Twenty nine

DAVID

“What happened exactly?” I asked as I observed the human girl resting on the king-sized bed. She reeked of magic. A disturbing kind that made me suspect there was the involvement of root magic. Elder Quentin must have sensed it too. Because all he did was chant a warding incantation. Witches of the Primrose dabbled in leaf and branch magic. It was safe and the consequences of those spells were minimal. Root magic however was a different subject matter on its own. It was far dangerous, super complicated and there were tons of consequences if one was willing to pay the price. My family, the Blossoms dabbled in every art of magic. It was one of the reasons why I was potentially the only surviving member of the household. Even while being affiliated to the Primrose, I knew very well many in the family did not practice what was taught in the church so the lingering stench of root magic strengthened my hypothesis. This had to be the handiwork of Candice,

“Well, she was bored of staying alone in her room so she stepped outside to strike a conversation with me. We exchanged pleasantries and suddenly she burst into this ball of light and collapsed.” Satake Crow explained. “That should not be. She is human. I know she is. But…”

“I know,” I completed on his behalf. He was in a state of pure shock and so was I. I was face to face with the legendary relics after all. I wondered if he knew. My mind went through infinite possibilities. Was he a relic seeking refuge or was the most notorious pack’s secret weapon?

“You can fix her right?” Satake chipped in, disrupting my thoughts. “Or at least give me answers.” He said that and muttered a threat. One that my prickly ears caught very well. The Beta of the Crow pack already believed this was the work of a witch or at least a magic practitioner and he swore to have that person’s head once we gave him answers. I ignored his very capable threat and chose to get to work. I needed to exorcise Candice out of this poor soul. I immediately fished out my spellbook and flipped it to the exorcism section. It was a branch based spell. It was a bit difficult but it only required blood atonement and a soul connection since the subject matter, that being my sister was already dead. I started by slicing into my left palm with a ceremonial dagger. My right hand which I had sustained the burn on twitched as Satake’s curiosity peaked.

“What is the cut for?” The beta demanded. There was a look of disdain plastered on his face. Like he hated the sight of me. I was going to reply but Elder Quentin was quick to jump to my aid.

‘The nature of the spell requires some bloodletting.” The Primrose Elder answered his question like a dutiful lapdog. Considering he was not against my methods, I proceeded to do the needful. I made my hand into a fist and let the crimson liquid pour onto Alpha Jason’s mate's forehead. I made a circle with it signifying the circle of life. I then picked up the spell-book, went on my knees, and began to chant the ancient words inscribed on each page to bind myself to the human girl.

“What the hell is he doing now?” Satake interrupted for the second time, pissing the heaven out of me. Before Elder Quentin pacified the goddamn idiot, I made sure I had my say. It was sickening having to mop up to a witchphobic bigot.

I jumped to my feet and faced him, not minding that he was a revered and possibly dangerous individual. “If you have a thing against witches, I don’t see any reason why we should even be here,” I said.

He took a step back, completely taken by surprise but it only lasted for a second or two. His menacing stance completely engulfed me and he proceeded to close the space between us, painfully reminding me to know my place or heads would roll. I felt my breath being literally sucked away by his aura. It definitely had something to do with the rune marking on my palms and not the fact that he was physically attractive and dangerously provoking. He was a dick. There was no doubt about that and honestly, it only worsened our dilemma because this fox in wolf clothing had to be kept in the dark about our motives.

“It would be stupid on my part to give your kind the benefit of doubt because time and time again, you have shown that you are nothing but absolute monsters.”

The last part hit home. Yes, we could be absolute monsters. I knew very well that a different song would be playing if any witch had the sudden knowledge I had recently acquired. Even Elder Quentin would become a ravenous wolf just to have a fraction of the power of consuming a relic brought. My great grandfather, Lorenzo Blossom was a testament. He found a stag shifter, killed and fed on it. History knew him as a terror whose magic could not be contended with. It had been the same with my grandfather and my late pops. It however seemed that terrifying gift skipped a generation. Candice and I were child’s play when it came to raw power. We were basic witches but it seemed my sister had again chosen to end that narrative. Something told me whatever hardship he had to go through had my sister’s ambitions webbed around it. He was young. I was far older and it fit perfectly. My sister would definitely not have had this relic lying around.

“Understandable,” I said. “It is your truth and I have no problem with you living it but you have to trust me. Even if it is just tonight. I want her back to this plane just as much as you do but we will not achieve anything if we keep subtle hostility going.” With that said, I stretched my hand forward for a proper introduction. “The name is Isaac.” It was a lie but it was also a great way to start.

Satake ignored my hand. He took a step back and wanked his head in the unconscious girl’s direction. I was guessing that implied I get to work. Hopefully, this time without interruption. I did as he wished. I returned to the bedside and proceeded to continue the ritual. I visualized two crimson threads which allegorically signified my soul intertwining with the human girl’s. As the crimson threads slowly bound themselves together, I felt my body weaken but I continued the chant nonetheless while keeping my eyes tightly shut. The whole room suddenly became loud. So loud that I could hear everyone’s breathing then just as quickly as it happened, all the noise vanished. I ended my chant and blinked. I was not in the hotel room anymore and that meant that the first part of my spell was a success. I was in the girl’s mind. Now the latter part was going to be hard. I had to find Candice and banish her for good. For the time being, I observed. I was in a room. An apartment. It was far smaller than the hotel room. It looked more like a house. I was seated on a wooden chair and in front of me was a set table with all sorts of dishes hot and ready to eat. It almost looked familiar.

“Just familiar?” A female voice scoffed. “I put my all into making this dinner for you twenty-eight years ago.”

I looked straight. Silver glittered in her ear. It dangled as she giggled. My eyes continued roaming her pale white skin and past her long straight black hair in hopes that I was wrong.

“Beef stew?” Candice inquired like any of these seemed normal.

I looked into the steaming hot bowl in front of me. It was a stew with assorted pieces of meat. It struck the right buds. Of course, Candice would bring me here. To the moment she fed me the heart of the man I loved.