The Broken Black Sparrow

CHAPTER 5: THE FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN

** DALIA’S POV **

That vision that I had, when we were still in Italy, which is also the reason why we had to come back to this wretched city that took away everything from me, rattled me and scared me in ways that had me waking up in the middle of the night scared for the life of my daughter.

When I told Rosa about the visions I have been seeing, she asked me to come to Melbourne for good and told me to meet her that very same night. Once I made sure that Sarah has fallen asleep, I sneaked out of the family house that was left behind for me when my parents passed away a few years ago.

I had to drive down to Macedon, which was about an hour's drive away ‘I need to get an Australian driver’s license soon!’ My family house was equipped with all the necessities along with a few luxurious items as well, like this car and the extra 3 bedrooms aside from my bedroom and my daughter’s bedroom.

Being a witch meant needing more privacy to practice the different rituals and having access to wilderness that houses different herbs required for different potions. Rosa and Vallerie were twins, Rosa was born a minute earlier than Vallerie so when their mother, Anna, passed away during the great war, the coven voted and chose Rosa as the supreme witch.

It was not just the fact of Rosa being elder of the twins, but the way Rosa conducted herself and her use of magic is what got her into the good books of the Coven elders. Vallerie on the other hand was the rebellious little sister who loved using magic at her beck and call, using it for her own benefit, and she was never one to follow the rules laid down by our ancestors in order to keep us safe.

They are a decade older than me “Hello, höchste” ‘‘höchste’ is ‘Supreme’ in German since our ancestors came from Germany!’

She waves her hand at me opening the door wider for “Oh, come on, just call me Rosa, I am just a… few years older than you and I do not like to be called with that horrid name. It makes me feel like I am into my late 70s or 80s” she locks the door behind us “make yourself at home” bypassing me she walks to the kitchen “Are you hungry?”

“No, I am good, just… jittery” I look down at my trembling hands as I sit on a chair at the dining table “the visions are getting vivid and feel real with each passing day” I look up to find her brewing a pot of chamomile tea “I am scared, Rosa. What if the prophecy is true? I know, the great witches fought tooth and nail with Fate to change the course of this destructive path but what if they failed?”

“Fate works mysteriously, she loves the idea of the unknown and to toy with lives, changing the destiny in itself” she sighs placing the cup of tea in front of me and the smell of the tea was enough to calm me momentarily “If that is true then someone with Blackmagic must be working with Fate coz she alone is not powerful enough to fight the great witches. To defeat a coven in whole requires greater Blackmagic”.

“But the white magic of the coven with Witch Supreme can counter even the greatest of Blackmagic, right?” fear gripped my heart as I remember the visions and the sorrow and pain they bring with them “I can’t let the visions come true, Rosa. I won’t survive if I lose her”.

She places her hand on mine with a sad smile “Why do you think that the prophecy is something bad? What if the prophecy is something good?” she gets to her feet abruptly “wait here and just give me a minute” with that, she disappears into a back room and comes back after five minutes “Read it!” a scroll is placed in front of me.

“I know the prophecy, Rosa. It is the one thing that had us all worried during the war and relieved when the great Karakut witch was defeated!” ‘Karakut witch is believed to be the one that helped Fate. No one has seen her, and no one knew who she was or where she was. She appeared during the war in a mask and was believed to have been killed during that war’.

I read aloud “The child of magic and beast will open the gates of Marabu, the land of the anguished souls of the dead.

This child will yield the greatest power known and will bring forth life and destruction.

The lines between the physical world and supernatural realms will make way for the unknown”.

I looked up from the scroll to Rosa who is now standing in front of me “What is your point, Rosa?” ‘It took a lot in me to not glare daggers at her. Does she think of me as dumb?’

“No, I do not think that you are dumb and what I am trying to say is that the prophecy talks about life and destruction but it also does not say for certain that she will only bring forth destruction. Also, if you look at the last line, it says that what she does will make way for the unknown, now, this unknown could be a good unknown as well, right, why should we think that it will be a bad one?” she sighed placing her hand on my shoulder.

“I know what you are saying but what about my visions? All I see in my visions are of fire and a woman dressed in a black gown, holding a black heart that is oozing black blood from it. I can’t see her face but I hear her piercing scream and for some reason, it rips my heart, I can’t help but think that it is my daughter” a sob escapes me as the image from my visions comes to the forefront.

I am lost in my wallowing when I felt Rosa’s arms wrap around me “Shhhhh… it is ok… everything will be ok. Whoever it is we will be there to guide her through Dalia. The black heart could indicate to anything, a broken heart caused by love or friendship or being hurt by someone, there are endless possibilities and if it is Sarah that the prophecy is talking about then you need to be there every step of the way and make sure that does not feel lost”.

“The thought of my sweet little girl becoming vengeful breaks my heart, Rosa” I pull away from her hug wiping roughly at my tears “I should not have come here, I should not have brought her back to this city that holds nothing but bad memories in it”.

“You need to be strong for her, Dalia. If you break down it will give all the more reason for her heart to break and you need to make sure that she does not get wind of that secret that was buried with that war” she sighs getting to her feet as she goes to the backroom with the stroll.

‘I am putting my daughter in danger with every passing second. What is going to happen when she turns 18? Will she find out what she is or who she is? What if she finds out about her…’ I am interrupted when Rosa got back “The guest room is ready so you can sleep the night in and drive back in the morning”.

I jump to my feet “But Sarah is alone…” she cuts me off.

“She is a big girl and I am sure that house of yours has some tight security set up” she gestures for me to get up with a nod of her head “Come on, let us get you your beauty sleep”.