In The Void- A Path In The Woods- Book 1

Chapter 11 - Questions

I learned a lot in the past few days, and I don't regret it, but I do have a few questions. So, getting out of bed, not bothering to change from my pajamas, I go to the living to find Elantra and my great aunt sitting on the couch, talking back and forth.

"Hey, guys." I say as they both look at me, and my aunt smiles.

"Hey Chris, I hope you slept well last night." Cassandra says.

"I did, but I just have a few questions that have been clouding my mind this morning." I tell her truthfully.

"Alright, I can answer all of them if you'd like." She says as Elantra goes to the kitchen to make breakfast.

"Alright, first I want to know how can you be my great aunt if you're my mother's younger sister?" I ask as she looks at me with sympathy in her grey eyes.

"Well, I'm not your mothers sister by blood, I'm her sister by heart." She says, hoping I would catch on, but I don't.

"Meaning?" I question.

"Meaning that we weren't actually related. The reason I say great aunt is because your mother was centuries older than me, yet she was still very beautiful. When witches and warlocks reach a certain age, they stop aging." Cassandra explains.

"And what age is that?" I ask again.

"Eighteen. We all stopped aging at eighteen. You have three more years, but you'll get there, and in the meantime, you will be learning magic." She tells me honestly.

Now, I have way more questions than before, but I will ask about those another day because they aren't important to the ones I needed to ask today. After asking her the questions I did, it intrigued me more of what I could become and what I wanted. I need to ask one big question, though.

"If I stop aging at the age of eighteen, what happens to Evangeline?" I ask, worried for my supposed mate.

"When you reach eighteen in three years, she will be nineteen, and if what Elantra says is true and you guys are mates, then she will stop aging with you and will gain witch powers. I myself have never seen this kind of pairing, but there is a first time for everything." Cassandra says as she has a look of pain on her face. I don't ask because I am not too entirely sure she will open up to me.

"When do we start?" I ask, ready to learn whatever magic she throws my way.

"Tomorrow at sunset because that is when our powers are strong, but they will be even stronger during an eclipse when it comes in four years." She says.

"Okay, just one more question." I say.

"What is it?" She asks.

"How come I barely started learning everything about witches, werewolves, and all the other stuff in here but not on the outside world?" I ask her as her soft look transforms into one of anger and then back.

"Because of that old lady. She has trapped everyone who has supernatural abilities here and won't set them free. She hunts us down, brings us to the cottage, traps us inside until we can't handle our curiosity any longer, and go beyond the red door. The only reason why she came in with us is so we won't use our magic inside this trapped world, but she made a mistake while making it. She put the eclipse in here on the same day it falls on the outside world so then, we can take her down since our powers will be at their strongest." She says out of breath.

"Oh, alright. I get it. So the eclipse comes every four years, and those four years, I will be learning everything there is to know about witch and warlock stuff." I say out of breath this time. No wonder why I felt so compelled to go to her and hug her from the moment I saw her. Not only is she my great aunt by heart, but because my birth mother saw her as a little sister.

"What about my friends, though? They came with me and are stuck here. How can they be if they aren't one of us." Questions spill from my mouth once again.

"Well, because they are. They may not look much right now, but when they all turn sixteen, they will gain their powers before they stop aging at eighteen. The only reason why you'll be the first to gain your powers is because your mother was the daughter of the high priestess who is the daughter of none other than Persephone herself." She says as my mouth falls open, not willing to believe what I just heard.

"Wait, I thought Persephone was just a tale that we learn in school. How can I be related to her? How is that possible?" I ask.

"That is discussion she herself will need to tell you along with your grandmother, the high priestess in a few short years. They sent me to teach you the minor stuff before you go to them so they can teach you all of the difficult spells and whatnot. They have a spell that can defeat the old lady, and the only one who can do it is someone related to her, hence the reason why she was afraid of you when she saw you. Your family by blood, she's your older sister, and she turned out very evil, and she must be defeated." Cassandra says, looking at me as if to see if I would crumble underneath her gaze, but I just hold my head high.

"If she is this evil, she is not my sister. I will do anything and everything I can to defeat her." I say.

"Good, because she may be old, but she has the ability to turn herself into a young woman as you've seen when she brought all us other witches here. That ability can be tempered with. She mastered the changing spell when she was forty years old. She is the only witch who ages, and because of that, she has had the idea to get revenge on everyone who does not." My aunt tells me with a look of seriousness written all over her face.

"Why is she the only one who can age?" I ask curiosity yet again, getting the better of me.

"Because your mother mated with a human and got pregnant. Your sister is half human and half witch, and because your mother had a half breed, your sister ages, but you do not because your mother found her mate a decade after she had your sister. Since she got pregnant with you from her mate, a werewolf, it took longer than the average nine months to create you. Your mother was pregnant with you for over thirty years, but once she gave birth to you, the werewolves were able to sense the magic that came off her, hunted her down, and tried to kill both of your parents." She explains, trying to hold in all of her tears, but she fails.

"Who tried to kill my parents?" I ask, anger taking over me.

"The alpha of dillans pack. He has been alive for centuries due to his werewolf abilities to stop aging at twenty-five years old." One of the other witches says as she comes in to hug my aunt.

"Chris, this is my daughter, America. I had her the same time your mother had you, just a decade later." Cassandra says.

"Nice to meet you." America says, extending out her hand.

"Yeah, yeah, nice to meet you to, now if you will excuse me, I'm going to go kill that son of a bitch for trying to murder my parents." I carefully push America out of my way.

"Oh no, you're not. Not right now. You're not. You'll get yourself killed since you haven't been trained." Dillan says, holding me back. I had no clue when he came out of their room, but now he stands before me.

"Dillan is right. You need to train first before you do anything. Yes, it might take a couple of years, but you're not the only one who will be training. Your friends will be too." Elantra says as she looks at me and then at my aunt.

"Fine, but when I am ready, I am challenging him to a death battle." I say as they all lift up their hands in surrender as they agree.

"Wait, what? Train? Train for what?" Amanda speaks up groggy as the others come out and have questioning gazes.

Oh boy, this is going to be a long discussion, especially for the twins I mentally say to myself as I go back to my room, take a shower, and get changed.

I don't bother to go back out as I need time to think about everything yet again, so I lock my room door and get back in bed.