“Right, well, to put it simply, when Lennox first died, our tether did too. When she came back, it returned as well. However this last time, the tether hasn’t snapped back into place like before. We’re hoping you can help us figure out what happened.”
They nod and Alora’s eyes grow speculative.
“Tethers are a very strong and yet very fragile connection. While in place and healthy, it combines magic, strengthens it, gives each participant access to the other’s emotions and sometimes even thoughts. A tether is designed to fortify and bolster our power when used and nurtured correctly,” Harmony explains, and Rogan and I both nod our understanding.
“The fact that the tether came back after the first death, is a testament to how strong it must have been. But I suspect it didn’t return after the second time because the magic doesn’t work that way,” Alora adds.
“When magic dies, which happens when there isn’t a genetic relative to carry on the line, the promises and vows connected to that magic die as well. Now obviously your situation is different, the magic doesn’t move on, because it’s still tied to you, knowing somehow that you will come back. But I suspect the tether is simply behaving like a tether would when part of the connection passes away,” Dave states evenly and simply.
“So it’s gone?” I ask, surprised by how sad and worried this makes me feel. “I mean, I still feel it, at least I think I do, it’s just not working like it normally does,” I explain awkwardly.
“We can absolutely test your magic and confirm one way or another. The fact that you can still feel the tether is a good sign, but regardless of what the tests tell us, there are solutions and things you can do to repair or strengthen a tether, so I don’t want either of you to worry, but first let’s see what we’re dealing with,” Alora tells us, her tone positive and reassuring, and I immediately feel like I can take a deep breath.
Okay, this is good. They can help us fix this, and we can go back to the way things were.
Alora starts to pour things into the large stone bowl, and I’m transfixed by her steady hand and the knowledgeable gleam in her eye. I’ve never seen a Soul Witch work, and I’m fascinated to see what she does and why. Vials are unstoppered, and drops of this and that are mixed into what I’m pretty sure is moon water—or at least that’s what the bottle says. I try to track the other ingredients and link them back with what I know about them, but Alora moves so fast I eventually give up and just enjoy the show.
She reaches out her hand, palm up, and Rogan must have done whatever this is before, because he immediately places his large hand in hers, also palm up. I watch as Alora reaches for the stem of thorns and, with practiced ease, flicks it down against the pad of Rogan’s finger. He turns his hand, and three drops of blood make it into the stone bowl before he flips his palm back over.
Alora then pierces his palm with the thorns, giving him a small scratch this time on the meaty part of his hand where his thumb connects. This time, only one drop of blood is added to join the others. With that, Rogan pulls his hand back, and all three Soul Witches then lean over the bowl, whispering an incantation about revelation, power, dispersal and guidance from the earth mother as well as The Mother, who is often mentioned in reference to fertility, abundance, and growth.
“Ahh, yes, the blood magic is incredibly strong, look how it consumes the pomegranate seed,” Dave points out, gesturing for me to look into the bowl and see what he’s saying.
I do, and I’m surprised to see Rogan’s blood, as well as other things, appearing separate within the contents of the bowl. It’s like looking at droplets of oil in water.
“This white substance is bone milk,” Dave explains. “See how it’s being pulled closer by the blood. It shows there’s a draw there, a connection, but it’s weak, just like you were saying it felt like.
“That’s cool,” I exclaim, watching the blood float in the middle of the bowl.
“The ivy stem leans toward Rogan’s essence too, you’ll notice, and that’s because there’s traces of soul magic in his line even though Rogan isn’t a carrier of that magic,” Harmony tells me, and sure enough, the little vine twitches like it wants to go to Rogan’s blood but is playing hard to get.
“We can see that Rogan is wise and pure of heart, because the lavender oil circles the blood,” Alora declares. “Coriander seeds float at the top, which is an indication of long life,” she adds, and both Rogan and I snort at that. “I don’t see anything that would make me think the tether is damaged beyond repair,” she adds, and then she grabs the wooden spoon and scoops out Rogan’s blood and spoons it into an empty glass container, like that’s that.
Alora extends her hand again, and this time I know it’s my turn. I place my hand in hers, watching as she grabs the other end of the stem of thorns and flicks it down against my pointer finger. I’m surprised that it doesn’t hurt. I’m also surprised by Alora’s lightning fast hands; she moves the stem so quickly and accurately that only the tip of one thorn catches me. I don’t have soul magic, but I suddenly want to learn how she did that without pricking herself too.
Like the observant witch I’ve been, I turn my hand and let three drops of blood plop into the moon water. Then Alora scratches my palm, and I add one more drop into the mix. Once again, we all lean over the bowl to see what happens.
My blood immediately soaks up all the bone milk, and the pomegranate seed zips toward my essence next. There’s a small branch that looks like it’s two twigs that have been twisted together, and for some reason, that rises from the bottom of the bowl. It touches my blood, and then strangely, the blood starts to swirl in the middle of the moon water like it’s creating a mini tornado. Everything in the bowl zips into the center, and gasps ring out all around me.
I look up, confused, and three sets of wide, shocked eyes take me in carefully.
“What happened?” I ask, but it’s more of a panicked squawk than anything else.
“Oh honey, I was just about to ask you the same thing,” Harmony coos at me, and my brow furrows at the sympathy I see in her face.
“How is that possible?” Rogan asks, his eyes suddenly haunted, and Alora looks from him to me.
“What?” I demand again, and her dark gray eyes soften.
She leans forward, her gaze suddenly filled with warm concern as she stacks her hands in front of her demurely.
“You have demon markers in your blood, Lennox.”
20
“Iwhat?” I snap, completely taken aback by Alora’s declaration.
“It’s okay, Lennox, there’s no need to panic, just calm down and we’ll figure this out,” Rogan tells me softly, and I glare at him.
