The Kuthun (34 page)

He shakes his head. ‘I don’t understand.’

‘Do you remember when Ama found the lost scripture which read, “She who is Mother, who is of pure blood, shall be the bearer of humanity. She will forge a new world and upon it she will bring forth the Light”?’

He nods. ‘Yes. That was when I was able to decipher that Isis would merge with you. At least…that’s what I thought would happen.’ Confusion crosses is face.

‘Think about it, Uncle Jo. Pure blood, Mother, bearer of humanity, bring forth the light.’

I wait for him to piece it all together. It only takes a moment.

His head shoots up. ‘Are you saying that you
are
the bearer?’

I nod, feeling his emotions heighten.

‘
You
are chosen to bring forth the light! Oh my God, Ellie! And you agreed?’ His voice is filled with fear and frustration.

‘Yes, I agreed,’ I answer simply.

His voice rises. ‘How could you? Do you know what this could mean?’ He groans and I see his fists clench at his sides.

‘Uncle Jo, please don’t be upset.’ I catch a glimpse of Magi out of the corner of my eye. She is sitting on the threshold to the room watching us closely. ‘I saw the truth in what Isis showed me. I believe in the power of it. I also know Mum died trying to protect me for something more important, and I think this was it.’

‘You haven’t thought this through. My God! You’re only sixteen, Ellie. You can’t have a child. Let alone bring a child into the world with the resurrected soul of Isis in it. Bloody hell!’ He kicks the coffee table. Books and photos crash to the floor.

Aunt Lily runs in. ‘What is going on?’ She looks between us. ‘Jo?’

He hobbles over to the couch and sits down, putting his head in his hands.

‘Ellie?’ she asks me when he doesn’t respond.

‘It won’t be like that, Uncle Jo. I don’t know exactly how it will happen, but it won’t be anytime soon. In the vision I was older. And I saw the merging of two strong bloodlines. That is the only way it can be done.’ I look off into the distance, remembering the vision clearly.

My heart flutters at the thought.

His shoulders sag and he looks at me with sadness.

I kneel down in front of him. ‘I know what you must be thinking. I know this is all a lot to take in. But right now I need you to trust me. Everything we have just been through, seeing Mum, her helping us, it can’t have been for nothing.’

Pain flickers across his face before he abruptly gets up and hobbles into the kitchen.

I stand up and watch him leave with a heavy heart.

‘I think I better get up to Phoebe,’ I say quietly. I glance at Aunt Lily briefly before heading upstairs. Magi is right behind me.

What a mess. There is nothing else I can do. It is already done. He will just have to find a way to accept it.

I enter my room and find Phoebe sitting on the chair by the window. Ama is sitting across from her with her hands in her lap. They both look at me as I enter, Phoebe unaware that Ama is in the room.

‘Phoebs, just don’t freak out okay?’ I say.

‘Freak out about what?’ she asks.

‘At what you are about to see. I’m too tired to keep secrets right now.’

She frowns and tentatively says, ‘Alright.’ Her back straightens slightly in response, and her eyes wander around the room in question.

Ama is walking towards me and we embrace. She kisses my head and I feel better having just taken in the feel of her. My body relaxes.

‘Are you alright?’ she asks sincerely.

I nod. ‘Yes.’

She takes my face into her delicate hands and peers into my eyes. ‘I’m proud of you.’

I smile. ‘Thanks, Ama.’

Ama looks back at Phoebe, who is sitting there gobsmacked. She chuckles. ‘Looks like the cat is out of the bag.’

‘She can see you?’ I ask Ama surprised. I look at Phoebe, who nods slowly. Magi grunts and pads towards the foot of the bed where she curls up into a large, black, furry ball. I sigh. ‘Well I better get used to explaining all this I suppose.’

Ama takes my hand. ‘I know you can’t really talk right now, but when you can, summon me and we can nut it all out alright?’

‘That would be great, Ama, thanks.’

Ama is the only one who could potentially understand what I am feeling, and what my future holds. I vow to summon her really soon.

She kisses me on the cheek and is gone.

I walk towards Phoebe and pull my chair closer to hers. ‘Let me see that cut.’

As I am inspecting the damage she says, ‘I assume that clone was a deceased member of your family?’

I smile. ‘Yep. Ama is my great grandmother actually.’

She snorts. ‘Well of course she is.’

I sit back. ‘I know you must have a lot of questions, Phoebs, but I’m just really tired right now. Do you mind if I answer them another time?’

She squints her eyes and pauses for a second. ‘Fine! But I have to know what’s going on, otherwise how am I going to help you?’

I laugh softly. ‘Help me?’

‘Yes, help you. I have skills you know.’

‘Of course you do.’ I hold my palm up in a scout’s honour sign. ‘Okay, when I am ready, we will talk about some things.’

She raises one eyebrow sassily. ‘Haven’t lost your sarcasm I see. Good. Now please fix my face.’

I smile and place my hand over her cheek. She closes her eyes and I cast the healing spell. When I am done I pull my hand away and see that the skin has immediately healed, but there is the faintest trace of a scar left behind.

‘How do I look?’ she asks.

I gesture for her to look in the mirror. She gets up and peers at her reflection. ‘Not bad, not bad at all. You know, you could make millions in beauty treatments.’

‘Good point, hadn’t thought of that. Although being found out, gagged and chained like an animal for the rest of my life doesn’t exactly appeal to me.’

She waves her hand around. ‘Minor details.’

Smiling I say, ‘That scar may or may not disappear entirely. We’ll have to see what it does over time.’

‘That’s fine. Thank you for healing me.’ She pauses, looking down at her hands before continuing, ‘It was all a bit scary you know. Everything happened so fast, I just didn’t see it coming. I’m sorry that…that I got taken.’

I look at her cherub like features and soften. ‘None of this was your fault. If anything, I should be the one to apologise to you. I never meant for you to be in harm’s way. I’m the one who’s sorry, Phoebs.’ She nods her head. ‘Wait a minute! How are you even here right now? Won’t your mum be freaking out?’

She smiles faintly. ‘Mum called Dad when I didn’t come home and he flew back straight away. In a way, it has brought the family closer together. I think they may be trying to work things out.’ She shrugs shyly.

‘That’s great! I’m really happy for you.’

She smiles. ‘Me too. Anyway, Dad offered to bring me over and I came straight away. He’s waiting in the car.’ Her expression quickly turns serious. ‘Did you kill him?’ she asks bluntly.

My eyes flick to the window quickly before falling back to my lap. ‘No.’ I shake my head.

Her shoulders slump. ‘So, it’s not over? He’s still out there?’

‘No. It’s over. I can guarantee you that. I don’t think we will be bothered with Venators anymore.’

‘How can you be sure? You don’t even know how many of them are out there. What if they come back?’

‘I don’t have all the answers, Phoebs. And right now I am too tired to even think about it.’

Her eyes rest on mine for a moment before she nods and stands up. ‘Righto. Well I am outta here. You need sleep and I need food. How about I ring you later?’

I stand and smile lightly at her. ‘Sounds good.’

We walk downstairs and as I open the front door I see that her Dad is sitting in the car, reading a magazine. He waves at me. I wave back.

‘What will you tell your family about all this?’ I ask.

‘No offense, E, but we always thought you guys were a bit strange anyway. I don’t think they’ll be too surprised. But don’t worry, I won’t divulge all the info. Just the part about you having witchy powers and access to some pretty powerful healing herbs,’ she says as she touches the scar on her cheek.

The light breeze hits her as she takes a step outside and her blonde curls bounce around her face.

As she walks towards the car she spins around and yells, ‘By the way, I like the new look!’ I see her wink and then she hops into the car and drives away.

I touch my face gently, tracing the lines of my improved features.

I go to close the door and out of the corner of my eye I see movement on the ground. A small envelope has been wedged underneath the doormat.

Curious as to who would have left it, I gently pick it up, closing the door shut behind me. I make myself comfortable on the lounge and peel open the envelope. There is a letter inside. My eyes widen in surprise as I look upon the cultivated way in which the letter was written. I curl my legs underneath me and begin to read.

Stunned doesn’t even begin to explain how I feel.

Julian
?
The Venator’s name is Julian
?

I don’t know if I can believe what he has said.
My mind struggles to comprehend it all. How can I believe him when my whole life I have been taught to fear and protect myself from his kind?

Yet…my heart is feeling something else. Despite everything that’s happened, I do believe his words.

‘Hey, Miss Cole, do you want to get something to eat? You must be starved.’ Uncle Jo’s voice knocks me from my thoughts.

‘Huh? Oh, yeah, sure.’ Do I tell him about the letter?

‘What’s that you’ve got there?’ he asks curiously.

I look at him and notice the wariness in his eyes. I decide that now is not the right time. Besides, he still looks upset from earlier.

‘Oh…nothing, just a letter Phoebs gave me that’s all.’ I quickly place the envelope in my back pocket and make my way towards him.

He puts his arm around my shoulders as we head into the kitchen. ‘I have a great idea for the rest of the day.’

‘Oh yeah?’ I say skeptically.

‘Do you think it’s possible, that just for today, we could pretend to be a normal family?’ he asks.

I think about all that’s transpired over the last week, knowing that it is only the beginning of what’s to come.

There is no going back.

I nod lightly. ‘We could try.’

As always, my family are my biggest supporters, without them I wouldn’t have found the courage to finally write this book and I thank them with all my heart.

My children, you are all a blessing to me and I couldn’t be prouder of the people you are. Thank you for your inspiration and patience. I love you all so much.

Shawn, tireless supporter, patient sounding board and enthusiastic groupie, your love and support has meant so much, thank you.

The amazing group of women who make up my family: my mum and my sisters. What a blessing it is to have you all as my wingmen. I am so grateful to you for your support, encouragement, love and enthusiasm, thank you.

And lastly, to my remaining family and friends, thank you for allowing me to share my imagination with you. The light always seems brighter when you have a global network of good people around you.

The Kuthun was written, re-written and re-re-written using inspiration from a higher source and some bloody hard work. I hope you enjoyed it.

Sheree Carter is the author of The Kuthun and a lover of all things mystical. After many years of storytelling, she finally wrote her debut novel while studying a Bachelor of Education degree. She lives in Australia with her family.

To learn more about S. A. Carter, please visit:
www.thekuthun.com
www.facebook.com/pages/The-Kuthun
twitter.com/The_Kuthun