FELICIA STARR
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
Copyright © 2013 by Felicia Starr
Copyright © 2014 by Felicia Starr
Editing by Cassie McCown of Gathering Leaves
Edited for Vamptasy Publishing by Elizabeth A. Lance
Cover design by Laura Hidalgo of Bookfabulous Designs
Cover model: Ashley Nihart
Photography by Teresa Lewis Photography
Paperback interior design by JT Formatting
Published by Vamptasy Publishing an Imprint of Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly Publishing
www.feliciastarr.com
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the above copyright owner of this book.
Printed in the United States of America
First Edition: December 2013
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Starr, Felicia
Dark and Stormy (Sacred Hearts Coven)/Felicia Starr – 1st ed
ISBN-13: 978-1494793999
ISBN-10: 1494793997
1.Dark and Stormy (Sacred Hearts Coven)–Fiction.
2.Fiction–Urban Fantasy 3.Fiction–Paranormal Romance
This book is dedicated to the heartbreaker
that made my heart whole.
CHAPTER ONE
The Witches
“WELCOME, SISTERS OF the Sacred Heart Coven. We gather here tonight as we do every full moon when our magic is at its strongest. We join together in service of those in need. A heart full of love brings richness and joy, not only to an individual, but also to all that surround them. Our full moon esbat is reserved for blessing those with a broken or empty heart,” Seraphina welcomed her sisters.
All of the sisters were dressed in light, white flowing clothing. Most of the women wore dresses, some made of lace and others of sheer silks and acrylics. High Priestess Seraphina stood amongst her twelve sisters, opening their full moon meeting. The moonlight hit her long, white gown in such a way that she appeared to glow. Her silver hair with black streaks hung low down her back, coming to a point just above her buttocks. Seraphina never wore makeup, but her full eyebrows arched high, creating an intriguing frame around her big eyes the color of an oak barrel-aged rye.
“Let us again give thanks to Sister Maiden Merida for her gift of land to our coven. We are blessed to have a permanent place in nature to cast our circle. Mother Earth has been good to us and keeps our sacred space full of life with her foliage and flowers that we have planted over the years.” Seraphina bowed her head and smiled at Merida.
The sisters took one another’s hands and turned toward Merida. They all opened their hearts and gave thanks from deep within their core. Almost in unison, they said thank you.
“Your gratitude is never graced upon me in vain. There is also no need to always make note of the land being mine. It is our land now. It is where we share our common bond with each other. If we should give thanks to anyone, it should be to Seraphina for uniting us and teaching us to call upon the goddess that resides in each of us.” Merida blushed; she was not fond of having the spotlight bestowed on her.
“I think we should give thanks to each other for the bounty of herbs and flowers that you girls have all worked so hard to plant and nourish. The floral scents this year are just amazing! You really have outdone yourself.” Seraphina praised her coven of twelve females.
The women all giggled a little, knowing they were maybe overdoing the gratitude thing. They were of mixed ages, but they all knew how to have fun and always enjoyed each other’s company. Sometimes perhaps too much fun, but on this evening, it was a time for giving back to other females.
“I do apologize for the interruption, but who has provided our altar for this evening?” Seraphina asked her sisters. “I seem to be growing forgetful in my less-than-young age.”
“I did, High Priestess.” Serena stepped forward. “I have set the altar so we will face west. I am asking of the circle that we give a piece of our hearts to one of my employees. She is in need of some romance that sticks. But I did forget one important detail.” Serena excused herself for a minute and ran back to her car.
She came back with a big, silver shopping bag from Nordstrom’s. She removed a shoebox and pulled out a sexy-ass pair of red stilettos. She heard some ooh's and ahh's from behind her as she placed the red pumps on the altar.
“Sisters, tonight I ask that we call upon the spirits for my employee and friend, Regina. She is a strong woman, who is full of power and drive. She has had some disappointing romances, so much so that she has allowed work, for me, to become her only passion. She needs the balance that only the affection from a romantic interest can bring to her life.
“There is a man named Reddick who also works for me. I can feel the magnetic pull between them. When I’m in the room with them, I swear sparks could ignite into a blazing fire at anytime. They are, or act, oblivious to this fact, although I have seen the way he watches her when he thinks no one is looking.” Serena started to inform her sisters of who would receive the object of their enchantment spell.
“But you are always watching, aren't you, Serena?” Jasinda chuckled and elbowed one of her sisters.
“Well, you know how I like to watch—a good romance, that is.” Serena winked back.
“The funny thing about Regina and Reddick is that they unknowingly spend more time with each other than with any other person in their lives. They both work themselves so hard that they don't even realize they aren’t working their true potential. The two of them are great at what they do; they’re both successful and have helped our business grow to where it is now. The truth of it is that I need them to work harder at living their lives. Without balance, all things will fall to the wayside. I feel in my heart that with the realization of their feelings, they will find not only themselves greater success, but they will be able to take our business to the next level.
“Please don't misunderstand. I am not doing this to better myself. Can I see the benefit of how helping Regina and Reddick fill their hearts will help us too? Yes, of course I can. But, ladies, we all know what is important here and why we join on this sacred night to cast a spell and share a story of bringing love and romance into the hearts of those who live such short lives. I fear Regina will begin to lose her way if she does not begin to find joy in something besides making sales quotas.”
“So, Serena, tell us about these red-hot shoes you have on the altar.” Seraphina admired the shoes.
“Ah, yes, the shoes. Aren't they sexy? Regina happens to wear red pumps more than any other shoe. I believe she feels they empower her. This is, of course, a good thing in general. She is empowered and commands her sales team like no other woman I know. The sin of it is that she should be showing the same attitude toward her love life.” Serna pushed her bouncy red bob away from her face.
Serena turned to Seraphina. “High Priestess, I am ready for us to cast our circle.”
“And so it will be,” Seraphina replied. “Serena, do we have all of the elements represented at the altar?
”
“Yes, of course,” Serena confirmed, looking down at the altar adorned tonight in a blood-red covering. She made a mental note of her list of items needed for this spell. Dried red and pink rose petals, one red candle, a small lock of Regina’s hair, new red stilettos, a piece of red parchment paper, two moonstones, and a bottle of water that Reddick drank from. Along with items that Serena brought to the altar that night, there was also the coven’s ceremonial athame, goblet, and well-used black cauldron.
“Jasinda, would you please do the honors tonight of casting our circle?” Seraphina walked over to the center of their circle, to the place where their altar stood. She handed the coven’s sacred athame to Jasinda and a goblet full of salt.
Esmeralda and Belinda lit the five black candles that were perched on top of small stone structures strategically placed in the clearing, helping to mark the circle. Each sister lit the candle closest to where they stood, and they joined at the centrally located altar to light one last red candle together. After all the candles were glowing, they returned to stand beside their sisters in a circular fashion. Serena and Seraphina stood beside each other, facing the west.
Jasinda nodded to her sisters and began to walk the perimeter of their circle, she gently poured out salt as she walked the path. “With our sacred athame, I cast our circle. I pour out this salt to protect us and our energy as we practice our craft. May our circle be a portal beyond what we know and beyond what we can see. Let our space be where we can draw upon what is good and ward off the wickedness of those who do not seek balance in nature.”
As Jasinda walked the circle a second time, she stopped at each cardinal direction and called the quarters, starting at the north first. Jasinda walked clockwise. “I call out to you, oh powerful Guardian of the North, protector of earth. Please be present in our circle and watch over all that our physical senses may experience.”
“Welcome, Guardian of the North Watchtower,” the sisters called out.
“I call out to you, oh powerful Guardian of the East, protector of air. Please be present in our circle and watch over all that our minds may think.”
“Welcome, Guardian of the East Watchtower,” the sisters called out.
“I call out to you, oh powerful Guardian of the South, protector of fire, please be present in our circle and watch over all that we may do.”
“Welcome, Guardian of the South Watchtower,” the coven repeated in unison.
“I call out to you, oh powerful Guardian of the West, protector of water. Please be present in our circle and watch over our actions in our emotions that we may feel.”
“Welcome, Guardian of the West Watchtower.” The sisters again joined in their welcoming.
As Jasinda walked the circle for the third time, she spoke out, “Thrice I have walked around. Let this circle be bound.” She returned the athame and goblet of salt to the altar and took her place with her sisters.
“It is time for us to invoke the spirit of our goddess and god.” Seraphina raised her arms up to the sky as if to hug the moon. All of the sisters mimicked her pose. “With our hearts open, we ask that you guide our spell and hear our hearts’ truest intentions.”
The women, all glowing in their white sheer gowns, stood strong and proud. They felt the earth beneath their feet and honored Mother Earth. They envisioned themselves growing roots deep into her ground. They stretched their arms high into the sky, honoring Father Universe. They imagined their arms stretched out into the vast unknown of the universe. They allowed the energy of what their mother and father had to offer.
Seraphina turned to Serena and gave her a little nod, letting her know that she was free to start the spell. Serena approached the altar. The rest of the women lowered their arms and joined hands to form a circle around Serena.
Serena realized she forgot something. She bent down and picked up a small stick and held it over the flame of the red candle, letting it burn just enough to char the end. After blowing out the flame on the stick, Serena used the blackened end and drew two hearts linked together on the red parchment paper. Inside each heart she drew a letter “R”, one for Regina and one for Reddick.
She gathered the dried rose petals, the red parchment, and the lock of Regina’s hair. Serena placed them lovingly into the bottom of the cauldron on top of the two moonstones. Taking the athame in hand, she carved the same two hearts and initials into the side of the red candle.
Serena closed her eyes for a moment and then took the candle and lowered the flame into the cauldron to light its contents on fire.
“Candle of power, candle of this night.
With your fire, light her true desire.
May his breath in the storm,
Be the steam in her lungs.
Let these shoes of red,
Lead them to share a bed.
May their hearts find their way,
On a night that is most grey.”
Serena looked down into the cauldron as she finished that part of the spell. She knew that the spell was working when she saw the R’s in each heart disappear and reappear as one at the center where the two hearts overlapped. Serena then dripped a few drops of water from Reddick’s bottle into the cauldron. A pop of smoke puffed up in the air as the fire went out. All that remained in the cauldron were the moonstones and the enchanted ash.
“Our words are our bond,
That our hearts have grown fond.
The fire burns between our legs.
We give to thee and so he begs.
Let them be one.
So I say,
Let this spell be done.”
Serena sprinkled an undetectable amount of ash into each of the shiny red shoes and smiled an impish grin. Her eyes thoughtfully shifted to Reddick’s water bottle. She used the remaining water to rinse the ash off of the two moonstones. She pulled a small red velvet sash out of the shoebox and wrapped the stones. Not forgetting to first reinsert all of the paper stuffing and plastic pieces that helped to protect the shape of the shoes back into the enchanted red heels, she wrapped the shoes in the delicate, printed paper and secured the shoes back into the black box from which they came.
All the sisters joined together and chanted, “Let it be, blessed be,” three times. They held their arms up to the sky again and spun three times fast enough that the wind extinguished the flames of the surrounding black candles. Then they all stopped to face west.
Jasinda walked to the center of the circle and grabbed a broom that rested against the altar. She respectfully nodded at Seraphina and Serena to confirm it was time to reopen the circle.
She walked to the edge of the circle where she began the ritual. Walking counterclockwise, she began to sweep away the salt. On her second walk around, she stopped at each cardinal direction again, but this time thanked the watchtowers for their guidance and protection. On her third lap, she spoke out, “Thrice is the charm. We have done no harm. Open the circle, for tonight we sleep on purple.”
CHAPTER TWO
Meeting
KIND WORDS HAD never been shared between Regina and Reddick. The tension was always thick enough to cut with a knife. Years of competing for the executive sales position that neither one of them would ever call their own left their conversations empty and straight to the point. Today’s office meeting was no different.
Serena and her husband Michelangelo owned the company and rotated the responsibility of running the weekly sales meetings. On the rare occasion they were both in the building at the same time, they would run it together. You would think that double the boss load, double the headache, but they were actually pretty funny together. They had a very magical chemistry that made them a pleasure to be around. Serena was much more serious when she ran them alone.
From time to time, Regina admired what they had and wondered if she would ever be lucky enough to meet someone she could be so in sync with. Not that she would ever find it appealing to deal with a boyfriend or husband all day long, every day, at home and at work. Regi
na experienced a few long-term relationships that seemed like they might have had the potential to go somewhere. And they did—each one of them went right down the tubes.
Regina's employers ran a fair but tight ship. If you weren’t pulling your weight and meeting your goals, your desk was given to a new and eager sales associate. Regina and Reddick each ran their own team of junior associates. They had seen many so-called sales people come and go over the past three years.
On the flip side, the office atmosphere was pretty laidback. The number one rule of the house was to close deals. Serena also had a strict dress code: look the part, act the part, and be the part. She said if you look and feel professional, it will help others see you that way too. Other than that, it was a relaxed atmosphere. They kept the kitchen stocked with assorted coffees and snacks in case you needed a pick-me-up and couldn't get out of the office. On the last Friday of the month, there was a potluck cocktail hour. If the sales goals were met or exceeded, the workday ended an hour early. Sometimes Serena and Michelangelo planned something special.
Partying with co-workers was fun on a rare occasion, but Regina knew it helped to motivate her team. She was known to miss most of the festivities because she was upstairs continuing to push hard at making sure all the T’s were crossed and I's were dotted. One thing that was always a constant was if Reddick was pushing the pencil, she wasn’t going to be found sipping on some cheap wine one of the struggling associates brought in for the party.
Serena and her husband didn’t like to have long meetings. They, of course, were a necessity, but if everyone was sitting around listening to them, who was working? This meeting, as always, started out with a reminder to everyone that if you take the last document out of a drawer, be sure to make a copy or order new forms.
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