by Bella Ward
Was it possible the raven-haired woman figured out how to take down the descendants of Odilia and Oleander? If so, that meant that it was possible for the darkness to steal the auras of shifters to seal in their spirit to stop the magic of the shifters.
Odessa left the scene as she breathed heavily in and out of her nose trying to fight the feeling of nausea that hit her again. The men continued to try to break forth Jarneth’s spirit, but she knew she had to separate herself from the situation.
She ran as fast as she could into their hut as Pypachi followed her. Odessa went to their makeshift kitchen and grabbed a glass of water. She didn’t realize how thirsty she was and in seconds, the clear liquid was gone. Her stomach churned, and she remembered she had not eaten in over twenty-four hours. Slowly as to not jostle her stomach, she went to the cupboard and took out a beef stick. Slowly she chewed on the meat stick until it slid down her throat, into her stomach.
Within seconds, she was in their bathroom, heaving water and half masticated meat into the toilet. In the distance, she heard the door to their hut open.
“Don’t come in here,” she yelled out to whoever was coming in.
“It’s me, Rainnah,” soft sniffles came from the other room.
Odessa began to heave again as Rainnah came in the bathroom and began rubbing Odessa on the back.
“I’m sorry,” Odessa breathed.
“No need to be sorry,” she smiled softly. “Morning sickness is common.”
“Morning sickness,” Odessa squealed. “I’m not…”
Her breath hitched in her throat as she stood to her feet. Odessa lifted her shirt as she looked in the mirror. Sure enough, a small baby bump was showing. She wondered how she could have missed it.
“I’m sorry,” Rainnah spoke softly.
“There is nothing to be sorry about,” Odessa sighed. “I didn’t know.”
Rainnah walked up to Odessa. She laid her hand on Odessa’s stomach. Worry crossed Rainnah’s face as she remembered she could not access her own magic, without her brother’s spirit being released in peace.
“Might I pull from you?” She whispered.
“You may,” Odessa whispered.
Odessa stood back so Rainnah could pull from her magic, a little, much like Odessa had done from Hamachi when her own magic had been bound. A red aura flowed from around Odessa as a small purple light swirled around her stomach and Rainnah’s hand.
“I am a seer remember?” Rainnah said as she pushed on Odessa’s belly.
Odessa remained silent as Rainnah took in a bit more magic to see the baby growing inside her. Her expression grew placid as she pulled more and more magic from her.
“What do you see?” Odessa whispered as she looked in the mirror.
“You are three months along,” she smiled, before taking another look into Odessa’s stomach. “I see a calm before the storm,” she frowned.
“What does that mean?” Odessa asked.
“It means a lot of things,” she looked at her as her frown deepened. “It means that the killing has ended for now.”
“Good,” Odessa said.
“And that we will be safe,”
“Also, good,” Odessa smiled.
“Not really,” she removed her hand from Odessa’s stomach before looking her deep in the eyes. “It means that once your son is born, a great evil will descend on Camp Sacred Moon like never before.”
“What…why?” Odessa’s breath hitched again. “What does the darkness want with us again?”
“I can see a raven-haired witch. She wants the child born of the most powerful couple the tribe has seen since Odilia and Oleander. She knows if she can get her hands on your child…she can use his magic to unleash darkness around the entire world. She knows if you bear a son, he would be the greatest good born in our time, but should she get ahold of him, all evil will prevail.”
Odessa dropped to her knees. In minutes, she had learned she was pregnant with a son one minute, and the next, to learn the greatest evil witch, she had ever known, was going to try to take her child.
Pypachi laid on the floor next to Odessa, whimpering as he put a paw on her stomach. She knew right then and there the great wolf knew she was expecting a child…a child she was both happy and sad to be housing in her very confused body.
Chapter Five
Odessa sat with a glazed over look as she watched for hours the elders of the camp try to purify Jarneth’s body...including her husband. She knew the truth…well, at least she felt like she did since she had let Rainnah tap into her magic to tell her what she could see. Rainnah was only a few years older than Odessa, yet even at a young age, she was known as the greatest seer their people had ever seen. Odessa half wondered if the evil took out Jarneth first because the witch knew by doing that, she was taking out the all-seeing eye of the camp.
Rainnah could use the magic of others but could only see things pertaining to the magic holder themselves. When Rainnah’s magic was full force, she could tell what was coming a mile away.
She and her brother were new to the camp by only a couple of months. Odessa and Hamachi had taken them under their wing when Hamachi had sent a rescue mission to New York to find the twin’s, which he had seen one night in a dream. Hunundi’s magic left Hamachi dreaming nearly every night of things that were to come true, regarding their kind. Odessa was surprised he hadn’t dreamed about her pregnancy. Perhaps he had and that was the dream he had talked to her about that morning.
The twins had been of great help to the people of camp. Rainnah was a seer, while Jarneth was a strong, swift shifter. They were the power twins as they had more formally been called.
After several more hours, the elders gave up. They laid Jarneth’s body in a vault near the edge of the property. It was designed for the deaths of the few humans that resided at the camp, although there hadn’t been many in a while.
Rainnah got up to head back to the dorm to try to get some rest, but Odessa knew it would be a while before rest would come to her. They hugged each other before she left. Odessa asked Rainnah to keep the news of the baby a secret until she could talk to Hamachi about the baby and The Council about the impending threat. As Rainnah walked away, Odessa made her way into her hut as Pypachi followed her.
A while after, Hamachi headed into the hut with the smell of sweat on him. As he walked in, he took his beads off, placing them back inside their cloth, then into the basket that rested under the table.
Odessa and Hamchi locked eyes as they both could see the worry lying behind each of their eyes. As much as Odessa wanted to take the worry from Hamachi, she knew he felt the same way. Her mind wandered back to when they had just met. He was just as handsome as the day they had first seen each other.
“I’m so sorry,” Odessa got up and walked over to Hamachi.
“What are you sorry about?” He asked her as he brushed her hair back.
“I know it’s not my fault,” she smiled weakly, “but all of it is overwhelming.”
Hamachi kissed Odessa as their magic mixed a bit with a purple aura that flowed around them.
“Are you alright?” Hamachi asked Odessa as he helped her sit down.
She could understand how bad she must have looked because she felt the same way. She wanted to tell him everything but wanted to wait for the right moment.
“I’m fine,” she lied. “Go get a shower and then we can talk.”
While Hamachi got a shower, Odessa fervently rustled through the books Hunundi had gifted to her, as an inheritance. She couldn’t remember ever seeing anything about a raven-haired witch in any of the dark magic diaries but hoped that perhaps she had missed something. As she flipped through page after page, she noticed that something was wrong with the journal she was sifting through.
She could feel Hunundi in each of the writings because they were his, but once she got to a specific point in the journal marked Dark Magick and Beings By; Hunundi she could feel his magic grow weak towards the back section marke
d Witches and Beings Belonging to the Dark.
A shiver ran down her spine as she noticed pages full of notes on powerful witches, but what worried her the most was the page that had been torn out of the notes and was nowhere in sight.
She could feel the place where the page was gone and had even seen the small tears close to the inside of the spine of the book. She laid the book flat on the table, so the torn spot faced toward the ceiling.
Pypachi, sensing his need, got up from his resting spot and made his way over to Odessa. He stood looking at her to confirm his perception was correct. She nodded her head which caused the large dog to sit on her right food. She took a moment to breathe in the earth as she pulled in as much of her magic that she could. She swirled her hands over the book chanting in the ancient tongue. She chanted and chanted as her aura and the wolf glowed red.
The chants became more consistent, Odessa’s breathing became more constant, as she took in the earth around her. In her subconscious, she could hear the water running where Hamachi was still in the shower. It wasn’t that she was doing things behind his back as much as it was her wanting to find out more information about the witch before she brought it up.
Her red aura flowed through the spine of the book as it lit up the whole room. A torn page flashed in the air about the book, causing Odessa to break away enough to follow what her magic was telling her. She dug through the pile of books sprawled around her, looking for the one that her magic told her to look for. Sure enough, the book was resting at the bottom of the pile. She knew she had looked through it many times but did not ever remember seeing a section on witches or even a page from another book lodged in it.
She took the new book and sat it on the table. Suddenly, the deep magic flowed around the new book, as it flew open, pages began to turn on their own…fast at first, but as the magic neared what it was looking for, it slowed down until it stopped altogether.
Odessa was shocked to see the folded page of the torn book nestled in the crack of the book she knew she had read hundreds of times over the six months she had them in her possession.
She held the page up and was shocked to see a note scribbled on it. Her magic subsided, resting in the pit of her stomach as she sat back to read the inscription.
Dearest Odessa,
I knew you were the one my books would be going to when your mother was expecting you. I knew then that you were smart and was destined to become an elder. I was surprised, however, at how quickly that happened once you entered Camp Sacred Moon. I didn’t expect things to happen as they did. I may be writing this letter to you before my sacrifice, but I knew long ago that I would be put in the position to do it. I don’t mind, it will be a great honor. On the other hand, I wanted to let you know that once the darkness is defeated, that will not be the end of it all. There will be a time of peace, but then a witch by the name of Laurna LeFae will arise from the underworld, unleash and rule over the darkness, and set it on the Earth again. I have written a log on Laurna LeFae, however, you will have to listen to your own magic to find it, as I have hidden it from all eyes apart from yours. When you need it the most, your magic will tell you where to find it. You will be finding this letter sometime after I am gone and have passed my magic over to Hamachi. You both will be great together and do great things. Know that.
Until we meet again my daughter,
Hunundi
Tears began to run down her face at seeing the letter from Hunundi. It meant so much to her that he had trusted her so much. What came next was the most frightening thing that had ever happened to her. Odessa flipped the note over to expose the torn page.
On the paper was a picture of the most, dark and evil being Odessa could remember seeing in all her life. She felt blood drip from her nose. She felt weak and sick to her stomach as she heard the water turn off in the next room. She looked at the description under the picture which read Laurna LeFae. Before she knew it, Odessa was falling to the floor. Her eyes drifted open and closed, until they finally settled on closed, her body going limp, and the world around her became dark.
Chapter Six
Odessa felt Hamachi carrying her. After he placed her in their bed, he dabbed a damp rag over her face, wiping away the blood that was dried there. She could feel him pushing his magic into her, causing her to strengthen a bit.
After a while, she opened her eyes to see the worry lines that had formed on Hamachi’s young face. She hated making him worry like that and wanted to explain everything to him. Odessa tried to sit up with little use, finding herself unable to do so.
“Stay put,” he whispered, as he ran the rag over her face.
“I have to tell you something,” Odessa said, her voice barely a whisper. “I have to tell you lots of things.”
“I know,” he smiled. “As do I, but you need your rest right now…we will talk in the morning.”
She nodded at the man she loved so much. He helped her change clothes, so she would be more comfortable. When she had her shirt off, she couldn’t help but notice Hamachi’s eyes settling on her abdomen a little longer than perhaps he normally would. She wondered if he knew that his baby was growing inside her.
That was one of the things she wanted to tall him, along with a host of other things. She knew he was right about her needing rest. After she was dressed for bed, she laid down with thoughts flooding through her head.
Hamachi laid down next to her, wrapping his strong arms around her as she breathed in his magic and scent, a mix of cedar and wet dog. She loved it though, and in the arms of the man she loved, she drifted off to sleep, fast.
The next morning, Odessa woke to an empty bed. She didn’t worry so much as she had done the same thing to Hamachi only the morning before. She looked up to see Hamachi hunched over the table, his head was resting on the pile of books she had been sifting through the night before. He was fast asleep, which caused Odessa to feel bad that he hadn’t gotten a good night’s rest. Perhaps he was trying to figure out what Odessa had been looking for, the night before.
She got up out of bed, heading over to her sleeping husband when suddenly, her stomach churned causing her to rush to the bathroom. She expelled only stomach acid because she had gotten rid of everything else the night before.
She was beginning to hate the morning sickness that she had only known was morning sickness for less than twelve hours. She washed up before going out to wake Hamachi.
She went over to Hamachi, shaking him gently as to not startle him. When he woke up, he smiled up at her, but then frowned when he held up the page, she had been looking at the night before, with Laurna LeFae on it. Oddly enough, the note Hunundi had left on the back was gone.
“Yes,” she smiled. “It looks like the raven-haired woman is a witch.”
“When were you going to tell me?” He huffed.
“Last night,” Odessa scoffed back. “But somebody wanted me to wait until morning.”
“You’re right,” he stood up and hugged her. “I’m sorry, I guess I am just on edge.”
“We both are,” she said softly as she rested her head on his shoulder.
“I feel Hunundi’s magic on the picture. Do you think he had something to do with this?” Hamachi knew he was wrong the moment the words came out of his mouth.
“No babe,” Odessa, looked him in the eye. “Do you really think Hunundi would do something like that?”
“No!”
“Besides, you saw him dematerialize,” she sat down to steady herself from another wave of nausea.
“I know,” Hamachi sat across from her.
“No, Hunundi had left me a message on the other side of the page,” she sighed. “That’s why his magic is there; and because those were his journals.”
“I know, I know, what am I thinking?” Hamachi lowered his head into his arms.
“I have something to tell you,” she whispered.
“What’s that?” He asked as he looked back up to her.
Odessa pulled in a little of her
magic as she put one hand on her stomach, she then grabbed Hamachi’s hand and placed it over hers. Their magic melded together as images like an ultrasound flashed in the air above the table.
Hamachi’s eyes lit up with realization when he saw the small baby in the image, projected from her belly.
“I knew it,” he jumped up and hugged her tight.
“You dreamed it didn’t you?” She scolded him.
“I did,” he smiled.
“You should have told me, Hamachi Morimoto,” Odessa scolded him. “I thought I was dying throwing up as much as I have been.”
They both laughed as the image in the air subsided into little glittery sparks, then to nothing at all.
“Besides the vomiting, are you doing alright?” He asked.
“I think so,” she said, then thought to ask him a question. “It is normal for magic to be erratic and to get nosebleeds, when your expecting, isn’t it?”
“I don’t think so,” he said. “Why?”
“Because that has been happening to me.”
They talked about what Rainnah had seen in her stomach and the impending darkness that could be awaiting them once their son was born. She knew he tried not to look worried, but she could see the worry and fear behind Hamachi’s eyes. She knew him all too well.
Chapter Seven
The following few weeks flew by fast. Meanwhile, Hamachi tried his hardest to find a way to release Jarneth’s spirit or restore Rainnah’s magic to her. Odessa was four and a half months along and was already showing considerably. They were excited about the baby but feared what was to come, once he was born.
The evil dark feeling was still present beyond the protective spell, but not as bad as it had been the day it killed Jarneth. Odessa went to the Refuge a lot to play with the pups. She always felt better when they were around, and she knew the baby growing inside her would love them just as much.
Pypachi followed her everywhere she went. That provided some comfort to Hamachi when he could not be right next to Odessa.