Blackspit

She knew they would try again. She took a deep breath; she was drained from the spells she placed. She had to cover her steps. There was no more room for fuck ups.

She watched and waited, hoping her blocks were successful.

They would not unveil anything else.

Blackspit had to recover before another scare attempt.

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Lexi

The next morning, the storm was still raging. Large snowflakes accumulated, adding to the meter of snow.

Luckily, Morgan had fetched plenty of food and drinks before the snow hit hard. All the doors were shut, keeping the heat contained, and Leo and I settled down on the floor, facing each other again.

Maddie was sat next to Morgan on the sofa. She was taking in the instructions and making notes. She seemed to be a diligent student.

“Well, this is going to be different for you both. I want you to try and find another lifetime you have not seen before,” Morgan addressed both of us.

“You both know what the necklace looks like. You were correct, Lexi. It changes with the times. Let’s see what you find.”

“Would it not be better for them to hold this necklace?” Maddie asked, confused.

“No,” Morgan quickly replied, “While it might be helpful, I still don’t know exactly what it is.”

“Then they have no point to start from,” Morgan countered.

Morgan smiled knowingly, “Good point. That’s where I come in.” She rolled up her sleeves and joined us on the floor.

“Maddie, make notes. I won’t be able to while I’m under.”

She sat cross-legged and moved the mirror so it was in front of Maddie. She held out a hand to Leo and me.

“I noticed both times in the Astral. You were situated in a forest. Focus on that, and I will see what other spirits or spells are at work here... Close your eyes...”

Touching Morgan’s hand, a shot of electricity gathered up my arm, making me feel warm and sleepy.

I blinked awake. We were once again in the forest and separated. Leo and I found each other again near Anna and Edward's lifetime.

“Morgan, are you here too?” my voice echoed around.

No. But I am watching. Keep going... try walking north.

“North...? How do we know which way?” Leo asked. Leo asked, looking around.

“Moss!” I exclaimed, pointing to the trees and rocks.

“…Moss?” Leo asked. I could hear Morgan's voice tingling.

“Moss grows where there is sun, and the sun moves east to west…” I explained, pointing to a rock mostly covered on one side.

Gronk!

Henry will follow you.

Holding hands, we walked on, looking out for anything: another lifetime, crows, music, sounds. Ignoring the jazz music, the area soon turned quiet, only birds tweeting around us. Despite the tranquil setting, I was on edge, waiting for something to happen.

A piercing cry sounded out, echoing around in the treetops.

A primal, angry scream and a metallic clang made my ears ring.

What was that?!

Shh, Maddie. This is new…

Leo tugged my hand, grabbing my attention. He gestured to an unusual sight. Rolling smoke covered the forest floor. This was very new.

Curious, we gravitated towards it. The smoke began to grow tall. Soon, it wasn't easy to see. If it weren’t for holding Leo’s hand, I would have lost him. We only paused when Leo was forced back.

A barrier stopped us from moving forward.

“Erm… Morgan? Any ideas?” I asked, apprehensive, “I can’t see a thing…”

Hold on… I’m trying…

Gronk! Gronk!! Croak-

Leo pulled me to him when Henry sounded out. He sounded alarmed like he was warning us about something.

“Morgan… We need to go-” Leo stopped his sentence as my legs gave way.

I was falling. Surrounded by nothing but grey smoke. Yet, I was not coughing. There was nothing to grab on, nothing to slow my falling body.

Breath. You are okay.

Easy for you to say!!

I braced, waiting to hit the ground, floor, anything.

Instead, my bare feet hit the earth covered in grass. The smoke rolled away, revealing a large field surrounded by lines of trees. It was sloped. I tried to steady my panting.

It took me a few minutes to calm down, and looking up at the morning sun, it was quiet. Towards the bottom, a small village looked war-worn. People are ready for a medieval battle.

I was alone.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

“Leo?” I called out.

I felt the ghost of his hand holding mine still.

Hmm. Interesting. Morgan’s voice sounded out once more. Find the necklace.

“It’s not a necklace,” Leo’s voice made me turn. He still was not near me.

“Where are you?” I asked.

“Top of the hill.”

A shadow appeared over the brow of the hill, casting a shadow over the slope. Catching up to him, I followed his eyes. Standing before us was a tall woman. She looked over a vast army, geared up and ready for a battle.

Swords, axes, bows and arrows, and spears were taken up. Each body held a wooden shield reinforced by metal, covered head to toe with metal armour. It looked crudely made, yet it made the wearer look fearsome.

“Those symbols… They’re Vikings,” Leo stated in wonder.

The woman began to tie back her long, dark blond hair into a braid; she held a sword by her hip and shield leaned against her calf. A man approached her.

“Ready on your signal, Signe.”

Finishing the braid, she nodded, “Pray for victory, Gunnar.”

She turned to face the edge of the hill. Her face was covered in blood and ash, and her cheeks and head were runes. For protection and victory and.

On the right of her chest sat an oval ivory brooch.

The necklace.

It was much larger than the original piece of jewellery.

“Looks like we knew each other for a while,” Leo walked forward, inspecting the pair.

I took a moment, watching them both as they clasped hands. Possibly to ask for Nordic blessings.

“They’re married…” I trailed off, watching the glint of the metal bands around their finger.

“I didn’t realise Vikings used rings…”

“Well, the Egyptians did well in sharing the practice…”

Caw caw!!

We instantly looked up. A murder of crows circled above us.

“Onward to Battle!” Signe announced, her sword raised high.

A deafening roar of voices could be heard rushing past them both, and the sound of metal clangs sounded out. They grasped arms and touched foreheads before joining the fray.

The crows circled lower and lower.

“I think we need to go.” I did not look away from the crows when I tugged on Leo’s sleeve.

Go to the trees!

Leo took my hand, and we ran to the edge of the forest and practically galloped through the tree line. The same cry and shout could be heard as we exited the scene.

The fire crackled as it died down, the fuel nearly gone. I’m curious to know how long we have been sitting trying to revisit the vast field. The crows blocked the scene; we could not see nor pinpoint the cry and shout, nor did it give away who or how this lifetime ended.

We could only assume one of us died in battle.

“What was that, a barrier?” Leo asked, out of breath.

“Correct. Normally, they are used for protection, but one thing is for certain. Someone is blocking your access to past lives.” Morgan dropped her hands, breaking our circle, “When I took it down, crows swarmed… That’s what Henry was alerting to.”

“How do you break it?” I asked, rubbing my forehead.

“Either wait for it to disappear or flood it with magic and attack it. Okay, that’s enough for today. At least we got two new names.” Morgan got up.

I’m drained and trying to get up, but the room spins, making me lose balance and nearly face plant the floor.

“Woah, Lex.” Leo held my arm to steady me. “Lay down for a bit…”

Confused, I stared at the ground, “What’s happening?” My words slurred.

“Morgan!”

Something was wrong. A sense of doom came over me.

“Help me.” I never thought those words would come from my mouth.

I couldn’t keep my eyes open, and I felt hands all over me and my face. Mumbling voices… Even with my eyes closed, everything felt like it was still moving and spinning.

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Blackspit

“No.” She hissed under her breath.

Morgan was now actively meddling.

She watched on as Morgan easily tore through her barrier. No matter, her crows would deal with it and push them out. She could not afford them to see that lifetime.

A sinister smile grew on her face; she needed energy. That thing had plenty, and it would give a great scare, no doubt… two birds, one stone.

She quickly placed an energy tap, hoping the right one would step in. These scrying sessions may have some uses.

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Leo

“Morgan!” Leo shouted, “Something’s wrong!”

“Help…”

Lexi was weaker now. Her eyes were unable to focus, and she was getting limp. He laid her down with a pillow behind her head.

He saw movement on his left. Maddie cautiously approached. Still untrusting, he blocked her path to Lexi.

“What’s wrong?” Morgan’s voice asked, alarmed.

“I don’t know, she just fainted, I think.”

Her brows furrowed, “Fainted…?”

Morgan approached closer and inspected her, placing her hands everywhere to check for bleeding or injury.

“Maddie, did you see anything while we were in there?”

“There was a time I couldn’t see her… When you pushed through the barrier, but it was only a moment after Leo.”

“Hmm.”

“She was rubbing her head…?” Maddie posed.

“She has been complaining of headaches and pains since the Abbey,” Leo confessed.

Morgans's eyes narrowed, and, raising her green magic, they inspected Lexi.

“Her magic is depleted. That is… unusual.”

“Depleted?” Leo’s question was not given another answer.

Morgan moved to her face and head. Protection symbols placed on her recently glowed. They were still in place. But nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

“You said she was complaining of headaches?”

“Yeah.”

Morgan moved up to Lexi’s head, closing her charcoal eyes. She sunk her magic in. She searched for something, anything…

“What’s that?” Both Leo and Maddie asked.

Morgan peeked out, “What-?”

Then she noticed it… the golden symbol on her forehead.

“…what?” Morgan asked, bewildered; it quickly began to fade.

“Maddie! Draw it! Quick!”

Morgan sank her magic in again, only to be pushed back.

Lexi’s eyes snapped open, and she leapt forward, sitting up.

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Lexi

I was falling in the smoke once more. There's nothing to grab onto. Free falling and fast.

“Lexi!”

Instinctively, I tucked my legs into my chest. What the hell was happening?

“Lexi?”

Soft grass tickled my side. I was lying on the same field we had just discovered. This was disorienting.

Ugh…

“Pumpkin?”

Confused, I looked up. No one called me pumpkin…

I looked at the slightly familiar face, and sitting up, it occurred to me, “…Grandma Greenwood?”

“Ah, you do remember me. Hello.”

She was an older version of my Mum, with tawny brown hair, larger curls crowning her head and eyes, and bright blue as the sky.

“What?... Why?”

“It’s a lonnng story… but you,” she tapped my nose, “Need to be more careful.”

My head tilted, not understanding her meaning, “Careful?”

“This enemy… needs more than a simple protection spell. You must fight fire with fire. Rise up o flame.”

My eyes narrowed, “Kinda hard when I don’t know who they are.”

“You’ll figure it out.”

“Very cryptic…”

Her cheeky smile matched that of my Mums, “Offensive protection. Ward, not Sigil. Learn to fight, too. You’ll need it for those vampires…”

I tried to stand… I couldn’t move, stuck like a treacle.

“Time to wake up and take this with you.”

She began to sing…

She tapped my forehead, and her voice echoed, overlapping in my ears.

Rise up o flame,

By thy light glowing,

Show to us beauty,

Vision and Joy.

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My eyes snapped open, and I reached forward, “Wait!”

“Woah, take it easy…” Leo grasped my hand that nearly hit him.

“Sorry… What happened?”

“I was hoping you could tell us.”

I looked around. I was back in the living room. Sooty sat by my side, and Morgan sat near a pillow behind me.

“Maddie, bring the teapot in, please.” Morgan looked at her and nodded.

Huffing, Maddie got up from her seat and followed through with the command.

“What did you see?” she whispered once Maddie had left.

Confused, I recited the story in a low voice.

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“Hm... very interesting. Tell me, do you recognise this?” Morgan grabbed the notepad, abandoned by Maddie.

On the page was a drawing. It looked like a maze. The distinct swirls all connected to one another, and some resemblance of a star sat in the middle.

I shook my head. “No… It’s nothing I have come across before.”

“Hm… Interesting.”

“Let’s see.” Leo held out a hand.

He turned it this way and that, trying to make sense of it.

“It… looks vaguely… familiar…?”

“We could ask Uncle Keiron…” I trailed off.

“Hm, that’s a good idea. Do you think we can get this to him?” His question was directed to Morgan.

“I don’t see why not.” Morgan shrugged.

Maddie came back in with the tray.

“Perfect timing!”

“Oh, Morgan?” I asked.

“Hm?”

“Do you know if there’s anything about offensive spells? For like fighting? We were never taught that stuff…”

Morgan blinked before smiling, “Why, yes… I do.”