Finally, she heard a car pulling up the driveway. She beat them to the door, pulling it open before they could hit the bell.
Jasmine stood in all her witchy finery, looking as if she’d stepped out of a Renaissance festival. Patchouli oil and citronella burned Giselle’s nostrils; her least favorite of all the scent combinations, though it didn’t seem to bother the others. Behind Jasmine were Damien, looking as if she’d killed his puppy, and Cassandra. She’d expected Cassandra to come along, though for what reason she didn’t know, as Cassandra had no magic.
“Are you truly sure you wish to do this?” Jasmine asked, before stepping inside the house. The look she gave Giselle had all the hallmarks of a judge casting down his verdict of guilty. Giselle wondered if Jasmine knew of her deception.
All the lies. All the trickery. What if she’d given herself bad karma by setting things up this way, and it made the spell fail? Oh, Crap! Giselle nearly broke out in a cold sweat there. She gulped back as much nervous energy from her voice as she could, and answered back.
“It’s because of me that he is in this state.”
Jasmine had never been the kindest of mothers she’d met. Her demeanor ranked right up there with Nathaniel Thrace, only in a dress and wearing way too much perfume. But hearing Giselle’s words and the undertone of worry that accompanied them had an effect. “Sweet child, you cannot blame yourself for the actions of others.” She pulled Giselle into a hug that had more warmth in it than she’d ever thought possible from the tough witch.
When Jasmine pulled away and met Giselle’s eyes, though, her all-business tone came straight back as if it had never gone. “Cassandra and Orion entered into a magical contract binding themselves.”
“But for their trouble, what did they receive?” Giselle asked.
Jasmine looked back at Cassandra, standing like an obedient puppy behind her. “They received the greatest gift of all, a healthy child.”
Cassandra’s eyes lowered shamefully, but she nodded in agreement all the same.
“One they could never enjoy” Giselle shot back angrily, seeing her other mother in such a sad state.
“That was not their bargain with the cosmos.” Jasmine turned her attention back on Giselle. “They abused magic to gain a child. Magic is something to be respected. Great things can come of it, but there is a price to be paid.”
“You think I have no respect for magic? But I do. It’s why I’m asking for your help,” Giselle pleaded, as she ushered them inside and shut the door.
Jasmine stopped in the middle of the living room. The witch clearly had the power in this situation, and she knew it. “You ask me to take away the enchantments that addled your father’s mind. But what are you prepared to offer the powers that be for this magic?”
“What would the cosmos accept?” Giselle asked, already prepared for the answer to be her soul. She’d been born of magic; it resided in her blood. She’d offer that up and allow the gods or the cosmos whatever they wanted to be called to take what they needed to restore at least consciousness back into her father.
Jasmine wasn’t budging from her spot. “That is not for me to say. You wish me to act as a channel for this magic, and I will go as far as that. You must be the one to make the offer and hope that it is enough for the gods to accept.”
“I have very little in this world, but I would offer whatever I can to save my father.” Giselle began to walk away and hoped that Jasmine and the other two would follow in her wake. She opened the door to Orion’s room and walked inside. “I owe him that.”
He was sitting still as ever in his chair, strapped down so he would not slump, nearly lifeless except for the gentle rise and fall of his chest. At that moment Orion’s eyes had completely glazed over, appearing as if he were not there inside his shell of a body.
But Giselle she knew he was there; and that this life was no life to live. His debt was well beyond paid.
“Your love for family is endearing.” Jasmine stood in the doorway, looking past Giselle at the weak figure of Orion. “Especially for one who never knew of his existence until now.”
“It’s because of the life I’ve led that I hold fiercely to this newfound family.” Giselle placed a hand on Orion’s shoulder, hoping to feel that same spark of energy she’d felt in the past. It was there – faint, but there all the same. And that was all she needed to bolster her resolve. “Growing up never to be loved because you were different will make you fiercely loyal to those who embrace and accept you,” she said defiantly.
“Love is not always enough. Remember that, child, and do not hold to the hope that your love would be enough to pay the debt,” Jasmine said.
“But my life would be, wouldn’t it?” Giselle asked, cringing as she awaited the answer.
Part of her expected to see an emotional response register on the witch’s face, but Jasmine looked as if she were bored by the revelation that Giselle would give her own life if need be. “No, child. You cannot trade your life for his; magic gave you life.”
She let out a breath of relief. She hadn’t wanted to make that ultimate sacrifice, and hearing she was absolved of that lessened her tension. But only by a little. She might not lose her life, but there were other things she could be cut off from. “I am willing to offer of myself whatever the cosmos needs to pay the debt. Take from my longevity, my immortality, whatever power resides in my blood.”
Damien whimpered, as if he wanted to speak but had been ordered against it. Behind Jasmine, Giselle could see the pain in his eyes. They were all but screaming for her to take it back; to not go through with this.
Jasmine heaved a deep sigh and waved her son forward. “We may be able to bind some of your life force to an item as a sacrifice to the cosmos. If accepted, though, you’d be gambling your future on this spell working.”
Damien carried a backpack of supplies. He came closer and set the bag on the bed, avoiding eye contact with Giselle. His body language said enough. He disapproved. He wished he had not been dragged into this. And she wondered if, after this was done, he’d ever speak to her again. She certainly hoped so.
“How will this work?” Giselle asked Jasmine.
“To bind your life to an object would be to create an item that could, in the most simplest of terms, hold part of your soul within it,” Jasmine said.
“Will it hurt?” The question seemed insignificant the moment it left her lips, but Giselle’s mind had shut down as she got closer to actually going through with the sacrifice. Fear nearly caused her to back out. It was one thing to say she was willing to sacrifice herself, but to actually go through with it was like standing on the edge of a bungee platform, waiting to be told to jump. Her heart beat erratically, and her eyes darted between Jasmine’s stony expressions to the empty eye of her father.
“The effects are unknown. But if it works, you’d be giving part of yourself away. You’ll be incomplete.” Jasmine began to unpack the bag that Damien had brought in with him.
“But will it work?” Giselle asked, not bothering to hide the nerves causing her voice to crack.
“This I cannot promise. I can only try. The gods must accept your offering.”
Giselle closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and said, “Do it, then.”
“As you wish it.” Jasmine held a hand out pointing towards the French doors leading out from Orion’s room to the patio. “Open those, please.”
Damien stood next to his mother, taking items she handed to him. He did not speak, but the way his shoulders slumped and the clear aversion of his eyes as Giselle passed by him were signal enough that he was not happy.
Giselle did as instructed and opened the back patio doors.
Jasmine turned her attention to Cassandra. “Find us a chair and bind Giselle to it.”
Cassandra nodded and cast a weary glance at Orion and then to Giselle. “You don’t have to do this.”
Giselle looked at Cassandra. “I have to try.”
“We’ve paid for our wrongdo
ing,” Cassandra said.
“This is not payment. This is torture,” Giselle said, casting her eyes to Orion. “He’s locked in a prison of his own body. This is no life. This is the worst kind of hell.”
Cassandra pursed her lips tightly, but behind her expression there was thankfulness in her eyes. She disappeared without another word.
Jasmine began pouring mixtures into bottles and assembling daggers and bowls around her makeshift altar.
“I may not agree with you, but I appreciate your efforts to try,” Jasmine said.
Cassandra appeared in the doorway. “Will this chair be sufficient?” she asked, carrying a dining room chair past them and placing it out on the back patio.
Jasmine pulled out a hank of corded rope from her bag and tossed it on the bed. “Fine. Tie her hands and legs firmly.”
“You’re not going to try to stop me?” Giselle asked, as she willingly sat in the chair Cassandra provided and placed her hands on the arms, awaiting her binding.
“I’ve learned not to argue with you,” Cassandra said solemnly. “And I have no right, as I have not been there to be a mother to you.”
“I’ll not be swayed. I’ve made up my mind. And besides, it’s not like I’m going to be Alpha anymore, so I might as well enjoy my family. Now that I have them.”
Jasmine looked at her altar and back to her son. “I’ll need a quartz pillar. A small one to bind her essence.”
Damien sucked in a breath and his eyes grew wide, but he did not say a word as he retrieved what his mother had asked for.
“Hold her arm,” Jasmine commanded, and Cassandra finished her knot and took hold of Giselle’s free arm. Jasmine held a large black dagger in one hand and a shallow bowl in the other.
Giselle knew without being told what was to happen. She held her arm still and allowed Jasmine to slice across her wrist. She held the bowl below Giselle’s arm to collect the blood.
Giselle breathed deeply through the pain and watched every drop as her blood collected.
Jasmine set the knife into the bowl, not wasting a single drop, and tossed a roll of bandages to Cassandra to wrap her wound.
Damien pulled out a clear crystal not bigger than her pinky finger. The stone was pure and clear, nearly transparent except for a few blemishes. He handed the stone to Jasmine, and she placed it in the center of the bowl.
“Last chance to back out of this,” Jasmine said, already turning away as if she knew the answer before Giselle said as much.
Cassandra finished wrapping Giselle’s wound and then tied that hand down to the chair as she’d done with the other.
Jasmine whispered a prayer over the crystal, and while she worked, Damien and Cassandra lent their voices, repeating the prayer that Jasmine had started as a chant.
Jasmine finished her prayer and took her makeshift alter out to the patio, setting everything down on the concrete before setting herself down under the moonlight.
Damien and Cassandra worked in unison pulling out candles and setting them in sequence all around Jasmine. They lit them one by one, still chanting their prayer, while Jasmine held her hands over the bowl and gazed up at the bright moon overhead.
Giselle watched with rapt attention, half wondering if she should be feeling something and scared of what she would feel if she did.
Jasmine held up the bowl with the blood and the crystal and joined the chant of Damien and Cassandra.
Cassandra finished lighting her half of the candles and took a position behind Orion. She pushed his chair up towards the altar with Jasmine and unbuckled the straps holding him safely in his seat. Orion began to slide down, but she caught him before he could move too far.
Even from behind, Giselle could see the love Cassandra had for him. She didn’t just hold him in place; her body wrapped around him. An embrace. Her strength was in her love for him and that helped her to keep him upright.
Giselle’s stomach knotted. Her resolve was unshakeable, but in the back of her mind she feared her sacrifice would not be enough.
“Do you offer up the essence of your being to be collected and preserved within this crystal?” Jasmine asked Giselle, her voice turning deep and tinged with an otherworldly echo.
“Yes,” Giselle responded weakly.
Jasmine placed the bowl filled with her blood and the crystal on Giselle’s lap. “Look at the celestial commander of your race. Behold the goddess and make your intention known,” Jasmine said, and her eyes flitted up to the moon.
Giselle gazed upwards. The moon had grown large and brilliant in its fullness. “I offer whatever is needed to save my father. Take from me what you will.”
A surge like an electric shock flashed through her body. Her limbs attempted to flail out beyond her control, and if not for the ropes holding her in place she might have hit Jasmine. In that moment her body was not hers at all. She felt herself ripping in two, as if the gods were flaying her alive, slowly, with an invisible knife. The sound of screaming pierced her ears and, overwhelmed by sensation, she hadn’t realized it was her own voice. Pain the likes of which she’d never felt before set every single nerve on fire. The human half of Giselle cried out, calling for death to end this, unable to withstand the torture ripping her apart.
Her wolf rose to the surface, the true strength in her soul, forcing a transformation that for the first time in her life felt excruciating. Bones cracked. Fur ripped through her skin as her coat came to the surface. She felt every excruciating second of it until her mind blanked of thoughts and concerns, turning feral and hungry. Using anger to fight the pain, she was able to withstand it a little longer, but the spell continued, and she could feel pieces of her being cut away and disappearing into the abyss.
Her wolf diminished and retreated with the pain, burrowing safely inside where even the gods dare not touch it. Her body shifted backwards, leaving her a crumpled pile of torn clothes and broken ropes in the chair.
Her first thought was to make sure her wolf had not left her completely. Weakened and licking its wounds, she still felt the other half of her still residing where it was supposed to be. But there was a hole there too. Not large – if one could even measure the size of their soul – but she felt it like a nuisance; a scab that begged to be picked at. Something was not right. But nothing could be done about it, even if she had the energy to do anything at that moment.
Utterly exhausted by the effects of Jasmine’s spell, Giselle could hardly move a muscle. Bathed in sweat and her clothes shredded from a botched transformation, she was afraid if she did move she’d fall into a naked puddle on the ground.
No one came to her aid. No one asked if she was okay. Damien and Cassandra’s chanting continued, rising to a deafening crescendo as the light of the moon seemed to focus on Jasmine and the bowl she held aloft.
“It is done.” Jasmine silenced the chanting with her words and brought the bowl down eye level with Giselle.
What once had been a pure and clear stone had gone blood red and murky. All the blood that had pooled into the bowl was gone as well, without so much as a smudge on the inside of the bowl.
Her mind blown by what had just happened, Giselle tried to speak, but when she opened her mouth, words did not want to come out.
“You are bound to this object for your time on this earth. What is your wish?” Jasmine asked.
“Help my father,” Giselle said weakly. Her body still on fire, it was all she could do not to cry out for mercy. She hoped the worst had been done.
“As you request,” Jasmine said. She took the stone and brought it to a small cauldron and began adding ingredients and whispering more prayers.
The other two again began chanting, but these words were different; still unknown to Giselle, but musical in their cadence.
Cringing inside, waiting for round two of the torture chamber, Giselle watched with wide eyes as Jasmine brewed a drink of some kind using her new bound stone as the final ingredient. When she had finished, she siphoned out some and offered it to Orio
n with a medicine dropper.
One dropper at a time, she slowly fed the entire contents of the small cauldron to Orion. Then as Giselle watched and waited, Jasmine removed the stone. It had turned white again, as if it had never been blemished by her blood.
Jasmine placed the stone in a soft pouch with a long cord. “Whether or not the spell worked will be up to the will of the gods. But this you must keep safe. You are bound to it and it to you. What has been done here cannot be undone. You have sealed your fate with it.”
Her words scared Giselle, but she would not let on how truly frightened she was. “Thank you.” She wore the small pouch like a necklace tying the cord around her neck and set her sight on Orion. How long would she have to wait?
Chapter 35
“Father?” Giselle asked, cautiously watching muscles twitching in his formerly lifeless limbs.
He moaned and jerked as if he were having a fit, and it was all Giselle could do to not rush to his aid, but Damien came up behind and held her at bay, whispering in her ear, “He’ll be okay. Just give him a minute.”
Moans turned into slurred speech – still unintelligible, but it was clear he was returning to the land of the living.
Cassandra stood by hopefully as well but dared not to move closer as Orion struggled to regain control of himself.
His twitching limbs sprouted fur, and his body twisted and contorted down into a shady brown wolf, his coat in varying shades from russet to sand and eyes of the deepest green that stared directly into Giselle’s.
“Father. Orion? I don’t really know what to call you right now.” Giselle bent down to her knees and reached a hand out to the growling wolf. “I’m your daughter.”
The wolf took a few wobbly steps toward Giselle and sniffed at her outstretched hand.
She remained as still as she could while Orion inspected her as only a wolf would. He circled her slowly twice before coming to a stop, sitting in front of his child.
Cassandra fell to her knees next to Giselle and mimicked her introduction, reaching out a hand and holding still for Orion to smell.
Fearless Little Werewolf Page 21
