by Rachel James
“I wish we had positive proof that a rope once laid here.”
“Why does that matter?” Tommy asked, sinking beside her.
“Because we can’t accuse anyone of trapping Sienna inside the circle without finding proof of a binding spell,” Devlin stated, falling alongside Tommy.
Brianna peered around Tommy’s shoulders.
“We can’t take any chances. We have to cleanse the space as if there are four elementals sleeping inside, which will be extremely tricky, because if I don’t do it right, I could stir unwanted energy like we did before.”
“And more lethal energy,” Devlin added.
“You see, that’s what I’m talking about,” Tommy said, as they all clambered to their feet. “Cleaning this circle is just too damn dangerous.”
“You’ve got to trust that I know what I’m doing, Tommy,” Brianna stated. “You know me pretty well. I think things out before doing them.”
She swung back to the circle, hoping she had impressed Tommy with her confident tone. If he, or even Devlin, suspected that she was having doubts about her ability to tap into the circle, she’d be banned from the clearing faster than a speeding bullet. What was her first step? Clear her mind, or set the grounding?
“Now what?” Devlin asked, his foot beginning an anxious tap in the dirt.
“Unfortunately, the ritual calls for a grounding . . . no, it can’t be you.” She stopped him from speaking. “You are essential to the ritual in a different way. I need someone . . .” her gaze whipped to Tommy. “. . . who was sent here by my spirit guides.”
Seeing the stares coming his way, Tommy’s face drained of color, and Brianna saw him swallow nervously.
“Who, me?”
“You were sent after me for a reason, Tommy. Now, we know why.”
“I came to protect you, not participate in some damn ritual that could get us . . .” He left the sentence hanging and Brianna pursed her lips in annoyance.
“Will the ritual work without Tommy?” Devlin cut in.
“Under the right circumstances, it can’t fail, no matter what’s left out. However, I have no way of knowing if these circumstances fit the qualifications.”
“Well, I suddenly trust your instincts, so let’s do it without him. Just stay mindful of the rule of three, that’s all I ask,” Devlin added.
“Here now,” Tommy asked, his gaze narrowing. “Why are we still talking as if Brianna is actually going to do this?”
Brianna exchanged a glance with Devlin, who caught the slight dip of her head as she crossed to her duffel bag again and rummaged through it.
“It’s alright, Tommy,” she said. “I was wrong to involve you.” Finding the items she was searching for, Brianna stood, and moved to the circle. She placed the two black and white candles she had brought in a straight line, one behind the other. “We’ll attempt it without the grounding,” she told Devlin.
Popping the top of a small vial, she poured a handful of cinnamon into her right jeans pocket, and then followed it with a handful of sage into her left pocket. Bending again, she doused her hands with Holy Water.
Cupping the amulet in her right hand, she turned to Devlin, who stepped forward quickly. In an instant, she was swept into his arms and kissed with such punishing sweetness that her stomach swirled wildly. To her horror, her senses reeled as if short-circuiting. Currents of desire shook her frame, and she was shocked by a crazy desire to return the kiss. A second later, she was free and stammering in confusion.
“What d-d-did you do that for?”
His grin surfaced.
“I didn’t want to die without having kissed you again.” Brianna’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, but before she could manage a response, he twirled her about to face the circle again. “If you see or feel any breaks in the aura, you pull out, you hear? If you don’t, I will add my powers to the mix and let the chips fall where they may.”
He took a step back and Brianna was glad he didn’t have the ability to read her mind. Thanks to his kiss, it was a cluttered mess. A definite sawdust factory, her inner voice nudged. To her surprise, Devlin shook her shoulders lightly.
“Just take a deep breath and go to that quiet place in your mind.”
Brianna took his advice and closed her eyes. Thank goodness, she had kept up with her meditation techniques. She felt her shoulders squeezed again and her eyes shot open. She saw Devlin’s finger wagging at her.
“Say hello and goodbye to the Guardians, and then get the hell out. And whatever you do, stay calm. Any emotional high on your part could trigger their anger.”
Did a burning desire and aching need for one of his soul-melting kisses constitute an emotional high? She tossed the thought away. Better to think of the kiss as a love offering to the Guardians. A gentle shove severed her reverie.
“Get on with it,” Devlin urged.
Brianna turned back to the circle, catching sight of her mother’s body. The glimpse caused tears to well up and wet her eyelashes. She bit her lower lip to keep a sob from escaping. Get a grip, Brianna. Retrieving your mother’s body depends on staying grounded. She took a deep breath, and, a moment later, Tommy’s fingers slipped into her left hand.
“Just don’t send me to the hospital,” he stated, softly.
Brianna flashed him a smile.
“You’re the straightest arrow I know, Tommy, and once we start, the spirits will know it too. However, there’ll be some tingling . . . nothing alarming. Don’t pull away. The ritual should take no more than three minutes, but I’ll try to make it the most interesting three minutes of your life.” He took a deep breath and Brianna’s gaze shot to Devlin. “I need you to stand directly behind the candles, but not too close. If I release the cone of power wrong . . .”
“Yeah, I’ve witnessed that talent already,” Devlin interrupted. “Just don’t put me in the hospital.” He counted off the yards, and positioned himself directly behind the black candle.
“Get ready.” Brianna stated, centering her torso directly over her hips and knees. She closed her eyes again. Focus. That was the primary thing to remember when doing any ritual. Any loss of focus meant loss of energy. And a loss of energy meant a busted ritual. And a busted ritual meant a catastrophic chain of events.
She tuned into the quiet descending around her, and focused on the feel of Tommy’s hand in hers. His palms were dry, his pulse regular. That was a good sign. If he was calm now, he’d stay calm during the ceremony. Perhaps, that was why he had been sent—to keep her calm and focused.
Transferring her attention to her own breathing, she gauged her pulse. Steady and strong—a mirror to Tommy’s. In her head, she ticked off the rhythm . . . five . . . four . . . three . . . two . . .
• • •
The caped figure studied the figures surrounding the circle and smiled. They were attempting to undo the spell, just as expected. How delightful! Their failure would be a perfect ending to a flawless plan. Not only would Sienna be out of the picture, but in a few minutes, Brianna would be gone too. Maybe even Devlin.
A rustle in the grass had the figure jumping to the side and inspecting the ground. A sleek Moon snake slithered away, crawling under a pile of stacked leaves for cover. The figure smiled again. Seeing a Moon snake during a full Moon was a powerful omen, a sure sign that the leadership of the coven would soon be up for grabs.
The figure turned, studying the trio in the clearing again. They’d never figure the ritual out. It had been too carefully orchestrated and executed. Another rustle of leaves crackled, followed by a black blob streaking past the figure’s ankles. Again, the figure jumped aside, hoisting the hem of the black cape up from the ground and draping it over a tattooed arm. The blob stopped and looked back with glittering yellow eyes at the figure. Intimidated, the figure stamped the ground.
“Git, Nicodemus. Or I’ll put a curse on you as well.”
The figure held up a jeweled Pentagram, swishing it towards the cat. Nicodemus growled low in his throat, and
then whirling, bolted from the tree line. The figure watched the feline’s retreat, with a smug smile. Not even a magical cat, like Nicodemus, could halt what had been started. In a few hours, the leadership of the coven would go under the Council’s vote, and then, thanks to another glorious spell in motion, the leadership would be transferred to a witch with untold powers of magic. No one could stop that from happening. Not Brianna and certainly not Devlin.
The figure snorted. The pair had married, thinking to merge their powers and come out heroes in the Council’s eyes. Another arrogant assumption on their part. Well, let them try, the figure gloated. At least for a few minutes. The moment they stepped into the circle, the spiral loop Sienna had built before collapsing would implode on them. They’d be as dead as she was. And, best of all, no one would ever suspect the outcome had been rigged from the start.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
THE CLEANSING
. . . One . . .
Brianna’s mind dropped into a quiet darkness full of peace.
“The circle is open, but not unbroken.” Devlin’s voice urged through the quiet. “Focus on that.”
His words sent Brianna’s mind winging to thoughts of her mother and the last time she had seen her Draw down the Moon. Her hands had been lifted gracefully upward, and the sight of the blue aura surrounding her had been mesmerizing. She had been so sure of herself that watching her had been a spiritual experience, not only for her, but for the entire congregation.
Spurred by the image, and a sudden influx of emotion, Brianna opened her eyes, cupped three fingers around the amulet, and passed her hand across the boundary of the circle. She felt the ripple of energy at once and knew they had guessed right. There was still lingering energy infused in the circle that needed to be neutralized.
“Gracious Lady, Gracious Lord, strike in me your ancient cord. Aid my quest and approve this spell, magic make for a daughter who fell.” Her opening chant sounded foreign to her ears, yet at the same time it sounded right, as if drawn from a page of her mother’s Book of Shadows. “From life to death and life again, the spirit wheel turns round. Light to dark, pain to love, all strands of time are bound.”
The energy ripple intensified under her words and Brianna felt the first stirring of a tingle in her outstretched hand. She immediately revved up her chant.
“Hail spirits of fire, the air, the land, and the sea. Show me the way that four becomes three. Reveal to this Pentagram, your essence and light. Then depart from this place, with the quickest of flight.”
To Brianna’s surprise, her fingertips began to glow with a blue aura of energy, and light tingles began to saturate her entire arm. The tingles widened, covering her entire chest, and then slipped down her left arm, into her hand. She felt a slight pull on her wrist and knew Tommy had been doused with a jolt of the energy. Still, he held his course, clinging to her hand, and keeping his composure.
Brianna concentrated on the blue aura, pleased when its essence made itself known to her. A playful water sprite—but not so playful at the moment. She greeted the pulsing aura.
“Spirit of the west, long trapped in this place. Return to your world, with no trace of disgrace. Forgive those who used you, and treated you ill, depart from the place, your next task to fill.”
The blue aura dissipated rapidly, leaving a red fire trail swirling along Brianna’s fingertips. Again, Brianna recognized the essence. A salamander—aggressive and hot-tempered. She wished it away quickly.
“Spirit of the south, whose anger burns bright, return to your world, bathed in only love’s light. Forgive those who used you, and treated you ill, flee from this place, your next task to fill.”
The red aura increased its glow, sending a powerful dose of energy into her hand before disappearing from view. In its wake, Brianna saw a double band of green and yellow teasing the amulet in her fingers. Earth and Air—the last of the sleeping giants.
“Spirit of the east, your essence I breathe. Return to your world with your burden relieved. Forgive those who used you, and treated you ill, depart from this place, your next task to fill.”
The double band engulfed her fingertips rather than dissipating, and in the center of the circle, a seismic popping noise began. The air around Brianna’s head stirred, and she knew the last two Guardians weren’t going to leave the circle without administering some form of punishment. Was their anger for the sacrilege of being left in the circle for five whole days? Or for the sacrilege she was performing with an unclean essence? She had no time to ponder the question as bolts of energy were sent rippling through her thighs, towards her toes.
Brianna sucked in her breath, fighting against being tossed to the ground under the jolt. Quickly, she prayed to keep the energy displacement from jumping to Tommy beside her. She had promised there’d be no harm to him. She had to keep that promise, no matter what. Arm smarting, Brianna realized there was only one way to diffuse the elementals’ wrath from reaching him. She would have to release his hand and take the Guardians on face to face by herself.
Shaking off Tommy’s fingers, she prepared to step across the boundary line. Her body was jerked back quickly, her fingers re-gripped. Tommy wasn’t going to let her go. She had warned him against doing so, and he was standing fast to that promise.
Brianna’s outstretched hand jerked under a new assault, and she realized her earlier fear had materialized. The slingshot effect was underway; however, instead of one set of negative energy, she was facing two. She felt movement behind her and realized Devlin was stepping in as he warned. She heard his voice cascade above her head.
“Awesome Sun and shimmering Moon; harken to the Witch’s rune. Earth must grow, fire must burn, water must nourish, and air must churn. No other quest can be invoked by your wrath; no other power can disrupt the first path. By the dark of the Moon, and light of the Sun, so mote it be, your task is now done.”
The popping in the circle decreased, and Brianna felt an easing in her toes. Devlin’s intercession appeared to be working. Brianna picked up the chant.
“We extinguish the full light of this circle at last. We release all evil, both present and past. We thank the blessed Guardians for heeding our call. Go now in love, with blessings for all.”
A swoop of air crackled around Brianna’s ears, and the color bands around her fingertips vanished with a small “pop-pop.” The oppressive heat vanished just as quickly, derailing Tommy’s hold on her fingers. In the next instance, she was on her knees, enduring a last jolt of energy, and covering her face with her hands. Her sudden, wracking sobs shocked even her. She heard Devlin’s voice to her right.
“No, don’t touch her, Tommy. There may still be some lingering energy present.”
May be? The set of tremors coursing through her body was solid proof that there was no maybe about it. Her blood was on fire. She hunched over, clutching her fingers.
“Brianna?”
The call was by her left ear.
“Still . . . h-h-here,” she stuttered through her shivers. “Though I c-c-can’t see why I am . . . I’m b-blind as a b-b-bat, by the w-way.” A welcome heat enveloped her back a second later, and Brianna reveled in the heat of either Devlin or Tommy’s jacket.
“Was that the stup . . . stupidest thing . . . you’ve ever seen d-d-done?” she asked, with a hiccup. She turned towards the area where she thought Devlin was. “Did it w-work?”
“Do fairy godmothers turn pumpkins into coaches?” Devlin answered, sarcastically.
A warm touch brushed her shoulders.
“That was the craziest—or bravest—thing I’ve ever seen done, I don’t know which,” Tommy remarked, sinking beside her. “My hand is stinging like a death adder bit it.”
“Now you know how it feels to be bathed in negative energy,” Devlin said, dropping to his haunches beside Brianna. “Your vision should clear shortly,” he told her. “That is, I hope it will.”
Brianna hoped so too. Although she didn’t see how he could be comparing this to the
Dark Time incident. This one had contained electrical shocks and angry elementals, not much more. It hadn’t killed anyone; it hadn’t removed another best friend from her life. At least not yet, her inner voice chided. She banished that thought, concentrating on the knowledge that she had been as gentle as she could in releasing the Guardians. They had been tossed about under the confusion of energy displacement, but she knew that wasn’t the true cause of their anger. No, they were pissed off because they had been left hanging in a confined space for five days.
Off to her left, she heard Tommy’s sarcastic tones.
“I thought rainbows only came with the rain.”
“The color bands may have been beautiful to watch,” Devlin replied, “but trust me, if the Guardians had really wanted Brianna to suffer, we’d be calling the paramedics right about now.”
“They couldn’t b-battle two witches,” Brianna stuttered, the pain in her arm starting to ease. She straightened up and raised her hand to her hair. She had to get control of her flagging energy. Nothing would be right until she did. She scrubbed her wet cheeks with the back of her hand. Her mother! The thought sent her crawling over the markings and into the circle.
“Mother!”
She was dragged back by her legs.
“Stay back. You’re in no shape to touch your mother.”
The steel in Devlin’s voice had Brianna scooting even further backward. What was she thinking? She brushed her eyes again, realizing the residual effects of the cleansing were causing a minor mind meltdown.
“Stay back, all of you!” a terse voice commanded from behind the trio. Brianna turned towards the voice.
“Brad,” she sobbed.
She felt a presence slump alongside her.
“Here, drink this. It should vanquish the tremors.”
A small glass was shoved into her fingers, and Brianna quickly drained the contents. Hacking coughs had her doubling over.
“What is this brew?” she sputtered.
“I’ll tell you that when you explain to me how you managed to break the energy barrier.”