Chapter Two
Raelyn
Sitting under the large oak tree by the lake, I found myself drifting from the school work in front of me. The sun was just starting to set, yet its warmth still seemed to radiate down into my skin. I sat there basking in the late fall rays, and my thoughts drifted to my heritage.
It was simple really. My mom is a witch; my dad was a shapeshifter. As the story goes, when my mom found out she was pregnant with two twin girls, the entire family assumed they'd both be witches, since the witch trait was often passed down through the girls. But an important detail went forgotten by our family; generations ago the witch line had done a blood bond with another shapeshifter family. It went by unannounced; it hardly mattered since nothing came out of it. Since then, all of the children in our family have had a little shapeshifter blood in them. This usually goes unnoticed in all of the other kids, but when my mother had children with a shapeshifter, the balance was shifted, and Anneliese became a shapeshifter. It was only pure luck that I didn't become one myself.
I tried imagining myself as a shapeshifter instead of a witch, and it was almost too much. My entire life since my father had died was with my mother in the kitchen, learning spells and potions. I tried imagining what Anneliese did without our father, and I felt sorry for her.
A noise went off in my pocket; I picked up the dainty cell phone, and placed it to my ear.
"Yeah?" I answered lazily.
"Rae," my sister's voice came from the phone, "Mom wants you home."
I sighed and looked at the setting sun, "Fine." I grumbled, and hung up the phone.
I packed up my things, and headed back towards the car. As soon as I saw my car, I paused. There, casually leaning against the hood of my car was my cousin, Amy. I walked up to her.
"Amy," I acknowledged her.
"Oh, Rae!" She exclaimed, as if she hadn't known I would be nearby. "It's been too long!"
"What do you want, Amy?" I was not one for chit-chat.
"I just want to remind you. And, as a foreseer, tell you something."
"Remind me?" I asked astounded. "You haven't made any contact with the family since, well since you chose. Not a single phone call, telling people where you are. And now you're here, wanting to remind me something?"
Amy looked sheepish, much like a four-year old who just got caught in the act of something naughty. "Well, I'm here now. I was bonding with my new circle sisters. But, I do need to remind you, your eighteenth birthday is approaching; fast. Have you even thought about which circle to claim?"
It was tradition in my family that all witches on their eighteenth were to choose either, Light or Dark circles. Apparently the old fable 'Circle Daybreak' had been appearing, but I hardly believed the rumors. "I've got time." I mumbled, knowing I only had 4 months.
"Time?" Amy laughed. "You don't have any time. Just because we don't hang out like we used to when we were little, doesn't mean I don't remember your birthday, Rae. You really don't have time. Plus, all of your thought can't go towards the circles soon."
"What are you talking about?" Amy was a skilled foreseer, which meant she could glimpse into the future, she had always enjoyed holding it over people's head, only telling them her visions if there was immediate danger to someone she cared about. "What did you see, Amy?"
"Wouldn't you like to know?" She sang, as she so often did when we were kids.
"Amy, please. You chose Dark, which means you're going to keep your visions even more, so the only reason you really are here, is something is terribly wrong." I tried to keep the terror out of my voice, but it leaked through.
"Rae, I won't tell you exactly what I saw. But, know this; you and Anneliese are in some serious danger. Especially Anneliese; keep an eye on her." She slid off the hood of my car, and sauntered off into the dark sky. I stood there, frozen, keys in my hand, trying to decipher Amy's horrid words.
.
.