Chapter eleven

“And this is live footage from Vertlake’s own Mirka Academy which also happens to be Queen Persephone’s first stop.” The reporter said over the static white noise of the device. Instantly, the reporter’s voice was carried over by the oddly soothing voice of a woman. Scratch that ; A goddess in her prime. Maveth put several calls to her daughter, the girl wasn’t answering and the Fae mother was getting one step closer to smashing the useless device into a stone wall. Fuck! This wasn’t the time. While she continued dialing the girl, Maveth lent an ear to what the goddess had to say.

“This is a fresh experience for me, I must say but I am glad to be here. I am certain most of you are excellent students and I am ready to be wowed. Today is for every shifter, practitioner, Fae, Vampire and celestial…” Persephone’s mention of celestial made Maveth reel. it couldn’t be. Talia still wasn’t picking up her calls and all that ran through Maveth’s mind was the cryptic meaning to what the goddess stated. Even Persephone took a break to repeat what she said; indirectly telling the world it wasn’t her words.

“Celestials…” She gave an embarrassing laugh before continuing. “Who are ready to take destiny by the horns. It is time to decide who you want to be.”

As the horns shrieked over implying that the tests were officially beginning, Talia finally picked.

“Mom?” She said, her voice almost inaudible in the midst of the overwhelming noise around her.

“Talia, What academy are you in?”

“What? Mom, I cannot hear you. Can we have this conversation later?” Talia retorted, shouting in a bid to drown out the noise around her. As Maveth proceeded to argue, The call ended.

“Fuck!” Maveth mouthed. She was worried. What mother wouldn't? Maveth fed herself the opinion that Talia wasn’t even in Vertlake. She was way too calm during the call. It wasn’t enough but it was all she had. Cruel fate did slap her hard on the face when she heard the juicy news the reporter had to give his listeners.

“Most of you must be wondering why Queen Persephone mentioned Celestials. Well, It has gotten to us that a demigod is on a programme in Mirka which I must say is a bold step considering what happened with Ares son…”

The last straw… Without a second thought, The helpless mother fled to the dense forest to get more answers. She did not stop. Not until she was at the old witch’s hut demanding to know things she wasn’t meant to know.

“Is this the prophesy? Is this what will seal her fate?”Maveth inquired, sparkling blue liquid escaping her eyelids.

“Both yours and hers are sealed Maveth. I did tell you ignorance was better.” Was the reply from inside. This time, The doors weren't open, The witch was done with her but Maveth wasn’t quite done.

“Hecate does not seal my future. No god seals my future. I make my future and I promise you, We both will survive your so called prophesy.”

Another cackle rose from within, It was frightening and mocking. “A Fae’s nature is strong but it will bend to the will of the old god.”


Despite the witch’s warning, Maveth had her heart set. No matter what it took, she was going to bring her daughter back to the village; Alive and unscathed. In the same fashion, She returned to her village, unloading a dusty trunk which held a book she needed.

“Maveth, What the hell are you doing?” The Fae who visited asked in concern. Maveth ignored the Faerie and kept on digging. Her search stopped when her fingers located the leather bound book.

“What the hell is a black magic spell book doing in your hands?” The Fae stammered.

Vertlake was far west and it would take days for her to arrive there on foot or horse. The only reasonable option she could lean to was teleportation. It wasn’t natural for a Fae to dabble in witch magic. In fact, It was forbidden but this was never the first time Maveth had turned to the dark to get help. Maveth felt the fear of her visiting Fae creep upwards and consume her. She felt her retreating. If the council got to know, Things would get messy. Maveth felt a cold rush of water burst through her, slowly consuming her and filling her with power. She tilted backwards and said the magic words. The retreating Fae fell to the ground,drifting into a peaceful sleep. Now that her secret was safe, Maveth fixated her attention on the book. It was time.

***
MIRKA ACADEMY
Talia felt the blood in her veins turn cold as the goddess approached her. She had seen a glimpse of what the test looked like. For this session, the low end aspiring students were asked to fix simple mishaps to stronger and complicated spells like a glamour or soul transference. The goddess stopped right in front of her. Snickered a bit then said, “Talia Trueborn right?”
Talia blinked,unsure of what she was to do or say. She got a nudge from an excited Solomon who just passed his test for knight. It was impressive to watch him withstand magic with bad intent all without transforming. It was then Talia realized her mouth had been hanging open the whole time. She somehow felt it was disrespectful to the goddess.

“Yes, my Queen.” Talia humbly bowed.

“Another demigod in the realm. gods really need to learn how to use condoms.” She smirked, scrolling through the the list. “You dream of becoming a godparent? Well that is a new one.”

Talia struggled mentally trying to fight the urge to give Persephone a run for her money. Never had she felt so disrespected but even her rebel Fae nature knew it was a suicide mission. It was a far greater feat to win what she came here for than to be deemed a threat for the entire universe and eliminated.
“Who is your father?” She asked in a snotty tone. For the first time, Talia was proud she was completely clueless to answer.

“I don’t know. I don’t think I ever want to know.” Talia replied.

“Well, lets hope you got in you to be able to take care of a mortal child.” The goddess commented. “Step forward and wow us Miss. Trueborn.”

Talia shivered, getting to her numb feet and walking up to the stage. The glare on the goddess’s face and the expanse of the platform made her breathing raggedy. It wasn’t just the stage fright. It was internal battle Talia fought.

“Miss. Trueborn, Resurrect the mouse in front of you.” Persephone commanded, giving a cruel snicker that Talia translated into a “I hope you fail.” broken laugh.

Talia looked into the crowd. She saw Solomon cheering her on and Sybil having a similar scowl to Persephone. The thought of failing rang repeatedly in her head and once again, She struggled to get a positive feeling.

"You are brave Talia." Her mother's words rang in her head. This was the ticket out for her. It was a simple task. Resurrect a mouse. Completing the test meant she would finally get her license to Fae god-parenting. The taunts and name callings would be over.
All these things seemed to strengthen Talia as she channeled on her innate ability to create a spark. One strong enough to make a heart beat again. Her persistence in her ability bore fruit and almost instantly her fingertips let out a strange warm light that surged through her body like electricity. She let out a surprised gasp as the light seemed to swallow her hands and continued to spread upwards.   fingertips is a strange, bright light. She smirked seeing the look of surprise on her big time bully, Sybil's face. If she could hear the coven sister's thoughts, Nothing would please her more.

Needless to say, It didn't matter anymore. All Talia needed to do now was give the mouse a second chance at life, get the approval of the goddess who disapproved of her half-blooded nature, and get the hell of out of Vertlake. Finally, She let it go. The bright surge of pure energy instantly shot at the tray, missing the mouse and bouncing back at her. Talia fell to her face to dodge her own magic. She turned behind her only to see the spark hit a shield on the wall and bounce forward.  Unintentionally, Her judge stood right where the spark repelled to. The congregation screamed while a terrified Talia doubled over to have a glimpse of what caused the involuntary shock of the spectators. She gaped at the unholy sight. It was something she feared–knew– would happen. Her judge, Persephone took the fall for her mistake. Her greenish-blue ankle-length gown made of soft, satiny fabric, long and lose was engulfed in flames that spread upwards to her face. Talia still saw the disapproving frown on the immortal lady's face. It slowly contorted into an evil smirk. It lasted for a second but it was enough to send unimaginable chills down Talia's spine. The goddess patted down the fire which left a scorching black color on her perfect robe. The fire couldn't harm her but judging by the menacing glare the goddess gave her, Talia knew Lady Persephone did not intend to have mercy.