Raye crossed to the center of the room. Her makeshift altar sat atop a glass table. A number of implements crowded the surface. A black-handled, silver-bladed knife her books referred to as an athame, chalice filled with burgundy wine, numerous colored votive candles, censer of burning vanilla incense, ceramic bowl of consecrated water, and a lighter. She’d been gathering the supplies for months and had spent hours composing what would be her first formal attempt at spell-casting. She’d planned this moment carefully, meticulously. Earlier, she’d draped the table with a silk cloth and had arranged two ruby red roses. One for me, one for my lover.
She removed a piece of paper from the pocket of her robe and placed it on the table, then released the belt on her robe. The garment fell to the floor in a wash of red satin. She stood, nude, next to the table and righted a single pink candle. The sweet scent of the rose and orange oils she’d earlier consecrated the candle with tickled her nose.
Raye breathed in deeply then exhaled, focusing her intent. She could do this. She’d practiced the ritual for weeks and she’d always had a fantastic memory. She’d remember the words. And the ritual would work. She knew it in her gut.
As if to confirm her thoughts, the air around her stirred and slithered over her naked flesh. Goosebumps pricked her arms. She was suddenly very aware of her nakedness and was tempted to put her robe back on, but the books she’d read on spell craft indicated ritual work was best done in the nude. It was the way we came into the world, and thus the most pure and natural state of being. She decided, chilly or not, she could handle nakedness for the length of her ritual.
She lifted her athame high and turned to the east. More tingles of energy tickled her arms and legs. She shivered with a mixture of nervousness and anticipation at the indication of magic emerging.
“I cast this night, this circle round, so that this space is hallowed ground. No uninvited beings may enter here; only those of light may gather near.” She spoke softly, since her daughter slept just down the hall.
The athame’s blade emitted a sparkling blue stream of light that shimmered in the air and formed a protective barrier around the perimeter of the room as she circled to the south, west, and north.
She grabbed her broom and swept the circle to symbolically clear of it any negative or stagnant energy then returned to the east.
“Guardians of the east, element of air. I summon, stir, and call you forth. Help me choose the right words and speak my truth.” She drew an invoking pentagram in the air then knelt, lifted a lighter, and lit a yellow candle.
“Hail and welcome.”
She moved to the south. “Guardians of the south, element of fire. I summon, stir, and call you forth. Infuse me with the fires of passion.” She drew an invoking pentagram and lit a red candle.
“Hail and welcome.”
She pivoted west. “Guardians of the west, element of water. I summon, stir, and call you forth. Grant me the wisdom to know what I want and the courage to ask for it.” Another invoking pentagram and a sweep of the lighter over a blue candle.
“Hail and welcome.”
By the time Raye turned to the north, the atmosphere of the room had taken on a full, thick texture. Although she’d only experienced this type of energy once before and very long ago, Raye recognized it for what it was. A very clear and decisive sign of magic afoot. She shivered, both nervous and excited, and pressed onward.
“Guardians of the North, element of earth. I summon, stir, and call you forth. Lend me strength and the ability to stay grounded even while losing my heart.” One last invoking pentagram and a green candle’s flame flared.
She knelt before the altar and tucked her feet beneath her bare bottom. The wood floor was uncomfortably hard beneath her knees, but she was too excited to pay attention to any discomfort.
“Lord and Lady come to me now. Lend your power to my spoken vow.” She lit the final two candles, one silver, one gold.
The space within the circle wavered and shifted as though it were stirred by a giant, cosmic spoon. A delicious frisson of electricity filled Raye. Her flesh tingled in response.
She lit the only remaining candle, a pink one, lifted the piece of paper she’d earlier placed on her altar, and began to read:
“I am with the perfect man for me. By will of the Gods, so mote it be. This man is kind, compassionate, intelligent, puts his family first, must be the father my daughter never had…” Once she’d made it through all fifty-four items on the list of her future lover’s required traits, (Raye was leaving nothing whatsoever to chance) she chanted once again: “I am with the perfect man for me. By will of the Gods, so mote it be.”
She closed her eyes and spent the next ten minutes visualizing the type of man she wanted to bring into her life. Satisfied her intent had been made clear, Raye raised her arm and drew a pentagram in the air above the pink candle. A sparkling five pointed star shimmered above the candle’s flame.
Just then, a gust of wind pushed through the open window and snuffed out the candle. The trail of smoke wove through each line of the five-pointed-star.
Raye knew without a doubt that her spell, carefully seeded, would bear sweet, delectable fruit.
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Table of Contents
One Enchanted Season
UPON A MIDNIGHT by C.L. Wilson
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Acknowledgments
For My Readers
About The Author
LET IT SNOW by Erica Ridley
Chapter One
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Thank You for Reading!
About The Author
SNOWMAN by Elissa Wilds
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Acknowledgments
About The Author
Special Bonus Sneak Peek
THE WINTER KING by C.L. Wilson
Prologue ~ Scarlet on Snow
Chapter One - Wynter's Chill
CHARMED by Erica Ridley
DISTANT THUNDER by Elissa Wilds