by L E Gordon
When the elders had set up Keepers in our coven all those years ago, they had made us stronger to protect the ley lines that converged in the town. Working to combine each of our elements gave us more power to battle the various creatures who were drawn to the town’s energy and would help to trap the Undine. I felt something was missing in my working, but I couldn’t put my finger on what it was.
We had all the elements accounted for; the site where I would call her had been built by witches more than a hundred years ago and should be magically capable of holding a powerful elemental. I had the basics of my spell worked out, but needed the other Keepers to help refine it with their magic, which we would do tonight. Shaking my head, I hoped that they could see the missing element that would increase our chances of success.
Putting the books and my notes in my bag I started to clean the shop for the night. It had been a quiet afternoon so there wasn’t much to do. I turned the sign back to closed, picked up my bag, turned off the light, and headed to day-care to get the kids then go home.
We sat and ate dinner together and Ailsa asked to watch a movie on TV. We got them into pyjamas, ready for bed, let Ailsa chose the movie, and settled down to watch a princess save the day for the twentieth time, but it felt good to be snuggled with her, Aaron, and Michael. Neither of them saw the end of the film, both falling asleep curled on our laps half an hour before it finished. We carried their heavy sleeping bodies to bed and were tucking them in when I heard the door open and one of my friends busy themselves in the kitchen.
The door opened again as I walked into the kitchen; Kenna and Cait had arrived too. Flora made tea for us all while I organised my notes to show them my rough working.
“I went through all my books this morning and I have good and bad news. I’ll get the bad news out of the way first. She has to stay here. We can’t bind her or banish her as she is an essential part of the ecosystem. My research explained that any area which has waterways nearby has at least one Undine to help purify the water and the emotions of the people who live near that water. If she goes it will play havoc with the water and the people in town so we need a work around.
“The good news is I have a rough working for us to contain her. I need your input to refine it so it includes your elements. The working will bring her to us and keep her in place. We need to put our heads together to figure out how we can stop her from hurting more men.”
This wasn’t the first time we had worked together to get rid of unwanted creatures in our town, but usually we could simply kick them out or, if they were big bads, kill them. This situation called for finesse and I needed them to help me with ideas.
“She first came ashore when Kira’s Mabon working got her attention. She sensed Kira’s pleasure and decided it was time for her to get a bit of sexy time too. Can we somehow reverse this accidental triggering of her sex drive to bring her back to a peaceful state?” Kenna asked.
The mention of Kira let something click in my mind. “Of course, that’s what I’ve been missing. We need Kira involved in this too. Her energy called to the Undine, I think it would be needed to help reverse the effects. I’m going to call her and ask her to come over. Any other ideas?” I asked Flora and Cait while I looked for my phone.
“Could we stop her from coming onto land? Maybe a barrier or warding spell to keep her in the water so she can’t take a solid form? I could do an earth working to tie it to the land,” Flora suggested.
I made the phone call to Kira while we thought about a barrier spell, considering how it could work. Cait was the first to speak.
“That kind of working would need to be huge. It would have to cover the shoreline, banks of the river and lochs nearby and the harbour. Could we do it so it didn’t affect any other creatures from coming onto land?”
“I have her magical signature, Flora could you tie it in so it would be specific to her?” I asked the earth witch.
“Yes, but Cait is right, we would need a lot of power to expand it far enough. Where are you thinking of doing the working? Would I be able to draw from the earth?”
I told them where I had chosen to cast the spell and they agreed it was the perfect place.
“I could work with that. But how will we hold her once she’s called so I can put it in place? You can only keep her there for so long, Tarn.”
“Kenna will have to place fire in a ring round us to stop her from dispersing and Cait could use air to form a bubble above us. I only need to stop her from going down which should be manageable. So a barrier spell could do the trick. Cait have you got any thoughts?” Before she could answer, Kira came in the kitchen door. It was handy having a sister who lived so close by.
“Merry Met, everyone. What can I do to help?”
Chapter fifteen
I brought Kira up to speed on the whole situation, including why we needed her there to help call the Undine.
Kira listened to all the ideas we had come up with so far then spoke, “The calling seems straight forward enough and I see why me being there would help. If we need her to stay in the area then that’s a bit tricky. Barrier spell would be huge. Not that I don’t think you can do it Flora, a reversal spell might be easier to do, but what happens the next time she gets frisky? What about a releasing spell? The moon is waning so it’s the perfect time to do one.”
“Of course, moon magic is perfect for a water elemental. I think there’s a way we can combine all the ideas into one ritual. It will give her peace, keep her from land, and break the tie from Kira’s energy.” I went to my spell room to find a book and brought it back to the kitchen. Flicking through the pages, I found a ritual that we could change to our purposes. Turning the book round on the table I showed it to the other witches.
“If we use this as a basis we can add to it and build it into our own spell. What do you think?”
Kenna pulled the book closer so she could look at it properly, then passed it round to the others. After everyone had read it through, we were in agreement that it would work and started to write out our working, refining each stage of the spell to carry out all the elements we needed for the Undine to be safely contained and the spell cast.
It was almost 1am when we finished the spell. We were tired but confident it would work, all we needed to do was to gather the items necessary and to inspect the site where we would cast it. Flora would come with me to the site in the morning and Kenna and Cait had most of the things we needed, Kira saying she would bring everything else. Our jobs divided up, we said goodnight and would meet again tomorrow afternoon to go through the spell to make sure there were no kinks in it.
Michael was still out when I fell asleep. I woke up with him lying with his arm over me, keeping me safe in my slumber. I eased myself out from under it, trying not to wake him, and dealt with the morning chaos that having children entails. I took them over to my mam’s for the day, needing them out of my hair so I could concentrate, knowing they loved spending time with their granny.
“We’re doing a spell cast tonight to deal with the Undine. I’ve brought over the working for you to have a look at and see if there is anything we’ve forgotten.” I handed our notes to my mother and sat down beside her, the kids happily chasing the kittens about.
“Kira is part of it?” she asked, surprised I had asked and that my sister had agreed to do magic with us.
“She has to be, her energy drew the Undine to land. She has a great deal of power, Mama, she needs to be able to channel it. Maybe this will help her confidence and bring her back to the coven again. We would have the use of her skills. She’s so evenly balanced between the elements that she can help in any working.”
Mum looked back at the notes and made a few suggestions on changing words and the position Kira should take in the calling, which I wrote down to present to the Keepers this afternoon.
After a quick hug and a kiss I got back in the car and went home to meet Flora. I sat outside in the garden, glad of my warm coat, enjoying the fresh air before she arrived. The s
ite I was going to use wasn’t far from my house so we walked along, taking about the changes my Mum had suggested.
“Here we are. It’s not been used in a long time, does it still have power from the earth?”
Flora bent down and touched her palm to the ground, sensing for energy. She looked up, a big grin on her face. “I don’t think we should be concerned about energy tonight, this thing is like a magical battery. Those witches knew what they were doing when they had this built.”
“Are there any gaps to close off before tonight? If it leaks energy then it’s a problem.”
“I’ll check.” She sat down on the grass and put both hands to the earth, “There are a few. I’ll give them a gentle nudge and seal it all up… There, done. We’re good to go tonight. Did you check the times of the tides?”
“Yes, we’ll need to be here by eleven pm to make the most of the tide going out. I think that’s when we are likely to capture her. She can’t get away easily if there isn’t as much water around.”
Confident that we had prepared the site as best we could, we walked back to the house, Flora making her way to her car. “I’ll see you this afternoon for the walk through. Get some rest, it could be a long night.”
I took her advice and went back to bed for a couple of hours. One of the benefits of being a parent of young children was I could always do with some extra sleep, so it wasn’t hard for me to nod off. I woke up a couple of hours before the other Keepers were due to arrive and went to my spell room to prepare myself mentally. It took a lot of energy to do a large spell and being prepared in every way could give you the advantage you needed if things didn’t quite go to plan.
My alter was always set up, but today I added a large polished moonstone to symbolise the ritual, a cup of sea water to represent the Undine, and sprigs of lemon balm and lavender to show the outcome I wanted was peaceful. I slowed my breathing down and prayed to the Moon Goddess that our plan would come to fruition with no harm done to any of us taking part. I had done everything in my power to let the night work in our favour, so I got up and changed into warm clothing before the Keepers and Kira arrived.
The kitchen was filled with the smell of a delicious stew I had put in the slow cooker earlier so we had something filling to eat and give us energy. I was pretty sure the others would bring food too. We would eat well before facing our magical problem tonight.
My thoughts had been correct, as Cait arrived with soup, Kenna brought fresh bread, Flora had made one of her delicious cakes, and Kira brought a huge salad with haloumi, nuts, chickpeas and fresh greens from her garden. The table was laden with offerings and I was thankful for what it represented.
“Shall we do the walk through then eat? That way we can work out any problems while we enjoy the food,” Kira suggested.
I explained the changes I had made based on my Mother’s suggestions and we all went to the garden and took our places. We each spoke our parts, without actually drawing on magic and evoking the spell too early. Kenna made a change to the line-up of our calling and suggested that Kira stand in the middle of us so she was enclosed on all sides by our magic. The Undine had been attracted to her energy in the first instance, she may decide that Kira would her focus during the spell too.
We walked it through again, with Cait and Flora making a few tweaks and then tried it for the third time. This time we were all happy with the flow of the spell and all our positons. We were ready.
Back inside the warm kitchen we laid the table and sat down, giving a blessing over the food for this special occasion.
“Bless this food, given by the earth
Bless this home, the heart and hearth
Bless my guests, for the gift of love
Bless tonight’s working, goddess above.”
“Blessed Be,” the others said in response and we helped ourselves to the food we had prepared with love.
We kept the discussion at the table light and only drank water and tea to keep our minds clear. After clearing up we ran though the spell a final time and were all confident with what we had to do. It didn’t take long for the clock to work its way round, and at 10.30 we put our coats on, picked up our supplies and walked out the door.
I led the way through the village I lived on the outskirts of, walking past all the houses where people were already sleeping or getting ready for bed. I said a silent prayer to the Moon Goddess that they remain inside and stay safe tonight, regardless of what happened.
Once we were at the far side of the village, I directed us towards a path that would take us down to the shore; the tide was on its way out and had already left this area free of water. It was secluded enough that we could risk witch lights to guide our way, so we each summoned one and kept them close to us.
This part of the beach held pockets of quicksand, so Flora bent down as soon as we set foot on the sand and placed her palm to the beach. Sending out a small trickle of energy she stabilised the area and made it safe for us to walk out to our focus, an old circular tidal bathing pool that had fallen into ruin.
The pool had been built more than a hundred years ago by witches from our coven to use for specific celebrations. It had been disguised as a swimming area for the locals to enjoy the sea in reasonable safety from the strong tides we experienced. The witches’ circle held specific symbolism to our coven and was divided in two by a line straight through the middle, the explanation of it to the general population being it was inappropriate for men and women to bathe together. Being Victorian times people accepted this reasoning and enjoyed the free facility that had been provided for them.
Our coven had stopped using it when the village got busier and a small hotel, golf course, and holiday park were developed to bring in tourism. Once we stopped using it there was no need to keep it in good repair, but Flora’s work earlier had strengthened it for our use.
We reached the circle and laid out candles. They probably wouldn’t survive the summoning, but they helped us focus our energy to get the casting started. Next we positioned crystals and herbs beside each point and finally stood at the points of the compass as per our elements. Kira took her place in the middle of the circle and checking everyone was in place and ready to do this, began the call to our powers and formed our circle.
“I call to the Elements of the earth we call to you, grant us your presence and hold us safe while we seek to protect our town and the elemental being who is in distress. Hail and Well Met”
Flora made her call next. “I call to the North and the Powers of Earth. Protect our circle with the strength of stone. Let us be steadfast in our beliefs and ground us through this ceremony. Grant us the stability of the earth to hold the elemental in place. Hail and Well Met.”
East always followed North, so Cait began her part of the circle “I call to the East and the Powers of Air. Protect our circle with the strength of the wind. Lend us your protection from above and take our voices only to those who need to listen this night. Hail and Well Met.”
Kenna raised her head, ready to make her call. “I call to the South and the Powers of Fire. Protect our circle with flame. Grant energy and speed and hold us safe from harm. Hail and Well Met.”
Then it was my turn to call to the elements and close the circle so we could begin the spell. “I call to the West and the Powers of Water. Protect our circle with cleansing rain. We ask for insight and help with one of your own. Hail and Well Met. ”
The circle closed round us with an audible snap of power. Our preparations had empowered us and it was visible in the shimmering circle that surrounded us. It was time for me to start the spell casting. I looked to each of my sister witches and they nodded. There was no going back.
Chapter sixteen
Taking my place at the Western point of the circle, I lifted my arms to the sky, hoping the Moon Goddess would hear me and look down on us favourably, assisting us with one of her own creatures. I swallowed the lump in my throat and began.
“I am the Keeper of the West, a wit
ch of Water, and I call to one of my own to cease the disruption you are causing in the town I am bound to protect. Undine, I call you. Come to this blessed circle and show yourself to us, the Protectors of this land, Protectors of the water, Protectors of the People and Creatures who live here. You have disrupted the natural balance and it must be set right.”
The brightness of the moon shone down on us, illuminating clouds that were starting to gather out to sea. A storm was coming.
Again I made the call to the Undine, this time releasing more of my water energy to call the elemental to me, letting the power come through in my voice.
“Undine, come to me. I command you as a water witch, controller of your element. I ask that you do my bidding and make right that which is wrong.”
Thunder rumbled out to sea; a wind picked up and my hair started to flick round my head. I looked round us, noticing the tidal water had disappeared quicker than it should have. The other Keepers could sense something too. Kenna’s hands held flames, and Cait’s hair had lifted from her shoulders, but not from the wind whipping about us. Flora stood solid as a stone, feet rooted to the ground, ready for whatever came our way. I finally checked on Kira, who had a white glow about her hands, her magic ready to do whatever was asked of it.
Thunder rumbled again and a huge crash of lightning momentarily blinded us in the darkness. Once more I called, throwing all my energy into it this time, drawing on the ages’ old power of the circle to push my voice into the darkness.
“Undine, water elemental, come to me NOW!” I reached out my arms to the body of water being drawn out to sea and pulled with my magic, no longer giving her the choice of coming of her own accord.
I pushed my magic into to sea, catching hold of the energy I had found at the harbour, knowing I had caught the elemental in my grasp. Kira, realising I could use assistance, ran over from her central point and took my hand, our powers joined, and together we pulled the Undine towards us.
