Chapter 10 – The Ritual

Elijah's POV

"We're going to use broom flowers to improve your strength and bravery. Cilantro is for endurance, and laurel leaves enhance the success of the ritual. Your blood will serve as a conjunction with the person you're trying to call. Those are the ingredients you should concentrate on. I will burn some stramonium to avoid the evil eye and deception."

Lady Editha kept adjusting her herbs around us, talking to me while she prepared everything for the ritual. We decided to go to a better-isolated area, in order to not scare anyone from the pack and to avoid prying eyes.

The night was slowly falling upon us, and I could feel the humidity soak my trousers and my shirt. I had a mixture of dogwood spread over my forehead and my hands, which were now facing the dark sky. I was part of a world considered supernatural by most people and still, I found everything strange.

"You mustn't lose your focus during the ritual. There's no space for stupid thoughts like that. When you're gonna feel the dogwood becoming hotter, you should concentrate on every single detail of the person you're trying to call. Mind you, even she could be harmed by this ritual, so you have to be really careful."

Her last words made me snap.

"What do you mean, Elder? She could be harmed?"

"There's no need to fuss about it now. I think that since you marked her so little ago, this could be a minor inconvenience. I will start now. I can't tell you what you're gonna feel or see, or even hear. Not a lot of people have done this ritual, and even fewer were inclined to tell stories about it. But you have to stay focused on your goal, have you understood? Don't think about anything else since the dogwood starts becoming warm on your skin."

"I got it, woman. Now, before I change my idea, start this ritual."

She lightly laughed before sitting right behind me.

"Close your eyes, children."

I did as she told me and heard her starting to chant in the old language. I had to study some of it when I was little, but it never was my subject. Even now, I couldn't understand a single word.

Her words slowly blended with the sounds of the night. I felt almost hypnotized, being lulled into a peaceful place. But as soon as my forehead started to heat up, I thought of the girl in her light dress. I retraced with my mind every fold of her dress, every change of brightness on her hair. The lullaby was becoming stronger every minute, making it difficult to concentrate.

I thought of her smell, trying to remember the first time I inhaled her scent and saw her green eyes. I was so deep focused I had the feeling my ears were starting to bleed. The chanting kept going and images started overlapping the one of her face.

She was on a bed in a room without windows and she was murmuring incoherently, while the sheets were twisted around her legs. I could feel her uneasiness and I saw sweat dripping from her forehead. I knew that my concern should not interrupt the ritual, so I tried to clear my mind.

Suddenly, I was able again to feel my body and the pain I was experiencing. I gritted my teeth, trying my hardest to not lose her image in my mind. But it was a battle I was going to lose. I could feel the energies leaving my body, blood dripping from my mouth and my hands trembling uncontrollably.

I knew I was going to lose myself in the chanting. I could hear Lucius snarling in my head, praying to be set free. I was ready to let everything fall apart when the last image exploded right into my head, her frowning sleeping face was the last thing I saw, before hearing a loud "snap", and as everything started, all the sounds and the images faded to black.

I fell to the ground, feeling the cold hands of Editha roaming my body, whispering soothing words.

"Boy, open those eyes of yours. Let me know what is hurting and what happened, quickly, before an old lady loses all her energy and patience."

"I am ok, Editha. I feel like I've been hit by thunder, but at least I could feel every part of my body. And... something else."

"Something else like what? I wasn't joking about the patience, boy. And please, get up, so I can have a look at you. I will also need some help to go back to my house, my energies are running low."

Her words make me open my eyes. The stars over me seemed way more distant than before and the sky was definitely darker. I slowly got up, aching all over. It was then that I noticed a thin line of light going from my wrist towards an unknown destination.

"Nana...there's a light starting from my wrist, is it normal?"

I hadn't called her like that in ages, but somehow it felt right. she chuckled lightly, before slowly rising and searching for my hand in the night.

"I can only think that our ritual had worked. If you follow that line you will probably be able to find your girl, boy. But first of all, you need to rest. Like me, for what matters."

I kept looking at the feeble light shining into the night, a smile creeping on my face. I did it. But my excitement was short-lived. As soon as Editha rested her weight against me, I came to my senses. She was my priority. I'd take her home and then I would have studied a plan to set my mate free.

When I came back to the pack house I found my mother resting in the kitchens, a hot cup of tea in her hands. After seeing me, she heaved a sigh of relief, coming near me and hugging me as strongly as I could remember after dad's death.

"I could not bear the idea I was going to lose you too."

"I'm not going anywhere, mum. Don't worry about me. Everything went well and I think I found her. I hope we're gonna love her."

"We will of course. She must be special to have convinced you to contact Gawain."

"How do you..."

"Jack was not fast enough. I prevented him to go all the distance. I know that you had in mind only the well-being of the pack, but it is never a good choice to let another leader know that he could increase his powers, even if he is a friend."

She just shrugged at my inquiring look.

"We don't know who had taken part in your father's death. We must be cautious."

"Mom, it was an accident...there's no proof that it had been something else."

"Better safe than sorry, son. Now go, Jack was pretty worried that my stopping you would cause him another scolding."

I quickly made my way up to the rooms I used as offices in the pack house. Jack was waiting for me in the main room, pacing back and forth, I could sense his and his wolf's discomfort from miles.

"I'm still in one piece buddy."

The relief I saw on his face was one of the greatest gratifications I could have in life. Our bond dated back to our childhood when his mother used to cook breakfast for the pups. I will always sneak into the kitchens to steal something before the others. I was always successful, since one day, a little boy caught me and taught me a lesson. At that time, he was stronger than me and taller. Afterwards, we became inseparable, and day by day, prank after prank, workout after workout, he became the brother I never had.

"You had me, Eli. I was scared shitless this time. And your mother prevented me from alerting Gawain..."

I shushed him, making a sign not to worry. Instead, I went over to a shelf where all the maps of the surrounding territory were held. I needed to find a place where the rooms hadn't windows, so it could be something really strange or really difficult to find.

I quickly updated Jack, who started looking frantically at me. After a while, we still had nothing.

"I'm going to wake up Yliu. Maybe he will be able to find something."

"That's a good idea, Jack. Even if I have this light now, we have to be prepared. I could only guess that where she is held isn't a place very welcoming for the ones like us."

But nothing could stop me from coming to you, Elizabeth.