Chapter 51

Chapter fifty-one— History makes its Course

I took in a deep breath, relieved to feel the normal willpower flowing in me already. I stared at Sierra with a serious, pissed off look. “I was chosen from the Fates to kill my own father, and save the Spiral with five other Angels. You cannot tell anybody this, Sierra.”

“Your friends?”

“Oh yes, they are Angel’s as well.” I leaned in towards her. “And I am not going to be the person to explain what you did to me.”

Sierra winced. “B-“

“But what?” I snarled. “Are you scared of us, now? Afraid we are going to zap you with some magical Angel spell?” I sat up, and she jumped.

“No!” She looked shocked, but I also saw fear in her eyes.

“This is why nobody was supposed to know.” I cried out, exasperated. I turned towards her, and she sat there frozen. “It was a promise I made to never tell, and I already had broken it once. Now, it’s twice, by force.”

 “It was for the Enforcement!”

“Shut up about the Enforcement, Sierra!” I yelled at her. Glancing at the door, I lowered my voice. “I’m sorry, alright?”

“No, I’m sorry.” Sierra whimpered. “I shouldn’t have done what I had done…”

“No,” I felt myself light up. “It makes a perfect plan, and it involves you.”

“What?”

“Tonight, you will tell Abigail, Melissa, and Sophia what you had done.” I demanded. “Not Fiona, not Juan, nor Ronan or Alia.”

“Why?” Her voice wavered.

“Because I need a distraction.” I crossed my arms. “I also need a map to Yoshihito Village.”

“Why would you go there?” Sierra asked. “I don’t even know where that is.”

“Then find one, Sierra.” I decided harshly. “You owe me.”

Sierra sighed. “I will do my best…” She stood up and unlocked the door with a key, but froze when she touched the brass handle with her tiny hand. “Do I have to tell them alone?”

“You have to pay for the crime.”

Sierra groaned, and walked outside. Closing my door, I took out the new Runes book Nikki had given me.

I was to search every page, and look for every healing spell, and obtain every healing root I could find. I was going to save the Tree of Life, and I was going to find Danielle and the Angel of Love and Beauty.

Somehow, we will survive… And that is if Sierra fulfills my wishes, and keeps my sisters away from sickness.

I decided to go to breakfast, lunch, and dinner, while trying to find things to help me tonight. I didn’t want anybody becoming suspicious, and that certainly would happen if I stayed in my bedroom all day. Of course, they tried to give me ideas on how we were going to sneak out tonight- little did they know that they weren’t going anywhere at all. I couldn’t put that danger on them.

At lunch, I managed to eat my food quickly, and sneak into Fiona’s storage room while they were still eating at the table. There, I stole a carving knife (For carving healing runes into the bark), a bag of mini emeralds, rosemary, eucalyptus, crushed silver acorn, a vial of pixie dust (which fascinated me), and a spell book on healing living things. I wasn’t sure about the spell book, considering that this living thing was magical and had no cuts or stab wounds as if it was physically attacked, not a witch or wizard that is cursed. 

At dinner, I grew more anxious as darkness advanced, wondering if my plan was going to succeed. I had almost forgotten how everybody was scared of the dark, here.

If there were creatures of the dark outside, I believe an Angel like me would be able to take them.

Right?

After dinner, I sat down at the couch in the living room, reading the healing spell book to ease my nerves. When Nikki’s voice popped up, I jumped.

“Hey, Mary.” Nikki smiled at me, as I was sitting on the couch, reading the spell book. Slowly and calmly, I put the book away, and she didn’t notice me. I thanked the Fates for the normal looking style of the spell book, so it wasn’t evident that it contained spells.

“Hey,” I glanced around, looking for listeners. “Ready for the sneak out, tonight?”

“We all are.” Nikki whispered. “I’m thinking about leaving around midnight, because Fiona goes to bed around ten.”

I nodded. “Do we have a map?”

Nikki frowned. “We couldn’t find one, but we were looking. I remember seeing one, labeled, as a scroll in one of the cabinets of Fiona’s little library area.”

“She doesn’t have library.”

“There’s a bookshelf over there.” Nikki pointed out, near the opening to the kitchen.

“Nikki,” I corrected. “That’s one bookshelf. Not a library.”

“Whatever,” Nikki rolled her eyes. “I saw it there, and now it’s gone. I think Sophia is looking for it right now.”

Crap, I thought. They’re not going to find it because Sierra took it.

“I’ll go help Sophia look for the map.” I smiled at her encouragingly, however, feeling guilty because of all the lies.

I saw Sierra sitting at the kitchen table, drinking a cup of hot tea and looking pale. Quickly, I sat next to her. Whispering, she listened contently. “Do you have the map?”

She reached in her bag and handed me a scroll. I put it in my satchel, and smiled to her. “They are planning on leaving around midnight, so start talking to them fifteen minutes before they leave.” I told her. “That should give me enough time to escape.”

“They are going to wonder why you aren’t there, and I can’t stall them.” She murmured quietly.

“Just say that I’m depressed, so I’m at…” I looked up at the ceiling, thinking. “So I locked myself in my room, and decided to respond to nobody and that I feel horrible about myself, and that I don’t feel like going to the Yoshihito Temple tonight.”

“What if they figure it out?”

“Well, they’re going to figure it out when I get back.” I leaned back in my chair, crossing my arms. “I’ll be looking forward to that.” I grimaced.

“Mary!” Sophia called my name from the other room.

“Yes?” I called back. I got up from my chair and walked cautiously over to the living room, wondering if they suspected anything. “What is it?”

“I just want you to know that we are leaving in fifteen or twenty minutes.” She whispered, her knowing eyes showing no suspicion. “Once I find the map, we will be ready.”

“Alright,” I faked a sad voice, and she raised an eyebrow.

“Whats wrong?”

“Oh, nothing.” I sighed. “I’ll be in my room.”

I walked out of the living room; my arms slumped, trying to look as depressed as possible. I nodded at Sierra, telling her that its time to do what she dreaded. My eyes followed her as she walked into the living room to face my sisters.

I fake closed my door, and locked it. Grabbing my bag, I slipped out the front door, and into the night.

It was pitch dark out, and I had to sprout magical light from my hands to guide myself. It was silently eerie, and I didn’t like it. There were no crickets, no rustling of the leaves, and no flapping wings of a bird.

It’s as though the night had died.

Unraveling the map, I noticed that it was quite complicated. There were many paths, and it looked like a compass with ten directions of places to go, roads to take, and never a shortcut. I sighed, and turned to the left. Walking about ten yards, I stopped and looked at the map. Turning right, I carried on in my quest to find the Tree of Life.

I thought all was well until I came across a large wall made out of pale stone. Touching it, it was cold and unable to be climbed. Checking the map, I knew I had to get past.

Walking along the wall, I saw that there was a large, wooden gate. There were no guards near it, but it was locked.

Rather ridiculous, I thought, as I cast a spell to unlock the gate. It’s so easy to get in, why bother locking it?

Walking through, I realized why. The air changed, and it became humid, and heavy. Something was wrong, and it was sickly.

They didn’t bother guarding the gates better because nobody would want to get in here. I held my breath, wishing I didn’t have to breathe this sickly air. It’s like a sick patient in the hospital breathing down your throat.

I swallowed, and my throat felt sticky. Stepping forward, I looked at the map. The tree is in the middle of a maze of walls, so it couldn’t be found so easily. Turning right from left, I followed the map’s direction, knowing that the closer I got to the tree, the sicker I would feel.

The hard stone of the ground changed to a damp, thick soil. Walking into a clearing, I saw a large willow tree. I cocked my head, wondering if it was the tree. However, a cloud parted from the moon, letting its rays shine on its leaves. It glimmered in silver and gold, as if it was jewelry. However, at the same time, the trunk and roots were a sorrowful grey, as if it was losing its color. It was both beautiful and memorizing as it was sickly and terrible. A horrible beauty.

I thought back to Sierra, feeling slightly guilty for the position I put her in. However, she deserved it, after what she had forced me to do.

I took a step forward to the tree.

I heard myself cough, and blinked as my eyes stung. I officially had a cold from walking here, and it was about seventy degrees out. However, in here, it felt as though it was ninety.

I stood up straight, and took out the carving knife from my bag. I closed my eyes, and whispered to the tree. “Purify this Tree of Life, the course of Night and Day, what creates and what takes back.” I placed the rune on the tree, and I felt strange tingles rush through my body. I shivered, and continued the spell as I carved a healing rune into the bark. I felt the humid air lift slightly, but not much.

“Mary…”  

I turned, thinking that somebody was behind me. The voice was so quite, and so distant, it could have been my imagination. Strangely, it reminded me of Malistaire’s voice in the wind when I was still living with my family… But this voice was different. It was kinder, wiser, and… Older, perhaps?

Picking up the spell book, I flipped to another page I had marked. I blinked twice, trying to read without my eyes stinging. “Water, air, fire, and spirit, I ask of you to help me heal this Tree of which brings this world pulsing life-“

I put my hand on the bark, expecting it to be rough and mossy, like any tree would. Instead, it was smooth, soft, and kind of foamy.

“Mary, come with me…”  I didn’t expect myself to drop the book, and feel myself slump into the tree in a haze. 

I felt my knees touch the ground, and felt as though I was falling asleep. I was suddenly so tired, so exhausted…

“Mary, my sweet darling, come to the wings of the raven…”

Remarkably, I fell asleep against the dying roots of the Tree of Life.

I was in a land of white. The floor was white, and everywhere I looked was white, except the sky. The sky bore a faint hue of baby blue, with no clouds and many, many stars. It was like what somebody would call “Dreamland.”

I felt very clean. My hair was not in my usual pony tail, but instead hung gracefully in the arch of my back. I was wearing my clothes that I had left in, but they were not dirtied or used. Instead, they were brand new, and smelled like soap.

“Mary, sweetheart, over here.” The voice was strong, but gentle- and frail, as it was an old woman’s voice. Turning, I stared at the woman, confused.

The woman was fair skinned, with long hair as white as snow in a braid that went down over her shoulder, and ended near her waist. Her eyes were old, but the blues in her eyes looked not older than a newborn child. She wore a purple, Nordic-looking gown, which contrasted with the red and white feather that stuck out in her hair and in some places of her clothes. She looked like a tie between a white Indian and a Nordic queen.

“Who are you?” I asked, and was surprised that my voice slightly echoed in this vast land of white.

“You wouldn’t recognize me, would you?” The old woman sighed. “Sylvia never talked of me, much.”

My eyes widened slightly, and I stepped forward to the woman. “How do you know my mother?”

“Don’t be afraid, dear.” The old woman’s face was kind, sweet, and gentle. “I’m her mother.”

I gaped. I felt myself freeze, staring her. “You’re my grandmother? You mean… Grandmother Raven? B-but your dead! Does that mean I’m..?”

“You’re not dead, sweetheart.” Grandmother Raven assured me. She walked towards me, her arms outstretched. “You’re just seeing the spirit world the way the dead is seeing it.”

My last name, Ravengem, was from Grandmother Raven, while my stepfather’s mother was Grandmother Gem. Ravengem. The weird thing is, however, they are both dead.

I walked into her outstretched arms, embracing the warmth of her hug. She smelled of cinnamon and lavender. “Then what happened?”

“The Tree of Life is a communicator between the Fates and the real world, but it’s also a main tie to the spirit world.” Grandmother Raven explained in my ear. “You’re the Angel of Wisdom and Spirit- you can talk to the spirits with the Tree of Life in a way that mundane people cannot.”

“What about Abigail?” I asked.

“Abigail can connect with us in the real world, while you can connect with us with the Tree of Life. She, however, has that unusual power like you have your power with wisdom.”

“How will I be able to use it? I can’t fight with wisdom and spirit. I can only use it to help, but to defeat somebody?” I grimaced. “I don’t think I can do it.”

“Why?”

I took a deep breath. “I don’t want to kill him.”

I heard her chuckle. “That’s good, darling. That’s very good and wonderful of you- despite everything he has done to you, it’s remarkable that you have no urge for revenge, but to give justice.”

“Why do I have to kill him, Grandmother?” I asked, burying myself in her scent.

“The Fates never said anything about having to kill him.” Grandmother Raven spoke gently. “Only to restore the Scales of Life.”

“Grandmother?”

“Yes?” Her voice was so memorizing, and amazing, and homey. I loved it. However, I had one question to ask, out of all questions.

I stared at her, and pulled away. “Then why aren’t my mother and sister here?” My lip trembled.

“Shhh, baby girl. Come here.” She hugged me again, more tightly. “They know how much you love them, and they want you to get over their deaths. It’s a hard process, but your mother thinks that it’s for the best if you don’t see her.”

I sniffed. “I love you guys so much.”

Grandmother Raven smoothed my hair back, and kissed my forehead. I smiled, realizing that I needed this grandmotherly love. “I know, darling. Your father has made a lot of mistakes, which is why I want to show you something.”

I looked up at her. “Is it about the Falsarium-Noctis?”

Grandmother Raven closed her eyes, and nodded. “There are some things I need you to see.” She held her hand out to mine. “Follow me.”

I took her hand in complete trust, and she began to lead me into the vast white nothing. “Grandmother, where are we going?”

“Close your eyes, Mary.” Grandmother Raven closed hers, so I did as well. I felt a slight wind blow gently around me, like a wisp of warmth.

There were voices, about six or seven of them. Some were women, and some were men. I smelled something like hay, as if we were in a barn. “Grandmother, can I open my eyes, now?”

No answer. I opened my eyes, and realized that she wasn’t with me. I was standing in a corner, in front of a group of people whom were talking quite fast and desperately. They didn’t seem to notice me.

“Hello?” I spoke, and not one of them saw me. I even saw one of the people, a woman with black hair and tan skin, with green cat eyes talking to a man, facing my way. I was in direct light, so I couldn’t be hidden.

They must be unable to see me.

“They are figuring us out!”  The woman with the cat eyes spoke up. Their voices sounded old fashioned. Considering the clothes they were wearing, it must have been the colonial days.

Wait a second- the colonial days were mainly when the Enchanted race were on Earth. Could I be on Earth?

I turned, looking around. We were in a barn, where horses were kept- I honestly couldn’t tell if I was on Earth or not. Either way, the people’s harsh voices brought me back down to whatever ground I’m on.

“You have no proof, Jane!” A tall man with a deep voice told her. He looked rather intimidating, with his black hair and dark eyes. They seemed to be in a secret meeting.

The black haired woman named Jane seemed to melt. “Firenze, I thought you would certainly believe me. Your son just got burned at the stake.”

The man named Firenze winced. “It can’t have happened.”

“What do we do?” A woman with blonde hair and blue eyes spoke up, and I gasped. It was a younger version of Grandmother Raven, except she was wearing a blue, cordial gown.

“Merlin has already left with a whole bunch of Peacemakers and Wizards.” Jane snarled. “About one thousand of them- three hundred Peacemakers. I knew he never liked us.”

“He knows we’re more powerful, that’s why.” A beautiful black skinned girl spoke up, and my eyes widened. Back then, I knew that black people didn’t really get rights. It surprised me that this black woman had so much power and authority in her voice in such an era. She wore a maid’s outfit, but the powerful gaze in her eyes could make somebody forget all about that.

“Your right, Cecilia.” Jane nodded. “I’ve made potions for all of us- well, most of us.”

“What do you mean, Jane?” A man with reddish brown hair and freckles spoke up. “What about our children? Spouses?”

“I’ve only made enough for one parent and one child, Peter.” Jane had no sympathy in her voice.

“Jane- no!” Grandmother Raven cried out. “What about Jacob?”

“Jacob is mortal, Rosemary.” Jane retorted. “He also almost gave my secret of magic away, therefore almost costing me my life.”

Grandmother Raven, or Rosemary, had such anger in her voice that I never thought I’d hear. “He is my husband, Jane. I’m pregnant with his child, and I am not leaving him.”

“Well, then you can either stay on Earth alone and let a mortal come to the new world of magic, or drink the two potions for you and your baby.” Jane decided.

“What if I drink one potion for both my baby and I, and give the other to Jacob?”

“It won’t be enough. Your child will be ripped from your stomach the moment you depart.” I shivered at this part, wondering if Jane could be any crueler.

Grandmother Raven sulked back into the shadows, her arms crossed, defeated and depressed. Firenze stepped up to Jane. “Don’t speak to my sister like that ever again, Jane.”

“I’m sorry.” Jane spoke innocently, glancing at Firenze up and down. This is disturbing, I thought. Firenze looked at her in disgust.

A woman with auburn hair and a gentle face walked up to Grandmother Raven, comforting her. “It’s alright, Rosy. It’s going to be okay."

“Thank you, Emmaline.” Grandmother Raven murmured.

I blinked, realizing that Grandmother Raven had friends like mine, except none of them were as cruel as Jane.

“It’s sad, isn’t it?” The older Grandmother Raven’s voice startled me, as she came up behind me. “It was a long time ago.”

I glanced at her, and then at the younger version. “How long?”

Grandmother Raven grimaced. “A couple centuries.”

I frowned. “But… You were pregnant with my mother. Could she have really lived that long?”

“She was seven hundred and eighty-three when she died.”

I gaped. “That’s weird!” Really, I just figured out that my mom is a friggin’ old as hell lady, and I say “That’s weird!”

“Yes, I know a lot about my own daughter that nobody knows.” Grandmother Raven sighed.

I grimaced. “Who are all these people?”

“Old friends.” Grandmother Raven explained. “Jane is Abigail Silvereye’s ancestor, whom was smitten with my brother, Firenze.”

“Jane is who?”  I gasped. “You are lying- you have to be.”

“No,” Grandmother Raven denied. “She is really Abigail Silvereye’s ancestor. Along with Emmaline, who is Sophia’s ancestor, and Henry, Danielle’s ancestor, who is that man right there-“She pointed at a man with blonde hair and tan skin. “Peter is Melissa’s ancestor, while Cecilia, the beautiful African-American woman right there, is your next Angel’s ancestor.”

“Do you know the next Angel’s name?” I asked quietly, in shock.

“No, dear. We only know what you figure out.”

“What are they fighting about?” I asked, watching them bicker.

“Jane was a mean, stubborn woman, but we were all still friends.” Grandmother Raven started, and I listened intently. “Jane was rather smitten with my brother, Firenze, while she was friends with everybody else. Jane did not like my husband, Jacob, however. She hated him because during the time of when the Enchanted Race lived on Earth, there were many burnings that we were not powerful to stop. Jacob had accidentally almost gotten Jane burned, because he almost gave out the secret of her identity.”

“That’s… Both sad and interesting.” I added, thinking of Jane preferring if Jacob didn’t come with to Wizard City.

“It was a hard time, indeed.” Grandmother Raven grimaced. “During the burnings, Jane realized that everybody she loved was in danger. Jane made an immortal potion that could only be made once and she made everybody drink one sip of it. Firenze, especially, considering that she favored him the most. Then me, then the others.”

“What happened with the spouses and children?” I asked glumly.

“Everybody had one child, except Henry- he had two children. I was forced to leave Jacob behind to save our magical baby, Sylvia. Jane fed Emmaline and her child, Thomas, Cecelia and her newborn baby, Madeline,  Peter and his child, Seamus, and Henry with the child of his choice, Marie, the magical immortal potion. Jacob and the other spouses, wife or husband, stayed back on Earth, but weren’t burned, because they were mortal.”

“That’s so sad.” I whimpered. “If you were immortal, then how did you die?”

“You will see in the next thing I’m about to show you.” Her voice was now serious. “Follow me.”

I took her hand, and she led me out of the barn. Instead of a street or field, I suddenly felt that little wind, and we were in an old fashioned Mooshu- I think. There was much less cottages, more like new, stick built houses. There were no shops, no monks, and no anything.

“It’s Mooshu when we had first found it.” Grandmother Raven whispered to me. “Sixteen years later, when your mother was about fifteen.”

  There were a lot of people sitting legs-crossed on the dirt ground. They seemed to be humming in a sort of meditating way. “Whats with all the weird people?”

“They’re Peacemakers. Two hundred of them.” Grandmother Raven explained. “Look closer.”

I looked at what they were meditating towards. Lying in the middle of the two hundred Peacemakers was Firenze, on his back. His eyes were closed, and he looked sickly. Looking up from far away, I saw Jane and a young girl with blonde hair staring hopefully, crying, at Firenze. I frowned. “Whats wrong with him? Who is Jane with?”

“Jane is trying to save Firenze from what she gave everybody.” Grandmother Raven’s voice wavered. “She is comforting your mother when she was fifteen, whom was desperately hoping for her uncle’s life at the time.”

“Where were you?”

Grandmother Raven frowned. “I was deceased.”

I stared at the scene. “What did Jane’s immortality potion do to everybody?”

“Jane manipulated the Death Titan, Mary.” Grandmother Raven murmured. “That’s very bad business, indeed. Making us immortal made us owe our souls to the Death Titan, because he didn’t like how he couldn’t kill us so easily.”

“So you had to give your souls up?” I guessed. “Then why is Jane just fine?”

“No, it’s more than that.” Grandmother Raven whimpered. “Even worse. The Death Titan released six demons to infuse our bodies, and kill us. Jane realized what was happening, and made a once in a lifetime spell to take away her immortality, therefore saving her from the Demon that was assigned to her. That’s how Abigail Silvereyes is merely half Angel.”

“What about the children? You said only six Demons were released.”

“The Death Titan is not evil, Mary. He is only part of the scale of the Scale of Life. It was not the children’s choice to become immortal, so he took the parent’s souls instead.”

“But Jane was in love with Firenze, so she is trying to save him.” It clicked in realization, and I gaped at the scene.

Slowly the Peacemakers began to sing:

“Purgare, Purgare, Purgare…

Munda homini Daemon

Restitute animam fidelem,

Restitute animam fidelem,

Afferte eum ad lif,

Afferte eum ad lif,

Purgare, Purgare, Purgare…”

“What are they chanting, grandmother?” I asked.

“They are singing an ancient spell, very powerful.” Grandmother Raven explained. “Purify, Purify, Purify, Cleanse this man of the Demon, Restore his soul faithful one, Restore his soul faithful one, Bring him back to life, Bring him back to life, Purify, Purify, Purify.”

I heard the Peacemakers chant this another one or two times. Each time, they grew louder and the world seemed to tremble. Vaguely, I remember of Natalia speaking of a legend similar to this.

Suddenly, an ear piercing scream hit the air. I heard Grandmother Raven take a large, shuddering breath at the sound of her brother’s pain. In a flash, I saw a huge darkness explode from his chest, fly up into the sky, and smash into the ground. Firenze lay there, quiet.

“He lived through it all, because Jane managed to get enough Peacemakers to force the Demon out of him.” Grandmother Raven spoke quietly, painfully. “But he was heartbroken, and left weaker than ever at my death and all of his friends, and he soon died of emotional pain. It was too much for him to take.”

“But Jane lived on.”

“So did the children of the very first immortals.” Grandmother Raven took me in her arms. Whispering in my ear, she spoke: “Now that you’ve seen what you had to see, I must go. I love you, little bird. Be safe and wise, like I know you are.”

“I love you too, Grandmother.” I whispered back, but I no longer felt her arms around me. I opened my eyes, and I was shocked to see my hand still pressed to the Tree of Life, still standing, and not asleep in its roots.