3.
“In the beginning, the
middle, the end. All in the mind, the body, the soul, the birth, life, and
death. I call on thee, the power of three, the trinity of three, the apex of
three.” Lauren Spielsdorf called out. Her physical form stood there before the cauldron
on the long table, and next to it was the book of spells and the athame,
the black-handled carving knife, while she stood within the pentacle, or paten,
drawn on the flooring. She was in the hall of the mansion that once housed
Carmilla and her sisters; members of the Moon coven.
Lauren held the wand with
her left hand, symbolic of the element of air or fire. It was made from ash
wood, which is linked to healing, protection, wisdom, and connection to the
spiritual world. In her right hand she held the chalice, or goblet, ritually in
use as the symbol of the element of water.
The palm-sized cauldron held
the flames leaping high above it.
“I call on thee to invoke in
me the power of three,” Lauren called out.
There was nothing.
Lauren stood there exhausted
from her task and stepped out of the circle. She staggered towards the seat
near her and sat down.
“It is not easy, Lauren.”
The young lady heard the voice. “But you must not give up.”
“I …… I will not, Carmilla.”
The young lady slumped on the seat. “I need a … breather.”
Carmilla looked at the new
member of the coven; she is the daughter of Lissa. They met at the mansion
where Carmilla took refuge when she was weakened in her form. It was Annabelle
who offered Carmilla sanctuary at the mansion.
“Stay here in this chamber.”
Annabelle offered the chamber there. “It was mine when I was with a physical
form. No one comes there as instructed by my lover ever since my …… death.”
“I will keep you hidden from
the others with my spell.” Annabelle said. “It will also keep you near to your
life essence. You need to protect it from the others. The warlock will return
for it when he is recovered.”
The life essence was encased
in the jewel in the hilt of the sword that was kept by the general. Carmilla
was unable to retrieve it; only another witch like her with a physical form
could retrieve the life essence or absorb it.
In the mansion, no one knew
of Carmilla, and with the many chambers there, she remained in her astral form,
working on her recovery till the day she sensed the arrival of Lauren.
Initially, she took peeks at the young lady and eventually made contact. She
knew Lauren was Lissa’s child, who was with a sickness that needed a cure.
They soon bonded, and
Carmilla guided the recovery of Lauren.
“They are my children.”
Annabelle told Carmilla one day of her sons. “They do not know you. All my sons
but none will be like us. They have their father’s character. I could not be
with them as a mother, but among them, I loved Ernest most. Please watch over
them.”
Carmilla watched the three
lads grow; William was the ideal form to take on the father’s role. He was
militarily disciplined, holding the mean streak. Victor was knowledgeable with
an inclination towards studying science. The last Ernest, crippled at birth,
was like Victor, but he felt physical restraints and spent his time studying
the unorthodox subjects. He was to learn how to restore his limbs then.
However, he also holds his father’s mean streak.
“They will not stop.”
Another voice spoke across the hall in the mansion. It was Annabelle who
approached the table. “How did she fare?”
“She had not achieved it.”
Carmilla said. The other, named Annabelle, stood there, being a ghostly soul,
hovering above the flooring. Annabelle sighed.
“She had to ……” Annabelle
looked to the window. “They are battling to get in again. I need to reinforce
the shield.”
Annabelle dissipated into
the air. Carmilla, still there, looked at the window. She knew the dangers
facing them. The demons will not give up to acquire them all. They already have
Lissa, and the sisters are weakened. For years they had remained hidden
from the demons until the event that unfolded was when, at the call by Ernest
to call on the demon using his mother’s spell, Beezer avenged William’s death.
The young lad was not to know that the demon has a favour to be exchanged.
That exchange was supposedly
the soul of Annabelle, his mother; “Master Ernest Frankenstein summoned the
demon. The portal door is now open. The demon took her. We must find her.” The
demons had taken the wrong mother; it was Lissa who was taken. They returned
for the other sisters. A siege was held at the mansion, and since then, the
sisters have battled the demons.
Their hope was that Lauren
would learn the skills of the sisters and rescue Lissa and her mother and
defeat the demons.
Ten years had passed.
Spiritually, the sisters
existed, for their physical form had become frail over the years. The physical
body was interned in the vault below the hall, with one missing soul yet to be
placed there: Lissa, taken by the demon ten years ago. The two sisters of the Moon
coven appeared like ghostly apparitions floating over the flooring.
“The shield is restored.”
Annabelle returned and looked at Lauren. “Will she ……”
“She is almost there, but
without Lissa, we are undone here. My essence lived in her, but the power of
three needs all of us to claim the power and from there towards Lauren. Lissa
is the missing link.” Carmilla approached the table. Her attention was on the
book of spells, retrieved years ago from the Frankenstein mansion. It was
Annabelle’s.
“Annabelle, you are the
spellbinder among us, but without Lissa, your spells are weaker. We need Lissa
back. Only she could speak to the runes in her care. If she was ……” Carmilla
sighed. “The runes are missing now.”
“We all have our strength,
Carmilla.” Annabelle held out her right hand towards her sister. “We will find
Lissa, and with the runes, we will be once complete.”
“If only she told Lauren,
‘Where are the runes?” Carmilla looked towards the young witch. The latter felt
the coldness touch upon her right shoulder; her soul connected to the others, a
link in the dimensions.
“I cannot give up.’ Lauren
picked herself up and approached the table. She picked up the book of spells
and ran through the pages. “I may be missing something. There may be a guide on
how to find my mother.”
“Do not rush, my dear. Lissa
is …… able to protect herself.” Annabelle's words rang hollow then.
“For yourself, be safe,
Lauren. We have held the demons away for some time now. They cannot break
through the mystic shield I have created around the mansion.” Annabelle smiled.
“I may be weaker in this form, but my shield powers are as good.”
“I will check on mine.”
Carmilla stepped away. “The potions to increase your powers may be there. I
need to tweak better.”
“Do not worry, all of you. I
will do it… I need to rest for now.” Lauren walked to the doorway that leads
her to the personal chamber.
Lauren walked the corridor
and saw the rows of closed doorways ahead. She approached the third one on the
left. It was to her father’s chamber; he had volunteered to be there to protect
his daughter.
“Father, it is me.” Lauren
knocked on the door.
“Come in.” The voice of
Rudolf Spielsdorf voiced out. It was the rule of the mansion that prevailed in
the personal chamber doorway; permission must be given for one to enter there.
The command voice got the door to the chamber opened, and the lady walked in.
“Are you fine, Father?”
Lauren asked. She looked at the figure standing there by the window; Rudolf
Spielsdorf stood there in his bathrobe, firm in his frame, and had not aged
since he arrived. He was protected by the aging factor kept within the realm of
Lissa’s field. He needed no food or drink and kept his waking hours reading the
countless books that lined the shelves.
“I am.” Rudolf looked at his
daughter. “I am …… blessed with immortality. A curse to mankind.”
“Father, we are safer here.”
Lauren looked at her father. “Mother is here to protect you.”
“Your mother is a witch,
Lauren. And she is not here. She is gone. You are ...”
“I know that, Father, and I
will find her. For me now, I am one with them, Father.” Lauren looked at the
man. “Mother and I are the same ones. We are all a part of the coven, but I
could make a difference.”
“Are these your words, or
your mother’s? Your other sisters?” The father looked to the daughter who had
travelled with him far and wide. “Lauren, we’ve been through many… happy
moments and some… tribulations as a father….”
“Father, what we have been
through were not tribulations. It was challenging. It was …… for both of us,
but it was for me mostly.” Lauren smiled. “I never knew why then, but now with
the……”
“Madness prevailed in you,
Lauren.” The father sighed. “As that of your mother. I left the military to
…get you away.”
“No, Father. You left the
military because you were afraid for me. I was protected in the military, but
the sacrifices were many. Your men fought for you. You were afraid of the
events happening there, but little did we know it was because I am …… to be a
part of the coven. I am what my mother was.”
The father sank his face
into his hands and held it there.
“You went to look for your
Общий. You knew somehow it was related to the event here. That was why both of
us returned here. The last revelation was to know that your lover and his were
….”
“Sisters of the same coven.”
“You do recall our trip back
to the mansion…… Frankenstein’s mansion, and we almost never made it back.”
“You almost died.” The
father sighed. “I should have been more careful.”
It was a risky journey, but
one that Lauren insisted on going on, but she knew not why then. It also got
her to rest at the Frankenstein’s mansion, and there she met Carmilla. The
latter was in the mansion, and a bond was sealed then.
“I must return to the Hall.”
Lauren excused herself. For safety purposes, her father was kept in the room
under the protection of the spell by Annabelle.
“I remember now. Mother gave
me some items to hold. I hid it in the mansion. I need it to complete my
learning.” Lauren told her father and left the chamber.
“Madness!” Rudolf shouted.
“I …… We cannot risk it.”
No comments:
Post a Comment