Her Broken Spell

Chapter 18

It seemed that it was not only her who was stunned at the sight before them. The sorcerers were quiet as they took everything in.

"When the portals closed for an unknown reason, our escort business became a search and rescue operation. The House had two main goals. Its first mission is to hunt for Ethereal creatures, not to kill them but subdue them. We believe that it was not their fault for acting in such a way and we want to help as much as we can," Annette explained.

The Ethereal creatures were unlike the humans, vampires, and sorcerers who live in this realm which is known to be the Terrestrial Sphere. These creatures were called as such because they live in another realm–the Ethereal Sphere. That dimension contained free flowing magic which created an environment where they can survive and shift to another physical form.

"I've never seen them up close," Johnathan said. "Why are they in their beast forms?"

Beast form was how everyone described them when they shifted. As they walked along the aisle, they could see the werewolves in their wolf forms. The faeries also had their sharp nails, pointed ears, and wings flaunted.

Further down the aisle was a large narrow aquarium where the merfolks were floating. There were also wide platforms where the dragon shifters lay down.

All of them, however, looked harmless as they slept peacefully.

"We injected them with potions that would force them to shift into their beast forms once a month, but the rest of the time they remain in human forms," Karyl explained.

"Do they really have to shift at least once a month?" Colin asked.

"Yes. Both the human and beast must be in balance but since they're in the Terrestrial Sphere, we can't sustain their beasts for long periods of time," Karyl said as she showed the group the shelves where the medicine and potions were kept.

"Where did you get these potions? They contain magic," Bill raised in alarm.

"Before you panic, we didn't kill any sorcerer to get this. When we re-established The House, we met two sorcerers who also believed in our agenda. Karyl and the two magic-wielders researched these potions and it took them a while but they succeeded," Von explained.

"Where are they now?"

"The couple headed south looking for other sorcerers who might help us. But we haven't heard from them for a few months now," Von said solemnly. It was a dangerous time for sorcerers to be out there. Having no contact could mean that they were just being careful but it could also mean that they were already dead.

They were now in front of a row of old shelves. "These are the potions that force them to shift and contain a little bit of magic that would ensure their survival," Karyl said as she pointed out to the dark purple liquid enclosed in large glass jars.

Then she pointed at several small vials. "And on this side, we keep the medicine that induces them to undergo coma. They can't survive in our sphere if they're in a conscious state. They might lose their minds again and go on another killing spree," Karyl elaborated.

"You know that the population of humans and vampires is far more than the number of sorcerers. We live in covens with only around twenty members," Bill started to recall how their lives turned upside down. "I remember when the portals that bridge us to the Ethereal Sphere suddenly closed. Everything seemed to be fine but after a few days and the portals hadn't opened again, it caused panic to the Ethereal creatures that were trapped in our sphere."

"Yeah, we were unprepared and we didn't expect them to go crazy and hunt for sorcerers. Many of us died battling for our lives. While the rest of those who survived fled and hid," Colin reminisced.