No one has bothered to explain what it even means or why they seem to think I am, and why, if I was born a Catalyst Witch, is it such a bad thing?
Maybe this time, I can finally have some closure about this whole Catalyst Witch thing.
“I’ve mentioned that you have a tough barrier in your mind that can only be infiltrated in two ways: if you let them go through, or someone very powerful is involved,” he continues, “In your case, what happened is the former one.”
The first time I’ve heard this from Bran, I never considered the possibility of me letting people have access to my brain to have their way with me. I feel like I can never do that.
But what he just said right now makes me think that I have no idea who I really am.
“There is a reason you let them. But let’s talk about why they would do that in the first place.”
There’s a sudden shuffling on my right that brings my attention to the woman beside me. She folds the hem of her yellow-ish orange mage cloak and dress speaks as she settles comfortably in the chair by my bedside. “Let me enlighten you about Catalyst Witches with their brief history.”
It’s about time. “Long ago, Catalyst Witches were considered special. This is because they are key witches to perform grand rituals that helped in the way of life: construction of structures, building civilizations and so on.”
That does sound pretty important.
“After several generations had passed and the leadership of the covens started to change, and magic and technology progressed, Catalyst witches were treated as unnecessary,” a grim expression washes over her.
“They were reduced to being puppets. Made to do the bidding of the powerful. A lot of them went against it eventually, when they had enough of the treatment,” her frown keeps getting deeper.
“The people and witches in position knew that despite having no capabilities with spells and basic magic, Catalyst Witches were capable of bringing about powerful rituals that could wipe out entire races and kingdoms.”
That’s a lot of power for anyone to wield. “The world, then, plotted against their kind and eventually it was agreed that they should be purged.”
Purged? As in… executed? That’s not legal. That’s not possible. No!
The demented powers that be had no mercy in the first place for using them only for their benefit and then when it became inconvenient, they were all just… murdered?
I can feel my jaw tense as I grind own on my teeth and the scowl on my face intensifies. There’s a tightness overtaking my body as this story continues. I feel like I’m being wound up and when let loose I may spring to violence.
How can they do that?
“The purge wasn’t completely successful due to the intervention of some of the races. The Faes put a stop to it. They saved the Catalyst Witches from going extinct. They were able to convince the whole world that the Catalysts can still be of help to everyone without being a threat to anyone. That saved tier lives, but it didn’t stop everyone from seeing the witches as the bane of the coven’s existence. This term was eventually rooted in the fact that they have no basic witch capabilities.”That was it? That’s all it took for generations of prejudice and a close brush with total eradication?
This is why Ryia was so stressed about being ‘unintentionally’ related to me? “The purge might have stopped extinction in the moment,” she follows up, “but the decline in their… your population resulted in Catalyst Witches being even rarer than a Witch of Wishes.”
Well, at least that kind of witch I’ve heard about before. A Witch of Wishes has the ability to grant people’s wishes in exchange for a condition to be fulfilled or something to be given.
I always thought they were the most enigmatic species of our kind, considering that, in addition to this incredible ability, only one witch of this kind is born every one thousand years. In my life, I’m not sure I’ve ever met a Witch of Wishes. That would have been beyond incredible. If Witches of Wishes could wish for anything, I wonder what it would be.
Perhaps a bit of company. Being the only Witch of Wishes in any generation must be so lonely. Suddenly, I’m struck by the comparison. How could Catalyst witches be rarer than that?
“Are there any other Catalyst Witches aside from me?” I ask, somehow knowing the answer before it leaves her think lips.
She looks at me with the same sadness she’s had in her pale eyes ever since she started telling this horror story.
“None my lady. You’re the only one left… and,”
She pauses, and I feel myself swearing to all the gods that it’s not for dramatic effect. There’s nothing more dramatic than this. There just cannot be.
“What is it?” I urge her, the steady weight on my chest, crushing me as I wait on her to say the words I dread.
“You may very well be the last one.”
My eyes become hummingbird wings.
“That… That can’t be right.” I whisper
I’m the last of my kind?
“I’m the… I’m the last?”
This time, she turns to look at the other two who have been quiet. “Well Lili, she said ‘might be’ because we’re not particularly sure what your full plan is. You didn’t tell us the whole thing before you started this?”
“I’m sorry, what?
This is your play Liliwen. This plays out how you want it to.”
“Me?” I gawk at him, desperately scurrying around my brain for an answer, any answer.
“Yeah, you,” he gives me an ambiguous pointed look as if there was something I did that offended him.
I thought this was supposed to be an eye-opening story. I thought this was supposed to be laden with revelations and oracles and a thesaurus to help me decode the crap that’s been apparently happening for the last one thousand years. The lady mage rolls her eyes and frowns at them, standing from her seat with both hands on her hips
“I think you guys should tell her what the current circumstances are”
I think I agree.
“She hasn’t regained all her memories yet. It’s better to clear things up first before she gets even more confused.”
I like this one.
Bran sighs, “You’re right. Sorry, Liliwen. I guess we’re just impatient.”
“Here’s the thing,” Bran starts, “since you’re a Catalyst Witch, you’re a part of a grand ritual, the ritual of opening the gate to Paradise.”
I turn to look at the lady beside me and recognize her instantly.
It’s her. I don’t know how, but I can clearly see her face. She was in the library with me. Apart of me wants to celebrate the fact that I’m not crazy.
The childish smile creeping onto her face tells me that she knows that I remember her. She looks pleased, and something about that makes me happy.
“I believe Allyn already told you what Paradise is and why everyone wants it.”
I nod, and he continues.
“Did she explain the historical event of the ritual? That it began one thousand years ago in an attempt to open the gate?”
“Yeah,”
“Generation after generation, the researchers finally found the proper way to conduct a ritual that could successfully open the gate. It’s technically a theory though, as the ritual is still incomplete, thus proving nothing just yet.” Allyn purses her lips and sighs. I can tell she’s irritated, but her irritation started years ago.
“The ritual requires a circle that consists of eight individuals,” She continues.
“A circle?” This seems to be a reoccurring symbolic reference with this group. First the circle at the ball then the circles in my dreams… what do they all mean?“Circle refers to the group of individuals who conduct the rituals. In this case, the circle consisted of seven different beings, each representing a different race and one Catalyst Witch, to make the whole thing work. She is the key to the ritual. The ritual has two parts. And believe it or not, the first part of the ritual was done by you.”
I
didn’t realize how deeply involved I was in this whole ordeal.
“But it also includes us. Dain and I were a part of the seven.”
“There’s a catch, though, in being part of the circle. We might be considered very special by the world because of how we can become the gate pass to Paradise, but there’s a downside to it.” Dain has finally found his voice through his face remains grim.
“We can’t die.”
We can’t die.
His words echo in my mind. Ah. I guess now I can stop thinking I’m crazy because that is enough to explain everything.
“You might think,” the vampire disturbs my trail of thoughts as he speaks again, “that this is a gift, but it isn’t. It’s a curse. The circle is cursed to live life for hundreds of years. You’re unaware of it because they kept replacing your memories with fresh ones, but to us who have no choice but to witness the passage of time, it’s been nothing but sheer torture.”
I can see the sadness in his gold eyes. What did they go through that made them believe that what they have… what we have is a curse?
“You can’t die because the second part has to be done one thousand years after the first one,” Allyn has quietly taken over the conversation as Bran and Dain seem to simultaneously drift off into a daze.
“If the coven needs me to do my part again, why did they have to manipulate me for all those years? If they think we’re the key, why did they have to do this to me?”
And why did they leave the others as they are?
“You found out something you weren’t supposed to.”
I could feel the anchor chained around my mind hit the basement of my heart.
“What was it? What did I find out??”
“The whole truth.” Bran’s voice is as chilly as his gentle touch against my arm.
The whole truth?
“I thought this was the whole truth.” I whisper, trying to find something in the eyes staring back at me… a glimmer of hope that tells me that despite the trend of this entire evening, this wholeness missing from the truth won’t be horrendous.
“This is where the Undoing Ritual comes in,” Allyn finally says.
“The Undoing Ritual allows you to touch the deepest part of your mind to unleash the imprisoned memories there. With this, you’ll be able to regain your memories and remember what the whole truth is.”
So, does this mean they don’t know what it is or they’re just sparing me from the biggest spoiler of my life?
“To be fair, this is your plan, Liliwen. You were the one who thought all of this,” she looks at me straight in the eye, pausing, as if she’s silently hoping I’ll catch on, but my brain isn’t following anything happening inside this room. She sighs in disappointment when she realizes it, “But I guess you still can’t remember that, right? It’s still incomplete after all.”
To be honest, I still can’t recall much aside from the vivid dreams I started having ever since the grand ball... wait.
“The ritual... this Undoing Ritual you’re talking about… how does it go?”
Allyn looks at the two again as if she’s looking for confirmation if she can say anything about it. The duo looks at each other briefly before giving a nod to her.
“It began the momment you entered Penrhyn Mansion for the grand ball. Bran and Adara set up the diagram in the whole mansion so that it would trigger the ritual the moment you stepped into the entrance hall. The spell Adara did was to weaken the barrier in your mind.”
Those things, I can remember.
“To complete that, someone has to recite the trigger words to you.”
“Be free.”
Before my mind wanders to the mystery of the masked man, Allyn takes my attention as she continues, “It was also meant to stop whatever magic the Guardian Witch is using on you to tamper with your memories. When that took effect, it was easy to perform the next part of it. Which is why I am here.”
“And why are you here exactly?”
“You were brought here so that I can start the next part of the ritual,” her eyes shift, and I can tell that whatever she’s about to say isn’t something she’s thrilled about. “Now that we’ve set the premise, it’s time for me to perform the continuance of the ritual.”
“I’m sorry, Lili,” Bran leans over and kisses my head, “But this is the where you have to be asleep.
To Be Continued
Book 4
PREVIEW
When the King is cornered, the game is already over.
The game of chess knows that it’s a woman’s world. All pieces move together to protect the piece that matters most. The piece that determines the game.
The most powerful piece on the entire board, even with a millennia’s worth of jumbled, stolen memories.
The Queen.
Although her power exceeds all the pieces, she cannot win alone.
The plan has been in motion since the Coven crossed the line.
Everything, even betrayal their a part of the plan.
Every act, every word, every death.
Everything.
Well… almost everything.
Also By Evelyn Cooper
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In the Witch’s Cursed Circle Series
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Evelyn Cooper is the author of the Witch’s Cursed Circle Series of five short reads. You can find her online at www.evelyncooper.com If you ever fancy connecting by email, please feel free to drop Evelyn a line here she always enjoys receiving an email from her readers. Evelyn lives in the Cotswolds, UK but grew up in North Wales, this is where she draws all her inspiration, and you will find references to the Welsh language and places that mean a lot to her within the pages of her books.
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Witch's Wishes: Short Stories - Book Three - Witch's The Cursed Circle Series (Witch's Cursed Circle 3) Page 4