by D. H. Davis
I stare at him in shock. It genuinely hadn’t occurred to me that he belonged to a clan, had people that care about where he is, or that vampires even have a structure similar to a coven. I really am a terrible girlfriend.
“Let me get this straight,” Eve says strongly. “You have your own apartment yet you’ve got us meeting in a bloody bush!” she looks hilariously outraged.
“Oh, you’d really wanna come to a vamps lair?” Jessie grins. “Not too scary for you?” he jokes, giving her a nudge with his elbow.
She just sighs at him and shakes her head.
“He’s telling the truth anyway,” she shrugs.
“Have you been in my head?” he asks, his eyebrows high over widened eyes.
“Yeah, you don’t feel the cold so you’ll never know when I’m in,” she giggles. “By the way, B, he likes your hair like that,” she informs me with a wink.
I instinctively raise my hand to my hair and feel myself blush. I haven’t done anything special with it, it’s just dried, big and bushy after the red rain but in all the rushing around I forgot to tie it back like I usually would. Jessie smiles at me, letting me know Eve is right.
I jump off the stump where I’ve been sat and begin pacing.
“Right, we think it’s unlikely the attack was a vampire but we can’t say for certain, but we do know that the coven isn’t handling things the way they should and that we are potentially running out of time. That means it’s up to us,” I summarise.
“You sound like you’ve got a plan, B.” Eve smirks, excited by the prospect.
“You bet your ass I do.” I smile “There’s a book in the sanctum that has high level incantations and rituals in it. It’s called the Book of Veiled Alchemy. We were taught about it as kids remember, Eve?” She nods in response. “I bet there’s something in there we could use.”
“And how are we supposed to get that? We can hardly rock up and say, just checking out this bad boy guys. It’s forbidden to anyone other than leader and elders. I know you’re nearly there, B, but not quite,” Eve responds with the practicalities.
“I distract them in a history lesson and you guys use the secret entrance Sammy found. Jessie can camouflage in and take the book.” I unveil my master plan. They both stare at me, not saying anything. “I know its risky guys but what choice do we have? If we do nothing they’ll just keep hunting for a vampire and either find Jessie and try to pin it all on him or they’ll spend so long looking for a vamp that they miss whatever it really is.”
I try to sound confident but the plan petrifies me too. It’s bad enough if Jessie gets caught at all but to get caught in a sacred place of the coven, well, it’s best to just not think about that aspect.
It’s Jessie who speaks first, “I think you’re crazy, witchy, but I guess that’s part of your charm. I’m in.” He walks over and puts his arm round me while we both await Eve’s answer.
“Oh, like you could do it without me. You’d blow it straight away,” she says in a sassy tone.
That’s it, operation retrieval is a go. Let’s hope it’s worth the risk!
Chapter Eleven
A brisk wind sends a chill down my spine, reminding me that I should be alert. I glance at my environment, attempting to determine where I am. I’m surrounded by darkness. My only source of light is dusty, crimson beams from the full red moon. It illuminates just enough for me to make out the broken, battered headstones that are scattered around me. I must be in a cemetery. I spin around on the dirty ground beneath my feet. Scanning, hoping to see signs of life, hoping to see anyone that could explain to me where and how I’m here. Suddenly, a piercing scream echoes loudly all around me. It sounds close. It’s a scream of both pain and terror and there’s something familiar about the tone. I begin frantically searching for the origin of the scream but wherever I turn there’s nothing but deserted derelict ground. Panic consumes me. I need to find this person. To help them. To stop their tournament but I don’t know how.
I awake once again in a cold sweat breathing heavily. Another warning. Whatever it is, it’s getting closer.
Chapter Twelve
It’s go day. I’m both exhilarated and terrified at the prospect of our operation. We decided to wait until my next scheduled history lesson so not to arouse suspicion, allowing us plenty of time to hash out the plan. Eve and Jessie will be waiting in Eve’s car outside the church, as it isn’t unusual for Eve to wait to pick me up after a session. Once the lesson is underway, I’ll send Eve an ink message to signal them into action; we aren’t risking there being a text message trail. They’ll make their way to the tunnel that Sammy found and Eve will stand guard, pretending she’s having an argument on the phone to anyone that walks past, while Jessie blends into his surroundings and enters the crawl space. Once he’s made it to the vent, he’ll wait for me to make a distraction so he can open the flap and slide into the room, undetected. I’ve instructed him where he will find the book and he’ll have to use his super speed to grab it and get back out again before my distraction dies down. Then, once safely back in the car, Eve will send me an ink message back and I can make my excuses and rendezvous with my team. What could go wrong?
To my surprise, today’s lesson is not so much around history but is more focused on practical skills. Trust the universe to throw something interesting my way the day I’m preoccupied. The Elders are teaching me how to carry out boundary incantations.
Albert is stood towering above an old, dusty map of the county that’s been rolled out on the surface of the table. Lucile is holding a black, velvet drawstring bag that has the coven’s symbol embroidered on the front in dark purple, while Peter is wielding his ritual blade.
“These are the items you require for any boundary incantation,” Peter informs me. “Inside the sack are amethyst crystals, which we use to mark where we want the boundary to sit.”
“I thought amethyst were healing crystals,” I reply, thinking back to when Owen gave me a bracelet made of them as a get well soon present after I broke my wrist getting dropped out of a dance lift. He was convinced it would help to mend my battered bones quicker.
“To ordinaries, yes. They can help with healing, but to a witch, they contain a vast amount of power,” Lucile replies reaching into the bag and taking out a few crystals, lying them flat in the palm of her hand. “For us they allow us to tap into stronger magic and actually have the ability to harness an incantation. They start light purple and then when they have been used in a ritual, they turn silver.”
“That’s what makes them perfect for boundaries,” Albert chimes in. “Each crystal carries residual power from the incantation to keep the intent of it alive.”
I’m soaking in this information, genuinely finding it fascinating. I stare at the crystals in Lucile’s hand. They’re so small and pretty with their glassy lilac appearance; it’s hard to imagine they can do so much.
Lucille begins to place them one by one onto the map. I watch intently, slowly realising that she’s placing them strategically around the border of Arcane Grove. Albert mumbles something to her and she hands him the bag so he and Peter can dig and retrieve some more crystals, helping her plot the course.
Arcane Grove is bigger than people think as all the woodland surrounding the town still falls under our territory. I assess that the setting up of the boundary line may take a few moments and use their focus to my advantage. I lower my arms under the table and place my right hand on my left forearm and whisper, “Mitte.” This instantly begins the transmission of an ink message.
I feel the skin on my arm burning as I picture the word now in my mind. I can feel each letter burn into my skin but I keep a straight face, showing no signs of pain, ensuring I don’t give away my actions. I envy Eve, although, the word will be burning itself into her skin right now too, at least she can swear at the discomfort of it in the safety of her car. It’s only a brief pain though as once the message has made it to the other person, it vanishes. My attention is now back on th
e map.
“So once you have all your crystals in place you can begin,” Lucile informs me.
“Just remember the larger the area you are trying to protect, the more crystals you will need, hence, how many we’ve used here,” Peter adds pointing to the twenty-four crystals now positioned on the map. “You have to ensure the incantation will hold.”
I have a quick glance at my left arm to check there is no sign of ink before lifting my arms back above the table and moving to join them in front of the map.
“Now, all that’s left is to provide a few drops of coven blood and recite the incantation ‘Praesido’. Once the crystals have turned a deep shade of purple, you know it has been done. They will slowly turn silver after that.”
“So what exactly is the boundary for?” I ask, wondering if it’s going to affect Jessie in any way because if it is, then now really isn’t the best time to be casting it considering he probably is already in the room.
“We’re setting it up to stop any supernatural being leaving or entering Arcane Grove apart from witches. We will still be able to pass freely,” Albert advises.
I find this thought oddly unsettling.
“Why not extend it to witches too? What if we’re wrong and the threat isn’t a vampire? What if it’s a witch? Aren’t we leaving ourselves open?” I fire my concerns at them.
“Brooke, don’t be so ridiculous,” Albert laughs at me. “All the signs point to a vampire but even if they didn’t, it wouldn’t be one of the coven now, would it?”
I feel the familiar sensation of rage building up inside me, he sounds just like my dad; so focused on prejudice that he can’t see anything else.
“I’m not saying that it’s someone from the coven but is it really that ridiculous to think it could be someone outside the coven? Someone powerful?” I defend my logic.
“Yes, Brooke, it is,” Peter interjects, also chuckling, which shocks me. Peter is usually the level headed, reasonable one that can see any situation from a number of perspectives, yet here he is telling me I’m ridiculous.
“You aren’t leader yet, Brooke, and even when you are you have to heed our advice. You might think you know how the world works but we have been around a lot longer than you and lived through horrors so that your generation won’t have to,” Lucile adds.
That rage is no longer building, I’m now a volcano ready to erupt.
I slam my hands down on the table, causing many of the crystals to fall out of their place and yell, “If you continue to treat me like a child and constantly undermine me then how do you expect me to rule?!” I’m breathing heavy and my fists are clenched. “You’re all as bad as each other, hypocrites! You want me to take my responsibility seriously, yet anytime I have the audacity to voice an opinion, I am laughed away. I’m supposed to show you respect but where is your respect to your next leader?”
I am fully aware my rant may be slightly over the top but I figure I can kill two birds with one stone and an angry outburst can be the perfect distraction for Jessie. The Elders stare at me with disbelief. They aren’t used to being disagreed with, let alone shouted at by a seventeen-year-old girl, so this is perfect, their eyes won’t leave me.
“You think because I’m young, I’m a fool? I know you only show me what you choose to, that you still keep secrets about our history. Do you think that makes me trust your wisdom or simply doubt it? We have this feud with another species that you are certain is causing this threat, well did you ever stop to think that this bitter hatred is what makes us a target?” I feel empowered after blurting it all out. Slightly more theatrically than, maybe, I would have planned to have said it but it’s true to my feelings nonetheless.
I suddenly feel the burning sensation once again on my left arm and without looking at it, I know it’s time to go. I quickly pull the sleeves of my jacket down to avoid detection.
Not that any of them are really looking at me now; they are looking at each other, hoping someone else would know how to respond. My rant has set me up for a swift exit, perfectly.
I shake my head at them disappointedly and storm off to the stairs. Not one of them tries to stop me. I think they know it would be pointless. I need time to calm down and they need time to process what I’ve said.
I clamber into the back of Eve’s car and she speeds off, immediately getting us away from the scene of the crime while Jessie re-enacts my speech to Eve, both of them finding it highly amusing.
Chapter Thirteen
We are sat cross-legged on the floor around a wooden coffee table in Jessie’s living room, staring at the book that’s lay in the middle of it. Jessie’s apartment, just like his car, is unquestionably impressive. It’s a flashy modern one-roomed apartment in a newly built area on the outskirts of town. It’s generally known as where young business people live that commute to London as it’s near to the train station. I guess people just assume Jessie has rich parents that are footing his bill and are generally too busy themselves to give it much more thought than that. Usually, Eve and I would be freaking out about how cool the place is and the fact that we’ve now got somewhere awesome to hang out but the issue in front of us is far more pressing.
The book is made of a dark brown leather, that’s worn all over. You can tell just by looking at the cover that it’s been passed down from generation to generation. It’s the thickest book any of us have ever seen, to the extent where Eve and I are getting a workout whenever we lift it. On the front cover is our coven’s symbol in thick black lines. The problem we’ve encountered is that the pages of the book are blank. There is quite literally nothing written inside it. The pages are just scatty, stained empty pages. It doesn’t make any sense.
“I refuse to believe we did all of that for nothing,” Eve moans. “There’s got to be something we’re missing.”
I flick through the pages of the book for the hundredth time.
“There’s nothing here, Eve. We’ve tried every opening command we can think of.” I sigh and Eve lets out a scream of frustration into a sofa cushion.
Jessie suddenly stops tapping on the table, which he’s been doing for the last fifteen minutes.
“What about blood?” he asks, looking hopeful.
“Oh, because everything’s about blood, Mr Vampire.” Eve snaps back at him in a condescending tone.
“I’m serious,” he continues ignoring her snipe. “I’m not going to pretend I understand any of it. I still don’t know the difference between a ritual and an incantation but didn’t you tell me Brooke that stronger magic sometimes requires blood?”
“He’s right,” I cry, jumping to my feet and try to locate my bag.
“Yeah but that’s for powerful incantations and rituals where a witch’s natural power alone isn’t enough,” Eve replies. “Not for opening a stupid book. And for your info vampire incantations are spells we speak and rituals are more powerful that require both an incantation and channelling from a magical source.”
Jessie gives a slow nod as if to say, that makes sense.
“Why not though?” I ask, now rummaging through my bag looking for my knife. “This book supposedly contains the most powerful of incantation and rituals, why shouldn’t it demand the same?”
Eve’s eyes widen as she realises we may have point.
“I can’t find my knife have you got yours?” I ask but she shakes her head. Neither of us were expecting to actually do magic today, we just thought we would be reading a book.
“Jessie, would you be so kind?” I ask thrusting my index finger towards him. At first he looks confused but soon catches on to what I mean. He produces his fangs and gently pulls my finger towards his mouth. Instead of biting down on my finger, he carefully lifts it to his fang gradually applying pressure until it breaks the skin. He quickly retreats from me, suddenly ashamed by the fact he’s tasting my blood.
“It’s alright if it tastes nice, you don’t have to be embarrassed,” I assure him.
“God, you guys are gross.” Eve butts
in pretending to vomit. I just shake my head at her and hurry over to the book. I squeeze my finger so that more blood oozes out of the cut and drips down onto the cover.
The book promptly flies open to the contents page, which is now showing a faded text. It worked.
“I’ll give you that one, Jess,” Eve says patting him on the back.
That’s as close to an apology as he’ll get and he knows it, so he just nods back at her. We crowd around the book, eager to unlock the knowledge inside it.
The content is mind blowing. It lists spells I’ve never even heard of. There’s a whole chapter on memory alone; how to implant false memories, how to retrieve lost ones. There’s even a chapter on creating realms – something I didn’t even know was possible. I’ll definitely have to read that one later.
Of course, what we’re looking for is at the very back of the book and from what we can ascertain so far, the incantations and rituals get significantly more powerful as you get further into the book. The very last page of the book is titled ‘Revealing Dark Forces’. It’s a ritual designed to show witches the threat and danger surrounding them. There’s a warning at the top of the page stating it should only be performed when absolutely necessary as many witches have not been able to handle what they have seen.
“Well that’s ominous,” Eve remarks.
Engrossed, I read further. It’s a more complicated ritual than I’ve ever seen before. It requires two witches channelling power from one another and from the earth and moon. It also requires blood freely given by both witches and a vampire.
“That can’t be right,” Eve exclaims pointing to the line about vampire blood. “Why would vampire blood be involved with a witch ritual?”
