Page 29 of The 13th Daughter
The purple candle flared to life.
Lights, like hundreds of fireflies, appeared around Megan and she stood, tall and proud, as they swirled around her. The circle closed and the flames of all five candles shot at least ten feet into the air. I felt a rush of power as the circle closed. It spread outward and settled into...me. I twitched as it coursed through my body. My legs gave out as it pushed into me. Ethan grabbed me before I fell. No one else seemed to notice, thankfully, as all eyes were on Megan. He wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me into his side, his gaze questioning. I shook my head at him and motioned to Megan.
"The Elements have decreed you worthy for entrance into our craft, Megan Allison Parker," Kay told her formally. "We welcome you into the field of apprenticeship."
"I thank thee for the welcome, Mistress, and pledge to honor the creed of our Coven," Megan replied, barely able to suppress the grin that kept trying to explode.
"Spirit, Water, Fire, Air, and Earth, we thank all of thee for thy service,"Kay stretched out her hands."You may leave these circles."
Again, there was a large pop as the circle broke and it almost knocked me to my knees. Ethan's arm around me kept me from falling. This was so not good.
"Are you okay?" he whispered against my ear.
"No," I whispered back. No point in lying. He knew I wasn't okay.
Kay's face changed into an expression of joy. "I present thee, Megan Allison Parker, to the Coven. Friends, please join me in welcoming our newest member."
The crowd converged on them. Ethan and I stayed where we were. He looked concerned. I wanted to run. Instead, I took deep breaths and felt the strength creep back into my legs. After a few minutes, I was able to stand again. I pulled away from Ethan just to test myself. Good, no falling down.
"Better?" he asked, his gray eyes burning with worry.
"Yes, thank you."
"What happened to you, Cassie?"
"Here, you are!" Kay grabbed my hand and pulled me along with her. I tossed Ethan a helpless look and he stared after me, worried. "So, what did you think?"
"It was interesting."
She stopped and turned to stare at me in amazement. "Interesting? Is that all you can say?"
"Kay, I'm not about to convert after seeing one ceremony," I told her. I knew by the look on her face she'd half expected that. I also knew how important the Coven was to her so I tried to soothe her. "The ceremony was really beautiful and whatever trick you used to make the candles shoot up like that was wicked cool."
"It wasn't a trick, CJ," she told me quietly. "It was the Elements accepting Megan. The flames gave them a voice."
I frowned at her. I'd needed it to be a simple trick. That way I could explain away everything I'd seen.
"And I don't expect you to convert, not really," she smiled half-heartedly. "I know you need time. You have to think things to death before you make a decision."
"Hey!"
"But I count on that, CJ." She hooked her arm in mine. "If you didn't over think things, we'd both be SOL. I'm glad you're the way you are, and that you're my best friend even if you don't believe in all this nonsense."
"Yeah, well, I don't think anyone else would put up with either one of us for long," I laughed. "So, I guess we're stuck with each other."
"Speaking of stuck with each other..."
I rolled my eyes. I knew where this was going.
"Tell me what's going on with you and Ethan." She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.
I laughed. "That's not going on."
She sighed wearily. "Have I taught you nothing?"
"I barely know him."
"You know him well enough to be kissing him on your front porch."
