Chapter 56: Chapter 56
Ora’s POV
The moment I woke up, I teleported to valence’s house. My eyes drifted to the window hoping that the sun hadn’t risen yet. It hadn’t. My reflection caught in the window pane making me wince. My hair was messy, my clothes clung to me like a second layer and my expression ghastly. I looked like I had been tortured.
“Ora! I almost thought you would be late on the most important day,” Valence’s voice sounded in the other room making me jump out of my skin. I used my magic to straighten my clothes. Using my magic, I healed my external wounds as much as I could, trotting along the corridor. I still looked beaten but this had to do. Valence hated waiting more than anything else.
“Grand Magus, I am sorry to keep you waiting,” I said, giving a curt bow. Thankfully, she was too pre occupied to notice.
“Remember to feed the vines with spiritual energy every day. We need to perform the ritual six days later exactly at three in the morning. I expect you to finish the preparations by then.”
“Understood, Grand Magus.”
She abruptly grabbed the fabric next to my neck and glared at me, “There is no room for mistakes, Ora. If you make even the slightest mistake, I will make you regret you were ever born in this world.”
“You worry toon much, Grand Magus. You know how important my sister, Zaviana is to me. I can do anything. I will do everything if that means I can bring her back to life.” Pausing for a moment, I added, “What do I care if a couple of werewolf children are dead?”
She seemed relieved by my answer. She nodded and without another word; left.
Yes, that is how I fell into Valence’s trap. This bloody ritual that we are going to perform can bring people back to life. If you want to bring back the dead, it is only natural that you would have to sacrifice the living. If I helped Valence perform this ritual, Zaviana could come back again and all my mistakes would be fixed.
I know all those innocent children will be killed; Sandy might be killed too. That was a price I was willing to pay, even if that meant, my heart would be laden with such guilt that I would kill myself.
A long, deep sigh escaped my lips as I made my way to the secret library. I was the one who deserved to die after all…
My breath caught in my throat as I stepped into the large room. It was stacked with grimoires and spell books right up to the ceiling. It was what you can call a witch’s haven. I wondered if the access given by Valence included library or were these grimoires beyond my reach. There was only one way to find out.
Drawing in a deep breath, I gripped a gold bound book and tugged it out of the shelf. My heart hammered in anticipation but nothing happened. A sigh of longing left my lips as I ran the my fingertips over the embossed pattern. ‘The Rites of life and death.’
How I wish I had the time to read this. I let my gaze linger on its cover for a moment before putting it back.
“What the hell do you think you are doing here!”A furious voice sounded right behind me. Startled, I spun around to find Valence standing right in front of me. I lowered my gaze and stuttered, “I…I was just curious….” Pausing for a moment, I added, “I apologise for my mistake. I didn’t know the library is off limits.”
“Actually, it isn’t exactly off limits….” She waved her hand and a pile of books flew out of the shelves and arranged themselves in neat stacks. Valnce’s lips quivered as she muttered a spell in some language I couldn’t recognize. Moments later, the books vanished from my sight. “You can go ahead and read the others.”
I bowed from my waist, “Thank you, Grand Magus.”
“Why are you back? Is there a problem?”
“Nah, I just forgot to take something,” she said , shrugging her shoulder with non chalance. Using her magic to open a secret vault, she took out a locket made of deep, red ruby. “The number of werewolves wandering through the Halterland has increased more than I like.” She held up the locket in the air, “This locket will help me identify them even if they are wearing those stupid rings.”
My heart skipped a beat, “What do you plan on doing with them?”
She raised her eyebrow and snorted, “Why? Is your heart brimming with sympathy for them?”
“Of course not, Grand Magus. If you want I can come along and help you kill them,” I tried to explain quickly. My heart thrummed, hoping that she wouldn’t actually accept my offer. I didn’t want to kill more people than absolutely necessary.
“I can handle those bunch of pricks. You stay here and focus on the task assigned to you,” With these words, she disappeared again.
The breath that I was holding left my lips as a gust of relief. It was better to get the book I needed as soon as possible and leave. If Valnece found me doing something unexpected again, it wouldn’t bode well for me.
I raised my right hand; palm open and chanted the spell to find ‘The Grimoire of tricks and lies.’ The moment I finished the spell and leather bound book zapped from the top shelf and landed straight on my palm.
I browsed through the pages; skimming through the titles as fast as I could. My grip on the book loosened as I reached the end of the book. It didn’t have the spell I needed. I staggered and leaned against the oranta pillar. What was I going to do now? My entire plan depended on finding that spell….
I was about to put back the book with a heavy heart when a certain spell flashed in my mind. I wasn’t able to recognize it because it was in an unknown language. The spell Valnce used a few minutes ago was in an unknown language too. Could that be the spell I was looking for?
Rummaging through the book, I quickly found the page. I used a translate spell on that piece of parchment and moments later, the entire spell flashed in my mind; almost as if I had absorbed the words and imprinted them on my mind.
I had found it. I had found the spell to undo the Brisanje ritual.