Chapter 13: 13:Barrier

Where did I go after separating from Seth and Saulo? To buy candles and incense.

Scented candles also work, but they're easier to track.

After paying for the products, I say goodbye and leave the store, now heading towards a nearby bakery to buy a jar of jam.

Seth would say to support small businesses; I say that fewer people are better.

At the market, I look for a jar of strawberry jam at a decent price, until the vision in my left eye starts to darken.

Ah… the effect has passed.

The eye drops I use every morning have a lifespan of up to six hours, varying depending on how much my body is worn out with Shekinah.

Since one of the ingredients is holy water, I can't use it more than once a day to restore my vision, or it will catch into fire.

Silently cursing, I grab the closest jar with my right hand and go to pay.

I hide my left eye with my hair strands and pay for the product, then leave quickly afterwards.

On the way back home, I constantly stumble with my left foot, my perception senses damaged until my brain adjusts again to the blindness.

What cazzata!

I sit on a bench near a public parking lot and take a deep breath as images of flames and ashes invade my mind.

Unfortunately, one of the ingredients in the eye drops is Wendigo horn powder, which causes me to relive bad memories of the past once the effects wear off.

I touch the bench with my right hand and close my eyes, beginning a series of slow, deep breaths to calm my mind and spirit.

I need to stop using this eye drop, but… I can't give up seeing.

I clench my fingers into my right palm, my nails digging into the skin with force and anger, making blood flow.

Wake up to reality, I have work.

I slap myself in the face and stand up, heading home.

I finally arrive at a bridge that allows crossing over a canal, cross it, then turn right and walk straight until I stop in front of a small house.

As soon as I touch the door, I feel a warm energy passing through my body and I freeze for a few moments.

Has the enemy found us before we found him? Divination? I open the door and enter the house, then lock it behind me.

I go upstairs worriedly to find Saulo and Seth... only to see them sitting on the couch watching TV and eating chips.

“Did you arrive, sister?” Seth looks at me, a piece of chip falling from his mouth.

“I've already stored everything, and Mister Seth has shown me where everything is!” I glare at both of them, feeling a vein throbbing in my neck and forehead in anger.

I walk to the kitchen, leave the groceries, and then return to the living room, taking control of the remote from Seth and turning off the TV.

“What happened, Miss Cassiel?” Saulo looks at me, worried.

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“Seth, when did you become so incompetent?! The enemy used divination to find us, and you’re just sitting there watching TV!” Seth raises his head, looking at me.

“I already know we've been found, sister.”

“Then why are you just sitting there doing nothing?!”

“I was waiting for you to arrive because it’s going to be a good lesson,” Seth grabs a chip from the bag and eats it while I stare at him.

“…Good argument, Saulo. Get up off the couch and come with me, and grab the candles in the kitchen,” I walk towards the office with Saulo following me, while Seth remains watching TV.

When we reach the office, I trip over a piece of Golem in the floor at my left and fall to the ground.

“Seth, fix this mess on your side of the office before I throw everything in the trash!” I shout towards the room as I get up, then I look at Saulo, who is holding back a laugh.

“It’s not nice to laugh at a blind person, you know?” Saulo immediately looks at me, embarrassed.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to—”

“I was just joking, come on, don’t trip,” I carefully cross Seth’s mess to get to my side of the office.

I walk to my lockers to look for a book.

Saulo approaches the book-filled lockers and starts reading their covers while I search for a specific book.

“Why are all these books about legislation?” I look at Saulo, then back at the books.

“My trump cards are part of the Book of Judges, but I also depend on the laws of wherever I am, so knowing the legislation of the countries is necessary.”

I pull out a book from the cabinet—a copy of Italian legislation.

“What are we going to do with this?”

“I’ll do it, you watch,” I lay the book on my table, then open one of the drawers from which I take a lighter and another drawer for a small bottle of holy water.

“Saulo, close all the windows and curtains, and tell Seth to clean up his mess now!” Saulo runs out.

After a few minutes, Seth enters the room and starts removing the pieces of Golem, taking them to his room with Saulo’s help. All the windows and curtains were already closed, and Saulo returns.

“Were you taught how to make barriers?”

“No, ma’am.”

Basic instruction continues to be terrible! I click my tongue and start placing the candles on the table around the book.

“This doesn’t look very orthodox.”

“There’s no demonic symbol underneath; they’re just scented candles for focus,” I light the lighter and with difficulty light the candles—my sense of depth perception still damaged.

“Scented candles and incense have two purposes: the first is to calm the mind and allow focus on the task at hand; the second is to relax the body and aid in recovery to perform more prayers and spells,” I explain calmly to the boy, who adjusts his glasses and listens attentively.

I take a deep breath, allowing the scent of the candles to invade my nose and spread through my body. This time I bought candles with sandalwood scent.

With my body stabilized to use Shekinah again, I grab the bottle of holy water and open it, then hold the cross around my neck and close my eyes.

“The one who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.”

“I will say of the Lord: He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”

“He will cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you will find refuge; His truth will be your shield and your buckler.”

“You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day.”

Nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noon.

At the end of my prayer, I pour the holy water over the cover of the Italian legislation book, beginning the activation of the protection ritual for the place, based on the owners' laws and the safety of the home.

The Shekinah outside the house moved at a speed similar to that of the winds on a stormy day; it was even possible to hear its movement outside.

The Shekinah saturated the walls of the house, the doors, windows, pillars—everything inside was filled with Shekinah, which strengthened the house’s protective barrier.

Saulo was watching all this from beside the table. As the ritual ended, I fell to my knees on the floor but held onto the table.

“Miss Cassiel! Do you want help to get up? Water, food, call Seth?”

“No, it’s not necessary, ugh,” I struggle to stand, my legs trembling from exhaustion.

“Now the wizard shouldn’t be able to see us, right?” I look at Saulo.

“That would be utterly useless; he already knows where we are.”

“Wait, so that barrier was…”

“Yes, a protective barrier for when we’re attacked,” I put away the lighter and the empty bottle on the table, then step outside the office, leaving the book there to dry.

When I step outside, Seth was already placing food on the table—rice, chicken, and some leftover Chinese food from yesterday. I head to one of the chairs, with Saulo right behind me, and prepare to sit.

“Hey, no sitting yet,” Seth stops me.

“What’s the problem now?”

“You stink, go take a shower.”

“But—”

“The food will still be here when you get back.”

Annoyed, I go to my room to get ready and take a shower, while Seth and Saulo sit at the table to eat.

Annoyingly, the food was no longer there when I returned, and I had to ask for a sandwich.