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CHAPTER ONE – THE SATUS
(Part 3)
The ropes were tight but I loosened them within minutes.
I implored her to flee and come with me, but as I looked back down at her hands, the ropes had tightened again as though they had never been touched.
The fire was gaining in intensity. I began to panic as I realised we didn’t have much time left. ‘Please come with me!’ I shrieked as I tried every possible avenue to free her, but she just smiled gently at me and firmly held her gaze.
I soon became hysterical and looked around desperately for something to cut the rope with - but there was nothing.
With the excited chants of the murderous clan and the flames roaring out of control, I didn’t hear her the first time she asked me to go closer to her. She asked calmly once more. Her skin was beginning to burn and tear, so I raced to her side, ‘Shhh,’ she whispered as my wails became louder. ‘You cannot stop this - it’s already happened. Whatever you do, don’t make the mistake of being ashamed of who you are. Embrace it and use it wisely,’ she advised as I touched her bloody face to let her know I wouldn’t leave her side.
The touch of my hand seemed to have some effect; her expression changed became less calm, and a look of shock spread across her face. ‘I don’t have a lot of time. Please listen, and don’t be scared. You’re not like everyone else - you have so much power inside you. I can feel it in your touch. However, you will face a difficult decision in the future and it will concern more than those in your circle; be safe and take this.’ A small, weighty black stone fell deliberately from her hand into mine.
‘What is this?’ I asked, looking at her depleting state.
She looked down and managed one more breath before concluding: ‘It helps us witches when we are in grave danger and cannot rely on our powers any more…’ With that, her whole body was reduced to ashes and floated gently away on the wind.
As soon as the last of her ashes spiralled above my head, I was catapulted back into the present with everyone at the table observing my distressed state. I was so emotional that I hadn’t noticed the flames coming from my hand, until Raven started screaming and pointing to the object of her fear.
Mim ran over, doused my hand with water, and I opened it to show neither pain nor evidence that it had been aflame.
All that was there was the small black stone I’d received from the woman from the Dark Ages. ‘H-h-how is this possible?’ I stuttered as Mim looked at my mother and beckoned her to join us.
‘I know I should have told you sooner, but you had to see the evidence first - I knew you wouldn’t believe me. You’re a witch, Faith. We all are. I brought you here to learn of your heritage,’ she confessed as she assessed the damage to my hand.
Was this a joke? ‘Witches don’t exist!’ I thought to myself.
I sat down as I remembered why the woman, from the past had given me the black stone, and what I did to Mim. It suddenly all made sense.
No one spoke as they waited for my response, ‘I’m a witch?’ I enquired, and they all nodded with proud smiles on their faces. ‘What’s more, Mim is okay - thanks to you healing her,’ Raven added as Mim showed her now-healed wound.
‘There is so much to teach you, Faith, but that can wait; you’ve had quite a day and it is beginning to get dark. Go get some sleep and your new life as a witch will start tomorrow!’ Mim announced excitedly, pointing to the sky to reveal it was indeed nightfall. This left me questioning how long I had actually been in the past for…
******
The following week consisted of both one-to-one and group classes in the woods, with Mim, my mother and Mim’s assistant, Summer. These helped me to understand our history, become ‘one’ with my powers and understand how to treat the ‘Namuh’s’ - the circle’s name for humans.
This stage of my training was supposed to help me understand the rules of being in the human world. ‘Is that why I haven’t been able to go to school?’ I asked Mim as she taught us only ever to travel in our circles and certainly never alone. ‘Yes, Faith. You could not go to the NamuhSchool, for you were too volatile and if you discovered your powers before the ceremony, you could have exposed us and our world.’
With that, Mim dragged an old, large trunk - dusty, and dark blue with gold trim - into the circle. ‘What’s that?’ another girl asked as she the dust that emerged when the chest was opened made her cough uncontrollably. ‘It’s “The Ancient Codex”,’ Mim responded authoritatively, as she took a large book out of the case. The manuscript was wrapped in a delicately embroidered gold sheet, which reflected the sunlight as if it were a precious jewel.
Mim unwrapped the book carefully and we all gasped in wonder when a bolt of gold light shot from the cover. ‘This book is to be guarded with your life. It tells us the rules of the Aliis World, our history, and how to stay safe when in the Namuh world. You must never show another mythical being - or a Namuh - your copy of “The Ancient Codex” as it is only visible to the owner.’ Mim passed the book around the circle of students whilst she began to tend to the fire in the middle.
One of the young witches got distracted by a bird landing near her, and didn’t realise she was being passed the book. It fell to the ground with a thud. Mim’s face betrayed her pure rage, ‘WHAT DID I TELL YOU?!’ she screamed at the petrified girl, who picked it up with haste and threw it to her neighbour quickly. ‘I … I’m sorry,’ she cried as she tried to leave the circle, before Mim grabbed her arm and tried to soothe her: ‘I’m sorry for shouting at you, but you need to be more focused. You don’t have much time to take in all this information.’ After taking the book and sitting in the midst of the circle, she waved her hands and within seconds a small brown box was floating above our heads.
We were so impressed, eager to see more. ‘What’s in the box?’ a keen student asked as she tried to grab it, though she soon gave up - every time she jumped to get it, it rose higher as she stretched.
Mim laughed. ‘Sit down and you will see,’ she replied, as she pointed at each student in the circle. With that, a book glided gracefully from the box to each student. ‘This is your own copy of “The Ancient Codex”. Put it somewhere safe and study it every night,’ she continued as we all opened our respective copies.
They were empty. We merely looked at each other in confusion, while Mim continued laughing.
She waved her hand at the box one last time, and a thin silver dagger appeared and hovered just above her head. ‘This book will now be part your inner being. It is your past, present and future. When you breathe, it breathes. When you eat, it eats. When you are in pain, it is in pain. It connects to you. However, before it bonds to you, you need to give something of yourself to it. Hold out your finger,’ she commanded. We all obeyed, fearful of the sharp instrument rotating above the circle.
She began reciting some verses from her own book and with a swift motion; the dagger pricked each student’s finger. ‘Drip your blood onto the cover of the book,’ Mim demanded. Again, we obliged in her painful request, wondering what may be next ... I dripped some blood onto the cover of my book and tried to suck the rest from my stinging finger.
Preoccupied with my own pain, I had not noticed the silver glow emerging from each of our books until Raven shouted, ‘Oh My Gosh! Look, the book has words and pictures in it now!’ At which, everyone looked at their own copies to make sure hers wasn’t the exception. She was right!
The words and pictures began to appear before my very eyes and, although it appeared to have been written in the Middle Ages, I couldn’t wait to read more. ‘I expect you to read the first chapter in preparation for tomorrow as there will be a short question-and-answer session. Class dismissed,’ Mim announced as she handed us our own brown satchels to protect the books. We left the circle and shortly afterwards we were sat in a huddle on the riverbank, eating our uninspired packed lunches. We started to get a head start on the exciting homework task.
With so many unanswered questions swirling around in my head, I was eager to find out more. I opened the book and started reading, determined to discover.
Welcome Sister Faith. This is your own addition of “The Ancient Codex”. This book will guide you through your new life and help you to understand who you are and where you come from. Use it throughout your training and you will maintain peace and harmony in The Aliis World. Never leave this book unattended and remember that it is now part of you - lead a healthy, pure existence and the book will look after you in return.
I looked at the others, shocked that the book had my name in it, and checked to see if theirs had the same individuality.
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