Chapter 50.
(In this chapter I want to explore the world of witchcraft. I've tried to research into many different cultures throughout this story to make it as accurate as I can and witchcraft is definitely my favourite so far. So yeah.)
Hannah
I heard it last night, the cry of a Banshee.
Disgusting, vile creatures. I need to find it before it finds me. I take out my spell book.
I close my eyes and chant,
"The piercing cry
That feeds on pain
And leaves more sorrow than it gains
Shall now be heard
By one who seeks
To cease the havoc that it wreaks."
I'm currently hidden away within a small gathering of trees.
The banishing spell only works when the banshee is near, but I've already prepared it: an unspecified amount of rosemary, sage, oregano, coriander, tea, yarrow powder, and a handful of chicken bones.
I have the bowl and when the banshee arrives I'll mix my blood in with it.
I hear her. I cut the tip of my finger, stir it in the mixture and cast the spell.
"A witch huh?"
"Creature of evil, far and wide
From this spell you shall not hide
Heed these words and heed them well
For in this home no longer dwell."
When I toss a handful of the mixture onto the floor, a blue light appears and you banshee, old and ugly, disappears with it.
"The cards told me I'd meet one of my own here." Says a teenage girl. She has cropped black hair, black skin and a heavy African accent. I can also see a charm necklace, I can trust her.
"The cards are never wrong. A witch?" I ask.
"The only other one here, I've looked."
"I'll cast a spell of your choice for you if you give me a reading?" I offer.
"Come to my dorm, my roommates will be out all day."
Amina, the girl, draws three cards and places them in front of me.
"With this card on the left, I shall see your past. With the middle card, I shall see your present and with the final card I shall see your future"
"Let's hear it."
"In your near past, you have had a brush with death."
"That would either be the crash or the son of the dark lord."
"Well this one is obvious, but it says you're far away from home. And this final card says you'll save a life."
"Not bad."
"Sorry they're not specific, although they are accurate."
"It's not a big deal if they're not specific. Now, any idea on what spell you want me to cast?"
She asks me to deal with the people who have been bothering her, and we cast a spell that should keep them at bay.
But something feels, off. Either Amina is breathing very heavily or there's someone else in here,
I light another candle.
"In this tween time, the darkest hour
We call upon this sacred power
Two together stand alone
Command the unseen to be shown
In innocence we search the skies
Enchanted are our newfound eyes."
I blow out the candle, and when I do so I see another girl in here.
"Lila?"
"What the hell is going on?" The girl commands.
"Leave it to me, I've made one too many mistakes before.
After this spell is cast and said, remove this memory from her head."
Lila falls backwards and I catch her before she hits the floor.
"What did you do to her?"
"She won't remember any of this, when she wakes up in a few minutes. She'll be fine." I assure her.
"Is it really moral to alter someone's memories like that?"
"Either that or we put ourselves at risk. You took a big risk coming to me without knowing what I was."
"And you automatically believed me."
"I noticed your charm necklace. What does it do?"
"It protects me from black magic, like the spell you just cast."
"It'll be Fine, I don't use it unless less I have to."
I take Lila to her room, that Amina points out, and lay her on her bed.
"So, What legacies do you have?" I ask when I come back out
"Prediction, mind reading and telekinesis."
"We both have legacies similar to our witchcraft. My aunt taught me how to communicate with the dead and now I'm like that kid from Paranorman."
"Hannah, I was wondering if you could help me with my witchcraft more often. You seem really good at it."
"Sure, there's a fair few witches in my family so I had plenty of mentors. My aunt, my two cousins and the eldest's daughter, my grandmother and her mother, and her mother were all witches. I'd be happy to help you out, my cousin's daughter uses tarot cards, although I don't understand their meanings, but I can teach you some spells. I think a memory spell would help."
"Are there any women who aren't witches in your family?"
"My mother. What about you? How did you find out about witchcraft?"
"Well, I could almost guess what was about to happen. It began slowly then I realised what was happening. I learned to always follow my instincts and one day they led me to this old woman's home. She turned out to be a witch and taught me magic, before she was caught and exiled from our village."
"That must have been awful. I hate how most of the world views witches because most of those found guilty aren't witches at all."
"How did you find all these spells?" She asks, looking through my book. "Did your family teach you all of these?"
"Well actually, I found a lot of them on the internet. Most spells you find online are fake but if you know where to look, you'll find genuine spells."
"When I use the computers in the library I rarely find genuine illegally uploaded movies."
"Yeah, that's always a struggle. One time I got the entire Lego movie as an ad."
"Wow, I just realised how loud you are. It's quite entertaining."
