The Witch's Chalice

by Melania Tolan

I knelt next to the crone’s still body and pulled back the sleeve of my leather coat. I bit down hard on the side of my wrist and placed the open wound over her mouth. Three drops of dark, crimson blood fell into the slight opening of Satra’s lips before my skin mended itself.

  We all waited, but nothing happened. She had no heartbeat, and her lungs had stopped moving. Shouldn’t someone give her CPR while we’re waiting? Maybe she needs more of my blood.

  I brought my wrist to my mouth to try again, when the woman’s hand shot up.

  “Wait. It’s working.”

  “How can you…”

  I stopped as tiny silver specks of light flittered around Satra’s body.

  From above us, an orb of light the size of a tennis ball came down and slipped through her mouth. Satra’s chest rose and fell as her heart started to pump blood again.

  Everyone inside the tent sighed in relief.

  The woman reached across Satra’s body and took my hand. “Thank you.” Tears filled her eyes. She turned to Leo. “Say something, you stubborn cat.”

  “Pff.” He whirled around and exited the tent.

  “Don’t mind my husband. I’m Zela.” The woman smiled at me. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you. Satra told us years ago that you would be coming, but no one listened.”

  I lowered my gaze to the woman still lying on the floor. “Will she be okay?”

  “Yes. Give her a moment for the spirit to settle into her body again.”

  “Spirit?”

  Zela rocked back on her heels. “She sent her spirit into the woods to stop Leo from tearing your head off.” She shook her head. “Very risky at her age. Her spirit may not have returned, which means she would have died.”

  “Why would she do that?”

  “To save you.”

  I met her gaze. “I’m so sorry for causing this. I only meant to demonstrate my loyalty to the clan.”

  “And that you have, twice.”

  “Twice?”

  “Your submission to Ari and Leo, and then saving our matriarch.” She reached across and took my hand again. “We are allies now.”

  “How can you be sure? Leo doesn’t seem to like it.”

  “Never mind him. He might be the Bălibaşa, but the crone is the one who runs the show.”

  Satra coughed and slowly rolled to her side.

  Zela released my hand to help the elderly woman up. “Welcome back, mother.”

  “Thank you for guarding my corpse until I returned.” Satra slowly rose to sit up. She patted my knee. “Good girl. This is just the beginning of the great things we’ll see from you.”

  Every time I heard this kind of compliment, I squirmed inside. Part of it was the pressure. Another was the attention. I didn’t want to do great things, I just wanted to learn who I was.

  “Well, that is all for today,” Satra said. “Thank you for extending my mortal life for another few years. Hopefully we’ll have an heir by then, so I may finally rest in peace.”

  Zela assisted the old woman to her feet. I stood up too. Satra turned, took both my hands, and kissed them.

  “Thank you, my child. We will continue your training tomorrow night. Take the small bundle on the table on your way out. It’s the potion we made two nights ago.”

  When she released my hands, I threw my arms around her.

  “Oh,” she gasped in startlement, accepting my embrace. “You are a dear.”

  “Thank you,” I whispered and stepped back.

  Leo and Ari stood a few feet away from the tent when I came outside.

  “I can find my way home.” I tucked the small packet inside my coat pocket.

  “We will escort you to the border.” Leo motioned in the direction.

  The lion and the wolf in human form walked with me through the forest in silence. At the boundary, I stopped and turned to Ari. He bowed his head, gave Leo a side glance, and then crushed me to his warm body in a hug.

  “Thank you,” he whispered into my ear.

  When he released me, Leo stepped forward.

  “I’m not into hugs.” He extended his hand. “But I will honor your gesture tonight.”

  I gave him my hand, which seemed so small inside his. “I’m still learning, Leo, but I know I can trust you, even if you are not ready to trust me yet.”

  I took my leave of them and crossed back over to the coven’s territory.

  Padrick was waiting for me at the top of the ridge. I shook my head. He got the message, nodded, and disappeared through a crevasse in the ice.

  Across the valley, high on a cliff, stood Traian. I shook my head again, and he bowed and slipped inside the cave entrance.

  I needed alone time to process what had happened. And I needed to hunt without an audience.

  A small herd of sheep huddled off a cliff on the ridge to my left. One had wandered away, three hundred feet above the rest of the group.

  Sorry, fella.

  Three leaps, and dinner was served. I placed his carcass on the cliff ledge and thought of kissing Traian. Within seconds, sparks flew from my hand and lit the fur in a blaze. The wind carried his ashes away, leaving no trace of the life that had once been.

  Chapter 16

  The following night, Traian wasn’t available for training. Verona brought me my breakfast, and then I got dressed. After, Padrick arrived and walked me to the border of the Romani clan’s territory. We didn’t talk the entire way, which was fine with me, as I wasn’t in the mood.

  Right before I stepped through the barrier, he finally spoke up.

  “I know something is bothering you.”

  “Many things bother me, Padrick, can you be more specific?”

  I shouldn’t have been so snappy with him. He hadn’t done anything.

  He placed a gentle hand on my shoulder. “This life is challenging, and magic is hard, but you have more strength than anyone I know. You don’t have to do this alone.”

  “Whatever you say.” I stepped back. “They’re waiting for me.” I turned and walked through the barrier onto the gypsy land.

  Two wolves I hadn’t met before waited for me on the other side and walked me to the crone's tent. We passed the main camp, but nobody stood around the fire. The place looked abandoned, but I could sense the clan’s presence in the surrounding tents and caravans. We continued through the woods to Satra’s abode. The entrance flaps were wide open, allowing the cold air in. I walked in and quickly saw why.

  The fire was three times larger than normal and the tent felt like an oven. Three kettles bubbled over an open fire inside. Satra was hunched over, holding a cane with one hand and stirring the pot with the other.

  How is she not catching this place on fire?

  “There is much to learn today, Everly. We are running out of time.” Satra cranked her head in my direction. “Have you tried the protective potion?”

  “Not yet.”

  “That is too bad. Make sure you try it soon.” She shuffled her feet to the next cauldron. “We have three tonics today. First, calming and protection. Behind you is a red, wooden tray with the ingredients. Follow my instructions.”

  I brought the tray over as asked.

  “Two pinches of laurel bay, a string of sage, two Rowan tree twigs, and one pinch each of the emerald and fluorite powder. Mix together and let simmer for two hours.” She moved to the next kettle, waiting for me to finish adding all the ingredients to the first.

  “Now.” Satra pointed to another tray behind me with her walking stick. “That black one is for a disguising spell that will keep nosy people unaware of your magic powers. A cloaking spell, if you’d like.”

  I picked up the next tray and came to stand by her.

  “Two pinches of dandelion seed. Five pinches of poppy seeds. Three pieces of alder bark, and a handful of dried agapanthus petals.” From her skirt folds, she pulled out two bottles of oil. “Essence of dragon’s blood tree. And bat blood. This is also for cloaking. I figured you could use more than normal, considering your
lack of control.

  “If you take three drops of the calming, two of the protection and disguise, you should be good for several days. You must try these potions out tonight to see if you need to adjust the dosage.” Now she hobbled to the final kettle. “This is for connection. If you need to connect with your lover or someone who is far away, this allows you to see where they are. You cannot talk to them, but it allows you to ‘check’ on them.”

  Not once during our training did she ask about the silver chalice or what I had seen.

  I left the gypsy encampment sometime after two o'clock in the morning. Traian waited at the edge of the boundary when I returned. He wrapped his arms around me, and in the next moment, we were in the sky, flying high up above the mountains. I was exhausted from all the spellwork and potion making, but the moment the moon came out from behind the clouds, everything changed.

  The full orb glowed brightly against the night sky. Every beam that hit my body seemed to energize me. I didn't understand what was happening. I felt like I’d drunk coffee or a strong black tea.

  Traian landed us softly on the field of snow above the entrance of the cave. A couple other strigoi lay out on the cold surface in bathing suits.

  “What's going on here?” I asked.

  “Moon-bathing,” Traian replied. He showed me to a comfortable lounge chair with a fluffy, red blanket draped over the back. “It's a full moon. This is the time when we recharge our bodies, heal old wounds, and prepare for the dark moon, which follows in two weeks.”

  I didn't know what to say as this was not something I'd ever heard of. I recalled the effect of the small amounts of moonbeams on my face on the flight over and knew that he spoke the truth. Eager to absorb more of that moon magic, I took all my clothes off except for my underwear and bra. I relaxed on the lounge, closing my eyes. My skin instantly tingled under the cool light.

  It took me a moment to realize that Traian was still standing there.

  I opened one eye. “Aren’t you going to join me?”

  He stood there, focused on my chest—not on my breasts, but on the silver tattoo. I followed his gaze and gasped. Every branch and root of the tree stirred. Little specks of light rose from my skin and sparkled in the moon’s rays.

  Part of me wanted to cover up, but I couldn’t move. I became as enchanted with the phenomenon as Traian had.

  “Whoa,” I whispered.

  “I’ll say.” Rodica appeared on the other side of me. “I would cover that up. It’s so bright, you could probably see it from space.”

  Traian launched into action, pulling the blanket from behind me and tossing it over my torso.

  “It’s a shame to cover that beauty up, but Rodica is right. We don’t want to attract any more unwanted attention,” he said, and began stripping his clothes.

  One of the servants brought another lounge chair for Traian. Rodica and the other two strigoi ventured off down the slope. A guardsman came by with a cup of warm blood for me.

  I drank the blood and relaxed in the moonlight, soaking up the silver rays. I had so many questions, but it felt irreverent to hold a conversation while moon-bathing. The others lay silently a ways down the icefield from us. Plus, Traian didn’t look like he was in the mood to talk.

  In Padrick’s lessons, we moved between Tai Chi and different types of yoga. But after a couple hours with him, I would hunt. Each day, I relied less on bagged blood, but grew concerned with the supply of animals I needed to stay sated. Traian didn’t seem to worry about it.

  Every other night, I went to the Romani clan to meet with Satra. She taught me various spells and potions. Sometimes we just talked. It was nice to connect with another female. The women in the coven continued to give me a wide berth, so I cherished the few hours I got with Satra.

  And then came the duties around the cave. Each strigoi within the coven had a job, whether it was cleaning the kitchen or the common area, checking the perimeter for any danger, or scrubbing the halls, we all had to do our part to keep the place running. We had servants, but Traian believed in self-reliance.

  I’d done every job but was never allowed to do guard duty, much to my frustration. I much preferred the outdoors to working in the dank cave. At least I had my garden—the next best thing to being outside.

  The plants around my coffin had flourished and grown, just like the plants at my old apartment. I missed the little loft that I’d gotten to live in for only a few months before I died. I missed Seattle and the buzz of the city. I missed my mom and Stella. What I wouldn’t give to get one of their dozens of daily text messages, or have my mother show up unannounced.

  What if I could just check in on them?

  I ran to the control center where Cornell sat at his desk with a curious expression on his face when I barged in.

  “Can I borrow one of your computers?” I asked.

  “What for?” he asked.

  “I want to check on my sister's Instagram account. She posts stuff from the museum a lot, and I just want to see her face.”

  “Terrible idea,” Cornell said. “It’s essential you break all contact with your family. They will die shortly, and you will live for a long time. The sooner you let them go, the easier it will be for you to move forward in your new life.”

  “I just want to see her face.”

  crackle crackle crackle

  My hands… God dammit.

  I quickly gripped the bracelet of hematite that Padrick had given me and tried to take deep breaths to calm myself down, but the crackling continued. The overhead lights and all the screens in the room flickered.

  Oh, crap. I ran out of the room. I didn't know where else to go, so I went straight to the lake room and jumped in the cold water, hoping I didn't collapse any more parts of the cave on anyone.

  Thankfully, nothing happened, but the frigid water did help to calm my body. When I emerged from the water, Traian sat on a rock on the edge of the lake.

  “Well?” He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

  “Well, what?” I glared back at him.

  My body might have felt calm, but my mood hadn’t changed. I took my time getting to the shore.

  “You almost blew out our security system.” Traian rose to his feet.

  “Yeah?” Damn. “I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that.” I stayed in the water. “I just—”

  “I know what you wanted to do,” he said, holding a hand up. “I would like to take you somewhere after you dry off.”

  I climbed out of the lake, dripping wet, and took my shirt and pants off. Verona came in behind me, picked up my sopping clothes, and rushed off down the hall.

  In the bedroom, I found some dry jeans and a black sweater, and slipped my feet into some comfortable leather moccasins. My hair went up into a messy top knot as I didn’t really care about appearances.

  Traian waited for me on the other side of the door. He offered me his hand. I glanced down at it in shock.

  “I want to take you somewhere I haven’t been in several millennia,” he said and swallowed.

  His tapping foot and the way he licked his lips were the first indicators. Then I caught the tone of his scent. It had changed.

  “Are you nervous?” I met his gaze.

  He swallowed again. “I want to show you something.”

  He’s totally nervous.

  I took his hand, trying not to grin from my amusement.

  Some of the tension in his shoulder seemed to lighten as his fingers interwove with mine as he led me through a labyrinth of tunnels into a section of the network of caves that I had not been in yet. I didn’t even know they existed.

  I recalled Traian’s words from that day in Insomnia Café. ‘Miles of caves and underground passages that would take several lifetimes to explore.’ He hadn’t been kidding.

  Deeper and deeper we went until we came to a tiny slit in the wall. He pushed his body in, pulling me along. I slid through easily. The narrow passage seemed to go on forever, when it suddenly opened i
nto a massive cavern full of crystals. Lofty columns of every color imaginable jutted toward the high ceiling. Some were as big as the pillars of the Parthenon. Others lay on the cave floor like fallen trees in the forest.

  “What is this place?” I asked in a whisper.

  “A long time ago, a woman I once knew brought me here. She’d kept them hidden from our enemies. It looks like nobody's been here for the last several thousand years.” He waved at the dazzling gems.

  “Evelina?” I glanced up at him.

  He met my gaze and nodded.

  “Why did you bring me here?” I asked, pulling my hand free of his.

  “Because this was the last place I made love to the woman who stole my heart five millennia ago.”

  My hands crackled, but I focused on the quiet buzzing of the crystals.

  Don’t think about it.

  I reached with my mind to the spire drawing my attention. I closed my eyes and saw the scene unfold, right next to the big amethyst column. On a bed of rose quartz, they had made love. I could feel his body against mine. Skin to skin.

  Wait, how can I feel his body?

  And just like in all the dreams I’d had of Traian when I was human, I was in someone else’s body.

  Evelina. I bit down a silent curse. How can I ever have Traian, when he’s still haunted by a woman who’s been dead for thousands of years?

  I opened my eyes and saw him standing right in front of me. His eyes glowed red with hunger.

  “I'm sorry I brought you here. That was very inappropriate of me.”

  “Yeah, bringing me to the place you last had sex with the woman you are clearly still in love with is pretty shitty.”

  Keep cool. My hands continued to heat, and there wasn’t any lake around to help chill my growing anger.

  “I apologize, but this was not the purpose.” Traian placed both hands on my shoulders. “These crystals have magical properties, and since Padrick's been teaching you how to use them, I thought maybe you could find the crystal here that might help you.”

  “Help me?” I barked and stepped back out of his reach.

  “Help control your powers,” he said calmly.