Kanti

by J. R. Erickson

  "Marcus," Abby screamed. The witch, who was also Dante's lover, had been working on an addiction pamphlet for an awareness group and chosen not to participate.

  She ran through the loft screaming his name. Finally, bewildered, he stepped from a room, headphones over his ears. At the look on her face, he ripped them off.

  "What? What's happening?"

  "I don't know, hurry."

  They rushed back to the meditation room. Dante continued to foam, and with horror, Abby saw that it had a pinkish hue—blood.

  Marcus bent down and pressed his hands on either side of Dante's face.

  "He's burning up."

  Abby touched Sebastian's face. He felt hot as well.

  "Okay, calm down," she said mostly to herself. "We can do this. Marcus, is there any way to break the spell?"

  Marcus looked up at her frantically.

  "We've never had to."

  Abby closed her eyes. She ran through all that she had learned at Ula in the past several months. Elda had taught her an incantation to pull a witch from their astral travel. Abby didn't know if Dante's magic was astral travel, but it had to be similar.

  "I need a hook," Abby told him, already running back toward the kitchen.

  Marcus followed, though she knew he did not want to leave Dante.

  "A fishhook?" he asked, his eyes darting in every direction as if one might materialize before him.

  "Yes, or an object shaped like one. Something I can use to pull their consciousness back."

  "Ezra," Marcus bellowed, eyes lighting up. He sprinted across the loft and Abby continued to search through kitchen drawers and cupboards. She needed salt and water. She found a bottle of sea salt and filled a clear glass bowl with water.

  Returning to the room, she sat the bowl in the center of the circle of witches. They continued to move and cry out, but still no one woke. Abby walked a circle outside of the group, sprinkling salt on the floor. Along one of the window ledges, rocks and crystals were arranged on a swath of black cloth. She grabbed a hunk of obsidian.

  "Marcus, I need string or yarn," she shouted, not bothering to quiet her voice. Instead, she hoped it might startle one of them awake, but all of their eyes remained closed.

  Marcus dashed back into the room holding an apple-shaped pincushion and a sewing box jumbled with items. Abby picked through the box. She found a small roll of green thread.

  "Here." She handed it to Marcus. "Tie a piece of string to their ring finger on their right hand. Leave the string long, pull it into the center of the circle and leave it on the floor."

  Marcus nodded. He went to Dante first, and Abby saw the desperation on his face as picked up Dante's limp hand.

  Abby continued searching through the box. She found needles, safety pins, buttons and jewelry pliers, but no hook. She took out one of the safety pins and, using the pliers, carefully bent the pointed end into a hook. It was rustic, but she thought it would work.

  She helped Marcus finish tying the thread and drew the ends of the string toward the center bowl. She tied all the ends around the heavy piece of obsidian that she had plucked from the window ledge and then rested it in the water.

  "What can I do?" Marcus asked. He squatted close to Dante, brushing hair back from his face. "Victor looks okay," he said suddenly. "He's the only one not moaning."

  Abby looked at Victor, who had slumped forward, but otherwise sat very still. His body did not tremble. Abby went to him and touched his neck.

  "He's not hot."

  She considered trying to wake him, but shook her head.

  "It doesn't matter. We need to do this, now. Join me in the center. I'm going to reach into the astral plane and try to hook them with this." She held up the crude hook. "I need you to sit with me and channel your energy into the water. I'll need all of the power we can conjure."

  They sat on opposite sides of the bowl. Abby submerged her hand in the water and grabbed the rock. She felt an immediate sense of ease coupled with a buzzing energy. The blue light, nestled at the base of her spine, came to life.

  She closed her eyes and envisioned the water pouring into her body, awakening each cell. The weight of her body grew lighter until she began to feel that she could detach and float away. She focused that lightness into the green string. Her consciousness drifted out beyond the realms of this world. She soared through darkness and starlight. In her body, she lifted the hand with the hook. She did not have an astral body. Only a shimmering geyser of light that encompassed everything and nothing. When she encountered that same light before her, she knew she had found one of her friends. In her body, the hook slipped forward and caught the green string that connected to Sebastian's finger. She felt his light resist her, but then suddenly as if something had snapped, the light drove toward her in a rush. The impact nearly sent her back into her own body, but she fought the urge to get sucked back into the meditation room.

  Harnessing the pulsing blue light, she continued. Again and again, she encountered the magnificent light that belonged to one of the other witches. Each time, their energy initially denied her, but then some tether broke and they returned to their bodies.

  The last witch that Abby had to pull back was Victor. Though neither of them had bodies in her space, she recognized his energy. Unlike the others, Victor did not resist her. Instead, his energy pulled her. She felt the blue light within her growing dim as her light was absorbed in his.

  In her body, she waved the hand with the hook madly and clutched the obsidian. She started to feel that her very essence would be consumed by Victor's light. That once he took her completely into himself, her soul would leave her body and be stuck forever in an astral darkness.

  "What's happening?" Sebastian's familiar voice echoed to her from the physical world.

  Suddenly another light appeared behind her. A friendly energy that drew her forcefully back. She exploded into her body and started to fall backwards. Sebastian caught her. Slowly her eyes focused on the room. She pressed her hand against her chest and tried to slow and lengthen her short, rapid breaths.

  "It's okay," he told her, pulling her fully against him. She turned and buried her face in his neck.

  She still felt the terror as Victor's light had begun to absorb her own. Her whole body shook with the tension of trying to escape that overwhelming pull.

  She looked into Sebastian's face.

  "Are you okay?" She searched his eyes and saw his panic subsiding.

  "I was buried alive," he told her. "I thought I had died."

  ****

  Lydie slipped on her cloak and pulled the hood over her face. She carried her satchel down to the lagoon and climbed into a rowboat.

  "Wooden oars deft and true

  Guide me without guiding you

  Swift and strong

  We'll move with grace

  Now take me to the open space."

  She spoke the incantation that Max had taught her to make the boat row on its own. She touched the oars lightly with her fingertips and allowed some of her energy to move into the wood. The boat jerked and then glided smoothly into the lagoon. She turned and waved at the castle, though she doubted that any of the witches watched her leave.

  Despite the frosty day, the sun shone brightly in a cloudless blue sky. Oliver and Julian had accompanied Abby and Sebastian to Chicago. Lydie had not been invited. She knew why. She was twelve years old, a child in their eyes. She wondered if they would ever see her as more.

  As the boat slid beneath the rock face and into the dark tunnel that left the island, Lydie lit a ball of fire in her palms. It bobbed and swayed with the rocking of the boat. The light cast away the shadows and she allowed the breath that she had been holding to release in a rush. She had never liked the dark shaft through the cliff. It spooked her as a small child. She remembered her father holding her tight and pointing out the tiny bats that lined the ceiling of the cave.

  "Bats above and water below," her mother had joked, looking uneasy as well.

>   Lydie knew that her parents always felt out of sorts at Ula. They loved the witches, but the island itself made them claustrophobic. Whenever they returned home from a visit, her parents insisted they run wild through the woods. Barefoot, Lydie often naked, they weaved through the forest, springing over logs and scurrying up trees like squirrels.

  Lydie trailed her fingers in the icy water. She could have conjured her fire energy to stay warm, but she rather enjoyed the bite of the cold. It cleared her mind. As long as she focused on the sting in her fingertips, she didn't have to think about Max, Dafne, her parents and more—so much more.

  She pulled her personal Book of Shadows out of her bag. Helena had helped her make the leather-bound book several years before. It included her journal, her experiments with magic and, recently, her dream of the future. Lydie liked words, but she loved pictures.

  She flipped to an empty page and took out her charcoal pencil. She drew a house nestled high in a tree—similar to the cabin that the Ula witches had built in her dream room. Tiny rocking chairs sat on the wraparound porch. A swing hung from a branch, more than a hundred feet in the air. She started to draw a spiral staircase wrapping around the huge trunk and then erased it. Too easy for enemies to get in that way. Instead, she created a rope ladder that could be easily pulled in. Birds, chipmunks and raccoons filled the branches and peeked out from thickets of dense leaves. In a large window, she sketched the profile of a man. She imagined a mix of Oliver and Sebastian, but with wild reddish hair like her father had.

  She laid her pencil down and studied the drawing. She could do it. She could have that life. She wouldn't be afraid. She would marry a powerful witch and together they would be safe.

  She stared out at the choppy waves of Lake Superior. The Coven of Ula did not lie close to any shore. Only water greeted her as she gazed at the horizon.

  She leaned over the side and peered into the lake. A speck of black caught her eye, but it disappeared under the boat before she could see it clearly. She conjured a flame and encased it in a bubble shield. Moving to the other side of the boat, she dropped the fire into the water. It illuminated the darkness and she screamed, reeling back into the boat. Dafne, her black hair fanning out, had been staring back at her. She moved back to the side and gripped the boat edge, once again looking into the depths. Lydie saw only her reflection. Any trace of Dafne had vanished.

  Chapter 26

  The chaos in the room made Abby's head spin. Dante had awakened, but began to choke on the spit and blood in his mouth and lungs. Marcus rolled him onto his side, where he heaved onto the floor.

  Julian, still disoriented, went immediately to Dante's aid. He pulled open his eyelids and pressed along his chest and throat. Finally, he pushed Marcus out of the way and lifted Dante up, thrusting his fist into Dante's belly. Dante began to choke and sputter, gasping for air. In a whoosh, he threw up a stream of saliva and dirt. The dirt, turned to mud, poured out of his mouth as Julian carefully lowered him to the ground.

  "Get him a glass of water," Julian barked at Marcus, who fled the room looking terrified at what Dante's body had surrendered.

  Sebastian looked shocked.

  "What is it, what's happened?" Kendra asked, struggling to her feet and swaying woozily. She tried to maintain her balance, but pitched to the side and landed on her elbow with an audible crack. She screamed in pain. Ezra, who watched the fall with a dreamy far-off expression, opened her eyes wide at Kendra's cry. Ezra did not try to stand, but crawled to her friend on hands and knees.

  Oliver watched the scene with his own matching expression of bewilderment. He shook his head as if to rid his ears of water. His eyes came to rest on Abby.

  "What happened?" he asked, as if she had an answer. In the unfolding confusion, she could not find her voice, but just stared back at him helplessly.

  Marcus rushed back into the room as Dante vomited another gush of blood and dirt.

  Julian held Dante across his legs. He pressed his fingers to his neck. Dante's skin had begun to take on a grayish hue.

  Marcus tried to hold the water to Dante's mouth, but he seemed to be losing consciousness.

  "What's wrong with him?" Ezra exclaimed. She had made it to Kendra and they sat on the floor, arms wrapped around each other, both looking scared and disoriented.

  "Abby, we need your blood," Julian said.

  Abby looked at him, trying to understand what he was saying.

  "Elda said there are vital healing compounds in your blood. We need some of it. Now!" His sharp tone startled her out of her reverie, and she struggled to standing with Sebastian's help.

  "It's okay," she told him, seeing the concern in his eyes. "Julian's right. It helped Helena—we have to try."

  "Victor," Julian shouted. Victor still sat on his small meditation cushion. His eyes were open and a tiny smile played on his lips, but he didn't appear to be present in the room.

  "Victor?" Oliver snapped, moving to Victor and shaking him roughly. "Snap out of it."

  When Victor still did not reply, Julian turned to Ezra and Kendra.

  "We need medical supplies to do a blood transfusion. Where can we get those?"

  "Josh," Ezra replied quickly. She held on to Kendra's hand until she got her feet firmly beneath her. "Josh helps with our medical clinic in the city."

  "There's no time to waste," Julian said.

  "I'll help," Oliver said, following Ezra from the room.

  Dante had stopped throwing up, but his breath came in short rasping bursts.

  Without thinking, Abby moved toward him and squatted down. She put her hands on Dante's back. His energy thrummed beneath her fingers. As she drew her hands down his back, she noticed a slowing to the energy. She pressed her hands into his back.

  "We need to flip him over," she told Julian.

  They carefully rolled him onto his back. His eyelids fluttered and then closed.

  Abby drew her hands to his stomach. She lifted his shirt and laid her palms flat on his abdomen, then closed her eyes and tried to feel into his body with her mind. She traveled through the waves of energy and found the slow-moving vibration. A dark mass seemed to have lodged itself just below his diaphragm. She massaged slowly in a circle. Though she did not feel a growth in his body, she knew that something toxic had taken hold of him in that place. She felt her hands growing warm and then hot as she touched him. The dense energy started to loosen. She guided it down toward his feet, feeling that if she offered it an escape route, it would take it, and flee his body.

  Julian made a similar sweeping motion over Dante's body toward his feet. Abby felt the cells begin to move faster as the darkness dissipated and slipped away.

  "Camphor oil? Or charcoal?" Julian asked Kendra.

  She held her injured elbow and nodded.

  "Marcus," Kendra said, beginning to get color back to her face. "In my medicine cabinet there's a blue bottle of camphor. It's on the bottom shelf next to the oil blends."

  "Got it," he said and hurried from the room.

  "And cotton rags or an old T-shirt," Julian called after him.

  "You've got the touch," he told Abby and smiled.

  Abby forced a smile back, but her whole body trembled with the effort. As Dante's vibration increased, she felt her own energy wane.

  "Not much longer now," Julian assured her, sensing her fatigue.

  Marcus returned with the camphor oil. Julian held the bottle in both his hands. He closed his eyes and Abby noticed that his lips moved, almost imperceptibly. He uncapped the oil and doused the T-shirt, carefully wrapping it around Dante's feet.

  "What will it do?" Marcus asked.

  "Pull the toxins out and bind them to the oil."

  "Toxins?" Kendra asked.

  "It's toxic, that's for sure," Abby agreed.

  Finally she felt the heaviness move out of Dante's body. As she smoothed her hands over his legs, a sudden tingling drew up her arms. The grayness began to drain from his body and his face.

  "It's
gone," she sighed, relieved.

  Sebastian stood behind her, rubbing her shoulders. She leaned back against his legs and took one of his hands.

  "We still need the transfusion," Julian said.

  Abby felt Sebastian bristle behind her.

  "I know you're exhausted, Abby, the hardest part is over. Do you have a bath here?" Julian directed his question at Kendra.

  "Is it really necessary?" Sebastian asked.

  "Yes. He was throwing up blood. Something is damaged in there. From what I understand, her blood will heal just about anything."

  Kendra watched her with interest.

  "It's okay, I want to," Abby assured them.

  "There's a bath," Kendra answered. "Marcus designed it. He's a water element too. It will be perfect."

  ****

  "What can I bring you?" Sebastian asked as Abby slipped beneath the hot water.

  She closed her eyes and moaned as the water moved over her aching body.

  "Just sit with me?"

  "Of course."

  He perched on the edge of the tub, moving behind her so that he could lean down and gently massage her scalp.

  "What happened?" she asked.

  A part of her wanted to sit in silence and allow the water to rejuvenate her, but she wanted Sebastian's story while they were alone.

  "I think she was buried alive—Kanti," he said tensely. "There was dirt everywhere. I could feel it suffocating me. I felt like I was ripping off my fingernails clawing at the dirt. It was so heavy and dark. I don't think I've ever been so scared."

  She reached up and rubbed his leg.

  "You shouldn't have done it."

  "It was the same for Dante," Sebastian told her. "I'm sure of it. You saw the mud he was coughing up. How is that possible? We were sitting here in the loft. How did that mud get inside of him?"

  "There was something else inside of him too," Abby said, shuddering. She thought of that dark energy pulsing in Dante's abdomen.

  "I saw it. I watched you push it out of him. Was it her? Kanti's spirit?"