Arch of Shadows

by C. L. Bush

  “Not until she knocked me out,” he responded, piercing JJ’s with his eyes.

  “You know he can feel what you want to tell him now, right?” Samantha told Damen, annoyed.

  “He knows.” JJ scowled. “That’s why he’s doing it.”

  “Glad we’re on the same page.” Damen nodded bitterly.

  Zoey turned her gaze once more toward Sam, awaiting the answer.

  “Yes, I did,” she slowly confessed as Zoey squinted absentmindedly. “I had to.”

  “So, what do you want from me?” Zoey shrugged.

  Samantha excitedly turned to face her completely. “We need a guide. JJ and I read all about the rituals, and we’re fairly certain we could do it properly. We were planning on using JJ’s empathic talent to search for Clara more easily.”

  “Is JJ okay with using his talent for that?” Zoey asked. JJ simply nodded. “Then, you need me to navigate the spell?”

  “There’s more,” JJ said finally. “We need you to share your magic with us. Even with the solstice, and Sam’s full magic abilities, the three of us don’t have enough magic or knowledge to navigate all the spells at once.”

  Zoey nodded, her eyes now glued to Damen. “What about you, Damen?”

  “What about me?”

  “What do you think about all of this?”

  “I think they’re both insane, that’s what I think,” he explained, slapping his hand on the locked door. “If we would even survive that, what does that bring us? We’re linked to a dead person. No offence, Zoey. And Clara who’s in, at best, ghost-world. Not to mention how the senior coven would react. Do you really think they would give us any independence, just because we’d be linked as a coven of our own? You’re delusional if you think so.”

  “There are things only a coven can do, Damen,” Samantha tried but he was relentless.

  “There things not even covens should do, Sam,” he corrected her. “Once you get magic, you lose independence for good, do you get that? You either live like Gaskill does, as an outcast, or you’re tied in a coven for good. There’s no turning back once you link.”

  Zoey opened her mouth, but Samantha politely stopped her before she could say anything.

  “Damen, we’re talking about Clara now. JJ and I can’t do this without you. We can’t be a coven without you. It’s time to step up.”

  “I’m actually sure it’s time to step away,” Damen responded coldly, steadying his gaze on his girlfriend. “I’ll do it. I’ll do the linking, but I’m doing it for Clara. I’m doing it so I would know I did everything I could to save her, but after that... After that, we’re done.”

  “Fine, JJ and I will take over the searching spell and dealing with the senior coven. I just-”

  “No, I mean, all of it,” Damen interrupted her. “I’m done with both of you.”

  “What are you saying?” Samantha asked stiffly.

  “He’s saying he’s breaking up with both of us,” JJ said sourly, starting the car and backing out of Zoey’s driveway. “Are we doing this or not, then?”

  Sam looked at Damen, who returned her flat gaze, before turning toward Zoey who just silently nodded.

  “Drive,” Sam instructed and fell back into her seat, solidifying the silence in the car. JJ did as instructed, and guided the car toward the old town’s heart.

  Unlike most towns, at Richmond’s center was the town graveyard instead of a town hall. Vast, green and flourishing, it was a rare patch of town where summer was genuine and untainted by the disintegration of the Arch. While some alleys and corners grew darker than they had been before, the graveyard served as a floral sanctuary.

  Sam sent a fire message to her parents, aware of Zoey’s meticulous stare, notifying them they’d be celebrating all day and not to expect them at graduation. Sure, they would be pissed off at first, and then they’d figure out they were up to something. However, Sam knew they would rush to the Arch first, probably expecting them to try another stupid, unplanned mission. In the meantime, they’d be doing something slightly less stupid in the place where no one would think of searching.

  Doing the spells next to the Arch would have its pros - it would be easier for JJ to catch a sense of Clara from where she last stood, and the magical charge would probably be higher. On the other hand, they would have to figure out how to pass the part of the barrier still functioning, which meant losing energy and time before even casting the main spell. So, instead, they would go where Xander’s life was sealed - his grave.

  The calm rationalization, Samantha guessed, was what convinced JJ to go along with her idea, far enough to risk losing Damen’s friendship. But the logic wasn’t what pushed Sam forward. It was her instincts, the same instincts she’d neglected for far too long. And the same instincts that kept drawing her back to Xander’s resting place in the months prior. She hadn’t shared that with JJ or anyone else, mostly because she couldn’t explain to herself the need either.

  The need to go there, Sam realized in time, came from the sense of closeness to both Xander and Clara she felt there. At first Sam was ready to attribute the feeling to blunt longing until just days ago. It happened.

  It was just there, interlaced by freshly grown grass, a family trinket that used to lie around Clara’s room, but was now safely kept in Sam’s pocket. The pocket watch danced hidden between her fingers in an attempt to calm her nerves.

  It helped, but just barely.

  They got out of the car at the parking lot and walked through the gates of the graveyard, the puzzled look of the keeper following them down the path. Zoey was still in her pajamas and slippers, although she made no mention of it. Damen walked in his graduation suit, now wrinkled from his unwanted sleep in the car. His hair was disheveled, and he was visibly unhappy with his current actions and position. His feelings were obvious even without empathetic abilities. Samantha hoped his feelings would change after the coven link solidified, but knowing Damen as she did... Sam was skeptical enough to doubt her own hopes. He even purposefully sped up so Sam would struggle to keep up with him.

  She walked over cracks and grass in her yellow pumps, focusing on the weight in the pocket of her dress. Her parents insisted on taking a picture before she left for school this morning. Sam doubted they’d want to remember this day no matter the outcome. But she’d worry about that later.

  She glanced at JJ’s back, hunched under the situation, his arm safeguarding bag full of utilities for today’s spell. It was hard to discern what exactly he was feeling. His pace was faster than even Damen’s, as if he was trying to put as much distance between them as possible.

  Sam understood the linking would be the hardest for JJ; he was already painfully aware of the feelings of people around him and they were about to amplify the sensation.

  By the time Sam reached Xander’s grave, JJ had already started setting up. It was strange how such an important ritual such as a linking spell needed only the basics - a bit of silver, a bit of blood. However, in their case, JJ would already be splitting his focus between finding and maintaining a connection to Clara, and the linking, Damen was partially invested in the ritual and Samantha’s abilities were still recovering from months of limited magical usage. They needed Zoey.

  She checked their positions, arm’s length distance between them, and the objects around them. JJ had his uncle’s pendant around his neck, and Damen had the McDooley cufflinks, as Samantha knew he would. His dad had talked to Samantha about waiting until graduation to give the cufflinks to Damen even before New Year’s. They were a family tradition, he said, and Samantha didn’t have the heart to tell him back then that the last thing Damen wanted was more family traditions. Especially family traditions that would figuratively and literally tie his hands. In a way, Sam was ready to tie her own hands with the ring Clara’s mom gave her.

  “Do you have anything for Clara?” Zoey asked.

  Sam silently placed the pocket watch in JJ’s right hand. Zoey arched an eyebrow but asked nothing. Instead, she j
ust probed the watch and confirmed it was silver.

  There was no need to find a silver anchor for Xander - his casket, as all caskets of magical practitioners, was lined with a coat of silver. It served as both a protection from any intrusive unnatural force and as grounding for any magical energy left after his passing. That way, his spirit was free to move on.

  “This is going to take hours,” Zoey said, stating the obvious.

  As she continued her instructions, they got comfortable. Samantha took off and kicked away her shoes, burying her toes in the soft, damp ground. Damen took off his jacket, shuffling the cufflinks between his fingers. JJ closed his eyes, as he usually did when the empathy surge caused him a migraine.

  “First, I’ll do the harnessing of Xander’s magic. None of you are trained enough to even try and poke around that kind of magic. JJ, while I do that, you have to search for Clara. The moment you think you’ve grasped her, try and pull her in. Like when you want to check up on someone who isn’t next to you. Okay? Good. At that point, you have to start the linking spell. Do you all know the words? Good. Now, I can’t be leading the linking spell. I can’t even participate in it. As soon as I harness Xander’s energy, I’m going to direct it to whoever is going to be the epicenter of this spell. Have you decided who’s going to be your coven leader?”

  JJ opened his eyes, directing his gaze straight at Samantha. Damen did the same, although with pure bitterness and a bit of hurt.

  “We did,” JJ said firmly. “It’s Sam.”

  “Sam, indeed,” Damen repeated, and Sam silently stared back at them.

  “Samantha, do you accept the role of the leader of your coven?” Zoey asked lightly, as if it were just another question in this world, waiting to be answered. She approached Sam, offering the Jamison’s ceremonial blade lying on her palm. “Do you accept to be the epicenter of the linking spell that will unite the souls present here today? Do you accept the role of protector and guide of your coven until your last breath?”

  “Just give me the knife.” Sam heavily swallowed, reaching for the blade, but Zoey moved it away from her reach. She waited for the answer, and JJ and Damen waited as well. “Yes. Okay? I accept the responsibility. I’ll do it.”

  Zoey willingly handed her the blade and moved away. She sat on the ground, taking her slippers off and putting them aside. Positioned comfortably, she took a bit of earth in one hand and placed the other palm over the damp grass, reaching for water. Zoey whispered the words and a transfer link started fairly quickly. Samantha nodded to JJ, who closed his eyes once again and swayed back and forth. Damen remained steady, keeping his eyes on Samantha. She brushed the edge of the blade absentmindedly, ignoring the rising wind, the trembling ground, the sudden chill.

  “I hope it’ll be worth it,” he said.

  Samantha cut him off, shaking her head. “It already is, Damen,” she responded, silencing him and silently revising the steps of the ritual.

  “Are you ready, Samantha?” Zoey asked shakily, her eyes still closed and Sam nodded. “Samantha?”

  “Yes, yes. I’m ready,” she lied.

  “Okay, I’ll do it in a second,” she said, strained. “It’ll feel overwhelming for a moment, but don’t get distracted. Remember what your goal is.”

  “Right.” Samantha kept nodding her head, digging her heels into the cold ground like a fight-ready bull. “Don’t get distracted. Focus on the goal.”

  “Here it comes,” Zoey whispered, and in the dead silence around them, it was loud enough to be heard by all. “Dimittas!”

  A burst of power struck Samantha’s body and she gasped for air.

  “Sam!” Damen called out to her, but his voice remained far away.

  Everything and everyone at that moment seemed further away - Damen, JJ, Zoey. The ring on her finger, and the blade in her hand. After months of magical starvation, this was ecstasy. Aware of everything and everyone around her, but from a distance, Sam shivered and shook.

  She could do anything. Cast any spell, reach any person - it was all within her reach. Why did she even need any of them? Her body felt as if someone had lit up every single cell and ignited her whole being with life. And there was something else... a feeling. A feeling of a person.

  Xander.

  Sam coughed, gasped, air once again filling her lungs. Zoey and Damen stared at her in fear, but all she could muster was a nod. She grabbed the blade harder and took a step toward Damen. Her mind was sharper than ever, and the chant seemed like the easiest spell in the world. Easy like lighting a candle, maybe even easier.

  She stopped in front of Damen, cutting her left index finger and letting a drop of blood fall.

  “Sanguis est argentum,” she whispered, and he repeated the words. Sam bloodied his McDooley cufflinks, pricking his finger. He swiped his finger over her ring and hid his cufflinks in his fist.

  Samantha swallowed heavily, approaching JJ now. If she was trembling, he was quaking. His eyelids flickered, and his lips were blue, but he chanted the same words as Sam and Damen.

  “Argentum est sanguis,” Sam continued, and he repeated the words, blindly offering his left hand. Samantha pressed her finger to his pendant and gently cut his finger. She placed JJ’s index finger on her ring and left a trace of his blood. JJ’s knees give out and he fell to the ground. His eyes remain closed, and his lips still chanted the words.

  Now feeling and understanding the pain he felt, Sam let the tears fall down her cheeks. But there was more to be done, and JJ knew it. Behind them, Damen’s words seemed louder, stronger, almost supportive.

  “Ego sum vobis, mecum estis,” Samantha advanced the chant and JJ barely lifted his right hand. Samantha slightly cut another finger, leaving a drop of blood on her ring for Clara. In turn, she smeared Clara’s pocket watch with her own blood. She allowed herself a mere moment of awareness, of feeling Clara somewhere in the distance and at the same time close. With a faint smile, Sam stepped away from the shivering pile that was JJ.

  “Una anima, pluribus corporibus,” she concluded and focused on the gentle voices of Damen and JJ, the voices of her coven.

  Lastly, Samantha cut the back of her hand and let the blood drip onto Xander’s grave. In the corner of her eye, she noticed Zoey standing back, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. Like an echo, Damen and JJ repeated the last words. The trio simultaneously lunged forward, and Sam and Damen joined JJ on the ground. They gasped for air. Damen panicky grabbed the cufflinks he dropped in the fall and fought to his feet, hurrying toward JJ.

  Sam took a few steps forward, her head pulsing with the new connections running through her body. She looked up and realized the warm summer night was upon them. Strange. She thought it was daytime just minutes ago. The warmth that kept her comfortable was gone and a cold breeze flailed her muddy legs. JJ was still on the ground, and Samantha couldn’t discern Damen’s words from afar. She stepped forward and swayed violently.

  “Slowly,” Zoey said, appearing as a support on her right. “Your body and mind went through a huge change, Sam. Give it time to adjust.”

  “I didn’t expect it to last so long,” Sam absently admitted. “How long did it take?”

  “A couple of hours,” Zoey said, and Sam frowned, looking up at the sky. “Yeah, the eclipse. That would be the Arch collapsing.”

  “But how? It wasn’t supposed to. No one passed through it,” Sam said, now fully upright and ready to act. “We didn’t-”

  “I knew this might happen, Sam,” Zoey said bluntly. “The Arch was going to collapse one way or the other, and the senior coven was too petrified to make a decision.” She remained silent for a moment under her protégé’s inquisitive gaze. “They don’t get to choose our future anymore.”

  Sam nodded, in shock, and Zoey left her to go to her coven while she collected the remains of the ritual. Sam approached the boys and Damen looked up.

  “JJ thinks Clara might be here,” he explained.

  Sam quickly kneeled next to JJ who had his head
in his hands, swaying back and forth on his shins. “I feel her better now, too, JJ,” Sam said gently. “But it’s because of the linking spell.”

  “I’m trying to focus,” JJ mumbled into his palms, his pendant thumping against his chest with each movement.

  Sam sensed his distress and anxiety, as clear as she sensed Damen’s need to act and general discomfort because of the situation. Sam closed her eyes. She breathed in, pressing her hand to JJ’s shoulder hoping his empathic skill was strong enough to pick up on what she hoped could help him find some peace.

  Seconds later he breathed in deeply, lowered his fists into the ground and opened his eyes.

  “Something came here. To our world,” JJ explained. “And it feels like Clara. I pulled her in too strongly. I could feel her there, and I just wanted her to know... something went terribly wrong.”

  As she opened her mouth to let them know what Zoey had just told her, Damen interrupted her with a quick pat on the shoulder.

  “There’s something there,” Damen said, nodding toward a mausoleum several paths down. The imposing structure wasn’t there when they arrived at the cemetery. “I saw movement.”

  Sam exchanged a look with Damen, which prompted JJ to get back on his feet with their help.

  “It’s her,” JJ said. “It’s Clara.”

  EPILOGUE:

  CLARA

  “Clara!” Someone called out her name, but Clara’s limbs felt too heavy to move. “Clara!” She tried opening her eyes. Instead of a clear-cut version of the world, she only saw a dark blur.

  “Oh, my God.” A desperate, hurried whisper ruffled next to her and she felt someone’s hands grab her shoulders and lift her. “Clara, oh, my God, I knew it. I knew we’d get you back.”

  “Helen?”

  “No, no, it’s Sam. Clara, you’re okay now. You’re okay.”

  “Sam?” Clara croaked and heard a teary laughter and rushed footsteps. The ground below Clara felt cold and damp, and she tried to find some stability by leaning on it. “Where am I?”