Part Wolf

Elize felt like she was scolded for being dumb. Was she supposed to know of all this? Too bad, she didn"t, she thought with resent. Wait, the rock which was red in color? Was the woman talking about the huge rock in the clearing? But as far as she remembered, the rock was called something else. Wasn"t it? Keeping this in mind, she asked, "But I thought it was called something else." Elize paused and thought for a while. What was it called again? Suddenly she remembered Alpha Li talking about it in the clearing. Hoping that she got it right, she continued, "Uhh Tohar Sehlah I think. At least that"s what the old man said it was."

Luna paced back and forth the pavilion, ignoring Elize"s remarks. She seemed to have been caught in her own mind. Suddenly she turned around towards the little witch. Pursing her lips in confusion, she asked, "Hmm but why did the stone appear before you so soon?"

Elize shook her head. "It didn"t. Alpha Li found it." She said, stating it as a matter of fact. Leaning against a wooden pillar, she gazed at the swaying stalks of pink flowers. She looked down at the witch"s mark on her hand. Was it after all not a satanic pentagon? She thought to herself. There was so much that she didn"t know. When will she get to know all about the world of magic? Suddenly a high pitched laughter pierced the air, startling Elize. She looked back accusingly at the woman leaning against the wooden railing behind her.

Unaffected by the stare, the beautiful woman exclaimed, "What nonsense!" She continued, walking towards Elize, "You don"t "find" the stone. The stone finds you. Also,the stone doesn"t appear for just anybody. It must have sensed your presence on the island and made its way up. But you my child went to it before it was your time to find it." She said pressing on the tip of Elize"s long nose, as if she was a child who was caught being too naughty.

Elize stepped back, embarra.s.sed. But the words were now stuck inside her head. What did she mean by the stone sensing my presence? What trouble did I land myself in now? Elize thought, her heart beating erratically. "I don"t understand.." She said with a shaky voice.

Luna gave her a wide grin before explaining, "The Dam Sehlah is a part of a set of two stones. The other being the Tohar Sehlah. Both are like yin and yang, balancing each other. While the latter frees the soul from its worldly restraints, the former binds the soul to its mortal body. The stones combined can give and take life in the snap of your fingers if you come to possess them."

"Ohh..But why do you think it appeared because of me?" Elize asked. The thought of these magical objects having to do something with her existence made her feel weary of them. She remembered Aileen"s warning, to stay away from magical objects. Sigh, if only she gave such warnings before she jumped into such instances- not that it would have stopped her. But at least she"d have known.

The beautiful woman reached out to caress the young witch"s face, her eyes regarding Elize with a sense of pride."Because you"re the last of my descendants. The stones will therefor only answer to your blood."

Elize"s heart skipped a beat. Did she just acknowledge her as her descendant?! Or did she hear it wrong? "Eh?" Was the only sound that came out of her mouth.

Luna winked at her and took a step back. a.s.sessing her from head to toe she said, "But since this is quite early, it would be a disadvantage. I see that your magic is already sealed by the stone. How many more days do you have till you"re eighteen?"

Elize knew that the woman had clearly side stepped the explanation she yearned to hear. She opened her mouth to protest. "I-"

Luna interrupted, once again cutting her off. "Never mind I think I should release your soul before it consumes it."

"Wh"

"Let me see. If its been a few hours already in this realm since you"ve reached, I think we don"t have much time to prepare." The woman said while tapping her chin, appearing as if in deep thought.

"Prepare for what?" Elize asked. She was feeling frustrated by now, seeing how the woman was ignoring her every question and going on and on in a monologue.

"Hmm. Maybe I should just push you back." Luna said with a mischievous smile.

"What?! Listen Luna, I don"t understand anything that you"re talking about." She said, her voice rising in fear. Where was this woman going to push her off from?! Did she do something to offend this otherworldly being?!

Luna shook her head, taking a step closer to her. She said, "Remember to ask for widow"s tears and traitor"s blood. About the latter, it would be fine even if it"s diluted by one generation. It would be a while before you get your magic back, but at least those will get you back on your feet."

Elize inched back, her eyes wide with fear. Keeping a hand in front of her, to keep a safe distance between her and the woman, she shouted, "Again I don"t understand! Can you please talk in human language?!"

The woman smiled at her. Her beauty blinded the young witch for a moment, making her stop dead in her track. The wind was still blowing gently through the pavilion, gliding through the older woman"s jet black hair, making it look like it was floating behind her.

"Why is your hair different?" Elize asked, mesmerized by the sight.

"Because this time, your mind recognized me as I am." The woman answered, keeping a hand on her shoulder.

"Hmm?" Elize asked, unable to understand what the woman was talking about.

Luna"s smile widened as her grip on the young witch"s shoulder tightened. Leaning in, she whispered, "Close your eyes. It will be alright."

Before Elize could ask what she meant by that, she felt a push. Suddenly she was falling down, her surroundings turning blurry all around her. Elize screamed, flailing desperately, hoping to find something to hold on to. Soon the little light that surrounded her too vanished. She was falling deeper and deeper into unending darkness, and no one was there to help her. She screamed once again, fear enveloping every inch of her body.

"Elize! Elize!" Someone was shouting her name. She recognized the familiar voice. It was Agatha.

"Elize wake up! Baby open your eyes!" Another voice shouted, making her heart race. She would recognize his voice anywhere.

Open my eyes? Are my eyes closed? Elize thought to herself. That"s when she realized that she was not falling anymore. Slowly, she opened her eyes. Her vision was blurry at first, but the color of the familiar teak ceiling put her mind at ease. As her sight started clearing up, she could make out the faces of a few figures leaning towards her anxiously. Agatha and Nina were standing side by side against the foot of the bed, their faces wrought with worry. Elize smiled at them sheepishly. She turned her head to her side, feeling the warmth that radiated off of her favorite person.

"Zack?" She asked, looking at him with eyes full of adoration.

"Hmm?" He asked, leaning in to kiss her forehead.

"How long was I gone?" Elize asked, feeling weak once again. All the energy that she had while being in the spirit realm was gone, replaced by the tiredness that weighed down on her body ever since she touched the magical stone.

Zack sighed. Holding her closer, he said, "Three days baby. You slept so much that we all thought we were going to.." He trailed off, his voice breaking.

Elize was shocked. "Three days?" She asked, unable to believe it. Was she gone for three whole days?! But it only felt like a few hours in the spirit realm. If what she guessed was right, her soul had detached from her body in order to enter the spirit realm. Was that what Luna meant by having less time? Would she have died if she didn"t get back in time? Elize thought as realization dawned upon her.

"Then you started screaming. So we all got scared. So we tried to wake you up and now- now you"re here." Zack said, ignoring her question.

Elize looked at him, feeling sad. Poor guy must have been so worried. She thought, running her hands through the contours of his worried face. Deep dark circles had already taken root under his eyes once again.

Agatha coughed, making Elize drop her hands from his face in embarra.s.sment. She had forgotten that they were not alone in the room.

"Where is Aileen?" She asked, turning towards her friend.

Agatha shrugged. "She is cooped up in her house. So much happened. The Tohar Sehlah is not there anymore and Aileen is not able to find a cure for your sickness."

Elize suddenly remembered Luna"s words."Well I think I know. Will you help me get widow"s tears and traitor"s blood?" She asked, weary of the reaction that she"d get.

Agatha"s brows creased in uncertainty. "Widow"s tears and-" She paused, her eyes suddenly lighting up. With an excited voice she continued,"Why didn"t we think of that! Of course that would work!"