I placed each of the four quartz points at the cardinal directions. I began in the east and walked clockwise. As I laid the point, facing outward, I concentrated on each element. This part was crucial for summoning the Guardians of the Watchtowers. They protected us from any negative spirits that might be around.
Mama burned the sage. The aroma was blissful in its intoxication, both gently sweet and musky at the same time. The scent of the sage grounded me in the moment. Most people have childhood scent memories of baking cookies. Mine were of the cleansing perfume of burnt sage.
She used the crow’s feather to guide the smoke onto her face, over hear head, and down her body. She then encircled herself with the smudge stick. This allowed the smoke to shield her back.
“You’re turn, Gracey. Put your arms out.” Mama instructed Grace.
She forced the sage smoke to flow all over Grace. She traced the outline of Grace’s body one way, then had her turn around. Mama repeated the motion, coating her in the smoke.
After the last quartz was put in place it was my turn to be saged. As if by magic the burning sage did not need relit. I put my arms out and mama traced my body with the smudge stick, front and back.
After all of us were saged, mama swept the smoke over the magical tools set upon the altar.
“Ready?” I said.
“Ready.” Mama ground the sage stick against a resin shell to snuff out the burning embers.
“What do we do next?” Tension rolled off Grace in a wave of anticipation.
“Next, we calm you down. This won’t work if you’re tied up in knots. We have to ease into it.” I rolled my shoulders. “Try this. Take in slow, deep breaths. There you go. Doesn’t that feel much better?”
“Yeah, it does.”
“Allow yourself to soak in the sage. That’ll help, too.” I was about to call the guardians when I remembered a crucial tool. “Mama, do you have a picture of Onyx on you?”
“Of course, I do.” Mama pulled her phone out of her back pocket. She scrolled to a picture of Onyx. My sister was not aware mama was taking the picture. She was lounging on the couch in the living room covered in an afghan blanket while she read The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski. “She fell in love with The Witcher series.”
The corners of my mouth turned up. She looked so content. I wished I had known her better. There was only so much a person learned from the occasional phone call.
Dear lords and ladies, please let this work if for no other reason than so I could tell her I loved her one last time. I had tried this spell when my father died and it failed. I never told anybody. I felt rejected. It took years to come to terms with the fact that my father had simple moved on before I attempted the ritual.
“Okay ladies, let’s get this party started. Follow my lead.” I raised my arms, palms up, and called the four corners.
“Element of Air, come to me, lift my words, hear my plea.” I took in a deep breath and blew it out slowly. Where there once was no wind blowing a slight breeze picked up.
“Spirits of Fire, join me here, charge my words, burn my fear.” The temperature in the room got a tinge hotter. The flame on the white candle danced.
“Element of Water, cleanse me now, carry me through, hear my vow.” The sound of waves hitting rocks echoed. The sound made Grace jump.
“Spirits of Earth, I call to thee, ground my work, make it be.” The ground rumbled. It was strong enough to rattle the house.
We closed the circle by taking each other’s hand. The power was electrifying. I knew it in my bones that this spell was going to work.
“We call upon the ancestor, Onyx Sinclair. We summon her spirit to us. Come to us, Onyx Sinclair. We summon and stir thee. Pierce the veil. Speak to us in the here and now.”
Everything fell silent. The waves quieted. The wind died down. The house stopped shaking. A chill swept through us. Our breath was visible. Frost crept across the black mirror like a crisp spiderweb. A shiver ran down my back. It was as if a rabbit ran over my grave.
“Onyx? Can you hear us?” Mama whispered.
A wisp of a skeleton hand jutted out of the frostbit mirror. It clawed at the air. The tickle sound of ice hitting the hardwood floor echoed in my ears.
We all jumped back and let go of each other’s hands.
Grace screamed, “Fuck!”
The skeleton hand grabbed the edge of the mirror. A second hand shoved its way out. It gripped the altar. Together they pulled and wiggled more of the ghost out of the blackened pool until. The creature crawled out. Long black threads cascaded from its head. It craned its neck as it slithered more of its ghastly figure before us. A screech escaped its lipless mouth.
I covered my ears. That did not stop blood from seeping out.
I locked eyes with the creature and knew in an instance it was a she. “Onyx.”
She dropped her chin to her chest and whined. “Ray-ven. Ray-ven. Help me, Ray-ven.”
I reached for her hands, but my hands went straight through hers. She felt as cold as a still night in January. I shivered, desperate for heat. “By the gods, sister, what happened to you?”
She patted her throat. It must be hard for her to communicate. She turned to mom. “Ma-ma, make it stop.”
“My baby. I’ll do anything to make it stop. What can we do?” Mama’s face was wet with tears.
She slapped her chest. It was hollow. There was no definition to that area. Her heart.
“You need your heart. Your killer took your heart and you need it back. To be whole.”
She threw back her head and shrieked.
Grace covered her ears. She cowered at the sound. “Stop it. Stop it. Stop it!”
I couldn’t stop. I had one last question to ask. “Who killed you?”
She clawed at her throat. “Pa! Pa! Briar. Pa a briar!” She kept repeating herself. “Pa a briar. Pa a briar.” She cried out in frustration. Onyx tore at her chest.
The rumbling began again. The sound of waves crashing upon rocks grew louder than before. The wind picked up. And as the temperature began to rise Onyx melted back into the ebony surface.
“Wait, Onyx, I love you.” I called out to her, but she was gone.
No matter what anyone said I would bring my sister peace. I would find her heart and bring her killer to justice. It didn’t matter what anyone thought. This was my duty as her big sister. I was not there to protect her in life, but I sure as fuck would protect her afterlife.
Onyx is a prequel to the Raven Sinclair Novels. It is set to debut April 18, 2023. You can pre-order it now on Kindle.