CHAPTER TWENTY

“I didn’t know that she was going to get affected, I swear!” Alex said, with tears rolling down his face
“Alex, what exactly did you do?” Arielle asked
“I am trying to bring my mother back. Elma asked me if it was what I truly wanted and I said yes. She said a price had to be paid and I said I was ready to pay it in full. I had no idea that Anna was the price!”
“You traded your sister’s life for your mom’s? Cam you even hear yourself?” Damian said, grabbing him by the collar
“Let him go!” His Mom ordered and he obeyed at once. “He had no idea that his sister was the price that was going to be paid”
“It is a life for a life. Her life is being taken and given to your mom. She is fighting it but she is getting weak. Once she gives up, her life would be snuffed out of her body, completely” Sally said
“Now is the time to choose. Who would you rather have with you? Your mom or your sister?” Damian asked
“I have to go!” Alex said
“Go where? Your sister is dying because of you and you’re running away?!”
“I am not running away! And I don’t need a reminder. I know my sister is dying because of me. Yes, I know it is all my fault but I have to go to Elma’s house. If she finishes up with this spell, it’s irreversible. I have to stop her before she finishes it up!” Alex said as he stormed out of the room

He sped to Elma’s place. He ran as fast as his legs would carry him. When he got there, she wasn’t in her living room

“Elma!!! Elma!!!!!” he screamed from the living room

Some minutes later, the old woman appeared.

“What is wrong?” she asked him peacefully
“Are you done with the spell?” he asked
“Not yet. Why?”
“Stop! You can’t go on with the spell. You can’t! You have to stop. My sister, you are killing her. She is dying just so my mother can have her life back. You can’t go on with it. I can’t lose my sister”
“I asked you if you were willing to pay the price. You said you were going to give anything to have your mother back. Magic always comes with a price. It is never for free. I can reverse the spell on one condition!”
“Which is?”
“Someone would like to speak with you!” she said as she waved her hand in the air, snapping his neck in the process

He opened his eyes and found himself in a room, filled with light. He looked around. He didn’t have time for all of this. His sister was dying and he needed to make it home to her just incase she doesn’t make it. He was going to hate himself forever for hurting his sister this way. He looked around, trying to find an exit and make sense of the place when he heard her

“Still always in a hurry” she said

That voice was one that he would recognize even in his sleep. He looked around and he saw her walking from a distance

“Mom!” he said as he ran to her. He hugged her tight and she hugged him back. “It is so good to see you”
“I wish I could have seen you under better circumstances but it doesn’t work that way. I can’t make physical contact with the human world too often. There is a balance that must be maintained. Only witches can maintain that balance when humans come here”
“Then we will find a witch and compel her to bring us here whenever we want to see you”
“No, humans can’t pick the meeting date, only the dead can. So come sit with me, my beautiful boy. How are you?”
“I am sorry” he said

He figured that his mother knew about everything now. There was no was of hiding this from her. She knew all that was going on since she was dead now

“Why are you sorry?”
“I made a mistake. I tried to bring you back and I did some awful things”
“Things like?”
“I dug up your grave”
“That was the most inconvenient of all”
“Yeah, trust me. It was weird carrying a coffin all the way from the central to Cordina”
“I was surprised that you were not stopped by the police or something”
“I was glad I wasn’t. I would have no explanation to give a human on why I dug up someone’s grave and I’m carrying the body half way around the country”
“It would have been one hell of a scene” she said and he laughed but his smile was quick to fade and she noticed
“What is wrong?” She asked
“Anna, she’s dying just so I can bring you back. I don’t know what to do” he said
“Are you really considering letting me live and letting your sister die?”
“I don’t know Mom!”
“Alex! You have to understand and accept that I am gone now. You have to accept that I had to die so you can live, so your sister can live. You have to understand that! Accept my death and deal with the pain! If you try to bring me back, someone related to me by blood will die. We both know it’s your blood that will give me life and your sister will die. Can you live with that?” his mom asked
“I have no idea”
“Yes you do. You know that your sister would die, can you live with her death on your neck even when I am alive? No! You can’t! You need your sister more than you need me and she is fighting for you. She is fighting for her life so that you don’t end up without a family! She is doing all that for you! Don’t lose her by trying to bring me back. You have to go now and tell Elma to stop with the ritual. I will be with you and your sister but you and your sister need each other more than anything else” his mom said
“What happens to you then?”
“I will be here, watching over you!” she said
“Is dad here?” he asked
“I can’t give an answer to that until I find him”
“What do you mean until you find him? Is he here or not Mom?” he asked
“No. Apparently, your father is not dead. You have to find him. You have to find your father, my beautiful boy” she said. “You have to go now. Your sister will wake up soon and she would need you by her side. I will see you soon”
“Does she know?” he asked his mother. “Has she talked to you since you died?”
“She has, and I will talk to the both of you soon. I will always love you, my beautiful boy. Take care of your sister. You both still have a long way to go” she said. “One more thing?” she said
“What’s that?”
“I need a favor!”
“I am listening”
“My body, don’t take it back to the Central. I want it to be in Cordina”
“That wouldn’t be an issue”
“Goodbye my beautiful boy. I love you” she said

The room started to fade out before his eyes and he gasped back to life. He opened his eyes and saw Elma sitting beside him

“How was it?” she asked him
“Draining. I feel so tired” He said to her
“You will be fine. It is the side effects of going into the ancestral world. I hope you have learnt your lesson” she said
“You know you could have saved me the trouble and just told me what I was going to be paying as the price, right?” He said
“Sweet child, nobody knows the price of that kind of sacrifice. Nobody” she said. “Drink this. It’ll help you regain your strength” she said, handing him a cup.

He took it from her and drank it up. He knew that it wasn’t going to have a nice taste so he didn’t bother to sip it and let the taste settle in his mouth. He got up immediately and carried his mother’s coffin. He was going to head back to Damian’s house but he made a stop first at somewhere he had not been in since he was seven, the house he grew up in. He opened the door and he could tell that nobody had been here in a long while. Every where was dirty. He closed the door and went to the back of the house. He dug a grave and put his mother’s coffin in it before covering it up. He sped back to Damian’s house and went straight to Damian’s room to see his sister. When he got there, Arielle stood up and hugged him. She knew he had just made a choice that wasn’t easy to make. His mom or his sister. He hugged her back and buried his face in her neck