Witchcraft (#2 Witchblood Series) (7 page)

The bath was lovely, Franny had lit
white candles at each corner of the bath, and a variety of herbs
encased in a muslin bag hung beneath the flowing water, and later
bobbed gently on the top. Once I was in, Franny stepped next to the
bath and poured salt in a circle around me, chanting quietly as she
poured.

‘
As I sprinkle this salt, so I
cleanse and purify this water and all who enter. As I sprinkle this
salt, I intensify thy power. As I sprinkle this salt, I banish all
negativity and unwanted bonds. All is now cleansed and
purified...’

I tuned the low chanting out and lay
back. I didn’t feel any different, maybe a little freaked out, but
hey, I was getting used to the weirdness that was my life. I
relaxed and let the scent of lavender and sage calm my nerves.

‘
Right, you relax and I’ll cleanse
the room. I’ll come back in thirty minutes, so don’t get out before
then, please dearie.’

I closed my eyes and let myself drift,
images of Daniel flashing through my memory and making my cheeks
burn.

‘
I don’t need three guesses to
know what you’re thinking about,’ Eva said, her voice and
subsequent laugh shattering my dreams and making me
jump.

‘
Hey! You scared me half to death.
Did no-one ever teach you to knock?’

‘
If they did, I didn’t listen. So
what’s the witch got you pickling in then? It stinks.’

‘
It does not. It’s lovely. Just
lavender and sage I think, with some salt.’

‘
Salt? Next she’ll have the
cauldron bubbling! With Dan gone I’d better keep an eye on you,
before she turns you into a toad or something.’

‘
Don’t be daft Eva, she wants to
help me. This will help me control my powers, and that’s what you
and Sebastian want, isn’t it?’

‘
Relax, you know I’m only joking.
Anyway, Seb’s already vetted her, so she’s fine I guess. I’ll be
downstairs if you need me.’

‘
Sure.’

Fifteen minutes later, there was a knock
and Franny popped her head around the door once more.

‘
It’s time to get you out, before
you start to wrinkle. I’ve brought you a clean towel and a
ceremonial gown to wear. Take your hair down from that bun and
brush it out. We want you as natural as possible.’

I quickly dried myself and pulled on the
gown. It looked like an old fashioned white nightdress, made out of
a soft clinging material that hugged my new vamp body and made my
toned, skinny frame look like it had curves once again. I loved it.
It was simple, but hung beautifully.

I pulled my dyed, dark hair out of its
bun and brushed it out till it shone, then looked in the mirror. I
liked my new hair, but sometimes, like now, I wished I had my old,
mousy blonde waves back. Dying it had been part of the
transformation that allowed me to move back to Manchester, and
actually leave the house. After all, it was still only a couple of
months since my very public murder. It wouldn’t do to go and get
recognised! The rest of the transformation had happened naturally
with my new diet. My eyes had turned a dark russet brown, I’d lost
my size 12 curves and of course, lost the horrific scars &
injuries the girl gang had bestowed upon me.

I walked back to my room and stood in
awe in the doorway. The room was a large Victorian bedroom with
plenty of floorspace, and the cleaners had been in earlier so there
hadn’t been much to tidy up. Even so Franny had somehow made it
seem huge, and so peaceful. There were no clothes in sight, no
books strewn on my bed, no coffee cups (not that they were used for
coffee!) on the cabinets. She had lit about twenty candles which
were dotted around the room to create a huge circle, and at the
four corners of the circle were unlit coloured ones. Incense gently
wafted in a spiral towards the ceiling, scenting the room with
something I didn’t recognise, and catching slightly in the back of
my throat.

‘
Oh good, you’re here. We’ve got
five minutes to finish off this circle before we begin,’ Franny
said. ‘Come here, dear. I can see your mother in you now. It’s a
shame about the hair, but there’s nothing we can do about that
yet.’

She held out her hand to me and I
stepped across the room, suddenly feeling the nerves crawling up my
spine. What if the spell went wrong because of the vampire DNA?
They had never initiated a vampire before. I was an experiment.

I stepped into the circle with her and
she handed me another large white candle, already lit.

‘
Now we will call the quarters and
close the circle. I’ll bring you the corresponding candles to
light, and you just say
I honor thee O
Fire,
or whichever element I bring you,
okay?’

‘
Sure,’ I answered, concentrating
on holding the master candle steady, but watching it’s flame
flicker a crazy dance, as my hands began to shake.

‘
Air, Fire, Water, Earth, elements
of astral birth, I call to you, attend me now,’ Franny chanted as
she first walked towards the window and picking up the yellow
candle, brought it back to me.

‘
I honor thee, O Air,’ I said, as
I used my own candle to light it. It sparked and the flame grew
tall and thin, before Franny took it back to the east corner of the
room, and began to chant again, repeating the lines she had used
for Air. Next she brought me the red candle from the south end of
the circle for Fire, then the blue candle for Water from the
west.

‘
Air, Fire, Water, Earth, elements
of astral birth, I call to you, attend me now,’ she said for the
final time as she handed me the brown candle.

‘
I honor thee, O Earth,’ I
replied, as I watched her return it to its holder and finish the
chant.

‘
In this circle rightly cast, safe
from curse, I call to you. This is my will, so mote it
be.’

Having returned the Earth candle to its
holder she returned to me.

‘
Jess, the circle’s functioning
now so you cannot leave it until I say, or else it will break, and
no longer protect us. I’ll close the circle down nicely when we’ve
finished. Now dearie, you place the Spirit Candle on that little
altar there, and I want you to kneel beside it, while I begin the
initiation.’

I said nothing, I did nothing. This was
all freaking me out a little. I mean, I’d watched loads of
supernatural programs, and with my best friend Alex, we’d often
thought how cool it would be to do witchcraft, but this was real,
and like I said before, I was a little concerned about what would
happen to me, being a vampire. My hands shook, as I slowly bent
down and placed the candle on the makeshift altar.

‘
Now Jessie, I’ve done this
ceremony many times. Its white magic, so no harm can come to you.
Either it will work and your own powers will be unlocked, or the
vampire DNA will be stronger, it won’t work, and no harm
done.’

‘
Okay, let’s do this,’ I said,
pushing my fears away with a grin.

‘
Good. Now Jess, do you remember
your lines? Remember, you can hold no fear in your heart once we
begin, so cast it out. As you do so I want you to centre yourself,
imagine that tap-root connecting you to the earth and drawing on
her power. Let it flow round your body, ridding it of negativity
and allowing it to find the human girl inside you, and bring her
forth when I ask. Do you understand?’

I nodded my head, as I remembered the
ceremony I’d read through about thirty times since the previous
day. The words were somewhat scary, but thankfully my part in it
was only small. Relieved that I’d practiced a couple more times, I
centred myself and felt a calm, cool breeze stir around me.

‘
You are about to enter a family
of power, a place where birth and death, dark and light, joy and
pain, meet and make one. You are about to step between the worlds,
beyond time, outside the realm of your other life. You who stand on
the threshold, have you the courage to make thy bid? Know it is
better to fall on my blade and perish, than to make the attempt
with fear in thy heart.’

Franny paused, waiting for my reply. She
smiled at me and the words came to me easily, as if I’d known them
all my life.

‘
I tread the path with perfect
love and perfect trust.’

‘
Prepare for death and rebirth. As
are all first brought into the world, and thus are all first
brought into the coven. Are you willing to swear the oath?" she
said.

This was the bit I was most worried
about. After all, I’d already died and been re-born once, and once
was enough for me. I was hoping the words were metaphorical. Franny
assured me that they were, but as she’d never initiated a vampire
before, we couldn’t be sure.

‘
I am,’ I replied, and repeated
the lines I had memorised earlier in the day.

Franny smiled at me and nodded
reassuringly, before continuing,

‘
Are you willing to suffer, to
learn?’

‘
Yes,’ I said, as she stepped
forward, taking a needle from the altar, and passed it briefly
through the candle flame, then dipped it into a small bowl of
water. I knew what was coming, so I held my hand out to her and
watched as she pricked my finger with the needle, squeezing some
drops out onto a tiny receptacle, before placing it on the
altar.

As she did so the room began to spin,
slowly at first, making me feel slightly nauseous, then faster as I
desperately tried to keep upright, to stay conscious. I was going
to pass out at the sight of a drop of blood, or was it that? And
then the ripping began. It was a feeling of something being slowly
pulled from my body, my soul. Something was being torn from me. I
cried out and clasped my belly.

‘
Jessie it’s alright. It’s the
witch in you taking over. Jessie, listen, we have to finish the
initiation, fast! You need to repeat the last lines after me,’
Franny said, kneeling to my level and holding my chin, making me
focus. I nodded.

‘
I Jess, do of my own free will
most solemnly swear to protect,’

I repeated her words, my ears ringing
and the sickness building in my stomach.

‘
Help and defend my sisters and
brothers…’

‘
Jessie! Francesca! What the hell
is happening? Daniel’s in pain. I can feel him. He’s coming back
now. What are you doing to her?’ Eva shouted as she charged through
the door.

‘
Nothing we haven’t discussed
dearie. We’ve nearly finished now. Let Jess say the remaining
words,’ Franny answered.

‘
Like hell I will! Something’s
happening we most definitely haven’t discussed. Jessie get out of
there now!’ Eva yelled back.

‘
I have to finish this. I trust
Franny, Eva. It will be fine,’ I said, hoping I was
right.

‘
Then I’ll have to get you,’ Eva
replied and launched herself towards us. She hit the circle’s
barrier at vampire speed, which is pretty damn fast, and when she
hit, the noise made a resounding crack, even though there was
nothing to see. She prowled the perimeter of the circle, searching
for a way in, but there was none.

‘
Jess, let me help you. You have
to break this barrier, we don’t know what this ceremony is doing to
you, and neither does the coven. You’re an experiment, and it’s
obviously hurting you, and Daniel,’ Eva said to me.

‘
It’ll be okay Eva. It’s white
magic, so it can’t be bad. I need to finish this. I need to control
my powers, you know that. Franny, let me finish.’

‘
Help and defend my brothers and
sisters, and keep the coven’s charge,’ Franny said. She leaned
nearer and held my shoulder and I felt a new energy pour into me,
clearing my head momentarily.

I repeated the words and the dizziness
increased. I sat back on my heels and steadied myself on the table
we were using as an altar.

‘
Jessie!’ Daniel said, as he
suddenly staggered into the room and evading Eva’s arms flew at the
circle barrier, only to find himself jettisoned back across the
room.

‘
I declare you, Jessica James,
part of the Malden Coven, direct heir to Laurie Browning and all
her sisters. So mote it be.’ Franny said, her voice echoing through
the sudden stillness that crept into the room. Eva and Daniel both
looked on, impotent as she dipped her fingers first in my blood,
then mixed it in the water, before finally flicking it over my
head.

I don’t remember much directly after
that, other than hearing Daniel shout my name, then Eva yell
Daniel’s name as the world went black and I gave in to it, slumping
to the floor.

Chapter Seven

I was only out for seconds, and when I
came to I saw Franny hurrying between the corners of the circle
chanting quietly. Eva & Daniel were standing only a foot away,
waiting for the circle to lose its power.

‘
Hurry up woman. I tell you, if
Jess is harmed in any way, you’ll pay for this,’ Daniel
said.

‘
I’m fine, I think,’ I said,
sitting up and looking over at him. Something felt weird,
wrong!

‘
You have got to be kidding me.
What the hell have you done to her?’ Eva said, glaring at
Franny.

‘
What? I’m okay. I feel fine…ish,’
I said.

‘
Jessie, your eyes. They’re green,
bright green. Like Francesca’s,’ Daniel said, ‘and I can’t feel
you. I can’t feel our bond. That’s what’s different, isn’t
it?’