Chapter 36 Hector
HECTOR
“And it worked?” I asked, stumbling down the beaten track that led along the impossibly tall chalk-lined cliffs.
“They never got the chance to find out. A trial started immediately. Fuck.” Romy rolled her ankle on a lump of weed and rock. I reached out and steadied her, at the same time her cursing caught the attention of Kai who walked up front with Arwyn.
“You good?” I asked.
She shook herself off, clicking her neck in agitation. “I’ll be good when we get out of this shithole.”
“I’m with you on that,” I agreed. “Back to what you were saying before you got distracted watching the back of Kai’s ginger curls blow in the wind.”
She shot me a sharp look. “You’re a nightmare, Hector.”
“Stop flirting with me,” I replied with a wink.
It was good, spending time with Romy like this.
Breaking each other’s hard facade with a joke.
This was what I’d missed. Since we’d been dragged into the Witch Trials again, placed in the literal path of death, we’d lost our spark.
My friend had been occupied with Kai, and I didn’t blame her.
My attention never strayed far from Arwyn either.
“I’ve read up on almost every account about previous Witch Trials. They really did a number hiding this information.”
She shrugged. “In hindsight, I think Bahmet didn’t want people to know. By controlling the chosen Grand High he was able to control the narrative. But Jonathan… he wasn’t controlled. He had access to information that shouldn’t have got out. I guess his loose mouth really was his downfall.”
It should’ve been awkward talking to Romy about her uncle—the one I’d killed in cold blood. But it wasn’t. She hated him equally.
“Invoking Hekate is, at the heart, old magic. Skills that we lost years ago. If doing such a simple spell was enough to piss off a demon lord, what’s to say that our previous Grand Highs have ensured that we have forgotten about our old ways with the guidance of the demon that was lingering in their skin.
It’s weird because in Eleanor Letcombe’s grimoire there were images of Hekate.
Hand-drawn pictures of the Goddess with a goat beside her.
I can’t help but think it’s connected, but without talking to Eleanor there’s no way of knowing why she drew Hekate with what could possibly be Bahmet. ”
“That is odd,” Romy said, mouth drawing in a thin line as she contemplated what I’d said. “You know, every time I think about witches, and what we’ve endured since being under the thumb of Bahmet, I can’t help but see that the Hunters have had a point all this time.”
“Elaborate.”
“Well, we were the bad guys. Maybe not in the sense of what makes evil and good what it is. But we’ve been a puppet for a demon for generations now. Light in the clutches of darkness still fades. We lost our way, witch-kind that is.”
A harsh gust of wind tore up the ground, whipping the kiss of salt from the ocean that stretched out for leagues to our right.
“Exactly why it’s important we fix this,” I reminded, taking her hand in mine and squeezing. “We got this, Romy. Together. The four of us are going to go down in history for being the big-old-saviours of witch-kind, and we’ll be praised for it forever more.”
“Wow,” Romy chirped. “Ever thought of writing poetry? No, actually your rhyming is shit. I think, once this is all said and done, you should travel around businesses in London, and give out motivational speeches!”
“Don’t take the piss.”
Romy winked. “Oh, but why not? Taking the piss out of you is actually quite fun.”
“What happened to the sunshine girl I met all those months ago? Did I lose her?”
“No. She found herself, Hector. She shed the mask she was forced to wear, the expectations placed upon her by family. She…”
“Blossomed.”
I warmed up instantly as Romy cracked a shoulder into mine. “Yes, something like that I guess.”
I didn’t want to ruin the moment between us, but there was something that weighed heavy on my mind. Not matter what we talked about, there was one question lingering not too far out of reach.
I’d not had the chance to spend time with Romy alone, and Hekate knew this wasn’t a conversation to be had around other people. So, I took the chance, even if I felt my balls disappear in my stomach from nerves.
“Can I ask you something about your mum, Romy?”
She came to a stop, body fixed straight, chest rising and falling a little faster than it had before. “Do you have to?”
“No,” I added. “Nor do you really need to answer me. But I have always wondered, what happened to her?”
“She died,” Romy replied, very quickly. “Plain and simple.”
I swallowed the sudden burning of bile at the back of my throat. “Can I ask how?”
If I thought Romy had gone still before, the statue of dark emotion she became proved otherwise. Her hand loosened within my fingers, so much so that I had to hold on tighter before a small gust of wind blew her away.
“Forget I asked, it was rude of me to.”
“Jonathan told me that my mother left me when I was only a few days old. She went after a band of Hunters she’d been stalking for a while, and never came home.”
There was so much I wanted to tell her, so much that lingered on the tip of my tongue. I’d either let it out and turn her world upside down, or suffocate myself. For my friend, I opted for the latter.
“She was stalking them?”
“They’d not long killed my dad. My blood-father. You know, I always hated calling Jonathan my dad, but he engrained it into me at such an early age. Jonathan was…”
“A monster.”
“Yes, but I know he cared about me. Deep down, beneath his thirst for control and power. That doesn’t excuse him from what he did to me, to you and your family.
But it’s simply a fact I can’t ignore. However, my real dad…
he was murdered by Hunters not long after my mother discovered she was pregnant with me.
Her entire pregnancy was spent seeking revenge for the past, instead of putting that aside and looking forwards to a future with me. ”
“You don’t know that—” I began, but was cut off by the tears that started rolling down my friend’s face. All I wanted to do was take her in my arms, and never let the world hurt her again.
I realised, in that moment, that love wasn’t just a concept for Arwyn. It meant other things to other people. And I loved Romy so much, I would’ve put my neck on the line just to ensure she never shed a single tear again.
“I’m sorry,” I said, truly meaning it. “I didn’t mean to make you cry. It’s the last thing I wanted.”
“No, it’s okay. I’m okay.” Romy smiled. “Actually, it kind of feels pretty good. Like letting the stale air out of an old birthday balloon. I haven’t given myself the chance to grieve my family in a long time. Jonathan kept me busy, and then you did.”
“Glad to be of service, my friend.” I saluted.
Romy’s eyes lit up, the colour brightened by the tears pooling in them. “Me too, Hector. Me too.”
A shout caught on the wind, distracting us both from the moment.
It was Kai, his hands cupped around his mouth, gaze fixed to us. “This location should work just fine!”
Romy and I spoke no more about her mother. The conversation was, as it should’ve been before, left buried. Instead, we caught up to Kai and Arwyn who stood at the tallest tip of the cliff’s edge.
If were weren’t locked in this warped demonic realm, I might’ve taken more time to admire the view. Endless ocean that frothed as gigantic waves warred against one another. The sky was a blanket of darkness, smothered by the gathering of thick clouds that promised yet another storm.
Bahmet clearly loved a certain vibe. He was a pumpkin spiced latte kind of goat-man I guessed. The thought was enough to make me smile to myself. It made the monster seem more human… mortal. And what was good about that was humans died. Bahmet would too.
A solid arm wrapped around my side, drawing me close. “What’s so funny?” Arwyn’s deep voice warmed my soul as he brought his lips to my ear.
I couldn’t explain that I was picturing Bahmet, with his big animal head and pristine suit, holding a cup of PSL, so I opted to divert his question with one of my own.
“Do you believe this will work?” I asked.
Arwyn’s fingers dug into my side tighter. “We can only hope. Regardless, I want you to stay close by me just in case it does. Bahmet’s going to be fucked off we’re attempting to invoke his old master, capital F fucked off.”
“Just how I like him.” Capital F fucked off indeed.
“We get this over with before the storm comes in,” Kai interrupted my thoughts, saving me from another unwanted visual. “No doubt Bahmet is sensing something is amiss and is going to want to put a stop to it.”
That’s exactly the point.
“Keep your panties on, Kai,” I said with the flick of my hand. “And you forgot your manners I think.”
He grimaced, and I lifted my brows up. “Please,” he drawled.
“Would you both stop,” Romy snapped.
“It was Hector who—” Kai’s eyes went wide. “Oh my god, he’s getting to me.”
“Ask Arwyn,” I added as I swept into action. “I’m well renowned for getting to men. It’s even on my degree.”
“You have a degree?” Arwyn asked, genuinely interested. “And I thought I knew everything about you…”
“Hell no,” I laughed. “It’s just become my life’s purpose to wind up Kai.”
“Clearly,” Kai sneered.
“Now, any more interruptions, or may we begin?” I asked, sweeping my gaze over my coven. Our coven. My friend, my lover, Kai—who was rapidly growing on me. They each nodded in turn, hesitation not even remotely betraying their faces.
If anything, we all knew this was what we needed to do. We each agreed. And for that, for their trust and determination, I really hoped this worked.
“In Eleanor’s grimoire, to invoke Hekate was simple,” I said, thinking back to that same entry with the image of Hekate beside a black-eyed goat. “It’s one of the oldest magical practices, and predates most of the frills of most spells that came after it.”
We each took our place in the circle, aligning our birth element with the correct position on a compass.
“To call upon Hekate, just as witches of old would’ve done in ancient Greece, they were to stand before the sea, beneath the great sky, and be solid on the earth. So, take your shoes off. Let’s really get into the spirit.”
It took but a minute for the boots to be taken off. I delighted in the soft earth as it squelched between my toes. There was a warmth to it, as if my flesh recognised the raw power that lingered in the element, even in a dark place such as this.
“All good?” I asked, sweeping my gaze to make sure we were all ready.
“Buzzing,” Romy said.
“My toes are cold,” Kai added. “Like ‘almost falling off’ kind of cold.”
Arwyn didn’t answer me. He simply locked eyes with me and mouthed, ‘stay close’.
“We each must connect with our essence, and call upon our birth element. Once the circle we’ve made has gathered the power, I will begin the chant. It’s simple. You just follow after me, each in turn, until all four of us are speaking at the same time.”
This was all details I’d gone over before we left the tavern, but I felt better just making sure each detail was engrained in their minds.
No one resisted. No one asked for pause.
“Okay, time to capital F fuck off a goat-demon,” I said, teeth gritting together as I gave pause. “Ready?”
They each replied in resounding agreement.
One by one, we opened ourselves up to our magic.
I took the air that rushed around us, letting it pass like spears through my flesh until I was made up of pure power.
Romy drew heat from our bodies, gathering it until a bundle of flame danced amongst my torrents of wind.
Kai opened himself up next. Water rose in pillars from the distant ocean, twisting like ribbon as it joined us.
And then Arwyn, the spirit-witch, connected with the element of earth until the buzzing beneath my feet turned into a demanding rumbling of thunder and drum.
“Hekate,” I began, my voice amplified by the magic that cocooned us. “Goddess of witchcraft, Queen of magic. I call upon thee to join us. I honour your guidance, seek your protection and ask that you show us back on the path of thy wondrous leading.”
The breath was torn from my lungs, and yet I still could breathe. It was odd, the sensation, but I knew it was right. Hekate reminding me that, even here, she held dominion over my soul, just as it should’ve always been.
Romy followed next, speaking the invocation aloud. Tension rose higher as Kai joined in. By the time Arwyn started to shout out with all the strength he could muster, I felt completely alive. Alive in a way that I’d never experienced.
Lightning flashed. Dark clouds rumbled in threat. Bahmet seized his realm in the hold of a storm, attempting to drown out our calls.
The demon’s attempts would not work.
I wouldn’t allow it.
We could’ve been screaming out the spell for hours. The words lost all meaning. Twenty times, maybe more. We did not stop. Not once, not even to catch our breath.
Bahmet waged his battle against our will, the desperation licking over my skin.
It only encouraged me to grow louder, more demanding.
Thunder rolled, and lightning flashed. The ground even shook beneath our feet, chalk crumbling from the cliff face we stood beside and falling into the frothing, angry ocean.
Then it all stopped.
Through the dark clouds, a single beam of silver light shone down upon our coven. Proud and strong, it carried the hearty bark of a dog, even though no such animal was around us.
I closed my eyes, soul alight with joy, and lifted my face to the guiding light of—
Romy screamed. The circle was broken. No, the ground shattered from beneath us. Bahmet opened his endless maw, swallowing us whole. Before I fell, Arwyn attempted to throw himself over the chasm and reach for me, but his fingers all but grazed my outstretched hand before the darkness claimed him.
But as I fell into the endless abyss, I smiled.
I didn’t smile because Hekate shone upon us. I didn’t smile because I knew we’d been on the cusp of success. Nor did I smile because I felt, if anything, more powerful than ever before.
I smiled because it had worked. We had invoked Hekate, pissed off a demon, and got exactly what we wanted.
The beginning of the third, penultimate trial.