by KT Webb
“What are you doing? Who’s out there?”
Sutton turned to her friend and said, “I don’t know, but I think it was the creepy person who’s been in my room a few times at night. I started having these dreams about this girl and we both had magical powers. We were always running from or fighting off these men in dark clothing.”
“I am really having a hard time wrapping my head around this. Are you telling me that you were responsible for my hideousness and my healing?”
“Really? Is that all you can think about right now? I don’t really know how to control it yet. It started on my birthday. I wanted the world to see who you were on the inside, and you turned into—that. Then I think I made my mom stop talking. Then I blew up the chandelier in my house. Then I used magic to clean my room and summon a bowl of ice cream.”
“Ooh, you can summon a bowl of ice cream? Like any flavor, cuz I could really go for some Blue Moon right about now.”
“Ugh, you’re not listening. These dreams I’ve been having, I think they’re real. The dark figure I’ve seen in my room must be out there trying to kill us. I don’t know what’s going on.”
Her friend exhaled slowly. “Okay, if what you’re saying is true, then that dude probably isn’t looking for me. He’s looking for you. We need to get you out of here.”
“Anyone crazy enough to shoot an arrow into a garage at two teenage girls isn’t going to be that picky about who they kill trying to reach their goal. We both need to leave, now.”
A gash of blue appeared in front of the girls. They exchanged a confused look, unsure of what to make of this apparent tear in the middle of the room. Instinctively, Sutton grabbed Dee’s hand and took a step towards the crackling opening.
“What are you doing? Don’t get close to it!” Dee tried to pull away.
“I think it’s our way out.”
“Okay, but did you make it, or did he?” Dee gestured with her head as she desperately tried to pull away from her friend.
“It’s blue, I think I made it. Everything I do is blue.” She couldn’t believe how insane that truly sounded.
The front door burst open and Sutton screamed. Not one, but three men stepped through the frame, the massive mahogany door barely clinging to its hinges. Their faces were so similar; they could have been triplets. They stood at least six feet tall with thick black hair and deep brown eyes. Each carried a weapon, ready to strike.
“Daughter of Beltane, we have come to destroy you.”
“I thought your mom’s name was Lori. . .” Dee whispered out of the corner of her mouth.
“Not the time,” she replied, not taking her eyes off the men in front of them.
“Running away will only prolong your death. You must die to bring her back.”
“What the—”
She shot Dee a warning look. Sutton had no idea who the men were, but their insistence that she die was not exactly comforting. She once again grabbed her friend and dragged her to the portal; they couldn’t waste any more time. Her only hope was pegged on the sparking portal closing behind them.
Leaping through a magical portal feels like plunging into ice cold water. The prickly energy surrounded them as they became fully immersed in the blue light. As she’d hoped, the door closed behind them and they arrived in Sutton's room. She didn’t miss a beat. Grabbing her duffel bag, she started to explain her plan to Dee.
“Look, I have to go. I have to find Lucy. If they’re coming after me, they’ll go after her next.”
“Whoa, hold the phone. Who were those guys? Who’s Lucy? And why did they think you were the daughter of. . .what was it? Oh yeah, Bell-tain?”
Sutton didn’t stop stuffing clothing in her duffel as she answered her friend. “I don’t know who they were, but I’ve seen them in my dreams. And I think one of them was in my room once. Lucy is a girl I’ve been dreaming about since my birthday. I think she’s got powers like me. And I don’t have a freaking clue who they were talking about.”
“O-M-G. I just Googled Bell-tain. It’s actually B-E-L-T-A-N-E. It’s a holiday for witches.”
Sutton froze in her tracks. “Witches?”
“I guess that explains your weird superpowers.”
“I am not a witch. Witches aren’t real. And how can I be the daughter of a holiday? That doesn’t even make sense.”
“Beats me, but how else can you explain these magical powers? Superheroes aren’t real either.”
Sutton finished stuffing her bathroom stuff in her bag. Dee had a point. It was no more ridiculous to think she was a superhero that it was to think she was a witch.
“Where are you going to go?”
“To find Lucy, I have to warn her that they’re coming.”
“Do you even know where she lives?”
Sutton bit her lip and said, “No, but if what you’re saying is true, couldn’t I use my witchy powers to find her?”
“Do you know any spells?”
“No I don’t know any spells! Dee, this is ridiculous. Maybe I’m just having a weird dream. I mean, in what universe would any of this be happening? Look at us, we’re friends! Am I just nuts? Maybe I’ve been locked up in an asylum somewhere and just live inside my own screwed up head.”
Sutton recoiled from the harsh sting delivered by the slap Dee threw her way.
“Sorry, you were just going on and on about it. Did that feel like a dream? My hand is stinging so it felt pretty real to me,” she shook her hand for emphasis.
“If it’s real, then I think I just came face to face with the men who have been trying to kill me in my dreams. If it’s real, then somewhere out there, Lucy is in just as much danger as I am.”
“We have to find her.”
“We?”
“Yeah, you’re not just going to leave me here to get killed by the three stooges, are you?”
Sutton hadn’t thought about it. How was she supposed to keep Dee safe while searching for Lucy? She had no idea, but if she left her friend alone she would likely be caught in the crosshairs as the mysterious assassins searched for their target. She sighed and eyed her friend.
“What size do you wear?”
Lucy
Chapter Five
Spring Equinox
“Lucy, it’s time to get up!”
She rolled over in bed when her aunt called up the stairs. Lucy covered her head with the pillow before remembering why today was going to be special; it was her sixteenth birthday. She got out of bed and bounded down the stairs to find freshly baked cinnamon rolls waiting for her.
“Hey sleepyhead. Do you want to skip school today?”
Lucy nodded with a mouthful of delicious doughy goodness. Her parents died in a car accident when she was little, leaving her father’s sister to raise her. Mallory wasn’t exactly “mom material”. She had only been twenty-one when her brother- and sister-in-law died, leaving her to raise their seven-year-old daughter. It hadn’t been easy, but together they made it work.
“What do we get to do today?”
“Well, I was thinking, since it’s the Spring Equinox, and you’re finally sixteen, I could show you how to set up the Ostara altar.”
“Really?” Lucy had been waiting for her aunt to let her help with her Wiccan rituals for years.
“Yep, it’s time you start learning how to do your own rituals, if you want to that is. You know I’d never make you do something you didn’t feel comfortable with.”
Lucy thought about it while she ate the rest of her cinnamon roll. She knew that there was nothing to be afraid of. Being a Wiccan was a way of life, just like some of her friends were Christians or Catholics. She’d never felt a connection with any religion, but she was most familiar with Wicca. She could still remember the first time she heard her aunt talking to her parents about her rituals. She’d written it down in her diary and started doing research.
“Yeah, I think it’ll be fun! I can’t wait to learn all about it.”
“Okay, then we’ll get to work r
ight after we finish the dishes.”
Lucy helped to clean up before rushing upstairs to take a shower. She hadn’t told Mallory about the strange dream she’d had the night before. She’d witnessed a short girl with spiky black hair running for her life from three men. The men were terrifying; one was able to morph into a dark shadow that surrounded the girl until all Lucy could hear were her terrified screams.
She shook her head as if it would help clear the memory. After she was dressed, she did the same thing she did every morning. She made her bed, sent her dirty laundry down the chute, and kissed the picture of her parents she kept on her nightstand.
In the backyard, she found her aunt putting the table cloth over the handcrafted oak table she used for all her rituals. The cloth was silky and dyed a soft green that reminded Lucy of the first sprouts that appear in the spring. She hopped in and grabbed the bundle of fresh flowers she and Mallory had clipped from the greenhouse. It was time for her to show what she’d learned from years of research.
Lucy began to weave the stems of lilacs, daffodils, lilies, and crocuses together in a circle. When she finished, she gently lay the wreath on the table and placed the basket of eggs in the middle. The celebration of Ostara was all about new life; after the cold death of winter, the earth comes back to life for spring.
“You’ve been reading again haven’t you?” Mallory chuckled.
She shrugged. “Maybe a little.”
She watched her aunt strategically place crystals and gems around the wreath Lucy made. She recognized moonstone, aquamarine, and rose quartz. After placing the green, yellow, and purple candles on the table, Lucy stepped aside to let Mallory finish. The final piece was placed with care and when the two stood back, they faced a beautiful altar full of life and promise.
Lucy had seen the statue of the Goddess many times but had never asked her aunt who her primary deity was. She studied the features of the intricately carved goddess. The woman looked like a mother; her jawline was strong and cheekbones angular, but something about her eyes and the softness of her lips made Lucy feel safe. The miniature woman had long, braided hair and held a flat tray in front of her. The symbols and swirls indicated that she must be a Celtic goddess.
In the back of her mind, Lucy heard a name whispered to her. . . Danu.
“Who is Danu?” She whispered to Mallory.
“She is my Goddess. Danu is the Goddess of Knowledge, according to Celtic tradition, and all life came from her. How did you know her name?”
Lucy shrugged. Even with her open mind, she was certain it would be difficult for her aunt to accept that she’d heard the name whispered in her mind.
“Danu is my Goddess too. I can feel it.”
Mallory put her arm around Lucy and squeezed her tightly.
“What now?” Lucy had never actually been present for the rituals her aunt performed.
“Now, you watch. Eventually, you can join me, but for now I want you to observe.”
She sat down on one of the benches positioned throughout the backyard. Luckily, she had armed herself with a sweatshirt and fuzzy blanket to shield her from the early morning cold. Spring may have begun but it was still chilly in South Dakota. Mallory took a deep breath in through her nose and exhaled through her mouth. She lit the green candle.
“As the Wheel of the Year turns once more,
the spring equinox arrives.
Light and dark become balanced,
and the ground begins to transform.
The earth awakens from its slumber,
and new life springs forth once more.”
Mallory lit the yellow candle then looked to the sky and continued her chant.
“The sun draws ever closer to us,
warming the earth with its welcoming rays.
Light and dark become balanced,
and the sky fills with light and warmth.
The sun warms the ground beneath our feet,
and gives life to all in its path.”
Mallory lit the purple candle then spread her arms out in a gesture of welcome.
“Welcome spring! We are thankful for your presence.
The Divine is present all around,
in the cool drops of a rain storm,
in the tiny buds of a flower,
in the fuzzy down of a newborn chick,
in the fertile fields waiting to be planted,
in the sky above us,
and in the earth below us.
We thank Danu for all she has to offer us,
and are so blessed to be alive on this day.
Welcome, life! Welcome, light! Welcome, spring!”
Lucy watched as her aunt silently stared at the dancing flames on the table. The crisp morning air caused them to bob up and down in an intoxicating dance. Mallory closed her eyes and continued to stand in silence. Lucy couldn’t help but feel the magic swirling through the air. The gentle breeze that lifted her hair ever so slightly felt like it was breathing life back into the world around her.
Mallory opened her eyes, mixed the bowl of honey into the bowl of milk then poured it around her altar in a circle.
“I make this offering to the earth,
As thanks for the many blessings I have received,
And those I shall someday receive.
Blessed be.”
“Blessed be,” Lucy whispered.
Mallory continued to stand barefoot before the altar. She had closed her eyes and looked as though she was taking in every sound and smell around her. Lucy was in awe of the focus and dedication her aunt had. She could only hope that one day she too would be that devoted to her craft. Mallory turned and reached a hand out to Lucy, then led her back into the house.
“What did you think?”
“It was beautiful. Do you just come up with something to say on the fly or do you have your rituals all planned out?”
“A little bit of both. I never say it the same way twice because I let Spirit guide me.”
Lucy had heard Mallory talk about Spirit before. It was almost as though she could hear it speaking to her and understood what it expected. She wondered if it was truly magic as so many believed, or if it was the same relationship her friends described when they talked about God.
She excused herself to go upstairs and do some more research. Once inside her room, she opened her closet and shoved the clothes aside. The small door at the back led into a crawlspace that Lucy had long ago turned into her private getaway. She pulled the clothes back into place and carefully shut the small door. The bulb overhead illuminated the cozy space and allowed enough light for Lucy to read and write in her journals.
She wrote down everything she saw and felt during the Ostara ritual. The symbolism of the altar, and the words Mallory said had left her with an odd sense of wonder. How could anyone think Wicca was devil worship or evil? Sure, there were those who practiced the dark arts, but Wicca as a whole was nothing like that.
Looking down at the page in her journal, she was surprised to discover she had written something entirely different from what she’d intended. Lucy read the warning written on the page in a barely legible scrawl.
“They’re coming for you.”
The words were written repeatedly on the page in front of her, sending chills up and down her spine.
Lucy
Chapter Six
Wiccans or Witches
The next day at school, Lucy was bombarded with birthday greetings from her friends. Other than everyone wanting to know what she did for her birthday, it was a typical day at school. She walked into her science class and took her seat. Her teacher droned on about how plants get their color. After being in the classroom for only five minutes, Lucy was struggling to keep her eyes open.
Science had never been one of her strong subjects. She stared at the clock and willed it to move faster as she had millions of times before. Of course, she’d been bitterly disappointed every other time, but this time she watched in disbelief as the minute hand appeared to w
hirl around. When she glanced around her, everything appeared to be moving in fast forward. Her classmates, the teacher, even the cars she could see through the window, all moved in quick jerky movements. Then everything seemed to slow and the bell rang signaling the end of class.
Lucy looked around wondering if anyone else was experiencing the same time warp she was. No one appeared to notice how quickly time had passed so she chalked it up to boredom and went about her day.
“Lucy!”
She turned to find her best friend, Jeni, rushing up to her. Jeni was carrying a brightly wrapped present and wearing a face-splitting grin.
“Open it,” she said breathlessly, thrusting the gift into Lucy’s hand.