The truth untold

Grace was feeling nervous, her hands were sweating and her breathing was shallow, she was sure that if she were in front of the mirror, she would be scared at how pale she looks right now. This fear had not left her since earlier, the wait was driving her crazy. All this fear had a good reason, she had finished Ezden's diary earlier that day and the ritual would be done in the evening, Viktor had said he would do all the drawings of the ritual circle he had in the diary and now it was closer than ever.

That was something that scared both her and the man. Ezden's diary was very detailed in everything it showed, there was no doubt that whoever had it in their hands would be picking up an extremely powerful weapon. They spent the entire afternoon working on the drawings that were in the book, more specifically, Grace was drawing the images they would need, with the help of Viktor who was helping her find the correct circle of runes and symbols. Fortunately, for both of them, this was a fairly simple job, thanks to their ancestor, who left everything much more than explained in the descriptions of each ritual. A good point about Grace's work is that, in addition to helping to reconstruct the book, it helped her to draw in the most detailed way possible.

This was something that would never cross her mind in years, her using her work and her talent so she could help stop the evil that was growing with each passing day. Now, sitting in the living room of Viktor's house, her hands continued to shake slightly, there were only a few hours left before he could finish organizing everything and they would be ready to start. To be honest, she wasn't afraid of the ritual itself, but of the unknown. Every other time she had experienced something supernatural, it had come without warning, without a smoke signal to prepare her and as a result, she didn't understand very well what was happening, Grace managed to save herself from those situations by a cosmic luck that she still didn't fully understand.

According to Viktor, he would have to make small cuts in her skin and carve runic symbols to absorb the magic. Grace was in a cold sweat from this reason more than from the other things that were going to happen. She gets up from the sofa and starts to walk around the room, paying attention to some details in the room, trying to dispel her thoughts that were running around her mind, Grace hugged herself with her own arms, caressing her biceps, feeling the texture of the wool of her coat. Cicury City had a particularly cold evening this day. It was as if the universe had an understanding of what was about to happen, the fog that always surrounded the city was thicker than before, the cold spread more quickly, a situation that few heaters were able to cope with the temperature. She had particularly warmed up in one of her favorite cardigans, one of the ones that came from her grandmother's clothing collection, she loved the little things that reminded her of her grandmother, she always remembered the moments they shared before she left.

Grace looks at the small decorations that were on the shelves next to and on top of the sofa, there were some photos on them, one of a little boy and a little girl swinging on a swing in the playground, they looked happy, with smiles on their faces, ribbons tying the girl's blonde hair and a white cap with red details from the England football team.

The little girl was supposed to be Viktor's sister.

Grace, even without wanting to, felt a sense of discomfort, it was as if she were invading the boy's privacy. Since she had never seen anything before that reminded a person of all the things she had seen in the house that indicated there was a second person living there. Grace's thoughts went back to a brief conversation she had with Viktor, they liked to talk a lot, they couldn't do much, Grace I didn't know much and they needed to talk to improve this aspect of their relationship. Something in her made her pick up the photo so she could analyze the photo better, it was as if it were a magnet pulling her hand towards the photo.

It was pure, just in the frame but without a glass above it, she didn't know if it was his habit or if the glass had been broken previously. But Grace instinctively ran her finger over the little girl in the photo. A mistake she made and didn't even realize.

“Viktor, come on! We have to get to the swings first, otherwise the other kids will get to them.”

Grace dropped the frame as if it had caught fire in her hands, falling to the carpet and bouncing close to the couch. Bending down to pick up the photo and place it in its original place, Grace felt the hair on her arm stand up, in her panoramic view she could see a leg at her side, her fingers tightened on the photo frame, a chill ran down her spine. She didn't want to move, but if she continued in the same position she was in, she would make her fear very apparent. In a final decision, Grace stood up and turned to what had appeared next to her.

As soon as his eyes caught the apparition, his eyebrows arched in surprise. There was a woman sitting on the couch, looking at her, analyzing her with a smile on her face, a friendly smile, nothing too macabre like Grace would expect from a ghost. Analyzing the woman, she could see that the figure was dirty, clothes torn, hair disheveled and with some leaves stuck to it, it was as if she had just passed away and appeared in front of Grace.

“The veil is thinner today. They know what you are going to do. I am here to guide the shadows to the completion of their ritual.” The woman addressed Grace. She didn't know if she could respond to her, since of all the times she had seen a ghost, she had never been able to communicate with them. But still, she tried.

“My grandfather?” Grace asked, feeling hurt and regret in the back of her mind. Something she had never felt before. The woman smiled at her, placing her hands on her knees, showing some cuts she had on her arms. Grace looked at them, wondering if these were the ones Viktor would do to her later. Her gaze returned to the woman's face, she didn't want to give a name or refer that little girl to that woman, since she had nothing to prove that it really was her.

Grace noticed when she gave an awkward smile, as if she was uncomfortable with what she was going to say, and before Valefar could get ahead, she quickly spoke.

“Your grandfather’s soul still struggles for rest. He has accepted his departure, but his core still searches for his killer. He can't come today, unfortunately. I'm very sorry."

“So what are you doing here?” Grace asked.

“I did the same as you, I have initiation knowledge. I can guide the shadows with my family heritage, we can feel the shadows.” The woman explained.

“What’s your family?”

“I was a D’Angeles. Viktor is my brother”

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Viktor wiped the sweat that dripped from his forehead with the sleeve of his coat. Even though the city was unusually cold tonight, even colder than usual, using his magic to draw the runic circle required vital energy, and it was being drawn from his own body, and it made his body sweat like crazy.

It was something quite simple. It was not particularly difficult to make the circle, but it required attention and crucial detail for the ritual to occur without interference. Viktor had already been at this pace for a few hours, with only a few final details missing, which would be carving some runes into the wood on the floor.

At first, Viktor thought about drawing with chalk on the carpet, but he soon realized that he wouldn't be able to draw without it having flaws due to the fibers. Rookie mistake, he had to admit, but most of all it was so he wouldn't have to cut his carpet, which he had to do in one way or another. His knees were already sore from kneeling on the floor, carving the symbols into the wood with a pocket knife. Moving on to the last runes, it would be a few minutes before he could go to Grace and do what he considered to be the worst part of the job. Carve Nordic runes into Grace's skin.

Finishing the runes on the floor. Viktor stood up from where he was kneeling and analyzed his work. It was very well done and he felt proud of himself for a moment, until he remembered why he was there and his smile gradually faded. Now was the time to approach Grace with all her courage so she could do the job right and without feeling remorse. He practiced for a few hours all the movements and directions of carving the runes correctly, so that they didn't end up having a different final meaning than what they expected. Mother Mortis had been a key player in carving the circle and runes.

Viktor was stretching as he walked towards the living room. His neck had made it clear that he needed to do some more exercises and that he was no longer used to spending hours with the wrong posture. Deep down, he still missed his days as a police investigator, it's hard work and hard to handle if you don't have strong psychology, but it was definitely a lot better than being about to help a girl start her magic. He was never a person who was proud to be here and be a part of all of this, but he would never open his mouth to say he wasn't pleased to be here. It was something big, it would make a huge difference and help a lot of people.

That was the main reason he was there before any other reason. Viktor had lost too many people in his life to simply turn his back on a situation that could help change the situation. His sister was one of those cases, brutal murder, they found her body many weeks after her disappearance, feminicide, hatred towards women, they had taken away the right to enjoy the life of the woman he loved most in this world, so yes, he would not be and has never been selfish to do nothing, and if he could, he would do everything in his power to prevent more families from feeling the anguish of losing a loved one.

It was for this reason that he decided to stay and help Grace.

And speaking of her…

“Grace? Everything is fine?"

Grace was a strange woman to those who didn't know her much. She has a strange behavior, the kind that makes people frown and wonder if everything was okay with her. But he wasn't going to take away her credit, since she had lost so much in such a short time, she had discovered things that throughout her life she had been kept in the dark about, there was a moment when Viktor wanted to know more so he could remove the expression of doubt from her face, he wanted many times in their conversations to have all the knowledge in the world so he could respond to her, leave her at ease, he wasn't going to lie, with each day that passed, Grace grew in him and gained a space in his life, beyond the shared space in their home.

Viktor stood at the entrance to the hallway. Looking at the woman who was staring at an empty space on the couch, holding something in her hand and whispering softly. As soon as the woman heard his voice, she turned around suddenly, the boy realized that Grace was as white as a sheet. He thought it was actually a little funny, she always seemed to be alert to things around her. He noticed when she called that he was there and she quickly went forward to put the photo frame that was in her hand back on the shelf.

“Are we ready to start?” Grace asked, ignoring the boy's previous question.

Viktor sighed, he wasn't going to drag this out by asking some more questions about what she was talking about. They were running out of time and he would have to get even further ahead when carving the runes on Grace's arms. Looking at the clock, he saw that it had taken longer than usual to carve the circle into the wood on the floor.

"Of course. We have to do this soon. I'm just going to wash and sterilize the knife with rubbing alcohol so we can get started. Right?” Viktor asked, wanting to make sure Grace would understand. After she nodded, he headed to the kitchen.

The cleaning and sterilization process was very simple. Wash thoroughly with soap and water, then clean the blade with 70% alcohol and let it dry in the environment. Viktor knew it wasn't the best option, but it was what they could do at that moment with what they had at their disposal.

Returning to the room. Viktor looked at Grace, who was already sitting on the sofa, she had removed the coat she was wearing and was now wearing a short-sleeved blouse. He didn't want to feel bad or afraid to do the work, it would end up being harmful for both of them. Approaching Grace, Viktor knelt at her feet, glancing briefly at the woman in front of him for one last confirmation before he began. She waved at him, extending her arm and closing her eyes to avoid facing what he was going to do to her.

“I'll start with the first three on the right side. The runes need to follow the same pattern that was carved into the rune circle.” Viktor began to speak, deciding that it might make her more comfortable knowing what he would be doing. “I'll start with Gebo. It is a rune for good relationships, it can help in invoking good spirits.” The boy made an x on the woman's skin, it was a clean and quick cut, fortunately the blade was sharp, which made it slide, reducing the cutting time.

Grace's arm shook a little. Viktor continued.

Grace watched as Viktor carved a symbol that she couldn't match to anything she knew. It looked like a square letter U but a little lowered on one side, almost like a slope.

“This is Uruz. It represents spiritual initiation.”

Instinctively, Grace tried to pull her arm out of Viktor's grip on her wrist several times. Pain was the least of her concerns, thankfully he was doing it quickly and almost painlessly, but she was still feeling irrational fear at having a blade cut into her skin. It was good to know what the meanings of the runes that were being made on her arms were.

“This is the last one on the right. I'm going to break up with Othila. One of its meanings is inheritance, it can help you connect with your family heritage and speed up the process.” This rune was like a child's drawing of a fish, it's like a square with two lines coming out of one end, forming almost half of another square.

Viktor switched to his left arm. Carving three more runes, Entrance which means energy and rebirth; Algiz that gave protection and, finally, Eihwaz that meant changes. Once they were done, Viktor looked at the cuts he had made, shifting his focus to Grace, who was also examining her own arms.

It was time for them to start.

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Grace closed her eyes and took a deep breath, feeling the energy around her focus. The words of the incantation flowed from her lips in a low and solemn tone, as if they were part of a forgotten ancient chant, she had chanted the invocation for hours before they actually thought about starting something, while she was still sewing the book, she hadn't gotten those words out of her mind. They saw her circling, drifting, making it clear what she was about to do. Little by little, the air around him began to vibrate, as if something was awakening from a deep sleep.

Where she was, in the middle of the circle, Grace began to feel her entire body tingle. It was an agonizing sensation, feeling metaphorical ants crawling all over your body. His skin was sensitive, his eyes burned with a migraine that threatened to take hold. Everything in the room where she and Viktor chose to perform the ritual seemed strange, out of place, she felt as if she didn't belong in that environment.

Ancient whispers echoed in her mind, not threatening, but calm, inviting, nothing like Oliver's ghost or the black mass that attacked them nights ago, Grace felt comfort and apprehension coming from what was about to follow, and, in a matter of seconds, an icy breeze swept through the room. Suddenly, an intense, imposing presence was present. An ethereal figure began to form before her, like shadows that came out of the creases of the wood and came together in a cake of shadows, forming the being that was materializing in front of her. The features were indistinct, but the aura was filled with an ancient power, which made Grace feel at home, feeling like she was returning to her mansion, drinking a few cups of coffee sitting in the living room. Grace felt her heart speed up, but she didn't back down. Something inside her knew this was the moment she had been waiting for.

“You carry the blood of those who came before you,” the deep voice resonated inside his head. “Our lineage has roots in forgotten times, and its journey is now intertwined with our history.”

Images flashed through his mind—glimpses of ancient battles, pacts sealed under the moonlight, secrets hidden in the shadows of time. She saw faces she had never met, but that somehow felt like a part of herself. Men and women dressed in dark cloaks, runes carved into ancient stones, ceremonies performed under the silvery glow of the moonlight. The ancestor passed on knowledge, fragments of what was to come, before his presence began to fade.

Before leaving completely, the entity reached out its spectral hand and lightly touched Grace's forehead. A wave of energy coursed through his body, burning and freezing at the same time, as if a long-hidden truth was being imprinted on his soul. His vision went dark for a brief moment, and then everything dissipated.

When the connection broke, Grace fell to her knees, panting. The candles flickered violently before going out all at once, plunging the room into darkness.