by D. H. Davis
“Dad’s incantation book,” he nods.
“Sammy, even I don’t know where he keeps that!” Mum cries, amazed that she’s seeing it.
“Oh, come on, Mum! The man has zero imagination, he literally keeps it in the safe.” Mum shakes her head, not even bothering to ask how he knows the combination.
“You sneaky git, you were in the sanctum again!” I yell, realising it’s the only way he could know I would want the book.
“Of course, after I saw what Dad did to you I realised he’s lost the freaking plot. I wanted to make sure he didn’t hurt you again.”
I soften my glance at him, he’s not a bad kid, just a stupid one at times, no point making him suffer over one mistake.
“And I’m not being funny, Brooke, but I can’t believe you’re trusting him now. At least now you can find out for yourself, if he was telling the truth about that ritual.”
After giving the book some of my blood, the same way the Book of Veiled Alchemy required it to open, I flick through the pages looking for anything relating to amplifying power. I don’t think any of us were ready for what we found. A ritual to syphon power from the sun, moon, earth and sky through sacrificial dark magic. All power comes from these things but never from all of them at the same time. The ritual takes three months of preparation; the witch casting it has to channel power from the earth every day to grow enough strength to complete it. The book states that during that time the sky will quite literally cry out in pain as the power is being drained from the atmosphere and eventually, when the sun can take no more, daytime will refuse to surface and darkness will descend.
It warns that animals will sense this cosmic shift in power and be embedded with fear. As I read the information aloud to everyone, it’s clear we share the same understanding; all of this is already happening and we realise the ritual has already begun. I swallow, take a breath and read on. The final element is an ordinary sacrifice mixed with the blood of a witch on the eve of a full red moon.
“Just throwing it out there,” Sammy says holding his hands up and tilting his head. “But Dad really should have seen this coming. If this happened last time then surely the signs are all the same?”
Mum shakes her head. “If that’s the case then all of the coven that were alive last time are guilty too. We believed there was absolutely no way events could ever be repeated. Your father genuinely thought a vampire had learnt of our battle and was using elements of it to make us panic and become a weaker target.”
I can’t help letting out a snort at how naive that sounds.
“She’s telling the truth, B. They really didn’t think Cecile could ever return, the incantations on her memory were so complex, they should have rendered her demented forever.” Eve stands up for my Mum.
Before I can reply, there’s a pounding, continual, desperate knock at the front door, which startles us all. Mum rushes into the hall and lets whoever it is in. To my confusion, Sergeant Williams wanders into the kitchen followed by Mum who’s looking concerned.
“Bill, what’s wrong?” she asks placing a hand on his shoulder.
“I’m sorry to interrupt your dinner,” he says looking around the table at all of us. “But I’m just wondering if you have seen Owen?” I realise that his hands are shaking, he’s genuinely worried.
“No, sir, sorry, I haven’t seen him since school on Friday,” I reply. “We’ve had a bit of family drama to deal with this weekend.” I explain, suddenly feeling bad that I haven’t thought about Owen in a couple of days.
Eve pipes up though and adds, “I know he was planning on spending today at the library to finish his course work. Is he not there?”
“He didn’t come home last night and I haven’t been able to get hold of him all day.” Bill looks like he’s going to burst into tears. This is a side to him I don’t think anyone ever expected to see. I wish I could film it for Owen to prove to him that his dad really does care.
“I’ll call him now,” Eve cries, jumping out of her seat and locating her phone. She knows he would never avoid her call, he knows it isn’t worth the aggravation.
After seven calls that all ring out, we start to panic. Mum convinces Bill to go and visit the police station and register him as missing. She reassures him that we will continue trying to reach Owen and that we will let him know the second we hear anything. Once he’s left, its Jessie that says what we’re all thinking.
“What if Cecile has him?”
“I think we have to proceed as if that’s the case. It’s too much of a coincidence,” Mum states.
“Well, even if she has, she can’t hurt him until a red moon so that gives us some time to try and find him.” I plan, trying to sound confident that we will succeed.
“I hate to be the bearer of bad news, B, but look outside,” Eve mutters pointing to the French doors. The sky is now an abyss of black and a dull crimson glow beams through the glass.
“Shit, that happened quick!” Sammy shouts. Mum glares at him, reminding him to be mindful of his language. He is after all, only fifteen.
“We’re out of time. We need to find them now!” I cry.
“In the vision we saw, she carried it out in a graveyard last time. What if she’s gone there again?” Eve wonders out loud.
It’s a good idea and we all know it. Without discussing it, we rush out of the house and pile into Jessie’s car. He speeds off, frantically swerving and overtaking traffic to get us there as fast as possible.
We decide to split up to cover more ground as the cemetery is massive. We only have one in the whole of Arcane Grove, so it covers acres of land. We are armed with the torches on our phones to improve our view, instead of just the dull red glow of the moon. I’m running though the gravestones desperately looking for anything that wouldn’t usually be here, praying that I can find my friend. After fifteen minutes of frantic searching, we meet back by the car park, everyone shaking their heads. Nothing. They aren’t here. It doesn’t make any sense. She needs a direct connection with the earth, this is where she did it last time. Where else would she be?
It hits me. My dream when I was in the cell. I know where they are.
“The Spinny!” I shout, “That’s where she’ll be.” I turn to Mum.
“Get a message to Dad tell them to get there now.”
I turn to Jessie, knowing he isn’t going to like what I’m about to do, “Just so you know, I love you too.”
Before he can respond, I close my eyes and imagine my destination.
Chapter Nineteen
I open my eyes and I’m in the Spinny, immediately realising that I was right. Before me is an enormous grey stone slab that has no business being there. On top of it is Owen’s limp, unconscious body. I look around for Cecile but she’s nowhere to be seen. I know it’s too easy and I should be more cautious but I can’t help running over to Owen. I have to know he’s okay. As soon as I reach him the ground lights up around me. A glowing red line encircling Owen’s bed. I don’t have to try to move past it to know I’m trapped. I hear the quiet slaps of someone’s hands clapping and look up to see Cecile emerging from the trees. She’s wearing a long, black velvet cloak, like a kid dressing up as a witch at Halloween. It’s a little dramatic for my taste; Eve would probably like it. As she draws closer to the edge of my circle, I can see that she hasn’t aged a day, even though twenty years have passed. She looks as attractive as ever with her sharp features being framed by her long, thick, shiny red hair.
“Impressed I still look this good?” she asks, as if she’s casually talking to an old friend and giving a catwalk strut.
“How aren’t you covered in burns?” I wonder out loud. Dad’s scars are awful and the fire only got his arm, she was quite literally engulfed by it.
“Oh honey, you think I’d play with fire without first protecting myself?” She’s at the outskirts of the circle now, looking me up and down. “I see you got my invite.” She smiles.
I’m puzzled for a moment but then it dawns on
me what she’s referring to.
“You sent me those dreams?” I whisper.
“Yes!” she cries, excited that I’ve finally caught on. “I knew if you were anything like your father you wouldn’t be able to resist saving the day. All I had to do was show you snippets and let you do the rest.” She smiles to herself, satisfied with her work.
“The wolf, that was you too?” I ask.
“Oh yes, couldn’t start all this without having a sneak peek into how you handle yourself, now could I?” she replies rhetorically. “You’re an important part of this, Little Miss Lesley.” She grins, going back to being cryptic.
“How are you even here? The coven stripped your magic and fractured your mind.”
She looks at me and beams, clearly eager to share her story.
“Oh, tedious details like that can’t hold a strong woman down. If you’ve got patience then anything can be achieved. That dive they stuck me in was never going to contain me, power like mine was always going to grow back; granted it took longer than I had hoped but I’d say it was worth the wait. Your fool of a father missed a vital detail. Just because I didn’t complete the ritual last time, doesn’t mean its magic didn’t settle inside me. He stripped it from my blood but overlooked what was hidden in my bones.” She doesn’t stop smiling as she speaks, it’s quite unsettling.
“Why do you want me here? Surely, you wouldn’t want to be found.”
“That’s where you’re mistaken, Little Lesley. I’ve learnt from my mistakes you see. Last time, there was no reason for it not to work. I followed the instructions in Dean’s book exactly, so I realised there must be a step missing.”
She walks over and takes a perch on a tree stump now, settling in to tell her tale.
“It wasn’t hard to track down the witch that first owned the book – some waste of power in London. She had prolonged her life exponentially, so I expected more from her really. She had however, managed to conceal part of the book. After realising she couldn’t destroy it, she found a way to remove the essential detail from the ritual, hoping that it would never be able to be performed. She barley put up a fight though, disappointing really. Did you like my little trick with her body?” she tilts her head and looks at me.
“You made it look like a vampire to throw the coven off the scent.” I realise.
"I knew the fools would fall for it hook, line and sinker. They hate vampires as much as they hate me.
“Anyway, the old witch told me what she removed. The blood needed for the ritual to work has to be from someone pure of heart. Now I’m under no illusions that my heart is black, but you, Little Lesley, have the purest. I won’t lie to you, the fact you’re Dean’s daughter makes it all the sweeter, but it’s mainly the heart thing.”
I look at her confused, “You’re even crazier than I thought, if you think I’ll help you!” I laugh at her.
“Oh, I don’t need you willing, I just need you to consume the power, drain it from your little friend there, then, just before it’s complete, I’ll cypher it from you. You never know, you might even survive it.” She flashes me a massive smile and then adds, “he won’t though,” as she nods her head towards Owen.
I’m bored of this now. I’ve entertained her crazy for too long. I gather an energy ball in my hand and thrust it in her direction. She looks at me amused as it just bounces off her. I’ve never seen anyone deflect like that, so effortlessly.
“Go on, give it your best shot.” She smirks, inviting me to battle.
This time I summon a ball in both hands then combine them together to make one large ball, this one turning a darker shade of green. I push both my arms forwards, directing the ball to her chest. The shot does knock her backwards a few steps.
“Good.” She smiles. “You’re strong, that’s what I need. But play time’s over now.” She flicks her wrist and I’m no longer in control of my own limbs. My right arm outstretches over Owen’s body despite my resistance. “The more you try to fight, the more it will hurt.” She warns me as she commences placing silver crystals around the slab in the form of a triangle, just as she did in the vision I saw of the past.
“Step away from my daughter!” Dad bellows. He’s appeared at the back of the clearing, along with the Elders and Mum – all the people that would project. I know it won’t be long before the others join us too. I thought I’d seen Cecile give her widest smile but I was wrong. That, she reserved for my dad.
“Dean, darling, how the devil are you?” she asks, a little too familiar for my liking.
“Did you not learn from last time? It doesn’t work!” he shouts at her, probably already knowing she won’t heed his words.
“Well, haven’t you aged awfully,” she comments looking Dad up and down. “I definitely got your best years.” She glances over in Mum’s direction, “No hard feelings, hey?”
Mum’s expression shows an anger I’ve never seen before and she launches herself forwards, only to be held back by Dad.
Cecile lets out a cackle of a laugh and starts applauding. “Nice to see you’ve grown some balls over the years, Jane. This is going to be fun.”
I get a sinking feeling in my gut as I realise why Dad has been so blind to Cecile. He cared for her once. The thought makes me taste the pasta from before in my mouth. I never imagined he had loved anyone other than Mum, but I guess that was a naive notion.
My parents and the Elders load themselves with green energy balls in both hands and take up a formation around Cecile. Again, this just makes her smile. This woman really is insane. A few balls fly in her direction but she evades most of them and the ones that hit her barely have an effect.
I try fighting against my invisible restraints but a crippling pain consumes my body. If I weren’t being magically held in place it would be enough to knock me off my feet.
Suddenly, there is a loud echoing thud as Jessie appears, carrying Eve on one side and Sammy on the other. He’s jumped the trees and landed in the middle of the fight. Before I can call to him and warn him, he’s charging at the circle trying to get to me, only to be thrust backwards, landing in a heap on the floor. Every part of me wants to go to him but I’m stuck stiff with no control over my body.
“Yes!” Cecile squeals in excitement. “I was wondering when tall, dark and handsome would arrive.” She turns to me, “Now that was one thing I didn’t see coming, you’re far more interesting than your parents.”
“Enough!” Dad roars, walking towards Cecile. “This is between you and I, you don’t need Brooke; I’m here now.”
Poor Dad, he thinks she’s trapped me to lure him out. She giggles again and replies,
“Oh Dean, what would I want with your heart, so full of hatred. It was never you I was coming for.”
As she finishes her sentence, she thrusts her left arm towards Dad, sending him flying backwards and clicks the fingers on her right hand, causing the cut on my palm to slice open again. My blood seeps down onto Owen’s forehead and I let out a scream. Not in pain, but in despair, knowing that I’m about to drain the life from my best friend.
“Amplificet Potentia!” Cecile screams.
Red flames rise from the ground. Blazing through the markings of the circle and the crystals, enslaving me, proving that there is no going back.
Chapter Twenty
Warm, salty tears stream down my face as I can instantaneously feel power growing inside me, knowing that it means I’m stealing it from Owen’s life force. I hear people screaming from outside the flames but I can’t bring myself to look at any of them. I thought I was so clever figuring out the meaning of those dreams, thought I was so much smarter than Dad and the Elders, but all I’ve done is give her exactly what she needs. Now everyone is in danger and Owen is going to die. A loud grumbling sound pulls me out of my self-loathing thoughts and forces me to look through the fire. I can see the environment changing. Thick branches from the trees are coming alive and making their way towards my friends and family. Clearly, Cecile wants to keep them
from interfering in any way. It’s not just the branches changing, though. Dark brown roots burst through the ground, darting viciously towards the people I care about.
Cecile is stood next to the ritual circle with her arms moving in all directions, guiding the roots and branches, conducting her orchestra. Dad and the Elders are firing energy balls at the incoming threats and attempting to blast them apart with various incantations. Mum has taken stance in front of Sammy, attempting to shield him from danger, knowing he wouldn’t be able to hold his own in this battle, even though, it looks like he’s doing well producing energy balls of his own. Jessie is using his amazing agility to weave in and out of incoming wooden spears, making his way to Eve who is firing her own defences.
While everyone is busy trying not to get caught by these creeping plants that want to squeeze the life from them, Cecile screams the incantation for a second time. I inhale sharply as I’m overcome with that same throbbing sensation I had when we carried out the revealing danger ritual. I can feel the power and energy further growing inside me, but still I can’t break the hold Cecile has on me. I look down at Owen, his skin is changing from olive to a light shade of grey. You can actually see the life slowly draining from him.
It’s then I get a thought, no matter how powerful she is, she still has to recite the incantation a third time.
“Stop her voice!” I scream, mustering all the sound I have so the volume carries across my smouldering prison.
I can see that Jessie heard me and is relaying what I said to Eve, whose eyes light up as she realises what I mean. She whispers something to him and he nods back to her. I don’t know what they’re saying but I know they’re devising a plan. He scoops Eve up and boosts her up onto the tree above. She begins clambering up the branches, climbing higher. I know she’s desperate, usually the prospect of climbing a tree would be outrageous as she could break one of her perfectly polished nails. Yet here she is, climbing with all her might, sheer determination on her face.