling.
“Damn.” She whispers out without her customary snarkiness.
Chapter 29.
Night has finally fallen.
The moon has taken its place high in the sky lighting up the cl
earing like the spot light that it is.
It is truly time. May Fate be kind. I pray silently.
Taking a deep breath and ignoring the audience surrounding us. I turn to Jessa and see her peering into the darkness of the foliage around us, trying to figure out how much of a threat these beings are. She is probably wondering if she can either suck them dry or fry them to a crisp. She has always been a little scrapper. Being turned into a Vampire didn’t change her internal make-up at all.
“Jessa, I need the crystals that Tristan gave you.” I tell her in a rough tone. Trying to hide the tremors in my voice. The tree sprites have run back into the forest. Hiding from the upcoming battle no doubt.
Let’s face it, I am scared shitless. It could have been a fluke that I banished him back to wherever the hell he came from the first time that I faced him. But I can’t let my true feelings show. I have to keep my mask stoic and my chin high. We have an audience, and this is essentially my audition.
I take the crystals when Jessa hands to me and put them in a star formation. One crystal for each point, a five-pointed star, the sign of The Light. Jessa is standing behind me watching me with rapt attention. She doesn’t have to ask how I know how to do what I am doing. It is flowing freely into my subconscious, like an instruction manual laid out for me to follow. Then I take the ordinate razor-sharp knife, a gift from my mother, and slice a deep gash down my right palm.
Circling the crystals, I start to chant, infusing them with my blessed blood and power.
Barrier between realms.
Hold tight to the darkness that is called forth.
Feed on the gifts that are freely offered to you.
Chain him within.
Trap him to my whim.
Strengthen against shadows that dwell.
Become an unbreakable shell.
I circle the stones, chanting and infusing them with my blood and my gifts. I walk counter clockwise as I next call to the elements to help me trap the beast I am about to call forth.
Wind, I call thee forth to wrap this darkness tightly trapping him.
Fire, I call thee forth to cleanse the power of this darkness.
Water, I call thee to wash away all negative thoughts and deeds from this blessed place.
Earth, I call thee to bind this darkness to you as I cull his existence.
Light, I call thee to bless this endeavor and lead us rightly and justly.
I stop chanting and calling to the elements, they are now present and with me. Whirling around the five-pointed star as one. The gash on my hand is almost totally closed now so I take the small knife once more and cut even deeper.
“With my blood I will it. So mote it be.” I call out my voice infused with so much power. So much more than I have ever felt inside myself before.
“Jess.” I whisper to her. She looks at me with wide eyes and she knows that it is time to call forth the one that we have come to summon.
“Abadan! I name thee. Come forth and face me. I call you here in this blessed place seeking justice for the wrong you have done to me and mine. Come forth and face your fate.” My words swell as the wind echoes them off the forest surrounding us. At first nothing happens but then a grating, growling laugh starts to fill the small clearing.
There in all his slimy, scaly glory, standing at least ten feet in height stands Abadan. The very being that has haunted my dreams since before I lost one of my dearest friends. Before he took Devon from me, he hunted me throughout my sleep. Now it’s time to seek retribution for the wrongs he has tossed so carelessly upon me.
The Demon Lord is caught with in a web of light, smack dab in the middle of the five-pointed star made of the blooded crystals. The elements are truly doing what they were called forth to do. They are whipping and lashing at him, binding him to this place where he is meant to be caged like the animal he is.
“Little bird.” He sounds surprised to see me. “You have the gull to call one such as I from my place of rest?” His grating voice makes my ears want to bleed. Jessa is cowering on her knees covering her ears. Her hearing is more sensitive than mine and I can see the blood seeping from beneath her clasped hands. I stand tall and call my gifts forth, along with the bile and rage that I have stored for so long within the pit of obsidian blackness. I let the Light that shines with so much love and the Darkness that seeks out the creatures of death fully consume me for the first time.
“I have called you to your death.” My voice has no inflection, as if what I say to him in this moment in time has no meaning to me at all. But it still washing over everyone and everything like a tidal wave. A tsunami of echoing power that brings every being within miles to their knees. My feet are no longer touching the ground…the toes of my boots are pointed downward; I can see the light of the moon shining outward from within myself. An invisible wind whips and swirls around me as I float toward the Demon that has stolen so much from me. Stolen the innocence from my life.
I can truly see now that he must be culled, removed from this existence. For the sins that I am reading within his red snake like eyes are more horrid than I could have ever imagined. Now that I am looking closely at him, I can see the horns that rest atop his head and the belt that rests along his thick waist. Encased within that belt is one vial. A vial that is shining brighter than the first star that shines through the darkness at moonrise.
Abadan notices that where my eyes are strayed, and he reaches for the vial. Once he has it in hand, he starts to laugh a horrid laugh.
“So, this is what you have called me here for, little bird? You want your pathetic mortal back?” He laughs once more. “Here!” He tosses the vial outward and is sails through the net of light that is currently entrapping him. As if what is left of Devon’s life essence is worthless, less than the dirt that he is currently standing upon. I see Jessa race for the vial. She flashes forward and snatches it just before the Demon can call it back to him.
Tricky fucker.
Jessa tucks the precious vial away into her cleavage of all places then she walks closer to the light weaved cage and hisses at the Demon, flashing her fangs at him. He hisses back with his grotesque mouth full of rows after rows of razor-sharp fangs. Jessa doesn’t step back, if anything she looks even more pissed off.
“Now that I have what I want there is no reason to keep you alive.” I intone toward the Abadan.
I can feel my palms start to glow as my gift manifests itself.
“You may be able to banish me, as you did the last time that we met, little bird. But even you cannot kill one such as I.” He grates toward me. Then he starts to thrash against the netting holding him within the enclosed space of Light.
Ignoring his meaningless words and actions I force my light toward him, throwing everything I have into his body. His skin starts to bubble and smoke, but this time he cannot escape back into his hole. He is trapped. But I don’t plan on burning him alive. No, flames will not kill one such as him. But sucking him dry will.
I smile a truly deviously satisfied smile once he starts to scream out in pain.
Then I will my light with every ounce of stubbornness in myself to suck the very blood that runs thick, black, and putrid through his veins to seep out of him. To flow out from the High Demon Lord and into the blood crystals surrounding him. So that they can absorb his blood which is one of their many purposes this night.
The surprise washing over Abadan’s face is priceless. The screams escalate as his body starts to shrink and shrivel. The blood flows from every pore and orifice of his body. Leaking out and being drawn to their final resting place. I can hear the crystals start to sing with glee at being so bloated with bloody power. It doesn’t take long for the life essence to drain out his thick, tall frame. Within moments my Light is returning to my waiting palms and a tall shadow with flaking scales is standing where the once powerful High Demon once stood.
Jessa being Jessa, always haveing to have the last word…Takes a step forward and hisses at the pitiful bloodless creatur
e hunching inside powerful cage made pure Light.
I am still floating, my feet not touching the ground. My power is still very much present within me. I glide toward the cage and look at this being that has tormented me for nothing more than his own enjoyment. As he has done to so many others.
“My uncle?” I ask. My voice still echoes off the trees, filled with my gift.
“A trick to lure you.” The pathetic parasite rasps at me.
Internally I take a deep breath of relief almost shuddering with it, but on the outside I remain unmoved. Stoic. Made of living stone.
Reaching my hands and both of my arms through the net doesn’t cause me pain as it would the Demon. He is sporting burns on various parts of his now paper-thin skin marking where he has tried to escape. Slamming himself against the cage holding him within.
I take both of his backward facing black horns within my hands I wrench his head from his shrunken neck. It doesn’t take much effort to rip his head from his hollowed-out body. I still grunt from the effort. All the blood that is left within his shriveled form spurts like a small geyser splattering my body like thick, warm paint. The demon’s now headless body flutters to the ground like a discarded newspaper. Not even making a sound as it lands.
I hear Jessa retch from the stench of the blood that I am now sporting like a second skin. But I just smile…Holding my trophy by one horn letting it hang at my side.
This is proof that I am who I claim to be. This is proof that I am fit to lead the Light and it’s soldiers in the coming war.
“Jessa, collect the blood crystals.” I tell her as she hurries off to pick up the bloated powerful crystals that lay surrounding the now very dead demon. While she is collecting them, I whisper silently to the elements thanking them for their help then releasing them from my service. Branches suddenly start to crackle under moving feet.
