“Benedict, you cannot just waltz in here.” Henry, the judge from her hearing, was standing in the middle of the room, talking to Thornton, Thornton’s father, and the guy who Jaycen had met before—Darius, she thought his name was, she couldn’t really remember. Next to him were two men who Jaycen hadn’t met yet. It was actually pretty full considering that the room wasn’t that big.
“We need to talk,” Benedict said, walking just far enough into the room for Jaycen to step in and close the door. Everyone was looking at them, eyes wide. And by them, she meant Benedict.
“I am busy, we will meet later,” Henry dismissed him, turning his back on Benedict and trying to carry on talking to George, who was still looking at Benedict over Henry’s shoulder. The room was filled with tension, as Henry tried desperately to carry on with whatever he had been talking about before they had barged in.
“We need to do a spell on Jaycen and her mother,” Benedict informed them, arms folded over his chest and as cool as a cucumber.
Another spell? Was that really necessary? Hadn’t he just said that her mother was under too many spells?
Henry looked over his shoulder, smug. “Well isn’t it a shame that you don’t make these kinds of decisions?”
Benedict didn’t look fazed in the slightest.
“Henry, we both know I could come in here and take the title off you if I wanted to. So, don’t push me on this, because I might just do it.”
If Jaycen thought the room was tense before, it was nothing to what it felt like now. Henry had turned to fully face Benedict, his face a mixture of rage and embarrassment, his hands clenched at his sides. “You were offered the position, you turned it down to concentrate on your school. It doesn’t mean that you can come up here any time you please and take over,” he spat, his whole body shaking. Oh my, Jaycen thought, maybe, someone should steady him?
“We don’t have a leader because of you,” Henry shouted again, his face getting redder and redder.
But now, Jaycen was confused, wasn’t Henry the leader? It would be very helpful if they had some kind of organisational chart for this place.
“That’s right Henry, you are a steward for the title, not our actual leader. Please do not forget it, and don’t forget who could relieve you of that position.”
“We haven’t had a sworn-in leader for over five years, you clear blood loving fool! Do you really think everyone is magically going to agree now?” Henry was laughing like a crazed fool, so much so that he completely missed the gasps at his comment.
“You cannot say those words Henry, and you damn well know it.” Darius stepped forward, his eyes wide. “How dare you, Henry. How dare you.”
Now, Henry realised what he had said, his mouth opening and closing but nothing of any worth coming out.
“I think you need to leave, immediately.” Darius motioned to the door.
Henry laughed, shaking his head. “You don’t have the authority to tell me what to do.”
George, Thornton, and Benedict all took a step forward, but it was Benedict who spoke. “Leave now Henry, before things get worse.”
Henry looked petrified, understanding Benedict’s threat loud and clear. He stood, looking everyone in the eyes as he backed up towards the door. “You’re going to regret this.”
It could have been Jaycen’s imagination, but he looked as if he was saying it directly to her, before he left the room and slamming the door behind him. What the hell had she done?
Benedict waited a beat before he spoke. “Now, I need your help.”
George walked over to the bar area, and casually poured himself a drink. “Name it Benedict, we’ll make it happen.”
“It’s become clear that Jaycen’s mother has been put under a number of spells around eighteen years ago. She’s still under them.”
Darius’s eyebrows lifted. “Are you sure it’s the same spell? It does sound like an awfully long time. Maybe, too long?”
Benedict considered that possibility. “You’re right, it might not be. What I need to do is wipe her, wipe her mind while keeping her memories. I need to know who put her through this, who is Jaycen’s father? And why did they keep the spell on for so long?”
“Why does that matter?” George asked, looking over at Jaycen and holding up his hands. “I mean no disrespect dear, but why do we care who Jaycen’s father is? Why waste the magic?”
“I tried to do the spell on my own, it didn’t work. There was someone in her head, someone blocking us.” Nobody looked convinced with that, so Benedict tried again: “Jaycen performed a blood drop, it showed the most violet blood that I have ever seen. A blood so violet that I was sure it had died off.”
Both George and Darius looked shocked, and they started discussing what this could mean. Thornton stayed completely silent on that subject.
While Benedict was discussing her mother’s future and her ancestry, Thornton had moved to stand next to Jaycen. “Are you okay?” he whispered down to her, sipping his drink, and watching Benedict talk.
“I don’t know,” she told him honestly.
His hand slipped down and took hold of hers, squeezing it but still staring straight ahead. She should have pulled it away, but she didn’t. Instead, she squeezed back.
“I’ll be performing the spell with the help of Zena. I need as many magical beings as possible. Then, if possible, at the same time I would like to perform a spell on Jaycen. We tried a… test, trying to figure out which family she originated from. It came back inconclusive.”
Benedict hadn’t told her that before, Jaycen realised as looked down at the cut on her hand.
She looked up, catching George looking at her and Thornton’s joined hands, and he did not look pleased. Well, that’s interesting.
“So, set a time, Benedict. When do you want to do the spell?” Darius asked, drawing George’s attention away from her and Thornton.
“It’s really up to Jaycen. We can do it anytime she’s ready.”
“As soon as possible. Today even.” Because damn, she wanted this to be over.
Benedict watched her closely. “If you’re sure, then yes. Today it is.”
Jaycen would have been okay with that, were it not for the tightening around her hand. She was okay with it, but Thornton it seemed, was not.
Chapter 28
“I don’t look good in black. Do you think they would let me wear another colour? Blue, maybe? I look good in blue.” Her mother stood in front of the mirror, twirling around in her black frock that Benedict had given them. The spell was due to start any minute, and her mother was twirling around talking about colours, she had no idea what was happening.
“No, mom, you have to wear what they’ve given us,” Jaycen said, sipping her water and waiting for the knock.
“Traditions can change, you know. Why does colour matter?” her mother pressed, still looking at her reflection. Jaycen had to lie to her mother, again. She’d told her that it was a tradition for her school, a rite of passage kind of thing. Of course, her mother had agreed to it. Benedict had already promised her that they’d put her mother to sleep almost immediately, she’d have no idea what was happening.
A knock came from the door, her mother didn’t even turn as Jaycen went to open it.
“Oh.” Jaycen smiled. “I thought Benedict was coming to get us.”
Thornton bit his lips and shook his head. “He may be. I just wanted to come and see you first.”
“Who is it? Your teacher?” her mother called from behind her.
“No, it’s just a friend, mom.” Jaycen slipped out, closing the door behind her.
“Are you prepared for this spell?” he asked as soon as the door was shut.
Jaycen shrugged. “As much as I can be, I guess. Benedict told me to drink lots of water, and he gave us these robes to wear.” That was about as much preparation as she’d done.
“Has he told you much about the spell? What’s going to happen? How it’s going to happen?”
She shoo
k her head.
Thornton cursed, stepping back and running his hands over his face. “You need to stop this. You need time to prepare. You’ve literally just come out of a spell, it makes no sense going straight into another one. They take it out of you, mentally, physically.”
Jaycen crossed her arms and shrugged her shoulders. “I’m fine. I’m fine to do another spell.” But she liked how worried he was. Of course, she didn’t say that to him.
“I don’t understand why you want to rush this.”
A few people walked past them, Thornton nodded as they went.
“I just want answers,” she told him, once the passers-by were a safe distance away. “Hey, why doesn't Benedict want to take over the Cure? He’d be amazing.” She could definitely see him as a leader. Taking charge and kicking ass.
Now, Thornton looked amused. “Yeah, I know. But he keeps on saying no, and has been for years. No one has been able to decide a leader since. They’re still holding out for him.”
“Why?”
He shrugged. “They don’t think anyone else is capable of leading us.”
“Not even your dad? Or Darius, Henry even? Surely there has got to be someone.” How could they not have a leader? Why didn’t they have a better voting system? She now had so many questions.
“Five years ago, there was a war.” That was not what Jaycen had been expecting. “Our old leader Ada Washington, turned and tried to resurrect the Devil. Well, her spell worked, and Lucifer was about to end life as we know it. People panicked, went into hiding. My dad, Darius, Henry and most of the Cure, actually. Everyone apart from a select few, including, of course, Benedict and his brother. Since then, no family who didn’t fight has even been considered for leadership.”
“The Devil?” she repeated numbly.
“Yeah, I’ll tell you more about it if you cancel the spell.”
She grinned, but firmly shook her head. That was when she noticed Benedict walking towards her, wearing a long, black-hooded cape, identical to hers. He looked like a teacher from Harry Potter, just cooler. Way cooler.
His eyes flickered between her and Thornton, and he rolled his lips, clearly trying to hide his smile. She had no idea what was so funny. “Jaycen, are you ready?”
Thornton was staring at her, pleading with his eyes for her to say no.
“Yeah, we’re ready.” She turned and got her mother from the room and they followed Benedict silently through the halls—or at least she and Thornton were silent. Her mother couldn’t stop talking. She spoke about the weather, the wooden doors, the glass walls. Anything she could see, her mother spoke about. Finally, they stopped in front of a door. Benedict turned swiftly, and planted his hand on her mother’s head, before muttering a few words. She didn’t fight it, not even when Benedict’s arm slid around her waist and her body fell, completely limp. Benedict hoisted her up into a fireman’s hold and waited for Thornton to open the door for him. The room was dimly lit, and inside were Darius, George, and three other men, all of them dressed in black. This was serious Jaycen realised, for some reason automatically reaching for Thornton’s arm. “Are you staying?”
“If you want me to,” he promised.
She was already nodding before he had finished his sentence. Zena entered the room then, also wearing black, and this time carrying a large book.
“Benedict, please get the two women ready and into position. Thornton, if you’re staying please get prepared.” She turned then, putting the book on a nearby table, and flicking through the pages.
Benedict had already laid her mother on the hard stone ground, her body completely straight. He motioned for Jaycen to come and join them. His lips twitched as he saw Thornton close the door behind him, “There’s another cloak over there Thorn, put it on. Jaycen, come here and lie down next to your mother.”
She did as he said, her heart pounding and her palms getting sweatier and sweatier by the minute. It looked like a cult sacrifice she realised, eyeing the room for a dagger. If she could see a dagger, then her heart was definitely going to be cut out and replaced with a pig’s heart. It was at this moment that Jaycen realised that she had no idea what happened at cult rituals.
Thornton had put on his cloak and joined the other guys. Zena had come to stand next to Benedict, her book floating in mid-air next to them.
“Are you ready, Jaycen?” Benedict asked, as the others stepped forward, forming a circle around them. She nodded.
“First, we’ll do the spell on you. It’ll only take a second and then we’ll need to take more blood. The spell should separate your blood, just for a second. But it should be enough time for us to get a sample. We’ll know what house you belong to by the end of the day. Then, we’ll perform your mother’s spell again, it will be easier than the previous spell we preformed on her. Especially with it being in such close proximity to another magical spell. It all helps. It’s important that no matter what happens, you must stay still. Is that clear?”
This one she stopped and thought about. Realising they weren’t going to start anything until she agreed, Jaycen nodded her head.
Zena started speaking, her words so fast that Jaycen could barely catch what she was saying. She listened intently, her body warming as the words they were saying got louder and louder. She tried to stay still as sweat started to drip down her forehead, the sudden heat drying out her mouth almost instantly. The warmth quickly turned into heat, fire hot heat and was shooting through her body, filling her completely. Jaycen clamped her mouth shut, afraid that if she opened her mouth she’d scream and they’d stop. Was it possible to burn from the inside out? She squeezed her eyes tightly shut and then everything went away, the pain from the heat, the fire. All of it. Carefully, Jaycen opened her eyes. She was still in the dimly lit room. Benedict and the others were still surrounding her, their mouths opening and closing but nothing coming out.
She opened her own mouth to call out to them, unsure if this was part of the spell or not. Was it meant to go into some kind of mime part? A woman standing in the corner of the room caught her eyes—she had definitely not been there before.
Her long, red hair hung down to her waist in soft curls, her eyes intense and solely focused on Jaycen. Was this the spell? Was this woman her magical guide?
The lady didn’t move, just stared at her. Slowly, Jaycen stood, eyeing those around her, and waiting for someone to stop her. They didn’t, they didn’t even look at her.
She stepped around the men and walked over to the lady. Her eyes had wrinkles in the corners; despite that she didn’t look old, but Jaycen had a feeling she was. Maybe, it was the look in her eyes, a knowing look that said, “I know what you’re going to say before you’ve even thought of the words.” But verbally, she didn’t speak.
“What’s happening?” Jaycen asked, looking over her shoulder at the people as they silently spoke behind her. She turned back, the woman was now smirking at her. “Is this part of the spell?”
The woman shook her head. “You know it isn’t, Jaycen.”
Her voice was soft but firm, her words coming out almost like a song. Jaycen was transfixed, unable to take her eyes off the woman’s face.
“Am I dead?” she asked simply. Had the spell gone that wrong? Was this woman in front of her an Angel?
The lady shook her head. “No, not dead. Not yet at least.”
Now, that did not sound good. The lady reached out, taking Jaycen’s hands in her own.
“Your hands are so cold.”
She leant down, brushing a light kiss on Jaycen’s palm. A sharp pain cut through her hand. Jaycen looked over her shoulder at Zena, who was now kneeling down on the floor, where her body had just been, a knife in hand.
Then, the woman said, so calmly, “Everything is cold when you’re dead. Stay alive, young Jaycen. Follow your gut and use your magic. Only then will you survive this.”
Her heart was now thumping in her chest. Her hand, still in the women’s grasp, started to tremble. “Am I going to die?
”
The woman released her hand. “Everyone dies, Jaycen. Death is a part of life. But first you must live.”
She had no idea what this woman was saying. A thousand questions sprang into her head. Before she could get a single word out, the woman spoke again.
“Your powers, whether given by nature or by force, are yours to wield. Use them Jaycen, use them as much as you can. Good luck.”
She vanished, leaving Jaycen standing alone in the quiet room. She turned back around, watching Zena slowly stand up from the ground. Jaycen walked back into the circle and lay down on the ground, closing her eyes and squeezing them shut.
“That should do it,” Zena’s cheery voice rang out. Jaycen opened her eyes again. Those around her now all moved at a normal pace.
She sat up on her elbows, watching Zena take her blood-covered knife to the side of the room. “That was an odd spell.” That was a complete understatement!
Zena laughed. “I hear the burning does get a little uncomfortable. You weren’t in any pain, were you?”
She shook her head, looking at her sleeping mother still lying next to her. Wondering to herself when the right time was to bring up the woman she had seen. Was now too soon?
She reached over just a little, taking her mother’s hands in hers and holding them tightly. Now, it was her mother’s turn, would she also see the woman? She smiled down at her mother’s sleeping face, so blissfully unaware. “Don’t worry, the spell will soon be over mom. It’ll be gone, and you will be back to normal.”
The words had barely left her lips when her mother’s body jerked up in an unnatural V shape, her head, legs and arms all falling back but her stomach reaching higher and higher in the air.
“Zena, something is happening,” Benedict shouted, taking a step forward only to be thrown to the other side of the room.
“What’s happening?” Jaycen shouted, crawling on her knees and still not letting go of her mother’s arms. She tugged lightly, and her mother’s body slammed to the floor with such force Jaycen swore she heard bones crack.
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