Tempting my witch

#1

Aurora

I stared out the window as my aunt drove me through the winding roads of northern Oregon. The sun gleamed through the treetops. It was an unusually sunny day for this neck of the woods. Today is the day of my Knowing journey, a day made bitter-sweet by the absence of my parents. The day that their car spun off the road over a cliff still haunted me. They were taking my older brother to his location. Blake had already embarked on his journey, which took him to the southern mountains in Washington state.

They had been coming home from the drop-off and the roads were wet. Our coven had searched for them. The search ended with them finding their bodies inside their crumpled car, at the bottom of a ravine. They had searched long and hard for my brother, not knowing exactly his location. Even a locator spell brought us confusion as the crystal pendant would whirl around frantically, never settling.

To this day, I could feel him through the family bond. As members of a family pass away, their magic backs up into the members of that bloodline; until there is no one left to accept it. Then The Mother will choose a new family, bestowing a young girl with the abilities. My aunt and I knew he was out there. Every time the heavens were right, like a full moon, we would try the incantation with all we had, searching for him. It was like there was a block stopping us from finding him. As if his knowing day gave him a life away from our family, and he didn't want to be found.

We are the last of our bloodline of witches. So, we carry more power than families with many members. It's nature's way of balancing the forces gifted to us. For all I knew, Blake was still somewhere meandering around the Cascades in southern Washington. My drop-off location was just south of the Washington border. I let out a quiet sigh. If only I had gone with them, maybe I could have saved them. I've spent the last several years missing their love and counsel. I loved my aunt, but nothing can replace the love of a mother or the adoration of a father. Losing my brother, who was my closest companion, left me lonely; especially since I had to keep my gifts hidden from everyone else.

Aunt Bess could only attempt to fill part of the void within me. When you grow up knowing it was very unlikely, you would have the typical future of normal people. Those connections were important. I didn't have the luxury of daydreaming about marriage or children. I'd be lucky to fly under the radar as a spinster with an unhealthy obsession with caring for my plants.

I glanced at my aunt. Her greying hair was curled and pinned up. She had been our mother's older sister. They shared the same blue eyes and pixie-like features. The aspects of her face were gracefully aging, showing some wrinkles around her eyes and creases from her usual joyful smile. She has been my teacher since I was a toddler, as well as my guardian since my parent's death.

I returned to my brooding. "You know, all that thinking you are doing is not going to help you in the days to follow," she warned. I sighed heavily, looking down. She and the coven had prepared me for this day since I could speak. "I know," I admitted. "I kind of need to get it out of the way, so to speak," I said sheepishly. Glancing at her, I saw her nod as she conceded before I continued with the subject of my thoughts. "I don't understand why the goddess would put our Knowing places so close together. I want to hope that he is out here somewhere, but you know I'm more of a realist".

My aunt “tsked” at me. "Child," she scolded, collecting her thoughts of wisdom. "You need to let the goddess lead you to your purpose. If you find Blake along the way, that's just her blessing you. These next few weeks with nature, they are about you!" she exclaimed. "This is your time to find the power not only around you but within you, AND," she added, glancing my way, ensuring I paid attention. "Roury, I think, you will be in for a surprise at what you find out." Her brow arched. There she goes, using that darn intuition of hers to drive the point home. She had some sort of deep feeling about this, and I was not one to ignore that. As witches, we sensed things beyond the norm. Less "hocus-pocus" and more intuitive energy. Like the humming of the earth or the wind's whispers urging us on the breeze, there was more to the way the fire mesmerized a normal human. We could see or feel more. We could not only feel the energy of the sweeping water but use it.

Nodding, I responded. "I know, I swear," I said sincerely, squeezing her hand. "I will let go to find my true strength." She glanced at me, seeing my resolve. "It will be a relief to breathe without worrying about someone watching my every move," I reminded her. “Aurora, you, my dear, you could never disappoint.” She said pointedly. “I love you, Aunt Bess. I hope to come back to you..., but you know that after Blake, I won’t be able to assure you of that. If that is the goddesses' wish.” After a drawn-out pause. “I know, dear, but I will know if you have fulfilled her wishes.” She pointed to her head. Yes, her intuition is running wild, I chuckled to myself. "I love you, little Dove," she said. "Being your teacher and guide has been the most fulfilling role in my life." She expressed it to me. We squeezed hands, and I turned to the woods, looking within as we cruised by.

Catching a glimpse of myself in the rearview mirror; I observed my pale, but sun-kissed skin was clear and warm. My long brown hair hung in soft waves with honey highlights that were naturally kissed by the sun. Being a witch nowadays doesn't always mean we stay close to nature. However, my father believed in the old ways and simpler living. I'd grown up hiking, camping, fishing, and hunting for our needs. My mother always had a garden, and we spent summers with our grandparents on a Mustang ranch, where they watched over the wild herds.

My moss green eyes, rimmed in stormy blue, flickered slightly within the brown fleck of my irises. The magic within me was always ready at the surface. To most, it was a play of light. I controlled it deftly around the coven or they would know my secret and exploit me for their gains. With great power came even greater responsibilities. There were many reasons other witches would be malevolent toward me. Willing to abuse the gifts I hold inside. The Mother had blessed me with more than my fair share of abilities. Keeping that contained since childhood has not been easy.

To say I felt abandoned by my brother was a stretch because I also felt guilty for those feelings. He was following The Mother's purpose. Who was I to say what he ought to be experiencing? Could he very well be following some greater purpose? Some of us only dream we could be a part of something so important in a lifetime.

It rattled me that I could disappoint The Mother, so I always tried so hard to do my best to stay hidden, to learn all I could. The adults in my family had always drilled it into me that my purpose was greater than the rest of them. But I always felt a little jealous of their simple lives and their hopes for happiness. I had a daily fight to keep myself respectfully lonely. To not draw attention. To only do as expected and never stray from the quiet scholarly witch with peculiar knacks. Others my age were not outwardly cruel or mean, but I could hear the whispers of girls calling me names in their quiet circles of friends. The nobody at school, the witchy nerd among the other coven teens. The ice princess to the boys who sought my attention. In turn, I ignored them completely. Don't get me wrong, I was curious, but I could never risk a bond with anyone who could gain something from my gifts. Knowing someone that intimately was asking for trouble, whether they were human or witch. As a witch, we were raised with the philosophy that your body was a gift and that seeking pleasure through sex was a way of celebrating that which was given to you. I wasn’t a stranger to observing a sex rite, nor a prude, but so far, I had finagled myself out of it.

Without my brother, over the last few years, the loneliness had become darker, and more confining. The emptiness that my life seemed to becoming, began to pull me under. What good was all of this power? All the work and learning, all the hiding. If there was no purpose! No life to live beyond my power’s existence. Well, hopefully, today will be the beginning of answers to those questions.

Bess glanced at the mile marker. "It's nearly time," she alerted. I nodded, rolling down the window and favoring my pendant, a Celtic knot encompassing a pentacle. I also wore an amethyst on the same long silver chain, which had the habit of resting behind the star peeking through the holes. The amethyst had been my mother's, and the pentacle was my father's. I miss them immensely. It wasn't as if I didn't appreciate my aunt. Though I must acknowledge that she would push me to do things my parents wouldn't have agreed with. She broadened my magical education into areas most witches just didn't bother learning. She told me one day when she wasn't around that I may need some ounce of this information. That she felt she had to strive to give me as much knowledge as I could absorb. Considering my circumstances, I played the quiet bookworm and judicious student. Safest holding back under careful control, avoiding relationships stronger than acquaintances outside of my family.

I stared blankly, feeling rather than seeing. Reaching my life force, willing the call to come. I could sense something like a string reaching out. "Close," I sighed, almost breathless at the song of the energy keying up in my mind. The car slowed slightly. Energy sizzled and began to roil, like an angry sea around me. Feeling a metaphysical wave crash over me. It flowed over my temples. Over my shoulders, into my center, where it pooled and churned like a hurricane. "Stop!" I exclaimed. I would have to find the beacon of this before the intensity would decrease. The car lurched to a stop abruptly. The seat belt snapped. Our bodies catapulting forward.

I gripped the door handle, looking at my aunt with a determined look on my face. "Love you, Aunt Bess,". She cupped my cheeks, staring at me, amazed. “Your eyes,” she barely whispered… “they glow like jade,” I didn't look away from her or check the mirror. I'd seen it before. Caught a glimpse in the mirror after a vision dream. I'd kept them to myself after I mistakenly shared the first with her. "I know," I spoke coldly. Lifting my chin in a what's it to you? She smirked, a proud gleam in her eyes. What was that about? I wondered. I raised an eyebrow at her, gritting against the need to take off and relieve some of the buzzing sensations within me. "Keep your wits about you, dear, and follow her to your destiny," she said as she gave me a tight hug. I glanced up at her. She must realize I kept secrets even from her and she wasn't mad about it, hmm. I smiled, and we pressed our foreheads together. "Blessed be" we granted each other in unison. I turned and pulled the handle and exited the car. "Bye dear," she whispered, putting the car in gear. There was no hesitation, I just moved forward.

I focused my senses on the magnetic force that was luring me to it. The energy called to me like some song picking up a crescendo and getting stronger as I neared. As I started walking forward along the road. I felt a powerful tug. Turning to the forest and with an internal snap of energy; I suddenly became tethered. Some of the intensity I could feel rippled around me. Now, the sensation held me in place. I'd follow it till the goddess's will for me would become fulfilled. The angry sea of energy eased, caressing me, my body humming in response. I glanced back at my aunt and gave a smile and a nod. Tossing the light pack over my shoulder, it held meager supplies. Simple herbs, pendants, talismans, some clothing, and essentials. Nothing like a backpacker would carry, however. I had brought a sleeping bag attached to the bottom. That was about all I would need for nature. She will provide. And after that, I planned to live. I moved towards the tree line, the intensity of the energy slowly dissipating with every step. It vibrated over my skin, palpitating my heart and burrowing into my very soul.