Dark Ordained - Mariette

Let's pick up where we left off...

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It was the dead of night and I was standing in the middle of a garden.

It was one of the huge gardens typical of big manor houses. Huge sweeping lawns, neat flower beds and moss-covered statues in every direction. 

I was confused, I remembered being at Nancy’s and being injured after finding the massacre at my grandparents’ house. Not how I ended up here though. 

My attention though was on a point just ahead of me. There was a glowing pool of light. 

My feet were heavy as I walked towards it. The closer I got the more I could make out in the darkness, the pool of light was a ring of candles sitting in the grass large enough for two people to comfortably sit inside. There was a figure in the centre of the candles, sitting cross legged, silhouetted by the flickering light. 

The wind blew across the grass, blowing the loose skirt of the silver dress I was wearing and making the candle flames bend but they didn’t go out. The change in the light lit up the figure and I saw my grandmother, Mariette, sat inside the circle. At the sight of her I started running.

I was at the circles edge when Mariette looked up and noticed me.

“Eve! My goodness! Get in here quick!” she got to her feet and crossed the inside of the circle but didn't go past the candles.

“Mariette what’s going on? Where am I?” I gasped as she pulled me into the circle.

“We don’t have much time,” Mariette paused for a second. She went back and sat at the far side of the circle. She motioned for me to sit opposite her which I did.

“Is this a dream?”

“No dear. We’re between spaces at the moment. I needed to speak with you.”

“Mariette what happened?”

“We were attacked by Arkainus and his wraiths,” Mariette was watching me carefully. It took some effort but I managed to put together the face of the man from my grandparents house. It really was like trying to remember a dream once you're awake. You knew you had the memories but when you thought about it the details were hazy.

“What’s a wraith?” I asked, those I couldn't picture.

“The men without faces.”

“Oh, I saw one. Joey killed it,” I looked at Mariette she was wearing a light grey robe that was moving with the breeze. Her long auburn hair was loose down her back, it was strange, Mariette always tied her hair back. I hadn't realised how long it has got.

“Have you been fighting? My goodness you’re a mess! Are you hurt dear?” Mariette looked at me closely. She turned my face with her hand. 

I looked down at my body and my silver dress was now covered in blood but I felt fine. I racked my brain to recall where the blood was from. It was important. Then I remembered why I was bloody.

“You’re all dead!” I whispered and Mariette left go of my face and picked up my hand.

“Oh sweetheart! It’s alright,” Mariette sounded strained but she didn’t cry.

“This is my fault! Joey said they wanted me!” I let go of Mariette, angry with myself. Mariette gave me her quizzical look and then she brushed my hair off my face and stared into my eyes. She chuckled softly.

“This isn’t your fault. It’s mine,” Mariette moved back from me and there was a rumble of thunder.

 “What do you mean?”

“There is a boundary line that separates what you would recognise as all things normal and mundane, we call it the Mort, mortal world, from the supernatural world, the Lumin. 

Thousands of years ago a powerful demon was looking to break the boundary and allow all of the most evil and despicable beings to move into the mundane world. They would have consumed all life on Earth. 

That demon was defeated by a team of powerful warriors, and her body was destroyed so she could never again return. Demons never really die though, they just return to the Void to be reborn. You can’t kill a demon, only banish it, alive or dead to the Void. 

Her followers didn’t disappear, they longed for her to return but for that they needed a body in which to house her soul. This requires a specific body however. Most bodies aren’t prepared to house another being’s soul, especially one of her power, they burn up. There is however an exception to this.

“Necromancers,” I myself had already experienced having another person’s soul in my body.

“Exactly and because of this, over the boundary, necromancers are much sought after. Necromancy as you probably know, is power over the dead, and that power comes from spirit. It’s more complicated than that but for now that’s as much detail as I have time to tell you.” Mariette paused when a strong gust of wind threatened our circle of light, 

“Because necromancers are so rare, they are all brought to The Sanctuary. Which is a place of protection and training for the up and coming priestesses for the gods and goddesses over the boundary.”

“What? Gods and Goddesses? Mariette what are you talking about?”

“Over the boundary there was a different higher power system to that of the ordinary world. There was a network of gods and goddess divided between serving the moon or the sun. There is a queen for each side and each queen had a warrior to protect her, who is also a god. Liali is the goddess of the sun, the queen of the sun in fact, and her warrior is the god Onrian who is the god of the Dawn. The final goddess of the sun is Ebetta and she is the goddess of knowledge. The elders of the sun take claim over the fairies and the not so nice sprites and other such creatures of the ‘light’. The other three elders belong to the moon. Naeko is goddess of the moon and her warrior is the god Aedall who is god of night. The one completing that side of the elders is Meejin, god of war. The moon elders look after all the were-animals and the other night creatures. It’s the same on both sides when it comes to the males and females. The men come upon their powers naturally but the women have to be chosen specifically by their goddess, to become a priestess, a place of honour. You’re born with the power but it is up to the goddesses if you get to use and advance it.”

“Wait, have you met these goddesses?” I was in shock, none of this could be real but it all seemed to be making weird sense.

“Only one, Naeko, she is, was, my goddess. I was a Lunite, a priestess in training. Naeko came to me and chose me. I was assigned my warrior, Lyle who is a werewolf, and I went through my training. Over the years my fondness for Lyle and his feelings for me grew and eventually we fell in love, this wasn’t allowed, the warriors aren’t permitted to have romantic relations with their charges, but we kept it a secret. As time went on I increasingly sensed the danger I was in. Lyle was kept busy protecting me from those who wanted to use me to resurrect the demon. Only a strong necromancer, a priestess could house the demons soul permanently. 

I knew my time was running out, my training was nearly complete and I would soon be the priestess. At that point I would be trapped as the priestess and lead warrior.  

Then one night Lyle was seriously injured, he almost died. I knew I couldn’t lose him and I had just found out I was expecting my first child. It was too dangerous for all of us to stay not to mention the child would have been cast out from The Sanctuary because of our rule breaking, and I would not have been separated from my baby. 

I knew I had to escape, and not just from The Sanctuary. We had to cross the boundary where my power and that of my child would be hidden. Whether they were born a werewolf or a necromancer they would be hunted for their powers and I would not raise my child that way. Before they even knew I was pregnant, one night, with Lyle’s help, I managed to escape.”

“The child you were carrying was dad?” I was watching my grandmother in awe of her strength and what she had gone through. Mariette leant forward and took hold of me by the elbows, “We made it over the boundary line, went as far as we could and as soon as we felt safe we made ourselves a home. There were only a couple of times over the years where we were found but the spies never made it back to report where we were. Lyle was chosen as my guardian for a reason. 

The more years that passed the more my powers weakened and I was soon undetectable and even if I was found I’d become useless to them, but I worried that my children and their children may inherit my power and those from over the boundary would hunt them instead.”  

 

“Wait, you mean my dad had this power?” I asked feeling quite over whelmed.

“No. You see, your father being a werewolf meant he couldn’t inherit my gift. You cannot be both werewolf and a necromancer,” Mariette turned to look at me again before she continued.

“Necromancers can sense other necromancers, and from the first time I held you as an infant and through the years I’ve spent watching you grow, I’ve felt the same magic within you,” Mariette took hold of my hand.

“So my dad a werewolf?” My brain was struggling to catch up. It was like I was half asleep.

“Yes he was,” Mariette was watching me.

“Was Joey a werewolf?”

“He is Eve. Still is, not was.”

“He died. You all died, I could feel it,” sitting in this circle I could recognise the bad feeling I had experienced outside. It was death, I could sense the death close by.

“He did and even though you inadvertently brought him back, the second you release him he will pass over to the other side of the boundary and he will be fine as though nothing had happened. It is a magic of the boundary, in the ordinary world we are weaker because our spirits and our souls are still linked to the supernatural side so if we die in the Mort we traverse back to the Lumin,” Mariette grinned at me, “So he is still alive. We all are. Lyle is already there, I hung back to have this conversation with you and Joey will join us once you release him.”

“Wait does that mean my mum and dad are on the other side?” Mariette gave me a sad smile.

“No sweetheart. They weren’t really in the summer house the night they died. They had gone over the boundary to meet with someone, I don’t know who. They died on the supernatural side so…”

“….so they stay dead,” I finished Mariette’s sentence. She looked uncomfortable so I changed the subject.

“What do I do know?”

“Obviously you are no longer safe in the Mort, you need to get to The Sanctuary were you will be safe. You must not die though. You won’t travel back over if you do. You haven’t been through the initiation ceremony. Being a werewolf meant Joey’s power couldn’t be dulled and hidden and we had no choice but to initiate him just in case something happened to him. With you however I was able to dull your power with the herbs. I’m sorry you found out the way you did but I thought I was doing what’s best,” Mariette was looking at me with pleading eyes.

“I do understand Mariette,” she visibly relaxed. I did understand, she had been hunted for years and had been protecting us all for nearly all her life. She was just trying to keep me safe, I didn’t hold that against her. I had seen what hunted her. 

“The moon goddess blessed you. You were born on a full moon you know, a female child of a werewolf born on a full moon is a rare gift that can only be bestowed by the Goddess Naeko herself. Even if you aren’t a werewolf, Naeko is the Goddess of the moon and therefore rules over both the were-animals and the necromancers. You are special to her; the strength of your power is evidence of that. You raised a zombie without any training.” There were still no clouds in the sky but a bolt of lightning struck the ground not far from where we were sitting.

 “So what do I need to do?” I was confused, there was so much to take in.

“There’s a ritual you need to go through before you can cross the boundary,” Mariette got to her feet.

“You’ll need help. Nancy can assist you,” another bolt of lightning hit but closer this time. I stood up too.

“Looks like our time is up,” Mariette looked at me then hugged me tight. “You go complete your ritual and remember to go back to the house and release your brother, he can’t pass over until you do. Don’t worry about getting your things Lyle and I will collect them for you. You just worry about getting yourself safely to The Sanctuary.”

“Where will I find you after the ritual?” I grasped her arms as she began to move away from me and back towards the outside of the circle.

“I’ll meet you on the other side,” she smiled and hugged me again, “Be careful Eve, I’ll see you soon,” then I felt the crackle of the electricity before the bolt struck me.

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L xx