Chapter Eighty-two: The first of many

Elijah and I sleep till dawn and Nuria wakes us to pack up and go. We continue down the shoreline, heading East. We keep our eyes open for any sign of life. I had remembered seeing nothing for weeks on end. I think back to when I was last on this path and what I had last come across before meeting Elijah and the elven community. I believe it was a stubborn witch, who didn’t even leave her front door to greet me.

We walk for miles, day in, day out. After a few days, I see the resemblance of a hut, where I believe I had the pleasure of meeting said witch.

“I’m not sure we should bother with her, if she’s even still there anymore. She didn’t take much notice of me last time.” I say begrudgingly, remembering all I wanted back then was companionship and she turned me away, like many others.

“The witches I know of, at least on different lands, are attracted to power. I bet that before, you didn’t show any signs of power, whereas now you do. Remember, you were last here before Athena joined you. Who knows, maybe the witch would have changed her tune.” Nuria says, eyeing the hut we’re slowly edging towards.

I look to Elijah who only stares at the hut. “Are you ok Elijah?”

He snaps out of it and looks to me. “I’ve never met any other species except for you two and the wolves, which I’d say I was eased into. With the pack though it felt I was more already there after being taken to hospital, and in all honesty I couldn’t really tell the difference.” He stops a few moments, looking back at the hut. “It’s all just a bit new to me, adventuring out past the known.”

I smile at him. “We’re all together. Remember, I did this on my own at one point. At the start I was scared, scared I’d come across nothing that would take me in. I learned how to survive out here, and it was probably the best thing that could have happened to me.” I take a deep breath. “I love belonging somewhere, but I miss the adventures I used to have. Being out here with you both just now is the break I needed, even if the cause is a bad reason.”

He continues to keep his eyes on the hut, but says nothing more. I suspect that he’s been told things about witches, and by the look on his face as he eyes the hut, I suspect they’re not good.

We get into the huts vicinity and I can tell that she’s in, as I see a light glow from one of the small windows. We stop just outside the door, and I look to both Nuria and Elijah who have unsure looks on their faces.

“This is our first stop. We need to do this, to everyone we meet.” I say, adamant that we need to get this over and done with.

I turn round to knock on the door, but before I even raise my first to give it a chap, the door creeks open and we see a woman, who looks roughly the same age as us, greet us with a smile.

“Hi there. Can I help you?” She says in a smooth accent.

I raise my eyebrow at her. I remember doing the exact same thing years ago, but I wasn’t even greeted by her face. Instead, I was asked to leave the land through the door.
She smiles sweetly at us and I continue to stand there gawking, thinking about the last time I came here.

Nuria notices I’m not saying anything and instead steps forward. “Hi, my name is Nuria and this is Aliana and Elijah. We were wondering if you were available for a quick chat?”
The witch looks to Nuria suspiciously but after a few moments her facial features soften. “Of course I am….for you two.” She says, looking at myself and Nuria. However, she glowers at Elijah. “He will have to stay outside.”

I look to Elijah who looks to sigh a breath of relief. “I’ll be ok out here, I’ll give a shout if I need you.” He says and waves, not bothered about having to stay out here. He starts heading a few meters away and takes a seat on the grass.

I turn back round to the woman and she moves from the door, allowing us entry. I look to Nuria who smiles and walks in first, and I head in after her.

I step into the door and I’m amazed by what I see. I had always thought that I’d see moss hanging from the ceiling, a brewing pot or cauldron, maybe even a few dead animals hanging up. I think about where I got these ideas from and I think it must have been a children’s book I read when I was younger, but now I know I was completely wrong. I look around the inside of the hut and I see a modern looking house, very similar to what the pack cottages look like. The only thing I had to look twice at was the corner, which is a small table with lots of various plants around, along with a pestle and mortar for grinding it up.

The witch leads us to a small rounded table made of wood, which looks to have been hand carved. She gestures for us to sit down, so Nuria and I place our bags to our side and take a seat at the equally matching chairs which have a soft cushion on top.

The witch sits down on the other chair at the table and smiles at us. I look to Nuria and she nods, prodding me to start a conversation.

“So, I think we already know you’re a witch…” I start, unsure how to start conversations like this, with it being my first one. “But we’re here to tell you that there’s a God among us who wants to wipe out all life on Earth.”

The witch gives me a knowing smile. “My name is Eloise, by the way. Oh I already know about Erebus. His name has been passed down from witch to witch for hundreds of years. It was a very long time ago I heard about him myself.” She says, and I can tell her words are full of venom as she breathes his name.

I raise my eyebrow, not understanding. She looks to be in her twenties, at a push.

I don’t have to ask before she answers. “You’re right, I am a witch. Witches stop aging around twenty years old. We can then live for thousands of years. We’ve got a long life expectancy basically.”

I nod my head understanding. Before I met the elves, or learned about the Gods, I would have found that fact fascinating, but it seems most species are immortal these days.
She continues. “I know what you both are.” She points at me. “You’re the most powerful being I’ve ever come across, so I have no doubt you are the child of two Primal Gods. So, now that you’re here, what is it you need from me?”

I smile at her, understanding she is much older and much wiser than she lets on from the use of her words. I look to Nuria who gives her a short background of who we are.
“You’re right, of course. She is the daughter of Selene and Solaris. I am Erebus’ daughter.” I see the expression on the witches face falter as she looks at us both after bring provided with that information. “I’m sure you’re already aware but the only way to take him out is with an originals child, one of the two that was never meant to be.” She waves her hand towards me. “She, is still figuring out her abilities. But from what Erebus has said, she’s a merger.”

The witch keeps her eyes on me the whole time Nuria is speaking. She then gets up from the table and moves towards the corner of the room where the small table and the plants are situated. She pulls out a drawer from the table and produces a small purple bag.

She brings it over and hands it over to me. “This was given to me long ago, by my Mother, and from her Mother before her. I was told that if the need ever occurred for someone special to find their gifts, give it to them. I was told it would help them.” She smiles fondly at the bag, before a sadness washes over her. “My Mother lost her life for this. This is the reason why I never accepted visitors.”

She looks at me sadly. “I remember you coming here a while back. I couldn’t sense your power, so I sent you away, and for that I am sorry. Before my Mother died, we would have accepted anyone in without a whim, giving them a bite to eat and allowing them to rest before sending them on their way. But times have changed. The night my Mother died we allowed a stranger, a young man in, who said he was struggling to survive. Of course we took pity on him and allowed him in for bread and rest. When my Mother and I were sleeping, he started searching through our home for something. My Mother caught him and tried to throw him out.

You see, us witches are mostly one with nature, we can craft and create things like no one else. We also have little magic but age plays a great role in this. My Mother was a powerful witch, being alive for centuries….but this man, he had a dagger, a very particular dagger...one of which that disables all magical powers in it’s vicinity. I have no doubt it was given to him by Erebus. The man killed my Mother and stole a lot of things, but never found that pouch.

He later came back looking for something he claimed to have dropped, which he said was a small purple bag. I already knew what it was he was looking for and turned him away, swearing I will never allow anyone back into my home again. It’s why I’ve left your friend outside. I will never trust men again.”

My heart feels a pinch that she’s sworn herself away from people and more specifically men because of the issues she’s faced, but I understand. She lost all she had in this word to evilness.

“I’m really sorry about your Mother. My adoptive parents also died but under different circumstances, and it’s always painful to watch someone you grew up with die…..how come he didn’t just break in?” I ask.

“Don’t worry about it, it was a very long time ago now and I’ve learned to look after myself.” She replies with a sad smile. “And witches are able to set a barrier so no one can come in unless I invite them in. There’s nothing in the world that can break that spell, not even the dagger.” She pauses. “Plus it was my Mother that created it. That, my house, and that purple pouch is all I have left of her memory.”

I take the pouch from her hand and tuck it into my pocket, right next to the photo of my adoptive family I kept for all these years.

I smile at her, understanding why she pushed me away when I came knocking last time. Because my power hadn’t manifested so there was no way she could tell it was me she’d need to hand this to all these years ago.

“So what is your plan now?” She asks both of us.

“Well, we hoped you would join our cause.” Nuria says without waiting.

She looks to Nuria, unsure. “I’m not sure how much help I can be.”

Nuria smiles. “I’ve known many witches. I know you are either the same, or very similar to them. Which means that you are going to be one of the best healers. There’s going to be a war, and we’ve already seen what the things my Father created can do. We’ll need healers, as many of them. When we’re ready, we’ll call on you, if you are ready to join us.”

She looks at us nervously before looking stead in resolve. “Yes, I can do that. I know what Erebus is after, and if I can help stop that, then I will do anything I can. Just let me know when and where, and I can sort myself out.”

I smile at Eloise. She’s diving in the deep end, not because she wants to but because she knows she has to.

I stand. “We’ll need to go, we’ve got lots to do and lots of people to meet. Do you know what’s next, due East?”

She shakes her head. “I’ve not went outside of a thirty-meter radius for years. The last time I did head East, there was a human settlement, then a vampire community. Beyond that, I can’t say I’ve got the slightest idea.”

She walks us both to the door and opens it for us. “I wish you both good fortune. Remember to reach out to me with details of where I need to be and I’ll be there.”

“Thank you Eloise, we really appreciate it. Keep safe.”

She smiles and nods, closing the door behind us.

I look to Nuria. “One down, let’s hope the rest of them are easy.”