Page 85 of Anywhere

Blood flowed freely from the wound, and the shallow lines on the table filled with the red liquid. It spread out until the entire pentagram that was in the same position as the one on the floor was filled. Lifting my hand, I held it over the flame of the nearest candle, and much like the one in the outer chamber, the flame roared through the middle of my palm. The colour shifted from a golden hue to a bright green. When it subsided, my skin was once more unmarred.

Those who were gathered chanted and swayed slightly as their hands opened a gap at the top of their cloaks, showing off their family’s tattooed crest over their right pectoral muscle. The individual snakes that had been waiting patiently near the walls slithered forward and slipped into the large circular groove of the pentagram carved into the stone floor. They moved into position until they touched nose to tail.

The power ignited.

The circle began to shimmer and glow softly, which added to the hypotonic feel that washed over the room. I could feel the magic building in my chest like a chorus of a choir coming to their crescendo. The snakes took their cue in the chanting to break away from the circle and wrap themselves around the legs of their chosen. They moved in unison, spiralling their way up until they draped their long bodies upon their masters’ shoulders, and the sound of their hisses became one with the men.

Holding out my arm, my snake, which had not been with the others, peeled itself out of the tattoo on my arm. The wide king cobra head flaring out as it made its way up my arm to sit on my shoulders. The weight pressed down on my neck. With its massive girth, it was the king of the bunch. The large snakes hissed, the sound drowning out our chanting. My snake moved until it looked me in the eyes, its silver depths the same colour as my own. Its mouth dropped open to show off the fangs that were as long as my finger.

“Yes, the time be now,” I said.

With quick accuracy, all the snakes struck and sank their fangs into the symbol on our chests. I sucked in a sharp breath as the sharp fangs disappeared into my skin and sank deep into my body to pierce my heart. We were immune to the poison of our own snake, but they were deadly to anyone else.

“May our voices be heard,” I yelled, as I picked up the candle and touched the flame to the centre of the blood on the slab and watched it ignite as surely as if it were dry kindling. “May our voices summon ya,” I said. “May yer wisdom guide us, and may we find da answers we seek.”

The flame swirled in a circle as it moved around the marble pentagram. The candles on the floor streamed upward until the bright orange turned white and blue with the extreme heat and touched the stone ceiling. Shadows danced along the walls, and as they did, so did our ancestors. I could see the wisps turning into bodies and faces that I recognized and others that I did not.

“Who wishes ta speak this night?” I asked, and it was Gregory who stepped forward. He lifted his head from the bowed position, and his blue eyes glowed an unearthly shade as the spirit inhabited his body.

“I do,” his voice was coarse and didn’t sound like Gregory, but I didn’t know who we were speaking to yet.

“Aye, an’ who are you?” I asked.

This had never been something we’d done in the past, but the odd, pesky spirit from another realm would sometimes end up in our call.

“Norris Kelly,” came the reply.

Bowing my head, I picked up the silver chalice with liquid ayahuasca potion and added a splash of red wine to hand over.

“Thank you fir answerin’ my summon, ancestor Norris Kelly,” I said.

Gregory’s hand reached for the chalice. He used a knife to pierce the tip of his finger, allowing a droplet to fall in before drinking a sip and passing it back. I took the chalice to the next in line, and one person at a time, they each took a sip and passed it on until the chalice made its way back to me. I was the last to take a sip, and then I returned it to the dais.

Those standing around the circle resumed their chant, but it came out as a hushed whisper as Gregory’s eyes glowed even brighter until they were impossible to stare at.

“Do you know why we ‘ave come and why we seek yer guidance?” I asked.

“I do.”

“Please, ancestor Norris Kelly, tell us who it be that attacks da Faction?”

“Dey be hidden from our sight,” the spirit replied. His answer confused me. Who could hide themselves from the spirits?

“What do ya suggest we do?”

“Protect da water. Da veins are da source of all power. Sacrifice dose dat no stand wit ya, and their blood will aid in yer enemy’s demise. Collect dose wit power like rare gems. Beware of the snake that looks like the others, but its skin be a different shade. By da time da air turns from ice ta fresh wit flowers, another will join us.”

My skin prickled. Were they talking about me? Was that all I had left? A few months at most? Or were they talking about Rook or Elewyen? Shite, were they even talking about us, or someone else entirely. I hated cryptic messages.

“Is da Faction in immediate danger?”

“Aye, da future of da Faction lays heavy.”

“Am I in danger?”

“Yer life always be in da balance. Just some days, ya step on the rope with fire underneath, and other times on stone where the blood of others lies.”

Okay, I really hated the mysteriousness with which they always gave their answers. That was the one thing that was terrible about asking the spirits for guidance. Their messages were always accurate if you could figure them out. It was like trying to decipher a complex puzzle that was always missing the final piece.