Free The Willow by Stacey Kennedy

together now?”
     
    “We are.” I went with the truth, even though her tone and face said I shouldn’t.
     
    "Hrmph," she grumbled, scowling so deep her face was almost unrecognizable.
     
    What the hell was going on? Why was she acting this way? She appeared almost jealous. Is that what this was? Did she not want to share me? Trying to lighten the mood, I changed the subject. “What’s a circle?”
     
    “It’s a ritual cast by the Master of Witches calling on the elements.” Her voice began to ease with each word.
     
    A light breeze wrapped around us and it was warm and refreshing. The garden was just up ahead, and as we drew closer, I wished I came here sooner. It made the botanical gardens look like a place of weeds. A stone path weaved its way around the grounds as thousands of brightly-colored flowers, neatly tailored bushes, and small trees decorated every square inch of it.
     
    “What element do you have?” I asked her.
     
    “Earth.”
     
    “What can you do with it?”
     
    She wiggled her brows. Happy Haven restored. “Oh you’ll see soon enough.” She pulled me forward and stepped into the gardens.
     
    A small pond made of hundreds of flat rocks surrounded by large blooming plants and flowers sat off to the right. Florescent-colored fish were swimming beneath the surface while flourishing lily pads sat on top. I glanced back at Haven. “So, what kind of witch is Zia?”
     
    “She’s a Spirit Witch—a very powerful witch.”
     
    “What elements can she use?”
     
    “All of them.”
     
    I raised my brows in awe.
     
    She nodded. “Exactly. Like I said, they are very powerful. Plus, they are the only ones that have the ability to heal.”
     
    “Like fix wounds?”
     
    “Yuppers.”
     
    The path ended at a wrought iron gate. Completely overrun by green leafy vines, but the beautiful floral accents that decorated the front could still be seen.
     
    Haven opened it, and when I stepped through, I gasped. Places like this just didn’t really exist. A meadow filled with rolling hills, thick plush green grass and a large creek that ran through it. Wild flowers littered the grounds making this place picture perfect. Hundreds of trees were scattered throughout, some I recognized as birches, oaks, and willows. Others I’d never seen before. “Where are we?” I exhaled.
     
    “Guardians have the Guardian’s Hall. We have the Witches Meadow,” she answered, then sucked in an excited breath. “Oh look, they’re starting.”
     
    Following her gaze, Zia was standing in the middle of a large circle of witches, all joined together holding hands. Haven pulled me down to the ground just as Zia said, “May our powers protect us and connect us together.” She raised her hands to the sky. “To the north, we summon you, Earth!”
     
    Suddenly the ground began to shake. Not to a dangerous level, just more like a rumble moving underneath my body. “What’s happening?” I asked Haven.
     
    Her eyes twinkled. “Earth’s responding.”
     
    Zia continued, “To the west, we summon you, Air!”
     
    The breeze picked up and the trees began to sway. A slight wind whipped past my body, raising goose bumps along my skin.
     
    “To the south, we summon you, Fire!”
     
    Abruptly, an earsplitting sizzle came around us as fire tore around the circle of witches, and even from where I sat I could feel the heat radiating off it. “Christ,” I gasped, squirming back.
     
    Haven grabbed my arm. “It won’t hurt them. It never could. It protects them.”
     
    As I glanced back to Zia, she continued, “To the east, we summon you, Water!”
     
    A thunderous swish came as water began to swirl around the witches just above the fire. I shivered slightly from the dampness that spread across my skin and gave my arms a rub.
     
    “Connecting it all, we summon you, Spirit!”
     
    A brilliant explosion of light blasted through the meadow and all the witches had a glittering light moving around