A Witchy Vision for the Future

Maya could feel the village calling out to her even now. Her daughter had come home a week ago to shoulder the responsibility of her father’s last rites. 

Poonam had wanted to take her parents with her to London when she first got the job, but they had refused. Her father had said something about wanting to die in the village he had been born in, but Maya knew that he was looking out for her. He knew that Maya’s magic was rooted in the village. Moving away would mean a weakening of her abilities, and she wasn’t ready to give that up. 

Now, that her life-long friend and partner had passed, she was even less willing to leave the place whose very air was infused with his memories. She, however, did not have that luxury. Her brothers-in-law were incensed when the house and lands were left to her. They had made several threats in the days after the funeral and had accused her of witchcraft; of the potions she employed to ease her husband’s agony, being the cause of his death. 

If it were a city, she could’ve ridiculed their accusations, but the rural Indian belt was a place where killings in the name of witchcraft were still commonplace. Maya wanted to stay despite the imminent danger, but her daughter had put her foot down. She had announced that she wouldn’t go back without her mother, and Maya’s devotion towards her daughter had compelled her. 

Even now, sitting next to her daughter in the taxi that would take her to her daughter’s flat, her heart sat heavy in her chest. She had left behind her tutelary. Her tutelary was a local guardian and her powers were subject to distance. Maya could feel her mystic energy ebbing. She would have to test her theory within the days before the Hallowed Evening because if an occultist didn’t practice the craft on this sacred day every year, was sure to lose all her magical affinity. 

It was the 28th of October today, which meant she had less than three days. She would have to try to find a way to evade her daughter soon. She couldn’t tell her daughter about her craft; she had tried but her daughter was a non-believer. 

Poonam saw her mother’s pensive face and patted her hands reassuringly. 

“Look, mom, you’ve suffered a huge loss. I know dad meant everything to you, but now that he is gone, you need to find another reason to be happy.”

Maya smiled, trying to reassure her daughter.

Poonam was relieved; she firmly believed that they would be alright. If her mom still wanted to practice her so-called “witchcraft”, she would be safer doing it in London where such accusations won’t translate into mortal danger.

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Maya had arrived and settled well-enough in her daughter’s swanky flat. Seeing her daughter’s success, her worries were alleviated. She could now focus on her craft. 

When they sat down for tea in the afternoon, Maya decided it was time to start hunting down the ingredients she would require. 

“Do you have a herb market nearby? I thought I might do some cooking.”

Poonam was glad that her mother seemed to be in better spirits. 

“Of course. There’s an Indian bazaar two blocks from here. I am still jet-lagged and need a nap. You let me know if you need anything.”

Maya hugged her daughter and bid good night. 

After about an hour, when Maya was sure that Poonam was asleep, she decided to take a stroll to the bazaar. 

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A few hours later, Maya had found most of the ingredients for her test spell. All she needed now was some Ficus leaves. She asked several vendors but most of them either never had it, or had just exhausted their stocks. 

Maya was surprised. The only uses of these ingredients were in some rare recipes and spells. This would mean that either there were suddenly a lot of skilled chefs in the area, or, there must be a large coven of witches nearby.

She stopped by yet another vendor when a young woman in her twenties bumped into her making the items in Maya’s bags spill out.

“I am so sorry; I was distracted. Here, let me help you.” She knelt beside Maya and started picking up the items. After picking up a few, she held the larkspur and henbane in her hands and stared them for longer than necessary. Maya hastily grabbed everything and stuffed them in her bag, rushed towards the exit. 

She exited the market and didn’t see anyone behind. She exhaled deeply and slowly made her way to the flat when a voice startled her.

“You won’t find Ficus at this time of the year.” 

Maya turned around and saw the same woman she had bumped into. 

“Do not panic, ma’am.” This, of course, sent Maya into a full-blown panic. 

“I d-don’t know what you t-think …” Maya stuttered, trying to explain herself.

“Don’t bother. I know you’re a witch too.”

This replaced Maya’s fear with curiosity.

“’ Too’? Are you a witch then? And the one responsible for all the supplies to run out?”

The young woman laughed. 

“One witch couldn’t do that much damage to the supplies. Although, I confess that it was our coven that bought out most of them.”

“A coven? It’s been so long since I was part of one.” Maya stated nostalgically.

The young woman seemed taken aback.

“What happened, if you don’t mind me asking?”

Maya nodded, and moistness spilled from her eyes.

“I used to be in a coven. Most of my fellow witches abandoned their craft after some of them were killed.”

The young woman went pale as she straightened and grabbed Maya’s hand.

“This is not a safe conversation for a public place. Trust me and come along.”

Maya regarded the woman for a moment and wanted to decline, but curiosity got the better of her and she allowed herself to be led along.

A couple of blocks later, they entered an imposing building which had a lobby with a lavish interior. She stood gaping, having never seen such rich yet tasteful décor, except in movies.

“I remember standing in one spot and looking around for a full five minutes the first time I came here. Stunning, isn’t it?” 

Maya had no words. She nodded in agreement. 

“Do you live here?” She asked.

“I wish! Ravenna has a flat here. We are going up to see her.”

“Is Ravenna a witch too?”

“She is the witch, our Supreme.” The woman answered as she got into an elevator for the fifth floor with Maya.

Maya was nervous. She had heard of some large covens having a head witch but she had never met one; most covens she knew were relatively small and had no use of a Chief.

They reached a flat with a large door. Before either of them had to knock, the door swung open, and a mellifluous voice requested them to enter.

The room they entered was larger and more lavish than the lobby. 

“Please, sit.” Ravenna’s voice broke her out of her reverie. 

She turned towards the voice and saw the woman she assumed was the Supreme, dressed in a rose-pink nightgown and sitting on a wingback with an e-reader in her lap.

“Milly, you’ve brought a guest this time? And without prior information.” She directed her question to the young woman accompanying Maya, with a jesting smirk.

Maya sat down nervously, not knowing how to address a greater witch; while Milly jogged over to the plush sofa and plopped down on it, facing the Supreme. 

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Ravenna assessed the woman Milly had brought with her. The woman seemed to be in her fifties, and judging by the saree she wore, must be from India. 

“I thought it would be a nice surprise,” Milly answered 

Milly’s answer to her previous jibe broke Ravenna out of her thoughts.

She smiled indulgently at Milly and redrew her attention to Maya.

“What’s your name, dear?” 

“Maya, ma’am.” 

“Ah, the one who is an illusion. Please, no need for formalities here, as you can see.” She pointed at Milly, who was now greedily helping herself to the candy placed on the coffee table. 

“Milly didn’t tell you who she was or where she’s taking you, did she?” Ravenna guessed. 

She looked at Milly exasperatedly. 

“One day, a witch is going to hex you for springing such surprises; and I won’t do a thing to reverse it.” 

“Maya didn’t seem like the hexing type, and for what it’s worth, I didn’t know her name either.” 

Ravenna rolled her eyes and decided to deal with Maya for now.

“So, tell me. What’s the story here?” She asked waving her arms around the two women.

Milly stopped gorging on the candy and explained all that had happened so far. Ravenna filled with dread when Milly got to the part about the killing of witches from Maya’s former coven. 

“I don’t get the killings. Isn’t witch-hunting supposed to be an extinct practice?” Milly wondered. 

Ravenna exhaled sadly. 

“Apparently not. Witches or not, as long as there are women who dare to be independent or different, there will be those who are jealous and will seek to subdue her. There are women who are killed in the name of witchcraft; even if they might not have the faintest idea of the mystical arts.” 

Maya was surprised at the Supreme’s sympathetic understanding Soon, however; her surprise gave way to outrage.

“You knew never did anything to stop it? I barely escaped my relatives.” 

Ravenna didn’t flinch. She lowered her eyes in pain and helplessness.

“We couldn’t do anything until one of the witches from the affected covens invited us there. Interfering at our will would imply encroaching on the jurisdiction of another tutelary, which would create a clash between our tutelary and other ones’. Magic does not react well to such clashes.”

Maya knew Ravenna was right, but couldn’t help feeling that this situation was extremely unfair to the witches and the ordinary women who had to die. 

“Well, if a tutelary is unable to protect their wards, they don’t have much right to be revered, do they?” Maya grumbled.

Ravenna smiled slightly, nodding in agreement. 

“Yes, but defying a tutelary means risking your powers because they are the source of the energy, and we only channel it through our craft. So, unless you are willing to give up your powers, or find a back-up tutelary, you don’t have much choice.” Ravenna reminded her gently. Her statement took the wind out of Maya’s sails, and tears of frustration fell from her eyes.

Ravenna got up and sat next to Maya and placed her arm around her shoulders in a gesture of comfort. 

“We couldn’t help the other witches, but there is another option. You could join our coven, which would mean all other witches in your coven would be under our tutelary’s protection, by association.”

Maya was surprised by the generous offer. No witch she knew would dare make such a decision on behalf of their tutelary. She said as much to Ravenna, sceptically.

“How do you know whether your deity would accept this?”

Ravenna fidgeted and caught Milly’s eye, who was grinning at her like a Cheshire cat. She narrowed her eyes at Milly in warning, but Milly was not to be swayed.

“Oh, don’t worry about that. I would say it is our Supreme who controls our tutelary, not the other way round.”

“Milly, that’s not…untrue.” Ravenna conceded. “Still, we need to inform him in-person; he sulked for a whole month the last time we recruited from another coven without telling him.” 

Ravenna turned towards Maya.

“We shall perform your initiation on the Hallowed Evening. We shall summon him at the same time. Okay?” 

Maya nodded eagerly. A new coven and meeting an actual guardian being on one of the most sacred days of the year; Maya couldn’t think of anything more exciting. 

She stood up and thanked the two women; deciding to return home before Poonam started getting worried about her. 

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On the evening of Halloween, Maya found the perfect time and reason to go to Ravenna’s place for her initiation. She told Poonam that she’d been invited to a small Halloween party by some new friends she’d made in the bazaar. Her daughter was glad, and too busy with her office Halloween to give it a second thought, which suited Maya perfectly. 

She rushed to Ravenna’s flat. This time, however, the flat was not as empty as the last time. By her count, there were at least fifty other witches in the huge living room. There seemed to be thousands of candles lit all around the house, with the largest one sitting in the middle of the room; giving off a pleasant jasmine-like fragrance. 

“Here she is. Girls, this is Maya. Our newest recruit.”  Ravenna greeted her and led her to the centre of the room with a firm but gentle touch on her back. 

All women turned towards her and started murmuring. The sudden attention made Maya jittery. Ravenna noticed and silenced the room by waving her palm once. 

“If no one else has an objection, shall we proceed with the summoning?” 

The witches nodded their assent. 

Ravenna picked up a knotted rope in one hand and a mirror in another. She brought them to Maya for the summoning and explained the steps. Maya brought the knot near a candle flame where it quickly caught fire, and held up the mirror so that the burning knot was reflected in the mirror. During the ritual, Ravenna observed, while the other witches stood around murmuring incantations.

Suddenly, the rope and mirror disappeared in a burst of smoke and all the witches, except Ravenna, stepped back. Milly pulled Maya backwards. 

Where there was a tall candle, there now stood a human-like figure clad in an impeccable charcoal-grey suit. When the smoke cleared, Maya saw that he was at least six feet tall and had fiery-red hair that was short and groomed in a modern style. 

All eyes seemed to be on him, but his eyes scanned the group of witches and settled on Ravenna.

“No need for a ritual, dearest? You ask, I come.” He proclaimed passionately in a deep voice that had a charming lilt. He smiled wide and walked closer to the Supreme with outstretched arms

Ravenna rolled her eyes and put her palm on his chest when he got closer.

“This is not a personal call; we have a recruit from another coven.” She answered with a small smile, giving away her pleasure at seeing him.

He frowned slightly, finally noticing Maya. He approached her, and after a few moments of contemplation, introduced himself.

“I am Loki, the protector of Ravenna’s coven and her…”

“…Source of power.” Ravenna interrupted, shooting death glares at the God. 

Loki seemed to enjoy her annoyance. He refocused his attention on the only woman in the room he did not recognize, and assessed her for a few moments before addressing the Supreme.

“Her aura seems potent, and I can sense her connections to elemental Hindu magic which will be a great asset. Good choice, Venna.”

“Milly found her,” Ravenna answered, making Milly beam with pride.

Loki nodded contemplatively.

“Witch killings in India?” He asked Maya, guessing the cause of her distress. Maya nodded sombrely. 

Ravenna went on to explain the arrangement she had thought of, to protect at least some of the witches who were suffering due to the prejudices of ignorant people. 

Loki did not utter a word while Ravenna talked and seemed to be hanging on to her every word. When she was done, he stared at Ravenna gravely for a long time before exhaling loudly and sitting down on an upholstered chair he summoned out of thin air.

“Well, then. Before I officially approve your inductance, do you know the reason behind performing the ritual the way you did?”

Maya didn’t know the answer but she could hazard a guess.

“The mirror is a symbol of illusion. The knot a symbol of the complications that make life. The candle provided the fire. If I had to guess, I would say you have power over fire, illusions and the complications of life.”

Loki and Ravenna had smiles that mirrored each other. Evidently, Maya had passed the test. 

Ravenna took out a small red string from her cloak pocket, and tied it around Maya’s wrist. 

“Keep this on you whenever you need back-up,” Ravenna advised. Turning to the other witches, she raised a toast to the newest witch in their coven.

Turning to Loki, she offered her hand.

“Celebratory dance?”

Loki nodded and took her by the arm, swaying to the music that had started playing, courtesy of Milly’s spell. 

“We have to reach out to and protect the witches in all the countries where they are being executed. This is just the start. Are you up for the extra work?” Ravenna whispered to Loki. 

Loki looked down at Ravenna’s earnest face and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. 

“Anything for you, love. But right now, there is only one witch I am interested in reaching out to.” He winked. 

Ravenna slapped his arm playfully. She looked around and saw the witches dining, drinking and exercising their powers, without fearing for their lives.

She hoped that one day, she would be able to make every witch and every free-spirited woman in the world feel secure in their powers; magical or otherwise. 

Leaning her head on Loki’s shoulder, she was glad she had the support of a powerful partner who shared her vision for the future.