I sat under the tree with Stevie Rae and watched as Zoey passed around thinking and ever so often looking up to see if anyone was coming. Zoey then sat down taking a deep breath. "I hope the rest of them can find it," she then looked at me. "It didn't seem this dark last night."
"It wasn't. It's really cloudy tonight, so the moon's having trouble shining through. But don't worry, the Change is doing really cool things for our night vision." Stevie Rae said and reached up to scratch the Zoey saved yesterday. "Heck, I think I can see as good as Nala." Nala then as if on cue Nala purred and I couldn't help but chuckle.
"Don't worry Zoey, even if it's a bit dark me, Annabeth, Nico, and Will are all used to having to find something in the dark." I said with a smile I then noticed her look and relized what she was upset about. "Z-bird, you just hurt Erik's ego a bit, be nice and he'll ask you out again."
Steive Rae chuckled a bit and looked at me, "Z-bird?" She asked and I nodded.
"You'll notice that Me, Annabeth, Nico, and Will all have nicknames for each other. I'm Seaweed Brain, Annabeth is Wise Girl, Will is Sunshine Boy, and Nico is Ghost King." I noticed how Zoey looked over to me and just nodded. "Actually those nicknames link up to what I'm going to tell everyone after the ritual."
Zoey looked at me then bit her cheek, "You don't have to tell them-"
I raised a hand up, "Nope, I told Shaunee that I would tell them- plus I've always planned to tell them."
Zoey smiled then looked at me, "How did you know I was talking about Erik?"
"That's- well, history has proven that's not what I would be thinking about, but! I am a male who likes girls, and I know that you also would be worried about how Erik acted at dinner today." I said and Stevie Rae giggled a bit. "So I'm telling you as a male, his ego is just hurt."
Zoey then sighed, "I should be thinking about the circle I have to cast- which I've done before- and the purification ritual. Not some boy."
"He's no 'some boy', He's some fiiine boy," Stevie Rae replied which caused all of us to laugh.
I looked over and saw Damien and Annabeth had started to walk over. "You must be talking about Erik." "Damien said and looked at Zoey with a kind look, "Don't worry I saw the way he was looking at you at lunch today. He'll ask you again."
Zoey smiled, "Thank you, Percy has given me the pep talk." Zoey mentioned then looked at me. "Did you guys get the sage and lavender?"
Annabeth nodded and took a bundle from her bag, "Damien mixed the sage and lavender himself."
"I hope it's okay that I tied them like that." Damien said as Annabeth gave Zoey the bundle.
Zoey smiled and looked at the both of them, "It's perfect, thank you guys."
Damien looked relieved then added a bit shyly, "I used my cross-stitch thread."
"Hey, I told you before you shouldn't be ashamed that you like to cross-stitch. I think it's a cute hobby. Plus, you're really good at it," Stevie Rae said with a kind smile.
Damien smiled sadly, "I wish my dad thought so…"
I got angry at the fact Damien felt ashamed that he cross-stitched so I looked at Annabeth. "Hey did you get the blanket I made for you from my dad?"
Annabeth smiled at what I was doing, "The one you crocheted with your mom so you had a hobby to share with her- yes. Yes he did."
Damien looked at me surprised, "You crochet?"
I nodded then looked at him, "Hey we should make a textil hobby club, like me and you teach everyone how to work with yarn and string."
Zoey nodded and smiled, "I think that would be a fun idea, plus I'd really like to know how to cross-stitch."
Damien smiled at Zoey, "I can teach you anytime, Z."
The Twins then walked up with Nico and Will. I saw that they all were holding candles. Will smiled as he held a yellow candle,"We got the candles." He said and Nico rolled his eyes.
"Obviously, they can see that." Nico said which caused everyone to chuckle and it was Will's turn to roll his eyes.
Zoey smiled and then looked at us all, "Awsome, okay, let's move over here so we're a little away from the trunk but still standing under the branches." She paused and thought about what to do next. "I'm going to give four of you each a candle- and just like the vamps in Neferet's Full Moon Ritual, you're going to represent that Element. I'll be spirit." When she said that Nico handed her the purple candle he was holding and Zoey smiled. "I'm the center of the circle. The rest of you take your place around me." Without hesitation Zoey switched the candles Shaunee and Erin held. "Shaunee you'll be fire and Erin, you'll be water."
"Sounds good to me, I mean, everyone knows how hot I am." Shaunee said and went to her spot.
"Water is perfect, I used to like to lay out- which involves swimming when I needed to cool off." Erin said getting to her spot in the circle.
Zoey then looked at Stevie Rae and gave the green circle Nico was holding to Stevie Rae, "You're Earth."
Stevie Rae smiled and got into her place around the circle, "Green's my favorite color!"
Zoey then looked at Damien and smiled, "You will be air, your element opens the circle." She said and Damien smiled and walked to his spot. Me, Annabeth, Nico, and Will then watched from the oak but Zoey looked at us, "Percy I want you to stand between Erin and Stevie Rae. Annabeth I want you to stand between Shaunee and Erin, Nico I want you to stand between Damien and Stevie Rae, and Will, I want you to stand between Damien and Shaunee."
We all moved to our spots and realized she put us in places that would correspond with our godly parents- me and Nico more prominently. Everyone looked excited then looked over at Zoey for what happens next. She took a deep breath then she addressed us again, "Here is how you use the smudge stick." She stood in front of Damien, starting where the circle would open. "Smudging is a ritual way to cleanse a person, place or an object of negative energies, spirits, or influences. The smudging ceremony involves the burning of special, sacred plants and herbal resins, then, either passing an object through the smoke, or fanning the smoke around a person or place. The spirit of the plant purifies whatever is being smudged." She paused in her lesson and then looked at Damien. "Ready?"
"Affirmative." Damien responded in typical excited Damien fashion.
Zoey lit the bundle of herbs, let them burn for a while before blowing them out so that all that was left were nicely smoking embers. She then started at Damien's feet wafting the smoke up his body while she continued her explanation of the ceremony. "It is really important to remember that we're asking the spirits of the sacred plants we're using to help us, and we should show them proper respect by acknowledging their powers."
"What does lavender and sage do?" Stevie Rae asked and I smiled at her a bit.
As Zoey made her way smudging Damien's body she answered Stevie Rae, "White sage is used a lot in traditional ceremonies. It drives out negative energies, spirits, and influences. Actually, desert sage does the same thing, but I like white sage better because it smells sweeter." She looked at Damien and smiled, "Good choice, Damien."
"Thanks, but Annabeth was the one to actually pick it out." Damien said and looked over at Annabeth who smiled.
"I asked my friend Piper about the purification prayer and she remembered her Grandfather telling her white sage is good for a purification prayer." Annabeth said then blushed, "Piper is part Cherokee as well."
Zoey looked over at Annabeth and smiled, "I'm glad you asked her then." Zoey then continued with her explanation looking at Damien, "Okay, know turn clockwise and I'll finish up with your back. My grandma always uses lavender in all of her smudge sticks. I'm sure part of the reason is that she owns a lavender farm."
"Cool!" Stevie Rae said watching Zoey.
"Yeah, it's an awesome place." Zoey said, returning the smile, but continuing to smudge Damien. "The other part of the reason she uses lavender is because it is able to restore balance and create a peaceful atmosphere. It also draws loving energy and positive spirits." She finished Damien then tapped his shoulder, "Okay, you're done."
She then moved to Will and started to smudge him, I saw Stevie Rae and a slightly scared expression on her face. "Positive spirits? I didn't know we'd be calling anything other than the elements to the circle."
"Please. Just please, Stevie Rae." Shaunee said, frowning at Stevie Rae. "You can not be a vampyre and be afraid of ghosts."
"Nope. It doesn't even sound right." Erin agreed.
I looked at Stevie Rae and Nico spoke up, "Those who don't have caution when it comes to the souls of the dead are the ones in the wrong." He said to the Twins in a tone that shut them up. He then looked at Stevie Rae, "However with the cautions Zoey is taking to make sure they are positive- not negative spirits, we will be okay."
"But wait, isn't Zoey talking about Cherokee spirits? They probably won't pay much attention to a ceremony done by a bunch of vampyre fledglings whose non-Native American-ness outweighs our High Priestess's Cherekee-ness eight to one," Damien said in a slightly worried tone.
Zoey finished Will and moved to Shaunee moving a bit faster but still being through. "I do not think it matters what we are on the outside. I think what matters is our intent. It's kinda like this: Aphrodite and her group are some of the best looking, most talented kids at this school, and the Dark Daughter- and Dark Sons should be an awesome club. But instead we call them hags and they're basically a bunch of bullies and spoiled brats."
"Or kids who have been bullied into joining and who are just along for the ride," Erin said nodding along to Zoey.
"Exactly." Zoey said as she started Annabeth. "What I mean is that I do think the spirits of my ancestors can hear us, just like I think the spirits of the sage and the lavender are working for us. But I don't think you have anything to be afraid of, Stevie Rae. Our intention is not to call them here so that we can use them to kick Aphrodite's ass." She said and moved to Erin and smiled a bit. "Even though the girl definitely needs a good ass-kicking. And I don't think there will be any scary ghosts hanging around tonight."
"We're not going to ask them to help us kick her ass?" Shaunee asked, disappointed.
"Nope. We're purifying ourselves so that we can ask Nyx's guidance. I don't want to beat Aphrodite up." There was a pause and she looked at me then started to smudge me. "Well, okay, I might enjoy it, but the truth is that doesn't solve the problem of the Dark Daughters." I smiled at her and nodded as she finished smudging me moving to Stevie Rae, "It's true we don't like that we don't like Aphrodite, But I think it's important not to focus on negatives like kicking her ass or pushing her out of the Dark Daughters." She moved to Stevie Rae and smiled, "That's what she would do in our place. What we want is what's right. More like justice than revenge. We're different then her, and if we somehow manage to take her place in the Dark Daughters, that group will be different too."
"See, that's while you'll be the High Priestess and Erin and I will just be your attractive sidekicks. Because we are shallow and we just want to knock her bobble-head off her shoulders," Shaunee said and Erin nodded along.
Zoey then had moved to Nico and smiled and Damien spoke up, "Positive thoughts only please, we are trying to do a purification ritual."
And before Shaunee could do anything more the glare at Damien Stevie Rae piped up, "'Kay! I'm thinkn' only positive things, like how awesome it would be if Zoey was the Leader of the Dark Daughters."
"Good idea, Stevie Rae!" Will said with a smile, "I'm thinking the same."
"Hey! That's my happy thought, too. Peter Pan with me Twin." Erin said and called to Shaunee.
Shaunee stopped scowling at Dmaine and said, "You know I'm always up for some happy thoughts. And it would be damn nice if Zoey was in charge of the Dark Daughters and on her way to being a high priest for real."
Zoey took a deep breath and looked at Nico, "Okay, now you smudge me." She said and Nico complied following what she had done with all of us. "Ready?" She asked everyone once more. We all nodded and confirmed for Zoey that we were in fact ready. "Okay pick up your candles." She said and lit the spirit candle.
Without hesitation she brought the candle to Damien who gave her an excited smile as he held his candle. She took a deep breath and smiled back at him.
"Air is everywhere, so it only makes sense that it is the first element to be called into the circle. I ask that you hear me, air, and I summon you to this circle." When she lit Damien's candle it flickered like crazy, and soon after a mini-whirlwind of wind surrounded both Damien and Zoey causing there to be a breeze within the circle. I noticed that Damien's everys grew wide and he smiled at her in shock.
"It's true… you can actually manifest the elements." Damien commented and Zoey took a deep breath.
"Well, one of them at least. Let's try for two." She said and moved to Shaunee holding tightly to the spirit candle. "Fire reminds me of cold winter nights and the warmth and safety of the fireplace that heats my grandma's cabin. I ask that you hear me, fire, and I summon you to this circle." As she lit the red candle the flame bursted into light, almost as if it duplicated in size. I then smelt the scent of firewood, from the bonfire at camp. I smiled and Looked at Annabeth who shared the same look.
Shaunee stared at the candle in wonder and excitement and I heard Damien say in a small voice, "That's two…"
Erin grinded when Zoey took her place in front of her. "I'm ready for water."
Zoey smiled and started to speak call water, "Water is relief on a hot Oklahoma summer day. It's the amazing ocean that I really would like to see someday," When she said that I caught her giving me a side eye for a split second. "And it's the rain that makes the lavender grow. I ask that you hear me, water, and I summon you to this circle." Zoey lit the candle and I smiled at that salty fresh scent of the ocean. I closed my eyes just breathing in the smell of the ocean.
"That's so awesome." Erin said in a breathless voice.
"That's three." Damien said in a low excited voice.
"I'm not scared anymore." Stevie Rae said looking at Zoey.
"Good," Zoey said kindly then it was time for her to call earth, "Earth supports and surrounds us. We wouldn't be anything without her. I ask that you hear me, earth, and I summon you to this circle." I assumed she lit the candle as I kept my eyes closed and suddenly my senses were flooded with the smell of hay from the pegasi stables. I opened my eyes again and saw the excited look on everyone's face.
"Four." Was all that Damien said and was uttered.
ZOey walked to the center of the circle and lifted the purple candle, "The last element is one that fills everything and everyone. It makes us unique and it breathes life into all things. I ask that you hear me, spirit, and I summon you to this circle."
As soon as Zoey finished calling spirit I felt my own spirit leap then settle down. I looked around and saw all the elements dance around Zoey and then settle down around her as Damien exclaimed, "Look! Look at the circle!"
There was a glowing light that connected all of the elements and ran under our feet. It was bright and clear as a full moon. I held back a laugh of joy and I stared back at Zoey who was watching the elements and taking everything in.
"That makes five." Damien said, almost bouncing for joy looking at Zoey.
Zoey smiled and nodded, "Okay, I'm going to speak the purification prayer, and while I say the prayer I'm going to face each of the elements, one at a time." She said and started to relax, "And while I say the prayer, focus on the Prayer. Concentrate. Believe that the elements will carry it to Nyx, and that the Goddess will answer it by helping me to know what I should do." Zoey said looking at us all. Once again Zoey faced east and looked over to Damien who smiled an encouraging smile to her. She then started to recite the prayer, with a few changes she had made earlier.
Great Goddess of Night, whose voice I hear in the wind, who breathes the breath of life to Her children. Hear me; I need your strength and wisdom.
She paused briefly and turned south taking a deep breath before she spoke again.
Let me walk in beauty, and make my eyes ever behold the red and purple sunset that comes before the beauty of your night. Make my hands respect the things you have made and my ears sharp to hear your voice.
I closed my eyes starting to feel the rhythm of the prayer Zoey was speaking.
Help me to remain calm and strong in the face of all that comes toward me. Let me learn the lessons you have hidden in every leaf and rock. Help me seek pure thoughts and act with the intention of helping others. Help me find compassion without empathy overwhelming me.
I seek strength, not to be greater than others, but to fight my greatest enemy, the doubts within myself.
Make me always ready to come to you with clean hands and straight eyes. So when life fades, as the fading sunset, my spirit may come to you without shame.
I felt as though that was ending with the prayer so when I opened my eyes I saw Zoey standing in the middle and looked up to the sky slightly and started to speak again. "And Nyx, I don't understand why you marked me and why you have given me the gift of an affinity for the elements. I don't even have to know. What I want to ask is that you help me know the right thing to do, and then give me the courage to do it." She took a deep breath once more then looked to us, "Blessed be!"
I felt a surge of happiness and hope for whatever comes next.
