“This is Joan.”
Julie welcomed Joan’s hand when the red-haired girl extended hers. Julie carefully observed Joan’s alert appearance. She repeatedly moved her head to the right and left, as if sensing some lurking danger.
Joan occasionally frowned as if she were hearing something. She even mumbled incoherently after their hands had slipped away from each other. Julie thought it was a bit silly, but she was still polite because she didn’t want to make trouble with a witch anyway.
“She’s often possessed; I hope you won’t be surprised if she suddenly behaves unusually,” Julian whispered in Julie’s ear.
“Why did you bring her here? It’s ridiculous,” Julie replied no less quietly.
“She’s trustworthy, and she’s still a descendant of the five great witches.”
“I only trust you, Julian.”
“And I need your expertise to break into Dad’s cupboard.”
“Hahaha, you’re so funny.”
“So, can we get started?”
Joan looked straight at Julie. Her grey eyes seemed to be searching for an answer to the question Julian had asked her. She nodded and took a step back. Joan reached into a leather pouch from her waist bag and took out a jar containing a white powder.
“I will summon the spirits of the witch ancestors. Your sister must stand inside the circle I made and stay there. Help me place these candles in each of the five directions and light them after I finish sowing them. We will join hands. Remember one thing: don’t let go of the contact; otherwise, your spirit will not return to your body.”
“Are we going to do a spirit summoning ritual?”
“Something like that. I’ll ask them to guide us to a time when witches still ruled all of England.”
“What does that have to do with werewolves?”
“Our abilities are used to break the rules of nature, and the first creatures to do so were werewolves.”
Julie and Julian were shocked. The two exchanged incredulous glances. Julian turned a little pale when he heard where Joan mentioned the werewolf part. To his knowledge, the werewolf race had never made such a big deal out of it.
Joan opened the lid of the jar in her hand. She took a handful of the white powder and sprinkled it around her to form a circle large enough for two people. Julian lit the five candles he had placed in each of the five directions outside the circle.
Julie inhaled the salty scent of the powder surrounding her. She guessed that it was the salt powder that witches often used to perform rituals. She herself had never performed a ritual. Julie could only do basic spells, unlike Joan, who could already do advanced spells and rituals.
Joan held out both to Julie and said, “Follow my lead.”
“Ego Joan… magna cum reventia alloquorte, magne spiritus…” Joan said first.
“Ego Julie… magna cum reventia alloquorte, magne spiritus…” followed by Julie.
The five candle lights stopped moving as if time had stopped. Julie saw with the tail of her eye that time had indeed stopped. She also saw Julian stop moving, unlike her and Joan, who were still looking at each other.
Julie felt the wind swirling around her steadily, as if it would carry them into the air. She noticed that the scenery around her began to spin in the opposite direction. The scenery around them began to blur. It made Julie tighten her contact with Joan even more.
She was floating!
Julie felt her feet on the hard floor. She saw the scenery around her turn into a large room in the castle. Her sense of smell picked up the scent of half-baked meat.
Julie saw several adult men and women sitting around the dining table. The clinking sound of forks and knives echoed in the room. Occasionally, Julie heard laughter from them. In one of the chairs sat a woman in a dark blue robe and a conical hat in the same colour as her robe.
Joan broke their contact. She leaned closer to Julie and said, “This is mediaeval England. This castle is inhabited by the most powerful werewolf pack in Britain. Their alpha is named Alistair Reid.”
Julie heard something change in Joan’s voice. Her voice was heavier and had the charisma of an older, more mature woman. Julie saw that Joan’s eyes were closed, but her mouth was open for an explanation.
“I was close friends with him until all that happened.”
Julie could guess that the person possessing Joan was the witch sitting at the table. Her voice sounded soft and sombre after saying the last sentence.
The scenery around them blurred and became clear again once they were in a room with only candlelight. Julie guessed that they were in the reading room.
“Nora. Only you and the four great witches can do it, and they will definitely listen to you. The vampire clans are showing their fangs more and more in the villages on the English border. You know only we werewolves can fight them, and I know you witches don’t want to get into trouble with them, right?”
“I can’t do it, Alistair. Your request violates the rules of nature. Hybrids are not supposed to exist; their existence could be disastrous. I don’t want to take that risk. I’m sorry.”
Julie saw the look of disappointment on Alistair’s stern face. His demanding voice made Julie shudder in fear, even when he was only an astral projection.
“Okay, I understand,” Alistair said simply.
There was something strange when Julie saw the lopsided smile on the man’s face. The glint in his eye told her that his heart was different from what he had just said. The man’s sly grin made Julie even more certain that Alistair wouldn’t give in so easily.
“He’s lying, isn’t he?”
“Yes, you’re right. Would you like to see the scene of our massacre?”
“Yes. I want to know who the witch that possessed me is.”
The scene around them changed again. Julie saw a pack of wolves attacking a small cottage in the centre of the forest. The sound of screams and shrieks could be heard by Julie; it was heartbreaking. She saw one of the witches running out with her hands waving in the air behind her.
Two wolves followed her, running behind her. The smell of blood wafted by as the two wolves passed in front of them. Julie almost shouted to warn the witches to watch out for the tree roots that crossed in front of her, but failed.
The witch fell to the ground. Julie could clearly see the witch’s face. Her round face with wavy red hair was exactly the same as the one she saw when she was possessed.
“Who is that witch?”
“She’s Aleena. One of the five great witches and our leader. She was the most powerful witch of her time. Alistair betrayed me by tricking us into thinking that he was being attacked by a vampire clan. He attacked us from behind when we finished the unification ritual.”
“Why would he attack you if he was already a hybrid?”
“We gave him the condition that if he stepped out of line, then we would take our magic away from him. He didn’t want that to happen.”
Julie was still confused by all the flashbacks Nora was showing her. She felt that there was a disconnect in the middle. She was still curious about the relationship between herself and the person named Vincentius.
“I still don’t understand what I have to do with all this.”
“Some witches with powerful abilities like Aleena’s have the blessing to keep one of their souls on earth. Her body is buried in the ground, but one of her souls still wanders around until the message is delivered.”
“But why me?” asked Julie in a frustrated tone.
“You’ve been marked.”