I jerk awake with a gasp. I’m in Kimi’s room. I’m drenched in sweat, breathing heavily. Everyone’s crowded around me, and Kimi’s clearly been trying to wake me.
“Holy Goddess,” I say, shaking violently. “What was that?”
Chapter Eight
Persephone
Fifteen minutes later, I’m cradling a glass of lemonade, curled up on the sofa in Kimi’s living room. Charlie and Samantha are sitting on either side of me, and Ella and Kimi are perched on the edge of two armchairs, their faces full of concern.
I sip the lemonade and hold it in my mouth. Icy river water, pouring in my lungs… I think of Mac, his gentle fingers on my throat, and I swallow.
Kimi’s expression softens. Sometimes, I’m convinced she can read my mind. I know she can read auras, so she’s probably seeing my emotions reflected there. It’s a skill I’ve yet to develop.
“I wonder who he was?” Charlie asks. “The wolf, I mean.” I’ve told them I’m convinced I recognized something in his eyes.
“And the stag,” Samantha adds. “I wonder if you know either of them.”
I clear my throat. “What worries me most is that we’d cast a circle. They broke into our sacred space. I feel violated, and not in a good way.”
Samantha’s lips curve up and she nudges me. Charlie’s brows draw together. “Don’t make me laugh. It’s a horrible thing. I can’t bear to think of you going through all that.”
“It seems to me,” Kimi says, “it’s becoming apparent that the incident at the river was not an accident.”
The three of us stare at her. “What do you mean?” I whisper.
“The Devil’s Footprints,” Ella replies. “I think they were a sign.”
“Are you saying you think the prints were caused by an actual… you know… demon?” Samantha asks.
Ella tips her head from side to side. “We’ve been hearing some strange stories on the grapevine. I’m sure you’re aware of the tales of big cats on the moor.”
We all nod. It’s common folklore. There are thousands of big cat sightings across England every year, with most of them seen in Devon. We have no native big cats here. Recently, the Devon sightings have been explained by the escape of three pumas from a circus owner in the nineteen seventies, which would make sense except—unlike lions, tigers, jaguars, and leopards—pumas don’t roar, and several people who’ve seen the cats have mentioned their roaring. Tia wrote an article on it not long ago.
“And of course there are plenty of deer,” Molly continues. Again, we all nod.
“The deer are mainly fallow and roe, aren’t they?” Charlie says. “Are there red deer?”
“I’ve seen them,” Kimi says, “complete with antlers.”
“But not wolves,” Samantha adds.
“There used to be,” I say. “There are plenty of archaeological finds, and some were found in Oreston and Torquay. The skull in Kents Cavern was the size of an Arctic wolf.”
“The Goddess keeps the memory of her past buried deep,” Ella says.
Archaeologically, I know she’s right—Kents Cavern is an old cave system used by ancient humans as long as five hundred thousand years ago.
“Memories run through the Deep Network,” she continues, “and I’m sure they could be accessed by anyone willing to try.”
The Deep Network is the maze of energy lines, sometimes called ley lines, that runs through the Earth. The points where these lines converge are marked by important historical sites, anything from stone circles to churches to statues.
“You’re talking about shamanism,” Charlie says, and Molly nods.
Understanding begins to dawn on me. Shamanism is a nature religion with ancient roots in Devon. Like witches, shamans consider the Earth and everything that walks or grows on it sacred. They revere nature, and many of their practices are the same as ours, although they don’t cast the circle, and they don’t do spells in the same way. They’re more practical, more about protecting the Earth and everything that lives and grows on it. Some shamans are able to contact their animal spirit guides and work with them. Kimi’s husband, Damien, is a shaman. In fact, he’s called a midnight shaman, because not only is he a skilled channeler and a great healer, but he can also cast magic in any form.
I know that with the help of their animal spirit guides, many shamans can cross between the planes of existence. It explains the presence of the wolf and the stag—two men projecting their energies into my vision using animal spirits. It doesn’t explain the presence of the prints.
“Are you saying it’s possible that shamans can physically take on the form of an animal?” I ask. “Like, not just in spirit work?”
Ella and Kimi exchange glances. I wait for them to try to explain themselves further.
Instead, Kimi just says, “Yes.”
Our jaws drop. “That’s impossible,” I whisper.
“We’ve suspected for some time,” Kimi states. “Shamans keep their practices as secret as we do, for obvious reasons. But Damien told me a while ago about his group’s deepening understanding of the power of animals.”
Kimi has told us that although the two of them meditate together, carry out rituals as a couple, and often talk about their work, she’s not privy to all his practices, and equally there are parts of witchcraft that he will never master. Witches and shamans each have their own skills and talents, and we celebrate them rather than suffer angst because we cannot do everything.
In many groups, there are warlocks, or male witches, and female shamans. In the past, especially, it’s been common to have a high priest and a high priestess in a coven. But things are changing. Kimi’s aware that it’s sometimes difficult for women to maintain control in relationships with men, and it’s one reason why she wanted to keep the Crows for women only. I’m glad she did. I’m not sure how I’d feel to have a male presence in the Crows. Our group is very relaxed, and we love and trust one another. We believe in the empowerment of women, and I don’t think any of us would want a male energy here challenging that. We all love and respect men, but I’ve never met a guy who didn’t think he was better than a woman, or who didn’t feel a need to exercise his control over them. It’s why I broke up with Jude. I let that relationship go on far too long. More than any other Crow, I feel that I struggle to retain my individuality in a relationship, and to keep the balance of power. Not just with Jude, but with my father, with my boss and other men at work, and with friends. I’m quiet and shy and I find it hard to stand up for myself. But I’m working on it.
“So you think the prints were caused by a shaman who’d physically transformed into an animal?” Samantha asks.
Kimi shrugs. “Maybe.”
“You think there is a man out to do me harm?” I ask.
“We have no way of knowing whether it’s an individual or a group. Or whether they have come after you alone or are targeting the whole coven. I’m just saying we need to keep our eyes and ears open. Practice protection meditation and spells. And just… be careful. Especially with new people in your life.” She smiles.