Fighting For Freya

Chapter 8: Knowledge is Power

   "I know you have already heard a lot about us from your mom. I'm unsure of how much she got to explain to you, or how it was even possible for her to come to you from the spirit realm, so how about we start off with something we can look at and go from there." My aunt says, standing up and going into the study. 

   She comes back with a book in hand. It looks incredibly old, the brown leather cover looking soft from how worn it has become over time. 

   I take the book from her noting the silver pentagram on the front. "What is this?" I question as I lightly trace the pentagram with my fingers. 

   "The original spell book from our first ancestor, Catherine Ward. It has the most basic spells in it and our family tree, which automatically updates itself when someone of our bloodline is born or dies." Kristen explains, as if she has seen this many times throughout her life. 

   I open the book and start to flip through pages, seeing spells for the simplest of things. Spells to help crops grow better, spells for clear skin, even spells as simplistic as making cold water hot. Once I get to the back of the book there is a page that folds downwards to open and I can see the name of every single person from our family. 

   My name and Kristen's are at the bottom under each of our mother's. I run my fingers over my mom's name, which has her birth day and death day in small scrawl underneath. Lucinda Johansen 06/21/1970-02/09/2003.

   I blink my tears away as I look up to my aunt. "You are going to start studying spells, herbs, and potion mixing. You aren't supposed to have any use of your powers until your birthday so we are going to do this traditionally and stay away from magick use until that night." My aunt says pointedly. 

   "What will happen that night?" I ask, curiously. 

   "You will spend the day purifying your body by bathing in the natural hot spring hidden on our lands. On the outside it looks like we only have one acre but we actually have ten. The spring is in the middle of the property on the fifth acre. You will walk there alone, spreading the petals of a flower of your choice on the path as you go. Once there, you will strip yourself of your clothes and we will help you purify your body by mixing special potions into the spring specifically made for this ritual. Once you are finished you will put on a white dress and pray to the moon goddess until midnight. Once midnight strikes your affinity will fully awaken and you will come into your power. Nobody is ever sure of what affinity the goddess will bestow upon them, but it will usually be Earth, Water, Fire, or Air. They are the most common affinities." my aunt explains. 

   "If the moon goddess favors you she may give you a base element and a secondary element, such as Light or Dark. It is extremely rare to have more than one bestowed upon a witch but it has happened. Those witches are usually mated to a Werewolf though." My aunt explains. 

   "A werewolf such as Asher or even Aiden." Kristen says, wiggling her eyebrows at me. 

   "Oh come on, there's no way." I giggle, giving her a pointed look whilst blushing. "Asher seems to hate me and Aiden is young. Isn't he like seventeen or eighteen?" I question.

   "Yes, werewolves can't distinguish who their mate is until they are twenty one anyway. Every witch who was mated to a werewolf was mated to an older one who had to wait a few years to find their mate. I believe it is done that way to insure there is no waiting around when that witch comes into her power. The offspring between witches and werewolves tend to be very powerful. The males always end up being werewolves with higher senses than the normal werewolf, while the females always come out as witches with some werewolf characteristics such as better eyesight or hearing. On top of that, the werewolf a witch is mated to usually ends up being an Alpha. Due to this, the offspring are usually on top of all other werewolf packs. Like royalty, like us. That is why witches when mated to werewolves, are targeted by other beings like vampires or the fae." My aunt patiently explains.