Chapter thirty-eight:
"Do you have to break your arm every time you come here?" Cyra groaned as Ceilani popped her arm back in its place. Cyra was positive that her forearm bone was broken but with some rest, it would heal in a day or two. Ceilani's cat, Calix jumped on her and she caught it, her reflex kicking in, before it could headbutt her and it started licking her arm. Cyra softly smiled at it.
"No. There's another way into this town. But it's a longer way which would've taken us another day to get here and the way was through the field of flowers," Ceilani carefully dropped her arm back to her side. The Witches usually preferred that way; they could walk through the beautiful flowers and absorb the power while being surrounded by the sweet nectarine of magic.
"Dumb ass," Cyra muttered, glaring at Djo.
"Don't look at me. You pulled me down from the cliff," he raised his hands in mock surrender.
"Doesn't mean you had to fall on top of me and break my arm, genius."
"Whatever. Look we have to get going. I don't think it's safe here for a werewolf to be roaming around in the open," Djo said looking around and making sure nobody was around.
"I agree. Come, we should get moving. But first," she took a hold of her hands and rubbed the pollen from the foringaelo flowers, she had gathered in their free fall, on Cyra's wrists and then on her neck. "The magic of the flower should be able to cloak your scent."
Cyra gagged at the smell that was invading her nostrils brutally, burning them.
"Rub the pentacle," Ceilani nonchalantly said, waving her hand in the air.
Cyra did as she was told and looked around. The place was open, now brightly lit with the morning sun. The sky was a clear blue and the clouds were sparse. She could still see the faint twinkling of the stars here and there. The ground before them was a green meadow covered in tall grass. A few lavenders and mustard plants and daisies were here and there. The butterflies and bees made nature before her look picturesque and somehow, out of character. This was not how she had visualised Whosing Town at all and she said so to the two of the Witches with her.
"Well, we have to walk two more miles before we actually get into the main part of the town. This is still the outskirts," Ceilani rubbed the back of her neck and flashed the two of them a smile.
Djo groaned, thoroughly exhausted. He hadn't walked this much in his entire life! His cousin had made him walk for nearly a day straight without any breaks at all.
The two women ignored him and trudged on parting a way between the tall grass and walking on, the cat still resting comfortable on Cyra as she cradled it carefully in her arms. "Hey, Ceilani, why did you name him Calix?" She scratched the gray cat behind its ear making it purr.
"It means handsome in Greek."
Cyra looked surprised but then she studied the cat's face and nodded her head in approval.
"Okay, so we will go to this bed and breakfast near the market. I always go there whenever I come here and it's safe and quite a distance from the High Witches. We should be fine," Ceilani said after a while of silence and the sound of rustling leaves. "Hide the book." Cyra looked down at the book she was clutching in her hand and pushed it up her pullover, balancing Calix with one hand.
The town was now in their sight. There were people bustling about as waffles and chatter filled the air. The place was a beautiful display of vibrant colours, Mediterranean houses with exotic shops selling things Cyra couldn't even recognise. The people themselves were clad in extravagant clothes. Cyra hadn't seen people this well dressed even to the parties and these people were just looking beautiful, haggling over commodities. The stalls were brimming with things that ranged from gold and silver to emeralds and pearls. She could see a shop with expensive looking silk and satin. But most of the shops were selling things she couldn't even recognise. A few of them were just empty hard and the other few had a type of grass and leaves. There were empty glass bottles that had flowers growing in them. Then there were huge jars with potions and powders along with other equipments. Cyra saw wide-eyed at the two shops that were selling venomous looking snakes and rats. She quickly looked away when she felt like the red eyes of the rodent were looking back at her.
Calix jumped out of her arms and stretched himself on his hind legs before strutting towards the fabric shop. He didn't look out of place, though. With him, there were many other cats either staring at the things in the shops or sitting on the roof of the shops or just by the corner, licking and grooming themselves.
"There are so many cats!" If this was a few days ago, Cyra would've shuddered in utter dislike at the sight of all these feline creatures. But after being with Calix, she had unknowingly developed a strong liking towards his species and wanted to stroke their soft fur in contrast to chasing them down and killing them. She gasped and chastised herself for even thinking about hurting the cute, small creatures. The rest of the Wolves wouldn't be proud.
Ceilani clicked her tongues and went to her cat. "You're an expensive brat, aren't you? You know I can't afford this right now. Come," she mumbled and rubbed her cat's head.
The cat cocked it's head before walking away and back to his companions.
Ceilani grabbed their hands and dragged them behind her to the bed and breakfast through the arched gateway. Surprisingly, the inside of the building seemed big and extremely well-lit. There was a courtyard right in the middle and the pillars had thin curtains hanging on it, that blew around with the slightest breeze. The walls were covered in murals and Djo's hand rose up to feel the inlays on the walls. A woman was sitting on the charpia in the middle of the courtyard surrounded by women that were weeding out some grass of sorts, who by the acts of it seemed to be the one who ran this place looked grubby and snappy. But when she saw Ceilani, her face glowed as her wrinkles faded and made her seem years younger than what she had looked a couple of seconds back. She approached the small group, "Follow me," she said.
"Call me if you need anything," and with that, the lady left them.
Cyra sat down on the bed and saw a layer of dust rise up in the sky. She was too tired to care about the cleanliness anyway. Pulling out the book from under her pullover, she placed it on her lap, her fingers tracing the inscription on the cover of the book. "What now?"
"Rest. You're tired. I will go to the Temple or Armalir and approach the Yeturas, the celtic council of the High Witches," she clarified, "and then take you to them."
"Okay. I'll go make a quick phone call," she said, pulling out her phone from her pocket.
"I don't think you will get any network here," Djo commented, looking out of the window. He could see the architecture of the place from here. The market shops were painted a beige with wooden stumps in front of the shop that were draped with tarp and some with thick jute or cotton fabric to provide shade for the customers. The heavy smell of sweat and magic hung heavily in the air, the sound of the animals and people brought a certain liveliness within him that he didn't know he was missing. He felt... at home.
His gaze shifted up and saw the other havelis that surrounded them. The limestone buildings had random sculptures that were crudely etched on their walls and colourful murals. He could see people in there through the windows but his vision was obstructed by the jalis that covered them. The windows that lay out to jharokhas had a vintage feel to them and he leaned further, his hips slightly resting against the window sill as he felt the warmth of the sun on his face.
This place was so unlike where he came from. Back in the werewolf realm, they were completely surrounded by the forest. It was nice, the breeze, the shade, the fresh air, the birds and everything. All of it was all he had ever known and it brought him peace. But this place, it brought him life and he could feel the magic in him pulsing through his veins and buzzing in him like currents of electricity.
"Oh no, what if something bad happens in my Pack," she said worrying about Leo. Her impulsiveness and temper was worse than her brother's but she still was shaken with nerves thinking about what Liam was capable of. "How would you and Djo communicate?"
"Through the moonwater. But you need a Witch on the other side as well to be able to communicate."
"Oh." She took a deep breath. There was nothing to worry about. Leo would take care of everything. Ian was also there, she could trust him. Her father would definitely step in regardless of his irritation if the Pack needed him. "They will be fine, it's alright," she told herself, rubbing her pentacle.
She watched Calix lay out on the maroon carpet with his belly up before jumping on to the four poster bed and curling in a ball and sleeping on the soft mattress.
Djo walked away from the window and rubbed her back. "Just rest. Everything will be fine."
Cyra nodded her head and laid back on the bed next to the Chartreux, subconsciously patting its soft fur.
"I'll go walk around a bit," Djo announced, looking out of their room through the mashrabiya into the courtyard they gave way to.
AFTER tossing and turning for a few minutes, Cyra sat up straight leaning against the headboard. She watched Ceilani read the book she had borrowed from the Elders with somewhat of an amazement in her eyes. "Why are there so many cats here?" She asked, trying to distract herself. Ceilani stopped rocking her chair and closed the book, placing it on the table beside her.
"Because cats are the reincarnation of the Wiccas. They have untapped power in them and after training alongside them, we both can mutually draw energy from each other."
At her words, Cyra looked at the cat weirdly. All this time she was actually petting and coddling a person? She felt awkward. "That sounds... nice."
Ceilani raised her brow at her. "Calix was given to me by my father. I've had him since I started practising. He's only a few years younger than me."
"Oh. I've never had a pet."
Ceilani looked genuinely confused. "What pet can a Wolf have?"
Cyra looked offended. "Maybe a rabbit? I had Djo."
Ceilani chuckled. "Are you hungry? I'll go get some food."
"Okay. Thanks."
Cyra closed her eyes, trying to see if she could reach out to anybody back home. Ian?
Calix started screaming next to her, but he started backing away into the pillows and stood completely still.
"What is it, Callie?" She worriedly looked at him and followed his gaze to the door. She remained quiet and could hear faint sounds coming from the other side. "Who's there? Djo is that you?" She got off the bed and slowly crept towards the mashrabiya, trying to see through the lattices who were on the other side when the wooden door suddenly burst open and two cloaked men came barging in.
"What is this? Who are you?!" Cyra disapprovingly looked at them for their lack of manners.
Calix hissed loudly, his body arched as his fur stood in attention. She was growing worried for him now, not having any prior experience with cats, she didn't know what he was doing.
The men didn't seem bothered by him in the slightest and walked towards Cyra. "We are taking you as our prisoner, Wolf," the older of the two man coldly said.
Cyra was visibly shocked. "There's been some mistake. I'm the Alpha."
"You're in the Wiccan realm," he said with finality. He pulled out a pair of shackles from his robe.
Cyra growled and threw the man out of her room. She sneered down at his slumped form in dominance when his lips started moving and by some unseen force, Cyra was pushed down to her knees. She tried to resist and stand back up but the man's eyes narrowed and he glared at her. The other man with him also started chanting and Cyra was taken off guard and pushed further down as her knees gave away and she collapsed. The man quickly came around her and shackled her wrists together behind her back. And just as soon as they had come, all three of them vanished into thin air.
*
Cyra groaned in pain, clutching her arm that was already hurt. She stood up from the stone ground and looked at her two abductors. "The dungeons are protected so don't bother trying to escape," the older man said and before she could hurl herself at him, both of them shut the metal door in her face and walked away.
"Hey, at least tell me where the fuck I am!" She screamed, tightly grasping the metal bars as her knuckles had started to turn white. The only reply she got was her voice echoing of the narrow, dainty hallway. She turned around to look at where she was. It seemed to be an underground dungeon. She could hear the sound of water droplets dripping and she looked in the direction of the innocent noise to see a rusted tap and an old oxidised metal glass. The place was dark and the walls were made of cobblestones as well.
Just because he asked her not to try doesn't mean that she actually shouldn't try, right?
She went back to the door that forbade her from her freedom. She clutched it and with all her might, she tried to pull the bars apart and made enough space for her to squeeze her body through. After a few attempts, the metal started heating up. She looked at the rods to see it was sizzling and she felt the shocks of electricity hit her fingers, making her yelp as she jumped back.
Giving up on the door, she next moved to the walls. There had to be a loose stone somewhere here. She ran her hand along the walls trying to find a stone that seemed misplaced. When the stones seemed to be snugly fitted in the wall with concrete finalising the bond, she gave up.
This cannot be happening, I cannot be in here. I cannot die like this!
If she closed her eyes and thought about it hard enough she could picture her father saying I told you so. Moaning in annoyance, she started pacing along the cell. Why was she even brought in here in the first place? She raked her fingers through her hair, tugging on it. Her teeth sunk into her lower lip hard enough to draw out blood.
This is not the time to lose it. Stay calm, she kept telling herself. Djo would come and save her any minute. She knew she could count on him. So would Ceilani and Callie, hopefully.
"Hey, is anybody out there? I need to know what is happening!" She called out. She could hear a few people standing silently down the hallway, their breathing a steady pace not even slight hitch from her sudden shouts but they remained quiet. "I know you're there. Just answer me, please. Can we talk this through?"
She kept quiet, waiting for an answer but it never came. She heard the faintest noise of footsteps above but nobody replied to her. She didn't know how long she had been in there. It was probably just an hour or two but with her racing mind and her thumping heart, it felt like days. She had kept assuring everybody that she had thought this through but look what happened. She was going to die as a disappointment to her father.
She was sitting in the alcove with her head buried between her knees, trying to find a way out.
The clanking sound of the metal rang out, echoing through the dark dungeon and she immediately shot up, sprinting towards the door. She saw two unfamiliar men standing at the entrance as they threw a man in. When she realised it was Djo, she rushed to his side and brought him up. The fall on the stones had his nose bleeding. When the door was slammed shut, her head sharply turned to it. "Cowards, open the door!" she screamed, already getting squared up.
"Don't," Djo warned, his hands holding his nose.
"Heal yourself." He was losing a lot of blood.
"Can't. Magic doesn't work here."
She quickly took off her pullover and placed it around his neck knowing how blood made him queasy. "It's okay, pinch your nose."
She rubbed his back encouragingly and wiped out all the traces of his blood. When it had stopped,
"Do you know why we are here?"
Djo gulped the water and put the glass down; his bleeding had now stopped. "I don't know. I was just taking a walk around the town when they brought me here."
"I was in our room and Ceilani had gone to get us food when they took me," Cyra informed him.
"When?"
"I don't know. Maybe an hour? Or maybe it was more, I can't tell."
Cyra sat down next to Djo, clasping his hand in hers, seeking comfort. "What are we going to do?" She started panicking again.
"I don't know," Djo sounded exhausted.
She pulled his head towards her shoulder. "Sleep. The blood loss got you tired."
Before she knew it, his soft breathing had lulled her into sleep as well.
THEY were rudely awoken by a staff persistently nudging them in the sides. "Wake up."
Cyra rubbed her eyes and looked at the man who had brought Djo in and she stood up, getting in his face menacingly.
"There's no need for that. The Yeturas will see you now."
*****
A/N: There's a lot of reference to haveli and its architecture while describing the town. I is a form of architecture predominant in the last few centuries in the Indian subcontinent. If any of you were curious what it was, here are a few pictures!
Aren't they gorgeous?! They even include amazing green architecture with natural sunlight and proper ventilation and air circulation.