Chapter Nineteen
2021 Words
-Victoria's POV-
After our awkward dinner in which Luke and Parker were confused because they didn’t know why everyone was acting like that, we start to head to our rooms. As we walk up the stairs, Marina receives a call from the headmaster.
“Hey gramps-”
Her face scrunches in confusion.
“Ok.” She says. She walks back to the living room with all of us following her and she puts the phone on the table with the speaker on.
We all huddle around it.
“Ok gramps.”
“Everyone, I have some news.” He says and at that moment I tense up and hold my breath scared of what he is going to say next.
“Scarlet, is dead, along with the entire magistrate sector that she was kept in.”
“What? But... how?” I ask shocked.
“There’s more.” He says. “A few covens of witches have been found dead. And they have all been found just like the Blood Thorn Pack. No wounds anywhere, pale and looking like they just dropped dead for no reason.”
We all are silent.
“That makes no sense.” Parker mumbles.
Zach starts talking to himself in a hushed tone. “Syphoned... she siphoned the magic around her and used that spell to take Victoria's soul so that she could inhabit her body.” He mumbles and thinks for a bit longer.
He hits his hand with a fist like he has figured it out. “She is siphoning them!” He shouts.
"Why?” I ask.
“Because, remember she, or rather Erica scattered the artifacts in the school to create a charged environment to be able to do the spell to inhabit Victoria's body?"
We all nod and he continues. "Artifacts are embedded with powerful magic that leaves that trace behind when they are used. Well, she doesn’t have that anymore. So she’s doing it the hard way."
“But how is that going to charge the environment, I’m sure all these kills have been in different places.” Isaac asks.
He shakes his head. “You can charge an artifact with magic and it’s more ideal because you can take it with you and use it when you need it but, it takes a lot more to charge it.
“Like a werewolf pack, a few covens of witches, and a hybrid witch with draconian powers like Scarlet?” Isaac asks.
Zach nods. “Yes, and she’s probably not even done.”
Horror rises inside me. “If she was able to take the magistrate then you have to send the students home... right now.” I panic.
“Why?” Marina asks.
I can feel my face paling. “Because our school is a supercharge with all the different kinds of supernatural students. She got through our barrier once, I’m sure she can do it again.”
“I already did.” The headmaster says. I made the announcement this afternoon.”
I take a deep breath of relief.
“Listen, Me and Mrs. Adams have been reading up on the myth behind this Endora. If this witch is really her... I’m afraid that... we won’t be able to stop her if she gets her full powers. I think right now she is weak and that’s why we have been able to deter her plans.”
We all stay quiet.
“We need to find this white Chrystal.” He says in a grim tone.
“Well, we found some things.” I say. We tell him about the mirror, the box, and how we need to find a key.
“You knew my grandmother. Do you have any idea of how we might be able to open this box?” I ask him.
He is quiet for a minute. “She used magic but... she was a practical person. She probably enchanted it with a word password.”
“Ah! How did I not think of that?” Zach asks himself looking a little disappointed.
“Ok thank you.” I say to the headmaster.
“Be sure to keep me informed.”
“Gramps, be careful, ok?” Marina says with concern on her face.
“Yes, sweetheart. I will.” We end the call and stare at the box.
“This is going to be hard. The password could be anything.” Zach says.
We all sigh before we start the long guessing game night. And we did make it into a game in which no one won. At two in the morning, we had tried everything we could think of. The box was still locked and we were all exhausted. We decided to pick up the guessing game back in the morning and go get some rest.
But that was easier said than done for me. As I lie between both Luke and Isaac who are completely knocked out, I stare at the ceiling wondering. Trying to put me in grandma's shoes. But it’s no use, I can’t think of anything.
I carefully get up so as not to wake the boys and go to the bathroom. I look in the mirror and I am tired, dark circles under my eyes are a confirmation. But I can’t fall asleep. I sigh as I look at my face. I then wash my face and decide to go for a drink. When I head out of the bathroom, I notice that the door to the attic is opened. I scrunch my face. Feeling curious, I head up to the attic and find Zach sitting in front of the mirror with the golden box in his hands and an opened spellbook on the floor next to him.
“Hey.”
He jumps with a gasp and grabs his chest as if he almost had a heart attack. I can’t help but laugh.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. Are you ok?” I cover my mouth trying to stop my laugh.
He takes a deep breath as I try to muffle my laugh.
After he calms down, he nods. “Yea, I couldn’t sleep. This thing is puzzling me.”
I walk over and sit next to him with my legs crossed and stare at the mirror quietly.
“Thank you, Zach. For helping us so much.” I say giving him a side look.
He looks at me a little taken back and I can see him blushing. He looks back at the mirror trying to hide it.
“It’s no big deal.” He says embarrassed.
I giggle. “Yea it is. I don’t think we would have been able to do much without you.”
He looks down to the box trying to hide his face that just turned as red as a tomato making me smile. He is very good-looking. His style makes him look like a bad boy but he is anything but that. He is a very nice guy. If I was a normal girl and without mates, I probably would fall for him.
He clears his throat and changes the subject. “I bet you, the answer is probably right in our faces.” He says and then looks at me curiously. “That photo, you still have it?”
I nod. “Yea, but we already tried the word sunshine and it didn’t work.”
I hand him the photo and he examines it for a while then talks to himself. “This has to be a clue... but what is it?”
We sit quietly and after a while his expression changes. He looks surprised and then hits his forehead with his palm. “i***t!” He curses to himself.
I stare at him confused and wanting to giggle.
He turns to me. “Did your grandmother know any other languages?”
I nod. “Yea, she did.” I say and now I feel stupid too. “She knew a few of them like Spanish, French, and even Japanese but... the one she used the most was Gaelic. Our family is part Irish and she was very proud of it.”
He nods. “I don’t know Gaelic.”
I smile. “Me either.”
("I do.") Archion says.
"Oh! Archion says he does." I tell Zach.
He looks surprised. He hands me the box and looks at me expectantly.
Confused I ask him. “Uh, what should I say?”
He thinks about it for a second. “Try sunshine, like in the photo.”
I nod and wait for Archion to give me the words. ("Solas na greine.” )
I nod and repeat it. “Solas na greine.”
To our surprise, the box makes a clicking sound. We both look at each other surprised that it actually worked.
I look at the box and slowly open it. Just like we thought, there are a bunch of old-looking keys.
“That one.” Zach points to one that has the same details as the rim of the mirror.
I take it out and we both stand up. I take a deep breath and put the key on the mirror keyhole and then twist it.
The mirror edges shine and the mirror itself looks like it becomes liquid. I carefully touch it and my hand goes right through it.
“Should we...” I ask.
“I... yea.” He says.
I nod. I take a deep breath and closing my eyes I step inside.
It feels cold and wet but I am not. My clothes are completely dry. Once on the other side I open my eyes and find that we are in the attic, or what looks like the attic but everything is opposite. And it doesn’t look like my grandma's potion and spells room. The room has shelves on the walls from top to bottom and they all are filled with weird trinkets, books, jewelry, and artifacts.
Zach stands next to me. “Wow. The power coursing through this room is suffocating.”
I nod. “Yea, even I can feel it.”
We stand there with our eyes skimming through all the shelves.
“I never knew this was here. “ I say softly.
“I don’t think we should touch a thing. I can sense dark energy coming from some of these items.
I nod and then gasp. “There it is.” I point to one of the shelves where the white Chrystal sits.
We slowly walk to it feeling wary of our surroundings.
“Should we just pick it up?” I ask.
He looks at me looking unsure. “Honestly Victoria, I’m not sure.”
I look back at the crystal and without giving it another thought, I quickly take it. I pause feeling scared and hoping that nothing will happen. Thankfully, nothing happens. Taking deep breaths, I turn to Zach. He nods also a little weary.
We head back through the mirror and take the key out of it.
“Make sure you keep that safe Vic, the things in there were... not right.” Zach says.
I nod completely agreeing with him and then look at him. "How come you can sense magic now?"
He smiles awkwardly and shows me an amulet around his neck. "Well, I found one of your grandma's books when we were searching the house. It had a spell to enchant an item with the power to sense magic. I figured it would be something that would really help instead of having to use so much sage. Sorry if I overstepped."
I smile. "Not at all, and you're right, that is really helpful."
He gives me a bright smile as if I just had praised him which makes me smile in return.
I then put the white crystal on the table and stand back, we both stare at it.
“How do we use it?” I ask.
He sighs. “That's what we now have to figure out.”
I also give a sigh. “Just great.”
- Writer
