"Sacred Magick"

                High in the tower room of a crumbling castle long since forgotten, the wizard sat before the fire.  A bitter autumn wind stirred the faded tapestry covering the arrow loops and flickered the candle-flames, causing shadows to dance around the room.  Ancient scrolls and tomes overflowed shelves that covered the circular walls from floor to ceiling.  A thousand years of knowledge and wisdom, whispering its secrets.  It was the perfect night for secrets, and for old ghosts to come and haunt, for it was Samhain.
         The wizard shook off his musings of the past and turned his attention to the future, the distant future.  If his calculations were correct, and he was certain they were, six hundred years from this night mankind would be in a hell of a mess.
         Strange occurrences had been taking place in the Other World lately, with a subtle shift in the Vibrations, which, if left unchecked, would have disastrous consequences.  For the past fortnight his Dreams had shown him what the future would be like if it continued, and what would need to be done to restore the balance.  So he was planning, and preparing.  This would be his final, and most powerful, Working. 
         Two mortal souls would be born into that wondrous future, two souls of such pure Spirit and Power that, if they were able to come together, would have the ability to command both the physical and the astral planes. 
         He had been messenger for the gods and advisor to kings, but with the last of his Power before his Turn of the Wheel, the great wizard was going to play matchmaker.
                             
                                     *******

                Brianna smiled nostalgically as she checked the wards on all the doors and windows of her house.  It sure was different now during Samhain than when she was a girl.  As she looked through the curtains of the upstairs bedroom window, she was relieved to see her neighborhood street empty.  There would be no children knocking on her door dressed as their favorite god or goddess or element or season this night. Everyone was snug in houses that were hopefully warded up tight.
         Sending out her awareness one last time, she felt the strength of the shield she had placed over her home and was satisfied that it was strong enough and would hold through the night.  The danger would pass with the first light of dawn, and daily life would return to normal as the new year began.  Though sunset the following day officially started the New Year, only in the darkness of Samhain were They able to come through. 
         She headed downstairs to make herself a cup of tea, wishing she could start a fire and watch the flames dance while she enjoyed it, but the chimney had already been sealed and warded.  Standing now in her kitchen, the aroma of the herbs in her special blend reminded her again of Sabbats long past, when the house would be filled with these scents as she helped her mother craft the charms and temporary glamour potions that were handed out to the boys and girls who came calling.  Her mother had been the community’s Wise Woman, and Brianna had inherited the responsibility upon her mother’s passing.  She had inherited her mother’s gifts as well, along with all her knowledge, and Brianna was confident in her ability to protect and guide her community, but she would have loved to have been able to contact her mother, if not for advice than just to feel her love and spirit.  But it was too dangerous now, and Brianna wasn’t willing to risk opening up a portal to the Other World.  Besides, there were other nights of the year when the Veil was thinner.  It was just during Samhain that the Veil was the thinnest, and because of this, and the Unbalance, other things, ugly things, had started to slip through.
         Her hands wrapped around the warm mug, Brianna carried it into her living room and was comforted by what she saw.  Four blessed and warded beeswax candles were lit and placed appropriately.  A yellow one sat to the east on her fireplace mantle, and incense, burning beside it and representing air, filled the room with the scent of frankincense to aid in protection.  A red candle burned on a low table beside her mother’s rocking chair, and served the dual purpose of marking south and representing fire. A blue candle placed on a long, narrow table behind the sofa marked west, with an  engraved chalice of silver and gold half full of blessed water sitting beside it.  And to the north a rich brown candle the color of earth flickered cheerfully on her grandmother’s mahogany writing desk, with rocks of salt placed in a shallow wooden bowl close by.  The warm glow of candlelight encircled the cozy space, adding an additional bubble of safety.  On the low coffee table her wand lay luminous, a barely perceptible soft blue light pulsing from the pale Ash.
         A howling wind broke over the house as if it was a wave meeting up with a cliff, rattling the windows and sputtering the candles, and Brianna reached for her wand to officially cast and close the circle.  The Sun had set.
         A loud pounding on her front door had her gripping the wand tightly and raising her arm, ready to blast first and ask questions later, but logic prevailed as she remembered that the Bad things did not have a physical body, nor would they give that much advance knowledge of their presence. 
         Hurrying to the door, she looked quickly through the side window, and her body  went up in flames of desire.  Her breasts swelled and her nipples puckered, her womb contracted and her panties became wet. 
         “For Dagdae’s sake, open the door Brianna!” Finn yelled through the sturdy oak.
         Brianna threw the bolt and opened the door just enough for Finn to squeeze through, granting him permission to pass her wards safely with a murmur as he did so, then quickly shutting and locking the door behind him.  Looking out the window again gave her a few seconds to get her body under control and gather her wits, only to mutter a curse when she Saw what was creeping around the perimeter of her yard.
         “They’re getting bolder every year,” Brianna said as she turned and watched Finn shrug out of his jacket and hang it in the closet. 
         “Aye,” he replied in his husky and oddly melodious voice that held just a hint of a burr. It never failed to send tingles running just beneath her skin.  “The Sun has only just set, and with it being a New Moon, it’s only going to get darker.”  Finn looked at her then, his eyes traveling leisurely down her body and then back up again, coming to rest on her face.  His green eyes took on the look of an emerald held in front of a candle-flame, and the intensity of his gaze rooted her to the floor. 
         Finn Lockhart had the body of a warrior. In fact, that’s exactly what he was, a Fenian, an initiated warrior who knew Magick.  With the physique of a god of Old, and the mind of a Druid, her body screamed “I want”, her mind yelled “Run”, and her heart whispered “Mine.”
         “Why have you come?” Brianna asked, her voice raspy from squeezing the words past strangled vocal cords. 
         “How could you believe I would not?” he asked with an incredulous laugh.  He walked towards her then, coming to a stop just before his body touched hers and lifted a hand to cup her cheek.  “Of course I would see that you are safe this night,” he said softly.  His palm moved to the back of her neck and held her, and, as if Compelled, his head lowered and his mouth settled gently on hers.  There was no movement of their lips yet, just an exchange of breath as they recognized and absorbed each other’s energy.  Slowly Finn’s other arm came around her and he closed the remaining distance between their bodies, and with the contact the kiss ignited.  Their first kiss, and they satisfied years of curiosity and need.  They kissed with their mouths and tongues, with their hands and bodies, with their minds. 
         It was effortless, as if they had always read each other’s thoughts.  When their bodies had touched, so had their souls. 
         “I had a Dream last night,” he told her silently has he held her to him, his face buried in her sweet-smelling hair as he caught his breath.
          “An unbalanced scale tipped farther to the Dark, and more Power and Authority over our world was given to the Shadows. Our most powerful wards will not be strong enough to repel even the weakest creature during the Darkest Hour now.  The whole community is in danger.  Nor do we have the time to re-ward all the homes even if they were strong enough.” 
         Brianna stepped out of the circle of his arms now and walked back to the sitting area, the responsibilities of being the Wise Woman and the desire of her woman’s heart for once in perfect accord.
“We need to perform a ritual,” she replied, sending the thought to him as easily as if she had always communicated with him this way.  And in a sense, she had.
         “Aye, but a Banishing Spell would be a waste of energy.”  Finn followed her, the candlelight burnishing his tousled shoulder-length dark waves.
         “No, not a Banishing Spell. We will need something much more effective.”
           As if to punctuate her words an internal alarm went off, alerting her that one of her wards had been put to the test.  Finn felt it also, linked as he was to her, and a wicked looking athame appeared instantly in his fist.  With an ivory handle carved with ancient rune symbols and a blade that was longer than customary for such a tool, Finn used it for both protection and magickal purposes.  Brianna Called her wand back into her fist also, and two shafts of energy, one blue and the other white, worked in tandem to cast a circle, a swirling, pulsing grid of protection surrounding everything within the candles’ glow. 
         Finn and Brianna faced each other then, looking their fill.  The Fates and circumstance had conspired for years to keep them apart, but they both felt, knew, that their time had come, and why.
         “Sacred Magick.”  Brianna sent the thought to him as she lifted her hand and caressed his beloved face with her fingertips.
         “Are you sure?” Finn asked, taking that last step towards her that put his body in contact with hers.
         “Yes,” she said aloud with a throaty chuckle.  “Yes.”
         Finn kissed her lightly and the word ‘skyclad’ drifted through their minds, neither sure with whom the thought had originated from.  Finn snapped his fingers and in a blink their clothing had vanished.  Brianna giggled as she took a step back.
         “Show-off.”
         Finn’s answering grin died a slow death as he beheld her.  She was a goddess in all her glory and he wanted to fall to his knees in awe.  Fiery curls swirled to her small waist,  and the cherry-like nipples of her small, firmly rounded breasts played peek-a-boo through the tresses that curled over her creamy shoulders. 
As if in a trance he watched her walk to the fireplace and stop in front of a carved wooden box on the mantle.  Opening the hinged lid, she withdrew a soft leather pouch and untied the strings, filling her palm with dried, crushed petals and the air with the scent of roses. 
         Scattering them upon the floor in a rough circle, she spoke in a soft voice:
                   “Let our Love and Magick be pure,
                   Surrounding our people
                   In a Shield strong and sure.

                   May Balance be restored this night once and for all,
                   In Above and as Below.
                   The Shadow sent back to their rightful place,
                   To prey no more on the human race.
                   Morrigan, Goddess of War,
                   Angus Og, God of Love,
                   Hear our Plea.
                   Your blessings upon us bestow,
                   As we Will, so mote it be.

                Brushing the last of the petals from her palm, Brianna turned to find Finn watching her, pride and desire shining in equal measure from his eyes.  Her breath caught at the intensity of love she also saw in them, and she released it with a sigh as her own eyes traveled down his body.  Finn’s broad shoulders and chest, both heavily muscled, tapered into a lean and rippling abdomen.  His arms were crossed and his legs were braced apart, and only one word came to Brianna’s mind when she saw what was on proud display between his powerful thighs.  Magnificent.
         Standing before him, Brianna raised both arms with palms outward, and Finn did the same, their thoughts uniting again along with their flesh.  Synchronizing their breathing and heartbeats, they felt their life forces combine and flow through them as one.
         Finn lowered his head then, a spark of electricity sizzling between them as he settled his hands on her hips and his mouth on her lips. He had already  become addicted to the honeyed taste of her, and his tongue made love to her mouth.
         Brianna ran her hands over every part of him she could reach, starved for the feel of him.  She slid her fingers through his hair and  lightly grazed his scalp with her fingernails and Finn growled low in his throat,  tearing his mouth from hers.  He lifted her, bringing her breasts within easy reach of his mouth, and circled a nipple with his tongue before pulling it in with a strong draw.  A cry torn from her, Brianna’s head fell back and she wrapped her legs around his waist, cradling his head against her as he paid equal homage to the other one.
         A pool of energy burned where they were almost joined.  The friction of her slippery sex sliding along his with their slightest movement enflamed them, and she moved her hips deliberately, torturing her self and moaning softly with each stroke of her swollen nub along his length.
Brianna took a deep breath and laid back, supported by a cushion of air created with a whispered spell and Finn’s arm around her waist that anchored her to him.  Her long hair floated behind her, the curling ends just shy of touching the floor.
         The protective shield surrounding them had changed color to a pulsing red and  was expanding, passing through the walls of her home and beyond.  Inhuman screams could be heard, near and far, as Shadows were Repelled.
         Finn looked down at Brianna as they listened to the results of their magick, and his jaw tightened and his eyes flashed with satisfaction, both as a Fenian and as a man.  Finn ran a fingertip over her beaded nipples, the back of his hand against the plump underside of her breasts, and his palm down the soft skin of her abdomen, hardly able to believe he finally had her in his arms. She was breathing in sharp little pants, her fey eyes glazed with passion, and he grew harder with the knowledge that he did that to her.  He continued his journey down her body, his hand passing over the damp, tight curls.  His thumb sought and found that sweet little pearl, slick and begging.  Just a few rotations with the pad of his thumb had her convulsing, a quiet scream vibrating through her.  He placed both hands on her hips now and  put a little distance between them, just enough to allow his swollen tip perfect alignment.  With one quick thrust he was past her barrier and sheathed to the hilt,  exaltation pulsing through him to the rhythm of her aftershocks. 
         With a warriors discipline he held himself still, allowing her to become accustomed to him.  Her delicate skin was flushed and her eyes slumberous as she stretched upon her magick cloud like a contented cat.
         “I’m sorry, love.”
         “You could never hurt me.”
         She moved then, experimentally at first and then with greater urgency.  Finn’s grip tightened on her hips to slow her, his control quickly deteriorating, but she used her legs around his waist to pull him in deeper, and with a groan he let himself go, thrusting into her in a near frenzied rhythm.  He used his eyes to caress what his hands could not, drinking her in.  With a witchy smile Brianna cupped her breasts and plucked her nipples like the strings of a harp, the resonance causing her womb to contract.  With a roar and one last reflexive thrust, Finn poured himself into her, his liquid spasms triggering her own release.
         His semen, mixed with her virgin’s blood, created an elemental potion of immense Power, and Finn pulled Brianna up into his arms and held her beating heart against his as they combined and focused their Will to direct the energy released, using it to send the Shadows back to the Other World and contain them. 
         “There is still much to be done before dawn. We will need to Journey to the Other World. The balance has to be restored Above,” Finn said a little later as he settled himself on the floor with her still wrapped around him.
         “Yes, but first we replenish our energy,” she replied as she turned in his lap.  Two goblets of wine, along with bread and cheese were spread out before them with a sweep of her arm, and Finn kissed her as she reclined within the circle of his arms.
         “Show-off.”                                                  
                                                   


                                                        ********
To be continued…