by V. M. Marsh
Shifter Elder joined us next and seemed just as surprised to see me. He prowled the clearing perimeter until Mage Elder came. I hoped his fond smile would work in my favor.
“Emma! What a delightful surprise.” Mage Elder exclaimed. “What can the Council do for you?”
Shifter Elder joined us in the center, but did not sit as a Mage Elder did. At least he had stopped prowling, even if he did stand there with a scowl and crossed arms. Brownie Elder did not look any happier to be here. Nerves bubbled uncomfortably in my stomach.
“Thank you for coming, especially since I did not schedule an appointment. I’ve come to speak with you about Lars.”
Brows rose on three faces as surprised glances were exchanged between them.
“First, he has agreed to take on Bradley as seen in my vision.”
Mage Elder and Brownie Elder broke into wide smiles. I was dismayed Shifter Elder still seemed unhappy. Well, at least two out of three might be on my side, although, it might need to be a unanimous decision.
“I respectfully request a change to my marriage arrangement. Jace and I are only a good platonic match; I don’t see how we are supposed to produce children from that, especially since my heart belongs to another.”
It was difficult not to cower under the frowns of our three most respected Circle members. That they were displeased with my announcement was an understatement. Still, I pressed on.
“I can’t do what’s expected of me. I’m sorry. I tried to get used to the idea, but it’s not going to work for me. Jace and I will never be more than friends, and I want to be with someone else.”
“Lars,” Shifter Elder spit out in a growl. “I knew he’d bring only trouble our way.”
Mage Elder patted my hand. “I’m sorry, dear. You know the rules, and he isn’t a Circle member. He’s just not Circle material, especially with his little fire power.”
My brows drew together. “His magic has increased since he last lived here. He’s actually quite powerful now-“
“That might be,” Mage Elder interrupted while shaking his head. “That is not enough to marry a Circle member.”
“He also has developed Perception and Space Distortion. Both of his powers are quite strong.”
Mage Elder and Brownie Elder seemed shocked, but also quite pleased as they whispered to each other. I squelched the desire to roll my eyes at Shifter Elder’s unchanged expression. Damn, he was difficult to illicit a reaction from. He’d been this way as long as I could remember, but I always assumed it was a front for the Circle to make everyone feel secure in his leadership.
“That is absolutely remarkable. His family hasn’t shown any signs of magic in generations, yet here he comes out of the blue with not one, but two impressive powers. We are very intrigued and would like to learn more.”
Perky Emma was just about to make an appearance with hand clapping and bouncing. Sometimes I couldn’t contain her even when her façade was unnecessary. Who was I kidding? She was a part of me, and sometimes, that part of me needed to be expressed genuinely.
“However,” sympathy oozed from Elder Mage’s gaze as he began. This wasn’t good. My heart sunk.
“He is not right for the Circle or you.”
My heart thundered in my chest, and I nearly vomited when I realized what I had to tell them. They’d given me an ultimatum I could no longer accept.
“Then I’ll have to leave the Circle. I can still help people from outside, but I can no longer be a member.”
I refused to let the round of scowls sway my decision. If they made me choose between them and Lars, I would have to choose Lars. Most of my life was lived in deception, but I wouldn’t allow my entire life to be lived that way.
“While I understand where you are coming from as I was once young too, we cannot allow that. Your Seer ability has been part of the Circle from its beginning and here it must stay. It’s too valuable a gift for the Circle to lose. I’m sorry, my dear.”
I wanted to both cry and scream in frustration. “Respectfully, I think you are the one who doesn’t understand. I will leave if you give me no other choice. Even if I didn’t want to be with Lars, I’ve come to realize I can’t marry Jace or anyone else currently in the Circle, and I won’t allow you to force an unwanted marriage on me.”
Mage Elder’s face fell into a most somber expression. “Emma. If you leave the Circle for Lars, we will take all his memories of you and this place from him after his final battle with the Power Thief. He won’t know who you are anymore.”
Tears filled my eyes as hopelessness filled my heart. I couldn’t allow Lars to lose so much, especially when it meant we couldn’t even be together in the end. I could try to make him love me again, but without our shared past and experiences, it would be a huge gamble. His life had been difficult enough. I couldn’t add memory loss to that too.
My heart hurt thinking of not remembering my family, my childhood or most of my past. Our lives and this place were so intertwined, it would be like losing a piece of my soul.
“How could you be so cruel and punish another for my choices?” I cried.
“We have to do what’s best for the greater good. Sometimes that means difficult decisions and collateral damage. In this case, the Circle needs your power while Lars can be sacrificed. I’m sorry.”
The Mage and Brownie Elders rose as I remained huddled on the ground. “Thank you for telling us about the new developments regarding Lars. I’m sorry about everything else. Our decision is final. Do not gather us for this again.”
They left me sobbing in the field of wildflowers. As despair overwhelmed me, and my world grew dark and bleak, I stood. Being around Lars while knowing there was absolutely no way for us to be together would make things worse. There was only one place I wanted to go to nurse my shattered heart.
Blinded by tears, I trampled through the forest on instinct. Not soon enough, the comforting splash of a familiar waterfall penetrated my grief. I broke into a run to breach the forest edge and run up the steps of my parents’ house.
Throwing the door wide, I called out for Mom as I raced through the house looking for her. Of course, she emerged from the kitchen wiping her hands on a towel.
“What’s happened? Are you hurt?” She asked while frantically patting me down to search for injuries.
Pushing her hands away, I threw my arms around her neck. “Only my heart, my very soul is hurt. It’s shattered beyond repair, and I don’t think I’ll ever recover.”
Mom shushed me. “Whatever’s happened, it will be alright in the end. There’s no need to be so melodramatic. Come in the kitchen and tell me what’s going on over ice cream. You look like you need some.”
She patted my cheek as I couldn’t help a watery smile and rolled my eyes. She always knew just what to say to bring me out of hysterics. She led me by the hand, like a small child, into the kitchen and to a bar stool.
“Sit and I’ll get you a nice big bowl of your favorite.” As she turned to remove ice cream from the freezer, my heart warmed knowing she still made sure to stock Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough for me even though I didn’t come by nearly often as I should.
She placed the bowl on the counter before me while commanding, “Now talk.”
“You’re not going to like this. I went to the Council and asked them to let me out of my arranged marriage with Jace. I told them I want to be with Lars.”
Mom gasped as her hands flew up to cover her mouth. “You didn’t.”
Nodding, I inserted a large spoonful of ice cream into my mouth, where apparently, my mom thought my foot should be. Her eyes were wide as she stared at me in horror.
“Emma Pierce! How could you do such a thing? You know how the Circle views marriage to continue our legacy.”
I waved my hand to acknowledge what she was saying while continuing to stuff my mouth with ice cream. She was right about everything. However, it didn’t change how I felt or what I wanted.
“You probably don’t want to hear the wor
st part then.”
Her hand fell to her chest, and she looked to be in pain. I smiled ruefully while studying my spoon.
“I told them I would leave the Circle for Lars. They threatened to take his memories if I did. Not just his recent memories, pretty much all of them. Anything to do with this place or me.” I dropped my spoon in the bowl with disgust.
Mom shook her head at me with downcast eyes. “I’m not surprised. I don’t understand why you thought the outcome would be different.”
“His magic has grown since he was here last. Mom, he’s really powerful now. Not just with fire, but he has developed a second magic too. He can manipulate time and space.”
“That is truly amazing. It really is, however, he still isn’t Circle material. You know there’s more to it than magic alone. He could never be subtle or under the radar enough to blend in and get things changed without alerting people to what he was doing.”
“I think he could with the right training. Everyone has always underestimated him and not given him credit when it was due.”
Patting my shoulder, Mom said, “You need to move on. Jace deserves that much and it has been time for too long now.”
As my shoulders sagged, mom picked up my bowl and carried it to the sink. “Jace is your future. You will be much better off the sooner you embrace that. Look at how happy your dad and I are. You could have that too if you only gave Jace a chance.”
“I have-“
“That’s what you keep saying, but it’s not true. Everyone can see you’ve never given Jace a real chance. You’ve never let Lars go. It’s time, honey. Way past time.”
Mom’s words pierced the shattered pieces of my heart like daggers. Rising from the stool, I yearned for comfort not even my mother could give me.
Chapter Eleven
I was eighteen when my grandmother died. We thought the Sight would pass down to my mother, so I was completely unprepared when it hit me.
I had just gotten out of the shower and was drying off as I readied for her funeral. My vision grew black, and I became lost in darkness. I thought I’d gone blind.
When a spark of light appeared, I rushed towards it so grateful to see something, anything at all. The light surrounded me, and I panicked. I tried to escape, but it held me firmly in its grasp.
I was hyperventilating with my heart in my throat by the time the light receded enough for the scene before me to become visible. A group of twelve people I had never seen before were standing in a circle within a field of wildflowers.
An empty spot left the circle incomplete. It called to me. I felt deep in my soul that I was meant to stand in that place with those people. The twelve gestured as they spoke among themselves, but I could not hear what they were saying. The scene faded until I was standing in my bathroom once more, still wrapped in a towel.
Terrified, I fled the room while shouting for my mother. No one had discussed the exact nature of Seer abilities with me because we all expected it to go to my mother before it was my turn. It had never before skipped a generation, so everyone thought there was plenty of time for Mom to go over it with me. The Sight had always been discussed in general terms and rather vaguely around me.
So I wasn’t sure what was happening to me, and it was frightening. Hearing my cries of distress, Mom came running up the stairs in her flowing black gown and heels.
She later told me I was as white as a sheet. She’d been afraid I had been attacked, especially since I was only wearing a towel.
“What happened? Are you hurt?” As a healer, physical injury was always the first thing she asked about.
“It’s not that. Something did happen to me though.” I cried into her shoulder. “I thought I passed out because all I could see was black and then there was this light and a bunch of people in a field. Mom, I think I’m going crazy.”
She gasped in surprise and stroked my hair. After letting loose a choked chuckle, she finally explained.
“You’re not going crazy. You have the Sight. You are the new Seer.” Tears filled her eyes. “Oh, my little girl. I thought we had more time. I’m sorry we did not prepare you for this.”
“Stone!” She yelled. She continued to shout my father’s name until he came barreling down the hall in his black suit.
“Stone, the Sight skipped me. Our baby has it now, which means we must inform the Council.”
My head shot up as I sniffled. “Council? What are you talking about?”
“There is much more than the Sight we did not prepare you for. There is a whole other aspect to the Sanctuary you don’t know about. We thought you wouldn’t need to know until your mother’s death when you would take her place.”
“Were the people in the field you saw arranged in a circle?” When I nodded, she continued. “What you saw is aptly called the Circle and always has thirteen members. It is headed by a Council of three. They would have selected someone to take your grandmother’s place as you were meant to take mine upon my death. However, we were clearly wrong as you are meant to replace your grandmother in the Circle instead.”
I reared back in shock. My parents and grandmother were part of a secret organization? I couldn’t believe they had kept this from me all my life. Maybe my unusual upbringing had made abnormal events that would have made me suspicious seem normal because it was all I knew.
“What does the Circle do?” I asked hesitantly.
“It’s our job to guard and protect the Sanctuary. When necessary, we nudged people so that certain futures come to be. We know of some possibilities from the Sight. However, we only interfere in events that will affect the Sanctuary, the safety of those within, or magic in general.” Mom explained.
Dad rubbed my back. “It was always your destiny to join the Circle as a descendant of your mother’s line, which has passed down the Sight from mother to daughter since the Circle’s beginning. Since yours is the only lineage basically guaranteed a spot in the Circle, the resort is passed down through the Seer line.”
“I really didn’t want to deal with this on today of all days while I’m trying to grieve the loss of my mother, however, the Council will insist on your immediate induction into the Circle. They will want to have your ceremony after the funeral.”
I remained in so much shocked I hardly remember the funeral. I do remember a frizzy grey haired man I didn’t recognize leading the funeral. He spoke fondly of my grandmother, which I found odd since I had never seen him before.
It all made sense later when my parents led me through the woods to a hidden field of wild flowers. They left me in the center as others gathered to form a circle around me. The old man was a member of the Circle standing between an older Shifter and a wrinkled Brownie.
“It has come to the Council’s attention that the Sight did not pass down to Paisley as anticipated. Instead, it appears that little Emma is our new Seer. So I have called you to initiate her into the Circle immediately.” The old man announced.
Murmurs of surprise were whispered by the other members until he held his hand up for silence. “Welcome to the Circle, Emma. I am the Mage Elder and on either side of me are the Shifter and Brownie Elders. We three make up the Council.”
Each member of the Circle took turns bowing to me like a wave before Mage Elder continued. “We are the hidden protectors of the Sanctuary. It is imperative our group remained secret. You must tell no one.”
No one had given me time to think on this, and every one acted like this was the natural progression of my life. So it never occurred to me to question what was happening or to refuse.
I had grown up around magic and kept it secret all my life, so another magical secret didn’t seem that weird at the time. I also suspected grieving over my grandmother as well as experiencing my first vision had something to do with how easily I accepted it all.
“I won’t tell anyone.”
Chuckles rose around me. “While I’m glad to hear that, you will need to make a solemn vow to the Circle here in our sacred place. O
nce you do, a magically binding mark will appear on your inner wrist. No one will be able to see it, but you will be able to use it to call the Circle. In return, all Circle members will also be able to call you to the clearing. Do you accept?”
I don’t know where the words came from or how I knew what to say, but at that moment, they spilled from me. “I hereby vow to all members of the Circle past, present, and future in this most sacred place to join the Circle and keep its secrets.”
As soon as the last echo faded from the clearing, my inner wrist both stung and tingled as an intricate Celtic knot glowed on my skin. I winced while it glowed brighter and burned me. Then it was gone. I rubbed my wrist and even though there was no outside sign of the mark, I could feel it. Not with my hand. I could just sense it was there.
“Please take your rightful place in the Circle now, Emma.” Mage Elder commanded.
Taking my grandmother’s position in the Circle across from my parents, a sense of rightness filled me. I was meant to be here. I was home.
Snapping her fingers before my face, Mom peered at me with concern. “Were you having another vision?”
I frowned. “I don’t think so. I just got lost in memories, I suppose.”
“I was a little frightened when I couldn’t get your attention, although, I shouldn’t have been due to the visions and all. It just seemed out of the ordinary, even for you.”
A sad half-smile tilted my lips to reassure her. “I’m fine, Mom. Or at least, I will be.”
After giving me a hug, she pulled back to smooth my hair. “Since it’s your day off, I want you and Lars to come for dinner tomorrow. I think you two have been spending too much time alone together, and it’s not healthy for you. Oh, Jace will be here too.”
I wanted to decline, but in light of recent events, I reluctantly nodded.
“Good. See you tomorrow night.” Mom kissed me on the cheek before I headed home.
Chocolate and caramel wafted through the air as I yanked open the door of the Sweet Shoppe. As much as I tried to convince myself the treat I sought was for tonight’s dinner, I couldn’t deny I craved something to take the edge off my heartbreak. Yes, I knew comfort eating was unhealthy, but I didn’t get these curves from exercising my demons.
