Into The Skies, A Prequel: The Shadows Trilogy, Book 0.5

by ClareMarie .

“So...” I begin to say, to break the tension between Anna and Vincent.

  “Let’s eat and we'll begin work on the spell after,” Kai finishes for me and Anna nods stiffly. Vincent lets out a relieved breath, thankful she isn't going to demand he move away from her.

  We all begin digging into the pizza and soda with thoughtful expressions on our faces; thinking of the spell, I assume. Vincent's phone beeps with a new text message and he grunts in frustration when he reads it.

  “What’s wrong?” Kai asks, his eyebrows crunching in concern for his best friend.

  “Daisy,” Vincent answers, distracted as he texts her back. Anna lets out a snarl that freezes everyone into stunned silence.

  I have never heard Anna snarl at anyone before. As a Vampire, it's well within her vocal ability, but she's never had a reason to before. Until now, it seems.

  “Why does she have your number if nothing's going on?” Anna literally hisses at Vincent, and his eyes widen in shock.

  “Because she was my assignment partner?” Vincent throws back, recovering from his shock and now just seems annoyed.

  “Why is she still texting if you aren't partners anymore then?”

  “She's trying to hook up, but I keep telling her it isn't going to happen. Didn't you hear my frustration when my phone went off?” Vincent asks, his eyebrows raised in challenge.

  Kai and I look at each other, with a mixture of being entertained by what's going on and unsure if we need to intervene to calm the situation. I turn back to find Anna glaring at him with her arms crossed and his eyebrows still raised in a staring battle, neither willing to give in.

  “Now that we've eaten, why don't we start work on the spell?” I ask, hesitantly. As if on some unspoken agreement, they both look away from one another, each getting their notepads.

  “So, I've been thinking about starting the spell with, ‘Open up the path to the future...’” I say aloud, and Kai, Anna, and Vincent all nod in agreement.

  “Allow my body to visit and my eyes to see...” Vincent adds on, while we all write the first line I suggested.

  “Shouldn't it be, ‘Allow our bodies to visit and our eyes to see’? Since we're going as a foursome?” Anna questions, thoughtfully.

  “That's a good question,” Kai muses, flicking his pen on his notepad.

  “I think either will work,” I say.

  “Let’s go with the correction Anna made, to make sure we all get to the future together safely,” Vincent offers, and I cross out the first line he suggested and write down the change, the others following my lead.

  “‘Let me observe what I need to know...’” I say, thinking aloud, my mind drifting off in thought of what's to come, and dreading what I'll see tomorrow.

  “I thought we were using first person-plural for the spell?” Kai asks before kissing my lips.

  “We were, but because it's me who needs to see the future that’s being insisted on by the fates, maybe I should say that…and perhaps, say it alone?” I ask, looking at them for their advice.

  “I think you're right, Ari. That way, we don't confuse the spell. If we all said it, the spell could separate us, sending each one of us to different parts of the future,” Anna says, chewing her lower lip in contemplation.

  I rest my head on Kai's chest, listening to his heart beat, and feel him nod in agreement to what Anna said, so I write it down in a messy scrawl.

  “‘Take me to where I need to be...’” I murmur, trailing off.

  “That's good, babe.”

  I look up to Kai and smile. He kisses me sweetly, before deepening the kiss, slipping his tongue in and turning it into a hot make-out session.

  Anna clears her throat, smirking. “Please save the baby-making activities until later, after the spell is completed. Then have at each other.”

  “Very funny,” Kai fires back, grinning and not bothered in the least at being called out on how hot we got.

  I turn to face Anna and Vincent, blushing like a tomato. I hate putting on displays of affection like that.

  “Return us home when the mission is complete...?” Vincent wonders, looking from Anna, to me, and then to Kai, for the last line of the spell.

  “Works for me,” I answer.

  “Me too,” Kai says, nodding.

  “Me three,” Anna throws in.

  I jot down the last line, grinning that we have the spell finished.

  “Happy?” Kai asks.

  “Immensely.” I look up from writing, nodding vigorously for extra emphasis. He laughs, followed by Vincent and Anna.

  It's no secret the need I displayed to get the spell written, in order to bring me a step closer to the assignment of the fates’ constant urging to take a trip into the future, so this finished task allows me to relax a little.

  We spend the next few hours in our spots on the floor, with blankets and pillows, watching movies after we briefly discussed the ingredients for the potion we'll be making tomorrow.

  “Are you girls getting pet familiars?” Vincent asks.

  Usually when a Paranormal turns sixteen, they get a familiar to help protect and guide them. Werewolves and Werecats don't get familiars, as they already have animals within them to turn to for protection. Besides, the animal and familiar would clash and be jealous or possessive of the person they're bound to. It's not impossible for them to get one, though, if they really wish, but most don't, as it's instinct to only rely on the animal already a part of them.

  “Yeah, we are. We're just deciding on what to choose. It's a tough choice,” Anna answers, keeping her eyes glued to the wall TV.

  “I was thinking of getting a female wolf. Maybe have the tattoo artist make the wolf almost a part of me, so I can be a little bit like you?” I tell Kai shyly. This is something I’ve been thinking about for a while now.

  “That sounds hot, and an honor,” he says, smiling fondly at me.

  “It wouldn't be weird then?” I ask him nervously.

  “Not at all, babe. If it were a male wolf you wanted, we may have had a problem, as my wolf would see it as competition. He would feel threatened the other would try and steal his potential mate, even though that isn't realistic. But a female wouldn't have that effect on my wolf… which is why you said female?” Kai finishes, putting it together.

  “Yes. I know your wolf,” I smile.

  “And he knows you,” Kai says, waggling his eyebrows and grinning naughtily.

  Vincent's phone beeps again and Anna makes a remark about why he doesn't just go and hook up with Daisy Duke already. Kai and I tense, unsure of where this is going to go now.

  “Oh, my God, Anna, don't you get it?” Vincent almost shouts, causing Anna to sit up ramrod straight in shock. He has never raised his voice before; at least, not to her.

  “Get what?” Anna asks in a whisper.

  “This.” Vincent grabs her face and kisses her with so much force and passion, Anna has no hope but to respond and kiss him back. Soon, they're the ones who are in danger of baby-making activities.

  Kai and I try not to watch, but it's hard when you've been rooting for this to happen for a long time.

  “Wow...” Anna breathes, when Vincent pulls away, kissing her nose and smiling.

  “You're the one I want, Anna. Not Daisy, so quit being territorial. I'm yours.”

  “I'm a vampire. I'm always territorial,” Anna quips, but then smiles fondly at Vincent with a new glow about her I haven't seen before.

  “I hate to interrupt but we need to get the potion brewed, and let it rest for tomorrow,” I say. Agreeing, we all get to our feet and head over to my spellbook.

  As I get close, the eye on the book's front cover opens and looks at me, welcoming me as its owner. My mother owned it before me, but it's tradition in the Dale family to pass it down to a bloodline relative on their sixteenth birthday. When I turned sixteen, she passed it down to me, like it was once passed down to her by Grandma Abby.

  I glide
my hand lovingly over the red book, which I named Red for an obvious reason. It says on the cover, below the eye, Book of Spells - The Dale Family Edition, 1575. Red is a living entity, neither male or female, and talks to me telepathically. It senses good and evil and in the presence of others, it will not open itself until it has looked each person in the eye and read its intention with it. Red already knows Anna and Kai so it skips them and focuses on Vincent for a minute as we all wait. I told Kai earlier to tell Vincent of this so he wouldn't be alarmed when it happened. I'm not worried he has any bad intentions towards me, or my book, so I fill my cauldron with water and allow it to boil.

  A minute later, Red whispers in my mind, “He is good. No evil, no bad intent.”

  On the first page is my family's crest: a bold stylish letter D, with red roses surrounding it, placed on a shield with ‘Dale’ inscribed below. Red has over nine hundred pages, and it creates blank pages when asked for new spells to be added. There's only one other book like this out in the world somewhere, so I'm grateful my bloodline is strong, as I come from a long line of powerful Witches.

  “Red, take me to the herb index page, please.” Red immediately speeds through, flipping pages, then suddenly stops on the correct page. The four of us lean in and begin browsing for which ingredients are the strongest for our spell.

  After an hour of going through the herbs, I grab the ingredients and place them on my worktop beside my low bubbling cauldron eagerly awaiting to fulfill its duty. Only I can make the potion, as it takes a Witch with magical abilities to perform the task. I mix together Mugwort for Astral protection, and Sage, which is used for those who wish to see the future and many other things. I include Periwinkle for mental powers, for our wishes of the spell to be granted, and also protection along the way. When all the ingredients have been added, I stir them together with my spoon.

  “Now it's time to add a drop of our blood into the cauldron with the ceremonial blade,” I say, as everyone watches my every move, fascinated by the making of our potion.

  “This is so exciting. Can I go first?” Vincent asks, beaming. I smile at his enthusiasm but quickly explain my blood has to be added first, as I am the Witch, but that he can go second.

  I take the blade and make a slash across my palm, then a fist, until a drop of my blood falls into the bubbling potion and makes a sizzling sound. Vincent is second to add his, followed by Anna, then Kai.

  “You will want to take a step back for the final ingredient…” I warn with a grin.

  I add a pinch of unicorn powder, taken from the horn, into the cauldron and flames shoot up for a brief second. A cloud of fog raises up, then it evaporates.

  When we're finished with the potion, Red slams itself shut, making a loud thud. Vincent jumps, making me, Anna, and Kai laugh at him. We're all used to Red's behaviors and expected the sound, but poor Vincent almost jumped out of his skin and he growls his displeasure.

  We wait until the potion has boiled and bubbled for an hour, then allow another hour for it to cool down. When the two hours are up, I grab sixteen vials and pour the purple potion into each one. The spell requires each of us to throw a vial at the pentagram I'll draw tomorrow, and to drink one vial after chanting the spell. Then we repeat the same to get home, so we all need four vials each. I high-five Anna, Kai, and Vincent, and grin tiredly with them, celebrating that the hardest part is finished with.

  “Midnight is the best time to perform certain spells. It's the In-Between; the strongest time for magic because it's between day and night,” I tell them as I line up the vials.

  “There's no classes the day after tomorrow for those with assignments. So, me and Vincent will be here around 11 pm. Or we may come earlier if we're finished with homework for other classes we need to catch up on, if that's okay?” Kai asks, wrapping me up in his arms and kissing below my ear.

  “Fine with me. Anna?”

  When there isn't an answer, I turn around to find Anna against the wall, Vincent with his hands on either side of her. He’s pinned her in, and they're kissing fiercely. I clear my throat loudly, causing them to break apart.

  “Fine by me.” Anna moves her face to the side and breathlessly answers, then winks at me.

  Kai shakes his head, smirking at them, then grabs Vincent by the jacket and drags him behind, as he walks out the door, shouting “I love you” at me.

  The next evening, around 11:30 pm, I'm setting up the circle to perform the spell. Anna is watching with interest as she drinks her synthetic blood out of a pint glass, her fangs drawn, as they do when blood is exposed. I draw a pentagram with chalk on the special flooring I had made so that after I'm finished with the spell, I can remove the pentagram. If left unattended, it can cause a lot of trouble.

  Afterward, I wipe the chalk dust on my black skinny jeans, creating white patches on them, and walk barefoot to collect my crystals. I apply them in a triangle around the pentagram to protect our bodies as we Astral project into the future. I highly doubt anyone will cause us any harm, but it's an old ritual carried down and besides, it would make me feel safer. The crystals stop anyone from crossing into the pentagram and while they do plenty of other things, tonight, that's what they're being used for. Next, I place a white candle for each point of the pentagram and light them one by one. Using my right hand, palm out, I lift my hand upward, wielding my air magic to make the flames go higher and burn brighter.

  “I love it when you do that,” Anna says, watching the flames rise.

  “It is pretty,” I admit.

  I turn my head toward the door, putting my hand down when I smell Kai and Vincent coming closer. I tune in my hearing and listen to them growling at each other. I shake my head and Anna's lips twitch in amusement. Kai and Vincent have a different animal language, and can talk to one another using only growls. I once asked what they're saying when they do this. Kai explained it's their animals talking, not the men, which I think is cute.

  “Walk straight in,” I whisper to the guys, knowing they can hear me as they approach. A minute later, the door opens.

  Anna is finishing her blood when Vincent kisses her lips and she licks the smudge of blood on them. “Hmm, tasty,” she whispers, and Vincent raises an eyebrow.

  “You're only saying that because I taste of dinner,” Vincent teases.

  I laugh and Kai chuckles. We're so happy to witness Anna and Vincent finally being happy together.

  “Hey, babe. I missed you. Cool shirt.” I look down at my purple t-shirt with red lips displayed on it and smile.

  “Has everyone eaten?” I ask, still doing my Witch duty.

  “Yeah, Vincent and I had a late dinner tonight.”

  “Good. I don't know how long we'll be in the future, so the more energy our bodies have stored, the better.”

  It's almost midnight when I check the clock next. Almost time.

  “Alright, everyone. Take off your jackets, and only leave on what’s comfortable. You’ll also need to empty your pockets because whatever you're carrying will transfer over to our Astral selves. The only items we should be taking with us are the vials.”

  Anna, Kai, and Vincent follow my lead in going barefooted and wearing only jeans and shirts, as I suggested through texts earlier. We then grab four vials each and stand in a circle inside the pentagram.

  “This is what will happen. We'll all chant the spell together, except for the one line I’ll say by myself, then throw one vial each into the center of the circle, where a portal will open. When it does, drink one of your other vials. Our bodies will fall to the floor inside the pentagram, unconscious, leaving us standing as our Astral selves. We'll be like ghosts,” I explain.

  “Sounds kind of creepy,” Vincent mumbles, appearing a little freaked out.

  “I second that,” Anna replies.

  “Oh, quit being babies,” I joke, and they frown at me.

  “I do admit, babe, it's going to be strange to be a ghost. Or at least, close to it,” Kai offers
sheepishly. He kisses me to soften any offended feelings, but I just smile.

  “Hush. It's going to be midnight in a minute, and we need to say the spell at exactly ‘00:00’ on the clock,” I say, pointing to the video wall where the time is displayed.

  “I'm getting nervous,” Anna sing-songs.

  “It'll be okay. Me and my Panther will protect you,” Vincent soothes her, grabbing her hand and squeezing, giving her a naughty grin.

  “We'll say the spell holding hands, then I will throw the first vial to open the portal. After, we'll go clockwise to Kai, Anna, and Vincent, you're last. The same order goes for when we step into the portal, okay?” They all nod in understanding, but no one speaks. The tension is building with the realization of what we are about to do.

  “Now,” I order when the clock flicks to 00:00 and, in unison, we chant.

  “Open up the path to the future

  Allow our bodies to visit and our eyes to see.”

  The others drop off, while I continue.

  “Let me observe what I need to know

  Take me to where I need to be.”

  I hear the others join back in, to complete the spell.

  Return us home when the mission is complete.

  I throw my vial, and a small beam of light unlocks in the center. When Kai tosses his, the light brightens, and continues to grow as Anna adds hers. Vincent flings in his, and the light becomes almost blinding as the portal opens wide. We all immediately drink our second vials.

  “That tasted like ass,” I hear Vincent complain.

  “You know how ass tastes… how?” Anna quips.

  Then I hear four thuds, the sounds of our bodies hitting the floor. I'm filled with a floating sensation, which scares me for a few seconds, until there's a roar and fear is forgotten. I search around me to check on everyone, but only see Anna, who's staring wide-eyed toward the floor. When I follow her gaze, I'm shocked to see a Panther and a Wolf shaking out their bodies.

  “Er... Kai?” I ask, unsure if he'd meant to change forms.