Seraphina was never meant for this life. The ordinarily boring one Humans live, but no one could have predicted just how out of this world her life would become. She is ripped away from her family and loved ones when she falls into a portal that tak...
This is exactly how I thought being a witch would feel like. With the pots and herbs littered around Ayla's private study. A soft fragrance of lavender and sage filling the room from the complex concoctions brewing in the black cauldrons by the far wall.
There is a warmth to the room that doesn't seem natural, or rather, the lack of warmth although there are four burning fires under the adjacent cauldrons.
Ayla looks at me with a sharp focus, drawing my gaze into her intense eyes.
"I want you to feel the power in your body. Feel the gentle buzz as you breath in and the light zap as you breath out. That electric current is the life of the Moon Goddess, it is what connects her to all her children. Packs across the sea call it Chi, or energy but in this pack it's call Dala, the sacred score of life. So take a deep breath" Ayla instructs.
I do as she says and try to focus in on the current. I imagine currents of the Dala circling me, calling to me. It's almost a tangible thing if I focus on it. I've felt it before, when I've experienced extreme emotions like by the river a couple days ago or when I first got to this world and tried to escape the palace. But now, putting my conscious thought into it, I understand that it's not just something that protects me from harm, but also something that can heal and love but also destroy and kill. Something so powerful.
I release the breath I was holding with a big sigh and feel tingling zaps all over my body. It's real. This magic in my veins. And I can feel it so clearly.
I open my eyes and find the High Priestess watching me with a small smile.
"You feel it don't you," she asks, waving a hand around the room, " The Dala that lives within you and all life. The Goddesses power has no match, does it not."
"I can feel it- I never thought- it was only something that came suddenly and abrupt before but now... now I know its with me all along, like a puzzle piece slipping into place, I can't really describe it. The moment I acknowledged it was the moment I understood- it's truly something amazing"
"It is, isn't it. It was never something hard to grasp, especially for someone like you, who's very soul is so closely intertwined with the Dala. You just needed to listen, with something as easy as a breath."
I smile at the sensations around me, the way the air by the windows buzz from the sunlight shining through and the crackling of the fire, the fast buzzing of a fly traveling around the room or the feeling of the weight of liquid in the cauldrons.
"It's amazing," I reply, because it really was. So unlike anything I experienced on Earth, to be connected so deeply to life.
I reach out further and feel the gentle sway of the branches and how the earth parts for the worms. I feel... I feel- terror. Absolute terror.
I jump from my chair in shock, the wood clacking to the ground. My wide eyes connect with Ayla's, hers matching mine, but in shock not terror.
"What is it?" She rushes.
"I- I felt something beyond the border, I felt someone's fear and terror. I think someone's in danger," I ramble out.
A moment passes before her eyes widen even more. She moves into action and rushes towards the wooden doors. Her flowing white robes moving behind her.
"There's a group of Priestess foraging beyond the border, they are the ones you felt that terror from. Somethings very wrong"
The doors fly open with a flick of her wrist and she rushes out the room.
"KYE!" Ayla yells as she runs down the hallway. I follow close behind as dread wakes in the pit of my stomach.
I see a flash of red hair before Ayla's mate rushes around the corner, four armed guards behind his back. Kye reaches for his mate, his eyes scanning her body and the area for danger.
"What is it? What's wrong?" He asks.
"The Priestesses that are foraging, they are in danger. We need to get to them now"
A hard line sets Kye's face and before I know it he sets into action. As he gives orders to the guards (two staying here to protect me and two going off with him) Ayla turns to me.
"I need you to stay in my private office until I come back. We can't risk you when you could be the one who wins this war," Ayla tells me and gives me a squeeze on the shoulder.
"But- I can help, I know where they are and if I focus I can tell you-" A chorus of howls cut me off. It doesn't sound like the howls I'm used to. No, these are the beautiful voices of Gab's wolves, the vibrations hurt my bones and make the pit of dread in my stomach turn into a sink hole. I look to the water fountain to the right and see the water sloshing around. The colour drains from Ayla's face at the sound. Kye and the guards freeze for a moment as more and more howls circle the temple.
This can't be good, I think to myself. I feel the sudden urge to empty my stomach.
Ayla is the first to break and begins pushing my shoulders in the direction of her office.
"Go! You need to go, the room will keep you safe. Don't leave or open the door for anyone but me or Kye. Do you understand?" Ayla rasps and gives a nod to the guards.
"Remember your vows," she tells them. They raise a fist to their heart and bow.
I grab Ayla's hand and squeeze, "be safe" I say before letting go and rushing toward the office.
My chest tightens as I round the corner and stop in my track as I feel unfiltered terror crash into me.
I- I can't wait in a room while my people get slaughtered. This must have been how Gab felt when he found out about the attack. The urge to protect.
"Luna, we need to move," one of the guards gruff.
I hesitate for another moment before turning to them.
"Do you have a loved one outside right now?" I ask.
They look at each other quickly before they both nod at me.
"I can help save them, this power I've been given can help. I can help," I tell them. Whether they want to come with me or not, I am not letting these kind souls die.
"Our duty is to protect you, Luna" one says but I can tell it hurts him to say it.
Is it a mate? Or a daughter? A sister? Who ever it is, they deserve to have help.
"And you can still protect me... just not here" I say with finality.
They are about to say something but then the screams start. My head stamps to the sound and my feet move before I can think about it. I hear the guards run race after me, but not to catch me, but to fight with me.
I follow my power to the epicentre of fear and skid to a halt when I see the carnage. The Wolves- no, the Rogues are twice the size of our wolves, bigger then Gab. They are all in wolf form and I wonder if they even have a human form. There must be at least twenty of them attacking. They made it past the circle of statues, where a line of defence is stationed. I watch as the rogues slam into the guards. The strength of the rogues, it isn't fair. Their teeth rip of chunks of wolves. In a matter of moments the green grass begins to run red.
I see Ayla stand ready by a red Wolf, Kye I realise. She holds two curved blades that look just as deadly as the look in her eyes.
My head snaps to the other side of the forest and when the sight of more rogues come into view, I know this isn't going to be a fair fight.
But a slaughter.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
