She picked up the willow branch from beside the altar and lit the tip of it on the candle burning at the southern end of the circle. With the burning branch at arm’s length, her hands slightly above her shoulders, she began walking.
“Spirits of the south, guardians of our souls, protect us from false friend and foe. Feed thy flames and take them higher. Warm us with thy breath of fire.”
Ursula. “Warm us with thy breath of fire.”
Us boys. “Warm us with thy breath of fire.”
With those words, the willow branch exploded, showering Lilith in a hail of sparks and leaving her holding only a handful of ash and scorched bark. She sprinkled the ashes over the southern candle, clapped her hands clean, wiped them on her pants and returned to the altar.
She retrieved the silver chalice next, took it to the western edge of the circle and tipped some of its contents out over the candle there. A dusting of cyan glitter fell like snowflakes upon the flame. It danced in spastic snaps of blue-green light, turned into a mist and evaporated like nymphs on the wind.
“Spirits of the west, guardians of our souls,” she began, and walked as she dipped her fingers into the chalice and flicked the glitter about. “Protect us from false friend and foe. Grant us thee your sons and daughters, that which thrives on your pure waters.”
“That which thrives on your pure waters.”
“That which thrives on your pure waters.”
Lilith’s last obligation lay to the spirits of the north. She scooped up a handful of dirt at the candle there, again walking clockwise, sprinkling the dirt at her feet.
“Spirits of the north, guardians of our souls, protect us from false friend and foe. Secure the earth within this round that we may meet on hallowed ground.”
“That we may meet on hallowed ground.”
Lilith pulled the athame from her beltline and pointed it at the candle burning on the eastern edge. She motioned a jabbing stab and an electric blue bolt shot from the athame, arcing to the candle and shattering the glass jar. The candlewick sputtered in a pool of molten wax, coughed up a yellow-white flame and then roared to life in an orange-red burst towering over our heads. Still pointing the athame, she walked the circle, dragging the flames over the rocks until the entire ring was ablaze in a wall of fire six-feet high.
“Behold,” said Lilith. “The witches’ circle.” She came to the edge, peering through the flames, seemingly unfazed by the heat that had driven the rest of us back. “Well? You coming in?”
I shook my head. “It’s too hot.”
“Is it?” She frowned.
“Yes.”
“All right then. Stay back.”
Sure, I thought, like I was getting any closer. Already I could feel the heat singeing the hairs on my arms. With the athame in hand, Lilith punched a hole in the fire and ripped a doorway in it as easily as if slicing a curtain of rice paper. Amazingly, the door stayed open long enough for us to enter.
Carlos went first. Ursula followed and then Spinelli and me. I barely got through the door myself when it closed again on my heel. I suspected Lilith had something to do with that, as I caught her smirking when it happened.
We migrated to the center of the circle and assumed positions at the altar. The heat there seemed negligible, as if insulated somehow from the fire. Lilith began by asking if anyone present saw reason why the couple should not wed. I thought of my own selfish reasons why not, but held my tongue just the same.
“Good,” she said. “I will summon the rest of the coven.” She waved the athame over the black mirror three times and tapped the glass once. “Spirits of the coven, hear what I say. We call thee forth to bear witness today. `Tis Ursula of New Castle back from the dead, and her boyfriend Spinelli who come here to wed.”
“What’s that?”
She looked at me cross. “What’s what?”
“That rhyme. Is that your spell?”
“Yes. Why?”
“Really? You’re going with that?”
“What’s wrong with it?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. A bit contrived, isn’t it?”
“You got something better?”
“No. I just thought for a wedding you would have written something more elaborate.”
“Tony. The elders don’t grade on poetic finesse. Rhyming is a tradition, not a prerequisite.”
“All right. Just saying. Carry on.”
She pursued her lips and crinkled her nose at me. I think she knew I was right and didn’t want to admit it. The look on Carlos, Dominic and Ursula’s face told me I was not the only one thinking it. Lilith turned to the black mirror again, and though she now had her back mostly toward me, I could see the muscles on the side of her jaw pulling up a great big smile.
She tapped the mirror three times with the athame. The first two times I heard the tic of the blade on the glass. The third time I did not. The blade passed through the mirror and come out again, leaving a distinct ripple distorting the glass. As the ripples faded to a smooth black surface, I could see the reflection of a thousand faces staring back at us.
“Welcome ye spirits of the coven.” said Lilith. “Merry meet and happy ties. With thy blessings, we shall begin.”
“Blessed be to thee,” returned the voices within.
Dominic and Carlos could hardly contain themselves. I saw them looking at each other, their eyes blinking back their disbelief. I thought maybe now they might understand me when I tell them of the wild and crazy things I put up with living with a witch. For surely, I knew Dominic would now understand.
Lilith turned to the couple. “Dominic and Ursula. Do you come here of your own free will before these witnesses, to join hands, to enter into a marriage of souls, to promise and dedicate yourselves to one another forever and always?”
“I do,” said Dominic.
Ursula responded. “Aye.”
“Dominic. Please face Ursula. Place your left hand in her left. Your right in her right. By doing so, you each must cross your arms forming a figure eight. This symbolizes infinity, a returning path of energy from one soul to the other.”
Dominic and Ursula joined hands as Lilith asked. His visibly shaking. Hers but a hint of trembling. I saw how they looked at each other, how their eyes locked. They knew we were there, yet I doubted they could see us. I watched Ursula’s lips thin to tiny white lines, her chin wrinkling in silent quiver. Dominic swallowed, but whatever it was would not go down. I imagined it was his heart.
“Marriage is a scared thing,” Lilith continued. “Even among Pagans and especially among witches. We swear in the name of all we believe our love to each other. Does it mean less if our god is not a deity of the mortal establishment? That we don’t hold a single supernatural being as the personification of a force controlling some or all aspects of life as we know it? No. It does not. We don’t need to pledge fidelity before a deity in order to know in our hearts what is right. To know it is wrong to hurt the ones we love.”
I could see Carlos fighting back tears now.
“Trust. Respect. Compassion. These are the cornerstones of a lasting relationship.” Lilith placed her hand upon Dominic and Ursula’s. “Art thou ready now to pledge these to one another?”
“I am,” said Dominic.
Ursula’s reply came much softer, her voice seemingly trapped in her constricting throat. “Aye. `Tis all I have, my word, for thou hath taken my heart already.”
“Wonderful.”
Lilith took the thin piece of rope from the altar and wrapped it around the couple’s hands, leaving a loosely tied knot dangling below.
“Handfasting is a tradition as old as witchcraft itself,” she said. “It symbolizes commitment to one another, a union divided only in death. It is not a commitment born of duty but of love. What others find burdensome, may you find effortless. Respect your spouse’s feelings and ye shall never sleep a restless night. Remember always to be patient and understanding with each other. So seldom do we do annoying things wit
h the knowledge of their consequences. Be free with your affection. Share the warmth of your bodies often and all the seasons of the year. Take delight in the beauty you see now as always. Do this and ye shall remain happy always.
“Tony?” Lilith handed me the athame. “Would you draw a line in the sand please?”
I did as she asked, striking a line left to right behind the couple. When I finished, Lilith instructed them to cross the line together, planting their feet on the ground at exactly the same time.
“This symbolizes the effort it takes to make a committed relationship work,” she said. “As you cross this threshold together, so shall you cross other thresholds in life. Remember to do so as a team. Do not fight the changing tides of nature. Instead, work with them together. This is my advice to you.”
With that, Lilith untied the rope and freed the couple’s hands. “Have you words for each other now?”
“I do,” said Dominic. He turned to Ursula and brushed away a tear trailing down her cheek.
“Ursula, I have loved you since the moment I first saw you.” He kissed her hand. “Your rebirth that day in the grassy field was my rebirth, too. Before you, my heart knew no love, no passion, no desire or direction. I have wandered this earth blind to life’s promises. My days void of meaning. My nights lonely, cold and endless. Finding you has freed the boy within me, allowed me to become a man. You have given me a sense of purpose, a sense of belonging. More importantly, you have shown me what love is. Your humble ways inspire me. Your beauty astounds me and your innocence captivates my imagination. I see virtue in everything you do. And that you see none of that yourself touches me profoundly. I am a better man inside for simply knowing you, and for that, I am forever in your debt. If you will have me, Ursula, I promise I will love you with all my heart for all the days of my life, so help me.”
I stood in silence, enthralled, unaware that Dominic had such intensity of emotion within him. For the first time ever, I realized that I wanted to see Dominic and Ursula together. That what I felt for Ursula, or thought I felt, was nothing akin to his feelings for her. And to say I felt ashamed for harboring feelings for her of any kind, spell-born or not, would hardly be a lie.
I looked at Lilith. Her eyes grew hauntingly bright. Her stare distant. Her pupils, undiminished in the glow of firelight. I sensed her thoughts were far away, perhaps in the past, recalling a love she had known long before. I could only wonder.
Carlos cleared his throat and gained her attention. She blinked and returned to the folds of the moment. We were all looking at her now. She smiled softly, and though I suspect a whisk of embarrassment brushed her, it did not sweep the look of serenity off her face.
“That was nice, Dominic,” she said. “Very nice.” To Ursula she said, “Sister?”
Ursula thinned her lips and nodded. She turned to Dominic, and though she spoke in a hush, her words were clear and audible.
“My love. Thou hast bestowed upon me more than thy heart. `Tis for thy love that I live. Lilith, my sister of blood and of the coven, did cause my being. By skill and majick she hath spun life into these bones once more. Yet life is but a fragment of true existence, a perception shared in the blink of ageless energy. We are here only as perceived. We live only if life presents a reason to live. Sadly, but for love we have no other reason. Aye, `twas my sister who brought me back from a time long ago. Thanks be to her I say and mean it. Still she cannot claim sole affinity for my being, for `tis thy love what giveith me breath and reason to live. I have faults, yet you see them not. I act in selfish ways and ye sing me praise. I fear I am worthy not of thy love, still thy love rings true. `Tis for this and more I shall work to honor thee. To earn thy breath of love. I pledge to thee my devotion. If love be lost, be it thine not mine, that I might cease to live.”
Carlos choked back a tear and said, “Wow. Now I know I’m not in Kansas anymore.”
Lilith smiled at that. “Do you have the rings?”
I answered, “I do.” I reached into my pocket and handed one to Dominic. He took Ursula’s hand in his. No longer were they shaking. He seemed perfectly in his element now.
“Ursula.” Her name flowed off his tongue like a song. “Will you take this ring as a symbol of my love?” He slipped it on her finger. “Will you wear it always and know that it represents my undying devotion to you for this and for all the days of my life?”
“Aye,” she said. “I will.”
I handed a second ring to Ursula. She took his hand in hers. Their eyes met. She wet her lips softly. Swallowed. “My love.” She slipped the ring on his finger.
It was then I felt Lilith’s hand at my side. She took mine in hers and squeezed it gently. I reciprocated by squeezing back. We looked at each other. Smiled. She mouthed, “I love you.” My heart sank. I leaned in, kissed her cheek and whispered the same to her.
Ursula said, “Take this ring, for it is my soul. I give to thee with no regrets. Place it with my heart, which I have surrendered and thou hath taken. Join these with thine and make it one. Feel joy where I might feel joy and share it with thee. In pain feel not, that I might feel thy pain instead. That I may bear what burdens fall upon thee in times of sadness. In times of plenty, rejoice in thy fortunes. Spill none but what thou wants not on me, and I shall gather it happily for futures less bright. I am yours my love. My heart beats for thee and none other. Feel it pulse.”
She led Dominic’s hand to her breast and pressed it there lightly. “May thee find warmth here when thou art cold, comfort when thou art malaised. Seek pleasure and I shall please thee. Take what thee will and I shall ask naught in return. This I promise forever and a day.”
“Splendid,” said Lilith. “One last thing.”
She took the small bottle from the altar, uncorked it and handed it to me. Using the athame, she sliced a thin lock of Ursula’s hair and another from Spinelli. She then mixed the black and brown hairs together, braiding them like wires before dropping them into the narrow bottleneck and corking it.
Ursula seized the gardener’s spade from the altar. She handed it to Dominic and pointed to the ground. He understood that and proceeded to dig a hole on the line I had drawn earlier in the dirt. When it was deep enough to contain the bottle, Lilith dropped it in. Dominic covered it and both he and Ursula stomped on it, packing it tightly into the earth. The symbolism needing no explanation.
We all turned to Lilith then, awaiting the words we anticipated all year. She smiled at the couple, placing her left hand on Ursula’s right shoulder, her right on Dominic’s left.
“By the power invested in me, through the spirits of the coven, I now pronounce you man and wife. Dominic. You may kiss the witch.”
With that one kiss, my fears and apprehensions faded completely. As if a spell had lifted from my soul, I suddenly felt no longer worried that I might continue harboring feelings for Ursula. Or that I might resent Dominic for laying claim to something I had no right to in the first place. And when I looked to Lilith, I sensed she knew somehow that my struggle was over. That she even knew I was struggling made no difference anymore. She came to me, laced her fingers behind my neck and kissed me. I locked my arms around her waist, pulled her in tighter and returned the kiss deep and heavy. She moaned, pressed her body to mine. I bit her lip teasingly. She broke off, smiled and came back for more.
I suppose we would have continued longer had we been alone. Hell, even with Dominic and Ursula there, we would have kept at it. What with them entwined in their own lover’s grip. But Carlos was feeling left out. He tapped me on the shoulder to get my attention.
“Umm, excuse me. I think there is some cold champagne in the fridge back at the house. Eh?”
“Yeah,” I said, returning less attention than he deserved. “Get a handle on it. We’ll get there.”
He punched my arm. “How `bout you get a handle on it and get your girlfriend to let me out of this ring of fire?”
“Oh, sorry,” said Lilith, and as she peeled herself off me, she grabbe
d a handful below my beltline and squeezed. “I got your handle right here,” she cooed, thankfully only loud enough for me to hear. “What do you say we put it to good use tonight?”
I jerked back with a yelp, only then realizing how much handle I had made available for her to hold. She walked away but turned and looked back over her shoulder at me, her leveled eyes tied to her serpent’s grin. I knew that look. She saves it only for me. It is one of the things I love most about her. One of the many things.
She took the athame and directed it at the wall of flames along the eastern side. “Thanks be to the spirits of the coven,” she said, drawing the athame downward and taking the flames with it. “May this circle be closed but not broken. Let those who pass now pass in peace. This be the word of the guiding spirits, so say we all.”
“So say we all,” came the chorus from the black mirror just before the faces faded.
“So say we all,” Ursula repeated.
Carlos, Dominic and I followed. “So say we all.”
With that, the ring of fire went out. There were no pops, no spectacular flare and no sputter from dancing nymphs with firefly flashlights unwilling to leave. Simmering were the stones from the circle, hissing like snakes, as the moisture in the ground around them vented in whisks of steam into the night.
We spent a minute, all of us, hugging and congratulating one another. I told Dominic I was proud of him and warned him that he better take good care of Ursula. He said he would. Really, I had no doubts. When it came my turn to congratulate and hug Ursula, I did so, and without thinking, kissed her on the lips. The look on her face was of complete shock. I pushed her back gently, looked around and saw that no one else had seen us.
“Ursula, I’m sorry,” I said, keeping my voice low. “I didn’t mean that. I don’t know what came over me. For a moment I thought––”
She stepped toward me again and pressed her finger to my lips. “Speak not a word of it.”
Kiss the Witch Page 21