I turned to look at him and smiled. No words came out.
Aunt Vieta and Ellsy came to our side. They came in a different car. We had made our way to the beginning of the blue carpet and Logan, Ellsy, and my aunt stopped and motioned for me to continue down the path by myself. The elders were lined up waiting to greet all of us who were about to enter the Witch Avenue Coven. There were eleven of us entering this year.
“Beatrice,” Frank bowed his head and stuck out his hand, “we are so grateful you are joining us today. We were worried.”
Nobody called me Beatrice. Most people didn’t even know that was my name. I did my finest not to cringe as I took his hand. It was a limp handshake at best. His hand was cold and clammy. It wasn’t the best start to my journey down the carpet. I waited till his eyes came back up to greet mine. Frank was more of an acquaintance. He had been with the order longer than I was alive, but our family never seemed to intermingle with his. His black and grey hair was plastered back with shiny hair gel. I really wanted to get on to the next person.
“Thank you for understanding, Frank. I appreciate you allowing me to change my mind so many times. I know it couldn’t have been easy with planning,” I said, my voice flat.
“No issue at all. We knew you’d come around eventually,” he replied, letting go of my hand not nearly soon enough. “We all loved your mom. She will be missed. These things happen though.”
“Thank you,” I muttered and stepped back, looking into Frank’s eyes, for what, I didn’t know. He smiled at me, and then turned to speak with another.
‘These things happen?’ It’s not like someone accidentally hit a squirrel in a car.
The nausea overtook me, and I suddenly found myself glancing back at Logan and everyone. Logan, Aunt Vieta, and Ellsy were standing in front of the rhododendrons chatting with some of the other attendees. Logan looked over at me, sensing my glare, and threw a tight-lipped grin at me. I was certain he was close enough to have heard Frank’s words. I tried to smile back at him, but it wouldn’t come. Logan nodded at me and excused himself from the group he was with.
Logan’s stride was quick and deliberate, getting to me in only a few seconds.
“Are you okay?” Logan asked, his brows furrowed in disgust.
I shook my head.
“Do you want to go home?” His voice was stern.
I shook my head again. I glanced up the carpet to see seven other elders waiting to greet me.
“Will you walk up the rest of the way with me?” I asked.
“I don’t think that’s customary. But I think under the circumstances, they’ll have to get over it, won’t they?” He smiled at me, taking my hand.
“Thanks,” I whispered, stepping back into reality. I was strong enough to get through this.
Jenna was the next elder I had to greet and was only about five feet up the carpet. She was always full of grace and calmness. Her white hair cascaded down her long purple dress. She looked radiant. Her face was far younger than what the whiteness of her hair signaled. Jenna had accompanied my mom and me on some of our gathering trips, and I always enjoyed her company. I was relieved she was the next one I was to meet with.
“You know her?” Logan asked quietly in my ear.
I nodded and smiled back at him.
“My lovely Triss,” Jenna spoke in her usual way, pronouncing every syllable with purpose. She reached out her long, tapered fingers to mine. “You look beautiful.”
“Thank you,” I muttered. “I couldn’t let this dress go to waste that my mom and I picked out.”
Jenna glanced at Logan and back at me.
“This is Logan,” I said quickly. “I decided I needed a support system after greeting Frank first.”
I was shocked those words came pouring out to Jenna. I usually censored myself so much better.
“Oh no. I’m sorry, Triss. He seems preoccupied of late, and I’ve noticed a bluntness with him too.”
“Apparently,” I spoke, trying to dismiss whatever my subconscious wanted to bring up.
Logan grasped my hand a little tighter.
“Will you be staying for the Litha celebration after the ceremony?” she asked.
“For a little while,” I replied, wishing that we weren’t.
“Good, honey. I hope to visit more with you,” she replied.
I smiled at her and moved on down the line.
I had gotten through the next several elder meetings with little problem and was relieved that I was almost through the agonizing blue-carpet arrival. I was so thankful Logan was willing to tag along with me.
Brenda was the next to last elder whom I was familiar with. She was finishing up with one of the others, which gave me time to ponder what I was really doing here. It didn’t seem possible that I would be able to find out anything from the members. If someone wanted to keep a secret, that’s not a hard thing to do, and if there was any sort of information about my mom that one of these witches had, I’m sure that it wouldn’t be shared with anyone.
“Hey, don’t overanalyze right now,” Logan teased, touching my chin with his knuckle lightly. “I know it’s not how you wanted it but enjoy this as best you can.”
I looked into his blue eyes that were, for once, completely void of darkness. His guard was totally down.
“You look beautiful and your mom would be proud, especially with me by your side,” he joked.
I closed my eyes and couldn’t help but smile. Somehow, I had a feeling he was right.
“Thank you,” I muttered.
“Triss,” Brenda’s voice sang through the air. “I have something for you.”
I scurried over to her, completely baffled. Brenda and my mom had a long history together, but she was never really around much. I think she was someone my mom used to hang around with more when she was younger. Brenda was about fifteen years older than my mom was but didn’t look it. She had beautiful black hair that was cut in a bob, and a pretty turquoise necklace she was wearing accentuated her ice-blue eyes.
Logan let go of my hand and followed behind me.
Brenda reached down into her bag and pulled out a grey jewelry box.
“I doubt this is an appropriate time, but it doesn’t seem like there will ever be one,” she said.
I stood staring at her in complete surprise.
“This is from your mom. She had me custom design this based on a drawing she’d given me. Her plan was to give this to you today. I wanted to make sure you got it.”
My mouth felt as if someone placed a ton of cotton balls inside it. My hands were shaking as she gave me the little box.
“You don’t have to open it now. I just wanted to make sure you had it before you left,” Brenda said.
Logan placed his hand on my back. I think he sensed that I was about to lose it.
“Thank you, Brenda.” I smiled as best I could.
“She’d be proud of you. We all are. If there’s anything you need just let us know.” Brenda was doing her best not to let any emotions show.
I wanted to open up the box but was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to regain my composure for the ceremony. I looked up at Logan, and he held out his hand where I laid the tiny box. His hand closed up over it, and he placed it in his pocket.
“I’ll keep an eye on this for you. Just let me know when you’re ready,” his voice was full of understanding.
I moved to the last elder. Thankfully, he was kind and had no big surprises in store for me. It was time to go into the building where the ceremony was going to be held. I could hear my aunt talking with someone behind me. Everyone must be slowly making their way to the building.
I pulled on the heavy solid mahogany door, feeling the breeze on my skin as the air inside escaped. Looking around I was in complete awe. Meredith’s work was breathtaking. Vines were intertwined on the pews with roses, greenery, and ribbons swaying from the slightest movement. The ceiling had a beautiful canopy created out of lush green salal leaves and dangling white lilie
s. It was as if a mystical forest had been brought inside these four walls. Between the beauty of everything living that surrounded me and the fragrance of the greenery, I was overwhelmed. A strange comfort slowly built inside of me. This was the coven I grew up in, and I shouldn’t be so quick to judge and turn off everything that I had come to learn and love about these traditions.
“Thanks, Logan. I guess I’d better go meet with the other poor souls like me before our big moment,” I said smiling.
He leaned over and kissed me on my cheek causing a complete stir of emotions. His lips were so tender and soft. I quickly looked up at him, and saw him smiling at me waiting for a reaction. Before my mind caught up with my body, I landed a kiss back on his cheek and my lips lingered.
“I think they’re waiting for you,” he whispered. His deep blue eyes were twinkling as if I’d just answered something for him. “Keep your eyes open, just in case.”
Completely confused and mortified with myself, I turned around and found my way to the group that was waiting for me. I didn’t mean to lead him on, but there was something so easy about being with him. The awkwardness kept drifting away with every moment spent with him. It was almost like before.
“Hey, Triss, I’ll be sitting right over here if you need anything,” Logan yelled through the crowd that was now starting to enter the room.
I refused to make eye contact with him. This was not part of my plan. I needed to focus on my mom. In fact, this was her fault for thinking he should ever stay with us. I never would have thought about having him live at the house.
I was huddled with the group of us who were about to go up to the front of the room, hearing all the last-minute instructions. I briefly found myself feeling like I was up for Miss Universe or something. It made me chuckle. Hopefully, they weren’t expecting much out of me besides some of our traditional chants. I glanced over the audience and saw Logan. He was looking directly at me, his gaze burning through me. It sent a shiver up my spine.
Delibes’s “Flower Duet” from Lakmé started rolling through the speakers, and a smile came to my lips immediately. My only hope was that I wouldn’t start laughing. It was like a sign from my mom. Whenever I heard this song, I’d immediately think back to the movie Meet the Parents. It’s a beautiful song, but the memory of my mom and I rolling around in laughter to that movie puts it in a different category. Every wedding we go to seems to have this song. I looked around at everyone and they were all so completely serious. I looked out into the audience at Logan and saw he had a grin as well. I wondered why. And then once he did the ‘I’m watching you’ movement with his fingers, I knew what his grin was covering. We were totally from the same plane, and I did the gesture right back at him.
As the song trailed away, I followed the line up to the front of the room. We all had our own arrangement and set of candles to light. We were asked to pick flowers that were important to us. At the time I was asked to choose the flowers I wanted, my mom was still here. I certainly would have chosen differently now.
I looked down the line of us up on the platform and saw Kyle with daffodils, which were associated with respect. I tried to hide my grin. He always had an issue with that. I wondered if everyone actually learned the meaning or just picked flowers randomly. Leslie, who was next to me, had all chrysanthemums—almost every color imaginable. It kind of fit her personality. She was pretty scattered and happy-go-lucky. My arrangement was filled with ferns, roses, and flax, which represented fascination, fate, love, honor, faith, and protection. Maybe it actually had more meaning now than before.
Most of the elders were sitting in the front pew, but I didn’t see Brenda or Frank. The priestess was in the center of us all. I was just patiently waiting to light my candles, so I didn’t daydream the whole experience away.
“This is a very important first step in our world. As adults, these witches have made a choice. A choice that will be with them for the rest of their lives. To some, this might be the biggest commitment they’ll ever make or be faced with. For others, this might be one of the very small decisions they are faced with in their lives to come. No one can ever predict where life will take them. It is our job now to take each of these witches by the hand and help guide them wherever it is that life asks them to go.” The priestess paused, turning around, signaling us to light our candles.
We were all kneeling, and I was thankful I was at least closer to the arrangements this way. I grabbed the lighter and began lighting the candles, hoping this would end soon. The heat from the lighter started to sting my thumb, but I did my best to hurry on with lighting all the wicks. The flames gently swayed as I congratulated myself on lighting them all so quickly. I looked into the crowd and saw Aunt Vieta and Ellsy looking back at me very proud. I’m sure just as my mom would have been. I smiled at them both and whispered, “Love you.” They both blew kisses back to me, and I was relieved I didn’t skip this ceremony after all.
The priestess began walking down the line, bowl in hand, as she leaned over snipping a lock of hair from each of us. Every year when I saw this done, I always got the willies, and it didn’t seem like it was any better being on this side of things. She finally got to me. I leaned over the flower arrangement and she quickly cut not more than a centimeter, releasing it into the bowl. She turned back to face the coven and dropped a mixture of lavender, lemon, and other essential oils in the bowl, reciting the initiation chant. This was what would allow me into our library, and the excitement was building. My aunt was cupping her hands to her mouth in pride. I knew she was probably just as conflicted as I was. It was hard to completely let go of the sadness this day held. The priestess turned back to us and smiled before beginning again.
“The flames that you see here signify the spiritual energy that each of these witches has burning inside of them. The passion and resolve to do the right thing in this world and the next will continue to stay lit inside of them with all of your support. Our community is small in size but large in love. Let’s remember to always make time for our new members. Just as the flames dance in many directions so will these young peoples’ lives, and we must always be encouraging and—”
She stopped, looking straight back to the entrance to the room. I followed her stare to find a sight I never expected to see.
***
The wooden doors flung open like they were as light as cardboard. They smacked against the wall and bounced back, scaring the crowd and me. All the flames on our candles extinguished, and the air turned frigid. The doors slammed shut, and the lights went dark. The fear began building deep inside of me, but then it turned to anger, with my gut snarling and churning. This had to be directed at me.
The lights came back on as quickly as they were turned off. A shudder went through me. Standing in each corner was someone dressed in a red cloak, their faces covered completely by a hood. I had never seen anything like it. I quickly scanned the crowd and saw that Logan’s spot on the pew was empty. Panic spread through me. Was he involved in this? Aunt Vieta and Ellsy were whispering to one another nervously. I looked at the others next to me, and they were trembling. Why wasn’t I?
An apparition appeared in the center of the room hovering in the aisle. A gasp echoed through the crowd as it became apparent to everyone that this wasn’t something any of us had faced before. My eyes darted around the room looking for Logan, and I still didn’t see any trace of him.
The apparition wasn’t all that dissimilar to the one that I was faced with at the floral shop. I could see through this one as well, but something did seem a little different than the entity at the floral shop.
The being took in a deep, hollow breath and swung his arm around, instructing the red-cloaked figures to step forward. In a flash, each of the beings raised their wands and pointed at the crowd who gasped. They had to be black sorcerers.
A deep voice came from the back of the room as the doors were flung open for a second time, leaving Logan in the doorway glaring. The figures, still pointing their wands
at the crowd, turned their head to see the new participant.
“Are you looking for this?” Logan commanded, he was holding something up that I couldn’t see.
The cloaked beings pointed their wands at the ceiling and began torching the beautiful flower arrangements that had been hung from the rafters. The crowd started screaming as pieces of the flaming flowers began floating down from the ceiling.
“Deleo de anima,” the chant began from the black magicians.
“You cowards! Answer me!” Logan snapped, throwing the object he had been holding onto the ground toward the ghostly image.
My eyes watched the metal tumble to its landing spot under the being, and I could see that it was glowing with a red only hot metal could do.
“You!” A shrill scream echoed through the room from the being. The witches stopped casting their spells, and the apparition started flying toward Logan. A scream shot out of me, stopping the being only inches from Logan.
It slowly turned around to find where the scream came from, and I stood up to make its task easier.
“It’s me you want! Leave him alone!” I shouted.
My aunt gasped.
The apparition shot toward me, stopping short, hovering right in front of me. I looked at Leslie and whispered, “Run!”
Leslie darted, with the rest of the honorees following quickly behind. I didn’t know what was about to go down, but I didn’t want anyone else hurt.
“You don’t need to do this,” the priestess whispered. “Give them what they want.”
“They want me, and I’m not giving in quite so easily,” I stared at her coldly before returning my gaze at the hovering being. Apparently, the coven wasn’t nearly as supportive as I thought.
She stepped away from us, leaving me to wonder what was really going on here.
“We want you to follow in the footsteps of your mother,” a whisper met me from the ghostly being.
“And what does that actually mean?” I was seething with anger.
Witch Avenue Series (The Complete Set) Page 11
