Eclipsed (WIP)
Ariadne Tay
This month’s new moon had just begun to eclipse the cold winter sun.
A gust of wind rustled the barren trees that surrounded my open temple, crackling the branches like old, stiff bones.
The Alpha of the Khebis clan arrived with his Luna, begging me to cast a fertility spell on his young and nubile wife. They had been mated for two years, but had yet to bear him a successor.
“Please,” Leupas implored. “My beautiful Kasda and I have been trying for so long.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “You know it’s dangerous to cast such a spell, yes?”
The man sighed. “We’ve taken the medicine that the doctors gave us, we’ve sacrificed to the gods, we’ve done the rituals, and still nothing.” He placed a large bag of coin at my feet. “The magic of the moon is unusually strong today, so there is no doubt the spell will work.”
“But,” I countered, “you do not know how it will work. Magic is wild, unpredictable. It may not yield the results you desire.”
Leupas looked into his Luna’s eyes. “The only result we desire is that we produce a strong and able heir, and it must happen today. Everything else is unimportant.”
“Everything else is unimportant,” I repeated. “You’re asking for something so big on such a notice. Are you completely certain? There is no turning back once we begin.”
“Yes, Seer,” Kasda quietly asserted. “We have considered the consequences, and we want it done during the eclipse. Please.”
I pursed my lips. They probably didn’t know what they were walking into, but it was clear that their minds had already been made. “Very well. Take off your clothes,” I instructed. They froze, staring at me like I was a madwoman. “This is how the spell must be performed. But if you need time to prepare yourselves, we can do it another day.”
That seemed to snap them back into the present. They swiftly removed their clothing, leaving them in a heap. I uttered the first words of the spell as I rose from my chair, and the air began to shimmer with unnatural energy. Though fear was evident in Kasda’s eyes, I saw determination there, and she stood tall as I approached. Leupas, on the other hand, warily watched my hand as I reached for the ritual knife on my belt. I cut my palm deep enough to draw blood and smeared it against the woman’s lower abdomen, then cupped the man’s testicles to bloody them as well.
He flinched and I felt them retract. Biting my cheek to stop myself from laughing, I withdrew my hand and formed a fist. My blood dribbled out of my hand and onto the ground, sizzling as each droplet hit the stained dirt floor.
“Consummate the spell,” I commanded.
“Excuse me?” The shock on Leupas’s face would have been funny if not for the gravity of the situation.
I held my bleeding palm open towards the couple. “Go on, impregnate her.”
“Here, in front of you?”
“Yes.” I gave him a firm nod.
“But—”
“If you wait too long, the spell will veer off course and produce undesirable side effects,” I gritted through my teeth. The Alpha’s reluctance to follow through was trying my patience.
Doubt began to cloud his eyes. “Why—”
I couldn’t hold my frustration any longer. “Look, I could have told you all of this if you came to me ahead of time, but you chose to do it on a minute’s notice,” I snapped. “If you don’t finish the deed, the spell will become a curse. I can already feel the magic beginning to change.”
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