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My head felt like it was swimming with all the information. Not only was our heritage revealed to each of us on our eighteenth birthday, along with the reason why our parents were taken from us, also part of the trip was designed around spending time in the area learning about our history, our heritage, and our craft. And time together there would allow Aunt Lyrica to determine our strengths, so it could be documented for the coven as well as the supernatural council collective for future needs.
The supernatural council collective, which she referred to as the SCC, consisted of supernatural beings who oversaw beings with or from magic and intervened where necessary. They had codes of conduct established for each supernatural classification. Laws. Rules. Consequences if the rules were broken.
Aunt Lyrica told me that Vivica, Vivi, is a clairvoyant with strong precognition skills. She had visions of varying degrees. Always accurate, not always detailed or easily discernible straight away.
Veronica, Ronnie, has skills in psychometry which meant she could gather information from people and objects by touching them. If she touched you, she’d glean information about you. If she touched something of yours, the same.
Jessica, Jessie, was classified as a medium with powerful skills to tap into other dimensions. She could also connect with the dead. She had some precognition skills, too.
Danica, Dani, was developing exceptional healing skills. Not only healing the body but also spiritual healing. It had only been just over a year since she started to tap into her skills.
This trip would reveal what my strength was, but Aunt Lyrica told me she suspected my strengths would make all of us stronger together.
And this made me feel special. It took the bitter sting of being last out of things just a little. Like they needed to wait for me to fully experience things. Knowing they were waiting for me after all the waiting I did felt special.
Aunt Lyrica said she and Aunt Mimi had many strengths. She wouldn’t list them for me. She said they began their journeys much like me. She did tell me she’s a reincarnation of the original Lyrica Young, born over two-hundred years ago, though she only has select memories from that time.
They’ve gathered new strengths over the years via a variety of methods and we’ll all continually hone our craft for the rest of our lives. We’re stronger together but also strong alone. Aunt Lyrica also told me we’d be occasionally called on to help with matters that could be regional or even global. She made sure to drive home that witchcraft isn’t a set course where you can graduate with honors from the highest learning degree. There are so many facets and it’s ever-changing with the world and other witches, warlocks, and supernatural beings contributing to it, so it’s a never-ending quest for knowledge, skills, and balance.
Depending on what my skills were determined to be, the five of us together could be stronger than what’s been seen for at least a few generations in the Young coven.
I couldn’t wait to learn all about magic. I couldn’t wait to be part of the coven, their secret club, and in hindsight I knew by my sister’s faces that morning that they were just as excited about bringing me into this fold as I was.
***
As she showed me things in the covenstead hidden in the back of the drycleaners, I was filled with a strange combination of wonder, rightness, and remorse over how much of a brat I’ve been. I couldn’t even count how many times my sisters asked me to trust them. Even when Dani, who was almost as frustrated as me just over a year ago pleaded with me to trust her, said this while holding my hands and staring deep into my eyes, I couldn’t get past my anger to trust her. I thought for sure she’d tell me everything and couldn’t understand why after all our talks, she would leave me out.
Aunt Lyrica picked up on my mood, consoled me, and assured me that my sisters understood and that I hadn’t done irreparable damage with my brattiness.
They’ve all been anxious for the day when the secrets no longer had to be kept. Aunt Lyrica told me there would be many good things to look forward to now that all five of us were of age. But she cautioned me that it’d be a long and winding road. Not an easy one. That with these gifts we’d been given, we had a tremendous amount of responsibility as well.
“I don’t want to delve into darkness here on your birthday, on day one, but there are pitfalls to be wary of. Dark magic. Things that will crop up that you’ll need to wade into. Things that will put you and your sisters at risk. Tolls you’ll need to pay. Punishments you’ll have to dole out, too, even if you don’t want to. There’s heartbreak on the road ahead, Erica Young. Heed what I say to you so you can be safe and so that you can do what you were intended to do in life. It won’t always be easy. You girls may put yourselves in danger and some of you might even one day be lost to it. You have purpose that will help many. But you must do your best to follow the rules. And if there are times when you cannot, you must do your best to always repay your debts. Build and bank goodwill always so that you’ll never be without it. Good energy is the essential ingredient for our work and for your magic. Save it up. Don’t spend it all in one place or you might run out of it when you need it most. And even if you’re sure you have more than enough, conserve it. Make your actions matter, girl. Always try to serve the greater good.”
