The Nighshade Chronicles: Book 1 - The Alpha Witch

Chapter 5: The Disturbance - Zaya

How did he get to Grandmother’s Cabin? I am floored. No one, I mean no one but me can go into that space. It is sacred. But here he is. I walk closer to the glass trying to see what he sees. I clear my mind of everything so that I can see into the Void. The space between words, the space where Grandmother secured her cabin. Only I can truly exist there. Others can use the void to shift spaces, to transport themselves from one place to another. A way19 to travel, but only I can walk in the void.

I visualize the rune in the air and I speak the sacred incantation in my mind:

“Threads of the root, pull back the veil,

Where sound is dead and the light is pale.

Bind the pulse to the Iron’s hum,

To the silent place, I have become.”

My mind is transported to the void and I see what he sees. Through his eyes, I see darkness, and I hear his wolf. “Ask her”. I wonder who she is. But as I peer into the void I finally understand he means me. He wants me to release him.. I wonder if it could work. So I say the incantation. I feel his fear, his uncertainty. I watch as he is transported to his lands. I am in awe as he begins to run, calling to someone named Vada and Remi. I release myself from the void and come back to the moment.

“Root to Zaya, where did you go?” I look around and see that it is just me and Mila left in the room.

“Where did everyone go?”

“They went to consult the runes to see why the wolf was acting so weird and to figure out how he made it on to our lands. Where did you go?”

“The Void. He was in the Void.”

“Wait stop, we aren’t alone here. But we have to tell Selah. Lets meet in an hour. The spot?”

“Yes. I should go find the High Priestess, she must be angry with me.”

I walk to the spell room. Ready to hear my mother’s lecture about staying present in moments of importance.

“High Priestess, sorry for my inattention earlier. My mind walking sometimes pulls me in without warning.”

“Yes. Young witches do have trouble with powers. But, in this case, your mind walking seems to have been a blessing.”

“How so?”

This time Selah spoke up, “When you were pulled into the void, you kicked him out of our lands. It was quite remarkable, Your lavender light pushed him back into the wolf lands. It is a powerful manifestation of power. We came straight here to add it to the chronicles. Magnificent. What do you remember? Speak plainly so we can catalog it.”

I had to choose my words carefully. Any slip up and she would know I was not telling the whole truth. “All I saw was darkness. I didn’t see the wolf. I just knew that I needed to say the release spell. So I did.”

“Fascinating,” Selah begins writing in the coven grimoire.

“That is all, Zaya?” Mom asks questioningly. Her eyebrow slightly raised as she pushes a little of her magic out testing the air for the hint of a lie.

“Yes, High Priestess.” I keep my aura steady and my face stoic. As our energies merge my mother continues to search for any hint of lies. After a moment, she retracts her magic, ending the interrogation.

“Well, enough of that. Have you thought on the Academy? How you will go about finding your mate?”

“Mother,” my mother cleared her throat, “Seriously? Can we please have this conversation as mother and daughter not High Priestess and Heir?”

“Zaya. There is no line between the two. I am one in the same. But we must maintain formality in business matters.”

“Yes, but in this moment, I would prefer to speak with my mother, not the High Priestess.”

“Fine. Have you thought on the mate issue and academy?”

“Yes. Selah, Mila and I will attend as is necessary. I will find my mate, but I wish to find my fated, not a chosen. You know that my magic will be stronger if I find my fated. If I am to become the High Priestess that i need to be, then I must only find my fated.”

My mother inhales sharply and I brace for the confrontation that I know was brewing. “As you wish Zaya. But. If you fail to find the fated you seek but if you do not find one by 20, you will take a chosen for the benefit of the Coven. You will need a year in the academy training your powers as mates before you can come into power. Agreed?”

I take a minute. Lock eyes with Selah. “Yes mother. That seems fair.”

“Then it is settled. In one week you begin your mandatory years at the Academy, find your mate, merge energies and then return to lead. I expect high marks in all your studies, all of you.”

“Yes mother,” Selah and I agree in unison.

“Make sure Mila understands.” For a moment, I hesitate, but ultimately I know she will follow.

“Yes mother,” I agree. “May we be excused? We have preparations to make.”

My mother nods her head. Selah finishes writing and we exit to meet Mila.

We move through the wetlands, our boots sinking into the spongy moss only to be pulled free with a rhythmic, wet snap. The Violet Marshes live up to their name in the twilight; the water between the gnarled cypress roots shimmered with an oily, iridescent purple that seemed to pulse in time with our frantic breathing. I led the way, my lavender braids whipping behind me like a tattered silk banner. Every time my feet hit the ground, a faint hum of ozone follows, the lingering static of the void still clinging to my skin. Behind me, Selah moves with surgical precision. Her eyes scan the reeds for any sign of coven scouts, being this far out in the marshes is forbidden, even for the future leaders. Especially for the daughters of the High Priestess. Her movements may lack the raw power of my essence, but are fueled by a cold, calculating focus.

Bringing up the real is the wild card, Mila, a blur of floral fabric and golden light. She doesn’t just run, she drifts over the muck, her laughter a soft, dangerous chime that carries the scent of vanilla and aged burbon. Selah shoots her looks of annoyance but is resigned to accept Mila’s carefree nature.

As we break through the thicket of weeping willows, the air grows think with the smell of dampy earth and ancient magic. The heavy suffocating scent of the “root” finally giving away to the cold, metallic breeze of the world beyond. This is the safe space. The space that needs no spells, a magical dead zone. Here they can speak freely, plan and just be. The space is beautiful. Lavender weeping willows surround an open clearing, the thicket that surrounds us creates a barrier. Grandmother showed us this place when we were younger. She told us that this is the only place in the marshland where we can hold meetings in secret. She explained that an ancient witch cursed this place, leaving it a barren space. But she warned that is it forbidden to go here, so it must be secret. She warned that our mother would be angry if she knew we retreated here, but that every young witch sisters need a space that they can plan. That spells leave traces, and good witches can unlock the secrets of a space, but here, none can hear. It is safe.

“Well sisters, how do we navigate this mate thing?”Selah begins.

“So, We may have a bigger issue.” I begin. “Something, someone is disrupting my signal. They are intune with my frequency. They are in my head. I am in theirs.”

“Wow. Cool,” Mila giggles and claps her hands like a little child, “Who! Speak!”

“Mila, please. This is serious. Zaya, explain.”

“Selah, isn’t that what I just said?”

Selah rolls her eyes and nods at me to begin. So I tell them what happened at the mirror. I tell them about my hair, the vibrations, everything. “It’s bigger than just someone in my head and a braid.”

“V, what could be bigger than that?” Selah exclaims.

“I think its my mate.”

“Oh V! Thats great!”, Mila shouts.

“No. Not Great. I’m pretty sure its a wolf shifter.”