Eva
Mom and Paige are waiting for me at the intersection of the leylines we’ve been working on for months. By the time I park the truck, my cheeks hurt from smiling so much. Despite everything that’s been going on, I am still ridiculously happy.
Standing over the bonfire, in the center of my favorite meadow, with the bright full moon pouring down, my mom assembles a set of sigils foraged from around the ritual site.
Twigs and branches woven together in the shape of a tree lay flat on the ground.
Stones and pebbles sit in nests made of moss and flowers.
When she’s done, she steps back and closes her eyes.
The night sky stills, and nothing moves.
Not even a cricket dares to disrupt the silence with its chirp.
Magick accumulates around us, building gradually toward a crescendo before it dissipates—blown away with a gust of wind.
Paige takes her place, swirling her staff, with its jagged moonstone cradled between snarled knots of wood, over the blazing fire.
She stabs her staff into the dirt and carves three runes with decisive strokes around the stone border.
Kneeling down by her final rune, the Sowilo symbol for vitality, energy, and illumination, she pounds the ground seven times.
The wind picks up and whips through her long skirt, then disappears.
The images from the crystal ball come back to me. A series of signs all pointing to a new beginning. I think of Sorren and how he’s a part of this now.
Holding the key I used when summoning Sorren, I step up.
I wipe the dirt smooth before drawing a Berkana, the symbol for rebirth and healing—then another and another.
The ground beneath our feet rumbles and rolls.
A tree tilts in the distance. Its thick roots jerk out of the ground, and the trunk cracks down the center.
Swirling green aether obscures everything for an instant before settling around us. With a thunderous clap a rift forms in the ground, splintering along the leyline.
Air is violently ripped from my lungs, and my blurred vision slowly returns to normal. I fall to my knees, and my heartbeat bangs in my ears like a drum. When I open my eyes, Mom and Paige are kneeling next to me, staring in wonder.
“I haven’t seen magick that strong in decades,” Mom says, pushing her palm into the dirt. “Feel.”
I put my hand down next to hers. Under the surface I feel a hum. It’s barely there, but I can feel it.
“What happened?” I ask, my mind still reeling. “Did the line open?”
“A fully open leyline feels intoxicating. It’s overpowering, but this—” Paige sinks her fingers into the ground. “—this is more than we’ve been able to do in years.”
Another crack of thunder booms overhead and lightning splits the sky in half. A jagged line of broken trees marks the rift my spell work created. The three of us sit, huddled together, staring at the changed landscape.
We’re getting closer.
“Flip the switch, and let the cauldron bubble!” Riley and I chant together, quoting our favorite movie, before firing up the blender.
“What time is it?” Sorren stumbles down the stairs rubbing sleep from his eyes.
“It’s midnight!” Riley sing-songs from the kitchen as she reaches up on her tiptoes and grabs the margarita glasses from the cabinet.
“Sorry we woke you up!” I meet him at the bottom of the stairs and wrap my arms around his waist. He plants a kiss on my lips, and my aversion to public displays of affection is overpowered by the excitement from the seance in the meadow.
My hands roam over Sorren, soaking up the magick that grows stronger between us each day. Maybe it’s the leylines slowly opening up, maybe it’s him. Whatever the reason, it’s addicting.
“What are we doing up at midnight? On a school night, no less?” Sorren asks, breaking the kiss that was on its way to being excruciatingly awkward with Riley here.
“Midnight margaritas!” Riley cheers, sloshing the sticky green drink out of the blender all over the wood floor.
She fills three cups to the rim and turns around in the kitchen dancing to music no one else hears.
“We’re celebrating!” She throws her hands up in the air. “Your girl did it. We had a breakthrough with the leylines!”
“What happened?” He sounds excited, proud even.
“Mom, Paige, and I went to a dormant leyline. One we’ve been working on forever, and my spell actually did something. It split the ground, right above the line. It’s not fixed, but there’s a glimmer of magick where there wasn’t before.”
“That’s amazing!” His arms tighten around me, and he hoists me into the air with a spin.
“It’s something! The coven is going to meet tomorrow to figure out what’s next.”
Riley shoves a salt-rimmed glass in my hand and holds hers up in the air between the three of us. “To Eva!” she says enthusiastically, the shot of tequila she took while making the margaritas is already in full effect.
“To Eva,” Sorren agrees, pressing a kiss to my temple.
We finish off the pitcher of margaritas out on the back porch.
Riley steadies herself against the house while Sorren and I share the top step, Catrick Swayze sleeping between his feet.
The stars are extra bright tonight, lights I haven’t seen in months appear out of nowhere, filling in the black space between the usual constellations.
“What’s that one right there?” Sorren points toward the western sky.
“Cygnus, the swan. It’s part of the summer triangle. That swirly cloud? That’s the outer edge of the Milky Way.” A yawn slips out. I try to hide it behind my hand, not wanting this night to end, but Sorren doesn’t miss a beat.
“Come on, girls. Time for bed. You have an early morning.” Sorren stands and stretches from sitting on the hard ground for hours. He helps Riley and me up and herds us into the house.
Riley falls onto the couch and waves a wordless goodbye. She’s going to be hurting tomorrow, or today, whatever.
Sorren hooks my hands into the back pockets of his slacks and guides me up the stairs. His strong, even steps prevent me from tripping on my way up.
In my room he tugs off my clothes and drops a nightgown over my head, like he’s been doing it for years. I tug at my lip seductively, hopefully. Sorren grins and pulls back the blankets on the bed, deposits me in, and heads for the door.
“Wait! Where are you going?” I slur just a tiny bit.
“I’ll be right back.” I listen to his footsteps go back down the stairs. Cabinets open and close in the kitchen, the kitchen tap turns on, then off. Footsteps, then he’s back. Holding a glass of water and a big grin.
“Drink this.” He puts the water into my hand and directs it up to my lips.
“Hm. Good thinking. You’re surprisingly thoughtful for a demon,” I say between gulps. A shadow pulls the empty cup from my hand and sets it down on the nightstand.
“Ooooh! Someone’s been practicing.” I put my hand out, palm up, in the air, inviting his shadow to touch me.
The darkness envelops my hand weaving between my fingers, soft as a feather.
“Can you feel it, too?” I ask, turning my hand around letting his shadow slip over my palm and wrist.
“I’m starting to. I couldn’t at first, but it’s getting more powerful.” Sorren drops his pants and pulls off his shirt. He climbs into bed next to me, draws me into his side, and rubs my hair while I slowly drift off to sleep.