The Book of Shadows: End of Times

Part II: Chapter 1

                                                                                                           ~The Witch

   “«It is with utmost joy that I accept this title! I couldn’t have predicted this response, not in my craziest dreams!». Those were the words of gratitude Lady Priscilla expressed at her knighting ceremony. The young woman proved herself by performing her duty as a relatively new UK citizen and helped the country to fight against those evildoers who intended of destroying Westminster Abbey.

   «We have no information as to who was responsible for the vandalism that happened in our country. We suspect that only a well-organized terrorist group could achieve an attack of that magnitude. The investigations will continue, of course! Our men show great zeal for their work» Metropolitan Police’s Deputy Commissioner, Gregory Ackley stated. The knighted girl saved the historic church with the help of her unique abilities!

   «How is it we have never heard of you until now? ». 

   «Well, I know how different people, like myself, have faced disapprobation these past few years so, I was reluctant to use these powers! I don’t know of their origin or how I suddenly got to have them so, I thought they didn’t matter. They are not a part of my life, they are just…there!».”

   I closed the TV, disgusted by this interview. I looked like scum on that screen, I couldn’t recognize myself! Every time I tried to watch something on the box, the only thing showing up would be the same broadcast on every show. Even now, a month later! And I hated it! It’s the reason I couldn’t get out of this house without drawing all the attention to me! Some people were really friendly, waving at me or greeting me. Others wouldn’t look at me, avoiding getting in my way, like I was the devil’s spawn!  The cult wasn’t happy about that either. Olivia was avoiding me, not responding to my messages and Madam Anne went all out on me, shouting about how I wasted the chance to present our community to humans and demanded that I was not to show my face at the association meetings ever again! It wasn’t like I wanted to expose my powers, but if I weren’t to use my magic to keep the abbey standing, I would be covered under tones of bricks!

   «It’s the only thing I could do» I sobbed, hugging Tom’s head tightly. I was used to sitting on the floor so that he would lie on my knees, having me pet him when I was feeling down. Seeing me in that state for days now, he was howling melancholically, not knowing what else he could do to cheer me up. 

   «I’ve never regretted letting you sacrifice your humanity for me more than now, Tom». My tears were burning up my eyes and my nose was so stuffy I couldn’t breathe. 

   «At least Marius and his people weren’t caught up in all this» I shared my thoughts. I didn’t have any news from the Black Knight but that wasn’t weird, we were not acquainted like that. Still, I hoped he managed to lead the remaining of his kin back to the Sunken City. 

   «I guess we won’t hear from Neil either» I assumed. No, of course not. And I wasn’t in any mood to give him another fake apology, not when I only did what needed to be done! It didn’t matter…

   Even my family was treating me like a stranger. Even my own brother… “I never asked for this” I cried again, unable to avoid my feelings.

   «No way! A pity party?! For me?! Gosh! How did you know I was coming over?». My heart skipped a beat when I heard that unfamiliar voice coming from inside the house. 

   «Who the f**k is there? Show yourself!» I shouted, coughing to clear my dry throat. 

   «Take it easy, Elsa! It’s me!» the male voice replied but I saw no one making an appearance. 

   «Tom, go fetch our “guest”» I commanded, in no mood for such games. Tom rushed into my room, growling menacingly to intimidate the stranger. 

   «No! Tom, wait! Let me put some pants on! Waiiiit!» he shouted, scared out of his mind! Thomas barked twice` our signal to let me know that, whoever this man was, he didn’t pose a threat. Still, if he was some quirky fanatic, I’d be more than happy to throw him out.

   A man about his early thirty’s showed his face before he walked out of my room with a huge smile on him. 

   «Good evening, young miss» he greeted me. His voice had a heavy accent and he was rather tall for an English man but, for sure, the most noticeable thing about him was his white hair and eyebrows- possibly an albino if not someone with a very peculiar taste in hair-styles. His eyes were pale blue but he could’ve been wearing contact lenses for all I knew. His clothing was ordinary` a grey hoodie and track pants along with- from what I could see- an empty backpack. He seemed genuinely happy to see me, even though I had no clue as to who he was. Tom was walking closely by him, ready to assault him but, as he had indicated, the man didn’t appear to be hostile.

   «Sorry for the scare. I cannot resist jumping out of nowhere» he apologized with enthusiasm. 

   «I’m sorry, but this isn’t a good time-».

   «Not a good time?! It’s 5.38 p.m.! It’s a perfect time! Mind if I sit?» he interrupted me, making himself at home in my living room. 

   «I apologize for barging in like that but I-» he started explaining, lying on the couch with his shoes on!.

   «- came to forewarn the Mistress of the Book» he pointed, implying that I was in no position to throw him out!

   My spine got tingles, my heart felt heavier and I was terrified of the words that would come out of his mouth next! «I really hope you don’t mean…» I looked at him afraid and exhausted. 

   «The world is in peril!» he sang regrettably.

   My mind was completely empty for a minute, scared to process the words that the man had uttered.“No, that can’t be! H-he must be mistaken!”. Frightening thoughts were forming in my mind, images of the terrors I had previously come across, and the bruises on my body were itching me! I took a deep breath. “That’s a serious matter, no time for panicking” I tried to think clearly. 

   «Please, explain yourself,» I asked, shaking off my tremor.

   «I came back from the future in an attempt to help you save the world!» he said dramatically, taking a hero pose without lifting his butt from the sofa.

   «You must have missed the date or something! I have saved the world twice already!» I answered, holding my hands up in an attempt to defend myself from his words. 

   «I stopped the gods of dreams! I fought against the vampires that tried to take over the country» I counted for him politely, keeping myself from boiling over. It was nearly impossible for another predicament to have arisen already! 

   «Nope! That’s a totally different situation!» he said.

   I felt my eye twitching and the tip of my fingers becoming numb but, Thomas poked his head on my legs, keeping me from losing it! 

   «Do you have any carrots? Or cake? Or cocoa?» he asked, rubbing his stomach and looking around for anything edible. 

   «What did you say your name was?» I asked him again confused. 

   «It’s Walter in this lifetime. But you can call me Rabbit. Or Mr. Rabbit, now that I am older than you» he said with a winning, sneaky smile. 

   «Right…». 

   This rude man claimed that he knew me- me as we say, the real me!- from another life and, supposedly, I(!) was the one who asked of him to find me and warn me about this Apocalypse that would befall Earth. «It took me more time than we’d imagined but here I am!» he said, drinking from the coffee I generously provided for him.

   «Go on, check your book then! You’ll see I’m right» he claimed, sure about himself. 

   «It’s not like that will prove anything» I stated but, I saw no harm in doing so. «Spellbinding Circle» I cast the sigil around him, just to be sure that I’ll be out of trouble as I was searching in the book of spells. 

   «That was uncalled for,» he said disappointed but he was unbothered by the spell, like he expected a move like that or perhaps, that move exactly! He closed his eyes, totally relaxed while he waited for me to confirm the information he had shared. 

   Responding to my very desire, the Book of Shadows appeared before me. Without any help or request from me, it opened on the page titled: “The White Rabbit”. The White Rabbit had time-manipulation abilities that allowed him to travel in the past` to restart his life from a specific point that is! That way, he was able to erase any actions he thought as dissatisfying while sustaining the memories of all those things that never happened!

   «There is a catch in this one though!» he interrupted me as I was reading out loud.

   «What catch?» I asked him. «I can sustain those memories- from all those things that never happened, that is- from one life to another. Only the things I needed to change» he revealed in a sassy way. 

   «Well, every blessing from inside this book is of twisted nature» I shared my honest thoughts with him.

   There were quite a few restrictions to his powers. Even if his abilities were unlocked without some kind of sacrifice made from him, he could only use them during a specific time of the day. I looked at him, waiting to tell me. 

   «Curious, aren’t we? In UK time, that translates from 18.25 up to 18.30» he said, winking at me. Those rules could be bent with the help of the book of course but, that was something I didn’t have to share. He could only reincarnate when the world was in grave danger- pretty much, at any time!- but only further in the past each time rather than the future…

   «You have probably never touched the book after you were bound to it» I guessed. 

   «I don’t know, why?» he asked me. “Lack of information. It must be the first time he meets me in this lifetime” I thought, achieving my objective. 

   «There aren’t any spells written in your chapter. That’s rare» I pointed out, covering my scheme naturally. 

   «Well, I wasn’t around for long. Then again, if nothing is written there now, I guess I won’t be seeing it a lot in my next lives either» he suspected.

   «Alright then! Speak up! How do we stop this upcoming horror?» I chose to show some faith in him. 

   «Huh? How should I know?» he answered, scratching the behinds of his ear. 

   «What is the plan? How do we proceed?» I demanded to know!

    «I don’t know! You’re the witch, figure something out!» he proposed. 

   Working with this man could prove to be a challenge. ‘And here I got all pumped up for nothing!’. «Alright then! Since we don’t know anything further, I suggest we wait» I said with an attitude. 

   «What?» he asked me puzzled. 

   «Let’s wait for something to happen. When we gather some information on the matter at hand, you’ll return at this moment and we’ll work on a plan» I decided, curious to witness his reaction.

   «That’s what you came up with?» he asked me, impressed by how disappointing the idea I suggested was. 

   «Exactly that,» I said, smiling politely. It was kind of lazy but I needed some more days to cry my eyes out and recover from the last few battles I had to give.

   «Done!» he said, standing up. 

   «Good…wait, what?». 

   «Your plan was partly successful, I’ll admit!» he said with a stressful smile. “He must be toying with me, there’s no way that happened so quickly!” 

   «Couldn’t you stall for a couple of hours? You didn’t have to be so precise!» I scolded him. 

   «Sorry, missy! Turns out every minute counts from this moment forward!» he explained with a goofy attitude. This man was the definition of a walking headache! 

   «Oh! We had amazing s*x, by the way! You won’t believe what you can do with your body!» he said, nearly giving Thomas a stroke! 

   «Shut up, you jerk! As I would ever have s*x with you!» I replied shocked! What a bastard!

   «Your loss, I suppose. Get dressed! We need to hire more eyes» he advised me. 

   «Tell me what went on. What did we learn?» I continued my questions. I didn’t like this state of ignorance I had thrown myself into! His face got more serious now like he actually gave a crap about all that. 

   «There was a massacre» he revealed. I didn’t reply, instead, I was holding my breath, waiting for him to tell me a number. «The Children of Night around the world are being slaughtered,» he said in a few words.

   ‘f**k. And here I thought we had covered the whole thing up’. «The vampires are? By whom?» I asked, worried about a conflict starting against them. «We never got actual proof about who was behind the attacks. They knew how to cover their tracks» he said remorsefully.

   «Now, wait a minute here! What triggers the end of the world is this vampire extermination? Are you certain about the connection of those events?» I questioned his insight. 

   «That looks to be the case. We didn’t get to learn much with you staying inside all day, sobbing» he confronted me! 

   «I beg your pardon?! Don’t put this on me, I’ve been through hell and back!» I defended myself. 

   «No matter. We need to get moving. There’s no telling when the actual attacks will start!» he said, pushing me towards the door. 

    «Did we contact the Witch’s association? What did they have to say about this?» I uttered the first thought I had. 

    «We...tried teaming up with the witches but they didn’t prove to be much of a help» he nodded. 

   «They probably weren’t willing to help us, then» I figured.

   “Ok, ok, think! What are our options here?”. «We could try asking the vampires for help this time around,» I thought hesitantly. «If that doesn’t work, you’ll let me know» I decided. 

   «Gotcha!» he smiled. I stared at him for a moment. «Are we going or what?» he asked. 

   «Ehm, yeah! Let’s go!» I agreed and grabbed my coat and umbrella. Walter turned off the radio and passed me my keys. 

   «Oh! My bad!» he said, looking at my baffled face. 

   «Don’t worry about it» I hid a smile. I wasn’t eager to make this trip, mostly because there was no telling if I could persuade Marius to aid us but, the thought of seeing another friend of mine perish, made me wanna puke everything I had inside of me. 

   «Let’s waste no time then! Time to visit Sunken City!».