Go on. Return.

From the little collection of stones, a pointy quartz crystal trembled and slid across the wood floor to the chalk letters before me. I lifted the moonstone out of the way. The crystal looped along in little circles, pausing briefly to spell out:

Too late for that.

Oh shit.

Proceed.

Concentrating on the orb, I whispered, "You give permission?"

You did not ask for it.

"I just did."

Verbally.

Great. A difficult spirit. "You want me to spell it?"

Offering.

My brows hunkered down. Right. To take something from the beyond, I have to balance it by giving something back to the beyond. This was where, in ancient cultures, the sacrifice came in. But I had no animal to trade, and wasn't sure I would have been able to if I did. I had stones, herbs, chalk, and candles; all tangible items.

"What offering is appropriate?"

Your soul for mine.

"No way. Absolutely not."

Ha ha.

What the hell? A difficult, jokester spirit? "No deal."

Promise me vengeance.

"Vengeance?"

Avenge my wrongful death.

"I don't know the details, or even the era of your death. I cannot promise vengeance, but I can promise to investigate to the extent of my abilities."

More than investigation. Action! Punishment!

My curiosity was piqued. As Lustrata, this would be acceptable. "What if you are lying?"

Was murdered!

"Yes. I will investigate and if you are wrongfully dead and if a course of action exists that I can take to avenge your death—without harming me and mine—I will."

The crystal spun in place three times.

Agreed.

"You will be housed in this." I held up the cell phone, hoping it would decline to live in the contraption.

Agreed.

Now all I had to do was bring the spirit into the middle circle, put it in the cell phone, bind it there, and seal it in. The «easy» part was done. The next part would bind me to this phone, and to this spirit who wanted vengeance.

I really didn't want to be the high priestess.

I drew a little square in the air just above the ground at the edge of my circle. "Open now the door." I pushed the cell phone through into the space. "Sealed again is the door." No sense taking the risk of a nasty spirit getting to me and having to fight unnecessarily.

I drew another door, higher up, and orb-sized, imagining it opening in the wall of the circle beyond.

"Spirit, there is the door.

Pass now, from outer circle into mid.

Spirit, enter now the door.

Come forth, as ye will and as I bid."

The orb floated forward, pushing through the space where I had indicated the door should be. It entered the middle circle.

"Sealed again is the door."

Now… how to fail?

"Spirit!" The Eldrenne's voice made me look up. She stood three steps beyond my set of circles. I glanced at the other contestants. Hunter was working; Maria looked frustrated. As an afterthought, I shot a glance at the dais and wished I hadn't. The Eldrenne still sat on her throne.

And yet she was here as well.

Bi-location. Probably only I could see her here; she might have had mirror images with each of the other contestants as well.

"Do you understand the purpose of a protrepticus?" she asked the spirit.

The crystal slid around the floor and spelled:

Triple three fold.

The Eldrenne nodded sagely. She asked me, "Do you understand the ownership of a protrepticus?"

"No," I said honestly.

"You will keep it with you at all times" — she held up a hand—"you do not have to take it into the shower, but it must be within six yards of you. Water will not harm the spirit, but if the spirit's house rusts, you'll deal with rust in your pockets, so tending it properly is expected. The item will not require an actual electrical charge but it will feed off your energy; the more you use it, the more it will take. Until you get used to it, be careful."

"Will it take a significant amount of energy?"

"You're holding a spirit in this world and sustaining it, in an item."

"That's a yes?"

"Yes."

My intake of breath was telling.

"Are you unwilling?" she asked sweetly.

"Do I have a choice?"

The Eldrenne's mouth quirked up on one side. "Proceed or be Bindspoken."

"That's a no, then."

"What do you choose, Persephone Isis Alcmedi?"

"I choose to ask what 'triple three fold' means, specifically."

She laughed. "I like you, Persephone." She clasped both hands around her staff and said, "There are three souls involved here, yours, the spirit's, and mine. The protrepticus does three things to each of the three of us. It binds us, obligates us, and allows us. It binds spirit to object, witch to spirit, and Elder to witch. It obligates the spirit to work on your behalf, obligates you to tend the object and sustain the spirit, and obligates me to allow you admittance to any and every WEC meeting and grants you a voice and a vote. And, lastly, it allows the spirit to continue participating in 'existence, allows you access to Council Elders, spells, and information as needed, and it allows the Council to communicate directly with and locate you if necessary."

Consensual SM aside, for most people bondage is a bad thing. Magical binding is no different. In fact, the binding of anyone to anyone else or anything is, generally, frowned upon by witches. All bonds tamper in some way with freedom and that's always a negative. It was why the stain made me feel dirty and angered me so much. In order to avoid more of that, and to preserve the secrecy of the stain I already had, more questions needed to be asked.

"What exactly do you mean when you say it binds me to the spirit and you to me?"

"The spirit must be sustained by you, it must be nearby at all times."

"What if I forget it at home? What if it falls out of my pocket and is run over by a car? What if my dog eats it?"

The Eldrenne shook her head. "If the protrepticus passes beyond the realm of six yards from your aura, the spirit's connection will be severed and the spirit will return to the other side. If your dog eats it, you must remain within the distance until it is passed through the dog's system, and then you must collect all the pieces. I would suggest you then wash them thoroughly." Ick. "The same if it were run over by a car; gather and place the pieces into a leather pouch and keep it with you."

"That's it?"

"I will know, so no, that won't be 'it. »

Aha. "Okay. And the 'binding of you to me' part?"

Despite blue film on her rheumy eyes, I'd have sworn she stared right at me. "It is equivalent to claiming you into my lucusi, my sacred grove… my own coven."

So. This was supposed to be an honor. I didn't know her policies, so I didn't know if I agreed with them, but I undeniably liked her. And if being bound to her didn't reveal the stain, then maybe she could help me not succumb to Menessos. They had a history. I was sure she knew things I'd want and need to know. Nana told me to watch the Elders and see who the Lustrata thought was worthy of being called on. Of the five Elders, I'd have to choose the Eldrenne.

"You hesitate, child?"

"How is the binding to be done?"

"I bind myself to you exactly when you bind yourself to the spirit and object, and I do so in the same manner, so it is a binding of your choice. If you choose to proceed."

I wondered how many Bindspoken witches there were out there, who had opted out at this moment.

There was no such thing as a «loose» binding. Layers of it, but none were loose. The vampire mark was a binding; if he marked me again it would be like adding another layer of control and connectedness, until it had the capacity to be complete. It's an all-or-nothing kind of thing. But how to do it to keep her from seeing or feeling the vampire's binding? I wasn't sure that was possible. But if I stopped, I was surely Bindspoken. To be the Lustrata, I couldn't be Bindspoken. The only chance of avoiding that was to proceed and hope she didn't come to know of it.