Almost Cursed || Completed

Chapter Twenty-nine: The Past

WARNING: CONTAINS SOME VIOLENCE

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Evander sat with his eyes closed, hands pressed against the soft moss, and I sat across from him in the center of the clearing. I had been waiting for three minutes before Evander peeked one eye opened to me and spoke.

"Sorry it's taking so long. The further back, the longer I must concentrate. We're almost there though."

He resumed his concentration without another word, and I sat patiently. His ashen face scrunched up, as if he was struggling within. The hair hung over his eyes, until suddenly his face shot back up.

The scene around me began to change. It was as if we were in a dream, watching events play out before us. Time sped by, it became night and day within a second, and deer crossed through the grass in a blur. The images slowed finally, the sun was setting when I heard the snapping of twigs from the edge of the treeline.

My father stepped into the clearing, his eyes were wide in fear and his red hair stuck up in all directions. He was gasping for breath, and his clothes were torn and stained.

I covered my mouth to hold back a sob as my father looked around frantically.

Evander grabbed my hand, squeezing tightly, but I couldn't tear my eyes away from my father. His glasses had cracked in one lens, and he had blood running down his face from a gash above his eye.

My father froze as eight cloaked figures stepped out from the forest, surrounding us. One of the figures snaked forward, and my father tried to recoil back but he was frozen in place. Blue flames whipped at his legs, and he howled in pain.

The figure threw back his hood to reveal his face. Kane.

"Kane, I beg you to stop this! I am your blood!" My father begged. Silent tears streamed down his face.

"Why do you try to hide them from us? We demand to know where they are!" Kane sneered, sending the flames higher up my father's legs.

"No, you will never have my children. They do not belong to you. You're blood tie to them was renounced the moment you turned over to them." My father shot back, while glancing around to the other hooded figures.

My father closed his eyes, and his face calmed. Kane watched while a white light began snaking down my father's legs from above, cooling the flames when they came in contact. The brilliance of the light reminded me of my own power.

The other hooded coven members took one step forward in unison, and began to hum. The noise was unnatural and scratchy, and as their pitch rose I had to put my hands against my ears. My father had his ears covered as well, and then his light absorbed into Kane's hands.

The hums stopped as Kane began speaking.

"Why didn't you stay, Fergus?" His tone changed to one of regret.

The other members of the coven were quiet observers, but i had a feeling that they were combining their power to keep my father contained. I could see the struggle within my him. His magick was like a strobe light, pulsing with brightness and slowly dimming again. Kane began to coax a black string of smoke from the earth, and then my father began to speak again

"The Goddess came to me." He said with a silent tear dripping down his cheek. "She came to me and warned me to run. She's blessed my children, Kane. That is the reason you cannot scry for them." My father's face was deflated, and his voice was flat. I thought I saw his eyes roll back into his head, but they focused again a moment later as he began to speak.

"I knew it was you the whole time. Your messages never fooled me. The only reason I came was because she showed me what you would do if I didn't. You are nothing to her anymore. Her power was gifted to us." My father spat.

Kane's eyes flashed in the dark as a menacing smile curled up on his lips. He lifted his arms to his sides, and the small stream of smoke turned into a black fog, floating up from the earth. The mist fused together into a sphere, and Kane gave a final heinous look towards my father.

"The Goddess isn't here now. And they will be ours!"

Kane blasted the ball of darkness towards my father, and it twisted around his neck. My father gurgled as his head was completely turned backwards, and then ripped from his body.

I screamed and tried to run to him, but Evander held me back by my waist. Suddenly, the scene of the forest was back to normal again. The sun shown down on us and the birds began chirping. My father's corpse was gone, and I collapsed against Evander's chest. Sobs shook my body and I couldn't catch my breath.

Evander held me and stroked my hair, he tried to sooth me with his words but I couldn't get a grip on myself. My heart had shattered into a million pieces. I had watched the life drain from my father's eyes, and I could do nothing but be a bystander. I remembered how the news articles had described my father's body, dismembered and placed in a circle. I closed my eyes tightly and held onto Evander as tightly as i could.

My tears began to soak up as I felt the air become electric. I saw the darkness slither from the woods, and before Evander had time to react he was surrounded by the mist.

Loud claps came from behind a large tree as Kane stepped out from the forest.