"Esther will not be swayed," Ayana's response had been the same for nearly half a day. "She wants to protect her children, Maja."
"You know what I saw!" Maja protested. "You know how it will anger the Spirits!"
"Then it will be her consequence to bear, not ours." Ayana bore no ill will against either the young witch in front of her or the woman of whom they spoke. But she had no desire to get any more mixed up in their business than she already was. She had conceded to Esther's pleading out of pity, guiding her towards a spell that would give her the protection she so craved for her remaining family. The same night the child, Henrik, had died, however, Maja had Seen a premonition of the future, a rare gift no one else in their land possessed. Monsters, she had cried, you will breed a race of monsters! Esther, who had been a mentor to Maja as she learned alongside Esther's own son Kol, had ignored her. Blinded by grief, Esther demanded Ayana help her gather the ingredients for the spell, forsaking the Ancestors she had been sworn to.
"I saw our home, Ayana." Maja spoke softly, knowing that was the one bit of information she had yet to share, had left out of her recounting to both women earlier. The destruction of their village. "Overrun with unnatural creatures, bathed in the blood of innocents." Ayana straightened, abandoning her basket of White Oak bark on the ground.
"Esther can't have done that much damage."
"Can't she? A thousand years later, Ayana, and our descendants are still paying for whatever mess Esther creates tonight." The older witch hesitated, then stepped closer and lowered her voice.
"There is… something." She had heard of a tactic they could try, a story passed down from legend. "But it may not work."
"I will try anything," Maja vowed. She felt for Esther, she truly did. Kol and Rebekah, all of them really, were her friends – she didn't want anything to happen to them; Henrik had been a joyful presence in her life. Kol, especially, was her partner in all things - had even coincidentally been born on the same day. But she couldn't let Esther upset the Balance so monumentally – she wouldn't. Even if the cost was her life.
The spell Ayana had found for Esther centered around blood – Black Magic. She was to mix it into their dinner, with a few other ingredients, perform the spell, and feed it to her children. The result would be their redemption; no one could hurt any of them ever again. Ayana had found something that might put a dent in that plan. "I won't be part of this," she warned Maja. "I gave you the spell, but if you want to stop Esther, you're on your own."
"I understand." Esther's wrath could be as ferocious as her husband's. "Thank you."
"This is not a guarantee. It is a legend, nothing more, and it may not work at all." But Maja had hope. No premonitions had revealed to her the success of the spell, but she knew enough about her gifts to trust in her intuition. So, she got to work. She knew what Esther had used for the spell – who Esther had used for the spell – and knew that she had only a small window of opportunity. As Esther's spell centered around blood, so did Maja's – her own. It only took a bit, not enough to kill her, spelled and mixed in with Tatia's. In theory, it would provide a loophole specific to her. Esther's spell may make her children invulnerable, but Maja would be their weakness. By consuming her spelled blood, all six of them would be connected. Sneaking as close as she dared to the fire pit outside Mikael's home, near which sat a cask of wine she knew contained spelled blood, Maja pulled a bottle of her own blood, previously collected, from under her skirts. As quickly as she could, she began pouring it into the cask, when Rebekah stepped outside.
"Maja? What are you doing here?" Only half-emptied, Maja was forced to let the small vial fall to the ground, where she pressed it into the mud with her foot.
"Oh, I was coming to say hello when I smelled your mother's stew." Luckily, any strange movements Rebekah might have noticed Maja making were hidden by the rather large spit and pot over the fire. "She really is the best cook in the village."
"I would invite you to have some, but my father will be home soon." Everyone was afraid of Mikael, with good reason. After Henrik's death, his temper had been even more uncontrollable.
"I understand. Say hello to your family for me!" Walking quickly away, Maja prayed the amount of blood she'd gotten into the wine had been enough.
Later that evening, far too apprehensive to finish her supper, Maja stepped outside her home, hoping to find reprieve from the concerned looks of her parents and siblings. As she did so, she caught a glimpse of Mikael through the open window of his own home. She was just in time to see him drive his sword through Kol's heart.
The Sun for life, she chanted to herself, one half of her hoping the poor family would stay dead, the other pleading to see Kol's smiling face pop back up at the window. Mikael left, looking for something, and Maja stepped back into the doorway, hidden in shadow. A few minutes later, Kol's head did appear again in the window, along with the rest of his siblings, all looking bloody and extremely confused. Mikael returned, a sick-looking girl in his arms. Fresh blood. Maja didn't want to watch anymore.
—
The next night, Maja was sitting under the White Oak in the middle of the village, one of her father's hunting knives up her sleeve.
The White Oak for Immortality… but if the spell had worked, would she be the exception? Mikael's request, repeated to her by Ayana, rang in her ears. Stronger, faster, superior in power and senses.
Perhaps, then, the trick wouldn't be killing them, but getting to them. As Elijah walked past, off to do whatever errands he could no longer do during the day, Maja made her choice. Dear, sweet Elijah. The most mild-mannered, the most kind. The one least likely to snap her neck should he notice her intentions. Knowing it was likely futile to attempt to be sneaky, as she and Elijah were the only two people out, she went for another tactic.
"Elijah!" He whirled.
"Maja? What are you doing out here so late?"
"I just… wanted to see how you were doing? I know this transition cannot be an easy one." She stepped closer and he stiffened.
"No, no it… it is not." Even now, his deep, calm voice soothed Maja's anxiety, as it always had. "There are…unexpected challenges." She imagined all of it was unexpected, as Esther and Mikael kept their plan a secret from their children, but she knew what he was trying to say.
"Like what?" She stepped closer again, now within striking distance. Elijah was clearly uncomfortable with her line of questioning.
"Let us just say it is an exercise in control." Suddenly, she lashed out, knife in hand. Had he been human, it would have gone directly into his heart. As he was not, however, he moved to the side in time to avoid most of the damage. She did leave a long gash across his chest, however. It healed almost immediately. "What are you doing?" Elijah demanded. Maja was numb.
"It didn't work."
"Of course, it didn't work! You of all people should know better." I meant the spell. But she didn't correct him, and she didn't seem to notice that she was being criticized, not for attempting to kill him, but for doing a shoddy job of it. We're not connected at all.