Everyday Witches

The summer sun was sinking below the horizon as the last of the witches gathered around the circle of stones for the initiation. The large full moon was already quite prominent, its luminescence growing as the sun’s waned. This far from town, the stars were already beginning to poke holes in the darkening sky and soon there would be many more visible. As the final few witches picked their seats and settled in to wait for the beginning of the ceremony, Jude rose from his own. Whispering something to Callie, he ducked out from beneath the beach umbrella that still stood as shelter over the chairs and walked over to meet James behind the circle.

Jude’s father had traded in his usual plaid farmer’s shirt in favor of a white button down that was a crisp contrast to his black beard and cowboy hat. He had even had Maria press his new black jeans and had shined his boots for the occasion. It wasn’t every day that a man got to host a ceremony like this and he had wanted to treat it with the respect it deserved. As Jude neared the place where he stood waiting, James reached into his pocket and pulled out his alabaster focusing stone, holding it loosely in one hand. Since James and Jude were the most skilled at rune casting it would be their job to secure the area for the ceremony tonight.

During an event such as this, where the Gaia would be called upon in full force, it was important to set a magical boundary to prevent unwanted forces or creatures from coming in to the circle and also to dim the Gaia’s emanations from prying eyes. Although the farm was a relatively isolated place, it was still possible that someone could come close enough to oversee what would be going on tonight, and with the boundary in place it would be much less likely. The spell that James intended to use was similar to the shield spells that Marge and Jude had used when apprehending Tom, but it was a little more sophisticated and would provide a sort of buffer between what was going on inside the circle and whatever may be outside. If anyone did happen by, they would most likely disregard the event without ever realizing what was happening; similar to the natural protection that caused humans to mostly overlook or mistake any magical creatures they might’ve encountered. These types of spells took quite a bit of preparation and required the combined efforts of at least two witches working in tandem, but they were highly effective when used properly.

In preparing for the event itself, Jude and James had carved runes on a strategically chosen set of stones in the outer circle and had also painted runes atop each of the beach umbrellas; in order to focus and amplify the spell, once cast. Standing close together now, the two witches watched and waited for Jeff to begin his portion of the ceremony’s preparations before they could continue their own. Right now, Jeff was standing inside the innermost circle, and once he lit the bonfire and initiated the ritual that would call the Gaia into manifesting, Jude and James would walk the circle and place the spell of protection. Then, if all was well, the ceremony could begin; shielded and safe.

Inside the circle, near the bonfire that Jude had carefully arranged, Jeff stood in his summer finest, dark blue Wranglers and a pale blue linen polo. He held the pen that was his focusing object in one hand and a large fireplace lighter in the other. When he saw that Jude and James were in place and ready to begin, he gripped the pen tightly in his hand while reciting the liturgy that would call the essence of the Gaia into manifesting. It was similar to the casting of runic spells, but relied more on the practiced words than the combined hand motions that were required for the spells. When he was finished with the recitation he lit the long lighter and held it up against the wood of the bonfire. There was little breeze on this hot summer night, so he fanned at the base of the wooden structure with the hand that held the pen. It took a moment to catch but once it did the fire quickly engulfed the structure. He recited the final phrase that would complete the ritual and as he finished, the fire began to take on an unearthly green glow that crept out in misty tendrils past the bonfire itself until it reached the final circle of stones. Then billowing up, it created a hazy dome shape in the air above the circle. Backing away from the fire pit, Jeff turned and gave a thumbs up to Jude and James, and then made his way back to the place where his family was seated.

Waving in response, James leaned close to Jude and together they initiated the beginning of their spell. Then, walking past each other and following the circle around in opposite directions they each continued their incantations along with the hand motions that would bring the spell to fruition. As they each paced purposefully around the circle the temperature inside began to drop until the toasty summer night began to feel quite cool. When they had each completed the circuit twice and the spell was complete a sound almost like gun shot rung out through the air; much louder than the usual little pop that sounded after a smaller spell. A semi-opaque haze settled in over the gathering, marring the air as if the circle were encased in a thick piece of translucent plastic. It didn’t obstruct the vision of anyone within the circle, but it would effectively mask the ceremony from anyone who happened to be on the outside.

When they were sure that the spells were intact and the Gaia was receptive to the ceremony, Jude and James each made their way to their seats. Jeff, Marge, and Ricky got up from theirs and navigated through the two outermost circles of stones, until finding a spot to stand in between the inner two circles. The sun had disappeared completely beneath the horizon now and the hazy greenish fire back-lit the three witches where they stood, causing an otherworldly glow around them each, in addition to their natural auras. Jeff, with his darker brown hair was merely outlined by the glow; but the blond curls on Marge and Ricky caught the flickering light in a way that made them appear as some sort of medieval Gorgons. As the three moved into their places in front of the group the idle chatter among the gathered witches died down until the silence in the field was broken only by the occasional chirp of a cricket or the trill of a frog.

The little family turned to face the fire and, joining hands, Jeff began to speak. “Mighty Gaia, essence of life, granter of power and deliverer of justice, we come before you tonight to ask that you accept our son Ricky as part of your being; granting him kinship with the magical folk and access to the source of all creation itself. As we stand together beneath the weighted moon, my wife and I vow to teach our son the ways of living peacefully with nature. We will help him to understand the balance between the green Earth and its inhabitants that is required for harmonious living. And we will continue to be faithful stewards of that balance and to honor our communion with the Gaia.” When he was finished speaking, Jeff and Marge both stepped back into the next ring of stones, leaving Ricky to stand beside the fire alone.

As the invocation ended the night became preternaturally quiet, as if even the crickets and frogs were holding their breath. The simmering crackle of fire was the only noise in the field. The hush carried on until Marge cleared her throat and Ricky startled, remembering his lines. Holding his hands in fists by his side, he began tremulously, his voice becoming stronger as he continued on. “Mighty Gaia, I stand before you tonight, having come of age and newly aware of your presence and the history of my ancestors. I humbly stand before you tonight to ask that you would allow me to become a part of this fellowship. I vow to never take more from the green Earth than I might need, or to abuse the power that communion with the Gaia bestows. And I vow to always try to maintain the natural balance of life that flows between the green Earth and all of its inhabitants.” As he said the final words, the fire flared brightly in a near blinding flash. Ricky gasped and stumbled back, being careful not to cross into the next circle of stones. The Gaia’s glow that had been visible to the other witches, but not to Ricky suddenly appeared to him. He was relieved to see that it wasn’t quite as overwhelming as it had been under the influence of the fairy dust; but manifested as a more muted type of glow, in the way that a witch would normally experience it.

As everyone’s vision slowly cleared from the sudden Gaia flare, the images of faces began to appear within the flames until there were hundreds of them, some of them tiny and some large. Many were smiling but some appeared stern or serene instead. As the flames rose in their never ending ripple and flow the faces surged along them, fading and reappearing more brightly, over and over again.

Irresistibly drawn by the surge in the Gaia, Annabelle and Price left their seats near Marge and flew in close to the bonfire. Annabelle took up a spot beside Ricky, hovering beside his shoulder and gazing at the Gaia with reverence, her little arms wrapped tightly across her chest. Having never experienced a manifestation of the Gaia quite like this, Price was intoxicated by the overwhelming resonance of magic. He flew in loopy circles around the bonfire, oohing and aahing as he observed it from all sides. When he had flown around several times he finally slowed to a stop and settled in beside Annabelle to wait. Together the three watched the strange faces that shimmered among the flames until eventually they faded from sight completely.

The actual fire that engulfed the wooden structure, which had been roaring with large greenish flames, receded now becoming a softer more controlled burn. The greenish haze of Gaia that surrounded the whole area faded into a soft blue, until it matched Ricky’s aura. Ricky let out a little sound of surprise in response and the witches in the crowd erupted from their chairs, clapping and cheering at the ceremony’s success. The sudden commotion startled the fairies and they both spun quickly away from the fire and rose into the air, looking down on the campsite from a safe distance. At the same time Marge bounded towards Ricky, hopping lightly across the rows of stones until she reached her son. She threw her arms around him, a few tears forming in her eyes as she held him tightly. Finally she moved back, holding him at arms length and gazing at him proudly.

“It’s done,” she said reverently. “The ceremony was a success and you’re a witch now.” She reached a hand up to swipe at her eyes so the tears wouldn’t ruin her makeup. I’m so proud of you, Ricky.” She looked back over her shoulder as Jeff came up beside them and together they all turned to face the gathering of witches. Moving in beside Ricky, Jeff locked hands with his son and then lifted their hands into the air triumphantly, grinning widely.

“I present to you the newest member of our witch community,” Jeff said, his voice deepened with pride and other emotions. “Ricky Johnson!”

The group clapped and cheered again and a few whistles rang out across the circle. Jude pumped a fist in the air energetically. Somebody fired up a radio and an upbeat dance song rang out across the campsite. Several of the younger witches hooted in appreciation and hopped to their feet, forming a small group that began to dance together to the music. Marge and her family picked their way across the stone circles towards the other witches, most of whom were still standing beside the chairs and talking excitedly amongst themselves.

Jeff stopped just outside the last stone circle, digging in a pocket and gesturing for the others to go ahead without him. Marge nodded and took Ricky’s hand, leading him over to the buffet tables. She set to clearing off a space on one end and told him, “I know that you just had your birthday, but an initiation is a gift giving occasion too so you’re about to be doubly blessed. I thought we’d just clear you a little space here so that you can greet the others and have a place to set your things. Then, afterwards you youngsters can go home so we can preform the other ceremony.”

“The other ceremony,” Ricky asked, looking at her blankly.

Marge looked back at him, her eyes widening in surprise. “That’s right, you don’t know,” she said softly. She had been so caught up in her own version of things that she’d forgotten that Ricky didn’t know anything about what had happened with Tom. Her mind spun through possibilities of what she should say.

“Mom,” Ricky said impatiently, starting to look worried. He shoved his hands into his pockets nervously.

Marge gave a slow blink and then smiled disarmingly. She brushed a few nonexistent crumbs off the white table cloth in front of her. “It’s nothing sweetie, just a routine ceremony that you guys don’t need to be around for.”

Ricky was unconvinced. “You’re doing that thing,” he said, his eyebrows raised in disbelief.

“What thing,” Marge asked, indignantly.

“You know,” Ricky said. “That thing where you smile too much but your eyes look hollow. “You’re lying.” He kicked a sneakered toe at one of the table legs in frustration. “Come on, I’m not just a kid anymore. You can tell me.”

Marge sighed, straightening to her full height and smoothing down the neckline of her pink gingham dress. “I know you’re not just a kid, Ricky. But you’re not an adult either. And normally I wouldn’t concern you with something like this, but I guess, in this case it’s inevitable.”

Ricky nodded. He didn’t like the part about not being an adult yet, but he knew it was probably the best he was going to get.

“Okay, one of the witches from town… did some things that were pretty terrible,” Marge began, her nose wrinkling in distaste. He committed some crimes that hurt people. And some magical creatures.” She paused, looking over at Ricky and hoping that she had said enough.

Ricky looked steadily back at her, his curiosity piqued. “How exactly do you handle something like that? It’s not something that Dad and the police could deal with, is it?”

Marge placed a manicured finger on the tip of her nose. “Bingo,” she said wearily. “If they got hold of him he might do something stupid while in lockup, and it would be mayhem. If he were to preform some sort of magic, and they oversaw it…” she sighed again. “The damage control required would be astronomical.”

Ricky’s eyes widened and he rocked gently back and forth, assessing the gravity of the situation. “I see,” he said finally. “It’d be the Witch Trials all over again.” Marge and Jeff had only had a brief amount of time to go over things with Ricky before the ceremony, but one of the first things a good witch parent always did was to impress on them the importance of keeping things under wraps around the humans. It was of the upmost importance and usually involved a bit of fear mongering on the part of the parents to assure that they had made their point. The story of the Salem Witch Trials was often cited by parents as a way of highlighting the dangers that witches faced.

“That’s right,” Marge responded. “There’s no way that we could risk something like that, so we had to take matters into our own hands. But we’re safe now, and the man has been apprehended. We’ll preform another little ceremony and let the Gaia decide his fate. Then we’ll go from there. It’ll be fine.” She reached a small hand up and gently smoothed it across her son’s brow. “But it’s not something that you need to be involved in. You have so much on your plate already, with everything that’s come up in the last few days. Go spend some time with your cousins. Have some fun. We’ll take care of things here.” She looked up as several witches approached the table where she stood with Ricky. It was time for the gifts.

“Okay Mom. No problem,” Ricky said hurriedly, looking over his shoulder to see who was there. He glanced back at her and smiled reassuringly. “It’s okay, really.” Marge nodded, looking relieved. She had worked so hard to protect her family from the danger of Tom, but it was really even harder explaining it all to Ricky. The others reached the table and Jeff, his sister Sarah, and Gage all gathered around; each one congratulating Ricky again on his initiation. Jeff immediately stepped forward to give his son a big hug and then he moved out of the way for Ricky’s aunt.

Sarah was a tall woman, and very thin. When she went up to hug Ricky, she wrapped her long arms around him and leaned down to whisper to him, her long dangly earrings brushing softly against his neck. “I’m so very proud of you Ricky,” she said softly. “I’m sorry that we don’t get to see you more often, but please remember that my family and I are always here for you.” Sarah and her family lived halfway across the country, in Oregon and they didn’t make it out to Texas very often. She was Jeff’s only remaining family though and she always tried to make time to visit on special occasions such as these. She straightened and took a step backward, the gauzy outer layer of her bohemian skirt shifting gracefully around her calves. Then she manhandled a large patterned hobo bag off of her shoulder and set it on the table with a thunk, smiling sheepishly at Ricky.

“I brought something for you that I think you’ll like,” she said excitedly. “You’ve heard about the gift giving custom, I suppose?” Ricky nodded in assent and Sarah turned to dig into her purse, pulling out several small satchels. “I’m sorry,” she said guiltily. “My purse is always a mess, but it’s really loaded down since we’ve been traveling. I know it’s here somewhere though.” She pulled out a large glasses case, some kind of healthy granola bar, an organza bag that appeared to contain a bunch of assorted crystals, and then finally a long package wrapped in faded brown paper with some kind of geometric design printed on it. Smiling triumphantly she handed the package to Ricky and then began shoveling the rest of the contents back into her purse.

“Thanks Aunt Sarah,” Ricky said shyly. He had always been a bit intimidated by his mysterious aunt. He tore into the paper that surrounded the gift, pulling off long strips and handing them to Marge, who shoved them into a Styrofoam cup that was leftover from dinner. The present turned out to be a large wooden desk clock that appeared to be hand carved. Holding it up, Ricky inspected it closely. It was designed like a wooden box that was about five or six inches long and had a fancy metal time piece inlaid on one of the surfaces. The rest of the wooden surface was engraved with swirling designs that resembled leaves.

“Aunt Sarah, this is beautiful,” he said softly. “Thank you so much!”

Sarah grinned broadly and replied, “You’re quite welcome. I know that you never got to meet your other grandfather, but he was an incredible craftsman. He was always making little things like this and I thought that you might like to have one. I must still have a billion of them laying around. They’ve overtaken my house, really.” She laughed softly, her eyes crinkling and her long beaded earrings swaying gently.

“Well I sure appreciate it,” Ricky said, running a hand along one of the carved sides. “I’ll put it on the shelf in my room.”

Sarah held a hand out, “Can I see it for just a minute, please? I need to show you something.” Ricky handed the clock to her and she turned it over gently. On the bottom there was a little hinged panel, and she slid back a latch to pop it open. She fished around inside for a minute and then pulled out a small brass key. Then, turning the clock back over she pointed to a key hole in the face of the clock.

“It’s hand winding,” she said. “Every seven days or so you’ll need to use the key to wind it up so that it continues to run.” She plugged the key into the little keyhole and spun it around a few times, demonstrating for Ricky’s benefit. “Anyway, I hope you appreciate it,” she said, placing the key back into the little cavern in the base and then handing the clock back to Ricky. She gave him another little hug and a kiss on the cheek and then moved down the table; her large bag bumping up against it as she walked.

As his sister moved out of the way, Jeff stepped up to the table where Ricky stood. Reaching into the back pocket of his pants, he pulled out a small, palm sized book. It had a worn leather cover with the image of a crescent moon branded onto the front. Jeff moved in beside Ricky and, holding the little book in front of them both, flipped idly through it; stopping at a page here and there so that Ricky could get an idea of the contents.

“This is a potion book that has been passed down through my family for generations,” Jeff said, flipping the book closed and placing it in Ricky’s hand. “It belonged to my mother before me, and she gave it to me on the night of my initiation. Potions have never been my forte, but since your mother is such a whiz at them, I thought it might work well for you. Just make sure that you keep it well hidden.” He reached an arm around Ricky’s back and gave him a one armed hug. Then he stepped back and gave him a little salute. “We’re all proud of you, son, and I’m sure you’re going to do great things. Hopefully this will help you along the way.”

Ricky opened the book again, to the title page, marveling at the hand inked inscriptions. The little book was in remarkable condition, considering its age and the number of hands it had passed through. He closed it gently and set it on the table beside the clock, thanking his father for the gift. Jeff nodded and moved down the table beside his sister. The two of them began chatting softly as Gage stepped up to the table beside Ricky.

Pulling back his fringed vest, Gage reached into his pants pocket and pulled out one of the little stoppered vials that he had brought with him from the shop. He held it out to Ricky, and the boy’s eyes widened in surprise. Gage chuckled and placed it in Ricky’s hand, patting his shoulder with the other.

“It’s nothing dangerous, and it won’t curl your hair,” Gage said with a smile. “It’s just an extra one of the modified levitation potions you tried earlier. I figured a guy deserves to have a little fun sometimes.” His eyes narrowed a bit and his voice lowered. “Just make sure that there are no humans around when you use it. It’d be really dangerous if the wrong person were to oversee it. Can you promise me that you’ll be careful?”

“Of course I will,” Ricky responded, nodding for good measure. He had been made well aware of the risks involved with being a witch and had no intention of being careless. “Believe me, I won’t do anything stupid with it.” He set the vial gently on the tablecloth beside the other gifts.

“Good man,” Gage responded, holding out a hand for Ricky to shake. Then he moved along down the table to stand beside Jeff and Sarah. The remaining witches who had brought gifts had arrived and now formed a little line behind where Gage had been standing.

Up next was Callie with her mother Cammie. They each gave Ricky a quick hug and congratulated him. Callie pulled a little bottle out of her purse and gave him a fragrance potion that she had created to sell at their shop. It was similar to a love potion but didn’t cause quite as strong of a reaction. Handing it over to Ricky with a fiendish grin and a raised eyebrow, she explained the workings to him and made him promise not to use it until he was truly smitten with someone. It would cause an enhancement to attraction that wouldn’t be completely irresistible, but would certainly help his chances. Ricky grinned broadly and thanked her, setting the bottle on the table beside the rest.

Cammie, who looked like an older version of her daughter, with the same long dark hair and graceful manner, gave Ricky a small silver hand mirror with images of nymphs and dryads on the back. It was beautiful but mostly symbolic. Cammie claimed that the gift of a gilded mirror at their initiation would allow a young witch to always see the truth. Up next, Juan gave Ricky a coffee mug from his shop ‘Local Brews,’ and inside of it was a little bottle that contained a few servings of the perk potion that Marge loved. James and Maria gave him a silver ring with the rune for wisdom engraved in the center. His grandmother, Julia, gave him a handsome leather bound journal for him to write in, symbolizing the new chapter of his life. And finally Jude, bringing up the end of the line, gave him a compass that would help him to always find his way.

When the gifts were all given and Ricky’s part of the ceremony was winding down, the younger witches bundled into one of the wagons and James volunteered to drive them back to their cars. Julia, Winston, and Sarah climbed into the remaining seats, ready to head home as well. Although they could have attended the second part of the ceremony, there was really no need since they weren’t local witches and hadn’t been personally affected by Tom’s crimes. Not to mention that the judgment of the Gaia was a grim thing and not something that most witches would voluntarily choose to be a part of.

Standing beside the golf cart, Jeff said goodbye to his family and the others and patted a hand against the roof in send off. James put the cart in gear and, with a little wave, started the trek across the field to the main house. Now they just needed to wait for the arrival of Tom so they could begin the rest of the nights events. In the interim since his capture, Tom had been held by a witch friend of Jeff’s who worked as a private detective. Since he had a spare room and few neighbors and didn’t have children like Jeff, he had agreed to keep Tom in custody until the ceremony could be held. He was due to show up any time now, now that the younger witches had headed home.

While Marge and Ricky had been setting up the gift table, Jeff had called to greenlight his friend; asking him to show up in around half an hour. Wanting to check the time, Jeff reached into his pocket for his phone, just as it started buzzing. He breathed a sigh of relief, ready to get this over with. He looked at his phone screen eagerly before answering, but irritatingly enough, it wasn’t Jason who was calling. The display read ‘Captain Sanchez.’ Jeff smacked a hand onto his forehead in frustration. Not now! It was work calling, at the most unfortunate time.

Jeff answered the phone, putting a hand to his other ear to drown out the sounds of the radio blaring dance songs and the witches chatting happily in the background. He listened carefully to what the captain had to say and then hung up, shoving his phone angrily back into his pants pocket. Then he looked around until he located Marge and began to make his way over to her.

“Honey,” he said regretfully, as he came up beside her; meeting her happy smile with a little frown. “I know that this thing isn’t over yet, but I have to go. Someone broke into Wally’s drug store right after it closed tonight and the captain needs me to head over there and check things out. I’m so sorry, but do you think you guys can handle the rest of this without me?”

He gave her a pleading look and then circled around behind her and began to massage her shoulders. Marge sighed and leaned back against him, frowning now too as she tried to relax into the mini massage. Sure, they would be fine, but sometimes it was truly a pain being married to a police officer.

“Go ahead,” she said eventually, managing to keep the petulance at a minimum. “I know that you don’t really have a choice anyway. And we’ll be fine.”

Jeff let his hands drop as she spun to face him, grabbing a fistful of shirt collar with either hand and pulling him in for a kiss. He wrapped his arms around her lower back and held her close as they said their goodbyes. Then he pulled back reluctantly, letting his hands trace across her sides. He hated having to leave at a time like this.

“Thank you honey,” he said softly, his arms still resting lightly on her hips. “I’ll let you know how it turns out. And then I’ll probably meet you back home after all this is over.” He leaned over to give her a gentle kiss on the cheek. Then looking back wistfully, he walked over to wait for James, who was in the process of returning with the golf cart after dropping off the kids. Jude and Callie had staked out a spot near the parking area and were sitting closely together on a blanket. Jeff angled towards them, figuring that he ought to let Jude know what was going on, while he waited.

“Hey,” he said sheepishly. “Sorry to interrupt you two, but I got a call and I’m going to have to leave.” He looked at Jude guiltily. “Do you think you guys can handle things without me?”

Before Jude could answer, Callie fired off with, “Absolutely not,” managing to maintain a straight face. “The prisoner transfer can not be completed without a commanding officer present.” She grinned slightly and then brought a hand up to cover her mouth, her eyes sparkling.

Jude looked at her in surprise and began to chuckle, his eyebrows raised. There was apparently more to Callie than met the eye. “We’ll be fine,” he said, leaning back to look up at Jeff. “Jason is going to be bringing Tom along any minute, right?”

“Yeah,” Jeff replied. James pulled up beside them with the other golf cart and Jeff held up a hand, motioning for him to wait. “Should be any minute now. If I hear from him first, I’ll be sure to let you know.”

Jude nodded and made a little shooing motion with his hands. Jeff apologized again and then climbed onto the golf cart beside James, explaining to his friend what had happened. James nodded and then put the golf cart back in gear. Jude and Callie waved as he backed the cart out and he and Jeff trundled off towards the house once again.

“That’s got to be an interesting life,” Callie said, watching the taillights of the golf cart track across the field towards the house. “I’m not sure that I could handle it as well as Marge does.” She turned to look at Jude, their faces coming incredibly close.

Jude blinked and reached a hand up to rub at the back of his neck. He had never noticed, but Callie’s dark eyes had little amber flecks in them that were only visible from up close. “Yeah,” he said slowly. “I guess it takes a certain kind of person to be able to deal with that kind of pressure all the time.” His gaze moved down her face, stopping momentarily on her ruby lips and then he quickly looked away. What was he doing? He knew that it would never work out between them.

Callie cleared her throat and waited for him to return his attention to her. When he looked her in the eyes again there was something vulnerable there that he hadn’t seen before. “What about you,” she asked quietly. “Are you really happy with the life you’ve got out here?” She dug an elbow into his ribs and grinned wryly. “The city is always calling, and I bet the two of us could make some beautiful children together.”

Jude blushed faintly and looked over at the cow field, feeling a tightening in his body despite himself. This was definitely the Callie he knew. Forward and over confident. He hadn’t realized that she may be hurt by his refusal to play the game though. He wanted to touch her so bad right now but he knew he shouldn’t.

“You’re not wrong,” he said finally. But he wasn’t so sure that it would actually work out. He turned to look at her, and the mixture of desire and uncertainty in her eyes nearly drove him mad. He reached a rough hand up and traced a delicate line down the side of her face.

“What would I do though? Get a job as a maintenance man somewhere? I’m a farmer, an outdoorsman.” He sighed and let his hand drop heavily into his lap. There was a little string sticking out of one of the pockets on his jeans and he began to fidget with it absently.

Callie laid a delicate hand along the top of his, stopping his fidgeting. “You could open a shop. Don’t sell yourself short. You have a lot to offer.”

“A shop?” Jude snorted, pulling his hand out from beneath hers. “And what would I do when a huge hoard of pixies builds a nest right outside my office and starts pixing all the customers as they come in? Or worse, a never ending rat infestation, or all the local stray dogs in the area set up shop right outside my door?” He shook his head and looked down at his hands.

Callie reached over and put a tentative hand on his face, pressing gently to get him to look up at her. “You worry too much. You’re a great guy, and everybody who knows you likes you. We could explain it away.”

“I don’t know Callie, I get tired of always having to be something I’m not. It gets old. And besides…” He gestured around the expansive fields. “I like it out here. I love the farm life, the horses, the cows, and the wide open spaces.” A horn honked in the near distance and he looked over towards the main house. There was a car pulling up, it’s twin headlights illuminating the driveway but obscuring the car itself. It had to be Jason. James was still waiting with the golf cart after having dropped Jeff off and they would be ready for the other ceremony any minute now.

Jude looked back at Callie, his eyebrows drawn. He reached for one of her hands and held it in both of his own. “I’ll think about it,” he said softly. He blew out a breath in frustration and then continued. “You know you could meet me half way. We could build a house out here and I could continue to work where I love. If we really wanted to, we could work this out.” Callie frowned and Jude took his hands back, tucking them around his chest. She didn’t want to be the one to have to budge. He knew it and he hated it and he didn’t know what to do about it.

He waited a moment to see if she would respond and when she didn’t he got to his feet, brushing absently at the back of his pants for dust and grass. He reached a hand out and Callie took it. He pulled her up beside him and then reached down for the blanket, shaking it off and then folding it up into a square. The golf cart pulled back into its spot near the place they were standing and James climbed out, followed by a man who must be Jason. Together they reached into the back seat and pulled Tom out, each one holding tightly to an arm.

Jude was surprised at the lack of emotion he felt at seeing Tom again. After everything the man had put them through, he would’ve expected to be very angry. But right now he just felt tired. The two other men held tightly to their handcuffed prisoner and shuffled him along towards the stone circles, where the Gaia waited to decide his fate.

Jude and Callie fell into step behind them; Jude grabbing hold of Callie’s hand and whispering, “We’ll talk about it later, okay?”

The remaining witches were gathered in a little group near the cooling remnants of tonight’s supper. Sarah had hooked the radio’s speakers up to her I-pod and an old Indie love song was playing softly on the breeze. ‘She only takes it black’ by Gregory Alan Isokov. While the other witches chatted softly among themselves, she was nursing a wine cooler that someone had brought over from the house and swaying slowly along to the music.

Jude and Callie came up beside Sarah and, ducking to dig through the ice chest that was lodged beneath the table, Jude came back up with a beer and a wine cooler for Callie. Now that the youngsters had gone, the adults were free to indulge; and he didn’t have anywhere he had to be tonight. Plus, with the ceremony that was coming up, he figured they might need it. He took a swig and leaned in to say something to Sarah, but before he could begin, Jason cleared his throat loudly to get everyone’s attention.

“Okay guys, it’s time. Gather up your things and let’s get this show on the road.” He clapped his hands together and then grabbed hold of Tom’s arm again, shuffling him along towards the stone circles and the waiting bonfire. One by one the witches began to trickle over and pick their seats, some of them stopping to get a drink first and some of them dropping off bags or empty bottles on the buffet table before heading over. Jason and James held tightly to either side of Tom, moving him forward until the three of them stood right up against the final stone circle that surrounded the bonfire.

Since the group had thinned out with the younger witches having departed, the remaining observants for the ceremony sat grouped close together on one side of the circle. When the final witch had taken her seat, Jason cleared his throat again and then began.

“Greetings to the Gaia, the fount of all life and the deliverer of justice. And welcome to all who have come to witness the ceremony.” He turned to face Tom, who was staring, ashen faced, above the crowd towards the night sky. “Tom Delaney, we have brought you here to stand before the Gaia and to answer for your crimes.”