by KT Webb
There had to be a way out of there. If only she knew the Awakening had worked. She didn’t feel any differently than she had before the ritual began. Her body still felt awkward and lanky. Nothing was different. She sank to the ground and crossed her legs. All she had to do was think and she would figure out a way out of her present situation.
“Don’t tell me you’re giving up already, dear one.”
A soft voice startled her and she whipped around to see who had spoken. The vibrant green eyes and red hair gave the woman away as Imbolc. Harper stood and approached the witch with curiosity.
“Where am I?”
“The Otherworld.”
If it were physically possible, her heart may have fallen out her butt. She didn’t make it. They had performed the Awakening and she had died. Harper thought about the girls, the darkness they faced and having to break the news to her parents. A lump formed in her throat as she nodded and tried not to let the tears fall.
“Why do you look so downtrodden?”
She felt her snark rising to the top like hot lava bursting forth from a volcano. “Well, excuse me for having a negative reaction to being dead.”
Laughter sounded strange in the hollow air of the Otherworld. “You’re not dead. You’re here to complete the four tasks of the Awakening.”
“That sounds ominous.”
“It won’t be easy, but it’s the only way to return to the human world and claim your magic.”
“Alrighty then, let’s get this party started.” Harper rocked back on her feet.
“Your first task is to overcome your greatest fear.”
“Pass. Next option please.” There was no way Harper was going to get any closer to the edge than she’d already been.
“You don’t have other options, you have four tasks and you must complete them all. If you do not complete them, you will remain in the Otherworld.”
Harper crossed her arms and pursed her lips. Imbolc imitated her stance. They stared at each other waiting for the other to break. When it became clear to Harper that her stubborn nature began with the ancient witch, she decided it was time to try another angle.
“What’s the next task?”
“The tasks grow more difficult as you proceed. Your first task is nothing compared to the fourth.”
Seriously? Harper was close to a panic attack just considering what overcoming her greatest fear entailed. How could it possibly get harder than that?
“Are you ready to begin?”
She narrowed her eyes, considering her options. It didn’t appear as though she had any other option. Harper looked toward the edge of the tower.
“Okay. I’m ready.”
As she approached the edge she’d been desperate to avoid, her stomach turned. Harper took a deep, unsteady breath. It was time to face her fears.
“What do I have to do?” she asked Imbolc.
“Jump.”
“Are you CRAZY?”
Imbolc stared at her. It turned out, she wasn’t crazy. Harper took a deep breath and gathered her courage. This was it. She took three large strides back and ran at full speed, skidding to a halt before she reached the edge.
“Nope. Can’t do it.”
There was no response; Imbolc was gone. Harper sighed and stepped back towards the center once more. It was time. She closed her eyes and launched herself forward. This time, she didn’t stop. She leapt off the edge and fell at an alarming rate. A scream escaped her lungs, ending abruptly when she found herself standing on solid ground. Looking up, she discovered there was no tower. Hadn’t there just been an impossibly high tower behind her? Of course . . . magic.
“Okay! I did it. I jumped off a tower like a crazy person. What’s next?”
When no one answered her question, Harper began to explore the area around her. The trees grew close together, a creeping fog snaked its way between the trunks; she was alone. Something was familiar about her surroundings, and she knew what it was the moment a keening cry erupted behind her. She’d seen this in a dream the second night she spent with her coven. Without pausing to think Harper took off at break-neck speed. She ran through the trees, ducking under low-hanging branches on her way. Chills ran up and down her spine as the cry sounded again. Harper chanced a glance behind her and immediately regretted her decision. The banshee was closing in on her.
Turning back around, she continued to pump her legs until they burned from overuse. She could see the mound in front of her; it was the sidhe that would deliver her to Idir. It was just within reach, but so was her hair. Cold, cruel fingers slid into her red waves like a tangled twig. Once she was in its grasp, the banshee ripped her backward. Landing hard on her back knocked the air from her lungs and sent a stabbing pain shooting through her chest. The banshee hovered above Harper’s face, her sallow skin dry and cracking with age.
A tickle began to form in the pit of her stomach. Something was there, waiting for her to reach out and grasp it. Magic. The banshee released another bone-chilling wail directly in Harper’s face. That was it. There was no way she would let that monster destroy her after she’d jumped off a building. Grasping desperately at the magic she felt growing at her core, Harper released a powerful wave of light that sent the banshee flying. On her feet once more, the teen witch braced herself for another attack.
The banshee rose like a marionette on a string and advanced once more. This time, Harper knew what to do with the kernel of power brewing inside her. She held her hands in front of her, palm to back, and pushed the light from within her. The burst of orange magic hit the banshee full blast. One more echoing scream escaped the creature before it disintegrated before her eyes. Harper dusted off her clothes and strode confidently toward the sidhe. That had to be the second challenge. She burst through the sod wall, stopping short at the scene she encountered.
The halls of Idir rose around her. To one side, the Druids stood with an audience of magical creatures. On the other side stood her coven and Dee. Straight ahead was her Grams. Harper rushed to hug her and inhale the scent she’d missed so desperately.
“Harper, you’ve come so far, but you still have two tasks to face. Not everything is about using your magic. Some things are challenging in a completely different way.”
“I’m not sure I know what you mean, Grams.”
“You will in time.” She faded away before her eyes. The Otherworld sucked.
“Daughter of Imbolc, we are here to offer you a pass. If you join us now, you won’t have to face the final task,” Brennus intoned.
Harper glanced at her friends and noticed Ooghna perched on Grace’s shoulder. The fairy waved excitedly when she caught Harper’s eye.
“We can offer you power beyond your wildest dreams,” Cerys said, as though tempting her with a reward for a job well done.
“And if I don’t choose you?”
“You will face the final trial and likely die.”
Oh, was that all? Harper looked to her friends as the warning her Grams gave her echoed in her mind. This wasn’t about using her magic, this was about making a choice between what she felt was right and what would make things easier. The Druids were powerful beyond measure, but even they had limitations. They needed her magic. Her coven was more than just a group of witches; they were her friends. Ooghna may have been obsessed with her hair, but the little fairy had offered guidance on their journey. Then there was Dee; despite her insistence that she didn’t like humans she helped them when they needed her.
Harper sighed and turned her back on her friends. She walked up to the Druids and looked them each in the eye. “No matter what you promise me, no matter how much power you have to offer, I will never choose you over my friends.”
Idir began to shake. The Druids rushed for cover as the walls began to crumble. The last coven surrounded Harper and they stood strong in the chaos. It was time to face the final trial. Another tremor shook the façade of Idir away to nothingness. Harper stood alone in the dark. Nothing moved, nothing made a sou
nd. Her heart beat so wildly she was certain it could be heard by whatever she was expected to face next.
As she stood waiting for something to happen, Harper began to wonder if she was supposed to seek out the danger she was meant to face. She wondered if this was what each of the first coven faced as they were conjured into being. Were they forced to overcome obstacles to prove their worth? It didn’t seem fair for them to have to come into life fighting, only to be used as weapons against an enemy they didn’t know.
“It wasn’t exactly like this.” Imbolc startled her.
“Could you not give me a heart attack? I may not be dead now but if you pull that again I might be.”
Imbolc sat down in front of her and invited her to do the same. Harper sat cross-legged and waited for the other girl to say something. When she finally did speak, it wasn’t to provide an explanation, it was to deliver a warning.
“Your magic is more powerful than you can imagine. You must be prepared to wield it against whatever threatens your coven. You chose wisely by denying the Druids and remaining true to your fellow witches. In the coming years you will discover that nothing can replace the bond you share with them.”
“What did you have to do to receive your magic?”
“My awakening wasn’t like yours. I had no life before my trials. I had no experience to apply, no fear to overcome, no loved ones to choose. I was made to fight darkness and overcome it with light.”
“That can’t be all bad though. Shouldn’t we be happy about getting rid of evil?”
“Not everything is black and white. The beings who made me are from the place between the human world and the Otherworld. They aren’t evil, but they’re also not wholly good.”
“So, you’re saying the Druids are like the real-life version of a gray area?”
“I’m saying you must be careful to choose your alliances wisely. Don’t discount their worth, but don’t hang all your hopes on them either.”
Harper nodded in silence. While she appreciated her chat with Imbolc, she knew the final trial was coming. She wanted to get it over with so she could wake up and help her friends. It was impossible to tell how long she’d been in the Otherworld; the other girls may have been waiting for days or weeks for her to wake up.
“What comes next?” Harper asked gently, not wanting to disturb her ancestor.
“That is the question, isn’t it? We always want to know what to expect. Unfortunately, your final trial isn’t a battle or a choice. It is a matter of willpower.”
“What is that even supposed to mean?”
“You have to wake up. Your final trial is to find the will to awaken your body before it is deprived of oxygen. Time is slipping away and with it, so are you. Look up, do you see the red circle forming just above us?”
Harper did see it. It was spreading, branching out like an infection across the black expanse around her. It moved slowly, but it was growing every moment.
“How do I force myself to wake up?”
“As I said, willpower.”
Imbolc faded away before her eyes. Well, great. Now she had to fight against her own body to keep herself from dying? That sounded like barrels of fun. She started by shouting at herself. That didn’t work, although it wasn’t exactly a shock. She pinched her own arm and waited for something to happen. Other than the self-inflicted pain, nothing changed. The red continued to spread. Harper sat down and tried to meditate but she couldn’t focus on anything other than the creeping death she was facing with each passing second. By the time she gave up on meditation, there was more red than black; it was bleeding together at a heightened pace.
Harper stood up. “Seriously? After everything I’ve been through, this is how it’s going to end?”
Her shout echoed off the emptiness. Panic began to rise in her chest; she thought of all the things she would miss out on if she didn’t wake up. The worst thing she faced was the idea that her friends may die if they didn’t have the full coven to face the sons of Carman and Odessa. Harper was dizzy and colors danced before her eyes. It wouldn’t be long before the red eclipsed the black and she officially failed to complete the fourth trial.
No. She wasn’t going to fail. Harper rose on wobbly legs and balled her hands into fists at her sides. She wouldn’t accept defeat. With a deep breath, Harper searched until she found a tiny spark of light inside her. With all her might, she forced the light to change, to deliver a shock that would awaken her mind. The red shrank away from the electricity as it snapped like a whip. Harper recoiled from the release of power before gathering it up and doing it again. Black pushed back the red and white began to creep up on the black. The young witch cried out in determination as she released another volley of crackling lightning bolts from her hands. White overcame black and red disappeared altogether.
Drip.
Something wet hit her forehead.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
The pattern and consistency picked up until she opened one eye and found herself lying on the ground in the pouring rain. Grace, Sutton and Lucy lay unconscious in a half circle. Harper looked at her hands, a bold orange glow radiated from them. Magic. The Awakening was complete.
Sutton
Chapter Twenty-Nine
The Girl in the Mirror
“You remind me of someone I once knew.”
Sutton looked up to see Beltane sitting by a creek. The witch lazily placed her hand in the water and watched as it swayed with the gentle tide.
“Oh? Who is that?” she asked, approaching the rock where her ancestor sat.
Beltane gave a kind smile that caught Sutton off guard. She didn’t know what she’d expected from the beautiful blonde, but it hadn’t been a smile. Sutton had learned to accept that the first coven were fierce warriors. They weren’t like her and her friends.
“You remind me of my daughter.”
Of course the ancient witch would have had children, how else would Sutton herself be alive? It was difficult to picture the other woman with children. She saw her as she was when she first came into being. She was just a teenager then.
“Tell me about your daughter. Was she a witch?”
“No my dear, she was not. Of course, she had the power pumping through her veins just as you and I do, but after we completed what we’d been created to do, there was no need for another coven.”
Sutton felt like she knew that based on what they’d learned from Harper’s mom; what she wanted to know was how life was for the coven after they defeated Carman. Were any of their descendants caught up in witch hunts?
“My daughter was beautiful, young and full of life. She took after me, and her father always pointed out how lucky he was to have two beautiful girls in his life.”
“How did you meet him?”
Beltane narrowed her eyes at Sutton as though she’d stumbled upon a sensitive subject. “That is not what you need to know. What you need to know is what happened after Carman fell.”
Sutton nodded, it was true that she did want to know that too, but she was also interested in what life may be like when they cleaned up the mess again.
“The Druids were done with us. I think they would have preferred it if we had just disappeared once we’d done what they made us for. Unfortunately for them, we didn’t. Unfortunately for us, they didn’t care. We were abandoned, and left to fend for ourselves in a strange world.”
Sutton and her friends had gone from living a normal life with their families to treading water in a sea of magic. She couldn’t imagine what it would be like to have no concept of life outside of magic and the Druids.
“We would have been lost if it hadn’t been for Danu and her Tuatha De Dannan.”
She knew the Tuatha De Dannan were the good guys, but she wasn’t really sure of who they were. “How did they help you?”
“They gave us a choice. Danu sent ambassadors to bring us to her home in the Otherworld. We journeyed there together, unsure of what it meant for our future.”
Sutton wa
s hanging on every word; she had no way of knowing if she and her friends were facing the same fate.
“Danu offered us a place of honor at her side. For the first time since we took our first breaths, our future was in our hands. We had the choice to remain by her side or live our lives amongst the humans.”
“You chose the latter.”
“We did. But, as a reward for our services, we are able to spend the afterlife here in the Otherworld with Danu. We are her most devoted servants.”
