Chapter 17
CHAPTER 17
“ H appy Halloween.”
I rolled my eyes. “Happy Halloween, L.”
She grinned, broadly. “Halloween is the best time to go to Amethyst and stock up on magical goodies.”
Her words comforted me as we stood in front of the shop and people watched while we finished out coffees. Freshly carved pumpkins greeted each house along the block. Cobwebs hung outside stained glass windows, and fake spiders littered the paths. Kids had already started their rounds, dressed in their little outfits, and held bags to fill with candy.
“Let’s go in before we’re mobbed by sugar-filled children.” I joked.
The store was buzzing with activity. It was a small building juxtaposed to Darkly Brewed Delights. Halloween, I could imagine, would be one of their biggest days for sales, other than the solstices. I groaned, then nudged Lalita with my black hoodie covered elbow. “Why did we wait until Samhain to stock up?
We walked inside, and a wave of warmth soothed my chilled skin as Lalita hurried over to the candles. “Oh,” she said, grabbing a relaxation candle, “we should light this around, Eleanore.”
I laughed, but I wasn’t sure if she was joking or not.
We looked through each shelf. It was like a box store for the supernatural. Each item was marked with a price in an inconspicuous location.
I hovered around the divination area. Pendulums hung from a jewelry rack, and sported chains of varying metals. Crystals of the highest quality hung from the chains in an array of options. Behind them on the wall were a variety of pendulum boards. I lifted one of the crystals in my palm and my jaw dropped as its energy vibrated into me. I couldn’t allow myself to get sucked into some small section of the shop, so I gently released the crystal to swing with the others.
Spirit boards were showcased inside the glass casing and next to them was stones—runes. A large crystal ball sat front and center. I peered into it, expecting something to happen, but nothing did.
“Can I help you?” A woman with flowing purple hair and big, almond-shaped eyes asked me.
“No, thank you,” I answered. “We’re just looking around and hoping to restock some of our essentials.”
She smiled. “Ah. Yes.” She hurried away and came back with a basket. “You both attend Ghost Rose Academy, right?”
I nodded.
“You’ll need a starter kit.” She told me and looked at Lalita. “What are you running low on?”
Lalita tapped a finger against her lower lip, then rattled off a list of herbs, crystals, and much more.
Purification candles. A divination table. A clear quartz pendulum. Lalita got a rose quartz one. Black salt. Sticks of sage. A variety of spell candles. Black Tourmaline. Citrine. Amethyst. Agate. Lavender oil. Anointing oil. Frankincense. Tarot card deck. Totem charms. Incense sticks. Runes. Mojo bags. Bell & mirror. Potion and spell bottles. A collection of different herbs. Pentacle. Candle holders. Smudge stick. Cauldron. Offering bowl. Orisha beads. A charmed amulet. Figure candle. Hex pillar candle. Small wooden drawers to put the herbs in.
I tuned her out and continued to explore. I looked around, but there was so much to take in at once. My eyes darted from tarot decks, oils, herbs, candles, stones, and ritual tools that I didn’t know where to begin. I decided to check out the tarot decks. Row after row of beautiful, yet spooky tarot decks looked up at me from a low oak table. I ran my fingers over them until I felt one that spoke to me.
After two hours and hundreds of dollars later, we left with eight bags between us. We hefted the bags over our shoulders, then trudged back to her dorm.
“What a day.” Lalita gasped as we pushed into her bedroom. “I wish magical supplies weren’t so expensive.”
I shrugged. “It is, but if you want the highest quality items and herbs, you have to pay for them.
Lalita gazed out her window, the sun setting the pines aflame as it made its trek beyond the horizon. Her long blue nails tapped on the trim as she watched the sunset.
“Hey, L?”
“Yeah?” she responded, but didn’t look away from the glowing pines.
“Will you paint my nails before we play with our new goodies?”
She laughed, then turned her back on the window. “Of course. What color do you want? “Oh wait, never mind,” Lalita said as she rummaged through her desk, glass bottles clinking softly as she rooted for the perfect shade. “Sparkly black,” she declared proudly, and held up the bottle.
Lalita ushered me over to the papasan chair, then folded her legs beneath her as she sat in front of me. We chatted about everything and nothing as she filed down my nails, then trimmed my cuticles. The deep obsidian polish shined in the white orb hanging above us as she slowly and meticulously painted each of my fingernails. The sparkles hidden within the inky depths of the color glittered as I tilted my hand side to side.
I snorted, then asked, “Why the hell did I ask you to do this?”
Her eyes sparkled with excitement as she looked around. “We’ll be doing a lot of work with our hands, and you want them to look badass, right?” She smiled. “Plus, you miss us doing each other’s nails just as much as I do.”
I nodded, then allowed the corners of my lips to turn up and grow into a genuine smile. “Okay, so now we’re done. Are you ready to start?”
She grinned. “Hell yeah.”
I looked down at the chalice nervously, its heavy weight reminding me of my mother’s blood rituals for some reason. My stomach twisted at the thought of Mother, and guilt slammed into me. I shook it off and refocused my attention on Lalita and our task.
We agreed to create two spelled rings, one for each of us, with protection magic. With all the strange and nefarious activities happening lately, it really couldn’t hurt. Lalita flipped open her grimoire on her knee, then leaned over it and muttered to herself.
I placed the silver rings at the bottom of the chalice and poured oil on top of it. I added a pinch of ginger, pine needles, and valerian root. Lalita painstakingly carved sigils into the dark purple pillar candle, then set it down on our makeshift altar, also known as a milk crate covered with a gray scarf.
“The spell isn’t straightforward,” she explained, as she flipped through the stack of her family’s grimoires. She laughed sharply, then said, “Well, damn. I’m glad we chose not to attempt this spell.”
My gaze narrowed, but I lost the battle and grinned cheekily at her. “Oh, L, do tell.”
Lalita cleared her throat dramatically. “One must pierce a magical being’s hymen through virginal sex or with an athame dagger, then collect the resulting blood on the prepared cleansed cotton cloth for this ritual to be successful.” Lalita could barely finish the sentence, her words wobbly and choked with laughter.
I joined her, and soon we were crumpled on the floor, howling with giggles. I turned my face toward her, the soft black rug sliding beneath my cheek. “What was that ritual for?” I asked.
“Um, hold on.” She sat up, then scanned the yellowed page, her eyes darting between the words. “To ward one’s house against a werewolf infestation.”
“Well, that’s definitely interesting and we should bookmark it for later,” I declared, then winked at her.
Lalita rolled her eyes, then smirked. “Okay, let’s take a few cleansing breaths together, then get started.”
“Agreed.”
“We need to link this,” she showed me a chunk of obsidian, “and the rings together. It works as a sort of protection spell against magic, and anything else that intends us harm. She re-read the text. “I hope it works.”
She was better than me at this. “How do we link them?”
“I don’t know.” She admitted. “My grimoire isn’t totally complete, but with darker magic, an offering or sacrifice is usually required.
My stomach sank. “Like what?”
She grimaced. “Well, animal sacrifice is a given…” a v formed between her eyebrows as she thought, “but I’m sure there are other ways around it.”
I twisted my mouth in disgust, then smiled. “Oh, what about blood? If we offer blood from each of us, that should qualify as a sacrifice.”
Lalita winked. “Check you the fuck out, Z.”
Lalita grabbed a pocket knife from her purse, then gently dug the tip into her thumb until a bead of blood welled. She removed the tip of the knife from her flesh, wiped it on a scrap of cotton cloth, and then held it in a nearby candle flame for a few seconds before handing it to me. I repeated the same steps, then together we held our bleeding thumbs over the chalice and allowed five drops each to drip into the chalice.
We each tried using our magic to link them, but it kept sizzling out. The rings fought against our powers as we applied them individually. After ten minutes, I huffed and threw my hands up. “It won’t work!” I groaned. “This is fucking pointless. I’m not sure my siren magic is meant to be used this way.”
Lalita laughed. “Magic, rituals, and spells are not an exact science. Honestly, the most important part of any spell work or ritual is the intention.”
I frowned, then my gaze darted to Lalita as an idea popped into my head. “What if we try to activate the spell together?”
She itched her arm, then looked at me with widening eyes. “Oh, yes! That could totally work. There’s no denying that you have incredible power within you, Z. Anyone with a functioning brain can feel it when they’re in your orbit.”
“Perfect.” I held my hands out over the chalice and candles and Lalita grasped them in hers. The heat from the flames below tickled my arms and sent a shiver down my spine.
As soon as we started murmuring the words of the spell together, I knew we had made the right choice. Our hair rose around us, my braid uncoiling from its braid to mix gently with Lalita’s. An unseen wind blew into the room, ruffling the pages of the grimoires.
Sweat beaded on my forehead as I focused all of my intention on protection, channeling it into the rings sunk deep in the chalice. Herbs, oils, and the chunk of obsidian swirled within as we chanted in unison. I glanced at Lalita, then closed my eyes. Power erupted behind my ribs, then spread like a flame on a trail of accelerant to my fingertips.
The rings vibrated within the chalice, then everythingstopped. I opened my eyes just as Lalita did, then our gazes darted to the two rings floating between us. They gently circled each other, glittering sparks of lavender and emerald magic threading through the center of the rings.
“Unholy shit. That’s phenomenal,” I said breathlessly.
“So beautiful it’s unreal,” Lalita uttered.
Lalita and I raised our linked hands beneath the rings, then turned our palms to face up. Our magic swirled faster for a moment as the colorful sparks of our magic blurred into one, then sunk into the intricate carvings on the rings. The ringslowered to our open palms, then settled. Deep green and lavender pulsed in a soft ombre glow throughout the carvings before fading to their natural silver.
We pulled our hands back, then slipped the rings onto our thumbs. Happiness bubbled in my chest as I felt Lalita’s essence along with my own in the ring. It felt right and completely natural. I honestly wondered how we survived this long withoutfurthering a link to our friendship.