Broomstick, page 13
The wine tastes good. It’s very smooth.
Tammy rushes back to the kitchen. I can hear them murmuring. I wonder if they’re talking about me. Probably.
I need to pee. But I’m tired of getting up and using the restroom. I have a bad habit of having to pee when I’m nervous.
Then Mira comes in. She’s wearing exactly the same black dress and cape as the others. She seems friendlier than ever and reaches out to me with both hands, signaling that I should rise. I feel really weird but I get up.
“When it stops raining, we’re going to go outside, Katie,” Mira says. Her auburn eyes are staring at mine. “It’s cold, but the cloak will warm you. And when we go to the service, the fire is warm enough. Why don’t you finish your wine so you’ll be more relaxed? The rain will stop soon, and then you’ll know we’re ready.”
“It’s going to stop raining?”
“Yes. In another fifteen minutes.”
That’s where all the magic starts, right? Now they can control the weather?
Maddie rescues me. She walks in holding a wineglass too. “I’m so excited for you, Kate!” she says. Mira backs away and sits on a furry chair beside the fireplace. “You nervous?”
“Nah.” Of course I’m nervous. I’m terrified and Maddie knows it.
She sits beside me and pats my knee. “Things might get a little weird, Cadence. But you’ll be fine. Trust me, right?”
“Yeah.”
“She’ll help you along.”
“Just ignore Dr. Reardon,” Mira chimes in.
“Why?” I ask.
“He’s a sick fuck,” Mira says. I’m shocked by her language, particularly since I saw Dr. Reardon a few minutes ago in his black cape, helping out in the kitchen with my to-die-for boyfriend. “His ideas are exactly what you’re afraid of, Cadence.”
“Even he will help you,” says Maddie. She scowls at Mira.
“What about his ideas?” I ask Mira.
“Just forget it, Katie,” Maddie says. She’s warning Mira to shut up with a look of venom. “You nervous?” Maddie repeats, turning back to me. She looks into my eyes seriously.
“Should I be?”
“I was,” Maddie says. “But things worked out.”
“Sure did,” quips Mira.
Maddie whirls back toward Mira, furious. “Why don’t you go finish helping the others!”
Mira smiles slyly and sighs. “Okay.” She gets up and leaves us, and I hear her laughing as she makes her way back to the kitchen.
Then Maddie turns to me and holds my hand again.
“Cadence,” she says seriously, “Alondra is permitting me to tell you some things before we start. She thinks it might put you at ease.”
“All right.”
Maddie looks around and takes a deep breath. “Do you remember the July fourth party last year?”
“How can I forget?” I got more drunk at the Lambda Lambda Delta frat house than I had ever been in my life—I probably drank a full bottle of tequila. I vomited all night and wanted to die the next morning.
“Right, well,” she says, looking nervous, “do you recall what we experimented with?”
“Ecstasy.”
“Yeah.”
“And three or four bottles of tequila.”
“Yeah,” Maddie says, laughing.
“And boys.”
“Right.” We both laugh stupidly.
“I promised I’d never go to their house again.”
“Yeah,” Maddie says.
“Just spit it out. Tell me, Maddie.”
“Well,” Maddie says, “you’re gonna take something tonight. It’s not ecstasy, but it’s a drug and it’ll make you feel weird. You’re going to sweat, you may feel dizzy, and you might even vomit.”
“If Alondra sent you to make me feel better, then—”
“I know,” Maddie says, taking my hand. “But, Katie, it’ll make you feel good too. And while you’re doing it, all of us, even that bitch Mira, will be beside you helping you.”
“What if I don’t want to take anything?”
“You have to, Cadence. It’s required for the initiation. You do want to join, right?”
“Not really. I joined to find out what the hell they’re doing to you.”
Maddie gives me a hug. Then she surprises me. She looks at me and she’s fighting back tears. “I love you, Cadence. Really. You’re so cute. Just…trust me, okay?”
“Yeah.”
“All right. When Alondra hands you the elixir, drink it. It’s required.”
“I’d feel less nervous if you told me what else is required.”
Maddie nods. “Nothing. Not for you. You’re lucky.” Then she jumps up. “When it stops raining, we’ll walk through the mud to the fire. I’ll be there, but I’ll be under my cloak. We’ll be chanting and dancing. Then we’ll disrobe.”
“Naked?”
“Yes.”
“Do I have to be naked?” Alondra told me it was up to me. Would I ever want to? It’s just so weird.
“No,” Maddie says with a smile. “But you will have to be sworn in. The swearing in for the coven will involve blood. It isn’t required, but it’s how you make your vow. No one will force you, but out of respect for me, Alondra, Bryce, and the rest of us, I really would like it if you would let her initiate you with the knife.”
I feel my bowels turn. I’ve been thinking about blood since Bryce mentioned it. I don’t want to do it.
“Think about it,” Maddie says with a smile as she helps me up from the couch. “It won’t be so bad after the drink… And now, I told you just enough to prepare you. If I tell you more, I might just make you more nervous.”
“You already have.”
Maddie lifts my chin. “It’ll be alright, ’kay? I promise, Katie.”
“And I’ll like it?”
Maddie laughs. It must be my expression. I’m completely disgusted and baffled by the whole thing. She nods.
“Excuse me for a moment,” I say. “I have to pee.”
After I finish relieving myself in Alondra’s bathroom (which is very chic and cool, with marble countertops, a bidet, and a fancy tub and sink), I return to the living room. The lights are off, and lit candles are lying along the floor, beside the door. The rain has stopped. It’s silent. Beside an end table near the sofa are my and Maddie’s half-drunk glasses of wine.
Bryce is standing by the door in a black cloak. “Come, Cadence.” He reaches out his hand. “Put on your cloak. And R-E-L-A-X. Try to. Don’t let the ceremony scare you. I’ll be with you the whole time.”
Through the glass, I can see the coven. There’s a bonfire, just as there was for the ceremony for my mother, only this time they’re not sitting. Everyone is slowly circling the fire in their black cloaks. I can’t make out any faces, but I count twelve.
I put on my cloak and step outside. It’s damp but it’s not raining anymore. The clouds are moving away quickly in the moonlit sky. It’s a half-moon. I put my arms around myself because the cloak is really not warm enough. Bryce sees it and puts an arm around me. He’s warm enough. I walk across the field to the fire, held by Tall, Dark, and Handsome.
The witches in the circle are chanting something not in English. When I’m close, I see a single plastic chair. Oddly, Bryce directs me to sit with my back turned to the flames as they continue to walk around the fire, and they walk behind me. The fire is warm, and the cold no longer bothers me.
Then I see faces circling me. I recognize Tammy, Hannah, Hope, Gilda, and Mira. Then I spot Dr. Reardon. There are other girls I don’t know well. I remember seeing them in the kitchen when I walked in. They all look at me. They don’t look drugged, nor are they particularly menacing. If anything, they’re friendly. They all smile, even Mira, as they pass slowly by. They move fluidly; it’s more like a dance than a march.
They circle very slowly for what seems like a long time. I’m tempted to check the time on my cell phone, in my pocket, but I recall Mira’s séance and that stops my hand. They continue circling, but they turn so that none of them is facing me. I understand this to mean that I am not yet part of the group.
None of them makes me nervous. Except Reardon. He just creeps along, continually watching me. I don’t like him.
When he passes me for the third time, he speaks. “Turn your back on me, I still am,” he says in a commanding voice. They all say “Atman,” and the head wizard continues to speak. “Be it virgin or harlot, I remain. From the seed of man art thou. That is all. Do not fall into trickery. To dust you go, to the depths of hell. In such abyss, nothingness shall pass. And there, you find me. When you close your eyes, I shall manifest in front, not behind. Hide no more. In nothingness lies peace. Know this. I offer your sacrifice, your death. Give me your virginity, I shall return my seed. This offering, this exchange, done in sanctum for centuries, will allow you to end your suffering. And so, let us chant, sisters and brother:
“In sanctum e tenebris inferni, igne sacrificii unctus. Lux tenebris.”
Everyone around me repeats, “Lux tenebris. Lux tenebris. Lux tenebris.”
“Here we all gather to partake in semen and…”
Okay, semen? I mean, WTF, right?
I’m totally spooked with all this weird old language shit. I never liked Professor Reardon, and now that he’s gone from being a quiet, dull man to this freak, I feel serious heebie-jeebies every time he passes behind me. Then I have my fears confirmed after looking into his hungry old-man pervert eyes. It’s like he wants to have sex with me, and that makes me want to throw up.
I jump as one of the witches circling me touches my shoulder. But it’s Maddie. She’s looking back at me with an encouraging smile. The bitch knows me too well. She knows I’m about to bolt.
“Lux tenebris.”
After a few more rounds of “lux tenebris,” they thankfully stop chanting, and they stop moving. Everyone turns and faces the house. They’re all standing directly behind me, and a few have their hands on my white plastic chair.
A woman with a torch comes from the side of the house. I know it’s Alondra. She’s the only one who hasn’t entered the circle yet. I’m relieved that it’s her and I don’t have to hear from this freak any longer. But then, my ease is shattered and my skin crawls as I look upon her. She’s completely naked, with her long black hair flowing and her jade eyes glowing beside the flickering torch. She isn’t even wearing a cloak. But there is no shame in her step. She sways her naked hips, her large breasts bobbing, as she treads straight over to me. Then she adds her torch to the fire and looks down upon me with the same smile she’s always given me.
“A blessed day,” she says, looking at me while addressing the coven. “A blessed day. We have a new initiate, someone I’ve waited to welcome since she first arrived in Hawthorne.” She kneels on one knee, stark naked yet still comforting me with those eyes and that soothing smile. Then she says, “Don’t be afraid, Cadence. Our ways seem odd to you now, but soon you will understand.”
I can’t say a thing.
“Do you still want to join?”
After the chanting, I’m not so sure. But then I look at Maddie. Her face is under the hood and she’s nodding, trying to encourage me again. Then I turn to Bryce. They seem concerned—concerned for my welfare. They’re all worried about me, and it gives me a warm feeling inside. I know that may seem corny to you, but it’s a warm feeling in my chest. All these people care about me. And then I feel a little sad when I realize that these are my friends. Throughout all of Hawthorne, these are the people who are closest to me. This coven. This coven loves me. No matter how strange they are, they’re my friends. And that is why I want to join.
“Yes,” I say, and I mean it with all my heart.
“Glory be to the gods,” Alondra says, looking up to the sky. Then she looks at Dr. Reardon. “Bathe your white witch with mandragora, Black Wizard.”
Dr. Reardon takes an old wooden barrel, opens the lid, and carries it over to Alondra. I notice a bunch of similar barrels stacked near the pyre. He walks to Alondra, but she does not turn from my gaze. As she watches me, without moving or turning her eyes, Reardon pours the fluid from the barrel over her naked body. The reddish-brown liquid sticks to her long black hair and her breasts and back. She remains kneeling.
“Soon, Cadence, I will be in a trance,” she says, staring intently at me. “Then I will no longer guide you with reason, only feelings. And so I warn you. No matter what transpires, know that you are free. If you wish to leave, go to the door. Run. No matter what I or anyone else in the coven says, this is my wish. It is my wish, and always has been, that you do what your heart tells you to do. Do you understand?”
The liquid is dripping from her hair to her cheeks and chin, but her face is serious and intense. I nod, but my body shakes a little.
“The herbs we offer you will change your perception. If you partake in the herbs …” She pauses for a moment and signals to Mira to bring over a flask. Then she lifts it over my head and murmurs something under her breath, some sort of incantation. “If you partake in this drink, you will be bound to us and us to you. You will feel great joy. But you will also lose all reason. Do you understand?”
I nod again.
“Even now…” She closes her eyes in rapture. “I can feel the mandrake root inside me. Mandrake root, or mandragora, is a hallucinogen, Cadence. It is…powerful. It is said that when you pull mandragora from the ground, the herb screams. It has that great a power. The mandrake …” She pauses for a moment, and one of the other witches helps her up. Alondra motions for her to return to her position in the circle. She opens her eyes, a little too wide, and then continues. “The mandrake is absorbed through the skin, Cadence. That is one reason, among many, that we witches hold ceremonies naked. Do you understand?” It’s like she’s giving a lecture again, only this time my professor is naked and drenched in a potion.
“Yes,” I say, a little too sheepishly, I think.
“Cadence Hawthorne,” Alondra says, taking a deep breath and raising her glass flask. The fluid in the flask is reddish-brown, just like the fluid that was spilled on her. “Do you wish to join our coven?” Alondra looks down, her eyes wide. I can tell she’s fighting to control herself. Her hands and lips are twitching.
“Yes,” I say.
“Take this flask.” Alondra closes her eyes again and hands me the glass flask. “Take it to your lips. Sip slowly. But know—our secrets must remain in the circle. If you ever unveil our secrets, so you will be cursed and cast out from us forever. Do you understand?”
I simply nod.
“Lux alba,” she says.
Everyone in the coven repeats, “Lux alba. Lux alba.” They say it again and again, some even whispering it to themselves. Everyone repeats the incantation, except Reardon.
I look down at the reddish-brown elixir and, under the flickering fire, the fluid looks like blood. Bryce, Maddie, and the others nod encouragingly.
I sip. It’s pungent and sharp. It’s like the strongest alcohol, burning my mouth. It tastes like poison. I gag and spit some of it from my mouth. The act makes many of the other witches shout something while looking up to the sky.
Alondra touches my shoulder. “Drink it, Cadence. Drink all of it. Don’t be afraid. It’s diluted with wormwood and charcoal, but you must drink the entire flask.”
I look at her like she’s crazy. Then, judging from those jade eyes and that wet, dripping face, I think she may very well be insane. But the flask is already half-drunk, so I empty the rest into my mouth.
“Blessed are you, under the stars of the night sky, and in the cradle of Mother Earth!” cries Alondra, looking up with crazed eyes. She frightens me with her outburst, and I lean back in the white plastic chair. Then she makes it worse by looking down upon me with wild eyes. “Welcome! Here ye shall be known as Windstorm, for you are born anew upon the wind and rain. I am the High Priestess. As long as I shall lead, you shall follow. And when I depart, you shall carry on my order.”
Everyone starts chanting the word windstorm.
“Turn toward the fire, Windstorm,” Alondra says.
I face the fire now. Everyone does. But they’re all looking at me.
Alondra turns to Mira. “Bring her the book.”
Mira walks slowly over. She pulls off her hood and places a hand on my shoulder, smiling her stupid, geeky, uncomfortable grin. Then she hands me the book. “This is your Book of Shadows, Cadence,” Mira says. “You will use this to record your spells. Keep it hidden. In time, as you advance in your wizardry, you may one day understand the secrets known by the High Priestess and the Eternal Wizard themselves.”
I look down at the book and flip through the pages. It’s just a simple diary. I even see a small price tag on the back.
“Welcome,” Mira says and hugs me tightly.
Then the others come. Tammy. Hannah. Maddie and Bryce. Each of them hugs me as they circle around me.
“I’m Mandy,” says a short blonde girl. “Welcome.”
“I’m Frida,” says another. “Welcome.”
“Natasha. Welcome.”
“Marilyn. Call me Mary. Welcome, Cadence. I’m so happy for you.”
And that’s all of them. The whole coven hugs me. Then Bryce walks over and takes my hand. He guides me slowly around the pyre. Everyone follows in single file.
“Follow me,” Bryce says. “Try to match our rhythm and movement.”
I nod and walk slowly behind him.
The music becomes heavier. I seem to see it, not just hear it. At first it was like birds chirping in the trees, but it changes its tempo and pounds into my whole body. I see it as color and flashes of light: red, blue, green, and white. The sounds light the grass of Alondra’s backyard.
But there never was any music. Was there?
Alondra is no longer conscious. I catch a glimpse of her eyes, and she’s completely lost in a trance, bobbing up and down. As she snaps her head back, showing the whites of her eyes, she appears more like an animal than a woman.
“Disrobe!” she commands.
