Almost Cursed || Completed

Chapter Four: The Summoning

I made sure to wait until after everyone was in bed. Even Rowan had fallen asleep in his room with a book laying on his chest. I had spent the last hour pretending to be asleep as well, as I repeatedly read over the entry in my dad's book of shadows. I wanted the chant memorized, but wrote down the odd language just in case.

I slipped out of my bed and opened my closet door. I had stuffed a shoulder bag on the top shelf with all of my tools inside.
I had decided to wear black would be best for sneaking out, just in case, so I slipped on a pair of black leggings and a black tank top before slipping into my boots and heading downstairs.
I opened the back door as quietly as I could, thanking the Goddess as it opened without a squeak, and then I was out.

"Meooowww"

I nearly jumped out of my boots at the sound of my cat at my feet, and had to bite back a laugh as I realized how insane I had truly become. Was I really about to do this? Obviously I must have imagined the writing in my dads book. Could ghosts even write?

But no, it had been there. And I was determined to see this through.

I scooped up my gray blob of a cat and quickly ran across the back yard, passing behind the greenhouse. I slowed my pace to a walk, finally being out of view from the house's windows and anyone taking a peek out at the wrong moment.

I wasn't scared of the dark, or the woods. I had spent my childhood running down this trail behind my brother, and chasing fireflies in the clearing where we held our circles. These woods were where I felt safest.

I trudged down the trail with Sparkles in my arms until I reached the clearing, when she finally had enough and pounced from my arm to dash back into the woods.

I walked to the trunk that held our toolbox, and carried it over to the center of the circle. Before I begin, I wanted to be fully prepared and cleansed, so I meditated and prayed.

Yes, Wiccans pray.

I cleared my thoughts of all worries, and begin to let my light fill my whole body. It started at my chest, and slowly grew to my shoulders, head, arms, until it engulfed me completely. Filled with my own light, I called her.

Goddess, please, if you can just hear me out

I want to find my father. I want to bring him peace

Give me the strength today to do this, and I'll be indebted to you forever.

Blessed be.

After my prayer, I opened my eyes, but I never let go of the visual of the light inside of me. I would need it through this whole ritual.

I opened the box and got out the Athame. Holding it in one arm, and holding a mixture of salt in the other, I outstretched my arms, twirling as I cast my circle.

"From East to South

And North to West

I call you Goddess,

To Attend and Bless

To brew my spells

And honor you well

With hands steadfast

My circle is cast"

I always used this most basic call while casting my own personal circles, but it never made them any less powerful. I could feel the Earth all around me, and even in the dead of night all the insects and animals grew quiet in the presence of the Goddess. I couldn't help but throw my head back and laugh.

For me, every time I cast a circle alone it felt like I was getting my own meet and greet with that of the divine. I loved the pulse of the power in the air and the smells of the woods drifting all around me. But I forced my mind to calm, and focus on the task at hand.

I pulled two black candles from my bag and placed them in the center of my circle, along with my mini cauldron that I was going to use for my herb mixture. I grabbed my Athame and laid it beside me, ready for when I had to use it. Pulling out the paper which had the strange words scrawled on them, I took a deep breath. It was time to begin.

I took out my match and lit the first candle.

"Ek heita einn dy'r, aptan heimr- draugr ulfhethnahr dreki, Evdr"

I lit the second candle and repeated the words again, hoping I wasn't butchering any important punctuation.

"Ek heita einn dy'r, aptan heimr- draugr ulfhethnahr dreki, Evdr"

Taking out my herbs and added them into my cauldron, i used a smoothed out chunk of driftwood to grind them together, repeating the chant three more times. Each time I said the words, the flame on my candles would grow half an inch higher. Once they looked to be burning about three inches high, my eyes widened. But I pushed on, I was almost done.

I grabbed my Athame and pushed the sharp end into my finger. Letting out a slight whimper as it broke the skin, I moved my finger to hover over the cauldron and let one drop of crimson colored liquid drop into the mixture, chanting the words for the last time.

I blended the mixture one final time with the driftwood and held the cauldron over the tall flames of the candles. As the mixture heated, I began hearing a strange noise coming from the cauldron. It sounded like the blare of a train horn, or the sound of a tea kettle coming to boil. As the sound started to rise I had to ignore the urge to cover my ears. I was sure my mom and brother could hear it all the way from the house.

Just as the sound got so loud that I wasn't sure I could take it anymore, the candles both instantly went out, and with it the noise faded.

I looked around. The woods had begun to come alive again and I saw a rabbit a few yards away from my circle, but nothing to indicate that my summoning spell had worked. If it had worked, I would have been able to see my father, and he would be confined to the circle. But he wasn't here, I sat alone.

Had I not said the words right after all? Or maybe the moon phase wasn't right. Maybe this spell had a specific time slot, and I had missed it.

Suddenly the weight of the hour was pressing on my head. I hadn't realized how tired I was, and knew it had to be well after three A.M.. I was disappointed that nothing had manifested during my ritual, but I also let myself be relieved. The stress of this mission had weighed on me much more than I had let myself believe. I wanted to find out what happened to my dad, but me, an eighteen year old girl? Was I really the best candidate for playing detective?

I quickly closed up my circle and headed back to bed. If my father left me any more clues, I would follow up on them. But for now, I knew I had tried my best.