THE LIBATION

CHAPTER FIVE

Brielle was going through the books on the old dusty shelf. She sneezed when she brought out a black book, and dusted it. She went over to the couch and sat down to go through the book. On it was written 'history'. She opened it to discover it contained all the witches, their family, especially her grandma had defeated. She went through each pages carefully, her eyes rummaging the words and pictures, as she sank them in. Her eyes caught a name, but before she could digest in the name properly, her grandma walked in and sat close to her.

"Grandma." She smiled. "Was going through the family scores." She smiled again.

"Ooh.... you're reading on how your granny was good." Agatha laughed.

"Yeah....you and dad were amazing. But you were the best. There were so much of these creatures."

"Yes. Very deadly. They attack innocent humans, sucking bloods dry, eating up organs. Sometimes they kidnap them, or even attack them from their kingdom or wherever they are. So of course, we had to kill them all. "But there's one....The Duskbane — they are the most powerful that I have ever come across." Agatha said looking into space.

"Yeah. Duskbane." Brielle said as she looked back at the book to search for the name. "My best friend in school has this name." Immediately Agatha came back to reality, she turned to her granddaughter.

"What did you just say?" Her eyes grew wide in astonishment, as she grabbed Brielle by the shoulders.

"My best friend in school has this name." Brielle replied slowly, staring at her grandmother and wondering why she acted that way.

"Stay away from her, she's gonna kill you before we kill her."

"Grandma what are you saying?" Brielle released herself from Agatha's hold. "Different people answer same name, so—?"

"Witches have a unique name, and humans don't bear those names aside them. That's how it has been easy for us to know who is who. By their name, you'll know them. It's different. It doesn't just sound right."

"Okay, I'm done. You can't tell me Elara is a witch." Brielle closed the book and stood up to go back to the book shelf.

Agatha stood up forcefully, her heart racing fast. "She's the one."

"What?" Brielle turned back in surprise. "What do you mean grandma. This is my friend we're talking about not your lost witch. We have been friends for years now so don't tell me that."

"I would believe when I see it. I can absolutely detect a witch when I see one. That's one of the strong attribute of a witch haunter."

"And....what about me, why don't I have that in me?"

"Soon. Soon enough baby. Soon when you commit into it." Agatha walked up to her granddaughter and held her face up. "I'm not trying to come in between you and your best friend, but only to protect you. I can't fully say she's the 'Elara Duskbane' till I see her. I will follow you to school tomorrow." Brielle frowned and was about to say something, but Agath cut in. "I will drop you off and you'll show me this Elara."

"Hmmmm." Brielle nodded.

"I can come with the Hexcord—"

"No granny!" Brielle screamed. "I don't want her to get hurt, and besides, she isn't a witch!" Brielle turned and dropped the book back in place on the shelf, turned back and walked pass Agatha, and out of the door.

"I'll come pick you up." Agatha said behind her. She sat down heavily on the chair behind her, and breathed out loudly. " Hope this is is."

Father Morvan ran quickly to the hospital and opened wide the ward in which Raven was.

"Baby." He cried out and ran to her bed side. "What happened darling, who did this to you." He cuddled her, making Raven's eyes well up in tears. As Raven opened her mouth to answer, Father Lucien and Lady Selene walked in together with Mother Helena, Raven's mother.

Father Lucien looked at her with his dark eyes, making Raven's heart beat fast. She knew who Father Lucien was — the chief of them all, and no one, not even her own father, the inquisitor could dare him, for everyone geared him as they fear Dark Lord.

"There'll be a meeting tonight at my chamber." He said and turned to leave. Lady Selene parted Helena on the shoulder and followed her husband.

"Elara." Raven finally said when Father Lucien and his wife shut the door.

"What? You got into a fight with her or what?" Helena asked her in shock.

"She attacked me first, mom. I couldn't stand there and watch her do that to me." She started crying again.

"Father Lucien will definitely overlook everything as long as it's his daughter." Morvan said holding her hand and squeezing it softly. Raven laid quietly on the bed, lost in thought of how Elara wasn't affected by her own power and what sort of strange and mysterious power she got inside of her.

"Why was that?" She asked in a whisper, but audible to Morvan and Helena.

"What's what?" Helena asked.

"It's Elara. She wasn't affected by my power. "

"Hmmmm.....really?" Morvan asked.

"Greetings Father Lucien." The witches and warlocks all bowed their head as they greeted him.

"Greetings to you everyone." He said in a cold voice. "Yesterday, a fight burst out — something that isn't suppose to happen." He swallowed, his dark eyes piercing everyone who was seated.

"Raven." He thundered the name. "Move forward." Raven swallowed hard. She was scared, but didn't want people know, for that would make them have little respect for her. One way she always think that respect was always looking confident, acting carefree about everything. She walked elegantly, her head held up high, shoulders straight like usual. She walked as if she was never injured, or she wasn't feeling any pain, though one could tell from the bandage tied around her hand. She bowed in front of him and stood at the left hand side of Father Lucien, still upholding her prideful self.

"Draven. Elara." He finally called. They both stood up from their different places, walked to Lucien and bowed. Elara stood at the right side of her father, while Draven went over to stand beside Raven.

Father Lucien cleared his throat. "A punishable offence was committed yesterday by three of our teenage witches." He turned to Raven, sending dark, fury gaze at her, which made her eyes bulge and swallow hard. "What happened? Why did you attack Elara?"

"No!" Mother Helena spoke out on an impulse, attracting others' attention to her. Father Lucien raised a brow as he turned to her. Before Lucien could speak, Father Morvan dragged his wife back to the seat and shushed her. "Be calm woman!"

Father Lucien remained silent as he turned back to Raven and arched his brows, waiting for a reply.

"Sh...she....she attack....attack...ed....m....e." She sputtered looking down at her feet. Father Lucien twitched a corner of his lips and chuckled.

"Draven? You were an eye witness right, so what exactly happened?"

Draven swallowed the lump that he didn't know welled up in his throat. "Raven started the whole fight. She lunged at Elara first, but Elara didn't fight back." Raven raised her head slowly and turned to stare at Draven with wide eyes. How could he support Elara instead of her? Was Draven now in love with Elara? Because that's the only way that would make him be on Elara's side inside of hers'. She asked herself in her mind, and from there she knew she was doomed and was going to get punished.

"Give us the full details."

"Raven attacked with her powers. She jumped on Elara and strangled her. " Shock was written on Mother Helena and Father Morvan's expression. They both stared at Raven who's head was bent to the ground.

"Raven, you did something punishable. You did something that could result to death. What would have happened to Elara if she had died." Father Lucien asked in anger on hearing the full details. Happiness. Raven said to herself. She would definitely be filled with joy if that had happened. It's not the first time she wanted her dead. Elara had been Raven's archenemies right from junior school in the Academy. Elara always top the class and all the teachers loved her. Elara won alot of spells and witches' competition in both their academy and different academy, and that's where the hatred began. She wished she could end her life and become the top. But one thing she was happy for was Draven — at least Elara didn't take Draven like she has done to all what she had. Draven was still attached to her and she loves it. She smiled as her head was still bent low.

"You'll be severally punished. Because your act was almost death—"

"Let's be fair here." Mother Helena stood up. Helena doesn't fear anyone, and that's where Raven took her carefree and arrogant character from — her mother. Helena stood tall — about 5’10”, her height adding to her commanding aura. She had the kind of posture that made her seem even taller, shoulders straight, chin lifted, her every step deliberate. Wherever she entered, she didn’t need to speak for people to notice — her stature spoke first. Her beauty was striking, ageless, and deliberate — not the soft kind that fades under time, but the kind that grows sharper, more defined, more dangerous. Her skin held a faint moonlit glow, smooth and pale against her dark auburn hair that fell in elegant waves. Her eyes were amber-gold, steady and piercing, framed by long lashes and a gaze that could both enchant and unnerve. There was no flaw in her — or if there was, she hid it well enough to make it part of her perfection. Raven stood admiring how the moonlight accentuated her mother's pale skin.

"Sorry to interrupt Father Lucien, but I think we should also hear from my daughter. She said earlier that she was attacked by Elara." She looked at Draven. "Speak the truth child, and you won't be punished."

"Tell that to Raven also." Father Lucien scoffed. He was trying to control the anger that was boiling inside of him. He loved his first wife, Theressa, so dearly, and Elara looked so much like her mother. And seeing her, is seeing his wife. So he wouldn't let anything happened to her.

"Raven said she attacked first."

"Helena. Please stop creating a scene. Morvan, control your wife." He brought out a fettermist from the locker of the table where he stood. It was a long chain that shined brightly in the dark. This was what Father Morvan uses to punish offenders, and also to catch a culprit. Raven's eyes shined in fear when Father Lucien lifted it up. She gasped immediately and was about to cry, but took the tears back. She has always seen her father used this chain to persecute other witches. From their cries, and the way they bleed, she knew it was so much painful. Silver chains are one of the witches enemies. It sucks then dry of their powers, weakens them and make them breathless.

"Morvan." Father Lucien called still looking at the chain. "Tell us who's at fault." Morvan stood up and walked over to Father Lucien. He bowed like everyone else and took the chain from him. Though the fettermist was Morvan's best friend , because he uses it mostly, since he is the Inquisitor of the kingdom. He walked to Draven and wiped it on his stomach. Draven fell and yowl in pains. One way Morvan could tell who the culprit was, is by the presence of blood on the chain. He looked at it and there was none. So Draven was innocent, though he had to go through severe pains. He felt weak and couldn't move. Morvan walked pass Raven and was about going to Elara when he was stopped.

"You missed someone." Father Lucien reminded him. Morvan frowned and went back to Raven. He stood looking at her watery eyes. He knew for sure that his daughter was at fault. Why won't he know, when he breed someone exactly like him. He raised the silver chain and as he was about unleashing it on her body, she screamed.

"I started it." Tears began to flow down her eyes. Helena was covered in shame where she sat. She turned slowly, and caught the eyes of other women looking and murmuring words at her. She felt so embarrassed. Earlier, she has boasted that her daughter, Raven was totally innocent.

"Yes. Please father don't injure me." She turned to Father Lucien and knelt down. "I'm so sorry Father Lucien. I acted out of anger. I didn't know what came over me. I'm sorry." She cried out.

"Why didn't you tell the truth when Draven was about to be whipped? How selfish of you. Father Drevic, take her out of here. I'm putting you in charge of her, because Morvan won't give her the acceptable punishment that he's meant to, since it's his daughter." Father Lucien came down from the podium, he bowed to everyone, and took Elara out of their sight.