Within the Sapphire Forest

Chapter 19

I don’t know how long I was with Nathan’s pack, days started to bleed together, and without any windows or clocks, I couldn’t even tell what time of the day it was. I had no idea if a month had passed, or two, or five.

What I did know was the longer the collar was on, the sicker I felt. Magic wasn’t a limited reserve that stayed stagnant until someone tapped into it. It was fluid, ever flowing, which is why witches used it so frequently and, in many cases, recklessly. If it built up too much in the body, it leaked out dangerously, causing influxes in dimensional shifts, or time skips, or even massive natural catastrophes. The massive earthquake in California in 1906 was caused by a witch named Martha Stratler. She was a part of a coven that required members to only use magic for coven related ceremonies, so the coven bound the witches’ magic on off times.

Martha was an already extremely powerful witch in her day, but the binding caused her powers to bottle up. History says that the coven she was apart of didn’t allow young witches to take part in any ritual that wasn’t a fertility ritual, which was every ritual in the spring and summer essentially, so she didn’t use her magic for nearly six months through the fall and winter, and in April, when her coven met to complete a ritual, and unbound her powers, the strength of her magic forced the earth apart and devastated the state of California, and radiated out through several states.

Afterwards, covens were wary of limiting witches powers, but apparently Rose was so hell bent on ruining my life, and so certain that I’d never get the collar off, that she was willing to risk global destruction. I had no idea what would happen if the collar was on for a year, or five or ten. I didn’t even know if I would make it that long, between Nathan and his waiting for me to slip up in my teachings, and the feeling of my whole body getting weaker, and sicker.

I used my time to teach Cleo as best as I could, but she was impossible to teach. Most days, she couldn’t focus on what I was teaching her, and most of it was so incredibly simple, I was teaching myself the spells at sixteen. The most basic spell I could think of was scrying, a form of fortune telling, or used to find something, was so difficult for her, that I swear even in my weakened state, I could see the crystal ball telling her she was an i***t.

One day, after I’d gotten up and cleaned myself, Nathan’s favorite blonde b***h came to collect me. I was in the bathroom, looking at myself in the mirror, and I noticed how different I looked. I was thin, so thin I could see the definition of my ribs. I’d easily lost thirty pounds, my skin was pale and sickly, and my eyes were hollow and dark. My time underground had not done me any favors.

Bitchy walked in sneering, and without saying a word, she leashed me and dragged me to Nathan. Cleo was already standing in his office, her head hung low as Nathan stood in front of her, glaring.

“Thank you for coming,” he said, as if I had a choice. “It has come to my attention that despite Evianna’s best efforts to train you, Cleo, you have made no improvement. I have decided that no witch is better than a useless witch.”

Cleo and I both took steps back as Nathan’s eyes glowed. I didn’t know what he was planning, and my blood ran cold at all the possibilities.

Cleo threw her hands up, and power flowed out of her towards Nathan, slowing him down, but not stopping him. Cleo’s only real skill was her telekinetic abilities. I knew this from when she picked up nearly twenty people and flung them around the air for a solid five minutes. She should have been able to hold Nathan back, but he was able to take several slow steps forward.

“Please, I can still be useful. I’ll do anything!” she begged.

“You can’t do anything at all. You can’t bind a witch's powers, you can’t track anyone, can’t even cast any half decent spells to get us food. I can’t find any use for you, so why are you still here?” he growled, fighting his way closer.

“You’re not a full wolf,” I whispered as realization hit me.

They both froze and turned to stare at me.

“What did you just say?” Nathan asked.

“You’re not a full werewolf. You’re too powerful, too able to fight off magic. Only witches and elves have that kind of power. I think you have witch blood or elf blood in you, but there’s also a chance you have some other, more minute species in your ancestry.”

“You can’t be serious,” he argued.

“I am. Werewolves don’t have the magical dexterity it takes to fight off the amount of power Cleo was just using. She was able to force twenty full grown wolves into the air, but you were able to fight against her,” I explained, holding his gaze.

“And what species do you think I belong to, Rabbit?”

“I don’t know. It could be anything.”

“Well, how would I find out?” he demanded. 

I couldn’t tell if he was angry that I called him impure, or if there was something else going on, but he looked furious

“You would need someone to do an arcane blood ritual, but it can’t be done by just anybody,” I said, looking pointedly at Cleo. “In a witch coven, a high priest or high priestess is typically the only one who has the ability to perform the ritual. Elves are more in tune with life manipulation magic given how close they are with the earth. So I’d suggest finding an elf colony who would be willing to help you out.”

Nathan thought for a moment, then nodded.

“Alright, I know a colony I can ask, but you two are coming with me. Bianca, go get Evianna some shoes to wear, and you’ll be coming as well,” he instructed.

I turned to see the blonde standing at the door. It felt strange to just then find out her name, but I don’t know if I cared enough to remember it anyway.

She took off as Cleo and I waited. Nathan called in a few more people, told them what to do in his absence, and once Bianca returned, he dragged me down the hall to a ladder, forced me to climb up it, and pushed me into a car.

The drive was tedious and boring, and no one spoke a word. Every time Bianca or Cleo made a sound, Nathan growled, and that was the end of that. I must have fallen asleep staring out at the trees rushing past, because with a sudden jolt, I woke up to see us parked on the side of the road in a really dense forest. Nathan jumped out of the vehicle, hurried around to my side, and yanked open the door. He grabbed my leash and pulled me behind him as he and the other women trekked through the bushes and weeds. It looked like no one had walked in that area for a long time, as there was no path and the plants were excessively overgrown, almost taller than me.

We walked for nearly two hours in a straight line, and I tripped more times than I could count. I scraped my hands and knees so bad, blood trickled down my leg, but we didn’t stop.

Suddenly, I had the strangest sensation of something watching us. I looked around, but I couldn’t see anything through the weeds.

I wasn’t paying enough attention, and bumped into the back of Nathan. He didn’t even react as he stared into the trees above us.

“Quit playing games, Douglas. I have something important to discuss with you. Get your ass down here!” Nathan yelled.

As quiet as a whisper on the wind, three figures dropped from the trees, all tall, thin, and gorgeous men with long flowing hair of varying colors. The brunette in the center stepped forward, and smirked at us.

“What could the great werewolf of the south want from the elf king?” he questioned.

“I need someone to perform an arcane blood ritual on me. My little friend here is under the impression that I may not be a full werewolf.”

The elf laughed heartily, causing his friends to laugh with him.

“I’m being serious,” Nathan growled.

“That’s what makes this so funny.”

The elves turned and walked quickly through the forest. Nathan followed quickly, still holding my leash, and I had to jog to try to keep up. I wasn’t very successful though, and I tripped way too much. Nathan eventually got so sick of having to wait for me to pick myself up off the ground that he chose to carry me slung over his shoulder so he could speed up to keep pace with the elves.

I was humiliated. I was stuck wearing a f*****g dog collar, while I was carried like a sack of f*****g useless potatoes. I wanted so badly for the earth to swallow me up and end my torment, but it didn’t, I stayed where I was.

After another hour or so, Nathan slowed and set me back down on the ground. I looked to see what was happening, and noticed the elves had stopped in front of a missive tree. When I say massive, I don’t mean giant California redwoods, I mean the trunk of the tree was larger than mine and Caden’s house by nearly double. It stood so tall, I couldn’t see where the top of the tree was through its massive branches.

I could also feel magic rolling off of the tree, and I knew why humans didn’t know of its existence. The tree was shrouded in magic to keep it hidden from the mortal realm. It was also probably nourished with the magic of every elf that lived in it for several thousand years, which is how it grew to be so large.

The elves chanted a quiet spell in their native tongue and an opening appeared in the trunk. They ushered forward ahead of them, and Nathan quickly took the lead, with me right behind him, Cleo behind me, and Bianca taking up the rear. The elves followed us in and stood just inside the entrance to chant their closing spell, which allowed the opening to vanish, plummeting us into darkness.

Thankfully, we didn’t have to suffer blind for long as a row of magically blue lights appeared above us, revealing a hallway leading further into the tree. The brunette elf, led us through the maze of hallways, stairs and rooms, until he stopped in front of a large door with elvish runes on it. He knocked, and after a few seconds, he opened the door to a massive room with a giant wooden throne of interlocking tree branches, and a black haired elf wearing a crown of tiny branches, sitting, waiting expectantly for us.

“Hello, Douglas,” Nathan sneered. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

The elf smirked and replied, “I heard you were stomping around like a moron in my forest. Jasper says you really thought I would come to meet you personally. Kings don’t leave their castles for commoner visits.”

“I’m not a commoner,” Nathan growled back, taking a step forward.

The elf guards surrounding the king reacted quickly, drawing swords and taking their places to stand between us and the king.

“Relax, everyone. I’m sure Nathan didn’t mean any disrespect, now did you?”

I saw the internal struggle Nathan had to fight. He was always the strongest person in the room, always able to take charge of the situation and bend everyone to his will, but in that room, one wrong step would definitely cost him his life.

Nathan took a step back and the elves put their weapons away.

“So, what did you want to talk to me about?” Douglas asked.

Nathan glared as he replied, “I need someone who can perform an arcane blood ritual on me. I’ve been informed that I have characteristics of other races, and I may be of mixed blood. I want to know if it’s true.”

Douglas stared at us in turn. He lingered on me and Cleo, two useless witches mixed up with werewolves.

“I will need payment for completing the ritual, of course,” Douglas said.

“What kind of payment?”

“I want your bound witch.”

My blood ran cold as I looked to Nathan to see his reaction. He seemed angry, struggling with what to do. Finally, he nodded, handed my leash to Bianca, and I felt my heart stop.

Why the hell does he want me? What does he want from me? I questioned, feeling my lungs burning.

I realized I’d stopped breathing so I took a shaky breath in.

“Our deal must be bound in blood, to ensure that neither of us tries to go without paying up.”

Nathan nodded and the guards let him step up to Douglas, who pulled out an athame and cut a small line in his palm. He handed it to Nathan, who followed suit and they grasped forearms.

“I, Douglas Bay, swear to you, Nathan Picker, that I will perform an arcane blood ritual on you and tell you of your blood heritage.”

“In return, I, Nathan Picker, swear to you, Douglas Bay, that if you complete an arcane blood ritual on me, I will give you the bound witch, Evianna Woods.”

Once the sentences were spoken, a red blood ribbon wound its way between their hands. It glowed and froze on their wrists. The spell was done, and they were bound to their word.

“Very well, let's get this done. Nathan, follow me, and bring that witch with you, the other two must stay here. Don’t worry, my guards are very hospitable, and will care for you in my absence.”

Nathan hurried back to me and took my leash from Bianca. Then he dragged me behind him as he followed Douglas through spiraling halls, until we reached a small door. He let himself in without knocking, revealing a small room much like an apothecary with an old looking woman wandering around, reading, picking up a bottle, setting it down. She glanced up as we entered, and I realized that she was ancient, even by elf standards.

“What do you want, my king?”

Her last word dripped with disdain.

“Calytrix, enough of your attitude. I need you to do something for me, or else I’ll take away your books next.”

She sighed and replied, “Whatever you wish for, your grace.”

“I need you to perform an arcane blood ritual on this werewolf. He thinks he might not be a full werewolf.”

She looked Nathan up and down and her wise eyes seemed to see what I saw. 

“He isn’t a full werewolf. No, there is definitely more to this man than meets the eye. Very well, give me your hand.”

Nathan held his already injured hand out to Calytrix, who reopened his wound and took a hefty sample of blood. She poured it into a bowl and added a tincture to it. Then she chanted in elvish, and the mixture turned colors from murky to a mix of a lot of dark, almost black, blue and little bright neon blue intermingled in it.

“It is as you were told. You are born of werewolf, and jinn it would appear, but not equal parts. You have much less jinn in you. I believe you have a great-grandparent who was a full jinn,” she explained, staring into the bowl.

“What’s a jinn?” Nathan asked.

I rolled my eyes at how moronic he sounded.

“A jinn,” I said, before Calytrix could speak, “is where the genie myth comes from. Genies have never been real. Jinn made them up based off of facts to lure stupid people to them so they could feed off of them. Jinn are blue skinned creatures, who capture people to feed off their life forces, and oftentimes make them dream that their greatest wish came true in order to keep them compliant. However, if someone were to ever capture them in a bottle, or anything else for that matter, the jinn would have to actually grant their wish in order to be freed. It's a tricky road though, since as soon as a jinn is freed from their prison, they’ll usually kill whoever’s wish they granted.”

Everyone stared at me in shock as soon as I finished my little speech.

“I spent my childhood studying magical creatures,” I explained.

Calytrix nodded, a strange agreement between us to show we understood each other.

“Well, we gave you what you came for, now you and your companions can go.”

“I don’t understand. Which side of the family has a jinn. I knew both my parents. I can’t believe either of them had jinn blood in them.”

Nathan gripped my arm and began trying to drag me back out of the room. He didn’t get very far though, as the red mark on his arm glowed and he dropped to the ground in pain.

“I told you, both deals will be fulfilled. If you try to back out, the mark will burn your flesh away, an agonizingly slow death that I will enjoy watching.”

Nathan finally let go of my arm, and I could see him relax.

“Fine, you can have her,” he agreed.

Douglas nodded and approached me. I froze, afraid of what he would want from me. Then he did something I wasn’t expecting. He unlatched the leash from the collar, dropping it to the floor.

“Tell me, my dove, how can we release you from your binds?” he asked.

“Only a blood relative can remove my collar, and all of them are dead, or dead to me I guess, but the point stands. There’s no way to get it off,” I answered sadly.

“Then we will do everything we can to make your life comfortable here. I would hate for you to be in pain.”

I dropped my gaze, confused, but grateful. Then, he led us back through the halls to the throne room, where the others were waiting.

“Escort our guests out, please. They are no longer welcome in our home.”

The guards nodded and quickly ushered Cleo, Bianca, and Nathan out the door. Nathan looked back, a horrible death glaring passing between us. Then, the door shut, leaving me with the mysterious elf king.