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Nia whined beside me, sensing the wolf as it surrounded me.

I opened my eyes—eyes that I instinctively knew were now blue—and Nia ran in a circle around my feet. Despite my riot of nerves, I laughed. It was impossible to ignore the exhilaration of the transformation firing through my synapses, the feeling of the wolf’s strength pulsing through my veins and muscles.

I took off, sprinting into the forest, Nia at my side. My running shoes hit the packed earth, and I dug deep. My eyes were clear, sharper than ever before. I could easily scan the woods around me as we ran at full speed, darting around trees, jumping over dead logs, a small creek, running faster with every second. I’d always jogged, stayed fit; it had come naturally to me my whole life, but this was on a whole new level.

The scent of the forest grew heavier, and my skin buzzed and tingled, a sense of rightness filling me, making me smile with a kind of joy I never knew existed until this part of my magic became fully realized.

A part of me that had made me whole when I hadn’t even realized something was missing.

The scent of demon reached me, but it wasn’t close. My plan was working. They were staying away, avoiding the wolf they sensed nearby.

Oh goddess, this is actually going to work.

Nia stayed close and alert at my side. She growled a little when she scented the demons as well and veered to the right, as I did, moving farther away from them.

The clearing was close; I could feel its vibrations. My nerves grew.

There.

It loomed ahead.

We made it to the edge of the clearing and I crouched by Nia. “You must stay, Nia, yes?”

Nia stay.

“That’s my good girl.” I rubbed her head. “When the serpent’s gone, you can come to me. But if I’m hurt and the demons come, more demons than you can fight…that’s more than one.” I held up one finger. “Nia, you must run for help. And if I stop breathing, you must run away as fast as you can, run home, don’t let any demons come near you, okay?”

Nia will protect Iris.

“No, Nia will go to safety.”

She growled low and pawed at the ground, not wanting to do as I said, but good girl that she was, finding it hard to disobey to me. She moved restlessly, struggling to stay in place as I stood, to hold herself back. Nia was sweet, but she was my familiar and could be vicious if I was threatened. Nia could save my life tonight, if it came to that, but she could also lose her own if she was outnumbered. Leaving her at home wasn’t an option because I needed backup, but I had to make sure she would obey my command. I couldn’t bear for anything to happen to her. My heart wouldn’t survive it.

“Stay, Nia,” I said, making my voice firm, unyielding.

She growled again but agreed. Nia stay.

I crouched back down, kissed the top of her furry head, and, releasing the wolf surrounding me, walked out into the clearing.

The night was starless, with low clouds making the sky look like a yawning nothingness. The moon had been peeking through on and off all night, and as I reached the middle of the clearing, it made another appearance.

I glanced back. Nia’s eyes shone from her spot at the tree line, focused on me. I turned back to the ring of small stones on the ground and held out my hand, muttering the spell to summon fire as was expected. It instantly ignited, and I quickly stripped off my clothes.

Our coven often used blood to spell, and I took the small jewel-handled blade Mom had given me when I turned thirteen and made a slice in my thigh. Blood instantly bubbled to the surface and ran down the side of my leg, soaking into the soil. I pressed my bare toes deeper, tossed the knife aside, closed my eyes, and raised my arms.

“Guide me, old ones. I am your servant, the Keeper’s sister chosen to fulfill the rite of Coven Thornheart.” Wind came out of nowhere, blowing faster and faster, carrying dried leaves and small twigs, battering against my naked body. “I’m here to accept my task. Whatever you ask, I will undertake.”

The wind increased, whipping around me, and I gasped for breath when the power the mother brought reached not only flesh and bone but went soul-deep. My soul felt her. The Great Goddess, her power, her greatness, her darkness, and her light.

Then I heard it, a rattling sound that could only be one thing.

I kept my eyes closed. The mother would tell me when I could look at her. Something scraped across my thigh, rough and oily, followed by the tickle of what had to be her forked tongue across my skin, tasting my blood. Making sure I was the witch she’d summoned here.

Look at me, child.

Her voice flowed through me, and as much as I didn’t want to, I forced myself to do as she bid and barely managed to hold in my gasp when I finally got a look at her.

Nothing could have prepared me for the sight. The mother didn’t have a corporeal form, she was everywhere, at all times, so when she needed to get up close and personal with someone, she chose to inhabit her pet serpent.