Suzan turned her gaze to Angel, her mouth turned up into a smile. “The most trusted method of killing witches, of course.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
“YOU’RE LOOKING CHIPPER this morning.” Dave gave Emily a sly look. “Did you spike that coffee?”
Emily smiled at Dave. “No. I’m just having a good morning. I’m ready for my week off.”
“You should be. I’m glad you’re taking more of your hard earned vacation time.” He stood at the counter arranging orders. Most of the lights were still off in the building, but he liked to get everything finished as early as possible so he could start working ahead on the next day’s orders. He also liked to leave early in the afternoon.
Emily pushed the bin of mail next to the desk and sat down. She pulled each pile out of the bin, placed it on the desk, and began sorting it into the mail cart. She was hoping to finish work early today so she could leave early like Dave. Her initiation was tonight. All that stood between her and the dream that had eluded her for months, was a quick and boring shift at work. She was going to get through the day with a smile.
Emily pulled her car to the curb and parked a block down from the covenstead. The sun was on the horizon and it would be dark soon. The group had agreed that until the killers were caught, they would all stay together at Claire and Jeremy's and they would be back each day before dark. In the morning they would each make sure they got to their cars safely. They would be safe in the house, as it was still hidden from view from anyone who meant them harm. Emily was curious what that meant, because the house still looked the same to her. Jeremy had explained that the neighboring buildings on each side appear closer together as if to block the house from view. Anyone searching for the house basically gets disoriented from the effect. She approached the house and squinted at it, trying to see the spell. She didn’t see anything different and she gave up. She wondered if she would be able to see it after her initiation tonight. She looked up and down the street, scanning the block for anyone or anything out of the ordinary. Seeing nothing unusual, she turned up the steps and walked into the house.
Inside, the house was bustling. Everyone was rushing around carrying something, and Emily felt as if she had walked into a family gathering for a holiday.
“She’s here!” Olivia yelled to the rest of the house with a beaming smile. She walked quickly over to Emily and gave her a tight hug.
“Hi,” Emily said, confused. She watched nervously as the rest of the house approached and took turns hugging her.
Jeremy hugged her last. “You have to forgive us, initiations are exciting times. ”
“Are you excited!?” Alison asked her, almost bouncing up and down as she spoke.
“Yeah, of course,” Emily replied. “I just wasn’t expecting this welcome. And, uh. I have to get my jacket off.” She squirmed out of her jacket and Olivia hung it on the coat rack for her.
“Are you hungry?” Olivia asked. “Dinner is almost ready!” She walked cheerfully into the kitchen. Everyone was cheerful tonight, which was a completely different atmosphere than Emily had been used to over the last few days. Tensions had been running high as everyone began getting on each other's nerves. It was like a house full of annoyed siblings.
Emily looked around the house and took a moment to let it all sink in. This was the night she had been waiting for. It had arrived so much sooner than she had prepared herself for, after Jeremey had given her a reality check about how long it usually takes. She was about to live out one of her dreams. She could feel it.
The sun had set and the streetlights outside illuminated the snowy neighborhood. The house glowed warmly in its safe little bubble. Dinner had been delicious and the mood in the house was cheerful. Emily wasn’t nervous, but she thought perhaps she should be. She understood that she was about to make a commitment that she would never be able to take back. Shouldn’t she be nervous? She reminded herself that she was going to be living out an experience that she had dreamed about, and that she was surrounded by people that she felt perfectly comfortable and safe with. Even though she had met them just a short time ago, she felt like she had known them all of her life. She was ready for this next chapter in her life. She had been waiting for it without even realizing it. She was excited.
“Okay, Emily,” Claire said. “Do you have any questions about your initiation? You know we can’t tell you much, but I want to give you the opportunity to ask any final questions before we start.”
Emily looked at all of their faces and felt a profound love. She felt warm and safe with these people, and she thought she knew what was going to happen. “No,” she said with a smile.
“And you understand that in order to make it through the initiation, you might endure fear and pain?” Jeremy asked.
They had told Emily as much as they could about initiation, which wasn’t much. But she learned that there might be some aspects of the ritual that she hadn’t yet experienced in her dreams. She never felt anything scary or unpleasant in her memory, and Claire and Jeremy warned her that there would be aspects of her initiation that would be painful and possibly scary.
“I understand,” she said. “But I trust you.”
The group nodded and Olivia and Allison held hands and smiled.
“Well then,” Claire said. "It’s time to relax in the office for a bit while we start the ritual.
Emily nodded. “Okay,” she said. She stood up and slowly walked towards the office. Claire walked behind her. Jeremy began closing the curtains around the first floor of the house, as was done before every ritual. Allison, Olivia, and Tanner started preparing the circle room.
“See you soon!” Allison teased.
Emily waved her fingers at Allison and smiled. She felt her stomach start to flutter and that’s when the nerves began to sneak in.
The office was small and looked just as it had in her dream. She was brought back to that moment in her mind, and her nervousness only increased.
“You can take your time getting undressed. There is a blanket here for you if you get cold. The music should play for as long as you are in here and,” Claire was cut off.
“I know,” Emily interrupted. “This is new, but I have kind of been here before.”
Claire smiled. “Right,” she said. “Well, do you have any questions?”
“No, I don’t think so,” Emily answered. “I am just excited to see how it all plays out.”
“You should be,” Claire said. “It’s pretty damn exciting.”
Emily wanted to stop Claire, but she didn’t say any more and let Claire turn around and leave. She wanted to focus on the initiation tonight, and she was almost becoming good at pushing her feelings for Claire aside. They hadn’t diminished and the dreams hadn’t stopped, but in their day to day interactions Emily tried to pretend she didn’t have any special feelings for Claire. She was putting on an act. But tonight was about her, not her unrequited love for Claire. She had experienced the dreams that showed her this night and others long before her dreams first showed her Claire. She would have to focus tonight, and let herself be fully in this moment with herself. And fully in the moment with the coven as a whole.
She got undressed, and as she pulled her shirt over her head she realized she would be naked with Claire in real life for the first time. The thought hadn’t occurred to her yet for some reason. She had been so focused on her own experience that night and her dreams and feelings for Claire being separate things. Claire wasn’t obviously present in her dreams of witchcraft and the coven. She had been unable to make out anyone’s faces in the dreams, but had only been able to connect that this was the group from her dream based on other external factors like the house and what Jeremy had told her. She took a deep breath.
“Just focus on your experience tonight. Soak it all in,” she whispered to herself.
Naked, she sat on the floor, just as she had in her dream. Her nervousness continued to grow and she found herself wishing time would move faster. She closed he
r eyes and shifted her attention to her breath. She tried to clear her mind and let go of any expectations she had of the night. The nervousness she was beginning to feel was throwing her off, and she knew that if she didn’t try to get a hold of it, that it could leave her in the wrong headspace. Jeremy had told her that initiation was all about being completely open and accepting of what happens to you during the ritual. You were to be an open vessel for the universe to connect and communicate with you. For the Gods to formally meet you. That was the part Emily hadn’t dreamed about, and she wasn’t sure what exactly that meant.
“Are you ready?” Olivia asked. She was standing at the door and she gently took Emily's hand. She led Emily out of the room and towards the circle. Emily was surprised at how much being blindfolded inhibited her perception of a space she thought she was fairly familiar with. The air was heavy with incense, and she heard a faint tapping of rattles in front of her. Olivia placed her hand on Emily’s chest and stopped her. Emily stood there in the dark, naked, waiting for what happened next. The rattles picked up speed and the coven began to chant words Emily didn’t understand. It sounded like a foreign language, but she struggled to make it out anyway, just in case there was something she might recognize. Olivia’s hand was on her back now and forced her body forward into the room. She felt a heat so intense she thought she was on fire for a moment, and then it passed. She had the sensation she was now in a separate room, as it was slightly warmer, quieter, and felt completely detached from the space she had been standing in just a moment before. She felt a hand on each shoulder guide her around the circle and they pressed her down onto her knees. The chanting became louder and she heard the voices begin to move around her. They were circling her, and she felt a breeze on her back as they increased speed around her. The cool breeze on her back was met with an intense warmth in front of her. She felt fire, and she was unsure of how close to her body it was. None of this had been in her dream. It was all new, and she was struggling to notice every detail of what was happening to her. A cold substance touched her shoulder, and she felt hands spreading something on her skin. The hand felt small and soft, gently spreading the thick substance on her shoulders, collar bone, and lower neck. It had to be Claire. She felt her body kneeling down in front of her own. She wondered how close their naked bodies were to each other. She wondered if the heat was coming from a fire on the altar, or from Claire’s body inches from hers. Struggling to stay focused on the ritual and not Claire, Emily took a deep breath and listened to the chanting. Claire’s hand spread the paste from Emily’s collar bone down to her breast. She lightly covered her nipples with the substance, which were already hard. The image of Claire’s mouth on her nipple flooded her mind and she pushed it away, trying not to make a sound. She felt a sharp pain and realized she was biting her lip. Again, she took a deep breath and relaxed her face. She felt what must have been Claire’s breast brush against her ribs, and it took everything in her power not to lift her arms and pull Claire’s body into hers. Through the chanting she heard Jeremy clear his throat. He must have seen her biting her lip. She needed to keep it together. She started to feel her skin tingle where the substance was applied, and she had the sensation that the room began to spin with the chanting that spun around her.
“Give me your hand,” Claire said. “This is going to hurt a bit.”
Emily took another deep breath and held her right hand up in front of her. She felt pointed pressure on her palm slide diagonally across her flesh, and warmth suddenly filled her hand. It was her blood, she realized. She felt no pain as Claire tipped her hand to the side and blood flowed off of her palm. She heard the sound of her blood dripping into glass in front of her, and she wondered why it didn’t hurt.
“You’re going to start to feel tired, if you haven’t already,” Jeremy said from above her. “You’re going somewhere else for a while. Just remember that you are safe, and we are all watching over you here.” Jeremy and Claire each guided Emily’s body down to the floor until she was laying on her back. The chanting and the rattles continued, and Emily heard Claire and Jeremy join in the circle with the rest of the coven and dance around her body. She could see only black behind her blindfold, and before she knew it, the blackness became even darker as she shifted into another plane of consciousness.
Emily opened her eyes and she was alone in a forest. It was nighttime, but the moon was so bright that everything seemed to glow. Her senses were heightened and she felt more aware than she ever had in her life. The trees swayed back and forth as if they were breathing with her. She was wearing a solid black cloth dress and she was barefoot. The soil beneath her feet felt warm and soft. She wasn’t alone. She could sense creatures watching her from the tree line. At times she saw eyes reflect the moonlight back at her, shimmering like Morse code. She wasn’t scared of these creatures in the dark. She felt like they were there to welcome her. To meet her. They were there to celebrate her. She felt powerful and wide awake. A glowing in the distance beckoned her, and she came across a path through the trees. She began walking down the path towards the glowing light. As she walked, she looked around and listened. She felt a presence and stopped. Someone else was here. Not a woodland creature, but something more. She felt her heartbeat increase and tried to listen to her surroundings over the thumping of her heart in her head. She heard a branch crack behind her and she turned around quickly, slightly crouched and prepared to protect herself. She saw a large shape moving in the woods just beyond the tree-line. It walked into a small break in the trees and the moonlight illuminated it. She gasped. He- it was a he, was looking at her. She knew in the moment that she was only seeing him because he wanted to be seen. He was seven or eight feet tall, shaped like a man but standing upright on two cloven hooves. Once he stopped moving, she realized that the shapes she thought were tree branches were not trees at all. They were enormous horns coming out of his head. Squinting, she could see at least two sets of horns. One pair was tall and looked like deer antlers. The other pair was horizontal and only slightly curved, like a goat. Large pointed ears stood out underneath his horns and framed his hairy face. A cloak that appeared to be made of moss was draped over his shoulders, and his large pectoral muscles flexed in the moonlight. He was massive, and he was the most incredible thing Emily had ever seen. She opened her mouth to speak and was unable to utter a sound. His eyes were focused on her, and he gently nodded his head towards her in approval. He started walking away and vanished into the darkness. She shook her head in an attempt to snap out of the trance she felt like she had been in. He was gone, and she longed to meet him. She felt like he had to tell her something. She ached for him to tell her something. Once again she noticed the glow in the distance and continued walking towards it. She saw a clearing at the end of the path with a stone structure in the middle. She approached and stepped into the clearing. The small structure was a stone well, and the water glimmered in the moonlight. The space was small, only a few feet between the well and the tree line that surrounded it. She stepped up to the well and saw the reflection of a full moon on the water’s surface. Not knowing why, she wanted to touch the water. She reached out and touched the reflection of the moon and the warm water rippled under her hand. A drop of blood from her palm fell from her hand, and hit the surface of the water. It turned the water red and the moon in the sky turned with it. Redness overtook the moon like a lunar eclipse, and the red shadow that moved along her and the well passed like a figure passing by on a sunny day. Emily stared at the moon and watched the red pass over it. When she looked back down, she jumped at the sight of a woman standing in front of her next to the well. Her skin was soft and pale, and her long black hair lay flat against her chest. She wore a light blue dress that was long and flowing, almost translucent. The woman opened her arms to Emily, and Emily walked forward into her embrace. She held Emily tight and loving. Like a mother holds her child. A wave of emotion washed over Emily, and she started to cry. The tears came and her shoulders shook as she wept. The w
oman held her and let her cry until she had no more tears left. She pulled Emily back with a hand on each shoulder and looked her in the eyes. She leaned in and kissed Emily’s forehead. Emily closed her eyes and breathed in the kiss, and when she opened her eyes the woman was gone. She was alone again in the clearing. She wiped her cheeks and looked around, unsure of where to go next. Just then she heard the chanting and drumming from the circle, and it sounded like the sounds were coming from back down on the path that took her here. She walked through the woods, and as she walked the chanting grew louder until it surrounded her completely. As the sounds filled her ears, the woods darkened and the moonlight dimmed. Slowly the entire world went black.
Emily opened her eyes and she was laying on the floor in the circle, with the coven dancing around her. They came to her and all helped her up, their bodies warm and sweaty. The blindfold was pulled off of Emily’s face and Claire’s face was the first thing she saw. Claire took her hand and led her in a dance around the circle, with Jeremy behind them holding Emily’s other hand. Claire held Tanner’s hand around the altar which sat in the center, to complete the circle. The coven danced around the altar, hand in hand. The room was bright with amber candlelight and the air was thick with smoke. Incense rose from the altar and Emily recognized all of this from her dreams. The items on the altar, the smell that filled her lungs, and the moist naked skin that was all a blur.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
THE COVEN SAT together in the living room. They were now all dressed and were snacking on finger food and drinking wine.
“So, what did you think?” Allison asked. “What did you think of them?
“I saw one person. A man? And met a woman,” Emily said. She wondered if person was even the right word. “I don’t know how to describe it. It felt really emotional. I guess I wasn’t prepared for that.”
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