Chapter 4 - Shocking Truth

- What do you mean? I don't understand...- Selene looked at her aunt strangely.- "Who am I really? What's that supposed to mean?"- she thought sarcastically.

- Eh... It may seem ridiculous to you, but... you are not human. You are a sorceress.- Meredith explained.

Selene's eyes grew round, she was speechless and fell heavily on the sofa. There was silence for a moment.

- In addition, you are "the chosen one"...- her aunt began speaking again, wondering how to put in words what she wanted to convey to her niece.- You are the one who is born once in a thousand years, our hope, for at the age of eighteen you will become powerful enough to defeat the demon lord Alistair. All these people who are here are wizards and witches, they came here to protect you until your destiny is fulfilled and to teach you to control the power that will soon begin to show.- she finished, watching Selene's reaction.

- What kind of power? - Selene asked, not understanding.

- Like all of the "chosen ones", you can control the elements: water, fire, air, earth and spirit.- Meredith replied.

Selene was unable to utter a word. This story was absurd, although it did explain some aspects that frustrated her immensely, such as the strange names of her and parents.

- When you were born...- her aunt continued the story.-... your mother put a seal on you that protected from attacks by demons. Unfortunately, from today this shield stopped working, that's why they came here.- she pointed at the guests.

At the same time Selene finally looked at their faces. One of the men seemed familiar to her.

-"That's the same dark haired guy from the cafe!"- she suddenly realized.

The boy also looked at her surprised, but he was clearly pleased with this coincidence.

- Let me introduce everyone to you one by one.- Meredith walked slowly towards the guests. First, she approached a woman with shoulder length, brown hair, green eyes, athletic body and medium height.- This is the Head of the Council of Sorceresses, Elisabeth Spelling. She is two thousand one hundred years old, her additional gift is the ability to manipulate emotions. She leads the Council and makes sure that every wizard or witch obeys the code that applies to us.- her aunt said, and walked over to the next person. It was a woman with long, wavy dark blond hair, azure blue eyes, slim and half a head taller than Elisabeth.- And this is Rita Stone. She is twelve hundred years old and has a gift of empathy, can feel the emotions and feelings of others and partially take them on herself to reduce their impact.- Meredith introduced her and passed to that dark haired guy that Selene knew from the cafe, who was standing next to Rita.- The man next to her is Eleazar Stone, her younger brother.- well, now Selene noticed their unusual resemblance.- He is eight hundred and ninety-nine years old, and his gift is the ability to move through space, otherwise called teleportation.- Meredith concluded, and then she walked over to a short, filigree brunette with elbow-length hair and navy blue eyes, who was looking shyly at Selene from under her long, dark lashes. There was an unusual interest in her eyes.- Here is Isabelle Thomson.- Meredith pointed at her.- She's already nine hundred and fifty-five years old and can create illusions, is a little too quiet and shy, but don't worry about it.- her aunt added in almost a whisper, walking up to a tall man with medium-length black hair who was holding Isabelle's hand.- Nearby is her husband, Johnathan Thomson, one thousand one hundred years old and is capable of opening portals to parallel worlds. It will come in handy when we are forced to take you somewhere to protect from the attack of demons.- Meredith said, and there was some sadness in her eyes. Apparently, it was the last resort for her.- Me, Rita and Isabelle belong to the so-called Big Three. As the oldest sorceresses, we help Elisabeth in making important decisions. The first of the Big Three, which in this case is me, will become leader when Elisabeth turn three thousand years old.- she explained before moving on to the next person.

Meredith walked over to a group of girls, consisting of two blondes, a dark-haired girl, a brunette, and one whose hair could be described as copper in color, because it wasn't red or blonde, but something in between.

- Here...- aunt pointed to the red-haired one first.-... is Alice. She is the youngest of us, only one hundred and fifty years old and, like your mother, can read minds.- after these words, the girl smiled at Selene very warmly and threw herself on her neck, hugging slightly.

- Hi. Nice to meet you.- Alice said, looking at her bewildered face.- You don't really believe it all, do you?- it was clear she had been reading Selene's mind from the beginning.

Elisabeth chilled Alice with her eyes. She pulled away immediately, but the warm smile did not disappear from her face.

- Well... You can see what a happy sorceress she is.- Meredith commented, walking up to one of the blondes. She had shoulder length, straight hair and green eyes. Her expression indicated that she was not as happy as Alice, on the contrary - deadly serious.

- This is Tess.- aunt introduced the girl with a slight smile, watching her niece react.- She is three hundred and sixty years old and can create shields that protect against mental attacks, can even transfer them and extend over others, thus blocking access to their minds.- she explained.- Next to Tess...- Meredith pointed to the other blonde, with curly hair down to her wrists and pale blue eyes, slightly shorter than Tess.-... is her younger sister, Teresa. She, on the other hand, is three hundred and fifty years old and can track a person if they are in danger. It is easiest for her if such a person uses magical power, then the visions come faster.- she added.

Teresa walked over to Selene as well and hugged her tightly. This kind gesture made her seem as nice as Alice at once. Selene felt that she would be friends with both of them for sure.

- Standing a little further is Maria, a sorceress from Spain.- Meredith pointed to a tall, brown-haired girl with a model figure. She was so beautiful and moved with such grace that as approached Selene, she paled. Even one of her best friends, Jennifer, could not compete with this woman full of sex appeal.- Maria is five hundred and ten years old. As the daughter of an angel and sorceress, she has wings and can cure just like your father.- said her aunt, turning to Selene.- But her biggest drawback is that she loves to flirt with mortals.- she added quietly, smiling.- And the last one is Deborah.- Meredith walked over to a skinny brunette with black eyes and a dark complexion.- Deborah is nine hundred and forty-five years old, and is another candidate for the Big Three. Her gift is psychokinesis. She can use her mind to lower or raise the temperature of a given body so that freezes it or causes to self-ignite.- aunt finished and sighed softly.

- So as you can see, we have a nice arsenal. This time we prepared even more solidly and I am sure that everything will go according to plan.- summed up Elisabeth.

- Well, yeah... But I don't know the most important thing yet. How old are you, aunt, and what gift do you have?- Selene asked uncertainly. Only now did she slowly begin to realize that this was all true.

- You're right.- Meredith spoke up.- Well, I'm fourteen hundred and eighty years old and I can sense the presence of demons and other beings.- she said with a smile.- Namida, your mother, was two hundred years older than me and, as I mentioned, she could read minds, also belonged to the Big Three before her death, was the successor of Elisabeth...- Meredith sighed softly.- And your father, Nathaniel, would be about nineteen hundred years old today. He could heal, but everyone except himself. For Maria, in turn, all wounds heal. This is because she is half angel, not like your father, who was a wizard with healing gift. As a result, he died at the hand of the demon he wanted to annihilate, who's name was Salvatore. To this day, I try to find him by the smell left behind on Nathaniel's body, but I think this demon has hidden somewhere in the Underworld, and there my power does not reach, just like any of us.- she looked at the rest of those present.

- Okay, enough of these formalities... Cake and gifts are waiting!- Alice shouted cheerfully, apparently wanting to improve the atmosphere a bit, which had become a bit sad because of Meredith's story, which in turn was completely out of place for a birthday party.

Selene blew out the candles and sliced the cake. After everyone had eaten, she took care of the gifts. Aunt Meredith gave her the Book of Spells that Selene's mother used, she got a protective amulet from Elisabeth, a deck of tarot cards from Rita and Eleazar, Isabelle and Johnathan gave her runes, Alice, Tess and Teresa such small things as a cauldron, potions bottles, magic candles, incense, magic powders, etc. Maria and Deborah gave her a crystal ball. Selene thanked each one of them, and she still couldn't believe this wasn't a dream.