Soul Master

9. Amèlie

Penteluck stepped back dropping my mum's arm and looking around. The house went from a comfortable darkness to blinding light, the candles relit on the cake then one by one they flashed out and instead of the scent of wax, a strong stench of damp filled the room. The small chandelier in the kitchen shook before it shattered and smashed into pieces on the floor, from upstairs something heavy fell with a loud thump. Mum came up beside me and held tight to my hand, as we looked around the room bursting with activity from the realm of spirits, the blinding brightness suddenly disappeared, taking with it the loud ringing that had infiltrated my ears. Throwing us once more into darkness, only this time, it offered no comfort. Penteluck stood watching something in the corner of the room, or someone. The sudden darkness had threw off my senses, but if I squinted I could see a body shifting and scrambling wildly on the floor. The feral snarls and growls erupted from the body, before yelping in pain. It was Asha, I thought excitedly that this was the spell working on him, that once things settled, he would be human. But just as quick as the room was in chaos, it once more fell silent.

Mum rushed to the light after minutes of rigid tension passed.

I looked to where I thought Asha would be standing, with his usual calm and cool demeanour, instead he lay wounded in wolf form, his body baring bite wounds from some sort of animal, and blood seeping from his back haunch where a deeper wound had been inflicted.

'Asha?' I made to rush to him, but Penteluck held me back as Mum walked over to him instead.

'Well Hell.' Mum muttered, 'if that isn't a familiar sight,' she remarked as she gestured to his leg. She stroked Asha on the head before opening a cupboard and pulling out a medical box. 'His wounds aren't as bad as they look. Amèlie. Can you sense him?' She looked around quickly.

'Sense who?' I still couldn't hear Asha in my mind, and if she meant Blitzen then other than that display of activity which I didn't even sense him doing, he wasn't here either. Pretty disappointing really.

'He's not here.' Penteluck confirmed.

'Then what was this?' She gestured to Asha who whined pitifully.

'Why is he still in wolf form?' I asked. 'Did that spell fuck up or what?' My voice trembled with nervousness.

'Language.' Mum glared at me.

I rolled my eyes. 'Are you okay Asha?' I looked over his furry body. Wondering why he was still wolf.

'He's like that by choice.' Penteluck said beside me, again reading my thoughts through my expressions. 'Probably prefers it since he is now used to it.'

'Great.' I drawled. I had been hoping to fix things with him after the release of the spell, but he was going to be petty and stay a sulking wolf.

'What happened Mum?' I asked, trying not to get too worked up and focused on relaxing my shaking hands.

'I don't know.' She admitted, 'do you feel different?'

'No.' I shook my head, sounding disheartened even to myself.

'Try some stuff.' Penteluck encouraged. 'Here.' he gave me a flower and pulled some petals off. 'Start off small. Try mend this flower, move these petals to the flower with your thoughts and heal it.'

'I can't do that.' I said instantly, mostly out of habit. At one point in my life I could have. When I believed in the magic of my imagination that left me ostracised by reality.