Once upon a Midnight | BOOK I

Five

I was woken from my sleep by a sweet and soothing melody. It was almost as if I was drowning in the rhythm of the song. The soft mesmerizing song felt so familiar, I almost sang along until I recognized the song. The thought of the song alone filled me with so much dread because once upon a time, I sang that song.

I had fallen asleep while studying the spells in the grimoire. I always wondered why my mum was always cautious whenever I asked for the grimoire, today, I found out why. Though most of the grimoire was written in languages I couldn't understand, ranging from Enochian, Sumerian and even Latin, I was able to still understand what a few of the spells did. The grimoire had tons of spell ranging from a Mesopotamian zu-buru-dabbeda incantation which was used against field pests to an Apocalyptic spell which could be used to cause the apocalypse. Not that I could've managed the spell even if I tried. It also appeared that a couple of my ancestors were alchemists - or spellwrights in the very least - because I saw a couple reformations on some regular spells.

I slid out of bed and did the daring thing of following the song. I stepped out of my room and walked down the hallway which, like my room, was lit by dull balls of light that brightened as I passed them. I passed two rooms before I found the origin of the song. I took a deep breath in before I opened the door and walked in. I couldn't help but frown at how reckless the person was. Practicing a magick like that while leaving your rooms door unlocked was beyond reckless, it was also dangerous. What if someone stepped in, like my foolish self.

Stepping into the room felt like being transported into another realm. The humidity in the room was ten times higher than that outside and I felt I was being weighed down by a heavy cloak. The room was dark, save the glowing runes in the air and the two floating entities at the center of the room. The first was a lady, her legs were crossed as she floated in the air and she emitted a dark blue-green aura as the song escaped her lips. The other was a book. An old book that was opened before her which emitted an even stronger aura as the pages flipped. A book I recognized too well as The Book of Drowned Sorrows and the song that our dear sorceress was singing in the air was just one of the few hundred sirenic songs. Ayesha was learning Siren Magic.

The room was suddenly lit up by the wisps that plagued every inch of this castle. It was almost as if Ayesha commanded them herself. But while I watched in awe, Ayesha's eyes held a different look. Her blank eyes rested on me. "Why're you here?" she bit out in a cold tone.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to intrude, but is that...?" I froze immediately I noticed the large rearing cobra in front of me.

"Naga, come back," Ayesha said and her familiar retreated, sliding under her bed. I couldn't read the expression on Ayesha's face due to the veil covering her body which I found out was called a niqab, courtsey of Nicolas. Ayesha landed on her bed softly with the book in her hand. "What do you want, English girl?" She had an Arab accent and she said the word "English girl" like it was an insult.

"You were practicing Siren Magic. Weren't you?" I rubbed my sweaty palm on the hem of my skirt.

"Yes. And?"

"It's dangerous," I said. Siren Magic was one of the easiest and most dangerous of beast magic, and believe me when I say it can be used for a whole lot more than drowning sailors.

"And?" Ayesha said, her voice devoid of any emotion.

I squeezed my hand shut as I remembered the day I tried it. "I tried it on a layperson," I finally said. "All I wanted was to make him loose his breath a little, to make him feel suffocated, but I hurt him pretty bad." Back then, Bob was always bullying Britt because of his Dads, so, I had decided to step in one day and punish him with my little knowledge in Siren Magic. "The magick got out of hand and instead of making him suffocate, I..." My voice broke as tears began to well up in my eyes.