Chapter One
Elizabeth—Seven Years Ago
I woke and lay there for a few seconds before opening my eyes. The air was filled with the fresh scents of spring and I felt my lips curving into a lazy smile.
“Child, you must rise now.”
My eyes flew open. An ancient-looking woman with piercing blue eyes and white hair trailing down her back stood right beside where I lay, staring at me.
“Oh, my God,” I said. I sat up quickly and wrapped my arms around myself. A rough texture rubbed against my skin and I looked down to see that I was wearing some kind of homespun robe. My mouth went dry and my heart skipped a beat.
The woman laughed. “I’m not your god,” she said.
I started to tremble and shake.
“Where am I? How… how did I get here?” I glanced around in shock. I was in some kind of hut, with no door. Outside, the trees were lush and verdant. It looked like the middle of summer.
I shivered.
The woman didn’t answer. She stepped closer and cocked her head to the side. “Yes… yes, you’ll do,” she said. “I admit I had my doubts, but yes, this should work.”
“What are you talking about?” I shook with fear as I spoke. I reached for the rough blanket over me and wrapped it snugly around my body.
“Child, you couldn’t possibly have caught a chill,” the woman said. She shook her head. “Tis eternal summer.”
I blinked at her. What the heck is going on. I bit my lip, sneaking furtive glances around. The last thing I remember… fuck! What happened?
“Your friend has delivered you to the coven,” the woman said. “I’m Ligeia—I’m the High Priestess.”
I shivered, but my fear slowly ebbed.
“I know,” I said. I hadn’t known—at least, not until she’d told me. But somehow, deep down, I’d known, like an instinct.
“Come, child,” Ligeia said. “There is much to do.”
When I crawled out of bed, I realized my joints were stiff and ached.
“Where’s Monica?”
Ligeia didn’t reply. She put her wizened hands on my shoulders and guided me to the stone hearth. A small black cauldron boiled, and the air closer to the fire smelled bitter, spicy, and herbaceous.
“Give me your hand, child,” Ligeia said. Without waiting for my consent, she took my hand and turned it palm up, studying the fine lines and wrinkles.
When she didn’t speak for a few seconds, I felt nervous.
“What are you looking for?” I asked, feeling dumb.
Ligeia tossed her white hair over one bony shoulder. “I cannot say.”
I narrowed my eyes. Before I could reply, Ligeia pulled a knife from the folds of her robes. I gasped—it was identical to the knife that Monica and I’d found in the woods by her house, months ago. The morning after that disastrous party. I shivered. That seems like such a long time ago.
Ligeia sliced the air with the knife, closing her eyes dramatically and inhaling the steam from the cauldron. Then she gripped my hand tighter than before. She sliced my palm with the knife, then squeezed the ripped flesh and flipped my hand upside down over the fire. I gasped in pain as blood dripped from my palm. When it landed against the hot fireplace, it sizzled. The air was filled with the smell of iron and meat and I coughed, closing my eyes. Still, Ligeia kept a firm grip on my hand.
“The pain will pass, child,” Ligeia said. She finally released me and I snapped my arm back, cradling it against my chest.
“Ouch,” I mumbled. “What the heck was that for?”
Ligeia didn’t answer—I got the feeling that she only spoke when it amused her to do so. She rose from her kneeling position, then walked over to a small table and smashed something green with a mortar and pestle. For a few moments, the hut was filled with the sound of Ligeia scraping the herbs to a fine pulp. When she was finished, she poured the herbs into her hand and walked over to me.
“Give me your hand,” Ligeia said. Again, she took my wrist before I was ready to consent. As she rubbed the herbal mixture into the cut on my palm, I squirmed and twisted.
“It doesn’t hurt,” Ligeia said, obviously annoyed. “Come, child. Tell me—are you really in pain?”
I looked down at my oozing wound, ready to say yes. But then I realized she was absolutely right—somehow, the pain had completely vanished. I couldn’t believe my eyes—my skin had sealed itself back together in a matter of seconds.
“What… how… what happened?” I gasped, clutching my hand. “How did you do that?”
Ligeia’s lips curled into a faint smile.
“Come,” she said. “As I said, there is much to do.”
Ligeia led me out of the small hut and into a clearing filled with lush, soft grass. She pointed at the ground.
“Sit,” Ligeia said. “The others will arrive shortly.”
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, trying to relax. The ordeal in the hut hadn’t been that bad—but what if that was just the beginning? I shivered as I realized that I’d never once asked Monica exactly what kind of things would happen if the coven decided to initiate me.
I’m sure she wouldn’t have brought me anywhere dangerous. I glanced around, trying to see my best friend. I mean, she wouldn’t have done that. Right?
Still, I didn’t feel much calmer. Ligeia and I sat together in silence. She crossed her legs under her robes and cocked her head to the side.
“Tell me, child, how many years are you?”
“Fifteen,” I said nervously. “Same as Monica.”
Ligeia nodded slowly. “She is elder,” she said.
“Not by much,” I said quickly. “Just a couple of months.”
“I don’t mean in age,” Ligeia replied. “Monica is a serious soul.”
“I know.”
It felt strange to be discussing my best friend with someone I’d never met. I couldn’t help but feel a pang of jealousy—did Ligeia know Monica better than I? Did Monica prefer being with the coven to being at home? Before all of this crazy stuff had started happening, I would’ve thought Monica was one of the most well-adjusted people I’d ever met.
But now I seriously wondered.
“The others are arriving,” Ligeia said in a low voice.
I glanced around, twisting and craning my neck. “I don’t see anyone.”
“Hush,” Ligeia said sternly. “Close your eyes. Open your mind. Listen.”
Frowning, I closed my eyes and tried to listen. I felt like an idiot sitting there, rolling my head on my neck. But then, I heard the faint but unmistakable sound of footsteps crunching through the woods. My heart skipped a beat and I shivered.
The low sound of chanting filled my ears and goose flesh broke out all over my body. Soon, I could feel the air swishing from the motions of the others.
“Now, child, open your eyes,” Ligeia said. “But don’t move until I instruct you.”
I opened my eyes and gasped. An old man—he looked ancient, at least as old as Ligeia—with wrinkled skin and dark eyes stood directly in front of me. Ligeia stood and the man kneeled at the ground, kissing her through her robes right where her pelvis would be.
“Priestess,” the man whispered. Ligeia closed her eyes, tilted her head back, and placed her hand on the top of his white head. They stood like that together, frozen in time and space, for such a long time that I started to wonder whether or not they were actually breathing. Then the moment broke. Ligeia pulled her hand back to her side and the man climbed to his feet.
I’d been so busy staring at the weird little display that I hadn’t noticed multiple other people filter into the clearing. They were all clad in black robes, with hoods covering their heads. They formed a loose circle around me. I tried to look for Monica, but she was nowhere in sight.
Ligeia beckoned to me. “Come, child,” she said.
I stood and walked over to her on two unsteady legs. Ligeia pulled at the rough homespun material of my robe, pulling it over my head and tossing it to the ground. I cried out, covering my body with both hands in an attempt to shield my breasts and pubic triangle.
“Like this,” Ligeia said. She took my hands and pressed them down at my sides. My face burned with shame and embarrassment. I couldn’t see the faces of the robed people, but being naked while everyone else was still clothed made me deeply uncomfortable. I groaned under my breath.
“Come, Henrik,” Ligeia said to the old man. He stepped forward and I gasped when I saw that he carried a wooden bowl full of thick, red liquid.
Ligeia dipped the point of her knife into the liquid, then pressed it lightly to my skin. I cried out, thinking that she meant to cut. But the blade of the knife almost tickled as she dragged it in light lines over my naked, quivering belly. I shook with fear as she traced a symbol in red on my pale skin.
“The pentagram represents us, child,” Ligeia said calmly. “The elements of the earth—that is from where we draw our strength. We must never harm the earth, we must never anger the Goddess.”
I glanced down. There was a five-pointed star painted in dripping paint on my belly. When I breathed, the points of the star quivered and shook.
Ligeia touched one of my shoulders with the blade of her knife, lying it against my skin. I squirmed—the sharp edge of the blade was now dangerously close to my neck—but Ligeia pressed the flat blade firmly into my skin.
“You must swear your loyalty,” Ligeia said. “You must swear to obey the coven, to obey the earth.”
I nodded.
“Say it, child.”
“I’ll obey,” I said in a shaky voice. “I’ll be forever loyal to the coven.”
This time, my answer seemed to satisfy Ligeia. She tucked the knife away. It still felt strange to be standing there naked, but oddly I felt myself relaxing—almost as if I’d taken some kind of a powerful drug.
Henrik, the old man, waved his hand through the air. As if on perfect cue, the robed people began to chant and sway. They moved in a slow circle around me, joining hands and moving rhythmically back and forth as they sang in a low, dull tone that filled me with dread.
My mind slipped away and soon, it was a struggle to stay standing with my eyes open. Ligeia’s blue eyes flashed and she stepped forward, handing me an earthenware mug filled with a potent-smelling brew.
“Drink, child. Drink until the mug is emptied.”
I swallowed nervously as Ligeia held the cup to my lips. At first, I couldn’t taste anything. Then a bitter, unpleasant shock exploded in my mouth and I shuddered. I choked on the liquid but Ligeia pinched my nose with two fingers and tilted my head back, forcing the liquid into my mouth and down my throat. When it was done, I felt like my whole digestive system was on fire. Tears filled my eyes and I coughed, choking hard when Ligeia took the mug away.
“Sleep, now,” Ligeia said. She waved her hand over my face. Like magic, I dropped to the ground and curled up in the soft grass. My vision grew hazy and it was a struggle to keep my eyes open. The robed people still chanted and sung, and it seemed like the sounds blurred together as I curled my arms around my legs.
That was the last thing I remember before I fell asleep.
---
When I woke, my head ached and my limbs felt swollen and sore. Everything hurt. My nose, my cheeks, my lips—even my eyelashes seemed to ache with every throb of my heartbeat. I lay in bed, in the hut, but this time it was dark. The hut was filled with a warm, smoky, almost sweet smell.
“Child, you’ve awakened,” Ligeia said.
I stared at her. “I feel awful,” I mumbled. “God, I think I’m gonna throw up.”
Ligeia nodded. “It’s a side effect,” she said.
“Of what?” Trying to think back was like wading through a fog. “What did… was that drink drugged?”
Ligeia smiled faintly, but she didn’t reply.
“What the hell?” I said.
“You did promise your loyalty.”
Fuck.
I nodded. “Right,” I said. “Look, is Monica here? I want to talk to her.”
Ligeia didn’t reply. “How are you feeling?”
“I told you, I feel fucking terrible,” I said in exasperation. “What’s going on? What did you do to me?”
“We initiated you,” Ligeia said. She raised an eyebrow and for a second, I had the oddest feeling that she was judging me.
“Obviously,” I snapped.
“Soon you’ll return to your world; you’ve been gone a long time,” Ligeia said.
“And then what?” I narrowed my eyes. “Look… I wanted to join because I thought I could help, you know, with Jaffrey,” I said. “How am I supposed to do anything if I’m not even here?”
“We’ll summon you when you’re needed,” Ligeia said.
“But I won’t be able to come back on my own?”
Ligeia shook her head. “No,” she said. “You’ll only be able to find the coven on your own after you become much more powerful.”
“But how am I supposed to become more powerful if you send me away?”
Ligeia gave me an odd look. “What is it with you children now?” she said. “So argumentative. Are you no longer instructed to obey your elders?”
I blushed.
“Just trust me, child,” Ligeia said. “Henrik and I are much older, and much wiser. We know that what we’re doing is for the best of everyone involved.”
I blinked. “Things are so… bad at home,” I said softly. “I can’t go back there. What if something happens to me and I can’t get back? Or what if something happens to Monica?”
“Trust me, child,” Ligeia said. “I won’t allow anything to go wrong.”
But things are already going wrong. I thought back to the terror that had suddenly become my hometown. Things are much worse than I ever could have imagined.
“I know, you don’t believe me,” Ligeia said.
“Stop reading my mind,” I snapped.
Ligeia tutted. Just as I was about to say something else, she clapped her hands three times. The room was filled with an inky, dark smoke that filled my senses and made me cough.
“Ligeia,” I cried loudly. “I can’t breathe! Help!”
The smoke only grew more intense and soon, all I could see were swirls of black in front of my eyes. I felt strange, like my stomach was about to drop out of my body, and when I reached out to steady myself, my hands only groped air.
The smoke faded but the weird sensation in my belly grew stronger and stronger. I cried out for help, desperately trying to anchor myself to the ground but then I realized I was falling.
When the smoke finally cleared, I landed hard on something soft and firm.
I gasped.
I was no longer in the woods.
I was in my bed.