‘That’s good of you.’ Faye gave a grim smile. She still felt awful.
‘I’m honoured to be called out,’ he replied seriously. ‘So, what’s this all about? Come on, Faye. This isn’t normal, even for witches. You ask me to meet you in a dodgy part of London in the middle of the night at late notice. You’re on your own and you’ve been crying. What’s up?’
‘I’m going to summon Finn Beatha. I’m going to tell him that I want to be his lover again and let him take me to Murias. And when I get there, I’m going to find Aisha and rescue her,’ Faye replied.
She watched his face for incredulousness, but Gabriel held her eyes with only a frank curiosity.
‘Right.’
‘You’re not… shocked?’
‘Faye, I’m the owner of a magic bookshop. Ritual magic, summoning demons, past life regression…it’s literally my daily bread. No, I respect your decision. But when we spoke about this before, you didn’t see it as an option. Because of Rav.’ Gabriel buried his chin into his scarf for warmth.
Faye looked away. ‘That’s…not an issue any more,’ she said, not wanting to talk about it.
‘What does that mean?’ he asked.
‘It means I’ve split up with Rav,’ she shot back.
‘Whoa. No need to be angry at me.’ Gabriel held out his hands as if for protection.
Faye sighed. ‘Sorry. It’s just been…quite a night.’
‘What did he do? Do you need me to…I don’t know. Rough him up?’ Gabriel was frowning in concern at her.
‘Rough him up?Really?’
Gabriel made a face. ‘No need to act so surprised.’
‘Listen. I could do with someone in my corner…I mean…if the ritual…goes wrong.’
‘Goes wrong? In what way?’
‘If I can’t get out. If his power is too strong. Finn could make me forget everything – you, Aisha, this world, everything. It’s a risk.’ Faye didn’t want to talk about Rav right now.
‘What do you want me to do if it does? Go wrong, I mean,’ Gabriel asked.
‘Find a way to call me back. Get the coven together if you have to. But don’t, whatever you do, come after me,’ Faye said grimly.
First, create the environment for the queen of your chosen element.Faye had committedGrandmother’s words to memory: a ritual written at the back of her personal book of magic, what modern witches called a Book of Shadows. However, Moddie and Faye had always referred to it as Grandmother’s grimoire: a handwritten book of charms and spells passed down from one generation of Morgan women to the next.
To summon Her from her home element, you must create a ritual space of high vibration. Ideally, conduct the summoning as close to the right element as possible.
She knelt down on the wet London beach, putting the bag on the mud and taking the tools from it. She set the four battery lamps in a circle – north, east, south and west – and flicked them on. Their soft yellow glow lit the shoreline around them and cast an oily glitter on the dirty Thames water.Oh well, Faye thought.It’s water. I hope it’s enough. Water was Finn’s element, no matter how polluted. And, she reminded herself, the Thames might not be as romantic a stretch of water as the sea at Black Sands Beach at Abercolme, or elsewhere on the stark, rugged Scottish coastline, but it was ancient. In fact, one of its old names was the Isis, named for the Egyptian goddess of magic.
She handed a blackened abalone shell to Gabriel, who placed a charcoal disc inside it and lit it so that the disc flamed with a red line of fire, permeating it with a bright heat. From a bag, he sprinkled some loose incense on the smoking disc. Immediately, the smell of frankincense and copal filled the night. Taking a cup from the bag, he went to the river’s edge and scooped somewater into it, bringing it back and placing it carefully by their feet. She still felt sick, but she ignored it.
‘Cast the circle.’ Faye indicated that Gabriel should take the incense around the circle and charge it with the power of air. Following him, she lit a candle inside a small storm lamp and blessed the circle with the power of fire. Without being told, Gabriel took the cup of river water and sprinkled it around the circle. Faye followed, tracing a line in the muddy sand for earth.
Dance or pace out the circle clockwise and then pace into the centre of the circle as if in a spiral. When at the centre of the circle, call out their full name three times. Your calling should be urgent and passionate, from the heart. Repeat this process, walking the spiral in and out and calling the name, three times.
‘Call in the elements?’ Gabriel asked, but she shook her head.
‘Only water. That’s what we want, the High King of Murias, faerie realm of water. We put all our focus on him,’ Faye replied. ‘Remember, same as before. We walk inwards in a spiral, call out his name at the centre, and then spiral out again. Three times. Then I’m going to call him.’
Gabriel nodded.
She swallowed nervously. Was she ready to see Finn again? Was she ready for his power? The power that he held over her? She wasn’t sure, but it was too late now. She had to save Aisha.
