Sorceress - Chapter 1

by **koolkidpaige** Thu Jun 30, 2011 9:17 am

Here ya go. I might put up other chapters as I type them, if you like it.

When I first heard the voices in my head, I thought I was going mad.
They didn’t speak English. At first I thought they were gibberish, but in time I realised they were speaking an old, long forgotten language. The words had meaning, and so much more.

My name is Kayla Blair, and this is my story.

Chapter 1

When my mother announced that trip to the local library, I almost groaned. I had hoped to meet up with my two best friends, Tanya and Amy, this weekend. Evidently not. I sat in the back seat of our battered green Ford fiesta, next to Liam, my annoying younger brother, my chin in my hand and my head against the window, listening to the voices in my head. I had started hearing them when we had first moved to the area, a few months previously. It worried me, sure, but I’d given up on being scared weeks ago. But-was it just my imagination or were they getting louder?

The pathetic whine of the overused breaks pulled me back to awareness. We were here. Great. Mum got out first, the hugely fake smile plastered on to her face. I sighed and opened my door too. As my feet touched the floor, I was hit by a wave of dizziness as the voices in my head grew so loud that I could hear nothing else. The dizziness passed within seconds, but the voices stayed louder than ever. We made our way across the car park and on to the high street. The library had the look of an old mansion. It was huge and grand, with big wooden doors and arched windows. The closer we got, the louder the voices became, until I wanted to clamp my hands over my ears and curl up into a ball. I resisted.

The library was just as I had expected it to be. Big, quiet, and full of books. Happily, there were a few computers in the corner. While mum dragged dad with her to find some romance novels, I went to sit at one. Maybe you could get Facebook on them or something. I double clicked the Internet icon, but nothing happened. Or maybe not.

As I leaned back, trying to ignore the noise in my head, something caught my eye. It was the spine of a book. It was deep green, with no text that I could see. I walked closer, and the noise in my head grew even more. I was sure that if I touched it, my skull would be implode or something, but I was compelled towards it. I stopped in front of it, and reached out a hand.

As I touched the old tome, something amazing happened. The voices seemed to fade, until there was only one voice, and then even that grew silent. I held my breath as I pulled the book out. On the front cover was an odd golden design; what looked like an arrowhead, and an upside-down triangle, tip to tip. I flipped it open, and almost dropped it in shock. The words inside were the ones I had been hearing in my head for weeks.

This couldn’t be real. It was impossible. I flipped through the rest of the book. They were definitely the same words. Each one was at the top of an otherwise blank page, like a heading.

“Can I help you?” A stern voice asked. The librarian. I walked over to her desk.

“Just this please.” I muttered, placing the thick book on the counter with my card. She looked at it in confusion, then her face abruptly cleared, and she looked at me, her eyes narrowed.

“Is this some kind of joke?” She asked.

“I don’t think so.” I said.

“Well unless I am losing my eyesight, Miss-” she picked up the card and squinted at my name “Blair, I can assure you there is nothing there.” She said.

“What?” I looked down at the book. It looked real enough to me. “Well can I keep it?” I asked.

“Oh yes,” she said sarcastically “we have plenty of invisible books, I’m sure we won’t miss one” she turned back to her computer to do something that was evidently far more important. I glanced at the screen. Minesweeper. Fine. I slid the book into my handbag.

“Try a dating website.” I muttered as I walked away. “Personality: none.” She glared at me.

--- --- ---

Later on, I sat in my room, studying the book. The first page carried the phrase ‘Aarus summona’. I remembered that one. It was the first thing I had heard spoken inside my mind. I ran my hand over the black letters.

“Aarus summona” I whispered.

And I was flung backwards into my wall by an enormous gale that seemed to have a mind of its own. I tried to scream, but my voice was snatched by the wind. My eyes roved around the room, and landed on the book. The wind had flipped the pages over, and one word was visible.

“CEASE!” I shouted. Though my voice was stolen by the storm, the gale instantly stopped. I collapsed to the floor, breathing heavily. What had just happened?

When I had got my breath back, I walked back over to the book and flipped it to the first page again. Then I checked the other pages, to see if I had made a mistake. Then I turned back to it. It had changed. The entire page was now a pale blue, and underneath the words was a five pointed star. What was going on? I flipped through the other pages again, absentmindedly, and I realized that there was one more page with the same mark on it. I hadn’t noticed it before because it hadn’t changed colour. It was headed ‘cease’. It was the same page that the book had turned to in the wind. I stared at the star. It had appeared out of nowhere, I was certain. It had materialised on both of the pages I had read aloud. This could not be coincidence. Could it? Part of me wanted to read the entire book, to prove myself right. The other, saner, part was terrified at what might happen.

--- --- ---

I lay awake, staring at my clock. 23:07. Liam and my parents were long since asleep, and it was the weekend, so none of them would wake up until eight. It was a time honoured tradition. That gave me nine hours. I would probably want three or four of those for sleeping. Steeling myself, I stepped out of bed. I got changed and grabbed the book and, before I could change my mind, slipped downstairs and out of the door.

I would avoid the town centre, because, no matter how late it was, it was still Saturday night. I wound around the unfamiliar paths and cul-de-sacs until I found what I was looking for; a thick copse of trees clustered together in the middle of the field. I had watched it flash by on the way to the library this morning. I clambered over the low branches and found – perfect! A tiny clearing completely hidden by overhanging trees, and carpeted in soft, lilac coloured heather. There was a patch of moonlight in the very centre, passing through a leaf free hole above it. It was amazing. It seemed out of place, somehow, as if it belonged in a fairy tale, or in some magical wood with unicorns and fairies. I laughed at myself. There was no such thing as magic. I glanced at the book in my hands. At least, I didn’t think there was.

I sat on their heather and opened the book with shaky fingers. Again, I traced the star on the first page. The page opposite the first carried the words: ‘aqua summona’. Trembling, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, before murmuring them. I felt a rushing around me, and I was lifted from the heather by a tremendous force. I opened my eyes, and screamed. I was surrounded by water, and not just droplets. I watched, terrified, as my scream floated upwards in a cloud of silver bubbles. I flailed and kicked my legs, trying to escape, panicking. Instinctively, I tried to draw breath, though I knew it was useless. As the cold water filled my mouth, my lungs, something miraculous happened. I could breathe! I could take a deep breath of water without suffocating. I could see, too, though outside the bubble of water things were slightly blurred. I stopped struggling, and looked around, taking deep breaths. I was about four feet off the ground, still below the shelter of the trees. I try to stay calm. What had stopped the gale in my room?

“Cease.” I whispered. There was barely time for the bubbles to rise in front of my eyes, before I fell on to the heather, sopping wet, but otherwise okay.

I expected the book to have been ruined in the deluge, but it was fine. It wasn’t even wet. As I had expected, the page I had read from now carried a five pointed star, like the others. It, too, had changed colour. It was now a deep, deep blue. I was on a roll. I turned the page, and read the next words aloud, confidence brimming.

“Terra summona!”

And I was knocked off of my feet by a tremendous earthquake that shook the trees around me. I was scared now.

“Cease!” I yelled. “Please stop!”

And it did. Just like that, the trees stopped shaking and the earth stopped trembling. I waited for my breathing to return to normal, and glanced at my watch. 02:52. Looking down at the book, I saw that the page now glowed green, with the addition of the five pointed star that I had come to expect.

The next page read ‘Pyro summona’. I sighed, resigned to the fact that I would not be able to rest until I found out what it did. Cautiously, I repeated the words in the book. And… Nothing happened. I frowned, and went to close it, until I realized that the hands not holding the book was on fire. I screeched, and hopped up and down, flicking my hand maniacally, trying to but it now. I couldn’t. Then I realized something. It didn’t hurt. It didn’t burn my skin. My hand tingled a bit, but that was all. As I calmed down, the fire grew smaller. My eyes widened, excited, and the flames grew again. A wide grin spread across my face. I examined my arm and happened to notice my watch. 03:16. Damn. I needed to get home.

Disappointed, I murmured “Cease”, and felt a pang of sadness as the fire dimmed and vanished. I slid from the little clearing, and my eyes were assaulted by the bright sunrise in the west. I turned, and sprinted home, as it climbed higher, tinting everything around me a fiery red.

Once home, I got changed, hiding my dripping clothes in the wardrobe. I hadn’t realized how tired I was. I collapsed on my bed. I was asleep before I hit the mattress.

--- --- ---

The next thing I knew, Liam was shouting at me.

“Kayla! Get up!” I groaned and rolled over. Then I saw my clock and sat bolt upright. It was 1:30 PM. Woah. I rounded on my little brother.

“Why didn’t you wake me up earlier?” I asked. He shrugged and walked off. I gritted my teeth, and got up.

Nothing much happened for the rest of the day. We stayed in, watched TV. Normal, sane things, for normal, sane people. Yesterday seemed unreal. I was itching to get the book out again. To check it hadn’t all been a dream.

--- --- ---

Monday came quickly. I knew it was going to be awful, because Tanya was at the dentist, and Amy had called me this morning to say she was feeling ill. So I was alone. The ominous grey clouds in the sky seemed to mirror my mood. On the walk to school, I decided to cut across the park. It was by no means quicker, but I didn’t want to get there any sooner than I had to. The ‘park’ was basically a large square of grass with an oak tree in the middle. I was halfway across, within the shade of the tree, when I heard him.

“Where are you going, sexy?” a snide voice yelled. I groaned mentally as I recognized it – Jake Terros. The school bully. I turned to see him swaggering towards me, a vindictive smirk on his face, his brown hair sweeping across one side of his face in what he thought was a ‘cool’ style. His lackeys, Chris Jet and Tony Preece, followed a few steps behind him. Brilliant.

“I don’t have time for this.” I said, and his eyes narrowed. I turned to walk away, but the grabbed my shoulder. Anger flared in me.

“Get off of me” I growled quietly.

“What ya gonna do about it, baby?” He laughed.

“This.” I said sweetly, before I spun and punched him in the face. He staggered backwards. Chris and Troy stared at me, stunned. They didn’t want to be a part of this. They turned and sprinted away. Jake had recovered. He stared at me for a second, a thin line of blood trickling down his lip from his nose. Then, he ran at me. I dodged, and he spun, leaving a muddy circle in the grass. He came towards me again, and this time I wasn’t so lucky. His hands found my throat, and he slammed me into the oak tree.

“You’re gonna pay for that, you bitch!”

I acted instinctively. There really was no thought behind my actions. All I knew, was that the last of my air left my lungs as I croaked the words;

"Pyro... summona”

He yelled and let go of me. I glanced down. The panic, the adrenalin in my veins, made me powerful. Fire was dancing from my fingertips, all the way up to my shoulders, creeping up my neck and across my chest. I lifted my head, eyes blazing. Jake took a few steps backwards. My anger at him made the fire burn stronger. It had reached my chin, trailed down my back, entwined around my waist. I closed my eyes, breathing slowly, until it retreated to just the tips of my fingers. I opened my eyes again, and stared at Jake. His eyes were wide with terror, his mouth open in silent scream.

“Tell anyone about this, and I will destroy you.” I said. My voice was quiet, but full of power. He nodded, mesmerised. “Now GO!” I shouted, the flames at my hands rearing again. He turned and ran. I watched him go, silent and still. When he was out of sight, I murmured “Cease”, and watched as the flames disappeared. Then I collected my bag from where I had dropped it, and continued the walk to school.

--- --- ---

The school was old and familiar. One of the few constants in my life right now. After we had moved house, Mum and Dad had decided it would be bad for my grades to move schools, so late in the term. So, though the walk was quite a bit longer than it had used to be, I managed to stay at least semi-sane. I reached the building just as the bell rang. I was going to be late to registration. Fabulous. Sighing, I hoisted my bag higher onto my shoulder, and walked through the old doors just as the first droplets of rain started to fall. I weaved through the corridors until I reached my form room. I sat at my desk, ignoring the glare of the teacher. She wasn’t the only one staring. Chris and Tony, a few rows in front of me, had swivelled in their seats, evidently wondering why I wasn’t covered in bruises. Hopefully, they would never find out.

As the teacher droned on about notices and reminders, I shifted my bag closer to me. It seemed far heavier than usual. I told myself that it was my imagination. After all, one more book would hardly make a difference, would it?

I didn’t know why, but leaving the book at home had made me feel... uncomfortable. It was an indefinable feeling, but I felt strangely protective of it. As if it was mine, and mine alone.

--- --- ---

At break, I made my way to the canteen, followed by Leo. He was missing Tanya. He was her boyfriend, and definitely one of the nicer ones. She tended to get through boys like normal people get through chocolate. She wasn’t a slut, or a player, but she was easily bored. Leo was doing well though. He had lasted past the six month mark, which was a long time, by Tanya’s standards. Amy and I both hoped she would keep him around. We liked him. He was a year older than us, clever and funny, not to mention very good looking, with longish golden-brown hair and matching eyes.

Intending to grab a bottle of water for PE, I joined the line for food. I immediately noticed who was in front of me. The confident swagger was unmistakable, though I realised his hands were shaking.

“Jake?” I asked in a small voice.

He jumped about a mile, and stared at me with wide, terrified eyes. Instantly, all the smugness I had felt about finally getting one over on him evaporated.

“Jake, look, I-”

But too late. He had taken off, running away from me. It would have been funny if it wasn’t so horrifying to think that I had done that. Making up my mind, I left the queue, and ran after him, outside and into the now pouring rain.

I followed him to the edge of the school field. A few meters ahead of me, he clutched the fence for support, gasping. He turned to see me closing the gap between us and tried to run again, but his legs gave way a minute later. He was not exactly an athletic boy.

I closed the distance between us quickly, barely panting. I wasn’t particularly unfit, but I wouldn’t normally have been able to run that far that fast. I chalked it up to adrenaline.

“Just listen to me!” I cried as I reached him. He used the fence behind him to pull himself shakily to his feet, facing me with fear in his eyes. It hurt me all over again to remember that I had caused it. I turned away so I wouldn’t have to see. “I’m sorry, okay? I shouldn’t have-” I cut myself off. I didn’t even know what it was that I had done. It shouldn’t be physically possible. I shook my head quickly. “It was wrong.” I said quietly, looking back at him.

“What the hell are you?” He asked in a shaky voice. I gave a sad smile.

“I wish I knew.”

This didn’t seem to be the answer he was expecting, and he was brought up short for a moment, staring at me in confusion.

“So you can set yourself on fire, but you don’t know why?” He sounded a little more like his old self now, slightly more confident, but still wary.

“I can do more than that” I told him, a tiny smile on my lips. His eyes widened.

“Like what?”
“Like making a tornado inside my room” I grinned at the memory. I had been scared at the time, but looking back, it seemed funnier. I pulled myself back to the present to see Jake staring at me with his mouth open.

“How?” He asked, almost excitedly. Almost.

“Just say the magic words, I guess.” I shrugged, Then I froze. Magic?

Jake echoed my thoughts.

“Magic? So, what, you’re a witch?”

My head snapped up. A witch? I wrinkled my nose. I didn’t like the sound of that.

“I hope not. I’m not exactly a cat person.”

He laughed at that, seeming far more at ease now.

“And I can’t really see you in a pointy hat.”

“So true.”

There was a pause before Jake spoke again.

“So what now?”

I paused, thinking. Then a sly smile came over my face.

“Well... I really don’t feel like going to PE today...” I said, letting my sentence tail off. Jake raised his eyebrows.

“Are you saying that Kayla Blair is actually thinking about ditching a class?” He asked in slight disbelief. I grinned in response. He tutted melodramatically. “You filthy skiver. Can I come?”

I laughed now.

“It’s a free country” I told him, moving towards one of the rusted, snapped bars that went unnoticed on the back fence. He smirked, and followed. We made our way down the gravel path behind the school, towards the main road, in a comfortable silence. After a while, Jake broke it.

“So, how long have you been a... uh... magic... person?” he finished lamely. I grinned.

“Since-” I pretended to count on my fingers. “Saturday”

Jake stopped walking, staring at me. I didn’t notice at first, but then I turned back around to face him.

“Two days?” He asked. I nodded. He shook his head disbelievingly and fell back into step with me. “So I guess you’re as freaked out as I am right now.”

“Pretty much.”

“How did it... I mean what... what happened?” He asked. He seemed to be having trouble forming coherent sentences.

“I’m not really sure. I mean-” I blushed slightly at the thought of telling him about the voices. I hadn’t even told Tanya and Amy about that. It was too... weird. Mental hospital weird. Then again, I was now apparently a witch... I decided to gloss over the parts that sounded crazy... or, crazier. “There was a book. At the library. My mum decided she wanted a family outing, blah blah blah... anyway, I found this book, and it seemed cool, so I took it out.” I shrugged again. “Read out a few of the words, and...” I left it there. No doubt he could figure out the rest.

“You found a spellbook at the library?” He asked, shocked. I nodded.

“Yep.”

“Figures. I always go straight to the DVDs.”

I grinned again. It was strange how easy I found it, talking and joking with him. He was still cocky and cynical, but it was hard to believe he was the same boy. He was actually... nice to be around. In a twisted sort of way.

--- --- ---

A turnoff on the main road led to a small, enclosed children’s playground. A couple of sets of swings and a battered see-saw in the middle of the tarmac, with a few metal benches facing them. I went to sit on one of the benches, and he sat beside me, watching the deserted park. Almost absentmindedly, I took the book, my spellbook, out of my bag, and began tracing the design on the cover with my forefinger. Jake looked at me strangely, and then at my hands.

“What are you doing?” he asked curiously.

I looked up at him. His eyes were flicking between my face and my hands. He looked highly confused. The look in his eyes reminded me of someone else, not long ago...

“You can’t see it, can you?” I asked quietly. His eyebrows knitted together.

“See what?”

I held up the book in response, but his eyes just focussed on the hand holding it.

“The librarian couldn’t either. She got snappy at me, I thought she was just being deliberately annoying, but...” I trailed off. He continued to look confused. I waved the book a little, but his eyes did not follow it. He was not faking. “Try, Jake. Look at it. Try and see it”

My words must have done something, because a second later his eyes widened, and he leaned backwards suddenly. I grinned. It had worked!

“You see it now?” I asked. He nodded, dazed.

“So that’s your... spellbook?” He said the last word experimentally, as if testing it out. I grinned wider, and nodded. He blinked. “You can do magic” he said, sounding dazed.

“I can do magic.” It sounded strange, but felt oddly right. I could do magic. I was a... what? Witch still felt a little off. I wasn’t a witch, I could tell that much. What could I be?

“Can I-” Jake started to ask, but stopped himself.

“Go on?”

“Can I... see? Without being on the receiving end, I mean.”

I smiled ruefully at his last comment, but stood and moved to the middle of the playground obediently, flipping open the book. New spell, or one I had already tried? I decided to go for the latter option. I didn’t know what the others did yet, and Jake could end up getting hurt if I wasn’t careful. So which one? The water bubble? No, I wouldn’t have time to dry off before we got back to school. He had already seen the fire one, and the earthquake one, ‘Terra Summona’, scared me. I grinned, and flipped to the very front of the book. I set it on the floor at my feet, and took a few steps back, before reading the words aloud.

“Aarus Summona!”

Wind began to whip around the playground, rocking the see-saw and swings manically. I raised my arms into the air and laughed, feeling elated. I could do magic! I was a...

I was a sorceress.

That realisation finally hit home in that moment. You could call it an epiphany. I knew, then. Magic wasn’t something I could now do. It was now part of who I was. Perhaps it always had been. My arms lowered to my sides, as the wind blew my hair straight back from my face, and in my mind echoed the stark and undeniable truth.

I was a sorceress.

And there was nothing I could do about it.

That was the point of no return for me. The tip of the knife, and I had just fallen off of the edge. There was no going back now. I would never be a normal teenage girl again.

And, strangely, I was fine with that.