Tiernan, Cate - The Sweep 09 -Strife by Tiernan Cate

Author:Tiernan, Cate [Tiernan, Cate]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: sf_horror
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

8. Loss

September 30, 1971

It’s been almost a week since it happened. I prepared the ritual, lit the fire in the cauldron, called upon the Goddess and the God for strength, and prepared to destroy Harris Stonghton’s vile book. But I couldn’t do it.

It’s hard to describe exactly what I was feeling. Fear, yes. And revulsion for the book and its author. But I also felt a strange sense of longing. I suppose it’s my Rowanwand blood-the love of and hunger for knowledge that we are known for. At any rate, I simply couldn’t destroy the book and take this knowledge-even though it’s dark knowledge-out of the world forever. I had to find a safe place for it.

My first thought was to bury it behind the house. Earth can be very powerful-it can purify objects that have been spelled. But I didn’t want to run the risk that someone, or even some animal, might dig up the book and find it. Besides, the book itself hasn’t been spelled. It’s a book of dark spells, and there is no mountain of earth in the world that can purify it.

But I realized that there is a place in my very own house that is ringed with spells of obscurity… a secret place no one but initiated blood witches can find: my parent’s library. I decided to put it there for now and to warn the about the book as soon as possible. I hadn’t wanted to tell them about it for fear of getting Sam into trouble. Then again, I thought that things had gone far enough.

My parents keep their dark magick titles, of which they have quite a few, on the highest shelf in the library. I had to get a stool to reach it. I stood there for a moment, reading the title before me. Some of them were fairly chilling, and as I placed the Stonghton book among them, I had a deep sense of foreboding.

At the very moment that I slid the book in among the others, the reading lamp on the table in the corner began to rattle and shake. Then it started to move. Slowly at first, then gaining speed, it slid across the table and crashed to the floor. I squeezed my eyes shut tight. It’s an earthquake, I though, and I wanted to believe it-although whoever heard of an earthquake in Gloucester? Besides, I would have felt the whole room shaking.

Finally I managed to calm breathing and opened my eyes. Everything was still, including the books on the top shelf. I left the library as quickly as possible and redrew the sigils in a hurry.

I was so scared that for a moment I considered doing a circle in my room to calm my nerves. But instead I went up to the widow’s walk and let the rhythmic crashing of the waves hypnotize me.

I have to be honest with myself. Lately magick has seemed terrifying instead of wonderful. For now, I think I’ll let nature be my religion.

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