by Zandria West
I bite my lip and nod.
‘You know we’re with you even when we’re far away,’ Reuben says gruffly. ‘All you have to do is reach for the Binding and you’ll find us. We’ll be there.’
‘You all seem to be accepting this much too easily,’ Grayson says sharply. ‘Do we really trust these witches? After everything we’ve been through, are we willing to just agree to let Lana go alone, without our protection?’
‘Even if you tried, you would not be able to enter the Circle,’ Gabriel says, his voice carrying an air of quiet authority. ‘It is not permitted. The magic will not allow it.’
‘How about you? You’re the son and heir of the Great Witch. Surely you could go with her.’ Grayson turns to Gabriel.
Gabriel shakes his head. ‘I am not anointed to the Circle. You will be safe there though, Lana. They would never harm you. They have been seeking for you for many, many years. They’ll be astounded and overjoyed to have finally found you.’
I frown. I know it’s not me they’ll be excited about, it’s the Key. Right now, those feel like two very different things.
‘And Graciela is right,’ Gabriel continues. ‘Witches really don’t like waiting. So, if you are ready?’
‘I just… I need one thing….’ I say, looking around at the four faces watching me expectantly. I believe Gabriel when he says they won’t harm me, but I still feel like events are moving too quickly, and nobody has any way of knowing exactly where they will lead.
‘Anything for you, angel,’ Alex murmurs.
‘Group hug?’ I ask, embarrassed to even say the words. It’s true though. The only thing I want right now in the whole world is to be wrapped up in the arms of the four men who I love more than anything – the men who I love to eternity.
They do not even hesitate. First Alex, then Reuben, then Grayson and finally Gabriel stand close, wrapping their arms around me and around one another. I close my eyes and breathe, trying to concentrate on my breath like Grayson taught me. Even as I do, my eyes fill with tears. I feel so safe. So protected. So loved. I want to stay like this forever. I know that’s not an option though, so a few moments later when there’s a gentle tap at the door, I pull away, kissing each of them in turn. They look back at me, and the expression I see in their eyes is close to shock.
They’re going to watch me walk away, knowing that this time, for the first time since they were Bound to protect me, they can’t come after me. Whatever happens, for the next part of the journey I will be on my own.
‘Alright, Lana, let’s go,’ Graciela’s voice is gentle.
‘Back soon,’ I say, wiping my eyes with my sleeve and trying to smile.
14
LANA
Gabriel and Graciela are both unusually silent as we leave the house and begin to make our way down the mountainside, taking a path that makes a wide loop around the village below.
‘Where are we going?’ I ask finally. ‘Is the meeting nearby?’
‘Sadly no,’ Graciela says. ‘It’s actually on the other side of the world.’
I frown. ‘And we are getting there how exactly?’
‘There’s a Leestone near the entrance to the temple complex,’ Gabriel says. ‘Graciela will activate it, and I will keep it open for you until you return.’
‘A Leestone?’
Graciela nods. ‘It’s an ancient means of travel. The Witches’ Highway, they used to call it,’ she smiles. ‘It hasn’t been used for many years though. Witches don’t travel like they used to.’
‘Okay,’ I say. ‘A Leestone. Well, that’s handy.’
The two of them exchange a look that I don’t like.
‘How does it work?’ I ask.
‘It’s a bit hard to explain,’ Gabriel says slowly. ‘It won’t be your body that makes the journey. Your consciousness will travel, your body will remain here…’
‘Like astral projection?’ I ask. I read a book about once in which the main character was able to travel in their sleep while their body was resting in bed.
‘Kind of,’ Gabriel says. ‘Some people find the sensation unpleasant, especially the first time.’
‘Does it hurt?’ I ask, looking between them again.
Gabriel shakes his head. ‘It’s not that it hurts. It just feels… wrong.’
I think about the alternative means of getting half-way across the world. ‘Like a forty-hour flight twenty thousand feet above the earth crammed into a tiny seat feels right?’ I shudder. I loathe flying with a passion that I reserve for very few things in this world.
I see a small smile tugging at the corner of Gabriel’s mouth and I guess that he’s remembering how I dealt with my fear of flying before our most recent trip – with the help of Alex, the king-sized bed in an exclusive flyers’ suite, and more shots of tequila than is generally recommended. We’d almost missed the plane, but boy it was the most relaxed I’d ever felt at take-off. Gabriel, Reuben and Grayson had felt every last toe-clenching, mind-blowing, exquisite moment of my orgasm, while they’d waited patiently crammed like sardines into the economy class departure lounge.
‘Right. We’re here,’ Graciela says, interrupting my memory, which is lucky because if I go into much more detail, I might have trouble concentrating on the task at hand.
I look around and see that “here” is the shadowy entrance to a cave which winds its way into the side of the mountain. Great. My love for shadowy caves is second only to my love of flying.
‘We don’t have to go far into the cave system,’ Gabriel says. He must be guessing what I’m thinking. ‘The Leestone’s quite close to the entrance.’
I follow as Graciela leads. She’s making a show of being unperturbed by all of this, but I can tell that she’s nervous – whether it’s because of the mode of travel or the destination, I’m not sure.
‘Have you done this before?’ I ask. ‘Travelled this way, I mean?’
‘Me? Only once. When I was a child.’ I catch the shift in her expression.
‘And how did that go?’ I ask.
‘The trip itself was fine, it was only afterwards that was… challenging. I spent the rest of the day throwing up, if you must know. But I was only eight. I’m sure our constitutions are stronger now than mine was then. Come on.’
As we step into the tunnel, I realise the cavern is much larger on the inside than it appeared from outside. It does not extend for any distance into the rocky mountainside, but once you pass the entrance, the cavern ceiling rises to an impressive height and there’s easily enough room for the three of us to stand upright, side by side.
‘There it is,’ Graciela muses.
The Leestone stands in the centre of the cave, a dark-hued smooth-sided boulder. I get an immediate sense of warmth from it, as though it’s emanating a powerful energy of some kind.
‘Can I touch it?’ I ask. The desire to place my hands on the rock is almost irresistible.
Graciela smiles. ‘You feel it? That’s a good sign. It will make the journey easier. Go ahead.’
I take a few steps in so that I’m standing beside the rock. It’s a little taller than me, and I’m not sure if it’s my imagination but it seems as though it’s shaped almost like a person – well, like a person who’s been encased in rock. I reach out a hand and tentatively touch the surface. I try not to jump – it is warm. It’s the strangest sensation in the chilly confines of this cavern, given there is no sunlight or any obvious means to have heated the rock.
‘You know how this works?’ Graciela asks, turning to Gabriel.
He nods, but she proceeds to tell him anyway.
‘I will open the portal. You just have to maintain the opening until the journey is complete. It shouldn’t be difficult. I don’t imagine we’ll be gone long.’
‘Do we… lie down?’ I ask. From Gabriel’s description, I imagine Graciela and I should be lying in a soft bed somewhere, gently dreaming our presence at the Circle of Witches.
‘Absolutely not,’ Graciela says. ‘You can
not risk falling asleep when travelling. You could lose the connection forever. Your consciousness might never return to your body.’
I frown. That sounds bad. ‘Are you serious?’ I can’t tell from her expression whether that’s an actual warning or whether she’s pulling my leg.
She shrugs. ‘It’s what my mother told me. I’d be remiss not to pass the warning on. Feel around the rock. There are places to stand.’
I watch as Graciela finds her place beside the rock. I run my hands further over the side and gradually understand. There are indentations, roughly in the shape of a person. I follow Graciela’s lead, turning around so my back is to the rock and wriggling until I’m pressed against it. The sensation is unnerving – it almost feels as though the rock itself is embracing me, welcoming me in.
‘When you’re ready, Gabriel,’ my mother says.
He inclines his head. ‘Of course. Safe travels.’
I expect there’s going to be some chanting. Most of the magic I’ve seen has involved chanting of one kind or another. But all Graciela does is bang the rock three times, hard, almost like she’s knocking on a door. The shift is instantaneous. There’s no sense of distance, no feeling of travel. I blink my eyes open and cough a little from the smoke that seems to fill the air.
‘Gracie? Is that you?’ A thundering voice cries out.
I look around and see my mother stepping forward from the ledge where we are standing and down onto a rock below. I follow her, trying not to pay too much attention to the unnerving way her outline shimmers and fades in and out, ghostly and surreal.
As my eyes adjust to the changed light, I just make out a group of mostly women sitting around a long table. They’re… eating cake? I imagined that the Circle of Witches would be a dark, powerful and imposing magical council. This looks more like afternoon tea with the ladies’ bowls club. As the group spots me, I hear a low murmur of interest and curiosity.
Graciela clears her throat. ‘My friends,’ she says. ‘Thank you for allowing us to come today. I’d like you to meet my daughter, Lana.’
15
LANA
They’ve been arguing for well over an hour now.
‘But it is an outrage!’ an auburn-haired woman with an ample bosom and a strong French accent says, for at least the fifth time. ‘All these years, you knew and did not say anything?’
Graciela bows her head beside me. Until now, I could never have imagined her looking contrite, but the Circle of Witches has changed that.
‘I thought,’ she begins tentatively, ‘for my daughter’s protection…’
‘For her protection? Kindly explain to me what you think we would have done that would have jeopardized your daughter’s safety? The security of the Key would have been our highest priority until she came into her power and was able to complete the Barrier spell…’
My mother looks down at the stone floor. An older woman, who stands out from the others as being softly-spoken with warm, kind eyes, clears her throat.
‘With all due respect, Arielle, I suspect that is just what Graciela feared. Don’t you see? She wanted her daughter to have as normal a life as possible for as long as possible. Just as any mother would. How would you have sought to ensure the security of the Key, as you put it? By locking Lana away from the world, where no possible harm could come to her. That would be no way for a young woman to live or thrive…’
Arielle narrows her eyes, glaring at the older woman. ‘And with all due respect to you Philomena, there is much more at stake here than just allowing a girl to have girlish fun.’
I frown. ‘I’m sorry, what did you say?’
There’s a moment of sudden, shocked silence.
I’ve kept quiet until now, following the discussions as closely as I could, allowing Graciela to speak for me, trusting her knowledge and judgement. But I can’t keep my peace any longer.
Arielle turns to me, her emerald green eyes glowing with intense emotion. I meet her gaze and hold it. I keep my voice steady as I speak. ‘I may have had the misfortune of being claimed by the Great Witch’s enchantment before I was born, but that doesn’t mean I’m not a human being, with my own life to live. You do not own me.’ My voice is shaking with fury.
‘But the danger of the Barrier falling –’
‘Is terrible,’ I interrupt. ‘I understand.’
‘You understand?’ Arielle’s look of disbelief is almost comical.
‘Better than you could possibly imagine,’ I say. ‘I’ve been tortured in a demon prison. I’ve been subjected to prophetic visions of the demon invasion, over and over again. You must believe me when I say, I do understand.’
‘But you would risk all the horror of the Barrier spell failing, just so you could live what Philomena would quaintly describe as a normal life?’
I shrug, taking some pleasure in the look of annoyance that flickers across her face. ‘I’m here now, aren’t I? Alive, unharmed, of my own free will. Ready to do whatever needs to be done. It looks like my mother did a pretty good job, whatever you say.’
I see Graciela glancing at me, her expression dumbfounded.
‘And I say it is time to plan for the future, not dissect the past,’ Philomena says, with a tone of unmistakeable command.
Finally, Arielle breaks my gaze, looking away. I smile.
‘I have prepared the required Sacrifice,’ my mother says. ‘We have only to complete the prophecy of Izushi, and the village will be ready to do whatever Lana asks.’
I flinch and look away. The Circle has already discussed the requirements for a massive release of energy to power the Barrier spell. Graciela explained about the legends of Goddess Izushi, and my arrival and appearance as Izushi before the village.
‘And what exactly is required to complete the prophecy?’ someone asks from the back of the room.
Graciela clears her throat. I get the distinct sense that she is purposefully avoiding looking at me.
‘Lana must pass through the Jaws of Death and live,’ she says. I blink, trying to keep my expression neutral. It’s the first I’ve heard of it. ‘It’s not as bad as it sounds,’ Graciela adds. ‘The Jaws of Death is the name of a rocky pool below a waterfall not far from the village. I will protect Lana when she jumps. The villages will all witness the final prophecy being fulfilled. I can assure you, there will be no problem. Once that’s done, they will be utterly convinced of the veracity of Lana’s story, that she is in fact the Goddess Izushi.’
‘So once the final prophecy is fulfilled, the villagers will be ready to perform the sacrifice?’
‘That is correct,’ Graciela says.
‘You do not anticipate any… problems?’
‘None that my magic could not smooth over,’ she says carefully.
I turn to her. My discomfort with her keeping the final stage of the prophecy from me mingles with my sense of outrage at what we are to do. ‘You mean, if they aren’t actually willing to die, you’ll kill them anyway?’
‘Persuade them, is how I would put it, Lana. It will be peaceful. Painless. They will be heroes, remembered forever by all humankind for their brave and selfless act.’
I feel sick. I shake my head and look away.
‘And then,’ Graciela continues, ‘all will be prepared for the re-making of the Barrier.’
‘You think she will be strong enough?’ Arielle asks. ‘You told us that the Shielding ceremony was not completed...’
‘That is true, but even so she managed to defeat a pack of hellhounds almost single-handedly. I do not doubt my daughter’s strength.’
Incredulous whispers echo off the cave walls at that revelation. I remember how Gabriel looked at me afterwards with something like horror, as though what I did was a sign not of strength, but of something else – something wrong with me. I look down, suddenly uncomfortable.
Finally, Arielle speaks. ‘We, too, will gladly offer our strength to aid her in making the spell.’
Graciela nods, and I sense that she’s relieved
by the offer, that she’d been hoping for it but hadn’t wanted to ask directly.
‘Go then, do what must be done. We will wait to hear that the prophecy has been fulfilled. We will be ready to act at a moment’s notice,’ Philomena says, her voice ringing fiercely in the confines of in which we are meeting.
The others around her nod at this.
Arielle gives me a long, considered look, then turns back to my mother. ‘Do not delay, Graciela. The Barrier is breaking down. Every day, more demon attacks are reported. We are doing what we can to protect vulnerable locations, but it is like putting out spot-fires with wet towels when a raging wall of flames is bearing down on us. Without the Barrier being re-made, it is only a matter of time until we are all consumed.’
I feel a chill run down my spine. So much is resting on me, more than I can conceive. And for all my mother’s supposed confidence, I have no idea how or if I will be able to complete the spell. There is a moment of weighty silence following Arielle’s words.
‘Go well,’ Philomena says, breaking the spell. ‘Good luck. And Lana?’
I look up at the sound of my name.
‘Thank you,’ she says, smiling gently. ‘Yours is perhaps the greatest sacrifice of all. It will not be forgotten.’
I think of the villagers, those who will give up their lives, and her gratitude tastes like ash in my mouth.
‘Come, child, it is time,’ Graciela says, taking my hand.
16
LANA
My mother was right. The moment our consciousness snaps back into our bodies, I feel desperately sick. Stomach churning, head spinning, I stagger away from the Leestone, doing everything I can not to throw up.
‘Breathe Lana, deep breaths. That’s the way,’ Gabriel has his hand on my back, rubbing soothing circles. It only makes me feel sicker. I pull away from him and stagger out of the cavern into the bright daylight. The light is traumatising. A piercing pain stabs me through one eyeball. My legs give way under me and I find myself sitting in the dirt, the entire world seeming to revolve in painful, nauseating loops around me.