We were the nine. The complete Order. And we were family.
“All right, all right, that’s enough. Come on, lasses, gather close,” Archie barked and we all drew forward to form a half circle around them.
“We gather here in the old way,” Hilda began, her voice taking on a formal cadence. “Under the rowan tree within sight of Loch Mirren. We gather to restore what was broken and to bind ourselves to the service of truth and to the protection of the Clach na Fìrinn.”
She turned to Archie, who lifted a small silver bowl from beside the pedestal.
“The water of Loch Mirren,” Archie said. “Unbeknownst to us, a curse had also plagued its depths, and the water had grown unpure. But no more. No longer will the Cailleach’s malice taint this water. It is now restored to its true nature—a source of life, not death.”
He passed the bowl to Hilda, who dipped her fingers in and touched them to her heart.
“By water we are bound,” she intoned. “We honor those who came before us, whose roots were grown and nurtured on these very shores.”
She passed the bowl to Sophie, who repeated the gesture. Then to Lia. To Willow. One by one, each woman touched the water to her heart.
When the bowl reached me, I hesitated.
“Agnes?” Hilda’s voice was gentle. “Are you all right?”
“I’m just...” I looked down at the water, my own reflection tiny and rippling on the surface. “I spentso long being afraid of water and what it could take from me, and now I’m supposed to bind myself to it?”
“You’re not binding yourself to the water,” Orla said softly. “But more to what the water represents. It’s about how it connects all living things.” She smiled. “Water isn’t your enemy, Agnes. It never was. It was just being used by something that was.”
“It’s fair though,” Sophie murmured, “to feel this way. The loch took Lachlan’s mum. It’s taken many of your family. Those feelings matter.”
The other women murmured their agreement and waited. But nobody pushed me.
“It’ll help,”Quilliam said, poking his head out of my pocket.“You need to reframe your connection to the loch.”
I thought about the loch and the curse that I’d been living with for years now. As had the Beithir, in its own misguided way.
And then I thought about Graham, pulled from the water twice, surviving twice, because love was stronger than ancient malice.
I dipped my fingers in the bowl.
“By water we are bound.” I touched my heart. “By water we remember those who came before.”
Something shifted in the air. A warmth spreading from my heart outward, connecting me to the women around me, to the ground beneath my feet, and to the loch glittering softly in the pale morning light.
Hilda smiled. “Good. Now we speak the names.”
She turned to the book on the pedestal, tracing her finger down the ancient page.
“We call upon the First Nine,” sheread. “The founders of the Order. The women who stood against the darkness and swore to protect the truth.”
“We call upon Margaret, the Knight.” Sophie stepped forward and read, her voice resonating with power. “She who took up the sword when others faltered. She who bound the Kelpies to the service of the Stone.”
“We call upon Ceridwen, the Kitchen Witch,” Lia continued. “She who fed the hungry and healed the sick and understood that nourishment was its own version of magick.”
“We call upon Daniela, the Garden Witch,” Shona said. “She who spoke to the green and growing things and who understood that life was sacred in all its forms.”
“We call upon Ainne, the Seer.” Willow’s voice was soft but clear. “She who saw what others could not. She who carried the burden of visions so that others might be warned.”
“We call upon Cliodna, the House Witch,” Orla said. “She who listened to the dead.”
“We call upon Scáthach, the Forge Witch.” Kaia’s voice was strong, Murdoch cawing in agreement from her shoulder. “She who shaped metal and magick and armed the Order against its enemies.”
“We call upon Fiona, the Healer,” Faelan said, golden light flickering around her hands. “She who took pain into herself so others might live. She who knew that healing was sacrifice.”
