Samskaras by Melissa Lummis
When the universe conspired to bring Loti and Wolf together, it was just getting warmed up. After surviving Modore’s attempt to kill Wolf, the lovers want nothing more than some peace and quiet. But the universe has other plans. And Loti and Wolf are done waiting to find out what they are. All too aware there will be no happily-ever-after for them until Modore is dealt with, they form a dubious alliance with untrustworthy forces from Wolf’s past. While searching for clues to the homicidal vampire’s whereabouts, they uncover secrets that begin to unravel reality as they know it. Tangled up in the chaos of black ops conspiracies and fae treachery, they make a fatal mistake—overlooking the enemy in their midst. Can love and light survive a downward spiral into darkness?
EXCERPT:
“Could we please gather over here?” Katie stood by the fireplace, a lifetime of photos lined up behind her on the mantel. The coven milled about as it formed a semi-circle around her.
“We are here to officially induct Heather MacGregor as an apprentice member into our coven.”
Heather stood next to Katie with eyes lowered to the drink in her hands. Everyone had been warm and welcoming, so far. When would her luck run out? When would she say the wrong thing? And make someone mad at her? She wished Christian were there, but knew it would have been awkward. None of the other members brought family or friends. Rachel squeezed her elbow and Heather gave her a grateful smile.
Rachel whispered in her ear. “Relax. It’s going to be fine. You’ll do fine.”
Heather really liked the leggy blonde. She was close enough to Heather’s age so that she didn’t feel completely out of place and she had a way of making Heather feel a part of things. She hoped they would become good friends.
“Heather?” Katie held out her hand. Heather blinked, looking around her in apprehension. “Please take my hand.” Katie gave her a reassuring smile and wiggled her fingers.
Heather looked back at the ten other witches and warlocks. Rachel and Daniel were smiling in encouragement. Theresa’s and Richard’s smiles were more reserved, but still warm. The others were a mix of concern and downright suspicion. What was up with that? She thought she had been accepted unanimously—at least, that’s what Rachel had told her. She extended a tentative hand. Katie squeezed Heather’s fingers and turned to address the group.
“We are welcoming a new apprentice today.” She faced Heather as if she were about to say ‘I do’. “Heather Rose MacGregor, this coven holds to the precepts of karma, that what we send out into the universe comes back to us threefold. We are dedicated to the preservation and practice of witchcraft: the art of it, and the science of it. We use our power for the greater good, for the betterment of all beings and in accordance with the laws of the universe.”
Rachel struck a long match and lit a series of pillar candles balanced on a wrought iron rack in the fireplace. The flames burned straight and true without a flutter. The coven shuffled around, setting down drinks and plates so they could join hands to form a circle. Rachel tucked herself between Heather and Daniel, who linked his free hand with Theresa’s. Richard stepped up to Katie who acknowledged him with a nod as she grasped his hand. The rest of the coven completed the circle.
“Do you agree to hold to our precepts? To use your magic only for good,” Theresa’s eyes flicked from Katie’s face to Rachel’s, “and to preserve our legacy?”
All eyes turned to Heather and she looked like a deer in the headlights. Her heart froze mid-beat. Rachel squeezed her hand and her lips moved in the middle of a frozen face. “I do,” she said. She let out the breath she had been holding and her eyes flowed from one face to the other, trying to take them all in.
“Then we bind you to us, in magic.” Katie’s voice rang out and Heather jumped.
“In magic,” they chorused.
“In practice,” Katie commanded.
“In practice,” the coven intoned.
“And in friendship.”
“And in friendship.”
Katie chanted, “Dharam khand kaa ayho dharma”
The coven answered, “Giaan khand kaa aakho karam.”
The candle flames flickered the tiniest bit as the coven closed their eyes. They repeated the mantra, the voices growing louder, deeper and the candle flames danced in unison. The energy they conjured coursed through Heather, passing through her from Rachel to Katie, then through the others and back around again. Each time they repeated the incantation, a surge flashed through them faster until it become a solid, searing flow of energy. With the last line of incantation, “Nanak ant na ant” the group glowed with an inner light, like one being with one goal.
Katie’s mouth moved, but the entire coven chorused through her. “Heather, we grant you the power to do your duty and the courage to fulfill your responsibilities.”
Heather’s voice echoed in the wind. “I accept my responsibilities and vow to honor my duty.”
A bead of sweat ran down the back of Heather’s neck and her spine vibrated. Something was pressing against a door in her mind and she leaned against it with all her might.
Let us in, Heather.
Katie’s voice was inside her head, on the other side of that door. Remembering what the coven leader had told her about the ritual, she fought to stay calm as she backed away. She gasped as the door creaked open and the coven’s presence filled her head. She braced herself, intent on keeping her unique identity— to stay inside herself—but they surrounded her, until she was part of them. There were no words, only the sensation of being in a crowded room.
Their souls—or whatever it was—gathered around her. Her chest buzzed with excitement and nervousness, while her belly clenched, unsure, suspicious, sad, mad—and glad, grateful. It was a whirl-wind of emotions that weren’t all hers. She realized with an audible sigh that her secrets were safe. No one was going to open the file cabinet of her memories and root around.
With the sense of something heavy clicking into place, it was over and she landed in her own body with a jolt. Her eyes flew open and she tugged hard at her hands. Rachel and Katie let go and she stumbled backwards.
“Are you okay, dear?” Katie caught her arm before she could fall into the fireplace.
Heather’s mouth opened and she nodded without looking at the older woman, her eyes vacant.
“It’s okay, Heather.” Rachel took her other arm and Heather reflexively jerked it out of her grasp. “It’s okay. We didn’t possess you or anything. I told you, when you work with a coven you have to open a link. It’s like a mark, a way for us to sync up when we need to work together.”
Heather hadn’t found her voice yet. The coven’s presence inside her didn’t feel intrusive or aggressive. In some ways, it felt good— warm, welcoming, but that didn’t eradicate the tremble in her stomach.
“I’m okay,” she finally managed. I think. What have I done?
Katie gave a brief nod to Heather and then raised her hands to the coven. “And the first order of business as a complete coven is to assist Calisto and Guided with a little problem.”
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About the Author
Melissa Lummis considers herself a truth seeker, a peaceful warrior, a paranormal and fantasy writer, an avid reader, a thru-hiker GAàME ’98, a wife, a mother, and a free thinker. She believes the universe conspires to help an adventurer. And if we live our lives as if it is a daring adventure (and it is!), then everything we need will find its way to us.
The author lives in rural Virginia with her husband, two children, an Alaskan Malamute and a myriad of forest creatures. The nature of her mind dictates that she write to stay sane. Otherwise, her fertile imagination takes off on tangents of its own accord, creating scenarios and worlds that confuse the space-time continuum. Namaste, dear friends.
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