Chapter 11
Compared to Processing, the rest of the complex was bustling with activity: masked and unmasked cultists went about their business while armed guards patrolled the hallways. Thorn felt like she was being lead through some corporate office building rather than the lair of a cult with rooms labeled "Accounting", "Communications", "IT" and even a small mess hall. Yet there were details that made the complex feel otherworldly: the cultists wearing their sacred masks and garments; rooms with labels like "Enchantments", "Conjurations" and "Divinations" that whenever Thorn would try to look into, the doors would close on their own and the windows darkened; the eerie eye-like symbol etched on every wall and, she finally noticed, marked the clothing of every cultist. She was so caught up in sights that she almost failed to notice Matella, Dusk and Luna stop walking as a man about Matella's age with short, black hair and green eyes approached the group.
"Matella, I wanted to make sure we wer…" a familiar, yet unexpectedly friendly, male voice stopped as he noticed Thorn and her bandmates.
"Yes Cyrus?" Matella asked.
"Never mind. I see that you're busy," he replied, his tone quickly became cold while his gaze never left the Hex Girls.
"Cyrus what's wrong?" Matella asked rather sweetly.
Thorn sighed with relief as Cyrus's attention turned to Matella.
"Nothing," he muttered.
Matella sighed and gently clasped his hand.
"Relax," Matella said, her voice quite soothing. "This is all for the greater good."
Cyrus muttered something inaudible, though based on his expression, Thorn guessed it wasn't pleasant. But after a moment he nodded.
"Okay, I trust you" he said.
With that the two separated and Cyrus walked past the group, only briefly glaring at the Hex Girls as he left.
"What was that about?" Dusk asked.
"Nothing important," Matella said as she resumed walking.
Thorn and Dusk glanced at each, shrugged and followed the witch.
The room the group stopped at was called "Research Lab 3" and with a wave of Matella's hand, the large steel door swung open.
"Please, take a seat," Matella said while gesturing to the round table in the center of the room.
Looking around the room, Thorn saw that the room was lined with shelves containing old-looking books and glass containers holding a palette of colored liquids, salts and powders while there were mason jars containing an assortment of strange items. Asides from themselves, there were no other people in the room.
Thorn took a seat across from Matella while Luna and Dusk sat adjacent to her. Thorn noticed that there were a few bowls, measuring cups, and some mortars and pestles placed on the table.
"Now Thorn, go ahead and ask any question you want," Matella said breaking the silence. "Though I'll warn you, you may not be satisfied with some of the answers."
Thorn stared at the witch in bewilderment. This was the moment she was waiting for. She was finally going to get the answers to the myriad of questions that were buzzing around in her head for the past couple days. But now with the answers literally across the table from her, Thorn felt overwhelmed and spent several minutes trying to pick a question before deciding to go the basics.
"So what is magic anyways?" Thorn finally asked.
"Starting with the big questions now aren't we," Matella said as she leaned back in her chair. She paused for a few minutes before speaking. "It's an innate force that some people have and most people don't. Those with magic are capable of magnificent feats." She paused. "Where it comes from and why certain people are magic is unknown, though there are numerous hypotheses that try to explain it; the two most likely ones are it's an unknown natural force or it comes from the gods." She paused again, this time a little longer than before. "Think of magic as tool you can use to create change in accordance to your will. Does that make sense to you?"
"That actually does," Thorn said as she recalled some of the occult teachings she'd read about. "But if that's true, why couldn't I use any magic before the cemetery? I've tried different Wiccan and occult spells before and nothing ever happened."
Matella leaned forward. "Well that's cause what you're reading isn't real sweetie. Nearly all of the spells and claims of magic you find in public are wishful thinking, confirmation bias, psychological tricks or outright lies."
Thorn slouched in her seat. "Great. Everything I believed in is bullshit then," she grumbled.
"Oh no! Not at all! There is a lot of psychological and moral lessons that can be learned from them. And you're free to use them as a moral compass or whatever. All I'm saying is that they're not real supernatural magic," Matella explained.
"I guess that's one way of putting it," Thorn said disappointed that being Wiccan wasn't the source of her magic. Despite this reveal, Thorn was surprised that she wasn't as upset about it as she thought she would be.
Thorn paused. "So would that mean when I touched that magic spot on the mausoleum… it what, activated my magic or something?"
"Correct. Those with latent magical skills typically require an external magic source to jumpstart their own abilities so to speak," Matella said. "Though it is strange that you were able to conjure that seal without having been exposed to magic before."
"But Thorn was exposed to real magic before," Dusk interjected. "She used a spell to send Sarah Ravencroft back into her spell book."
"Now that's a name I haven't heard in a long time," Matella said, the mention of Sarah clearly piquing her interest. "If true that would explain why Thorn was able to conjure the sealing spell at the cemetery."
"Yeah it's true," Thorn said. "It happened a few years ago. Her descendant Ben managed to free her ghost from her imprisonment and after a long struggle, I was able to get her spell book and read the spell that sent her back into the book. 'Ancient evil get thee hence…'"
Matella approvingly nodded along as Thorn recited the spell. Though she didn't realize it, Thorn was smiling and blushing as she recalled the incantation.
"Now, you wouldn't happen to still have Sarah's spell book?" Matella asked. It was odd question and the way Matella asked about the book made Thorn a bit uneasy.
"No, it was destroyed in a fire," Thorn replied.
"Oh, never mind then," Matella said in disappointment.
There a brief moment of silence between the women. With no one saying anything, Thorn's thoughts went wild again with questions.
"So if I have access to real spells, what else can I do?" she finally asked.
"Yeah," Dusk cheered. "I also want to see what you're capable of Thorn."
"Good idea," Matella said with a smile. "Why don't we test out your skills with magic?"
Thorn smiled with excitement. With actual spells, her mind went wild with the different things she could possibly do.
"Alright then," Matella said as she removed a piece of parchment from her pocket, quickly glanced at it and then pointed to two jars on a shelf. "We need some ground quartz and pentagonite. Thorn, would you please get them."
"Sure," Thorn said as she got up from her seat. But just as she got up, a force pushed her back into her seat.
"No need to get up," Matella said. "Use telekinesis, the simplest of spells; you don't even have to say anything." With a wave of her hand, a container filled with a black liquid resembling tar came off the shelf and drifted into her hands. Matella then measured the liquid and poured into a large bowl.
Thorn blinked a few times in confusion. She assumed that she had used telekinesis before but those incidents were accidental, brought about by distress; using it on command was on another level.
"How do I do that?" Thorn asked.
"Just focus on whatever object you want to move and then make it move," the witch replied as another jar, this one containing a liquid that resembled vegetable oil, flew into her hands.
That's useful Thorn thought, rolling her eyes. Regardless, she turned to shelves. The quartz was closer to the table, so she focused on that ingredient first. Shrugging, she waved her hand just as Matella had done. But instead of the container drifting through the air into Thorn's grasp, the jar fell to the ground like someone had bumped into the shelf and it shattered.
"Uh sorry about that," Thorn said.
"Don't worry about it," Matella sighed. "Quartz is the second most common mineral on the planet, so it's not like we're going to run out of it." With a clap, two phantom hands phased through the walls and quickly cleaned up the mess.
"Okay, what are those things?" Thorn asked. "I saw one at processing."
"They're just conjured entities. Don't worry about them, just get another jar of quartz," Matella said as she carefully measured the liquid before pouring it into the bowl.
Thorn nodded. She raised her hand in the direction of the jar. She closed her eyes, not wanting to see any distractions. She visualized the jar she needed. Okay. I'm moving the jar. She repeated the phrase several times in her mind, enough to the point where she could almost feel the smooth surface of the jar. Just lift the jar up. She raised her hand a bit higher. Now bring it over here. Thorn brought her hand closer to herself. After almost a minute, she felt the smooth glass jar in her hand and she opened her eyes.
The jar of ground-up quartz was in her hand. Thorn smiled with child-like excitement and looked to Matella.
"Good. Now get the pentagonite," the witch said.
Thorn gave Matella the quartz and turned her attention to the jar containing the blueish powder. She raised her hand and repeated the process from before, the only difference this time was that she kept her eyes open. While it lacked the speed and grace that Matella was capable off, Thorn was delighted to watch the jar trudge through air and inevitably end up in her hands.
"Hey, that was faster than last time," Dusk quipped.
"I guess I'm getting better at it," Thorn replied.
"That's nice, now can you pass it to me." Matella said.
"Oh right, here you go." Thorn handed over the jar and watched Matella pour some of the powdered pentagonite into the bowl. The witch then removed a piece of blank paper and pen from her pocket and transcribed something from the parchment onto the paper.
"Let's do some verbal spell work," Metalla said. "Try reading this." She slid the bowl and paper over to Thorn.
Thorn looked into the bowl. Nothing was happening with the strange mixture but that was likely where the spell came in. She looked over the spell and then looked at the bowl.
"Okay here it goes—Bring to union, this mystic blend and prepare this brew for…the iniquitous end?" Thorn tensed up. Something was…off. She looked to Matella for guidance, but Matella just gave her a dismissive look, as if everything was going to be find. But before she could dwell on her feeling, the contents of the bowl started to glow. The mixture churned and stirred; the grains of quartz and pentagonite, for the lack of a better term, melted into the swirling liquid despite the bowl remaining at room temperature. The glow grew brighter and the turbulent liquid turned blue-green. Mesmerized by what she had done, Thorn gazed into the concoction and eagerly awaiting the next steps; any ominous thoughts long since dispelled.
Luna shook her head. Not in disbelief of magic—that ship had long since sailed away—but in frustration and anger. As much as Luna didn't want to admit it, she was still upset with Thorn for flipping out on her and Dusk for pointing out Thorn's crime. Luna had shown genuine concern over her friend's behavior, yet Thorn not only dismissed her, she had the audacity to tell her to "shut up." She didn't truly apologize. Luna gazed at the ground and sighed.
Dusk was almost bad as Thorn once they got here. While being held at gunpoint, which in it of itself was a terrifying experience, Dusk had to argue with their captors and escalate things. Then she had her knife and somehow thought she was going to take on a bunch of cultists. Luna truly believed that Dusk was going to get them both killed and she had barely held it together. Overall, not a good night.
The sudden glow of a blue-green light dragged Luna out of her thoughts. She was only half aware of what Matella and Thorn were doing but whatever was happening in the bowl made Luna uncomfortable.
"Alright, let's add some vampire dust and goblin blood," Matella stated like they were household items. Luna watched as the witch handed Thorn a jar containing lavender dust that had a strong earthy scent and a vial containing a dark green, viscous liquid. Wait? Vampires and goblins are real. Great. Luna shuddered. Yet neither Thorn nor Dusk seemed shocked at this revelation. Then again, Thorn just learned that she was a magical witch and Dusk was probably more excited than anything else.
Luna watched as Thorn poured the two items into the brew. Puffs of lavender and green smoke billowed out from the bowl while the glow dimmed and the churning liquid became darker.
"Now, we'll add some werewolf teeth, the neck bolt of a flesh golem, the linen wrapping of a mummy and some ectoplasm," Matella replied. With a clap of her hands, several floating hands appeared and in an assembly line manner, delivered the ingredients to Thorn before vanishing.
Mouth agape, Luna watched as Thorn handled each monstrous item. The long and sharp canines of the werewolf that glistened in the artificial light of the room. A frost-covered jar containing a bluish liquid that seemed to float around in its container. The faded white linen wrappings of the mummy that looked thousands of years old. The long metal rod of whatever a flesh golem was that covered in what looked like dried blood. Thorn took each item and, with Dusk leaning over the black-haired girl's shoulder to catch a glimpse of the monster parts, dropped them into the bowl.
If they weren't handling the remains of actual monsters, Luna would've laughed at their child-like excitement. But instead, the surreal sight before her was worrisome.
"So how do you get this stuff?" Dusk asked.
Matella chuckled. "Simple. You kill them and harvest what you need."
Luna's heart skipped a beat. She can kill monsters.
"They were hurting people, right?" Thorn nervously asked.
"Sure," Matella said and she started writing something else down. "Alright, here's another spell for you to try." She handed another scrap of paper to Thorn.
"With Cosmic justice I seek to undo, the six kin I… abuse; their curses to this key I imbue."
Crimson flames suddenly rose from the bowl, violently hissing. Luna cringed. Something about the way the fire sounded felt wrong. Luna pushed her seat back and trembled. The fire wasn't hissing, it was screaming in hellish pain. Luna covered her ears, but the inhuman cries still echoed in her head. Then just as quickly as it began, the chorus of tortured monster cries ended and the flames died, much to Luna's relief.
"What the hell was that?" Thorn asked, her voice shaky and hushed.
"Yeah, that was messed up," Dusk said.
At least her friends were starting to realize how dangerous their situation was.
"It's nothing to fear, just some minor magic meant to… test you on how brave you are," Matella quickly answered. "I hope you're not too scared to continue your…training."
"What! No! I'm not scared," Thorn said. "I can keep going."
"Yeah," Dusk added. "Me too."
Luna shook her head and stood up. Now wasn't the time to be upset with her friends; there was a serious threat present.
"No, this isn't right," the redhead said, breaking her long silence. "Thorn, I think we should stop this."
Thorn and Dusk turned to Luna.
"Is there a problem Luna?" Matella asked before the two girls could speak.
"Yes! What's on that manuscript and why aren't you showing us it?" Luna said.
Luna shuddered as the witch gave her the coldest glare she had ever received from a person. But when Thorn and Dusk turned to Matella, the witch smiled.
"It's simply a test and due to the nature of magic, having the test-taker read ahead could cause unforeseen dangers," Matella casually explained, her gaze never once leaving Luna.
Bullshit! Luna was determined to figure out what was written on that piece of parchment.
"I see…" Luna said in an attempt to feign ignorance.
"Luna, if you can't handle being here, perhaps you need to be… removed from the premise," Matella calmly said.
"No…no. I'm fine," Luna responded with as much confidence as she could muster.
The witch half-smiled and then turned to Thorn. Luna sighed as witch's attention left her. If Luna wanted to read the parchment, she had to play it smart and ensure that each move she made was one step ahead of Matella. But unfortunately for the keyboardist, the witch made the first move.
"Alright Thorn," Matella said as the singer's eyes lit up. "I don't mean to alarm you, but these next few ste- er, tests will require some very delicate spellwork that will have results some may find terrifying. You will also have to precisely recite the next spells; you can't hesitate, misread or incorrectly say a word could be disastrous."
"Oh," Thorn said, the enthusiasm in her voice dipped.
"But I wouldn't worry too much, you seem to possess some natural skill with magic as you've passed every test so far. And I will guide you through these next few parts, thought I cannot use my own magic from here on out," Matella said patting the empty seat next to her. "Come sit."
Thorn smiled and moved to the other side of the table with the bowl.
"Yeah, you can do it Thorn!" Dusk cheered, causing Thorn to blush.
But Luna didn't share either of her friend's excitement. Luna scowled as Matella looked over the parchment.
"Luna sweetie." The witch's voice caught the redhead off guard. "There's an ingredient neither Thorn nor I could touch, do you mind getting it for us?" The witch pointed to a large case that was, of course, on the other side of the room. The ball was in Luna's court.
"No problem," Luna said as nonchalantly as she could. She turned to Dusk. "Hey, do you mind giving me a hand with this?"
"Sure," the blonde replied.
Luna made her way over to the case with Dusk at her side. It was risky move to leave Thorn alone with Matella, but Luna needed to get Dusk on her side and separating Thorn from Matella seemed impossible.
"Don't you think it's a bit odd that Matella isn't showing us what's on that parchment?" Luna whispered once she and Dusk had moved from the table
"She said it would be dangerous if anyone else saw it," Dusk replied.
"And do you really believe that?"
"I don't know."
Luna sighed. "Look, she's hiding something. I just feel it, okay. I don't think we're safe here and I think it has to do with that parchment. I need to get a look at it to confirm it."
"Even if that's true, how are you supposed do that?" Dusk asked.
The two girls arrived at the case and Dusk opened it.
"Hey, we're rich," Dusk joked as she pulled out a handful of silver coins.
Indeed, there were easily a hundred coins in the case. Looking closer at them, Luna noticed that they were far from ancient as the present year was on them. On one side was a Roman or Greek looking woman carrying some branches and an American flag with a sun rising over some mountains; the word "LIBERTY" was written above the woman. The other side depicted the Great Seal of the United States with nation's name above it and "1 oz. FINE SILVER ONE DOLLAR."
They're American Silver Eagles Luna realized.
"We'll need thirty of them," Matella hollered.
Luna thought for a minute, noting the fragile jars and vases surrounding the coin case. One vase in particular—an ornate, Oriental-looking one—was perched precariously close the edge of a shelf. Close enough that if someone were to "accidently" bump into the shelf, that vase would come crashing down.
"Dusk, I need you to do me a favor," Luna said.
"What?" Dusk asked.
"Listen carefully…" Luna began as she explained her plan to Dusk.
Carrying half of the required coins, Luna made her way back to the table. Luna placed the coins in front of the two witches.
"So," Luna said to by some extra time and divert Matella's attention away from Dusk. "Why can't you two handle the coins?" The question piqued Thorn's interest as she quickly looked up from the brewing potion.
Matella frowned, but when she noticed Thorn looking at her, smiled.
"Well, silver is an interesting material, as it nullifies magic and burns when it comes in contact with mages; it's actually the one of the few things folklore gets right about werewolves, vampires and other magical entities," Matella explained, more so to Thorn than to Luna.
Good to know Luna thought eyeing the coins. Maybe she could grab a couple from the case; throw them at Matella perhaps. Luna took her seat and started counting down. Five. Four. Three. Two. One. Smash!
"Hehe. Whoops," Dusk exclaimed as she looked down at the shattered vase. "Sorry."
"Oh for the Fallen's sake! That was an irreplaceable artifact!" Matella shouted as she rose from her seat. "What did you do?"
"It was an accident, I swear!" Dusk lied.
"Ugh! Stay where you are," Matella said before she made her way to Dusk.
As the witch dealt with Dusk's mess, Luna smiled as Matella left the parchment face down on the table; a mistake she made in her rage. Luna went around the table to Thorn. The Wiccan was giggling at Dusk's antics, oblivious to the parchment.
"Thorn we need to take a look at this," Luna whispered as she pointed to the parchment.
"What!? We can't do that, it'll mess with my training," Thorn replied in a hushed tone.
"Look I don't think this is training. Matella is hiding something and it has to do with this parchment," Luna tried to explain.
"You can't possibly know that for sure," Thorn said.
"She's been acting so secretive since we started this spell," Luna added.
"And? It's supposed to be a test. You're not supposed to know the answers to a test you're taking."
"Sally," Luna said grabbing the black-haired girl by the shoulders, nearly shaking her. "That potion looks like something out of Sarah Ravencroft's book. What kind of person would give a novice something as threatening as that to work with?"
The two looked into the bowl. Like an infernal hurricane, the dark brew churned and slight rumbles could be heard from unholy concoction.
"Kim, if I don't do this, I don't know how I'll learn about my magic," the Wiccan said removing herself from Luna's grasp. She turned away from both Luna and the bowl and grimaced.
Luna sighed. She couldn't imagine what her friend was going through. All she knew was that it was, to say the least, frustrating and confusing.
"How about I just take a quick peek to see if there's any danger," Luna said. "After all, I'm not the one talking the test."
"I…I guess that's alright," Thorn conceded. She moved her chair a few inches back. "Just so I don't see."
Luna nodded. She glanced up and made sure Matella was still distracted by Dusk. With a trembling hand, she reached for the bottom right corner and gradually lifted the parchment back. Her heart was racing and she kept glancing back to Matella to make sure the witch wasn't coming back. Slowly but surely, the script came into view and…Luna felt like her heart was going to stop.
The redhead dropped the parchment and it drifted back onto the table face down. She stumbled backwards, her breathing hastened, and her head pounded. But the worse was the cold she felt. It was unnatural, one could even say deathly.
None of it made sense. The script itself was completely illegible—a series of elegant, yet intentional prose resembling no language she'd ever seen—yet she was overwhelmed by sense of dread. She wanted to get out of there and throw up yet she couldn't find the strength to move her legs.
"Thorn…" Luna muttered. "We need to lea…"
She was cut off as she felt an intense pressure around her neck, as if a pair of invisible hands were wrapping around her. She scratched at her neck in an attempt to relieve herself of the choking sensation, but it did nothing. Luna glanced to Thorn and she could see panic in the singer's eyes.
"Thorn, what's going over there," the Matella asked, the sudden surprise of the witch's voice caused Thorn to flinch.
"Something's wrong with Lun…"
"Just count out the coins," Matella interrupted. "I'll deal with Luna."
Thorn reluctantly nodded and she and Dusk went to deal with the coins.
Luna felt the pressure spread across her body like a suffocating blanket was wrapped around her, leaving her immobile. She could only watch as Matella approached her, the witch's hand clenched into a fist. Luna struggled to turn her head away, but the pressure just increased as the witch stood directly next to her. Matella whispered into the keyboardist's ear.
"Kimberly, I really wish you didn't do that," the witch said, her tone becoming hostile. "It was a very stupid move."
Luna could do nothing as the witch continued.
"Now I knew you were incapable of reading it— Levre wrote it in a magical script non-mages sometimes call Voynichese and is only readable to mages— and my repulsion charm did its job as you were overcame with fear and dread." There was a pause. "But I can't have you prying around and giving Sally bad ideas; she needs this."
Luna gulped as her head was forcibly turned to her friends who were working at the table.
"If you don't stop sticking you head where it doesn't belong, you'll ruin Sally's one chance at understanding her magic. In all likelihood, she won't find anyone else to teach her how to properly use her abilities. Her curiosity will probably lead her to start practicing on her own. With the dangers of magic plus an inexperienced witch, well, that's not a good combination."
There was brief moment of silence.
"Surely you don't want to be responsible for an accident that gets them killed or worse," Matella calmly whispered and there was emphasis on the "accident."
Luna's heart skipped a beat. She recognized Matella's threat. Even if Matella was the one who caused the "accident" responsible for her friends' deaths, it would be because of her. And that was too much for the redhead; had she been able to move, Luna would've collapsed to floor. That seed of guilt had been planted.
"I'll let you go, but please behave yourself," the witch said as she patted Luna's shoulder. "If not for their sakes then for yours." She then cheerfully announced that Luna was fine.
The pressure immediately vanished and Luna gasped for breath. Panting, she made her way back to the table where her friends greeted her.
"Luna, are you okay?" Thorn asked.
Luna nodded. "Yeah…I'm fine."
"What was on the parchment?" Thorn questioned.
Luna paused.
"Nothing…" her gaze momentarily darted to Matella. "…dangerous."
Luna took a seat next to Dusk and simply watched as Matella retrieved the parchment and explained the next steps to Thorn. The redhead scowled. She played her hand too quickly and the damn witch beat her. It was a mistake Luna vowed not to make again.
She's not telling me something. Thorn watched as the redhead sat down in silence. She knew that whatever Luna had seen terrified her. Of course, Matella did warn them not to look at the parchment. Maybe there really was a spell on the parchment that Matella was trying to protect them from.
"Thorn, do we have enough coins?" Matella asked.
Thorn blinked several times as she snapped her attention back to the ingredients.
"Um yeah, there's thirty of them," she replied.
The witch nodded. She copied some additional text from the parchment onto another blank sheet of paper.
"Here's the next spell. You'll have to read it as the coins are dropped into the potion," Matella said as she turned to Dusk. "Do you mind handling the coins for Thorn?"
The blonde nodded and picked up a handful of coins. "Whenever you're ready."
Thorn cleared her throat and read the spell. "Forsake the world and take the deal. Selfish desires for a broken Cosmic seal."
The coins sizzled in the magical brew and gradually melted into the dark concoction. The bowl trembled and shook as strands of the dark liquid rose into the air like aqueous stalagmites. The strands curved and collided with each other in a frenzied mass of writhing tendrils. The strands then fused into a single, metallic-like orb about the size of a basketball that hovered above the now empty bowl.
"What…is that?" Thorn gasped as she backed away from her creation.
The orb solidified, leaving a single opening at the top of the object and it aesthetically resembled the talisman with the coordinates.
"We're almost done, Thorn!" Matella cheered. "We just need to perform a simple ceremony and add one more ingredient."
"And then what?" Thorn asked.
"Then your uh training will be complete and..." the witch trailed off, her mind seemingly elsewhere. "… We shall be one step closer to awakening our Lord and He shall remake a perfect world. For your efforts He will reward you with whatever you want. He can provide you with answers to questions neither I nor anyone else can answer."
"Really?" Thorn asked.
"Yes," Matella cheered.
"Aww that's awesome," Dusk said. "You gotta finish this now!"
Thorn grinned. Whatever she wanted. That was the last thing she expected to hear. Sure, under normal circumstances, she'd be dubious of Matella's claims but this was a far cry from normal circumstances. Monsters were real and she was an actual witch conducting genuine supernatural spells. Why couldn't some magical deity grant her a wish?
With that, her mind wandered. She could have the Earth healed and the environment restored. She could make the Hex Girls the popular band in history. But Matella's last comment came to mind. A complete understanding of magic so she could finally get a real answer—not just some hand wave or shrug— to why she was a witch and what she was truly capable of. That last thought was exciting, almost seductive.
"What's next?" the black-haired girl asked.
"We're going to bring this key to the ceremonial chamber," Matella explained. "There you will complete your training."
This is a key? She looked to Matella for clarification, but the witch just summoned several phantom hands to clean up the table and folded up the parchment.
"Thorn, be careful with the key, it's quite delicate," Matella warned as she motioned for the musicians to follow her out of the room.
Not getting an answer, Thorn cautiously grabbed the floating sphere, half expecting something to happen if she touched it. Fortunately, nothing did and she carefully cradled the sphere in her arms. She then headed toward the door; Matella and Dusk were already there.
"Hold on a sec," Luna quietly said from behind.
Thorn slowed her pace.
"What's up?" Thorn asked.
"I don't think you should go through with this," Luna whispered.
"Why?" Thorn inquired.
The redhead hesitated before slowing her pace enough for Thorn to inadvertently pass her, much to the guitarist's surprise.
"Is something wrong?" Matella said from the doorway, staring at the two girls, though Thorn felt that the question was directed at Luna. Luna shook her head and the witch smirked. There was something going on between them.
"Good," Matella said beckoning for the two girls to hurry up.
Thorn walked past the witch, whose gaze never seemed to leave her friend. There was something going on between Luna and Matella and it wasn't good. Whatever it was, it was bothering Thorn; Luna went through a lot and Thorn didn't want to put her through any more distress. But Matella had a means to the answers Thorn craved. She couldn't just run away when she was so close. Thorn sighed as she entered the hallway.
A/N
Hi all. Firstly, thanks for all the continued support; the reviews are all appreciated. Second, time to explain some of the more obscure references:
Matella's explanation for what magic is somewhat based on Aleister Crowley, Occultist MacGregor Mathers and Wiccan Leo Martello's definitions of magic.
Pentagonite is a real mineral, albeit a rare one. In a few Wiccan and New Age beliefs, it heightens psychic abilities and allows the user to better channel magic energies.
Quartz has a lot of mystical meanings depending on the culture using it. It's even called the "Universal Crystal" for this reason.
Voynichese is a nod to the unknown script that appears in the the real world Voynich Manuscript. It's an interesting document worth looking into. The script being mage writing is of course made up.