by D. H. Davis
I don’t know what to answer. She’s right; it doesn’t make sense.
“Could the old school witches not have stolen some vamp blood and found out it’s useful for this kind of thing?” Jessie asks.
“No, it has to be freely given. That means if anyone has done this ritual before it would have been with the help of a vampire.”
I’m shaking my head in disbelief even as I’m speaking. “I knew the Elders weren’t telling me the full story,” I mutter.
“What do you mean?” Jessie asks.
“The reason for the war, what do you know of it?” I enquire, realising that Jessie may have a different interpretation of events.
“It all goes back to these guys, Theodore and Frances years ago, they fell in love but her coven forbade their relationship and arranged Frances a marriage to a fellow witch that she couldn’t stand. Apparently, he was a right arsehole and did some pretty awful stuff to poor Theodore,” Jessie tells us. “From what I can remember being told when I turned, he cast that many incantations on Theodore that his mind broke and he went on a murderous rampage which then sparked the war. Why, is that not what happened?”
“The Elders showed me a vision of them and I saw the fiancé being awful to Theodore but they implied to me that the love was one sided, that Theodore was misguided and therefore being a nuisance. They only showed me a fraction of the story and then told me the rest. I always thought it didn’t quite add up.” I’m baffled by this revelation.
“So really, we’re to blame?” Eve wonders aloud.
“I think there’s enough blame on both sides,” Jessie assures her. “Both our ancestors did some barbaric things, but yeah, I think initially back in the day, our species got on and it was one coven of witches that decided they didn’t want cross breeding to occur.”
“Bloody hell!” Eve exclaims as she dives onto the sofa and stretches out. “Why are people such tools? I mean imagine how cute your baby would be. Not only duel heritage but also duel supernatural. Freaking adorable!”
I can’t help but burst into a fit of laughter and so does Jessie. The thought of us having a baby was hilarious but also just what we needed to lighten the very bleak mood that had taken over. You can always count on Eve for an awkward change of direction.
“Despite whatever happened in the past, surely it’s a good thing that my blood’s what’s needed?” Jessie wonders. “Doesn’t that mean we can just get this thing done and find out what’s actually going on?”
“Unfortunately not,” I answer. “The ritual has to take place on a full moon in order to harness its power.”
Jessie looks disappointed. I think he was quite excited by the prospect of being involved in a ritual.
“Two weeks today,” Eve pipes up, waving her phone at us. “That’s the next full moon. There’s an app we can download to track it to know when it’s at its apex.”
“Yes!” Jessie cheers pumping his fist in the air in celebration.
Eve and I smirk at each other finding his excitement cute.
“Okay, operation ritual, two weeks today. Gives us plenty of time to practice and get a solid plan in place,” I say, closing the book, feeling that we’ve done enough head hurting work today.
“Indeed. Now I’m gonna love and leave you guys. Promised Owen I would give him a lift to some nerdy event he’s got. Try not to make that baby while I’m gone.” Eve giggles to herself after winking at us and heading out the door.
For the first time ever we are alone in Jessie’s apartment and I find myself feeling nervous. Obviously, we aren’t going to be making a baby like Eve, so kindly, suggested but it’s also the first time I’m alone with my boyfriend somewhere where we don’t have to worry about who can see us.
Jessie is closing the door behind Eve, as naturally she didn’t close it herself. I don’t know what comes over me, I’m not really thinking, I just act instinctively with a sudden found confidence. I make my way over to the door so that when Jessie turns back to face me, I’m there. Before he can speak, I’m kissing him. My hands are either side of his face, my fingers running through his hair.
I can tell he’s surprised as it’s a minute before his arms embrace me back but when they do, it’s electric. He runs his hands along my thighs until he reaches my bum and then in a split second, he lifts me so that my legs are wrapped around his waist. He then flips us around, so it’s me that’s pressed against the door with him holding me effortlessly in the air.
After some time of kissing, Jessie carries me over to the sofa and lies me down. He looks at me longingly before slowly climbing on top of me. His fangs are out and for some reason, I like it. I guess I know now that it means he really is into me.
We begin kissing again, deep passionate kisses that make my entire body tingle. I don’t shudder when Jessie’s hands run over my body, I just reciprocate. For the first time ever I feel like I might want to take that step further. I stop kissing him and start to sit up.
Jessie takes his weight off me, allowing me to do so. He looks concerned but before he can say anything I lift my top up over my head, revealing my bra and throw it to the floor. Thank god, I opted for something nice and lacy today and not just a sports bra like usual. I lean back in to continue kissing him but he pulls away.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, immediately embarrassed that I’ve read this situation wrong and made a fool out of myself. Jessie looks at me endearingly and strokes my cheek.
“You have no idea how much I want to,” he replies, definitely glancing down at my chest as he says it. “You are incredibly difficult to resist but I’ve never actually cared about someone like this before. I don’t want to rush it. You deserve your first time to be special and not just on my sofa in the middle of the afternoon.”
I throw my head back on the sofa and sigh. It’s probably the nicest but most frustrating thing anyone has ever said to me.
“You deserve more, Brooke,” he adds.
I smile back at him and stroke his cheek showing him I appreciate the gesture.
“Couldn’t have mentioned that before I took my top off?” I joke and we share a laugh. He leans in to kiss me again but this time it’s a soft, gentle loving kiss, not a throws of passion kiss. The moment has definitely passed.
Chapter Fourteen
It’s an excruciating two weeks, knowing we have a lead but not being able to use it yet. Weird occurrences across Arcane Grove are increasing, which only adds to my desire for time to speed up. Animals have started acting bizarrely, meaning that the town’s ordinary residents are starting to freak out too. There are reports of people’s pets suddenly behaving out of character; dogs and cats howling and crying all day and night, refusing to leave their homes, rabbits escaping their hutches to burrow deep into the ground and parrots repeating ominous phrases such as, ‘It’s coming’. Partner that with the fact that days seem to be getting shorter even though it’s mid-May and you can understand why there’s hysteria in town.
The news broadcasters are reporting some line about global warming affecting the sun and an illness spreading amongst animals, which ordinaries seem to be eating up. The coven on the other hand knows it’s more than that. Dad and the Elders are still convinced it’s a vampire; they’ve even floated a theory that a vampire killed the witch for her incantation books and has found a way to use its magic. I personally think this is preposterous. They are just so set on their hatred of vampires that they aren’t considering any other options. After a brief apology from dad and the Elders about how they’ve been treating me and an empty promise about being honest with me from now on, nothing has changed. They haven’t admitted to keeping information from me and they are still having secret meetings without me that they think I’m unaware of.
Jessie spoke to his clan and believes that they really don’t know anything, they are just concerned he’s in the middle of something dangerous and surrounded by a bunch of witches that will offer him no mercy. If only they knew how much I cared for him, I won’t ever l
et that happen.
Eve listened to the call on loudspeaker unbeknown to them and she seemed satisfied with their lack of information too; all the chaos of impending danger seems to have increased the reach of her powers. Besides, the Elders carried on and completed the boundary ritual so even if they wanted to come to town to get Jessie, they couldn’t. Everything is starting to add up to make the looming ritual even more important.
We’ve been meeting at Jessie’s daily to run though how to perform the ritual and make sure we all know what to expect. Eve and I have also been reading through the rest of the book. How often do you get the chance to read something like that?
Jessie’s even cooked me dinner a few times when my parents think I’m with Eve. Turns out before he went off food, he was a pretty good cook. To my disappointment, none of our dinner dates progressed to anything more than some horizontal kissing but it’s still nice. I find my feelings growing deeper each day that passes.
When it finally reaches the day of the full moon, me, Jessie and Eve can hardly contain ourselves. We wait until nightfall, which today has begun at quarter past three in the afternoon, and start putting our plan into action. We are going to head to the Spinny. We decided it would be the safest place to proceed as we need to be able to channel the earth and much to Eve’s disappointment, we can quite literally sit in the dirt there.
Eve meets me at mine and we retrieve the book from under my bed. We used a glamor incantation to hide it, one that requires a pinprick of both our blood to reveal what’s being hid. We figured a two-tear lock approach was safest and considering the book uses blood to reveal its content, we thought why not use it to hide it too.
Once we tell my parents I’m staying at Eve’s tonight to study for an English mock exam, we rush to meet Jessie. We clamber through the bushes to the clearing where me and Jessie shared our first kiss to find a ready drawn out ritual circle. Jessie has used green spray paint to draw in the dirt a large circle with the coven’s crest in the middle of it and a cross at opposing ends, marking the exact positions where Eve and I need to sit.
“Nice work, Jess,” Eve commends his efforts, turns to me and winks. “He can follow instructions, that’s good to know, B.”
“What can I say,” Jessie grins. “The twenty WhatsApps may have helped,” mocking Eve’s pedantic nature.
I head to the centre of the circle and carefully place the book down on top of the coven symbol, opening it to the page we require. I feel Jessie’s hand on my back, “Are you sure you still want to do this?” Concern is in his voice, he’s worried we’re taking on too much. It’s endearing but also unjustified.
“I wouldn’t attempt it if I didn’t think I could do it. Besides, if we don’t who will? Dad’s lost the plot, he won’t listen to anything I’ve got to say.”
I spin around and give Jessie a soft kiss on the lips. As I pull away and look at him, I leave my hands on his cheeks.
“I’ll be fine. Don’t worry.”
“Yeah, I will be too – thanks for asking,” Eve smirks, patting Jessie on the arm then taking her seat on one of the crosses in the circle, contorting her face as she comes into contact with the mud. I quickly follow suit and get sat down on my mark.
“Here goes then,” Jessie sighs and we all stare at each other for a moment taking deep breaths. (Well, not Jessie, but if he were alive he would be.) The enormity of the task we’re about to do finally starts sinking in.
Jessie bites into his right wrist and lets his blood drip to the ground next to where the book is lay. It doesn’t take long before his wound heals, another vampire perk, and he glances at me to check it was enough blood. I nod and he leaps into the air and lands on a branch in the tree, getting out of the circle swiftly, as we had instructed.
Eve and I take out our coven knives that every witch owns. Each have the coven’s crest on the handle to use for powerful incantations and rituals that require blood. They are usually gifted to us on our sixteenth birthday; mine has a deep purple handle while Eve’s is hot pink; a request she made prior to her birthday and I’m pretty sure it had to be especially made.
Simultaneously, we slice across our left palms, drawing enough blood to drip on top of Jessie’s. As the book predicted, once the earth was happy with the amount of blood offered, the drawn out markings of the ritual circle turned a brighter green, informing us it has begun.
Eve and I sigh then stretch out our arms so we are holding hands. As rehearsed, we count to three then shout the incantation, “Revelare vis tenebris!”
Instantly, I feel a throbbing through my entire body. It’s as though I can feel the power from the earth flowing through my veins. My hands grow warmer by the second as I draw from Eve’s power and she from mine. It’s a euphoric sensation.
After a second count to three, we shout the incantation again and the green markings of the ritual circle become fire. We are now encircled by blazing green flames, preventing anyone or anything from entering our ritual. Our eyes meet as we both take a breath and count to three for the last time.
“Revelare vis tenebris!” we scream as loud as our voices will carry and with that, everything stops.
We are no longer in the Spinny, still a dark, deserted place but not overgrown with greenery. There is a brisk wind sending a chill down my spine and an eerie feeling in the air. Jessie is nowhere to be seen, so I know it’s working. I glance at Eve who is also attempting to soak in her surroundings.
“Whatever you do, don’t break the circle,” I remind her. We don’t know what we’re going to see but if we let go it will disappear.
Eve nods.
“Where do you think we are?”
“I dunno but it’s familiar for some reason,” I tell her.
It’s only now that my eyes come into complete focus that I notice the grave stones around us. My heart thuds in my chest. This is the setting from my last dream.
Before I can tell Eve, we hear a noise coming towards us. As I squint, in front of me I can make out two figures approaching. One is stood tall while the other appears to be hovering horizontally in the air. I instantly panic that they are heading straight to us but Eve tightens her grip on my hands, reminding me that they won’t be able to see us.
As the figures reach their destination, it becomes clear that the leading figure is a woman. They’ve stopped to our right and the woman flicks her wrists out in front of her and a stone slab appears out of thin air. Clearly, this woman is a powerful witch if she can conjure without words, not many can. A second flick of her wrist sends the floating figure falling onto the stone slab.
I realise now that he is a young man and that he is unconscious. We watch intently as the woman begins drawing a ritual circle with red paint in the ground around the stone slab and to our dismay, she then fills the circle with our coven’s crest. We widen our eyes as we realise she is one of us. But who? She hasn’t come into the crimson moonlight enough for us to see her face.
“You don’t know how lucky you are,” the woman’s voice is cold. “You get to be the key to unleashing true power on this earth.” She’s talking to the unconscious man. “Your sacrifice will not be in vain, the things I will be able to do will be truly phenomenal.”
Suddenly, there are muffled voices in the distance and this startles the woman. She places crystals around the stone slab and then spills some of her blood onto the unconscious man’s forehead.
There is a crowd of people approaching and as they draw near, the woman shouts, “Amplificet Potentia!” Red flames rise from the earth in place of the ritual circle. The same red flames from my dream.
I hear a man shout at her to stop the madness before she kills everyone and I search for the location of this voice, to my amazement, finding my father at its origin. He is thinner with darker hair and youthful good looks, clearly this was some time ago. He raises his arm to the flames, shielding his face and I can see his flesh incinerate away. He is yelling at her that the incantation won’t work but she is convinced that it will.
The light from the flames now allows me to capture sight of her face.
She is tall and slim with long, flowing, red hair. She has an attractive face with pointy features. If evil wasn’t radiating from her, then you really would think she is quite beautiful.
The crowd are now throwing green energy balls; the ones that belong to our coven. As I scan the witches that are fighting to stop her, I realise that I recognise most of them; they’re all more youthful versions of the people I know today. They aren’t having much luck though, nothing is penetrating her fiery circle and she continues to recite her incantation. The outlook appears bleak and I can feel my heart racing as I worry they won’t be able to stop her but then, on her third chant, something goes wrong.
The flames begin to descend on her and the unconscious man. The red-haired woman lets out harrowing screams as she is engulfed by the flames and then there is a small explosion of red light and fire until she is left in a heap on the ground. The unconscious man is now a crisp corpse on the slab but she is breathing shallowly.
We abruptly break out of the vision at such a force that we are thrown apart and out of the ritual circle. The green flames have disappeared, just the dirty blood stained ground remains.
“Brooke!” Jessie calls as he effortlessly leaps down from his perch and swoops me into his arms.
“I’m fine,” I assure him, embracing his hold back.
“Eve, you okay?” he checks.
“Consider my mind blow, Jess but yeah, I’m good,” she replies jumping to her feet, clearly not wanting to be sat in mud any longer than she has to.
“What happened? Did it work?” Jessie fires questions at us as we head over to lean on a tree trunk. “It has to be the freakiest thing I’ve ever seen. Your eyes went all white like you were in a trance and you went all stiff.”
I hadn’t thought about what we must have looked like to an onlooker not seeing what we saw. We explain the vision in as much detail as we can to Jessie and once we’re finished, he looks as shocked as I feel.
