Touch of Fire (Into the Darkness Book 1)

by Jasmine B. Waters

  I’m sure she wouldn’t have brought me anywhere dangerous. I glanced around, trying to see my best friend. I mean, she wouldn’t have done that. Right?

  Still, I didn’t feel much calmer. Ligeia and I sat together in silence. She crossed her legs under her robes and cocked her head to the side.

  “Tell me, child, how many years are you?”

  “Fifteen,” I said nervously. “Same as Monica.”

  Ligeia nodded slowly. “She is elder,” she said.

  “Not by much,” I said quickly. “Just a couple of months.”

  “I don’t mean in age,” Ligeia replied. “Monica is a serious soul.”

  “I know.”

  It felt strange to be discussing my best friend with someone I’d never met. I couldn’t help but feel a pang of jealousy—did Ligeia know Monica better than I? Did Monica prefer being with the coven to being at home? Before all of this crazy stuff had started happening, I would’ve thought Monica was one of the most well-adjusted people I’d ever met.

  But now I seriously wondered.

  “The others are arriving,” Ligeia said in a low voice.

  I glanced around, twisting and craning my neck. “I don’t see anyone.”

  “Hush,” Ligeia said sternly. “Close your eyes. Open your mind. Listen.”

  Frowning, I closed my eyes and tried to listen. I felt like an idiot sitting there, rolling my head on my neck. But then, I heard the faint but unmistakable sound of footsteps crunching through the woods. My heart skipped a beat and I shivered.

  The low sound of chanting filled my ears and goose flesh broke out all over my body. Soon, I could feel the air swishing from the motions of the others.

  “Now, child, open your eyes,” Ligeia said. “But don’t move until I instruct you.”

  I opened my eyes and gasped. An old man—he looked ancient, at least as old as Ligeia—with wrinkled skin and dark eyes stood directly in front of me. Ligeia stood and the man kneeled at the ground, kissing her through her robes right where her pelvis would be.

  “Priestess,” the man whispered. Ligeia closed her eyes, tilted her head back, and placed her hand on the top of his white head. They stood like that together, frozen in time and space, for such a long time that I started to wonder whether or not they were actually breathing. Then the moment broke. Ligeia pulled her hand back to her side and the man climbed to his feet.

  I’d been so busy staring at the weird little display that I hadn’t noticed multiple other people filter into the clearing. They were all clad in black robes, with hoods covering their heads. They formed a loose circle around me. I tried to look for Monica, but she was nowhere in sight.

  Ligeia beckoned to me. “Come, child,” she said.

  I stood and walked over to her on two unsteady legs. Ligeia pulled at the rough homespun material of my robe, pulling it over my head and tossing it to the ground. I cried out, covering my body with both hands in an attempt to shield my breasts and pubic triangle.

  “Like this,” Ligeia said. She took my hands and pressed them down at my sides. My face burned with shame and embarrassment. I couldn’t see the faces of the robed people, but being naked while everyone else was still clothed made me deeply uncomfortable. I groaned under my breath.

  “Come, Henrik,” Ligeia said to the old man. He stepped forward and I gasped when I saw that he carried a wooden bowl full of thick, red liquid.

  Ligeia dipped the point of her knife into the liquid, then pressed it lightly to my skin. I cried out, thinking that she meant to cut. But the blade of the knife almost tickled as she dragged it in light lines over my naked, quivering belly. I shook with fear as she traced a symbol in red on my pale skin.

  “The pentagram represents us, child,” Ligeia said calmly. “The elements of the earth—that is from where we draw our strength. We must never harm the earth, we must never anger the Goddess.”

  I glanced down. There was a five-pointed star painted in dripping paint on my belly. When I breathed, the points of the star quivered and shook.

  Ligeia touched one of my shoulders with the blade of her knife, lying it against my skin. I squirmed—the sharp edge of the blade was now dangerously close to my neck—but Ligeia pressed the flat blade firmly into my skin.

  “You must swear your loyalty,” Ligeia said. “You must swear to obey the coven, to obey the earth.”

  I nodded.

  “Say it, child.”

  “I’ll obey,” I said in a shaky voice. “I’ll be forever loyal to the coven.”

  This time, my answer seemed to satisfy Ligeia. She tucked the knife away. It still felt strange to be standing there naked, but oddly I felt myself relaxing—almost as if I’d taken some kind of a powerful drug.

  Henrik, the old man, waved his hand through the air. As if on perfect cue, the robed people began to chant and sway. They moved in a slow circle around me, joining hands and moving rhythmically back and forth as they sang in a low, dull tone that filled me with dread.

  My mind slipped away and soon, it was a struggle to stay standing with my eyes open. Ligeia’s blue eyes flashed and she stepped forward, handing me an earthenware mug filled with a potent-smelling brew.

  “Drink, child. Drink until the mug is emptied.”

  I swallowed nervously as Ligeia held the cup to my lips. At first, I couldn’t taste anything. Then a bitter, unpleasant shock exploded in my mouth and I shuddered. I choked on the liquid but Ligeia pinched my nose with two fingers and tilted my head back, forcing the liquid into my mouth and down my throat. When it was done, I felt like my whole digestive system was on fire. Tears filled my eyes and I coughed, choking hard when Ligeia took the mug away.

  “Sleep, now,” Ligeia said. She waved her hand over my face. Like magic, I dropped to the ground and curled up in the soft grass. My vision grew hazy and it was a struggle to keep my eyes open. The robed people still chanted and sung, and it seemed like the sounds blurred together as I curled my arms around my legs.

  That was the last thing I remember before I fell asleep.

  ---

  When I woke, my head ached and my limbs felt swollen and sore. Everything hurt. My nose, my cheeks, my lips—even my eyelashes seemed to ache with every throb of my heartbeat. I lay in bed, in the hut, but this time it was dark. The hut was filled with a warm, smoky, almost sweet smell.

  “Child, you’ve awakened,” Ligeia said.

  I stared at her. “I feel awful,” I mumbled. “God, I think I’m gonna throw up.”

  Ligeia nodded. “It’s a side effect,” she said.

  “Of what?” Trying to think back was like wading through a fog. “What did… was that drink drugged?”

  Ligeia smiled faintly, but she didn’t reply.

  “What the hell?” I said.

  “You did promise your loyalty.”

  Fuck.

  I nodded. “Right,” I said. “Look, is Monica here? I want to talk to her.”

  Ligeia didn’t reply. “How are you feeling?”

  “I told you, I feel fucking terrible,” I said in exasperation. “What’s going on? What did you do to me?”

  “We initiated you,” Ligeia said. She raised an eyebrow and for a second, I had the oddest feeling that she was judging me.

  “Obviously,” I snapped.

  “Soon you’ll return to your world; you’ve been gone a long time,” Ligeia said.

  “And then what?” I narrowed my eyes. “Look… I wanted to join because I thought I could help, you know, with Jaffrey,” I said. “How am I supposed to do anything if I’m not even here?”

  “We’ll summon you when you’re needed,” Ligeia said.

  “But I won’t be able to come back on my own?”

  Ligeia shook her head. “No,” she said. “You’ll only be able to find the coven on your own after you become much more powerful.”

  “But how am I supposed to become more powerful if you send me away?”

  Ligeia gave
me an odd look. “What is it with you children now?” she said. “So argumentative. Are you no longer instructed to obey your elders?”

  I blushed.

  “Just trust me, child,” Ligeia said. “Henrik and I are much older, and much wiser. We know that what we’re doing is for the best of everyone involved.”

  I blinked. “Things are so… bad at home,” I said softly. “I can’t go back there. What if something happens to me and I can’t get back? Or what if something happens to Monica?”

  “Trust me, child,” Ligeia said. “I won’t allow anything to go wrong.”

  But things are already going wrong. I thought back to the terror that had suddenly become my hometown. Things are much worse than I ever could have imagined.

  “I know, you don’t believe me,” Ligeia said.

  “Stop reading my mind,” I snapped.

  Ligeia tutted. Just as I was about to say something else, she clapped her hands three times. The room was filled with an inky, dark smoke that filled my senses and made me cough.

  “Ligeia,” I cried loudly. “I can’t breathe! Help!”

  The smoke only grew more intense and soon, all I could see were swirls of black in front of my eyes. I felt strange, like my stomach was about to drop out of my body, and when I reached out to steady myself, my hands only groped air.

  The smoke faded but the weird sensation in my belly grew stronger and stronger. I cried out for help, desperately trying to anchor myself to the ground but then I realized I was falling.

  When the smoke finally cleared, I landed hard on something soft and firm.

  I gasped.

  I was no longer in the woods.

  I was in my bed.

  Chapter Two

  It took me a moment to realize that Ligeia had somehow transported me instantly from the coven to my bedroom. How had she done that? And furthermore, why the heck hadn’t Monica told me that things would be so… weird?

  I wasn’t sure what I’d been expecting, honestly. My knowledge of witches and witchcraft was pretty limited. Mom and Dad didn’t like me watching scary movies—I’d loved them when I was a kid, but after I started having nightmares, Mom said no more. It felt a little ridiculous… after all, I wasn’t a kid anymore.

  But I couldn’t lie—the whole initiation process had spooked the hell out of me.

  I hadn’t been in my room for more than five seconds when the door opened. Mom stepped inside, glancing around.

  “Oh, you’re back,” she said.

  I frowned. “Uh…”

  Mom shook her head. “Don’t worry about making excuses,” she said in a strangely toneless voice. “I don’t need to know, Elizabeth.”

  “I’m sorry, I was—”

  Mom held up her hand. I noticed that her eyes looked strangely glassy.

  “Really, Elizabeth, it’s fine. Just don’t fall behind in school.” Mom yawned. “You feel like having dinner with us downstairs?”

  My stomach was still weak and aching from whatever poison Ligeia had fed me, but I didn’t want to make any waves. I couldn’t believe my mom was acting so casually—normally she was the type to freak if I was gone for more than a few hours.

  “Um, Mom,” I said, sliding off my bed and stretching. “How long was I gone?”

  My mom turned to me and cocked her head to the side. “I… I don’t know,” she said. “A few weeks?” She shrugged. “I figured you and Monica were off, doing something fun. Anything would be better than hanging around here,” she added. “So, it’s not really like I can be mad, huh?”

  I stared. Am I dreaming, I wondered as I looked around my room. But the clock on the wall seemed to be correct, and my computer screen looked normal. Appliances don’t work in dreams. So this must be real. But why is she acting so strangely?

  “Are you okay, honey?”

  “Yeah,” I said quickly. “I’m fine. Don’t worry.”

  Mom nodded. “Okay, honey,” she said. “You look a little pale.”

  You think, I thought sarcastically. I’ve been stranded in the woods for weeks with a bunch of weirdo witches who literally poisoned me.

  Mom gave me a tentative smile, then walked out of my room, leaving the door open. As soon as she was down the hall, I quickly shut my door and lifted my shirt.

  There was no trace of Ligeia’s pentagram, or the red paint.

  Weird.

  I went down to dinner, half-expecting it to be a set-up where my mom unleashed anger at me for being gone so long. But if anything, it was one of the most normal dinners we’d ever had. Dad had his nose stuck in a paper, and my younger brother, Aidan, spent the whole time complaining.

  When Mom mentioned something about a militia, the hair on the back of my neck stood up.

  “What’s going on?” I tried to keep my voice as casual as possible. “Did something else happen?”

  Mom sighed. “Oh, honey—jeez, I’m glad you were gone for so long. You weren’t around to see all of this.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “All of… what?”

  Mom bit her lip. “The neighbors went missing,” she said. “At least… that’s what your father and I thought.”

  I stared at her. There were so many inconsistencies that I had no idea where I should even begin. For one thing, why did my mom care more about the neighbors vanishing than her own daughter? And had it occurred to her that they could have kidnapped me? Something very unusual is going on. I bit my lip, squirming in my seat.

  “Did they come home?” I asked quietly.

  Mom shook her head. “Linda died,” she said.

  “What?” My jaw dropped. “She was so young! They’d only been married for what, like five years?”

  Mom nodded. “Yes,” she said. “There was a coroner’s hearse at the house with a plain coffin. No funeral.” She leaned closer and lowered her voice. “It wasn’t allowed,” she added.

  A chill ran down my spine. “What?”

  “Yes,” Mom said hesitantly. She glanced at Aidan, but he was too concerned poking his food. “She… well, honey, she was accused of witchcraft. Her body was burned.”

  I swallowed. The food in my mouth turned to ash as I stared at my mother in disbelief.

  “You’re kidding,” I said softly.

  “No,” Mom said. She sighed. “It was terrible.”

  I licked my lips and forced myself to swallow. “I should really start to get caught up on homework,” I said. “I probably missed a lot.”

  Mom nodded. She still had that faraway, dreamy look in her eyes. “Yes,” she said. “That’s a good idea.”

  I shivered as I climbed the stairs and locked myself in my room. I had no intention of doing my homework. Instead, I grabbed my phone and dialed Monica.

  Come on, I prayed as the phone rang and rang. Come on, pick up! I need to talk to you!

  Monica’s voicemail came on and I sighed in disgust, hanging up before the chance to leave a message. Just as I was about to pull on my jacket and start the walk over to her house, my phone buzzed.

  “Hello?”

  “It’s me,” Monica said quickly. “What’s up?”

  “Are you home right now?”

  “Not exactly.”

  “Are you with David?”

  “Elizabeth, what’s up?” Monica said. She sounded weary. “Did you just get back?”

  “Yeah,” I said. “Look, I really need to talk to you. What the fuck is going on with my parents?”

  Monica sighed. “I’m sorry, Elizabeth. I can’t meet up right now. I’m working.”

  “On what?”

  There was a pause and I swallowed hard.

  “Oh,” I said quietly.

  “Yeah,” Monica said. “I’m sorry—I’m working with Henrik right now, and I can’t really take time off. We have to figure things out.”

  “I see. How did you know I called then? You can’t possibly have a phone in the co—the you know,” I said quickly.

 
“I sensed it.”

  I raised my eyebrows. “You must be getting stronger.”

  “Yes.”

  I sighed. “Okay. I’m sorry… I just… it feels really weird to be back here. My parents are acting like zombies and I have no idea what I’m supposed to do in order to help them.”

  “It’s because of Henrik,” Monica said quietly. “It’s… something he does. Remember when you went to see Jamie and Brian last fall?”

  “Oh.” I felt like an idiot. Why didn’t I realize they were being manipulated, I thought angrily.

  “Yeah. Look, Elizabeth—I’ve got to go. I’ll see you soon, okay?”

  “Okay.” A lump formed in my throat. I’d so been looking forward to seeing my best friend again that I felt a sudden wave of intense sadness.

  “Bye.”

  “Bye,” I echoed.

  Monica hung up and I flopped down on my bed, closing my eyes. This is so fucked up. I can’t even talk to the only other person in town who knows what’s going on… and it’s Henrik’s fault. Damn that old man, I added silently, snuggling into the blankets and resting my head on the pillows.

  Damn him.

  ---

  The next morning, I got dressed and decided that I’d set out in search of the coven. Ligeia had told me that I wouldn’t be able to find it on my own, but I wondered if she’d been lying.

  But hours later, after walking in literal circles, I felt discouraged. The sun sunk low in the sky by the time I got back home. Just as I was about to cross my yard and go into the garage, I heard a car pull up behind me. Great. This is seriously just what I need. I held my hands in the air, prepared to be dragged to jail once again.

  “Elizabeth?”

  That didn’t sound like a cop.

  Turning around, I saw Steven standing there with a big, goofy grin on his face. “I thought that was you,” he added. “How are you?”

  “I’m fine,” I lied. “How are you?”

  Steven stepped closer. His eyes sparkled with something… strange, something I’d only seen once before. A chill ran down my spine when I recognized the intense look—Steven had looked the exact same way, right before we’d had sex for the first (and only) time.