Abby slumped back in the chair, her hands gripping the wooden arms painfully. They felt real, solid, they were not a swirling mountain of water conjured from nothing. Her heart pounded in her ears. Elda had turned and stood watching her, a small smile curving her pink lips.
"Water," she told Abby firmly. "Your element is water."
"My element," Abby choked, her throat hoarse.
"Yes, you did that." Elda was proud of her, nearly beaming. She strode off the cement slab to the water’s edge.
Abby stood shakily and followed. The water had returned to its early glassiness, the airborne monster gone from its depths.
“I… how, how did I do that?” Abby whispered, standing close to Elda, comforted by the motherly smell that blanketed her.
“Abby, you are an extraordinary witch, and witches draw their power from an element of this world.” Elda took Abby’s hands firmly in her own.
Abby watched the flecks of light swimming in Elda's ashen eyes. They shone with excitement.
"Let us sit," Elda said.
Abby turned back toward the slab, but Elda tugged her roughly away. "No, too much energy there,” Elda explained. “Over here."
They walked halfway around the lagoon, moving closer to the shell shaped greenhouse. Abby could see rows of jumbled flowers, pots and bristly plants. They crawled over the glass windows, their branches and petals splayed in obscene vegetation. On the cliff, towering behind the glass conservatory, Abby eyed a swatch of color, so brief that she could have imagined it. As she watched, it flashed again. A ripple of black swelled against the deep green pines jutting from the cliff. Dafne. Abby could see her clearly for an instant, her face stark in her mane of shiny black hair. Abby felt a mean satisfaction that Dafne watched them, that she broke her routine to spy, but then it dissipated as she remembered the cyclone of water. Who wouldn’t want to watch it?
Elda guided her to two bronze garden chairs tucked alongside a mass of wild roses that flecked the right side of the greenhouse. A bronze table sat between them. Abby sat while Elda disappeared into the greenhouse, emerging a few moments later with a massive black book bursting with loose pages. She laid it on the table carefully, as if placing an infant rather than a bulky text.
Abby leaned toward the cover, eyes widening in surprise.
"You have seen one," Elda asked her, as if expecting this.
"Yes," Abby murmured. “Sebastian has one.”
“Really?” Elda’s eyebrows raised in surprise. “Claire must have received it from Adora. That does not bode well for my old friend.”
“Adora? You knew her well?”
“Yes, I knew her many years ago. She was an exceptional witch, but she never did well in covens, and it can be dangerous to live without one.”
“Why would she give the book to Claire?”
“For safekeeping, I would imagine. Perhaps she believed that she was in danger.”
“From the Vipers?”
“Vepars, and we will get to them later.”
The leather book before them had a single title inscribed in the upper left corner: Coven of Voda, the words a deep crimson faded by time and touch.
"Voda?" Abby asked, not recognizing the name.
"It means water in Croatian. This book has been with us for a very long time." Elda looked at it lovingly. “Water is your power, Abby, it is the source of your energy."
Abby nodded and looked at the book, but she no longer needed tangible evidence of her uniqueness. She had seen it with her own eyes. Then again, maybe she was delusional. She was probably in a coma somewhere having crazy dreams, or maybe Tobias had killed her and this was heaven.
“I understand your skepticism, Abby,” Elda told her.
“I’m sorry, Elda. I still don’t get it.” Exasperation flooded her voice and she stared hard at the woman across from her. If this wasn’t a dream and it wasn’t death, then it needed to be put into words that made some damn sense.
“Abby, think of human life, the way that most people live it, as a simulation. Everyone has their own separate reality. If you lived your entire life as a woman in an indigenous tribe in the Australian outback, and then one day you were picked up and flown to New York City to live in a penthouse with servants, would it seem impossible? Could you watch television, images and voices coming from a box, with anything less than shock and disbelief?”
“Well, of course it would be shocking, but I would be seeing those things with my own eyes. I would have to believe them.”
Elda smiled, but said nothing.
“But why doesn’t anyone else know about witches?”
“They do, but people rationalize things that they don’t understand. History and legends and myths and stories are all the same. Were you alive when the Europeans came to America and slaughtered thousands of Native Americans? No, but you still believe in the validity of this historical fact. Much of history has been suppressed. I might even say that most of history has been suppressed. And the rest has been manipulated to support the powers that be, whether those are government or church or some dictator seeking control of the masses. Witches had power that regular men did not, and that was scary to some men, scary enough to kill those witches, deny their power and re-write their history as myth.”
A vague feeling of recognition stole over Abby. She knew that much of recorded history was loaded with agenda, she had just never realized how much was hidden. And she was being given an opportunity to learn the lies from the facts. “That’s right, Abby, at any time, you can know the truth. This is the truth.” Elda laid her hand on the Book of Shadows, and Abby stared at it, newly mesmerized.
“This book,” Elda continued. “Is from a coven in Croatia that existed thousands of years ago in the Mediterranean Sea. It is a story that I have come by laboriously and only in fragments, but they were one of the first covens that organized themselves by their element of power. In their case, water.”
Abby pondered this, but nodded for Elda to continue.
“Your element is water, as is mine. When you are on the energy table,” Elda pointed back to the stone slab, “your power is drawn out in its purest form. It is a place of indescribable energy, and we use the table to pinpoint the elements of each witch. It has many other uses, but we will skip those for now.”
“How do I learn all of this?” Abby asked. “I mean where do I begin with really understanding this?”
Elda smiled and Abby noticed the crisscross of soft wrinkles around her mouth and eyes. She wondered Elda’s age, but thought that she might not be ready to know the answer. Abby had not known many old people in her life. Her grandmother, Arlene, had died when she was young, and her father’s parents had died before she was born. When she talked with the elderly, she always felt a chasm between them, like they lived in two different worlds, but wanted to pretend that they didn’t. Now she was actually talking to an older woman who truly lived in another world, and the distance was palpable.
“This is not a crash course in history,” Elda said, suddenly sounding tired. “It is only a beginning. When you learn the truth of yourself and believe it, other truths come naturally. Some things we will tell you, and some things you will just know.”
“What can witches do? I mean, what can I do?”
“That’s better,” Elda said. “There are many other powers, beyond the water, that is. Some that we all seem to possess and some that will belong to you alone.”
“Which do we all have?” Abby asked, surprised at how easily the 'we' rolled off her tongue. She imagined her mother’s narrowed eyes, the way she rolled them when Abby believed something absurd, or not absurd, but simply unappealing to her mother.
“Where did you go just now?” Elda asked.
“To my mother. She’s like the little doubtful devil on my shoulder.”
Elda laughed, a light sound, like far-off wind chimes.
“Mothers are our portal into this world and the chains that strap us to it.”
“Yes, mine was more like a barbed w
ire fence.”
Elda nodded, but did not ask more.
“Before I explain the powers of a witch, you must understand that you may have never experienced them before. Witches manifest their power at different times in their life. I feel that you are only just beginning, probably because you have led a very structured life. Here, with us, these abilities will come much more quickly, which is for the best.”
Again Abby wanted to blurt out, “What are they?” but she managed to contain herself.
“Firstly, there is night vision. You will see better at night, although it will not be crystal clear, it will be very similar to watching everything beneath dim bulbs. This is true for even the blackest room, void of all light sources.” Elda watched Abby’s face closely as she spoke.
“Your physical strength will be magnified, but only in certain areas,” Elda continued quickly. “You won’t be able to lift cars per se, but you will jump very high, swim faster and run faster. In some cases, witches have been known to exhibit superhuman strength, but it generally only occurs when you have an open connection with your element and your power is especially strong.”
“I have jumped very high,” Abby whispered, shocked by the realization. “In the woods, hiding from Vesta and Tane.”
“I do not know Vesta and Tane, but I know of them. Vesta belongs to Tobias, he is her mentor.”
“Are they like witches that have turned bad?” Abby asked, imagining the serpentine appearance of his face as he’d leered over her in the woods.
“No, they are not witches, but we will come to all of that later.” Elda traced a slender finger along the edge of the leather book. “All witches have an astral body, a spirit body, which can move outside of the physical body.”
The hair stood up on the back of Abby’s neck.
“Like a dream?”
“Like a dream, but not a dream. I have heard new witches compare it to dreaming, but have you ever had such control in your dreams?”
Abby shook her head and imagined visiting the cave. The only thing that made it dream-like was how little it compared to her waking world.
“Power over the astral body is not the same for everyone. Some witches can use their astral body only to gather with other witches in the non-physical state. Others can move beyond this, traveling through other medians, such as their element. Spells are another universal power among witches and a very important one.”
“Spells?” Abby asked. “Like turning someone into a toad?”
Elda laughed and looked at Abby like she was considering a small child. “No, no toads that I have heard of. The spells serve us as manipulators of the elements. They are our protection, our defense and one of the greatest faculties that we possess.”
Abby could not help the whimsical fancies that popped into her thoughts: fairy godmothers, white bearded wizards, the wicked witch and her ruby slippers.
It was not easy to separate these fictional characters from the woman before her wearing a white beaded shawl and staring out from eyes as deep as the ocean.
“Don’t force it, Abby. Understanding comes with time.”
Abby hunched forward and clasped her hands on the table, lacing her fingers together and staring through them at the Book of Shadows. She was torn by a willingness to fall entirely into the new life offered her and a scared desperation to cling to old certainties.
“It has taken you years to learn the truths of your current life, and it will take years to learn those same truths about your new life.”
“My new life.” Abby tested the words in her mouth. They were slow and anticlimactic. Saying a thing did not make it real.
“For many of us, life changes drastically when the power surfaces. Our old lives, well, they fall away.” She trailed off, and Abby wondered if she was searching back through her own transition from woman to witch.
“Why do they have to change?” Abby implored, clutching her memories as if they’d ever been more than a thought.
“We all change, Abby. Learning to be a witch is less shocking than some changes in everyday life, like going to war or suffering through disease. All living things have an amazing ability to adapt. I think that you’ve already proven as much to yourself.”
“Yes, I hadn’t thought so, but I’ve learned a lot about myself lately.”
“And so you will. There is so much to learn, so many amazing discoveries that you will be privy to now. Our coven alone has existed since the fifteenth century and originated in Rome. Faustine descends from the original coven founders. Can you even imagine the history that he has seen?”
“Wait,” Abby held up a finger, “does that mean that Faustine has lived since the fifteenth century?”
Elda cocked an eyebrow and smiled. “Would you believe me if I said yes?”
Abby scrunched her features and shrugged.
“Maybe?”
“Well, it doesn’t matter now. What matters is that our coven has much to offer you as a new witch.”
“If it began in Rome, why is it here now?”
“Because Faustine fled here many years ago. He came with the purpose of rebuilding his coven in a safer place. When he found this island, the castle had long since been abandoned, and the area on the mainland was hardly populated. He used his power to hide the island and began the process of re-establishing his coven.”
“So he is a witch as well?” Abby asked. “I thought maybe just women.”
“Oh, yes, Faustine is one of the greatest witches I have ever known. It is a popular misconception, this idea that only women are witches, but sometimes these misconceptions serve us.”
“And why do you have these Books of Shadows?” Abby asked.
“A coven compiles a very powerful history in their Book of Shadows. Not only is it a record of every witch who has existed within the coven, it is also a compilation of spells, some very old and others that are newly discovered. We call it a Book of Shadows, but throughout history it has had many names.”
“This is the Coven of Voda, then?” Abby asked.
“No, it’s not. You see, these books are much sought after. They have been stolen and hidden from our enemies for many years. They are also transferred when a coven disbands. This came with me from Croatia. The Voda Coven had weakened and we were no longer safe. I was only a girl when Faustine found me, and I guarded this book as if it were my very life.” Elda’s eyes had taken on a glassy quality and she seemed to be reaching back centuries to retrieve this memory.
“Our coven here is the Covenant of Ula. Ula means jewel of the sea. We have three Books of Shadows. We have Ula’s, Voda’s and Aepa’s. Aepa was a Greek coven whose witches were comprised entirely of the air element. Helena, whom you met last night, spent many years at Aepa, and she brought a wealth of knowledge when she came to us here.”
“Why did all of these other covens disband?” Abby asked, trying to keep the coven names straight in her mind.
“The reasons are many, but often arise from some type of danger. If a Vepar discovers a coven’s location they will attack or find ways to intercept witches who belong to the coven. If a witch within the coven loses their sense of right, they may use the coven’s secrets for personal gain, which puts the entire unit in danger.” Elda’s face fell as she talked, perhaps revisiting her own experiences. “You see, Abby, our power is both yearned for and hated. Vepars long to acquire it, less capable witches may envy the power of greater ones, regular society views us as a threat. But we must carry on regardless of these perils. Our purpose is to use our strength to help others.”
“So a coven breaks apart when they are in danger and relocates?”
“Some of them do. However, many covens have simply abandoned their agreement and the witches have scattered. Covens that have no strong leaders rarely survive when threats arise. Some of the witches may join other covens, some may not.”
“There were some very old newspaper clippings in the Astral Coven’s Book of Shadows,” Abby interjected. “They were about
this woman, Aubrey Blake.”
“Devin’s great, great, great grandmother.”
“You knew Devin?” Abby demanded, wondering why they didn’t save her.
“No, but when Sebastian told me about her, I contacted another coven and I learned of her bloodline.”
“Since last night?” Abby could not hide the disbelief in her voice.
“I traveled within my astral body. You see, there is a place where witches meet. It is a cave hidden deep in the mountains. I put the word out that I was searching for history on the name Blake. Within a few hours, a witch arrived from Canada who had followed some of the bloodlines in the Astral Coven because she used to belong to it. When the coven broke apart, she took down the names in the Book of Shadows, but the book itself went with another witch. You see Devin’s mother died during childbirth and she was adopted. The witch from Canada had been tracking the Blake bloodline, but had believed it died with Teresa, Devin’s mother. The father did not want the child and paid the hospital to lie and claim that the baby had died as well. Thus Devin went to a new family, and no one in our world, so to speak, knew that she even existed.”
“So this woman in Canada was tracking Devin’s family since Aubrey.”
“Yes, it is part of our duty to follow the bloodlines and assist developing witches; however, so many covens have disbanded that it has become problematic. Not every child of a witch becomes a witch. Sometimes it skips a generation, sometimes several. In Devin’s case, it skipped three. But all of these names are kept within our Books of Shadows. That is only one of the reasons that they are so important to us. Each of us here at the Coven of Ula has a list of names that we follow through generations. When a new witch surfaces, we contact them and bring them into our coven or help them into another. But, as I said, several generations may pass without a witch born. Then there are witches who disregard their duties in following bloodlines. You see, Adora had the Astral Book of Shadows, but passed it to Claire, a new witch who died a short time later, which allowed the book and the names to end up in Sebastian’s hands. Sebastian told me how Tobias insisted on retrieving the book, which means that when Tobias seduced Claire before killing her she told him about the book. If he had gotten it, many witches would have been in danger. It is all quite complex. Sadly, Devin is an example of how ineffective our system can be at times.”
Ula (Born of Shadows Book 1) Page 18