The autumn New Jersey air whistled and howled through the dense inky expanse of trees. Verona shivered in her drab black ritual robes as she made her way purposefully along the trail, deeper into the forest. Verona set up her ritual tools where the moonlight from the full moon spilled through an opening of branches. Touching the soil lightly with her athame, Verona softly spoke the words that enchant a sacred space. The blunt edge of the ritual blade gave off the same silver light as the moon as it glided through the fallen leaves and debris three counter-clockwise outlines of the circle. She closed her eyes as she vocalized the invitations to the four directions: North, East, South, and West. The elements of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water were invoked and engaged as she filled the ritual space with energy, warmth flooding the air where she sat. The usual feelings of weightlessness and euphoria filled her and she welcomed the loss of control as the powers took hold.
"I call upon the spirit of Bacchus to hear my plea and lend me a voice." Her request sounded muffled from the warm, flowing energy that circled her. "I offer the sweetest cakes and finest wine and invite you, Baccuhus, gleeful and playful spirit of the forest, to join in revelry with me." A corner of Verona's lips went up. You had to make it sound like a party to get Bacchus's attention. "I require a distraction of indulgence, intoxication, and seduction," Verona said, trying to hold a serious expression. A breeze broke through the filmy protection of her circle to playfully tug at her hair. She thought she heard laughter carried on the wind from a long distance away. The last time Verona had invoked Bacchus, she was calling on him to help her with her love life. Some excitement and passion had seemed like a great idea at the time. This was three years ago, when she had gotten the job as a New York City crime scene investigator. The cases she worked on in New York City were facinating, high-profile, and she had enjoyed the prestige and respect she received in the position. That had all been before the Crowley Copycat case. She squeezed her eyes shut to block out the memories. That was when things had gone wrong. Wrong enough to move back to her hometown and take her old job in a lab making formulas for women's cosmetics. She took hold of the hum of focus behind her eyes and emptied her mind of thoughts. She withdrew a green bottle from her sack and set it in a bowl of smooth stones on her alter. "Element of Earth: I ask that you empower the drinker of this wine to feel stable, secure, and confident." Next, she passed the bottle through the steady stream of incense swirling and curling. "Element of Air: may you gild the tongue of whosoever drinks this wine to have your unique characteristics of intelligence and innovation." The flames of the red candle licked the wine's label as she passed the bottle through fire. "Element of fire: this wine needs the burning, swell of passion to ignite