Just ahead of her and Justin, Trent and Jonas walked carrying a load of what looked like several staffs, although she could see a bobbly end on them when she looked closer. Jonas lifted his face into the air and sniffed, and then walked to a point just in front of her and stuck one of the sticks into the ground. It was then that Melody realised what they were — Tiki-torches.
She could hear his bass rumble as he instructed Trent, who walked across to the opposite side. Gradually, the two shifters worked around the outside of the circle, Trent digging in a torch opposite to wherever Jonas stuck one in.
Asher’s bag of salt had run out, and now Dean took over ensuring that his beginning overlapped where the wolf’s had ended. The provost, in the meantime, had gone on to draw a second inner circle, about a foot inside the first one. Nick was following her around with his salt while Dean finished off the outer ring.
“Melody, take the sage and purify the torches please, in spell order.”
“Yes, Provost,” Melody called, then paused. “Is this for the good of my coven?”
The provost spun to look at her, horror on her face. Then she calmed. “Melody, as your teacher, I need you to practice your purification spells. Please demonstrate the technique for torches.”
Melody nodded and began. When no burning pain began on her back, she knew they were onto the right track. They just had to be careful. She was exhilarated. Not only was she about to join a new coven, but it would be the provost’s. Melody would stand witness that this was a last ditch resort, in case there were calls of nepotism, although she wasn’t sure how much her testimony would be worth if there was any trouble.
Carefully, she made her way around the circle with the burning sage, cleansing the torches before lighting the four cardinal points in the anti-clockwise direction. Then she turned and lit the four torches between them in the clockwise direction. By the time she was done, there was a reasonable amount of heat emanating from them, warming the space between them. She felt a faint shimmer of magic and saw it leaving Justin, arcing elegantly over the space and forming a dome. Melody smiled gratefully at him. This ceremony would be performed “clad in the light”, and it was seriously cold.
“Here,” the provost shoved a book at her, and Melody caught it just in time. “I know this by heart, but you might need to refer to it. Start at the north point and work clockwise towards me, I’ll start from the other side of it and work in the other direction. This will be a good practical learning experience for you.”
“Does it matter for the runes?” asked Melody.
“No, not at all, only the candles, or torches as it may be in this case.” She turned away from Melody. “Justin, seeing as you were so kind as to provide the dome, could you start working spells of protection into it please? Better to be safe than sorry,” the provost asked him.
“Yes, Provost. Nick, come give me a hand, will ya?”
The two dragons stood conferring off to one side, and Melody tried to ignore them as she worked the runes into the ground, travelling first east then south around the circle. Oz walked with her, filling the cuts with salt as soon as she stepped over to the next location. Soon, his bag was empty and Ryan took over. Dean and Trent had a bag each and were following the provost around, while Jonas talked quietly with the dragons.
They worked for some time, putting the multitude of runes in between the two rings, and then after the provost drew a second inner ring, they put even more runes between the second and third circles. By the time they were finished, Melody was exhausted. Her back ached from bending over, and her eyes were gritty with fatigue.
Every now and then, she would feel a jolt of magic as either Dean or Justin would add another spell to the dome protecting the site. When she looked up, there was a beautiful mosaic of spells above her, and Melody found herself entranced for a few moments, watching as the magic eddied and swirled through the patterns.
Finally, after adding a spell or two of her own to the dome, the provost turned to Melody and held out her hands. “It is time, child,” she said, quietly.
Melody nodded and shed her clothing, Dean taking it from her and folding it neatly before passing it to Asher who sucked in a breath at her scarred body, but turned and placed it on the pile of empty plastic sacks that had held the salt saying nothing. This way, not only would they stay clean, but they would also be dry. She walked to the north point and then entered the circle, walking to the provost and joining hands with her. It was only Melody who needed to be naked, she was the supplicant, the recipient of the blessing of a new coven.
There was the sound of many feet, and Melody spun, fearfully, only to see Jonas returning with Mrs Hardinger, Professor Simmonds, Mr Cartwright and Mr Phelps. Apparently they would be witnesses to the ceremony. She felt a little self conscious, standing there naked in front of all these men, but one look at the heat in Dean’s eyes made her forget everyone else. Asher’s jaw was slack and his hands trembled, a sign that his wolf was pushing to shift.
The four witnesses took their places at the cardinal points
