I looked down and I had hooves, not feet, and my head was heavy with a pair of magnificent antlers. I was a stag, and so was Herne in front of me, his antlers glimmering with stars. I set off after him, and we galloped through the forest. Before long, I noticed other shadowy forms beside me, and I knew they were the other members of the group, Alex, Rob, Damien and the rest, our hooves thundering on the forest floor as we followed the man in front.
“We hunt evil,” Herne said in my mind, “and all those who would do the Earth and the creatures that live on her harm. For we are the champions of the forest.”
We rode all night, through woods, over hills, across streams, and never grew tired, finding ecstasy in the hunt, and beauty in the world around us.
When I finally opened my eyes, I was back in the clearing. The sun was just coming up, and the forest was filled with birdsong. All around me, the others were waking, stiff from lying on the cold floor.
I just looked at Alex and Rob, who greeted me with tired grins. And I knew then that everything had changed, and nothing would ever be the same again.
*
Rob answers Skype first. “Hey, Mac.” A few seconds later, his picture appears on the screen. He’s lying on his side on the bed, head propped on a hand, a beer in the other. “What’s up?”
“Just wanted to chat. Hold on. Alex’s here, too.” I wait for his picture to appear next to Rob’s. He’s sitting up at the table in his living room. I can see papers spread on the table around him.
“Are you studying?” I ask him. “Am I interrupting?”
“Yes and yes, and I’m very happy with that.” He disappears briefly, then reappears with a bottle of water. I know he has to read professional publications as part of his continuing professional development as a paramedic. “How are you doing?”
“Just wanted to chat,” I repeat.
“How did the date go?” Rob asks.
I look into my glass of whisky, then take a mouthful, enjoying the sear of it down to my stomach. “Yeah, good. I took Persephone to The Green Man. Had a nice meal. Walked down by the river. It was a great evening.”
They both nod, waiting for more details. When no more are forthcoming, Rob’s expression turns wry. “All right, out with it. What happened?”
I blow out a breath. “She did a mind probe on me.”
Their eyes widen simultaneously. “What?” Alex exclaims. “Seriously?”
“Seriously. After I returned home. She got right into my memory palace. She’s guessed I’m hiding something. She was looking for the truth.”
“How the hell did you let that happen?” Rob asks, puzzled. “It’s unlike you to let your guard down enough to allow a psychic attack.”
“She used her womanly wiles.” I glare at them sulkily as they both laugh. “Yeah, yeah, mock away. Neither of you has ever dated a witch, and I’m telling you, it’s nothing to laugh at.”
“She must be pretty powerful if she can do a mind probe,” Alex acknowledges.
“I didn’t expect that,” I admit. “I underestimated her big time. I’m such an idiot.”
“Are you going to tell Dad?” Alex asks.
“Herne’s balls, no. He’ll say I told you so.”
“He’d be right to,” Rob points out.
“I know. You think I don’t know that?” I sit forward and run my hand through my hair. “I don’t know what I’m going to do. Damien’s spell threw her out tonight, but what if she tries again?”
“You think she might?”
“Possibly. And she was very… persuasive.”
Rob snorts. Alex grins.
“Shut up,” I tell them.
“I could say serves you right,” Rob says. “But I’m your friend, and I’m a better man than that.”
“I’m not,” Alex says. “Serves you right.”
I sigh. “Yeah. I know. It’s just… something happened on that riverbank. I didn’t mean it to. All I knew was that someone was after her, and I had to save her. I didn’t expect more than that. But when I gave her the kiss of life…” My voice trails off. I don’t know how to explain it.
Rob swigs his beer, his gaze drifting off into the distance as he begins to quote from a poem. “‘His kisses on my lips, my breast, my hair… Come! Come! Come! And kiss me when I die, For life, compelling life, is in thy breath; And at that kiss, though in the tomb I lie, I will arise and break the bands of Death.’”
My eyebrows rise. “Where’s that from?”
“It’s from an Ancient Egyptian love poem, found on papyri.”
I stare at him, my heart racing. The words hold immense meaning for me. Persephone was dead when I pulled her from the water; I know she was. She had no heartbeat, and no breath frosted the cold air. I placed my lips on hers and breathed into her mouth, passing the ha, as she told me, the breath of life, to her. I brought her back to life, as sure as if I ventured down to Hades and dragged her back with me.
“I think there’s something bigger going on here,” Alex says.
Rob nods. “I agree. I don’t think you should stop seeing her.”
I swallow hard. “I shouldn’t go against Damien’s wishes.”
“No,” Rob says. “But we can help you protect against any further psychic incursions.”
“Yeah.” Alex puts down his bottle. “We’ll do the protection charm.”
Unlike witches, shamans rarely do spells. We don’t cast the sacred circle, and we don’t have the same power witches do to form reality from intent. We can communicate with animals, cross to the spirit world, travel through the astral plane, see auras, and affect the energies around us. But sometimes we do magic, when the need arises.
All three of us sit up and close our eyes. We take a minute to center ourselves, and I imagine myself in my memory palace, the familiar library I’ve visited since Damien first showed me how when I was eighteen. I can smell the scent of the books, see the muted light, run my fingers over the familiar spines, feel the binding, and hear the rustle of the pages.
In the center is the box that symbolizes the secrets I wish to keep from Persephone, the one she so nearly managed to open. I place my hand on it, feeling the presence of my Hunter brothers close beside me.
Then Rob starts speaking, and Alex and I join in. “Herne the Hunter, father, son, blessed moon and shining sun, earth and fire, water, air, let all unwelcome souls beware, guard by north, south, east, and west, protect your son at his request, let him bear your holy shield, his thoughts and mind remain concealed.”
The lock on the box becomes a seal. There’s no way she’s getting through that. The words cast a shell like a force field around me. The last tendrils that join me to Persephone are severed. I open my eyes. I feel a strange sense of reluctance and disappointment. I did not request Persephone’s intrusion, and it was wrong of her to do it. But I’d felt connected with her in a way I never had before with a woman. She’d been in my mind, just as I’d been in hers, in the Grove. Part of me longs to connect with her like that again. But I’m going to have to wait, until the threat that hangs over all our heads is defeated.