The Hunter Series - Penelope

“It’s time.”

Dad stood in the archway between the living room and the hallway. He lead us upstairs to the attic. My friends following closely behind.

There were nervous butterflies in my stomach. Too proud to admit how scared I actually felt. As the thought occurred to me, my mind began to shield itself and wandered onto other things…

As a child, I was never allowed in the attic. My parents had kept it locked. Over the years, I stopped asking what was up here. When we reached the door we stopped and waited. Dad knocked twice before the lock rattled and unlocked. The door creaked open and closed as Toby entered the room last.

The attic was lit by floating candles. They flickered, making it feel like the shadows were moving, it was a bit unnerving. The sides of the attic were filled with books, crystals, skulls and candles; all collected in dust. The floor creaked beneath our feet. As we passed the skulls, they scratched against the wooden shelf and watched us pass. There was a large wooden chest with an old large padlock that was making a load of noise. It shook voraciously with the sound of banging from inside. My feet stopped, my eyes wide and scared as to what was trapped in there. My dad tugged at my hand. He pulled me to the podium where a heavy book rested. It looked centuries old.

“Welcome Penelope.” Mum spoke in a neutral tone.

Mum wore a beautiful black dress. The front laced with red ribbon. Long bell open sleeves with red lining on the inside.

“This is the family’s grimoire. It has been in this family for generations. Each new generation have added their own spells. All the knowledge throughout their life is in this book to be handed down to the next generation of witches.”

The book shuddered and the pages flew open. They kept turning until it found the right one.

“The book has its own magic, good magic, protecting itself from evil. It must never leave this house. That is extremely important, Penelope. You must promise to protect this grimoire from those who try to steal it. It must never get in the wrong hands because if it does it could be the end of days.”

“Why would anyone try to steal it?” I asked.

“This grimoire holds spells which have been used by some of the most powerful witches in our bloodline. If someone stole it, they could use it for their own personal gain. They could destroy what we know of today. I can’t stress enough how important it is to keep this safe. You mustn’t tell anyone who isn’t in this room about it or where to find it.”

While I listened intently, I began to fathom exactly where this path would lead me to. In these moments, I learned more about the supernatural than I had in the years of being a Hunter. It confirmed my suspicions of more life in the world than just vampires. The more I learnt about the creatures, the more I wanted to protect them from the Hunters.

“Witches, like mortals, can be either good or evil. Only the good witches serve as protectors of the Innocent. Traditionally, witches are born with a primary active power. It stays dormant until the awakening at adolescence. It's unusual for a witch to reach maturity without having the awakening ceremony, unless there were special circumstances, or they are one of the lost witches. We live by a rule. It defines you between good and evil. You must never use your power for personal gain. Once you have received your power you will have a choice to make. You can become a protector or a night crawler.”

“What’s a ‘night crawler’?” I asked, intrigued.

“They are servants of evil, hiding away in the shadows. Witches who have turned away from goodness and use their powers to create mayhem, destruction and kill innocents. Night crawlers won’t stop until they’ve achieved their agenda and it’s up to us to fight them and strip them from their powers. There’s only been a handful that’s been able to recover. They stay at a special facility permanently. However, most would rather die in battle than to be taken for rehabilitation.”

Then with a snap of her fingers, four crystals flew out a box. They landed in Toby, Kristy, Sophie and Oliver’s hands.

“Stand on each of the four points.” Mum instructed them.

A small fire burned across the floor in the shape of a five pointed star. Each of the points glowing until all four of them stood on a point.

“You need to stand in the middle.” Mum said.

I hesitated but did as she instructed and stood in the centre of the star.

Mum held the last crystal. She glided over to the head of the star and stood on the point. The crystals activated. They began to glow, charging themselves and shining a bright light into the centre of the star. It almost blinded. I felt pretty terrified as I covered my eyes to shield them from the light. The candles around the room flared out of control.

“I call air into our circle for protection.” Mum spoke. Instantly, the air blew against my face.

“I call fire into our circle for protection.” The warmth radiated throughout my body.

“I call water into our circle for protection.” This time, water droplets splashed on my cheek, cooling me down from the warmth of fire.

“Lastly, I call Earth into our circle for guidance.” The smell of sweet grass after it rains filled the room. It lifted my spirits. Mum asked for their guidance and protection. I was completely mesmerized as they began to chant a spell to bring my power to the circle.

“Listen to the words of the Witches,

The secrets that we have kept in the night.

The oldest of Gods are invoked here,

The great work of magic is sought.

In this night and in this hour;

I call upon our Ancestor’s Power,

To the one that is seeking,

Hear us speaking!

We want the power!

Give us the power!”

The silence fell. We waited.

The sound of rustling started. The floor beneath out feet began to tremble. A gust of wind blew the attic door open, swirling around me. My arms flew up to protect my eyes.

Until...

The wind completely stopped. It stopped so suddenly it made me believe I imagined the whole thing. The hairs on my arm were raised. I shuddered and felt goosebumps. Is it over?

No, it wasn’t over. Three small blue orbs shone above me in the middle of the circle. Their beautiful light felt warm and good.

“You must accept your powers, Penelope.” I heard mum whisper.

I stammered, “I... I accept my powers.”

The moment I accepted, the orbs were no longer peaceful. They shot towards me. Each one entered my body and took my breath away. It was like getting the wind knocked out of you three times. It stopped my ability to breathe, I clenched my chest with a fist, hoping to gain control. My knees gave way and I went tumbling to the floor.

“Penelope?” I heard my mum’s voice. It sounded concerned.

My body didn't respond. It laid shocked and paralysed. It couldn't cope and gave up. I lost consciousness.