The Ritual: Urban Fantasy Suspense FF Romance (The Coven Unleashed Book 1)

by Adelaide Walsh

  “Great party,” I said. I didn’t really think it was that great. I thought that about 85% of the guests needed to leave for it to be great, but the setup itself was admittedly pretty sweet. Between the fire pit and the hot tub, was a keg. There was also an ice luge – something I had only ever seen in bad movies about teens on spring break. She had a s’mores station, hot apple cider with your choice of alcoholic mix-in. (I chose none.) There were a lot of little games going on, too.

  “Thanks, well hey, I better get back to Felipe. You know how he gets.” She motioned toward the hot tub.

  “Who is Felipe?” Stella asked, looking at the hot tub, where there were 4 different men soaking.

  “Oh, I don’t really know. I met him at the grocery store today. He likes the honey graham crackers. I like the cinnamon. So I bought both. Go make a s’more! Be American!” She blew us air kisses and ran off to the hot tub.

  “Well alright, let’s be American,” Stella led me to the s’mores bar. We hung out for an hour or so before I had to leave.

  “Well look Stel, it’s been cool, but I gotta run. I’m sorry.” I patted her on the shoulder and frowned, but secretly I couldn’t be more ready to leave the party.

  “Take me with you. I’m over this.”

  “I’m sorry, I really just don’t have time to make any extra stops. I can take you back to my place.”

  “No, take me to the cemetery.”

  “Stella, I appreciate you being so supportive, but you can’t just tag along. You would have to be a witch to be there.”

  “I know. That’s what I mean. Make me like you.”

  “No way. You’re just not ready. You have to really think about something like this. Plus it will change you. You’re not going to be exactly the same as you are now. I just can’t let you do that.”

  “I appreciate it, but I have thought about it ever since the first time you brought me there, and I want to. I’ve already made up my mind. And I don’t need you protecting me.”

  “Okay,” I grabbed her hand and led her to the car. “Okay, we will present you to the elders and see how it goes, but it’s so sudden, I don’t know what they’ll say.”

  We hurried back to my house to change. There was no way we could go in costume. I wore my jewels, including my newest ear cuff, and my cloak. Since Stella didn’t have a special cloak of her own, I decided the best thing would be to put her in a simple black sundress with a sweater. It needed to be something comfortable, but still respectful, and it couldn’t be distracting. The dress I leant her was mine from the first meeting I attended, when I petitioned to join.

  Most of the others were already at the cemetery when we arrived, but we were not the last. She followed me to the headstone in the far corner. There were a few elders preparing the grounds with oils and herbs. Everley was greeting everyone as they came in, her silver hair and pale eyes glistening in the moonlight.

  “Good evening.” I bowed. “I actually have brought someone to petition. She would like to join tonight.”

  “Hello,” Stella jumped in, stepping forward. She bowed as I had. Everley’s face remained still.

  “Camille. Go and fetch Mara.”

  I walked off to find Mara watching quietly in the distance, as she so often did. I greeted her and brought her to Everley, who quickly dismissed me after. I was too far off to hear anything, and it was pretty dark, but I was able to see bits and pieces of what was happening. It looked like Mara was examining Stella’s spirit.

  Stella appeared calm the entire time. It was hard to believe she had been so freaked out by all of this only a few weeks prior. My stomach was in knots. I was worried they would turn her away and she might be hurt or embarrassed. Joining the coven wasn’t typically as easy as just signing up. I relaxed my body and closed my eyes, focusing in on her. I channeled the love and chemistry between us and hoped that in some way, this would strengthen her at this time.

  About 30 minutes had passed and it was time for the ceremony to begin. Finally, the three of them were done. Everley approached the rest of us, waiting in a circle, and waved her hand in greeting.

  “Hello,” she began, looking around at all of us. Mara joined the circle. “In a surprising turn of events, we will be placing a short delay on tonight’s ceremony.” Several witches gasped and looked around. “Because we have another ritual to perform. Stella, love of Camille, is here tonight to become one of us. We will transform her and then, as a perfect 13, we will connect with the other world. Stella, please step into the circle.” Everley stepped back to join us in the circle. She stood next to me and whispered, “Thank you for being there during that. It helped our decision.”

  I hadn’t seen another witch go through this process. The last to join had been me, and you aren’t really present for your own transformation. Your body shuts down and your spirit enters a journey. I was excited to get to see what happened. Stella had to lie down in front of the headstone, positioned where a coffin would be if there had been one down there.

  We were then led in a chant. It was done in the ancient language, and roughly translated to ‘leader, we bring to you.’ We slowly increased our volume, and gathered closer until we were right around her body. Stella’s eyes had rolled into the back of her head. One of the elders knelt into the circle while the rest of us continued chanting. He broke off from our chant and began singing something different in the ancient language, while shaking some sort of liquid over Stella’s head. I was unsure what it was and couldn’t make out what he was saying.

  Stella’s eyelids fell shut and there was a loud noise beneath her body. It sounded like a gunshot had gone off deep within the earth.

  Chapter 5

  We waited in silence until Stella came to. When she rolled over, we welcomed her back to consciousness by rattling our jewels. She stood up and instinctively joined the circle between Everley and me. Everley stepped forward, into the circle.

  “Most impressive transformation, Stella. Now we shall begin with our ceremony. Some of us have not experienced this holiday before, so I will prepare you briefly. The grounds are fertile and have been blessed, so if all is well, we should expect a response tonight. A few of our elders have been preparing something of a gateway for us to more easily speak to the other world. Think of this as entering another realm, but this realm is entirely in your mind. We will all close our eyes and wait for the elders to invite us into their gateway. Once we are all inside, we will repeat the incantation. Stella, don’t worry. We will say it many times. Just jump in when you’ve got it. What is most important is our energy. So is everyone of pure heart and mind?”

  “Yes,” we all replied in unison.

  I closed my eyes and was immediately invited. It was the psychic and psychological equivalent of being tapped on the shoulder. I knew what it was and quickly accepted. It really was like being in another realm, but I sensed that I could not explore this place, like it wasn’t deep enough to go beyond the space our coven occupied. This space was the base of a mountain. The ocean was lapping just a few feet beyond us. It was night in this place too, but the sky wasn’t terribly dark. It was a dark blue, illuminated by the moon.

  Suddenly I sensed Stella was next to me. I looked around and everyone was. Without any hesitation, a few witches jumped into the incantation. I joined in. I had read the incantation many times since I became a witch. It was something like a prayer to us. We reserved it for special occasions, and this had been my first time, but I learned it early on.

  We continued with the incantation. It was important that every witch devoted their full energy. I leaned my head back and spoke up. I felt a burst of energy jolt through my body. My vision went white and all I could hear was a ringing. I opened my eyes and was back at the cemetery. I watched as the others went through the same thing. Everley and two of the elders didn’t appear to have come back yet. We all waited in silence until they finally came back.

  “Excellent work,” Everley panted. “We have made contact with a great entity. The
re will be much to look forward to in the coming weeks. Go home and rest.”

  We exited the cemetery without saying a word. In fact, I didn’t even speak up until we had pulled out of the street and onto a main road. Stella and I discussed how exhilarated we felt. She had felt the same jolt of energy. We decided it must have been from the entity Everley mentioned. Not only had it felt physical, it had changed something in our minds. We couldn’t describe it, but we agreed that we both felt different.

  By the time we got up to my bed, we were positively drained. We practically collapsed onto the bed as soon as we got in. Sleep had never come so easily. I awoke early the next morning, feeling blissful and revitalized. I sprung out of bed and headed down to the kitchen to make us breakfast. Stella was in the kitchen shortly after.

  “Want any help?” she offered, helping herself to a cup of coffee.

  “Nah, it’s okay. You go relax.”

  “Okay,” she shrugged, walking off to the living room. I could hear the television come on. She seemed to flip through the channels for a few minutes, before turning it back off. “Hey, do you mind if I use your computer?”

  “Yeah, go ahead.” The computer was just on the other side of the wall between the kitchen and the living room, so it was easy to talk with her sitting there.

  “My sister sent me another one of these stupid quizzes she’s always taking. This one is to find out which animal you are.”

  “Cute, and what are you?” I asked and waited a couple of minutes for her reply.

  “A fox. That’s adorable. Okay you have to go now.”

  “Okay, shoot.”

  “Okay, which of the following is your favorite- damn it.”

  “What happened?”

  “Browser crashed. Hold on let me get it back up.”

  There were a few minutes of silence as she re-launched the webpage. Once she had it back up, she asked me a series of mundane questions about my favorite foods or what I would do in a fight. She was right; these types of quizzes were stupid, but somehow fun at the same time.

  “Okay, so what am I?” I asked.

  “A snake,” she replied coldly, followed by silence.

  “Weird. I never really thought of myself as a snake. Snakes are cool though.”

  There was no reply. I finished plating breakfast and brought it out to the living room, but Stella was gone. The computer was still lit up. I sat the plates down on the desk and climbed into the chair. The quiz was up, and I hadn’t been deemed a snake, but a wolf. There was another tab open. I clicked over. It was my browser history. The third or fourth item down was the love potion recipe.

  Guilt and regret immediately flooded my body. I didn’t regret giving Stella whatever boost she needed to be with me. Clearly she wanted to, she had become a witch the night before, but I did feel regret that I had not been honest with her. I was terrified that this might ruin things. I called Allison over for advice, since she had so much experience with potions. When she arrived, I told her what had happened and showed her the recipe on the computer.

  “Yeah I had something similar happen to me once,” Allison started with eyes full of empathy. “I was in love with a guy and I brewed him a potion and was stupid enough to leave the recipe sitting on the kitchen counter. He didn’t forgive me, but what I now realize is he was also an ass. I think that the best thing you can do is to be honest about your intentions.”

  “Thank you so much, Allison, this is really helpful.”

  “Of course,” she chuckled, “but get a load of this website. Everything is up on the internet now.” She turned back to the computer and scrolled through the page again.

  “I know. I felt almost as stupid as I did guilty,” I confessed.

  “Wait a sec,” Allison cut in. “This is wrong. This potion would never have worked. It’s missing a key step. After you say this bit here, you’re supposed to appeal to the goddesses of love. This wouldn’t work if you hadn’t chanted their names. Did you?”

  “No,” I gushed, relief flowing through my veins.

  “This must have been posted by an amateur. Stella really loves you. The potion didn’t work.”

  I nearly jumped for joy. I thanked Allison and spent the rest of the evening preparing for the next day. I paced the house, practicing what I would say to her. I didn’t want to justify the use of the love potion, but it was also important that she know it hadn’t worked and that she had come to me of her own accord. I didn’t want her to forever question our relationship.

  When I returned to work the next day, she completely ignored me all day long. I tried speaking to her directly. I tried bumping into her, even literally. Nothing I did worked. She looked through me, as if I didn’t exist. I waited in the parking garage and followed her home, at a distance.

  Once I saw which house she had gone into, I went straight into rehearsing my speech. Even though I had prepared it the day before, I was still incredibly nervous. I couldn’t bear the thought of losing her forever. After a few runs, I felt confident. I got out of my car and headed up to the door.

  I knocked a few times, but there was no answer. I tried the knob. It was unlocked, so I went inside. The first room in her house was small and mostly unfurnished. I saw a lamp, a hutch and several pairs of shoes. The room led to the kitchen. I walked through, slowly. Once in the kitchen, I heard a sound down the hallway. I followed it into the living room to find Stella and Eugene on her couch kissing.

  “Oh my god,” I whispered, my keys slipping from my fingers and clanging against the hardwood floor of the hallway. It felt like everything within me dissolved and decayed. I was utterly empty. They stopped kissing and looked over, to see what the sound was.

  “Oh, uh, Camille?” Eugene craned his neck with a look of confusion.

  I ran out of the house and back to my car. I glanced behind me a few times along the way, but Stella never followed or called out to me. Once I got into my car, I broke down into tears. I cried out, banging my hands against the steering wheel, tears flying everywhere.

  Chapter 6

  The next day, I returned to work, puffy eyed and sleepless. My hair was a mess and I had abandoned make up and showering that morning. I avoided looking Stella in the eye, because the few times I tried it ended in a few quiet tears hidden behind my computer screen. As for Eugene, I hated him more than ever. I wanted to pity him, being nothing more than a rebound and having no clue about it, but I couldn’t. Something about him just seemed slimy to me. It always had.

  I waited until the end of the day to attempt to speak to Stella. I would have just left her alone, but I had been notified before work that we would be having another gathering that night. It was my duty to tell Stella, and my loyalties lied first with the coven. I stopped by her desk on my way out.

  “Tonight is the night we will learn more about Halloween. Same time, same place.” I stared into her eyes, waiting for a response. She didn’t open her mouth, but her eyes said it all. Her expression was cold, but regretful. It was as if she wanted to apologize, but couldn’t. I turned away, before any more tears could fall.

  That evening, at the meeting, Everley and the elders who had communicated with the entity took turns telling us what they had seen and heard. They didn’t describe anything in a physical sense. They didn’t give the entity a name, either. Instead, they just described what it had communicated to them.

  “When we called out, with the power of 13, and with the strong yearning in our hearts, we made a solid connection with the other world.” Everley paused and smiled while we gently applauded. “It was so strong that we received real instruction this time. That hasn’t happened often in my days as a witch, so we should be honored. The entity who spoke with us told us that we would have the opportunity to earn great power. This offering comes as a reward, not a gift. We are asked to bring forth a sacrifice. Now I know that we don’t often shed blood or commit violence as of late, but the power being offered to us is generous. This power is why most of us began our journeys. It is on
ly one kill for the coven, and we are told that it is important that it mean something to one or more of our members. In other words, we can’t just choose a person at random. We are taking this task very seriously, so please go home and consider whom you might nominate for this honor. We will report back here Thursday evening to discuss our options.”

  The meeting ended abruptly after Everley’s speech. No one had anything to say, as if we were all hanging on her words, considering them deeply. I was walking to my car, deep in thought about killing, and what it meant to me, when I noticed that Stella had walked up next to me. I glanced at her. She looked a bit wounded. Although I was unsure if we could patch things up, I thought she should still hear my side.

  “So I did make a love potion. I was mad about you, Stella, and I knew you loved me too. I couldn’t bear the thought of being away from you, but none of that matters, because it was wrong. I know it was the wrong thing to do and I am so deeply sorry. I don’t want to try and defend myself to you or smooth this over. It wouldn’t work anyway. The love potion didn’t even work. I made it wrong.” Her eyes darted back up to mine, twinkling with hope for the first time since Halloween night.

  “You made it wrong? That’s great news. And I know it doesn’t undo what happened, but I only invited Eugene over because I noticed you following me. He just lives a few houses down. I texted him because I wanted to make you jealous, or like get back at you or something. It was so stupid. I am sorry.”

  We had reached our cars. We didn’t have much else to say, but instead, she pulled me in for a long hug. I rocked her back and forth, my heart feeling broken, but somehow still in love. I didn’t want to let go. Eventually, she pulled away and got into her car without another word. I was unsure where we stood. I wanted to focus on this, but somehow my mind went back to the sacrifice. I wondered what she had thought. She hadn’t said anything about it. Had it not bothered her?