Part Wolf

She gulped her saliva nervously. Did she really want to do this? After all, everything could change once she gets to know more about things. She wanted to live by the principle "ignorance is bliss". Elize hesitated. Maybe she should just leave it alone. Maybe she should take this opportunity to live a normal human life- at least until her wolf tendencies surface. She was sure that if she regained her magic, then her responsibility as the "chosen one" couldn"t be avoided. Maybe it was for the best that she lost her powers.

A thousand doubts haunted her. Elize"s mind kept wandering off again and again to the girl in Aileen"s story. Something about her bothered her deeply. She remembered how the name had stirred a range of emotions inside her. As if she was the one feeling all the pain. A small voice had kept whispering in her heart that there was more to it. Something more to the story that had made the betrayal feel a thousand times more painful.

As she pondered upon the intricacies of her situation, a single tear escaped her eye and slid down her cheek. As it hit the surface of the ancient book, something happened. She could suddenly hear heart wrenching screams all around her.

"Release me!"

"Help!"

"Let go!"

"Who"s there?!"Elize shouted, her eyes widening in fear. She shrunk back towards the couch, drawing her knees against her chest. She looked around the well- lit room desperately. She couldn"t find a single living being around her.

"Please stop." She whimpered, shutting her eyes tight.

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, the screaming stopped. An eerie silence took it"s place. She could hear the tick- tok of the pendulum swing from the kitchen counter. Elize slowly opened her eyes, half expecting a monster to pop out of nowhere and attack her. But there was nothing. The room was as empty as it was a few seconds ago. Her heart was still thumping loud in her ears.

"h.e.l.lo?" She called out.

There was no reply.

Was it all a trick of her mind? Maybe Aileen"s story session had put too much pressure on her mind, Elize thought. Just as she was about to get up from the couch, her body stilled. The hairs at the nape of her neck stood up, sensing something behind her.

"Comeeeee! Faaaiiind usssss." A raspy voice whispered into her ears.

Elize gulped. " Agatha? Is that you?" She asked,without moving a single inch. She was too scared to do so.

No one answered.

C"mon Elize! You knw how Agatha can get. Get a hold of yourself! Elize scolded herself. Taking a deep breath, she suddenly turned around. There was no one behind her.

"This is not funny okay?" She complained, her brows knit together in irritation.

Elize got up from the couch, placing her hands on her hips in a show of courage and annoyance. She walked towards the curtain behind the couch. Hoping to surprise her friend, she grabbed the edge of the curtain and suddenly wrenched it away. There was no one there. All her momentary courage slipped away at that moment, replaced by a growing sense of panic. She staggered against the couch, her right hand clasping the furniture tightly for support.

"Please don"t let it be ghosts." Elize prayed in whispers.

*THUD*

A loud sound came from the direction of the tea table, as if someone dropped something heavy on top of it. Elize quickly turned back, startled at the sound. Before her very eyes lay open the ma.s.sive book. She c.o.c.ked her head towards the side, looking at the object in confusion. What just happened? Why was the book open?

She slowly walked towards it, going around the back of the couch. As she neared it, she could see the both sides of its pages filled with the very same strange alphabet that she had seen on the book"s cover. Elize shook her head and sat down on the couch once more. Leaning towards the book, she narrowed her eyes at the opened page in front of her. Nothing changed. She still couldn"t read it. Sighing, extended her hand to feel the texture of the page. Just as her fingers were about to touch the book, her vision blurred once again. Elize"s breath caught, at the sudden change.

"Deep breaths Elize. Deep breaths." She whispered to herself, trying to remain calm. Slowly, her heart beats became steady once again.

But that didn"t last long. Her eyes widened in surprise as she read the big letters on top of the page, written in some sort of golden ink.

"The lost coven of Ruah Yareach." She read the words out loud, her voice breaking with nervousness.

Sweat trickled down her neck, escaping into the crevice of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. Elize hastily rubbed at it, as a sense of dread of knowledge gripped her mind. Without intending to, she started reading the book. Page upon page was flipped, as her dread turned into a sense of curiosity. As she read through the history of the witches of the Ruah Yareach, her heart was gripped with a feeling of loss. Indeed there was more to the story than Agatha had told her.

Apparently Dara was not the only one who was sacrificed for the mistakes of the inhabitants of the Island. Countless witches from the line was sacrificed again and again for sating the needs of each monstrocity that the witches, wolves and demons together brought forth with the help of the two magical stones.

Each time, she read another incident of a witch sacrificed, her heart cried out for them. Tears dripped down her face unconsciously. A heavy weight settled on her heart. As Dara"s name appeared at last, she read through her story with great sadness. It was no different from what Aileen had told her. As she reached the end of the page, she could see the words she had heard so often. The prophecy of the Ruah Yareach never seemed so moving to her. A sudden realization hit her. The prophecy was not for the people of the Island. It was meant to finish what was left undone.

The sound of people talking, drew her attention towards the door. Elize quickly rubbed off the tears on her face and stood up. In a moment"s time, the door was flung open and two witches entered the house. For some odd reason, a feeling of resent filled her as her gaze landed on the head witch. She was careful not to show it. Aileen looked at her curiously.

"Is something wrong Elize?" The old woman asked.

"No Nana. I was just waiting for you guys." Elize lied. She nervously looked back at the tea table. Strangely, the book which was open a few seconds ago remained closed. As if no one had touched it. Aileen"s gaze followed her ward"s eyes and landed on the book.

"Oh my!" She exclaimed."I gave you the wrong book!" She said, nervously walking towards the book and picking it up.

"Huh?" Elize asked, confused.

"You didn"t open it, did you?" Aileen asked, narrowing her eyes at Elize.

"I-"

"Of course you didn"t! I should hear myself right now." Aileen laughed, cutting her off. She walked towards her book shelf and carefully pushed the book inside her stack of other books.

"What is so funny?" Agatha asked, with a confused expression.

"That was the Book of the Lost Covens. The book will not open itself for anyone other than the t.i.tular head witch of the Island. Besides, I don"t think this little one knows how to read Aramaic." Aileen replied, giving the blonde witch a wide grin.

Elize laughed sheepishly, trying her best to hide her nervousness.

The head witch picked up another book from her shelf, as big as the previous one and extended it towards her.

"It"s the Grimoire for beginners. Come, take it." Aileen said, with a warm smile.