Ch 1: Raine
The sunlight poured around Mikhail as he held up the iridescent feather, the smile on his face just as bright. I could have sworn the red thread between us pulsed as he repeated himself, “I thought of you.”
I didn’t even want to completely process what the confession meant for him and I. My focus latched onto the fact that I now had the last ingredient to make Aayla tangible. My heart was ecstatic and I couldn’t get enough air in my lungs as I darted towards the library. I froze halfway down the hall and spun to my parents room, Mikhail on my heels. “What are you doing here?” Kahmran stood at the top of the stairs as I went through the door. He wasn’t talking to me so I didn’t care.
“You mean, we finally…” Aayla had joined us and I could barely hear her once I got into the secret compartment, gathering the other items. Once I was able to juggle my way out with everything I continued to the library.
“I can do this. I got this. We’ll make it.” I kept mumbling affirmations to myself as I set everything on the table.
“Can we do anything?” Mikhail asked from behind me.
“Just stay out of my way. It will be easier.” I didn’t look up as I pulled my notebook to me, only half paying attention to him, reading over information I had more or less committed to memory at this point. I inhaled sharply as I gathered all the books I used for reference, feeling Kahmran glaring from the doorway. My chest hurt from the mixture of fear and excitement.
I have found that anxiety is my biggest enemy. More so than someone trying to kill me or mine. That I can control my majik for. But my own internal struggles, where my brain splits in two to tell me all the wrong things, I have no protection against. I hadn’t put this spell to practice, I had no idea what could go wrong but I was willing to put her life at stake for it. What was left of it…a do or die moment. Everything I had written suddenly seemed too easy to work right. At some point Kahmran had gotten the others to come over.
I grabbed my sea glass spell bowl and set in the center of my work space on the table. “What are we doing?” Alex turned a chair to him, so he could sit backwards, and watched with curiosity.
I forgot to respond as I left the room in order to catch my breath unnoticed. I came back with one of my mortar and pestles, I’d forgotten to crush the bead. I took the feather from Mikhail’s idle fidgeting and wove it into the comb’s teeth. I placed them in the bowl, as if afraid they would break. I placed my hands on the edge of the bowl, took a steadying breath, and filled it with water. Pouring happy, life wanting thoughts into every drop. The intent needed to be there. I stirred the water counterclockwise, the direction of ridding negative energies as the next thing to add was the blood. I had to keep the addictive properties from mixing. I reread the instructions again, struggling to recall why I needed to breath across the vial. A breath of life for the blood to remember. I poured it in clockwise, promoting things coming together. The blue of the bowl and the red caused a dark purple hue to take over the contents. Again I looked, trying to make sure I did this as perfectly as possible. I grabbed the saliva and rubbed it between my hands, warming it.
“May I?” Yangin offered his hand, a small flame dancing in his palm.
I shook my head, “Thank you though.” I just needed it warm enough to pour fast. I made a straight line to the center of the bowl as I poured it from face level. I had to take a deep breath as I grabbed the solstice fire next. Mikhail was next to me in an instant, guiding me so it wouldn’t steal from me. I wrapped my hands in dense water and reached in to pull the fire out. Steam pushing my hair back a bit. Once free of the container and Mikhail had closed it, I read again how to mix the light into the water. Once I made it malleable I poured it in the shape of a star. I let my breath go once it was in and pulled the mortar close to me. I glanced at the blue bead before grinding it into a fine powder, idly wondering if I should have used the purple one. I released it in the shape of a triquetra, a knot of unity, to bring everything together. We watched as the color turned from just a hue to a full smoky purple. I could feel my energy tremble as I took a step back. “It has to sit.” I bit my lower lip trying to keep composed.
Waiting for the potion to steep twisted my gut, the longest thirty minutes I’ve had to endure. “I brought food!” Maho aimed for the kitchen, only taking a step when I did to make sure I followed. I hesitated at the door, looking from the bowl to the windows before shaking my head.
I forced myself to focus on what Maho was showing me, he had covered the island in containers filled with various foods. I could hear how proud he was as he told me the name of each thing I tried. Again I forced myself to smile when I needed to, barely remembering to respond. He deserved better than that, but it was all I had.
My alarm went off and I swear my heart stopped. The storm in my mind found its mirror in the sky. I almost ran back to the library. I pulled the potion from the bowl, stretching it into an orb for her to be able to step into.
And then she was standing in front of me. Like she’d always been there, like she had never been about to disappear. Her skin was brand new even though her sari was still wet with her blood. The hug I crushed her with was more for me than her. What if it didn’t stick? What if I had messed up…
The others came closer to give their affection and I slipped from the room. My relief caused a boom of thunder as the storm raged against the confines I put it in. I returned with a poorly wrapped pink box. I have never been able to master wrapping, it wasn’t like I had much chance to practice it. I pushed those thoughts away too. “Happy re-birthday.” Five years back or so she had followed me into town, surveying the shops. I couldn’t even remember what I had been after but she saw a black dress and pouted over it for days. It was stupidly expensive for a skater dress, but it had embroidered red and pink flowers littered across the skirt. The top had a glittery gauze over it that could have mimicked a night sky.
“You remembered? You bought this?” The shock was stark, she must have recalled the price tag too.
“It was one of the only times you ever said you wanted something.” I gave her a soft smile as I leaned in to whisper that the rest of her clothes were in her room. I had no way of knowing what size she was so I had gotten a variety of sizes and styles of undergarments when I had gotten my own. I knew we’d make it to today. She vanished to go and change. A void opened up in me, I had completed a task I had been working on for a century. Now what was I to do? I shook my head, chasing the thoughts away once she came back.
We took her out to eat and I could barely focus on dinner as I monitored every little movement Aayla made.
Checking that none of her skin lost color or solidification. Everything pointed to a success but I couldn’t get this feeling of wrongness to go away, like my stomach would just fall out at any moment. I found myself waiting for the other shoe to drop. I felt my anxiety stretch across my mind and I gripped the storms harder, pushing the clouds away. Once the food was devoured, she stretched and patted her stomach. “Oh my gods, that was amazing!”
We were half way home when I remembered I had another gift planed. “I know ya’ll already come and go but you can have your own rooms and stay as long as you’d like.” I reached into my bag to pull out different colored keys with various key chains on them.
“Did you color code us?” Kahmran snatched his from the air as I chucked it to him. A crimson key with a vampire teeth charm. I nodded, laughing as he inspected it. “Who does that?”
“What’s mine?” Maho’s eyes lit up as I tossed his. Orange key with a little white fox charm, I couldn’t find the right shade of blue. “It’s cute!”
Yangin’s bright red key was paired with a small flame and the smile he hid was precious. Like he never expected to get a gift curated just for him. Alex had a green key, the charm on his was that of his family coat of arms. “How…?” His face paled as his gaze met mine and I gave him a knowing smile. The fact he thought I wouldn’t have known after learning his role with Aria was a tad painful.
I handed Aayla her rose gold key with a ghost charm. Mikhail’s dark grey key with a golden feather stayed in my hand. Having them stay with us was the only thing I could think of that might help the building tension in my chest lessen. Originally it was just so they didn’t have to wait for me. My ears started to burn as no one said anything, my nerves fraying even more, darker clouds forming above us. The thought of them choosing to leave was a knife wedging itself between the sternum and ribs. “My home is safer and
I’ve already made the wards recognize you as family.” The last two words were barely audible. The heat coming from my ears only intensified.
Kahmran and Aayla began to laugh causing thunder to escape me. “You’re quick to bring them in, you know that?” Aayla elbowed me in the side. I didn’t see how almost nine months was quick.
“They’ve been put in danger because of my family-”
“No.” Mikhail was quick to interject.
“Your family did nothing wrong. Chisanu is at fault and don’t ever take his blame onto yourself.” Yangin narrowed his gaze as he spoke. I nodded in understanding, though I’m not sure I could fully agree.
“We could just as easily put wards on their house.” Aayla suggested.
I contemplated their silence at my proposal, even though no one said no to the keys. “That might be a better idea, I guess.” She wasn’t wrong and it only made me want to crawl in my bed. To get away from the six sets of staring eyes. It wasn’t like I had proof they wouldn’t be targeted outside of my home anyways. They could now refocus their efforts solely on finding Chisanu and capturing him. What would they do with him once the got to him? I shook the thoughts away, letting out a shaky breath. The storm was getting harder to hold on to. Harder to pay attention to everything outside of me.
“We will gladly accept an official base on this side of town. You’re closer to the CHUR:CH than us.” Alex beamed at me, excited over the prospect of a twenty minute shorter commute.
“We could add our majik to yours. Find out who’s better at making barriers.” Yangin knew I liked a challenge and I smiled, even if it didn’t meet my eyes. The strain on my majik was draining my social battery by the second. I’d show him up though, this was my forte we were talking about. “Maybe it could be tomorrows adventure.”
I reached the crosswalk when Mikhail put a hand on my shoulder. I turned my head to look at him, confused by the look I found there. “Are you certain you will have the energy to do that kind of thing.” His gaze slid to Aayla a few feet away.
“Of course. That potion was nothing. I use that amount of water multiple times a day, most days, and am unfazed by it.” I rolled my eyes at him and made my way to the median. It wasn’t a front, it was pure honesty I offered and I could tell by his face he didn’t believe me. The potion really hadn’t affected me as much as I had anticipated, I was almost disappointed by the fact. It only furthered my worry over it being too easy and not permanent. Over not being strong enough to save her.
“Raine…” He pressed, a flash of lightening showing me the full concern on his face. He looked up at the clap of thunder, as if saying he already knew. His hand drifted down my arm, resting at my fingers, trying to pull me closer without force. My skin looked twice as pale against his than it normally did. Was the storm truly draining me this much?
“I’m fine.” I kept my eyes on our hands, his words from this morning resounding in my head. Another crack of thunder sounded. Gods I was a mess.
“Don’t you dare lie.” Aayla stopped to glare at me, finally making it next to us. I raised a brow at her tone, confused as to why she was suddenly so angry. She had left the others at the edge of the street, the light having turned red for pedestrians. Mikhail dropped his hand, pink consuming his cheeks. Had she connected the storms with my wavering mood? Had she noticed the string that connected Mikhail and I?
“Something about that spell was different than your normal water. You can’t lie to me, Raine. I’ve seen you every day for a hundred and fifty years. I know when your energy is spent.” The harsher her tone the more the winds slipped from me. Her hair became a lash as the wind whipped around us. I was losing. The pang from her contradiction resounded in my chest. Could she really not feel my majik when out of everyone she was the most intimate with it? Had wielded it herself and still she could not recognize it in the air.
“I am fine.” My words came slow as I tried to regain control of the storm. I tried to force my mind to shut even further down. Mikhail took that moment to wrap his arms around my shoulders from behind. A hug to cover the healing majik he poured into me. I hated that it worked. Hated that he took it upon himself to try and fix me. “What do you think you’re doing?” I shrugged him off, stepping away from the two of them.
“Helping. I will not partake in the competition. If you have my energy it will work just as well.” His lie was bold, what reason could he have to lie to me when we both knew the truth? There wasn’t going to be a competition today, probably not even tomorrow.
“Even with his majik I can still beat you!” Yangin called from the corner, just barely getting the gist of our conversation. Alex watched warily next to Kahmran who deemed he had no fucks to give. They could see the tension from the distance, that didn’t bode well. Maho kept staring at me, at my majik, at my soul, and I didn’t like the feeling.
Aayla reclaimed the steps I took and raised her hand like she was going to slap me and I gave her a dead stare. I almost dared her to follow through. Perhaps the physical pain would distract me enough to get us home dry. “Why are you always pushing yourself beyond your limits? Do you not realize how much I care about you and your well being?” Her glare softened, hand falling, and she hugged me. This was not what I wanted.
“Of course I do. I swear I’m fine,” I lied straight through my teeth. “You two are looking at me like I’m a puddle when I am an ocean.” I didn’t like this. I wrapped my arms around her out of polite habit.
“Are you sick then? You don’t look ok.” She kept pushing, her lack of faith sending a rumble in the sky.
Was it really a lack though? She knew something was wrong even if she couldn’t place it. I sighed, reluctantly giving myself up, “Just tired from reigning in the storms.” The rules I broke to try and keep this outing nice…I ruined it anyways.
“Noona, how are you so strong, to have stopped all that you caused, with a smile on your face?” Maho looked at me expectantly, an ounce of pity crossing his face. How could he know the storm was completely my fault? I finally let go of the death grip I had on it, on the clouds. My majik snapped back into my core and I stumbled back, Mikhail keeping me from going far with a hand on my back. The skies opened up in a scream leaving us soaked in seconds. The crack of thunder in its wake came like a bomb, rattling everything it could.
I hoped they were happy now. I wanted nothing more than to get home and hide either in a shower or just my bed. At least with the first they’d respect the distance I wanted. I just need to be alone or asleep.
Ch 2: Maho
​I am not proud of myself for making her break. I felt her relinquish control of the storm, could see tendrils of her majik coil back into her core. Her eyes didn’t leave mine as the rain poured down and not a single one of us moved, we could only watch her dissolve into a more natural state. I had felt her subtle movements of majik all night, saw the clouds fighting to form as she forbade it. When we had arrived at their home, bright blue filled the sky. Once we stepped outside the sky was covered in a blanket of clouds, that light shade of gray that made you think it was cold outside. The darker it got only proved how much she was losing the battle with herself. The thunder should have alerted the others but I doubted they had put it together. Their minds were solely on Aayla-noona and the spell we put together. A sense of accomplishment that our group had not had in a very long time. Everyone was invested in the outcome in one way or another.
I have yet to understand why a wytches majik was so directly linked with their emotions, I don’t care for the notion. I feel it makes them a rather frightening race. It was a dangerous side effect for something so strong. Was it really the only way fate could see balance? With water being this volatile I could only imagine how terrifying the other elements were.
“Raine…let’s go home.” Aayla-noona held her hand tightly, tugging at her. Raine-noona’s eyes were still on me, as though looking away would make it all crumble faster. I felt her majik brush against mine, like she was inspecting it. Mikhail-hyung was at a loss of what to do as he stood awkwardly next to them.
“Noona, it’s ok. It’s perfectly ok to feel strong emotions, no one will think any less of you.” I motioned my hands to our group.
​
“I might.” Kahmran-eomma muttered quietly and received glares from those of us still on the sidewalk. Alex-hyung elbowed him to push the point further.
Raine-noona was so protective over us that she hid her feelings from us if she thought it wouldn’t go over well. Like she couldn’t bear the thought of putting the weight of her thoughts on our shoulders. It was disheartening to realize. I don’t think it was necessarily that she didn’t trust us but more that she didn’t know how to depend on anyone anymore.
We ushered her back to their home and stood in the hall, dripping puddles onto the hardwood floor. Aayla-noona ran upstairs and returned with towels for everyone. “There are a bunch of clothes in the basement if anyone wants to find something to change into. They are from various time periods, from the family.” She shrugged as she spoke. We watched Raine-noona go up to her room. She never looked back at us.
“Yes please, wet denim is uncomfortable.” Mikhail-hyung followed the directions, Alex-hyung in firm agreement as the rest of us trailed behind. Aayla-noona left us to it as she returned upstairs, calling after Raine-noona and getting no answer.
“Is she going to be ok?” Alex-hyung pulled a cream hoodie over his head and was reaching for a pair of black shorts.
“Knowing her there’s no telling what’s going through that over-active head of hers. She probably psyched herself out.” Kahmran-eomma looked down his nose at the pile of clothes in front of him. The others looked over with concern but he wasn’t wrong. Sour truths were a terrible thing. We knew she had a one track mind and having accomplished something she’d been working on for years probably left her feeling lost on top of everything.
I found a shirt that looked to be from old England and donned it out of humor. The sleeves were too long so I flailed them at Yangin-hyung, laughing. I put on some pants that could have been from the same time, though loose enough for me to need to hold them up with a belt from this century.
“Do you think noona will laugh when she sees me?” I wanted to try and bring some light back to her eyes. I wanted to prove to her somehow that we were there for her.
“Aayla will.” Kahmran-eomma answered without hesitation as his scrutinizing gaze roved over my outfit. He thought himself fashion forward but I found it annoying. If the clothes weren’t comfortable, I saw no point in wearing them.
“As long as one of them does. I’m going back upstairs then.” I made my way back up the stairs. The laundry room was at the top of the stairs so I dropped my clothes into the washer. I made my way to the living room and relaxed into the couch. The others joined me soon after, all of us in a different era’s clothes. Mikhail-hyung came back last, being the one to turn the washer on. I gripped the towel around my hair, trying to get as much excess water out as I could. I noticed Alex-hyung vigorously rubbing his across his head before dropping it on the floor and stepping on it to wipe up where we dripped.
We were lounging on the couches and floor when the noonas finally returned. Our eyes met theirs and they both burst into laughter. “Oh my gods, who let you guys dress yourselves?” Raine-noona couldn’t breathe, she was laughing so hard. I flailed the sleeves in her direction and it brought tears to her eyes. She came to stand next to the couch and I tried to hit her. She snatched the fabric that got close to her face and tugged on it, causing me to lurch forward. “We should play dress-up more often.” She was grinning at Aayla-noona. Her mood was a complete turn around, it made me worry a little bit.
“We should, maybe we could fix them. Kahmran, I’m surprised you let them get away with some of these.” She looked us over, a smirk that I’d seen countless times on Kahmran-eomma graced her lips.
“Just because I don’t agree, doesn’t mean I’ll stop them from humiliating themselves.” He crossed his arms with a smug smile painted on his face.
“I see it. This is why you two are best friends.” Raine-noona frowned as she pointed between them. “I’m going to make hot chocolate, anyone else want some?” She laughed as we all raised our hands. She returned a bit later with a tray full of steaming cups. “What will you do now that I’m no longer distracting you?” She gave us a bitter smile.
“Keep looking for him. Do you think you’d be able to help us?” Yangin-hyung met her gaze, his face more serious than I deemed necessary.
“I can try, though I don’t know what help I’ll be. I still don’t understand what he had against you guys to wrap you up in the death of my family.” Her words hung over us, a dark cloud falling over the room in an instant. “Maho, how are you connected to all of this?”
I sighed, “The Yeonghon urn that you used. He stole it from us. It is a spiritual urn that, aside from being able to take in souls, can help gumihos with their spirit beads. It’s also how we are able to get rid of excess spirit majik without causing any damage to our surroundings. My family is the one that failed to protect the one he stole. As the eldest son of this generation, I can’t return home without the urn. A punishment for not stopping him in the first place. This is actually the only real trace of him we’ve had in over two hundred years.” I sat on the floor with my feet together as I held them and rocked back and forth. “Though, there were no wytches for him to kill nor send to my village. How he even found us is another cumbersome mystery that we have yet to figure out.” Her family’s death was not linked with mine.
“Wait, I thought you were only eighteen.” Aayla-noona stared right through me, a hint of irritation on her face.
“Oh I am, but we’ve been looking for it for a few centuries.”
“Wait, how long ago?” Raine-noona sipped her drink, leaning back into the couch cushions.
“About-”
“No no, exactly.” She interrupted with a raised brow.
I blinked at her, “I want to say two hundred and seventy-nine years ago.” I didn’t see why it would matter.
“That doesn’t make any sense whatsoever. Sua didn’t die until a hundred-fifty years ago. Why would he have prepared for her to die?” She made a very good point. Everything that had happened to us recently had even been too long since her closest sister passed, much less the theft of the urn.
“What if he’s actually trying to bring someone else back?” Aayla-noona was dragging her fingers through Kahmran-eomma’s hair as he sat on the floor in front of her. “When I was,” she hesitated, “taken, he said another's name. I don’t think it’s Sua he is after.”
“But who? I honestly don’t remember him well. Skye only brought him over once, to introduce him to us before the wedding. Oh my gods.” She jumped up, almost sloshing her drink as she slammed it on the coffee table and dashed down the hallway. How she didn’t trip over any of us is beyond me. That or get tangled up in the blanket she had across her legs. Aayla-noona yawned as she shoved eomma’s head away from her, receiving a glare, and went to the library. The rest of us followed out of curiosity. Eomma, not so much. Raine-noona was searching through a bookshelf. This was the largest library I have ever seen in a home before and it amazed me every time I came in. She moved to a different shelf and snatched a book so fast she almost dropped it. She started flipping through the pages and finally stopped on a family tree. Each entry had a small portrait to show who the members were. “I didn’t know anyone before Terran and Aria, since they are twins. Sua was a hundred years older than me, so as the baby I only met the three of them. He must think I know my older siblings. Two hundred,” she scanned through the death dates. “Sekka.”
“That was the name!” Aayla-noona peered closer at the book.
“She was an ice wytch too. I think I figured out one reason he wanted to get rid of you.” Raine-noona winced at her and looked back to the book. “She was in her first century when you were alive.”
“What makes you think its her?” Kahmran-eomma questioned with narrow eyes.
“Her death is the only one that lines up with his stealing of the urn. I don’t imagine him waiting too long to get something that important. But he could have gotten all the ingredients from a black market and a water wytch is easy to find. Why has it taken him so long?” She closed the book on her finger. We could all read the title, Oussep.
“Raine, you created the spell.” Mikhail-hyung’s voice was soft as he spoke the truth we had all forgotten.
“Right…” Her face fell and he rubbed her back.
“What if it’s like how you needed my hair piece? Maybe he needed something from the family to get it right.” Aayla-noona slumped into a chair ignoring him.
“If he tried with another spell would her body still be there for him to try again if he had failed?”
She leaned against the shelf she was closest to, biting her lower lip, “No, you only get one chance. And with it, you either get your person or you get a mors ambulan. There’s no second tries.” She hit her head against the books. “That’s why they were researching it for so long. There was already data gathered when they put me on it.”
“Do you think he tried on his own?” Yangin-hyung was lost in contemplation.
“Of course. Not with her, if she’s his real goal, but I have no doubt he tried to figure it out on his own. Where else would the info have come from?”
“What is a mors thingy?” Alex-hyung was leaning against the door-frame.
“Mors ambulan. They are monsters created from trying to bring back the dead. As far as we can tell, they are a byproduct of a wytches attempt. No other caeles birth these creations. I cannot say they are the only ones that try to bring life back, but they seem to be the only ones with a repercussion of this magnitude.” Mikhail-hyung answered first, receiving a glare from Raine-noona.
“They only search for wytches so as long as you don’t attack or touch one, you’d be fine.” She continued the explanation, “there’s nothing there but the primal need to take majik. Which makes escaping relatively easy.”
“Relatively?” Aayla-noona cocked an eyebrow at her. I realized that most of us were done with our drinks so I went back for the tray and then collected the empty cups. I doubted I would need to know more on the matter any time soon. If things changed, someone would let me know.
There was no harm in checking out the bottom floor in detail if we were allowed to stay here. The kitchen and dining areas were really just one large room with a high ceiling. I’d been in here countless times but never took it all in.The archway that led into the space separated them, two people wide with the same amount on either side before getting to the focal points of the appointed areas. The left side was the kitchen itself, a large island counter in the center, with sleek obsidian tops to all the dark bamboo cabinets. There were two stoves, a gas one on the far left of the counters and an old wood burning one on the right side of them all. A tall, large, stainless steel fridge in the center. Two matching obsidian double bay sinks next to either stove and a wrought iron fixture hanging above the island, pots and pans dangling from its black hooks. Windows with white curtains hung above the sinks, bringing in natural light. There was a sign on the wall that shared the archway with the words “Never spell where you cook” in elaborate calligraphy handwriting. With just Raine-noona, I wonder how often this room got used.
Slate walls and black cherry floors kept the rooms warm and welcoming. There was a giant oval bamboo table with ten chairs placed around it. Simple in their make, no carving done other than the curve of the backs and the small knot in the center of the foot rungs. A matching dresser nestled against the center of the far wall, its top obsidian like the counters in the kitchen. The middle was a set of three drawers while each side had glass doors to show plates, bowls, and cups. Table settings and napkins were in the top drawer, silverware in the second, and serving utensils in the last. A framed print of a rope bridge in a misty forest covered a good portion of the wall above the dresser. One window rose from the floor to the ceiling loomed on the wall, its peak reaching the opposite end of the table. I doubted she ever ate in here.
I shook my head and walked back towards the library and noticed one more door along this stretch of wall. I went all the way down the hall, past the dual oak doors for the library and into the next room. It was an oddly shaped room, like walking into a bottle neck before finding the open space of the bottle itself. There were redwood tables all along the walls, matching shelves on the opposing and far right wall that stretched up into the darkness of the low lit room. Every inch of shelf housed a vial, she had columns of each oil or herb until she reached full capacity. Hanging herbs took most of the space, filling the length of the left wall, the longest in the room, and the hallway section of the right wall. The rest of the shelves were full of oils that she had made, a blackout sheet covering one section of oil blends. There was a lonely rolling chair that rested against the only open space available at the tables. A kettle sat silent on a hotplate and an empty mug, a simple hands reach to the side. There was a small window that let in ample light for its size. There were various styles of scales and multiple mortar and pestle sets of varying colors, sizes, and materials. The room was so full of scents that I had to leave before I got a headache I couldn’t get rid of.
Across from the room was the laundry room and entrance to the basement. The back door stood lonely on the wall between the two. The last door in the hall was under the stairs that started right after the entrance to the living room. I’d heard that it was her parents room. I placed a hand on the knob, majik surging through the touch, and couldn’t bring myself to go in. I looked up the stairs, her room was up there somewhere, but I could only imagine how many were up there considering the size of the bottom floor. I was curious how she decorated her personal space. If her nook in the library was any indication, I anticipated it being soft colors and comforting.
Ch 3: Kahmran
Alex and I stepped out of the library to give the others their space. I didn’t care who he was trying to bring back. I’d rather just kill him in order to give him back his lover. My need to torment was high, picking on Alex in the meantime would have to suffice. “So, do you like her?” I met his eyes and he looked away, face turning a bit red so I smirked. I had long since noticed the way his eyes followed Aayla. The way his ears perked when he heard her speak. “Do you?” I asked again since he still wouldn’t answer once Maho found us in the hall. He watched us with curiosity and mild amusement. He could see the amusement in my eyes.
​
“I don’t know. Why are you asking?” He wouldn’t even look at me.
“She’s my best friend. I feel like you’d have to ask me if you could date her.” I crossed my arms.
“I thought I was your best friend.” He snapped his head up and glared at his title being used by another. I relished the jealousy on his features.
“You are now. I’m allowed more than one. Besides, she’s more like that annoying little sister I always wanted.” I chuckled at him, though I found it greatly amusing, I didn’t want him hurt by it.
“What if I do like her? What would you do?” He squirmed where he stood, voice quiet. Maho tilted his head to the side as if mimicking the question. He had wandered away to put dishes away, what had kept him though I had no idea. He wasn’t as personally connected to Chisanu the way the rest of us were. I found myself jealous of him for that fact. I constantly wished we had never met the wytch.
“I’ll be with my two favorite people? Though I could only handle you two together in small doses I suppose.” I had the feeling Aayla was going to be clingy in a relationship, especially after getting her body back after so long.
“You wouldn’t be upset?” The hope that blossomed on his face made my heart hurt.
“No,” I scoffed at him, “the both of you deserve to be happy after everything. Even more than just plain happy in my opinion. Are you asking if you can date her?” Teasing him was far more entertaining than it should have been.
“I don’t have to ask you. I don’t need your permission. She doesn’t need your permission. She’s the one I’d have to ask.” He growled, causing Maho and I to laugh. We heard the library door open and he paled. We watched Raine walk into the kitchen, not paying us any attention as she went. Her eyes were unfocused as she stared at the floor, thoughts floating across her face as she went. I’m amazed she never bumped into anything.
“Are you guys thirsty?” Her voice filtered through the long hallway. I raised a brow in confusion before seeing the clock and realized it had been a few hours since they’d had the hot chocolate.
“Banana milk!” Maho jumped in excitement and made his way to join her. We heard her giggle as we followed after.
“I’m sorry, I don’t have any of that. How about regular milk?” She ruffled his hair as he pouted. “Also, I have no idea what it is.”
“Maho, don’t bother her like that.” There was a reason he considered me the “mother” of our group. He turned his pout to me for a moment but lost interest. He’d been paying a lot of attention to her as well. She ended up making tea for everyone and handed us our own cups before meandering back to the library with four cups all on her own. She wouldn’t let us help her. I stared into mine wondering why she bothered.
“So, do you think Mikhail-hyung likes Raine-noona?” Maho held his cup to his chest and we slid our eyes to him. “Well, I mean, he has stayed the night with her, right? More than once?” He took a sip, “And he comes running anytime she calls or her majik is felt.” His inquisitive glance into the cup made me both curious and worried at the same time.
“He hasn’t realized it-.” I started but then remembered when he hid them in his wing at the club. “Yeah, no. He definitely has an idea but he will go at a snail’s pace.”
“He was probably just keeping watch or something. Or its his habits from being a protector or whatever it is the angels do.” Alex stretched out his limbs and shook each foot until his ankles popped.
Oblivious idiot.
Maho grinned, showing most of his teeth, “Watch when he’s around her. He’s like you when you get around Aayla-noona.” This kid was too smart for his own good as he smirked at Alex’s blushing glare. Time creeped by before the others finally came out and joined us back in the living room.
“Did you find anything worthwhile?” I covered my mouth as I yawned. I hated that I still got the notion even though I couldn’t sleep. Yangin sat on the floor next to Maho’s chair, Aayla sat next to Alex on the couch. Raine and Mikhail took the other end of it and I smirked at the chair I had all to myself.
“No, I found no connection between him and any of my family members.” She had her elbows on her knees, face in her hands, and just a lack of energy about her. The others nodded in agreement.
“I’ll question the network and see what they can find. They should have an advantage in this scenario.” Yangin looked conflicted as he offered, leaning back into the other chair he was propped against.
“What network?” Both girl focused in on him.
Yangin’s ears turned red as he spoke, “ I have connections to a network of information brokers.”
Raine narrowed her eyes at him. “I take it they come by information while doing illegal things.” When he didn’t answer one way or another she nodded at him. “You do you boo.”
“I can’t think of a single customer I’m close enough to, to be able to ask.” Alex leaned his head back as a light ignited in his eyes though he didn’t say anything.
“I may be able to question someone. I know where other safehouses are.” Mikhail offered what little he had.
“Are you even allowed to contact other angels?” Aayla raised a brow at him.
“Why would I not be?”
“You know, the whole fallen thing?”
“What about it?”
“We don’t know the rules, Mikhail. I swear, your group is too secretive. I don’t want you putting yourself in danger or more trouble for nothing.” Raine put her head back in her hands.
“It would not be for nothing. Any information we can get could help us. Maybe we just have not been asking the right questions to the correct people.”
Maho sulked in his seat as they argued, having nothing to give but majik. A secluded village filled mostly with hermit elders wouldn’t have any connections he could pull on. I shrugged at him, meaning I was in the same boat and that it did not matter. We could figure it out. We had gotten this far on our own, nothing was going to stop us until we accomplished getting him. Silence grew as we all thought too much to ourselves.
Yangin broke his trance first, “Raine, some of the titles you have in your library, I know for a fact are so rare that if anyone knew you had them, you could be in danger.”
​
“Yes, I know.” She looked over at him, eyes heavy lidded. “Those have been in my family for so long they are only rumors now.”
“Have you ever thought of copying them down onto a computer or something so you never lose them?” Aayla leaned her head on Raine’s shoulders.
“Nah, there’s no need. They’ve been charmed so they can’t be destroyed or duplicated.” She yawned, covering her mouth with the back of her hand.
“What if they are stolen?” Alex leaned forward so he could see her.
“Then I would take them back. Besides, I protect those books more than I protect myself. It just doesn’t happen often. They hold a key role in many points of history, both past and future, and I am their guardian.”
“What does that even mean?” I raised a brow at her, I could never tell if she was cryptic on purpose or if it was just something bookish types were natural at.
“If the angels are the ones that write history down, we are the ones that keep track of it.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know, it’s just what my family has always done. It’s not like I can really ask anymore.” She leaned her head on the back of the couch, closing her eyes.
“Do you have any other family members that we could find? Someone that may know something?” Maho was curled up in his chair, legs dangling over the arm.
“Our family book only shows my parents and my branch of the tree. All of my siblings are dead. And even if I do have any cousins, I wouldn’t know where to find them or what help they would be.” She frowned but then eyes popped open as an idea hit her. “Actually…” she mumbled, getting up and heading back to the library. We all followed, knowing she wasn’t going to tell us otherwise. I had no idea how there wasn’t a grove in the floor.
“Does she live in here?” Maho poked a book on the table. Raine was scaling one of the taller shelves to find what she wanted.
“Pretty much. I have to pry her out all the time.” Aayla rolled her eyes as Raine ignored them.
“Noona, do you not get tired of studying, since you do it for work too?” Maho looked around the room. The room reached the second floor, shelves stretching up the walls to the ceiling. She had isles of shelves that created a small maze just past the table we usually stayed at.
“No. I do more research than studying at work. Besides, I wouldn’t know what to do with myself.” She never looked down from the books.
“What’s the difference?” Maho cocked an eyebrow at her. She made it back to the floor, book in hand.
“Studying is just going over specific material in order to know it. Material that is already known. Research is looking at what we have and aiming for the answers we don’t. It’s finding new ways to do old things. It’s trial and error.” The light in her eyes had all of us smiling at her. Once I realized I stopped myself, I couldn’t have her know I found her amusing in the soft sense. I hadn’t realized just how much she truly loved what she did. She seemed the type that she went with her role because she didn’t know any better. “Anyways,” she shook her head, “I could scry for them. It would only take a drop of blood.” She looked at the book’s cover with glowing eyes.
“That is a bad idea.” Yangin glared at her with an intensity that made even me nervous. I hadn’t seen that look in a long while.
“Why?” Alex looked up, realizing he was the only one who knew nothing of blood majik.
“Blood majik is too dangerous. Especially for anyone other than a vampire.” Yangin side glanced at me and nodded.
“But it’s one drop.” She looked back at the book, a bit of longing hidden there. Did her unreal confidence levels have something to do with her job? It was like she was never in check.
“One drop is all it takes, Raine.” Yangin got lost in bad memories. Mikhail’s eyes clouded over in darkness, his job having made him deal with the fall out of such things. I may have been the only one he confided in. Aayla looked away like she was trying to escape, she understood the tone was going to lead to an argument. It was indeed one of the most unsafe things she could do in our current situation. Blood majik was the most addictive and intrusive forms of majik known. It slowly drives it’s users mad and leaves them open to unsavory possessions by the worst ilk imaginable. Raine just looked back up with childlike defiance. I knew I was stubborn but this child had something up on even me. How could she always opt for such dangerous routes and yet spout concern for others safety?
“What is your problem?” I needed to know, we all did, how far she was unnecessarily willing to go.
“What do you mean?” She filtered innocence through those aqua eyes, looking through her lashes at me.
“Do you realize how contradictory you are?”
“Because you think blood majik done by anyone other than you is dangerous? I know more about it than you guys are thinking. As long as things are done correctly, it’s just as safe as any other majik.” She refused to listen to us, to reason.
“What are you talking about?” Yangin took that authoritative tone again, “There is no safe way to do it.” He had lost a brother to blood majik decades ago, word getting to him in exile, and hadn’t trusted it since. Not that there had been much prior. Mikhail could see her in all the circumstances of it going wrong he had come across before, instinctively inching closer to her like he could stop the afterimages that plagued him. He never went out of his way to tell us of his missions before he fell but he always answered if asked. When I got bored, too lonely, I would ask.
“Do you realize what I actually do for the council? I research, I learn, I improvise, and I improve. Not just myself and my abilities but for others as well. I have done it before.” She leaned on the table in front of her. We went rigid with concern. Why would her work have her researching safer ways to do blood majik? What was she to have pulled it off without getting hurt in the first place. The more she told of her job, the less I trusted the Majistrae Council. They were known to be one of the most controlling caeles entities but their constant edging towards danger made the Fasinaré group look tame.
“Raine, stop. You regretted it then you’ll regret it now.” Aayla folded her arms across her chest.
“What happened?” Maho leaned around Yangin who had stepped in front of him. Raine motioned for Aayla to tell since she was the one to bring it up.
​
“She used blood majik to speak with Sua a few decades ago. When Sua found out about the research she’s been doing for them, she almost burned the house down. It was because of the blood that her powers were able to manifest through Raine. It linked them on a different level and she had a raging fever that wouldn’t break for a week because of it.” She glared at Raine, the panic that must have run rampant through her left her bitter.
“You forced her to watch you put yourself into a life threatening situation?” I gritted my teeth, “Did she even know before you did it?”
“I’m not stupid. I can read. I overhear a lot of things when she doesn’t remember to explain.” Aayla narrowed her eyes.
“Don’t worry, I know the other repercussions of it. I’m the only one left from the group that was working on perfecting the techniques.” Raine pulled her finger from the book, knowing she was fighting a losing battle. “You realize, by doing this, I could possibly find where he is. Wouldn’t that be a win-win for everyone?” She was good at her manipulations. The room stopped for a moment, feeling our end goals brushing against our fingertips, just a prick of her finger away. She was cruel to use that as a bargaining chip against us..
“Raine! Why would you-” Aayla started.
“It’s before he’s done the spell, it won’t be as dangerous. We should leave you here though, just in case. I don’t want him anywhere near you. But I think it would work out very well. He definitely wouldn’t be expecting it.”
“No.” Alex shocked all of us, he tended to stay out of these kinds of conversations if he could. For him to tell her no was a feat in and of itself, he was the reckless one out of us. “We have no need of going to such a length to get him. We won’t allow you to hurt yourself to help us.”
“A needle prick is nothing.” She sugared her voice, still trying though her heart was no longer in it.
“Just stop, noona. This isn’t the way.” Maho stared at her through his bangs. I could see Mikhail’s feelings on the matter ripping him apart and he usually didn’t show them so easily. I can’t imagine the experience he has had if it made him stare at her in such anguish. He brushed his hand against her back, to reassure himself that she was still fine.
“Seriously, you have to be the dumbest smart person I know. Just because you’re willing to kill yourself doesn’t mean you should. Just cause you’re willing to try, doesn’t mean you should.” I was annoyed that she was upsetting my friends.
​
“Thanks? I think.” She shook her head at me. “Of course I’m willing to die for her,” she pointed at Aayla, “I have no intention to do so, but if it came to that, yes. I wouldn’t offer a solution if I had doubts it wouldn’t work. I don’t offer you false hopes. Everything I’ve learned, I’ve done so painstakingly.” Her own ire was seeping out.
Ch 4: Alex
“Why do we not just wait and see if we can find some other option first?” Mikhail was desperate for her safety. This went beyond his normal need to avoid danger which spoke volumes.
“We will.” Aayla said without hesitation, leaving Raine no room to argue. She was just as protective as Raine had been of her. Their friendship was merely a more open version of mine and Kahmran’s.
“Fine. I can keep looking.” Raine turned back to her shelves, looking through a catalog she had had in her head. She struck me as the kind of person with a mental rolodex. The room collectively sighed and groaned, she didn’t acknowledge the sound. I doubt she even noticed by the intensity of her far off stare.
“Come on. You are done for today, you have already spent too much time in these books.” Mikhail reached for her hand, wanting to pull her away. She looked up blankly at him and didn’t budge. “Please,” his wings fluttered in his shirt. It was one of his few tells to his discomfort.
“But…” She looked pained to try and tell him no, but her determination wasn’t ready to let go. There was definitely something between them that I had missed.
“Shut up and get out!” Aayla walked behind the wytch, Mikhail backing away, and started pushing her out of the room. Raine retaliated by putting all of her weight in Aayla’s hands, long bronze hair falling into her face, making her work for it. Aayla’s short stature only made Raine’s height seem that much more. “Raine, I will let you fall,” not one of us doubted her, “now go.” She straightened up with a pout and we walked her back to the living room. Aayla looked over at me, feeling my stare and winked before returning her attention to the others. I frowned, what was that supposed to mean? No one else seemed to have noticed the exchange. I froze for a moment, had she heard us talking in the hall earlier? I caught up and claimed one of the chairs opposite the couch. Yangin and Maho sat on the floor to block the way to the library. The rest of us scattered about the room. I’m certain it was more of a precaution or deterrent rather than actually believing we would have to stop her. She was stubborn, not stupid, for the most part at least. I smirked at myself.
“You’re worse than a vampire that refuses to feed.” Kahmran stared at her with annoyed concern. I refocused on the conversation as the atmosphere darkened. Some days I couldn’t tell if he just enjoyed chaos and drama or just lost all filters when he was angry.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” She turned to him before she sat down, eyes narrowed. He could never leave anything well enough alone.
“What you’re doing is self-destructive and hurts those around you. It’s the same concept really, see how far you can go before you crash and burn. Which will in turn endanger everyone around you, irreversible damage will be done and then what, Raine?” It wasn’t a glare that graced his face but legitimate concern. I understood his analogy and the way he spoke said he’d been around it before. I was confused though, as far as I knew he never really spent any time with other vamps, where would he have witnessed it?
“Kahmran, that is enough.” Mikhail’s voice was stern, he never gave us that tone, no matter how frustrated we had made him. But the house seemed to breathe with her, shuddering at the challenge.
“What? It’s a serious question. What do you plan to do once you’ve broken something you can’t fix?”
“Kahmran.” Aayla slapped him against the back of the head. He tossed his head away from her in irritation but kept his eyes on Raine.
“My studying isn’t going to hurt anyone other than myself. Yes, it may cause concern for others, but I can’t break anything with a book. Thanks though.” She tossed him a death smile, stars in her eyes. I was beginning to think they enjoyed the constant bickering with each other. A challenge of wits, tolerance, and pride.
“That’s not what I meant and you know it.” Kahmran narrowed his gaze as his fangs slid down, a trait that only occurs when he is beyond controlling his temper. An uncomfortable silence filled the room.
“You don’t even like me that much. Why bother fussing?” She poked at one of his nerves. He curled his hands and had to stretch his fingers out to keep from drawing blood.
“You’re right. I like her and for whatever stupid reason, she likes you. So like it or not we are stuck with each other.”
“Because I was there when you weren’t.”
“Raine!” My ears pulled back at Aayla’s scream. Kahmran was half way out of his seat before she stepped between them. “The amount of uncalled for that is, is so ridiculously high, I don’t even know where to start. What the hell is wrong with you?” She locked eyes with Raine who stared past her to Kahmran.
“We should not be fighting right now. It will not do us any good.” Mikhail frowned, looking ready to stand himself if things were to continue.
“We are going to have fun, this will be over, and you will apologize before I get back.” She glared at both of them before stalking off upstairs. Kahmran closed his eyes as he sat back down. He took long deep breaths doing his best to calm himself down. Raine sighed in resignation and plopped onto the couch, still staring at him.
“Hate me all you want, I don’t care.” She waited until he looked at her. I didn’t believe her though. “I don’t want to do anything that would hurt her. I’ve literally dedicated years to saving her. I wouldn’t undo all of that, all of her, on a whim.” She took a steadying breath. Kahmran as utterly still as he stared.
“I am sorry. It was rude and uncalled for. Neither of you knew, had no way of knowing, and it shouldn’t be used against you. Especially like that.” She curled up in the crook of the couch, watching us with heavy eyes. He nodded and offered no other response as she reached for a remote.
She laid her head on the arm as the television turned on and flipped over to a music player. I jumped when the music started because I hadn’t noticed there were surround sound speakers and having noise suddenly behind me was not something I was prepared for. Kahmran snickered at me so I bared my teeth at him. Raine closed her eyes and bobbed to the music, foot twitching in time with the beat as well. Mikhail was on the other side, watching her, seeing something we could not. There was a melancholy to the music she chose that settled into my bones before I realized it and all of us seemed caught by it. Kahmran relaxed in his chair, most of the tension he held within himself almost gone. Maho and Yangin relaxed on their arms, showing some interest in the sounds that filled the space between us.
Mikhail just stared at her like the rest of the room would melt away, Maho was right. He cared so much for this girl, it was odd to see. I know he had been here, away from other angels for over a hundred years but when we met him, he still seemed robotic almost. He was still accessing the full range of emotion. He was the most hesitant of us all and for him to be so ready to defend someone that wasn’t us, felt wrong almost. What he felt, or portrayed rather, was far beyond the guilt of not saving her family. I felt like the little brother who was having his older sibling taken away by someone else. I was not ready for this kind of dynamic change. I recalled there was an incident at the club and I really wanted to know what had occurred between the two of them.
“Raine, are you-” Mikhail’s voice was low and cut off by Aayla yelling for us. His eyes never left the wytch, that unasked question hanging on the tip of his tongue, the forefront of consciousness. His face was riddled with thoughts and emotions, a poem lost in the translation of silence. Aayla gathered all of us a floor up in a wide open area, a long shelf sat against the wall filled with various board games, decks of cards scattered about the low table.
“Let’s play pounce.” She held up a deck of cards and grinned. Raine instantly perked up at the prospect. They both smiled at us as they explained the rules of the competitive solitaire. The night crept past us as bowls of chips and salsa were left empty in the wake of our fun. We played until Maho had passed out on the floor next to Yangin who kept having to roll him away. Mikhail was nodding off next to Raine, head dipping lower and lower towards her shoulder. Aayla half asleep as she leaned into Kahmran, her body exhausted after it’s first day.
“It’s late, you guys might as well stay the night, I’ll go find your clothes.” Raine gently woke Maho.
“Sleep over!” He yawned his cheer, the sleeve of his borrowed shirt falling down to cover his hands as he sat up.
“They need to be put in the dryer. I forgot about them completely.” Mikhail shook his head as he stood. “I think I am too tired to fly home, in all honesty. So I will gladly take you on that offer.” Mikhail rubbed his shoulders, failing to hide the glow that came from some excitement.
“I’ll go get the rooms ready then.” Raine chuckled as she went down the hall.
“I’ll help.” He followed after her, ignoring her protest.
“No, no, it’s fine. I can do it on my own.” They were out of sight before she spoke, “Do you not trust me?” We couldn’t hear his reply as they walked further away. I kept one eye on Aayla, doing my best to not be noticed. She stood as Yangin and Maho were talking in hushed voices, Kahmran looking at his nails and bouncing a foot, she walked over to the wall closest to her.
“What are you doing?” Kahmran put his hands down, I hadn’t noticed him paying attention.
“Concentrating, now shut up.” She put her hand on the wall, closing her eyes and then released a deep breath. Her hand inched into the wall, the others now staring. Once she was wrist deep her eyes popped open and she pulled her hand back with a grin, “I can still do it!” Relief flooded her face. I hadn’t thought about her ghost abilities and whether or not they would stay.
“That could be useful.” Kahmran sneered as she stuck her tongue out.
“Look, I’ve had the ability for so long, I wouldn’t know what to do without it.” She frowned at him. She sat back down and ran her fingers down her skin, tracing small circles on her arm. She jumped back up and kept stretching onto her tiptoes.
“Are you attempting to fly now?” Kahmran raised his brow at her.
“I do not need your snark.”
“Yes, but you had no form so that would make sense to fly. You now have a whole body, I doubt you’re going anywhere.” The look he received could have flayed him. Our rogue couple returned shortly after with smiles of their own.
“May I show you to your rooms?” Raine asked from the entry to the hallway. We stood as she pointed to
Kahmran and I, her gaze on Aayla, “Their rooms are next to each other on this floor.”
“The others on the third with you?”
“Yes.” Raine headed up the stairs, the rest hot on her heels. Aayla led us down the hall we had seen Raine go to. The walls were the same as the ones down stairs, though no pictures adorned them. The deep red carpet less worn than its counterpart below, plush and cushioned each step, the one window at the end of the hall let in enough moonlight to make it glow with a purple hint. Two doors in the center had been left open and Aayla stopped in front of the left one.
“This is your room.” She smirked at Kahmran, some inside joke alight in their eyes.
“Thanks.” He went in and shut the door without looking back.
“And this is yours.” She pointed me into the open door.
“Your facade is like mystery.” I whispered as I walked past her, a faint smile claimed her delicate lips. Both of them hid behind such nonchalant masks, such seriousness for no apparent reason, especially when their true selves surfaced so easily in the face of adversity.
“Your face is like a mystery.” She shut the door on me and I heard her door shut seconds later. I shook my head and then took in my surroundings. The room was a midnight blue with little stars painted on the ceiling. A black desk sat below the window, matching wood side tables and bed frame made a complete set with the dresser next to the door. The bedding was a dusky purple hue, helping the nighttime look the room sported. I opened the closet to find it bare inside, a mirror on the back of the door, and closed it after seeing how out of place I looked against this backdrop. I tugged the hoodie off and set it on the chair at the desk before throwing the covers back and plopping down on the bed. In the corner of the room, a half moon was painted on the ceiling, and I realized it was an exact replica of the current night sky that stared down at me.
Every constellation that was out tonight, represented in brush strokes. Was this another majik trick this house was covered in? I wondered for half a second what kind of wytch would have this room when I noticed the folded flag sitting on top of the shelf next to the desk.
Raine was a cruel friend.
As of late I had been able to keep my mind from wandering to the night I was cursed. The night my family life was broken. I found myself playing with the dog-tags I kept around my neck. After breaking down in the forest I hadn’t had a real moment to sit and talk with Raine about it. I didn’t know what to say even if I had. A sigh escaped me as I stared at the ceiling.
​
“Alexander, Dimitri!” My mother’s voice pulled our attention from the caeles turned endring. We weren’t used to the extra power boost that came with the curse. Most endrings refused to change a caeles due to the destruction that occurred around the full moon.
The wolf had just launched itself at us once we arrived on the scene, wilder than the air that whipped around us. “How are we supposed to put it down?” I yelled back to our parents, fending off another thrust of teeth.
“I think we will have to kill it.” Our father didn’t care as much as he should have.
“That is a person! We can’t just kill them. This isn’t their fault.” My brother was the most humanitarian out of our family and I admired him for it. He always looked towards hope. A strong gust of wind threw us back and teeth found their way into my shoulder, a whine escaping the canine. I grabbed at its neck, my fingers getting tangled in a chain. It was left in my grasp as the wolf ran for my brother who was trying to distract it.
“Dimitri!” The wind sent him flying into our father. I realized too late that the wind was coming from the wolf. I hadn’t come across any caeles that was this strong. I looked at the chain in my hand and pulled the round disk up to read. It was a military ID tag. Aria Oussep. The symbol of a wytch was scratched onto the back. She was an air wytch then. She was strong enough to use her majik to get us away from her when she could. She was fighting herself more than she was fighting us.
I clenched the disk as I ran between them. She launched herself again and pinned me to the ground, her claws going into the marks left from her teeth. It ran down my skin, connecting the two half moons and fire erupted in my veins. The curse sunk in before I could register what she had done. She let out a soul crushing howl as she threw herself off, looking for the world like someone had kicked her from me. “Alex!”
Dimitri’s voice sounded far away as my vision swam. He was hauling me up from the ground before I could will strength to my legs.
“Did it set?” Mother’s voice was shrill, screaming her fear at us. The wind suddenly died as the wolf made eye contact with our father. He had a cross bolt aimed at her heart and she struggled to stand, puffing her chest out the best she could.
“Alex, you’re going to be ok. I’ve got you. We’ll figure something out.” Dimitri kept rambling as he drug me further away from the endring. She was trying to sacrifice herself. Her dog tags cut into my palm as I clenched my hand. Why couldn’t we save her too? Even from this distance I could hear the wet thud as fathers bolt made true, a whine escaped her.
“She’s an…Oussep.” Everyone in our Society knew of the Oussep family. First of the wytches and a caeles group always ready to assist humans when they could. I could feel Dimitri tense at my words. The curse settled into place, taking what little energy that remained.
I woke in my room, fever in full swing, and change on the horizon.
Ch 5: Kahmran
Raine showed Maho and Yangin to their rooms first and opened the door of mine. “Why are you so set on doing something harmful to yourself?” I blocked her from leaving me. I could not understand why she always strayed towards extremes.
“I want to help you. I need to help myself. I will do anything in my power to keep you all safe, especially her.” She would not meet my gaze. I frowned as I found myself hurt by the action. “It’s not that I’m set on getting hurt or bringing harm to any of us. If I have a possible answer, there’s no harm in looking into it. I have to try.” I pulled her into a hug.
​
“I think it would hurt her more, it would hurt all of us more, if something bad were to happen to you that we could have prevented. You have no reason to be reckless, alright?” I hugged her tighter. My wings twitched, wanting to wrap around her and my face warmed in response. “We will find another way together.”
​
“I’ll do what I can.” She evaded the request.
​
I did not want half promises to placate me, but I released her. “Make sure you go to bed, Raine. You are tired even if you do not feel it.” I watched her step into her room and then went to my door. It felt as though the road before us only got longer every time we took a step.
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“Thank you for worrying.” She bowed her head as she stepped back from me emotionally as she physically retreated until she shrouded in the darkness of the half-open door across from mine.
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“I am a decent delinquent.” I grinned at her, rubbing the back of my neck.
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“Mikhail, what were you going to ask me earlier?” She put her hand on the knob as she watched me.
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“A lot of questions go through my mind when it comes to you. Are you alright? Are you going to be alright? Are you upset with us, with me? Are you sure the path you are on is what you want out of life? Are you really ok working for the council?” I stared into those ocean eyes, constantly changing colors, she herself was a storm.
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“I don’t trust the council any more than I can throw them, honestly. I don’t particularly like any of them, no. But the job itself isn’t bad. It’s useful to me and I can manipulate them well enough.” She shrugged, uncertainty in her voice, “Hopefully one day I can spare someone the pain they caused me. Kana and Khiry...I have finally started seeing them as friends again, so no, it’s not that bad of a path to be on.” She averted her gaze, she was not blaming me.
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“I am so sorry I did not stop them, Raine.” I noticed her hair was slipping from the ponytail she had it in, her bangs falling from the sides to reach her chin, framing her face. Framing her in sun-kissed gold, bronze, and copper.
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“It’s not your fault. It never has been, it’s not that you didn’t, it’s that you couldn’t. No one comes away with an advantage against them. I plan to change that though.” She smiled at me and her eyes widened as I crossed the hall back to her. The real question finally found its way to my throat.
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“Are you going to continue acting like you are all alone?”
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“I don’t-”
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“You do. The way you pull the burden to yourself, like allowing us to help carry its weight is unfathomable.” I pulled the band from her hair and swept a few cascading locks behind her left ear. She looked down, cheeks and ears turning a bright red. I slid my wings out from my shirt, trapping her between me and her door. My majik sparkled like golden dust between us, making her hair shine. I chuckled as she said a rushed good night and bolted behind her door. She slammed it shut as soon as I was out of the way.
I returned to my room and looked around at what she had picked for me. It was simple in its decorations, the walls a dark ash color, the bed black silk, a white desk sat in the corner opposite the window. She picked it because of my wings and it calmed my nerves to know she put that much thought into it. I was grateful for such consideration. I wondered for a moment who in her family would have had a room such as this, but there was no way for me to guess. I doubt I could even ask her, not if there was a chance it would bring her pain. It did not take long for me to fall asleep.
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Dreams were not something I was accustomed to so when yelling started, my racing heart easily woke me. Loud thuds came from down stairs and I jumped up, dashed out the door, and almost tripped over Yangin and Maho on my way down. “What is going on?” We took the steps two at a time. There was not enough room for me to fly.
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“We don’t know, we just heard it too.” Maho was struggling to keep his eyes open. The child’s hair was all askew and the dry air caused static to keep a few strands reaching up. Yangin looked as though he had been half way through his morning routine before the interruption. The yelling was louder as we came down to the first floor. We hurried down the hall and froze outside the kitchen as the chaos continued.
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“Will you just let me cook for you?” Kahmran was yelling at Aayla.
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“No! I wanna do it.” Aayla’s shrill yell propelled the pan she threw at him. Raine appeared behind us with a yawn.
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“I knew this would happen.” She sounded uninterested, sleep still controlling her. Maho leaned into me trying to rub the sleep from his eyes.
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“How?”
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“She’s been babbling about wanting to cook in this kitchen for over a hundred years now.” She yawned again as she went to the living room.
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“But you loved this dish.” Kahmran dodged everything she threw at him.
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“So? I’m cooking, now get out!” She was screaming, throwing a pot this time. This interaction caused a lot of things to make sense about Kahmran.
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“Will you stop being so childish?”
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“I’m not, they can’t cook.” She shook her head at him in a mocking manner.
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“Will you just stop…this?” He waved his arms to motion at the room.
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“My aren’t we eloquent this morning. You dip dip.” She threw two utensils at once.
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“What does that even mean?” They never noticed us standing in the archway.
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“Where did Raine-noona go?” Maho looked around, having missed her exit. I pointed him in her direction and he stumbled off.
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“Aayla put that knife down.” Yangin’s stern voice made me refocus on the kitchen as she was about to launch a butcher knife. Even if it would not kill him, she should know better. She should have known better than to throw anything but.
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“Will you guys shut up.” Alexander roared from the bottom of the stairs. He was terrible at mornings. Being awoken in such a manner had not been good for any of us. He was bleary eyed with an arm under the hoodie, scratching his stomach. He yawned and I had to cover my mouth as I followed suit.
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“Partake of my phallus!” She glared in our direction. Kahmran and Yangin could not help themselves and burst out laughing as Alexander looked far more confused than usual. I choked on my own laugh. Raine zombie walked back to our circle, Maho trailing behind with her shirt in his grip.
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“Aayla, just cook whatever. Kahmran, you can make lunch if you want. She’s been waiting a century to play in here. Also, stop throwing my stuff.” Raine stifled a yawn. Maho just stood next to her, resting his head on her shoulder head lulling forward every so often. The sight caused a burning in my chest I did not recognize. I found myself frowning.
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“Fine.” Aayla almost sounded sad that she got her way so easily. Kahmran frowned and walked past us. He had no desire to interact with Raine yet. Aayla immediately began gathering her projectiles and setting them in the sink after inspecting them. Raine leaned Maho back on me and headed back up to her room. As she passed Alexander she whispered something to him. After she was out of sight those of us remaining just stared, waiting for him to tell.
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“What?” It took him a moment to get uncomfortable.
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“What did she say?” Maho blinked the sleep from his eyes. He looked up, realizing I was his pillow and scrunched his brows together in confusion.
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“The answer is no.” Alexander nodded to himself and went back upstairs.
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“What does that mean?” Maho looked back to us.
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“Uhh…” I was uncomfortable answering.
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“Aayla doesn’t have a phallus.” Yangin shook his head and aimed for his room, still snickering. Maho looked at me wide eyed. Yangin leaned down to define the word for him before departing.
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“Isn’t that obvious?”
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“Alex was still half asleep, as was Raine. That and I am unsure if he actually knows that word.” I chuckled.
I returned to my room, leaving him to decide where to go. I was too awake to go back to sleep so I changed into my clean clothes that had been sitting outside my door. She must have finished them after we went to sleep. I went back downstairs. “Do you need any help?”
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“Nope. ‘Sides, if I did let you, Kahmran would get oh so upset.” Aayla smirked to herself.
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“Well, would conversation be alright?”
“Sure. What’s up?” She kept her back to me as she cooked.
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“How did you meet Raine? Really?” I was curious about their past. We had shared bits of ourselves with them, it only seemed a fair trade. She smiled, unable to hide the pain in her eyes.
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“You would ask this,” she sighed. “Daigua was fighting with her when I found them in some back alley. It was either right after he killed Sua and Skye or like a day or so later, because she was fighting like she had nothing left to lose. The way she threw herself at him, she didn’t care if she died. She was so…broken. I couldn’t stand watching a child lose in such a manner.” She hesitated, shaking her head, “I swear, she was covered in blood and bruises. But I tried helping anyways, without knowing what I was doing, I possessed her and something triggered her other majik. It was so much worse than it was with Chisanu. There was more power back then,” she thought for a moment, “no not more…I guess it as wilder. Less controlled than it is now, though I’m not sure how much control she actually has on it. Anyways, once she was let out of the hospital, I followed her home, to make sure she was safe. She offered me a place to stay and I’ve been here ever since. We both became comfortable.” She smiled softly as she put things on the stove. Raine truly was fond of bringing people home.
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“How old did she look to you?”
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“I would say about sixteen or so.”
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“I was physically eighteen.” Raine startled us both with her sudden appearance.
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“You always do that!” Aayla flinched and glared at her with a smile. It was easy to see the familial bond between the two of them. “I’m the ghost. I* should be the only one with this level of stealth.”
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“Sorry, I thought we were all staying down here.” Raine yawned and leaned against the arch frame, she had grabbed a hoodie that practically swallowed her. I was unable to see her shorts it was so long.
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“If you’re so tired, go nap on the couch till I’m done.” Aayla added a spice to her concoction. Raine merely nodded and left. I watched her leave and noticed the others coming back. I bowed my head to Aayla and followed our wytch. Kahmran went into the kitchen, most likely to torment Aayla. The other two came into the living room behind me. Raine was curled up on the couch so I sat on the floor next to her. Yangin took a chair next to Maho. Raine was breathing deeply enough to indicate sleep. It took her no time to reach slumber.
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“So leader, what’s the plan?” Yangin leaned back in the chair.
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“Which one?”
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“What are we doing?”
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“Well, there is not much we can do. Aside from what we have been doing since this all started.” I almost touched Raine when I stretched. My spine popped loud enough I worried it might make her stir.
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“We found him, only because of her.” Maho glanced between the two of us, his ears pulling back in suspicion.
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“True.” I narrowed my eyes at the thought. I hated her connection with him. Hated that he tried to cause us to isolate her. That we almost fell for it.
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“So, do we stay here* with them?” Yangin was tapping his index fingers together in between his knees, elbows on his thighs.
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“I do not think it matters all that much. Though, for her safety I believe we should.” I do not think I would have cared one way or the other if they decided not to. I would stay. Out of my own selfish reasons, I would stay.
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“So…how can we draw him out?” Yangin forced his hands to his lap, trying to get me to come to his conclusion without saying it out right. He was becoming restive. “How do we draw him out, knowing he’s after them?” I stared, forcing him to say it aloud. I held out hope that I was wrong. “Should we use them as bait?”
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“Hyung! That’s not nice.” Maho started as a yell before funneling it into a hiss. His glare fiercer than I have ever seen the child muster. I understood where Yangin was coming from but did not care for the method he wanted, I was more inclined to agree with Maho.
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“I am unwilling to intentionally put them in any danger, Yangin. I am able to see how it could be useful but I cannot get behind this kind of tact.” I nodded my head and saw understanding blossom in his eyes.
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“You won’t put her in danger.” He met my gaze and held it as my mind went blank.
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“I resent the insinuation that I could do that to Aayla.” I mentally stepped back, falling into a rhetoric closer to that of my days doing missions for the Seraphs. Guilt scorched my lungs because she had not crossed my mind in the slightest for the decision.
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“How could you suggest such a thing?” Maho’s distaste was written all over his face. His temper fueled him into sitting up straight, glaring.
“Maho, it’s fine. It was just a suggestion. We know that he is after both of them so why not let him fall into a trap?” Yangin sighed his frustration. “I am tired of being so many steps behind him. I want him caught and if I have to use her to do it, I’m willing.” His eyes widened as he looked at her. I followed his worried gaze and she was staring at him with a fire in her that should not have been there after hearing such a thing. I had not noticed the change in her breathing. She was perfectly awake as her excitement grew by the second.
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“Noona…”
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“That is a perfect plan. I can’t lower the wards around the house or rather I won’t, because obvious reasons. But yes, that is such a good idea!” She sat up fast, bouncing in place. “I can’t believe I didn’t think of it! We could stay at your place and he will come back, come find us. With all of us together there’s no way it could go wrong.” Her eyes were wide and on him like he had uncovered some truth she had been hunting.
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“Raine, no.” I tried to interject but her mind was reeling so fast she ignored me tugging on her arm.
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“No. This can work. We have to try. I can’t let more stuff happen. This is the easiest way to pay you back.” She got up from the couch, heading towards the door. I did not let go of her wrist and she only noticed me when she was yanked back. She stared down at my hand confused.
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“We didn’t help you wanting something in return. We are friends.” Yangin narrowed his gaze.
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“Raine, please. Could you not volunteer for such dangerous things. It is like you are asking for trouble and that is the worst thing you could do.” I watched as her face went blank. She yanked her hand free from my grip and slowly looked up to meet my stare.
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“Nothing can be gained by only being safe.” Her tone was flat as she left the room.
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“Noona!” Maho jumped up and started after her, throwing a dirty look at Yangin.
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“A flaw in your theory, he has had ample time and ability to get to them before we came into their lives. For all we know, we are the reason he is targeting them now. Mayhap he merely wants to ruin us more.” I gave him an apologetic smile and followed the two up stairs. Raine must have been heading for her room.
Alexander came in through the back door and furrowed his brows. I had never heard him leave. I sighed and shook my head at his unasked question. I could hear him talking with Yangin as I started on the second staircase.