The Ritual of Blood and Bone

Chapter Five

"Phina, what happened?" Calla asks, her voice trembling.

"Can we go?" Seraphina replies and stands. They climb down the staircase slowly. Seraphina's mind is blank. The height doesn't seem quite so scary now, not after what that creature showed her. 

Seraphina remains silent until they reach the cabin.

"I'll run you a bath. You'll need to heat it up though," Calla says.

"Okay," Seraphina whispers and quickly darts inside the cabin. She takes in a deep breath, soaking up the familiar and comforting scents of dirt, flowers, and herbs that come from all of Calla's various potted plants that fill up most of the space in the room and more.

Seraphina sits on the bench and allows herself to feel safe now she's back home. She closes her eyes and focuses on her breathing as she calms down.

"It's okay. It's behind the Claw. It can't get you," she whispers over again.

It doesn't matter if it's behind the Claw. You defeated it.

Seraphina opens her eyes and can't help but smile a tiny smile as she comes to that realisation. Yes, she did defeat it. More than that, she crushed it as she forced her will upon it.

Now she thinks about it, that had felt good. Never had her powers felt that strong and a small part of her wants to feel that again. Something about its screams in her mind sends bolts of excitement shooting through her.

That feeling scares her.

Seraphina jumps as the door opens and Calla bursts in.

"It's ready," she states. Seraphina stands and walks outside. Behind the cabin, a tub has been dug into the ground. It is half full of water that Calla had collected from the stream. Seraphina walks over to it and hangs her hands above the water.

Closing her eyes, she imagines the sun on her skin. She imagines its warmth and comforting heat. Her palms tingle, and when she opens her eyes, beaming sunlight glows out of her palms. She concentrates it on the water and soon, it is steaming.

Calla drops in some of her homemade soaps and Seraphina can't help but grin as the scents of jasmine and lilies fill the air. Quickly, she strips off and sinks into the water.

With a long sigh, Seraphina lies back and stares up at the trees. They flutter softly in the breeze, and she closes her eyes so she can fully listen to the delicate bird song. Her muscles relax and the ache in her stomach settles.

Calla returns after about half an hour.

"Do you want me to do your hair?" she asks.

"Of course," Seraphina says, sitting up. Calla chuckles and sits down next to the bath. She dips her hands in the water and then rubs at one of her soapy bars until suds form.

Seraphina lets out a satisfied groan as Calla begins to gently massage her scalp. For a few moments, they stay in silence. Eventually, Calla speaks.

"So, what happened?" she asks.

Seraphina bites nervously at her lips. "I didn't hear anything at first," she begins and lets out a shaky breath. "Then I did. We spoke for a few seconds, both trying to get information out of the other. Then..." she trails off with a shudder. "Well, I accidentally thought about here and you..." She gulps back a heavy lump that forms in her throat. Tears start to spill down her cheeks as those images fill her mind once more. As she continues, her voice wobbles. "In return, it showed me what it wanted to do. Something in me snapped. I pushed back into its mind with a force I've never been able to muster before. I could feel myself pulverating its mind, crushing it with my own will. I demanded the creature never even think about me or the cabin again."