The Darkside

Mother of Magic

I was astonished at what was in front of us. It was from a bright shimmering light that the voice came. "Identify yourself!" I said, putting my hands up.

 "What? Are you going to send me away, too?" the voice said as a figure appeared through the shimmering light. 

"Who are you?" I asked.

"I am Alzerran, the Mother of Magic; and you just broke the cardinal rule of magic," she said, pointing at me. 

"Are you talking about me sending of Christen away? If that's the problem, I can explain," I said.

"I am sure you can, but it still doesn't change what you did," she said with disdain.

 "I am sorry, but I was going to get him back as soon as I sent Jared away," I said.

 "It doesn't work like that," she said in a stern voice. 

"But, you don't understand; he was trying to wipe Jared's memory. I tried to explain to him that Jared was not a problem. After all, his brother was the one who was turned into a monster by the dark witch we're looking for. All I did was send Christen away to buy time so I could send Jared home and bring back Christen," I said.

"But you didn't just send him away, did you? You sent him to hell," she said in an angry tone. 

"Hell? No, I didn't send him to hell. I just sent him to the past so I can have enough time to send Jared away before he turns back up as he always does," I said.

"But you did send him to hell, although you didn't know it," said Alzerran.

 "Are you saying I didn't send him to the past but to hell? But it must be a mistake; I would never do such a thing, especially not to Christen" I replied. 

"Yes, you sent him to the past, that's true, but what you didn't know is that the past you sent him to is his hell," she said.

 "What does that mean?" I asked, as did my aunt.

"Let me show you," she said, putting her hand up towards the wall. It was like her hand was a film projector. All of a sudden, the wall was a screen and there was a movie running. "What is this, what am I watching?" I asked, confused.

 "This is Christen's past, which is also his hell," she said, causing even more confusion. Then I saw it: Christen's wife and kids.

"They look happy, so how is this hell?" I asked. 

Continue to watch and you'll see," she said. And then it happened. Christen and his family were in a car accident. Christen survived and was holding on to his dead family's bodies while weeping. 

"Oh my, what have I done?" I said, falling to my knees. Aunt Cassie and Jared rushed over and hugged me saying, "It's not your fault, you did not know."

"But it is; I did this to him. I made him relive a past that was utter torture. I will never be able to forgive myself for this," I said as tears rolled down my cheeks. "Please help me get him back," I pleaded Alzerran; "You can keep my powers, just get him back."

"As you wish," she said. But there was no Christen. "Where is he? Why isn't he back yet?" I asked after a moment.

 "Because you have to get him back," she answered. "But I have no powers anymore," I answered. "Yes you do; I gave you back your powers," she said. 

"You did? Thank you so much," I said before chanting the Recovery Spell. I finished the spell, and Christen was back. One look at his sad face and I felt like the worst person on earth. "I am so sorry, Christen! I never meant to put you through that," I said, hugging him. He didn't say a word, but stood there with a blank expression. "I know I can't take back what I did, but let me explain," I said and told him everything while he just stood there, silent. Afterwards, he just disappeared as usual.

"Give him time; he will come around," Alzerran said as she disappeared. I felt like I was my worst enemy. I sat next to Aunt Cassie and laid my head on her shoulder.

"Sorry, kiddo. I wish I had a way to take your pain without erasing your memory, but I don't," she said, holding my hand affectionately.

 "I know," I said, and I did; Jared walked up to us saying, 

"I know this isn't a good time; but Octavia, the chief called again," he said, reminding me that he had to go meet the chief.

 "Alright, let's go," I said, getting to my feet. 

"Can you come with me after what just happened?" Jared asked, touching my shoulder.

 "I'm fine," I said, grabbing my keys and walking out the door. And as I did, my Aunt told Jared that it would be good for me to take my mind off things.

"Octavia, slow down!" yelled Jared, making me check the speed limit, which was a hundred miles an hour. I slowed down and we eventually reached the police station. We were taken to the interrogation room, where there was another man seated.

"There they are!" he said, pointing at us.

 "I'm sorry, but we are not celebrities, even though we have been mistaken for them many a time," I said, annoying the guy. 

"Very funny, but I saw you two at the cemetery, burying bodies; and doing something with your hands, which I assume is witchcraft," he said. 

"What are you talking about?" I asked, feeling uneasy with what he was saying. 

"You know what I am talking about! I saw everything! You even put two bodies in your truck," he said. I could feel the chief's eyes on us and I could hear Jared breathing fast. I felt the pressure to do something, but my mind was blank.