The four children sat in the circle, breathing heavily with their legs folded in front of them: Rita, Tobias, Wilson, and Meredith. The circle was lined with salt, a pentagram drawn within it with white chalk. The four corners of the room were lit with candles, illuminating the dark corners and casting tall shadows of the four children on the walls. The shadows; they looked like tall slender masquerades dancing in the dark. It was the basement of Meredith's house. The egress window was shut tight, yet a chilly breeze blew in from nowhere and froze the air in the dark room, sending fear down the spines of the four teenagers. Outside there were flickerings of lightning that could be seen from the window and the low rumblings of thunder.
A dead dog lay at the center of the circle; it was Meredith's dog, and they were going to raise it back to life. It was the first time they were performing a resurrection spell. Beside the dead dog was the book of shadows, a chalice with a knife in front of it, facing Rita. The children had memorized the spell over and over again, yet as they sat there, they could each hear their hearts thumping within their chests. The last time they had tried a spell as powerful as this, Wilson had lost consciousness for two days because he channeled too much power. It was to heal his sister from epilepsy.
“Let's begin,” Rita said, she was the leader of the coven. The others nodded. “But remember,” she continued, fixing her gaze on Meredith, “We are a team, we storm the castle together.” Meredith nodded, dropping her gaze to the floor. The others did too. She raised her hand over the chalice and dropped in a dead bat, “A sacrifice of blood for the spirit of death.” She said.
“A pinch of salt for the path of the dead,” followed Meredith, sprinkling in salt.
“Earth we came, earth we return,” Wilson added, dropping a piece of red earth.
“Water, water the Earth's root, that life may grow out of death,” Tobias said, pouring in water. And they all responded, “So let it be”.
“Sinews to bones, flesh to sinews,”
they began.
“Come winds of life, and turn again death's door.
O spirit of death, harken our call,
We the four poles of the earth, do summon thee,
Make thyself a lie.
Come O’ winds of life and turn again death's door,
Life, breathe into this creature!”
Immediately, the flames of the candles surged, and the foundation of the house began to shake, tumbling down a stack of golfing equipment Meredith's father had kept in a corner. It caught fire and began to smoke.
The kids looked around in horror, “Quick! Lock hands!” Rita yelled amidst the rumblings. They all grappled for one another's hands. “Don't stop chanting!” she cried.
“Sinews to bones, flesh to sinews,
Come winds of life, and turn again death's door…”
The rumblings increased and the candle flames burned wildly. Slowly the fire began to spread, licking the walls of the basement.
“Quench the fires of death O mother of life! And breathe life into this creature!
Come winds of life, and turn again death's door.
O spirit of death, harken our call,
We the four poles of the earth, do summon thee,
Make thyself a lie!...”
The window flew open, followed by a bolt of lightning which struck right into the room and hit the chalice, causing it to go up in flames. Wilson felt Meredith's grip weaken and turned just in time to see her head drop down, there were beads of sweat dripping down her cheeks, and her breathing seemed ragged. He tightened his grip and shook her. Do not channel too much power, Meredith! He yelled in his mind. Meredith winced and threw up her head. Eyes wide open, she re-joined the chant weakly. Tobias shut his eyes tightly, Help us, help us, he telepathized to no one. The veins on his forehead were threatening to burst. Just then, a gust of wind blew past him, and two cold hands grabbed his shoulders. His eyes flew open. But they were met by a calm, smiling face with eyes as clear as the moon staring into his face. It was his grandfather, Grandpa Idris, who had died a year ago.
“Grandpa,” Tobias called, his mouth falling open. “How?” He asked. He looked around and saw the others were still chanting, and their hands were still locked.
Idris smiled warmly, taking hold of the boy's face, he said, “I'm here because you summoned me, Tobias; you were thinking about me.”
Tobias’ eyes teared up, “I've missed you so much, Grandpa,” he said, then as if suddenly awakened to reality, he said, “Help us, Grandpa, please help.”
His Grandfather nodded and said, “I will, but you and your friends must stay away from this kind of magic, it's dangerous even for the most powerful of witches.”
Tobias nodded, staring helplessly at his grandfather.
“Now, lock your eyes with mine and channel my energy. Sinews to bones, flesh to sinews, Come winds of life, and turn again death's door…”
By now, the children were yelling on top of their voices. The flames had hedged them in, burning the walls around them but steering clear of the circle. Suddenly, the flames went out, and Meredith collapsed to the ground. The room fell silent and they could hear one another's breathing as they struggled to see through the thick darkness, then they began to cough simultaneously.
“Let's get out of here,” Rita yelled, pulling herself up as she reached out to grab Meredith. “Help! Meredith is on the floor,” she cried. Tobias and Wilson both scrambled over to where Meredith had sat, searching with their hands; they pulled her up the moment they felt her and staggered their way up the stairs out of the basement.
They woke up the next morning at the hospital, sad, discouraged, and disappointed that they couldn't bring Meredith's dog back to life.
“I saw my grandpa Idris yesterday,” Tobias said, breaking the silence as they sat on Wilson's bed, bemoaning their loss.
“You did?” Wilson asked. “What did he say?”
“He said we shouldn't perform such spells again, that it's dangerous even for the most powerful of witches.”
The children sighed. “Well,” Meredith began. “My only sorrow now is that Edna will be buried before I have the chance to return and say goodbye.” She began to cry.
“It's okay Meredith, don't cry,” the other three comforted, leaning in for a hug. Just then, Meredith's father walked in.
“Look whom I fouuuund!” He sang, beaming with a smile. There was Edna, alive and well in his arms!
“Edna!” Meredith yelled. The four children squealed, jumping down from the bed. “Where did you find her?” Meredith asked, taking the dog from her father. It wagged its tail and licked her face, she hugged it and squeezed.
“We found her scraping at the basement door yesterday night when we returned,” her father said. “Such a miracle she survived all that smoke.” He added, robbing the dog's head. The children just looked at one another and giggled. Only they knew about their happy secret. And oh it was a happy secret indeed.
Mmeyene Joseph