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  Ava was an Elder and an ancient sorceress, one of the most powerful in the clan. Her awareness came from a great knowledge and ancient wisdom. How could Caitlin already be a full-fledged sorceress like Ava?

  Usually, when a sorceress emerged fully formed from a never-ending vacuum and an ocean of emptiness, she was lost, but not Caitlin. Why? Siobhan discreetly took Ava aside, seeking her counsel. There was no better person she could talk to. “What do you think about our new sorceress?” the queen asked her friend.

  “Apart from her resemblance to me?” smiled Ava. “She does seem divergent,” confirmed Ava. “Caitlin is as learned and as powerful as you even though she has only just emerged from the birthing well.”

  “How is it possible? Ancient knowledge flows in waves. When I took my first step out of the well, you were there to help me adapt. Even though I was to be crowned queen, my powers came to me gradually over time. A newborn with all her powers at birth? How did she survive the onslaught of such tremendous power?” asked Siobhan in disbelief. “It has never happened before.”

  “It has. It has occurred before. Caitlin is not the first,” Ava confessed. “There has been one other like her.”

  “Another newborn sorceress with full power from birth itself?” asked a shocked Siobhan. “How do I not remember? Did she not survive?”

  Ava smiled mysteriously. Seeing Siobhan’s puzzled expression, she added softly, “It was before your time.”

  “How can that be when the only one who came from the well before me was you?” asked Siobhan.

  “You are right.” Ava smiled. “And here I am standing right in front of you.”

  Siobhan fell silent. She realized she had never asked Ava how it felt to be the first of their kind. She had always taken Ava’s good counsel and fortitude for granted and never given any thought to her past. Siobhan felt her face flame with shame and regret.

  Ava knew what Siobhan was thinking. “I handled it fine and I do okay, don’t I? I am sure Caitlin will be fine too.” Hoping to distract the distressed Siobhan, Ava added, “It is a pity she can’t accompany you to Htrae. The new sorceresses always bloom under you.”

  “You already know that Caitlin is a guardian and can’t leave Earth, which means you are just trying to make me feel better. But how can I forgive myself? What kind of a friend am I if I have never bothered to ask about your life?” said Siobhan.

  At the mention of the reality that a guardian wasn’t allowed to leave Earth on account of their obligations, Siobhan saw the brief disquiet on Ava’s face, which vanished as quickly as it came. No point in beating around the bush, thought Siobhan. Better to confront the matter head on. “I know you don’t always agree with the rules, Ava. You and the other guardians want to visit Htrae; it is also your home. But being decreed as a guardian means your duty to Earth comes first. The Wraith, the spirits of our revered ancestors, have their reasons for putting such ancient canons and decrees in place, otherwise there would be chaos on Earth.”

  “So how will Caitlin cope without your help?” asked a worried Ava. She was eager to change the topic. Their debate on the lack of permission for the guardians to enter Htrae was a huge thorn in her side. She would rather not talk about it anymore.

  “I know of a guardian sorceress who always sees the best in everyone around her. She has faith in the goodness of others. Her strength and serenity are an inspiration to many, including me. I would like her to be Caitlin’s mentor,” said Siobhan.

  “Wonderful idea!” exclaimed Ava. “Come, let us talk to Caitlin’s mentor together. Who is it? Wait, let me guess; is it Angela, or is it Krysta, or maybe Ruth?”

  “Ava, I am talking about you,” said Siobhan. “If Caitlin’s powers get out of control, they could turn inwards and turn her light into darkness. She really needs your help. You are the only one who has already established a bond with her. The others you speak of are wise too, but they don’t have the same connection with Caitlin as you seem to. I know I already ask so much of you, but do you see yourself finding time for her?”

  “Flattery will get you everywhere,” Ava commented dryly. “You are aware that as queen, you could have just commanded instead of requesting.” Ava admonished Siobhan gently. “You have got to stop being such a democratic leader. Some of the sorceresses already take advantage of your inclusive nature to further their own agendas.”

  “But not you,” said Siobhan. “And that is why I will always depend on you. It is not in your nature to misuse power, just as being an autocratic queen is not in mine,” answered Siobhan without taking any offence.

  “Fair enough,” said Ava. “To each one her own. We did vow that we would never try to change each other but remain friends despite the differences in our nature. So, it is decided. Caitlin is now my responsibility. I will be her friend and mentor.”

  Siobhan’s grateful smile conveyed her thanks, and the two sorceresses felt relief that the cause of their worry had been addressed.

  Their words, though, had the opposite effect on Caitlin. Having heard snippets of the exchange between Siobhan and Ava, all the gladness that warmed her heart just a while ago melted away. Her confidence and courage began to evaporate. She was different. How? Why? She wanted to be a part of a family, one of the many—not unique or alone.

  As Caitlin tried to understand what she had heard, worry overwhelmed her and her head began to throb. Her eyes burned. She felt overwhelmed. The words flowed to Caitlin’s mouth as she spoke for the first time, her voice sounding slightly gravelly and rough. “Why am I a divergent, a deviant?” She sounded like a scared young girl.

  Siobhan replied in a soothing voice. “Being different is not a bad thing. You are the first of your kind and have been long awaited. You have powers that many sorceresses and guardians assembled here don’t have. Why should that upset you?” The other sorceresses stood back, but Caitlin could see the understanding on their faces, many of them offering her encouraging smiles. She began to feel better.

  “How do I integrate myself with the others?” persisted Caitlin in her eagerness to blend in to the swarm of humanity.

  “By being yourself,” said Siobhan. Seeing Caitlin’s confused expression, she added, “Each of us are unique in our own way. Htrae and Earth need us for what we are, for the value each one of us brings.” Seeing the recognition on Caitlin’s face at the mention of Htrae, Siobhan asked in amazement, “Do you already know of our realm?”

  “I don’t know how but I do,” answered Caitlin, nodding in affirmation, her eyes bright with worry.

  “The world of humans is called Earth and the realm or sanctuary for supernaturals, our home, is known as Htrae. Man’s enmity and hatred of supernaturals is a legacy of the past, but this past has left some open wounds, hence a few of us bear the burden of being guardians.” Siobhan paused to see if Caitlin understood what she had said. The newborn was paying rapt attention.

  Siobhan smiled. The child was waiting to hear more about her role in the whole scheme of things. Her face was quite easy to read. Siobhan didn’t disappoint her. “Your path has already been defined. You are a guardian too, the only line of protection between humans and supernaturals. Earth is your home and your responsibility to protect. Take pride in your role.”

  Caitlin remained silent for a while, absorbing Siobhan’s words. Siobhan sounded so profound. Caitlin looked lost in thought as a frown creased her otherwise flawless forehead. Siobhan and Ava exchanged glances, wondering if they had been too hasty in being open about her capabilities. Had they only succeeded in scaring her? Caitlin was indeed feeling slightly dazed and out of her depth. Was she as overwhelmed as she looked?

  CHAPTER II

  I compelled the supernatural spirits to take me with them when they came for another. I stubbornly refused to let him go and offered myself in return. The spirits agreed but it was not yet my time.

  Now the unknown beckons and I am scared, for I just have to walk a few steps and the thrall of the past will no longer hold me. The glimpse
s I keep having of the ones I left behind will stop. The torment will end, but I cannot yet walk away because of Aiden’s love and the promise I made to him—they hold me back. Will I spend eternity poised between the unknown and a life I once treasured?

  Talia

  THE PROPHECY - CAITLIN

  As she stood staring at her own feet, she heard a sorceress whisper to Siobhan. “It is time. Ella is ready.”

  “Caitlin, I apologize. We will have to continue this conversation because we all have another gathering to go to. Can you join us too? It is a special one,” said Siobhan, her voice taking on a secretive tone.

  As Caitlin smiled in agreement, she looked up to see the sorceress gesture towards a pristine, shimmering altar she had failed to notice earlier. Everyone had already started heading towards it. All it took was one look towards the altar and Caitlin knew what it was for. This was a gathering, but Ella, a sister sorceress, was departing this world, not entering it like Caitlin.

  Ella was a Heichi sorceress who had enjoyed an existence of almost a century before she chose to renounce her immortality and enter the Ether World, the existence beyond immortality. She had lived a long and eventful life before deciding to move on. An infinite life could become a curse, and like many of her sisters before her, rather than endure, she would shape-shift into a mortal creature of her choice, like a bird or a butterfly, and move into the afterlife beyond.

  As one sister abandoned eternity, a fledgling sorceress took her place. As the ancient knowledge of the ritual flowed to her mind, Caitlin realized the importance of the gift that Ella had given her. She was to take Ella’s place in this world. It was time to forget her own confusion for a while and to honour Ella as she set off on her new journey.

  As the sorceresses slowly moved towards Ella, attention shifted from Caitlin, who could finally sigh in relief. She had learned one new thing about herself. She hated being the centre of attention. She enjoyed being a part of the crowd.

  Siobhan and the others went on ahead. Caitlin wanted to join them in sending Ella off to the Ether World, but all thoughts flew out of her mind when she sensed someone watching her. She looked around but there was no one was in sight. She could see the others a little ahead, bonding and offering Ella their valedictions and blessings. Their proximity gave her the courage to move towards them.

  Caitlin just managed to convince herself that she had only imagined the feeling of being watched and pursued when she felt something cold and invisible trail past her cheek. Her composure slowly turned to horror as whoever it was stilled at the back of her neck. She wanted to scream a warning to the others and to ask for their help but the words seemed to choke in her throat.

  “Listen and listen well, Caitlin.”

  They knew her name. Unmindful of her terror, the voices continued tonelessly and without any emotion. The reaction they wrought from the young sorceress was anything but calm. She felt trapped and unable to escape.

  A chorus of eerie and indistinct whispers pleaded with her in a painful litany. “A warning to you we bring. Hear our voices and not your heart, for nothing but disaster it will bring. A man will come into your life when you expect not, and things will never be the same. For the sake of the child born of this union, you will your family betray. Be warned and be wise and from him stay away.”

  The harsh whispers went on and on until Caitlin dropped to her knees, her head bent in surrender and defeat. Please stop, she cried silently. Then, as if in answer to her unspoken plea, a soft chanting with a ring of solemnity and sadness reached her ears. Amazingly, the voices in her head fell silent. Caitlin did not wait. She rose and ran towards the others, who, distracted by the ceremony, failed to notice the state she was in.

  Caitlin managed to maintain the barest degree of composure as she stood at the fringe of the crowd. Ella’s Rite of Passage was an intense sacrament with a great many sorceresses there to pay respects.

  A still nervous Caitlin saw all the sorceresses bow their heads as pale, grey apparitions became visible around Ella. “The Wraith are our spirit guides. They are Heichi sisters who choose to exist in the vacuum between life and the afterlife, watching over us and assisting all immortals and supernaturals when their time comes,” whispered a sorceress to Caitlin, giving her a warm smile.

  Caitlin smiled back but barely heard the friendly sorceress as she couldn’t get the voices out of her head. Would Ava know anything about them? Would she be able to help her? Despite being engrossed in her own thoughts, Caitlin noticed that the gathered sorceresses kept a safe distance from the Wraith. Is it respect or fear that these spirits command? she wondered.

  As they moved deeper into the ceremony, Caitlin focused her eyes on Ella, bidding a silent farewell as she disappeared from sight in the form of a little hummingbird. The chants grew softer, signalling that the sacred ceremony was drawing to a close.

  Impatient to get a better view of the spirits before they were gone, Caitlin leaned forward slightly. Later it would seem implausible to Caitlin but at that moment, it was as if her slight movement caused a shift in the air and wrecked the delicate balance between the life and the afterlife.

  Caitlin watched in shock as the apparitions turned their heads in her direction. Recognition burned in their translucent eyes. As they pointed their fingers at her, an eerie but familiar scream emerged from their mouths as though the very sight of her was painful to them. Caitlin recognized them too. Her silent, hypnotic stare became a cry of horror when they began gliding in her direction.

  This was unexpected. The spirits had never been provoked by a newborn before, but here they were heading straight towards Caitlin. Siobhan and Ava rushed to protect her but one of the spirits turned on them and screamed, “STAY!”

  Panic erupted among the watching sorceresses, who were running in all directions. Entrapped by the melee, Caitlin could not escape. Where would she run to anyway? It did not look like anyone could hide from the Wraith. As they came closer, the crowd around her magically thinned, leaving her standing amidst a circle of ghostly sentries.

  Caitlin tried hard to hold on to her composure but it was impossible. She was terrified. She would rather return to her earlier oblivion than hear them again, but it was not to be. She felt the cold building around her, stealing all the warmth and sucking all the light away. It took all the nascent courage she had to remain standing even though she was trembling like a leaf. She couldn’t stop the tears streaming down her face. Her sight blurred and she could no longer see the other sorceresses.

  From afar, she heard Siobhan’s voice. “Remain calm, Caitlin. You are not alone.” Ava’s soft voice reached her too. Her friend and closest sister kept up a litany. “Be strong. Be strong. You can handle this.”

  But it was not to be. The gentle, supportive voices of her friends were soon buried by the harsher voices of the Wraith, which, once again, began in unison. “Listen and listen well, Caitlin. A warning to you we bring…” Caitlin drowned out the rest of their words, pressing her palms against her ears. She hoped and prayed that they would stop, that they would go away.

  ****

  When Caitlin regained her senses, she didn’t know if it had been hours or only a few minutes since her nightmare began. She saw her sisters staring at her, shock and curiosity reflecting in their expressions. Instead of the pride she had seen earlier, there was doubt. She saw the worried speculation in their eyes, for she had been marked by the Wraith, the sacred ones themselves.

  Siobhan stepped forward. “What did they say to you?” she asked softly but firmly.

  Caitlin realized the others hadn’t heard the prophecy. She saw that Siobhan wasn’t going to be satisfied unless she received an answer, but what should she say to her queen? Caitlin didn’t fully understand the message of the Wraith yet. She wanted some time to absorb and understand what they were trying to tell her. She wasn’t sure if she would ever be ready to accept their warning. She loved being a part of this clan. How could she betray them? The spirits had either gone
mad or had mistaken her for someone else. It had to be.

  Everything was too raw and too personal to share with the others, even if she did call them sisters. Furthermore, she could see their distrust and doubt. Siobhan and Ava were the only ones still willing to give her a chance, but she couldn’t bring herself to confide in them either. What if the warning of the spirits turned them against her too?

  “My lady, I could not hear them. Words emerged from their mouths, true enough, but they did not make any sense to me,” Caitlin whispered, stunned by her own duplicity. Ava, who stood right behind Siobhan, gave a start but managed to cover it up when Siobhan glanced behind. Caitlin realized Ava could sense she was lying but that she was giving her a chance.

  Siobhan remained silent, as though weighing the impact of Caitlin’s words. “It’s understandable, I suppose. After all, you are a newborn. We shouldn’t be in a hurry to forget that. I won’t judge you, Caitlin. All of this is no fault of yours, but as soon as the words make sense, you need to come to me at once. Do you understand? I do need to know what the Wraith told you,” Siobhan said urgently, glancing at the sorceress who stood behind her once again, but Ava’s face was only an indistinct mask. Siobhan frowned but said nothing. Caitlin wondered if Siobhan knew that Ava was hiding the truth from her. She felt grateful to Ava for covering up her lie.

  Before Caitlin had a chance to thank Ava, it was time for most of the sorceresses to leave, all except for the guardians, as Earth was their home and they would all soon disperse to their respective families. Caitlin watched with a mixture of awe and sadness as the only two sorceresses she felt a deep connection with departed to their respective abodes.

  Siobhan stepped into a large revolving oval of light that appeared right in front of her. Caitlin could see bright sunshine on the other side even though the sky around her was already growing dark, heavy with the burden of night. Had she just caught a glimpse of Htrae? Would she ever be able to visit it?