Dark Ordained - The Ritual

Dark Ordained Continued...

“What’s up?” I jumped at the sound of Luc’s voice, I had forgotten he was with me.

“I’m not sure which way Nancy went,” there was no light in the distance or broken branches.

“I can track her. You’ll have to trust me to lead you though,” I nodded and Luc held me gently by my elbow and began walking slowly. I noticed that he chose my strongest arm. 

I watched him as best I could in the little light there was. He was following something I couldn’t see and occasionally he would sniff but try to pass it off as something else, a sneeze or a cough.

“How do you do it?” I asked him quietly, something about the silence made me unwilling to make much noise. Luc just mirrored my earlier actions and shrugged. I took the hint and didn’t ask again.

 Anytime I mentioned his supernatural side he would withdraw and become closed off.

We walked deeper and deeper into the woods until the trees were growing so close together that we were having to walk single file. Luc in front, still with a hand around my wrist and me following behind. I had stumbled for about the hundredth time on a root or bramble, with only Luc’s grip keeping me upright, when a strong herbal smell wafted through on a breeze. 

A few more steps and the trees opened up and a glowing patch of light became visible. Soon after we came out into a clearing. 

Nancy was at the centre standing beside an old wooden chair and surrounded by a ring of candles. It was eerily similar to the experience I had with Mariette.

“There you are! What took you so long?” Nancy gestured for me to step inside the circle.

“It’s pretty dark back there,” Luc let go of me and I carefully stepped up beside Nancy. Inside the circle was considerably warmer than outside, like a barrier was keeping the chill out.

“I thought you could see in the dark?” Nancy moved me by the shoulders and sat me on the chair. It creaked loudly as I sat, like it could collapse at any second.

“One of us can,” Luc leant against a nearby tree. I rolled my eyes and decided to ignore him, one moment he was friendly and charming and the next he was cold and sarcastic.

“Let’s get this started shall we?” Nancy gave Luc a look and then turned back to me. She picked up my left hand and turned it over so it was palm side up. I winced at the movement, my shoulder feeling sore. She then pulled a small thin blade from a pouch she had around her waist. The dagger didn’t appear to be anything special apart from the small bone that was attached by a piece of string to the hilt. 

Swiftly she drew the blade lightly across the fleshy area of my palm drawing blood. I tried to hide my gasp, it only stung a little. The cut wasn't deep or long. 

Nancy let go of my hand and picked up a wooden bowl that was full of herbs and powders that had been sat at my feet. 

A single drop had formed on my skin and Nancy tipped my hand so the blood ran into the bowl. It hissed as it hit the contents and a purplish smoke rose up. 

Nancy placed the bowl back on the ground but this time it was between my feet. She stood again and picked up my still bleeding hand. With the same dagger Nancy ran the blade tip backwards along the cut she had made. Where the metal touched the skin it knitted back together until there was no mark of the incision left. 

I was staring in amazement when Nancy quickly gripped both my hands in hers then dropped them. She moved back to face me from the other side of the circle. 

"Ready?" Nancy asked and I nodded, She collected a book that was by her feet. She used the ribbon that was marking the page to open the book and as the pages broke apart and strong gust of wind whipped through the circle. Nancy met my eyes and smiled.

“Eve once I begin I cannot stop the ceremony. I’m going to read the enchantment, but everybody’s journey is different, a gateway of some sort will open up and you will need to go through alone,  neither Luc or I can go with you. We’ll meet you on the other side. All you have to do is make it through. Alright?” Nancy waited for me to nod my acknowledgement before she started reading from the book. 

She began chanting and the flames leapt up from the candles. I looked over to Luc to see what his reaction to this was, he was still leaning against the tree but he was on his phone completely uninterested in what was happening in front of him. 

As the chanting continued Nancy upped the pace until all the sounds started to blend. The bowl at my feet was still smoking steadily, the fumes thickening and filling my nose until I began to feel lightheaded. The trees started spinning around me. I shut my eyes, a strong wind whipped my hair around my face, but I stayed in the chair. Soon after I felt my body settle. Once the spinning sensation stopped I realised that I could no longer hear Nancy. 

I opened my eyes and found myself alone. The circle of candles was still there but they were burnt to stubs and were being swallowed by the undergrowth. Brambles wrapped around each candle digging into the wax. The bowl was also still at my feet but it was nearly completely buried in dead leaves, the wood I could see was rotting away. Everything appeared as though it hadn’t been moved in months if not years. I felt my heart rate pick up as I began to panic, had something gone wrong? I went to get up from the chair and found that I was bound to it by brambles and ivy that had grown around the chair and my body. 

I pulled hard and felt the plants give and then break. I kicked my legs free and pushed out of the chair, I got as far as the other side of the circle before I stopped and turned. Everything was quiet again and the chair was gone. I stood still and tried to catch my breath, out of the corner of my eye I could see dark shapes moving in the darkness beyond the tree line and there was a strange whispering but I couldn’t make out any particular words.

There was only one opening in the tree line and I could see a path leading away through the trees. My legs were wobbly as I left the clearing and followed the path. The whispering continued as I walked but it wasn’t long before the trees stopped and I was faced with a wrought iron fence. 

Black and spiked at the top it gave me a bad feeling just looking at it but I knew I had to keep going forwards, Nancy had called this a journey.  

Through the bars I could make out more dark shapes, some were large and others low and squat. It was still night and a mist had rolled in obscuring any more details, the bars were too close together for me to lean in further and get a better look.  So I followed the perimeter fence until I made it to a large double gate. It was chained and padlocked but it was loose enough that I could pull the gates and squeeze through the gap that opened up beneath the chain.  The path on this side was gravel and my footsteps crunched as I walked deeper into the mist. Soon the dark shapes I had seen earlier loomed up out of the low fog and I realised they were grave stones. Old, moss covered, crumbling gravestones. I had stumbled my way into a graveyard. 

I had been walking for a few minutes when I heard a thump somewhere behind me. I paused and turned around but I could see nothing in the mist. I shivered and started walking faster.

There was another thud from close by on my right and now I could hear heavy breathing like the panting of a large dog. It was loud in the complete silence. I stopped again and turned my head slowly, praying that nothing would be there and it was just my imagination. 

The shadows shifted and a dog larger than a Great Dane moved out from behind a statue of an angel. 

I use the term dog loosely. It looked as if it had once been a dog, it had four legs and a tail and its muzzle was similar to that of a Doberman but its shoulders were huge, all muscle. When it walked into the moonlight I tried to scream but no noise came out. The animal had chunks from its body missing, in places were bare muscle and others were just bone. One side of its face was completely rotted away exposing teeth sharper than any normal dog and a black eye rolling around in a visible eye socket. Without taking my eyes off the beast I began backing away. The rotting dog growled baring its teeth and I took off running back to the entrance gate.

I could see the dark shape of the gate ahead when more forms ran onto the path blocking my exit. More of the beasts like the one behind me stood facing in my direction and with a roar they came charging at me. I turned and ran off the path and between the grave stones. Incredibly fast they were biting at my heels and tearing at my clothes within seconds. I skidded on the grass for a moment before recovering and ducking into a small gap in a wall that separated some of the graves from the main grounds. The stone scraped my skin and clothes but I made it through. 

I was sprawled on the grass on the otherside. The wall was high but I could hear the beasts scrabbling on the and I knew they’d be over it soon. I got to my feet and sprinted further into the grounds hoping to find somewhere secure to hide. After nothing but low grave markers I came across a statue of a wolf on a high plinth and threw myself behind it; too exhausted to run anymore.

I wondered when the beasts would find me when a growl erupted from close by and something huge crashed into my side hurling me across the grass. The massive form of one of the beasts stood over me, its front paws on my shoulders, the stench of rotting meat filling my nose. It leaned in closer to my throat, its hot breath on my neck and I struggled harder against its weight.

“GET OFF ME!” I screeched as loud as my voice would let me, willing the beast to understand me. It seemed to pause for a second and I took advantage using that moment to twist my body and throw the beast off balance. It staggered to one side and I rolled onto my hands and knees. 

I scrambled out of reach as the beast continued to watch me. I got to my feet as more of the hounds appeared around me. Some were growling but none came any closer than the one that had pinned me moments before. That one dipped its head low, snarled and started to stalk slowly toward me. The others began to follow.

“No. Stop” was what I tried to say but what I heard come from my mouth was something else entirely. A different language I didn’t recognise. 

The beasts stopped in their tracks. I was several feet beyond where the last hound stood, I took a step back but instead of solid ground my foot met nothing but empty air. I tumbled backwards my arms wind-milling as I fell. 

I half landed on something hard that smashed my injured shoulder before I rolled and fell onto a stone floor, smacking my head hard. Lying on my back I could see the gaping hole I had fallen through. Far above I could see the hounds in a ring around the opening. I could have sworn they were whining as they pawed at the loose dirt but the renewed pain in my shoulder was agonising. Black spots were dancing in front of my eyes from the blow to my head and I felt myself slipping into unconsciousness.

Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed :) 

L xx

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