"Rose?" Naya scoffs "There has to be a mistake."
"Me?" I question in disbelief as Hazel reaches her hand out and pulls me to face the covens.
"You have the gift of sight my child." Hazel says with pride "Only by having the gift were you able to locate my grimoire."
I lower my gaze out of respect but also because of Naya's glare. She goes to argue again but Hazel holds her hand up to silence my sister. She motions for me to place my hand in hers.
Hazel flips my hand over and slices my palm open with the athame. As my blood pools in my hand she uses it to draw a pentacle on my forehead. She then orders the covens to step up and with the blood dripping from my palm, she draws the pentacle on each witches forehead. Naya's intense glare left a lingering heat long after she stepped away. Hazel then slices her own palm open and grips my hand in hers, fusing our blood together. "Repeat after me. Malum nascitur lucem, sic etiam infirmitatem." She commands.
'From the light evil is born, so shall its weakness also be.'
With the joining of hands we chant in unison. My hand pulsates and a strange sensation overwhelms me as Hazel's blood merges with mine. My body tingles with the rush of immense power originating from the pentacle on my forehead. With the continuous chanting more power pulsates through every inch of my soul.
The ground begins to shake. Hazel's powerful presence beside me gives me both comfort and anxiety. The shaking becomes stronger and a harsh breeze bursts into the room from all around. The heat that it brings smells like a burning forest, slapping me in the face and burning my nostrils. The intensity of the chants combined with the smell, heat, and shaking ground has my nerves shot.
"Happy twenty first birthday Rose." Hazel whispers affectionately before disappearing back into the Oasis. I look at the empty space in shock as it bursts into flames and the ground quakes and groans as it begins to split open.
I stare into the fiery pit and focus all my energy into the spell. "Malum nascitur lucem, sic etiam infirmitatem!"
Terrible shrieks and screams filled the air as the gates of hell opened up and from the flames a crystal began to emerge. Painful screams of agony and despair rang loud and clear. I could almost see each individual prison stone and each prisoner inside.
I shake my head to clear it of the disturbing images of the world's most vile creatures and extend one hand to hover above the opening. After a moment a tear shaped crystal levitates toward the surface and into my palm. I wince as it burns my hand. I take a moment to inspect its shape and vibrant color that reflects the exact shade of hellfire. Closing my fist around it, the ground closes up and the blistering heat in the air dissipates. Our candles light up again and the covens stare at me with pride. Asha grins widely while Naya rolls her eyes and outstretches her hand signaling me to toss her the crystal. I shake my head and her eyebrows raise in disbelief, blue eyes blazing in rage.
"Hand over the Kynda, Rose." She sighs dramatically at my confusion "Must you be so daft? Kynda means hellstone. It is very dangerous if you do not know how to look after it. Hand it over before you hurt yourself Rose."
"I am sorry Naya. I will not. Hazel entrusted me with it which means you are not meant to have it." I argue as I step back.
She shakes her head "Insolent girl. You will be the death of us if I step down. My apologies dear sister but that is not a price I am willing to pay."
"What are you-"
"Somnum." She interrupts with a wave of her hand and I gasp from shock as my body falls on the cold hard ground and sleep takes over.
****
"Rose." A voice whispers "Rose wake up."
Gasping, my eyes flash open and I am confused to see Hazel standing above me. "Hazel? What is going on? Where am I?"
"Your body is still in the castle. Your sister sent you into a brief slumber."
"So I'm dreaming?"
"Yes and no." She begins "I entered your unconscious mind, there is something I must disclose to you before you wake."
The look perplexion on my face causes her to elaborate.
"The blood moon is the only thing strong enough to trap this creature in the hellstone. It will take every witch to accomplish this. Should the witches fall before the creature is inside the Kynda the spell will not seal. He will escape once again."
"That will not happen." I counter "Naya will not fail."
"Should it happen" She continues with an urgent look "The only time he will be able to escape is under the next blood moon... three hundred years from now. Rose, you must be strong and seal that hellstone no matter what."
"Is there something that you are not telling me? Should I-"
****
My mind swirls in chaos and confusion as Asha shakes me roughly awake. The alarm on her face discourages me from lashing out.
"What's wrong?" I ask as she pulls me against the wall while hearing several ferocious growls outside. "What the hell was that?"
"It's Emerson. He's here and he's got some friends." Asha whispered voice laced with fear "Naya put more force into that slumber spell than she needed too. You've been asleep for a whole day."
My eyes widen and my heart drops as I take a look outside the window and see the abnormal red tint in the night sky. The blood moon stands proud amongst the stars in all it's full moon glory.
"Asha we need Rose!" Naya's desperate call beckons us outside the castle walls and into the gruesome battlefield. Wolves with incredible speed and strength attack without hesitation. Naya stands in the center of the field with a look of pure concentration as she clasps the Kynda.
"There's too many of them." Whispers Asha beside me as she clutches my arm. "We should seal ourselves inside the castle. They will not get in."
"And we will not get out." I countered as I watched the chaos come to a standstill. The wolves bowed their heads and stepped back. Two men emerged from the forest, one behind the other. The first had hair black as night and eyes green as moss and although he gave off an air of wickedness, I knew he was not the one.
The second one locked eyes with me and I stumbled back from its sinister intensity. Eyes shockingly red, even more so than the moon above us with red hair to match. His confident strides oozed power and dominance. He flashes his pearly white teeth in my direction and comes to a stop in the middle of the field.
Naya and the rest of the witches back away to gather beside me and he arches a brow at the movement.
"Are you to be their leader? You, a mere child? I'd have thought it would be this spitfire to your left." He remarks while nodding at Naya "She seems more suited for the role. Arrogant and foolish. You however, seem too... how shall I put this — weak and naive. Your stance screams codependency. Without your witchy sisters you are nothing, which doesn't make this a particularly difficult battle for us to win."
"You know nothing of me." I spit out.
His lips twitch as he fights a smile "Shall we test out my theory then little witch?"
With a nod of his head the wolves lunged in barely contained aggression and the battle resumed. Naya tosses me the Kynda with a small nod of approval before the covens split and get into place. They subtly form concentric circles around the wolves with Emerson and I in the middle.
I looked into his fiery soulless gaze as I walked towards him. His eyes darted all around as he noticed The Nightshadow Coven slowly encircle him and his green eyed companion.
"Lucius." He says while keeping his eyes focused on mine, meanwhile his friend, Lucius, is completely dazzled as he and Asha share a look I don't quite understand. Emerson seems to understand the look perfectly as he sighs somewhat annoyed "Kill her." He orders and my eyes narrow. Lucius looks at him in disbelief.
"I cannot." He answers defiantly and Asha trembles beside me as she stares at him.
"Sister." I say as I lightly shake her "What is the meaning of this? Do you know him?"
"I do and yet I do not." She explains in a breathless whisper "I have seen him before in my dreams, never in person."
"You had visions of this man, our enemy, yet never thought it important to mention?" Naya hissed.
"She didn't know." I argued as I gave her a hard stare. Asha gazes at the two men and screams when Emerson digs his hand into Lucius' chest.
"You will obey me, or your life shall end here and now."
Lucius meets his gaze squarely " I will not harm my mate."
~A/N~
DUNNN DUUNN DUUUNNN!
😱😱😱😱 wtf is happening!?!?
Okay bye.