Addison and Lia entered the red room. Addison closed the door and sat in a chair across from Lia.
“So … how does this work?” Lia asked.
Good question.
“I’m not sure,” Addison said. “The book of enchantments, it whispers to me, prompting me about what to do and what to say. If I listen, I believe everything will come to me.”
“Okay, how do we get started?”
“Close your eyes.”
Lia did as Addison asked.
Addison followed suit, attempting to clear her mind, tapping into the harmonious frequency inside her. As she concentrated on the task she was about to perform, she rubbed a finger over the gemstone of her ring and then reached for Lia’s hands as she chanted:
Ancient mothers far and near
Listen now and lend an ear
I offer this woman into the light
To be granted necromancer sight
A human she will cease to be
As magic seeks to set her free
Addison’s hands began to glow, the light spreading from her to Lia, until Lia’s hands radiated their own light. They opened their eyes, staring down at their hands, at each other. The room began to revolve, rotating around like a carousel at top speed. As it slowed down and the room came back into focus, Sybil Waterhouse appeared, hovering next to them.
Sybil placed a hand on Addison’s head. “Is it your wish to make her one of us?”
“It is,” Addison said.
“What do you know of her worthiness? Why choose this mortal to be gifted with all that we are?”
“She is the truest friend I’ve ever had. Honest and kind. Loyal to me in a way no woman has ever been before.”
Sybil nodded and shifted her attention to Lia. “And you, Lia Ann McReedy, why ask to shed your mortal life, forsaking it to become as one with us?”
Lia smirked and said, “I mean, you’re all powerful and everything, so I’m guessing you already know my heart and how I feel, don’t you?”
Addison glared at Lia, her expression a warning to exercise caution when speaking to an elder necromancer.
Lia gave her friend a slight nod, cleared her throat, and tried again. “I … ahh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to disrespect you.”
“Answer the question again.”
“I would do anything for Addison. We all know what she’s about to face. I can’t stand back and watch her handle it alone.”
“Why not?”
“She means too much to me. I don’t want to lose her.”
“And if I refuse Addison’s request?” Sybil asked. “What then?”
“I’ll stand with her and fight either way.”
“You’d risk your life for Addison, for us, for this family?”
“I would.”
“Even if it meant you would die in doing so?”
Lia nodded. “Even then.”
Sybil smiled. It appeared Lia’s response pleased her, but she hesitated. It was clear she wasn’t done with Lia’s interrogation yet.
“Let us see what makes you the woman you are,” Sybil said.
Lia exchanged glances with Addison, neither knowing what was about to come next.
Sybil moved behind Lia, closed her eyes, placed her hands on Lia’s head, and said, “Show me her present and show me her past.”
Images emerged on the wall of the red room like a movie playing on a screen, glimpses into Lia’s life. Her birth, her childhood, her pleasure, her pain. Some made Lia smile. Others made her bite her lip as if she struggled to keep her emotions at bay. Others still made her cringe, like she wanted to look away, but Sybil held firm, forcing Lia to face each moment in time, all that had come before—the good and the bad.
As the images dissolved, new ones emerged of women who resembled Lia but had lived in different eras in time. It was as if Lia had lived multiple lives. A nurse in one life. A teacher in another.
In a swift, abrupt moment, Sybil lifted her hands, and the images ceased.
“I’ve seen enough.” Sybil looked at Lia. “In this life, at the age of fourteen, you stole something. Why?”
“It was a tube of lipstick. It was for my mother, for her birthday.”
“Why steal it instead of buying it?”
“She’d just lost her job. She was a single mother, and we had no money. I made it up to the store a few years later. I placed double the cost of the lipstick into an envelope and mailed it to them.”
Sybil nodded. “You have lived many lives, Lia. Not everyone is given a second or third opportunity to live life all over again. To be granted such an honor, one must die being worthy of living again.”
“I mean, okay … but I don’t even know if I believe in that stuff,” Lia said.
“Oh, but you do believe. You’ve always felt it, the remnants of your former selves flowing inside you. A flicker of a glimpse here, a memory there. Memories you could never place, never make sense of, even though you tried. Each life you’ve lived, you’ve chosen a position where you come to the aid of others.”
Lia shrugged. “In this life, I’m a medical examiner. I don’t see how I’m helping others.”
“And yet you’ve assisted on several cases where grieving families of murder victims received the closure they needed because of your keen insight and tireless dedication to bringing the evil in this world to justice. You are as worthy as anyone has ever been. I’ve seen inside your heart. It’s no wonder Addison gravitated toward you from the moment you both met.”
Lia looked at Addison. “Makes sense, I guess.”
“Raise your hands in front of you,” Sybil said. “Addison, I’d like you to do the same. Then press them together and don’t let go until I tell you to do so.”
Addison and Lia did as she asked, and then Sybil sat between them. She brought her palms to her lips and blew into them. A luminous, circular mist appeared between Sybil’s hands. She guided the mist toward Addison and Lia. As it descended over their joined hands, it tightened, forming an impenetrable bond.
“I bind you together as sisters,” Sybil said, “Lia Ann McReedy, from this day forth, you are charged with defending Addison, standing by her side as you uphold the necromancer legacy. Do you accept the honor bestowed upon you this day?”
Without hesitation, Lia said, “I do.”
The mist rose above Addison and Lia’s hands, hovering in the air.
“Release your hands,” Sybil said.
As their palms separated, the mist floated toward Lia, settling as a crown over her head, before it dissolved into the air.
“My work here is done,” Sybil said. “Lia Ann McReedy, you are now gifted with all you need to assist Addison on the journey ahead. Rise now. Rise up and make us proud.”