Chapter 18“I’m looking for a Witch named Katrina. This is her pub in our world. I thought she might be here.” I replied. “Ah, Katrina. I know her… Well, we spoke earlier today.” The bartender said. My eyes lit up. “You spoke to her? Did she say where she was going??” I inquired. “Well, she said she was looking for The Ancestors.” The bartender explained. “I am also looking for them. Do you have any idea where she may have gone?” I asked. “I’m sorry my boy, I don’t know. She didn’t talk much, she seemed very determined though.” She replied. “That's ok. Thank you for your help, and the drink.” I said throwing back the black brandy and leaving my glass on the bar. I got up and headed out the door, determined to follow whatever footsteps I assumed Katrina would take. The next place I went was the French Quarter. The same place where the Human sacrifice had happened just days ago. I wasn’t sure what I would find, but it was worth a shot. I materialized there and I took in the sight. Th
Chapter 19(Katrina)I didn’t want to leave Ramses. In fact, I wanted to run straight into his arms and never leave after all of this stress with my magic and The Ancestors. An eventful night with Ramses is what I really needed. But I was too determined to fix this and too stubborn to ask for help. So, I left. I left Ramses, and I went home to gather my tools. Then I set up my altar in my sacred space just past the forest line behind my house. The Ancestors had to hear me out, right? I told myself they would allow it if I was pleading my case, and not trying to use magic for selfish reasons. I mean, getting my magic back, I guess, was a selfish reason… But they had to listen, I was a born Witch! I had more power than a turned Witch… That had to mean something… Right? I scattered my ritual tools around my circle, cast it, and then sat inside. I called out to The Ancestors and pleaded my case but I was met with deaf ears. They did not want to hear me. “Look, I know I fucked up. I kn
Chapter 20I pondered her face for a moment. I wonder why she seemed sad. Unless she knows something I didn’t know? It doesn’t matter, I didn’t have time to worry about it, really. I knew the longer you were here when you weren’t supposed to be, the harder it would be to leave. I had visited TwentyOne and I was ready to head to the Hollow Forest. I turned and headed outside, making my way to the forest clearing. The path to the Hollow Forest was a secret that only the Witches were supposed to know. The rumors of how to get there have escaped, of course, but very few were ever actually able to find it. They say that a Witch who was born into the craft will have a sort of intuition that will guide them when the time comes. I was just hoping that The Ancestors didn’t take that away too. I headed into the forest and noted how The Shadows seemed to dance around the trees. It was eerie, like everything else in this awful place. I couldn’t wait to get out of here. Well, I hoped I was able
Chapter 21I sat down in front of the tree and cast a circle. Without tools, this was seemingly difficult. I just had to trust that calling the quarters and putting my intention out there was going to be enough. I knew I didn’t have magic, and I knew The Ancestors were not wanting to hear my plea… But the fact that I came all the way to the other side, and found the twisted tree had to count for something… Right? I was really hoping that The Ancestors would see how far I've come and decide to hear me out. Once my circle was cast I tried to call The Ancestors again. My heart flipped in my chest when I felt them respond to my call. “Please, hear me out. Let me in, I need to at least try to plead my case.” I begged. I could tell they were weary, but everything I had done must have made some sort of impression because a portal appeared at the base of the twisted tree. It was oblong, swirling with black matter and intertwined with purples and blues. I closed the circle. “Thank you.” I s
Chapter 22(Katrina)I tried to scream for Ramses, but The Ancestors threw me from the other side into the strange realm between worlds, the place where I was at first. I was back at my house, only my body wasn’t outside in the forest anymore.The time was different here than on The Otherside, and I honestly had no idea how much time had actually passed. I noticed that my altar was cleaned up and my ritual tools and herbs were no longer scattered around. My sisters must have cleaned it all up.I wandered through the clearing into my backyard, and noticed that the lights in my house were on. I could see shadows bustling about and figured it was just my sisters. I headed to my backdoor and opened it.When I walked inside I was surprised to see Raphael sitting on my couch reading a book. He had his arm around a younger looking brunette with crazy curls. I didn't recognize her, but I had only just met Raphael and didn't know anything about him.He looked extremely stressed and it had me wo
Chapter 23I sat there on the bed while silent tears streamed down my face. I racked my brain thinking of any possible way we could save Ramses. We could make another deal… We could send someone else down there to take his place. I could go back and exchange myself for him. There had to be a way. Maybe we could break him out, somehow bring him back with us? My attempts were futile though, nothing seemed like an actual feasible option. I stood from the bed and just then realized that Rowen was still in there with me. He had been deathly silent and I hadn’t even noticed him there while I wept silently. I looked at Rowen and I was thankful that he was still there, actually. It was better than being alone. He stood and walked over to me. I looked up and met his gaze. I could see understanding in his rose gold eyes. He touched the side of my face, much like he had when I was still dead and in between realms. His touch made me shudder involuntarily. “We are going to get through this, howe
Chapter 24I watched intently as the blood remained pooled for longer than usual. Or at least it seemed that way. I didn’t even realize I was holding my breath until the blood started to form a line and I exhaled. “Ok, it worked. Now we just see where the line stops and that is the direct spot for the portal.” I mumbled. The blood went directly to a spot quite far from us on the map. It looked like this was close to a river, and stopped. Then another line came from the pool of blood and went to a completely different spot, close to us this time. Then another line came from the pool. When it finally stopped there were six lines with six end points, all in a sort of jagged circle. “What does that mean?” Kiera stated, she had never seen anything like it before. “This either means all six points have to be activated at once to create the portal… Or the portal is not stationary. Depending on the moon it will change places. It would be luck of the draw to catch it at the exact place and e
Chapter 25(Ramses) I turned to The Ancestors who had just sent Katrina back to her body and pretended I didn’t just feel my entire soul shatter. “What is it you would like me to do now?” I asked snarkily. “We will call you when you are needed. For now make yourself at home, Reaver.” She spat, and within seconds they were gone and a portal opened up. I assumed that was my queue to step inside. It transported me back to the base of the twisted tree. "Great, back out here again." I huffed to Titan. "It could be worse, we could be dead." Titan howled. "Oh, too soon? Haha." He cackled. I couldn’t help but burst out laughing too, what a fucked up situation we were in. Well, one thing was for sure, I would never be bored here. I decided to try and materialize to my house. I figured there wouldn't be anyone there so I wouldn't be bothered. I closed my eyes and materialized, but when I opened them I was at Katrina's house. "Ugh, my magic works so strange here." I exclaimed to Titan. It wa