by K. C. RILEY
I was almost to the dorm when my phone buzzed.
Kai had texted a thumbs up with a smiley face. It made me feel better about everything that had happened. And I wanted to see him again just to make sure he was okay.
I knew what it was like not being in control of my own will and body. There were days when getting Aunt Norah out of my head had been all but impossible. I could only have imagined what it must have been like to have been possessed by her.
With nerves on edge, I stole down the torch-lit cavern until I was face to face with the ouroboros-like serpent at the main entrance.
The infinity symbol. Life and death, I thought.
The snake’s eyes glowed blue fire as it slithered across its granite body and opened the doors.
It was just as I thought. No one was around. It wasn’t long before I was back in the lecture hall standing in front of the cherub fountain and the sleeping raven.
The coast was still clear. I couldn’t say why, but the molting bird was making me jumpy. It was just odd, the way it always sat there sleeping. And the angel statues in the room. For some reason it seemed like they were all staring at me.
That’s ridiculous. But was it? I remembered how the heads and eyes on the worn stone angels in the abandoned graveyard of witches literally moved as though they were guarding the place. Granted, the heads and eyes on these statues were fixed, but still, something about them gave me the creeps.
Regardless, I wasted no time pulling out the vial Cassie gave me until I had another idea. There was something I had been wanting to try for almost a week.
I looked up at the orb of light and remembered how Sarah dimmed and brightened it with magic on my first day here. I never did try the spell because someone else was always in the room with me and I didn’t want to embarrass myself. Pathetic, I know. But, now was the perfect time. I was alone.
“Treres Otures.” Nothing happened. So, I said it again. “Treres Otures.” I was sure I had the words right. I tried again, and nothing.
It was frustrating. I could walk through secret doors, stone walls, and call up an all-powerful book of magic that no one had seen or heard of in centuries, but I couldn’t dim a freaking light?
I was about to give up when the orb flickered on and off thus sparking new hope for my severe lack of magical ability. However, the glitch quickly fizzled out to nothing. And I was back to having had enough.
Fallen venom was the only way. And I didn’t care if the stone angels in the room were watching or not.
I spoke the magic words I had heard Mrs. Ellington use to call up the venom. At first, nothing happened. The fountain continued to run clear with water. I tried again. Still, nothing.
Try one more time, I thought. You’ve got nothing to lose.
Calling up the venom went about as well as trying to dim and brighten the lights.
I was about to smash the vial to the ground when the water stopped. In its place a drop of the black tar like venom splashed into the watery pool at the base of the fountain. I quickly filled the vial with a good twenty drops.
With one eye on the venom and the other on the old bird, I lost count. There was something about it that was still making me nervous. As I whispered the magic words to turn the venom off, the old raven’s eyes began to squint open. I froze, hoping it would go back to sleep. It didn’t. The black bird’s eyes widened as though an alarm had gone off.
It flapped its wings in hysteria and squawked loud enough to wake the dead. The sound of granite scraping against the floor encircled me. The stone angels had come to life with swinging swords. Josie was right. Stealing venom was a bad idea.
Panicked, I placed a drop of venom under my tongue hoping it would do something. Anything.
The angel statues were closing in fast. Their eyes blazed with fire and brimstone, their granite hair flowing in flames of what would soon be severe punishment. There was nowhere to run. The raven kept circling the room squawking, “Queen of Hell and Shadows, stealing venom.”
Within seconds, the stone angels had already surrounded me with swords raised ready to slice me in half. Forced to the floor, I covered my head with my arms. After everything I had gone through, survived, this was how I was going to die? I never should have gotten out of bed.
The last thing I yelled before they could strike was Treres Otures. The light spell. And why? Honestly, I had no idea. But the light from the orb went completely out and everything went quiet.
I waited. And waited. But the silence never changed. And I was still alive.
“Treres Otures,” I said. The light of the orb came back on to reveal the swords of the angels only an inch from my head. I gulped.
The angels of stone lifted their swords and retreated to their spots against the wall where they returned to normal.
On the floor at the other side of the room lay the old raven. He must have flown into the wall when the light went out and broke his neck. Relief and guilt swallowed me whole and I could hear someone coming. I never wanted to hurt anyone, let alone kill them.
There was nothing I could do but head off whoever was coming and pray. The other way out was too far away.
I quickly stepped out of the room toward the footsteps. It was Sister Maria.
“Lizzy? What a surprise. I thought you guys were all in class.”
“Uhhh. Yeah. Free period. I was actually on my way to see you.” God. The lies were getting easier and easier by the minute. I had to think fast. “My blood. You said you could use it for your tests…right?” I sounded like a blubbering idiot.
“Yes. I did. What made you change your mind?”
“I want to help where I can.”
“I was on my way to lunch, but—”
“There’s no time like the present, and I’ve got about twenty minutes before my next class.” I was sure there was a special place in hell carved out for bird killers and liars. I felt horrible. But I had to distract her.
“Okay. Uh. Follow me,” Sister Maria said. “This is wonderful news. And will definitely help with the research.”
I followed Sister Maria through the massive gothic halls all the while rehashing how I had just almost died by the swords of living stone angels. So much for not having a security system. I needed to be more careful around this place.
I tried tuning into the venom as Sister Maria talked on about how excited she was. I was almost sure it was the venom that made the light spell work that saved my life but took the life of another. That poor raven.
I couldn’t say I felt any different on the venom, but then again, I should have been shaking with fear. Trembling. However, I wasn’t. Instead, I was grounded like never before. So, maybe the venom was working.
“Well, here we are,” Sister Maria said as we entered the lab. “Are you sure you’re up to this?”
“Absolutely,” I lied.
“All right then. Let’s have you sit here.”
After sitting, Sister Maria extended my arm out onto a cold stainless-steel counter littered with microscopes, and what looked like a lot of expensive, high-powered equipment. She then tied some rubber tubing in a knot just above my elbow. She pulled out the needle she was going to stick me with and I thought I would faint. But I couldn’t back out. Not now. I had to be strong.
“I promise you won’t feel a thing.” Sister Maria had a face like an angel and I wanted to believe her. “You can close your eyes if you’d like.”
I did more than that. I turned my head and held my breath as I waited for the horrible pinch to the skin. But what was taking her so long?
“You can open your eyes,” Sister Maria said. “I was done a minute ago.”
“Really? Wow. I didn’t feel a thing.”
“Of course not. I am a professional.” Sister Maria chuckled as she snapped off her plastic gloves. “I’m sure everyone has told you that Eve was the first natural witch.” Sister Maria then stared at me as though I was some kind of rare bird. Either that or a freak of nature. “Sorry. It’s just that
you look just like the fresco.”
“Yeah. So I’ve been told.”
“I can’t believe you’re actually here in the flesh. This is going to help so many of us find our own magic. Without the use of the angel venom.”
“I’m glad to help,” I said, still not completely on board with the whole Eve thing. “Just curious. When did witches actually lose their magic?”
“Ahh. That’s a very good question.”
Sister Maria slapped a label with rune like symbols onto the blood sample and placed it in a slot on the table. She then pulled out a huge scroll she unraveled across the table.
“Itir Sorus.”
At the sound of Sister Maria’s voice, the blank scroll was infused with a reddish-orange light that first appeared as roots in the ground. From there, a trunk with the branches and names of different people emerged. At the very top of the tree was the name Eve.
“It’s a witch’s family tree. The main clans of powerful witches dating back to Eve herself. You can see here, she was the first,” she pointed. “The next witches were the Daughters of Cain, the wives and lovers that the Fallen had taken for themselves. Unfortunately, the union of Fallen and human gave birth to mass destruction and giants. Between witches, fallen angels gone rogue, giants, and Upir, the Elohim were at their wits end.”
“Um. Upir?”
“Yes. The blood-sucking slaves of the Fallen. We sometimes call them Vamps. I’m sure you’ll read more about them in your studies. I believe you actually met one. Zander, was it?”
“Right. Of course.” Mrs. Ellington and Sister Clara mentioned someone—I take it a Fallen—was creating Vamps. I mean Upir. It was all so confusing. “So what did the Elohim do?”
“Well, they created a magical flood to wipe out all of the darkness. And it was after the Great Flood that witches began to lose their natural power. The handful of us that are left sustain whatever magic we can muster with the use of venom.”
“Wow. I had no idea.”
“Which is why you’re pretty special.”
“Because I’m supposed to save magic?”
Or destroy it, I thought.
Sister Maria smiled. “Something like that.”
“Well,” I said glancing around the lab. “I better get back to class. I hope this helps.”
“It will, more than you know. Give me a minute and I’ll walk you out.”
“No need,” I quickly said. “I know the way back. Besides, I’m sure you’ve got a lot of tests to run.”
“Yes, I do,” she said, excited. “If you ever need anything, let me know.”
“I will. Thanks.”
I picked up the pace through several halls before I was back at the entryway to the lecture room. Luckily, the place was still deserted.
On entering, my pulse sped up. The old bird was gone. There was no sign of its body or any evidence that I had stolen the venom or had killed the raven in the process. Then again, maybe that was a good thing. Maybe the bird had been stunned and had taken off. Hopefully, it would keep its big fat mouth shut.
I glanced at the fierce stone angels that almost killed me moments earlier and quickly decided not to waste any more time hanging around to find out.
Back in the girl’s bathroom, I stopped and looked in the mirror.
For a quick moment, my eyes glistened black. But there was no dark me breaking out of the glass to grab me like it had done at Vye’s.
“Fallen venom,” I whispered to myself, ecstatic.
The black, tar-like substance continued to swirl where my pupils should have been.
To my surprise, the dark bags that usually sat under my eyes from lack of sleep had plumped in until they were gone. And my skin and hair glimmered in the light like one of those teen shampoo or acne commercials.
The veil of fatigue and fog lifted from my head and body. There was so much room to think and process. It felt the complete opposite of being dragged day in and out behind a runaway horse and carriage.
The venom had worked. Who could help but smile?
I glanced at my phone every five minutes. Kitchen duty was taking forever. Every bone in my body cringed at the thought of kitchen duty. It was more time taken away from rummaging through spells in Alexandria.
From 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., I mopped floors, washed dishes, and wiped down counters. Nothing new there. On the bright side, with Fallen venom, I would never have to worry about falling asleep in class again or getting another F, which meant no more kitchen duty.
By 8:01 p.m. I was out the door and darting straight to my room. There was no time to talk to the girls. Then again, Cassie said she might be studying anyway.
The main doors to Alexandria were already closed. So I used the secret door in my room to access its library.
Unfortunately, once I got there, I wasn’t alone. But it wasn’t Cassie. It was a Friday night for God’s sake.
Sister Clara sat combing and scribing through books piled high around her at the stone table. “Ah, Miss Maverick, the library on a Friday night? I love the enthusiasm.”
I half smiled as I sat as far away from her as possible. The last time I called up a spell book she had closed it so fast I almost lost my fingers.
“Please,” she said, motioning me toward the empty seat near her. “Come. I can use the company.”
I sighed under my breath.
It had been this way the entire week—Sister Clara pulling books for me to study and always popping in as soon as I thought the coast was clear to pull an actual spell book.
“I have just the thing to get you started.” She said the magic words and a pile of books materialized in front of me.
Don’t get me wrong. I liked Sister Clara, a lot. But what part of personal space did she not yet understand? The sad thing was, I already knew not one of the books she had summoned had a spell of any sort in it. It was just more history, mythology, and theory on the metaphysical aspects of magic, light, and creation. Oh, and grounding, meditation, and moving chi through my body. I’m sorry, but spinning my chakras in the right way wasn’t going to help me get Jake back.
With the first book in hand, a warm sensation flowed through my head and fingers. The Fallen venom. It was an odd sensation, wanting to devour the pages in front of me and then dive into the next book. It was just like what I had seen the other students do. However, Sister Clara was still hovering.
“Can’t wait,” I said, gritting my teeth. I couldn’t let on that I was using the venom and so squashed the urge to read faster than lightning.
“The reading will get easier, Miss Maverick, I promise.”
I half smiled again as I pretended to read one page at a time. It was harder than I thought and I couldn’t help myself. By the time Sister Clara had returned to her seat. I had already devoured two books. Two!
As she went back to work, two soon turned into four, and I was done within twenty minutes.
Despite the miracle of the venom, I sat there for three miserable hours while still pretending to be only on the first book. More stuff on Genesis and the creation of angels. The manuscript jumped straight from the creation of angels, universes, and planets to the Fallen. It was a time known as The Great Infection.
Darkness had been separated from light forming the ten levels of heaven. Below was the earth. It didn’t go into any stories about Adam and Eve. And there was nothing on Gadreel either. It just said that great darkness fell upon the first humans created. Those humans were pure and, in many ways, divine; their minds clean and untouched by the knowledge of evil.
It went on to talk about how the darkness created infected not only the planet and its people, but how its poison seeped through the gates of the first level of heaven and its angels. That was the day the Fallen were born, rogue angels that rebelled against the Elohim. A great war in heaven soon ensued and The Fallen were cast out, thrown down to the earth where many of them committed great acts of evil. When they were angels they had fed on light, however, as creatures of darkness, the Fall
en craved only the taste of blood and became the first vampires.
They took wives for themselves and turned them into witches. The children of that union became natural witches and were taught both the light and dark arts of celestial magic. The Fallen also sired blood-sucking slaves they called Upir. But the worst affliction of the Fallen was the fathering of giants.
The giants and Upir grew in number until they finally rebelled against the restraints of their fathers. Their hunger for human flesh and blood had no limits. And thus the Elohim were left with no choice but to cleanse the earth with a great flood.
Sister Maria had mentioned the same thing about The Great Flood.
There was a type of hierarchy of infected supernaturals listed.
Vampires. Fallen angels that survived The Great War in heaven and the Flood. Fearful of the Elohim, those that survived remained hidden in the shadows. To protect themselves, they almost never sire Upir. And they are usually accompanied by a witch, the one they’ve chosen to feed on.
That sounded like Riley, Jake, and Meghan. The thought of Jake feeding on Meghan was nauseating. And in some ways, I was a bit jealous. I imagined what it might be like for Jake to feed on me. What would happen, given that I was already a supposedly natural witch.
I then wondered who sired Zander. And whether Zander want The Stone of Origins for himself or his creator. I went back to reviewing the list.
Upir. The sons and daughters of Vampires by blood lust. They tend to move in packs like wolves. And are most active at night, given their adverse allergic reactions to sunlight. Historically, they were mostly used as slaves. Builders and caretakers for the Fallen.
Shadows. The souls of those fallen angels that died in the Great War and Flood without repenting to the Elohim. Their spirits roam the earth, tormented and lost without a home.
Demons. The evil spirits of Giants that were wiped out and swallowed into the bowels of the earth by the magic of The Great Flood. Collectively, they make up the lower level of Hell.
Familiars. The souls of those fallen angels that repented before dying. Their hope is to one day ascend to their original celestial posts. Their spirit usually takes on the form of an animal. Their job is to guide witches and occasionally humans in the alchemical arts of ascension.
