Chapter 6
~~~Katheren's P.O.V ~~~
A month of training passed, July melted into august. I trained with Grams, Daren, and the Dyce Family- which I had learned was Delilah, Bethany, and Samson's last name. In the end, I had mastered the shield, completed a few shaky teleports, was able to summon sprits, learned to control the other three of the elements that I didn't know- I could already control fire, so I was taught how to control, water, wind, and air, but I was never told what the fifth element was- I was taught the spell to see the future but I could never accomplish it, and I was taught to influence the weather. Before the summer had started, Daren had taught me one that was supposed to confuse my attacker, one made me invisible, and another to knock someone out, and some others that I forgot an hour after I had learned them.
In total, I knew fourteen spells. I had learned more in a month than some witches learned in a year, I didn't like that feeling. No matter how many spells I knew, I would never like being a witch.
Daren and I packed up our things and left my grandma in Santa Ana and returned to our homes in Seattle. Nothing new had happened since we left, but they did plan a welcome home party for us. I hated parties, but I loved the chance to see Sabrina again, Daren also liked to see his friends too.
"So," Daren said to me the night that we got home, "You look tired."
"I'm fine," I said quietly.
He smirked. "No you're not," he said knocking my feet out from under me.
I gasped. "Daren put me down."
"Nope," he said heading towards the stairs.
"Live it up girl," Sabrina laughed, "I would love a guy to 'sweep me off of my feet.'"
I groaned. She would. I loved the gesture, just not in front of so many people. He pushed open the door to my room and gently set me on the bed. "I don't know how I am going to sleep tonight," he mumbled sitting on the edge of my bed.
I yawned. "Why not?"
"I am so used to you being in my arms when I slept, I am worried about all of the trouble that you could get into without my constant supervision."
"I will be fine," I promised. "If you get worried, call my cell. I will answer, but you might not get more than a groan."
He laughed slightly. "I will hold you to that. Goodnight, love you Kates."
"Mhm, me too." I heard my door quietly close and then I feel sleep. It was not be best night of sleep that I had ever had.
~~~Daren's P.O.V. ~~~
"Good morning!" an annoying voice broke through the haze in my brain. I hadn't really slept in days, and just when exhaustion would start to claim me, this is what I would hear.
"Let me sleep ma," I groan and covered my head with my pillow. It was a freaking Saturday and she still wouldn't let me sleep.
"It is nine o'clock Daren, it is time to get up."
"Ugh," I groaned, "who the hell gets up at a nine on a Saturday?"
"You're friends."
"Well that doesn't mean I have to."
"We'll see about that, I am sending them up, you have two minutes to get up."
I heard her leave the room but I didn't move. It seemed like seconds later when I heard my door open and close again. I felt my bed shift slightly but I pretended to be asleep. I knew my friends could be dumbasses sometimes, but they wouldn't be stupid enough as to wake me up.
Senior year had already started and it was late October already. My friends could tell that I wasn't sleeping very much and gave me a little bit of leeway with my moods.
Time passed- and I am not sure how long because of the stupor that I was in- but I could hear their breathing. I felt the bed shift again and then something warm pressed against me. I took a deep breath about to ask them what in the hell they were doing, but I recognized that sent, I was pretty sure that none of them smelled like roses. "Kates?" I asked groggily, too tried to move the pillow from my head but not tired enough to wrap my arms around her.
"Yeah Daren?"
"Why are you here?" I asked her as she snuggled closer to me.
"I haven't been sleeping very well." I guess I wasn't alone there. "So I came over hoping to see if you could keep me awake considering how good you are in the morning. But you looked like you were already sleeping... and I got tired..." she trailed off.
"I am glad you showed up," I told her yawning, "I couldn't sleep either. I need you for that."
When I woke up again, the sun was just starting to rise. I stretched and sat up. Katheren wriggled herself closer to me. For a second I wondered how she could fall asleep in jeans and a sweatshirt, but considering how tired both of us had been, it wasn't surprising.
I leaned back against my head board and stroked her hair, thinking about nothing in particular. It was about a half an hour, before Katheren moved.
She groaned and buried her face in my chest. "I don't wanna wake up yet Lyn." She really wasn't a morning person.
I laughed. "I didn't know my name was Lyn."
She froze momentarily. "Am I still dreaming?" she asked cautiously.
"I am not sure; you're not really the sanest person in the morning..." She sat up and hit me playfully. I rubbed my chest. "Ow, that hurt!" I laughed at her horrified expression. "I was just kidding."
She hit me again, a little harder this time and fell back on to the bed. "How did I get here again? I remember getting up because I couldn't sleep, then I took a shower, and everything after that is a blur."
"Apparently you came here because neither of us could sleep. I am not sure how you got here, but I would assume that you drove the few blocks."
"Hmm, okay. What time is it?"
I checked the clock on my bedside table. "7:00, I am not sure what day it is."
"Halloween, I would guess, I know I was tired as hell, but I don't think that I could sleep two days in a row."
"I wouldn't put it passed you. You could sleep through an atomic war. Come on; time to get up sleeping beauty."
She groaned. "But your bed is comfy." I slid out form under her and walked over to her side and pulled at her wrist so she would have to wake up. She didn't. I picked her up and carried her downstairs and set her down in a kitchen chair.
"Good morning Daren," my mom said coming into the kitchen, "you look better. Good morning Katheren." Katheren didn't answer but she waved her hand in a flimsy wave.
"Morning ma, I am surprised that you didn't wake us up," I stated them started to help her make breakfast.
"I know that you haven't been sleeping so well and I didn't think that either of you were going to move anytime soon. It's Samhain, so don't be late for the casting tonight."
"I won't ma."
"Samhain? What's a casting?" Katheren mumbled sleepily into the table.
"Samhain, All Hallows Eve, Halloween, The Day of the Dead, all the same day, just different names and slightly different meanings," I explained, "Samhain is the day where the veil of the world of the living and the dead is the thinnest, when spirits both good and evil can enter our world and either commune with the living or cause havoc. We make jack-o-lanterns laced with protection spells to ward away evil sprits and balefires that are supposed to do some purification thing and also keep away evil sprits."
"The casting," his mother continued, "is when we cast a circle that involves all of the elements and after the circle is purified, we are able to cast some of our most powerful spells. It is amazing." The awe in her voice as she talked about this was unmistakable.
Katheren raised her head, intrigued enough to wake up. "So why do-" I smiled and let them go on with their questions. My mom knew everything about witch lore and Katheren's curiosity was never satisfied.
"What should I wear?" Katheren freaked out, she was still in her clothes from the day before.
I smirked. "I got the perfect thing." I laughed at her horrified expression. "Trust me?"
"Not on this."
I ignored the comment and went into my closet. "I believe this is yours," I said holding up the black strapless dress that she has worn on one of our dates in Santa Ana, which had somehow ended up in my suitcase.
She paled. "Hell no."
"We don't have time to go back to your house," I stated.
"Yeah we do, it isn't even five minutes away in car."
"Just put it on, please, I don't want you to miss anything. It is your first Samhain."
She sighed but grabbed the dress out of my hand, scowling at me, then headed off into my closet. I headed back into my closet and grabbed black jeans and a black tee-shirt. I had my outfit picked out and on before she came back out.
"Why can't I wear my jeans?" she whined, "You are."
"Because you wore those clothes yesterday-"
"Your mom washed them while I was in the shower this morning," she interjected.
"Kates, let me finished?" I asked amused. She pouted but nodded. I was distracted by how she looked for a moment. Her jade green eyes stuck out because of the dark dress, the dress hugged her curves, and- Focus Daren! "You have to wear that because all female witches wear black dress to this and male witches wear all black."
"Aren't they supposed to wear cloaks?" she asked as I dragged her towards the door.
"That's warlocks. We at least pretend to be normal; they on the other hand think that they are God's gift to the world or something like that."
She nodded and soon we pulled up to where the ritual would be held. We were far enough back in the woods that no drunk teenagers would stumble upon us but close enough that everyone could get there in time. "Come on, Kates," I said opening up her door, "don't let go of my hand," I told her and she grabbed on to my hand for dear life. I smiled, she was so funny.
"So when does this thing start?"
"In an hour."
"Why are we here so-?"
"I want you to see how they purify everything, that and it is a five to ten minute walk to the clearing." I smirked. She was going to be in such a surprise. Most people didn't understand the Wiccan ways, they thought of us just as a colt, doing what our coven masters told us to do without any thought of our own, but being a witch just wasn't about the magic. It was about the bound within ourselves to the earth, to each other. She was going to be very surprised.
~~~Katheren's P.O.V. ~~~
I clutched on to Daren's hand as he lead me to the forest I-don't-know-how-many-miles away from Seattle. I tried to find a path but failed. Daren on the other hand walked confidently as if this was his house that he was walking to.
We broke from the trees and ended up in a large elliptical clearing. There were a few people there moving all over, strangle enough, there was one lady even sweeping the grass?
I turned to ask Daren what she was doing. "She is sweeping starting in the northeast with the besom, or broom, and walk counter-clockwise to 'sweep out' negative energy to purify the whole area. The others are setting stones around the area to keep evil out, and others are blessing the elements so that they will be 'ready' for the ritual. " His voice was highly skeptical, like he thought they were wasting there time.
"You don't believe in the 'old ways'," I guessed humorously referring back to something that his mother had mentioned in passing earlier.
"Not all of them."
We watched them flit around the large space doing odd things. Well at least to me it was a little odd. Minutes passed and more and more people joined us in the clearing. Males and females, young and old, couples and groups of friends, and there were even a few people who came alone. Everyone talked with one another and it reminded me of a family reunion, people were hugging, laughing, and catching up on old times.
A half an hour had passed and an older woman in her early fifties called everyone to order. "Blessed be," she said and everyone around the circle returned the greeting. "We are here tonight to celebrate the great holiday of Samhain! We will start with a chant."
Everyone gathered into a circle and joined hands. Together, they all chanted.
"Be unafraid of Shadows dark
And to their whispers
Do Not Hark
Unfriendly words
You do Not hear
No worry, trouble
Loss or Fear
No Shadow falls
Upon your Heart
We Stand Together
Though Apart.
We Stand Together
Ever Winning
All our spells
Together Spinning
For Every End
A New Beginning
Wealthy, Healthy,
Happy, Free
If this your Will
So Mote It Be!"
I felt a slight warmth flow through me, but otherwise I didn't see anything else happen. She went on about things that were happening within the 'Wiccan Community', but I most just marveled at how many different people were here. She then she said something about casting the circle and my ears pricked up. There were four people in a smaller circle within our circle each holding a candle and one that stood alone in the middle on an alter. She first went to the person holding the yellow candle. "Air, I summon you to our circle," she called out, her voice clear and confident. She lit the candle. Wind, flared up a strong force surrounding the meadow but the flame never went out.
Then she moved to the person with the red candle. "Fire, I summon you to our circle." The fires that were lit around the clearing flared strong and bright, and then died down as she moved to the person with the blue candle. "Water, I summon you to our circle." Rain fell briefly from the sky but touched no one and the fires kept strong. She moved to the last person with the green candle. "Earth, I summon you to our circle." The ground shook and trees groaned, then quieted. Finally she moved to the center of the circle where the one lone purple candle stood on a stand. "Spirit," she called and I finally learned the name of the fifth element, "I summon you to our circle." I am not sure how to describe this, but I felt so good all of a sudden, almost like I was flying.
When all of the candles were lit, she summoned the goddess. "I welcome you, oh great goddess, Hecate, we thank you for the gifts you have given us and the power of your knowledge that your have passed on to us," she said and lit a final candle which was a 'vessel' for the goddess to possess as to what was explained to me before.
The ritual went on by everyone saying a chant in a language that I couldn't even fathom a word of what they said. People form the other circle came forward to say poems that you just got lost in whether you understood their true meanings or not, people danced, and gave gifts to the goddess Hecate.
It was about eleven at night when I started to feel it. I gasped and grabbed at my head. "Are you okay Kates?" Daren whispered in alarm.
I shook my head unable to answer. We left the celebration, hurrying back through the forest to his car.
I couldn't take it anymore. My knees clasped and I fell to the dirt floor, losing myself in the darkness.
{Author's Note: Sorry it too me so long, but in the begining of this chapter I was having a bit of writer's block and the second part took me forever to get all of the right information to get it as real as possible. I was even able to find a real spell. :D
Here are the charater pics.
Katheren- http://media.photobucket.com/image/blonde%20girl/rockstarartist13000/blonde_girl_web-1.gif
And- take the first pic and mix it with the next pic's hair and you've got Daren- 1st pic- http://img126.imageshack.us/i/hunter1fl7.jpg/
2nd- http://media.photobucket.com/image/black%20haired%20boy/tanya-hime/ryou.jpg
Please comment and vote. :)
-Katie}