Lithium

Chapter Seven

Considering we were outside, Aunt Gracia decided we would start with elemental and animation magic. She led me to a small clearing in the woods behind our house, and sat on a tree stump near the edge.

"Just focus, and it should come to you, if you have any elemental powers."

I nodded to her. Seems simple enough.

I breathed in deeply, then let it out in a quick stream. I closed my eyes and relaxed my arms, not entirely sure I was doing the right thing, but hey, I was trying.

As nothing was happening, I decided to try focusing on individual elements. I felt the wind rushing past my face, imagined it blowing faster, rustling the leaves on the trees and bushes. 

Nothing happened. Guess I wasn't compatible with the wind element.

I moved on to water. I imagined a flowing stream, rain forming puddles on the ground, a waterfall of power and grace.

Again, nothing happened. Not even a drop of water appeared, unless you count the tears I was about to shed in a moment.

Seemingly sensing my current distress, I heard my aunt call out to me.

"Don't get discouraged! Just concentrate and keep trying!"

So with that, I moved on to earth, and then fire. I failed both of those too. Getting to the element of shadow, I already knew I couldn't do it.

"Can we just move on, Aunt Gracia? I couldn't even master wind magic, and we both know that's the most common and simple. What's my chances of using shadow magic?"

Aunt Gracia shook her head, "you can't give up that easily. And besides, you're the one who has been bugging me for the past week to finally teach you magic."

She had a point there.

Making up my mind, I took a deep breath and began to concentrate again. I pictured the shadows cast from all objects the sun touched. Pictured them moving under my command, swaying, fading, moving to my will. Yet...something felt off. I wasn't sure how to describe it...it just, didn't feel right. I opened my eyes and looked to my aunt.

"Well, it was a good try, but I guess you're not an elemental witch. No matter. Come, we'll try animation magic next."

What...what was that just now? And how come aunt Gracia didn't seem to feel it?

I shook my head to clear it, then followed aunt Gracia to the next section.

~*~*~

I'll spare you the details, so I'll just sum it up for you: yet another fail. So now, here we were, in the kitchen, facing a bunch of herbs. Most of which, stunk to high heavens.

Aunt Gracia moved some herbs around, then turned to face me. "Now I'm sure you're already aware, but next up is magical remedies. However, I've come to notice you struggling when just given a bunch of supplies and told to use them. So, I'm going to give you a little....stimulation."

Before I even had time to react, my aunt picked up a nearby knife. "Aunt Gracia what are you-"

And in that moment, my aunt sliced the blade of the knife across her wrist, blood immediately spouting from the thin line. She nonchalantly held her wrist out in my direction, "well? Heal me. If you have the powers of a healer, you will know on instinct which of these herbs will stop the bleeding. And if you're strong enough, you'll be able to heal me with magic alone."

And then I began to panic. But I mean, come on, what was she thinking! I didn't know the first thing about healing magic and here she goes, slicing herself open without a second thought!

I scrambled around, accessing each of the herbs in passing, but my mind remained jumbled as ever. "Aunt Gracia come on! I don't know what to do! I don't even know what any of these herbs are!"

She studied me for a moment, then sighed. Raising her other hand, she covered her wrist and closed her eyes for a moment. When she pulled away, I saw the cut was completely healed.

Well. At least now I know what kind of witch my aunt is.

Sighing with relief, I ran a hand through my hair. "Don't do that again. What if you didn't have healing powers? You could've bled out!"

My aunt simply laughed a little, turning and putting the herbs away. "You sound just like your mother. She reacted the same way when I first showed her my magical abilities." She finished and flashed me a small smile, before heading to the dining room. "Come Faye, we have more to try."

~*~*~

Next up was foresight magic, which was the most uneventful hour of my life. Apparently, I wasn't a seer either. By this time, the only magic that remained was summoning, and I was feeling quite discouraged. After all, it was not unheard of for a witch or warlock to only be able to cast conventional spells. Which are simply run of the mill things, like casting a light, or moving an object across the room.

We headed back to the living room, where the large summoning circle was laid out in dark red, looking quite a bit like blood.

Aunt Gracia approached the circle cautiously, like she was afraid her footsteps alone would open the gates to hell. "Now...chances of you having this magic are slim...but it is possible, so you're going to try. You stand at the circles edge, like this, and slice your hand, letting your blood flow into the circle as an offering. After that, you speak whatever words come to mind, and the demon connected to the words you speak will be summoned to the surface."

I nodded gravely, knowing instinctively how dangerous this magic could be. I approached the circle as my aunt stepped back, taking the small dagger from her. I stared down at the pristine blade for a moment, a small chill running through me. Gathering my courage, I placed the blade to my skin, and drew a line across my palm. In that moment, a rush went through me, and my eyes widened. Almost as if on instinct, I felt myself voice the words that appeared to me.

"I call upon thee, demon hound from the Otherworld, who's skin cannot be pierced by any blade. Come to me, and stand by my side, Failinis!"

There was a bright flash of light, and a strong wind filled the room, forcing me to place my arms in front of my face in a way of protecting myself from the unknown threat. A moment later, an eerie howl sounded, one that caused chills to form along my spine, and when i looked up, a large black hound with blood red eyes faced me, fangs bared.

I glanced at my aunt, and saw her eyes were about to pop out of her head. "Failinis...the demon hound of invincibility...." She slowly looked at me, and it shocked me to see a twinge of fear in her eyes. "Thats that....Faye, you're a summoner."

~meanwhile~

A boy cloaked in black hurried into the room, watching the man staring out the window.

"Father," he called out quietly.

The man simply nodded. "Yes...yes, I'm aware. The time has come. She has finally awoken."