Chapter 1
I turn, gazing out at the barren wasteland in front of me. Thick plumes of smoke and ash rise from the desecrated ground, the choking scent a stark reminder of the pain and suffering endured by those that had once inhabited these lands.
Deep claw marks score the earth, accompanied by pools and rivers of congealed blood.
There’s not a structure in sight still standing, not a single place of refuge remaining. The people here had clearly fought until their last breath, unwilling to give up their lives and those of their families without a fight. Much of the land is swathed in ashes, the remains of the dead, along with any real evidence as to what had occured here, long gone.
I shift on my feet, debating just how much trouble I would be in if I were to be caught walking any deeper than I already have into this now unholy ground.
My heart pounds in my chest, the uneven beat blaring like an alarm in the eerie silence of the forest. This place has always been home to me, potential for death and dismemberment aside. Yet today, it feels... wrong. Even with all the carnage I’ve witnessed in the forest throughout the years, the magnitude of what happened here alarms me.
No matter how many times I’ve witnessed such devastation, I don’t think it’s something I’ll ever get fully used to. My body seems to almost hum from the spark lingering in the air, the negative energy borne from the suffering and bloodshed from those that once lived here a palpable entity that seems to linger in the deserted clearing.
An image of my mom and Dan flashes in my mind and I quickly shake it away.
I know exactly what they would have to say if they caught me out here, especially Dan. He never misses a chance to remind me that I was somehow different, somehow separate from the other witches in our coven. Though him and my mom had been married for over sixteen years now, he hadn’t warmed up to me in the slightest since the day I’d met him.
Caught up in my thoughts, I turn around, ready to head home and find Hazel when I spy a flash of grey out of the corner of my eye.
A small pile of stones has been placed close to the edge of the forest, several feet before the barren land begins. Curiosity piqued, I look around hesitantly before trudging a little closer to the rock pile, feeling a strange need to investigate further.
This land had been home to a human settlement prior to its brutal ending. It made no sense for these people to set up a rock cairn. Humans were typically highly superstitious, often unwilling to engage in any form of supernatural symbolism or worship after the whole apocalypse thing.
After getting within a few feet of the pile, a chill runs over my body, pebbling the skin on my forearms into a mass of goosebumps. An almost tangible feeling of unease rises in me, slithering through my insides like a serpent, and I stop in my tracks and freeze, debating my next move.
Something isn’t right.
The feeling of unease trickles down my spine until it quickly becomes a raging current thrashing under my skin, every last one of my six senses deeply attuned to the profound wrongness I feel in the air. As witches, we’re taught to rely on and trust in our instincts and right now mine are screaming at me to turn tail and run back into the forest the way I’d come.
Hesitating, I look back towards the dense forest line I’d come from. It would be so easy to leave right now. It’s not like my coven mates would know or care either way.
Yet... I hesitate. I know that if I don’t look into it now, it’s not like anyone else would care enough to. Regardless of what Dan and my mom say, I know there’s something deeper to these scenes of death and destruction then they’re willing to acknowledge.
Narrowing my eyes on the stones, I try to clear my mind in an attempt to pick up any potential impressions leftover. When people touch and interact with inanimate objects enough, or if their feelings are strong enough, impressions can be left behind on those objects. It’s stronger if a witch is the one interacting with the object, but it works, albeit on a smaller scale, with humans too.
When several moments pass by with nothing happening, I kneel down into the soft ground for a closer inspection.
Reaching out, I gingerly pick up the very top stone and a tingle run up my arm like live wire. The stone is flat and smooth, looking as if it had been meticulously polished into smoky grey perfection. Flipping it over, I see that a series of runes has been engraved into the backside, the strokes used to carve the runes into the stone looking almost reverent in their elegance.
Many of the runes I didn’t recognize, yet one stood out like a big neon sign - the rune typically used for protection.
But something about it isn’t quite right, the blood red script used to form the rune twisting and turning in a way that seems to almost alter the core nature of its meaning.
Something that, theoretically, shouldn’t be even the slightest bit possible.
Dropping the stone, I ponder who could have possibly set these stones here and what the unknown runes could mean. The use of runes, magickal or not, was so rare around here that I was officially intrigued.
It simply makes no sense for the humans to have set this up. Not only do they lack the divine blessing of magick, but they also typically tended to believe that meddling in it is how the Earth ended up in its current predicament and thus avoided magick like the plague. So... that means a witch must have had some hand in this?
So caught up in my thoughts, I didn’t notice the crack of twigs and foliage until the sound was almost upon me.
Spinning around with a racing heart, I half expect to see something winged and awful waiting to eat me up.
Instead, I spot Jay leaning against a tree.
I realize I’m only half right - something awful is waiting for me after all, even if its not winged.
Jay is Dan’s son from his first marriage, marking him as next in line to lead our coven and also a huge dick.
The apple didn’t fall too far from the tree in this case that’s for sure.
“I wish I could say I’m surprised to see you out here Samara,” Jay says, a smirk gracing his handsome features. “But of course the coven freak would decide to come check out the scene of another massacre. Probably trying to scrounge and see if there’s any blood left for you to use in your spells huh?” He laughs uproariously, like he just made the best joke of the year instead of recycling the same old insult as always.
I grimace, doing my best to ignore him and all of his two brain cells. While a strong and capable witch, Jay is also an idiot who can’t seem to think of any other insults than the regular three that he keeps in near constant rotation.
No light witch would ever use blood in their spells. It doesn’t even make any sense given the background of our patron goddess as well as our own mortal born background.
What a dumbass.
Knowing that explaining myself and my true reasoning for coming here would be ignored at best, I choose to stay quiet and turn to begin the long walk back to coven property. I refuse to give Jay the satisfaction of seeing me stumble my way through an explanation. It’s bad enough that he followed me out here like some creep.
What can I say, that I felt called here? That my very spirit demanded to know what had happened to cause yet another human settlement to fall? The coven would never understand, choosing to ignore anything that happened that did not personally affect the light witches.
They say that pride is the sin from which all others arise, the beginning of mankind’s sin as well as the sin that marked their downfall. I don’t know if that’s the truth or not, but if it is it seems we better be careful of the path we take next, lest we end up like they did.
God forbid we invite more trouble on top of a literal apocalypse.
Jay trails behind me, gleefully telling me that his dad wants to speak with me as soon as I get back. I’m no clairvoyant, but I already know what he’ll say to me the second I step foot into his disgustingly ostentatious office.
While yet another attack on a human settlement is not something our coven celebrates, it is also not something that is cared about or even emphasized with.
He’ll have to listen to me this time though. This wasn’t just another lost human settlement, but also a crime scene that indicates a potential for some sort of witch involvement.
As light witches, our coven pledges allegiance to the Celestial City and the Empyrean’s that govern it. While you would think that this would mean that our members are among the most holy and sanctimonious people, caring for any and all living beings, this couldn’t be further from the truth.
Dan and those on the council see any being, with the exception of powerful light witches and beings living in the Celestial City, as beneath them.
They see my visiting the scenes of these grisly crimes against humans as strange and unnatural. They just see me as strange and unnatural in general. After all, what light witch is unable to perform even a simple vegetation growth spell or craft a luminous charm?
Trudging deeper into the trees, my soul twists and churns within me, calling out to the suffering and destruction laying behind me; the energy forming a mournful song that whispers to the twin flame that seems to burn inside me.
