Myka's Tail Ch. 06

"Hey love. Where is Millicent," I asked Kelli, but it was Penelope that answered.

"Hello again Myka, how are you?"

"I am doing pretty well Miss Penelope," I replied, wondering why she had deflected my question. "Did I say something wrong?"

"Oh heavens no, child, and it is just Penelope. None of this Miss nonsense. I was waiting for you to return before letting everyone know what is happening."

Once she said this, I noticed that everyone there put away what they were working on and gave her their undivided attention.

"Millicent is currently marshaling her powers for the ritual this evening. As you are all aware, she and I have a number of years between us."

Her statement made everyone there chuckle in amusement, and the twinkle that she had in her eye let us know that that was her intent. I had started to sense a great deal of tension in the room and with her jovial comment, most of it had been diffused.

"Since she is actively participating in the main part of the ritual tonight, she is making sure that she is fully prepared for the strain that this will cause her. She has, however, given me the marching orders that will be followed for the evening."

"Has there been any major changes to the plan we have prepared," Gina asked.

"Only a few last minute tasks have been added, but they do not include most of you. Since I have already finished all of my preparations for the addition of the golems to the ritual, I am not necessarily needed to work any further of my craft tonight. Millicent has asked that Cassandra and I visit the various other covens that will be able to feel the working of such powerful magic this night, and briefly explain what is happening, so as not to alarm them. Are you agreed with this, Cassandra?"

"I am," she replied with a nod. "I can only assume it is because I have some measure of discourse and friendship with many of the witches that might be concerned with the night's events?"

"That was Millicent's assessment of the situation," Penelope confirmed.

"But what if my mom is needed here," Ali cried out, and inside I was happy to see that things might be improving between her and her mother.

"Millicent has full confidence in your abilities to defend our work here, young one. As do I. It will be crucial to warn the other covens about our designs tonight, and if we can arrange it, we will have them send reinforcements if they are needed. You will also have the help of Myka and Kelli's fathers and Miss Michaelson, who will be on hand to deal with more mundane threats."

"Well, I guess it can't be helped," Ali replied. "But mom, and for the record I am still pissed at you, you need to be careful. I have a ton of questions now, and if you get ambushed while traveling, I am going to get really angry."

"Oh, my dear Aliara," Cassandra nearly cried, as she moved to take her daughter in her arms. "My sweet Ali. I will return, unharmed, and I will answer anything you wish. Anything at all."

I watched in amazement as the healing process between mother and daughter began, and I was overjoyed to see Ali allow her mother to give her a hug. It was even more surprising when she tentatively hugged back. I could still sense the deep anger that Ali had, and the hurt that both of them were feeling, but finally there was a lifeline that could pull them back from the brink.

"Good," Ali said, and finally stepped back from the unexpected embrace. "Well, I better not keep the two of you, because there are a lot of covens that will feel what we are going to do tonight."

"You are quite correct, Aliara," Penelope agreed with a nod. "And we must be going. I trust you know the groups that you will be contacting Cassandra?"

"I do, and I need to start now if I am going to get everyone notified. Though I fear that some of them will end up finding out after you all have begun. There are just too many covens to contact, and they will take time."

"Why will it take so much time," I asked in confusion. "I thought everyone here can transport anywhere very quickly."

"We can indeed do that, Miss Myka," Penelope answered. "But most covens are very territorial and are tolerant at best of unannounced intrusions. We will have to meet on neutral ground, and we will have to wait for them to show. It is a delicate process, which is why the two of us are the ones who were given this task. We will be as swift as possible, and we will both make sure that those who feel they can aid you if there is trouble will make it there swiftly. It is not the best solution, but it is the only solution."

"I am so sorry, dear Myka," Cassandra agreed. "Though I will not be present to aid you and my sisters, know that I have trained my Aliara well. She will be a shield and a sword upon which you can depend, and she has my fullest confidence."

I could feel the sense of pride that Ali felt at her mother's compliment move in past the anger that was still present in how she felt deep down. Because of the shift in their emotions, it was not really a surprise to me when she pulled her mother into a fierce hug.

"You better get going," Ali finally said as she stepped back from her mother. "If you don't then I will probably keep you here too long and we will piss off a lot of powerful witches."

"Yes, you are correct," Cassandra replied with a final touch to her daughter's face. "I will see you in a while. Be safe, and remember what I have taught you."

Cassandra and Penelope then moved into the living room of our home, and transported away to begin their witch's diplomacy so that if anyone attacked us, it would be enemies and not potential allies. None of us really knew what to do next, other than that we needed to be in the clearing about two hours before we would begin. That left our little group with just a few hours to kill before we would have to be ready to go, and we all assumed that Millicent would show sometime before then.

Since I did not have any magic to memorize or go over for the hundredth time, I asked if the group wanted something to eat before the evening's tasks began. I checked with everyone and decided that another round of Thai takeout was good for all, so I went into town and picked up enough to feed a small army. As I returned I saw that Avery had arrived and was walking up to the door to meet up with us before heading out to the clearing.

"Hey there Michaelson," I called out as I closed the door with a hip check because I was so loaded down with food. "I hope you like Asian, because that's what everyone else wanted."

"Well damn if it isn't good to see you Myka," she replied with a laugh and took a few sacks out of my burden.

"How is the office treating you," I asked as we went inside.

"Shit! You know that I hate being behind a desk, but the brass wouldn't let me refuse a promotion review after all that happened. It was become a supervisor, or find private sector work, and I love the department of wildlife too damned much."

"I know you do, and it's probably why they tapped you to move up. So you only have yourself to blame. But seriously, thanks for coming out tonight."

"I wouldn't miss it, and my gut tells me I might be needed."

"Yeah. I'm hoping that things will just go as they should, but that has never been our luck. But hey, Kelli's dad said that you could use one or two of his guns tonight."

"Thank god," Avery said as she breathed a sigh of relief. "I know it is kind of skirting the rules, but if something happens and there is an investigation, it would be really hard to explain if they discovered rounds from my service weapon in the mix."

"Well, let's hope that it doesn't come to that in the end."

Since she had half of the food, I opened the door for Avery and we hustled inside so that dinner could start, allowing us to finish well before it was time to go to the clearing. There was enough of a variety that everyone was able to have something that they liked, and we enjoyed the time we had to talk with each other before our thoughts were taken up by more critical matters.

Eventually things wound down, and then emotions started to wind up as time seemed to rapidly slip away from everyone. It was now dark outside, and my moms had been giving out candy to the few families that would come out this far to see us. I could sense the tension in the room, and the nervous crackle of energy that I was feeling from Kelli wasn't helping. The slow rapping on the front door after a long stretch of silence had me almost jumping out of my skin, and my mind was second guessing everything at a rapid pace.

Mom opened the door, and then with a quick step to the side invited whoever it was to come in. I breathed a sigh of relief as I recognized Millicent's ever present shawl just as she pulled it back from covering her head. She reached up and placed a hand on my mom's cheek and whispered something to her that I could not hear, and then strode in to where the rest of us were with a determined look in her eye and a serious purpose in her step.

"Good," she called out to get everyone's attention. "I sense that we are all prepared for our task this night. I am pleased that Penny and Cassandra are having a good deal of success this evening, and as of this moment we are all sure that there will be no interference from any of the other covens. They will, however, continue to warn those sisters in the craft who will feel the power that we invoke, and I expect them to return shortly before dawn."

"What if they are needed," Gina asked, her voice filled with concern.

"What skills and experience they could bring will not be required to aid us this night. We have here with us all who will be needed, and if they had remained to aid us, our designs would have been thwarted by those they seek to warn. This I have seen."

"Well, then I guess it's just us then," Ali sighed, and we could all tell that she had been hoping that her mother would have been able to make it back.

"Penelope mentioned that you would have more instructions for us," Kelli interrupted, and I moved to her side to help calm the turmoil she was feeling. "What are we going to be doing, and who is going to be doing what?"

"Hey, I'm here with you, love," I whispered to her, leaving a kiss in her ear. "Everything will be ok."

"I do have some final words for everyone," Millicent answered, and I felt Kelli start to calm down a little. "We have all prepared as best we can for this night, and the only thing we can do now is move forward in confidence. Miss Kelli and I will be taking our places on opposite sides of the inner ring, and will be working the most magic as we invoke the creation ritual."

"Not to be argumentative, but wouldn't it be better for either Mary or I, or even Ali to be the other conduit for the ritual magic we are trying to invoke," Gina asked. "I mean no offense, Kelli, but you lack experience in the craft, having only come into your power just a few years ago."

"I am not offended in the least," she replied with a small smile on her face. "In fact, I brought this up with Millicent myself when she told me to begin preparing a couple of weeks ago."

"That is correct," Millicent added, and I could feel the steely weight of her authority in her voice. "I asked Miss Kelli to be my counterpart for two very important reasons. While she is a young and inexperienced witch, I feel her natural aptitude for seeing the proper patterns and power structures required for any form of ritual magic will more than make up for what she currently lacks in overall skill."

"I did not mean to question you," Gina said as she nodded in deference to Millicent's decision. "And I do believe you are right about Kelli's skill with ritual spells. If I may be so bold, may I ask what the other reason is?"

"It is never wrong to give voice to things that concern you, and I always listen to those concerns and try to explain myself when I can. In this instance, it is the insistence of both Myka's and Kelli's parents to be at the circle this night to witness the working of our craft in its fullness. I have argued against this, and have done my best to persuade them otherwise, but in the end it is their choice, and I have a strong sense that disaster would befall everyone if I took the right of that choice away from them. So, my preparations place those of you who are much more adept with the more reactive magics, in places to defend those who will have no way to do so for themselves. That is what I have decided, and I need to know that you all understand."

I nodded my head, as did everyone else, to make sure that we had signaled understanding of the plan. Millicent, for her part, took in the acknowledgement with hardly a blink to indicate that she had noticed.

"Myka, my little one, you will stand with your bond mate and defend her in the event that she needs protection, and Daniel shall stand with you as well, to give aid where he can."

My dad raised an eyebrow at this, and went to calm down mom when she began to be agitated with the idea of him possibly being in danger.

"Aliara, you and Mary will stand with me, to be my defense in the event you are needed. Gina will be with Miss Lilly and Amanda, and you are to protect them at all costs. It would be wise to transport them away swiftly if possible, just in case trouble should arise."

Gina also nodded in understanding, and went over to stand with both our moms, already filling the role she had been assigned.

"Steven and Avery will be on hand to provide a measure of mundane defense, in case it is also needed. I will caution the two of you, however, that if those who mean us harm bring magical beings into the fray, do not waste your efforts in attacking them. We have not time to enchant your weapons, so please take care to only engage those threats you will have some effect on. Other than these things, we are as prepared as we shall be. It is time now to take our places and leave the rest to the fates."

And with that, it was time to go. The walk seemed to take forever, even though I had made this trip hundreds of times. The energy in the air between us was crackling with stress, fear, and nervousness, and it showed on the faces all around me. Gina was talking to my moms in hushed tones, most likely giving them more instructions on what to do if attacked, and Kelli's dad and Avery were discussing tactics while unconsciously checking the placement of their weapons and extra ammunition.

Kelli was deep in conversation with Millicent, and I could feel the wavering in her confidence as we drew closer to the clearing and our tasks for the evening. I sent her all of the love that I could muster, and it made her glance over to me with a smile and a wink. Even Ali and Mary were chatting about what they could do in the case that things began to go south, and I was left alone in my thoughts and with a mountain of worry that, again, I was not ready. And once again, as I felt the crushing weight of my lacking confidence, dad's arm settled around my shoulders and pulled me into a hug.

"Tell me what you are feeling, little girl," he asked in a soft voice meant only for me.

"I just don't feel ready dad," I answered, and you could not mistake the shaking in my own voice. "I can guarantee you that Mathias and the Betrayer will try and either stop us or hijack the ritual in order to secure an unbelievable amount of power to use against us, and me in particular. I don't completely know why I am in their sights, and I don't know if I can beat them again. The times that we have won, were more due to luck than anything else."

"I don't ever want to hear you say that again, Myka," and the fact that my dad had used my name this time let me know he was irritated with me. "From what I have been told, you kept calm and used your head in Scotland, and figured out how to help Kelli unlock her own gifts. You've earned black belt rank, and can even give Steve a run for his money in a fight. And you maintained a level head when Mathias and his mercenaries tried to take you as well. You have prepared, and trained, and learned so much since your journey started."

"Then why don't I feel ready? I just feel like disaster is waiting around the corner, and it is going to pounce when I can't do anything to stop it."

"You feel that way because you're human, or partly human anyway," dad chuckled. "I don't know that I will ever get used to saying that, but it is true. We all do the best we can in life, and sometimes there are good things, and sometimes there are bad things. The trick is to keep learning, keep growing, and keep preparing, so that when a curve ball is thrown you can hit it out of the park. You and Kelli are young, and you will both make mistakes, probably for a long time. It's just the way life works. But errors and mistakes, failure really, is the greatest teacher that we have, and you both are open to learning, so chin up and do your best. It's all you can do, and all I expect."

I had to admit, that dad's words had calmed me down considerably, and from what I could tell Millicent had somehow put a bar of pure steel into Kelli's spine. She was still nervous, and there was still an undercurrent of fear running through her emotions, but I had not often felt this much confidence coming from Kelli. And with the confidence I felt over our bond, I realized that I could be afraid, but that I would do my damnedest to protect everyone tonight.

Soon enough we had moved into the clearing, and the preparations that we had been working on for several weeks were clear to be seen. The large marker stones stood as silent sentinels in the light of the full moon, and the shadows they cast seemed to have formed themselves into a strange but eerily familiar pattern. The smaller stones that would serve as conduits for the power that would soon flow through this circle almost glowed as the silvery rays found their surfaces as well.

Within minutes of our arrival, the members of the Circle had strategically placed torches that were mounted on poles all around the clearing. These weren't the kind of back yard decorations that you could get at a Wal-Mart either. They were thick, bulky, and smelled of kerosene, and once they had been placed, Millicent ignited them all with a word and a wave of her hand. In an instant the clearing was filled with the warm glow provided by the dancing flames, and the witches all went about their business of drawing arcane circles on the ground, and on some of the unmarked stones.

Kelli and Gina were directing the efforts, referring to a hefty stack of notes and drawings that they had made, and in the course of thirty minutes, everything seemed to finally come together to Millicent's satisfaction. At that point, Gina took our moms over to one side of the main circle and sat with them to talk a little more, and Kelli made her way over to me with my dad on her arm. Avery and Kelli's dad were walking patrols at the borders of the stone circles, while Ali and Mary were weaving an intricate pattern as they juggled balls of light and fire between themselves. Everything before the ritual had now been done, and all we could do now was wait.

To calm my nerves a bit more, I began to move through some fighting drills so that I could loosen up. It felt good to move my bare feet over the firmness of the earth, and to feel the chill that the fall air had brought to the soil I loved. Since I had known that my family, plus all of the members of the Circle that were participating, would be there for the ritual, I was wearing a pair of tight denim shorts with a light olive colored tank top. If a fight were to break out, as I suspected would happen, my clothes would still give me freedom of movement and allow me to use the reflexes and strength that I had developed over the last few years.

"Daniel," Millicent said, as she walked up to our small group. "Thank you for being here this evening, for giving of your time and your efforts. Especially for all the help you and your family have provided in the preparations for our endeavor."