XII.Silver,brass,obsidian.

Xolem Ignim - The fire of the sun.

Locum Sacrum - Sacred place.

The Old Language is very close to Latin and is actually one of the sources of some Latin words, in the book that is. 

Jasper

Ivan twisted around. He was fast and graceful both at the same time. Surprise flickered across the young warrior's face as the Alpha's foot connected with his face.I winced at the sound.

That must have really hurt.

The 'warrior' should have known better than to challenge a beast like Ivan.

The impact of the kick sent the young one staggering into a tree. At what point had they left the centre of the field? That's what happens when you try to fight Ivan, at some point you think you're here only to find that you are elsewhere.

Lucky enough for the boy, Ivan did not maim him. Usually those who spar with the beast were left in a bad state, taking long to heal. That's how Volk fights, hard, tirelessly and mercilessly. There was no beast as strong as Volk. Thankfully for the rest of us, they had all...died out save for one.

This time though, he had shown mercy and left the boy just a little bloodied.

His mood had changed. Ivan was not one to kiss and tell but I had a feeling things were going well with his mate, extremely well.

It was funny actually, such a beast would be mounted by one considered weak and powerless. The Goddess surely has a sense of humour, pairing him up with that small human girl. But I had a feeling that the girl was stronger than she looked. She had to be, how else would she be able to handle Volk such as Ivan.

It'd been less than what immortals considered actual time since they had crossed paths yet she was already getting a hold of him. No one had noticed but I had and it made me laugh.

I felt someone's presence behind me and I knew exactly who it was."What is it Gray or are you just going to stand behind me and waste away?"

"Have you told him yet? About the witch."

"No. And I won't, you will."

"I certainly won't."

"Fine then. My serving boy will. Then Ivan will kill him...and I will lose a pretty damn good serving boy. Oh well." That struck a nerve. My serving boy was actually Grayson's...grand nephew or something, basically he was the son to his nephew. Yes, Gray was that ancient.

Since the poor boy was of age and too weak to be a warrior he was made a serving boy -my serving boy. This meant that he had to do whatever I told him even if it could get him killed. As a man of honour I was not to exploit the power I had over him, else the Goddess strikes me down.

"Damn you Hale. We'll both tell him. At least he is in a good mood."

***

"The troupes in the south uncovered something. Three Xolem Ignim witches

have been completely drained,"I informed. Ivan, Grayson and I all stood in Ivan's office.

Ivan's demeanour had changed. He was now more serious, more focused.

"Of blood?"He queried.

"No...Of power. They still have magic but it's weaker. Apparently magic is extracted from one's being in such a way that their life force is being drained away. The extraction process can only be done by a witch and a powerful one at that. In fact, very few witches have that power."

It was true. The ability to syphon magic power from another life form was a rare talent among witches. Some covens even regarded those with the talent as cursed, banishing them immediately their abilities were discovered.

For the children of Hecate, magic was a sacred and respected thing. They saw it as sinful to take one's gifts away like that.

I only knew a few witches who could do that and only one was evil enough to do such.

"Whoever did this killed the three victims after,"added Grayson.

"What does this have to do with us? The council will discuss this sooner or later anyway," said Ivan. He was right. This had nothing to do with us. We were wolves and wolves do not have to concern themselves with the matters of witches but this was different. This was the beginning of something that would possibly affect everyone in our world, especially Ivan.

"Well..."I paused and stared at Grey.

"What are you keeping from me?" He knew something was up.

"We think it's...Zoladie."

Kogo

A light zephyr blew across the shop causing goosebumps to erupt on my ageing skin. It had been long since I performed an iuniore spell and it was beginning to show. There had been no time.

I ignore the wind but it only strengthens.

The bottles that held all my precious elixirs and potions began to shake. A few fell to the ground breaking.

" Damn!...Cuniunge ,"I uttered the word and the glasses began to replace themselves, putting themselves together and magically levitating back up to the counter.

The putting together spell was one of the most basic spells among witches. It was the first spell I had been taught in my coven, the Xolem Ignim coven.

This was the kind of wind that arose from strong portal magic without a stable and agreed upon connection. Someone was trying to send me a message. )

I haven't even had my drink yet...I thought.

For a witch, a strong wind was never just a strong wind, hell a light breeze could mean someone died. Quickly, I rushed to my portal wall.

To the naked eye it seemed like a simple stone wall but it was much more. It allowed me to travel through space from one place to another miles apart but protaling could be a bit...tricky.

As one travelled through a portal, it would literally suck your energy and drain your life-force. And if you survived you would regain the energy. That was why one needed a portal licence from the council. Council rules were shit and if broken the King's men would come barging in and jailing in Court.

The breeze stopped suddenly and the wall suddenly seemed to move.

Must be Agatha. What could she want now?... A feeling of premonition washed over me. No, this is something bad.

On the cold wooden floor appeared an autumn leaf, golden and bright. This meant one thing,-coven meeting. Something else appeared. Three things appeared. Three white feathers.

This also had a meaning; death. Three deaths. I knew it. I had felt it before. And something told me one of our own was the culprit.

I was getting too old for this. But there was nothing such as 'too old' in the witch world. Life is ,after all, as long as you want it.

I picked up the autumn leaf and suddenly it was as if I was in the eye of a tornado. Then it was like everything around me was torn apart and instantaneously made anew.

This was Agatha's magic. I knew it. Teleportation of an object miles away from yourself to appear where you are. I'd taught her this trick back when we were young, really young. That was a while back even for someone who is semi-immortal.

I reappeared in a dark room. The same dark room we usually met in. Dark, earthy, cool, this was definitely the place. Our locum sacrum.

" Ignis..." I said and the room lit up. All around the dome-shaped room candles lit giving it light.

Marcus and Agatha, I noted, were the only ones there.

"It's just us left...and your granddaughter," stated Agatha. "But you never bring her."

"Alicia is not ready."

"Our coven is dying. Xolem Ignim is dying...Can't you see that? There's three of us left. She i-"

"I said she is not ready. Let me prepare her." It was always the same argument. She took my power too lightly. Maybe I had to remind her that it was a bad idea to mess with me especially before I have my morning glass.

"Let's not argue,"Marcus stepped in. He pulled the lever on the wall and the floor in the middle split apart allowing the passage of a large round wooden table. We gathered around it.

We joined hands. Our backs were to each other as we formed the circle of protection. Death was taken seriously among witches for the death of a witch meant the possible death of a coven.

Marcus created a wind that blew off all the candles at once. It was dark again. The warmth of our combining magic heated the room. We all closed our eyes and began our chant, our prayer.

" Operiet nos ignominia matris sanguinem. Sanguine matris defendat. Mater, semine eius perdidit et dabo eis locus in domos. "

This was our prayer to the mother. Our protector. She went by many names, Hecate, Hekate, all kinds of names but we mainly called her Mother. This was for many reasons that only the ancestors knew. We only knew a few through oral tradition.

Another feeling of premonition hit me. I knew that this was just the beginning. Whoever did this to our own was coming...coming for us all.