Page 3 of Up from the Earth (Equinox Seasons Duet #1)

Two

When The Call Of The Wood Comes, Answer It.

In the present…

M y skin itched—a persistent nagging that had been dogging me every moment of the day. Comparable to a woolen sweater pulled on over dry flesh, it was nearly all I could think about, and each second that the day drew closer to midnight made the sensation worse. I needed out of this house.

“I’m fine, Mother. I only need rest. It has been ritual after ritual all day long. I’m exhausted.”

Furrowing my brow, I sagged, eyeing her with a silent, desperate plea to be left alone. She sighed, reaching out to brush a steady hand down my cheek. I could see the gears grinding behind her eyes, and that motherly look of concern was ever-present on her face.

“Alright, alright. Go on, then. Get your rest.” She stepped forward, wrapping her arms around me for a hug. “And happy birthday, Cerri.”

Smiling, soothed by the familiar scent of lavender and cedar that clung to my mother, I squeezed her back.

“My birthday is tomorrow. But thank you.” I leaned back and offered her a grateful quirk of my lips. “And I’m more than sure that you’ll have plenty for me to do then, too.”

Mother rolled her eyes at me, unbecoming of the Witch’s Maid that she was, and it warmed me all the more. Margaret Bridget Locke—my mother and friend—was as steadfast and sturdy as the tallest oak and rarely one to embrace the “frivolities of youth.”

“You’re not wrong, love.” She pulled me in and kissed the top of my head. “So, getting your sleep is a wise decision. Is it possible that after all these years, my daughter has finally found her head at twenty-one?”

I smirked, slipping away and jogging up the first few stairs that led to my room. “Never.”

With a wink, I hurried up the rest of the steps. It was moments to my room, down the left hall and at the far end. Once inside, I closed up the space, sealing it from unwanted spirits with a simple circle and knock.

Sleep was unlikely, as it usually was, but maybe this evening would be different. I was exhausted down to my bones from all the celebrations of the day. Perhaps insomnia and dreams of running would leave me be this time.

Fat chance, Cerri. And you know it.

Goddess knew I needed the rest, though. Tomorrow was my birthday, yes, but it was also the equinox. Ostara. The first day of spring as the earth stood poised at the precipice of balance. Equal day and equal night. Equal dark and equal light.

And me in the center of it all.

Smoothing my hand across the tops of the books on the shelf by my door, I walked past the numerous tomes, past the crystals hanging in front of my window that faced east, and slipped into my closet to change for bed.

The long pull chain to my closet light was nearly invisible in the dark, impossible to find if you didn’t know where to look. I gathered the cool metallic beads around my hand and pulled down, illuminating the cramped space with a warm glow of soft gold light. My nightgowns were tucked into the far right corner, and I pulled over the hanging dresses and reached mindlessly for one to wear.

What I pulled out was a shock, however.

The floor-length nightgown, made from soft linen, was stark white and nearly sheer. The moment I looked at it, the words "maiden" and "spring" entered my head, and I stood frozen in front of my hanging clothes for several long moments.

This isn’t mine.

My hands moved on their own, pulling down the halves of the cardigan I wore and tossing the thing to the ground. I went for the hem of my long dress—light blue with pale yellow flowers all over it—gripping the fabric and hauling the yards over my head. The dress joined the cardigan in a heap on the floorboards of my room.

All that white, all that intricately embroidered white fabric…it had to be on me. I had to wear it.

It is yours…

I couldn’t place the voice. It was a whisper in my mind. Except…I could place it. I knew precisely the tone and timbre of that deep rumble. I’d heard it before. I’d heard it in the woods.

Blinking, I opened my eyes to see the dress draped over my body. That strange feeling of being watched, of being known, fled away, melting into the background. It had come and gone for so long. I still had no idea what it meant, and at this rate, I had to assume I never would. In any case, it was best to rest. There was so much to be done tomorrow for the Equinox, and sleep was the way I would handle it.

Shaking myself, I crossed the room once more. I lifted the covers of my bed, the thinner green blanket in place now that the weather had grown warmer. Getting underneath, I stretched out long on my mattress, closing my eyes as I settled into the soft surface and buried my face in the pillow. A good night’s rest, that was what I needed. And tomorrow would come like any other day before it.

M y eyes flew open, the last chime of the clock down the hall finishing its ring. It was midnight. That was what the bell meant. I’d never woken to it before, years of growing up with the sound making it little more than white noise, but now…

I could not sleep.

Every inch of my skin felt too alive, restless, and screaming at me to get up. Go, Cerridwen. Go, go, go .

Flinging the covers to the side, I hung my legs over the edge of my bed as I sat up. The room was nearly pitch black. Pinprick stars were visible through the sheer lace of my curtains, and the moon was shining through the night sky as a slim crescent.

Waxing, growing bigger. Get up now, Cerridwen. Go.

The chilly floor touched my feet, and I stood, the bunched skirt of my nightgown slipping free of the covers and settling around my ankles. It was so light that it felt like wearing nothing at all, but I was not cold.

I took one step, moving toward my door. I took another and another, and before I knew it, I was sprinting from the coven house and into the woods.

Pound, pound, pound.

The drumbeat of my feet on the earth rang through my mind. I had to go; I had to find… something . It was waiting for me, there in the dark of the wood. Goosebumps rippled over my flesh as the night air rushed over me. Trees in rows and rows, chaotic and patterned, whipped past me as I tore off through the deepening thickets. I’d left my shoes and coat far behind.

I’d left the path behind.

Exertion challenged my legs, making them burn, and I gulped down lungfuls of air quicker and quicker. Ahead was a winding turn through the threes, a natural gap between them that called for me to enter and follow. I did, rushing through the darkness without reason or care.

Snap .

I stopped. Frozen in place, I scanned the shadows around me. There was nothing. Nothing visible, at any rate. I couldn’t make out much in the dark, but shapes moved in the blackness—amorphous and inseparable from the expanses of shade around them.

The fury of my heartbeat ached in my chest and head, begging me to keep going, keep running. Trying to orient myself, I turned left and right. I’d been heading through that small clearing in the treeline. I could still see it.

Taking one tenuous step forward and then another, I began sprinting through the pines and oaks and birches once more. Each second of rushing beneath the trees sent my blood into a greater frenzy. I was desperate to take off through the undergrowth like some sort of wild animal, darting this way and that as I rushed toward what I assumed was safety.

Grrrrrrr.

My stomach dropped into the aching soles of my feet. The growl was right behind me, making the hairs on my neck stand on end. It was so deep, an earthly rumble that shook my steps. A mountain cavern had roared as I ran beneath the leaves, and it was somehow chasing me down.

Faster, Cerri. You have to move faster.

I pushed myself harder, giving everything I had to the demands of my legs. I needed to hurry. I needed to. Frigid air sliced across my skin, causing goosebumps to ripple to the surface. I could feel every inch of my skin, and the chilled wind coated me like water.

A twig jabbed into the arch of my foot. I ignored it, not caring for the sharp stick and stones that bit into my bare feet. I could sense it, my destination; it was just ahead. That pull was so strong in my bones—intense and all-consuming. I was so close.

Hurry, little bloom. I’m right behind you, and I can taste your fear…your excitement.

My steps faltered as the words knifed into my mind. I knew that voice—or lack thereof. I knew what was speaking into my mind. I’d heard it before.

The boom of my pulse screamed in my ears, and I just kept running. The forest whipped by me in a blur of color and smells. I could see the bright red tops of small mushrooms peeking out of the moss. Deep maroon berries clung to the tips of bramble branches. Those sharp points snatched at my nightgown, creating tiny nicks in my flesh.

Thoughts, both alien and familiar, washed over my mind, coloring it in shades of black and green. I could hear them rattling around inside my head.

Run, run, run. I will catch you. I will always catch you.

My skin hummed, electric and powerful. The tips of my breasts ached for the way my nipples hardened against the cold…against the voice.

That’s it, Cerri. Feed me your darkness.

All I could do was run. All I wanted to do was stop and turn around, face whatever presence loomed behind me. But the prospect was terrifying. Any yet…my sprinting slowed, if only slightly, and I snuck a glance back over my shoulder.

Massive, as big as the trees and bigger. Darkest black, and one with the shadows uniting the spaces between trunks. What I saw couldn’t possibly be real, except…I had no choice but to believe it.

A wolf.

Fur made of the stuff between the stars, the creature towered over the canopy, and yet it was all I could see when I looked back: only the wolf and its glowing red eyes. The glint of his gleaming fangs was stark white against the black, and I could feel his shadow fall over my face, the silhouettes of his teeth threatening to bite down around my eye.

Hurry up, little bloom. You must make it to the arch. And oh, how my mouth waters.

The arch. Yes, I remembered it. I would know it anywhere. Each night, visions of the stone creation framed in the multi-colored trunks of trees would haunt me. A winding path of russet brown earth appeared before my feet as I turned back around. I had to follow it.

I had to make it to the arch.

My throat was impossibly tight as I tried to suck in lungfuls of heavy air. The stuff was thick with the magic of these woods, copper and lavender dancing on my tongue with each desperate inhale. Everything ached from the furious work put into every step. My own heartbeat was too loud, my body a playground for the frenetic craving that pulsed within the leaves and pine needles of this ancient forest.

And then there it was—the gateway.

I reached out, long strands of gray-black shade stretching over my arm. The shadows of the ferns tattooed themselves on my flesh; the earth stained the soles of my feet.

Grrrrrrr!

The growl hollered through the somehow echoing forest, through my bones. I could feel the hot breath of the wolf on my skin, everywhere and gripping me as tight as any fist. Thunderous steps rocked the earth, nearly knocking me to my knees. The enormous creature barreled down, heading straight for me and closing the distance.

Panic fisted my heart, making breathing and swallowing down my terror almost impossible. Lightning strikes of fear zinged through my spine, and I shook from head to foot. I fell. The ground rose up to meet me hard.

No! Get up, Cerri.

I forced myself to my feet, clawing through the soft earth, which smelled of home and an unnamed place beyond. My legs only worked because I demanded them to, and I fought against the growing invisible weight on my back to move forward.

The wolf is hungry, little bloom….so very hungry .

The high-pitched wail that leaped from my lungs filled the forest, cracking through the bark and shattering the ancient quiet. The voice and the furious beating of my heart were all that I could hear.

And I ran.

I ran until my feet bled. I ran until my thighs ached for release. I ran until the stone arch was beneath my numb fingers, and I threw myself into the wavering black that separated where I was from what lay beyond—without looking back.