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Willa dropped a bag of black salt onto the ground, rotating in a circle as she spread the sulphuric grains around the edge. From her oversized canvas bag, Liliane added crystals and crushed herbs to form the spell.
“That should do it,” she said cheerfully, to the delight of the Coven. “Everyone to your places!”
Each place around the circle held a marking for the corresponding witch’s affinity, etched into the dirt with a sharp stick. Elaine, Sara, and Genevieve took their spots next to the water, fire, and air markings, while Tabitha nervously stood beside Willa at an earth point.
My lips pursed, trying to find an opening, when Liliane ordered, “Over here, Jade.” She pointed to the earth point on her right, usually reserved for an elder. “You can cast here tonight. And to think, at the Winter Solstice in a few weeks’ time, you’ll have learned enough to perform the spell on your own.”
My witch’s intuition tingled with alarm at the thought of leading the Salem Coven in such an impressive show of power.
Out the corner of my eye, I watched Alexei and Henry kick away from the oak to get a better view. The vampires in New Orleans never asked about our magick, instead choosing to refrain from Get Hexed or any casting we occasionally performed around the city, excluding the wards I provided under my guise as their mystical guide.
At the pulse of magick surrounding the cemetery, Alexei’s expression flickered with some unfamiliar, dark emotion, completely at odds to what I’d expect. However, when he caught me staring, his face grew neutral.
Aunt Liliane whispered the spell softly, the others joining in one at a time, activating their own affinities. With every beat of my heart, their chant heightened in volume and power, the candles laid out in the center of the circle flickering wildly.
I could feel the call building inside me, my magick surging to the surface. As it often did without the Amulet of Davorina to channel my spirit magick, it remained settled inside me while my earth magick trickled out, detecting every fiber of matter within a small radius.
Pale blue and yellow lights flickered from within the circle as the spirits manifested through our combined efforts. Ghostly laughter echoed around us, causing the hairs on the back of my neck to stand on end.
My eyes widened when two small spectral children appeared within the circle, their hands joined in a comforting embrace. Tears prickled as I was hit with an onslaught of heartbreak and fear, the emotions emanating from the girls blurring inside my mind.
Death’s cruel inevitability followed no rules or sense of morality.
“Good evening, little doves. I’m sure you two are ready to find your way home, are you not?” Liliane’s smile was soft and encouraging, projecting safety for the frightened spirits.
Their soft ringlets bounced along their sweet faces as they nodded.
Without leaving the circle, she hunched down so her face was in line with theirs. “If you want to go home, you must let go of each other’s hand for one moment.”
When their eyes grew round with fear, someone started humming a lullaby, sweet and comforting, while Liliane continued blithely on.
“It will only be for a second. Then you can hold each other again, and you’ll be home when you do.”
“We’ll be with Mama?”
“Yes,” she assured them. “You’ll be with your family once more.”
My heart pounded in my chest as they let go of each other, and Liliane and the others whispered the spell again. Only this time, the girls glanced over to a portal opening to the Beyond.
“Mama?” the younger girl whispered before stepping forward.
The shimmery pearl tendrils beckoned me closer, but Liliane reached out, her nails digging into my arms to stop me from rushing into the void. The spell reached a crescendo and with a puff of flame, the candle distinguished, leaving the circle empty once more.
“Wow,” I breathed, my voice strangely thick.
Liliane squeezed my hand gently. “We’ve only begun. Let’s call out for any other spirits no longer interested in remaining on Gaia.”
Thus, the spell began anew, with spirit after spirit summoned into our circle to either get a boost into the afterlife or a chance to return to their incorporeal form amongst the other ghosts.
By the time we finished, my feet ached from the long day of walking, and my heart felt somehow empty, the toil of the emotional casting a heavy one to bear.
Liliane was the first to break the circle as she picked up a turquoise crystal from the ground, prompting the others to continue removing all traces of magick from the cemetery.
I chanced another look at Alexei, half expecting him and Henry to have escaped back to their pleasurable evening rather than spend hours amongst the dead. Instead, the two vampires chatted animatedly between themselves, gesturing to the Coven with serious expressions.
“Henry has always found our casting fascinating,” Willa whispered from beside me. Her short, choppy hair hung limp after the long day, but her smile and eyes were bright. “I think he attends our exorcisms out of the hope he’ll find a spirit from his past.”
I bit my lip at the tragic thought.
