Page 172 of Balance

I sucked in a breath—this was it. It was now or never. My only concern was what I might be asked to give up in return.

The rustle of fallen leaves was the only sound in the air, and my breath moved in smoke around me. It was late in the season, and I really shouldn’t have ventured out from my newly erected home, but a sense of urgency filled me—growing every day.

The ring swung between my breasts, seemingly burning against my skin, and my anxiety grew.

Hanah was safe with her parents, so why was my anxiety rising? Something big was happening, and even though I’d left, it wasn’t enough.

The full moon’s light trickled down through the mostly barren branches, softly illuminating my path. I’d been preparing the ground since the new moon, and some might have said it was overkill, but serious spell work required meticulous preparation.

I would still prepare—every Hunter’s Moon until the one where it was my time to die—just in case Michael’s prediction ever came to pass.

I only hoped he was wrong; but, just in case he wasn’t, it wouldn’t hurt to offer a bit more protection.

Finally, my work was complete, and I dropped the stick to the earth. The moon’s energy peaked, and the forest seemed to quiet as I slipped off my robe and moved to the center of the circle. Slowly, methodically, I lit the five candles as the cool breeze passed over my bare skin. I hadn’t even begun my work, and the hair on my arms was already standing high.

The cold ground gave slightly under my knees as I pulled the earthen bowl toward me. Sage, mugwort, and wormwood was overwhelmed by the strong smell of frankincense and rosemary. The herbs had already been ground into a paste, combined with storm water from the last eclipse. The earth, and the mixture, seemed to hum under my skin, and the light of the small black candles grew stronger.

Some witches liked to speak during their spells. Not me. A witch’s magic was all about intent anyway, and determined silence was sometimes stronger than rehearsed poetry.

And there were no words that could match my conviction.

‘Stay away.”It was the only thing that mattered. I ran the blade lightly over the inside of my arm—drawing only enough blood to smear over my left hand.

Washing it on the ground around me, the power hidden within my blood closed me further into the circle, I turned my intention back to the mixture.

‘Stay away.’

I wiped the paste over my chest, across my forehead. Gregory had promised, and I trusted him. Really, I did.

But it would be best for everyone if no one could find me.

He might hate me though—I was breaking our bargain.

But, then again, was I really? Technically, I could continue to work on the objects he’d entrusted to me.

I never promised him I’d do my workthere.

The fae played this card all the time—the legalities. So hopefully he wouldn’t be too angry. The ring was a family heirloom, after all.

And if Michael’s prediction was right, there was no way to hide anyway. So Gregory would get it back eventually.

I might not ever be found though, which is what I hoped. I would die of old age, alone, during a nice, safe waxing moon.

I didn’t want to be the cause of anyone’s pain.

“Stay away.”

I’d spoken the last time out loud, and the words rang loud in my ears—breathy and desperate, echoing the ache in my chest. I’d give up my family and my sense of home in order to avoid causing anyone pain.

To avoid exposing my family.

The earth rumbled under my fingers, and power ran through me, coming from the ground and moving along strategically placed pathways along my skin until it reached the center of my forehead, making me lightheaded.

I forced myself to breathe as my skin hummed with an unfamiliar, extraordinary power, and I was reminded why my family avoided blood magic at all costs.

No one could find me, no one could ever know of my family’s origins. Even my husband and son did not know, and Joe and Gregory would take the secret to their grave.

I could do this; I’d already created a barrier, but there was only one more level of protection needed. Just in case. Manifesting spiritual guardians was something that most people could never hope to achieve.