Chapter 70

Davina's Point Of View

I was sitting on the boulder stone a few inches away from where Emily was and next to her was Rowena's coffin which I had unsealed. She had begun the spell to bring back Rowena.

Just as I suspected, the precious talisman she had spoken about was the black necklace on her neck. That little dark object had Rowena's soul in it.

She has been in the spell for almost an hour now. She turned around to stare at me for a second, before continuing with her spell.

She picked up the ritual knife, slitting her palm, and squeezing her blood on Rowena's skeletal bones while chanting.

After she was done, she picked up the black stone pendant of the necklace and kept on chanting. Her purple eyes glowed brighter and the air around charged with magic and slowly, the pendant began to turn white as though whatever was in it was being emptied.

I brought my gaze back to the stick I had picked up in the woods, giving it all my attention as I played with it, snapping it into two and placing the other half over it where I tied it to one another forming a cross-like shape.

I brought out a strand of hair, binding it to the stick, and with a breath of magic, it fused with the stick, and I could feel the life and dark magic flowing within like blood flowing in a human vein.

Abruptly, I felt an intense rush of magic in the air, and my eyes snapped up at Emily. Her purple eyes glanced at me.

“You felt that didn't you?” She tore the bottom of her dress and wrapped the torn piece around her bleeding palm.

“Are you done with the spell?” I asked, still seated, and her eyes pulled up to mine.

“I did what I could, I just hope it works,”

At her response, I was up from the boulder, moving past her to inspect the coffin. I stopped a step away from it as my eyes took in the face of the woman in the box, her once skeletal bones now covered with flesh, her eyes shut as though she was in a deep sleep instead.

“Good job, Emily,” I said, holding my new plaything in my hand. “How long until she wakes up?”

“I don't know,” I could almost see the smile on her lips even with my back to her. “But I don't think you'd be alive to see her though,” She cackled, and immediately, a ring of fire surrounded me.

I turned to face her, glancing around to take a good look at the fire that had surrounded me. I could feel the dark magic through the invisible boundary spell that trapped me within the circle.

“It feels like deja vu, isn't it?” She let out a chortle. “Eighteen years ago, my sisters and I trapped you like this in a similar fire while I did the unthinkable to you,” She mused, slowly walking around the fire.

“Think carefully, Emily. You can't escape this forest without my help,”

Her short laughter filled the evening air. “Here's what I think. I kill you, and that solves our little problem, yeah?” She clasped her hands together and every playful glint in her eyes vanished completely, turning deadly. “I'll make that hybrid Alpha of yours pay for what he did to Emma. The pain of losing a child is nothing compared to what I'll make him go through. I'll go after everyone and everything he loves…” Her lips pressed against each other crookedly. “Starting with you,”

She raised her hands and before she could spell out a word, I whispered.

“Morator,” The ancient spell word left my lips like a breath of exhale, instantly altering the perception of time, so she moved in slow motion before tossing her in the opposite direction.

I tightened my hold around the wooden cross in my hand, and the airways of her lungs tightened, choking her.

Her eyes widened. “How are you doing this?” Her eyes fell on the wooden cross in my hand and immediately she knew what it was. A totem of her. An object that was now linked with her and with the help of the hair strand I managed to pull from her back at the cave. The cross was more like an abstract representation of her. Whatever happened to the object happened to her. She began shaking her head frantically. “No. No!”

I pulled the cross up, giving it a strong pull. With great force Emily's body was lifted from the earth, flying towards me until I had my other hand wrapped around her neck, pulling her closer.

Every color drained from her face as her eyes met my cold ones. “Kill the fire now Emily,”

Immediately, the boundary spell was broken and the fire died. I tossed her aside like a ragged doll she was and she crashed against a tree, standing up immediately about to conjure a spell but she wasn't fast enough.

I gripped both hands of the cross, snapping it, and her lips gave out a loud cry as the bones in her hands cracked into halves.

A smirk kicked in as I ambled closer. “Come on Emily, you are not making this fun for me when I'm only just starting with you,”

I gripped the down of the cross, snapping it and she collapsed to the ground, screaming. “You said you were curious, weren't you? What kept me sane all these years, knowing that my daughter was living with my enemy, calling her mum, and having no idea what lies she was being told about me? This Emily… this kept me sane,”

I crushed the middle of the cross, causing her to throw up blood. “The mere thought of seeing that fear in your eyes while I make you pay for the pain I went through for eighteen years”

I tossed the cross to the ground, marching towards her. “All these years I kept on thinking of the perfect way I could make you feel what I felt that was beyond any physical pain,” My hand fisted on her hair as I dragged her like a piece of trash to the candles that were still lit up. “And I found it. Your perfect punishment, Emily, your very own pain, Emily. Trapped in a world of your own where you'll experience non-stop your greatest pain at every awakening moment, and in this case, that moment would be the death of Emma. Forced to watch over and over again the death of your precious twin,”

Drawing power from the candles and concentrating it on her caused her to scream, and throw up blood. She gripped both sides of her head like she was suffering from a painful aneurysm.

Her bloodshot eyes filled with pain as I pulled out a small object from my leather jacket. My very own creation. It was a vortex, a magical object, and a gateway to the prison world I created for Emily.

I smiled evilly. “Your very own personal hell,”

The fear in her eyes intensified as I slit my palm and got some of my blood on the vortex and began chanting.

“No. No, please just kill me instead,” she cried, her limp body against the ground. “Please, no. I beg you. Don't take me back… please,”

I stared coldly at her pleas and the genuine pain behind the tears in her eyes. It should have been enough to make someone else take pity and grant her her wish instead. Instant death was a luxury compared to what she was going to experience there which would eventually lead to her death in a short time. That prison world fed on pain. The more she felt that emotion, the more it sucked out every life within her.

I threw the small object on the ground next to her as bright rays of light began to emerge from the vortex. I took some steps backward as Emily's cries grew louder. Death didn't scare her, what scared her the most was watching the death of her loved one.

I didn't know when a single tear rolled from my eyes. I didn't feel any pity for her, nor the joy or relief I thought I'd feel finally getting my revenge on her. Instead, I felt empty.

“Goodbye Emily,” I said lastly before the white light swallowed her up and the small object dropped to the ground.

I picked it up, turning it into a pile of ash that was carried away by the wind.

It was then I felt the chill in my bones and the sudden shift in the evening air, and a familiar voice spoke.

“Well, that was quite a lovely scene to wake up to,”

My shoulder stiffened as I turned around to see Rowena's dark eyes on me.

She was about to say something when her neck snapped instantly, and she fell back into the coffin, unconscious.

I turned to my left, seeing Benjamin emerge from the single path of the woods.

“I didn't miss that voice at all,” He stopped next to me.

“What are you doing here?”

“You didn't reply to my texts. I was worried,” He spared a quick at the splatter of Emily's blood on the dirt ground.

Cocking his head to his side, his visible hazel eyes came back to mine. “Good riddance to the siphon witch,” He swerved back to the coffin. “And her?”

I walked past him. “We proceed as planned,”

*****

It was almost midnight. We were no longer in Wuslip woods, we had moved to a different location. Edenville. A place that was once the sacred abode of a group of ancient witches called the Nhermis clan. But it was the only place I could think of with an enormous amount of magic coursing through the earth. It was exactly what we needed.

Benjamin and I had spent many hours preparing for tonight's spell and making sure that everything was ready.

I breathed in once we were done, and it was time to wake Rowena up from her slumber.

I nodded to Benjamin, and as he flicked his finger, we watched the very witch that once upon a time was the villain we all feared.

It didn't take long before Rowena's eyes adjusted in the darkness, finding us and then glancing around to take in her surroundings and the red candlelights that illuminated the meadow.

There was an amusing twinkle in her eyes as they pierced mine. “Hello, my favorite niece,”

I rolled my eyes as she inspected her new clothes, standing up on her feet. “Well, not my style, but I suppose I should thank you,” Her eyes drifted from her clothes to Benjamin standing a few steps behind me, and then it landed on me. I could feel the weight of her stare before a crooked dark smile appeared.

“You look…” She walked towards me, never taking her eyes off me. “... different,” She sniffed the air, her smile deepening. “Still look the same like you haven't aged a single day since our little encounter in the cemetery. Magic is stronger than ever, but there's something else. You've changed. My little witch has gone all vampire now,” Her lips twitched. “Honestly, I didn't see that coming. How long ago was I dead?”

“Oh you mean how long ago did your plan fail and I killed you?” I asked with a straight face, without a single ounce of patience. We needed to get on with the spell already. “Eighteen years Rowena,”

She didn't seem surprised. Instead, the new revelation seemed to interest her.

“Eighteen years. I was gone for eighteen long years,” She turned her back to me, walking around like she was taking a stroll down her yard. “You killed me, yet still kept my bones, and helped dear Emily bring me back. Did someone miss me?” There was a playful note in her voice.

I shut my eyes, shoving out some air from my lungs. “I need your help, Rowena,” My instant words made her stop, and she spun around to look at me.

“Davina Amnell needs my help?” Her eyes sparked with amusement. “What happened to you within these eighteen years? Tell me what did I miss?”

I ignored her question. “You are the only one with enough magic to compliment mine,”

She ignored my words. “How is my grand niece? She must be all grown up now,”

“We need to hurry, we don't have enough time to chat,” I bit out through gritted teeth.

She ignored me again. “So Emily and that she-wolf was indeed successful. That wolf had your child instead,”

I ignored her comment. “The plan is simple, Rowena. I need your magic to open a gateway portal,” I paused. “A time portal to the past,”

Her eyes flicked in the darkness and finally, I had her attention. After a fraction second of probably processing what I had said, she burst out laughing like I had cracked a joke or something.

Her laughter lingered and then it stopped when she regarded me again. “Oh you're quite serious,” She bridged the small distance between us. “Have you lost your mind, Davina? A time portal? Even I wasn't that stupid to do something so dangerous,”

“I have everything ready, we have to hurry, we are running out of time,” I said, trying to sidestep her but her cold hand clasped my wrist and her dark eyes penetrated my eyes like she was intent on seeing a piece of my messed up soul.

“He’s here, isn't he?”

I blinked like I had no idea what she was saying.

“She awakened him and he's here to make his reign,” But the look on her face remained serious. “I warned you that night didn't I?"This child will be all you are and probably even more, but it'll have none of your weaknesses. Its fate would be intertwined with a force far greater than anything you've ever encountered,”

She repeated the same words she said to me that night eighteen years ago before I killed her.

I freed my hand from hers. “We should hurry,”

“What makes you think I would help you?”

“If you wish to remain undead Rowena, you would. And unfortunately, there's no little loyal Emily to bring you back,”

“You became heartless. I'm curious about just one thing, sweet niece,” She leaned in. “When did you lose what's left of your humanity? Was it when you died and became a vampire or when you lived a miserable life of pain all these years? Well, whichever way is it, I like it,”

I remained silent, not responding to her.

She took a step back. “I need access to my magic,”

“You'll get it once we begin the spell,”

“Our ancestors would be proud seeing two French quarter witches from the powerful Amnell bloodline are about to do something that might leave a mark on history,” She tilted her head sideways. “Shouldn't we at least build a little trust in each other,”

“Maybe in another life, Rowena”

“What makes you think I wouldn't finish what I started years ago, drinking every ounce of sweet magic in you,”

“It's not your style Rowena, and besides, I have something that would change your mind. Something you always wanted,”

Her eyes narrowed, and even though she didn't say anything. I could tell she already knew what I was talking about.

I shoved a hand into my jacket, bringing out the phoenix stone.

Her dark eyes gleamed, pinned on the stone.

“If we make it out alive, that is. You can have it,”

A devilish smile appeared on her lips. “Okay, you convinced me. I will help you,”

I was taken aback for a second. I knew she would have no choice but to agree to do this. But I didn't think it would be this quick.

“But first I need to know exactly what's going on,” Gracefully, she walked to a log of wood, and took her seat. “Tell me, what mess have we created this time?”

*****

I was left with no choice but to bring her up to date with everything. And all through, her eyes sparked with one same expression. That of amusement.

We stepped inside a binding circle drawn on the earth from the concoction of various ingredients while Benjamin was on the other side.

Rowena and I locked hands around the phoenix stone to which tonight's spell was bound. I had unlocked her magic and could feel every inch of it as our magic was now connected, channeling a great amount of power from the Phoenix stone.

My eyes glowed blue and her eyes sparked with darkness in them as our chanting reached its peak.

As the power from the phoenix stone aligned with our magic, its white light began to glow brighter and brighter. And an invisible force began to crack up in the air, tearing open and abruptly it felt like we were sucked into a vortex that spun us around in a fast manner.

After a while all I saw was pure darkness and as the spinning continued small light began to appear from a distance and we were thrown towards them.

The next thing I felt was the harsh impact of my body hitting the cold, dirty ground, and something sharp pierced into my right arm, wounding me.

Groaning, I stood up, clutching my head to stop the nauseous feeling. I looked around and I couldn't find my backpack. It didn't make it through the jump. Quickly, I searched for the phoenix stone which was a few feet from me. I grabbed it, shoving it into my pocket.

“Rowena?” I called for her but she was nowhere in sight.

Fuck.

“Rowena?” I screamed, holding out my bleeding arm. I tried using my super speed to run through the forest in search of her but instead, I found myself running at a much lower speed than expected.

What the hell!

My gaze lowered to my hands, and I could feel absolutely nothing. No magic. No power. Nothing. No wonder I wasn't healing.

I took out the phoenix stone immediately. The second I touched it, I could feel its enormous power breathing magic in my body again, causing the wound on my arm to disappear and immediately, I heard Rowena's scream in the woods.

Then I heard a grunt. “Behind you,”

I placed the phoenix stone back into my pocket and spun around as she shoved a few branches out from her view coming up to me with the right sleeve of her dress drenched with her blood. I stared at the familiar wound on her right arm, exactly where mine was.

I fought the smile on my lips as she spoke. “I'm still alive if that's what you were wondering, but it seems we lost something during the jump,”

She raised her bleeding arm, unable to heal her wound. “We lost our magic, darling,” Her eyes hardened. “We are completely on our own with no way to protect ourselves,”

I rolled my eyes, turning around to take a final look at the forest. It was still midnight.

My brows creased as I noticed the slight change in the sky. There was a full moon up there which wasn't in our time. We were indeed in the past, and I deeply hoped this one had Asula in it.

“We need to keep moving. The sooner we find our great ancestor, the sooner we get out of here,” I kicked my boots into motion, going through a rough muddy path that I hoped led us out of this damn forest, but I noticed Rowena still behind.

I turned around to watch her wiping the beads of sweat on her forehead and scratching her wrist.

I narrowed my eyes on her. "Are you alright?” I asked her.

“You would wish I wasn't, wouldn't you?” She withdrew her hands from her wounded arm. “But in case you have forgotten dearest niece, your survival is dependent on mine,”

“Precisely why I'm asking. I don't plan on dying here, so Rowena, are you alright?”

“I would be, once we find sweet Asula and fulfill your selfish desire and get the hell out of the past,” She stormed past me and I shut my eyes, sighing.

Oh goddess, please help me.