Page 120 of Witch Unexpected
The platform stretched out before me, lit by floating candles that didn’t flicker in the breeze. Hecate’s statue glowed softly with silver light where the symbols had been activated by the light of a moon so large and round it looked like someone had lassoed it and dragged it closer to the world.
This was the blood moon.
The elder witches stood around the statue, dressed in their creepy-ass robes, and in the center were Charlotte and Anna. Charlotte looked small and pale compared to the plumper, sturdier figure of Anna. She looked breakable and…frightened.
I caught sight of Sten, Arne, and Toke standing just outside the circle of elders. Their expressions were in shadow, but the tension radiating off them was a palpable force. They were worried too. Worried about what might happen once this ceremony was over.
Leif, Rune, and Tor stood closest to the door I’d just come through, but no one had noticed me yet.
Bramble stopped and jerked her head toward the statue. “You’re up, Cora.”
I stepped out of the shadows and slipped past the elder witches to get to Anna, and all eyes were suddenly on me. My pulse quickened as the power emanating from the statue kissed my skin.
“Are you ready, Cora?” Anna asked.
“What do I have to do?”
“You both place your palms on the statue. Hecate will transfer the anchorship to you and free Charlotte from her responsibility and the binding.”
Charlotte closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
I glanced over her shoulder at her guys, the three men she was in love with and might lose.
“It’ll be okay.”
Her jaw ticked, but she nodded and placed her hand on the statue. The symbols began to pulse.
“Now you, Cora,” Anna said.
I looked back at Leif, Rune, and Tor. Leif smiled encouragingly. Tor inclined his head and Rune chuffed as if to say, get on with it so we can go home and eat.
Weird how I understood that so clearly.
I took a deep breath and reached for the statue.
* * *
SLOANE
“All clear,” Brie reports through the comm.
The gargoyles did a perimeter check before they left for their annual holiday. The blood moon is the only time they leave the mansion, and no one knows where the fuck they go. I’ve tried to find out over the years. No luck. Doesn’t matter. They’re the second line of defense. The wards are the first.
“Clear,” Poppy confirms.
“All fucking clear,” Jessie said. “I dunno why we need to do this shit. It’s not like anyone can get onto the grounds without the wards being tripped.”
I can’t help but smile at her sour tone. “Protocol. Heard of it?”
“You can’t see it, but I’m giving you the finger.”
She’s a fucking moany cow, but her heart is huge. Brie may be my second, but only because Jessie never wanted the position. She hates too much responsibility, and honestly, I sometimes wonder if she really wants to be here.
“You clear?” Brie asks me.
“Almost, just got to check the sublevel real quick.”
“Fucksake, Sloane, there’s hardly likely to be an intruder down there.”
