Shadows in Ravenwood (Daughters of the Circle)

by Lenore Wolfe

  THIRTY-SIX

  SOPHIA

  Sophia led the drumming as Shantra had Claire, Morgan and Tara lay in the circle. The Fae women gathered around the girls, and Shantra handed each of the women, in turn, a small wooden cup with some kind of herbal mixture.

  She hadn’t used theirs after all—had instead brought some of her own.

  Sophia saw Morgan make a face as she drank down some of the mixture, then watched as Shantra handed went to stand in front of her sister. Sophia smiled as Tara finally picked up hers, sniffed it, took a sip and gagged on it.

  The women lay back on the blankets and closed their eyes while Shantra guided them into the journey. Sophia listened as she spoke of coming through the forest and seeing a large tree, which represented their Tree of Life.

  She spoke of a pond near the tree where each of them might find their power animal. She told them how to recognize their power animal, and how each of them had come to guide the girls, had always guided them, though they might not have realized this before. Shantra spoke of a tunnel, which led them down, down, down towards the center of the earth, reminding them that their guide would lead them through, and how each of them should trust their guide during their journey. Finally, Shantra spoke of coming to a mist, and as the mist parted, she explained they would find what they were seeking….

  Sophia watched her friends. The expressions on their faces reflecting the journey they were on. She hoped they were doing okay. Her face must have shown that because her mother glanced over at her, while Sophia and the twins continued drumming, giving her gentle smile.

  Sophia nodded, thankful for the encouragement.

  Some time later, at her mother’s signal, Sophia led the group in changing the beat—to call her friends back from their journey. As the tempo changed, Sophia sensed the awareness each of them had as they came to, as they rose further and further from the depths until she knew they were about to surface.

  Her mother comforted them while they opened their eyes, checking to making sure they were all right, telling them to lay back and get their bearings.

  After awhile, she let them get up and led them over to the table, instructing them to eat and drink some food and juice. She said it would help ground them—and later, when they were ready, they would discuss what they had learned.

  When they were ready, she glanced at Claire, then Morgan because though Tara seemed more excited—both of sisters were quiet since awaking from their journey. Sophia looked at Tara, first. “Tara, why don’t you begin,” she encouraged.

  Tara glanced at Claire, then Morgan. They nodded, so she obliged. “Okay, well I got a bit lost in the mist,” she said, but when it parted, I saw a darkened room and a light shining from another room with a large, arching doorway. I walked through there, and when the mist cleared completely away, I saw myself standing there. That’s when I realized I stood in the Manor. I watched myself talking to both of you. And you,” she pointed to Morgan, “were holding your son.”

  Morgan’s brows shot up. Her expression one of shock—but Sophia knew was intrigued, too.

  “He was about two years old,” Tara went on. “And you,” she pointed to Claire, “well I didn’t see who you were with—but we were discussing your engagement.”

  Claire’s hand went to her mouth. “I’m not ready to get married,” she said.

  Tara laughed. “Well, I’ve no way of knowing how far in the future this was,” she said, “but I did get the impression is that—we will survive this battle?” she asked, eyeing Shantra.

  Sophia saw her mother nod. “It would seem that’s a possibility.” She glanced around at the young women. “You have to understand. Every single day we make choices that affect the future. So, the possibilities are always changing. But it would seem that Tara was shown that you can survive Dante.”

  The women nodded, and Morgan glanced at Tara. “Did you see all of us?” Were any of us missing?”

  Tara shrugged. “I only saw the three of us—so I don’t know. But I didn’t get any sense of sadness.” She stared at Morgan and Claire, then leaned forward to eye Sophia, like she needed some reassurance. “Of course, it’s far enough into the future….”

  Sophia nodded. Tara hadn’t seen her there—or the twins—or even Alex. But that didn’t mean they hadn’t survived. Perhaps, she’d seen this so they could take some care with the outcome—make sure they all survived this battle.

  Sophia regarded Morgan. “What about you? What did you see?”

  Morgan swallowed. “Well, I saw Dante, and I saw the potions we’ve been working on—but that isn’t what we hit him with. Or I should say—that’s not how we attacked him.”

  Claire nodded. “I saw the same thing. We were tapping into some kind of power,” she said. “We had learned how to tap into something inside of us,” she said. “But I don’t see how this is possible.” She eyed Shantra. “We don’t have time to learn how to do that, do we?” she asked. “That would take years to do, wouldn’t it?”

  Shantra nodded. “Yes,” she said, honestly. “Under normal circumstances, it would.” She considered Tara, “But you saw something else?” she asked. “Didn’t you?”

  Tara frowned, thinking of all the things she’d seen on her journey. “It was when I met my power animal,” she said, remembering. “I had a sense I could—channel his power.”

  Shantra nodded. “This might be why none of the other witches were able to destroy him,” she said.

  The four young women turned their questioning gazes on her.

  “Perhaps,” Shantra explained, “they didn’t have the power within them. Perhaps, success doesn’t lie in just one of you—or even within your entire coven, to do so, but within a specific dynamic, a special way, the four of you work together.” She glanced at her daughter.

  Sophia noticed Tara followed her mother’s gaze back to her.

  “You never told us what your power is—why we would be afraid of you,” Tara said to her.

  Sophia swallowed. She nodded, looking at the sisters and then her friend. Finally, she looked back at her mother. She saw her mother nod. Sophia glanced back at her friends. “I amplify the power around me,” she said simply.

  Morgan stared at her.

  Claire sucked in a breath, as she considered her, then Tara—and finally, her sister. “So, if we”—she indicated herself and Morgan, “tap into our power—and you,” she pointed toward Tara, “channel that power,” she said, gazing at Sophia, “and you amplify that power….”

  Her mother’s smiled, and she clapped her slender white hands together. “It might be enough—to destroy him.”

  Morgan leaned over, eyeing Shantra. “I hope so,” she said, quietly, “because it felt as though it might have the power—to destroy us all.”

  Sophia gawked at her. She turned her head, looking at her mother. “Is that possible?”

  She saw her mother swallow. Her translucent skin became pale, as she stared at Morgan. Finally, her mother nodded.

  Claire eyed Morgan. She leaned over and caught Tara’s knowing gaze. Sophia had to work to suck in a sharp breath, as a chill stole up her spine.

  They better hope because for what Tara saw to become their real outcome—and not just one of the many possibilities—they needed hope. Because, once they all stood within that kind of power, there existed a terrific possibility—Dante wouldn’t be the only one who’d be destroyed.

  When Sophia woke, deep in the night, she glanced over at her daughter. She didn’t know what caused her to wake from such a beautiful dream. She turned on her side, watching her sleeping daughter.

  She’d been so shaken by Morgan’s revelation that she’d returned with her mother to spend the night with Kira—needing to see her—spend some time with her.

  She closed her eyes. She couldn’t believe she’d been dreaming about Jake. She knew she shouldn’t be surprised. She just found—she couldn’t get Jake out of her mind, lately. And she’d tried. She honestly had.

  Sophia blin
ked away her tears. She didn’t know why she’d been so determined to shake off the depth of her feelings for Jake. If she had to guess, she’d have to say it was because she was afraid—especially after her experience with Kira’s father.

  After learning what the future might hold for them—or perhaps the lack of any future at all—Sophia felt more inclined—at least more than she might have been otherwise—to take a chance….

  The next morning, when she returned from the Land of the Fae, she tried to keep herself busy reading the Book of Shadows—reading one of them, and then the other.

  The others felt inclined to do some more studying, too. None of them had the faintest clue how to tap into the blinding power they’d witnessed themselves using while in their journey. She knew Tara would start studying hard because even though she knew how to channel emotions—she’d never once tried to use the ability as a weapon. In fact, she’d immediately confided to Sophia that she wasn’t all sure she could hurt anyone—even Dante.

  That left herself.

  She’d never forgotten who she was—hadn’t been lied to about it. She knew she could amplify any energy around her—and she could do so with unmeasurable power. What she didn’t know—was how they could survive—if she were to amplify what she’d heard them describe.

  When Sophia reached her fill of reading from the Book of Shadows, she tried reading various books around the attic—more out of a desperate need to drive all the emotions from her mind and body—before she found herself wanting to implode from all that lay within her.

  Finally, she had Thorick send a messenger to one of the Gargoyle’s to bring her back to visit her daughter again. While there, she talked to several of her mother’s friends, looking for any angle that would give her an idea of what she would need to keep from killing the sisters. To keep from killing them all. To give them the edge over Dante that they would need….

  Then, realizing they needed her power, that her amplifying their power might be the only way any of them could survive, and that working together could save the sisters—and maybe all their lives—she gave in and began practicing her power.