The place was called Mourning Pits.
No kidding.
That’s what the Shaman told her.
On the outside, this place was an island hundreds of miles away from New Zealand. The Island is considered one of the more remote places in the world with less than a hundred residents and can only be accessed by riding a boat for more than thirty hours.
But only a few knew that this place was a secret place where Solitary Witches frequent. A Solitary Witch is just like Ava and Shaman Gaas who didn’t belong to any coven. They prefer to practice the craft and travel alone.
This place was akin to a school for solitary witches, except they don’t sit down and learn how to use a spell. They experience it in the Pits.
The Pits are an underground plane that someone created a long time ago and, just as the name suggested; it was a place where you have to fight to survive. The only problem is that the Pits have other entrances from all over the world. And shifters tend to fight inside the Pits as well.
It was a dangerous place frequented by criminals.
"There is no permanent location." Shaman Gaas explained. "The door to the pits appears and disappears at various locations all over the world. No one could tell where it would appear next."
Ava nodded. Trillium knew about the Pits but there was another reason why Trillium couldn’t enter the place. It was because the place was enchanted by a very old magick. The only way to leave the Pits is to win ten fights in a row. And once you leave, you will forget every little detail about the place.
You will definitely become stronger, but you will forget everything else related to the Pits, including the people that you fought inside the place.
"Usually, criminals who had nowhere to run would go inside and hide there." Shaman Gaas said before taking a sip of his tea. "I understand if you decide not to go— "
"I will go." Ava interrupted him.
"It would be very dangerous."
"Do you think I am scared of a little danger?"
The Shaman nodded. "Before that... I want to give you this."
A large book appeared on Ava’s lap.
"A— "
"It contains all the spells that I knew. My personal grimoire."
Ava’s eyes widened. "Shaman this — " A Grimoire is a witch’s most prized possession. Many people would kill to gain an older witch’s grimoire simply because of the knowledge it holds.
"I have lived for hundreds of years and I never had a disciple."
"But this is— "
"It will help you live. That’s the most important thing."
Ava stared at the large book again. It was heavy, and it looked like the cover was made of a thick iron or something similar.
"Cut your thumb and put it on top of the book. Open your mind and the contents of the book would come to you."
Ava didn’t hesitate. She heard about things like that when she was still with Trillium. She bit her own thumb until there was blood, then she immediately put it on top of the book.
Almost immediately, she felt her world spin. She closed her eyes and let the contents flow like a stream into her consciousness.
Then there was darkness.
When Ava woke up, she was already inside a small room. She immediately got up and found the Shaman in the living room reading a book.
"How long was I out for?" Ava asked.
"Four days."
She nodded.
"How was it?" he asked.
"It’s alright."
"Try lighting the candle in front of you. Just like what Baba told you."
Ava complied. fɾēewebnσveℓ.com
She waved her hand and lit three candles.
"Maintain it for... thirty minutes."
Silence immediately blanketed the room. She expected it to work this time, but the fire flickered just before she could reach a minute. Then it died.
As usual.
"The training that Baba taught you relied on calmness." Shaman Gaas closed the book that he was reading. "To train, one needed a calm mind and body. That is the basic test."
"Are you trying to say that I am not a witch?"
Instead of answering her, Shaman Gaas got up and found another book. "I have been doing my research. How could a witch who could teleport and use devastating magick lack control? How could someone as powerful as you cannot even do the most simple test that every witch — even the smallest and weakest witch — could do?"
"Isn’t that because I didn’t go to a witchcraft school?" she asked. That was the only explanation she could come up with. "Gabriella raised me without teaching me— "
"That’s not it."
"Then what is it?"
"I already gave you my knowledge, hundreds of years of magickal spells. But still, you cannot maintain a candle for more than two minutes."
"Maybe it’s because I just woke up? I can practice an— "
"It’s because we are practicing the wrong king of magick."
"What?"
"You are not telling us something, Ava." He sat across from her with the book on his lap. "The magick that you are using, it’s not from nature. Am I right?"
"I— "
"Did you think you were a freak when you realized that the more furious you are, the more powerful you became?"
Ava gulped.
"At first, I thought it was because you were someone gifted. Someone who was born with more than two gifts. Someone who had a natural affinity with nature. Then I thought about what Babaylan told me. I thought about the mating. Witches don’t have mates, Ava."
"I know that. But what are you trying to say?"
"The anger, the magick, and the mate. Witches don’t have those."
"Are you saying that I’m not a witch?" she asked. "If I’m not a witch then, why can I use spells? I can use a tracking spell. I can use spells to create fires and wind and magick."
"Oh... witches can do all those things that you mention." Baba slowly put the large book in front of Ava. "And so are angels... and demons."
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