Circus of The Darned Read Online Free PDF

preggers (she was the wife of Armand the
    demonologist), entered the circle next. She went to sit next to Mikeala and one of the local
    Wiccans. Mom hesitated a moment when Ben, the last person remaining, stepped into the circle.
    Everyone else held their breath for a moment, but once my mother decides to do something, she
    does it. She touched Ben on the forehead with the oil, saying the standard blessing.

    Something within the circle changed at that moment, though, something I'd never felt before in a circle. It was like something had awakened from a long sleep. The pendant I wore beneath my
    shirt hummed to life, glowing with a warm heat.

    Fran?What's wrong ? Ben asked. I could feel his concern wrap around me like a soft velvet blanket.

    Nothing , I said, trying to pinpoint what it was that felt different.

    Something is bothering you. What is it?

    I went to sit at the spot my mother indicated. Ben paused a minute when she pointed out to him
    a spot across the circle from me, but he went when I gave him a mental push. Nothing.It's just this midnight sun thing, I think. It always throws me off. It's just weird being able to see everything in the middle of the night .

    You will tell me if you are unhappy about something , he said in his bossy voice.

    I rolled my eyes at him. I might have said I want to do the girlfriend thing with you, but that does not give you the right to push me around .

    Of course it does. You're my Beloved. It is my job to protect you from all evils.

    OK, I admit—I went a bit girly at that. Not at his bossiness—that annoyed the crap out of me,
    and was something we had argued about a lot before we he disappeared and we came to
    Sweden—but at the fact that Ben really did want to keep me safe from things. I would have
    argued that fact now, but my mother pulled out handful of dried lavender branches, and started
    sweeping the circle.

    This is a cleansing ritual , I told Ben as she moved along the circle, pausing to touch each person's feet with the lavender. It's supposed to dean the circle of bad influences .

    Why is she touching our feet?

    That's to clean you, too. It's all symbolic. Mom says a lot of witches use brooms for this, but she thinks that's way too stereotyped. She likes lavender instead.

    "We will now begin the invocation to the god and goddess," my mother announced, having completed the cleansing. "Normally I would now call the quarters, but because our Asatru
    brothers and sisters are holding a blot a short distance away, we do not wish to disturb their forces by drawing their attention away. Thus, we will content ourselves with inviting the goddess and the god to join our circle."

    Here comes the invocation part , I told Ben. Inviting the goddess into the circle is called
    "drawing down the moon." Doing the same for the male god is called "drawing down the sun ."

    Hmm. Two gods only?

    Yup.Male and female halves, basically.

    My mother stood in the center of the circle, her eyes closed, her arms spread out as she spoke
    the invocation to the goddess.

    "Air, Water, Earth, Fire,

    Elements of the stars conspire.

    Goddess, mother of all, come to us!

    Into the circle, right next to the bus."

    I blinked in surprised. That wasn't the normal invocation. Evidently Mom realized something
    was wrong too because she opened her eyes and squinted at a nearby school bus that had been
    converted into a trailer for Desdemona. She shook her head, closed her eyes again, and centered herself.

    "Keep us safe from curse or threat,

    Just like a deodorant that guards from sweat."

    Someone snickered. Mom had her eyes open again, frowning at nothing.

    Er… that seems a rather incongruous invocation , Ben noted.

    It's not right. Those aren't the correct words. For some reason, she's not saying it right , I answered. Crapbeans.I wonder what's going on?

    I couldn't tell you.

    "My apologies, sisters.Er, and brother," Mom said, shooting Ben a quick look. "I seem to be a bit… off