The Phoenix Witch

Chapter 19

Christine's P.O.V

' I was taken by The Circle about two years ago when they raided my town, word had gotten out that there was a powerful seer in those parts. They came at night, killing every single person until they found me, My father tried to protect me but they slashed his neck and my mother well' she cut herself off, taking in a shuddering breath and continued 'I was so scared, so very scared of what they would do to me. My powers, the thing I had learned to rely on failed me, didn't warn me and I despised them for it ', a bitter laugh escaping her.

'We can do this later, Emily' I said looking at her with concern, maybe she wasn't ready I thought. 'No, you have to know everything, you have to catch him' she said, a pleading and desperate look on her face, I slowly held her hand and said 'I will, I promise' with determination.

'I don't remember where I was kept in the initial days, they always kept me drugged and used Calistos but towards the end of the first year they transported me somewhere far away, It took many days and the drugs wore off, that was the day I was introduced to Travis Gallimore. Every day after that was hell, he would' She paused, her voice breaking.

I squeezed her hand gently and she cleared her throat and continued 'he would do terrible things to me almost every day and forced me to use my powers whenever he needed for his gain. I never saw the world outside the mansion I was kept in but one time he needed to know the future of a man, Angus Filliard, I never saw him with my own eyes but I saw him in my vision, he was a stout, short man with dark eyes and brown hair. I Saw that he was the owner of a mall and had gotten himself in trouble with the local authorities–human authorities'

'The police?' I interrupted her in shock and asked 'Were they on human lands?'
'Yes, that was when I discovered that we were on human lands' she said
'Do you know where in human lands? They have too many countries and states' I asked, hope rising in me.
'Yes, they were in San Fransisco, Castro Street' she said, 'Do you know where in Castro Street?' I asked eager to find out more. She shook her head no. I smiled and said
'It's okay, you have no idea how much this information will help us, Emily. Thank you so much' I said and she smiled as if she was proud of herself, as she should be, I thought imagining all the horrendous things she managed to survive.

'I have another question to ask you and then I'll be out of your hair' I said
She nodded at me to continue and I asked 'How were you able to use your powers against the Callistos?'
She grimaced and said 'A seer's power can be enhanced by the use of a herb called Ukimora, it takes away as much strength it gives and has often led to the death of seers. He gave a dose of that to me before the battle knowing that the Council knew about me'

I nodded at her and said 'That's it for now, Thank you for talking to me Emily. Ask for me if you need anything', I walked to the door and was about to leave when I turned to her and said 'I know no one has told you this, Emily but you are a very strong woman, you survived a great deal and still dare to punish that bastard. You will have your revenge but until then you are safe here, he can't get to you'
A tear rolled down her cheek and she nodded at me, a grateful and relieved look on her face, I smiled at her and walked out of the room.

'You were good with her' Matthew said as I walked out of the room, I gave him a sad smile and said 'I've had some experience unfortunately'
He looked at me cautiously and asked 'With abuse victims or abuse?' His tone was neutral, 'Oh no, I- nothing happened to me, I had a friend who was abused. He didn't have anyone else, I learned a lot from that day' I said, my voice soft and my mind far away.

'I'm so sorry' he said breaking me out of my nostalgia, I nodded shocked at how much I had revealed to him, that I hadn't mentioned Roy to anyone before.

'I uh am going to go now, rest a little before 6' I said Itching to run away from this situation, he just nodded and I gave him a shaky smile before walking away.

I all but sprinted to my room when I was out of his sight and took a deep breath, what had possessed me to tell all that to him? I had seen people use their trusted one's secrets against them many times, I knew the pain and I would do anything to never feel it again, especially when I was amidst some of the most powerful creatures in this world. It was a mistake that I wasn't going to commit again.

I fidgeted with the hem of my shirt as I waited for everyone to arrive, A hand stopped me and I turned to Nan 'It'll be fine, honey' she said, a comforting smile on her face and It would have worked if not for the unease in her eyes. I nodded at her and looked to the left of the throne room where the most trusted servants of this palace stood, They looked nervous and some even flinched when the Elders appeared, A witch holding a box with them, and the vampires and wolves arrived next and with that Aurora waved her hand, closing the doors and windows shut.

'Good evening everybody, thank you for coming. As you all know we are here today to ascertain which one leaked information about the Esecta, If anyone wants to confess this is your last chance' She paused waiting for an answer but the only sound was the murmur of shock coming from the servants.

'Okay, let's proceed' she continued and gestured for the witch to keep the box on the table, she opened the box and took out an iron blade, with sparkling rubies on the handle. It would look normal to any human but creatures could feel the power thrumming through it, I stared at it in shock when I could feel it a little more intensely than I had anticipated.

She placed the blade gently on the dismantled box, now acting like the podium for it. The blade glowed white as she chanted the opening spell, She then took the blade, cut her palm, and said 'Blood of the Elder' It brightened in response and she beckoned Nan to come forward, Nan repeated the same and said 'Blood of the queen' and it further brightened. Aurora called me next and I froze in shock, why did I have to be the princess?

I thought, I unfroze when Nan nudged me and stepped forward, I could feel the blades power the moment I got hold of it, it coursed through me and I felt like It was curious of my blood, I shook off the feeling and cut my palm, whispering 'Blood of the princess'.

Instantly bright light filled the room making everyone close their eyes, I opened my eyes after it was back to normal and saw that it had transformed, its whole body now glistening in red and the rubies glowing. The next thing I noticed was that it was pointing towards a direction, my eyes followed the path and saw it pointing to one of the servants.

'Bring her here!' Jordan yelled and she was immediately escorted to the center of the room. She looked scared as hell as she saw King Maximus approach her, 'Were you the one to leak information, Lara?' He yelled, she flinched and meekly said 'yes'. He looked furious at her and just when I thought he was about to blow up at her, he turned to us and said 'I'm so sorry for her actions, this pathetic wolf is of my pack and I made the mistake of trusting her. I implore you to allow me to punish her' shame in his voice.

'She will be thrown to the dungeons where any punishment you may think fit will be given to her, take her away!' Jordan said and she was quickly taken out of the room.

'This gathering is now over, Let this be an example to you all, going against us will only lead to harsh punishments. We hope that is not your fate' Silas said and the three of them disappeared with the blade. What no bye? I thought and snorted mentally before turning to Nan, she looked relieved and I smiled glad that some tension was off her shoulders. 

'The Elders have called a meeting in the archives, we are to be there now ' Matthew said and walked out of the room. Does anybody say bye, here? I thought and started for the archives, hand in hand with Nan.