Page 72 of The Witch's Shifter
We’ve just finished the cleansing process when a soft knock sounds on the door.
Selene and I look at each other.
“I’ll get it,” Alden says, taking a step toward the doorway, but I hold up a hand.
“Let me.”
There’s only one person who’d knock on the door at this time of day, and I should be the one to speak with her.
The others remain quiet as I step from the parlor and into the foyer. Before opening the door, I take a deep breath and steady myself.She will not ruin this night, I think before grabbing the door handle and pulling it open.
My mother stands on the porch, a dark cloak draped about her shoulders, long dark hair twisted up on top of her head. Her eyes meet mine, and for a moment, we stand there in silence.
Finally, I ask, “Did your headache clear up?”
Mama straightens her shoulders. “Yes. And I’d hoped...” She looks away from my eyes, seeming to gather herself. “I’d hoped to join you for the ritual, if it’s not too late.”
There’s so much for me to say to her, so much we need to work through, but now is not the time. So with a small nod, I step back and gesture for her to come inside. She hangs her cloak beside Selene’s in the foyer before stepping into the parlor. The others’ reactions to her arrival are varied.
But I feel Faolan’s strongest of all.
His anger crashes into me, so potent I almost have to catch my breath. My eyes find him where he’s leaning against thefar wall, arms crossed over his broad chest, vibrant blue eyes narrowed at my mother. If she’s aware of his rage toward her, she’s doing a good job of ignoring it, focusing instead on Fletcher and Wyland.
Seeming to feel my gaze on him, Faolan looks in my direction. When I catch his eyes, I give him a small comforting smile. It seems to help, for the hot anger coursing through our bond softens to a gentle simmer, and his shoulders relax as he lets out a breath.
I hadn’t realized he felt so angry toward her. Is it because of the argument during the harvest festival? Did he hear the things she said to me?
Mama turns away from Fletcher to look at the altar Selene and I have prepared. It’s heaped with Auntie’s favorite foods, and black and white candles burn softly, their candlelight merging with the firelight illuminating the parlor. My mother reaches into a pocket along the hip of her black dress, and she removes a single silver chain. It reflects the light as she holds it up.
“This was Lilith’s,” she says. A strange look crosses her face as she steps forward and places the necklace upon the altar. I’ve placed other belongings of Auntie’s on the altar—one of her spellbooks, a hair comb I found in the room upstairs when I first moved into Brookside, and a pair of gardening gloves—but the more items we have to connect to Auntie, the better. I wasn’t aware my mother had anything of Auntie’s; it makes me wonder how much my mother keeps from me and Selene, how much she chooses not to tell us.
Selene clears her throat softly. “It’s time,” she says. “Mother, are you joining us?”
I’m torn about Selene’s invitation. On the one hand, my mother never got along with Auntie, and it feels almost wrong for her to participate in such a special, intimate ritual. But on theother, my mother’s magic is incredibly powerful, much stronger than mine, and with the three of us, we’ll have an even better chance of bringing Auntie through the veil—assuming she wants to visit and isn’t off frolicking through the Otherside somewhere. I wouldn’t put it past her.
Mama looks at me, her amethyst eyes dark in the low light. “If you’ll have me,” she says softly.
I blink in surprise. I’m not sure my mother has ever cared about my opinion on anything, least of all something so important as this. Selene seems surprised too. Her pale brows arch toward her silver hairline as she glances toward me. Behind her, Gwynn ruffles her feathers and lets out a soft rumble.
Inside, I focus on the one thing I feel will help this ritual be successful: love, the most powerful feeling of all. And with that in the forefront of my mind, I nod. “Let’s begin.”
We start the ritual by casting a circle. We call upon the elements—earth, air, water, fire, and spirit—asking that they provide us wisdom, protection, and assistance as we seek to open the veil between this realm and the next. A gentle vibration goes through the room when the circle is cast, like a drum beating from somewhere far off. The men watch us with focused expressions, eyes unblinking, so silent it’s as if they’re afraid to breathe.
My bond with Faolan pulses subtly with his curiosity.
With the circle cast, we can now call upon Auntie, reach into the Otherside and extend our hands in invitation.
I steady myself, then begin to speak.
“Lilith Silvermoon, we call upon your spirit this night. We, your loved ones, reach into the other, seeking you and hoping to see you once again.” As I speak, Selene places an unlit whitecandle in my hands. Then my mother steps forward to light it with a flame from one of the already-burning candles. As the wick catches and the candle begins to flicker, I feel a gentle pulse of energy go through my chest. This time when I speak, my voice is so low that even I can scarcely hear it. “I miss you so much, Auntie. All I want is to see you one more time. Please, if you’re out there, if you can hear me, honor us with your presence.”
A single tear slips down my cheek as I close my eyes, picturing Auntie’s smiling face, her long hair caught in a warm summer breeze. Then a cool finger touches my skin, brushes the tear away, and a familiar voice says, “There’s no need to cry, my little sprout. I’m here.”
My eyes fly open, and there, standing before me in the center of the circle, is Lilith Silvermoon.
Chapter 38
Aurora
