Caged in Darkness (15 page)

“Liam is new in your life and has set you on
a new course. It makes sense that she would have this vision when
he comes into your life. I just want to protect you. I can’t tell
you who to date, but I want you to be careful.” She kissed me on
the cheek and walked towards her bedroom.

I wanted to go after her, to tell her
everything, and for her to tell me it would be okay. Josephine’s
vision was confirmation that the demon was not going away. My
ascension couldn’t come soon enough. I needed the power to protect
my loved ones and I would not allow them to be harmed. If I had to
raise hell to protect them, I would.

9: AScension

After school the next day, Izzy came to my
house. I gathered everything I would need to discover her elemental
affinity and we walked to my covens circle. Izzy stood awkwardly
and waited while I lit the candles placed on each boulder.

I was surprised by Izzy’s acceptance of this
part of my life. Willow and I kept Izzy separate from the world of
magic, but now I was actively carrying her into it. She stepped
through the shield that bars humans from our world. Her eyes had
been opened and I vaguely wondered if she would regret it.

“What do you need me to do?”

“Come here.” Izzy stepped fully into the
circle and sat on the cloth placed on the ground. I sat across from
her.

“There are five elements; earth, air, fire,
water, and spirit. Most witches excel at one affinity, but are
proficient in all of them. In the case of someone who isn’t a
witch, they can affect the elements a bit. Usually a non-witch will
only have a single element that barely responds to him or her.”

“If it’s barely going to respond to me,
what’s the point in helping? Wouldn’t you guys be just as well off
without me?”

“Um… not really. Even though you aren’t a
witch, you strengthen the circle. Look at it this way; you know the
game
Light as a Feather, Stiff as a Board
?” She nodded. “If
a single person tried to use their fingertips to lift someone, it
wouldn’t work. The more people who join in the game, the more
likely they will succeed at lifting the person.”

“Great, so you guys need my fingertips.” She
smiled. “How do we figure out which element is my ticket to taking
over the world?”

I laughed, took objects from my backpack and
placed them in front of Izzy. I placed a candle, chalice, a bowl
filled with dirt and a hidden seed, and a feather.

I motioned to the object between us. “Okay,
each of these objects represents one of the elements. Now…”

“Wait, there are only four objects. What
about the fifth?”

“The fifth element is spirit, which is more
of a metaphorical element. You don’t usually use an object for that
element. However, if you were religious I would suggest a symbol of
your religion.” I grabbed a bottle of water from my bag and poured
it into the chalice.

“Oh.”

“Alright, I’m going to test you the way
witches normally test their children. First, I want to show you
what it will look like when the element responds to you.” I was an
expert at directing the elements. Simultaneously, I lit the candle,
caused the water in the chalice to spin like a whirlpool, ca small
bud to grow within the bowl, and made the feather float.

“Oh my God, that is so cool!”

I let go of my control and the elements
reverted to their inert state. “Now, since it would take too long
to teach you to do this on your own. I am going to merge our minds
so that I can pull on your power and show you how to direct it. If
you close your eyes it’s better, because you won’t be
distracted.”

Izzy nodded and closed her eyes. I tuned my
inner self to focus on my surroundings. I reached out to touch the
life forces nearby. Tiny specks of energy flittered, but I was
focused on the bright beacon within my circle. My aura enveloped me
with a silver sheen. I hesitantly directed a small portion of it to
reach out towards Izzy. The silvery strand connected with Izzy’s
bright orange aura to create a bridge between us.

Izzy gasped at the bond, but she didn’t
fight it. The bridge between our auras sparked with electricity,
while it strengthened. Concentrating, I allowed my conscious to
merge with hers and led her to the pathways within her. She became
a maze of intricate paths, but I turned her towards concentrating
on the ones that led outside of her body.

I guided Izzy to sing her energy into a spun
web, which expanded into delicate strands she could pluck and
project towards the objects in front of her. Through those strands,
she would be able to manipulate the objects.

Silently, I encouraged her to direct her
will, which would cause the element to respond. I let go of the
reins and separated our auras. Watching her with my eyes, I could
sense her struggle to use the barest amounts of magic. The objects
didn’t move, flutter, or spin; they simple
were
.

I was about to tell Izzy to pull back, when
the feather twitched on a breeze and floated in the air. Izzy
opened lost concentration when she opened her eyes. The feather
plummeted to the ground, but we were done. The element that
responded to her was air. That was all we needed to know.

The next few days went by in a whirlwind.
Willow prepared the ritual we would use to summon the demon, Izzy
practiced manipulating air to affect the world around her, and I
stayed home from school. My ascension was close and it felt like it
was taking over my life.

My hormones were out of control. Each time I
saw Liam, I felt an invisible pull that was harder to ignore. Ash
deliberately avoided me and his easy acceptance of mine and Liam’s
growing relationship bothered me. Ash hadn’t tried to kiss me
again, but at night when I wasn’t having nightmares about the
demon, I dreamt of his kiss on the stairwell.

The evening before my ascension Izzy and
Willow came over. Their visit was meant to cheer me up, but it only
worsened my discomfort when they came with bad news. Jessica, a
girl who I had calculus with, died in her sleep the night before.
The doctors couldn’t figure out what caused her death, but she had
been weakening over the past week and a half. If that news wasn’t
horrible enough, Willow came to my home with a theory.

Willow’s research turned up some interesting
information about demons gaining power. Her theory was that the
demon was trapped in the bloodstone box, long enough to weaken him,
and now he needed to resort to stealing the life force of others.
Humans were easier prey than witches, which is why Willow though he
killed Jessica.

“Willow, I love you, but I think you are
jumping to conclusions. Why would his first victim occur now?
Wouldn’t he have done this sooner?” Willow nodded at Izzy’s
logic.

“I guess so. I’ve been reading about demons
too much. I think they are rotting my brain.” Willow sat on the
bed, next to me, and across from Izzy.

“We can’t have that! You have the best brain
in our trio! If yours goes, who is going to keep us from doing
something stupidly dangerous?” I nudged Willow and the three of us
settled in to a girl’s night filled with movies, popcorn, and a
mini spell to appease Izzy.

Izzy watched the movie,
The Craft
the
night before and got it in her head that changing her hair or eye
color would be a fun activity. Willow and I schemed, and when Izzy
looked in the mirror, she stood in horror at the spotted leopard
print hair on her head.

“Oh my God! This is so not cool! Turn it
back!” She threw her pillow at Willow, while I laughed so hard my
abs became sore.

“Okay, come here. We’ll fix it.” Izzy
hesitantly came forward with a distrustful expression. When we were
finished, she no longer had leopard print or her normal dishwater
blonde shade, but instead she was a gorgeous platinum blonde.

Izzy wanted all of us to change something
about our appearance, and giving into her excitement, we agreed.
Willow made her hair curly and added a red tint to her chestnut
brown shade. I was hesitant when my turn came. I knew it was merely
play and that I could revert back to my normal appearance at any
time, but I had difficulty accepting myself as it was. If I changed
my appearance, would I ever want to change back? Instead of
following my friend’s examples, I choose to add something rather
than alter myself.

“Done!” I smiled at them, while they
examined my face, hair, and skin for my transformation.

“You didn’t change a thing!” “Did you forget
how to do it?” They spoke at once and I laughed.

Standing up, I lifted my shirt to show them
the new addition to my naval.

“You pierced your naval! Why didn’t I think
of that?” Izzy poked at the miniature cross and pentacle hanging
from my naval. “Isn’t it a little weird to put those two together?
I mean, a cross and pentacle are completely different
religions.”

Shaking my head, I explained. “The pentacle
stands for what I am and the cross stands for who I am.” I winked.
“Besides, they may be two separate religions, but they have a lot
of the same beliefs and morals. I don’t see anything wrong with
either. Plus, that’s not the only thing I changed.” I let go of my
shirt and turned around. Pulling my hair over my shoulder, I showed
them the tattoo between my shoulder blades.

The tattoo was the physical representation
that demonstrated my acceptance of my lineage. It was a tattoo of
wings with black and white feathers. I couldn’t hide who I was.
When I went through my ascension tomorrow, I wanted to believe in
myself and be proud of the blood in my veins.

Izzy and Willow went home early the next
morning, while I prepared for my ascension. Maye performed a
cleansing ceremony to purify me, which included using incense to
banish negativity and body oils to lock in my natural essence. Ash
brought me a lilac dress. The skirt of the gown fell to the floor,
but the slightest brush of air would bring about a romantic
elegance, while the dress floated on the wind. It was the most
beautiful gown I had ever seen.

Willow came over later that afternoon with
the elders. While they created a circle around me, Willow painted
inscriptions across my exposed skin. The inscriptions were the most
important aspect of the pre-ceremonial activities. Painting the
inscriptions was one of the highest honors a witch could bestow on
another.

Willow used an instrument, which resembled a
calligraphy pen to paint inscriptions in silver, blue, and purple.
She would paint six main symbols connected by scrollwork. Willow
could work more inscriptions into the scrollwork, as personal gift
from her to me. The symbols on my skin would represent the many
cultures witches descended from. The symbols on the top of each
foot would represent protection and power. The ones on my hands
would be for life and transformation. The symbol on my head would
represent wisdom, but the inscription on my chest was the most
important, because it represented the five elements.

Once Willow was finished applying the script
to my skin, she took a white robe etched in silver and placed it on
my shoulders. It was soft against my skin. We waited for the elders
to close the circle before stepping out. I waited in the hallway,
while everyone left the house to prepare for the ceremony.

I turned to see Ash approach me. I expected
his usual coldness, but instead he gave me a warm smile. “Don’t
worry, you’ll be fine.”

How did he always know the right thing to
say? “I don’t feel fine. I’m scared. Ash, what if the power is too
much and I turn out like my parents?”

His moved forward and used the tip of his
finger to brush against my neck. “You could never be like them.
Have faith; I have faith in you.” He leaned forward and brushed a
delicate kiss to my lips. I pulled him forward and kissed him
deeper.

“Promise me. Promise me, that if I turn out
like them, you’ll take care of me the way the coven took care of
them.” I searched his eyes, but they remained warm.

“I promise, but only because you will never
be anyone other than yourself. Despite the evil you have
encountered you remained pure. I know you believe they tainted you,
but they never did. You are the most loyal and caring person I
know. You put everyone else before you and ask for nothing in
return. You soul is a star that blazes to warm those around you.
You guide them towards the light and make them want to be a better
version of themselves. You’re a beacon for us to follow and you
will never lead anyone off course, because you will remain on the
honorable path you have always chosen. I love you and I’m telling
you that you have nothing to worry about.”

My heart flipped and a tear slid from my
eye. “You’re going to make me mess up all of Willows work.” I
laughed awkwardly, while he brushed the tear from my cheek. Ash
walked around me, but turned back to deposit a kiss on my nape. I
leaned back into him and he wrapped his arms around my middle.
“Thank you.” I whispered and he left.

When I walked into the circle, it was mere
minutes until the 16
^th
anniversary of the moment I was
born. I stood in the center, surrounded by the Meadows Fall coven
and their sister covens. In front of each of the five boulders,
were five people I chose to represent each element: Willow for
earth, Alice, who was Willow’s mother for air, Ash for fire, Maye
for water, and Josephine for spirit. They would ground me during my
ascension.

I brushed my hood back from my face to
reveal the delicate scrollwork and symbol for wisdom that Willow
had painted. I faced Josephine to await the inevitable. I was
terrified and hoped no one could see my hands shake. I knew what to
expect; Maye spent years preparing me for this, but hearing about
it and going through it were two separate things.