The Witch of Vera Wood: Chapter 11

The Witch of Vera Wood

Chapter 11

 

                It was three weeks since Lina had encountered Nikki in the forest. It haunted her for a while. She even dreamt once that Nikki had come to the cabin looking for her. She didn’t want to think what would happen if that had actually taken place. She and Peter managed to keep the encounter secret. Tarja never found out, and everyone went on with their lives. Thankfully, Tarja seemed to be working Lina extra hard lately, giving Lina an escape from her thoughts.

                “Johanna sent me a letter saying that she has to go around Asia and visit some of the witches there in a few months,” Tarja said one day. “We’re going to have to finish your education before then if we want her here when you officially become a witch.”

                Lina had finished up her history lessons with Peter, so Tarja took the time that Peter usually had in order to keep teaching Lina various things. Lina learned to brew at least twenty different potions, had to memorize a long, long list of various flora and fauna, and even some astronomy.

                “The stars can play a big part in certain rituals,” Tarja explained in one lesson. “They’re just like the Sun, providing some supplementary energy, but since they’re so far away, it’s almost imperceptible. Yet, some creatures and plants do use starlight.”

                “How?” asked Lina.

                “Well there are certain flowers, ones that some uninspired individual decided to name Starflowers, that take their energy from the stars. The Moon and Sun are too much for them, apparently, so they come out only during the New Moon. But a few stars simply shining aren’t enough energy for them, so they wait for the stars to align a certain way. That way, the energy is channeled through to the earth a certain way and the starflowers are able to use it. So basically, they come out once every year or so.”

“So how do you find them?”

“They usually grow in wide open fields, and are undistinguishable from grass until they come out and bloom, and even then only for a few hours,” said Tarja. “These starflowers are a very important ingredient in some potions, so that’s a useful thing to know. I’ll show you how to predict star alignments tomorrow. Today, we will go and collect a bunch.”

So the two left around mid-afternoon. Before that, Tarja packed a large bag full of various things, and when Lina asked why they needed those, she was answered with a “You’ll see.” The two walked for hours and hours. The sun had set, and they still had not stopped. Tarja didn’t even seem to get tired while Lina began to lag behind after the first few miles.

“Faster! Come on, we’ll never get there in time if you keep slowing down like that!” shouted Tarja continuously. Lina continued to trudge as fast as she could, although this just made her more tired.

By the time they got there, Lina was on the verge of collapse. She wasn’t exactly as in-shape as she wanted to be, and had never walked that far in her life. They came to the very edge of the forest, on the opposite side of where the cabin was. Beyond the last line of trees was a vast, open field. Tall grass stretched on for miles and miles, and it looked like nobody had ever been here before. The sun was setting on the horizon, and the first stars were popping up in the sky. A small group of deer were grazing a fifty or so yards away, not noticing the two witches.

Tarja dragged Lina a little further into the field. A number of large boulders circled a quarter-acre section, with little symbols carved in the stone. At the center of this circle of boulders was a large, flat rock with a shallow ridge running from the center to the edge of it. Tarja took her pack off her shoulder and set it down on the rock. From it, she took a couple of sticks with sharp, stone heads attached to the tips, like small spears. She took out a knife, laying it on the stone slab, and also a pewter bowl, which she placed next to the slab where the ridge ended.

“These are all for a special ceremony,” she said, looking at Lina. “It does absolutely nothing, magically, but it’s an old tradition and a very spiritual one. It’s for worshipping the earth and all that it gives to us, and some witches believe that it allows the plants we need for all our magical purposes to continue growing. Unfortunately, you might find this ritual a little barbaric.”

Lina looked at Tarja with a questioning look on her face. “Barbaric? Why?”

“See those deer?” asked Tarja, pointing to the group of deer that were still grazing in the field. “We’re going to have to sacrifice one of them.”

Lina’s look of questioning turned to shock. She’d never killed an animal before on purpose, and she didn’t really want to. Especially not for some ritual that had no practical purpose.

“No point in looking at me like that,” said Tarja. “As soon as the starflowers come out, we’re sacrificing that deer, is that clear? It’s a necessary part of witching culture. Unfortunately, it’s ceremonies like these that give pagans all over the world a bad name in today’s society.”

Tarja took a rope and a small bottle of purple liquid out of the bag and placed them on the rock next to the knife. Lina watched as she uncorked the bottle and dipped the end of the little spears in the liquid. She then motioned for Lina to follow her.

“We’re going to use magic to catch one, you see?” she said. “We’re going to use it to accelerate these spears and aim them right at the deer, got it?”

“How are we going to do that?”

“Just do what I say,” said Tarja, handing Lina one of the spears. “Take a deep breath and…”

“But…I don’t want to kill an innocent animal!” protested Lina. Tarja gave her a murderous glare.

“Do you remember what I told you before you agreed to becoming my student?” she said angrily. “You have to follow my rules, and if you fail, the consequences are dire. You promised to see this through till the end, and you can’t do that without doing this.”

“Al-alright,” Said Lina. “I’ll do it.”

“Right,” continued Tarja. “Now take a deep breath. Aim slightly above the deer, and concentrate. You’re going to throw the spear and then manipulate the air around it to make it go faster. Got it?”

Lina nodded. The last rays of the sun were still peeking through above the horizon, giving just enough light for Lina to see. She aimed right above the deer. She hesitated for a moment, then threw the spear as strong as she could. Concentrating and using her magic, she accelerated the object, which seconds later pierced the animal’s skin. It collapsed while its fellows sprinted back to the forest, not even looking back at their fallen comrade.

“What was on those spears?” asked Lina as the two witches approached the deer. They found it in the long grass, lying there still as stone.

“Homemade tranquilizer,” said Tarja. “So it’s not dead yet, but It’ll be knocked out while we kill it. It won’t feel a thing.”

They dragged it back to the circle and threw it onto the stone slab. Tarja took the rope and put it back in her pack.

“We won’t be needing this,” said Tarja. “I figured if the spears didn’t work, we’d have to try wrangling the thing.”

The last rays of the sun disappeared beneath the horizon and the stars shone brightly in the sky. Tarja nudged Lina and pointed toward the vast expanse of the field. Little, shining white flowers were beginning to pop up out of the grass. They were as bright as a candle in the dark, illuminating the ground around them. Tarja drew Lina’s attention back to the animal lying on the rock and picked up the knife.

“I guess I’ll do the honors,” she said, to Lina’s relief. Tarja took the knife and plunged it into the belly of the animal and sliced open the skin so that the blood would leak out. The bright red liquid found its way into the ridge and flowed into the bowl Tarja had set down earlier. When the bowl was nearly full, she picked it up and beckoned Lina to follow her. Tarja walked to the nearest boulder and poured a fraction of the blood into a depression at the top. Lina followed her around the circle, stopping at every one while Tarja poured the contents of the bowl onto them. Soon, the last drop had fallen and Tarja set the bowl down.

“That wasn’t too bad, was it?” she asked. Lina nodded, although she never really liked the sight of blood. Tarja looked out onto the field. “Well, now we go and pick the flowers.”

By about one o’clock in the morning, the two got back to the cabin, pockets full of starflowers. Peter was sleeping soundly, and the two witches went to bed.

*             *             *

                Two days later, Lina and Tarja were enjoying some tea and a conversation, when a loud knock came at the door.

                “I’ll get it,” said Lina, standing up and walking through the door. She looked through the peep hole. “Oh no!” she whispered to herself.

                “Who is it?” asked Tarja from the table?

                “No one!” said Lina, opening the door a crack and sliding out. She stood face to face with her father, who was holding Nikki by the hand.

                “Lina!” he started to say before Lina covered his mouth and he stood quiet.

                “What are you doing here!?” she whispered angrily. “I told you not to come looking for me!”

                “We want you to come home!” he said, louder than he needed to.

                “Shhh! Tarja can’t know you’re here! She’ll kill us!”

                “Damn right,” said a voice from behind. Tarja had come to the door and looked down on the three from the doorstep. “You’re not supposed to ever talk to them, remember?”

                “I’m sorry!” Lina cried. “I told them not to come looking for me, I swear!”

                Tarja turned to Lina’s father. “How’d you know she was here?”

                “There are rumors around town. Please, we just want her to come home,” he said.

                “Go away!” replied Tarja, looking at the large scar that ran along his cheek. “She’s my student now. You don’t want another scar across your face, do you?”

                Lina’s father grabbed Lina by the hand. “You’re coming home,” he said. Lina looked at him and shook her head, tears welling up in her eyes.

                “She’s staying here,” said Tarja sternly.

                “She’s going with us!” cried Lina’s father. “She’s my daughter!”

                “She’s a witch now. She’s staying here. Now go home before I send you there screaming!”

                “I’d like to see you try,” said Lina’s father, challenging Tarja. Lina and Tarja both realized that it was rather stupid of him to do so.

                “No!” said Lina, but before she could say any more, Tarja had picked her father up by the throat and held him against the nearest tree.

                “You silly little man. What powers do you have that I don’t? Has dancing naked like an idiot in the light of the full moon diluted your senses?”

                Lina’s father struggled against Tarja’s grasp, but she continued to choke him. She placed her other hand on his forehead, nails digging into the skin.

                “Prepare to breathe your last breath,” said Tarja as she began to dig her nails into the man’s skull. The tree began to move, but Tarja didn’t notice, too preoccupied with her victim, and before anyone knew it, the sharp end of one of the tree’s branches had pierced her skull. Lina’s father freed himself as Tarja stay still, her head bleeding and blankly staring at the spot where she was about to make another kill.

                “Oh my god,” breathed Lina. She looked at her hands. What had she just done? She had killed her mentor to save her father.

                Peter, who was watching out of the open door, bounded in his dog form to his dead mistress, scratching at her dress and whimpering. He looked up at the air and gave a loud, wolf-like howl while everyone watched Tarja’s body in disbelief.

                “Thanks for that” said Lina’s father. “I thought I was a goner for sure!”

                Lina remained speechless, staring open mouthed at Peter and her former mentor. Lina’s father put his hand on her shoulder.

                “I think it’s time to go home,” he said. Lina shook her head.

                “No, dad, I’m staying here.”

                “Why? What’s there here for you?”

                “Just go!” cried Lina through tears, suddenly overwhelmed with emotion. “Just go home! I’m staying here!”

                As her father and Nikki walked away, she fell onto her knees and wept. What had she done? What would she do now? What would happen to her?

                Peter ran back into the house and came out in his human form a minute later, eyes red and puffy. Tears continued to stream down his face. He looked at Lina and went to sit down next to her.

                “You’re not mad?” she asked him.

                “No. I’m not mad. You did what you did out of love for your family, and that’s understandable. I’m just sad about losing someone that’s been my friend and companion for three hundred years.”

                The two sat embraced each other, crying over their loss. Suddenly, it dawned upon Lina.

                “Hey, aren’t you supposed to die when your master does?” she asked Peter.

                “Well, not in this case, no. She didn’t just die, she was killed. And since you did it, I’m now technically your familiar,” said Peter.

                “Really?” asked Lina, bewildered.

                “Well, I’m glad it was you, and not some horrible old hag,” said Peter, with a small grin that quickly disappeared.

*             *             *

                Lina and Peter had given Tarja a proper burial, and planted a bunch of flowers around the grave. After that, they flew to Finland, to the place where the Witches Council was to tell them of Tarja’s death. Peter, in the form of the same large bird that Johanna flew away on, flew with Lina on his back, across the ocean to the isolated Finnish forest.

                They found Johanna, who was shocked to see them. She was devastated by Tarja’s death, but was as understanding as Peter was when it came to Lina. She assured Lina that it was alright, and nobody would blame her for what she did.

                “She always had a temper problem, you know?” said Johanna. “We always knew it’d get her into trouble one day. It turned out to bite her, didn’t it?”

                “What will I do now?” asked Lina. “I haven’t finished learning to be a witch yet!”

                “You’ll stay here and finish your education. Once we make you an official witch, you’ll pick a place in the world where you want to conduct research, and you’ll go live there.”

                “So you’ll teach me?” asked Lina.

                “Of course!” replied Johanna.

                In a few weeks, Lina became an official witch. She had received her tattoo, a sort of tribal design inked onto her arm, and was given permission by the council to conduct her research wherever she wanted.

                “I want to be as far away from home as possible,” she said. She never wanted to go back, and, although she loved her father and her little sister, she decided it’d be best to let go of both them and of Tarja. She and Peter ended up in Australia, in a nice little cottage built in the forests of Victoria, where Lina studied the various plants and animals that resided their and their magical properties. She never gave another thought to Tarja or her Family.

 

So ends the story of the Witch of Vera Wood.