Page 70 of Dark Moon Secrets

“Not a money pit then?” Which was totally what I thought it would be. I nibbled at the edge of this muffin. Should I trust Luna and her cooking? My stomach grumbled with an I-don’t-care-just-feed-me tone.

“Course not. Whatever gave you that impression?” She plonked down on the seat opposite me and poured herself a mug of tea.

I shrugged, not sure I should be so brutally honest.

“We do better than you think, Tanjie, and I trust you will maintain the profits when you manage the store.”

“Putting on the pressure now, Luna?”

“There are expectations, and you will agree to them as part of your initiation.”

“So my initiation will be here?” I picked off pieces of the muffin and put them in my mouth.

“No, we have a clearing in the scrub where the ceremony will happen.”

“What, here is too public?” It would make sense for the ceremony to happen in the shop if this was where the coven had their meetings.

Luna shook her head. “As part of the ceremony, we need more space, and it’s always better to be close to nature. It will heighten the atmosphere.”

“What will I have to do?”

“Recite a pledge, show your skill in magic, and then see if the ancestral spirits will accept you as part of the coven.” Luna waved her hand casually, but nothing was casual about her words.

“How will I know if they accept me?” I swallowed hard. I should’ve asked what would happen if they didn’t accept me.

“You’ll know.”

I rolled her eyes with the flippant reply. “My intuition is good, but how will I know?”

“It’s different for each new initiate, so I can’t say.”

“What was it for you then? Surely, you must all share what happens.”

“It’s for you alone to experience, and you don’t have to share it with anyone.”

The mouthful of muffin dried. Did that mean it was something harrowing I had to experience? Hadn’t I been through enough in my life with the loss of my parents? I didn’t think I could face anything too tough.

Luna leaned over and put her hand on my arm. The thoughts of doubt immediately settled.

“You’ll be fine, Tanjie. You just need to be yourself and show your magic.”

“So simple, except I don’t have much magic to show… you know, on account of not being taught.” I put the rest of the muffin in my mouth.

“They know that, and it will be taken into account.”

“Who are they, anyway? These what did you call them… ancestral spirits?” I asked. “And why should they impact whether or not I’m part of the coven.”

“Just as the name implies, the spirits are witches who have walked before us here on this land.”

“Does this mean my parents are part of this? They form the ancestral spirits?” My voice was soft, so even I could barely hear it.

“They are.”

Luna squeezed my arm, but it did nothing to reassure me this was good. There was a reason I was becoming more uptight closer to the initiation ceremony.

“Do I get to meet them?”

“It doesn’t work that way,” her voice softer than mine. “Their deaths were recent, they might still be… processing this and not fully integrated.”

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