Secrets of the Cellar (Inside Secret #1) || COMPLETED

Prologue

The dark, dank basement had no windows, and provided only a sliver of light. All nine of the powerful humans in the room were quiet, but the fire they made in the middle of the room crackled very loudly, and echoed throughout their sacred space. One readjusted the hood attached to their cloak. Another tossed in the contents of an antique bowl. And yet another, was about to spill a certainly poisonous liquid into the bright flame, but a warlock put a hand in front of her to stop her from doing anything drastic.

I shiver in barely disguised fear. The man radiated power. And evil.

"Not yet, Ana." He said in a hoarse, but paternal voice, "We must be patient. We still need one more ingredient before that."

"Yes, yes, elder warlock," agreed a witch in a dark, mysterious cloak. Then she started to whisper, "Are you sure, elder? Is she the one?" Her voice was scratchy and she sounded cross, but with what, no one could know, because the woman was a cold old woman, and liked to keep to herself.

"Are you questioning my judgement, Elizabeth Martin?" He asks, "Don't you want power?" The witch shook her head frantically, and then nodded.

"No, of course not, elder." She said, fear evident in her face, "And I do want the power." She squeaked out.

The girl, Ana, did not know what they meant. Surely only she would be in the ritual. Ana had never heard of doing the ritual twice.

"Good. We must follow the instructions. And she will be the perfect one for this." The elder warlock said, getting excited, but Ana was severely confused.

"Remember the legend," A warlock asserted. And then, all at once, the nine magical beings opened their mouths to recite the well-known poem they all knew so well, it was like it was a part of them. But before they could start, a wizard materialized in the room, donning a silver cloak.

He threw a pen into the fire, and then stepped back to join the other cloaked personages in the circle. The girl yearned to stand beside them, but the girl could not join the circle, for she was not a divine being, as the rest of them. Yet. The elder warlock told her that this spell was supposed to help her get her Understanding, the power to be able to make spells or potions, and become a magical one. She would be the first one in the Coven with awakened power, they had said. She would be the only one who could do magic without the spell book, she could feel it!

But Ana still shivered, the rhyme bothered her, as did everything else. She was young, a nine year old with no fear in her soul, and pure of heart.

"My coven!" The elder boomed out, making Ana jump. The witches and warlocks all lifted their heads eagerly, awaiting their instructions, "We have not been blessed by the sacred power from the gods! So today, we celebrate the rebirth of Ana Revels, may she be filled with the power!" The coven all nodded their consent, and they smiled. Ana cowered away, fear overtaking her. The elder warlock nodded his head at Ana, and that made her feel better. So she dumped the special ingredient from her bowl, into the flames.

And the fire start to roar, filling Ana's head with pictures of past wizards, and warlocks, and witches, sorcerers, enchanters, and mages. Giving her knowledge of spells and how to make potions, and everything in between. Ana could sense the power right at her fingertips. It slowly traveled up her arm, and engulfed her in a brilliant light.

Ana didn't see the fire slowly creeping towards her, but the others did, and they did nothing.

So before Ana could fully grasp the Understanding and what it was, the fire stabbed at her chest, coming through from the back. It twisted and unraveled in her body. The pain was so excruciating, Ana started to wail, loud, and angry. The fire lifted her up, and held her in place, not letting her get away. It was hungry for an innocent being. The flames licked at her face, but she didn't care, for she realized that the fire was pulling out her heart, the half of her soul.

Souls were very powerful, and the only spells using souls were forbidden, for using a soul trapped your being in the spell. And whatever circumstances you had before they took you, you took it, living in pain and agony forever.

Ana realized she had to get away, she need to save herself from the people she loved, because they didn't love her back. She struggled and thrashed, but the fire burned brighter, and gripped tighter.

And then the fire plucked out her heart, like a feather from a chicken. Ana screamed and screamed and screamed. Her vision went hazy, and her head started to pound. And when she thought the pain would be over, the fire started to travel toward her head, where the second part of her soul was, bringing in even more pain.

The fire seared through her scalp, scalding her hair or burning it completely, and her brain appeared on the outside of her head. She started to fall. The fire had let her go, and Ana started to crawl, aching everywhere, on the verge of dying, towards the edge of the circle. But they wouldn't budge. She started to cry uncontrollably, but even that hurt.

One of the witches gave her an annoyed look. What monsters, her barely there mind screamed. She was cold, so cold. But her mind didn't let her think of the cold. Only the pain.

She looked behind her, at the murderous fire, at her traitorous coven, and when she saw the elder warlock approach the fire and hold the two parts of her soul, she hoped that he would die, and she swore revenge on her coven, and on the coven's descendants. She hoped they would burn, like she burned.

Innocent Ana wasn't so innocent anymore.

She watched as the elder warlock squeezed hard on her soul, and that very soul turned to dust, flying into the fire. Ana slowly crumpled, and her last swear of revenge died on her lips.

Then the air suddenly turned frigid, and the wind started to howl, as if mourning the loss of dear Ana. The breeze swirled in the inside of the circle, taking the inferno with it. All of the magical beings shivered, but they knew the cold, and the fire, wouldn't last.

And they were right. Laying in the cold ashes were the beautiful amulets, all shining brightly and glittering on the floor.

It was done.

One by one, the members of the coven took a necklace, using their books to conjure up a spell that would bind it to their families' blood. Only those with their blood could use it. But Ana's blood was mixed into it as well, which concerned the coven.

As they all trickled out of the room, the head warlock walked to the dark spot on the ground of the room, and he felt tears fall from his eyes. He hoped Ana would understand, that she needed to be sacrificed. He was full of deep regret and remorse for what he should have done as her father.

The elder had told the rest of the coven not to fret about Ana's blood. For Ana was gone, and would never, ever, be seen again.

He was wrong.