One Hundred and Eight…

One Hundred and Eight: Secrets

The chant ‘spell’ I used in this chapter came from this site: http://www.whitemagic.ca/spell/Spell-To-Bring-Spirits.html

Note: I wasn’t sure if the plural of ‘mage’ was ‘magi’ or ‘mages’. I got confusing results when looking it up on the web.

Mother, I will finally get to know you and all your secrets. I am hoping you’ll tell me everything.

Will you?

Lucifer headed into the music room where his brother Reznik kept the main spell book.

The house was quiet. No one was around. Hopefully he wouldn’t get caught reading it.

Felt as though he were sneaking peaks at a girly magazine… or something.

He flipped through the book until he found a page entitled: Conjuring Spirits. Lucifer read.

There are different techniques mages and warlocks use to conjure spirits of the dead. One of which involves acquiring an object of sentimental value that once belonged to the deceased.

One may bring the item to the dead’s final resting place.

Place the object as close to the deceased as possible. If the decedent is buried, you may place the item a few inches beneath the earth at the burial region.

Chant the following words in your mind, for telepathic communication is far more powerful than verbal commands when attempting to speak with the dead:

obey these words of power

watchers of the threshold, watchers at the gate 

unbar the guarded door

obey this command of this servant of power

“What are you doing with my spell book?” Reznik asked.

Startled, Lucifer jerked up. “N—nothing. I’m just reading it out of curiosity and nothing more. Sorry I didn’t ask first.”

“Hm. Okay. I guess you can read it. Just don’t try any of the spells listed.”

“Yeah. Sure.”

Reznik strolled off.

Once it was safe, Lucifer continued reading.

Now he was ready. He’d already ingested the last couple of blood packs from the fridge in order to increase his powers.

Heart pounding, he broke out in a cold sweat with anticipation. Would the spell work?

He approached his mother’s vault, then pulled something from his pocket.

A shimmering pendant. Lucifer found it while rummaging in his father’s bedroom. The necklace had been safely kept inside a locked box, in which Lucifer used a bobby pin to pick.

He had no clue about the necklace’s origin, but the box had Aubrey’s name inscribed on the side.

Lucifer draped the necklace upon the vault’s surface as he chanted those strange, mysterious words in his mind.

Bright iridescence formed in his palms. That brightness grew and shrank into a small, floating ball.

The iridescent ball smacked into Aubrey’s vault. A bright glow followed, almost blinding him.

A female spirit shot upright, arms outstretched as she screamed. Deafening shrieks eerily echoed all around.

The amulet glowed, its light just as blinding.

Lucifer stepped back and covered his mouth.

Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.

As fast as he could, Lucifer raced all the way back to the manor.

Once inside the pavilion he sank to the floor. Heart beating in a frenzy, his mind a muddled state of confusion.

He got what he wanted. His mother’s spirit had been freed.

However, she seemed a little agitated.

To help keep his mind off his mother’s tormented ghost, Lucifer joined his young relatives at an abandoned factory; which was hidden in the midst of nowhere.

They discussed the possibility of creating an army of shape-shifting wolves.

Lucifer had heard this same story for the last nine years. Or so. He never believed it’d actually happen.

“I haven’t bothered to ask Dad to curse our non-lycan friends,” Cody mentioned. “I already know he’d refuse.”

“That’s why I was hoping you’d get your witch friend to help us,” Cody told a vampire named Brent Novak.

“I’m not the least bit interested in being a shape-shifter,” Xander declared, as if he thought the entire idea was silly. “I’d also never help you turn people into animals.”

Indeed, Xander was very powerful himself, since he was also the son of an elder vampire.

“I do. So does my brother Lance. I think it’d be awesome to change into a wolf,” said Azura.

“Come on, dude. Take us to the witch. I’ve waited to do this shit since I was a kid.”

“I’ll do it, if you return the favor. I want you to bring me a different woman every few days. I can’t stand drinking blood packets. It’s not the same thing as sinking my teeth into real, warm flesh.”

“And I know I have a woman here to keep as a delicacy, but I get sick of drinking the same blood over and over. I want smooth, tasty blood from a young girl. Every time. Virgin blood tastes the best.” Brent grinned. “After all, variety is the spice of life.”

“It’s a deal.”

Xander snickered.

Lucifer felt sick.

“So… does it hurt being bound inside a cage or whatever? Aren’t your arms sore?”

Silence.

“Don’t you speak?” She glanced back at the boys and men. “I’ll get you out of here, if you want,” Azura whispered.

“My neck hurts more than anything else,” the woman said.

Azura frowned.

Brent passed by on the way to his ‘delicacy’ victim.

“Mmm,” he moaned. “I can’t wait till you get older, Azura. You’re already a little hottie.”

“Uh, thanks?”

“As for you, my sweet delicacy, it’s din-din time.” Brent unfastened the restraints and allowed her out.

He grabbed her upper arms and aimed for her neck.

Crunch.

Cody gaped at them. Tristan closed his eyes.

Lucifer had the urge to throw up. Whenever he drank blood, it was always from packets and never humans.

He wasn’t one who enjoyed human suffering.

Guiltily, he thought of his mother who’d been suffering plenty since being conjured.

The moon cast a soft glow upon the rippling river.

Days passed since their meeting at the dilapidated factory.

Brent Novak led Cody, the Logan twins, Azura, and Azura’s male friend to the witch’s crib.

Neither Xander nor Lucifer wanted to go.

Esha, the witch, had a furry friend named Old Red.

Old Red was her familiar, and he scrambled to the gates to prevent the intruders from entering his master’s property.

He growled, bared his teeth.

“Let us in, you furry little bastard freak.”

The specter backed away.

“That’s it. Go somewhere and take a nice, long nap,” Brent ordered. “In fact, why don’t you just die?”

Brent rushed through the gateway. “Worthless piece of shit,” he said. “Not even flesh and bone, so you can’t bite anyone.”

Old Red whimpered.

Esha’s hideaway appeared to be some sort of rocky cave.

Yes. That’s precisely what it was. A cave.

Brent hurried to the front doors.

“Come on chicken shits,” Brent muttered. “Let’s get this over with.”

He banged on the door.

The stone door creaked open, slowly. Slender hands reached forward, fingers dripping with magical beads of light.

“Brent. So kind of you to visit. Are the others your friends?”

“Yeah. We need a favor from you. And can you stop doing that with your hands? It’s freakin’ me out.”

“Why, of course. Come on in,” she said. “And by the way, please don’t treat my familiar as a nuisance. He’s been a loyal companion of mine for centuries.”

“Yeah. Sure.” Brent followed her into the lair.

Hesitantly, the remaining clan entered.

Various magical, enchanted objects lined the interior.

“What does this do?” Azura questioned.

“Whatever your heart desires, child,” she said. “It’s like… wishing upon a star. Hence, the object is in the shape of a star.”

“What is this skull for? It looks powerful,” Cody asked.

Esha strolled over to it.

“This is what you want,” Esha said. “This skull was enchanted a century ago. Whomever possesses it controls the ability to shift into another creature. Namely, a wolf. With this object, you can control when and if you shift, and when and if others shift as well. Essentially you could control an entire village using it.”

“How did you know that’s what we needed?”

Esha snatched the skull from the stand.

“I’m a witch, remember?”

“Now, do you want this enchanted skull or not?”

“Most definitely,” Cody said. “I’m going to turn as many of our friends as I can into shape-shifters.”

“Very well. It is yours. But you must also do something for me.”

“I’ll do anything you want. Anything.”

“Good. I have a rival I wish to destroy. He’s a warlock, much more powerful than I am. He is also the leader of Shadowvale. Once he’s gone, I want you and I to share leadership of this land. The shifters will be our underlings, and will help ensure the longevity of our rule.”

“Yes, Cody. I want you to kill Reznik Haas. Do you have the balls to do it? To kill your own father?” Esha laughed. “And if Vaclav Haas gets in the way, I want him killed as well.”

Lucifer sat on the bed’s edge. Thinking.

Mom, I’m so sorry I set your spirit free. Or maybe imprisoned your spirit. Unfortunately, I just didn’t think it through before conjuring you.

I thought it’d be just like in the movies. You evoke a spirit, and instantly they’re human form and your best friend.

Why can’t real life be like that? I love Lauren with all my heart, but all I ever wanted was to know my real mother.

He collapsed beneath the covers, started drifting to sleep with thoughts of ghostly, anguished mothers.

Something awakened him. He got cold.

What happened to his quilt? Did someone grab it from the bed?

“What the… fuck?”

“Watch your language, Son,” a female voice echoed.

“MOM?”

She appeared next to him. His blue eyes widened.

“Yes. I’m your mother. You’re the one who conjured me, remember? Brought me out of my eternal sleep, sucked me right back into this earthly plane. I was terrified at first… didn’t know who I was or where I was.” She sighed. “Then I remembered. I remembered how I died. Though, in a way, I wish I hadn’t remembered.”

“M—mom, I’m sorry I brought you back into this world. I just have so many questions to ask you. And… I want to get to know you. I want to know exactly where I came from.”

“Yes. I understand now.” She reached out with invisible hands. At first he recoiled.

Then he snuggled next to her as she tried to caress his face, hands.

“I cannot touch you in this form,” she quietly said. “It hurts that I can’t. My hands go right through you. I wish I could be of flesh again. I miss so much the ability to feel another’s skin; to hold, to love like a mother should be able to love her son. And I do love you, Lucifer. I will never blame you for wishing to be born so badly, that you ripped right out of my stomach. I will never, ever blame you.”

“But there is one thing I ask of you, Lucifer. Does your father still love me? Does he still ache for me?”

* * * *

I’m sorry I can’t give credit for that abandoned factory. I can’t find where the heck I got it to do a link. 😳