The Kuthun (9 page)

Only a Cole witch can open the book so I recite the only spell that will unlock the seal. ‘Sole delara mae nafita.’ I run my hand over its face.

A clicking sound lets me know it has accepted my request and I gently open the cover, searching for the source of my interest…the kuthun. As I turn each page it emits its own scent—lavender, rose, strawberry and lemon. My nose soon becomes an assortment of fragrant bouquets.

I turn the pages slowly, taking in the words and pictures, searching for the symbol that seems so familiar to me. Then all of a sudden the pages start to turn on their own. Faster and faster they flick until I feel like I am watching an old black and white movie. When I begin to think it’s never going to end, they stop.

My eyes take a minute to refocus and I look down onto the page that is being revealed to me.

It has a different colour and texture to the rest. Where the other pages are paper, this one feels like material. It appears to be made of old parchment cloth. How strange. Where did this come from? On it I see faint writing and I squint my eyes trying to read it. I can just make out the words.

“You possess your blood, Isis, you possess your power, Isis, you possess your magic, Isis. The amulet is a protection for this Great One, which will drive off anyone who would perform a harmful act against him.”

The symbol of the kuthun is staring back at me from the parchment. I can’t believe it! I tighten my grip on The Book of Cole, not quite believing what I am seeing. I chew away at my bottom lip nervously and read the words again and again, until they are embedded in my mind clearly.
Isis, amulet, Great One.
I can’t seem to make any sense of anything, my mind a swirling pit of information and images that are assaulting my senses.

The kuthun begins to throb against my chest, a slow and steady beat that puts me into a trance-like state. Before I know what is happening I’ve risen from the bed and am standing at the window, facing the garden. Magi has jumped off the bed and is watching me warily.

I raise my arms out in front of me and my hands start to burn with an electrifying heat. It radiates up my arms and my veins pulsate with new life.

In my right palm a small orb of white light appears. I am shocked at the sight of it and I try to move my hand but some sort of power seems to have taken control. My other hand moves to mimic the first, the orb now floating in the air between my palms. It begins to enlarge and glow brighter. Magi takes a step back.

All of a sudden it changes colour. It shifts from white to yellow, then orange. Pain sears through my flesh and I grit my teeth, stifling a cry, and before I think I am about to incinerate completely a beam of light streams out from the kuthun at my neck and into the orb. From there it exits the other side and heads through the glass window into the direction of the garden.

I watch it streak out across the yard and disappear into the trees, unsure of its destination. The beam of light holds its form for a brief moment and as quick as the orb appeared it suddenly vanishes out of existence
.

Sharp, ragged breaths escape my lips.
What the hell is going on
? I lower my trembling hands, the colour of my skin turning from a burning red back to a soft pink. Unease swirls around me like a dark cloud and I rub my hands together nervously.

‘Did you see that, Mags?’ I ask her. She barks softly in response. ‘I’ll take that as a yes.’

My head is reeling. Being a witch has taught me some things but that…that was something else altogether.

I feel someone’s gaze upon me and cast my eyes back to the last place I saw the beam. And there in broad daylight, right behind the fence, stands the powerful being from my dream.

My legs threaten to give way beneath me.

As in the dream he is wearing a gold and violet cloak, which glimmers in the sunshine. He appears tall and powerful, yet there is a gentleness about him that I hadn’t felt before. The shade of his skin is like warm sand and his aura is throwing off intense colours that reach out from his body in every direction. My pulse picks up speed as the golden staff he holds in his hands begins to throb in synchronicity with my heartbeat.

Out of the corner of my eye I see Magi jump up to the window and put her paws against the glass. She is barking but I cannot hear any sound. This entity has me mesmerised and I can’t look away, yet I am not afraid. I feel frozen in time, my body unmoving. How long I stay like this I cannot know. Then a shadow falls across my vision and my body feels like it is being shaken. I think I can hear my name being called but it’s too faint to tell.

‘Ellie! Ellie, can you hear me?’

Someone is calling me
. It sounds far away.

‘Ellie, snap out of it!’ The voice sounds familiar now.

Uncle Jo
? I hear Magi’s bark getting louder.

‘Ellie!’ Uncle Jo yells.

I blink. ‘What? Uncle Jo?’ My voice is soft and distant. It doesn’t sound like me.

Uncle Jo has both hands on my arms, his grip is tight, and the pressure of his fingers is pinching into my skin. He lowers his head in relief. ‘Thank God. Ellie, are you alright?’ I feel his grip loosen slightly.

‘What happened?’ I ask a little disoriented.

‘What happened?!’ He lets go of me and takes a step backwards. It is only now that I notice the sweat trickling down his forehead. ‘Didn’t you hear Magi barking her head off, or me crashing down the door?’

I slowly glance toward the hole where the door used to be. ‘I…I don’t know what happened.’ I take in the scene around me, a little frightened that I lost my ability to function normally.

I quickly turn my eyes towards the window and he follows my gaze. ‘What is it?’ he asks.

The man isn’t there anymore. I didn’t imagine him, I know he was real. ‘The man.’

‘What man? Where?’ Uncle Jo is searching the garden for any sign of him. ‘Where, Ellie?’ he demands.

‘He was right there, by the fence.’ I point to where I last saw him.

I reach out for the chair and sit down while he stays staring out the window. I look for Magi but she’s gone. Everything is happening so fast and I feel like I’m losing control. My head falls into my hands and I concentrate on breathing.

‘Elena, Josiah, what is going on?’ Ama asks, appearing out of nowhere.

Uncle Jo turns in fright. ‘Geez, Amaris! Don’t sneak up like that!’

Ama crosses her arms and frowns. ‘Sorry, Josiah, but being that I am
dead
I don’t have the luxury of knocking!’

Uncle Jo rolls his eyes. ‘You just frightened me that’s all.’ He looks down at me briefly before stepping forward to give her a peck on the cheek. ‘How are you, Amaris?’

Ama waits until he has kissed her before she softens. ‘I am fine, thank you.’

She looks towards me. ‘I am sorry I took so long to return, Shem. The last visit really drained me.’

‘It’s okay, Ama. I understand.’ I must look awful as she moves towards me holding out her arms.

I stand up and enfold myself in her warmth.

She pulls away slightly and cups my face in her hands.

‘What’s happened?’ she asks me softly.

I glance over at Uncle Jo, who is standing near the bed with his hands in his pockets. His eyes flick across my face and he turns away before I can figure out what he is thinking.

I share with Ama the details about the Venator lurking around home and at school. I tell her of my travel back in time to Isabella Cole, of my dream, and the event that just transpired in the room a short while ago, starting with the book. Uncle Jo hadn’t heard this part yet and his surprise is evident.

Everyone takes a moment to gather their thoughts. The room is silent and unnerving.

Ama’s energy surges. ‘Alright. We have to start somewhere so let’s leave the Venator out for the moment as he obviously isn’t going anywhere.’ She directs me towards the chairs and we sit down. She clasps her hands together. ‘We need to understand who this other contender is. If what you are telling us about the book is true, and I’m sure it is, then I think this person may be connected somehow.’ She stares past me in thought, trying to piece it all together.

‘Ellie, can you show us the page in the book that you saw?’ Uncle Jo asks.

I nod and retrieve the book from the bed. I bring it back and open to the page. I frown. ‘Where is it?’ I flip through the pages trying to find it. ‘It was right here!’ I look at them confused. ‘It was just here.’

Uncle Jo takes the book off me and it shuts abruptly with a loud thump. The locks click back into place, denying him access. Scowling at the book’s behaviour he asks, ‘Do you remember what it said exactly?’

‘Yes. I memorised it. It said, “You possess your blood, Isis, you possess your power, Isis, you possess your magic, Isis. The amulet is a protection for this Great One, which will drive off anyone who would perform a harmful act against him.” The kuthun symbol also appeared at the bottom of the page.’

Again, there is silence.

Ama shakes her head. ‘There is so much here that we haven’t dealt with before. I have to gain access to the Hall of Records to see if there is anything in the old scripture,’ she says determinedly.

I perk up with interest. ‘The Hall of Records? What is that?’

Since I can remember I have always asked Ama to tell me what The Other Side is like. Even when I was little I used to ask her about what happens when we die, where we go, and what we do there. Ama has always remained quite elusive about it, although she has told me of certain aspects that sound absolutely wonderful. But as she likes to say, ‘You will find out in good time. I don’t want to spoil the surprise.’ Sometimes elusive can be so irritating.

‘The Hall of Records is a fascinating and important building on The Other Side that contains eons of information on every person and historical event that has ever occurred. There are endless aisles, filled with endless shelves, which hold perfectly preserved scrolls on anything you could possibly imagine. It is absolutely breathtaking, to say the least,’ she says fondly.

Uncle Jo and I are both taken aback. The thought of such a place existing is unbelievable, and yet the truth of it resonates with me on a deep level. My belly warms at the thought.

‘And you can go there and read any of this? So I could read about people’s past lives and the existence of…let’s say…Atlantis?’ I ask her, interested to know more.

She tilts her head slightly. ‘Yes and no. There are many scrolls available to us, Atlantis is one of them.’ She smiles. ‘But there are some that we need permission to obtain.’

Uncle Jo interrupts with a wave of his hand. ‘Ah, so let me get this straight. You have the potential to gain access to information that could actually explain our family’s existence, and possibly prevent the deaths of anymore Cole women, and you haven’t even explored this yet?!’ His frustration is evident.

Ama holds her hand up to him. ‘Josiah, calm down, please,’ she implores. ‘You don’t think I haven’t tried before? Of course I have. But like I said, there are certain protocols that must be adhered to there. Up until this point I haven’t been able to find a way to gain full access to our history. But maybe now that different entities are presenting themselves, and with Elena’s powers intensifying along with the kuthun, I may be able to persuade them to let me look at the archives thoroughly.’

‘Persuade who?’ I ask gently.

‘The Elders, pet. Now, don’t ask me who they are. I cannot tell you. But trust me when I say that I can now stand before them with much more information than I ever could before. Surely they would have to understand our predicament here,’ she says, looking past me.

Uncle Jo is still seething. ‘I need some air,’ he growls, as he storms out through the hole where my door used to stand.

Ama shakes her head and sighs as she watches him go. ‘Poor Josiah, he’s so angry. I can’t blame him you know. He has suffered so much. There aren’t many siblings that ever lived who could tell the tale of our world.’

I nod sadly, feeling responsible for the fact that not only has he already lost his mother and sister to our family curse, but now he is having to face the same demons with me all over again.

Ama turns back to me. ‘Shem, listen to me. There is something happening here that is bigger than any of us have ever seen before. You have great power, and may even be the most powerful witch that this family has ever seen.’ She pauses, letting that notion sink in. ‘I need some time to find out what I can and I believe the Hall of Records can help us. That means that I cannot be here with you while all this is transpiring, do you understand?’ Her eyes display her guilt at leaving me to defend myself without her.

‘I understand, Ama. It’s alright. This whole thing is playing out anyway and whatever you can do will help.’ I smile at her, trying to hide my exhaustion.

‘Are you scared, Elena?’ she asks bluntly, clasping her hands in front of her.

The question startles me. In all the chaos I hadn’t really taken the time to think about how I feel. A part of me knew this day would come and yet, I just feel numb.

‘Of course I’m scared, Ama.’

She nods her head.

‘What is it?’ I ask, knowing she is thinking something.