Read Online The Vaga by S. A. Carter - Free Book Online

hear me?’ Ama says.
    ‘Yes, Ama, I can hear you,’ I whisper. ‘What happened?’ I ask, my mind foggy and unclear.
    She turns on my bedside lamp with a flick of her fingers and her face comes into focus above me. ‘Look at me,’ her voice commands. I open my eyes and she lets out a relieved sigh. ‘Thank goodness. You’ll be alright.’
    I work my way into a sitting position, the ache in my head pulsating with every move. ‘What are you talking about?’ I ask groggily.
    ‘Shem, you fought with your uncle earlier and Isis made an appearance.’
    Her words hit their mark. A flashback of what occurred earlier tonight returns and with it an escalating sense of foreboding.
    Isis
.
    ‘Is Uncle Jo alright? Did I hurt anybody?’ My mind was inflicting all sorts of cruel images onto me of what I could have done, or more accurately, what Isis could have done. Magi stirs from her sleep beside me, lifting her head off her paws and watching us both with interest.
    Ama pats my hand in reassurance. ‘Everyone is fine. Nobody was hurt. Although we do need to have a serious talk about this.’
    I push myself up straighter against my headboard and whisper a healing spell, my head instantly feeling better.
    Ama sees the improvement and a slight smile pinches the corners of her mouth. ‘Ah, it’s good to be a witch,’ she says with fondness.
    I smile half-heartedly, knowing how much she loves everything about being a witch. Usually when we get onto the topic of Witch Lore and the Craft, Ama reminisces about the old ways and how she revelled in the nature of magic in its truest form, having learnt from the generations of witches before her.
    But right now everything has taken on a dull lustre within me. I feel laden down with a range of emotions that threaten to break me open from my core. For the first time in a long time I don’t want to be a witch, in fact, I was resenting it.
    I cross my arms. ‘Okay, I’m ready.’
    Ama reaches out to stroke my face. ‘Ah, Shem. I know you are in pain right now,’ her hand falls away softly, ‘but you need to listen to what I have to say.’
    My body relaxes as I realise that my anger is what got me into trouble in the first place. ‘Okay.’
    ‘I know I’ve told you that there was always a chance that Isis’ power could override yours, and over the years you have maintained immense strength in being able to keep her magic locked away safely. But now it has happened, and I fear that it will happen again if we don’t do something about it.’
    She has my full attention now. ‘What do you mean?’
    She moves her index finger towards my face, my eyes going cross-eyed as I watch it move ever closer. I feel a tiny buzz where her finger positions itself on my third eye. ‘Amnakara to leeme, bandura fantada ra. Zira mae kina, domera nee tofa.’
    Isis’ spirit stops stirring within me, and for the first time in many years she is silent. A sense of peace that is so overwhelming washes over me and I feel a tear make its way down my cheek.
    ‘Ama, what did you just do?’
    She withdraws her finger and wipes away the tear, her green eyes shining with love, and at the same time, concern. ‘It won’t last long, sweetheart.’ She stands up and walks the length of the room before resuming her explanation. ‘The spell I just cast is from The Book of the Dead.’
    The Book of the Dead—an ancient collection of papyrus scrolls written by priests and mystics, containing spells and rituals dating back to Ancient Egypt in the time of the Old Kingdom. These spells were written and performed to assist the dead to move through the
Duat
—or underworld—and into the afterlife safely with their soul intact.
    She stops at the foot of my bed and turns to face me, one hand fiddling with her amethyst crystal necklace. I’m about to ask her something, but she silences me. ‘No, Elena, let me get this out quickly.’ She looks over her left shoulder into nothingness, as if she is seeing something I