Our fingers entwined, Sol led me from his room, through the Ancile headquarters, and out of a back entrance I’d never seen before. We came out into a small, neatly kept garden that was filled with planters of various herbs and flowers, including some I didn’t recognize, but assumed were magical.

“Ah, here they are,” Morgan announced, standing in a clearing a little distance away. He was joined by Jenn and Bernard, and beside them was a box of supplies.

If anyone noticed that Sol and I were still holding hands, they didn’t comment on it.

Everyone fell silent as we approached, and the air grew thick with all the unspoken worries we had.

Morgan was about to preform a ritual he’d never done before, that would – hopefully – unbind my latent celestial abilities.

If it didn’t work … well … I’d rather not think about that.

“Are we all ready?” Bernard asked.

I swallowed around the lump in my throat, and Sol gave my fingers a reassuring squeeze.

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” I replied.

“Okay, Roxie, you can stay there, and I’ll set up around you. Sol, Jenn and Bernard, I’m gonna need you to form the main cardinal points along with me. I will take the south point, as it’s associated with the element fire, as well as challenges and willpower.” As if to emphasize his point, Morgan conjured a fireball into his palm, and tossed it up into the air. “Jenn, I want you to take the east point, as that represents the element air, and the chakra connected to the throat.” Morgan paused for a moment, gazing at Sol and Bernard intently. “Hmmm, now comes the tricky part. The north point, representing the element earth, connects to the physical body and health. That could apply to either of you guys. It’s the final point, west, that’s connected to emotion, self-worth and the chakra of the heart that will have more impact on the ritual.”

“I’ll take the west point,” Sol said instantly. Our hands were still clasped, and I felt a rush of warmth from his body to mine.

I glanced at the others, and judging by their expressions, they’d noticed mine and Sol’s joined hands. Everyone was too polite to comment, though.

Apart from Morgan, of course. Smirking, he said, “Yeah, I figured you’d say that. Off you go then, lover boy.”

He gestured to what I assumed was the west, and Sol stepped away from me.

Bernard and Jenn also took up their designated positions, and all three of them stood about ten footsteps away from me.

The position at the south was still unoccupied, as Morgan took out candles and a bag of salt from the box of supplies.

Starting where the empty space for him was, he began laying candles and drawing a circle with the salt that encompassed all of us. Before closing the circle, Morgan retrieved the spell book he’d bought from the underground market.

Morgan laid down the now almost empty bag of salt, and closed the circle by stepping into the south position, with the book in his left hand. With his right, he magically lit the candles that formed a perimeter around us.

“Any last words?” Morgan asked.

“What happens if this goes wrong?” I blurted out.

Without missing a beat, Morgan replied, “Well, you could end up with your powers simply removed forever –”

Not ideal, but at least I wouldn’t be in danger of them burning through me. It would mean I couldn’t help the Ancile defeat Catherine though.

“—Or it could kill you!”

“WHAT?!” Mine and Sol’s exclamations came out in unison.

I turned to Bernard. “You didn’t tell me that.”

“Because I didn’t know.”

“What do we do?”

“Without the ritual, your latent abilities are guaranteed to burn through you,” Bernard said.

“You’re sure? What if Morgan bound them and then I just avoid all supernatural beings for the rest of my life?”

Even as I spoke, a fresh wave of dizziness washed over me, and the air around me glimmered with a golden haze.

I knew it was too late to walk away.

I didn’t know the exact reasons why, but something about the combination of seeing Catherine kill Pierre, then going to the Ancile headquarters and finally visiting the Underground, back-to-back in close succession had made my latent abilities go haywire. I felt certain that no one would be able to rebind my powers, and if we didn’t preform the ritual soon, my abilities were going to kill me.

“But the ritual might not kill you,” Morgan put in. “I’ve never done it, so I can’t say for certain, but, well, it’s the least likely of the three possibilities.”

I sucked in a breath. “So, it’s not like all three outcomes have an equal chance of happening?” I asked.

Morgan shrugged. “I dunno. Like I said, never done this before. I’m just going off what the book tells me.”

I took a deep breath and thought about the paths spreading out before me. What choice did I really have? Without preforming the ritual, I was guaranteed to die. But from what Morgan said, the chances of the ritual killing me were slim.

“Okay, let’s do this.”

“Are you sure?” Sol said, his voice strained.

I glanced over, and I could see the change in him. He’d gone rigid and was having a hard time making eye contact.

“I’ll definitely die if I don’t,” I said, then, dropping my voice a little, I added. “Don’t worry. I’m gonna come out the other side of this, and then you can take me out on that date like you promised.”

Sol gave me a small, lopsided smile. “You better.”

I turned back to Morgan, who wasn’t making any effort to hide his smirk. “Right, come on. Let’s get this over with.”

Morgan lay the book down at his feet, then began reciting from it.

“I call on The Great Northern Quadrangle of Earth, to give this casting physical strength, as represented here by Bernard Austin, a bear-shifter of prestigious lineage.”

As Morgan spoke the words, the ground beneath our feet trembled, and the flames of the candles closest to Bernard turned black and green.

“I call on The Great Eastern Quadrangle of Air, to carry my voice to the ethereal plane with the conviction of powerful siren, Jennifer Montgomery.”

The wind increased in intensity, but instead of causing the candles to go out, they grew brighter, and those closest to Jenn flickered with yellow and violet flames.

“I call on The Great Southern Quadrangle of Fire, to bring the willpower to overcome great challenges. Represented here by myself, Morgan Jackson, an arcanist of significant lineage, who has an affinity for the element of fire.”

The flames on the candles grew so huge that it felt like I was standing beside a bonfire, and I saw that the flames closest to Morgan had changed to shades of red and green.

Finally, Morgan said, “I call on The Great Western Quadrangle of Water, to bring forth the chakra of the heart and give Roxie the self-worth to face the challenges that lie ahead. She will be guided by Sol Purcell, one of the Fortium, for the emotional bond they have forged since their meeting.”

It started to rain, and warm droplets of water landed on me. It was like being in a nice, hot shower, and the rain made me feel safe as well as relaxed.

I turned to gaze at Sol, seeing the flames of the candles around him had turned blue and orange. I gazed into his deep, dark eyes, and knew no matter what else lay ahead of me, I had him by my side. Powers or no powers, whether we fought Catherine together or not, the bond between Sol and I was real and true, and it would take huge amounts of power to sever that now.

My attention was pulled back to Morgan as he called out, “In the name of Matapitarou Varenyou, who created everything in the universe, unbind now the latent magical abilities of Roxie Whitmore, descendant of the celestials, so that she may use her power to help defeat the evil that currently challenges us.”

The fact that Morgan has said “us” and not just “the Ancile” gave me hope that he was planning on sticking around for the future. As I gazed around the circle, I realized it wasn’t just Sol I had beside me now. Thanks to him, I had been introduced to this whole new world. I already considered Lettie a friend, and Jenn and I were moving towards that direction too. Whatever else may have been said about Morgan, he was here now when he was really needed. Even Bernard seemed to be warming up to me, and during our meeting earlier, he’d seemed almost friendly.

I felt in my heart these bonds were only going to grow stronger as my abilities were unbound, I learned to use my powers, and then together, we’d fight to defeat Catherine.

The air around me shimmered gold, obscuring my view of the others, and I felt my body growing warmer and warmer still. It no longer felt like I was merely standing next to a bonfire, but that I was in a volcano.

Dark spots danced in my vision, encompassing all the light from around. Before I could make sense of what was happening, all that remained was blackness. 

*****

When I awoke, I was in a different time and place. Honestly, I wasn’t sure I was even on earth anymore.

Wherever I was, it was beautiful. The sun shone like on the most glorious summer’s day, but without being harsh or hurting my eyes. Everything was bathed in a warm, golden glow. Wait, it was more than that. It was like the city itself was made from gold.

Was this the ethereal plane Morgan had mentioned? I’d never felt so at peace. Every inch of my body felt calm and relaxed.

“I’ve been waiting for you,” a soft voice from behind whispered.

I turned to see the speaker was the celestial woman from my visions.

“Who are you?” I asked.

She laughed. “Always so inquisitive, aren’t you? You remind me of myself when I was young. Well met, Roxie, you may call me Idalia. It is from I that your power originated.”

“You’re the one who made Sol’s Reverard sword, aren’t you?”

Idalia’s light blue eyes sparkled playfully. “Ah, so that is the name of the handsome man I have seen in my visions. Yes, one day, he will wield the sword I imbued with magic. Currently, it is in possession on his ancestor, Baldwin.”

“And where are we?” I asked, staring around at the golden city in awe.

“In your time, you call it the ethereal plane. In my time, some thought of it as heaven. It is where all the power of the universe originates. It is the home of Matapitarou Varenyou. It is the place our spirits return to when our time on the mortal plane is complete.”

“Matapitarou Varenyou?” I questioned. “Are they like God, or something?”

“Similar, I suppose. They are the parents of the whole universe. Both male and female. Neither male or female. They are everything. They are the sun. They are the moon and stars. They are the trees and the earth trees grow from. They are the parents revered above all else. They are everything. They created everything. It is from them that all known powers in the universe comes.”

“Oh, wow. That’s, errm, a lot. So, if there’s a god-like being, does that mean there’s a devil-being, too? Is that where Catherine got her power from?”

“You truly are an inquisitive one, and I am glad to sate your curiosity. Power is neither good nor evil,” Idalia said. “You would not say the wind is evil, or gravity. It is the same for what mortals call magic. It is merely a force, like many others in the universe. But you have seen how fire can be used to burn cities, and how men have waged war on the world around them. The same is true of magic. In the right hands, it can be a beautiful gift, used to help people. In the wrong hands, when acquired by someone with a dark heart, it can be used to hurt. To kill. Are you the type to warm your friends, or burn the walls around them? What is in your heart Roxie?”

“I want to defeat Catherine,” I said without thinking.

“Why?” Idalia asked.

“Because she killed Pierre. That’s not right.”

“No, it isn’t. She killed him and used his life-energy to restore her own strength. But would killing her be justified?”

“Well, it’s not like we can just hand her over to the police or something. And no one in the Ancile has mentioned there being prisons for paranormal beings. I don’t know—”

I’d always been so sure of my conviction in wanting to help the Ancile defeat Catherine, but why? What gave me, or Bernard, or Sol for that matter, the right to end another being’s life? Even if they were a murderous lich.

Before I could contemplate the answer more, Idalia asked another question. “If you defeat Catherine, what do you intend to do with your abilities then?”

“I don’t know, I didn’t think that far ahead,” I admitted. “I guess I’ll stick with the Ancile and help them defeat other evil paranormal beings.”

“What qualifies as evil? Idalia asked.

“Well, like in Catherine’s case, she killed Pierre, and he was innocent.”

“Your friends Lettie and Morgan have killed innocents. Are they evil, too?”

Damn!

The information sent me reeling. First of all, having confirmation Lettie had killed innocents, though not shocking, still broke my heart to know. I wanted to believe, even if she was a vampire, that she’d always been the friendly, helpful woman I knew.

Then there was the revelation Morgan had killed innocents. Who? When? Did the Ancile know? Was that why he left?

And of course, there was Idalia’s question itself. Were Lettie and Morgan evil for killing innocents? I wanted to say no, but if that was the case, how could I still condemn Catherine? If my friends deserved a second chance, didn’t she, too?

“Don’t worry, Roxie, I struggled with the same questions myself when my abilities first manifested,” Idalia said softly.

“What did you do?” I asked my ancestor.

“I followed my heart,” she replied simply.

My heart told me that despite her past, Lettie was a good person. The jury was still out on Morgan. But those weren’t the ones I’d vowed to defeat. Catherine was.

I’d always seen her as evil, and everything Sol and Bernard had told me backed up that belief. I knew without a doubt Sol was good, and despite his gruffness I didn’t truly think Bernard was evil. So, if they were the good guys, that made Catherine the evil one? Right? She was the one sucking out people’s souls.

I lifted my gaze back to Idalia’s, her blue eyes so like my own it was kind of uncanny. “I think Catherine is evil,” I said fiercely. 

“Then go forth and do what needs to be done, child of my line.” Idalia placed her hands on my shoulders, and a searing heat filled my body, making me cry out.

A blinding white light engulfed everything, so I could no longer see the golden city, or even Idalia who I could feel was still holding on to me.

The heat and light grew so intense that everything in my body hurt. I worried fire was going to burst out of me at any moment.

And then there was only darkness once more.

It felt like a lifetime passed while I was alone in the darkness. I didn’t know if I was still in the ethereal plane, or if my soul had returned to my body on earth, or if I was somewhere else entirely. Likewise, I had no idea how much time had actually passed. For all I knew, I could have been laying on the ground, unconscious for hours.

Finally, slowly, my senses started to return to me. I realized I was laying on the softest bed I’d ever been in. I was covered with a light blanket that was also unbelievably soft, as though it was made from the finest cashmere.

Then a scent on the air caught my nose. I’d recognize the vanilla, coconut, and almonds fragrance of Christian Dior’s Hypnotic Poison anywhere. At one time, I’d thought the perfume was the most classical, timeless scent profile ever, but now it was almost sicky sweet.

My eyes flew open. I was in a luxurious bedroom, with a woman sitting on an antique chair nearby. 

She smiled at me like a concerned friend. “Ah, Roxie, I’m glad to see you’re finally awake,” Catherine said. “I thought now that your celestial abilities are unbound, it was time we talked properly.”