The Fire Ritual
Doing magic with other people was already exhilarating for Reza, and they’d barely even started. The four of them were standing in a circle around the bonfire, standing barefoot in the grass, each of them positioned at the points of the cardinal directions. The non-magical guests were still there too, off to the side of all this, but Reza was hardly aware of them anymore. He was focused on what they were doing, the power he could feel flowing around the circle now from all of them -- perfectly balanced elements, all starting to work together. It was like a constant electric charge in his body, crackling and sparking in all of his extremities. A breeze ruffled Reza’s hair that he knew hadn’t come from outside, but from him.
This wasn’t Gabriel’s first ritual like this with the Castell twins, but it was the first time they’d had a full circle to do it, and it was kind of exciting. He could feel the power vibrating up through the earth under his feet and into his body as he centered himself and prepared to wield some magic to blanket the house and the neighbors’ place with protection. Even though he had a bit of experience now, it was Zania’s ritual to lead-- hard to forget with fire being the most prominent element in front of them-- so once he felt ready he looked over the flames at his woman, a tiny smile on his face.
Though this was one of the first rituals Zania had ever learned, and one of the most familiar to her, tonight it felt more charged than ever before. She’d learned to do it by herself, before they’d discovered that Nic was also a witch, and she’d needed the energy of the solstice to cover such a large area and make it stick for a quarter of the year. She’d been young then, and weak. New to her craft. She was stronger now than she’d ever been, but having the four of them there to complete the ritual, one of each element, still blew her away. She could feel Reza’s influence as her locks swung in the breeze, could feel the cool grass tickling her toes, a touch she wasn’t even sure Gabriel was aware he was doing. And with the fire between them, she could still feel Nic on the other side, the balance to her heat, always more subtle than she’d ever been, keeping the heat of the fire from being too intense. As the magic buzzed around them, she led them in a chant, her voice loud and clear in the night.
When Nic was sixteen, before his magic came in, he’d told himself this was something he could live without. Most of the population didn’t even know magic existed and he would be fine if he didn’t have it. But once he felt it that first time, he knew how wrong he’d been. It was so much a part of him that he’d go mad were he ever to lose it. His magic had never been as loud as his sister’s, and he was perhaps less driven to explore every facet available to him, but he had his passions and expertise, areas where he knew he excelled beyond others. But doing magic alone never felt like this. It reminded him of the spellwork performed by the coven, though far lighter in nature, and made him wonder why they didn’t work together more often. The feeling of power between them was amazing, swelling as they chanted together, pushing their bubble of protection to its boundaries with ease. It was a rush that made Nic think of riding rollercoasters while high, dizzy with happy adrenaline that pulsed from his head to his toes.
They’d gone over the words to chant before they’d gotten started, so it was easy for Reza to join in once Zania started the recitation. He found himself grateful that they’d briefed him and he’d practiced a little, because he was pretty sure he wouldn’t have been able to concentrate on repeating the words right otherwise -- the feeling that washed over him once they began was powerful and almost erotic. Reza had never done spells in a group before, and feeling all of their magic rise and expand and mingle together was like nothing he’d ever experienced before. It sent electrical charges through his entire body, his magic very awake and whooshing through him, almost like his body was getting less and less solid. It reminded him of Diego making them float. Reza closed his eyes and let himself get caught up in the chant and concentrated on lending his magic toward their purpose.