Chapter 13: Summoned
The drive to Sage's house would take an hour, so instead of staying in silence, Xavier tried to use the opportunity to get to know Sage better. However, Sage wasn’t compliant and seemed to be giving him the cold shoulder.
“Look, Sage,” Xavier placed his hand on Sage’s left thigh, causing her to freeze and her brain to go blank.
“Don’t touch,” Sage snapped. “Keep your hands to yourself.” Immediately, he withdrew his hand.
“I’m sorry about what happened at school, I didn’t mean for it to happen.”
“At school? What are you talking about?” Sage knew exactly what Xavier was talking about, but she chose to play dumb.
“With me and Tasha.”
“Oh, that. Why are you apologizing? The way you say it makes it seem like you were cheating or something. Xavier, I’m not your girlfriend, you are free to make out with anyone.”
Xavier stared blankly at Sage. He didn’t seem to understand her at all. Was she aware that they were mates or not?
“Take a turn here!” Sage said abruptly, as Xavier almost drove past the path to her house.
Xavier stopped in front of a strange-looking building as there was no path beyond it.
“Umm, thanks for the ride,” Sage said as she got out of the car and smiled at the perplexed-looking boy.
****
“Mrs. Ericka?” Sage wasn’t expecting anyone to be home, so she was surprised when she saw the silhouette of Ericka at the top of the stairs.
Ericka had her usual cold gaze; Sage had always tried to avoid it as she felt that Ericka could judge her present and future with those eyes of hers. However, Sage didn’t look away from Ericka this time; she held Ericka’s gaze until Ericka was the first to look away.
“You said you won’t be back until Friday.”
“I came back to take care of something,” Ericka replied. “I’ll leave first thing tomorrow morning. Why are you late?”
“My car broke down, and I was stranded,” Sage replied without going into details on how she was able to get back home.
“And where are the twins?”
“I don’t know,” Sage said as she walked up the stairs and past Ericka towards the attic where she slept.
****
Day 4.
“There’s the birthday girl!” Clark said as he walked towards Sage's open locker.
Sage had a confused look on her face as she brought her head out of her locker and closed it.
“Oh my gosh!” Sage exclaimed as she palmed her face. “It is my birthday!” Sage always forgot about her birthday every year, and Clark was the one to always remind her of it. She seemed to hate the idea of celebrating a birthday when there were no memories to reflect on about the past years.
“This time around I got you something, and you must accept. Here you go,” Clark said, shoving a present into her palm.
“A flute! Thanks,” Sage smiled and gave Clark a hug.
****
The twins had woken up really late. They were really exhausted after spending the night out partying with the thought that Ericka, their mother, was away on a business trip. Sage had told them the day before that their mother wouldn’t be home until Friday, but to their surprise, when they got home past midnight, they saw Ericka sitting on the edge of their bed waiting for them.
“Jane, since mum’s away for real this time, why don’t we just skip school?” Clara suggested to Jane, who was reading a book in the living room.
“Are you crazy? What if mum comes home?”
“Then we’ll tell her you fell ill,” Clara rolled her eyes. “Besides, she left really early; I’m sure she has something important to take care of.”
“Why do I have to be the sick one?”
“Because, you’re so scared of Mum and once you are confronted a little you’ll sell us out.” Clara was right; Jane didn’t know how to keep a secret; however, she had a degree in lies and manipulation.
“So it’s better if you just lay still and keep quiet. Just watch and see what I’m going to do,” Clara said, running up the stairs.
****
Ericka appeared out of thin air at the peak of a mountain. She was meant to be here yesterday, but she had to make some preparations before she came here. She was unaware of what would happen below these mountains, and she had no idea why she was summoned here; it was better to be safe than sorry.
The mountain where she stood was surrounded by five tall castle-like buildings that seemed to have merged with the mountain. In front of her was the other part of the mountain that was separated by a large gap. The mountain was a symbol of the Siamese twin gods that died on this spot. The mountain kept adding layers for thousands of years till it became what it was today. The sky above it was always a light shade of red.
The last ancient vampire, Mortimer, had claimed the mountains and his sons had built around it. This spot was said to be flowing with a lot of supernatural energy which sustained their urge for human blood.
Ericka stood at the edge of the mountain she was on and looked down. It was a deep hole that looked endless; it didn’t have any sharp rocks poking out.
Taking a few steps back, Ericka ran back to the edge and with a leap she twirled in the air. Her outfit changed to a long white gown before she descended down the hole between the Twin Mountains, halfway down the descent, she felt all her connections to the real world break. She couldn’t control anything she had cast spells on from this point. Fortunately, she had set up a plan B before coming here. Now, inside the mountain at its very bottom, Ericka adjusted her straight white gown. The air was cold, and the area smelled like rain mixed with earth. She could also sense the forbidden energy that emanated from only one creature, the witch queen. Ericka was hesitant, but she was here now. Taking in a deep breath, she walked through the provided entrance.