Chapter 16

CHAPTER 16

I almost forgot it is the full moon tonight. The spell is done, so I can free Phrixius from my binding spell. Why am I sad? We were bonding and getting along, but he's a god, not a pet. My demon is still out hunting, and I hope he's okay. The silence is way too loud without him, but I don't focus too much on that.

Instead, I hoist my bag with everything I need higher and smile at Phrixius. "I'll be back." I don't tell him where I'm going in case it doesn't work and he's still trapped. I don't want to get his hopes up. I don't think I could handle him being disappointed in me.

He nods with a soft smile and returns to lounging and reading his book. I take one last look at the beautiful god before leaving my cave. I remind myself he's not mine. I'm not collecting supernatural beings. Phrixius is an immortal being more powerful than nearly every other creature in this world. He cannot stay with a lowly witch just because I like him.

He's funny, cute, smart, and a good listener. Did I mention he's cute?

Oh well, at least I still have my demon, wherever he is.

It's probably good he's not here tonight. He would mess with the spell and we'd end up doing something worse, so I resign myself to doing this alone and head through coven grounds and out the blood circle. I don't want any other magic messing with what I'm about to cast, so to be sure, I head a good distance from coven lands and sit atop a nice hill overlooking nature. The moon is full, its light spilling across the grass and me.

For a moment, I just soak in the beauty of nature, looking up at the moon I'll never be able to look at again without thinking of Phrixius. That saddens me a little, even as it reassures me that I'll still have it when he's gone. I'll be nothing but a note in the history of his life, but for me, he'll be a whole chapter in mine.

Sighing, I open my bag and begin to set out the casting circle I need. I add the candles and tree branch, careful with their placement, then I add the herbs and oils. Once that's done, I cleanse myself before stepping inside and kneeling before the bowl of bubbling liquid.

Despite its appearance, I know it's cold to the touch, and I submerge my hands inside, closing my eyes as I push my intention into the spell.

Freedom. I want freedom.

I want the chains unleashed and the bindings to break.

I repeat it like a mantra, over and over, as I sit under the full moon.

Opening my eyes, I tug my hands free and produce a small ceremonial dagger then slice my thumb, letting the blood flow in the moonlight.

I add my blood since the binding is linked to me, so it should free him for sure. I watch it drip into the bowl as I repeat my incantation.

Freedom. I want freedom.

I want the chains unleashed. I want the bindings to break.

I feel the magic working through me and into the spell before flowing out into the world, searching for its target. My eyes shut as I focus on the increasing power. It pours out of me and into the earth, searching. A frown tugs at my lips when it seems to stop, surrounding something, and I urge it to move on, but it ignores me, growing stronger and darker. The once glowing spell turns pitch black, like the darkest shadows or the deepest ink.

My eyes open, and I pull my hands from the spell, panicking. The magic only continues to grow, and I watch with shock as the bowl flips, the contents pouring into the grass and seemingly absorbing into the ground.

Oh gods no, what's happening?

It only grows in strength, seeming to swirl around me in darkness until I can no longer see the moon. All I see are shadows. They circle around me, blocking everything, and my heart stills in recognition.

Something in that darkness calls to me, recognising me.

The darkness only thickens, something within letting out a primal roar that seems to shake and quiet the earth around us.

Suddenly, from that blackness, two bright red orbs appear high in the air and close together, almost like . . . eyes.

They are eyes.

The shadows seem to part, admitting a creature straight out of your worst nightmares. There are hands and limbs everywhere, and so many red, blinking eyes. It's tall and white, made of shadows, but somehow, lingering within it, I feel death.

It watches me and suddenly seems to shrink, changing shape as effortlessly as water, forming a more familiar figure akin to a human. Its skin lightens to a deep purple with shades of black. Shadows writhe across its huge chest, abs, waist, and legs, covering it. Its arms are long, unnaturally so, and it has black claws. Its face is shaped similarly to a human's, but it's too sharp, and thin eyebrows arch above its red eyes. Its ears are pointed and much too large to be human with bones threaded through the cartilage and lobes. Hair flows down its back, longer than mine and as dark as midnight, but I am sure I see flames licking along the locks. Its arms are as wide as my body, but when they lift, I see spikes running down the backsides, almost like shark fins, but sharp and deadly looking. Fangs jut from its bottom lip as they part.

It is a creature of midnight, evil, and death.

It's horrifying and beautiful.

One of its hands lifts, reaching for me as I stare, silent and shocked. "Mine." The voice is a growl.

"Little witch?" my demon calls from somewhere beyond.

The creature jerks at the sound, the shadows sucking back into it until it stands before me on the grass. With one last look, it turns and races away from me.

"Little witch?" My demon sounds worried, but I can't answer.

As I watch the creature race into the shadows of the trees, I groan and cover my face. "What have I done now?"

"Freya!" my demon shouts as he falls to his knees before me, his hands scrambling over my body. "I couldn't reach you. Are you okay?" The panic in his voice makes me glance down at him then to where the creature went.

He follows my gaze, his hands still on my cheeks as we kneel under the full moon. "What was that thing, Freya?"

"Evil," I croak, "and I freed it."