Women of all shapes and ages, dressed in cloaks with similar fashion to my own in an array of colors meant to represent their Zodiac, stand around the meadow. Some chat quietly in small groups, others sit silently with eyes rimmed red from crying, and still, others look as queasy as I feel.
I scan the small crowd, looking for Sarah. “Mom, do you see Sarah?”
Mom surveys the crowd, waving at a few ladies that catch her eye. “No, but she’ll be here. Once you take on the Guardianship, you can’t refuse to come.”
“Why? What would happen?” She quickly shakes her head, just enough movement for me to see, then smiles warmly as Julia walks over.
I rush forward to meet her. “I’m so glad to see you. I don’t know how to thank you. How did you make it out of there?”
Julia dips her head sheepishly. “A story for another time.”
She glances between my mom and me. “Good to see you both again.”
Her deep purple cloak, the color of fresh eggplant, swishes around her ankles. A golden topaz surrounded by turquoise pieces hangs suspended on a silver chain around her neck. “You look lovely, Ciara. Are you ready?”
I desperately want to tell her I’m not ready, but instead, I plaster on a smile and hope it does the trick. “Yeah, I’m excited.”
Mom rolls her eyes as Julia snorts. “Good.”
Julia glances up at the sky, barely visible through the thick forest. “It’s almost time.”
My mom takes my arm, guiding me to the northernmost place in the circle. I concentrate on keeping my dress out of the snow to avoid all the eyes following us. “Don’t be nervous.”
“It’s a little late for that,” I say, rubbing my arms.
Mom gently pats my back. “Well, if you don’t calm down, the ritual can be painful. You need to relax and give yourself over.”
I roll my eyes. “Thanks for the pep talk. That helps.”
She smiles sweetly as I turn back to the forest.
Movement in the shadows catches my eye, and I hold my breath, squinting through the darkness. I breathe a sigh of relief as Aidan slips into the light just far enough for me to see him. I open my mouth to speak, but he disappears back into the darkness. My mom turns me around to face the gathering women that murmur quietly to each other.
My mom clears her throat, speaking in a loud, clear voice. “Let us begin.”
The women immediately stop talking, the silence overwhelming as they all stare, huddling together between us and the fire. “Welcome, ladies, to the annual gathering of the Guardians. The time for the turn of the Zodiac is upon us again. I’m glad you all could be here tonight. In two hours’ time, the Zodiacs will come to Earth for their twenty-four-hour allowance. As you all know, once again a Zodiac has broken our laws and attempts to stay on Earth. We must stand together and make sure Taurus does not get his way. Do we stand as one?”
I watch in complete fascination, impressed with the way my mother commands the group, and wonder if I'll have to do the same.
A resounding yes, in unison from the group. Some of the faces are resolute and others look frightened, but all stand tall and together.
My mom nods. “We stand together. It is time you take your place on the wheel for roll call.”
She waits quietly as they quickly move to their positions, following the tree line around the circle. She looks immediately to her left, smiling at Julia. “Julia, Guardian of Sagittarius.”
Julia takes a small step forward and curtsies.
“The ninth house represented.” She dips her head, stepping back to place.
Mom continues around the circle, calling each one by name and each one stepping forward to acknowledge the house of their Zodiac. Three ladies are missing. Morgan for Pisces, Reena for Scorpio, and Delia for Leo are represented by their daughters, and are three of the four Guardians not carrying their stones.
As the roll call finishes, a faint white glow wraps thinly around the edge of the group.
“Our protection around our circle is not complete because of the missing birthstones. Be wary this night.” The women share nervous glances around the circle before turning back to my mom.
“That concludes the introduction. Our first quick order of business is to return the Taurus birthstone to the rightful Guardian. We recovered it earlier today, and it is our duty to protect the stone and Guardian from Taurus’s control until midnight tomorrow when Taurus’s body will give out, and he’s forced to return to Polaris. Sarah.”
Sarah glances around nervously, wilting under a mixture of stares ranging from pity to blame. With tears in her eyes, she slowly makes her way to stand in front of my mother, who holds her hand out to me.
Julia takes a tentative step forward. “Are you sure that’s the right thing to do?”
My mom scans the Guardians as a few murmur their agreement. “Are there others who would like to question our laws?” She waits, but no one else is brave enough to step forward.
“Our laws have been in place since the beginning of each of our lines. It is our duty, for each of us, to protect the sacred stones of our houses. It is not for us to deviate. Any other questions?” She’s met with uncomfortable silence.
I hesitate, but at my mom’s stern look, I fish the ring out of my cloak and hand it over. She presents the ring to Sarah, placing it on her open palm.
Sarah squeezes the ring, frowning as my mom closes her fingers around Sarah’s hand with a firm grip.
“You’ll do your duty.” It wasn’t a question. Sarah nods, and my mom releases her hand. Sarah quickly returns to her position in the circle, keeping her eyes locked firmly on the ground.
“Normally, we would complete all the Guardian ascension rituals, but due to the missing birthstones of those taken from us, tonight we will do only one, and we’ll do an emergency meeting at the next turn.” She takes my hand, leading me gently toward the center of the circle by the fire.
It takes a conscious effort to make my legs move, and if there are any noises in the forest tonight, I wouldn’t be able to hear them over the pounding of my heart, which also happens to be stuck in my throat.
Mom turns to face me, holding out her arms. “Take off your cloak.”
I slip it off, shivering in the frigid mountain air, the temperature well below freezing, and hand it to my mother. She lays the cloak gently on the ground and motions for me to lie down. I take my place, careful to avoid as much of the snow as possible, thankful that the cloak is long enough to cover me from head to toe. The thickness of the fur protects me from most of the cold threatening from the ground.
My mom kneels by my side, smiling softly as a tear trickles down her cheek. She whispers so only I can hear. “I never thought I’d be proud to see this day, but I am proud. Do you want this?”
I nod, as she kisses me gently on the forehead. She leans back, and in a loud, clear voice, she says, “Let the ascension begin.”
I watch her take a deep breath, matching it with one of my own. She slips a short knife out of the folds of her dress, made entirely out of turquoise and sharpened to a very fine point. “What is that?”
Mom raises the blade above me, centering it directly above my chest and the birthstone. “Close your eyes.”
Even though it’s my mom, I’m on the verge of panic. I fight against the instinct to run away, not entirely sure it isn’t the better idea. “What’s happening? What are you going to do with that?”
“I said close your eyes.” In one swift movement, she plunges the knife into my chest.
I don’t even have time to scream before everything goes dark.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
I can’t see anything here, wherever here is. All I know is I’m still alive, and there’s solid ground beneath my feet. I wait for my eyes to adjust to the lack of light as the cold air hangs thick in my lungs.
“Now what?” My voice echoes all around me.
Several feet in front of me, a soft, green orb appears from out of nowhere. The emerald light sh
ines bright but doesn’t illuminate anything around it.
Though moving forward cautiously, I snag my toe on something hidden in the darkness, and it sends me crashing to the ground. Reaching out, I feel around me, my fingers running over what feels like giant rocks. Thankful I didn’t break my head open, I slowly pull myself to my feet, shuffling ahead without lifting my feet for fear of tripping over something else.
I stop in front of the glowing orb, a tiny ball of sparkling green energy. As I stare at it, images of rocks, mountains, trees, and dirt filter through my mind. My heart pounds as much from excitement as fear, and I reach out to touch it, but it dances away from my fingers. I take another swipe at it, and again it avoids my touch. I don’t know what it is, I just know I want it. Not knowing what else to do, I follow the light, my only friend in this black hole.
I’m not sure how long I walk behind the orb. It’s too hard to tell in the darkness. I’m so intent on catching the light that I fail to realize someone is here with me until I run into her. Or rather through her. I gasp, my teeth suddenly chattering, and turn slowly around.
She floats in front of me, ethereal and beautiful. The lady wears a simple linen frock, as gray as a mountain stone that covers her from neck to foot. Her hair as dark as my own floats around her in her own personal wind. She stares at me with the same green eyes I share with my mother. In fact, we look quite a bit alike. “Are you here to help me?”
Silently she stares at me.
“Who are you?” I’m unable to shake the feeling that I know this lady floating in front of me.
Without moving her mouth, a ghostly whisper fills the air. “Original.”
“You’re the original Capricorn Guardian? You’re my ancestor?”
She nods.
“Where am I? How do I get back?”
The original raises her arm, pointing directly at my chest. I glance down and realize the birthstone is missing. My head snaps back up, and I see the ruby glittering around her neck, lit up by her ghostly glow. “How’d you get that? It’s mine now.”
The lady flickers, like an old tube television being turned off, and disappears, leaving me once again in absolute darkness. I’m close to tears and not sure what to do next. After a couple of deep breaths to slow my racing heart, I slowly inch my way forward, holding my arms straight in front of me.
After a few steps, my hands bump into a wall, a rough surface that feels like stone beneath my fingers. Dragging my hands carefully along the surface, I search for a way out, but I end up walking a small circle. Each pass I make, the smaller the circle. The walls are closing in on me. I suppress the panic rising in my chest and lean against the wall, staring into absolute nothingness.
The tiny green ball of energy sparks up in front of my eyes. Again, I reach out for it, and still, it dances around, staying just beyond my fingertips. I wait, watching the light sparkle in the darkness, and my mom’s words ring through my head, asking me if this is what I want.
“I do. I want this.”
The light floats toward me, slow and hesitant. I stand perfectly still, taking slow, shallow breaths. The tiny ball bumps against me and makes my skin tingle. Without warning, it sinks into my chest.
My body ignites from head to toe like an electric current courses through my body, to the point I think I might catch fire. The green light emanates, circling me as rays of light shoot from my fingertips. Giddiness bubbles up inside of me, and I tilt my head back, laughing until I can no longer breathe.
Suddenly, the light fades, and the prickling subsides, like the tide flowing back into the ocean. Every nerve on overload, my senses run on high. I can hear a faint breeze whispering through the air, and the darkness fades, revealing the stone walls surrounding me.
I follow a hunch and lay my hands on the wall, concentrating on the rocks. They shift, rumbling and scraping together, sand rains from the ceiling, and a small doorway appears. I duck through the opening.
Inside another small chamber, hundreds of my ancestors wait, their pale glow like a supernatural nightlight. All have dark hair and green eyes, and the dresses reflect the centuries like a fashion history book. In the front and center of the group stands the original Guardian.
She slips her palm beneath the birthstone and raises it, the jewel pointing toward the ceiling, and nods in my direction.
Striding forward, I lay my hand on top of the stone, screaming as a searing heat surges through my arm. I yank my hand back, checking my palm, the burn already blistering.
“What was that?”
Smiling, my ancestor offers me the birthstone again. This time I only lay a finger on the stone, and again it burns me, an ugly red blister bubbling on the tip.
“What the hell?” I suck on the tip of my finger, frowning at my original ancestor. “What am I supposed to do?”
All she offers me is a thin smile and the birthstone, which I have no intention of touching again.
I cross my arms, grimacing as I scrape my blister across my dress, and glare at the translucent faces, watching me in stony silence.
“What?” My voice rises dangerously close to a shriek. “What am I supposed to do? What do you want from me?”
My demands are met only with stony silence.
“Why can’t you…” A small detail catches my eye. I take a tentative step closer, the air temperature much colder this close to the ghosts, so that I can have a better look.
The one that calls herself the original has a small slit in the chest area of her dress. As I scan across the group, each ancestor bears the same mark in approximately the same place for each woman. About the same place my mom brought the turquoise dagger down on me.
I look down at my chest, but my dress is untouched. Then it hits me. Mom said a part of my essence would have to be removed and be infused with the birthstone. It would give me full power with the stone and allow me to ascend as the rightful Guardian.
I take a deep breath and square my shoulders. This is it. This is my destiny.
“I’m ready.”
My original ancestor pulls the birthstone from around her neck, holding her free hand high in front of her face. The same turquoise dagger materializes in her hand in a swirl of green and yellow light. She floats forward, offering me the blade.
“What?”
She forces the dagger into my hand, the cold in her touch freezing my fingers.
I take the dagger, the weight of the turquoise heavy in my hand. Squeezing my fingers tightly around the blade, I breathe slow and steady to keep my knees from buckling. I have no idea what to do next, and I’m afraid I don’t have the courage to go through with it. My eyes rise to the lady in front of me, and she gently lays her hand on the center of her own chest.
I grab the dagger tightly with both hands, slowly raising it above my body. My breathing quickens. I’m on the verge of passing out. The room tilts slightly before righting itself. Before I give myself a chance to change my mind, I muster every ounce of strength I can find and bring the blade down into the center of my chest.
I expect to die. At the very least I assume the worst pain imaginable. Thankfully, I don’t experience either one. I look down at the blade, protruding from my body, my hands still so tight around the handle that my knuckles have turned white. A small beam of green light shines out of the slit I’ve made, like a beacon in the darkness.
I adjust my grip on the dagger and give it one hard pull, the knife popping free from my chest. I’m mesmerized by the tiny heart, impaled on the tip of the blade, that beats in time with my own. It looks like a small ruby, glowing with the same green light from the cave.
My ancestor holds out Capricorn’s birthstone. I touch the blade of the dagger to the ruby in the center of the jewel, which immediately absorbs my essence. The ruby flashes with a light so bright, I’m temporarily blinded. A second later the cave is dark again, and the dagger is missing from my hand. I take the birthstone, that no longer burns me, from her hand and slip it around my neck. She steps back toward t
he others as they all slowly fade from view, leaving me alone once again in the darkness. Only this time I'm not afraid.
I walk back to the wall and lay my hands on the stone, the unevenness of the surface rough beneath my palms. I feel the ancient souls of the rocks. It’s beautiful and harmonious. They sing a song just for me. The stones shift, opening a narrow doorway.
My eyes fly open as I sit up, gasping, and cough to the point where I think I’m going to vomit.
Mom still sits by my side, rubbing my back to help me to settle down. Slowly my surroundings come into focus.
I’m back in the meadow, sitting on my cloak next to the fire. My body tingles with energy, and a glance down shows the glowing birthstone around my neck. I can feel everything. The ground beneath me, the stones around the fire, the trees surrounding the meadow.
“Did I do it?”
My mom beams at me, helping me to my feet.
“You did it. Congratulations.” She opens her arms to hug me, stopping short as screams erupt through the meadow.
Frantically, I look around as the other Guardians scatter, racing for the trees. “What’s happening?”
“Congratulations. You’re one of us,” a deep voice rumbles from behind me.
I slowly turn to find Taurus standing at the edge of the trees, a struggling Aidan held firmly within his grasp.
“No!” I lunge forward, but my mom pulls my arm, forcing me to stop as Taurus slips his hand around Aidan’s neck. “Let him go!”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Taurus tightens his grip, and Aidan turns an alarming shade of purple as his eyes start to close. With his free hand, Taurus motions off to the side.
To my left, Sarah steps forward with tears in her eyes. She carries Taurus’s birthstone in her hand.
“Sarah! Don’t! Please!” I clench my fists tightly.
The Tenth House Page 17
