Heather swallowed back the urge to make a snarky retort, like her mother would have done. If she wanted this to work, and she did—despite what she had told Christian—she needed to find her own voice, grow up, and move on. Slowly, she uncrossed her arms and they sank to her side.
“Mom said our family owned a plantation at one time. Held onto the land and original house, if nothing else after the Civil War.”
Katie was nodding. “Many families were land-poor afterward.”
“Yeah.” Rachel picked up a kitchen towel and wiped up the water rings. “My mom was raised in the original house. She said it must have been beautiful a long time ago, but had fallen into disrepair by the time she was born. Anyway, she and my grandparents didn’t get along so well and she left. They apparently sold the the whole thing to investors, who turned it into a high-brow housing development shortly after my mom left.”
Katie stopped with one hand on the dishwasher, and then the phone rang.
* * *
Within the hour, Katie’s house milled with the coven members: a charming mix of generations. Katie and Patrick had built the coven based on ability and Katie’s gut feelings, not on any preconceived notion of talent related to age. Heather was soon to be their youngest member, replacing Daniel in that capacity. She also replaced Theresa as the newest.
Theresa had been with the coven over a year now, stepping out of the trial period and into permanent status. The coven only allowed one fledgling member at a time and had been anxious about filling the void left by Patrick. Not that Patrick could be replaced in their hearts, but what they needed was the metaphysical equivalent of completing a circuit. A coven required twelve members to achieve its full potential.
Not only had Patrick’s loss been an incredible blow, but the circumstances had everyone on edge. His betrayal was beyond anyone’s reckoning. He hadn’t been gone very long and they were lucky to have found Heather so quickly, not that they had rushed into the recruitment process. This hadn’t been a strict or formal process over all, more an organic reaching out to the witch community.
They’d also sent word to the American Witches Association that Patrick Lynch had passed away, and everyone assumed assumed they would be looking for a replacement. A few recommendations had been sent, unrequested. But Katie followed up, anyway, and narrowed down their choices.
But, it was close to impossible to keep the circumstances of Patrick’s death a complete secret and some information had leaked out. Katie was not happy at all about that. She didn’t want busybodies spreading rumors for one, but the last thing the coven needed was this formal investigation the AWA had started.
“What have you heard from the association about Patrick?” Daniel, the tall, young forest ranger, still in his uniform, asked Katie.
Katie twisted the diamond stud in her earlobe. “They’ve quit asking questions. I sent them a written report of all I knew about the circumstances and they said they officially closed the case.”
Daniel raised his eyebrows, but Katie ignored the gesture. She hadn’t told the coven everything, yet. She needed time—time to process it all herself and time for her broken heart to mend a little.
“Well, I think you’ve made a good choice in Heather.” Daniel nodded toward the beautiful redhead. “She seems to be fitting in.”
Katie smiled, glad for the subject change, “I think she’s going to do just fine, and we’ll all be glad to close the circle.” As she walked away Daniel noticed a slight hunch in her shoulders, so uncharacteristic of his leader. Was it age catching up with her or the burden of recent events?
“What were you two talking about?” Richard Covington, the of the oldest member and the closest to Katie, appeared beside Daniel.
“Just chit-chat.” Daniel reached for a cracker on the buffet. “The association has closed the case regarding Patrick.”
“It’s a shame a man’s entire life is going to be judged by one mistake.” Richard prodded a piece of cheese with a toothpick.
“One mistake?” A few crumbs sprayed from his lips. “I think it was more than a ‘mistake’, as you put it. He betrayed us all by doing Modore’s dirty work.”
Richard eyed the younger man for a moment, and then adjusted his lapels and lifted his chin. “You don’t know the whole story then.”
“And you do?” Daniel wiped his mouth with a napkin, annoyed with the older man’s attitude.
Richard glanced around the room, then leaned in close to Daniel. “This whole thing started years ago when Katie, her late husband Joe, and Patrick were still undergrads. Patrick and Joe did what they thought was best in regards to Katie. Maybe it was wrong, but they were between a rock and a hard place.”
Daniel had never heard this story before, and he’d been with the coven for three years already.
Richard held out a hand, palm up. “Take a blood oath to save Katie or,” he held the other hand out, “hope for the best. That either she or they would find a way to bring her back from whatever place she had gone.”
“What are you talking about?” Daniel refilled his glass from the sweet tea pitcher.
“Look, Katie isn’t ready to reveal the whole story, yet, so don’t tell her I said anything, but I will not stand by while others judge a man so harshly. What would you do if someone you loved was for all practical purposes condemned to purgatory—to live or die in another universe?”
Daniel took a step back, glancing over at Katie smiling and talking to Theresa and Heather.
Richard kept going. “The three of them found an ancient grimoire and played with forces they had no right to be playing with.” He wiped his brow with a white handkerchief. “They made a mistake, all of them, so if you’re going to condemn Patrick, you have to condemn all three of them. Katie and Joe are just as much to blame for what happened with Patrick and Modore.”
Richard folded the white hanky and tucked it neatly into his blazer pocket. His brow furrowed, he stared Daniel. Daniel couldn’t respond. What did one say to that kind of revelation? Richard walked away without another word. Daniel stared after him, his mind filled with the a white static. What in the name of Heaven had Katie and Patrick gotten themselves in to?
“What’s wrong? What did he say?” Theresa sidled up to Daniel fingering the pearls around her neck.
“Nothing.” Daniel chugged his tea, set the glass on the buffet, and hurried away before he said anything he would regret.
Theresa swallowed, a worried frown on her face.
* * *
“Could we please gather over here?” Katie stood by the fireplace, a lifetime of photos lined up behind her on the mantel. The coven milled about as it formed a semi-circle around her.
“We are here to officially induct Heather MacGregor as an apprentice member into our coven.”
Heather stood next to Katie with eyes lowered to the drink in her hands. Everyone had been warm and welcoming, so far. When would she say the wrong thing? Katie said the coven knew all about her past and yet, she was still waiting for someone to look her up and down with disdain. They hadn’t.
She wished Christian were there, but knew it would have been awkward. None of the other members brought family or friends. Rachel squeezed her elbow and Heather gave her a grateful smile.
Rachel whispered in her ear. “Relax. It’s going to be fine. You’ll do fine.” Then Rachel took her place in the semi-circle, leaving Heather alone next to Katie.
Heather really liked the leggy blonde. She was close to Heather’s age for one thing, but she had a way of making Heather feel like she was already a part of things, like she was already part of their inner circle. She smiled. It would be good to have an actual friend.
“Heather?” Katie held out her hand. Heather blinked, looking around her in apprehension. “Please take my hand.” Katie gave her a reassuring smile and wiggled her fingers.
Heather looked back at the ten other witches and warlocks. Rachel and Daniel were smiling in encouragement. Theresa’s and Richard’s smiles we
re more reserved, but still warm. The others were a mix of concern and worry. She thought she had been accepted unanimously—at least, that’s what Rachel had told her. She extended a tentative hand. Katie squeezed Heather’s fingers and turned to address the group.
“We are welcoming a new apprentice today.” She faced Heather as if she were about to say ‘I do’. “Heather Rose MacGregor, this coven holds to the precepts of karma, that we plant the seeds of our evolution and reap the harvest if we are wise. We believe that what we send out into the universe comes back to us threefold. We are dedicated to the preservation and practice of witchcraft: the art of it, and the science of it. We use our power for the greater good, for the betterment of all beings, and in accordance with the laws of the Universe.”
Rachel struck a long match and lit a series of pillar candles balanced on a wrought iron rack in the fireplace. The flames burned straight and true without a flutter. The coven shuffled around, setting down drinks and plates so they could join hands to form a circle. Rachel tucked herself between Heather and Daniel, who linked his free hand with Theresa’s. Richard stepped up to Katie who acknowledged him with a nod as she grasped his hand. The rest of the coven completed the circle.
“Do you agree to hold to our precepts? To use your magic only for good,” Theresa’s eyes flicked from Katie’s face to Richard’s, “and to preserve our legacy?”
All eyes turned to Heather and she felt like a deer in the headlights. Her heart froze mid-beat. Rachel squeezed her hand and her lips moved in the middle of a frozen face. “I do,” she said. She let out the breath she’d been holding and her gaze flowed from one face to the other, trying to take them all in. Did she really want this? tTo be connected to each and every one of them?
“Then we bind you to us, in magic.” Katie’s voice rang out and Heather jumped.
“In magic,” they chorused.
“In practice,” Katie commanded.
“In practice,” the coven intoned.
“And in friendship.”
“And in friendship.”
Katie chanted, “Dharam khand kaa ayho dharma”
The coven answered, “Giaan khand kaa aakho karam.”
The candle flames flickered the tiniest bit as the coven closed their eyes. They repeated the mantra, their voices growing louder, deeper and the candle flames danced in unison. The energy they conjured coursed through Heather, passing through her from Rachel to Katie.
It passed through the others and then back around again to Heather. Each time they repeated the incantation, a surge flashed through her faster until it become a solid, searing flow of energy. With the last line of incantation, “Nanak ant na ant” the group glowed with an inner light, like one being with one light.
Katie’s mouth moved, but the entire coven chorused through her. “Heather, we invite you to join your power with ours, so that we may move as one, fulfill our soul’s purpose. Do you accept our invitation, with the courage to fulfill your responsibilities to the coven? Do you vow to honor your duty to our circle?”
Heather’s voice echoed in the wind. “I accept your invitation, with the courage to fulfill my responsibilities and I vow to honor my duty.”
A bead of sweat ran down the back of Heather’s neck and her spine vibrated. Something was pressing against her mind and she leaned against, fighting against it with all her might.
Let us in, Heather.
Katie’s voice was inside her head, on the other side of a heavy door. Remembering what the coven leader had told her about the ritual, she fought to stay calm as she mentally backed away. She gasped as the door creaked, then swung open and the coven’s presence filled her head.
She braced herself, intent on keeping her unique identity— to stay inside herself—but they surrounded her, pressed against, then merged into her. With a gasp, she realized she was part of them. There were no words, only the sensation of blending. Their souls—or whatever it was—gathered around her. Her chest buzzed with excitement and nervousness, while her belly clenched, unsure—and strangely, glad, grateful.
She was filled with a whirl-wind of emotions that weren’t all hers. She tensed, wondering what they felt from her, what they would know about her. But with an audible sigh of relief, she realized her secrets were safe. No one was opening file cabinets of her memories and rooting around.
They were connected, but not open books to one another. With the sense of something heavy clicking into place, it was over and she landed in her own body with a jolt. Her eyes flew open and she tugged hard at her hands. Rachel and Katie let go and she stumbled backwards.
“Are you okay, dear?” Katie caught her arm before she could fall into the fireplace.
Heather’s mouth opened and she nodded without looking at the older woman, her eyes vacant.
“It’s okay, Heather.” Rachel took her other arm and Heather reflexively jerked it out of her grasp. “It’s okay. We didn’t possess you or anything. I told you, when you work with a coven you have to open a link. It’s like a mark, a way for us to sync up when we need to work together.”
Heather hadn’t found her voice yet. The coven’s presence inside her didn’t feel intrusive or aggressive. In some ways, it felt good— warm, even welcoming, but that didn’t eradicate the tremble in her stomach.
“I’m okay,” she finally managed. But was she? What had she done? Connected herself to these people. She stared around at them as they stared back at her.
Katie gave a brief nod to Heather and then raised her hands to the coven. “And the first order of business as a complete coven is to assist Calisto and Guided with a little problem at the ashram.”
Chapter Seven
Loti woke with a start. The air conditioner whirred in the darkness. She turned over to Wolf, who still slept. She watched his life force for a moment before gliding out from under the sheets. The cool air raised goose bumps on her bare skin as she padded to the bathroom. She didn’t bother with the light as she quietly closed the door.
Turning the faucet on, she splashed cold water on her face. What was wrong with her? Margarite and the other’s had reinforced the wards and added an extra protection spell to Loti and Wolf’s house. Nothing and no one could be found anywhere on the ashram grounds. Yet, her stomach burned. What was there to be frightened of?
“Everything,” she told the blackness.
When she climbed back under the sheets, she curled up to Wolf, who slid his arms around her automatically. Had Modore made some kind of move? But no evidence was found to support the idea. Wolf thought they should go looking for him instead of waiting around, “twiddling their thumbs”.
His words, not hers. So did everyone else, except her. She just wanted to be left alone—no more practicing with the healers, no more practicing with the witches, no more practicing with Wolf. She wanted to sleep for a hundred years or more and then drift through happy days with him, like she knew it could be. But she also knew Modore would never, ever leave them alone. She knew it in the twist of her gut.
“Stop it.” Wolf’s voice interrupted her thoughts.
“I can’t help it.” She tried to roll away from him, but he tightened his hold. “It’s like I’m waiting for the ax to fall, you know? There’s no peace. I’m waiting for him to come and get us. I thought this was it.”
“Maybe it was him and he didn’t get through. He will try again. When he finds his next way in. Remember, he had Patrick in place long before you were born into this cycle. He knew you were coming and I’m sure whatever methods he has have shown him other avenues.”
Loti smacked Wolf’s arm.
“Hey!” He rubbed the spot. “What was that for?”
She jolted upright, dropped her head in her hands. “You keep saying stuff like that— that he was planning this since before I was born. How in the world is that possible?”
“I don’t think he knew which incarnation you’d be in when he made his move, but he was waiting for the right time. Maybe he had Patrick running around a
fter other incarnations, but he never succeeded before.”
“But how could he know Patrick would be in such a perfect place? Be so close to me?”
Wolf brushed the hair from her face. “Loti, he probably manipulated a lot of things along the way. Who knows exactly what and who and where, but I wouldn’t be surprised—” He cut himself off, his eyes hardening.
Loti studied his spinning chakras in the dark. There was no light to see by, but her ability to see the life force in all things made it possible for her to see him, all the details of him. Because what was skin and hair and eye color but the manifestation of universal energy? Energy personified?
“What? There’s something you’ve been holding back. I know it like I know you’re hungry. Tell me before I pull my own hair out.”
Wolf did an odd thing—he flinched, and the hair on the back of Loti’s neck stood up.
“I’m right, aren’t I?” She touched his cheek. “Tell me. Please.”
He covered her hand with his. “It’s not any one thing, Loti. It’s several things, things you’ve told me and one particular thing Modore said.”
Wolf squeezed her hand, opened his mind and Loti was back in the cinder block room where Wolf was chained with silver to a wooden chair. Her body burned mercilessly where Modore had placed silver chains in deep wounds. Modore gripped a gleaming scalpel. His milky eyes blazed with a mad light.
“Oh, you didn’t know David was an agent?”
Loti ripped herself from the vision. Her chest was so tight she could hardly breathe. Her lips barely moved as she whispered, “An agent of what?”
“He was torturing me, so I’m not convinced it’s true.” Wolf held still, waiting for her response, she knew.
She curled her body around his, both of them needing the soothing energy of their physical touch.
The contenting pulse surged through them both, Wolf closing his eyes as he stroked her hair. Loti’s body slumped into his, her thigh sliding up his leg.
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