Once upon a Midnight | BOOK I

Twenty-two

Once upon a time, there was a powerful sorcerer named Moses. He was the first sorcerer to make use of celestial magic. It is said that an angel named Zagzagel, appeared to Moses in the form of a burning bush, and instructed him in the knowledge of celestial magic. Moses was so powerful that he alone stood against the entire land of Egypt and their sorcerers. With his knowledge in celestial magic and with the help of a philosopher's stone, Moses created seven powerful spells; the seven celestial spells of judgement. Over time, the spells were named by historians.

The first and most powerful was called Rapture, judgement of the trumpets. The rest were; Halo, judgement of light; Lazarus, judgement of resurrection; Tears, judgement of an Angel's sorrow; Death, judgement of the cross; Hallelujah, judgement of the choir; and Exodus, judgement of the plagues.

It's said that Moses used the last spell, Exodus, on the Egyptians and even summoned the angel of death. The scrolls containing the other spells have been missing for centuries.

That was the story Patricia told us about the seven spells of judgement. I'd never heard of them before, and I wondered what a spell that was thousands of years old had to do with anything. Ayesha, however, took her leave when she was done. Her eyes held a troubled look, and it seemed like she wasn't telling us something. I discarded the thought and took more of the brew Khalil served us. With Ayesha gone and Mikoto chatting heartily with Khalil, I decided to go torment Patricia.

"Oi!" I sat beside her. "Tell me, how does it feel to be reborn?"

The redhead was wearing a smile on her face. "Truly, I don't know. I feel as if something has been ripped out of me."

"That's sad," I said and downed the content of my glass. Then I reached over the counter to pick up a bottle of brew. "What about Gabija?"

Patricia became confused. "You know her?"

"Yeah. We might've chatted once or twice," I said absentmindedly. I finally managed to uncork the bottle of brew.

Patricia pushed her drink aside and the smile disappeared from her face. "She's gone," she told me. I looked at her and saw her eyes reddened with tears. "When I came back, I couldn't feel Gabija. She's gone. I think she sacrificed herself to activate the phoenix scripts or something," Patricia sobbed. I dropped my bottle of brew and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't cry, Patrick," I said. "Auntie Kim is here for you. Eh?!"

She sniffed and laughed. "You're drunk," she informed. "I should probably go. Thanks to your Aunt, I get to stick around to watch the trial." She stood up and left, leaving me with my newly opened bottle of brew. A few minutes later, Khalil also left and Mikoto came to sit with me. She also picked a bottle of brew and began to down its contents. Then the tears started flowing from her eyes too.

"Oh, God help me. Not you too," I groaned. "Why are you crying like a banshee?" I asked. I took a sip from the brew in my hand.

Mikoto sighed and wiped the tears off her face. "Don't die, Kim."

I frowned. I wasn't sure if I heard her right. "Okay? Can I know why?"

"I know I shouldn't have done it, but I did it," Mikoto said.

"Did what?" I frowned. Not at Mikoto's words, but at the fact that the bottle of brew in my hand was now magickally empty. I could have sworn on the nine hells the bottle was filled just moments ago. Or was it? I was so pissed, I couldn't even tell.

"I fell in love, Kim," she answered.

"Blimey! That's so terrible...?" I wasn't sure why she was sad because she fell in love, and I decided to play along. "I believe there's nothing worse than falling in love. I mean, can you imagine the horror of that happening?"