Chapter One

The Curse of the Seven Sons

November 13th, 1692, Salem Massachusetts

On the outskirts of a small town called Salem stood a mighty forest; its dense trees and rough terrain made it intimidating for anyone willing to step in. Within the luscious region stood a cabin on the side of a river. It was compact, and not easily recognized. The dark lit, shanty windows and chipping wood made it seem as if it had been abandoned for decades. Many travelers have walked past, but none have noticed its presence; like it was an enigma of their imagination. What they didn't know of was the man who resided inside.

The interior was about as appealing as the outside. A small cot laid in the corner, constructed of miscellaneous branches found on the forest floor. In the middle sat a table and stool, both made of sticks tied tightly together with forest vines. In the middle of the structure was a man, early thirties and jet black hair which he kept under a felt hat. Near his table was a candle, which was motionless in midair with no supports attached, giving light to the parchment on the table which was being written on by a quill with no hand.

"Dear, Saoirse," said the man walking back and forth, adjusting a brass ring on his dominant finger. The self-writing quill kept scribbling, "It's been a long journey. Some have perished, some have prevailed. Thankfully for me, I'm the latter. I've found us a home near a river, just like the one you grew up in. A perfect spot for a new life, a new journey. I anticipate the day you arrive. Sincerely, Elias."

Elias turned and drew a wand from his pocket. He flicked it upwards, causing the quill to cease writing and the parchment to float itself into a brown envelope. With another flick a stamp pushed itself onto the paper, creating a wax seal in the process. Just as he placed the letter in his pocket there were three knocks at the door.

"Huh?" Elias muttered.

He never told of anyone where he lived, or expected any visitors. He arrived only days before. Elias continued to stare at the door until it knocked another three times. Being the cautious person he was, he drew out his wand and crept to the door. While making sure not to stir nor creep he reached for the handle and slowly opened the entrance part-way. What was waiting on the other side surprised him.

It was not human nor animal, but a small being that had human-like qualities. Its grey skin and large, pointed ears made it stand out from the rest of its body. Elias slowly looked down at the three foot creature.

"Is there something you need?" Asked Elias to the creature, not bothering to open the door any further.

The creature looked up with a stern look, "It happens tonight, wizard. She knows you're here."

Elias was taken aback, not sure what to say.

"Excuse me?" He said.

"Tonight, it all ends. The bridge between you and her will be separated. Only one will make it out."

"What? What's going on?" Elias asked, even more confused since opening the door.

"The Coven of Calarook shall bring their wrath upon you. The seer warned me, Elias Grafton. I was the one who had the courage to tell you."

"Seer?" Elias spoke, "I didn't know any of those were out here. How did you know my name?"

"The Seer told me, Elias. It told me of a long, ancient battle. A battle that comes to an end tonight. Your forefathers have faced these threats in the past, and now they're coming for you."

"Threats? Why would something want to threaten me? I haven't been here long and I don't think I've made any enemies on the ship."

"It's not about you particularly," the creature said, "It's about the legacy you carry. She will find you."

"Who's she?"

The creature shook its head, "I've said too much. You don't have long, Elias Grafton. Let this be your warning."

With the sound of a loud snap the creature was gone. Elias looked around, but only saw the dense trees. He sighed, looking down at his watch which read 6:15 p.m. He quickly panicked as the last ship to England was at 6:30. There wasn't enough time to run to town.

Elias took a deep breath and closed his eyes, envisioning the destination he wanted to go. It wasn't long until there was a huge SNAP, as if a bullet shot from a gun, a feeling as if he was being hooked around the navel came about, the rest of his body felt like it was being squeezed through a tiny tube. Before he knew it he was in a dingy alleyway, successfully apparated.

Elias looked up to see the sun turned a blood orange, the sky emitting an opaque mauve color. The sounds of carriages and horse trotting were heard in the distance as where he apparated was near a main road. The town was filled with non-magic folk, hustling with the last of their daily errands for the night.

Elias pushed and passed many people, some yelled obscene words while others huffed in frustration. He only had so much time before the ship left. Just as he was making his way to the docks a person called out to him.

"Mister Grafton!"

Elias stopped dead in his tracks, and turned towards the town baker who was standing near the entrance of his shop.

"Mister Smith," Elias said, "I'm a bit tight on schedule."

"I can see that, you've tripped one man and knocked a bag of apples out of a woman's hand. Somethings happening," he chortled, stroking his long, ginger beard.

"This is really not a good time right now. The boat to England leaves-"

"You're going back to England?" Mister Smith interrupted, "You only got here last week!"

"No, I have to send a letter, and why are you interrupting me?"

"I wanted to tell you that the bread you ordered yesterday will be ready by tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Elias said, "I placed my order for next week when Saoirse arrives."

"Oh, my apologies, I'll get more ingredients when I appara-" Mister Smith was cut off.

"Don't say anything about magic. You know about the no-maj. Anything they don't understand they try to destroy. Remember what happened to that poor witch a couple of days ago?"

His mind flashed back to when he was setting up his cabin. A flash of light in the distance and a terrible scream. He ran over, making sure to keep himself hidden. A large group of non magical people captured a poor young witch, setting her on fire attached to a long wooden tree trunk.

"Right, forgot," Mister Smith said.

"Okay, now, I have to get to the dock, it should be leaving any time now."

Just before Elias took off Mister Smith spoke again, "No-maj? That's a strange name for the common folk around here."

Elias chuckled, "It's better than what they're called back home. Muggle, It sounds barbaric if you ask me."

Mister Smith smirked, "I guess I'll let you on your way, you best get to the dock on time. The boat could be leaving any time soon."

Just as Elias was about to take another step towards the dock he felt himself shiver. Something didn't seem right to him. He noticed all the townspeople were slowing down and looking up to the skies. While turning his back he caught a glimpse of something that was unholy, unnatural to the non-magic folk.

Trails of black fog came over the horizon and swirled throughout the sky, creating an ominous dance. Elias has never seen anything like it before. The whole town stayed silent as it watched the fog continue to whisp through the air. It went up and down, sliding along each other with figure-eights. Just when they thought it would be over with, it happened.

Out of a stream of fog came a flash of green light. Elias, unaware of where it hit, didn't notice a random man drop dead without any mark or trace of injury. A woman screamed in terror, a baby started crying, another stream of fog went down onto the townspeople and started rushing through buildings, lighting them on fire. People around Elias panicked, the fog taunting them. The crackling of the burning buildings was enough to step Elias out of his trance, he noticed two more streams of fog headed towards town.

He took out his wand and headed towards the one closest to the ground. It looked fragile, as it was slower than the rest. It seemed to have bounced off walls of buildings instead of destroying them. He pointed his wand, trying to get a good aim. As it soared along the street nearing Elias he shouted, "Diffindo!"

A silver light emerged from his wand, just reaching the tail of the fog causing it to crumble to the ground. He quickly approached the anomaly, just as it dissipated, revealed a young woman brutally injured by her ankles. The severing charm worked. She screamed in pain while the building's flames seemed to have grown. He walked around her, a young woman no older than twenty five with emerald green eyes, almost like a snake, covered in all black robes. Elias kept his wand pointed at her.

"Who are you?" he asked.

She groaned angrily, trying to stand up to no avail, "The coven doesn't speak of their tasks."

"Coven?" Elias said, "So there's more of you?"

"Many more, have you not seen them in the sky? The mudbloods sure have. Just look at them."

Elias turned back towards the town. What he saw was a massacre, black streaks of fog, emitting green light on random people, causing them to die in a very simplistic yet evil manner.

"Why would you do this? They have no magic."

"Among them hides someone powerful, a witch or a wizard who has something we want."

"I assure you the non-magic folk have nothing you desire."

She looked down, ignoring Elias' plea, "You don't have to protect them. They'll just turn against you, like they did with that poor girl in the forest."

"The no-maj deserve their safety, just as us wizards. Your actions are a cause for retribution. "

He pointed his wand straight at her, anger filled his body. The need to cause harm was impactful. Elias spoke the words, "Avada Kedavra," as clearly as possible.

A green light emitted from his wand, engulfing her body. She laid motionless on the cobblestone path freshly deceased. Elias looked up, the buildings continued to burn even though that was nothing much but ash and rubble. He saw that the town was eerily empty, everyone had gone to cover. Just before he was about to put his wand away he heard a strong wind behind him.

While turning around, a small tornado of black fog revealed itself to be a woman with pale skin and long, dark robes.

"You," the woman said without grief, "You've murdered her."

Elias turned back towards the dead woman, then back at her.

"Who are you?" Elias said, raising his wand in defense.

She ominously strutted forward, the light of the burning buildings created a glossy scheme on her robes. She pursed her lips while her purple eyes reflected the dance of the surrounding flames.

"Cristina Calarook," she said, "You may have heard our arrival from a nearby seer."

Elias thought back to the small creature that knocked at his cabin, the stuff he talked about, it was true.

"This isn't right, and you know it. Whatever you're looking for you're not gonna find it by killing a bunch of innocent people."

"I don't think I need to kill anyone else," She said, a small smile escaping her face, "I know what I'm here for and it's you."

Elias felt his body stiffen, not knowing who this woman was and why she was specifically going after him.

"Me?" Elias gasped.

"Yes," Cristina said, "After being banished to this mysterious land over fifty years ago I knew someone like you would come back."

"Someone like me?"

"Yes, someone exactly like you, a descendant. Miles Grafton, your grandfather. Isn't that right, Elias?"

Elias turned cold, which turned to fear then anger.

"How do you know me?" Elias said, gripping his wand even tighter.

"Both our families go back centuries, Elias, and it all comes down to one thing."

"What's that?" Elias said angrily, trying to hold back any curses he thought of casting upon.

"The ring on your finger."

He clenched his fist of his hand to which the ring was worn, it was inherited to him by his father and to his father by his grandfather. He remembered getting it as a gift just before his second year at school.

"The ring's not up for negotiation," Elias said, "It's the only memory I have left of my father."

"You don't know, do you?" Cristina asked with a sinister laugh, her purple eyes almost glowing.

Elias' felt a drop of fear in his stomach, but the anger in his head was greater.

"Whatever it is you're mistaken," Elias stifled, "If you were enemies of my grandfather I'd surely know of you."

She gave another sadistic small laugh, "Poor little Elias Grafton, his own family couldn't be able to protect him so they gave him a magic ring to protect himself."

"Magic? It's nothing but an heirloom."

Cristina sighed, "It's so sorrowful you don't know what powers you possess. I could explain, but what's the point? It would be faster to get rid of you then take it for myself."

"You're not taking anything from me," Elias said, pointing his wand at her.

She did another laugh, "You can try any spell you want, but I'm afraid it's the beginning of the end."

Elias' anger went through his ears, he couldn't take talking to this woman anymore and the atrocities she's committed. Cristina was fast, she swiped her wand upwards, causing a blue hex to hurl towards him. Elias was easily able to block it with a protection charm.

"Confringo!" Elias shouted, causing his wand to eject an orange light.

Cristina conjured a blue shield of light which protected her from the curse. She shot back another hex, but Elias dodged with rage. He waved his wand more frequently and more violently, thinking of every terrible curse or hex he had the knowledge of. Lights of many different colors shot from his wand while Cristina successfully blocked each one. When found the split second advantage she shot a blue curse which hit him in the leg.

Elias almost fell over as he felt a majority of solidity leave his leg, leaving it like a flexible deflated balloon. All the bones in his leg disappeared. He limped, almost falling to the ground before waving another hex at her.

Cristina blocked it, she whipped her cape, black smoke started to conjure around her feet which slowly crawled up the rest of her body. Elias saw what she was doing, she was escaping. Just before her entire body was engulfed Elias was able to snatch onto her.

A rush of wind whistled past his ears, his eyes squinted, struggling to keep them open. He was able to catch a small glimpse of what was going on below him. The town of Salem kept getting smaller and smaller below him. The moon reflected the ocean over the dock.

"Let go of me!" Cristina commanded, but Elias held on tighter.

She gained speed, cutting through the sky at a remarkable pace. Elias' ears popped against the air as she took a dive towards the ground. He kept holding on. She reached the top of the forest, trying to use the trees to loosen his grip.

She dove up a second time, causing Elias to lose his grip. He couldn't hold it any longer, he had to think of a plan. While taking out his wand Elias waited for Cristina to dive back down to the forest, but instead they went higher. Looking down, Elias saw clouds engulf the sky below him. The air got thinner, making it difficult to breathe. He was barely holding onto Cristina by two fingertips. While trying to get a better grip on her he slipped.

He watched slowly as the trail of fog got further and further away from him, his body plummeting to Earth at a lethal speed. The force of gravity weighed against him, his back towards the ground and his head towards the sky. Elias reached for his wand, not only wanting to save himself but stop Cristina. With every instinct in his body screaming at him to survive he thought of a plan. He raised his wand up, carefully to keep aim at Katrina and shouted the words, "Carpe Retractum!"

A purple stream of light emerged from his wand like a rope and wrapped around the flying woman. Elias felt the grip of her weight slow the speed of his fall as both headed into the dense trees of the forest. Watching the darkened foliage come closer Elias broke the spell of his wand and quickly waved it in front of him.

"Arresto Momentum!"

Both Elias and Cristina stopped mere inches off the ground before landing gently. Elias looked up, barely able to see as the trees blocked the moon's light.

"Avada Kedavra!" Cristina shouted.

Elias panicked and rolled away, missing the green blast by mere centimeters. He tried to get back on his feet, but forgot about his deboned leg. Picking up his wand he shot back, "Incarcerous!"

Ropes conjured around Cristina binding her arms and legs and wrapping her around a tree. Instead of trying to break free she stood still, laughing.

"Congratulations," she said, "You've finally defeated me"

"What are you doing? Why are you laughing?" Elias asked, his wand still pointed at her.

"For two hundred years," she started, "I've seen plague, suffering, and death. So much death. No matter how much you love someone there comes a day they die. A true sorcerer desires power, death is just a small barrier, many too foolish to avoid."

"Well, it looks like you've fallen right into its trap," Elias said.

"Your desire to take me off this Earth only keeps me here longer, and each minute it gets stronger. Go on, do the spell. You've already done it once. Just remember Elias Grafton, I'll never be gone. I left a mark on you and your next of kin. For your line produces seven sons, bound to the mundane life of primal survival. Sickness and disease, injury and hardship will plague you for generations to come. And once your descendant comes around they'll be no match, for I will have gained more power."

Elias felt anger surge through his body, he aggressively waved his wand non-verbally. The ropes that bind Cristina set ablaze, she screamed in pain as the flames engulfed her. He backed off and watched as the flames grew larger. Her skin melted off her body in a disgusting manner. As he watched Elias wondered if this was the end, or a new beginning.