His voice was harsh in the secluded midnight woods.
There was a time I might’ve bristled at his tone.
But that time had long since passed.
“It’s not cold enough for frostbite,” I informed him, “but yes, I’m with you. Anything goes wrong, we bail. I promise.”
Asher nodded once, then headed off, leaving me to it.
Taking another deep, steadying breath, I shucked off my clothes and folded them into a pile behind another tree. The air was crisp, the chill breeze raising goosebumps all over my body and turning my aforementioned nipples into stiff peaks, but any discomfort was quickly overridden by the absolute rightness of the moment.
Beneath a pile of dried leaves, a thick layer of moss carpeted the ground, soft and welcoming under my feet. I closed my eyes and curled my toes into the earth, shedding everything that stood between me and this pure, uncorrupted connection. My mind stilled. My fears, my obsessions, my worries, my thoughts… All of them melted away until there was onlythis. Only now.
Kneeling on the ground, I got comfortable and got to work, laying out all the supplies I’d brought.
First, I poured a circle of sea salt around me, enclosing myself inside the ritual space and asking for protection from anything that sought to do me harm.
There were no sage bundles at the house, but I’d found some dried sage in the pantry, and now I poured it into a stone bowl and lit it, visualizing the smoke carrying away any negative energy. I’d also brought two taper candles—one white, one black, representing the forces of light and dark—and after clearing away a few leaves and sticks, I stuck them in the ground inside my circle and lit them.
Aside from tonight’s impromptu scrying, I hadn’t been able to access my magic since we’d come to the safe house, and I wasn’t sure I’d be able to do it now.
But I had to try.
Picking up the book of shadows, I passed it back and forth through the sage smoke, cleansing away the negativity, the fear and hatred I’d felt toward my magic after losing Calla, the secrecy, the neglect.
“Release,” I whispered. “Release, release.”
The book felt instantly lighter.
After the sage cleanse, I set the book on the ground before me, pressing one hand to the cover. With my other hand, I drew a pentacle into the air, then closed my eyes, visualizing the moonlight on my skin, bathing me in her pale blue beauty.
I called upon my magic, remembering how it felt when it swirled low in my belly, its embers sparking to life inside me.
And then I waited.
And waited some more.
When I finally felt called to open my eyes, the scene before me remained static, but the familiar heat of my magic swirled, gently stirring to life. It yawned and stretched, and then it ignited, filling me with a tingling warmth.
It’s working!
I closed my eyes again and pressed my hands to the earth, the moss plushy and cool on my palms. Patiently I waited again, sending pulses of my magic deep down into the ground.
Seeking.
It wasn’t long before I felt the earth’s energy—her heartbeat—pulsing beneath my hands, connecting to my own magic and sending up waves of strength that spread up my arms and across my back, recharging me from the inside out.
It wasn’t imagined or metaphorical or new age dreaminess. It wasreal, and so beautiful it made me ache.
The earth’s innate magic was fueling my own, bonding with it and creating some new, powerful whole so much greater than the sum of its parts. It filled me completely, expanding inside me until I feared I wouldn’t be able to contain it.
Slowly I leaned back, breaking the connection and moving my hands back to the book. The energy still flowed into me though, ropes of glowing green that wrapped around my hands and crept up my arms, similar to the black tendrils I’d so often encountered with my own magic, only this kind was pure and incorruptible and good.
I’d brought Sophie’s blade—a connection to my best friend, a witch who I’d always carry in my heart—and now I used it to slice the tip of my finger. I squeezed a few droplets of blood onto each candle. The flames flickered at first, then surged brightly.
I’d rushed out of the house so fast I hadn’t stopped to prepare a dedication, but now I thought of Calla and Sophie, of all the witches that had walked this path before me, and the words flowed out effortlessly.
“By light of moon, ‘neath shadow of tree
