The Amaranth Wand

FIFTEEN (Ruby POV)

My dear great-granddaughter,

If you're reading this letter, it means that you found my grimoire, you know something's wrong and that you're in danger. And if things went according to our plan, it means that your sisters are with you, supporting you. Stay united, my dear children, you need each other. A tough test awaits you and only the combination of all of your energies will help you to succeed.

I hope you can forgive me, my dear Ruby Rose, because everything that's happening is my fault. I was so stupid... and now you're paying the consequences of my mistake. I'm also sorry because your grandmother hid information from you, I bet you're angry, but we had to protect you from the evil that sleeps under the hill and did our best to avert his attention from your extraordinary powers. You aren't normal witches, my children.

I don't delude myself, we managed to lock up the necromancer in his cell but it was just a matter of pure luck, he underestimated us and we caught him off guard, but that won't happen with you. He's getting ready for the battle too and will be livid, I'm sure. We were young and quite inexperienced concerning magic, women from our families didn't teach us how to confront such an evil creature and only with the help of the spring energy we managed to cast a spell that put his spirit in prison for a hundred years. We knew that you we're going to fight the great final battle, we wanted you to be ready for this and focused our efforts on achieving that goal.

For long years, we redirected the telluric currents that converge under Blue Hill, creating new knots below our houses, we poured our own magical energies in the altar to boost those currents, we studied and taught our daughters everything we knew and the things we learnt during our lives. And they took that knowledge and passed it to you, you're the most powerful witches that have ever lived in Blue Hill and you'll defeat the evil once and for all. You'll lock him forever, actually, because we're not sure that this spirit can be destroyed. Maybe you'll find a way, but you must do it before the winter solstice, the darkest night, on the 100th anniversary of the day we closed the magical lock of his cell.

I'm pretty sure you're a smart girl and have discovered many things about our enemy, maybe you already know what he really is... We don't know, we've been arguing for years about his nature: demon, necromancer, sorcerer, evil spirit, doomed soul... I like to think about him as a necromancer, a human who was thirst for power and became a terrible creature, because it means he can be defeated and killed, contrary to a demon.

He arrived to Blue Hill by the end of summer, a tall and dark-haired man, handsome and elegant, with a special smile that made all the girls in the village fall in love with him. We felt flattered, of course, because city guys don't usually pay attention to field mice. We immediately noticed that he was flirting with us all but didn't think it was weird, some men are like that and love complimenting young girls to see them blushing. We thought we were smart, enjoying his attention but knowing that it wouldn't lead to a serious relationship, it was just a game. Now, years later, we've realized that he was watching and testing us, looking for the perfect victim, the woman with a magical energy that could suit his plan. And he chose me...

And I believed him because his voice was sweet and persuasive. I thought I was different, special, not just another conquest. I thought he was in love with me and was going to marry me, we'd have a family together. He was a good liar and a smooth-tongued guy. My sisters believed him too and were happy for me and my good luck... except for Marian, my dearest friend. She knew something was fishy but I didn't believe her, I thought she was jealous and we even fought like we never did before. I was so stupid... I almost lost my witch sister because of that man.

But Marian never gave up, she's always been very stubborn and curious, and was determined to prove that my lover was a fraud. She followed him discreetly for days and he didn't notice because never paid attention to insignificant young girls... a big mistake. Marian caught him in the forest performing a ritual, drawing energy from the spring greedily. The next day, she dragged us to the clearing to witness it too and, this way, my friend planted seeds of doubt in my mind. Why my lover never told me that he was proficient in magic? Besides, there was something weird about the way he was handling the energy currents, something that Mother Nature didn't like, I could feel it... and the goddess never lies to us.