Candles lit up the basement with an array of reds and oranges, each sitting at the five points of a pentagram drawn across the wooden floor. Sitting at one of the points, with a candle between her legs, is an extremely thin thirteen year old girl watching her mother dance nude in the center of the star. Her red hair almost matches the color of the flames flickering on the candles. Her light freckled skin is barely visible in the dim light.  She watched the flames, with her raven black eyes, growing brighter and dimmer depending on if her mother’s naked body stooped or stood straight up. The flames seem to move with her mother’s movement, swaying back and forth inducing a trance like state.

  Augustine had seen this ritual many times before; but tonight was special. This would be the first time she was allowed to be part of the ritual. Her mother told her to sit at the northern most point of the star, but she didn’t tell her which point that it was. This was her first test; if she instinctively went to the northern point then she would have a greater chance to be accepted by Omorthan, the god of chaos. If she failed this test she would be instantly killed; her body would be ripped from the inside out. Her mother was relieved that she went to the right point without hesitation.

 As Augustine swayed with her mother’s movements she became drowsy and the room started to shift; when her vision became blurry and she closed her eyes. Her mother watched her knowing that her daughter was succumbing to the will of Omorthan. Augustine fell over limp onto the floor as her mother continued to dance.

 When Augustine opened her eyes she realized she was no longer in the basement. Stretched out in front of her was a long passage. The walls and floors were made of white marbled stone and so high the she could not see the ceiling. Small golden circles were cut into the walls that flames jutted out from. Even with all the flames illuminating the corridor her long sheepskin dress couldn’t keep her tiny body warm. She became frightened and visibly shaken.

 “Mom, mom, where are you?” she cried out, her voice echoing through the hall.

 Slowly she started walking down the corridor still calling out for her mother. Her voice was weak but echoed throughout the passageway. Suddenly a voice boomed through the hallway, it was so loud and powerful it shook the floors.

 “Do not be afraid my child, come to me so that I may see my new vessel.”

 The voice was scary but comforting and she wanted to meet the person that called to her. Her bare feet slapped against the cold stone floors as she continued down the long hallway. The end of the passage opened up into an enormous chamber; its walls were further apart than she could see and in the middle of the room were four giant steps; each step was higher than her head.  As she walked into the room she noticed the white tiles were stained red with blood. Again she became frightened and started to turn away.

 “Enter child and approach the steps,” the voice called to her.

 The voice soothed her and she felt spellbound to continue into the room. She approached the steps that seemed to rise into the sky. She had to reach high above her head to grab the step and pull with all her strength to get on top of it. After she performed this same task for the first two steps she had to stop and rest. She sat with her back resting against the next step wondering if she could continue. She wondered where she was and how she had gotten there. She crawled to the edge of the step and looked down realizing she was far higher than she thought and could no longer see the floor.

 “One more step little one, you are almost here.”

 Pulling with the last of her remaining strength she heaved herself over the last step with a heavy grunt; she laid there gasping for air. When she caught her breath she stood up and noticed that there were people leashed to a large royal chair. Each golden leash was attached to a collar that contained spikes on the inside of the collar. The people were covered in blood from wounds around their throats. Some of them were missing an arm or a leg; still others had large gaping wounds that blood gushed from. Most of them were missing their eyes and the ones that weren’t had their eyes hanging out of their head by the optic nerves. She became scared as they began to reach for her, but she did not run, instead she stepped closer to the leashed people and touched one of their hands. As it grabbed her she began to scream, the thick calloused hand was rough against her soft skin. The creature gripped her so tightly she could not run. Soon they were all grabbing and pulling at her; it felt as though they were going to rip her into pieces. She continued to scream and struggle trying to escape their grasp.

 “Enough!” a commanding voice echoed throughout the room.

 At once they all dropped her and ran to hide behind the golden leg of the throne. Augustine was covered in scratches and laid on the floor crying. She had never been so frightened in her young life. When a strong hand reached down and touched her on the shoulder she screamed and stood to run.

 “Easy child, I mean you no harm. I am Omorthan ruler of this realm.”

 She turned around to see a giant muscular man towering over her. She was barely taller than his knees. His blonde hair flowed to his waist and caressed his squared face. His ocean blue eyes stared down at her; they were both dark and inviting. He wore a flashy smile across his face and his skin glowed with a light blue hue. She couldn’t move, she was entranced by his charisma.

 “It was very brave of you to touch one of the soulless, what is your name?”

 “Augustine,” she stammered.

 “How old are you Augustine?” he asked trying to make her feel more comfortable.

 “I am thirteen,” she answered trying to sound more confident than she was.

 “You must wield great power if you have found me at such a young age.”

 This made her feel strangely happy; she wanted nothing more than to be like her mother. She knew her mother wielded great power and used it to get what she wanted. She watched her entice men into giving them food and seen her make the same men drown themselves if they upset her. She always wished for powers like that.

 “I’m not like my mother, I don’t have any powers” 

 “But you will in time with my help child, and then you will take your mother’s powers also,” he said. “You will be the most powerful witch that ever lived.”

 Omorthan bent down and kissed her on the forehead; a surge of energy rushed through her body. She was lifted off of the floor and began to float away from Omorthan. He held out his hand as to grab her but when she touched his hand hers passed through it.

 “When the time is right you will return to me and you will rule both your realm and mine by my side,” he said as she faded from sight.

 When she woke she was laying in her bed with a wet cloth on her head. The candle on the dresser next to bed lit up her room. She had a tight grip on her straw doll that she usually slept with. She sat up in bed trying to catch her breath. She checked her arms and legs and found no scratches. She slowly looked under the bed and found no soulless ones. Confused she wondered if it was all just a dream.

 “Mom,” she cried out.

 Her mother entered the room and sat on the bed next to her. She put her arms around her and held her tight.

 “I had a bad dream.”

 “Tell me what happened,” her mother said stroking her hair, trying to soothe her.

 She told her about the soulless people and how she meets Omorthan. She even told her that he said she “would be the most powerful witch ever”, but she left out the part about taking her mother’s powers. Her mom listened and smiled knowing that her little girl was accepted by her god and would one day become a powerful witch just like her.

 Augustine awoke the next morning to the sound of the rooster’s crow. She got up every morning at the rising of the sun to start her chores. First she would go to the wash basin and clean herself. Next she would find a clean dress and put in on. Soon after that her mother would come get her to help feed the chickens and gather eggs. From there it was help cook breakfast, clean the dishes and sweep the floors. She didn’t think this day would be any different and headed to the wash basin. She washed off all the previous days sweat and dirt, and then she slipped on the clean blue dress she brought with her.

 She was on her way back to her room when her mother hollered for her to come down stairs. She hurried down; she loved to feed the chickens. She would chase them around the yard and occasionally one would let her pet it as it ate. Her mom filled the feed bucket up with grain and they headed outside. Augustine grabbed some of the feed and threw it on the ground to the waiting chickens; only none of them came to eat.  She started to walk closer to them and they all flapped their wings squawking trying to get away. She continued to throw gain across the yard but not one chicken would eat while she was close. Confused her mother sent her back into the house. Augustine watched from the window as the chickens ate the grain off the ground and even from her mother’s hand. Angered that the chickens hadn’t come to her she closed her eyes and imagined the one eating from her mother’s hand had exploded. She could hear her mother’s screams coming from outside. She watched as her mother ran through the door covered in blood, guts, and chicken feathers. ‘That’ll teach those chickens,’ she thought to herself with a smile on her face.

 After finishing her chores she headed outside to play with her best friend Bethany. They were both the same age and had grown up together in Pasi. She walked down the dirt road towards Bethany’s house and stopped to look at the tall sunflowers growing in the fields. She liked the sunflowers and the beauty she thought they gave the village; otherwise it would be just fields of crops and dust.

 She passed the Aldun’s small house, Thomas lived there but she didn’t really like him. He was a year older than her. He had light brown hair and dark brown eyes. She also thought he was gross because played with frog and snakes; occasionally he’d chase the girls around with a toad and laugh as they would run and scream. Thomas was sitting on the porch witling away at a stick so she stuck her tongue out at him. She thought he looked chunky in the skin tight blue shirt he was wearing. He ignored her which made her mad. ‘I’ll get you one day Thomas Aldun, you just wait and see.’ She thought to herself.

 As she neared Bethany’s house she could hear screaming coming from the inside. Bethany’s dad yelled a lot and would hit his daughters and wife daily. He spent most of his time drunk and would rarely care for his property. The family would have starved to death if it wasn’t for their mother out tending to the crops and animals. Augustine stood on the road scared to get any closer to the house least Bethany’s fathers wrath turned on her. Bethany came running out of the front door, tears pouring from her bright sapphire blue eyes, followed by her older sister Nicole. She waited to follow Bethany to their hiding place. She watched as Bethany ran by her, her wavy blonde hair bouncing as she ran, and noticed a large red handprint imprinted on the left cheek of Bethany’s face. Augustine closed her eyes and wished the house would catch on fire and Bethany’s dad would be burned alive. When she opened her eyes she found that nothing had happened and decided to run. She would one day hurt this man in ways worse than he hurt her friend.

 “You girls get back here now or you never come back,” the angry drunk father was yelling.

 None of the girls stopped, all three ran until the house was far from view. When they came upon Anita Marie’s house she was out throwing slop to the pigs. Anita was a little younger than the other girls but they still let her play with them. She was extremely thin, with brown hair, green eyes, and tanned skin. She was nice and liked to act like she was older but it bothered Augustine that she couldn’t be talked into doing things she knew wasn’t right.

 “Anita, we are going to the North woods, do you want to come with us?” Augustine asked.

 “No, I’m not allowed to play in the woods.”

 “You’re such a baby,” Augustine yelled back.

 “No I’m not,” angrily Anita retreated into her house.

 “She is a baby,” Augustine told the other girls while rolling her eyes.

 Nicole gave her a look of disgust. Augustine hated when she did that, Nicole always tried to everyone’s older sister. Nicole was taller than the other girls so she always appeared to be looking down on them. Her straight blond hair was cut short just above her shoulders. Unlike her sister’s bright blue eyes she had dark brown eyes that always seemed to judge Augustine; that’s what she thought anyways.

 “What? She is a baby. I don’t know why we even talk to her,” she said staring back at Nicole.

 “Try being nice for once” Nicole said.

 “Fine, if you want her around then you can go get her. Come on Bethany we’re going to the woods,” she grabbed Bethany’s hand and started pulling her away.

 “Bethany don’t go,” Nicole hollered after her, but did not follow.

 Bethany always did what Augustine wanted, and Augustine liked it that way. She held Bethany’s hand until they reached the forest edge. They would come here to hide and play. Usually after Bethany got hit so her father couldn’t find her for the rest of the day. Sometimes they would go as far as the lake, but none of the girls could swim so they never went into the water.

 The forest was larger than they ever dared to explore and they only went into the woods from the northern game trail. After a twenty minute walk this would lead them to the lake at the foot of the Endrous Mountains. No one from their village had ever crossed the mountains and often Augustine would hear stories that this is where the world ended. Most of the village people thought this because the beautiful waterfall that ran down the side of the mountain into the lake seemed to fall from the heavens. They stopped at the edge of the woods so that Augustine could examine Bethany’s face.

 “What did you do?” Augustine asked wondering why Bethany had gotten hit.

 “I spilled some of my milk on the floor and my dad said I was being wasteful so he hit me,” Bethany answered as her eyes started to tear up again.

 Augustine hugged her and told her not to worry that one day he would pay for all of the pain he had caused her. When Bethany asked how she just giggled and raced further into the woods. Bethany followed her to the lake that resided in the woods. There she told her friend of the meeting she had with Omorthan and how she was going to be the most powerful witch ever. Bethany didn’t believe her though, it sounded too crazy to be true.

 “It is true and I will prove it to you.”

 She searched along the lake shore until she found a frog. The green slimy frog was just sitting in the grass soaking in the sun.

 “See that frog;” she said pointing to the spot the frog was resting. “I’m going to use my magic to kill it.”

 “You can’t do that!” Bethany exclaimed.

 This time Augustine didn’t shut her eyes; she could feel the energy course through her body; she focused this energy through her finger and towards the frog. The frog’s body started to bloat; its eyes began to bulge out of its head.  Soon the frog’s body was so distended that its feet no longer reached the ground. Then with a grotesque popping noise   parts of the frog flew through the air landing in different spots in the grass.

 “Gross!”

 “Told you I could do it,” Augustine said confidently.

 “Can you teach me?”

 “I can try but it might not work if you can’t talk to Omorthan,” she said unsure.

 For the rest of the day the two girls searched for frogs and she explained to Bethany the method she used to make the frogs explode. But no matter how hard Bethany tried she could not feel the energy Augustine told her about. The woods started to become dark as the sun set and they both agreed it was time to return home

. As they walked through the grass a very large toad hopped to the left of them to avoid being stepped on. Bethany tried again to make this toad burst, at first nothing happened.

 Pointing fiercely at the creature and concentrating hard Bethany felt a strange energy fill up inside of her. Then the toad took another leap and before it landed on it exploded like all the other frogs; bits of toad splashed onto Augustine’s dress. Both girls looked at each other in amazement and then ran laughing the rest of the way out of the woods. Darkness had set in as they reached the dirt path that would lead them home. Already it was hard to see in the moonless night so Augustine took Bethany by the hand to lead her home. When they arrived at Bethany’s house she hugged her gently and watched as she went inside. She stayed close to the door and listened; when she was satisfied that Bethany’s dad wasn’t awake she continued home alone.

 As she walked down the path, eyes open wide trying to see, she tripped over a large branch and fell. She instantly felt the pain in her left knee as it struck against the ground. She couldn’t see the blood but she could feel the warmth of the plasma trickling down the front of her leg. Giving up she sat on the dirt path she pulling her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around her knees she began to weep. She wasn’t afraid of the dark but didn’t like being alone in the dark and the pain in her knee was overwhelming.

 She jumped when she felt a soft touch on her shoulder; looking up she could see that the area was set alight with a blue hue. Kneeling next to her was Omorthan; he gently touched her wounded knee wiping away the blood with his hands. He didn’t utter a word as he stood and licked his fingers clean. Offering his hand to her he pulled her to her feet and guided her home. Silently they entered the pine door and headed for her room. She sat on the edge of the bed and he sat in the floor; even from here she had to look up at him. He taught her how to focus her energy into a ball of light that would light her way in the dark. After she was able to hold the ball of light in place for several minutes he leaned forward and kissed on the cheek before vanishing. Instantly the blue hue was replaced by the white light she held in her hand. She sat in bed for hours practicing as the ball of light would shine bright and then go dark.

2: Orphans

 Bethany sat in her room practicing the magic that Augustine had taught her over the last year. She was struggling to learn as quickly as Augustine was and could only cast a few minor spells. She could make small animals explode, which was messy and she didn’t like to do this. She only did this to amuse Augustine and usually felt guilty about it afterwards. She could also start small fires and illuminate a dark room with a ball of light. She didn’t think she was very good at being a witch and felt she should know more after a year of hard work. She struggled with staying focused while casting spells; which she learned could have disastrous results. During the winter months Augustine was trying to teach her how to start fires and as Bethany began to weave the spell in her head she was distracted by a bird that flew by. This resulted in the Aldun’s house almost going up in flames. She was relieved when she heard that everyone made it out safely, but now she was more careful and tried harder to stay focused.  Because of this she usually practiced her darks arts away from the village, but she thought this spell couldn’t cause any harm.

 She was trying to cast a spell that would lift her hairbrush and float from across the room to her hand. She had seen Augustine move buckets of water and bales of hay, but she couldn’t even lift the brush. She had been here for hours trying to figure out what she was doing wrong when suddenly she felt a familiar tingling course throughout her body. She focused this energy to the palm of her hand and stretched it out to the brush that was sitting on the dresser across the room. She used her energy to lift the brush off of its resting place and started to slowly bring it back to her. Then without warning Nicole burst into the room and the brush fell to the floor with a loud bang. Nicole was shocked by what she had witnessed.

 “What are you doing!?”  Nicole exclaimed trying to be quite.

 “Nothing, I just threw the brush to scare you.”

 “You were using magic, weren’t you?”

 “No I wasn’t, I told you I just threw the brush to scare you.”

 “Tell me the truth or I’m going to have to tell daddy and he’s going to beat you,” Nicole said knowing that she would never tell that man anything but wanted to know the truth.

 Now Bethany was scared, she never gotten used to being hit even though it was a daily occurrence. More often than not her face or body was bruised from the beatings she received from her father. She would do anything she could think of to keep him from getting upset, but it never worked there was always something that would upset him. Like the time she was trying to sneak quietly by him as he slept and one of the floor boards squeaked. He woke up in a rage and kicked her in her back. As she lay in the floor crying he would yell at her to shut up and hit her with the thick leather strap he always carried; she hated that strap.

 “No please don’t tell him,” she pleaded. “Yes, Augustine has been teaching me how to use magic”

“So that’s what you two do in the woods all day while I’m stuck here doing chores and getting beat.”

 “You can come with us, I’m sure Augustine can teach you also.”

 “And how am I going to explain my busted lip? Tell her I fell down the stairs?”

 “Augustine already knows about daddy’s temper and promised to take care of it for us.”

 “What can she do about it?” now Nicole was confused.

 “She can stop him with magic.”

 “No! She will only get us beat more; you know he would never allow that.” Nicole said in a whisper.

 “Watch, I’ll show you,” Bethany told her sister.

 Focusing on the brush again she was able to lift it into the air and bring it to her hand. She grabbed it and began brushing her hair. She then threw the brush onto the floor and set it on fire. Frantically Nicole stomped out the fire burning the bottoms of her feet.

 “What are you doing?”  Nicole angrily asked.

 “I just wanted to show you what I can do and Augustine is way more powerful than I am. You should see all the things she can do.”

 “Fine, I’ll go with you tomorrow. But right now it is dinner time and we have to hurry.”

 Bethany rushed to the stairs but Nicole had to limp slowly as blisters were starting to form on the bottoms of her tender feet. Bethany headed down the stairs and when she reached the bottom a sharp pain shot through her right arm. She grabbed her arm as the leather strap came down across her back. She lunged forward as the pain ripped through her tiny body.

 “When I say it is dinner time that means get your ass down here and eat,” her father said. “Where’s that bitch sister of yours? And don’t you dare start that damn crying.”

 She watched Nicole limp slowly down the stairs, leaning into the handrail with each painful step, and felt guilty that she was getting her sister into trouble. When the leather strap came down across Nicole’s back she let a whimper which caused her to be lashed again. Tears ran down both girls’ faces but neither uttered another sound.

 “If I hear crying from either of you you’ll both get the strap again,” he said with hatred so strong the girls could feel it in their souls.

Their mother watched from the dinner table to afraid to say or do anything. Silently a tear rolled down her cheek.

 After dinner both girls quietly headed upstairs to their bed. Nicole crawled in first, her feet and whelps still burned. Bethany crawled into bed next to her and they both started to cry.

 “I’m sorry I got you into trouble,” Bethany whispered in the dark.

 “It is not your fault he is a donkey’s ass” Nicole quipped back.

 Bethany smiled, put her arms around her sister and closed her eyes. The night brought about restless sleep for both girls as they tossed and turned in their bed. The pain from their inflicted wounds made it hard for either girl to sleep. At one point during the night Bethany woke up screaming in fear. Nicole quickly covered her mouth to muffle the screams until Bethany calmed down. They listened and waited knowing that if they woke up their father another beating would be headed their way. When they were satisfied that they did not wake him they laid back down and drifted back into troubled sleep.

 Morning came too soon and Nicole woke her mother sitting on the bed next to her. She leaned down and kissed Nicole on the forehead then silently slipped out of the room. Nicole thought about how pretty her mom was, except for the big purple bruise around her left eye. She loved her blond hair and blue eyes; she hoped she would be as beautiful as her mother when she grew up. She almost didn’t notice the parchment that was placed in her hand as she started to drift back to sleep. Instead of sleeping she set up to read the note.

 ‘Go out the window, take your sister

. Don’t come home until after dark.

  Love, Mom’

 She didn’t know what it meant but it must be bad if her mother didn’t want them to witness it. She woke up Bethany and climbed out the glassless window. Like all houses in Pasi the walls were made of clay and very rough but, their mother had placed a terrace next to their window so she could grow Clematis. She always kept a space clear of flowers so the girls could climb out of the window if they needed.

 “What’s going on?” Bethany asked.

 “I don’t know mother only gave me this.” Nicole handed the parchment over to Bethany.

 “What are we going to do?”

 “We will go to the wood and wait for Augustine. Maybe you can show me some of your witchcraft when we get there.”

 After both girls climbed down the terrace Nicole took Bethany’s hand and led her off towards the woods before their father could notice they were gone. Along the way Bethany went on and on about how to cast spells and how if she didn’t concentrate things could go wrong. Nicole wasn’t sure she wanted to get involved in witchcraft but thought that if it would help her defend her mother and sister from her father then she would do it. Even when Bethany showed her how to cast a spell she couldn’t perform it. She practiced all the way to the woods with no success.

 “Maybe Augustine can help you, she’s better than I am,” Bethany told her.

 “This is harder than I thought it would be, you make it look so easy.”

 “Just wait until you see what Augustine can do.”

 When they reached the entrance to the wood Augustine was not there. They went in a little ways and called for her but there was no response.

 “Maybe it’s too early and she hasn’t gotten out of bed yet,” Nicole suggested.

 “Or she might be at the lake already, let’s go check,” Bethany suggested as she hurried through the trees.

 It didn’t take them long to reach the lake but when they did they both stood there in awe. The sun rising in the east reflected off of the lake’s water in oranges and purples. The clouds hung low blocking the tops of the mountains from view. The water falling from the mountains into the lake roared in the morning silence. But no matter how beautiful or majestic this scene might have been they were more in awe with Augustine dancing on top of the water. She moved with such grace that the waters barely ripped under her feet. The waves seemed to ebb and flow with her movements. They watched as she spun in circles and the water twisted around her body until there was only a spiral of water where Augustine once stood. When the water splashed back into the lake Augustine was gone.

 “What are you two staring at?” a voice behind them asked.

Both girls jumped and spun around to find Augustine standing behind him. With hearts racing in their chest it took a moment before either girl could reply.

 “That was amazing, how did you do that?” Bethany asked still visibly shaking.

 “Omorthan taught me, he’s been teaching me a lot of things.”

 “Who’s Omorthan?” Nicole asked.

 “He’s the god that bestowed my powers to me; he also said that I would be ‘the greatest witch ever’”

 “Augustine also said the Omorthan must like me too since I can use magic also,” Bethany chimed in.

 Nicole wasn’t too sure if believed any of what Augustine was saying; she knew Augustine was trouble. Still she could not deny what she saw so she would try and learn the same way her sister did.

 “Can you teach me?” she asked.

 “Why would I teach you? I only let you come around here because Bethany is your sister.”

 Nicole’s face turned red with anger, she would show Augustine why she wanted to learn. She pulled Bethany’s dress up and showed her the whelps that marked Bethany’s body where their dad had beat her. Some were still red and raised; others were scabbed over where the leather strap had broken through the skin. Augustine face was stricken with disgust, which was the reaction Nicole wanted from her.

 “This is why you should teach me, so that I can keep this from happening to my little sister,” she said angrily.

 She watched as Augustine face turned bright red and the ground around them began to shake. The grass where Augustine stood caught fire. Both girls became afraid and backed away from her. The flames consumed Augustine and burned with enough intensity that Nicole was sweating from the heat. Then as quickly as the flames appeared they disappeared leaving only charred grass in a circle around Augustine.

 “You should have protected her, you should have stopped him.” Augustine said accusingly.

 She pointed her crooked finger into Nicole’s face, “You are weak!”

 Bethany then hugged Augustine and told her that it was not Nicole’s fault.  She could feel Augustine’s body relax and her breathing slowed.

 “Can you please teach her, for me?” Bethany asked.

 “Fine, but then she is to never let you get hit again or I will kill her myself,” she looked Nicole straight in the eyes as she said this.

 This scared Nicole, she had already seen some of the power that Augustine possessed and knew what she said was true. But how was she supposed to protect Bethany against someone so much bigger than she is?

 Most of the day was spent trying to teach Nicole how to cast spells. She didn’t understand why nothing worked. ‘Can only certain people do this?’ she wondered.

 She watched in amazement as her sister stepped out on to the water. Bethany had never had this kind of power before. When she tried her feet would just slip beneath the waves. She could tell that Augustine was getting frustrated but she just couldn’t figure out what she was doing wrong.

 “Concentrate all of your energy to the bottoms of your feet!” Augustine yelled at her again.

 “I’m trying; I don’t know what I’m doing wrong.”

 “It’s because you are weak and have no power!”

 Nicole started to cry, all she wanted to do was protect her mom and her sister.

 ‘Maybe she’s right and I am weak’ this thought replayed in her head.

 “Just give me your hand,” Augustine snapped at her.

 Wiping the tears from her eyes she took Augustine’s hand and together they walked out onto the water. She could feel energy from Augustine coursing through her body and pushing out onto the water. At first she thought they were floating above the water but then realized the water was hardening beneath her feet. Even though it was strong enough to hold her it felt gelatinous and slightly shook beneath her weight. As Augustine walked her out to the middle of the lake she held tightly to her hand. She didn’t know how to swim and since she was relying on Augustine’s powers she wasn’t going to let go. Once they were in the middle of the lake she noticed her hand was getting hot. When she looked at it there were flames spewing between her hand and Augustine’s. Scared she let go of Augustine’s hand and instantly fell beneath the waters. Frantically she kicked her legs and swung her arms wildly as the water washed over her face. Looking up she could she Augustine standing over her yelling, but the water muffled out what she was saying. When her head breached the water she took in air as quickly as she could before succumbing to the depths again. She could hear loud thunderous footsteps getting closer and saw Bethany running to her rescue. She pulled herself above the water long enough for a quick breath before being pulled under again by her own weight. Her lungs burned but she held her mouth closed tightly. Above her she could hear Bethany’s screams as Augustine held her back.

 ‘I was a fool for trusting Augustine’ she thought as she sunk closer to the lake bottom.

 When she could no longer hold her breath, and it felt like her lungs were going to explode, she opened her mouth and sucked in a mouthful of water. As the water rushed into her lungs she quickly began to lose consciousness.

‘I don’t want to die like this,’ she thought as everything went black around her.

 Suddenly her body went rigid as a strong force of energy shot through her propelling her quickly out of the lake. She broke the surface of the water with a large splash spraying water all over Augustine and Bethany. She couched up the water and gasped for air before realizing she was hovering high above the water. Losing concentration she plunged back towards the lake, but before she hit the water Augustine caught her by the waist.

 “Told you she could do it, she just needed a reason,” Augustine told Bethany.

 “You bitch!” Nicole yelled pushing Augustine away from her.

 Augustine just laughed at her. Before she became too angry she noticed she was standing on top of the water with the other two girls. She sighed with relief as Bethany started to laugh also.

 “Now that we all know how to walk on water let me show you what I found,” Augustine said coly.

 Both girls followed her to the waterfall. Once there Augustine floated above the water and disappeared into the waterfall.

 “Come on, I know one of you knows how to do this already,” Augustine called out.

 Slowly Nicole redirected more of her energy to the bottoms of her feet and lifted herself off of the water. When she was high enough she could see Augustine standing in the waterfall; the water was cascading around her but not touching her. Behind Augustine she could see the entrance to a large cave. She looked down as Bethany rocketed up beside her. Together they all three entered the cave.

 Nicole didn’t walk very far into the cave before it was too dark to see. She was amazed when a ball of light appeared on either side of her. The balls of light floated just above Augustine and Bethany’s heads and followed wherever they went. She wondered if she might be able to produce her own ball of light but wasn’t sure of the sequence that was need to perform the spell. Not wanting to cause anything disastrous to happen she decided she would wait until she was instructed on how to perform the spell before she attempted it. They followed Augustine further into the cave moving around stalactites and boulders. Water would drip from the ceiling of the cave and splash onto their faces occasionally.  At the back of the cave they came to a small chamber, inside candles were laid around the perimeter of the room. With a wave of her hand Augustine lit all the candles at once. In the middle of the floor a large pentagram was drawn and at each point sat another candle.

 “This is where I talk to Omorthan,” Augustine blurted out.

 “Can we talk to him?” Bethany asked.

 “No, it’s far too dangerous to let you talk to him,” Augustine answered.

 Instead of talking to Omorthan each girl had to pledge their services to him. One by one they each took a rusty knife cut their hands and dripped blood into the center of the pentagram and recited to blood oath.

 “Omorthan I give you this blood to pledge my life to you. As your servant I shall rain chaos across all realms in your name. I will serve you eternally even in death.”

 As they spoke the last sentence all the candles went out and the pentagram drawn on the floor began to glow with a blue hue. In the light of hue the girls saw what seemed to be a purple fluid running up the walls. Scared none of them moved as they watched the liquid pool on the ceiling of the cave above them, suddenly it poured down. Nicole was drenched; the purple liquid covered her head to toe. Bethany and Augustine looked at each other in astonishment that neither of them was wet. They watched Nicole wipe the purple liquid from her face and then everything went dark. When the candles started to flicker again they could all see that the liquid only appeared purple in the blue hue but was actually red. Nicole, covered in blood, screamed. Augustine laughed, not knowing the significance of the blood. Bethany just stood there in shock.

 Nicole picked up one of the candles and made her way back to the entrance of the cave. There, with the waterfall pouring down, she washed the blood from her clothes and body. The water was cold and the blood was not easy to wash away, she scrubbed until her skin became sensitive to her own touch. Bethany soon joined her, followed by Augustine.

 Nicole glared at Augustine, “You dirty whore, you did that on purpose.”

 Laughing again Augustine said, “I had nothing to do with that, maybe if you weren’t such a little bitch that wouldn’t have happened.”

 Angry Nicole grabbed Augustine by the hair. She pulled her to the floor of the cave and repeatedly punched her. Augustine didn’t fight back, she just laughed as blood ran from her nose.

 “Your just like your father, you think hitting me is going to do anything more than piss me off?” Augustine said through her laughter.

 Nicole, realizing she was acting just like her father, released Augustine’s hair, and stood there with her head hung shamefully. Augustine stood up and spit blood into Nicole’s face. Then she delivered a powerful kick to her chest. Nicole fell backwards out of the mouth of the cave. The water rushing down in front of the cave caught her and dragged her down even faster until she was fully submersed in the lake. Under the force of the currents she was tossed around like a rag doll. Then her forehead stuck a rock and her world went black.

 “Stupid cunt,” Augustine said clutching her nose to stop the bleeding.

 “No!” Bethany cried as she watched her sister fall.

 Bethany ran to the mouth of the cave and dove through the waterfall into the lake. Quickly she cast a spell to lift Nicole and herself onto pillars of water and carry them to the shore. As she watched her sister lay there motionless, bleeding from the cut on forehead, she wept. Tears ran down her face and splashed against Nicole’s. Tearing part of her dress she began to wipe the blood from Nicole’s head. She wished she knew a spell to heal her sister but she didn’t. When Nicole start to cough and spit up water Bethany was immediately relived. She helped her sister sit up and patted her on the back as she coughed up the last of the water in her lungs. Bethany held tightly to her sister and cried tears of joy.

 “I thought you were dead,” Bethany said.

 “How did I get here?”

 “I used a water spell to lift you out of the water.”

 Nicole could feel the blood running down her face, “Ouch, my head hurts.”

 Bethany handed her the torn blood stained cloth from her dress. She held it to her head and closed her eyes waiting for the pain to recede.

 “Where’s Augustine?” Nicole asked.

 “There,” Bethany pointed to the figure floating across the water.

 They both watched as Augustine got closer. When she neared them she saw the blood running down Nicole’s face, and even though she felt bad that she caused it she said nothing.

 Nicole stood up and walked away, saying nothing, holding the rag to her head. Bethany stood and followed her sister. Augustine just watched them walk away.

 When they were far enough away from Augustine that she could not hear them Nicole asked, “Why do you even like that little bitch?”

 “She’s not a bitch, she’s just doesn’t get along with everyone. Besides she’s teaching me how do magic.” Bethany answered.

 “Well I don’t like her and I don’t think we should do any more witchcraft, it’s not good and someone is going to get killed. And I didn’t do that stupid little chant to whatever god she prays to either,” Nicole admitted.

 “Do you think that’s why you were the only one covered in blood?”

 “No, I think Augustine did it to scare us because she a stupid slut.”

 They walked the rest of the way in silence as night closed in. There was no way of knowing if their father was already sleeping so they would have to sneak back in through the window. Quietly they climbed the terrace and slipped through the window frame. On the bed were two plates containing hard boiled eggs and two pieces of toast. Next to the plates sat a note that read,

‘Everything is ok,

 Eat and try to sleep.

 I will come see you in the morning.

 Love, Mom.’

 Neither knew what to say but both worried about their mother, but not wanting to face their father they sat silently on the bed and ate their dinner. The food tasted delicious and since it was the only thing they’d eaten all day they savored every bite. After finishing their meal Nicole placed the plates next to the bed knowing their mother would pick them up in the morning. Bethany laid down in the bed, rolled away from her sister, and went to sleep. Nicole laid with her back to sister and closed her eyes.

 Unable to sleep because of the pounding in her head she opened her eyes and noticed a strange shadow in the corner of the room. The shadow struck her as being odd because it was darker than the surrounding night, but it didn’t move and her head hurt too badly to get up and investigate. Soon she shut her eyes again and tried to sleep.

 It had only felt like minutes when the pain erupted through Nicole’s face. It felt as if her skin had been flayed open with a knife. When she opened her eyes she could see her father’s figure standing over her, his lash striking down at her again. She screamed in pain as the lash caught her across the stomach.

 The screams woke Bethany up and she rolled off the bed landing hard against the wooden floor. Scrambling she attempted to crawled under the bed to hide.

 “You two little bitches think you can be out all day without me knowing,” her father yelled drunkenly.

 He grabbed Bethany by the ankle and tried to drag her from under the bed, she dug her nails into the floor in a vain attempt to get away.

 “Where do you think you are going you little whore?” he yelled.

  Taking the opportunity, Nicole kicked him in the face and in the moonlight she could see the blood gushing from his nose.

 “Bitch,” her father yelled as he hit her with the backside of his hand.

 Both girls were screaming and crying trying to avoid their father’s wrath when their mother ran into the room. Nicole could see that she carrying a frying pan.

 “Leave my children alone,” she said as she swung the frying pan striking her husband in the head.

 This did not stop his drunken rampage and only made him angrier. He swung his fist and caught their mother across the jaw. As she fell Nicole watched her hit her head against the wall. She gasped as her mother lay there not moving; neck bent in an awkward position. Nicole could tell that her mother was no longer breathing.

 Infuriated Nicole forced her energy into hand and created a fireball. It burned bright and lit up the room. As she went to throw it at her father the leather strap wrapped around her arm. Quickly she was pulled off the bed; she landed in the floor with a hard thump, the fireball disappeared as she lost her concentration.

 “Witchcraft? You’ve little bitches have been studying witchcraft? You fucking think that will stop me? I cleanse you both now and you will never see light of day again.” Her father yelled.

 As she lay in the floor she noticed the shadow in the corner start to move. It snaked across the room and rose from the floor wrapping a shadowy tentacle around her father’s neck lifting him into the air. She watched him gasp for breath but didn’t know what was going on. She looked to Bethany but she was still hiding under the bed curled into a ball. When she looked back the shadow started to take on a human form; it was Augustine. She watched as Augustine held her father off the ground with her hand around his throat.

 “Death here would be too easy for you,” Augustine chuckled. Nicole watched as she waved her free hand a blue glowing portal opened beside Augustine.

 “It’s time for you to meet my God,” Augustine’s voice thundered before they both disappeared through the portal.

 Nicole rushed to her mother and held her in her arms. She couldn’t feel her mother’s heartbeat. Bethany joined her with her light ball in tow. In the light they could see their mother’s face was bruised and her lips were swollen. They knew she would have been beaten while they were out at the lake, but didn’t expect it to be this badly. Holding her mother’s lifeless body Nicole knew she would now have to care for Bethany. Both girls cried over their mother’s body and continued to weep until the sun rose the next day.

 The portal opened up into Omorthan’s throne room. Augustine still held Bethany’s father by the throat.

 “What’s the meaning of this?” Omorthan demanded.

 “My lord, this is the mortal tried to kill me. I bring him to you for punishment,” Augustine said as she released the father and kneeled before Omorthan.

 “So you try and kill a vessel of Omorthan? Here you will stay and suffer for all eternity!” Omorthan’s voice shook the floors.

 A golden thread emerged from the giant chair in the middle of the room; it whipped around the father’s neck. As it thickened large spike punctured into his neck rendering him unable to speak or scream. Horror over took him when the deity tore one of his eyes from its socket and ate it. With is good eye he watched the god lick the blood from his lips and smile.

 “Tasty,” was the last thing he heard as red hot pokers were shoved deep inside his ears. As the pain overwhelmed him he tried to scream and even though his mouth made the motions no sound escaped.

3: Into the Woods

   It’s been six months since her parents had died and Nicole was trying her best to take care of her sister. Her hands were calloused from tending to the garden throughout the summer and fall. Her blonde hair was knotted and tangled from being unkempt and her face was plastered with dirt; her scars were barely visible through the grime. Scars had formed into the shape of a ‘T’ over and through her left eye. She hated the scars; they reminded her of the night her mother died. Tightly bundled in layers of clothing she made her way down the snow path leading to the woods.

 She had found an old bow in the corner of her parents’ bedroom, she hadn’t been allowed to go in there before but now that her father was no longer around to beat her she rummaged through the room looking for anything she could use or sell. She had kept all of her mother’s clothes knowing one day her and Bethany could wear them. As for her father’s clothes, they decided they would use them to help start the fires they used for cooking. They sold off anything of value to help buy extra food they couldn’t grow; there wasn’t much and she was disappointed on how little she was able to buy with it.

 The bow was still strung tightly and she practiced every time she had a chance. She had gotten pretty good at hitting the bale of straw she used for target practice, but had never used it to kill a living thing. Still, she was now desperate as they began to run low on money and with winter bearing down on them they would need meat and skins to survive the cold.  She hoped she would be able to kill an elk and that the meat would last through the winter. But first she would have to find one and this was her first hunting trip.

 As she passed by the Mercer’s house she could see Anita watching out of the window. She waved and Anita waved back but then swiftly disappeared from the window. The slamming of the front door conformed that Anita was coming out to talk to her.

 “Hey Nicole, wait up.” Anita called.

 Nicole turned around to see Anita running towards her in oversized boots and a deer skin coat. In her hands she was carrying what looked to be a plate with cake on it.

 “Where are you headed?” Anita asked.

 “Just into the woods to hopefully find some game,” she answered.

 “A little late in the season for that, most of the animals would have migrated further south for the winter.” Anita told her.

 “I still have to look, for Bethany; I need food to last us through the winter.” Nicole replied.

 “I could ask my dad if you could have our extra, we have plenty you know. My dad’s a great hunter and killed three deer before the winter storms blew in.” Anita said.

 “No, we have to learn how to make it on our own. It has been tough without our mother but I will not accept charity.” Nicole said this with so much determination that she almost believed it.

 “Will you at least take this cake? It was my birthday last week and my mom made it for me.” Anita practically put the plate into her hands.

 Nicole didn’t want to seem rude and she really was hungry; besides the cake looked delicious. She couldn’t remember the last time she had cake, or if she ever had cake before. She took the plate from Anita and took a bite; the flavor was a heavy buttery flavor that she loved. She could taste hints of orange and vanilla as she chewed; now she was sure she had never had cake before.

 “Thank you, that was delicious,” she said with her mouth full.

 Anita smiled and said, “You are welcome.” Then she added “I could come with you, my dad taught me how to track. I could help you find deer or elk if there’s any left.”

 Nicole thought it over; having a tracker would help and maybe it wouldn’t take as long to track down food.

 “Okay, you can come,” Nicole finally answered.

 Anita grabbed the plate and ran back towards her house; Nicole assumed it was to tell her folks where she was going. She cast a fire cloak spell to fight off the cold; the warmth it brought her was almost as good as the cake. She never let anyone see her using magic and she told Bethany that she didn’t want to learn anymore. But magic came instinctively to her and she was learning new spells on her own. When she saw Anita appear back out of the house she stopped the spell and the cold bit at her skin once again. She wanted to share with Anita the magic she knew so she could stay warm during their trek but was afraid that the village would banish her if they found out.

 “Where’s Bethany?” Anita asked as she ran up next to her.

 “Back at home with Augustine.” Nicole answered shivering.

 “Oh, I don’t really like Augustine, she’s not very nice.” Anita confessed.

 “Tell me about it, how do you think I got this?” she pointed to the top part of her scar.

 “Augustine did that to you?” Anita asked curiously.

 “Kind of, she knocked me out of the waterfall and I hit my head on a rock. I nearly drowned, but Bethany saved me.” Nicole explained.

Confused Anita asked, “You were in the waterfall?”

 “Well, not in it, behind it. There’s a cave behind it, it’s really cool. But then Augustine and I got into a fight and, well, she won.” Nicole really didn’t want to talk about it,

 Anita didn’t say anything else. She stared at the scar on Nicole’s face until Nicole become uncomfortable and looked away.

 “Can you take me there?” Anita asked.

 “Maybe another time, we need to find something to shoot first,” she said patting the bow hanging on her back.

 “Oh yeah, let’s get going,” Anita said eagerly.

 They entered the woods from a different point than Nicole was used to. Instead of traveling through the North Woods Anita told her they would have better luck in the East Woods. The East Woods weren’t really any different than the North Woods except they expanded to the east. She hadn’t spent much time exploring the east side of the woods so she didn’t know what to expect. None of the trees bore leaves so it was easier to see through the thick forest. Icicles hung from the branches of the trees pulling them towards the ground; some icicles were so big they created a makeshift passage from the tree to the ground. When Anita showed her the broken limbs on a tree and hoof prints in the snow she knew they were on the right trail.

 The prints led them deep into the woods, further than either girl had ever been. Suddenly Anita stopped and bent down to examine the tracks. Nicole could see another set of prints that intersected the animal they were tracking, but these looked like tracks from a large dog. Anita stood up and signaled they should go back but Nicole insisted that they continue on. Begrudgingly Anita followed her. Nicole could tell that the canine had run alongside the hooved creature for some time and at times both tracks zigged and zagged through the snow.  Then she saw the blood, it was sprayed across the white snow.

  Following the drag marks a little further they found the remains of an elk. The whole side was ripped open exposing its stomach and guts. The eyes, heart and lungs were all missing. Blood soaked the entire area. Nicole reached down and touched it; it was still warm and she concluded this animal was killed not long ago. ‘What could have caused such destruction in such a short amount of time?’ She didn’t have long to think about it when Anita grabbed her arm.

 “What is it?” she asked.

 Anita didn’t answer, instead she slowly backed away. Nicole looked up and saw a large black wolf standing in front of her. On all fours it was almost as tall as she was and its snout was covered in blood. When it snarled at her she could see that its teeth were longer than her fingers. It let out a horrifying howl before, to her surprise, it stood up on two legs; it now towered over both girls. Where its hands should have been were two giant paws containing long clawed fingers. Its whole body rippled with muscle and hair. When she looked into its dark yellow eyes it let out another howl and raced towards them.

 “Run!” Nicole yelled as she sprinted away from the beast.

 Anita stood in shock and watched as the wolf lunged towards them. Nicole turned back and grabbed Anita by the arm.

 “Anita, run!” she yelled again.

 This time Anita followed Nicole as she ran deeper into the woods. The loud crunching of snow behind them let them know the wolf was in pursuit. They tried hiding behind trees but the beast would always be one step ahead of them. It moved so fast that they only knew where it was from the settling of snow left in the air. A loud howl rang out through the woods as the girls came to clearing.

 “Should we try and cross it?” Anita asked nervously.

 “I’m not sure, I think it might be trying to trap us,” Nicole answered breathing heavily.

 Then three foot in front of them the wolf landed and charged. Neither girl had time to react before the monster was on top of them. Nicole felt Anita shove her out of the way as the wolf grabbed Anita in its large gaping jaws. Anita let out a scream that was so high pitched the wolf dropped her and shook it head. Nicole could see the place where the monster’s teeth had punctured Anita’s body. She tried to grab her and pull her away but the wolf grabbed her first. Taking her by the leg it ran, on two legs, through the clearing dragging Anita across the snow. All she could see was a trail of blood as her friend’s body was limply drug to the other side of the clearing.

 Nicole watched as the creature took a final leap, clearing the tops of the trees and disappearing back into the woods. Quickly she got back to her feet and ran through the clearing. She would have to track down the fiend and kill it, avenging her friend. As she ran she readied her bow; she would not be caught off guard again. When she reached the other side of the clearing she examined the paw prints so she could guess which direction the creature headed.

 She wandered through the woods for an unknown amount of time not finding a trace of any animal. The shadows from the trees made it hard to see in the fading sunlight. Tears froze to her face as she became disheartened fearing she would never see her friend again. Still her determination to get revenge on this vile creature would not allow her to give up. She continued to search as the sun set and the woods became too dark to see.

 Exhausted she sat in the snow resting against a large oak tree. She cast a ball of light to help her see her surroundings. As she examined the area around her she noticed a large red pool of blood in the snow not far from where she was sitting. Getting up to examine the blood covered snow she felt drops of liquid splash against her cheek. Wiping the fluid from her face she noticed it was blood.

 Straining her eyes to see, and using her light orb, she noticed a body hanging upside down from the branches of the tree. Scanning the area for signs of the monster wolf she listened intently for any movement. When she was satisfied that the creature was not around she grabbed the lowest branch she could reach and started to climb. Suddenly the entire tree began to shake. Looking up she could see the beast swatting at her light orb; its massive paws passing through it with each swing.  Quickly she notched an arrow, pulled back the string, and let the arrow fly. The wolf howled in pain as the arrow plunged into its left calf. She watched in horror as the fiend fell from the tree grabbing Anita’s body on the way down. She dash behind the tree as the wolf hit the ground with a crash; Anita landing on top of it. Before the wolf could recover she released another arrow this time hitting the creature in the chest; its body went limp. Slowly she approached where the beast lay looking for any signs of life; arrow ready just in case it moved. Unexpectedly the beast sprung to its feet scooped Anita up with its mouth and fled in the surrounding trees. She released her arrow but it only found the trunk of a tree.

 She ran as fast as she could but even with the creature injured she could not match its speed. Only by following the trail of blood left behind from both Anita’s and the wolf’s injuries she was able to catch an occasional sight of the beast before it would disappear behind another tree further away each time. Whenever she would catch a glimpse of it she could see Anita’s body flopping around in its jaws like a rag doll.  Out of breath her pace slowed and she once again feared she had lost her friend; still she continued to follow the trail of blood with her light orb guiding her. She came upon a large oak and could hear a whimpering coming from the other side. She dimmed the orb to a faint glow and peered around the tree. There she saw the wolf licking at its wounds and gnawing at the arrow shafts protruding from its body. She also saw Anita’s body lying crumbled in the blood soaked snow like a pile of old leaves. She knelt onto one knee, held her breath, and slowly readied her final arrow. This time she would not miss as she wove a spell to help her guide the arrow into the creature’s skull.

 “Wait,” a gentle voice called out in front of her.

 In a bright dazzling light that appears out of nowhere a beautiful girl steps in front of the wolf. Her smooth skin was ivory in color and almost matched the snow. Her dark hair was the perfect contour to frame her angelic face. Her jade green eyes sparkled brightly in the dim light. Her thin lips were cherry colored and slightly parted as if she was yelling something. Only then had Nicole realized the arrow was heading straight for this girl. But it was too late she could not stop the speeding arrow from reaching its target. Moments before striking the stranger in the face the arrow caught on fire and turned to ash. Then with a wave of the witch’s hand the wolf fell silently into the snow.

 Not hesitating Nicole ran to Anita to check for signs of life. She knew at first glance that the wounds were too great for any person to survive. Teeth marks punctured most of her limbs and her belly was torn completely open, her intestines were spilled out onto the ground. Her face was unrecognizable with the swelling, bruising, and large lacerations that covered it. One of her legs was twisted in a way that the bone was broken and protruding through the skin. Not being able to stomach the site of her dead friend she vomited and began to cry. A soothing hand touched her shoulder cascading warmth throughout her body. When she glanced up she saw the face of the stranger standing beside her.

 “I’m sorry about your friend. If you will allow me I think that I may yet be able to save her.”

 “How?”

 “I will answer all your questions after I save this girl.”

 Nicole said nothing more and moved aside. She was unsure how this stranger planned to bring her friend back from the dead. She watched as the young witch knelt beside Anita’s body and began to wave her arms over the body; she did not recognize the words that she spoke. A brilliant light bathed the girl and then flowed down to Anita. The light was so intense that she shut her eyes for only a brief moment and when she opened them again Anita was sitting up as if nothing had ever happened. Joyous she ran to her and hugged her until Anita started to complain about having trouble breathing.

 “I thought you were dead!” Nicole exclaimed.

 “Where are we?” Anita asked still confused about what was happening.

 “You were attacked by a wolf, you were mutilated, there was blood everywhere,” Nicole said hysterically as she looked to the girl that saved her friend.

 “She will not remember any of this, as I healed her body I also healed her mind so she would never recall the events that happened this day,” the young witch said.

 “I am Celestia and this boy is my brother Maverick.” She pointed to where the wolf was laying. Only the wolf was no longer there, instead there was a young boy.

 Nicole looked at the boy lying face down in the snow with disbelief, ‘could he really be the wolf.’ She couldn’t fathom the idea that this seemingly innocent boy that appeared to be no older than she was the vicious creature that had terrorized her and her friend.

 He laid naked in the snow no longer a giant hairy beast but a short thin dark haired boy. She could tell that even in his human form he was more muscular than most of the boys she knew. She watched as Celestia walked over and covered him with an olive colored shawl she had been wearing. The cloak was long enough to cover him from his neck to his knees but she wonder if he would still be cold. When he looked up she noticed that he looked a lot like Celestia only with different colored hair and more masculine features.

“Maverick wake up,” Celestia whispered in his ear.

Instantly the boy set up looking lost and confused.

“Where am I?” he solemnly asked, rubbing his eyes.

“I’ve been chasing you through these woods for the last two days, you turned in the wolf again and killed a young girl,” she explained.

Instantly he began to shake, either from anger or the cold, Nicole could not tell.

“She’s ok though, I healed her.” Celestia calmly said pointing to Anita.

 Nicole watched as Maverick looked upon Anita for the first time. He stared, jaw agape, saying nothing. She noticed Anita was staring back at him with the same hypnotic gaze. His dull grey eyes looked passionately into her bright green eyes. Neither said a word but it seemed like an eternity passed between them. Nicole didn’t believe in ‘love at first sight’ but she knew that she was now witnessing it. Still the silence became awkward so she let out a small cough to break the soundless night.

Smiling he said, “I’m so sorry about what has happened, it really wasn’t my fault. I would never hurt someone as beautiful as you.”

 Even in the dim light Nicole could see Anita’s face turn bright red.

“Um, okay,” was all that Anita uttered back not really knowing what he was talking about.

“She doesn’t remember,” Celestia interjected. “I wiped her memory so she would never have to re-live it. Just like you she will not know what really happened this day.”

“It was that damn ginger witch I met at the lake the other day, “Maverick protested to his sister. “What was her name? Austurine? Ahgustine? Damn I don’t remember.”

 “Augustine, her name is Augustine,” Nicole corrected him. “And she’s a very powerful witch; she worships the god Omorthan and can do things I’ve never seen anyone do before.”

“And what god do you pray to? I can smell Omorthan’s blood all over you.” Maverick growled at her.

“I pray to no god,” she snapped back. “Augustine tried to trick me into taking a pledge of servitude. I didn’t take it but my younger sister, Bethany, did.” She said disappointingly.

A look of disgust flowed over both Mavericks and Celestia’s faces. Unsure of what to say next she kept her mouth shut not wanting to say the wrong thing.

“Omorthan is a young god really; he has been trying to fight his way into the high heavens for many millennia. Ceatorr usually keeps him at bay and destroy any of his servants.” Celestia told her, “If she is truly as powerful as you say then he may have found a mortal strong enough to kill a god.”

“Should I hunt her down?” Maverick asked.

“So she can turn you again? She is more powerful than I if she removed my enchantments. No, I will go see for myself after we consult with Adhora.”

“Who’s Adhora?” Nicole asked.

“It’s getting late, we should go back to our hut and I can explain on the way,” Celestia answered.