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Scholomance 9 Chapter 1
🕑 Added 2021-03-31 22:34:04 +0000 UTCWake up, Cole, a familiar voice whispered in my head. She’s growing nearer.
I roused myself awake and instantly knew without a doubt that the voice belonged to the woman from my dreams, but for some reason she remained silent as the grave when I tried to speak back to her.
So, instead of trying uselessly over and over again, I gently pulled off the covers and padded naked and barefoot toward the window while my women slept and dreamt of dark, demonic, and beautiful things. The floor was freezing cold, and there was an icy draft wafting through the bedroom, but it didn’t bother me. I could have returned to the bed, where my naked coven kept each other warm, but I knew in my heart I had to wake up because something unusual was drawing me to the window. It was a powerful urge and one I could not ignore.
I gazed out of the frost-covered window and gazed at the blood orange horizon and the lake of red fire. I stood there and marveled at the contrasting beauty of this holy realm, and I wondered where or how we’d be able to locate the next artifact, but deep in my bones, I knew there had to be away. We’d already come so far, and there was no way in hell I’d ever give up now or doubt myself or my women. We were growing more powerful each day, and I knew the elder goddess Samara was aware of this as well.
She was certainly afraid of us, even if she’d never admit to it.
A small smile crept across my face as I thought about her waning power and undeniable beauty. I knew once we found the last artifact, she would be mine, and I couldn’t wait to see the submission in her ocean colored eyes once I had her down on her knees bowing before me.
I continued to stand there gazing upon the northern realm of fire and ice, but I noticed something was dangerously different. At first, I couldn’t tell what it was. Then I suddenly sensed an abhorrent and holy manifestation surround me, and the unwelcome sanctity penetrated my entire body and soul. It made me gasp for air, and my head spun like a tumultuous spell, but then I felt her presence like a holy ghost.
I could feel Samara like she was standing right next to me, but this time, it felt like I was invading her mind, rather than the other way around.
“Hello, Samara,” I said aloud in a taunting voice. “I can feel your mind… and I’d ask how you are, but I already know the answer. I can feel your rage like a brewing sea storm, and it’s overcoming your entire soul.”
Goddamn you, Cole, the elder goddess snapped in her stern but sultry voice. You think you’re so fucking clever, don’t you? But you only have the two artifacts… I doubt you’ll be able to retrieve the third. I’ve kept it in a place where no Wicca has ever set foot in. You will surely die before you come close to it. I guarantee it.
“Oh, we’ll see about that,” I whispered so I wouldn’t wake up the women. “But guess what? I can feel your power growing weaker… you’re like a flower, slowly dying in the winter as the frost eats away at your petals and kills your lifeforce. You’re slowly fading from the light, and you know it.”
You don’t know what you’re talking about, she said, but there was a quiver in her voice, and I knew she didn’t even believe her own words. You will die by my hand. Just wait and see.
“Samara,” I purred. “We both know that’s not true. I’ll find the third artifact, and then you’ll be completely vulnerable to me… it’s only a matter of time.”
So you say, she uttered in a venomous tone in my head. Just because you’ve found a way to enter my mind doesn’t mean you’re more powerful than me. I have the magic of the holy elder lord and elder angels by my side… you and your heathens will never overcome my people or me.
“I don’t think you truly believe that,” I replied, and I could feel her anger growing and surging through her veins as if it were my own. “I think you’re absolutely petrified. You know I’m only getting closer and closer, and I can hear the fear in your voice.”
Your words mean nothing to me, she growled in my head, and as I continued to stare upon the lake of fire, I thought I could see the water bubbling like molten lava, like her anger was affecting the elements. Cole, I will see the end of you soon enough.
“If my words are meaningless,” I said, “then why do you continue to talk to me? You try to persuade me that I’m wrong and repeat the same bullshit over and over again. If you’re so powerful, then just push me out of your head. Go on… do it.”
Goddamn you, she seethed. I can do whatever I please, and you will see what I mean soon enough.
“Sure,” I deeply chuckled. “Well, I’m sure we’ll talk again soon, now that I can sense you whenever I please. Goodbye, for now, Samara.”
Then I pushed away from the holy entity and sensed my mind instantly separate from the elder goddess, and once again, I was alone with my thoughts.
At that moment, I couldn’t help but feel pleased with myself for what I could now do. In the past, the elder woman could enter my mind whenever she desired, but now the tables had turned. I couldn’t understand why, but surely it had something to do with retrieving the second artifact. I knew, whether she wanted to admit it or not, that I was growing stronger and she was becoming weaker.
I stood there in front of the window and continued to stare at the icy realm, and I began to ponder over our brief but intense conversation. As content as I was with myself, I wondered what Samara meant when she said she could do whatever she pleased, and we’d see it soon enough. I’d heard her persistent threats before, but this particular one tugged at every nerve inside my body.
Then, as I looked even closer at the lake of fire, I noticed something incredibly peculiar. The bloody horizon and the bright sun, which was slowly rising only moments ago, now seemed to be fading to black and turning the sky into the night. There were no stars, and suddenly, the lake of fire began to drown into the ice. I watched in horror as the red water dissolved into nothingness, and then I noticed the far edges of the realm were breaking apart. The mountains were collapsing, and their downfall instantly began to shake the palace of ice.
“Everyone, wake up!” I cried out as I ran to the bed, and the women began to stir awake.
At first, each gorgeous Wicca rose from the bed with half-hooded lids and parted lips, but when they felt the trembling of the walls and floor, their eyes widened with confusion and fear.
“W-What’s going on, master?” Beatrix asked in a panicked voice. “Are we under attack?”
“Clearly something shitty is going on!” Akira shouted with alert, black eyes as she shot up from the bed and began to dress. “Is the castle falling apart, master?”
“I have a feeling that’s the case,” I said before I grabbed my trousers and put them on. “Hurry, everyone, get dressed!”
The women asked no more questions as they scrambled to grab their clothes. As they struggled to get dressed, the bedroom door suddenly burst open, and a pale-faced but fully garbed Vanessa rushed inside with her loyal familiar, Isobel, padding quickly by her side. Then all the other familiars either flew, crawled, or ran inside the bedroom as well.
“We need to get the hell out of here!” Vanessa snapped as she stared deeply into my eyes. For a moment, she glanced down at my bare chest, blushed, and then shook her head. “I think I know where we need to go, and it’s going to require powerful magic. But first, put on your fucking shirt, Cole, and the rest of you need to hurry it up!”
“Professor, where are we going?” Penelope asked as she frantically garbed herself in her furs and boots. “And why is the castle suddenly falling apart?”
“That bitch Samara must be killing the realm,” Vanessa answered in a rushed voice. “Once she knew we had the second artifact, she must have regained enough strength to place a holy spell on this snowy shit-land to destroy it. We have only a few minutes to get out of here before we disappear with it.”
“But how do you know where we must go next?” I asked as I put on my shirt. “And what exactly is this powerful magic you speak of?”
“Mother, err, the Headmistress spoke to me in my dreams,” Vanessa said before she quickly glanced out the window and swore under her breath. “She said we need to enter the Oceanum Terra, it’s a realm even farther north than here, and it’s not easy to get to, but she spoke of the spell, and I think we can do it.”
“Alright, what do we need to do first?” I asked calmly.
“Everyone needs to form a circle,” Vanessa responded before she spun around to face us all. “Then we need to use the second artifact to cut into our skin and bond our hands together. Afterward, when our blood is merged together, you will all repeat the incantation after me.”
“Understood,” I said as I ran to grab the holy blade while the others formed a perfect circle, and the familiars surrounded them just outside of the intimate gathering.
Cole, hurry! Alexander screamed in my head. We need to go! I can see the edges of the realm disappearing and nearing us! We’re right in the epicenter of this fucking place!
“I know,” I muttered as I rushed back to the group.
As my women and Vanessa all stared at me, I swiftly slashed the palm of my hand and made sure I cut as deeply as I could. Hot, sticky blood spilled from my open wound and seeped down my wrist before I passed the blade to Revna, who was by my right side while Vesta was at my left. I watched closely as each woman cut into her skin, and once the knife returned to me, I tucked it safely in my waistband next to my bonded blade. Then we all bound our hands with one another and held on tightly. The women calmly did what they were supposed to do, and I couldn’t help but admire them more for reacting bravely and strongly.
Even as the castle trembled and we were possibly minutes away from perishing along with it, I appreciated that they were mine and mine alone.
“Alright, now everyone must picture their familiar in their head,” Vanessa ordered in a firm tone. “If you don’t, they won’t make it to the other realm, and you’ll lose them forever.”
“Yes, Professor,” we answered in unison.
“Everyone must repeat carefully after me,” the dark-haired professor commanded as she looked around the circle. “Do not mispronounce one single word, or we’ll all die. It doesn’t matter if you’re part of the unholy pact because if Cole perishes, so will you. Oh, and be sure to keep your eyes tightly shut as you picture your familiars in your head. Understood?”
We all nodded our heads in agreement before closing our eyes, and as my world became black, I quickly pictured Alexander in my head with his bright red eyes and bladed wings. I thought of the sound of his voice and his hefty body, and then I could see him in my mind as clear as day. I felt his bond and his devotion to me, and I thought of how I trained and adapted him to grow as powerful as I willed him to be, and at that moment, I knew in my heart he would be safe.
Then the castle trembled more violently, and Vanessa began to utter the incantation, but as soon as she opened her mouth, the palace shook even harder, and an icy wind blew through the room.
And that’s when I knew we only had mere seconds to leave this place.
“Obsecro, Audi nos Satanas causa dirae,” Vanessa began in a loud and commanding voice, and I could feel Revna tightening her hold on my hand while Vesta did the same. “Ut nos terra rubrum Oceano terrarumque arena! Nos tua Sancta, et bellatorem est ad Principes tribuum et illi soli services!”
When she was finished, we repeated each word simultaneously, and soon, the room was spinning, and I could feel our bodies disappearing from this diminishing and icy palace. This didn’t feel like usual shadow porting, though, because the roaming sensation was much more powerful and painful. I could feel my blood growing icy as we spun through voids of coldness and darkness, and a painful pounding was swelling in my head, right as I lost physical contact with Revna and Vesta. I felt a loss of connection with the rest of the women, and it made my heart hammer with terror.
I suddenly couldn’t feel my bond with any of the witches, and it sent an ever deeper panic through my entire body. For a second, I wondered if we had uttered the incorrect incantation, but then everything grew calmer, and the pain in my body slowly dissolved away. Suddenly, a variety of colors softly appeared, and I could feel my feet planted on something that felt like soft sand.
Everything was hazy when I first opened my eyes, but then a completely different world, devoid of ice and snow, came into view.
I now found myself gazing upon a land of red sand against a deep blue ocean with a burning horizon. The sky was a hue of soft lavender, and the clouds were as crimson as the beach. The air was brisk but not freezing as it had been before, and I shivered as the wind tickled over the nape of my neck.
As beautiful as this realm was, fear flooded my body when I couldn’t see the other women or the familiars, but then they all slowly appeared one by one like ghosts arising from nowhere.
“Broom fucker,” Akira grunted as she rubbed at her temples. “That was both nauseating and painful, Professor.”
“Don’t you think I know that already?” Vanessa growled as she clutched onto her stomach, and her face scrunched up in pain. “I think we need to take a moment to compose ourselves.”
Thank fuck, I’m not dead! Alexander said with a delightful squeal in my head. No offense, Cole, but I had my doubts for a moment back there.
“None taken,” I chuckled as he perched his heavy body on my shoulder.
“Oh, thank Satan, you’re here, Ursula,” Vesta purred as her silver snake slithered up her slim lavender body. “I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t made it.”
“No kidding,” Nyx sighed with relief as her crimson falcon perched himself on her sapphire arm. “You can be a little shit sometimes, Trixie, but I’m glad you’re here.”
“Where is here, exactly, Professor?” Penelope asked with an arched orange brow, and she rubbed the back of her brightly colored panda, Naomi.
“It’s the realm of oceans and clouds,” Morgana said before Vanessa could even open her mouth. “I read about it in--”
“One of your books,” we all said in unison, and everyone chuckled, including the professor.
“She’s correct as usual,” Vanessa said as the color slowly returned to her face. “This is another holy realm, one that is even closer to the Elder Heavens. I have no idea if Samara knows we’re here, but I have a feeling we shouldn’t reside here any longer than we have to.”
“Did Theodora mention anything else besides the spell and this realm?” I asked as I slowly looked around, and all I could see for miles was red sand, towering black rocks, and calm waters.
“She said we needed to find a clue, one that would lead us to our final destination,” the professor said before she too looked around aimlessly, “but our conversation was cut short when I felt the palace trembling.”
“Maybe it’s buried in the sand,” Beatrix suggested with bright eyes.
“No, I don’t think so,” I said as I looked down at the blood-red grains. “I’m not sensing anything beneath my feet.”
“Nor am I,” Vanessa sighed with impatience, and then she began to fan herself with her hand.
“Perhaps we should get rid of these furs?” Revna suggested as she looked around the group. “I don’t think they’re necessary anymore.”
“Good idea,” Faye said as she shrugged off her fur hide and let it fall into the sand.
“Let’s burn them all,” the professor ordered. “We can’t leave anything behind, it’s too risky.”
We all nodded in agreement before we tossed our hides into one pile, and Vanessa pulled out her wand and then aimed it at the furs.
“Illuminana!” she shouted, and after a ball of fire spurted from the tip of her wand, it landed on the clothing and quickly burned the hides into ashes.
“Okay, but now what?” Akira huffed as she stared at the horizon. “We might be more comfortable now, but we still have no idea where to go. I’m not sensing anything at all.”
“Wait a moment,” Marina said in a soft voice as her lavender eyes danced across the water. “I-I think I might be sensing something… deep in the ocean.”
“Are you sure?” Vanessa asked with a skeptical frown. “We have no idea what creatures lurk beneath those depths, and I’m not sending anyone down there unless you’re positively certain.”
“I was a siren before, remember?” Marina said as she grinned. “At first, the sensation was only mild, but now, I’m positive something important is hidden beneath the surface. I’m not as intuned with my premonition powers as most of you are, but I feel this in my gut.”
“Well, if you’re sure,” I began. “We need a way to get down there.”
“I think I know of a charm,” Beatrix suggested as she nervously shifted from foot to foot. “I’ve never tried it before, but I think I can make it possible for you to go down there, Marina.”
“What about me?” I asked as I stared into Beatrix’s honey-hued brown eyes. “I’m not letting her go down there alone.”
“Yes, master,” the light-haired brunette responded in a timid tone. “I think I know a charm to help you as well, but the process will be painful… and I’m worried I might mess it up.”
“Beatrix, you must listen to me,” I said before I gently grabbed her by the shoulders and then studied every feature on her beautiful face. “I know you. You’re more powerful than you give yourself credit for. I believe in you, and I know for a fact you can do this.”
“Our master speaks, truly,” Vesta purred in a soothing voice. “We all have faith in you, Beatrix.”
“Yeah.” Akira grinned. “Why else would we bring you into our coven?”
The light-haired Wicca flashed everyone a small smile before she nodded in agreement.
“Alright,” she said in a more confident voice. “Cole and Marina, I need you to take a step back until your feet are in the water, and then you must face me. Do not move an inch, or this could go terribly wrong… are you ready?”
“Yes,” Marina and I answered after we took off our boots and stepped into the water until our ankles were soaked.
Then Beatrix pulled out her wand and cleared her throat before she lifted her arm.
“Satanae concedere potestatem faceret bina aquis natare sub gratia vires dum patitur!” the charm gifted witch screamed with all her might. “Mutantur et errant respirare possunt in eis qui mare oceanum!”
Suddenly, a light blue light erupted from the tip of her wand and then hit the two of us at the same time. I could feel a painful sensation growing behind my ears, and my entire body shuddered with agony. I could hear Marina crying out in pain, and suddenly, everything grew dimmer. Then my heart slowed down, and my lungs grew heavy.
I didn’t know what was happening, but what I knew was that my entire body was completely changing. I had no clue into what, but I trusted in Satan and Marina, even as darkness overcame my entire body and soul.
