The Dark Witch Chronicles Book One: The Curse of The Cymmerien Dragon
Chapter Twenty Six: Spirits

The eagle stood before them on the railing of the tower, turning his head all around as though looking for something. When Azrael and Amara reached the top of the tower, Pelagi fixed his eyes onto them. He looked at Amara, who was following Azrael as he approached the eagle. There was an incomprehensible expression that she held. She was unable to build up how she would react upon hearing the message that the eagle was about to give to her. Azrael, already aware of the same did not wish to reveal it, but preferred getting it delivered from the source itself.

Amara now stood right in front of Pelagi, who fluttered his wings and raised himself so he rested on her extended arm. For the eagle, Amara was his next owner and he would now answer to her and only her. She looked at him as he raised his head and then in hushed whispers – an unrecognizable language that no human would understand – delivered the message that he had to give, and then bowed down in grace. Amara blinked, registering the message and then looked back at Azrael. He stood there patiently.

“M-Lord Mikhail-Lord Mikhail has taken Lilith’s spirit under control?” She uttered in a whisper.

Azrael looked at her for a long moment before nodding in agreement.

“I don’t know how, but he has the spirit under his influence after she killed Nicholas. Now he’s stronger. Also Lilith was supposed to help us with the prophecy as the Lord had said but now she might end up helping Lord Mikhail if he uses his powers to get her mind under his control. This is dangerous.”

“We need to do something about this. If at all Lilith reveals the prophecy to him it could end everything.”

Amara was panicing. She knew what the repercussions of Lord Mikhail getting Lilith under control would be. The coven would be doomed, the treasures would be in peril and Acanthus would be destroyed. Everything would then be under Lord Mikhail’s control if he figured out the riddles that were hidden in the prophecy. If at all Lord Mikhail got the treasures, he would spread darkness all over the world. Not a human would be spared and white witchcraft would cease to exist. His power would make him vile, more than he already was and it would make him a threat to all things living. The strength of the three treasures was such that they could change the entire personality of the possessor. Even if the one that achieved them was an innocent by heart, they could make one evil and insatiable.

The treasures had a power to create two different individuals in one. For a while, the possessor would be calm like silent water, and then he/she would morph into something entirely different and dangerous. If the treasures granted immense power and authority to one, they were also capable of manipulating one’s mind to an extent that one would never return from that state. And that could lead to extreme destruction, which worried Amara more than ever. She was afraid, Deathly afraid of what would happen if Lord Mikhail succeeded.

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He was in the deep waters of Carinelle, seated on the bed of the river as black coloured fumes shot up from his fingers. The water was cold, chilling, frightening and it ironically burned one on the inside. Located far away from Acanthus, the river Carinelle was under the scrutiny of a beautiful land called Heletes. It was a tiny village where the oldest Conjurers resided, who spent their time in meditation, who had abandoned the world entirely and only concentrated on meditation and achieving salvation without Death. The Conjurers there would have such power and energy while meditating that they could somehow liberate their souls without damaging the body in any way. Those who succeeded were known as the Mortuis. It took a lot of years of meditation and unbreakable concentration. Only a few most powerful ones were capable of performing the same.

Lord Mikhail decided that the place would be safe to summon the spirit of the one that had slain Nicholas. The moment that Nicholas had been killed, Lord Mikhail had received the message from his messenger when he was in the mountains of Carvelli, still trying to understand what it was that Amara was hiding in the book that he had almost gotten his hands on. The moment that he received the message, Lord Mikhail had left to go to Heletes. Diving deep into the river of Carinelle, he had rested on the bed and begun his call for the spirit – unknown of its identity.

Lord Mikhail realized whose spirit it really was when it arrived. The reason he had summoned Lilith under the water was that it was the safest possible place and he knew nobody could interrupt him in the silent land of Heletes where no witch or sorcerer was allowed unless it was for meditation. The silence there was precise, and it never broke because of the calmness that it set forth. It was only a place for meditation. Not a single soul talked. And that was what Lord Mikhail needed when he would try to find out the reason for which Nicholas had summoned the spirit of Lilith, and how she had ended up murdering him.

As soon as Lilith stood in the water before him, Lord Mikhail had sealed her mind. He then began to manipulate it into finding out who she really was and what task she was supposed to perform upon reaching back to earth, where she did not belong. Due to the malign nature of Lilith and her forgetting her own identity, it was difficult to get her mind under his control. Lord Mikhail needed patience, a lot of patience. However, he did not have much time. He was assured that there was something extremely useful in the spirit of Lilith, which he intended to find out as soon as he could.

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Amara knew that Lord Mikhail was intelligent enough to find out why Lilith’s spirit had been summoned. She was well aware of his capabilities. The only thing that she did not know was his whereabouts. She thought of asking the same to Pelagi, but a bird could only be of so much assistance. He was asked to give the information of what Lord Mikhail was up to, but the eagle could not explain the exact location, neither could it lead them there. The task ahead was difficult, and Amara had no idea how she was going to solve the puzzle.

“What are we going to do?” She turned to Azrael who looked equally confused as they sat opposite to each other in the library after Pelagi had left to quench his hunger.

Amara and Azrael retreated to the library to try to come find a solution. They were lost. Amara had informed Iris that she had already found Pelagi so Iris wasn’t looking for the bird anymore. Rather, she was busy in the meditation chamber with Eridanus where he was helping her master the technique of manipulation.

Eridanus stood there watching her as she shut her eyes and concentrated on invading his mind. He rested his back on the wall behind and let out a sigh. His thoughts were interrupted by a wave of visions flashing across his eyes and he suddenly collapsed on the ground. He blinked. Once, twice, thrice and the visions appeared yet again, blinding him. He saw fumes of black smoke rising from inside a river and then he saw the figure of a woman lifting herself from the water, as though being pulled by a rope and then falling back inside. The cycle continued for a while and then his mind was snapped into another vision where he saw the figure of a man descending into a huge sea and emerging amidst a Fire that surrounded him.

A moment later, the visions were gone. Eridanus blinked again, now adjusting his eyes. Standing up, he glanced at a meditating Iris once before dashing out of the chamber and making his way to the library where Amara and Azrael were. Their eyes shot up to him when he settled himself on a chair beside Azrael and opposite to Amara who looked at him quizzically.

“I need to know what message the eagle gave to you,” he told them with a panic-stricken expression as he looked back and forth between the two.

“Why?” asked Azrael, frowning.

“I saw a vision. . .I-there is some danger out there and I know you two are in trouble. Just tell me what the eagle told you. I saw him meeting the two of you and delivering an important message, I just don’t know what it was.”

“Would you mind telling me who you are?” said Amara, raising her eyebrows.

“I’m Eridanus. I have the power of premonition and I just had a vision of Lord Mikhail entering a huge sea and then being surrounded by flames inside a cave. I know this is something important and you two need to know about it. What did the eagle say?”

He held a worried look while Amara stared at him wide eyed. Did he say cave? And why does he look so familiar? She pushed those stray thoughts aside since there were more important things to take care of.

“Is this about to happen or has Lord Mikhail already done what you saw?” Azrael said as Amara was too lost to even utter a word.

“No. Usually I get a vision long before it happens. I’m sure there is time but it is going to happen. Did the eagle mention any of this?” Eridanus replied, looking at Azrael.

“It just said that Lord Mikhail had the spirit of Lilith under control,” he said and Eridanus let out a sigh, biting his lower lip in thought.

“Something needs to be done about this as soon as possible. I sense a danger.”

“I realize that, and we are trying to find a solution for this but it’s not that easy,” Amara uttered, as she gazed at the books before her, lost.

Eridanus looked at her for a long moment before blinking and then nodding once.

“Okay. There is one thing that can be done,” he replied after thinking for a while.

“What?” Amara asked eagerly.

“We could try to get Lilith’s spirit under control, if anyone is well aware of summoning spirits. I could help you find out when and at what point Lord Mikhail is not paying much attention to the spirit because I’m sure that would happen. Getting a spirit completely under control is a very complicated and strenuous task. Only highly powerful sorcerers or ancient witches are capable of doing the same. Lilith has already taken the vow of destroying our coven because we didn’t let her finish her meal of Nicholas so she’ll come back for revenge and Lord Mikhail could use that to his advantage.

“Though it’ll take time for him to actually find out the cause of her being here, we need to do something immediately.” He paused to take a breath. “Since Lilith isn’t actually very fond of our coven, we would have to manipulate her mind so she doesn’t know who is calling her. If that can happen, then someone who is capable of summoning spirits can get her under our power.”

Amara stared at him, contemplating what he had said. She could think of some way to bring the spirit under control. There were two people sitting right in front of her, who were capable of manipulation and Iris too, was well aware of a few ways of manipulation. Whereas summoning a spirit was concerned, she was trained in the task but wasn’t strong enough and would surely need assistance. She did not know who would be of help.

“I believe Azrael is skilled enough in manipulation. Of the physical being, I mean.” Amara looked at Eridanus. “You and Iris could help him in controlling Lilith’s mind. But I’m not sure how the spirit could be summoned here. I can do the task to some extent but I’m not as strong. I would need someone,” she finished.

Azrael narrowed his eyes for a moment as though in thought, before he turned his head around, and caught sight of someone he was hoping to find in the library.

“Lea,” he called out softly so as not to disturb the other witches that were busy reading.

Leandra turned her head to look at her brother. She raised her eyebrows, questioning what he wanted. Azrael beckoned her towards him. Snapping the book shut, she placed it back on the table before getting up and proceeding to walk towards her sibling.

“Sit,” he said to her and Lea took a seat.

“She can summon spirits. It’s one of her dominant skills,” Azrael revealed to the others.

Amara looked at Lea, who sat there clueless. She had never really spoken to Lea. Mostly it would only be to ask about Iris, but nothing serious as such. Amara was unaware of what powers Lea possessed and what elements she was capable of handling. She did not even know how experienced Lea was.

“What am I being talked about for?” asked Lea, piping in out of curiosity.

“How skilled are you in summoning spirits?” Amara said before any of them could reply.

Although a bit nervous around Amara, Lea had now mastered the art of keeping her nervousness hidden under her ever present smile. Amara was intimidating, which rather scared Lea a bit around her, even though there was nothing remotely dangerous that Amara could do to her. Yet the mere presence of the powerful witch made her nervous. She kept it hidden skilfully enough and was relieved about the fact that she was barely ever addressed to apart from a few times that she was asked about Iris. Although, this time, it seemed as though there was something important since Amara was directly addressing her.

“I’ve been practicing for around ninety years now. I believe I am good enough,” she replied, shrugging.

“If I were to say that we need to summon the spirit of Lilith, would you be able to?” Amara retorted and Lea stared at her in utter shock.

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“You’re joking, right?” She let out a nervous chuckle and looked at the three of them. They had entirely serious expressions across their faces. None of them replied.

“You’re telling me that we have to summon the spirit of the evil witch who murdered Nicholas?” She glanced at the three of them again to make sure they were not making some joke. “She’s the most powerful spirit I’ve ever seen! I don’t think anyone would be capable of summoning a hungry spirit like hers.”

“That’s exactly why we can’t do it alone,” Azrael said. “We need a team. A strong, capable group of us who can successfully summon her spirit so as to stop her from going to the wrong people. Lord Mikhail already has summoned her and we need to stop him somehow.”

“How is that possible?” Lea asked.

“Well, Eridanus, Iris and I will try manipulating the spirit,” Azrael said. “Iris and Eridanus will do it through the mind, while I will help you in summoning her here physically. Eridanus can cease her mind so she wouldn’t realize where she’s being summoned. You and Amara together can perform the rituals needed to summon the spirit. That way we can get her under our control.

Lea listened to him silently, contemplating everything that he had just said to her and then blinked, glancing at Amara once.

“Easier said than done,” she said, and then turned to look at Amara. “The two of us can’t possibly summon such a strong spirit after it has already been manipulated twice. We are going to need more assistance and strength.”

“ERIDANUS, YOU SCOUNDREL! I’ve been looking all over for you! I was supposed to invade a certain mind but you vanished out of sight. I was left wondering where in the devil’s name, my mind was supposed to go!”

Everyone snapped their heads towards Iris, who stood there, fuming. Her eyes were focussed on Eridanus as she glared at him. He cleared his throat and looked at her sheepishly.

"I'm sorry I had to leave like that. There was something important that-wait, sit down. We need to talk to you," he replied.

Frowning, Iris opened her mouth to say something when she noticed the serious looks that the lot held and quietly sat down. She waited for them to tell her something and Amara decided to explain everything to her. Iris listened silently, understanding whatever was being said to her. When Amara was done, she let out a sigh and Iris kept her gaze locked onto her.

"You want me to manipulate the mind of Lilith?” She replied, astonished.

"Yes. You won't be alone," replied Azrael.

"What about the assistance that we might need in summoning the spirit?" Lea asked when Iris was about to say something.

"Right. Who else is skilled in summoning spirits?" Eridanus said, scratching his chin.

"Fabian?" Offered Lea, for she had heard that he was trained in the same.

"No, he's not strong enough. We need someone experienced," Azrael said.

"What about Ambrosius? He sacrifices souls, correct?" Eridanus spoke.

"No, he isn’t as useful." Amara denied.

Iris sat there pondering over what was going on as the others thought of those who could help.

"Sienna!" Iris exclaimed suddenly, and all of them turned to look at her.

"Why her?" Lea questioned.

"She drove Lilith's spirit away. The flute is skilled in summoning spirits as well. I'm sure she can help," Iris replied.

"That could work," Amara agreed, nodding.

"Let’s talk to her then." Eridanus stood up and the others followed.

After searching the entire castle for Sienna, all of them split up to look for her. Amara found herself on the tower where Lea's sculpted fairy stood, now with her wings in a flying stance. She watched the fairy for a moment before her eyes flitted to Sienna who sat there with her eyes staring off into space.

Amara approached Sienna and cleared her throat, but the latter did not react.

"Sienna?” Amara called out.

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