THE 33 KEYS: Key 2 - ANSWER THE CALL "Listen for that Perfect Beat"

CHAPTER 2: THE FEEL ROOM

Once Mary is deep in a coma, Kat leaves her behind and finds the others waiting in the middle of the shrinking forest as planned. They stand inside the triangle of the three tallest cedar trees; Xaxu – the eldest – in her sea of white, accompanied by all the colours of the rainbow that make up Kat's seven other sisters.

"Kat," Xaxu says, her tone emitting a sexy huskiness. "Where were you? I called twice."

"Let's not pretend," Fantum barks. "We all know she dropped Mother's veil again."

"Let Kat answer for once without you barging in."

"It was an accident," Kat offers. "A nosy human saw me. I had to go dark to touch him."

"Strange," Xaxu replies. "Everyone knows you're much more careful than that."

"She's lying!" Fantum interrupts again. "Can't you tell?"

"Enough already!" Xaxu's onyx black eyes pulsate in her oval-shaped face. "It's time. Let's go back for our meeting and decide once and for all."

Everyone falls silent. Already in position, they wait for Kat – the youngest of the nine – to join. She steps forward to complete the equilateral triangle, arms at her side and head bowed. Xaxu extends her left arm and utters the magic words to open the doorway.

"Kishar. Nammu. Nin."

Three golden lines engrave the triangle at their feet; then Xaxu transforms into a beam of white light and a magnet pulls her to the middle of the witches. Qira extends her left arm and does the same. Her beam of red light stands beside Xaxu's; then Raea's orange, Fejj's yellow, Suke's green, Jarka's blue, Mira's indigo and Fantum's violet.

Now it is Kat's turn. She utters her personal secret word in her mind then wraps her shadowy self around them until their energies fuse to flip the triangle. Finally, Kat drives everyone into the ground and the earth seals up over them as though nothing had happened. When they reappear, everyone is inside the pitch darkness of the Feel Room – a combination of nine etched triangles, the thrones that form a circle, all surrounded by two golden rings, with another larger etched triangle at the centre.

Kat unwraps herself and stands inside the larger triangle, head bowed, in silence. Xaxu's triangle, at the north of the circle, sucks her white beam of energy towards it. Then the others follow suit. As usual, Kat is the last to take position on her throne.

Finally, Kat reclaims her shadowy form and opens her red eyes, taking even greater precautions now to seal her thoughts from the others. Xaxu looks at her, as if for approval to start the council meeting, and then casts her onyx black eyes upon the other seven. All are now colourful bodies of mist with human outlines, and all bear onyx black eyes except Qira.

"Witches," she begins in a solemn tone. "You all know why we called this meeting, why we visited earth together for the first time since Mother left."

"Yes, Xaxu," they say in unison, all tones sombre, except one.

Xaxu's white mist-like form sails to the centre of the circle. Then she waves her arms over the triangle. A blue ball rises from beneath it and rotates before them. Xaxu turns to her sisters with the full demeanour befitting of Lilith's firstborn, her body vibrating and her onyx black eyes pulsating as she speaks.

"After what we've seen," Xaxu announces, "there's only one question on the table before us at this time. What shall we do about the humans?"