Cora (Of Earth or Erda)

by Skye, Relina

  However, since my mother was from a coven that favored earth magic, I used that the most often. I wiggled my toes into the dirt to draw as much as I could directly from the thin layer of raw earth magic that lay hidden under the surface.

  As children, we were told that the Earth used to be filled with an abundance of magic, but since the fae and mythos creatures left, the magic also diminished with the passage of time. Only the gods and goddesses could feed our bloodlines with supernatural powers that were simply reflections of their own.

  No one ever spoke of the magic that was still in the elements. I could see it. And as I grew older, I sometimes wondered if I were the only one.

  Across me was a witch from the Silver Cauldron Coven. Red flames were tattooed on her arms. They reminded me of a bird's feathers, or a dragon's scales. Not very intimidating, but as a rule of thumb, you should never tell a fire witch that her tattoos looked dumb.

  "Take your positions!" ordered the silver-haired High Priest with fox-like facial features from the Silver Hills Coven.

  "Just a moment!" shouted a voice from the sparring grounds. "We're going to join your game."

  Monica Carmichael, my High Priestess, paused. One of her dark auburn brows twitched slightly before she gave her attention to the newcomer. "Why, if it isn't Sergeant-at-Arms, Rune Armstrong, of the Silver Winds Coven? We're delighted to have you and your Watchmen join us."

  "It's High Priest Rune Armstrong, now." As one of the only men present who could tower over Monica, he used his height and broad frame to his advantage, crossing his muscular arms in front of his chest. Clearly, he aimed to intimidate Monica, but what he failed to realize was: she was not easily unsettled.

  Lightning bolts fanned out from his orange shirt all the way up to the base of his black hairline. "We hope we're not interrupting." His tone oozed with fake sincerity. "I fear the change in leadership caused some of our correspondence to get lost in the mail. We wouldn't have come at all if it weren't for our Master of Technology happening across the event on Witch-Book."

  "Then I must apologize for my assistant's remission in following up on your invitation." Her jaw twitched, indicating the lie. Having spent so much time with her over the past few months, her tells were quite notable. But for someone who rarely saw her, they would never know if she were lying or telling the truth, unless they possessed that power. "And congratulations on your promotion. Please feel free to have your Watchmen mix in with the ranks. We'll add a few more sets of partners to keep things fair."

  Our lines shifted, and I was no longer paired to spar with the Silver Cauldron witch. Currently, I was partnered with one of Armstrong's wizards. His gray temples indicated he was at least a century old.

  "Attack!" shouted the Silver Isles High Priestess, also known as the Mother of her coven.

  A gust of wind nearly knocked me off my feet. Countering, I pictured my magic taking the form of thick vines shooting up about a half-foot away from him. Willing them to encircle his wrists, I locked him in place in the brief time it took for him to inhale a single breath.

  Growls erupted from his chest as he attempted to break free of the vines, sounding more like a werewolf than a wizard. I sent several more to grab his legs and waist for good measure. Maybe I should have added one to gag him? Nah, didn't want to accidentally suffocate the poor guy.

  "Well done, Cora." Monica beamed me a smile.

  My head bowed slightly to acknowledge her compliment.

  All around us, elemental witches and wizards were trying to incapacitate each other.

  My eyes glazed over. Ribbons of powers roped around each person, extending from their personal wells of magic. Some had thicker ribbons than others, while a few had multiple ribbons. Turning my gaze toward the High Priest and Priestess, I found those individuals were holding the thickest and most varied ribbons of magic. Out of all of them, Rune Armstrong's magic was the strongest. It practically wrapped around him like a blanket. Cords of yellow and black mixed together, forming an elaborate pattern similar to the ones found in Norse art.

  "See something you like, little girl?" His voice broke my gaze, returning my vision to normal.

  My heartbeat took off in a gallop. "I was just, umm... are you descended from Odin?"

  The wizard across from me, who was trapped in my vines, stopped struggling to watch our exchange.

  "Odin?" Armstrong laughed. "Girl, most witches and wizards are descended from him."

  "I meant recently.” My eyes rolled. "As in three or four generations ago."

  He crossed into my sparring space with narrowed, gray eyes. "And just why would you ask me something like that?" Coming to a halt several feet away, he took on a similar stance that he used when addressing Monica.

  My tongue tied into a knot inside my mouth.

  "Well?"

  I forced my gaze to shift again, so I could see his ribbons of power much closer. "Your dominant element is air. But you have more death magic than I've ever seen before. You're a necromancer," I whispered. Necromancy in a witch or wizard allowed them to create zombies and ghouls from the dead. It was not illegal, just extremely frowned upon since it drew from the darker side of magic. "So, no I don't like what I see." My gaze returned to normal. "Happy?"

  "Why, you disrespectful, little bitch!" A flash of lightning sent me spinning through the air. Landing on my side, I willed the electricity that zigzagged across my skin to be absorbed into my well of power.

  "RUNE!" Miranda came running from the opposite side of the field.

  "It's okay, High Priestess." I stood. Brushing off pieces of loose grass, I raised a brow when I looked back at him. "Is that all you've got? Because I'm really not impressed."

  Seething, he came at me with a fist full of electricity. Aiming to throw an uppercut at my face, I pulled the particles of water from the grass and froze them just as he dropped his foot.

  "Stop! Both of you." Miranda finally reached us. "Cora, report to the kitchens."

  "But he attacked me first!"

  Her eyes turned into a solid emerald green glow of power. "Do not question me."

  Clouds rolled over the sun above us, and pops of electricity bounced off each other.

  "Cora... calm yourself. Now."

  "Yes, High Priestess," came my automatic reply. Turning, I released the energy I unconsciously gathered as high above me as possible. Several flashes of light brightened the sky, immediately followed by cracks of thunder. A sudden wave of fear struck my consciousness. It was pushed into me by several unknown witches and wizards with reverse empathic powers. My cheeks warmed from their scrutiny. The only thing that held me back from lashing out was my pride. I would not show this Neanderthal an ounce of fear.

  Tuning my attention to Monica's voice, I heard her say as I walked away, "My apologies, Rune. I'll reprimand her for her lack of respect."

  "Be sure to do that." He cracked his neck. "And I suggest you set that girl up in your breeding house. The extra activity might be good for her attitude."

  Monica ground her teeth together. "Breeding house? Are you suggesting that the Silver Chalice Coven is so archaic it assigns witches to submit to whomever happens to knock on their door?"

  "Why am I not surprised to hear you say that?" He sounded tired. "Open your mind to the possibilities, Monica. Your members wouldn't have to wait for the high holidays to release a bit of pent-up energy. Ours works wonders for morale and has added a much needed mix of new bloodlines to our ranks.” He paused. "You know what? In accordance with the National High Council's rules and regulations, I'm within my rights to take her off your hands."

  "Cora! Wake up, Cora!" Ben's voice sounded like it was coming from at least a mile away.

  "Do you want me to get Mistress Rhiannon?" Kacie's voice went up an octave.

  "She's having a vision." My mother sounded bored.

  "How can you tell?" Ben asked.

  "I'm her mother." Her voice made it seem like she thought he was dumb. "She lies perfectly still during visi
ons, but tosses and turns when she's just dreaming... You shouldn't interrupt her, otherwise she won't see whatever Frigga, Hecate, or Apollo wants her to learn."

  My brows knitted together. "Too late."

  "What did you see?" asked Kacie.

  "A memory." I didn't know if I wanted to lose my lunch, cry, or ask a dozen questions. "It can wait." Turning my gaze onto Ben, I asked, "What's my diagnosis?"

  "Your skull is intact. There was a fracture due to blunt force trauma, but your natural healing abilities have already mended the break. There were also signs of swelling on your brain, but they had a magical signature. It appears that you were knocked out by some sort of ancient magic that I don't recognize, and then you fell so hard, it fractured your skull. If you weren’t a witch, you'd be dead right now."

  "Well, then I guess it’s a good thing I'm a witch." I gave him a thin-lipped frown as I sat up. "What about the amnesia?"

  "Magically induced as well. It has the same signature as the magic that knocked you out."

  "So we were right?" Kacie perked up.

  "This time. Yes, you were right. There was nothing I could have done beyond what your sister is capable of doing, herself."

  My mother continued to sit at Ben's desk, sipping her tea. "As impressive as that may seem, we're no closer to returning her memories to her than we were before our arrival."

  "I beg to differ. You now know that she isn't faking it, and her memories are still intact," Ben argued.

  Setting her cup down like a perfect, aristocratic lady, my mother stated, "But you're not skilled enough to retrieve them, Master Fletcher?"

  A frown marred his handsome features. "No, I'm afraid not, Claudia."

  "Pity..."

  "Mother!" I threw her a look, demanding that she stop being so rude.

  "Really, I like you Ben, you have spunk. But you should work harder at transforming your weaknesses into strengths."

  Not wanting to set her off, I ignored her dig and spoke before Ben could respond. "Were you able to find anything useful for me in your search of the restricted section of the library?" I asked.

  "You're screwed.” Kacie gave me a sympathetic smirk.

  "Lovely, and I thought I would have to wait until Beltane." I wiggled my brows at my sister in a feeble attempt to lighten the mood.

  "Cora Gertrude King!" Mother gasped, her gaze quickly turned toward Ben and then back at me.

  Kacie and I both rolled our eyes at the same time. "Just how bad is the damage?"

  "Well, unless you know the exact spell that was used to block them, we can't do a counter spell without risking your ability to remember, period."

  "Then I might as well return my powers to the gods and goddesses before this coven is torn apart by people wanting to rape them from me."

  "Really, Cora, that's a bit dramatic. You don't have to send your powers anywhere. Just divide them between your siblings and me; then you can be sent to live with the humans for the rest of your natural life. No harm, no fuss, and everyone wins. It's brilliant, really."

  That idea caused Ben's skin to turn ashen.

  "You mean everyone wins, but me." My tone hardened. Shaking my head, I plopped down in a chair across from them. "My point is that I’d rather risk losing the ability to remember anything, than live my life as someone I'm not."

  "I was afraid you were going to say that," Kacie grimaced. "There is one spell, and just one that might work. But it will take over seventy-two hours to sink in. And then another seventy-two hours to reverse whatever magic was done to harm you. You'll be unconscious for almost two weeks."

  "Not ideal.” I swallowed. "Do we have a special casting room I could lock myself in? Maybe even a panic room so that no one else can reach me, but you, in case of an emergency?"

  Ben sat down on one of the accent chairs in front of his desk. "Yes, but what are you going to tell the rest of the coven? You know they'll be anxious if you disappear again."

  I'm not sure where the idea came from, but as soon as it popped into my mind, I said it out loud. "I'll tell them I've isolated myself to commune with the goddesses. Which, in a sense, is true. Magic on the level you've described can only be done with the permission of at least one patron god or goddess."

  "Hells bells! How do you know that, child, and nothing else?" My mother glared at me like I'd been lying to her the whole time.

  "Only her memories seem to be affected," Ben reminded them. "What she learned about being a witch and the High Priestess lie in a different category of memories; hence, they remain unfazed by the curse."

  "Curse?" Kacie exchanged a look with our mother.

  "That's what it feels like. Unless you prefer to call it a hex."

  "A hex seems to fit." Kacie took a deep breath. "Cora, you're going to have to start this spell right away if you want to perform your duties for Beltane."

  "You're right. Let's make a list of everything we need. While we decide on the materials, we'll have to arrange to get them from the council members."

  We constructed a list of what was needed, and who possibly might have it. Taking the list from my sister, I nodded. It looked good. "I'll ask the council members for the items while you start to prepare the room. I think it would be best if I told them in person what was going on. They can tell the rest of our coven members that I won't be available for the next ten days."

  "Do you think that's wise?" my mother asked. "Anyone of them might want to replace you as the High Priestess."

  "They'll have to wait until Mabon.” Kacie gave me a wink. "Only the high council can vote for your removal. If you choose to contest their decision, you'll have to best the majority of them at their own talents. It's nearly impossible to do." And as far as I could recall, the high council consisted of members from all three households.

  "Ladies, you're getting ahead of yourselves," Ben interrupted. "As far as High Priestesses go, Cora has been extremely easy to work with; and allowed this coven to gracefully adjust to the twenty-first century while maintaining many of our traditions. I know that I only speak for myself, but as far as I can postulate, most of the members are willing to keep her in her current position."

  My mother stood. "Well, that is good to know.” She looked down her nose at us. "At least, some of my influence seems to have rubbed off on you."

  Doubtful, I thought, and by the way Kacie's right eye was twitching, I knew she felt the same way. Ben, on the other hand, started to examine one of the potions from his collection on the wall. I got the distinct impression that we were now overstaying our welcome.

  "Mother, you're absolutely right," I lied. If anything, her main influence was increasing my ability to tolerate condescending comments and remarks aimed at demoralizing my self-esteem without sending lightning bolts up the ass of the person who was purposely trying to offend me. "But before we can attempt the spell, we have to come up with a few more ways to reinforce our security. I don't want to leave everyone vulnerable while I'm out of commission."

  Chapter Eight

  For the rest of that night and the entire next day, we prepared for the worst-case scenarios. Ben was correct as far as the rest of the council was concerned. Only a few council members gave me nasty looks of disapproval, or made passive/aggressive remarks regarding my character. Unfortunately, that included my sergeant-at-arms, who was in charge of the Watchmen. Kacie told me that we were rivals when Monica was in power, and she could easily sense his resentment even though he did his best to physically conceal it.

  Without Kacie by my side to clue me in on their feelings—since my empathic abilities were next to zilch—I was forced to give them all the benefit of the doubt. And what my gut told me about certain situations didn't count, since it was based more on a natural response, than a magical one.

  Ian went out of his way to avoid me, but at least, he seemed onboard with assigning several witches and wizards to patrol our borders by air as birds, as well as by land in various animal forms such as foxes and deer.

  As I men
tally prepared myself to cast the spell, I couldn’t help remembering my vision. How much more would have played out if it hadn’t been interrupted? And more importantly, what happened to Monica?

  Taking a break, I picked up one of the tablets from my office to do a little research. It was actually a means of combatting the anxiety building up in my gut. Returning to my vision, I kept the coven’s website open.

  Notably, a small number of younger witches and wizards were more tech savvy than most; they managed to separate the public site from the private one. It was also rumored that those who were descended from Hermes and other communication-based gods and goddesses could magically manipulate certain technological devices to create an extra wall of security within our private site. Luckily, when I tried to use the tablet, Darla Jane was only a phone call away. She knew my password that allowed me access to the internet.

  But despite all my searching, the only information I learned about Monica was a brief background, a list of accomplishments, and the duration of her tenure as High Priestess. I would have asked the High Priest, but he didn’t live in our household. Between the two other households, his was about an hour-and-a-half away, and the other one, where the Maiden and the Summoner lived, was much further upstate. It would take me at least four hours to get there by car.

  The Maiden was my second-in-command, while the Summoner served the same role to the High Priest. Having them live so far away made no sense to me, but according to the website, it was necessary for them to control the third household. It was the exclusive responsibility and duty of the Maiden to relocate to Moon-Brook and assume my role as the leader of my household's council, if the Coven's High Council agreed I could no longer perform my duties. She would remain in charge until the Mabon trials of the Autumnal Equinox.