Blood from the Apple

Mirror Mirror...

The curtains cover every speck of light in the room, though the darkness is not what keeps them safe. 

A pentagram is drawn on the ground, the crimson substance of a vampire's blood coating the chipped, wooden floorboards. Candles are lit at each point of the star encased in the circle, and, in the center, broken shards of glass lay at the feet of six women. 

"Obscurent eum tenebræ et vectigal accipere..." the six chant in unison. 

A woman oversees them, a red crystal gleaming off her dainty, pale neck. Her hair is red, blood red to some, and the dark circles under her eyes showcase the deep nature of her soul. 

"Let darkness take its toll..." The woman slams her staff on the ground, once to signal for the ritual to continue. 

"Ut sanguinis patitur, et potestas cedere justo..." 

"May blood give way to power, and for power give way to magic." the woman echoes.

Clank. Her staff again. 

"Speculum Speculum, tenebras, et diem retributionis adiuva nos prohibere eos qui vivunt in sanguine infuso."

"Show the one who is the keep to all the magic that we seek. A magic to rule all that pass, just by looking within a glass." the woman chants afterward, adding onto the spell on her own. 

The six chant again. "Blood, blood let it spill, from the lips of the damned and ill." 

They grab knives from the ground and slit their palms. Blood pools onto the glass and forms and forms a picture of the vampire with features so fair and magic so deep-- Alvira.

One witch turns to the staffed one. "See, Mother? There is the answer." 

"Then it is her blood that will give us the strength to purge both mortal and vampire." the other smirks. "Good work, Evanora." 

"Mistress Lieve, who is this girl?" a witch from the circle speaks up.

"She's truly an eye to behold..." another mumbles.

"Must be a vampiric enchantment. Deadly to the likes of witch and man alike... right, Mother?" Evanora brushes a piece of her ginger hair back into place. 

"Indeed." Lieve's eyes flash.

The door slams open, revealing a young woman in her early twenties. While the other witches wear black ceremonial cloaks and robes, this young witch carries a backpack, blue jeans, and a tank top. Her exposed belly makes the present coven cringe at her sight. There is surely a difference between modern and exposure. 

"Aunt Lieve..." the girl sets down her backpack on the edge of the circle. "I heard you needed me today?" 

"Jayde... how... exhausting it is to see you." Lieve clutches onto her staff.

"Look at the half-breed witch..." 

"How revolting. The dark-skinned girl looks nothing like Mistress Lieve." 

Whispers circle the room and Jayde is used to hearing them. No one wants to be caught dead with a "half-breed witch".  Jayde takes steps forward in her boots, trying not to step on any of the ritual work.

"If my father ever caught me here..."  Jayde shoves the thought aside. She is here to help him, not for any of the real witchy stuff.

"You're late." Lieve spits.

"My... my father's in the hospital again. I can't bear to see him like..." Jayde's mouth runs a million miles a minute.

Lieve's sharp-pointed fingernail waves, zipping Jayde's mouth shut with her dark powers. "Magic binds us together, child. As my niece I expect you to carry the same dignity as Evanora, yet instead, you choose to come into rituals... like that." 

Jayde gasps for breath, clutching onto her throat. Her aunt isn't a nice woman, but she knows she's better than any vampire. The same vampires poisoned her father's monster hunter blood. Vampires stole her mother from her life, taking away any connection of magic away from Jayde until she started college. 

But being an art student with magical powers gets out of hand quickly. Especially with monster hunter blood also running through her veins. 

"Are you listening, Jayde?" Lieve cocks her eyebrow.

"Can you repeat it again?" 

"She isn't listening, Mother. I told you she isn't up for it." Evanora narrows her eyes at Jayde. 

Lieve lets out a huff of air. "Take the silver dagger from our vault, cleanse it with holy water. It is vital for you to bring back the blood of a high-class supernatural vampire. Once we have her whereabouts, you must take up your duty as a witch and fulfill this task." 

"And... this blood... it can heal my father?" 

"That and more. Child, you do this and vampire tyranny will end. All will be crushed under our heel. We will be known as the most powerful coven and history."

Jayde clears her throat, her brown eyes filling with worry. "Will the mortals be okay? The humans like my father?" 

"I swear on Evanora's life they will get what they deserve." 

"Peace from this supernatural plague." Jayde smiles. "When do you want this done by?" 

"The next full moon. That is the night the ritual must commence." Lieve grasps onto a moon shaped necklace around her neck.

"Okay, so a month. Got it." Jayde salutes Lieve and runs out the door.

All is quiet for a moment. 

Evanora lets out a puff of air. "On my life? Mother!" 

"I promised they would get what they deserve. Jayde was the one foolish enough to think peace was our option." 

"Then, what do we do with the humans?" 

"Hang them, burn them, hunt them out like the other supernaturals in this city." 

"The Witch Hunt... only reverse." Evanora smiles and shouts, "Then we can damn the humans to Hell where they belong." 

"Shh..." Lieve places a finger on her lip. "There are some who are... less than willing to commit to that ideal." 

"You mean Jayde?"

"She will understand, in time." 

"Ne daemones in terra ambulant, per ignem sibi odisse debemus. Accipere locum malo suo, ut vestimenta vestra die quo affliguntur damnati ..." 

"Come, Evanora. There is work to be done."