service in Fantasy & Sci-Fi

The air in the clearing shimmered, thick with the scent of honeysuckle and something older, wilder, that made my teeth ache. I clutched my sister’s hand, her fingers cold and trembling in mine.

The chalk circle on my attic floor looked perfect—every sigil copied from the grimoire, every Latin phrase pronounced exactly as the phonetic guide suggested. I’d spent three weeks preparing for t...