“Yer fingers an’ toes, yer arms an’ legs, will begin ta tingle as you open yerself ta the spirit world. Don’t be afraid if you begin ta feel numb an’ dizzy. Trust in yer safety here. Continue ta breathe even more slowly, more deeply as you fall into the spirit trance. I want you ta now count backward from ten ta one. When you reach one, I want you ta tell yerself you are now ready ta accept Drake’s spirit, that he will flow through you,” Lovie continued in her singsong voice.
I nodded and started counting backward, my entire body feeling incredibly heavy, and then the pins and needles started in my appendages, the feeling working its way inward, up my arms and legs until it reached my core. The numbness set in by the time I reached number five and when I got to number one, I said to myself that I was ready to accept Drake.
“Are you prepared to receive him?” Lovie asked.
I simply nodded and heard the tinny sound of a bell ringing. “We have created a sacred space,” Lovie said in her strong yet beautiful voice. “Drake Montague, we are ready ta make contact with you.” She touched my hand then. “Peyton, you can open yer eyes.”
It felt like it took me seconds to open them but when I did, I watched Lovie reach for and light first the black candle and then the white one. She then placed each of them back on the table and closed her eyes as she said, “This black candle draws the spirit o’ Drake Montague that he may converse with us while the white candle shall allow him ta feast upon the energy created here.”
She then reached for a piece of paper and scribbled Drake’s name on it, placing it on what appeared to be a large pentacle that had been painted in black on the white sheet atop the table.
“As I have written Drake’s name, I summon his spirit here!” She then reached for a bottle of oil and, unstopping it, anointed her wrists, the area above her heart, her throat, her forehead, and the crown of her head before turning to me and repeating the process on me. “I consecrate mahself an’ this woman, Peyton Clark, an’ ask that Drake Montague come forth an’ receive us both!”
She then reached for a small sack and, unwinding the ties from it, bent over and sprinkled white powder on the floor around each of us and the table in a counterclockwise circle. When she was finished, she stood up and, with her face to the ceiling, announced, “This powder shall protect us from all evil an’ harmful energy. Let no spirit enter here who wishes ta do us harm. We seek only the spirit o’ Drake Montague.” She glanced back at Christopher who stood in the corner of the room, watching us. “Do you have yer protective defenses up, Christopher?” she asked.
He simply nodded so she turned to face me again. This time she reached for the dagger and, holding it with her right hand with the blade down, reached for my right hand. She wrapped my hand around the handle of the blade. “Trace a circle ’round yerself,” she instructed. As I did, she said, “By the bronze o’ this dagger, Peyton casts this circle ta defend her from any evil intentions. Let only the spirit o’ Drake Montague come forth!” She then took the dagger from me and drew a circle around herself, repeating the same mantra. She lit a stick of incense that smelled pretty musty, and we both watched the stick burn, the remnants twirling into a spent cocoon that dropped onto the holder. Once the incense had burned about halfway, she sprinkled the burnt remains onto a hunk of charcoal sitting on the tabletop. She then raised the charcoal brick directly in front of her, then to her right, then to her left before she turned around and held it up once more. Each time she switched directions, she said, “Let this sacred incense summon the spirit o’ Drake Montague. Come forth!”
Then, using her right hand, she picked up what looked like a branch of a tree and tapped the crown of the skull three times, saying, “We conjure the spirit o’ Drake Montague ta come forth with this branch o’ the yew tree!”
She placed the yew branch onto the table and then picked up a glass of water, pouring it into the cauldron that was sitting on the table. She opened a jar of honey and plopped a wooden spoonful into the water, following suit with what looked like a small bowl full of olive oil, milk, and red wine. Then she sprinkled a handful of barley into the cauldron and said, “Let these offerin’s please the spirit o’ Drake Montague so he shall come forth!”
Then she reached for my index finger on my right hand and, at the same time, grasped a lancet from the tabletop. Before I could pull my hand away, she pricked the end of my finger. She reached behind her for the small black cauldron and held it underneath my hand as she squeezed out three drops of blood, which landed inside. What was strange was that my body was so numb, I didn’t even feel the prick of the lancet.
“I make this offerin’ o’ Peyton’s blood, that it may feed you, Drake. Come forth!” Lovie called out.
She then gripped my left hand and, overlaying it with hers, placed them both on the top of the skull as she closed her eyes. I followed suit and could only hear the sounds of her breathing deeply so I figured I should probably do the same. Almost immediately there was a vibration in the palm of my left hand, where it touched the top of the skull. The vibration climbed up my arm and seemed to reverberate through my entire body.
“The spirit current is flowin’ through us,” Lovie said, obviously explaining what the vibrations were. “Drake Montague, are ya there?” she asked in a loud voice.
There was nothing but silence for a few seconds.
“Oui.” I heard his voice as clear as day inside my head and I nearly opened my eyes in response but then reminded myself to keep them closed.
“Is that his voice?” Lovie whispered to me, which I guessed meant she must have somehow heard his voice inside her head as well.
“Yes it is,” I answered.
“I want you ta introduce me ta him an’ tell him not ta be frightened. He will only be able ta hear you,” she continued. “An’ you must converse with him in thought only. He will not be able ta hear yer voice.”
I simply nodded. “Drake,” I started. “It’s me, Peyton. Can you hear me?”
“Oui, I can, ma minette. Are you well? Is everything okay?” he answered immediately, his voice laced with worry. “I do not understand how we are conversing as I cannot see you. I can only hear your voice.”
“Yes, everything is okay,” I answered in thought. “I want you to know that I have two people here with me. Lovie is a witch and she is the one who is doing this ritual so you and I can speak. She isn’t going to hurt you.”
“Je comprends. I understand.”
I took a deep breath. “The other person is Christopher. He’s the warlock who came to visit you earlier, do you remember?”
“I recall,” Drake responded. His voice suddenly sounded tired, exhausted really, and I had to wonder if he was in even worse shape than he had been the last time I’d seen him.
“You must explain ta him that we are gonna attempt a possession unitin’ the two o’ you,” Lovie interrupted. “You must git him ta agree ta it before we can attempt it.”
I nodded. “Drake, we are going to do a ritual whereby you are going to…to possess me. It’s the only way to ensure this entity doesn’t defeat you, and at the same time, it’s also the only way to ensure that it doesn’t…hurt me.”
“Are you certain, ma minette?” he asked, his voice reflecting alarm. “Do you understand what this means for you?”
“I do,” I answered immediately. “It’s the only way to ensure both of us are safe, Drake. But before we move forward, I must have your permission.”