by Ashley McLeo
Holy crap, Lily thought, her stomach dropping at the terrifying idea of losing her soul.
“You said the binding caused a vacuum. What will happen after the unbinding?” Evelyn asked, her voice shaking.
They’ll come for us. They’ll try to force us to open a door . . . a freaking portal between worlds! We’d have to allow aliens—fata—and then a timeless night. Death. The fata king wants to kill off humans so his kind can have the planet, Lily realized before Evelyn had even finished her question. The idea was ludicrous. She didn’t know the first thing about magic! How could anyone expect her to open a portal to another world?
The triplets fidgeted in their seats as Mary revealed a world simmering beneath their own, a world composed of creatures that lived only in fairy tales. Kings, gods, and goddesses from all eras and cultures were intertwined, connected in some way to Lilith, Eve, and Seraphina. Hecate, Eve, and Lilith became popularized and demonized in religions to fit the evolving beliefs of humans. Witches and other supernaturals were hunted by humans for their otherness, though Mary found these witch hunts far less interesting than the ones led by other supernaturals. Those supernatural hunts targeted the strongest witches of an age to suss out the second coming of the three.
“What if we change our mind and remain bound? If we live normal lives, the portal would never open, right? I mean, it’s lasted this long.” The words flew from Lily’s mouth, cutting off Mary’s retelling of a bloody Grecian exploit involving Empusa and Amon, infamous, ancient, and powerful vampire twins, in search of a witch rumored to be a hedgecrosser.
No one spoke.
“It doesn’t work like that, does it?” Lily asked, her face burning as the fear in her voice grew.
Brigit shook her head, her face grave. “My binding has lasted twenty-one years. That’s a long time, but it won’t hold for much longer. Already I can feel the binding cracking and fraying along the edges. You may have felt it yourself as unexplainable sensations in your body. Especially if you were under stress—”
“Like pain?” Lily croaked, recalling the mysterious aches and pains that had plagued her last months of college.
Brigit nodded. “Pain is possible. After all, your power yearns to be free. But you’re adults now, and I no longer have the same jurisdiction I did when you were babes. The binding may last another five years or another week. It may even last different lengths of time for each of you, no one can know. What is certain is that in time the binding will break and your magic will be free. We didn’t tell you this last night so as not to bully or overwhelm you into a decision. It would have been too much pressure after everything else you learned. Above all, I wanted to make sure if you chose to do the unbinding it was your choice. That you wanted to do it. The implications of you being the ones to choose are not only practical, but ceremonial. You’ll be claiming your own power. Choice and intent play a large role in magic. I would never want to force you into something you don’t want to do.” Brigit sucked in a large breath and made eye contact with each of them before continuing.
“If you want to change your minds and go back to your lives, we can work around the situation. Your lives will never be quite like before of course, but we can make them as close as possible. We’d put wards up around where you live in hopes that no one finds you. We could monitor your magic and teach you the basics of how to control it so you can live a near normal life. We won’t leave you stranded no matter what you decide.”
“But we’re twenty-one. Are you saying we’ve been in danger for three years?” Evelyn interrupted.
“The traditional age of adulthood in Ireland is twenty-one. I bound you to the tradition of your homeland’s soil, for it’s from here that your power stems.”
“So you bought us time, gave us a normal life for as long as you could,” Sara mused, turning her eyes on Brigit. “But anyone looking for us for centuries wouldn’t care if we knew how to use our magic or not. They’d force us to learn what they wanted. Probably teach us their own warped side of things. At least here we can learn to defend ourselves. The alternative, being stuck behind wards, always waiting for someone to pounce . . . It’s a half-life.”
Brigit nodded, clearly unwilling to defend herself, and the room fell into silence.
What would Rena want me to do, Lily wondered. Her answer presented itself as if Rena was sitting there with her. She’d want me to be bold. Rena’s never taken the easy path, the safe life. Sara’s right, I can’t live with a half-lived life. No matter how scared I am, I couldn’t live with myself if all this came true.
“I need some more information. For starters, we’ve seen the prophecy, and I don’t think anyone could make that shit up, but how do we know these are legit?” Evelyn said, gesturing at the pages. “Anyone in the past could have written anything. Maybe they just wanted to draw?”
Aoife gave her a small grin. “And I thought Sara would be the one to ask how we cross-checked our sources. Aside from the fact that these documents correlate with obscure myths and stories from cultures the world over you mean? I suppose the simplest answer to your question is cults.”
Lily’s mouth fell open. We’re relying on information provided by cults?
“Quit trying to shock them, Aoife,” Mary said, waving her hand at her sister. “Thousands of years ago a cult meant something different than it does today. Back then it was simply a group dedicated to the worship of a particular god or goddess. Once we found documents containing our keywords, we began to question those who held the documents about past members, specifically if their members had ever worshiped Lilith, Eve, or Seraphina. No one had a clue what we were on about until we came across a very old Alexandrian coven.”
“Did they worship Lilith or Eve?” Sara asked, eyes alight once more with curiosity.
“Neither,” Mary said smiling. “Naturally, they’d heard the names, but it was the third and most elusive sister their members worshiped: Seraphina, your namesake and maker of the volume mentioned in Mary’s prophecy. Even today the Alexandrian coven believes the triplets to be the first witches, though that’s about all they know. Local legend has it Seraphina’s story died with a witch named Hypatia. She was a librarian for the great Library of Alexandria and a cult member herself. Alexandrian coven rumor claims Hypatia secreted Seraphina’s tale into the library for protection. When the building burned, so did the scroll. But Hypatia was a clever witch and knew how important her ward was to humanity's survival. She memorized the original word for word should a tragedy ever befall it. She penned it back into history from memory, then placed it under a spell coupled with a prophecy. A spell that could be broken only when the three with the power of the original three were born. A secret book bound with a prophecy delivered at birth. Sounds a bit like your birth, does it not?”
“I need time to think,” Evelyn said, shooting up from the couch, her face set in hard lines. “When is the unbinding?”
“Be ready at dusk,” Mary answered, taken aback by Evelyn’s abrupt mood swing.
Lily watched her retreat, barely overcoming the urge to follow. She was sure Evelyn wouldn’t welcome the intrusion. No matter how chummy they were that morning, they were still little more than strangers.
“I need time, too. I’m going to take a walk,” Lily said, before adding, “Want to join, Sara?”
“I’ll stay.” Sara drew her legs onto the couch, hugging them close to her chest. “That is, if you guys don’t mind? I have so many questions.”
Lily shivered as the wind whipped over her skin, stealing her cocoon of body heat in an instant. She rubbed her hands over her bare arms, wishing she had thought to grab a sweater but unwilling to turn around. Before she knew it, she was back at the lakeside. It looked different now, colder, more mysterious. Like the world, Lily thought, stopping at the edge of the forest to gaze in. Not only do I have a new family, I have an entire magical legacy. And it’s up to me to save humanity? How the hell does that happen? Brigit and her sisters look far more capable and witchy
. They could take the fata on. I mean, how do people not notice they are different?
“People think the same of you, I’d wager to guess.”
Lily started and turned to see Gwenn, a sweater clenched in her hand.
“So you can read minds?” Lily asked, taking the proffered sweater and pulling it over her head. A scent she could now identify as holy basil clung to her aunt as Gwenn fell into an easy cross-legged position beside Lily.
“A bit. I’m not as gifted as Aoife or Brig, but I hear yours well enough. You’re rather open right now. Could be the stress of all you’re learning. Mind you, I try not to. Even among witches it’s considered rude to eavesdrop. I only wanted to make sure I wasn’t interrupting something I ought not to.”
“Can you read Sara and Evelyn’s, too?” Lily asked, thinking it strange that the idea of Gwenn reading her mind didn’t totally freak her out.
“Their minds are closed to me. I suspect you and I share a common core element, which would make it easier for me to connect with you.” Her finger twirled in the air, guiding a buttercup below to spin on its stem. “Earth.”
Lily nodded, her gaze traveling from the flower back to the woods. Even in her ghost form she’d felt it: the surge of energy rushing through her when the oak tree broke through the floorboards.
They sat in silence, watching squirrels dart in and out of the trees. It was quieter here than the commune. Lily felt she could hear the minutiae of twitching ravens’ wings and dropping leaves. A deer’s appearance from the trees didn’t even startle her. She’d sensed the crunching of needles under hooves seconds before it emerged from the tree line.
“Am I more sensitive here?” she asked, locking eyes with the graceful creature.
“It’s as Brigit said: Your bind is unraveling. Being in the land of your birth may be rushing it along. Magic, and our ancestral ties to it, run deep here.”
“It’s all so much. Having another family and sisters, I can handle that easy. I can even handle being a witch. I mean, I’ve always been a little weird anyways, but saving the world from aliens? I’m not sure I can . . . I haven’t done anything that daring, that important. I’m not special enough.”
“I have to disagree with the last statement. Ask your family back home, they’ll tell you. As for not having done much, well, let’s say you’re about to do more than you ever dreamed possible.” Gwenn stood and brushed grass off her faded jeans. “I’m fancying a kip before the unbinding. Be sure to get some rest yourself. You’ll be needing it.”
The Unbinding
Lily returned as darkness took over the sky to find the inhabitants of Fern Cottage had grown to include Morgane, Fiona, and Nora. She introduced herself to Fiona before making her way toward Sara, who sat removed on the couch beneath the window.
“Evelyn?” Lily whispered.
“In her room all day.”
Lily turned and walked down the hall, aware of Sara’s light tread following her.
“Ohhh!” Lily breathed, as Evelyn swung her bedroom door open right when Lily was preparing to knock.
Lily’s gaze flitted past the tall blonde to take in the bulging suitcases beside the door. Anxiety rose in her chest and she prepared to bargain.
“Don’t we have an unbinding to get to?” Evelyn asked, stepping into the hallway with them.
Lily exhaled. For the first time, she allowed herself to acknowledge what she’d expected to see: an empty room and Evelyn’s back as it disappeared through the hedge.
The triplets ate a quick dinner of reheated spaghetti and meatballs, sheathed in nervous silence as the women babbled in the next room.
Shortly after their plates were clean, the witches filed out the door, each touching a wrought iron triquetra hanging by the front door as they left. Hopefully it’s for luck, Lily thought as her hand brushed the cold iron.
She followed the witches as they led her back to the forest and into the trees. A feeling of calm settled over Lily as the wood grew dense. Words flew around her. Fairy tree, hawthorn, Sirius, and shields, but she caught few of them as the rustling of the leaves and scent of damp earth engulfed her.
She knew they were nearing the unbinding site long before they set foot in it. A foreboding residue clung to this part of the forest. The feeling intensified with each step Lily took in Brigit’s path. She turned to see Sara’s eyes darting from side to side and Evelyn’s arms crossed over her body. They felt it, too.
Just when Lily thought the urge to turn around had grown too strong to resist, she stepped into a small paddock and her jitters vanished. It was unnaturally circular, overgrown with grass, and orbited by tall oak trees. Something had happened here. A distinct void of emotion characterized the spot, as if this clearing was waiting to be filled once more. Just like us, Lily thought.
Aoife and Mary set to work, laying the wood they had floated in behind them in the center of the clearing. Lily watched a fire spring up to devour the wood as Aoife bid it. Mary followed, swirling her pointer finger in the air to create a narrow trench around the fire pit. She then lifted her hands to fill the trench with water from the ground.
Lily turned to Gwenn, eager for the next bit of magic.
“My part is done for me,” Gwenn said, anticipating the question. Her arms swept wide indicating the lush vegetation all around them.
Earth, water, and fire, all accounted for.
“They’ve been planning this for years,” Sara whispered, sidling up next to Lily. “Aoife told me that wood is from the same oak tree you grew from the floorboards. They used it in the binding and saved some, thinking it might help.”
Lily’s mouth fell open. They saved a pile of wood for twenty-one years?
“I’ve never seen a spot so suited to Irish lore and magic. See all those mushrooms?” Sara pointed down at a circle of vivid red mushrooms surrounding a tree.
Lily nodded but saw nothing special about a group of mushrooms. At least half the trees in the dell looked identical.
“They’re perfect fairy circles, which according to Irish lore means there’s probably a fairy city in each oak tree. This little clearing is like an entire fairy world! Did you know oaks were the druids’ sacred trees? Witches loved them too. They used to dance beneath them when there was a full moon. Oaks were called the witches tree,” Sara said dreamily. “And then there’s the moon.”
No explanation needed there, Lily thought, smiling at Sara’s need to share her knowledge as she stretched her chin skyward. Despite not being quite full, Lily had never seen the moon so bright.
“Let’s be getting you in your places,” Aoife said, coming up behind them and guiding them into position.
Lily watched, amazed by the effort Aoife took to space them equidistant from one another. She then formed an identical circle consisting of herself, Mary, and Gwenn. Morgane, Fiona, and Nora circled the clearing’s periphery on their own accord. Brigit stood next to the fire at the heart of the circle. It seemed to Lily that all living things in the forest quieted as they assembled, anticipating the witches’ next move. She wondered if the animals and trees could feel it, too—the tension, the crackling of what she could only guess to be magic hovering in the air.
“It appears everything is in order,” Brigit said, assessing her surroundings with a keen eye. “Girls, I want to thank you for having the audacity to believe me. For giving me, all of us, a second chance. This may not be pleasant. You will leave this circle changed in ways we cannot imagine.”
Lily cast about within herself, a hurried, last-ditch effort to find the parts she liked best and cling to them.
“Let’s begin,” Brigit said, gripping the hem of her sweater. Her hands trembled as they paused on the soft wool, before pulling the sweater over her head to reveal yards of rope coiled around her torso.
Lily stared, mystified. How did Brigit managed to get all that rope around her? What was it for?
Evelyn’s gasp ripped through the circle.
Lily’s eyes shot up from the rope in ti
me to catch a gleam of metal flying toward Brigit’s neck. She lunged forward and her heart sped up as an invisible wire tugged between her shoulder blades.
“Stay,” Gwenn whispered, easing Lily into position like a fleshy marionette.
Her body trembled with unused adrenaline as Brigit lopped off a hank of her auburn hair. Lily felt her heart race again when Brigit approached her, her face both powerful and vulnerable. She raised the knife to Lily’s hair and snipped a small lock before moving on to Sara and Evelyn.
The strands of blonde, brown, red, and auburn clenched in Brigit’s fist, caught the fire’s light as Brigit moved back into the circle’s center. Lily became distracted by a prism of color—rich violets, blues, and greens—flitting over her arm before disappearing altogether into the night.
When she looked up again it was to see Brigit holding the end of the rope to the flames.
This is madness. What is she doing? Lily thought, as the rope caught and her palms began to sweat.
In answer, Brigit’s voice cut through the night, clear and eerie, as the flames raced up the rope toward her skin.
* * *
“Three circles round, bodies bound, it’s now time to release.
My spell unwinds, their magic freed, my spirit finds its peace.
Daughters of Hecate asked of me.
Now’s the time of three times three.
I give their magic back to thee.
As I will, so mote it be”
* * *
As the final word left Brigit’s lips, the mass of rope around her torso caught and the flames began their feast upon flesh. Ignoring the inferno encasing her, Brigit thrust out her hand and dropped the strands of blonde, brown, red, and auburn into the fire.