June, the month of the Dyad moon, the time the God and the Goddess become one. It is a time to seek harmony in all things: light balances dark, heat balances cold, and good balances evil.
Brenna Lindsay stood silently in the circle she'd formed of white beeswax candles. The full moon bathed the clearing with silver light. Cool night air met the still-warm ground, creating wispy patches of ground fog blanketing the earth like a sheet of transparent white cotton.
Her wolf, White Star, sat on his haunches next to her, alert and on guard. Her other companions, twin shapeshifters, Boris and Igor, prowled the perimeter of the glen, watching for any hint of danger.
A hoot of an owl and the rustling of a small creature were the only sounds detectable …show more content…
She resumed her preparations for the Summer Solstice ritual. Normally, at the lesser Sabbat of Litha, it was common to seek the Goddess's blessing upon earth's bounty and protection for one's home. With the veils between the worlds of light and dark at their thinnest, a witch has the charge to maintain the delicate balance.
This year, that duty was of higher consequence.
Evil was afoot, and had gathered strength since June's crescent moon. It was then that she'd received the first warning, a note tacked to one of her herb farm's drying sheds…
We're watching you, witch. Stay out of business that doesn't concern you, or else!
After several more ominous threats and some incidents of vandalism, she contacted the head of the Coven of the Wolf in Chicago, Drake Morgan. Briefly, she'd considered going to the local law. The new sheriff was reputed to be a fair and impartial man, but she quickly discarded the notion. No matter how open-minded the sheriff was, once the words "witch" and "magick" became involved, his liberalness would vanish more quickly than ice in Hell.
Drake's response had been gratifyingly immediate. He sent two men from his security team, the Russian twins, Boris and Igor, to investigate—and provide protection. They'd arrived yesterday, just in time for the midsummer …show more content…
Laughing, she stroked her pet's head between his ears. "Go on with you. Boris and Igor will protect me. Just don't bring whatever you catch home. I don't want rodent parts in my house."
Star rubbed his head against her leg in obeisance, then took off for the wall of trees at the edge of the clearing. His dark body merged into the inky shadows.
"Why do you put up with that wild animal?" asked Boris, or was it Igor? She still had a bit of trouble telling the two apart.
"He's no wilder than either of you." Her glance swept over the twins, who'd shifted from their wolfhound form into human. They stood outside the circle, their pale, naked bodies almost glistening in the bright moonlight, waiting to be invited inside.
"Please enter. All be blessed who come within." After the two crossed over, she re-consecrated the circle and began to light the white beeswax candles. "Didn't you bring any clothes?"
"No," said one of the twins. She thought it might be Igor, since his tone seemed serious. "We thought summer solstice rituals were performed sky-clad."
"Traditionally they are," she said, "but this spot is adjacent to public forest land, so it is safer to have clothing at
Brenna Lindsay stood silently in the circle she'd formed of white beeswax candles. The full moon bathed the clearing with silver light. Cool night air met the still-warm ground, creating wispy patches of ground fog blanketing the earth like a sheet of transparent white cotton.
Her wolf, White Star, sat on his haunches next to her, alert and on guard. Her other companions, twin shapeshifters, Boris and Igor, prowled the perimeter of the glen, watching for any hint of danger.
A hoot of an owl and the rustling of a small creature were the only sounds detectable …show more content…
She resumed her preparations for the Summer Solstice ritual. Normally, at the lesser Sabbat of Litha, it was common to seek the Goddess's blessing upon earth's bounty and protection for one's home. With the veils between the worlds of light and dark at their thinnest, a witch has the charge to maintain the delicate balance.
This year, that duty was of higher consequence.
Evil was afoot, and had gathered strength since June's crescent moon. It was then that she'd received the first warning, a note tacked to one of her herb farm's drying sheds…
We're watching you, witch. Stay out of business that doesn't concern you, or else!
After several more ominous threats and some incidents of vandalism, she contacted the head of the Coven of the Wolf in Chicago, Drake Morgan. Briefly, she'd considered going to the local law. The new sheriff was reputed to be a fair and impartial man, but she quickly discarded the notion. No matter how open-minded the sheriff was, once the words "witch" and "magick" became involved, his liberalness would vanish more quickly than ice in Hell.
Drake's response had been gratifyingly immediate. He sent two men from his security team, the Russian twins, Boris and Igor, to investigate—and provide protection. They'd arrived yesterday, just in time for the midsummer …show more content…
Laughing, she stroked her pet's head between his ears. "Go on with you. Boris and Igor will protect me. Just don't bring whatever you catch home. I don't want rodent parts in my house."
Star rubbed his head against her leg in obeisance, then took off for the wall of trees at the edge of the clearing. His dark body merged into the inky shadows.
"Why do you put up with that wild animal?" asked Boris, or was it Igor? She still had a bit of trouble telling the two apart.
"He's no wilder than either of you." Her glance swept over the twins, who'd shifted from their wolfhound form into human. They stood outside the circle, their pale, naked bodies almost glistening in the bright moonlight, waiting to be invited inside.
"Please enter. All be blessed who come within." After the two crossed over, she re-consecrated the circle and began to light the white beeswax candles. "Didn't you bring any clothes?"
"No," said one of the twins. She thought it might be Igor, since his tone seemed serious. "We thought summer solstice rituals were performed sky-clad."
"Traditionally they are," she said, "but this spot is adjacent to public forest land, so it is safer to have clothing at