The sorcerer's unfinished business

Rhys POV.

"Are you ready?" Kaia asked, staring at me intently with concerned eyes. This was going to be the third time I was going to use the ascendant of life to cross over to the afterlife, to meet my parents who had died.

"Yes, I've told you a thousand times I have to do this" I assured her, grateful that my nerves didn't stray to my voice. I couldn't lie to myself, i was always scared to cross over to the afterlife. Everytime I did so it felt as if something wrong would happen, the ascendant was created by one of the most powerful sorcerer and anytime a witch used it, some power would be channeled to it. But I was too desperate to acknowledge that, the emptiness that I was feeling in the absence of my parents was enough to push me to do it.

So I squared my shoulders and sucked a hefty lungful of air, preparing to be pulled away from the world. Just for a few minutes. I had to do this. I convinced myself.

"Be careful" Kaia said, failing to hide the worry in her voice. I nodded my head and heaved a sigh. Kaia was supposed to be my anchor back to earth and pull me back using her magic. The ascendant of life was on my hand as Kaia took my hand and we begun our incantations. A bright light enveloped me and I began to disappear, I was left with silence, my eyes squeezing shut. I took a breath and opened my eyes and found myself Infront of our house. A smile splitted across my face as I heard my parents voice in the house. I realized that I had successfully crossed over to the afterlife. I lifted my eyes as the sky was dark, the streets were deserted contrasted to the real world. I raced up the steps and eagerly threw the door open.

My eyes teared up as my parents turned towards my direction. I stopped at the doorway, staring at them as they stared back

"Rhys" my mother whispered. A lump raised in my throat. I couldn't believe It was actually her.

"Mom" I whispered back, turning my eyes towards my father who was perched in a chair next to my mother. We stared at each other for a while a deathly silence engulfing us.

"I missed you two so much" I broke the silence, smiling through the tears that had started to slip down my cheeks. My mother was Infront of me within an instant, soon followed by my father.

"We missed you too darling" my mother whispered, her voice cracking. I opened my arm for her as a sob stuck in my throat. She launched herself in my embrace as I reveled in the feeling of being able to hug my mother again. I pulled back from the hug opening my arm for my father, after a while of silently remaining in our embrace. The three of us pulled back. I swiped my tear-stained face with the back of my hand as I stared at them.

My father seemed concerned and didn't hide it. "You can't keep doing this Darling. We are already dead, this is dangerous"

"I don't care if I'm stuck here with you guys. I feel so empty without you close to me"

"You don't belong here" my mother whispered, tilting her head towards the ascendant of life in my hand, a glint appearing on her eyes before disappearing. "This is a dark place darling. It's dangerous for someone with a soul" she said.

"I know, but I just can't help myself. I'm too desperate" a sob escaped my lips and my mother pulled me into another tight hug before I finally pulled back. My ascendant begun emmiting a bright light as I felt its power beggining to envelope me.

"Bye" I whispered to them as the ascendant pulled me back. I opened my eyes and I was back into my old room, the feeling of emptiness creeping back like a shadow. I looked around and saw Kaia lying on the ground unconsciously, but there was another presence in the room, my eyes rested on a man leaning against the doorway with an amused expression. A smirk was shaping his lips and he stared at me with stunning blue eyes, danger glinting within them. When our eyes met, I felt my stomach twisting and I yelled in pain, his lips quirked as I groaned in pain.

"Who are you?" I whispered my eyes tilting to Kaia's unconscious body. "What did you do to her"

"My name is Cassius and it happens that I'm a sole enemy of your kind." He said turning his attention to Kaia. "Don't worry, she is not dead"

"What do you want" I asked.

His eyes moved towards the ascendant on my hand. "You see, thousand years ago, a coven of witches came together and prisoned me since I was too powerful. I had created an ascendant that could be used to bring someone back to life, it could also summon other supernatural and the summoner would be the master." He paused, a frightening smile creeping into his lips. "This petty witches decided I was too dangerous and used that same ascendant to lock me off, for five hundred years, until you began using it. Everytime you travelled to the afterlife, the ascendant channeld more power and siphon it to me. I the more you used it, the more powerful I became and I was able to finally break free"

"You see I have my own reasons to hate your kind." He said stepping towards me. I became frozen, my breathing becoming heavy, Cassius eyes darted to the ascendant. "That used to be mine, but I can no longer use it. Only pure blood witches can use it hence why I'm here. You are what I want. I want you and my ascendant" he said with a smile.

Chapter 2 of the sorcerer's unfinished business.

I've been using the ascendant of life to travel to the afterlife, yet I was never aware it was capable of rising someone from the dead. I never knew why it was called the ascendant of life. Cassius had such a powerful aura around him that it was making the ascendant to rotate it's gears, he noticed it and his smirk was evident again.

"What do you mean you want me and the ascendant?" I asked.

"I have some unfinished business." He began. "And only you can help me, I can't use the ascendant of life again after what your kind did to me"

I swallowed, wondering what his unfinished business might be. "What Is the unfinished business?"

Cassius begun strolling around the room, his eyes concentrating on the floor, finding the hardwood floor interesting. He then stopped and stared at me through his lashes. "You are in no position to ask questions" he said through gritted teeth.

"But I'll tell you anyway" he muttered. "Years back, before I was imprisoned, I was in love with a woman named Claudia Garlasar. She was the daughter to the king whom I worked for, when he found out about my affair with Claudia, he was angry since I was his Sorcerer, he knew that I was very powerful and chose not to confront me directly, he instead seek help from some witches in his kingdom."

"So you want to bring her back to life?"

"Yes" he mumbled, a glint of sadness appearing on his eyes, before disappearing again.

"What if I can't help you?" I questioned, cheating death was against the rules of nature, and it was dangerous even to a sorcerer like him. A smile shaped his lips, a malicious smile.

"What if I bring your parents back to life?" He questioned. And raised a brow as he waited to gauge my reaction, he was very smart to use what I desired the most. But people like him are dangerous, and what he wanted was surely bigger than bringing my parents back to life.

But I couldn't lie to myself, if I was desperate enough to travel to the afterlife, I was ready to do anything to bring them back.

"What do you want me to do?" I asked, avoiding his eyes.

"I need you to find the bones of Klaudia" it was that simple?

"Only that?" I asked, surprise etched in my voice. Cassius smirked.

"It's not as easy as it sounds" he muttered "her bones were clocked to prevent me from ever finding her."

I let out an irritated sigh. "How I'm going to find them if they are clocked" I asked.

Cassius snapped his fingers twice and a mild wind surfaced, he then began chanting and the windows begun opening and shutting, within a blur, my grandmother's spell book was floating towards him. I had kept the book among my things after my parents died, I've never opened a page. Cassius eyed me with a knowing smile.

"From the look of things, you've never opened it" he said and I nodded.

"My mom left it to me, but it's writings are too ancient."

The spell book landed on the ground next to me and Cassius motioned for me to pick it up, which I did.

"Use it, it has every kind of spell, even a diclocking spell"

"How is that possible?" I asked.

"There is always a loophole Rhys. Even death can be cheated" Cassius tilted his head towards Kaia and began chanting.

"Ascendio sengenim Taura." His eyes changed to white and returned to normal. Kaia coughed loudly and I could hear her breathing hard. Cassius then turned to me. "Summon me if you find the bones" and with a blur, he disappeared.

I quickly made my way to my best friend had now sat on the floor, groaning. She seemed exhausted, Cassius had casted a floating spell to her, which made her to be between life and death, if I had refused to do what he had said, she would have died. I wrapped my arms around her into a tight hug, soaking her back with my tears.

"What happened" Kaia asked.

"Someone attacked you. A sorcerer. Don't you remember anything?"

"No" she shook her head " I saw a portal opening and thought it was you, I can't remember anything else"

I explained everything to her, about Cassius and the bones of Klaudia Garlasar, which I was supposed to locate from God knows where, I omitted the part where Cassius promised to bring my parents back to life since I knew she wouldn't support that. I stood and gazed out through my window, noticing grey storm clouds from there.

"Cassius said I should find Klaudia's bones" I said.

"And how are you going to do that" Kaia questioned.

I kept quiet thinking, apart from the fact that my grandmother's spell book had a diclocking spell, there was a mage in Armskirk who seemed to know almost everything. People had nicknamed him 'the ancient one'. I wanted to know more information about Cassius and Klaudia before embarking on the mission of locating Klaudia's bones.

"The ancient one. He knows everything" I said strolling towards the door. Kaia followed me.

The sun was still low in the sky as we walked out, creating a greyish haze of mist with the drizzle. My head snapped as I sighted something perched in a tree next to our house. There was an owl with silvery fur perched in a branch staring intently at us–having familiars was something ordinary to sorcerers but not witches and I was sure that the owl was not an ordinary owl but a familiar. I was sure that Cassius was spying on me through the familiar.

I scowled at the owl. "You don't have to spy on me you stupid sorcerer" I yelled at it. The owl titled its head as if it had understood what I had just said. Kaia snapped her head in my direction with wonder and I slapped my temple. I pointed to the owl.

"It's that bird. It belongs to him" I explained.

The owl spread its wings, which made it looked bigger than it actually was and flew away. A shiver rippled across my skin as soon as it left and I was aware of whom I was dealing with.