The Kuthun Read online

  I stay still, head down, replaying the scene out in my mind. Could it be what I think it means? Am I the woman? Something about it resonates with me on a deep level. I feel the warmth of truth within me.

  ‘The woman is me?’ He nods. ‘And I am a sun worshipper?’

  ‘Yes. Ray of Sun,’ he replies.

  The meaning of my name. This is all starting to make more sense. I think back to the vision again. ‘And Magi and I are connected, by blood?’ I ask.

  He nods again. ‘Yes. She protect you.’

  My hands find their way from my lap to my knees. ‘Wait, what do you mean protect me?’

  ‘I join you,’ he says, patting his chest and grinning.

  My eyes fall to the fire and I take a moment to try and figure out what he means. I think about Magi and our connection; about Mum and Magena; Isabella; and being here in this place. My mind starts to explode with images and facts from my past. Things I hadn’t thought about in such a long time are engulfing my senses. A clear picture starts to form in my mind. I join you. Could it be?

  ‘Let me get this straight. Are you saying that you created a spell that joined the wolf blood to the Cole blood?’ It sounds crazy to my ears but with the unravelling of recent events I’m starting to believe that anything is possible.

  He nods and simply says, ‘Yes.’

  I can’t believe it. I hadn’t thought about it before but it would make perfect sense. Why didn’t I see it before? I bet if I went back through our history I would find that ever since Isabella came to be here in this place, every Cole woman since then has had a wolf-dog as their companion. But what was his purpose behind doing that?

  Taqôq Wiyon is silent. He has closed his eyes and appears to be humming to himself.

  ‘Why did you do this?’ I ask him curiously.

  I wait for him to answer. He takes his time. Slowly his eyes open. ‘When Isabella came, I smoke her spirit. I saw many things. I saw her sacred blood. This mean she must be saved. This mean, she must be protected. And on and on.’ He waves his hand back and forth.

  On and on? ‘Oh, you mean forever, as in every Cole woman from then on?’ I say.

  He nods and stares into the fire.

  I take my time considering this. He must have joined the spirit of Isabella’s baby to that of a wolf when she was born. That’s the only thing I can think of. If the two souls are connected then that would be why when a Cole witch dies, the wolf dies too.

  Mum and Magena, I remember painfully.

  I don’t know why it never occurred to me before but this would explain so many things. Like how Magi always knows when I am in trouble and turns up out of nowhere; or when she gets hurt and I can feel it; or when she can sense danger lurking—like at the school when she wouldn’t get in the car with Uncle Jo. The whole time she was protecting me.

  Oh, Mags.

  ‘Poison no kill her,’ he says, bringing me back to the present.

  ‘How did you know about that?’ I ask surprised.

  ‘I see many things. I know many things,’ he answers humbly.

  A thought occurs to me that if that’s true then I need to ask him some more questions. ‘Do you know what is happening to me?’ I ask, not being able to think of any other question more important right now.

  Again he takes his time. He blows on the fire, stoking its embers. I wait. His hands have found their way to his neck where he is clasping the chain of bones. His brow furrows in concentration and his eyes roll back into his head, where they are flitting uncontrollably in a trance-like state. He stays like this for a while before he answers. ‘You very powerful. You, The Great One who chosen. You learn fast. You be strong. Find the light. Break the curse.’ His body shudders and then he is still.

  I don’t know how to respond. Everything he has just said runs through my mind. My heart is racing. The Great One? The spell in the book said the same thing. Could it have been meaning me? But that’s absurd, I mean, how could it? I am just a sixteen year old girl, with some supernatural ability, that comes from a long line of witches who have been hunted for centuries by a curse that…

  I stop myself from continuing. I am trying to talk away what I know to be true. All of this is so surreal. My head is swimming in a vast lake of murkiness, where all around me images of my family, the truth of our survival, and the path I now need to take, are all trying to kick their way to the surface.

  I start to feel light-headed. No, not now. I can feel my body wanting to teleport. I focus on keeping my energy still. ‘What is the light?’ I quickly ask.

  ‘The light is sun. The sun is She,’ he answers calmly.

  The light is She? What the bloody hell does that mean? I’m getting frustrated with the riddles. ‘Who is She?’ I ask, hoping that this time he can make more sense. My energy is fading. No!

  Right before I teleport I hear him say, ‘Goddess of Sun.’ I see him smile and nod his head.

  I land back in the living room and reach out for the lounge to steady myself. Time travel doesn’t seem to agree with my equilibrium. I sit and look to my right, where Magi is still sleeping peacefully on the chaise and I let out a relieved sigh. The voices of my aunt and uncle flow out from the kitchen.

  ‘Lil, it’s going to be okay.’ Uncle Jo reassures her. ‘She will be alright. We’ll figure this out and stop it once and for all.’

  I hear my aunt sob. ‘But we can’t lose her, Jo. I can’t lose another child. I couldn’t bear it.’

  Another child? The thought of my uncle and aunt losing a child pulls at my heart strings. I knew they couldn’t have children, but I hadn’t thought of them losing one either.

  ‘I know. I won’t let that happen,’ he promises her.

  ‘Why didn’t you tell me all this, Jo? I know you told me some things, but not this. How could you keep that from me?’ she asks him accusingly.

  ‘I’m sorry, love. I just didn’t want you to be afraid. I didn’t want you involved unnecessarily.’

  ‘Unnecessarily! Jo, I am your wife. And I love Ellie just as much as you do. I should have known about this…this Venator or whatever he is.’

  I regain my balance and walk quietly into the kitchen. Uncle Jo is sitting across the table from Aunt Lily, his hands wrapped firmly around hers.

  She looks up as I enter and wipes away the tears. ‘Ellie,’ she says breathlessly as she walks towards me. She hugs me fiercely and I hug her back, while apologising to my lungs for the absence of air that is being squeezed out of them.

  ‘I’m okay,’ I say quietly.

  She steps back and keeps her hands on my arms. ‘Please don’t disappear like that again.’

  Guilt finds its way into my heart. ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t know what else to do.’ I look past her to see worry smeared across Uncle Jo’s face. His stubble of a beard is throwing off speckles of grey, giving him a rugged, distinguished look, while his hazel eyes are glistening with tears.

  Aunt Lily moves aside and I slowly make my way towards him. He welcomes me into his chest and I feel his big arms wrap themselves around me, making me feel safe and warm. We stay like this for a moment. I can feel relief flooding through him, calming him. He kisses me on the head and whispers, ‘Don’t ever, ever, do that to me again.’

  ‘I’m sorry,’ I whisper into his chest, taking in his piney scent, not wanting to let go. I feel him relax finally and we gently part.

  I look between their faces, feeling uncomfortable with the thought that I put them through more worry. ‘How long was I gone?’ I ask quietly.

  ‘About one hour,’ he says.

  One hour! It felt like I was there longer than that. Maybe time is slower here. I nod. ‘Any change in Magi?’

  ‘Her breathing has stabilised and the bleeding has stopped,’ Aunt Lily responds, while fiddling with her pearl-studded wedding ring. ‘I’ve been checking on her regularly.’

  ‘Thank you,’ I say. She smiles faintly and moves towards the kitchen bench where there is fresh dough laid out on the board. She
must have been cooking again, it’s like meditation for her. She touches Uncle Jo’s arm as she passes him. His eyes follow her and then turn back to me.

  He jerks his head indicating I should follow him and he leads me into the lounge room, hands thrust deep into his pockets. He sits down on the over-sized cream covered sofa that is decorated with large comfy cushions and a beautifully crocheted deep green throw. I sit down next to him and draw my legs up under my chin.

  He takes a deep breath. ‘Okay, tell me what happened?’

  I begin to tell him about the vision of Magi and how our bloodline was protected by the wolf. I explain what Taqôq Wiyon said about me being The Great One who was chosen; my power; finding the light; and stopping the curse. Finally, I tell him that the light represents the Goddess of the Sun.

  His raises an eyebrow at the last part but he doesn’t say anything, he just sits there staring at Magi for a while.

  ‘Well it makes sense. I mean about Magi,’ he says. ‘Your mum and Magena had the same bond. My mother and her dog too. I always knew something was a little strange about these wolf-dogs that look alike. I just could never quite put my finger on it.’

  I can’t believe I missed it myself. ‘Yeah, well now we know,’ I say a little too bluntly.

  ‘You’re upset?’ he asks.

  I stand up quickly and turn on him. ‘Yeah I’m upset! Why wasn’t I told any of this? I mean surely there have been enough Cole women over the years, with enough time to spare, to share this information. Why is it that I’m only finding some of this out now? Surely Mum suspected some of this. She was the most intuitive person I’ve ever known.’ I start pacing out of frustration.

  Uncle Jo glances at me and looks away. ‘You’re tired, Ellie. I understand your frustration, believe me. I have spent years trying to figure it all out. Maybe some of those women did too. There must be a reason that these secrets have remained hidden. We’ll figure it out together, I promise.’ He nods his head in the direction of the stairs. ‘Why don’t you head up to bed and get some rest. I’ll watch Magi tonight. We’re safe here in the house. Go on.’

  ‘In a minute,’ I say, still processing information that I don’t understand. The thought of slinking my way upstairs and burying my face into my pillow while I comatose into a deep sleep appeals to me, but there are still things unanswered. ‘Who is the Goddess of the Sun?’

  His eyes wander about the room, finally settling on the picture of me and Mum when we went to Disneyland for my ninth birthday. We are smiling broadly and you can see the big black ears of Goofy behind us. I wait for him to respond.

  ‘You know how we touched on the possibility of Ancient Egypt being a tie in to our bloodline earlier, but we didn’t have any evidence?’ I nod. ‘Well, I believe now we do,’ he says with mixed emotions.

  I sit back down, eager for more information. ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘The Goddess of the Sun. The Sun is She,’ he says quietly.

  ‘Yes, I know that part!’ I say exasperated. ‘But who is She?’

  He slowly shifts his body towards me. ‘I believe that She, is Isis.’

  A chill runs up the nape of my neck, his words have hit a nerve. It takes me a moment to comprehend what he has just said. ‘Isis! As in the Isis, the Goddess of Egypt and Mother of Horus!’ I exclaim in disbelief. Unlike economics and art, history is one of my strong points.

  He nods slowly. ‘The very one.’

  I can’t believe it. I’m speechless. We both stay sitting like that for a while, not sure about where to go from here.

  I change positions. ‘Okay. Let’s just back up a minute. Are you are telling me that the Cole bloodline is connected to Isis, Protector of the dead and Goddess of magic…’ I pause just long enough for those words to resonate. Uncle Jo is looking at me with a you-can-do-it smirk.

  ‘Oh…my…gosh!’ I exclaim, my excitement building. ‘You mean she is the Mother of the Cole bloodline? As in…the first witch?’ I cannot contain my amazement. My skin has broken out in goose pimples and my hair is standing on end. I can’t believe this is happening.

  He nods and folds his arms. ‘I think so.’

  ‘You think so? You act as if you knew?’

  ‘I had my suspicions but I couldn’t be sure. Like I said, I spent a long time trying to trace our history. But when I reached the era of Ancient Egypt the line became lost. Then, when you found the page in the Book of Cole, it sort of confirmed it for me.’

  ‘Of course! It literally said Isis. I didn’t even think about the possibility that it was the real Isis,’ I say. ‘I just can’t believe this. Do you know what this means?’

  ‘No, but isn’t that what we’re trying to find out?’ he replies sarcastically.

  I roll my eyes at his lack of enthusiasm. ‘Well…yes. But still, this is so exciting!’

  ‘Ellie, calm down. First, we have no idea what this means, only that we have a lead. Second, this may cause us even more problems. I mean how are you supposed to find the light of Isis if she doesn’t exist?’ He raises his eyebrows quizzically.

  My shoulders slump. ‘You’ve got a point,’ I grumble, not happy that he just burst my bubble. ‘What do we do now then?’

  ‘We research. But first you need sleep, you look exhausted. I’ll watch Magi tonight and wake you if anything changes.’ He nods towards the stairs.

  I know he’s right but I can’t help but want to find all the answers tonight. ‘Okay. We’ll start bright and early tomorrow.’

  ‘Just not too early,’ he says smiling.

  I get up and walk over to Magi. Her pulse is relaxed and her breathing is even. I bend down and kiss her cheek. ‘Love you, Mags,’ I whisper.

  I head upstairs, my body exhausted and on the brink of collapsing. I fall onto my bed and as soon as my head hits the pillow the dark of night overcomes me.

  Chapter 10

  Darkness surrounds me. My eyes can’t see anything before me. I stand still, trying to listen for any sound, but all I hear is my own breathing. I reach out, slowly shuffling forward, hoping to touch something, anything. My hands find the surface of what feels like a wall. I trace my hands across its face, hoping it will lead me from out of the abyss. Slowly, cautiously I tread, using the wall as my guide. I venture deeper into the unknown, not knowing why I am here. Up ahead I see a faint light. I follow its presence. All of a sudden I find myself standing directly in front of a stone door, the light beneath it glowing brighter. Intricate carvings start to appear on the door and a silver metallic liquid flows through them, highlighting their significance. I watch the symbols and images manifest before my eyes, they appear to glow, tracing out a multitude of alien lines that hold ancient meaning. I try to recognise just one of them, until finally, in the top section of the door, I am able to see one symbol and one symbol only…the kuthun.

  My eyes open. Morning has come again. I sigh, the image of the door still alive in my mind. I lay there unmoving, listening to the familiar sounds of the house. The wind is howling against the roof trusses, sending me a warning to rug up because a chill is coming. The eerie sound it makes as it blows through always makes me feel uncertain, or at least hesitant, to want to leave the sanctuary of my home. I draw the blankets up closer to my neck.

  Aunt Lily is pottering around in the kitchen downstairs—pots and pans are rattling, drawers are sliding open and closed on their oil-based hinges, and she is humming a faint tune to herself. Uncle Jo has just entered the front door, his all too familiar boots echo off the floorboards as he stomps his way into the lounge room. I hear him drop whatever he is carrying onto the fireplace grate.

  ‘Hey, Magi. How are you doing, girl?’ he says.

  Magi! I throw the blankets off and jump out of bed, taking the stairs two at a time. I fly around the corner and see Uncle Jo squatting in front of the fire, building it up with kindling and paper. Magi is sitting next to him and she turns to look at me as I walk quickly towards her. I kneel down and wrap my arms around her neck, burying myself into h
er thick fur. I feel her warmth enter my body and find its way to my heart.

  Uncle Jo places his hand on my back gently. ‘She’s fine now, Ellie. She healed through the night. Her foot is still a little tender but it won’t take long for that to disappear either.’

  I nod, not able to speak. Magi eventually wriggles out of my hug and she nuzzles my cheek. I stay sitting there with her by my side, feeling grateful that she is alive. I watch Uncle Jo light the kindling and see the flames slowly build themselves up.

  I search his face and find that the bags under his eyes are dark and sullen. He hasn’t slept. ‘Thank you for looking after her,’ I say quietly.

  ‘Of course,’ he states simply, like there was never another option. Images of him standing silent and protective at the window, gun cocked, watching the darkness outside for any movement, runs through my mind.

  ‘Did you sleep okay?’ he asks, closing the grate.

  I nod. ‘I did have another dream though.’

  His large hands pick up the extra wooden blocks easily and he places them into the nearby basket. ‘Do you want to talk about it?’

  ‘Not really,’ I answer, feeling too drained to explain.

  He nods and wipes his hands together. ‘How about we go into the kitchen and have some breakfast. Lil’s making pancakes and I’m starving. You must be hungry as well, as it’s already ten o’clock.’ He moves towards the kitchen.

  What? Ten o’clock already? I don’t think I’ve ever slept in that long before. I take a few more minutes to sit there patting Magi before I get up and we make our way into the kitchen. My stomach rumbles at the thought of food and I remember that I didn’t eat anything last night. Phoebe wouldn’t last two seconds in this house.