Uniquely Unwelcome (The Shadow World)

by Brandy Nacole

  I feel around my chest and at the bottom of my rib cage for a wet spot or a tear in my shirt but there’s nothing. Danika is still trying to tell me everything will be okay but her words pass over me. I’m still in shock from the dream and the reality that that’s all it was, a dream.

  “Racquel look at me.” Danika has me by the shoulders trying to make me face her. Somewhere during the struggle I must have sat up in my bed. Danika is kneeling in front of me as she tries to get my attention.

  “Racquel, what happened?” Her voice is gentle and calming, a voice someone would use while trying to soothe a hysterical child.

  “I don’t know. It just felt so real.” My voice sounds far away, drowned out by the sound of my rapid heart beat.

  “Well I can tell you this, it was something huge. Never have I ever felt so much hatred and fear at the same time. I could feel your fear all the way down the hall. Then you started screaming and I knew something was wrong.”

  “How did you get in here?” The locks are automatic. They lock as soon as you shut the door. Even though I didn’t walk over and physically lock the dead bolt when Coy left, it was still locked.

  “I deactivated the lock. They’ll never know. The manager will think it’s an electronic error and have it replaced.” I glance at the door, checking for any noticeable damage but see none. I turn back to Danika, her face is sober now but there’s a tear stain on her cheek. I wonder why she was crying. “Now tell me what happened.”

  A lie is ready on my lips but I don’t tell it. If anyone can help me solve this little spell and dream mystery it’s her. She might even know a solution to keep it from happening again.

  “It was a dream.”

  “A dream?” I can hear the disbelief in her voice as she scrunches up her face.

  “Yes, a dream. Why is that so hard to believe?” I do know how hard it is to believe that a dream could be so real but from what we have seen and learned, how could it be that impossible? We were channeling energy and light through candles earlier. Talk about weird and impossible. So why is this so unbelievable?

  “It’s hard to believe because it’s very rare. Not to mention anyone with that much power usually won’t go through the trouble. It takes a lot of power and energy to travel through a person’s mind, especially when they’re asleep.” Danika crosses her arms, biting her lip. “What was this dream about? I felt anger, a lot of fear, and bit love. The feelings were all jumbled up together, so I couldn’t tell what you were feeling but I’m guessing a lot of it was fear.”

  I nod, then explain everything that’s happened in my dreams. I told her about the change in this dream from my last one. How I could feel the sword being pushed through my heart, the unbearable pain that followed.

  “Do you think if I didn’t wake up…I would,” my voice is low, barely audible.

  “I’m not sure. Did you see anyone in the background? Maybe someone was standing off in the corner not doing anything?”

  I close my eyes and think back to my dream. As much as it disturbs me to think about it, I do it anyway. I push past my unease and think back to the people in the dungeon.

  I vision myself chained to the wall. The cloaked man in front of me with his sword held in front of me. I see the creatures tearing into Danika, Ethan, and Coy’s unconscious bodies. I have a moment of nausea, fear, and sadness but I push past that and continue looking around me.

  The cloaked man is rambling on and on about my impending death, as usual. I look past him and focus on the scenery behind him. Checking every inch of the dungeon, every corner, every shadow, but I don’t see anything.

  I’m about to pull out of the vision, ready to leave the nightmare behind, when something catches my eye. I look closer, ignoring the cloaked man fixing to bring the sword down on me, and see the outline of a person standing in front of the dungeons door.

  I can’t tell what the outline looks like, other than the fact that it’s a woman. Her outline is transparent but I can see her curves and long hair. I take one more glimpse at her before pulling out of the vision. My fear is getting the better of me as the sword draws closer to my chest.

  I open my eyes, my breathing swift as my body shivers, breaking out in goose-bumps. Danika is sitting in front of me, anxious as ever, “Well?”

  “There was definitely someone else in the room with us. I just can’t tell what she looks like.”

  “Tell me exactly what you saw.”

  “There was this transparent figure standing in front of the dungeon door. I could tell it was a woman because of her shape and hair. But I couldn’t see any real features. If she hadn’t moved just a bit I would have never seen her.”

  Danika sits there a minute taking it all in, then abruptly stands up, heading toward the door.

  “Hey wait a minute. Where are you going?” I stand up to follow her but she waves me off.

  “I’ll be right back. I just need to go get my phone. We need to consult with the Elders. Whatever we are dealing with, it’s powerful. I want to see what they have to say.”

  Danika exits the room quickly, leaving me in suspense. I was hoping she would tell me this is a common spell to cause others to experience great fear, then tell me a simple spell to stop the dreams.

  Instead she just freaks me out even more and wants to go running to the Elders. I plop back down on my bed overwhelmed. I’m starting to wonder if we will really be able to find those taken or if we are going to have to give up our search to save everyone else.

  I start chastising myself for even thinking that. I’m not about to back down because of some dream. Besides, if I gave up, my own dreams would haunt me so bad I would go mad praying for death.

  Danika bursts into the room and sits next to me on the bed. She has her phone in hand but instead of calling she just sits there, staring at the phone. Her hands are shaking.

  “What’s wrong?” I ask her.

  She shakes her head and I notice a single tear land on her hand. “I’m scared, Racquel.” Looking up at me, she has tears streaming down her face.

  She’s not sobbing or crying uncontrollably but the tears are there and so is the despair. “Ethan’s still unconscious. I don’t know how severe his injuries are. Now we have this new threat on top of everything else we have been receiving from those hideous creatures.” She looks back down at her phone, shaking her head. “I just don’t know how we are supposed to continue.”

  I place my hand on her shoulder. “To be honest, I don’t either. I do know that if we give up now, they win. We lose those we love and possibly others we know. They have to be stopped Danika. Because whatever they’re planning, it’s worse than this.”

  As I’m explaining all this to Danika, I start feeling a little reassured myself. I feel the truth behind my words and the urgency of our involvement. Stopping these monsters is more important than anything. Our continued search is necessary no matter what the price.

  Danika nods her head in agreement, dries her face, and straightens her shoulders. “Let’s find out what we’re dealing with.” She quickly types in a number and in no time she’s talking with the Elders.

  She explains everything to the person on the other end of the line. Once she’s done, she puts the phone on speaker.

  “Can you both hear me?” Just like I had assumed, it’s Eldrida.

  We both answer yes, and then wait to hear what she has to say.

  “I’m afraid you are being tormented with a force that hasn’t been seen in decades. One that we had hoped was dealt with. Her name is Cerelia. She has been around for centuries, feeding off the souls of innocent people to keep herself alive.”

  “Wait. I didn’t think Witches could do that.”

  “Normally we can’t. The powers that Cerelia wield are greater than that of an average Coven Witch. In fact, she holds some of the greatest powers ever wielded. She comes from one of the original lines.

  Her line is not that of Hecate but very close. Hecate’s aunt, Leto, started the line in which sh
e is born from. Cerelia’s grandfather, Apollo, was and still is a respected man. Apollo was born on the island of Delos. Once he and his twin sister were born, the isle rooted itself and bloomed. Unlike Cerelia, Apollo was a good man. He was known as an enforcer. He afforded help to many and warded off evil.

  At the beginning of Cerelia’s life, she was much the same. Then something changed. She became selfish and conceded. Instead of trying to help others, she started seeking power to help herself. One day she came upon a very powerful spell that would keep her young forever but in return, she would lose her soul. This held no waiver over her. Once she realized what she could become, nothing stopped her.”

  Danika and I exchange worried glances as Eldrida continues to speak.

  “Now do remember she is not from Hecate’s line. Witches from Hecate’s family are strong and powerful but their power has weakened due to time. Cerelia is from an original line and her power has not faded.”

  “So you’re telling us this Witch is centuries old?” I ask.

  “Yes. She has kept herself alive and young for centuries, growing stronger and more powerful through each century, feeding herself with innocent souls. If she is involved with these kidnappings, I can assure you it’s not good. Cerelia does not get involved in minor feuds and wars. Whatever lies ahead, will be a battle for each and every one of us.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  A few hours later I decided to go check on Ethan. I had spent the last few hours researching all I could about Hecate, her family, and Cerelia on the café’s computer. I had no idea who this Cerelia Witch was nor did I know much about Hecate or her family. I had tried talking to Danika but she was of no help. She seemed more shaken up about what Eldrida said than I was. Instead of giving me any real answers, she just mumbled some excuse to leave and walked out of the room like a zombie. I wanted to comfort her and tell her everything would be fine but as much as I hated to admit it, I wasn’t sure it was true.

  With all that had happened, the attacks, the cloaked man, even Coy, I wasn’t sure about a lot of things. The only thing I was certain of was that I would not stop looking for Addie. Even if it meant my death, I wouldn’t stop. I was, however, reluctant to let the others face the same fate.

  Before going to the café, I had called to check on Ethan to make sure he was okay. Danika had answered telling me that he was still sleeping. I knew Ethan had to recover but we also needed to get back on the hunt. Addressing this topic would probably be tricky but no matter who went or who stayed, I had to make the relative dangers of staying and going very clear to everyone.

  I pause in front of the door, my hand raised ready to knock. Although Ethan seems to be recovering it still isn’t full proof that we healed him. The memory of what happened in this room not too long ago still freaks me out. I know Danika and the Elders are certain that he would be okay but I still fear that it didn’t fully work.

  I lightly tap on the door, forgetting all my doubts, plastering on a ‘isn’t it a great morning’ smile. The door opens and standing in front of me is another whole set of emotions that I squash instantly. Coy’s standing there with an unreadable expression. He starts to say something but I look away, sliding past him into the room.

  Danika is sitting beside Ethan’s bed. A laptop sits in her lap but it goes ignored as she stares at him. Standing in the corner is Jared. This is a problem I didn’t plan on facing, or rather, hoped had gone away. I decide to ignore him for the moment and focus my attention on Ethan.

  “How’s he doing?” This is directed to Danika but in the silence, an answer from anyone would be nice.

  Danika finally looks over at me with an exhausted look on her face. Between worrying over Ethan and this new situation with some evil Witch, the poor girl is probably stressed to the max.

  “He’s still the same. His pulse is good and his breathing’s normal. The wounds are all but gone. I just don’t understand why he hasn’t woken up. We did everything right. Even Eldrida agreed that the ritual was successful. So why isn’t he waking up?”

  Tears stream down her face as she continues to look at me for answers, answers that I don’t have. “Maybe he just needs a little more time to rest. He did have some severe injuries. And having a healing that take place so fast was probably another shock to his body.”

  I hope my words bring some comfort to her. I try absorbing my advice for my own comfort but it doesn’t work. With no real doctor monitoring him, we don’t know what’s going on inside his body.

  My words do seem to bring some relief to Danika though. She wipes her face, takes a deep breath, and nods in agreement. She looks back at Ethan for a moment, taking his hand in hers. I wish I could just let her sit there without a worry in the world; without having to bring up the other troubles we face. I want nothing more than to pretend everything’s fine and that Ethan will make a full recovery in no time. But I can’t do that. We need to discuss what we are going to do and how best to face this new threat.

  Luckily before I have to say anything, she stands and brings her laptop over to the tiny table in the corner. On the screen there’s gods and goddesses covering the page. Coy stands a few steps behind me, looking intently at the screen. Jared stays in the corner, his arms crossed over his chest, as he looks at the screen.

  “I’ve done some research but have found little information on Cerelia. There’s plenty of information on her family and Hecate’s family but there’s little mentioned about her. I made some calls to a few others and they didn’t know that much about her either. Apparently she’s stayed under the radar for quite some time.”

  Turning her attention back to the screen, she closes the gods and goddesses page and pulls up another page. This one has a picture of a girl surrounded by bright light facing another girl surrounded by darkness. Underneath the picture is the caption: “almost an ending that brought forth a new beginning.”

  Danika tells the story behind the image on the screen. “This is the last recollection found on Cerelia and her last battle. She had conjured up some of the most evil entities possible along with some evil leaders within our world to bring about the end of the weak, this mostly including humans.

  Cerelia spread plagues, fear, famine, and war all over the lands. Hecate’s family line was hard at work trying to find a solution to bring about her end. With a little luck they decided to put a binding spell on her that they knew wouldn’t last but that would give them a slight window. In doing so they had hoped it would be enough time to get close enough to Cerelia to kill her.”

  I raise my eyebrows, totally enraptured in the tale.

  “The strongest of the Witches, Melina, was the one who would face Cerelia once her powers were bound. Melina was the most powerful Hecate daughter left with the strongest blood line. The Witches found Cerelia in Egypt spreading her plagues and war.

  They managed to corner her and cast the binding spell on her. Melina tried to be swift but the binding spell didn’t hold. Cerelia went to attack Melina but before she could kill her, Melina took her own life reciting a spell that would protect her soul from being captured by Cerelia. Melina knew she didn’t stand a chance against Cerelia, so she took her own life to keep Cerelia from gaining more power.

  The Coven then retreated to try and find a new solution to stop Cerelia. The Elders of that time decided that the only way to fight Cerelia’s black magic was with white magic. They started helping human doctors and medicine men find cures for the plague. They spoke words of encouragement, peace, and understanding to the armies and their leaders. They brought forth rains for those places in drought without food or water. Soon Cerelia became irritated and attacked the Elders. But they were prepared for her. They cast one of the most powerful purest spells known to the Witches, passed down from Hecate herself. This spell drove Cerelia into hiding where she has been recovering from the attack.

  Over her terrifying reign, Cerelia was able to kill 391 Witches in the amount of 6 short months. She is one of the most powerful and feared Witche
s of all time. I looked over several other stories and it seems that she is only interested in power and destruction. So whatever we are facing cannot be good for our world or the human world.”

  While Danika had told the story, I stared at the two women on the computer screen. The pure Witch standing up to the evil Witch to protect everyone from the end that was being brought down on them.

  I hear Coy clear his throat behind me. “That’s a nice story and all but what does that have to do with us?”

  “Racquel has been having some vividly real dreams. Last night I felt her emotions and those of whoever is messing with her. We called the Elders and they believe that the one causing these dreams is an ancient Witch, Cerelia. She’s very powerful. Whatever her motives for being involved in what’s going on, they cannot be good.”

  I can feel Coy step forward and reach out to me. I step forward avoiding his touch and keep my back to him. Danika gives me a funny look, not sure what’s going on. No one, including her, knows about what happened last night between me and Coy. Hopefully it stays that way.

  “Racquel why didn’t you-” Coy starts but I interrupt him.

  “We need to access what we’re going to do now.” I can’t see Coy’s face but I can almost see the pain I caused him.

  “Well first we’re going to have to wait for Ethan to wake up and see how he’s feeling. In the meantime, we can try connecting some dots with what we know, figure out where we’re going next, and discuss on the best options for handling Cerelia.”

  I take a seat across from Danika, unable to see the computer screen which had been my focus point for the last few minutes. This conversation isn’t going to go over well with any of them.

  “Danika, I understand that you are worried about Ethan, so am I. But I don’t think we have time to wait for him to wake up. We don’t know when he’s going to fully recover or become conscious enough to discuss the situation with him. It could be today but it could also be weeks from now.”

  Danika becomes outraged, her voice loud with anger. “So what then, you just want to leave him here? With no protection, open to another attack?”