Thea

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- So your name is Temi now? - stated Adeline, accompanying this by chewing freshly cooked scrambled eggs for breakfast. – It’s a beautiful name, I like it. In general, you know, this name seems to remind me of something.

She bit the corner of her fork with her teeth and rolled her eyes, trying to remember.

- I don’t remember... No... But I remember exactly what I heard somewhere. Although, of course, this is nonsense, there are few such names in the world. – throwing another piece into her mouth, she squinted at the silent Klaus.

- Are you all right? - I asked him.

- I should ask you that. I couldn’t sleep all night listening to you sobbing about that asshole. What do you see in him at all? - he said with gnashing teeth. Well, except for appearance, of course.

Klaus looked very angry and I didn’t understand why. Either because he didn’t get enough sleep, or because he was talking about King Abion again.

- Argh, forget it. - He slammed his fork and knife onto his plate. – It can’t go on like this anymore, he used you, and you’re shedding tears for him. Really like a little child. You need a distraction. Adeline, when will you take us to the other witches?

- We can go now, but you’re not coming with us. - the girl said monotonously.

- What the f*ck is that? Klaus muttered.

- How do you imagine it? – she spread her arms. – Hello dear witches. Meet this werewolf. Don’t worry, it won’t bite your necks, it’s tame.

The obvious mockery in her words made me choke with laughter, but the formidable Klaus relieved the laughing tension, forcing me to continue looking at my plate.

- I can’t let her go there alone. – he continued.

- Who said she’d be alone? Don’t I count anymore? - she gestured nervously with her fork in the air.

- Yes, can you stand up for yourself in case of danger? You herself is still a child.

Adeline reached her boiling point and once again we came to where our every day together began – with the showdowns and beatings of poor Klaus. Despite Adeline’s diminutiveness, her blow was delivered perfectly, and then Klaus received no indulgences for his words.

I was always pleased with his firm self-control and inner convictions not to raise his hand to a woman, but this did not prevent him from twisting her into a bagel and squeezing her in his arms while she twisted until she lost her strength. It was a pleasure to look at them, which quietly warmed my heart.

By lunchtime, when everyone had finally put themselves in order, and some had calmed down and accepted Adeline’s conditions, we were finally able to go to a meeting with the coven.

For some reason, having succumbed to my memories of a strange dream, I thought that the meeting would take place in a gloomy forest, where witches would sit around a campfire, but everything turned out to be much less prosaic. It was an ordinary eatery, with a trivial interior and rather tasteless food.

Besides Adeline and me, there were six other witches of different ages sitting at a small wooden table, but most of them still looked to be over forty. They looked the same as usual, without pointy hats and warts on their noses. The only thing that distinguished all of them from other people was that each witch was insanely beautiful and refined. I wonder if all the witches are like that or just the ones who were sitting at the same table with me right now.

At first they looked at me skeptically, asked them questions about my childhood, about my abilities, and my surroundings, about my hobbies. The usual boring conversation, more like an interrogation. And only when I finished covering my invented story, one of the witches stretched out her hands to me and squeezed mine tightly.

- Welcome to the coven, dear. – she said with a smile, her eyes shone with warmth and some kind of maternal care.

Her name was Eugene. She was one of those who looked to be in their early forties. It was she who asked the most questions, but the interest in her eyes was genuine, while some witches were bored and tedious. As it turned out, those present here are only a small part of the coven, more precisely, a small fraction of the share.

- Do you mind if we talk face-to-face? - The witch asked, and I nodded, not daring to refuse.

Leaving everyone in the tavern, we went outside and just walked forward, not having a specific destination. At first it was a little uncomfortable, since none of us said a word, and only after about ten minutes, Eugene broke the silence.

- I’m sorry, I had to be safe so that no one would overhear us. – she turned to me sharply, almost knocking me off my feet and immediately.

- What’s the point of someone eavesdropping on us? = I asked, watching as the woman took out a magic wand and began to draw incomprehensible patterns on the ground.

She looked focused and so majestic at this moment. And then, without letting me come to my senses, she jerked me inside these patterns.

- Well, now let’s talk, dear. – she smiled again and somewhere inside me I jumped with anxiety.

- I seem to have already answered all your questions.

- Yes, but now I want to hear the truthful answers. - she persisted and I felt like a cornered animal. - You see, I know Adeline and her family very well. She never had any second cousins.

Panic began to take hold of me, but I tried not to show it and continued to hold my face as if all my words were the ultimate truth.

Grinning, she closed her eyes and whispered something in a language I didn’t understand, after which I felt the ground disappear in the place where the patterns were below us and I began to fall into a black whirlpool. I screamed, hoping that someone would hear and help, but it was all in vain.

Before I could blink an eye, everything around me froze, and instead of universal darkness, images from my life began to rush past me, starting from birth and ending with today, plunging me not into silence, but into complete rigor mortis. Was I ready for such revelations? No, it’s safe to say that I’m not ready.

While I was in oblivion, held by magical symbols, the witch who continued to stand next to me and watched my own memories with my eyes was defeated by shock and disbelief. Recoiling and breaking the connection with my subconscious, she wrapped her arms around my head.

- You’ll never show it to anyone. – she whispered, but I completely did not hear her words, I was still there, deep in my subconscious. – We’ve been waiting for you for so long. Centuries have passed and only now you have appeared, completely unaware of your purpose. Poor girl.

The witch shook her head, the smile draining from her face like water, leaving a hint of longing.

- I will take your memories and keep them carefully. It’s for your own good. - She ran her hand through my red hair, carefully and carefully.

- I seem to have already answered all your questions. - I said, not understanding what else this woman wants to hear from me.

- I would like to offer you to move in with me.

I froze, digesting her words. Move? What for? I’m quite comfortable in Adeline’s house.

- I don’t understand...

- You are still too inexperienced and you need a mentor. Let’s just say, without exaggeration, you can hardly find me better. - she added with a smile, not bragging, but pointing out her advantage for me.

- Are you the supreme witch? - I immediately asked the question that was hanging on the tip of my tongue.

- No, but she is unlikely to teach you anything. So, do not refuse and you will not regret your choice. I’ll make you stronger. Much.

- But why should I become stronger? I don’t quite understand. - I hesitated.

- Do you know that there are witches with special abilities? – I shook my head negatively in response to her question. – Not all of us, but some of us can see the past or the future. Such witches are called seers. And they are extremely valuable.

- You mean I’m a seer?

Eugene couldn’t help but chuckle.

- No, Temi, I want to say that I am a seer. - A momentary pause swallowed up my awkwardness. – I saw something in your past and your future, and in order for you to fulfill your destiny in this life, you must trust me, and in return I will do everything to make you stronger and overcome all your difficulties.

- And what did you see there, if it’s not a secret?

- I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you this yet. You should not live in the expectation that your every step will be known to you in advance, it is fraught with consequences. But I can promise that when the moment comes, I will help you make the right choice.

- You’re talking in some kind of riddles. What else is the purpose, and if you saw my memories, wouldn’t another seer be able to do the same?

- Well, to begin with, try to find another seer, there are not as many of us as you might think. And secondly, they won’t be able to find anything in your head, I’ve securely sealed every corner of your memory until today.

- But I remember everything... - my head was boiling with incomprehension.

- You remember, but others will not be able to force their way into your head, as I did just now.

I stood stunned by this revelation. What do you mean you got into my head and sealed my memories? How is this even possible?

- I see that it is difficult for you to digest this information, but believe me, there are a lot of people in the world who will be happy to use you for their insidious purposes.

- Aren’t you like that? - I interrupted her, showing with all my appearance that now my trust in her has been shaken.

- I’m sorry you think that, but I’m not going to change your mind. You’ll judge for yourself when you get to know me better. And as for your question about the purpose, I can only say that not every person has it. But you are special and your destiny is of great value for the whole world, for all beings. You must become stronger in order to be able to survive and bring us all the peace we are waiting for.

Beautiful words about utopia will be pleasant to everyone, but reality hits hard in the face, sobering. How can I, a fragile person, even with small makings of some kind of magic, change the world for the better? It sounds so absurd.

- Do you lose something from the opportunity to become stronger? Why such doubts in your bright little head?

And that’s right, I’m not losing anything. On the contrary, deep down I want to become stronger, so that I don’t depend on anyone, so that I can protect myself without relying on others. To be able to protect my loved ones.

- I agree.