The book in the library was, in fact, a grimoire of sorts, but with no discernible family heritage. They spent the next few days poring over its contents until, eventually, they found what they were looking for. It was rare for a witch to absorb the powers of another, but it wasn't impossible, and so there existed a spell that could reverse it. But with Merlin’s powers being what they were, Juliette was confident that it could be done.
Once they were sure that they were ready, they went to discuss it with Zeke, taking the grimoire with them.
"And you're sure that this will work?", Zeke questioned them for the third time.
"Yes", they answered in unison.
"And no one will get hurt?", also the third time that he repeated the question.
"No one will be hurt, I'll make sure of it", Merlin reassured him.
"When exactly are you plann
They continued walking through the forest, stopping every now and then, to listen for any sound, but only the ominous silence pressed all around. Zeke stayed close behind her, he had no idea where they were going but she moved with a confidence that told him that she knew where she was going. They were nearing the edge of the forest when he stopped her, taking her hand in his."We've reached the pack border. Where are we going?""The cemetery", she whispered, without looking at him."How do you know she's there?""I just know"Her eyes were distant, staring off into the gloom, as though she could somehow see the cemetery from here. Zeke felt like grabbing her and shaking her to wake her up from her zombie-like trance."Is it the Ancestors? Have they taken her?", he already knew the answer to that but he asked her anyway.
Merlin cowered on the hard, stone floor, shivering and gasping for air. She heard the woman's voice inside her head and echoing outside in the chamber at the same time. She slowly raised her head and stared into her gold-flecked brown eyes. The woman's lips moved and this time she clearly heard her voice, soft and lilting,inside the chamber. "Get up Merlin"She struggled to her feet, using the sarcophagus for support while keeping her eyes on the woman in front of her. "Who are you?", she ground out through clenched teeth. "I am Angeline and we are the Ancestors"As she spoke, her voice became amplified, sounding like a dozen or more voices, speaking in unison. Around her the air shimmered and undulated as more figures appeared like ghostly apparitions before flickering and fading out. "Where is Juliette?", Merlin demanded, standing upright. "She is safe""Show me""First we need to talk""No! Release Juliette and then we'll talk", Merlin countered. "You talk as if you have a ch
When Merlin straightened her arms, flames leapt up from the floor and spread around the edges of the chamber, trapping all three women inside. She stretched out her left hand and Juliette flew towards her, crashing against her and holding on as tight as she could. "We are leaving. Don't try to stop us", Merlin warned, pushing Juliette behind her and holding onto her hand. "If you leave now, you'll never regain your powers", Angeline addressed Juliette.The brief hesitation in Juliette's eyes was enough encouragement for Angeline and she continued speaking to her while ignoring Merlin. "Imagine what you could have achieved by now, you were one of our best and you can be again. Just say the word""I will return her powers to her, she doesn't need you", Merlin countered, her eyes glittering dangerously in the light from the flames. "You have become arrogant Merlin", Angeline chided her in a mocking tone. Merlin’s reply came in the form of a volley of fire spheres that landed mere in
Juliette found herself sitting on the ground in the cemetery, the stark realization hitting her, as she felt the sharp pebbles digging into the skin on the front of her legs and knees. The palms of her hands were stinging from when she had landed on the pebbly surface and used them to break her fall. A thick fog covered the ground and unable to see through it, she pushed herself up and onto her feet while peering nervously around her. She turned around in a full circle, straining her eyes, as she searched for Zeke in the fog.Apprehension was starting to build inside her when she heard a faint whimper some distance away and quickly she headed towards the sound. She hadn't gotten far when she stumbled against something hard and solid, sending her forward as she fell face first on top of Zeke. Quickly scrambling away from him, she looked to see if he was alright, when he growled at her from where he lay on the ground. "What the hell Juliette?""I'm sorry, I didn't see you", she apologi
Standing in the empty cemetery, Zeke looked around in bewilderment, wondering where Juliette could have gone. Looking back towards the tomb that he had previously entered with Merlin, he realized for the first time that it had disappeared. The place where it had previously stood was now occupied by a smaller tomb with a statue of an angel in front. He was nonplussed and remained in front of the tomb uncertain of what he should do. Searching for the tomb and Merlin would prove futile and he knew that she would want him to find Juliette and keep her safe. He didn't possess any magical powers that would be of any help to Merlin, he had to trust that she could handle herself. Making up his mind, he reluctantly turned away and ran from the cemetery, easily leaping over the wrought iron fence. Zeke retraced their steps all the way back to the forest and now he stood at its edge and sniffed the air. The wind whistled through the trees, carrying with it a faint human scent and Zeke inhaled
After throwing up an illusion spell to give them a chance to escape, Merlin turned back to face Angeline, who had made her way into the outer chamber. Preparing herself for a confrontation, Merlin was taken aback when Angeline rushed toward her, wringing her hands with a worried look about her. "Merlin listen! We don't have much time", she whispered, her eyes darting furtively around the chamber. Merlin shook her head in confusion, wondering what was going on and why Angeline was acting so strangely. "I have put up a temporary barrier to hide my thoughts but it won't last long so I need you to listen carefully", Angeline was practically pleading with her. Merlin gave a small nod in agreement and the ancient witch continued. "The Ancestors plan to use you to absorb the powers of all the most powerful living witches into one single entity""Why?""To finally defeat the werewolves""But why now? We've coexisted peacefully for almost a century"Angeline hesitated, her hands fidgeting
Although she had been upset at first, Merlin soon accepted that Juliette would be safer with Sébastien than with her and Zeke. She only wished that she had been here to see her leave. Nevertheless, it now meant that she could focus on Angeline and the Ancestors and the decision that she had to make. Two days had already passed and she was running out of time but she just didn't know where to start. She had decided to search for something that might help her in the library but so far she had come up empty. Grabbing another armload of books, she headed back to the table and set them down before spreading them out in front of her. She immediately noticed that one of them was pretty old and was bound in an expensive, brown leather cover with a clasp on the side. Placing the palm of her hand on it's smooth and worn surface, she felt a pleasant warmth radiating from the book and up her arm. It carried with it a sense of peace and deep down she felt it calling to her, beckoning her to open
They searched everywhere in the library for the grimoire but found nothing. It was as if it had simply vanished. Merlin was distraught and in a panic, before Zeke eventually calmed her down. It had been her only chance to find out Angeline's real motives and help her decide what to do about the Ancestors. It seemed too much of a coincidence that the grimoire went missing right after they had left the library to investigate the noise outside. Something or someone didn't want them to discover the book's contents and had caused a diversion in order to take it. There was a lot more going on than either of them had initially thought. The next day, Merlin had returned to the library to check again for the grimoire, but still there was no sign of it. Remembering the connection that she had felt with the book, she had tried searching for it using this, but she wasn't able to sense its presence in the library or anywhere else in the mansion. Whoever had taken it, had taken it far enough away