Chapter 1
The sun beat down as the witch made her way across the meadow. Excitement flooded her veins at what she was about to do. It was the Summer Solstice and her twentieth birthday which meant she had finally reached the age of majority. So instead of celebrating with the rest of the Witches on the island she was in the middle of a field about to awaken her craft. Finding a spot, she liked, the witch took of her craft bag and began to set up.
The first thing was a round white cloth she carefully spread out on top of the grass. A jar of sea salt followed which she poured around the cloth and herself so that she would be contained in a protective circle. She knelt to the south of the cloth and reached for the bag.
Next, she pulled out a small iron cauldron and placed it to the west. Water sparkled in the sun as she emptied a bottle of purified water into it then she discarded the bottle back into her bag. To the east she placed a simple ash wand she had plucked under the full moon to represent air.
She glanced up at the sun to check its position then looked at her watch to confirm. With her time running out she pulled a handful of stones from the bag and placed them to the north to represent earth. Last, she pulled out her most prized possession.
It was a small athame no bigger than her hand that had been passed down through every witch in her line. Forged from meteorite ore, it was almost ugly in its simplicity. Holding it in her hand to represent fire she waited for the sun to reach its zenith before she began the ritual.
“Born of four, element of one; power given from the sun.”
A white fire blazed around her as the sea salt activated its protection. Sweat beaded on her forehead as she continued.
“Awaken my skill, forged in fire; always to use, never to tire.”
She felt something shift inside her and her vision hazed over. Clenching her teeth, she used the dagger to slice the palm of her hand.
“Sealed in blood, my magic free; burning bright so mote it be.”
A brilliant flash of crimson light blinded her and when it cleared she blinked in surprise. Everything growing around her was illuminated by its own glow. It took a moment for her to realize that she was seeing auras, seeing the life forces of living things.
Suddenly things went dark as clouds began to move in with unnatural speed. Confused she looked up and the aura vision winked out when she saw her parents burst from the woods around the meadow. She jumped to her feet and started to leave the circle.
Black clad figures appeared from the trees and tore into her parents. Frozen in horror, she watched their bright red blood coat the grass. An anguished cry tore from her throat as fury burst through her.
The protective circle exploded outward into flames that raced across the field. Moments later she heard the agonized screams of the attackers and her lips curled into a satisfied smile. Hypnotized by the power she threw her arms up and watched as the fire consumed more and more of the meadow. There was nothing but the hunger of the flames.
You must break the connection. Do not be seduced by the flames or they will consume you too. Don’t make me do it.
She ignored the voice in her head. To listen to it was to return to the pain. She watched the flames without really seeing them so it took awhile to notice they were slowly diminishing. Alarmed she looked up to see the clouds dive into the heart of the flames and extinguish them with a hiss. She collapsed to her knees and bowed her head in grief, burned out.
