Above All Else

chapter 7

Elsewhere a few hours earlier, deep within a wooded area sat a modest sized two-story log cabin overlooking a small lake. No one could be seen for miles and even the animals that roamed the woods that night were eerily silent. Inside of the cabin a group of twelve witches stood around a long trestle table chanting over a deeply charred body. Candles were set on every surface and lite the room a blaze with flames that rose higher causing misshapen shadows to dance across the room and the witches' faces as their chanting grew louder.

A man stood off to the side watching the proceedings intently waiting for his signal. Hours went by before it came while the exhausted witches continued to chant. The formerly charred body was now perfectly healed though still dressed in the burnt remains of clothing. The man quickly picked up the urn as the chanting grew faster than before. Opening the mouth of the inert body on the table, he poured every last drop of the thick black liquid down its throat, knowing that even if one drop was missing, their chance would be lost to them forever. The body lay on the table dormant and the man felt a moment of pure panic before it started convulsing causing him to jump into action as the chanting cease.

"Help me! Any that are strong enough, help me hold him down!" The man yelled but soon realized all twelve witches were unconscious on the ground. A small part of him wondered whether the witches were alive or dead, but the thrashing body beneath his arms demanded his attention. The man tried to hold the chest down as the body's back arched off the table. Its mouth opened and released a piercing scream that could be heard for miles before falling back to the table motionless once again.

The man, who was sweating and breathing heavily due to exertion, cautiously removed himself from the body taking a step back. He sent a silent prayer that this was what was meant to occur since none of them had been clear on what would happen; being that this had never been done before. There was a sudden ragged intake of breath coming from the body on the table and the man drew closer. As the man stood over the table, the eyelids suddenly opened to reveal blood shot brown eyes staring back at him.

"Kol? Can you hear me?"

.

.

.

.

.

.

A little girl's laughter rang like bells through the glade by the lakeside, her long blonde ringlets waving in the breeze as she jumped and ran. A blonde haired man stood by leaning against a birch tree as he watched her climb atop a large rock. The little girl tried to extend her small arms to reach a low hanging branch of a flowering tree.

"Look! Look!" She cried out excitedly, "Look!"

There on the branch hanging just out of her reach was a former caterpillar's chrysalis cracking and giving away to show a newly formed butterfly beginning to emerge.

The little blonde girl bounced and clapped on top of the rock, in her excitement her foot slipped causing her to begin to tumble off the rock towards the hard ground.

The blonde man was at her side in a blink, catching her in his arms. "You must be careful my sweet Little One." His tone was gentle but showed his worry.

The little girl looked down ashamed, "I know. I know. I'm sorry." Remembering what had her so excited in the first place she looked up with her blue eyes sparkling. "But look!" She pointed her chubby finger towards the flowering tree for the man to see. "The caterpillar I helped into the tree is being born into a butterfly today!" She radiated joy at the thought.

The man chuckled at the little girl still cradled in his arms. "You mean formed, Little One."

The little girl's forehead wrinkled and her nose crinkled in confusion. "Born, formed, it's kind of almost the same thing."