I held my lantern up as I walked through the woods. The flame cut a small sphere of light into the gloom. Fog swirled around me as the wind blew in circles.
I took another step forward. My foot landed with a crunch on the dead leaves. I thought I left home with enough time to make it to the rendezvous spot, but I had not expected the path to be so frightening.
I paused as I heard a sound off to my right. A bark, a squeal, and then silence. A predator made off with their dinner.
I had to make it to the meeting point in time, otherwise the group would leave without me.
The twisting branches seemed to shift and shudder, distorting the route I had memorized. In the daylight I knew the way, but in this darkness, I was confused and afraid.
I came to a tree that was as fat as it was tall. Seven paths curved in different directions away from the trunk. It was a landmark I recognized, and I heaved a sigh of relief.
The trunk of the tree held decades of graffiti. Some painted on, some gouged deep into the wood. My finger traced a long line, part of a rune intended to serve as protection to the tree. It was one of the first spells our group had cast, and we were pleased with the results.
Striding at a faster pace, I took the third path from the left.
The cacophony of bugs, bats, owls, and wolves followed me along the trail. I flinched with every broken twig. I repeatedly glanced over my shoulder to make sure that nothing was hunting me in the dark.
I was out of breath by the time I came upon the cliff wall.
The sheer cliff went up nearly two hundred feet. There was no natural path available to climb the face. The wall went several miles in each direction.
I held my lantern up to the gray stone. I scanned the rock, looking for a symbol scratched with chalk. The rune to hide the entrance was small and easy to overlook. I took my time inspecting the area and found it after a few minutes.
I licked my thumb and swiped it through the image. The shadow of a cave came into view.
The entrance was about half my height, so I had to crawl to get through. I eased my lantern in by my side. I got most of my body in the passage and then picked up a small white rock.
I reapplied the rune on the outside of the cave. After drawing the marking, I bit my finger and let two drops of blood run from the rune to the floor. A short, whispered incantation and the act was done.
This rune kept the cavern private, kept others out, and kept us safe. We learned that it was necessary after the mishap with Abram. We would not let anything like that happen again.
I kept crawling down the narrow path. The stones pricked my fingers and dig into my knees. The lantern kept me from being blind, but I felt unsettled by the presence of the entire mountain pressing down on me.
I knew the most difficult part of the passage was yet to come.
As I continued the cave got taller. After a few moments I was finally able to stand straight. I walked a few more paces and came to a lake within the cave. I had enough light to see the small beach. The water looked completely black from above.
It appeared to be a small pool, but these waters ran deep. There was a tunnel system that connected multiple passageways below the surface.
I stripped and laid my clothes out on a rock next to the water. They would stay there until I returned.
I dripped my toes in the water and shivered at the icy feeling. I closed my eyes and blew out the lantern, then set it down on the floor.
I plunged headfirst into the freezing water. I pushed myself straight down and pumped my legs as hard as I could. I needed to reach the lip of the tunnel.
My hands scrambled in front of me. I grasped at the water. I continued down.
Finally, I felt the edge of the hole. The whisper of the current brushed against my fingers. I used the lip of the rock to push my body down into the flowing water.
My lungs burned.
The water pushed me forward, my elbows crashed into rocks and my knees scraped against the walls. It was all I could do to keep holding my breath as the current threw me about. It was dizzying. I couldn’t tell which way was up. My heartbeat pounded in my ears; the rapid pulse barely audible over the rushing water.
I was narrowly holding my panic at bay.
Suddenly, I plunged down. My back smashed against a rock and my shoulder sparked with a sharp pain. The wind was knocked out of me. It took everything I had not to gasp and inhale the water cascading down on my head. It was pressing me into the floor.
I desperately kicked and flailed, trying to get out from under the waterfall. I shifted enough that the flow finally ebbed, and I was able to lift my head.
I gasped in air. I coughed and choked for a few moments. After a bit, I was able to catch my breath.
The pool here held a slight glow. It was just enough light for me to pinpoint the direction of the shore.
I glanced at my aching shoulder and saw blood swelling up around a rock. It was still stuck in my arm. I brought my hand over, clutched it, and yanked the piece of earth out of my body. It had left a decent gouge, but it was possible to ignore. Blood ran down my back, to my waist, and dripped into the water.
It was a stripe of warmth against my frozen skin.
I took a minute to regain my composure. It wouldn’t do to have the girls see me shaken.
When I felt ready, I put the waterfall behind me. I turned to the right and walked until I felt the pebbles under my toes. I stepped out of the pool and crossed my arms as goosebumps quaked along my skin.
I scrambled up the bank, sidestepped a large bolder, and stuck my hand in a crevice between two rocks.
My hand touched the soft fabric of a robe. I had left this here the last time, knowing that it would come in handy.
I donned the robe. Immediately, my shivers lessened. I could feel the material soaking up the water droplets.
I felt more comfortable, more powerful. I was ready to embrace the next step.
I moved along the cave wall, traveling further from the stream. The glow of the water faded into a deep black; a darkness thick enough to touch.
The stones under my fingers changed. Instead of the rough pattern of a natural cave, the wall became smoother. There were no grooves or edges, just a completely polished and cold surface that tickled my fingertips.
I continued walking until I began to hear voices up ahead. The echoed tones weren’t yet discernible, but they made me quicken my pace.
Only a few moments later, my foot landed on a neatly tiled floor. The tiny glossy tiles felt like heaven on my feet after the rough hike, swim, and cave floor.
A flame flickered in the middle of the room, casting light into the cavern and onto the six other figures within.
The cavern was a huge space. The light only barely reached the walls. If I were to look up, I would see a gap in the ceiling that gave a clear view of the night sky.
Five of the girls turned to look at me, one stayed with her purple eyes trained straight up.
I smiled at them and lifted my face. I filled my posture with confidence and my voice with arrogance. “Good job ladies. Is everyone ready to get started?”
A blonde with a bob cut rolled her eyes at me. “Cutting it really close there. It’s nearly time, and you know that if we don’t do this tonight there isn’t another chance in over a decade!”
I smirked. “Which is why I am here, not late. Get over yourself, Aphrodite.”
Aphrodite huffed and crossed her arms. She turned toward the sky-gazer.
“Well, Gaia, are you going to let her get away with this? She almost ruined the whole night. Artemis, Athena, and Medusa agree with me. Hera shouldn’t be allowed to skirt the rules!”
I laughed and strode towards the group, shedding my robe and tossing it outside the perimeter of the tiled floor. I was dry.
I looked at the circle of girls. We had known each other for decades. We had been a coven for a long time.
Aphrodite and Medusa were the two newest additions. They were still trying to find their place in the hierarchy, and sometimes that caused strife between us.
None of us used our real names during these meetings. They were used only if absolutely necessary, during a ritual. Names had power.
So, we used nicknames instead, derived from the Ancient Greek figures; Gaia, Aphrodite, Artemis, Athena, Medusa, Circe, and me, Hera.
I waved at Circe and hugged Aphrodite to my side. Naked hugs were a fantastic way to make others uncomfortable while getting power back yourself.
“No harm, no foul.”
I smiled as Aphrodite shrugged me off and made a noise of disgust.
“We have a quarter hour until we begin.” Gaia announced. She was the unofficial leader of our little band. She had knowledge that spanned lifetimes, and her wisdom had guided us well through the years. “Make the final preparations. Now.”
I glanced around, taking care to notice what had already been completed.
The room we were in contained an intricate mosaic depiction of the solar system covering the entire floor. In the center was the Sun, each planet orbiting the main star. The secrets of the universe were outlined for all to see if they would only take the time to look. Swirls and whirls of colors that should have long since faded practically glowed in the light of the one lit lantern.
The magic was already gathered between symbols of life, spirits, elements, and time. I could feel it caressing my skin.
Medusa placed the ritual herbs that we had gathered gathered over the past weeks, and placed in their corresponding directions; north, south, east, and west.
Athena was in charge of the base elements, earth, water, air, and fire.
Around the mosaic, the appropriate runes had been cast and ashed, and Circe was verifying that everything looked correct. When necessary, she directed Artemis to make small corrections with her smudge stick.
Aphrodite gathered crystals and placed them on the spiritual lines connecting the runes.
Gaia kept her eyes on the sky, making sure to track when the moon would be in the correct position. When it came to full center, the entire cavern would be illuminated, and we would be able to begin.
I went to the southernmost point on the base of the sun and lifted the wooden bowl from the ground. I picked at the gash in my shoulder until the blood began to flow anew. I held the bowl against my skin and let the liquid pool. This was my contribution to the ritual, the physical pieces of myself that would be used as payment for our quest. If the spirits did not think my sacrifice was enough, my blood would guide them to me. From there, they would take their due out of my flesh until they were satisfied.
I let the bowl fill halfway and then replaced it on the ground. I reached up to my head and wrenched a small handful of hair out by the root to place in the bowl of blood. It was painful, but necessary. There was always a price to pay.
The final contribution to the bowl was the thin necklace that lay around my throat. One of the first things we had to learn was that physical sacrifices were often the most superficial. It was the emotional gifts to the spirits that took the most toll and offered the most gain.
My necklace was one gifted to me by my deceased mother, who had received it from her mother, who had received it from her mother. The necklace had been saved through time by being swallowed, buried, hidden, and locked away. With it I was removing a piece of my history and sacrificing a portion of my soul.
“It is time. Get in your places.”
We scrambled to heed Gaia’s orders. Already my breath was speeding, my heart pounding beneath my breast. This was it; this is what we had been waiting for and been preparing for so long. Finally, the time had come, and we were ready.
Each of us stood on our astronomical planet. I, a Gemini, perched on Mercury. My coven stood around me, and together we let our differences and worries get carried away by our anticipation.
All of us were equal, complete, and holy. The seven of us represented the seven deities, the seven astrological planets, and the seven directions. We were one with the world and the world was one with us.
At long last, the moon filled the cavern with her light. We chanted as one, together, and we repeated the incantation seven times.
The wind twisted around us, bringing the smoke from the fire and the spray from the water.
Still we chanted.
The earth scraped at our faces and the runes burned at our feet.
Still we chanted.
The blood boiled in our veins and ice froze around our fingers.
Still we chanted.
We could not hear our voices, and instead only heard the roar of the land, sea, and sky.
Still we chanted.
And with the final chant I saw a white glow forming around us, encapsulating everything.
Whirls of colorful light swirled and spread around us, and obscured my view of the sky, the girls, the mosaic.
Just as the flowing lights completely blinded me, I collapsed.
***
I opened my eyes to a pounding headache and a heavy feeling in all my limbs.
My slightly blurred vision noted the girls standing around a circle of bright light. I couldn’t look directly at it without wanting to throw up due to the pain in my head.
I groaned and righted myself to sit up on the floor. I had to support myself with both hands as the room spun around me.
“I worked!” I heard. “I can’t believe it.”
“We can go anywhere, any dimension.”
“How much time do we have Gaia? We need to explore.”
“How much do you think we can see? What can we do?”
The cacophony of voices bombarded me from every side. My ears started to ring.
I stood and stumbled over to the group of girls.
I leaned against the arm closest to me, not paying attention to who it was as I peered into the vortex.
Through a window of space and time I saw shifting landscapes of amazing wonder.
There were floating mountains with ebony waterfalls that descended and looped to flow down from the top again. There were glowing jungles of enormous sizes, where we were the equivalent sizes of ants. There were cityscapes of gleaming metals and odd creatures that moved as though swimming through the air.
It was awe-inspiring and amazing. It was all completely impossible.
With each shift in place, the vortex itself would change shape. Sometimes it was a circle, sometimes it shifted like a stream, and other moments it appeared like a sphere or even a star.
The constantly changing display made me dizzy.
I rubbed my eyes and tried to shake the fuzziness out of my head. The shaking only increased the feeling.
The arm I was leaning against pushed me to fall against another person. That person’s arms wrapped around me and brought me slowly to the floor.
Even through the chill and lack of clothes, I began to feel hot. In the span of one second, I was sweating and shaking, fever grabbing hold of my limbs and making my joints ache.
I crawled a bit away from the others, trying to find a more comfortable spot to find relief from the heat.
I vomited on the floor and the disorientation only increased.
I rolled onto my side and groaned, viewing the other girls through tunneling vision a fair distance away. I had managed to move further than I thought.
The mosaic tiles pressed against my face. The corners of the tiles were digging into my cheek.
While I tried to reorient myself, a figure separated from the group and made their way over to me. I could not get my eyes to focus enough to recognize which one it was.
“Hera, you are our anchor for this spell. You have done well, it was successful.”
I tried to smile at the words, though the most I could manage was a pained grimace.
“I’m sure you’re feeling the effects on your body. I noticed that you offered part of your soul as well.”
I nodded. Then immediately regretted the action.
“The spirits have seen fit to take more.”
I blinked heavily. I couldn’t get the words to process quite right.
“You will die here Hera. You have offered yourself to them to make this journey possible for us. They have accepted. And we appreciate your sacrifice.”
My eyes widened in horror.
This was not supposed to be what happened. If the spirits demanded more than one person could give, then the coven was intended to spread the offering among the members – that was part of what kept us secure. That safety net made the rituals worth the risk.
I opened my mouth to protest, to argue for my life. A whine came from my throat.
“I give you to them. To have and to keep. You will serve them faithfully until your time is spent. Your soul will not leave this realm until we are through with the spell. Then the spirits will take you and do with you as they please. You have about twenty more minutes to make your peace with this. May we see you in the world to come, Hermione Jean Granger.”
With the utterance of my true name, I crumpled to the ground. My arms could no longer support my weight.
I stared pleadingly up at the woman I had trusted. This woman I had given my life for.
She blinked at me passively and stood from her crouch. She did not avert her eyes, nor did her expression change.
The last thing I saw before my vision faded out were piercing purple eyes.
And then I knew no more.