Caged in Darkness

by J. D. Stroube

  “Why? What exactly is she wearing?” Maye gave me a knowing smile and left the room.

  I hurried upstairs and didn’t pause to knock before entering Savannah’s room. I stopped short when I saw what she was wearing. Her dress looked like a satin slip with flimsy straps that would break if tugged the wrong way. Her hair was loosely piled on her head with curly strands hanging down.

  Savannah turned to face me with a daring smile. She wanted me to notice the way she looked. I could see in her expression that she expected a battle and knew she wanted one. I swallowed back my fury and smiled back at her.

  “You look nice. Where are you going?”

  Her smile faltered, and she gave me a sly look. “I have a date with Liam. Do you think this is too revealing?” She spun in a circle to give me the full effect of her dress.

  I shrugged. “It looks fine to me.”

  Savannah’s face changed into a look of anger. She grabbed her hair brush from the dresser and threw it at me. I ducked into the hall laughing. She sounded agitated as she slammed the door in my face. Although, I didn’t want her going out with Liam and I definitely did not want her going on a date dressed the way she was, I enjoyed her reaction. I feigned disinterest, but was secretly thrilled that it bothered her.

  SAVANNAH

  I wanted to scream and tear apart my room. I would never understand men. One minute, Ash is jealous enough to pummel a guy I was talking to, and now he was encouraging me to go on a date dressed in lingerie? What was wrong with us?

  I didn’t know why I went out of my way to get a reaction out of Ash, but I knew it wasn’t my normal behavior. Maybe all those kisses were beginning to go to my head. I looked down at my outfit and groaned. I was counting on Ash making a big deal of it. I never really intended to wear it out of the house. I felt naked and I wasn’t sure that feeling would send the right message to Liam. Now, if I didn’t wear the skimpy outfit, Ash would know I only wore it to bother him.

  The door bell rang and my stomach churned. I thought about my kiss with Liam and then immediately thought of Ash. I didn’t know which one I wanted and wasn’t even sure my emotions were reliable right now. It was like my hormones were raging out of control and Liam and Ash were the unfortunate bystanders, who were caught in the storm.

  I knew I shouldn’t even be thinking about dating with the whole demon mess going on. However, my birthday was this weekend and I thought for once, I deserved to have a small piece of my world be my choice. My entire life I had been swept away on everyone else’s wave and now I wanted to ride my own.

  That evening, Liam was a gentleman and choose not to mention by risqué outfit. Although, I did notice that his eyebrows had risen and he hid a smirk. My date with Liam went smoothly, but I was disappointed that Ash didn’t come to see me off. Liam brought me to the movies and straight home since Maye warned him I had a curfew. When I got home, Liam walked me to the door. When he leaned in to give me a kiss, Maye opened the door with a sour look and dismissed him.

  “Maye, what was that for?” She pulled me away from the door by holding onto my upper arm.

  “Isn’t he a little old for you, darling?” She sounded like she normally did, but her eyes were like steel.

  “No, he isn’t. Besides, age shouldn’t matter. He’s nice and he makes me laugh. Plus, he’s not afraid to flirt with me. I don’t see what the problem is; you didn’t have a problem with him when we left. What changed?”

  She walked into the living room without looking back. “Maye!” I angrily followed her into the room, but calmed when I saw Josephine sitting on the sofa. The room smelled of Frankincense and Myrrh, which told me that Josephine had one of her visions and it wasn’t a good one.

  “Aunt Josephine, what’s wrong?” I rushed to her, knelt on the ground in front of her, and took her hands in mine. Her hands were shaking and ice cold.

  “Oh dear, I don’t mean to worry you. I’m sure it’s nothing.” She patted my hands and looked at Maye.

  Josephine was a close friend of Maye’s, but was at least ten years her senior. She was on the elder council and a prominent psychic in the witch community. Witches traveled across the world for her to read their cards. She was strong with divination tools, such as tarot cards, runes, and reading tea leaves. However, she was more potent when a vision overcame her without provocation.

  When Josephine was taken by a vision, she was often left weak afterwards. I worried for her. As she aged, the visions took more out of her, but there was nothing she could do to stop them. Josephine saw them as a divine gift that should be cherished.

  “What did you see?” I moved to sit next to her and pulled the blanket from the back of the sofa to wrap around her frail body. She took it with a thank you.

  “It wasn’t very clear, child.”

  “Josephine, just tell Savannah what you saw.” Maye’s voice was laced with irritation.

  “I will. I will, just give me some room to breathe.” She waved her hand at Maye and turned to face me. “My visions aren’t as clear as they once were. It’s rather like wearing prescription glasses when you don’t need them. All blurs.”

  “Just tell me what you could make out. You’re here, you must have thought it was important.” I spoke softly the way I would to a wounded animal or frightened child.

  “I was watching television at home, when it happened. I fell against the cushions. Thank goodness I wasn’t standing.” She coughed into her palm and cleared her throat. “I saw that boy and Ash, there was so much darkness.” She grabbed my wrists with all the intensity of her words. “You and your friends are surrounded by death. You need to remove yourself from your current path or death will come.” Tears flooded her eyes and her body slumped into a deep sleep.

  “She’s exhausted. You don’t know what it took for her to remain awake long enough to talk to you.” Maye moved forward and ushered me away to put Josephine’s legs onto the couch and covered her with another blanket.

  “Why didn’t you call me?”

  “She wouldn’t let me. This was your first date and neither of us wanted to ruin it for you.”

  “What makes you think that Liam is the cause of this darkness? What if I am the cause?” I thought of the demon and knew Liam wasn’t the one who was bringing evil into this community.

  “Liam is new in your life and has set you on a new course. It makes sense that she would have this vision when he comes into your life. I just want to protect you. I can’t tell you who to date, but I want you to be careful.” She kissed me on the cheek and walked towards her bedroom.

  I wanted to go after her, to tell her everything, and for her to tell me it would be okay. Josephine’s vision was confirmation that the demon was not going away. My ascension couldn’t come soon enough. I needed the power to protect my loved ones and I would not allow them to be harmed. If I had to raise hell to protect them, I would.

  9: AScension

  After school the next day, Izzy came to my house. I gathered everything I would need to discover her elemental affinity and we walked to my covens circle. Izzy stood awkwardly and waited while I lit the candles placed on each boulder.

  I was surprised by Izzy’s acceptance of this part of my life. Willow and I kept Izzy separate from the world of magic, but now I was actively carrying her into it. She stepped through the shield that bars humans from our world. Her eyes had been opened and I vaguely wondered if she would regret it.

  “What do you need me to do?”

  “Come here.” Izzy stepped fully into the circle and sat on the cloth placed on the ground. I sat across from her.

  “There are five elements; earth, air, fire, water, and spirit. Most witches excel at one affinity, but are proficient in all of them. In the case of someone who isn’t a witch, they can affect the elements a bit. Usually a non-witch will only have a single element that barely responds to him or her.”

  “If it’s barely going to respond to me, what’s the point in helping? Wouldn’t you guys be just as well off w
ithout me?”

  “Um… not really. Even though you aren’t a witch, you strengthen the circle. Look at it this way; you know the game Light as a Feather, Stiff as a Board?” She nodded. “If a single person tried to use their fingertips to lift someone, it wouldn’t work. The more people who join in the game, the more likely they will succeed at lifting the person.”

  “Great, so you guys need my fingertips.” She smiled. “How do we figure out which element is my ticket to taking over the world?”

  I laughed, took objects from my backpack and placed them in front of Izzy. I placed a candle, chalice, a bowl filled with dirt and a hidden seed, and a feather.

  I motioned to the object between us. “Okay, each of these objects represents one of the elements. Now…”

  “Wait, there are only four objects. What about the fifth?”

  “The fifth element is spirit, which is more of a metaphorical element. You don’t usually use an object for that element. However, if you were religious I would suggest a symbol of your religion.” I grabbed a bottle of water from my bag and poured it into the chalice.

  “Oh.”

  “Alright, I’m going to test you the way witches normally test their children. First, I want to show you what it will look like when the element responds to you.” I was an expert at directing the elements. Simultaneously, I lit the candle, caused the water in the chalice to spin like a whirlpool, ca small bud to grow within the bowl, and made the feather float.

  “Oh my God, that is so cool!”

  I let go of my control and the elements reverted to their inert state. “Now, since it would take too long to teach you to do this on your own. I am going to merge our minds so that I can pull on your power and show you how to direct it. If you close your eyes it’s better, because you won’t be distracted.”

  Izzy nodded and closed her eyes. I tuned my inner self to focus on my surroundings. I reached out to touch the life forces nearby. Tiny specks of energy flittered, but I was focused on the bright beacon within my circle. My aura enveloped me with a silver sheen. I hesitantly directed a small portion of it to reach out towards Izzy. The silvery strand connected with Izzy’s bright orange aura to create a bridge between us.

  Izzy gasped at the bond, but she didn’t fight it. The bridge between our auras sparked with electricity, while it strengthened. Concentrating, I allowed my conscious to merge with hers and led her to the pathways within her. She became a maze of intricate paths, but I turned her towards concentrating on the ones that led outside of her body.

  I guided Izzy to sing her energy into a spun web, which expanded into delicate strands she could pluck and project towards the objects in front of her. Through those strands, she would be able to manipulate the objects.

  Silently, I encouraged her to direct her will, which would cause the element to respond. I let go of the reins and separated our auras. Watching her with my eyes, I could sense her struggle to use the barest amounts of magic. The objects didn’t move, flutter, or spin; they simple were.

  I was about to tell Izzy to pull back, when the feather twitched on a breeze and floated in the air. Izzy opened lost concentration when she opened her eyes. The feather plummeted to the ground, but we were done. The element that responded to her was air. That was all we needed to know.

  The next few days went by in a whirlwind. Willow prepared the ritual we would use to summon the demon, Izzy practiced manipulating air to affect the world around her, and I stayed home from school. My ascension was close and it felt like it was taking over my life.

  My hormones were out of control. Each time I saw Liam, I felt an invisible pull that was harder to ignore. Ash deliberately avoided me and his easy acceptance of mine and Liam’s growing relationship bothered me. Ash hadn’t tried to kiss me again, but at night when I wasn’t having nightmares about the demon, I dreamt of his kiss on the stairwell.

  The evening before my ascension Izzy and Willow came over. Their visit was meant to cheer me up, but it only worsened my discomfort when they came with bad news. Jessica, a girl who I had calculus with, died in her sleep the night before. The doctors couldn’t figure out what caused her death, but she had been weakening over the past week and a half. If that news wasn’t horrible enough, Willow came to my home with a theory.

  Willow’s research turned up some interesting information about demons gaining power. Her theory was that the demon was trapped in the bloodstone box, long enough to weaken him, and now he needed to resort to stealing the life force of others. Humans were easier prey than witches, which is why Willow though he killed Jessica.

  “Willow, I love you, but I think you are jumping to conclusions. Why would his first victim occur now? Wouldn’t he have done this sooner?” Willow nodded at Izzy’s logic.

  “I guess so. I’ve been reading about demons too much. I think they are rotting my brain.” Willow sat on the bed, next to me, and across from Izzy.

  “We can’t have that! You have the best brain in our trio! If yours goes, who is going to keep us from doing something stupidly dangerous?” I nudged Willow and the three of us settled in to a girl’s night filled with movies, popcorn, and a mini spell to appease Izzy.

  Izzy watched the movie, The Craft the night before and got it in her head that changing her hair or eye color would be a fun activity. Willow and I schemed, and when Izzy looked in the mirror, she stood in horror at the spotted leopard print hair on her head.

  “Oh my God! This is so not cool! Turn it back!” She threw her pillow at Willow, while I laughed so hard my abs became sore.

  “Okay, come here. We’ll fix it.” Izzy hesitantly came forward with a distrustful expression. When we were finished, she no longer had leopard print or her normal dishwater blonde shade, but instead she was a gorgeous platinum blonde.

  Izzy wanted all of us to change something about our appearance, and giving into her excitement, we agreed. Willow made her hair curly and added a red tint to her chestnut brown shade. I was hesitant when my turn came. I knew it was merely play and that I could revert back to my normal appearance at any time, but I had difficulty accepting myself as it was. If I changed my appearance, would I ever want to change back? Instead of following my friend’s examples, I choose to add something rather than alter myself.

  “Done!” I smiled at them, while they examined my face, hair, and skin for my transformation.

  “You didn’t change a thing!” “Did you forget how to do it?” They spoke at once and I laughed.

  Standing up, I lifted my shirt to show them the new addition to my naval.

  “You pierced your naval! Why didn’t I think of that?” Izzy poked at the miniature cross and pentacle hanging from my naval. “Isn’t it a little weird to put those two together? I mean, a cross and pentacle are completely different religions.”

  Shaking my head, I explained. “The pentacle stands for what I am and the cross stands for who I am.” I winked. “Besides, they may be two separate religions, but they have a lot of the same beliefs and morals. I don’t see anything wrong with either. Plus, that’s not the only thing I changed.” I let go of my shirt and turned around. Pulling my hair over my shoulder, I showed them the tattoo between my shoulder blades.

  The tattoo was the physical representation that demonstrated my acceptance of my lineage. It was a tattoo of wings with black and white feathers. I couldn’t hide who I was. When I went through my ascension tomorrow, I wanted to believe in myself and be proud of the blood in my veins.

  Izzy and Willow went home early the next morning, while I prepared for my ascension. Maye performed a cleansing ceremony to purify me, which included using incense to banish negativity and body oils to lock in my natural essence. Ash brought me a lilac dress. The skirt of the gown fell to the floor, but the slightest brush of air would bring about a romantic elegance, while the dress floated on the wind. It was the most beautiful gown I had ever seen.

  Willow came over later that afternoon with the elders. While they created a circle around me, Willow
painted inscriptions across my exposed skin. The inscriptions were the most important aspect of the pre-ceremonial activities. Painting the inscriptions was one of the highest honors a witch could bestow on another.

  Willow used an instrument, which resembled a calligraphy pen to paint inscriptions in silver, blue, and purple. She would paint six main symbols connected by scrollwork. Willow could work more inscriptions into the scrollwork, as personal gift from her to me. The symbols on my skin would represent the many cultures witches descended from. The symbols on the top of each foot would represent protection and power. The ones on my hands would be for life and transformation. The symbol on my head would represent wisdom, but the inscription on my chest was the most important, because it represented the five elements.

  Once Willow was finished applying the script to my skin, she took a white robe etched in silver and placed it on my shoulders. It was soft against my skin. We waited for the elders to close the circle before stepping out. I waited in the hallway, while everyone left the house to prepare for the ceremony.

  I turned to see Ash approach me. I expected his usual coldness, but instead he gave me a warm smile. “Don’t worry, you’ll be fine.”

  How did he always know the right thing to say? “I don’t feel fine. I’m scared. Ash, what if the power is too much and I turn out like my parents?”

  His moved forward and used the tip of his finger to brush against my neck. “You could never be like them. Have faith; I have faith in you.” He leaned forward and brushed a delicate kiss to my lips. I pulled him forward and kissed him deeper.

  “Promise me. Promise me, that if I turn out like them, you’ll take care of me the way the coven took care of them.” I searched his eyes, but they remained warm.

  “I promise, but only because you will never be anyone other than yourself. Despite the evil you have encountered you remained pure. I know you believe they tainted you, but they never did. You are the most loyal and caring person I know. You put everyone else before you and ask for nothing in return. You soul is a star that blazes to warm those around you. You guide them towards the light and make them want to be a better version of themselves. You’re a beacon for us to follow and you will never lead anyone off course, because you will remain on the honorable path you have always chosen. I love you and I’m telling you that you have nothing to worry about.”