Wicked Casters
Disclaimer: I do not own the Twilight Saga, American Horror Story, Beautiful Creatures, The Vampire Diaries, and other media put into this story. All for fun, no profit. I am paid with you enjoying the story and critique/review.
Chapter 11: The truth
Zelena waited for the girls to leave before heading upstairs to her private studies. The small room had cobble walls, and the wood flooring was damaged from wear, and use of rituals as paint, blood, and candle wax had seeped into the cracks. The lone window is covered by a black drape preventing sunlight in. Against the wall is a bookshelf built to contain Grimoirs of the Magnus-Playfer family and those from the forgotten. On the other side was a fireplace that had hardly been used except for the cold winter's night. The chamber contains Caster artifacts, candles, grimoires, herbs, stones, and talismans. But on one wall was an oil painting portrait of her ancestors, two women in modest seventeenth-century clothes with dark hair, fair skin, and green/brown eyes. Zelena traced her hand over the portrait, thinking about her ancestors: Bridget Bishop and her cousin Mildred Magnus.
She was from the bloodline of Bridget Bishop, although her full name was Bridget Magnus Playfer. Zelena's birthname was Zelena Meredith Magnus Playfer Wessebly. Descended from the children of the first marriage with Captain Samuel Wessebly. Ever since moving to Forks, Zelena chose Bishop as her last name to make it easier. But in another decade, she will have to move and go by one of her three last names. Growing up many knew her as Zelena Wessebly. As a Caster it is important to hold onto your ancestor's name.
The Shadow Witch took a deep breath, and got on track as she collected the materials, she needed from the mantel grabbing black sand. Every so slowly, precisely in detail, she drew the sand into a pentagram with rune symbols inside the star. Afterward, place five candles on each point. Once done, she laid down on the star, as her head faced the north.
She took a deep breath and chanted, "Spiritu duce, in me est. Deduc me in tenebris vita ad extremum, ut salutaret 'nferi. Descemsu!"
Zelena's body went limp as her spirit astral projected to the netherworld to get an answer. Lost in the dark abyss, she looked around to make sure Papa Legba or Grimm was nowhere around. It Is dangerous to enter the netherworld during the day. But being that her body is in Forks, mostly under constant clouds, the opportunity had to be taken.
"Show me the future," She demanded in a low, serious voice in the language of the Casters.
The black abyss changed to a dark forest. The trees look deviant, all black in the sense of death. While others were strongly covered in moss as several had the tribal markings. She feels the mist coating her skin. As she could hear the waves crashing into the rocks on the far end. Zelena knew she was in the spirit realm of the Olympic Peninsula. Ever so slightly, she could hear Native American chimes and chants. The drum thudding in the far distance.
Zelena stood where she was, waiting for the spirits to send her a message. She desperately wanted to know how deep her girls were in Forks' secrets. Sooner or later, they would have to know. It wasn't long before the spirits showed the possible future that awaited Eleanor and Ginger. The girls were walking along the forest, wearing cloaks in caster attire. They seemed to be in an argument yelling at each other to a point they both conjured fire orbs. Neither of them fought as they walked towards the light, still arguing.
Before either of them could strike, Jacob Black ran towards them, grabbing both girls' hands. He tugged them back to the forest, but only Ginger resisted wanting to go to the light.
"Jake, what's wrong?" Ginger demanded.
Jacob's face was frightened as he looked at them. He was using all of his strength against their resistance. "Run, Eleanor. Run Ginger. You have to run!" He whispered, terrified.
"This way, Ginger!" another voice called out.
"Why?" Ginger asked, desperately leaning towards the light.
"Ginger, just listen to him," Eleanor yelled.
Jacob let go with a yelp. Suddenly shaking onto the forest floor, twitching and shaking violently to a point you can't see his figure. Eleanor cried out for Jacob in fear as she ran over to aid him. But he was gone, transforming into a massive russet wolf with brown eyes. The wolf stared at Eleanor for a long moment, as she stared back at them. A red string connecting them then vanished. The wolf turned his face away from her and glared at the light, causing the fur to bristle. A low growl rumbled in his chest as he exposed his large canines, curling his black lips.
"Run!" said the male voice.
Eleanor stood in shock, staring at the wolf. Meanwhile, Ginger looked at the light. And then Edward Cullen stepped out from the light exposing his true nature. His skin glowed as the shimmery stones trapped within the marble. Eyes black as night fueled with hunger surrounded by bruising. The godly creature raised one hand, asking Ginger to come to him. The wolf growled, walking around Eleanor and crouched down behind Ginger, ready to attack. Ginger took a step forward. Edward smiles then as he exposes his fangs.
"Trust me," Edward Cullen purred.
Ginger took another step toward Edward. The wolf launched himself at Edward for the kill, protecting the two young witches. Three shadow figures with red eyes appeared behind Eleanor, grabbing her further into the darkness as this happened. Another set of men came behind Ginger, all white and deadly as Edward, as one leaned into her neck and bit into tainted flesh.
A hand wrapped around Zelena's mouth, preventing her from screaming. The person who grabbed her forced Zelena to turn around to face a dark-skinned man with coal-red eyes and black dreadlocks. He wears a long black overcoat and a hat with small skulls decorated with various bird feathers. The Loa Spirit Baron Samedi, who traced his claws along her lips, gently smearing cocaine under her nose.
"My dear wandering friend," Samedi murmured in a foreign accent. "You shouldn't be here. This is not your hell."
Before Zelena could explain to Baron Samedi, he forced the cocaine up her nose. The powdery substance burned the shadow witch's nostrils, making her lose concentration. The next thing she knew, she woke up with a gasp sneezing her head off. Immediately she wiped her nose, finding cocaine in her hand. Cursing, she went to the bathroom to get rid of the drug. Damn, Baron Samedi. The Loa who tricks people to call him Papa Legba, when he is no peaceful loa to help souls cross over to the other side. But more of a collector of souls who place mischievous favors on his favorite Casters with a twist. Hense the cocaine up the nose by random. The last thing she needs is Charlie Swan coming over for an unexpected visit to find her under the influence.
However, as she washed her face and nose, she feared for her girls. Edward Cullen is a bad influence on Ginger. She decided to tell both Eleanor and Ginger about the Cullens. Although the part about Jacob and the tribe is not her place to say and hope none of them get involved as the premonition showed her.
.o0o.
Ginger's POV
I stared at Eleanor, confused as she told me what Jacob told her about the Cold Ones. The Cullens are supposed to be a vampire. First off, I've never considered the idea that Edward Cullen is a vampire. I thought he was another warlock whose ability is super speed and strength with glamor. But now, that theory is out the window. And I desperately wanted it to be something from a comic strip of his mutant powers. Damn, I spent too much of my childhood reading comic books.
"Have you met a vampire?" I asked.
"No, I never met a vampire," Eleanor answered. "My grandfather has. Some vampire named Alexia Branson and her friend Stefan Salvatore before the 20th century. Although, my grandfather says most vampires live in Europe or place of origin in the vampiric breed. There are different types of vampires. The most common are from the original bloodline." Eleanor paused, lost in a memory then added, "I did meet a succubus a few times. "
"Succubus," I repeated.
"Yeah, Chiara. She and her sisters are very self-confident and not afraid of their open sexuality." She murmured, giving a nervous chuckle. "Not how I wanted to learn about the birds and the bees."
"Seriously?" I find it hard to believe it. A succubus gave Eleanor the Sex Talk.
"Seriously, though, keep them away from your boyfriends." She added. "Or girlfriends. They are Pansexual."
I nodded with a slight chuckle. Being a late-born had me miss the first coming of age test, I find it challenging to understand the supernatural world. Witches, warlocks who go by the term casters. Succubus is a demon that sleeps with humans for life energy. And now add the legends Jacob told Eleanor about werewolves and vampires. The world is full of secrets. If these creatures are known to children as nightmares, I wonder what other beings go lurking in the night. Could Asia be populated with entities? Hell, I might as well consider Dracula to be real as well. So does this mean Vlad the Impaler is a strigoi?
Eleanor mentioned strigoi. Vampires who are attractive when they are awake. But once asleep, they have an Astral projection form that hunts their prey. I have seen Edward in my room at night. So could Edward be a strigoi.
When I drove past the entrance gates, the iron vines magically sealed shut. As we continued to drive, something was not right, and the trees on the pathway condensed impossible to see through. I looked at Eleanor, who seemed confused. Zelena said she had installed a security system, but I never thought it would be like this. Quickly I drove to the Cabin to see what was going on.
Once at the garage, Eleanor and I walked into the Cabin to find Zelena in the living room. She seemed agitated as she laid tarot cards all over the coffee table. Whatever she saw, she did not like the answer. She reshuffles the deck doing it again.
"What's going on?" I asked.
Zelena sighed, "It's time I tell you something that involves the Cullens."
Eleanor and I took a seat on the couch, watching her. She seemed a bit tense as she shuffled the deck repeatedly. "You probably know that the Cullens and Hales are not normal people."
"Yeah," I said. "Edward stopped the van from killing us."
"Anything else you notice compared to the other students in school," Zelena said.
"They don't eat during lunch, snow-white skin, golden eyes," Eleanor started.
"Or black eyes, bruising as if they don't sleep, exotic beauty, alluring fragrance," I added. "And the faint scent of animal blood."
"And unexplainable strength and agility." Zelena finished the list. "The Cullens are vampires. And they are not the average Vampire we know of."
"What do you mean they aren't like the average vampires?" Eleanor asked. "Are they the Originals?"
"No, the Cullens don't have any blood relations to the Originals. They are their own breed of no origins. They are more dangerous, more lethal, and more deadly to defend yourselves. The only way is to avoid or run away. I've never told the Council about this because of the treaty between the Quileutes' and these lands I own." Zelena said.
"So, do we move or stay?" Eleanor asked.
"We can't," Zelena answered. "But I want you girls to promise me to be careful. Ginger, I can't stop you from affiliating with him, but if he shows any signs of a threat, even growls, I want you to run. Our kind hardly associates with these vampires. They are the top predators in the supernatural. The most lethal in the vampiric race. One bite and you might die in the most horrifying death or worse, become one of them."
"What happens if we become one with them?" I asked.
"When a Caster is turned into a vampire, her magic vanishes along with the connection to the earth. If you were turned, you shall feel empty, hollow, a mere spec of your existence as your humanity is turned off. All you'll think about is one thing. Blood." She told me seriously.
"Can we make an alliance, a truce?" I suggested.
"Ginger, we are becoming a dying breed," Eleanor said. "We can't risk it."
"But what if there is a chance we can make a treaty," I said. "At least with the Cullens. I mean, it is the twenty-first century. Shouldn't the supernatural join forces?"
"It's not like that," Zelena said. "Not when a third of the trinity has been practically shattered."
"A third?" I asked, confused.
Zelena sighed as she set the tarot cards down. "Sun, moon, and star: sun being the casters, the stars representing the vampires, and the moon are the werewolves. A century after the new millennia, our species coexisted. It wasn't until the Dark Ages did the vampires of this race attack the werewolves hunting them down to near extinction, for they were far more powerful than any of them alone. As they hunted the werewolves, the vampires drafted countless casters transforming them to be far as powerful as them. However, the caster's magic vanished, leaving the soul to rot in a hell far worse than death. An eternity of pain, hunger, and lust. To this day, we manage to associate with the vampires from the Original bloodline, but any from the Cold Ones are a threat."
"But what if they have changed?" I asked.
"If they have changed, then it would be a miracle," Zelena answered. "But blood is blood. Every second you're near them while you talk, they only hear your heartbeat. This is my warning, and take it at your own risk. Do not get close to him, Georgia."
She set the deck on the coffee table, sliding them out in a crescent shape. She gestured to me to pick out a card, to which I picked the one that was calling. Thus, lifting the specific card only to gasp at the image it bestowed. A skeleton knight riding a famine horse as the word Death in cursive lay underneath.
"Or you shall cease to exist."
.o0o.
I lay in bed, taking in what Zelena told me about Edward Cullen. I somewhat accepted neither the fact that Edward is not human nor a caster. But to hear, the rivalry between the Casters and Vampires goes back for almost a thousand years. All because the Vampires hunted down the werewolves and killed others of my kind. However, I couldn't accept the fact that Edward was that vile.
I tried to think of the cons to why I shouldn't be friends with Edward. He's a vampire. He drinks blood. His species holds a dark history with my kind. Oh, and let's not forget that his bipolar behavior is discouraging. But as I went to the pros, I sighed. He saved my life. He goes to a school filled with humans and hasn't killed anyone. And let's not forget how handsome he is. The pros weren't winning this debate.
Checking my phone to find it was eleven o'clock at night. Without thinking, I quietly went to Eleanor's room to fetch her laptop. Eleanor laid asleep on her bed straight as aboard. I wonder if she was meditating till seeing the bottle of melatonin pills. Considering the risk of taking Eleanor's stuff without asking, I walk over to the dresser taking the laptop, ever so slowly disconnecting it from the charger. As I turned around, I gasped in surprise as Eleanor levitated a few feet off the bed. I held my breath till hearing the soft snore, then exhaled in relief. It's quite fascinating and disturbing to find your housemate levitating in her sleep. It must be a satire compared to normal people who talk in their sleep or sleepwalk.
With a final all-clear, I silently snuck out of Eleanor's room and quickly into mine. Once safe with the door locked, I sat on my bed, turning on the laptop. It took a moment for it to turn on before two user icons popped up. One is with an image of a teardrop with her name on it, while the other is a simple logo with the word Guest underneath. I clicked that one, not wanting to deal with passwords. The Guest user folder opened, letting me in, and I quickly got on the internet.
Not taking the chance on Vampire to give bullshit information, I typed Cold One, thinking that may help. A moment later, websites show up. I skimmed down the list till seeing one site that caught my interest: The Cold One: Apotamkin. Clicking on it, the page opens to show a tribal painting of a monster eating a person. Not a pleasant picture. I read the summary, then scroll down, reading the bottom that read DEMONS OF THE NIGHT ORIGINS AND CULTURES. There was an entire list of different countries from China, Egypt, India, Peru, Pacific Northwest, Japan, Romania, and more.
Curiously I clicked on Egypt as the page popped up with the title EGYPTIANS: The Immortal Drink. India titled SCOURAGE OF THE GANGES. Peru with THE DEMON'S DISMEMBERMENT. All sorts of dark and morbid disturbing facts, but nothing says about romantic behavior . . . so Bram Stroker got that wrong unless he was a vampire. Could he have changed the myths so humans can't tell? The only keynotes I need to find to prove that Edward is a Cold One are undead, agility, strength, cold-skinned, immortal, and drinks blood.
Already Edward showed his speed and strength about a week ago from the accident. It's downright clear that he is immortal and drinks blood. But the cold skin is something new. I've never touched his skin before. Even when he grabbed me from tripping, he always touched the thickest part of my clothing, let alone this being Forks. But the major difference between a Vampire from the Originals and these Cold Ones is how they react to the sun. Zelena says a majority of the vampiric race shall burn in the sunlight unless they have a daylight gem. But a Cold One does not burn. No, a Cold One reflects the sun.
I do not know what she means by reflects the sun. The only way to find out is to go to school on Monday to get answers. I pray Edward is a Strigoi from the Romanian legends. It can be the only explanation in why I see him at night in my dreams.
But if Edward has been here…does he know that I am a witch?
What do you all think?
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