Ostara was upon us. Although I did not usually adhere to the normal witching holidays, this year was different. Ostara, when daylight equaled the dark, the spring equinox, was symbolic of the dance between the living and the dead. And now, more than ever, I felt the need to honor its symbolism.
The ceremony involved a candle being brought into a natural area in the middle of the night. It was representative of our kind beating back the evil trying to encroach on our world.
I walked out to the lake with Alex on one side and Eva on the other. Alex’s solid, strong presence lifted me up. Although I still felt the effects of Thor’s death, which had been just days earlier, it only intensified the sensation that being here, alive, was so, so special.
The entire student body of Spellcasters, along with the professors and staff, fell into line around the edges of the lake. Cold and snow clung to Maine, even in early Spring, but someone had shoveled walkways for us to make the ritual easier. So, despite the fact that the wind whipped my nose, and my toes were on the verge of freezing, I couldn’t complain.
I was here, I was alive. Tabitha, Efraim, and Thor weren’t. Knowing that, there was no way in hell that I could take the breath in my lungs for granted.
In front of me, Alex slowed to a stop. I scanned the lakeside and saw that we were almost all in position.
“How are you?” Alex asked, his tone soft.
“Sad. Scared. Selfishly grateful. Take your pick.”
“Me too, sweets. Me too.”
I squeezed his hand just as the sound of snow crunching underfoot hit my ear.
Headmistress Wake stalked up the snowy path last, her candle, which was as tall as a toddler, burned with a blue flame as it floated in front of her. She took her spot along the lakeside, about thirty feet from us, and grasped the hands of those beside her. Everyone else followed suit, reaching for their neighbor.
“Witches have celebrated this day for millennia,” the headmistress’ voice boomed out over the ice-covered lake. “Although as with all things in life, the meaning and name has transformed over time, one aspect of Ostara has remained true. That the balance of light and dark is in flux.” She drew a heady breath. “Tonight, we honor those who have come before us, those who have passed through the veil, those who help us as we continue to balance the light and darkness of this world and the other. To those ancestors and all the deceased, I offer my light.” Headmistress Wake dropped her neighbors’ hands, and with her palms face-out, thrust her candle toward the center of the lake.
At her right side, Professor Tittelbaum twirled his left hand, and a smaller candle, this one with a bright purple flame, appeared. “I offer those dead before us my light.”
It went on like this, down the line of professors and staff. Then the third years and second years had their turn, before the words ended with my class.
I inhaled a shaky breath. Conjuring had never been my strongest subject, although I was far better at it now than I had been weeks ago. Still, I didn’t want to mess this up. I didn’t want to disrespect the dead, especially since some of them might be dead in my place.
At my side, Eva spoke the general conjuring spell, and a sunshine yellow candle with a bright blue flame appeared. She pressed the offering out to hover in the center of the lake with the hundreds of other flames already there, lighting up the ice below. She turned to me.
“I offer those who have perished before us my light.” I closed my eyes, and the faces of Tabitha, Efraim, and Thor flashed in my head. The pit in my stomach expanded, but instead of allowing the sorrow to consume me, I harnessed it. “Pario,” I said and envisioned a simple white candle as clearly as I could, even imagining the flame’s heat on my face.
A few murmurs flew up and down the line.
“Odie, look,” Alex whispered.
I opened my eyes, and jerked back.
Before me was notonecandle, as I’d intended, but a sea of them, all on the small side with white bottoms and a bright fuchsia flame.
All mine. My penance. My prayer. My hope that I could somehow change the future.
A tear slid down my cheek, and without hesitation, I swept the candles toward the center of the lake, giving my offering to anyone who would have it.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
“The largest vampire clan in the United States is Clan Nightblood.” Professor Artibus pointed to a spot on the map outside of New York City. “Nightblood’s headquarters are here. And like many of the clans, Nightblood has historically been wary of aligning themselves with humans.”
Vampires. Always looking out for number one.I shook my head.
“Clan Nightblood has been behind some of the most horrific terrorist acts in the modern century.”
Words began to appear on the whiteboard in Artibus’ tiny, scrawling script. I leaned forward to read the writing, and my mouth fell open.
Nightblood was behind all those attacks? Why didn’t we learned about them sooner?
“I’m sure many of you are wondering why I didn’t open with Nightblood, back when term started in July. Why would I save such a dangerous clan until mid-April?”
