Ritta took a deep breath. “No one opened it. That’s the weird part of the story. You know we guard all the grand portals, but it just opened by itself.”
A strange thought occurred to me. “Can you search The Humans’ Lexicon now?” The Humans’ Lexicon was like an encyclopedia, and in its pages, you could learn everything about the humans: who married, who gave birth to who, who proposed, who was king, who was killed by accident, and more.
She frowned. “Yes, why?”
“Maybe it isn’t a coincidence. Search about Alec’s parents and how they died. He told me something, and I want to check it.”
She closed her eyes and a huge book appeared. The Human’s Lexicon appeared only to the permanent residents of the White Land, which obviously excluded me. She turned the pages in the book and then looked up at me. “You are never going to believe this.”
I cocked my head ready to hear who had signed our doom.
“They were killed in a volcano in Italy.”
“Please don’t tell me...”
She shook her head. “This volcano contained two Ignis.”
“Two Ignis plus one Ignis makes three Ignis to open the demon portal, just like the cards said.”
She looked at me confused. “The king. Wait... what cards?”
I sighed. “The tarot cards I spread not long ago. Now they make some sense, but I still don’t know everything.”
She looked at me with wide eyes. “You spread the tarots? Why?”
“And the stones.”
“Why would you do that?” she yelled.
“I wanted to be sure. The portal is explained, but I saw a death—I think from the war—but then it gets really weird. Look.” I spread the tarots at her feet to show her my cards.
“That is really weird. Someone hidden? I don’t understand at all and then something with the king and queen but which king? The boy or the man?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know.”
“Why did you use the tarots, Eva? What’s going on?” Her voice trembled.
“Because I saw a dream.”
She looked puzzled for the obvious reason.
“I never dream. Not like everybody else does. When I dream, I see things that are going to happen.”
Her eyes widened so far, I thought they would pop out of her head. “You never told me.”
I nodded. “I didn’t want you to think I was some kind of freak.”
She waved her hand in front of my face. “We are witches. We are all freaks.”
I smiled a little. “I can’t make sense of what I saw in my dream. I saw a raven eating a snake, and that’s Spain’s fight since the raven had a crown. Then, black smoke poured out of a volcano, and I guess that’s the evil we face with the demons, but the next part is inexplicable. A cat and an eagle were being attacked by a snake—the same snake the raven ate, I am sure, but before I wake up, I see a silver light so bright it blinds me.”
Ritta didn’t say anything for a long time. “That is really weird.”
I nodded. “Enough of that for now. Why were you drenched?”
Ritta looked sheepish. “Will you not laugh?”
“I promise I won’t laugh.”
“I used a lake portal to come here. I was exhausted, and I kind of fell into a lake, so I thought of here, and here I am.”
It could have happened to the best of us. “At least you are all right.”
She looked relieved.
“It’s a change, though. You always take care of me.”
“Not much. Usually you know how to take care of yourself. But lately...” Ritta yawned.
Lately things had changed completely in my life. “I’ll let you sleep,” I said and I rose from the bed.
“Eva, are we at a crossroads?”
Crossroads of fate were the most important events of someone’s history, and right now, human history was about to change forever as was the witches’ history. “I hope not, but I think we are.” I went down to wash the plates and went to bed. I closed my eyes and saw no dreams.
I woke up and outside was still dark, but the clock showed that it was ten in the morning. I went to the window, and I saw darkness; it was no ordinary darkness. Demons were entering this world, and our power was just not enough.
Ritta came to stand by my side. “We must go and help.”
“Not tonight,” I said, hating every word.
“Why?” She looked desperate to help, as was I, but I wasn’t reckless.
“If we open a portal now, we will alert every demon in the entire city. Also, the humans might see the huge ray of white light in the sky that isn’t the sun. We had enough adventures lately. We need no unnecessary risks.”
A hint of a smile crossed Ritta’s lips. “You would make a perfect princess.”
I shook my head angrily. “I would make a terrible princess, and I don’t want to be one.” Well, maybe someday, but not now.
“Don’t you think everyone will notice your weird powers?”
I shrugged. “I always had strange powers which were uncontrollable. No one said anything.”
She handed me a letter. “We need to go up soon. They need us.”
I sighed. “Don’t worry, we will go tomorrow.” She raised her eyebrows. “Tomorrow there is an eclipse of the sun, and the best news: it’s a full eclipse!”
She grinned. “And I thought you went nuts for a moment...”
I stuck my tongue out at her.
The next day, we dressed in black, put our weapons in place, and strapped our bows on our backs. We went to the woods and waited for the sun to be covered completely. Once the sun was completely covered, we could use the portal to go to the Line. The Line was the line that separated worlds from one another; if you wanted to go anywhere, you went there first. The portal was a ray of colors just like a rainbow, but I felt bad because I knew we were arriving at the scene of a battle. Smoke started filling the portal and then the light defused. Boom! We had arrived.
Smoke, blood, and screams, so many screams, I could barely hear myself think—greeted us. Ritta pulled my arm. “We have to go and help,” she shouted.
I shook my head and pointed at the demons’ portal. “We have to close it, or they’ll never stop coming.”
She nodded and then made a wave with her hand to ask which spell we should use. I had the answer from the moment I had learned of the threat. I made a cross with my hands and touched my knife—it was the cross ritual. Ritta had a worried expression, but she was determined. We flew near the demons’ portal, and I threw my knives in the portal: one at the upper point, one to the left, one to the right, and the last one at the bottom to make a cross. Once the spell has begun, it couldn’t be stopped, and the trick was to complete the spell quickly enough. Once the demons realized what was going on, all hell would break loose on us.
I started chanting and Ritta deflected the demons stupid enough to come near us. Since we were at the Line, we couldn’t kill the demons here; they regenerated in a matter of minutes. It was even harder to kill them in the demon realms.
One thing you must know: you can’t kill demons. They recreated themselves from the ashes and came back. Powerful demons could return in a year, but lesser demons needed at least one millennium to recreate. Great demons? Forget it. They couldn’t be killed, so we chained them in prisons. Great demons were guarded well and were known for their strength and art of deceit.
Here at the Line, we had only thirty minutes before the demons recreated themselves. Thankfully, the demons were more focused on the other witches than two witches that weren’t fighting. Did I tell you the demons were stupid? I was almost done when I saw a poison demon. All it took was a touch and you were done for. He was coming toward me. We had no arrows, and we couldn’t use our knives. Close contact was to be avoided when dealing with a lethal poison demon. An arrow arced through the sky, landed in the demon’s back, and tore the demon in half. I recognized the arrow with the slightly curved point and blue body: it was my moth
er’s.
Soon after the demon disappeared, my mother appeared in front of us. Her eyes were a deep shade of purple, and I knew she was angry. “What do you think you are doing here? You said you were going to stay there!”
Ritta answered since I wasn’t done with the spell. “We are closing the portal. They won’t be able to come out.”
“Change of plans. I was going to stay, but that was before demons broke loose.” “How are you going to close the portal?” my mother asked.
Ritta explained because communicating with telepathy could distract me.
“It won’t work. The princess tried it with other witches and it didn’t work.”
Ritta was alarmed. “But she can’t stop now.”
“They are not me. I will not FAIL.” I was mad, so mad that the inexplicable happened again: it was like an invisible broom swept every demon from the room. There were others coming from the black door, but they were so confused that they were killed instantly. Unfortunately, about a dozen demons noticed us and came toward us. My mother and Ritta defended me and killed them, but more came.
I was at the last line of the spell. “I, Eva the Heir, command you to close this portal, home of devilish forces and never to open again in this time and in this space. I command you!” This wasn’t a made-up spell; in the last line, you were supposed to say your real identity, and like it or not, I was the heir.
Silence spread in the Line, and then one by one, as if an invisible force pushed them, every demon was forced into the portal. After a loud pop, the portal closed for good.
The silence was followed by an applause and screams of joy. The witches were dancing. Although no one knew how the demons were gone—engaged in battle, none of the witches had paid attention to me—they were happy. I was tired and exhausted. I just wanted to go home, and then there I was. I had forgotten the Line was a natural portal and all it took was a thought to send you somewhere else. You could go wherever your heart desired. I went to bed while Midnight licked my hand. It was kind of comforting. Meow. Yes, Midnight no dreams...
Interrogation
It was nearly noon when I woke up the next day. I went to the kitchen and saw Ritta making something to eat.
“Good morning,” I said.
She glared at me and crossed her hands. “It’s noon actually.”
Uh-oh.
“Do you know how much worry you caused us last night? You disappeared and we couldn’t find you anywhere.”
“I was—”
“We searched everywhere but nothing. Until your mother sensed you down here. Really! That was irresponsible of you...”
Who is she? My mother? “I was tired and it wasn’t my fault. The Line is a natural portal so when I wished to be home I was there. If I wasn’t so tired, I would have thought of sending a message. Besides, the spell worked. Where is my mother?”
Ritta relaxed a little, but I knew she wouldn’t hold a grudge; she was just worried about me. “Up. You know, doing paperwork...”
Right, when a battle was fought, you had to file paperwork. Did you find that odd? So did I. The princess wanted everything filed. Sometimes I thought humans were better.
“By the way...” Ritta said, “they are trying to find who did the weird sweep of the demons. We didn’t say anything except that we did the spell that kicked the demons out.”
I raised my eyebrows. “You don’t want to be a princess yet, and we respect that, but you’ll have to be one day.”
“But not today.”
Ritta looked worried. “The princess wants to see you.”
“Why?” I knitted my eyebrows.
She started playing with her hair, and I knew she was worried. “I don’t know... I guess for the spell.”
Maybe it wasn’t just for that. “Then I should get going,” I said, and after a quick meal, I headed for the woods. There wasn’t much light in there, and I used a portal of a lake, but unlike Ritta, I cast a spell to remain dry.
I arrived at the White Land and it was like a celebration: everyone was walking on the streets wearing bright clothes, there were tables with food in the streets, and music filled the air. The White Castle, where the princess lived was shining brightly whenever the sunrays poured in.
I wished to draw a picture of the castle like this. My mother said with my drawing and painting skills, I could have sold paintings. Instead, I had an herb shop. Drawing wasn’t bad, but it wouldn’t help anyone—well, only royals maybe—but herbs healed people.
The White Castle was more impressive than the Spanish castle. It was crystal white like glass. There were some pictures of previous princesses on the walls, and the witches who helped the princess were going up and down the stairs, but I could never imagine myself here. It felt... empty. A witch guided me to the princess’s study. I wouldn’t want to have witches as servants; we were all equals after all, right?
The princess waved me inside. She was pretty with blonde hair and blue eyes. Her hair was braided with red ribbons, and she looked like a porcelain doll. “My dear, sit down.” Her voice tinkled like crystal, but I wasn’t sure if I liked it.
Everything in this castle was made of crystal. Even the chairs were made of crystal. Didn’t she ever get cold? Or would the entire castle melt if she lit a fire?
“Do you like the palace?”
That’s what she wants to talk about? Or maybe she wants to break the ice. “Yes, it’s very pretty. Aren’t you cold in here?”
She seemed satisfied with my answer, and she laughed; that laugh scared me a little. “Of course not, my dear. I am a witch of ice; I don’t get cold.”
That explained a lot: her coldness, her indifference, and the crystal castle. She was an ice princess or rather a queen because now that I was thinking of it, I had never heard about any princess having servants. But I remembered that she wasn’t an heir. Was that why she lived like the royals on Earth? I would have to look into the past princesses.
“So, my dear, I was informed that you closed the portal yesterday, isn’t that right?”
Is this why she wanted to see me? It was good, wasn’t it? “Yes, Your Majesty.”
She looked at me pointedly. “But I had performed the same spell before and it didn’t work.”
That’s why she wanted to see me? Or maybe because it looked like she failed? Shouldn’t she be grateful that we are alive?
“Why did your spell work? How?”
I was being questioned by the princess, but I was not afraid. I was angry. There were more important things to do than this. I knew better than to say “I don’t know” to a question that had an answer. I didn’t want to be thrown in jail, but I couldn’t tell her the truth. “I believed.”
“Excuse me, you believed?”
“I believed in my power. I believed I could defeat the demons.”
The princess pursed her lips. “I see.” She had a huge scroll open in front of her, and I was betting that it was my life on paper. “And you pass most of your time on Earth. Why?”
The reason is known among the witches. Did she want to play games with me? I stared at her. Why she was so interested in my life? Or did all witches undergo this type of interrogation? “I like it there. People are interesting.”
She smiled a cold smile. “Interesting. How so?”
I smiled too. Two could play this game. I didn’t care that she was a princess. You couldn’t interrogate someone without a serious reason. “They are kind and loving,” I responded.
“Kind and loving.”
Is she a parrot? Why does she keep repeating my words?
“That’s why you pass so much time down there?”
I said that already. Is she deaf?
Her lips pursed and her brow furrowed. “I don’t know, my dear, I don’t think they are worth your time.”
“Then why are we protecting the borders of Earth?” Now I’ve got you.
She turned white when she realized her mistake. “I mean that you may utilize your time better in battle since
you are gifted in spells.”
Liar! She shouldn’t be a princess, but now was not a time for a change. “Maybe.”
She looked at the scroll. “Your mother is an Elemental, and your father—” She looked up from the scroll. “Who is your father?”
I’m sure you would like to know, but so would I. “I don’t know.”
She wrote something down. “I see. Well, it’s unfortunate not knowing who your father is...”
She was trying to attack me and make me feel low, but I ignored her attack. “I don’t think so. If he wanted to know me, he would have come years ago.”
Her expression was hilarious, and I wanted to laugh. It was like I had slapped her.
“I think we are done here my dear, you may go.”
Relieved, I stood and turned to the door.
“You should search for your father. You might discover a lot about yourself if you meet him.”
Like that would ever happen. A piece of glass fell from the ceiling and shattered on the desk where she had her hand a minute before. Did I do that? Or did she? Her surprised expression told me who was to blame. On the way home, I thought about what I had told her about my father, and I knew it was the truth; if my father wanted to know me, he would have come to meet me.
Ritta was waiting for me on the doorstep. Worry etched her face, but when she saw me, her expression relaxed. “There you are. So what happened?”
I told her and although she tried, she couldn’t contain her laughter. “What’s so funny? She could have turned me into a block of ice.”
That didn’t seem to discourage her. “You put her in her place. I think you could have turned her into a block of ice or an ice pot. I told you, didn’t I? You would be a better princess.”
I shrugged. “Maybe some other time, and if I will, I won’t have any servants.” Banging noises came from the kitchen and my smile melted. “Do we have visitors?” We didn’t invite anyone into the house since there were sometimes flying objects.
The Cursed Girl, #1 Page 14