I looked up at the moon. “Kela, what’s the date?”
She checked her watch. “September 22nd. Why?”
On those nights the sun was piqued; And on those nights in slumber deep.
And on those nights on the earthly plane; When day and night were just the same.
I recalled the lines from the book in the speakeasy, and the epiphany hit me hard.
Solstices and equinoxes were astronomical events that happened every season, the former marking the shortest and longest days of the year, the latter signaling when day and night were of equal length.
I did the mental calculations, swiping through the astronomy app on my smartphone.
“Maybe the disappearances have nothing to do with the moon,” I said. “And everything to do with the change of seasons. We need to go.”
“But we were going to get ice cream!”
I raced towards The Aunt-Tea-Query, trying to call Dave along the way. Kela was close behind, begging me to stop and explain what was going on.
But I couldn’t.
Tonight was the night I’d either avenge Carrie or get taken away myself.
When we reached the cafe, Alex’s bikes were nowhere in sight. I turned to Kela.
“Give me an hour and then find Alex and tell him I went to Lake Ogie.”
“What? I’m not letting you go alone.”
“I need you to stay here. Trust me on this.”
I couldn’t risk both of us being taken.
I left my cousin on the front porch of The Aunt-Tea-Query and made my way out back to the garage. It was my first time inside since returning home.
Memories of my father battered me as I went in. I could still smell the oily rags and hear the clank of his tools. I felt suddenly overcome with the need to hug him and officially tell him goodbye. But that would have to wait.
“Later, Daddy,” I promised as I dug the spare truck key out of his toolbox.
I readied myself for whatever awaited me as my gloved hands clutched the steering wheel. Yet, no images of my parent’s final moments presented themselves, and the engine turned over on the first try. I backed down the driveway, knocking over a garbage can, and headed for Bog Hollow, ignoring every red light along the way.
My ring flickered the entire ride, increasing in frequency the closer I got to Lake Ogie. I rolled down the window. The air was thick, electric with the pulse of the autumn equinox.
The shoreline came into view - a windy landscape of turbulent waters and bobbing buoys. The dove-white moon glittered down from above, bathing the lake in almost-holy light. A hum vibrated out from the woods across the water, sending shivers along my spine. I got out of the truck and stood motionless on the beach, waiting.
The vibrations intensified, sending waves radiating across the lake. They rocked the boats lining the pier. I even felt them beneath my feet, and I had to hold out my arms to keep my balance. After some time, the humming stopped, and for a long moment the world was eerily quiet.
I turned in place, fully expecting to see Aradia herself, riding a broom down from the moon. Instead, a circle of amber lights launched up out of Ogie’s depths, one after the next, like a firework display.
They reached their apex and hung just below the clouds, poised and perfect. Then, a larger light sphere emerged from the water. It rose more slowly, wobbling uncertainly over the lake, before rising up to hold court in the center of the ring. The outer orbs blinked in response.
My ringed-hand lifted of its own accord. The moonstone winked in time with the central orb.
Were they communicating with each other?
I looked down, surprised to find myself walking towards the water, my hand still outstretched, yearning.
“Stop!” I told myself, but my limbs refused to cooperate. My mind screamed “No!” but my body wanted nothing more than to be absorbed by the light.
It was as if every promise, every dream - everything I’d lost and never found again - all waited for me inside.
A breeze caught a cluster of fallen leaves, sending them swirling across the water. They drifted easily before being sucked up into the orb above, leaving no record that they had existed at all.
The humming returned and the lights brightened. I felt woozy, as if I’d drunk too much wine.
I fought my instincts, reminding myself that even against magick, I still had free will.
But the lure of Aradia was too great and I didn’t notice I was once again in the water until it was up to my knees. I sloshed forward, recalling the conversation between Laura and her followers:
We don’t have a traveler.
We will.
The waves lapped at my thighs, but I no longer felt the cold. The light was too beautiful; I didn’t notice anything else.
“Baylee… don’t be afraid… Aradia awaits,” the wind whispered.
My eyes drooped as the water reached my chest. Several figures emerged along the shore line, converging from all directions. Each was tethered to one of the lights by a thin silver cord rising from the crowns of their heads.
Their arms swayed hypnotically and I realized the humming was coming from them. They were chanting in unison; I listened closely to make out the words.
Aradia, free us from the shackles of men.
We give to thee a sacrifice, that you might rise again.
In return, we beg of thee, grant us health, wealth and power.
We are your unyielding servants, until the final hour.
I was now somehow standing - standing! - on the surface of the water. The orb was large above me. It expanded, opening up like the petals of a flower. I should be afraid, I realized, but I wasn’t.
“I hope you said your goodbyes.” It was Laura.
She had joined me on the lake during my trance and now ‘stood’ opposite me. Her face was calm but her eyes were sharp.
“Laura? Why?” I asked simply. “For money? Power?”
She cracked a hard smile. “For family. Something you know nothing about.”
She raised her hands and mumbled an incantation.
The orb brightened in response, once again whispering its promises.
As the light tugged at me, I was distracted by motion out of the corner of my eye - a girl running out of the woods in a white dress, with wild hair and terrified eyes.
Carrie Brighton’s daughter.
TWENTY-EIGHT
(ALEX)
“Alex, wake up! Baylee’s at Lake Ogie all alone.”
Alex heard the panic in his cousin’s voice as he jolted up out of the rocking chair. “Huh?” he asked, wiping the side of his mouth as he squinted into awareness.
“Baylee’s at the lake,” Kela repeated. “She wouldn’t tell me what she was doing, but she said something about the equinox being tonight.”
“How long has she been gone?” Alex slipped on his shoes and adjusted his belt.
“Half hour or so.”
“And you’re just now telling me?”
“I couldn’t find you. If Mr. B hadn’t been pawing at the cellar door, I would never have guessed you were down here.”
He checked his cellphone. There were a dozen texts from Kela, each more frantic than the last. “Ah, crap. Let’s go get her. If she took one of the bikes, she’s probably just now getting there.”
“She took her dad’s truck,” Kela said, uncharacteristic worry shading her blue eyes.
The two rushed up the basement stairs. “We need to get Mom’s spell book,” Alex said. He grabbed it from where he’d tucked it behind the counter and scooped up Mr. B with his free arm. Then he exited through the solarium door.
“I’m coming with,” Kela said.
“Suit yourself, just don’t slow me down.”
They headed for the two bikes parked in the side yard, partially hidden beneath a tree. “Let’s go!” Alex said, stuffing the cat into the basket.
They left the yard and pulled up in front of Bend and Break. Yvette was lounging on her porch swing, a glass of
wine in hand.
“Want your cat back?” Alex called out. “Come and get him.”
Mr. B meowed loudly as he poked his head out of the basket. Yvette bounded from the swing and ran down the porch steps, shouting obscenities as they pedaled away.
“Why the hell did you do that?” Kela demanded, as they rode hard down Main.
“We may need reinforcements.”
As they approached his court-determined boundary line, Alex was violently shocked by his ankle bracelet. “Jesus!” He pedaled harder, the collar jolting him every few seconds.
A few minutes later, Alex heard a siren behind them. Mark, the deputy, pulled up alongside them, flashing his lights. “We got a call about a stolen cat, and here you are with a cat in your basket, breaking probation. Get off the bike, Bonds.”
“As you wish.”
Alex leapt from the bike, grabbing the cat and the spell book along the way. “Dump it,” he called out to Kela.
She ditched her own bike and followed him into an alley.
“You’re insane,” Kela said. “I love it.”
Alex knew Mark would catch him eventually, but the cop was badly out of shape and wouldn’t dare chase him on foot. Soon they reached the edge of Bog Hollow and barreled towards the woods. Just as Alex thought they were going to get away, a vehicle pulled up beside them.
It was Dave.
“Get in,” he said, pushing open the passenger door as the truck continued to roll.
“We need to get to Lake Ogie,” Alex explained as he and Kela piled into the front seat. “Baylee’s there.”
“I was already on my way. I got a text from Gramps.” Dave nodded and stepped on the gas. “I tried calling her, but it went right to voicemail.”
Alex petted Mr. B as they tore down the road, trying to calm himself. They were nearing the lake and the sky was glowing. He couldn’t lose Baylee. He wouldn’t.
Mark appeared behind them in the distance, lights flashing and siren blaring.
“Ignore him,” Alex pleaded.
Dave responded by stepping on the gas, not stopping until they reached the water’s edge.
TWENTY-NINE
(BAYLEE)
The girl waded into the water, her arms raised upwards, as if about to be baptized. She looked so much like Carrie. The sight of her broke the light’s hold over me.
“No!” I called out to her. “Stop!”
Laura turned towards the girl. “Emily, no, it’s not your turn!”
Her concentration broken, Laura slipped down into the water, submerging to her waist. The chanting momentarily ceased as the coven looked on from the shore, and I sank into the water beside her. I could feel land beneath my feet, and I realized that we were standing on the top of an underwater hill.
I swam for Emily and the water immediately deepened. Laura grabbed for my leg. I tried to fight her off but she clung to me tightly. The coven resumed their chant, and the lights purred anew. Emily rose slowly from the water, as if lifted by angel wings.
“Stop, you idiots!” Laura called out as she struggled to restrain me. “You’re taking the wrong one! That’s my daughter!”
But the chanters kept up their steady litany. Their arms twisted through the air as their gauzy dresses waved in the wind. Emily floated towards us, until she was directly above us, beneath the center sphere.
“Mama?” she called out, her eyes lifted. “Take me with you!”
Laura let go of me and strained upwards, reaching for Emily’s ankle. She missed and slipped below the surface.
Without thinking, I reached into the inky water and felt around for Laura’s arm. Locking my hand around her wrist, I pulled her up as I treaded water. As my skin touched hers, I was transported to a kitchen, where two women sat drinking coffee. They faced each other with tired eyes. I recognized them both.
“No one will ever know,” Laura said, patting Carrie’s arms. “You can’t just think of yourself now, you have to think about the child.”
“I-I know. I just wish I could convince Mama…”
“You can’t.” Laura clicked her nails against the rim of the mug, her lips pursed in consideration. “Your mother is the one who arranged all of this. The child is bought and paid for. You’ll stay with me and the child can be your cousin. The baby will be raised with family instead of strangers. Isn’t that better?”
Carrie nodded, dabbing at her eyes. “Thank you. I don’t know what else to say. I’ll work hard in school and take her as soon as I’m able.”
“Take your time, dear.”
Carrie patted the bulge in her stomach. “I hope the baby doesn’t inherit my gifts.”
“Gifts?” Laura asked, raising her brows as she leaned in. “My sister didn’t tell me you had gifts, too. What are they?”
Carrie looked down, a blush touching her cheeks, clearly embarrassed. “I have visions. Sometimes they come true.”
Concern touched Laura’s eyes, though she forced a smile. “The important thing is, you’re going to have a healthy baby and I’m going to be a mother.”
“Just for a while, right?” Carrie asked.
“Only until you’re able to care for the child yourself,” Laura nodded.
I let go of Laura’s hand. We floundered together, side by side in the cold water.
“You’re Carrie’s aunt,” I sputtered, finally understanding. “You couldn’t have children, so you took her baby as your own. Is that why you got involved with the Aradian cult?”
Laura answered in a choppy voice.
“They promised me... I’d conceive. They promised us all so many things. But everything… came at a price. When Emily found the ring and put it on… I had to stop it.”
“What’s in the light?” I asked. “And why did you ask for my help?”
“No one knows… what’s inside the orb, but those who enter… never return. I knew Emily was up next… so I needed a replacement.”
“I still don’t understand!”
Laura’s eyes blazed more fiercely. “We are… the Cult of Aradia. Our feud is with… the Daughters of Diana. They were the… bog witches of legend… who were exiled for practicing magick.
“The bog witches… blamed the Aradians for their plight… and cursed all their descendants. We… are those descendants… and our Goddess, Aradia… will lift the curse if we deliver to her thirteen of Diana’s own.”
“So this was all over a feud and superstition?”
Laura’s mouth stretched into an absurd grin. “Does this look like superstition to you?”
Emily was now close to the orb, her fingers outstretched, as if plucking a star from the sky.
“Tell the coven to stop chanting!” I yelled.
“They won’t,” Laura said, struggling to stay afloat. “Someone has to be taken. If it’s not one of Diana’s, it’s one of our own.”
I kicked upward, reaching for Emily’s leg. I missed badly, and felt myself being sucked back down into the water.
Someone was directing their magick at me.
I looked to the shore and saw Ella on the beach, hunched over, her hands lifted towards me.
But… it wasn’t Ella. She was taller and thinner. This must be her sister, Alba, the one who had dropped off the case, the leader of the Cult of Aradia, and the one who had arranged for the ring to find my finger.
My strength was quickly waning. My limbs would give out soon from fighting the magickal undertow.
Alba rolled her hands as if rolling yarn. She threw back her arms and swung them forward, each motion further weighing me down. Soon, I’d be pulled completely under.
“If you want to save the girl, sacrifice yourself.” Alba’s voice echoed in my mind.
Emily began spiraling upwards, her head tilted and her arms wide, her gown fanning out around her. The ring on her finger glowed, just like mine.
A new figure emerged from the trees - a small, silver-haired woman who grew larger with every step. A golden-white aura surrounded her. Ella.
“I should have kept a better eye on those rings,” Ella said, converging on her sister, her staff clutched firmly in her hand.
“Fool!” Alba responded, turning her attention from me to her sister. “With your talents, we could’ve lifted the curse without it coming to this. If you can’t provide for your sisters, Aradia can.”
“Aradia only cares about feeding her own power.”
Ella lifted her staff above her head, the gemstone on the tip shining opal blue. I expected her to direct the staff towards her sister, but instead she pointed it at me.
“Make the trade,” Ella’s voice spoke in my mind.
Ella’s magick surged through me, buoying me up out of the water, and I quickly grabbed hold of Emily’s ankle. I tugged on her, pulling her into my arms. Our rings pulsed in unison, forming a bridge of light between us.
“Emily,” I whispered. “I’m Baylee. I knew your mom.”
“I have to go,” she said. “She’s up there.”
“No, honey, she’s not. The light is going to take one of us, and it needs to be me.”
I lifted my hand, letting the orb find my ring. I immediately felt myself being drawn ever higher.
“No!” Emily cried, digging her nails into my neck.
“Go back to Laura,” I ordered. “Before it’s too late for both of us.”
“You can’t leave me with her. She kept me from my mother.” Emily looked down at Laura, rage in her eyes.
The pull of the orb strengthened under the influence of the two rings, and even the water on the lake began to be sucked into the sky. I held tightly to Emily. If Ella’s magick hadn’t been holding us down, the force surely would’ve plucked us away.
Suddenly, a form rushed up past us, as we were simultaneously falling back into the water. I looked up in time to see Laura disappearing into the gaping white light.
Touch of Light: A Baylee Scott Paranormal Mystery (The Reed Hollow Chronicles Book 1) Page 20
