Caged in Darkness (16 page)

The joined members began to sing a high
pitched song in Gaelic. It was a song filled with hope, love, and
the acceptance of change. Their voices were melodic and calmed my
anxiety. I drifted into a waking sleep; until my skin tingled and I
opened my eyes to see a cone emerge from the coven. It was a cone
of power and would serve as protection from outside influences.

My ascension tore into me suddenly.The cone
eclipsed the world around me in an icy mist. I screamed; begging
someone, anyone to hear my pleas, but my voice had been
extinguished and left me with a slight wheeze from what little
oxygen I had. I could glimpse the field of energy, as it shrank
through the safety of my circle to envelop me in a blazing grip. I
was alone; unbearably separated from my haven.

The cone shuttered, as though it were
pulling against an invisible force that refused to allow it
purchase. It began to fold into my physical self by plying my skin
and sinking through my pores, nourishing its hunger on my soul. It
burrowed through my barriers, until it found my core and coiled
around my essence. I was consumed; each of my senses extended to
their limits.

I was no longer
me;
my energy merged
with everyone and everything around me. The oxygen I had been
deprived, exerted pressure and dug its way into my chest. The world
blazed brighter, as if taking its own breath. My feet became the
roots that ground the trees; my hands were leaves that extended
towards the sky; my skin was each and every member of the Meadow
Falls coven. Here there were no secrets; here we were one. Being
able to sense my coven and hear their voices once more, calmed
me.

The covens magic pulsed into one purpose;
one conscious goal, to merge my essence with my inner power, while
building a bridge to my mental self. My power was held within me.
Until now, I had been unaware of the electric blue fire at my core.
My youth had protected me from irresponsible use of my power, but
now it would weigh me down with each choice I made. I would be
confronted by temptation to use my powers for personal gain; it was
in my blood. My parents had proven that to me; I had seen what
unlimited power could do to a person.

The pain came in waves. At first, I felt
miniature pin pricks against my temples, but then my skin felt like
it was being scraped raw by sandpaper. I could feel each layer of
skin burn away. The small ball of energy within me had grown to the
size of a softball. I could feel the worry emanating from the
coven. I knew that it wasn’t normal for my power to increase to the
extent. It shouldn't be this intense; this overwhelming, and yet it
was. It strained against the chains that bound it within me and
raged when it could not be freed.

Confined to my petite frame, the power was
enraged and pulled against my taut skin. Growing bolder, it tore
through to lay flat against the outer edge. It solidified and
lengthened to mold itself to my frame and contained me in a
transparent cocoon.

My fingers flexed against the waxy surface,
while I panicked. I was cut off from my coven now; their thoughts
distant echoes. Concern showed on their faces, as I fell onto my
side; convulsing within my cocoon. A seizure racked my body, while
I blended into the agony. I was going to die; the old saying was
true, children do pay for the crimes of their parents. I was going
to be exhibit A in that time old trial.

ASH

I desperately wanted to go to Savannah, but
I knew it would be foolish. Every member of the coven needed to
remain in place or Savannah’s life would be in jeopardy. We had to
hope that she would come out alright in the end. The elements would
overwhelm her if even one of the five representations of the
elements moved. The other members were joined and if they broke the
circle, hell would rain down on Savannah's vulnerability. To
protect her, we needed to allow her ascension to finish, even if it
meant watching her scream in anguish.

I couldn’t watch Savannah any longer and
instead looked at the other witches. Willow held a hand over her
mouth, while tears streamed down her face. Maye’s arms were crossed
and I could see her fingernails digging into the skin of her arms.
The expressions on each face contained worry, distress, and horror.
Watching everyone else run through the emotions Savannah’s pain
evoked, was as bad as watching it myself.

I looked back at her. The strange substance
coating her skin kept me from hearing her screams, but I could see
them. She lay on the ground, while her body was taken by wave after
wave of power; enough to shatter bones. The coating hardened and
gained pigment. It terrified me that she was no longer visible. My
only confirmation that she remained alive was her movements within
the cocoon.

After the ascending hour had passed, we
closed the circle and immediately rushed towards her. I knelt at
her side to touch the object coating her skin. It felt like a bats
wing; a hybrid of leather and wax.

“How do we get her out?” Willow knelt at my
right and I looked up to see Maye and Josephine on the other side
of Savannah.

“I don’t know. Does anyone have a knife?” I
looked around, but Josephine protested.

“You have no way of knowing how deep this
goes. You might cut her. Besides, since we don’t know what
this
is, we can’t risk removing it. What if it’s protecting
her somehow?”

I ground my teeth. “What if it’s hurting her
somehow? Have you thought about that?”

“Here man.” Griffin came to my shoulder and
handed me his pocket knife. I flipped it open and touched the
cocoon with it. Pressing gently, I tried to ease the knife in, but
before I could slice my way through, the cocoon began to stretch. I
could make out two hands pushing against the substance, try to claw
their way through the layer.

“Move back!” Maye pushed everyone away from
Savannah and we all watched as she emerged.

Somehow, I expected her to be coated in
slime, but instead she her skin was decorated with a golden sheen.
While that was stunning, I still wasn’t prepared for the other
changes. Savannah stood completely nude, but it was no longer the
Savannah I knew. Her hair was long before, but now it hung to her
thighs in wild curls. Maye placed a robe around Savannah’s
shoulders, but it had already seen that her body had matured. The
silver in her eyes was almost blinding and her face had sharpened.
Savannah had always looked young for her age, but now she looked
exotic and womanly.

Maye ushered her back into the house, while
the rest of us stood outside in shock. I sat on a boulder to wait
for the other part of the ceremony, but I really wanted to take
Savannah away and protect her. Everyone else stood around gossiping
about the ascension, but Isis, Griffin, and Willow came to stand
near me.

“What happened?” Isis proposed the question
all of us were afraid to ask.

“I don’t even like Savannah and that scared
the hell out of me. You okay? You look like death.” I looked up at
Griffin's voice and tried to allay his fears with a forced
smile.

“I’m fine. I don’t know what that was, but I
have never heard of something like that happening during an
ascension.” I looked over at Willow, who was staring at the house
with wide eyes. “Willow, she’ll be okay.” I grabbed her hand to
offer comfort and she looked down at me in grief.

“What if she’s not f-ine? What if what
happened to her has chang-ed her some-how?” Willow’s voice broke
several times, but I understood her fear.

A short while later Maye exited the house
with Savannah at her side. Luckily, Savannah was clothed in a
sundress that hid her body, but I knew it would be engraved on my
mind for the rest of my life. The problem was that I knew it would
stay with every guy in the coven too.

Savannah offered us a smile, as she entered
the circle. Willow ran and threw her arms around Savannah; nearly
knocking her over in the process. Savannah pulled Willow back, “I’m
okay, really.” She then wiped the tears from Willows cheeks and sat
on the stool someone had placed in the center of the circle. The
inscriptions had been washed from her skin, but it still glowed
with an inner light.

Matthew, who was Josephine’s husband, came
to sit behind Savannah, while Josephine brought him a kit. He took
the objects out and placed them on a cloth. The objects were to
give a witch the symbol of her lineage on the day of her ascension.
Today, Savannah would receive a permanent tattoo that only a member
of the Cross family was allowed to wear. Matthew would use the ink
that I had taken from the passageway. It was a mixture of blood
from the founders of the Cross family and some other ingredients,
which only a member of the Cross family was allowed to know.

Savannah didn’t flinch when the boned needle
pricked her flesh. She remained with her head slightly bent
forward, and her hair tossed over her shoulder, while the symbol
was tattooed onto the back of her neck. When Matthew was finished,
Maye came forward to perform a healing spell to seal in the ink and
prevent infection.

10: Summoning

SAVANNAH

Willow wanted to perform the summoning a few
days after my ascension, but I didn’t feel up to it. Instead, I
lazed around the house reading and practicing my magic. Now that I
was more powerful, I needed to be more subtle when I tried to do
something or I risked it spiraling out of control.

Liam came over every day to bring flowers,
chocolates, and entertainment to keep me from boredom. While I
appreciated Liam's efforts, whenever Ash saw him in the house, he
went to Griffins. This meant I barely saw Ash, while I recovered
from my ascension.

Willow and Izzy frequently dropped by after
my ascension. Willow was filled with energy at solving my parents’
mystery, but Izzy looked exhausted. I used deductive reasoning and
figured Izzy was tired of Willow’s enthusiasm. It wasn’t exactly
something to be excited over.

The night before the ritual would take
place, I had a terrible dream. The demon was there. When he touched
my skin, I could feel my essence flowing into him, while I became
weaker and weaker. I was grateful when my cell phone woke me up.
The clock said it was two in the morning, but I didn’t care.
Whoever was calling at this hour had saved me from a horrific
nightmare.

“Hello.” My voice was groggy, but I pushed
to remain awake and sound coherent.

“Sa-van-nah…” The voice on the other end was
pushing through tears. The sobs were loud and heavy.

“Izzy, what’s wrong?”

“My mom died tonight.” My entire world came
crashing down in that moment.

“Are you at home?”

“Yeah…” The sobs continued. I climbed out of
bed with the phone to my ear and threw on some clothes. I then
walked through the bathroom to bang loudly on Ash’s door.

The door clicked and Ash looked around it.
“What is it?” He sounded concerned and then confused when he
noticed the cell at my ear.

“I need you to drive me to Izzy’s. Her mom
passed away.” He nodded and closed the door.

“Iz, I am coming over okay? Call Willow and
stay on the line with her until I get there, okay?” Izzy was
silent. “Promise me you will call Willow.”

“Promise.” The sobs had abated, but Izzy’s
voice sounded dead.

Ash was determined to get me to Izzy’s as
quickly as possible; he ran stop signs, the occasional light, and
went 15 over the speed limit. He asked if I wanted him to come in
with me, but I told him it was better if I went alone.

I thanked him and rushed to the door of the
apartment building. I climbed the stairs and opened the door to
Izzy’s apartment. Once inside, I stopped in confusion. The
apartment was unnaturally quiet. Izzy lay alone on the sofa, with
the phone against her ear.

“Where is everyone?”

Izzy sat up with her arms tucked around her
knees. “Take your pick; Dad’s at the hospital filling out paperwork
and Aunt Jen took the others back to her place. I didn’t want to go
anywhere until I got a chance to talk to you.”

I nodded and sat beside her. She turned to
sit with her back propped against the arm of the sofa. I could tell
she had something important to say, but was reluctant.

“Izzy, it’s okay. Just tell me what you want
to say.” She turned the phone off and placed it between us.

“I saw it.”

“What did you see?” I looked in her eyes,
while she searched for words.

“The demon was here.” My eyes widened and
before I could speak, Izzy motioned with her hand for me to remain
silent. “I’ve been having these nightmares lately; about the demon.
I thought it was because you and Willow were telling me about them.
Tonight I got out of bed and saw a shadow moving in my mothers’
room. My Dad was at work and my mother wasn’t big enough to have a
shadow that large. When I looked in the room, I saw it…” She broke
into sobs.

I pulled Izzy into my arms and soothed her
hair away from her face. “It’s okay. I’m not going to let it hurt
you.”

“Savannah, it took something from her. This
white smoke came out of her mouth and flowed into its mouth. I
think Willow is right and the demon is feeding on people to gain
power. It killed my mother and I bet it killed Jessica. Plus, a lot
of other people in the surrounding towns have been dying
mysteriously too.”

Oh God. I couldn’t stand to think that I was
responsible for their deaths. I was the clumsy one, who tripped
over the box. If I hadn’t knocked the lid off, those people would
still be alive. Izzy’s mother would be alive. How was I ever going
to fix this?

“Willow’s coming over. She wants to do the
summoning tonight. She’s bringing the supplies.”

Izzy sounded calm now. The summoning gave
her a small portion of control in the face of this horrible event.
I was not going to take that away from her, which is why I didn’t
protest performing the circle tonight. I thought it was a bad idea,
but reasoned that the sooner we learned everything, the better we
would be.