by TJ Green
“Neither do I!”
“Or me!” El added, annoyed.
Briar intervened. “The police? What’s happened since I last saw you?”
“Didn’t you hear?” Avery asked, having a feeling she was about to ruin Briar’s night. “A woman died on the moors that night.”
She nodded. “A car accident. What’s that got to do with us?”
“It wasn’t a car accident. It was the demon.”
Briar looked horrified as the reality of their situation sank in. “The one that attacked you?”
“Well, there better not be another,” Alex said dryly. He turned to El. “How did it attack you? You never said.”
“We were already underground,” she said, thinking. “The spell showed us the foundation and led us to the underground cellar’s entrance. Up to that point we were alone. Obviously it was dark, but I didn’t sense anything, and there wasn’t a sound, except for the occasional car on the road beyond. It arrived once we were in the cellar room with the box. I don’t know where it came from—it was just there. I didn’t sense a thing.” She exhaled heavily. “I feel pretty stupid. It grabbed me and it was like being held by a cord of electricity. It was horrible. I could sense this darkness and hunger for power. And I couldn’t get free—that was really scary.”
Reuben stirred. “It’s true. It was just there. As it grabbed El, it struck me.”
“But the box was there,” Avery said, puzzled. “Why didn’t it take it?”
“The wards,” Briar said. “They would have repelled it.”
Alex nodded. “Good point. Maybe the demon was to keep you there until whoever was controlling it could get there to get the box. We’re lucky we were closer.”
Gil stood up. “If I’m honest, I’m not feeling that celebratory. However, we are here to celebrate the Solstice, so let’s get on with it.”
“Well, I’m going to celebrate my first encounter with a demon and surviving,” Reuben said with a grin.
“Good point!” Alex agreed. “So, you’re joining us?”
“After last night, I’ve decided I can’t ignore my magic any longer. Especially if I want to survive. So yes, I am.”
“Before we start, I need a hand to get the box in,” El said. “You’re all going to help me get my grimoire.”
***
They stood on the grassed area in the centre of the garden. El held the sword with the point turned down, touching the earth, and starting in the East, she walked around in a full circle, large enough to hold all of them. The other five followed, all murmuring the ritual words to create the circle.
They stepped into it, and as the circle was sealed behind them, Avery felt the outside world falling away as the sacred space enveloped her. All other evening sounds disappeared: cars, the murmur of people talking that carried from the road, and even the sound of the breeze rustling through the trees.
They had decided their celebrations should encompass giving thanks to the gods and the elements for their magic and an appeal to give strength for the coming year. They spoke in unison, their voices weaving together as they repeated the well-known lines, rising and falling with changing cadence. They moved around the sacred space in a steady dance, exchanging candles between them, and Avery acutely felt the cold grass beneath her feet, dry and brittle.
As the light diminished and the first stars appeared in the sky, Avery felt the turn in the season, the acknowledgement that they were moving towards winter already, the longest day almost over. With the silence came power, and she felt it soaking into her skin and bones, renewing her for the challenges she knew were to come. Within the circle, the candlelight at the four points of the compass burned steadily, throwing a flickering light over their ritual, but outside it was black, and it seemed to press in on them.
Avery had no idea how long the ritual lasted. Time within the circle seemed to slow, but her gaze fell on the box in the centre, and she wondered if opening it would be as challenging to El as Alex’s was to him.
Gil broke the silence that had fallen at the end of the ritual. “When do you want to open your box, El?”
“Now’s as good a time as any.” She walked over to the box, opening the lid, which like Alex’s was deep with small runes carved around the edge.
“Are all the grimoires hidden in boxes?” Briar asked, watching El carefully.
“Maybe,” Avery said. Briar looked worried, and Avery still wasn’t sure if she wanted to find hers at all.
Reuben spoke from opposite Avery, his face in the shadows. “It’s interesting, isn’t it? If we find another one like this, we have to presume they were all hidden together.”
“It makes sense though, doesn’t it?” Gil said. “The Witchfinder was on his way, and they all needed to hide their grimoires. Perhaps they’d had the boxes prepared for some time.”
“How do you want to play this, El?” Alex asked. He stood next to Avery, and his strong presence resonated beside her. As if he sensed her looking, he glanced at her and winked, and she felt her stomach flip. Now was not the time to think about their kiss, and she looked back to El.
El sighed. “I have no idea. I’ll say the runes as you did, Alex, and hope for the best. I’ve written them all down. Are you ready for whatever may emerge?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be.” Gil looked at Reuben. “Are you sure you want to be in the circle?”
“I’ll be fine, brother.”
“Is blood needed again?” Gil asked, disapproval in his voice.
“No.” El sat cross-legged in front of the box, took a deep breath, and started the incantation.
Much as when Alex had started reading his runes, Avery felt the air pressure change, becoming heavy, as if it was smothering her. El’s voice filled the air, and for several seconds, nothing happened. The pressure continued to build and then shapes began to manifest around them. Avery blinked, thinking she was seeing things, before they became clear. Large, black crows screeched and flapped their wings, buffeting the air. In seconds, there seemed to be hundreds of them. She shouted and pushed a crow away as it flew at her face, scratching and clawing, and then more flew at her, tangling in her hair. She could barely see; the circle was full of them and they had nowhere to go. She was dimly aware of Alex and Gil on either side, also struggling against the onslaught.
They had to open the circle.
As Avery struggled to the East to open the doorway, she fell to her knees and grabbed the sword. She uttered spells of banishment, but nothing worked. If anything, the crows were multiplying. She could hear shrieks and swearing, and she tried to protect her eyes as she rose once more to her feet. El remained seated in a private bubble of protected space, the crows unable to touch her. An enormous crack resounded, and she glimpsed the lid flying open, split in half.
In three swift movements Avery drew the sides of the door and opened the circle, breaking the wall of protection. The air pressure dropped like a stone, and the crows streamed past her. She fell to her knees once more and covered her head with her arms until she felt the rush of beating wings subside. Then she heard the boom of her protective spells breaking, and looking up, saw the arrival of large, dark shadows in the garden beyond their circle.
Demons.
Alex yelled, “Avery!” He pulled her behind him and taking the sword, quickly closed the circle again before the demons could step inside.
All six witches quickly faced outwards, bracing themselves for attack. El was seemingly unharmed after the spell.
Two demons prowled around them. Like at Hawk House, their forms were hulking black shadows with misshapen limbs, but their red eyes glowed.
Briar’s voice shook. “I know you told me what happened the other night, but I didn’t really picture it. I still can’t believe it.”
“My injuries not enough for you, Briar?” Reuben said snarkily.
“Hey, look on the bright side,” Alex said. “Whoever it is, sent two. We must be a bigger threat than they thought.”
G
il sounded as shocked as Briar. “What are we going to do now?”
The demons moved closer to the protective wall around them, as if testing it for weak spots. As they touched the wall, a bright blue flash crackled like electricity. The demon roared and released a stream of flame at the wall and it lit up again, shielding them. Avery knew that no matter how good their protection was, it would give way eventually.
“El, maybe you should check that book to see if there is anything on demon banishment,” Alex suggested. “Reuben, you okay?”
“I’d like some revenge.” Reuben clenched his hands into fists.
“I’m not sure punching them will work. Will your magic be strong enough?”
“Combined with everyone else’s, yes.”
“How did you banish them last time?” Gil asked, his eyes never leaving the prowling demons.
“Fire seemed to strengthen it, but it didn’t like water. I pulled the water from the walls, combined it with energy, and blasted it. It just disappeared,” Avery said, thinking about the chaotic fight.
“Well, there’s six of us, and two of them, so I figure we have good odds,” Alex said. “But, we need a plan. Renewing the protective spell will only trap us here all night. Have you got a pond in your garden, Avery?”
“Not really—it’s a tiny, ornamental thing,” she said thinking of the small pond by her herb garden.
While they talked, the demons prowled, pulsing with power, their shadowy mass growing and shrinking as if they were breathing. They had split up and were attacking them from opposite sides, enveloping them in flames. The walls around them again crackled with a blue, protective light.
“We’re going to have to break the protection spell to attack,” Gil said.
“Not until we have a plan!” Alex said, his voice curt.
While Gil and Alex argued about what to use to banish the demons, El crouched on the floor, flicking through the grimoire, desperate for something they could use. She looked at Avery. “I can barely read a word of this,” she said, frustrated. “Especially in this light.”
Briar interrupted. “There’s water in the earth, Avery, lots of it. We just need to draw it out.”
“And add wind, lots of wind,” Reuben suggested. “This is not their environment. If we add enough elements, it will surely overwhelm them.”
“It’s worth a shot,” Alex said. “Gil—you, Briar, and Reuben draw on water and earth together, and we’ll support Avery with wind.”
“I have another suggestion,” El said. “Use the sword to channel the elements. Either air or water. It will act as a conduit.”
“Brilliant idea,” Alex said. “I think air will work better, though, if that’s okay with you, Briar?”
“No problem.”
They all nodded in agreement, and Avery saw El put the grimoire back in the box and cover it as best she could. Alex gave Avery the sword. “Let’s dissolve the circle together.”
They stood back-to-back, hands held, saying the words that ended their protection. Within seconds the demons rushed at them, shooting long, forked tongues of flames that flickered like whips around them. Avery felt the white-hot lash of one as it whipped across her bare arms and she suppressed the urge to scream. She focussed only on air and the cold metal of the sword. Fortunately, her anger was enough to draw it quickly—it was the element that leapt quickest to her aid, as if it was always waiting to be called on. Instinctively, Alex and El had broken off from the others and now all three stood together, surrounded by a whipping vortex of wind. As one, they directed it at the demons, while the other three sent a deluge of water at the same time.
A tornado of wind, rain, and damp earth surrounded them all, blinding in its intensity, and Avery heard a shriek. She couldn’t be sure if it came from the demons or one of them. The demons continued to lash out with tongues of fire, but struggled against the onslaught of elements.
Avery gathered their combined power and focussed it into one massive blast. The sword felt like an extension of her being, and her power seemed to magnify down it and beyond, directing it like a laser. She wielded it quickly, slashing back and forth as the air howled and her hair whipped around her. The group’s combined attack was too strong, and soon the demons disappeared.
As Avery lowered her energy, the wind dropped. She thought she’d feel exhausted, but adrenalin soared through her. Her fingers tingled and her awareness was razor sharp.
She looked around at the others standing in a ragged line. Although the wind, rain, and earth had just raged around them, they all stood untouched. She grinned. “We did it!” Every single one of them looked at her in shock. “What’s the matter?”
Alex pointed at the ground. “Feel anything different, Avery?”
She looked down and found she was hovering about a foot above the earth. Avery wasn’t sure if she felt panic-stricken or excited. No, she was definitely excited. She looked up at them again. “How am I doing this? Oh, wow! This is so cool!”
“Can you stop it?” El asked, bemused. She paced around Avery, as if she was looking for strings.
She giggled. “I’m not sure I want to!”
“It might cause a problem with the locals, though,” Alex observed, also trying not to laugh.
Avery heard a cry from Briar and saw her look at her feet. Although less obvious than Avery’s response to the wind element, Briar’s feet were now buried up to her ankles in soil. “You too, Briar,” she said.
“It must be as if the elements recognise us,” Briar said, as she pulled her feet out with a grimace. And then a smile flashed across her face. “You know, I was so busy with that demon that I didn’t think, but it was an incredibly grounding and powerful experience. For a few seconds, I felt I could do that all night.”
Gil didn’t look amused at all. “Fun though this is, those demons might come back, and I’m not sure I have enough juice to do that again. I’m not sure that your garden will survive, either. It’s a bit worrying that your protection spells didn’t last, Avery.” He lit the candles again with a turn of his wrist and all the garden lighting flickered on, too, illuminating the darkness beyond.
Avery saw chaos beyond their circle. Plants had been lifted and flung out of position, and her lawn was churned up, as if a herd of elephants had trampled across it. As reality hit her, her energy levelled out and she slowly floated back to the grass, her feet gently touching the ground.
“El, your book!” she cried with alarm, suddenly remembering the grimoire.
El turned and headed to the box, lifting the lid carefully, but she sighed with relief. “It’s fine. It was protected enough, especially in the middle of all of us.”
Briar was kneeling down, her hand on the earth. “I can help put your garden back together, Avery. You just need to leave me to it.”
“Well, I’m starved,” Alex said, running his hand through his hair and scratching his head. “I’ll get the BBQ going while someone helps Avery renew our protection. Nothing ruins a good BBQ like demons.”
***
By the time Avery returned to the BBQ area with Gil, the smells of sausages, burgers, chicken, and onions was wafting around them. She was starving. Battling demons was a good way to work up an appetite.
Strings of fairy lights were draped in the trees and they twinkled like fire flies, and candles illuminated the table. The smell of incense and sage mixed with the smell of grilled food. Someone had performed a cleansing ritual, purging the space of any negativity left by the demons.
Alex was wearing an apron and sipping beer while turning sausages on the grill. He threw her a grin as she joined them. Reuben was sitting next to El, beer in hand, looking through the grimoire. Whatever had driven him away from magic seemed to have gone, and he appeared to be as interested in the book as all of them.
Avery pulled a few beers from the chilly bin of water, and giving Gil one, chinked his and took a long drink as she sat down at the table.
Reuben looked up. “Where’s Briar?”
“Still healing my garden,” Avery said. “Oh no, here she is.”
Briar walked into the light like a garden spirit, except the bottom of her white dress and her feet were muddy. “I think I need a shower,” she said, and she tried to brush the dirt from her hands. “The good news is, your garden will survive, but I suggest you turn the hose on it tomorrow.”
“Thanks, Briar,” Avery grinned. She handed her a beer. “Grab a seat.”
“So, what delights are in that book?” Gil asked, with a weary tone. He dropped into the seat next to Reuben.
Reuben looked baffled. “Weird stuff. Diagrams, spells, and what looks like alchemy.”
“It’s definitely alchemy,” Elspeth said. She leaned back in her chair. “I have simpler versions in my usual grimoire, but these spells have much more detail. There are spells here to trap powers into metal, and protection spells that are sealed in rings or lockets. There’s also a spell that traps a person’s essence into a sealed jar.”
“Essence! What’s a person's essence?” Avery asked, alarmed.
“Their soul.”
Silence fell, broken only by Alex dropping his metal spatula. “Is that a joke?” he asked, leaving the grill and coming over to the table.
El looked very serious. “No. And don’t even ask me to read the spell out. It’s hideous. And no, I won’t ever try it.”
Avery felt sick imagining murder, torture, and worse. “Do you think anyone has tried it?”
“Well, it’s in there, isn’t it?” Gil pointed out. He stood up, his chair scraping back loudly against the gravel. He paced around the table. “I told you I didn’t like this. We don’t do this kind of magic.”
“And we’re not going to,” Alex said, looking in annoyed amazement at Gil. “We’re not bloody animals. I’ve got a knife, but I’m not about to start stabbing someone!”
Avery laughed. “He’s right, Gil. There are thousands of things we could do every day, but we don’t. We still exercise our judgement.”
“I suppose so,” Gil said. “I guess I’m worried what I’ll find in my book. It makes me think our ancestors were crazy.”
“I don’t think they were,” Reuben said. “They were people, like us—just a bit closer to their magical roots.”