Far away on a landHidden by magic potent
A wolf gave birth to a witch
A witch who was part wolf
A witch who lost her home
A wolf without a pack
Deep magic from within
Will protect the Island hidden
Hear ye my little wolf
One day you"ll remember me
Sleep now my little child
You will rise on a full moon"s day
*CRASH* The sound of shattering gla.s.s woke Elize up.
"Go away."Elize moaned with her eyes closed.
"Oh you"re awake!" Chirped an unfamiliar voice.
Elize opened her eyes groggily and sat up. She was back at Aileen"s place. But this time she was on a couch with half a dozen faces peering down at her.
"Uhh? Why aren"t you all gone yet?" She asked confused. Normally the people in her visions disappeared when the pain stopped.
There were women of all ages and sizes, with the oldest sitting on the edge of the couch Elize was sitting on, crouching low with a stick in her hand and chewing something . The youngest appeared to be around six and was climbing up the kitchen cupboard and throwing down its contents one by one. Another gla.s.sware broke as it slipped the child"s hand and hit the floor.
A few of the women scoffed at her comment. The others laughed and went about busying around the house. One particular woman with straight blond hair flowing all the way down to her behind walked up to Elize with a smile.
"h.e.l.lo there. You must be Elize." She said with a high pitched voice.
Another gla.s.sware hit the floor and shattered. Elize jumped a bit. Who are these people and why is there a kid on top of the cupboard?
The woman chuckled. "Don"t mind Pheobe. She"ll mend it once it"s all broken."
"Huh?" Elize asked, her attention once again focused on the woman standing in front of her.
"I"m sorry I didn"t introduce myself. I"m Agatha." The woman said placing her right hand on her chest and bending slightly.
"Do I know you?" Elize asked looking around the place, "And who are all these people? Why isn"t anyone stopping the child?"
The woman called Agatha smiled.
"Don"t worry about Pheobe, she"s a witch and so is everyone in this house." She explained.
Realization dawned on Elize when she remembered the fire message Aileen left for her before leaving.
"Ohh..Hi then. You must be here for the ceremony." Elize said, smiling awkwardly at the eerily beautiful woman standing in front of her. She didn"t look a day above twenty two.
Agatha beamed at her and sat down next to her on the couch. Great. Now Elize was stuck between a very old witch and a very enthusiastic one.
"Yes! I"m from the coven in New Orleans." Agatha said excitedly, leaning back on the couch.
"I"m new to the coven thing. I don"t have one of my own."Elize shrugged as she replied.
"Oh it"s okay honey. Some of us are created for higher purposes." She winked at Elize.
Just then she started hearing it again.
Far away on a land
Faded by magic potent
A wolf gave birth to a witch
A witch who was part wolf...
"Not again." Elize groaned covering her ears. She shut her eyes tight as she put her head to her knee, bracing herself before the pain started again.
Nothing.
Somebody was patting her back. Elize slowly opened her eyes and turned back. A woman in her thirties stood there. Beautiful fiery red hair cascaded down her shoulders till her waist. Clear amber eyes sparkled with mischief as she smiled down at Elize, her tall figure blocking the sun rays that came through the window.
"It seemed like Elize didn"t like the song that you were singing Irina." Agatha teased the red haired woman.
Both laughed.
Elize stared at her blankly. What does that mean? How did she know the song?
"How do you know the song?" Elize asked staring at Irina intently.
Irina winked at her. "It"s a little secret" She said.
"But I"ve heard it-" Elize stopped herself midway. She didn"t want to give too much away. These people were strangers. Talking about strangers..where was her mate?
"If you are wondering about the hot guy who brought you here, he"s in the cellar." Agatha said, reading her thoughts.
Elize jumped from the couch. "What?! Why the fu-"
"Calm down will you? Nyala put him there." Agatha explained, pointing to the old woman on the couch, still chewing something.
Elize glared at the old witch. She gave her back a toothless smile and resumed chewing, leaning on her stick.
"Are you all crazy?! Why would you put him in a cellar?! He"s my-"
"Your what Elize?!" Elize was interrupted by booming voice. Aileen stood there on the doorway fuming. Elize cringed back.
"Aileen! My favorite aunt!" Irina moved towards Aileen with her arms wide open. She motioned to Agatha to get Elize out with the back of her hand.
"Now would be the perfect time to escape." Agatha whispered as she dragged Elize away from the drawing room, up the stairs.
They both reached the bedroom that Elize woke up in almost two weeks back. Agatha bolted the door behind them. Elize yanked her hand out of Agatha"s grip and walked towards the mirror.
She was surprised at her reflection on it. The bruises were no more visible and her dark circles all but vanished. Elize looked normal and healthy again.
"How?" She asked still looking at the mirror.
"You can thank us later." Agatha chirped plopping down on the bed.
"You helped me. Why?" Elize asked turning to her.
Agatha shrugged. "Well your boyfriend was quite adamant."
"Zack?"
"Yes the dog. When he brought you in yesterday, you were quite battered. Me and Irina asked him to put you on the couch. He nearly s.h.i.+fted in the house when we tried to heal you. I wouldn"t blame him but sadly, Nyala came in the house right at that moment. She saw his mark on you. She got so angry at seeing your state that she bound him with a spell and put him in the cellar. Be thankful that it was not Aileen who found him."
"But he"s my mate! He shouldn"t be down there." Elize complained.
Agatha sighed. "Yes we noticed that. Honestly we knew something was wrong. There were spirit b.u.t.terflies all around your house. But when we knocked on your house earlier yesterday n.o.body answered. Then when he brought you in we understood what happened right away."
"Oh so it was you who was banging on the door. But wait- spirit b.u.t.terflies? Like ghosts of dead b.u.t.terflies?" Elize was confused.
Agatha laughed. Her laughter was pleasant, instantly putting Elize at ease.
"Spirit b.u.t.terflies dummy, are not dead b.u.t.terflies." Agatha explained in the middle of laughing.
Elie rolled her eyes. "Whatever."
"They are the spirits of dead witches from your family, tracing back to the first covens. They only appear when a witch is dying before her time. They grow in numbers around such people, sensing the leak of magic from their body. "
"Ohh. So they"re like a bad omen?" Elize asked, now curious.
"Far from that. The spirits try to reach out to you and heal you, every time you"re hurt. We saw the bruises on you. You held up for quite a long time. And thankfully your mate brought you to us before things got out of control."
Elize nodded, pacing the room. She hoped Zack was fine. If something had happened to him, she would tear that old witch limb from limb, Elize thought.
"We saw that you bore his mark. It must have triggered the wolf in you. The spirits lent out their magic to you every time the wolf clawed at you from inside. But such a large number of them around your place would only amount to one thing. I guess Irina"s guess was right." Agatha said, smiling at the witch standing in front of her.
"What is it?"
Agatha replied as she stood up on he bed "You my dear Elize, are the witch we"ve been waiting for. The last witch from the lost coven of Ruah Yareach."
"The what?" Elize didn"t understand what the woman in front of her was talking about. She can"t have a coven of her own. She grew up alone, a witch among humans who looked down upon her.
"Ruah Yareach. Technically means something along the lines of "Spirit of the moon". They were the most powerful coven that lived. Each and every single member of the coven was thought to be dead until you came along. The prophecy lives."
"What prophecy?" Elize asked dumbfounded. Each day presented a new hurdle to her ever since she set foot on the Island.
"The one you"ve been hearing in your head. The one Irina was singing earlier." Agatha said a slow smile forming on her beautiful face.
"How do-" Elize wanted to know how they knew of it but she stopped herself midway. Of course they"d know. They were witches who knew more of her than she knew about herself.
"Does Aileen know?" Elize asked, now tensed.
"Not entirely. She didn"t see your condition or the spirit b.u.t.terflies. But I think she has an inkling, you being half wolf and all."
Relief filled Elize. She didn"t want to deal with the whole bite thing with Aileen right now. She had to get her mate out of the cellar. If Aileen knew, she"d skin him alive.
"Umm Agatha?" Elize asked looking at Agatha hopefully.
"Yes babe?"
"Can you help me get my mate out of here?"
Agatha beamed at her. "Of course! What are friends for?!"
Elize smiled. She had a feeling that she"d get along well with Agatha.