For only two people, this seems like a ton of stuff. What the hell goes on in this branding ceremony? There are five bags, but to be honest a couple smell like they could be her clothes, and four plastic totes of stuff that are not light, even with our strength.
“Perfect!” We both jump. Where in the hell did she come from and how did we not hear her? “Not to worry, I use a silencing spell. You will never hear me coming.” She basically reads my mind.
I look over at her and she winks, tapping her nose. Did she just confirm my thoughts? Now I have to be careful what I let fly through my thoughts and that isn’t always easy.
“Let’s begin setting up. I think you girls have waited long enough. I’m here now and no one else can delay this process. It is meant to be and must happen now, before time runs out.” Well that was cryptic. Mina says over the mind link.
Might as well talk out loud, I think she can read our minds or hear our thoughts. Whatever it is, there is probably no way to keep secrets from her. I responded.
“You are a smart one.” She looks at me. “You both are and you both are very important. I have spoken to Nickolas and we will begin shortly. He is not a part of the ceremony, but he will be standing guard. Both of you will be vulnerable for a few hours while the spell works. This takes time even without all of the fluff your elders seem to think necessary.”
We both just nod and wait anxiously for directions.
Without words, the witch, who still has not said her name, hands us different items from the boxes and points to different locations of the room. She is consulting, what I think is a compass and some kind of chart while she does all of this.
There are candles everywhere, all different shapes and sizes. Many of them look handmade and have leaves, flowers and herbs mixed into the wax. Some look like they have been used many times, others are brand new.
We have drawn a large circle onto the wood floor with a white substance that is the consistency of flour or crushed up chalk. I’m not sure. In the center of the circle is a small metal bowl on three legs, like a min fire pit, if the smoke smell coming off of it is an indicator.
There are small clumps of different materials from outside.
Dirt, rocks, moss, dried flowers, gemstones in all sorts of colors.
“We are ready to begin.” She finally says after hours of setting up and adjusting the things around the room.
She waves her hand and all the candles light at once. My eyes go wide and I can feel my jaw drop open. It’s the first’ magical’ thing she has done all day. I wonder if she could have set all this up in ten minutes with magic, instead of the painstaking manual set up we did.
“Of course child, but no one appreciates the things that come too easy. You must first understand what things are for, where they come from and how to obtain them properly to truly appreciate what you have.” And she at least confirmed that she can, in fact, read minds. “Please step into the circle ladies.”
We both step forward looking at each other, not sure what to expect since this is the most she has said all day. The only other instruction we were given was to change into a black sports bra and shorts, like at training, and pull our hair back.
Our faces illuminated by the flickering light of candles. A sense of reverence and anticipation fills the air. The witch steps forward, as close to the circle as she can be without stepping over the line. Another wave of her hand and the herbs in the fire pit between Mina and I lights. I jump a little at the sudden spark and heat, but I don’t move from my position.
