Within the Cards (21 page)

Ellie looked around, but she didn’t see Dee. She looked at me, and I knew she was worried. I didn’t know what to do to comfort her. She turned to face me, but I realized her eyes were looking over my shoulder. The worried look on her face disappeared when Dee materialized. She ran pass me and wrapped her arms around her sister. Dee glared at me, but didn’t say a word. I knew she helped me but she was still a witchyre and saw me as a purebred.

We walked to the small village. I soon learned that witchyres that didn't agree with the practices of the Lords inhabited it. With my arrival, there was a slight uneasy discomfort for them. They hissed at me. Ellie attempted to explain my existence but to no avail, they weren’t happy about my presents.

Dee spoke with the villagers and calmed them down. She returned to where Ellie and I were standing. I knew she didn’t like me. She helped Ellie and I flee the lair, but it was clear she did it for Ellie, not to save my life.

I didn't impress her, but at that moment, I didn’t care. She again rolled her eyes in my direction and focused on Ellie. Dee was trying not to concentrate on me, but her thoughts shifted in my direction at times and lashed out vulgar obscenity. I returned the same thoughts to her. Ellie attempted to ignore our silent feud.

“Dee, tell me what happened.” Ellie pleaded.

Dee explained that after we left the lair the other witchyres were in fear of what they witnessed. She attempted to calm her followers, but their fears attracted Suzi and the Lords like the smell of fresh blood. They demanded her presence. She had no other recourse, but to answer their calling. Suzi accused her of being a traitor, and she called others that witnessed the events of my escape to come and recount their stories.

All were sure I was a wizard with magical powers but one, the female guard Ellie dismissed. She stood in accusation that Dee and Ellie planned this escape of the intruder hybrid, meaning me. Her words were accepted as the truth. Suzi, knowing that I must be the indiscretion from Ellie's past demanded the death of Dee. She was trying to cover her own mishaps of not making sure they extinguished me decades before.

When she and Dee combined their powers to remove Ellie’s memory she didn't take the time to realize I wasn't annihilated. She knew the Lords wouldn’t forgive her if they knew she had a part in the remains of my existence, no matter if she had innocently trusted Dee and Ellie to vanquish me. She believed Dee witnessed my removal.

Dee narrowly escaped the annihilation of her immortality. During the rivaled discussion of Suzi’s knowledge of these events and the killing of the female guard for rebutting her own leader, the Lords turned their attention long enough for her to break free and vanish. She wasn’t able to return to her lair. She knew Suzi would be sent to retrieve Ellie. That was when she called to Ellie in her thoughts. I was unaware that Ellie could gather these thoughts from such a distance, but she had been able too, and this was why we now stand in this vast evergreen refuge.

This retreat would only last a short while because the witchyres had assembled their clan, and they were looking for the three of us. Their orders were to bring us back to the Lord's castle. The only condition to our retrieval was to bring us with enough existence so we would feel the terror of our execution.

“Ellie, it’s time to speed up the future. Did you bring the book as I asked?” Dee addressed Ellie, but ignored my presence.

“Yes Dee, I have it with me.” Ellie responded. “The spell is here.” Ellie opened the book and turned the pages to the marked spot that held the spell that would start the process of returning her memory. I looked at Ellie and asked.

“Why is your sister so intense on returning your memory?” Before Ellie could answer for herself, Dee spoke up and addressed me this time.

“I don’t think this is any of your business. Ellie must remember her past to regain her full strength. We also need our grandmother to assist us in removing Suzi from her throne. We need her to defeat the Lords.” Dee was angered. She didn’t like the questions.

“Your creation should sit and keep his mouth shut. Regardless, if I helped him or encouraged you to respond to him. He must know I still see him as a vermin, and I was only looking out for your happiness.” She spoke to Ellie, but her words lashed in my direction.

“Your sister should learn to watch her mouth, and I don’t think it is your happiness Dee is worried about. Sounds more like her greed.” I spoke.

“Listen, you stinking rat. I don’t have to be here, you know.” Dee lashed at me.

“I’m not trying to stop you from leaving.” I returned to her.

“Look, you two. I have just found out that my last one hundred years have been a farce. In addition to that, I made you, and I am in love with a vampire. Sorry Daught, but it’s the truth. Therefore, you two have no reason to fight. I’m the one that should have a problem. Now get over yourselves and let me think.” Ellie shouted.

“She needs to remember that you both need this vermin to complete the spell to restore your memory. I have to kiss you.” I directed my comments to Ellie, but sneered at Dee.

Dee rolled her eyes at me and continued to look at the book that lay in front of her. I could see the eye-rolling thing was a trait passed down in the family. Ellie had done that to me several times when she insisted she was right about something.

Dee and Ellie continued their conversation while I sat, and I read Dee’s true thoughts. Dee occasionally looked in my direction and hissed while Ellie would smile at me. I knew Dee didn’t like my kind. Even though she helped Ellie and I escape, she didn’t do this for me. She was more concerned with Ellie, and she knew the Lords would retrieve her as a wife. She didn’t want this existence for Ellie. She would rather see her with what she referred to as a vermin. The Lords must be worse than I had often imagined since I learned of their existence. Seeing Dee would rather see her younger sister with the likes of a rat than with these so-called beings of royalty. However, something was telling me that Dee had some type of power trip going on.

“Tonight before the witching hour, you have to change the present moon to the blue moon. You have to move time to skip the next three moons. It has to be tonight, Ellie.” Dee demanded Ellie’s full attention.

“I will do this, but what about Daught. I can’t leave him here. We need him.” Ellie told her.

“Yes the vermin will come with us. We’ll go to the open water by the shore where the moon is better visualized without interruption.” She announced.

“Encourage your vermin to mind his manners.” Dee lashed. Ellie bowed to Dee and returned to where I was sitting.

“I hope your grandmother has a little more hospitality than your sister does.” I sneered in Dee’s direction. She hissed back and exposed her fangs to me.

“You two are going to be great friends one day.” Ellie said with a slight laugh.

“Hmmm, I don’t think she's going to invite me to dinner anytime soon.” I joked.

“Well if it’s any consolation she doesn’t eat vampires.” Ellie laughed. She put her hand on my cheek and again the electricity of her touch was strong. Her eyes showed me that behind the laughter there was fear. It was a fear the spell may not work. I wrapped my arms around her and held her until the fear was gone. I assured her I would love her no matter what happened. I didn’t need a spell to know how much I loved her. Dee looked in our direction. I read her thoughts. She knew I loved her sister, and I would keep her safe or die trying. She felt pleased, but she would never admit that to me or to Ellie.

“I think your sister likes me more than she wants to admit.” I said.

I saw Ellie’s thoughts. She hoped Dee and I could get along. She didn’t want to have to choose between her family and me. However, I knew Ellie would stand by me. Nonetheless, I would never allow Ellie to make that decision. I loved her too much. She smiled and kissed me. Again, I heard her thoughts as she turned away from me.

“I wouldn’t bet on it.” We both began to laugh. I loved hearing Ellie’s laugh. Although, Ellie wasn’t the same being that left me many years ago her laugh hadn’t change. And, I was sure she was right. Dee and I had a long way to go.

Chapter Eighteen

GRANDMOTHERS RETURN

The witching hour was near. Ellie gathered the book of spells and came to my side. She was wearing a white silk gown. She was a vision of virtuous beauty. Dee told her it was time to go to the water’s edge. With a snap of her fingers, the three of us transported to a sandy cove by the water. The breeze was warm and the light from the moon reflected on the water. Ellie handed Dee the book. She then went to where the water lightly rippled and met the sand. I watched her in amazement. She had the grace of an eagle soaring in the air just off a mountaintop. It took me back to the remembrance of the eagle and the dove. It seemed that even though the eagle had swallowed the dove, it had taken on its beauty and purity.

Ellie held her arms into the air as if she were commanding it to her attention. Winding her arms in a clockwise rotation, she moved time. It was as if the Earth began to speed its movement to her command. Night became day, as day become night. Many times did this revolution take place. The tides came in and out with the growing and decreasing of the moon. This transformation wasn’t one that could be seen by the human eye. It would go unnoticed by a mere mortal, but for us, the immortals, we could see the vast power Ellie held as she controlled the sheer core of the universe. Dee said Ellie needed her grandmother to increase her strength, but I could not tell she needed anything. She had the universe readily available. She was as strong as I wanted to know.

Dee stood near me, but didn’t speak. She watched her sisters. She knew Ellie possessed the powers to control the elements. My thoughts reached Dee. I didn’t understand why Ellie didn’t just snap her fingers and change the moon in one instance.

“She has to move the moons as they would move naturally. If they are off their rotation just one degree the spell will not work.” Dee’s thoughts projected to me.

I continued to watch in amazement. When Ellie’s arms stopped their winding, I could see the moon was full. A haze obscured its brilliant shine. I looked at Dee, and she held up one finger as to quiet my thoughts. I returned to Ellie. She raised one of her arms again, and then she lightly blew into the air. Moving her extended arm, she wisped it in the direction to the north. The haze obeyed her command and vanished into the northern sky.

The moon was bright and full. Its luster light danced upon the waters that rolled with the tide it commanded. This moon wasn’t blue as its name referred, but its aura cast a blue hews into the night sky. The stars danced at the moon’s beauty. Ellie turned to look at me. She was proud of her accomplishment. The pride I felt while watching Ellie in the moon's beam of light had no words to describe my increasing love for her. She was an angelic form standing by the water in this full night's light. She was the Ellie I recalled the first night I looked up, and she graced me with her beauty. If one could fall in love all over again, I did in that second she looked in my direction.

Ellie moved toward the shore where Dee and I were standing. Her smile was gleaming as bright as the moon she had just adjusted. Dee was pleased with her sister’s power. She knew Ellie held more power than she or Suzi, but as Ellie grew from a small witchyre into an adult her powers lessened because she wasn’t allowed to practice them. Suzi took pleasure in that Ellie couldn’t use her power to their full strength. This was her intention to maintain control.

“Ellie, the witching hour is close. You must be ready to cast the spell. Daught, you must push all thoughts from your head so Ellie can concentrate on our grandmother. We must all focus on Elizabeth and combine our thoughts as one to bring her forth.” Dee explained. Her tone was still unfriendly, but she supported her sister so she was subtle to me.

Her concentration wasn’t on the hatred she felt for me, but it was on the love she had for Ellie. Then again, maybe she was in hopes to reverse the spell so Ellie wouldn’t hold her earlier betrayal against her. I knew Dee was asking me to help her sister for more reasons than to be nice to me because her tone was forceful. I let her believe she was in an authoritarian position because I was getting tired of fighting with her. At least I’ll let her think that for now. I had to concentrate on Ellie. I wanted what was best for her right now, what was best for both of us.

As the witching hour arrived, Ellie stood again by the water’s edge. The white gown she wore danced in the sea’s breeze. I had never seen Ellie in white. She normally wore nothing but black. However, this was a ceremony. During ceremonies, Ellie explained, the one in control had to wear the white gown that represents purity to the gods.

At the first strike of the witching hour, Ellie raised her hands to the heavens and began the chant from the book of mystical spells. Her voice was light as if the cherubs were singing. She concentrated on the heavens. Her angelic form stood alone to summons the spirits of the past. The winds calmed and the sea began to respond to her sound. Its rhythm tide danced to the words she spoke.