by Zandria West
‘What did we miss?’ Reuben glances around the room like he’s checking that it’s safe before he allows his eyes to rest on me.
‘Coffee. And breakfast. And sex. Not in that order,’ I say.
‘Lana drank Gabriel’s blood,’ Alex says, giving a wicked grin. A shiver goes down my spine at the way he looks at me.
‘She did what?’ Grayson’s mouth drops open.
‘I’m pretty sure it was because of whatever you did to me this morning, Gray. It messed with my head.’ I give him an accusing look, though if I’m honest it was nice feeling relaxed and free of the terror that seems to constantly churn my gut, if only for a little while.
He crosses his arms over his chest. ‘You were having a nightmare –’ he starts.
‘Did I ask you to meddle with my dreams? You used your power to take away the negative thoughts and feelings, didn’t you?’
Grayson nods, silent.
‘Apparently that also took away Lana’s inhibitions,’ Alex says, his grin not diminishing. ‘She knew exactly what she wanted when she woke up this morning, and she wasn’t taking no for an answer, hey Gabe.’
‘I actually meant to say thanks,’ I smile at Grayson. I can see him trying to figure out whether he should be feeling guilty or angry or concerned. ‘I feel better than I thought I would today, all things considered. The coffee machine works. And there’s breakfast–’ I gesture at the table. ‘Though no meat, Reuben. Sorry.’
Reuben shifts awkwardly on the spot. ‘That’s okay. I may have… um… caught something in the forest earlier...’
‘Really?’
‘The change… I’m still feeling –’ He looks down at the floor and I feel terrible for not checking how he was. I remember what Graciela did to him – the bolt of magic that burst into him, the way he writhed in the dirt, transforming into wolf form and back again so quickly I hardly knew what had happened.
‘I’m sorry. Is there anything I can do?’ I ask quietly. He glances up and for a moment I catch a longing so intense in his green gaze that my stomach drops away.
‘I will try one of those coffees you’re making,’ he says gruffly.
‘Sure.’ I clear my throat and nod and get to making two more cups.
When I look up, my mother is standing in the doorway. I’m still not a fan of her knack of appearing out of nowhere when I least expect it.
‘Well, I’ve sent out a request to convene,’ she says without any preamble, taking the seat at the head of the table. The others shuffle things around to make space for her.
‘Convene what?’ I ask, carrying two coffees over to the table.
‘The Circle of Witches.’ She looks at me like I’m some kind of imbecile for not knowing exactly what she meant. I feel irritated and embarrassed both at the same time. I didn’t ask to be here, preparing to cast a powerful ancient enchantment. I didn’t ask for any of this. Why should I know about the Circle of Witches?
‘Do you think they will agree? This will be the first time they’ve met in over a decade…’ Gabriel frowns.
‘Seventeen years, if you wish to be precise,’ Graciela says.
I bring my own coffee over and sit at the table, trying to remember what I learned about the Circle of Witches in Barrier Studies at school. I know the Great Witch – Gabriel’s mother – founded the Circle for the purpose of guarding the Barrier and adjudicating on the enforcement of the Accord. The Circle was a powerful force, able to operate between the human and demon realms. It was hated by demons and feared by humans; but needed by both.
‘Have you told them… I mean… do they know… about me?’ I ask.
Graciela meets my gaze and I see her expression soften.
‘No. When I first understood how the enchantment had manifested, I felt I could not risk it,’ she says finally. ‘Maybe that was a mistake, but I wasn’t sure who I could trust. If it had been anything else that I had uncovered as the Key – an object, an incantation, some other relic of power – I would have handed it over to them without a thought. That was my purpose. But my baby? I could not give you to them. I did not know what they might do. So no, I never told them about you.’ She looks away and a cold shiver of fear runs through me. ‘You’re not a baby anymore, Lana. I cannot protect you from your destiny forever.’
‘Will they want to meet me?’ I ask, trying to keep my voice even, to hide the fact that I’m fucking terrified right now. Everything is starting to feel too real.
‘That will be for them to decide. But there is work for you to do in the meantime,’ Graciela says, her tone serious. ‘You need to prepare.’
‘Prepare?’ Reuben asks, glaring at my mother with undisguised distrust.
Graciela meets his gaze without flinching. ‘The first Barrier spell was the most powerful spell cast in recorded history. To re-make it will test the Lana physically, mentally, and energetically in ways that are difficult for us to even conceive. Lana is not a witch. She has no experience, no training.’
I swallow, a sudden shiver of cold passing over me like a shadow across the sun. When I hear it put like that, the whole idea of me remaking the Barrier sounds preposterous.
‘And if I’m not strong enough?’ I ask.
‘The Barrier will fail, and you will die.’ Graciela’s voice is calm and matter of fact.
I want to cry. Somehow, I’d thought that just being the Key would be enough. Why would the enchantment have chosen me if I’m going to fail?
‘That is why your training must begin immediately,’ Graciela continues, smiling as though this should reassure me. ‘Physical endurance. Concentration of energy. Clarity of mind. These are the things that will be required when you cast the Barrier spell. They can all be taught, to some degree at least. Your men can help you. I will teach you the mechanics of the spell itself, to the best of my knowledge. And when the time comes, I am confident that the Circle will also help you. You will not be expected to do this alone, Lana.’
‘How can the Circle help?’ I ask.
‘They can use their combined power to focus the spell and amplify it’s magic. This is essentially what the Circle was created for, though I’m sure some will need reminding.’ Graciela frowns. ‘But I’m getting ahead of myself now. First things first. When you’ve had enough to eat, we’ll need to get you ready for your appearance.’
I frown. ‘Appearance?’
‘The villagers are waiting. Most of them have not slept. They spent the night praying. They believe the prophecy of Izushi is coming to fruition. They say that they are blessed to be the generation to witness the rising of Izushi, to touch her and know her…’
I sit back in the chair, suddenly queasy. The thought of people worshipping me to the point that they are willing to give up their life for me is just… I shake my head.
‘Can’t we just focus on the training?’ I say. ‘Isn’t that more important? I need to be ready, right?’
‘Without a suitable sacrifice to power the Barrier spell, the only possible outcome is failure, no matter how much training you do,’ Graciela says. ‘And if you fail, every single person in that village will suffer a terrible death. The demons will come after them, because they will come after you. Those innocent people will experience agony beyond imagining.’ I can feel my mother’s gaze on me as she speaks, but I don’t look up and meet her eyes. I look out window and down onto the village far below.
I’m suddenly dizzy. The room feels too crowded. I can’t breathe.
‘I’m sorry, I need some air,’ I say, pushing away from the table and heading for the door.
Intellectually I can understand what my mother is saying. I understand why I have to do what she’s told me I must do. But my heart rebels against it.
How can I? How can I ask these people to sacrifice themselves for me?
3
REUBEN
I understood little of what the witch said at breakfast, but when she stated so coolly that Lana might die attempting the Barrier spell, it shocked me to my core. I
saw how shaken Lana was by her words, too. Graciela instructed Lana to get ready to return to the village, and I trailed along after her, hoping that I could do something to help make this all easier. Now I’m standing uselessly in a corner of the room, wanting nothing more than to put my arms around Lana and hold her, like that could solve all our problems. I can’t though.
‘You’re really going to stand right there, Wolf?’ Irena glares at me.
I cross my arms. I’m not budging. I don’t trust the girl – even armed as she is today, not with a gun but with boxes of make-up and rows of almost identical brushes and tubes.
I meet Lana’s eyes in the mirror. ‘Do you want me to leave?’ I ask her.
I can see her fear. There is no shame in fear, I want to tell her. Sometimes fear is nothing more than instinct, honed to its sharpest point. It hurts because it’s giving you information that you should not ignore.
Lana shakes her head. ‘Stay,’ she says.
That one word is all I need to hear. I nod and lean back against the wall.
‘Ouch!’ Lana jerks her head away from where Irena is doing something incomprehensible to her eyebrows. I take a step forward, a growl escaping my throat.
‘Whoa, easy Wolf,’ Irena looks at me sideways, wielding the tweezers like tiny implements of torture.
‘I’m okay,’ Lana reassures me. ‘It just stings a bit.’
I back away again slowly. ‘Human women really do these things?’ I ask, mystified.
‘My friend, you don’t know the half of it…’ Irena chuckles, and she and Lana exchange the first look of solidarity that I’ve seen since this whole painful ordeal began.
I try to calm myself, for Lana’s sake.
Make Lana look like a Goddess, Graciela commanded. What rubbish. If the people of this village do not see the power radiating from her just as she is, then they do not deserve to see her at all.
Irena has scraped Lana’s beautiful hair back into a tight bun. She has scrubbed her face and lathered it with lotions. Now she is pulling out the hairs of Lana’s eyebrows, so that what remains forms sharply angled arcs. She works with a confident, practised hand.
‘You have done this before?’ I ask her.
‘Too many times,’ she says, shaking her head. ‘I used to help my mama get ready for work. I thought she was so beautiful. Her eyes dark and smoky, her mouth glistening red, her hair always shining… Mama’s pimp owed money to some bad men. She was his prize, the most beautiful woman for miles around, so they took it out on her. Cut her up real bad, scarred her face so no man would ever want to look at her again…’
I frown as I try to understand. ‘They hurt your mother? Over… money?’
Irena stares back at me. There is a kind of deadness to her gaze. ‘You’re going to tell me that doesn’t happen where you’re from?’
I swallow, recalling all the kinds of cruelty the pack can inflict. But always for a reason – to gain power, to ensure loyalty, to punish betrayal. Good reasons.
For money? Never.
‘Did she survive?’ Lana’s voice is low.
Irena purses her lips and nods. ‘She sent me away. That’s how I ended up here. They would have come for me next. I was eleven years old and Mama figured they might have wanted to do more than just slice up my face. She knew Graciela from years back, she hoped that she would take care of me. Make a different sort of life for me.’
‘I’m sorry,’ Lana says.
Irena shrugs. ‘Men are cruel. They like inflicting damage.’ She looks at me, her gaze an open challenge. I feel myself bristling. I’m ready to fight. And then she laughs – this time the laugh is scornful. ‘Yes, you too. I know that look, Wolf. Seen it more times than I can count. That’s why I’m always armed.’ She taps a hand to the knife strapped to her thigh. I hadn’t noticed it before. Fool, I curse myself. I’d been so distracted by the array of strange objects that were being used to transform Lana, I hadn’t even noticed a weapon within striking range carried by someone I still do not trust. Though to be fair, my instincts tell me I’m more likely to be its target than Lana.
Then I think again of what Irena has just told us, the horror that men have brought to her young life, and my anger makes me feel ashamed.
‘I… do not wish to hurt you,’ I say gruffly. ‘I’m sorry these things happened to you.’
Irena snorts. ‘Whatever. Let’s just get this done, shall we?’
Apparently scrubbing and plucking was just the overture. I watch in silence as Irena applies a thick layer of pale paint to Lana’s face. When she’s finished, she takes a brush and paints in Lana’s eyebrows from where she’d removed them earlier. I tilt my head as I watch, trying to understand the purpose of this whole strange process.
‘Keep still, look up,’ Irena murmurs as she draws thick, dark lines around Lana’s eyes.
She rifles through the brushes, finds one that’s long and slender, and begins to paint over Lana’s eyelids with a shimmering gold. I frown. Irena works slowly and patiently, occasionally telling Lana to turn this way or that, to stop moving, to open her eyes, her mouth. Gradually, I see the transformation. The glittering shades of gold and smoky grey around Lana’s eyes make them stand out, highlighting their beautiful blue. Irena does something which extends Lana’s already long lashes. By the time she’s finished with Lana’s eyes, I can’t see anything else in the room.
I have always found Lana beautiful, but now she’s captivating. She looks like something from a dream. I begin to see the purpose behind Graciela’s actions – looking like this, who of the villagers would deny her power? None.
Irena colours Lana’s cheekbones a light pink, then paints her lips a deep red. She sits back and studies her work.
‘Will this… is this….?’ I feel like Irena has worked a spell on me. I’m confused. I can’t figure out how to make the words come as I mean them to.
‘Is it what?’ Irena swings around, scowling.
‘Is it… permanent? Will she be like this forever?’ I ask.
Irena raises an eyebrow, and I see amusement sparkling in her dark eyes. ‘Would you like that, Wolf?’
‘I…. uh… I mean…’
I see Lana watching me. She also appears to find my confusion funny.
I close my eyes and take a breath. These human women, I don’t understand what they are doing to me. I take another breath and attempt to clear my mind. I think of the forest. Then I try to say what I’m feeling. ‘She looks very… beautiful. But different too. Distant, like a star in the night sky. I would miss her…’
Irena groans and shakes her head. ‘Yeah, whatever. You don’t need to worry. I’ll scrub her off and have her back to you as good as new again later tonight, lover boy.’
Lana catches my eye. The smile she gives me is shy and beautiful. I feel like I just passed a test that I didn’t even know I was taking.
Irena turns back to Lana again and studies her, all business. ‘Now for the dress. We have a few to choose from…’
I see Lana’s eyes widen as Irena lays five dresses out on the bed before her. I immediately know which one she must wear – it’s sky blue and shimmering gold, long and loose and flowing. It will perfectly match the colour of her eyes and hair, and the dusting of golden paint Irena has used on her eyelids.
‘That,’ I say, pointing to the dress.
Lana’s eyes widen even more as she looks at the dress and then across at me. ‘Since when did you start choosing my clothes?’
I can’t tell if she’s angry or just surprised. Maybe I’ve done something wrong. Maybe only other women should choose what human women wear? I truly have no idea.
‘It’s not a choice,’ I say, looking carefully at each of the others on offer. None of them are right. None are beautiful enough, regal enough, to be hers.
Lana raises a questioning eyebrow.
‘You are the Goddess Izushi,’ I say. ‘This dress is the union of sky and sun, space and light…. It will make you seem to step from the very heavens�
�’
Irena snorts. ‘All that muscle and he’s a poet too? You really got lucky with this one.’
Lana laughs, but still she reaches for the dress and lays it against her body. The material floats and shimmers.
‘I don’t see how I’ll be able to walk in that skirt,’ she says, sceptically.
‘The Goddess Izushi does not walk,’ I say with certainty. ‘The Goddess Izushi is carried.’
Lana rolls her eyes and then, without giving me any word of warning, slips her singlet off over her head, and steps out of her pants. For a moment I’m speechless as she stands, semi-naked before us. Then she pulls the dress on. It drapes and clings and floats around her like it was made for her body.
‘You know, I think he’s right. That looks amazing,’ Irena says.
‘This is ridiculous,’ Lana says, her voice suddenly hard. ‘It’s a lie. It’s just a way of lying to people, making them see something that isn’t there...’
I walk to Lana, wrap my arms around her waist and bury my face in the crook of her neck. ‘This is as true as anything I’ve ever seen,’ I growl. ‘You are beautiful. Almost more beautiful than I can bear. With paint, without paint. In the dress or out of it. The power that flows through you only makes you more beautiful.’
She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. I run my hands along her sides, feeling the curves of her body under the light material. I kiss her neck, her ear.
Irena coughs. ‘Alright kids, that’s enough. I’m still here, okay?’
I trace my lips along Lana’s jaw and she lets out a low, barely audible moan. I feel my body responding.
‘Oh, come on,’ Irena’s voice is disbelieving.
I turn and look at her. ‘You’ve done your job,’ I say. ‘You may go now.’
‘I may what?’
‘I mean it. Go. You’ve made her look like a Goddess, now it’s my turn.’
Irena snorts and shakes her head. ‘And what are you going to do, Wolf?’
‘I’m going to make her feel like a Goddess…’