by Freya Black
From the looks of the cars, we were the last to arrive. I helped Declan secure the top of Shelby before grabbing my purse from the trunk. I sucked in a deep breath as I glanced up at the Luna Crescent Cemetery.
The gates twisted high above the trees like vines, forming into adjoining crescent moons at the top. As we walked toward them, the gates opened, as if blown by the wind. I sensed the magic of our ancestors as we strolled down a dirt pathway at the center of the graveyard, which led to a mausoleum built in a mound of grass. It was our Coven House. Beautiful bright green moss covered the valley behind it, providing a picturesque backdrop. Water from the Sabine River spilled over the rocks and into the creek.
Made of dark gray stone, the house was larger than I remembered with ledges that formed a semicircle around the mound. Kate spoke another incantation under her breath. The stone door slid into the wall, scraping along the floor. Candelabras simultaneously ignited as we stepped into the sandstone encasement. Gold tiles with ancient Celtic symbols shone a pale blue. Unlike the Catacombs, the ceilings were surprisingly high and much wider than the tight passageways.
The air was thick and cold, and as we walked down the long hallway, a chill rolled through me. At the end of the passage, Kate opened a door that led into a massive circular room with a high domed ceiling. An iron railing wrapped around a corridor with mahogany doors—six on each side with a single door set apart from the others. In front of the thirteenth door was a set of stairs that led to the ground floor.
Declan followed me, holding on to the metal rail, and we looked down, straining to hear the phantom voices. He smiled at me as we skipped around the bend.
I stopped in front of the thirteenth door. “Why are there thirteen doors?”
“Thirteen is a perfect circle, one for each member.”
“I know that, but why do we need a room for each person when no one lives here?”
“This is our safe haven,” Kate said. “In times of war, this is the only place that can keep us from harm.” She pointed at the door. “This is your room, you know. It was your mother’s.” Her blue eyes glistened with each flicker of the candlelight. “I wish your mother could have been here to see this.”
I reached for the doorknob, but Kate stopped me.
“You’ll have time later. We need to get started,” she said.
Kate led us downstairs into a room under the stairwell. We dressed in ceremonial black robes with gold tassel belts, which we would wear until we became members of the Inner Circle. We followed Kate down the long hall in silence with nothing but the sound of our feet hitting the stone floor. When we reached a dead end, we stepped into a dome-shaped room with high walls and a skylight. It was an exact replica of the ritual room above the Catacombs. Marble, sandstone, and gold made our secret place of worship feel like a palace from medieval times.
I walked with Declan down the center aisle, leading to an altar surrounded by hundreds of candles spaced around ceremonial objects. Our entire Coven was present. We sat next to Sloane and Celeste on the front bench and waited for Kate to take her place in front of the altar.
Kate clapped her hands together. “Can I have everyone’s attention, please?”
As the room quieted, I slid my hand onto the bench and wiggled my fingers. Sloane looked down, and with a goofy smirk, he brushed his hand against mine. The euphoric sensation pulsated through me, quashing every doubt I’d had about Initiation. With the four of us sitting side by side, everything fell into place.
“Welcome,” Kate said. “First, I would like to start by acknowledging someone very special. It is with great sadness I stand before you this evening in place of my sister and our beloved Coven Leader, Amelia Mandrake.”
Kate feigned a smile, but from the moment I’d looked into her eyes that morning, I could tell she was in pain.
“Amelia was a great leader.”
Members of the Inner Circle nodded their heads in agreement.
“It was her vigilance and diplomacy that strengthened our relationship with the Fey and the Imperium Council. The Crescent bloodline remains strong, and the moon lives on in her daughter. Luna vivit.”
I glanced over my shoulder at the Inner Circle members occupying the benches on the left side of the aisle. They repeated the motto of our Coven, their eyes burning a hole through me. Their sentiment warmed my heart and my cheeks.
“As Interim Coven Leader, I would like to welcome you on behalf of the Inner Circle. Fiona Mandrake, Celeste Franklin, Declan Delaney and Sloane Blackwell, as descendants of the Founders, we would like to extend you an invitation into our circle.”
The Coven clapped, a gesture I had not expected.
Then, Kate continued, “The Luna Crescent Coven was founded in 1702 with the purpose of honoring the Gods and Goddesses of the Celtic people in accordance with the Gaelic Festivals of Samhain, Imbolc, Beltane, and Lughnasadh. Our goal is to maintain the balance of nature with respect to the elements, to enforce the laws of magic set forth by the Imperium Council, and to continue our fight to protect the realms against malevolence.”
Kate shifted her stance toward the row of Initiates, and her eyes fixed on me. “The Inner Circle welcomes you to accept your birthright as a member of the Luna Crescent Coven, but you still have a choice if you want to accept your place among us.”
My heart raced with nervous anticipation. The day I’d prepared for my entire life was finally here. Kate lifted a thick leather book with age-stained pages from the altar. It was the Luna Crescent Charter. For years, I’d pondered its contents, especially those pertaining to the Imperium Council, which had their own set of Divine Laws.
Kate set the book on the altar and gripped a black dagger curved into the shape of a crescent moon. “Members of the Inner Circle, please join me in the binding ritual.”
Starting with Kate, all seven of them sliced their index fingers with the blade. Blood sizzled like grease on a hot skillet as it hit the bottom of the cast-iron pit. They pinched the fine yellow powder from a stone mortar between their fingers and threw it into the cauldron. A plume of smoke shot up, transforming into Blue Energy, magic created by witches.
“Fiona Mandrake”—Kate’s voice cracked for a second—“do you swear to uphold the rules set forth by the Luna Crescent Charter in accordance with the Imperium Council’s Divine Law?”
I nodded. “I do.”
“Do you swear to put the needs of the Coven above all else, to maintain the balance of nature with respect to the elements, as well as honor the Gods and Goddesses of the Celtic people?”
My hand trembled when Kate placed the dagger in my palm. “Yes.”
I sliced my index finger and added a pinch of yellow powder. The flame burned red and then orange until it turned a permanent light blue. Each type of magic had an appearance, its own signature. As I wiped my blood from the knife, I studied the powder and realized it was sulfur—a chemical substance that was yellow in appearance before it burned blood red and emitted a blue flame. Some witches still called it Brimstone.
Declan, Sloane, and Celeste each followed, swearing to uphold the rules of the Coven, and then took their places next to me.
We recited the Luna Crescent Prayer, which was customary for all rituals.
“It’s time to start the Binding spell.” Kate paused for a second, looking around the room. Then, she continued, “Ligare nos sanguinem.”
We chanted the spell verbatim until the cauldron crackled. A plume of smoke shot out from the top and then evaporated as it dissolved the blood and sulfur. I felt the divine powers of those around me in my aura. My Crescent birthmark turned a pale blue, glowing for a few seconds before returning back to normal.
Chapter 18
Once the ritual was complete, we made our way outside. Declan lit a fire at the center of the circle.
We joined hands, and for once, I sensed not only Sloane’s power, but also those of the people around me. The connection I shared with Sloane felt like strangely relaxing volts of electri
city, but Declan was warm. His palms radiated heat, the sign of a true Pyromancer. Celeste was unusually cold, and as a Hydromancer, she could manipulate water. Her touch freaked me out at first, but I wondered if she and Declan could neutralize each other.
Kate rubbed her hands in front of the fire. “It’s time to start the Protection spell.”
I closed my eyes and repeated after Kate, “Prohibere malum et tenebrae.”
Their divine powers strengthened my aura as we chanted. When I opened my eyes, a thin layer of transparent film lifted up from the ground. It wrapped around Arcadia, soaring above the trees. A sharp pain pierced my skull, like a jackhammer drilling into cement. I pressed my hand to my head, forced to break the circle, and the metallic blue film lowered back to the earth’s surface. I began to lose control and grabbed Sloane’s wrist as the faces of my peers spun into a blurry mess.
Blinded by white light, I shielded my face with my forearm. Once my eyes adjusted, I saw my mother running through the orchard. A dirty white dress flapped in the breeze. Her long blonde hair was so filthy it looked brown. I called out to her. At the end of the orchard, she halted in front of the sandstone staircase that reached the sky, like a stairway to heaven. Fresh scrapes covered her face and arms.
We ran toward each other, stopping in front of the same invisible film.
It shimmered crimson when I pressed my palm against hers. “What happened to you?”
Before she could speak, wings flapped above our heads. Caw, caw, caw escaped the mouths of hundreds of black crows permeating every inch of the air around us.
My mother banged on the wall to get my attention. She attempted to scream over the sounds of their war calls. “They’re coming, Fiona. Get out of here. Run!”
Darkness slowly swallowed the bright sunlight, and one at a time, crows fell from the sky. Death surrounded us. Apples turned from succulent red and green to rotten dark cores that looked like decomposing flesh as they hit the ground.
I tapped on the film, my heart thumping out of my chest. “Who’s coming?”
The glow of our crescent birthmarks lit the space. I watched as my mother sank to her knees. Tears streamed down her face, mixing with the blood dripping from her eyes and nose. Streaks covered the invisible barrier as she slid her hands down it.
“You can save us all, Fiona.”
I could hear her words, but her face was indiscernible in the darkness.
“From what?” I choked back my tears. “Mom! Please…tell me.”
“The key, Fiona. You are the key to everything. You can save us all.”
I spoke through muffled cries, wiping tears from my face, “What does that mean?”
I held my hand to the wall. Her mouth began to open, but it was too late. The life drained from her face, and her body fell sideways.
“Mom! Wake up! I can’t do this without you.”
The glow from her birthmark faded, and then she was gone.
Off in the distance, a red light as bright as the Blood Moon reflected off the invisible barrier. I saw a man’s face as he moved closer. At one time, he could’ve been human, but he was far from it. He had the lanky appearance and facial structure of a mortal. But the dark blue tint of his skin, like blood penetrating the surface, gave him the appearance of a corpse. It was as if someone had dredged his body from the Sabine River.
Clasped between his fingers, he hunched over a rock the size of a baseball. Its crimson glow illuminated from it and matched the color of his evil eyes. A hood covered his head, and he was dressed in black. He was Draugar.
Fear set in immediately, and my legs buckled beneath me. He kicked my mother’s body to the side and pressed his hand against the wall. His energy radiated through me, forcing me to jump back.
“You have something that belongs to me, Crescent Witch.” His voice was deep and cold. He pronounced his words with what sounded like a thick German accent. “You have something I want back.”
The eerie cacophony of his laughter bounced off the wall, sending a chill down my spine.
“And I’m coming for you.”
I stared in horror as he lifted my mother’s body and smashed her face against the glass.
“You see what I did to the last Crescent Witch. You’re next!” He threw her body to the ground, as if throwing out a piece of trash. Then, he disappeared into the darkness that closed around me.
I slipped from the trance with a clump of dirt mashed under my fingernails. Sloane and Declan sat next to me on the ground, supporting my weight. My breathing was as shallow as the creek. Kate stood over me, crying, her hand clamped over her mouth. Quinn pulled her into his arms, stroking her hair. The wide-eyed disbelief plastered on the faces of my Coven was the reason my mother had chosen not to burden them with our curse.
I surveyed my peers, unsure of how to react. They’d expected a leader, not the power-drained girl sitting at their feet.
“What happened?”
With Quinn’s help, Kate dropped to the ground next to me. “You projected your vision into the fire.” She wrapped her arms around me. “I’m so sorry you had to see that, Fiona.”
“Who was the man in her vision?” Declan demanded.
“Well, who is he?” I looked up at the blank stares. “If he’s coming for me, I need to know who he is and what he wants.”
Quinn let out a loud sigh. “I don’t know what he wants, but I know who he is.” He hesitated, as if speaking his name would rip him out of the depths of the hell he’d come from. “His name is Lorcan, ruler of Tartara and King of the Draugar.”
It felt like someone had punched me in the stomach. Sloane held on to my trembling body, relieving my anxiety with his emotional transference.
Quinn sat next to Kate, his eyes on the ground as he massaged her hand. “That’s not all. The rock in his hands was the Lorelei Talisman.”
“What’s the Lorelei Talisman?” I asked, perplexed.
“It absorbs divine powers.” Quinn’s words sliced through me, and I braced myself as he continued, “Hundreds of years ago, Hexenjagers removed a piece of the Lorelei rock over the Rhine in West Germany. Before the Glamour War, they invaded the gateway portals in Koblenz and used the rock as a talisman to extract its magic. It’s very powerful, and it is responsible for the death of almost every witch of the Crescent bloodline.”
I gasped for air, clinging to Sloane for support as I mumbled, “And he’s coming here?”
After the initial shock wore off, we drove home. Beads of water poured through the canopy on our way home, soaking the leather interior of Declan’s Mustang. We stopped on the side of the road to fasten the top, but we were already drenched. By the time we pulled in the driveway, we looked like we’d rolled through a car wash
A range of emotions swept over me. The secrets and lies had compounded every day, and I was sick of Kate keeping me in the dark. I slammed the car door and ran down the street to the only place where I felt safe—Enchanted Books & Beans. Once inside, I collapsed on the sofa and smashed my face in the plush fabric. I screamed into the cushion, holding on to it as I balled my eyes out.
Kate burst through the door. Peeling wet clumps of hair from her face, she took a seat next to me.
I peeked up from the coffee-stained pillow. “I can’t do this. I’m not ready.”
“Yes, you can.” Kate rubbed circles on my back with her fingers. “Your mother knew it, and so do I. What you did tonight was extraordinary. The Inner Circle was very impressed. They will stand behind you. You’re not alone.”
I stared at the couch, picking at the frayed seam. “I’m not her. Mom was—”
“I know, sweetie,” Kate interrupted. “Your mom went through the same thing. I watched her struggle with her powers. It will get easier. I promise.”
“Yeah, but she had Grandma. It’s not the same.” I sniffled back tears. “I have no idea what I’m doing. I’m not ready to be their leader. And I have the deadliest kind of Fey coming after me.” The last part sent me over the edge.<
br />
It was impossible to accept a monster like Lorcan wanted me. Everyone had told me how powerful I was supposed to be, but I disagreed.
Kate tugged on my hand. “C’mon, I want to show you something.”
The alcove in our secret gathering room had the appearance of an old apothecary. Back when my family had founded Arcadia, they had been healers. Shoved between jars of herbs and magical items were a collection of canvas books.
Kate slid a dark purple book from the center shelf and placed it on the table in front of me. “Your mom said to wait for an emergency.”
I traced my finger over the gold lock fixed around its center. It was magical with a power I sensed with a single touch.
“This was your mom’s personal grimoire. She spelled it, so only you could open it.”
The leather book fit perfectly in my hands. I attempted to flip the latch, but it wouldn’t open. “It’s stuck.”
She shook her head. “You need to channel your powers.”
My powers flowed through my veins, and after a few seconds, I heard the lock click. Worn pages decorated in Celtic art and faded brown ink flew open. A purple envelope was wedged in the center and sealed shut by a wax emblem of the Luna Crescent Coven. My mother had scrawled my name on the front.
I tasted metal on my tongue, not realizing I’d bit a chunk of skin inside my lip. I took deep breaths in and out, and then I slid my finger under the seal. A shriek escaped my mouth when I saw the date on the letter. It was one day before the accident. She had known she was going to die. She’d predicted it. Of course she had; she was a Crescent Witch.
May 7, 2007
My dearest Fiona,
If you are reading this letter, it means the Cleary Curse has caught up with me, and for that, I am truly sorry.
From the day you were born, I knew you were special. Even as a baby, you had the gift. When I held you in my arms, I could feel your energy and see your future, and right then, I knew you would grow up to be a powerful leader.
The Cleary Curse has haunted our family for centuries, but you are not like the rest of us. The Mandrake bloodline has given you abilities far beyond what I could have imagined. You must be careful whom you trust. The fastest way to kill a witch is to drain their power, so make sure you take every precaution.