Free The Spell of Rosette by Kim Falconer

breath.
    ‘…we do the ritual.’
    Rosette nodded, a shadow crossing her face.
    ‘What, child?’
    ‘Mamá and John’ra would not have approved, and now they’re…’
    ‘They would have wanted you to survive, Rosette, and studying witchcraft is the surest way to protect yourself. Besides, it’s in your blood.’
    ‘Get the whitest ones you can find.’ Nell sketched the shape of the root on a drawing pad. ‘No smaller than this. You can only see the tips sticking out from the snowbanks at this time of the year, so you have to dig deep.’ She handed Rosette a copper trowel to pack in her backpack.
    The summer after Rosette’s initiation had fled by; the smell of the woods and the warm sun baked away her fears and eased the sadness. Her arms had tanned adark honey-brown as she’d tended the gardens, and her intuition had sharpened as she’d hunted at the edges of the woods by day and studied herbs and star-craft by the fire at night.
    Now winter was here, and it was time to collect the Snow Root— Symphytum officinalia —that Nell used in her potions, particularly the one that kept joints supple and bones warm through the long dark nights.
    ‘How many?’ Rosette tucked the talisman Nell had given her as an initiation gift—a silver pentagram nestling inside a crescent moon—under her sweater and buttoned up her coat.
    ‘At least five, more if time allows. Take only the top half of the root and replant the rest. It’s sacred, and we don’t want to deplete it.’
    Rosette nodded.
    ‘Get away from the woods well before sunset—it’s no place to be on a winter’s night, I promise you.’
    ‘Nell, why are you fussing? It’s just a trip to the woods.’ Rosette’s eyes suddenly went wide. ‘Is there a transit you aren’t telling me about?’
    ‘You’ve studied the ephemeris. Is there?’
    Rosette closed her eyes, visualising the planetary positions for the day. She couldn’t see anything outstanding, and said so.
    ‘What about last month?’
    Rosette frowned. ‘Last month was the lunar eclipse on my north node, but what’s that got to do with today? It’s long past…Oh.’ Rosette put her hand over her mouth to stop a stream of babble.
    ‘Yes. Oh! ’ Nell smiled briefly before letting it fade. ‘What can you tell me about the timing of eclipse events?’
    Rosette took a deep breath. ‘An eclipse can have its outcome thirty days before or after the exact alignment, plus or minus three days either side.’
    ‘Yes, it can, and that brings us to today. It’s nothing to fret about, though I want you to stay aware, and be out of those woods before dark.’
    ‘Don’t worry, Nell. I’ll be back before dinner.’ She fished gloves from her pockets and pulled them on, picked up her staff and shouldered her backpack before kissing Nell’s cheeks.
    The wind struck her face as she opened the cottage door. Nell called her back.
    ‘Here.’ She daubed a sweet-smelling ointment on Rosette’s lips and thrust the small tin into her gloved hand. ‘This’ll keep your lips from chapping. Use it sparingly; it’s very strong.’
    Rosette put the container in her pocket before flipping up her hood and waving goodbye.
    Several hours later she was scouring the borders of the Dumarkian Woods, looking for the elusive Snow Root. She had found only one small plant so far and no sign of any others. Pausing before the wall of pine trees, she smiled. She remembered a patch of them carpeting the summer forest floor, their tiny purple blossoms dancing like puppets on a stick. They were further in. She glanced up at the pale sun, took a deep breath and entered the woods.
    The stillness struck her first. No wind whipped and cut at her face and not a branch moved. Only the occasional snapping of a twig underfoot, the crunch of snow and the distant screech of a raptor broke the silence. She couldn’t believe a place so still could feel this alive. It teemed with energy, and today not all of it felt friendly.
    She