Season 3 Episode 10 (FINALE): Unleash the Mountain

Jade – Ashley McAnelly/Abbey Konzen
Roz – Jessica McEvoy
Maureen – Erin Lillis
Gale – Scott Thomas
Marcus – Jeff Clement
Aunt Beattie – Nikolle Doolin
Silas – David Ault
Laura – Erika Sanderson
Uncle Dale – Atticus Jackson
Buried Mother – Sarah Thomas
Ruth Ann — Dolly Anderson
Betty – Maddie Girouard
Additional Voices – Saph the Something, Diego Herrera, Loggerhead, YamiKakyuu

“What do you mean the Buried Mother is coming for us tonight?”
“I mean she has followers that are coming to break her out tonight, one way or another. I don’t know what their exact plan is in order to do that, but I heard her whispers to them to mobilize.”
“Is she enthralling them like she did Eric and Domino?”
“I don’t think she has yet, but that could change quickly.”
God damn it! Eric is gone, Domino and most of the pack is gone, maybe Sasha now, too. I have to protect who is left and get back the ones I’ve lost. I can’t lose anyone else.
“Is Marcus at the Tar Tree?”
“He should be by the time we get there.”
Good. We aren’t wasting another minute. There’s too much to do now, and not enough time.
Gale drops us gently at the coven circle in the woods. It looks like most of the coven is here, minus the young ones and new recruits. At least Maureen, Roz and I are on the same page about keeping the kids out of this one. Laura stands by the altar; looks like we’ve interrupted her speech with our entrance. The coven is wide-eyed and jaw dropped as Gale puts us down and hovers above us.
“Good afternoon, ladies. I believe these two belong to you.”
Roz rushes over to help me with Aunt Beattie. Maureen and the other concerned elders come to tend to her as well. She’s as fine as she can be, so they sit her on the nearest log and attempt to give her strength.
I pull Maureen and Roz to the side and tell them what happened. Worry shrouds Maureen’s face as she thinks about what to do.
“We have no time to waste, then. Roz, take Jade to the Tar Tree and prep as best as you can for the sealing ceremony. I will finish up here with the volunteers to keep everyone out of the woods.”
“Give me a moment to gather my things, Jade.”
As Roz prepares to leave, I take a moment to approach Laura. I make my approach look as harmless as possible. If anything, I look like I’m turning to my High Priestess for reassurance. I wrap my hand around the inside of her forearm and pull her close.
“Tonight is the night I need you, Laura. No matter what happens in that circle, you do as I ask. I’d tell you to trust me, but I know that’s never going to happen. So just stick to our deal, and we will get through this.”
Laura latches her other arm on my back and locks us in a half hug, trapping my right arm against the front of both of us. She’s not stupid enough to pull something right now, at least I don’t think. But her words are loud and for all.
“Hecate, ancient goddess of the night,
Your torch illuminates the mystic flight.
Guardian of crossroads, holder of the key,
Unveil the path, set the magic free.
Keep us safe on this night of darkest shadows.
Keep our people shielded from the evil in the mountain.”
She releases me, and nods.
“May the Mother’s light guide you.”
I guess that’s the best I’m getting out of her. Not surprising, but I have to believe that she will not break our deal, if not to save everyone, then at least to save herself. I look at the coven of women before me, and I see Ruth Ann close to the front. I also see around her neck the ornate triple moon sigil of Hecate that is reserved only for priestesses in our coven. She agreed to be Laura’s priestess?
I walk towards her and make eye contact. I stare with her for a beat and then I look down at the necklace.
“Why?”
Ruth Ann knowingly smiles.
“It’s better to keep your enemies close, is it not? You agreed to lead the initiate classes. This way we both stay close and help guide her hand as best we can.”
(Roz) “Jade, let’s go.”
I look back at Ruth Ann before leaving the circle.
“If anyone is going to keep the townspeople safe, it’d be you, Ruth Ann.”
“And if anyone was going to destroy the evil in the mountain, it’d be you. May the Mother’s light guide you.”
I turn and go to Gale and Roz.
[SFX: wind whooshing as Gale lifts Roz and Jade]
The whole coven watches as Gale sweeps us up and takes us to the Tar Tree; a handful of women, some seen as community leaders in Mountainburg and some old crones who everyone thinks is out of their minds. But with Maureen, Ruth Ann, and maybe even Laura, leading them, they can keep people out of harm’s way long enough for us to do what we must.
Gale drops us at the edge of the cliff, facing the Tar Tree. The Tar is normally only on its roots, and seeping from a few places in the bark. Now, the tree is covered in Tar, but it’s not dripping off the branches onto the ground. It’s seeping from the ground up onto the tree. Another sign that the sealing circle should not be ignored. The Tar in the ground is what’s entombing her.
From the far side of the cliff, a ray of light shines on the Tar Tree, brighter and from a different direction than the sunset of the dying day. Out of the shadows I see Marcus, both hands in front of him, pointing that ray of light at the tree. A vampire that controls daylight? Now I’ve seen everything.
The light seems to scare the tar back into the earth. Rivulets of tar streams off of the tree, back to the roots and onto the ground. It pools around the tree, pulsing and swaying as if it’s a living thing, but it’s careful to give the stone with the seal a wide berth. I’m sure it’s trying to escape the tomb, not get sucked back in.
Roz wastes no time and immediately calls upon her fire magic to draw her protective circle. “I’ll start with a large perimeter, you set up a smaller one inside it.”
“Just start drawing the circles and putting up wards, I’ve got to do something first.”
“Jade, what are you talking about? You know we have no time.”
“Gale, take me to the Glory Hole.”
“Jade you’re not seriously–”
“I am not leaving them under her power! Gale, take me now.”
“Jade, I’m not sure this is–”
“Gale, trust me, please. Will Roz be safe here if Marcus comes with us?” (taken aback) “I’m doing what now?”
“I need you and Gale for this. It won’t take long, because it either will or will not work. But I need you both.”

[SFX: roar of a fire sparking to life]
Roz whips her arm out and with it a line of fire bursts to life, circling the area. I can tell she is pissed, but she’s done arguing.
“I’ll be fine, but you better make it worth me being here by myself, Jade.”
“We will be back before you know it. Gale, Marcus, let’s go.”
With a gentle whoosh, Gale lifts us both up and takes us into the air for what will hopefully be my last airy flight of the night. I close my eyes as the rush of wind surrounds me, making it impossible to hear anything outside of my own mind. I take a minute to go over my plan again, think through all of the possibilities of something going wrong, and how I can still get through them. A lot is up in the air right now, literally and metaphorically, and my heart pounds at the thought of failure when I’ve come so close.
Before long we are drifting downward, falling gently through the eye of the Glory Hole. Gale puts us down on the rocky floor before becoming corporeal himself.
Marcus plops down on the nearest boulder.
“Why are we here, Jade?”
“(to Marcus) I’ve got some unfinished business. (yelling) Hey! You buried bitch! I thought we had a deal!”
“You made a deal with–”
I hold up a hand, stilling Marcus’ tongue.
“You said you would leave this to me, and yet my howlers are under your control. Where is the honor amongst women, you unholy bitch? Where is my howler?!”
[SFX: Indecipherable whispering, almost like wind]
I turn to Gale, but he’s standing still, unfazed. Marcus, too, looks around like the most interesting thing happening right now is simply his being in the Glory Hole. I realize that whatever I’m hearing right now, they are no longer a part of it. Turning to the central opening of the Glory Hole, I direct my words to her.
“I can hear you, so I know you can hear me! WE HAD A DEAL!”
Gale shoots me a worried look, but I wave him off, my attention still towards where her essence is likely coming from. I can explain to them both later.
[SFX: Indecipherable whispering again. Can we make it sound doubtful?]
Her cryptic whispering comes again, and anger flushes up my neck at the realization that she can speak directly into my head, but I can’t reach into hers. That bitch. The least she could do is respond out loud so everyone could hear. So I don’t sound crazy.
“WHERE. IS. MY. HOWLER?!”
[SFX: Indecipherable whispering, louder]
Her whispers fill my head, but this time, they come with something almost like emotions. I can feel her as she is now, trapped and longing to be free. I can feel her excitement, almost giddiness at the culmination of all of her plans, all of her hard work. And finally, I can feel her sense of doubt in me, that I will be able to live up to my promise.
Rage boils up inside of me, but this one is all my own.
“How dare you. You know I have to keep the facade to the coven and the circle that I’m still helping them until I’m finally in position to break you free. You have no reason to be wary of me. You know better than anyone what is in my head and heart. If anything, you’re the one who hasn’t held up your end of the bargain. How am I supposed to trust anything you say or do now?”
Her whispered voice grows quiet, as if she is thinking. Before I have a chance to yell again, a soft whoosh stirs the air around me and I turn. Through the Glory Hole, the pack of howlers appear, dropping one by one onto the cave floor. They line up and face us, their systematic movements making it clear that they are not in their own control right now.
Sasha is still not among them. Small blessings.
Domino is last to appear, dropping front and center. He looks over at me, and there’s nothing behind his eyes – no life, no love, no emotions whatsoever. Heat floods my chest at the sight of Domino being anything but Domino.
“Now release them.”
[SFX: Indecipherable whispering in a negatory fashion]
I watch as the light comes back to Domino, quickly followed by a wariness as he takes in the cavern and everyone in it. I pick up a jagged rock and slice my hand open.
“By Blood I call to thee, by blood I make you mine.”
I hope he can recognize me through the mental fog of the Buried Mother’s thrall, but he stays where he is. Slowly, I take a step forward, my arm still held out to my howler.
As if on cue, the rest of them disappear through the in-between, returning to their command post wherever the Buried Mother has assigned them. Domino, at least, watches them from the floor of the cavern before turning his red eyes on me.

I wish she was giving me more than Domino, but if I had to choose between the whole pack and just him, I’d pick him every time. I decide not to push my power into him yet. Carefully, I make my way towards him, letting him get familiar again with my scent before running my hands through the rough fur along his neck. Once he is relaxed, and has some sense that it’s me, I close my eyes and reforge the bond we had before she broke it, willing it to come back. I send my power through the feeble tie until it snaps into place, and a part of me heaves a sigh at having Domino back in my life. When I open my eyes, he’s staring right at me, and I can feel him once again inside my mind.
“Hey, Domino. How about we keep her, or anyone else, from ever doing that again? Will you open yourself fully to me?”
Instead of pushing my power into him, I open myself up for him to push into me. My mother accomplished this technique, attuning, with Sasha when I was a child, and Sasha attuned to me as well. But I had failed to get her or any of the others to open themselves up in such a way all these years, since my mother was gone. I’m hoping Domino will be the one to change that.
I leave myself wide open for him to attune. He shows no sign of acceptance or rejection. Sasha growled at me the last time I tried this and she shut me down. But Domino finally leans against me and nuzzles, pushing his being into my body.
It has been so long since I attuned with a howler, I’d almost forgotten what it feels like. Domino and I become one consciousness, and I can view the world through his eyes. It’s almost like I am the howler now, except I do not have control over his body. I look through his eyes, see him staring at me, then to Gale and Marcus. Gale looks a lot shinier and twinkles with more colors through Domino’s eyes.
I laugh in Domino’s head, and thank him for accepting me.
“Um, Jade? Did we accomplish what we needed here? Because there’s still a lot to do tonight, and they’re going to need us.”
I have to pull my mind out of Domino and back into myself, but the tether of attunement is a solid line that cannot be broken now. Now that we’ve attuned, nothing short of my death or his should allow anyone or anything to break our bond again.
“Right. Yeah, I’m done here. Thanks for staying with me for this – I just had to get Domino back from her.”
“And you’re going to tell us what that deal was, right?”
“You have no reason to trust me after hearing I made a deal with her, but I’m still going to ask you to. I made that deal for a reason. I know we’ve only worked together for a short time, but believe me when I say I want to end this once and for all. Please trust me on this, and do not say a word about it to anyone else.”
“I’ve known you all your life, Jade. I know the pain you’ve gone through, I could hear your every angry and grief-stricken cry out to the wind, to the gods. I also know every utterance you’ve taken since. You are not that lost girl I found who summoned us to the Tar Tree. I will do what you ask of me.”
“If Gale trusts you, then so do I.”
“There will come a time tonight that I ask for your help. Your help will be pivotal if my plan succeeds or not. Can I depend on you?”
“Always.”
“Until it gets boring, yes.”
“Speaking of boring, how come Gale had to carry you here? Can vampires not fly?” (teasing) “Oh vampires can fly, just not this one.”
“That’s because I can do something the rest of them cannot.”
“Your light. I saw you use it on the Tar Tree. I assume most vampires cannot control light like that?”
“It’s not any light. It’s the holy light of the sun. I was devout in my human life and stayed that way in my vampire one. The lord saw me fit to wield his light, and so I do.”
“It was that light that made me want to bring you for Plan B To break Domino free of her. I’m glad it didn’t come to that, but if your light is that powerful, may I ask why you aren’t able to completely defeat her with it?”
“It’s taken years for me to have this much Control, and honestly I’m still not sure I’m strong enough to defeat her.”
“He doesn’t think evil can defeat evil. Even though He believes He has a gift from God, he still sees himself as an abomination.”
“My family sees me as an abomination.”
“So you don’t fit in anywhere, huh?”
“I’m fine living like this. Gale has been a great companion.”
“I’ll carry you on my winds into eternity. But I cannot heal your self-inflicted and family-inflicted wounds.”
“One thing at a time. Let’s destroy the Buried Mother once and for all.”
Before I drop the attunement with Domino, I make one last request.
Please go find Mr. Giggles. Bring him to me. I think tonight you will both be safer staying close.
Domino stares at me for a second, thinking it through, before taking off through the Glory Hole. I can only hope that he will help me out with this; after what the Buried Bitch put him through, I don’t blame him for hesitating.
I turn back to Gale and Marcus.

“Okay, let’s head back. I’ve got everything I need now.”
[Cell phone call ring]
It’s Silas.
“How far out are you?”
“I’m thirty minutes away from Fort Smith. You better have a plan by now.”
“I do, but it doesn’t start in Fort Smith. We are up in Mountainburg. I’ll text you the address to meet me at.”
“He called me, Jade. Only it wasn’t him. I mean in a way it was, but even over the phone I could tell how far she has her talons in him.”
“So he’s still…”
I couldn’t bring myself to say the words, but Silas knows what I mean.
“He felt that way. And he better damn well be by the time we get to him, Jade.” “We will break him free of her, Silas, I swear my life on that.”
Whether he will be alive or dead when we break him free, I won’t swear to, but that is the hope. I cannot fail him. I refuse to pay the same price I did to save Sam; I will not open myself to that evil again to defeat evil, but I’m praying to God and Goddess that I’m strong enough and have enough support to still beat her without it.
I guess we are about to find out.

Marcus, Gale and I return to the Tar Tree. Roz has almost exhausted herself laying down wards and protection circles around the area. She’s propped herself against the tree, drinking from a bottle of water.
“You sure you have any energy for the actual ceremony?”
“Mom is strong enough I don’t have to represent our family in the circle, so I’m lending as much power as I can into everything else.”
“Did you really offer yourself up in her place?”
“Of course I did, since I no longer represent the coven as the high priestess.”
Roz stands and comes closer to me. She eyes Marcus and Gale as she puts her hand on my shoulder.
“Promise me you won’t do anything stupid tonight.”
“Promise me that this time the sealing ceremony will work like it should.”
“Touche. Okay, promise me you won’t do anything stupid until it goes wrong. I’m sure you have a backup plan up your sleeve anyway. Just remember, we may not be blood, but you still have family here that loves you and needs you.”
“Present company included?”
(light giggle) “You know that answer.”
“Are you two going to kiss now?”
Roz lets her hand fall to her side.
“And if we did, you would enjoy the show?”
“I always find human relationships interesting.”
“Humans rely too much on the carnal pleasures of a warm body. In many ways they are just like my kind. But for a romantic partner, there’s so much more needed.”
“That’s why you stick to corporeal winds that can just slide over your dead skin there, vampire boy?”
Marcus straightens up as If I just slapped him.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I bet you do.”
“No more teasing, Jade. We need to get back to Mom’s if Silas is almost there.” “Alright, let’s go.
I meet Silas at Maureen’s and, after a quick introduction to the elemental, talk Silas into holding still and closing his eyes as Gale swiftly carries us to the coven circle. I talk Maureen, Roz, and Laura into letting Silas listen in to the secrets of the sealing ceremony. With Eric being under her power, and Silas’s fury bubbling beneath the fence of worry, it wasn’t hard to convince them.
Silas sits at the wooden teaching table with me and the other women, including Aunt Beattie, who has been surprisingly quiet. Marcus leans against a nearby tree, and Gale stands vigilant, listening for any whispers of the Buried Bitch. Maureen lays out the plan to us.
“It will be similar to what you experienced at the Solstice, Jade. We will draw the circle of power, and step onto our assigned stones in the circle. But instead of only our minds being connected, we will fully open ourselves up, dropping all of our shields, and create one circuit of power. Everyone will temporarily have the others’ abilities. And with this great force of power, we say the spell to reforge the seal.”
She slides a leather-bound book with pages darkened and frailed with time. It looks like a book of shadows, and on the open page before us is the spell. Silas and I begin to pour over it, trying to burn it into our memory. Laura takes a picture of it on her phone and says she’ll delete it later. I fight the urge to roll my eyes at her and focus on the task at hand.
“And the circle of power has been strong enough to deter any of her attempts to save herself, including her minions?”
“In the past, yes, even the night the ceremony failed, your mother was able to re-draw the circle and keep the Buried Mother in.”
I wince at the mention of my mother, but shake it off as quickly as possible. Her memory has been constant in the back of my mind this whole time. I’ve been fighting hard not to rehash my old outcries, but some of them are relevant right now.
“I am not looking to start a fight again, but if the ceremony failed that night with my mother, then why are you confident it will work this time, when she’s got an even higher level of power?”
“For the same reason you took me with you to the Glory Hole.”
“So you two already discussed this.”
“Marcus has been steadily growing in power for several years now. If it wasn’t for him, I would be entertaining your thought to attempt to destroy her, because we would have no other choice. But I believe with his power, and now the stronger representatives for each group of the circle, I believe we should be able to successfully recharge the seal.”
I keep my face blank, hiding my true thoughts. The thought that I have no intention whatsoever of simply sealing her up again. That I will set my mother free tonight. I let the anger I’ve held onto for so long – the anger I was beginning to let go of, to let in the love and trust of the coven – I let that anger fester again, and keep my target clearly in my mind, all the while letting Maureen take the lead and believe I am following her. She’s seen the growth in me with the coven, I think it’s enough to make her believe.
And now just to pray everything unfolds exactly how I need it to tonight.
Maureen requests that we walk there together, and try to lift some of the ick off of the woods as we go, to try to fight the Buried Mother’s power. Fine by me. It gives me more time to think of all the ways this can play out, how to prepare for them, and any worse case scenarios. Gale says it
lets him focus more on the whispers on the wind, anyway. Marcus carries Aunt Beattie since she’s the only one not well enough to walk. They seem to have their own conversation but, I can’t quite make out what they’re saying over Laura muttering the spell to herself over and over.
Silas walks beside me. He has been quiet for a few minutes, but finally asks a question. “Do you anticipate her trying to use Eric against us?”
“If she had him call you, then yes, I bet she shows up with him there tonight.” “I don’t mean taunting me and tormenting me with his presence, I mean his power.”
I hadn’t considered that.
“That is uncharted territory. What are some worst case scenarios you can think of?”
“So far he hasn’t controlled the dead like I do, only channeled them through his ectoplasm. But his ectoplasm is of this realm: suppose she’s able to attack through it?”
“As long as he is outside the circle of protection, we should be fine.”
“But will he be?”
“What?”
“If Eric tries to cross the circle of protection, what will happen to him?”
“If he means us ill will, then he won’t be able to cross it. It won’t harm him, just stop him.”
“As he is a human with supernatural gifts, he won’t be able to open the circle if she asks him to?”
“Thoughtful question. This particular circle can only be drawn by those blood-bound to the representative groups of the circle. That’s why it’s typically family members that get passed the torch.”
Gale swoops down between Silas and I and we both squeal.
“God, Gale, must you do that?”
“Something’s different.”
“What do you hear?”
“That’s just it. The whispers – they stopped.”
We are only a hundred feet from the Tar Tree. The moonlight shines brightly on it as it’s not hidden by the canopy of the forest. We are all quiet for a moment to see if anything will come from this new development, but we see and hear nothing, so we press on.
About fifty feet from the Tree, soft whooshes stir on either side of us, hidden in the trees. Marcus turns his body, cradling Aunt Beattie in one arm as if she was an infant, with his other arm out to ward off something.
“We aren’t alone now.”
The first howler reveals themself in a sliver of moonlight between the trees. It’s one that belongs to her. Damn it, where is Domino and Mr. Giggles?
Several more howlers frame our path to the Tar Tree, but none move any further. “What are they waiting on?”
“Perhaps the Buried Mother doesn’t want them to interfere yet.”
I think he’s right, but I’m not saying why out loud. I think they’re waiting on me to do what I said I would do. I think they’re only here as her failsafe if I can’t deliver. Because once that circle is closed, nothing on the outside can break it until one of the members re-opens it.
“Let’s keep moving and pray you’re right.”
We start moving again but not fast; we don’t want any sudden movements to set them off. But we are all on high alert as we move. God, do we look like a sad D&D party.
“Jade, get to the tree and summon the group. The rest of us will get into place. Silas, stay close to me. Marcus, you can put Beattie down on the stone to the right of me. Once Jade joins her, you can go to your place.”
We all begin to fan out to our positions. I pick up the pace, trying not to fully turn my back on the howlers to get to the tree and summon the rest of the circle. On the trunk is a spot where the bark doesn’t grow; the tree is left bare, with a handprint burned into it. I’ve cut my hands open too many times today, but it will take at least one more to summon the circle. The moment I place my hand over the handprint, the tree pricks me and takes the blood it needs.
“Be prepared to fight if the howlers attack the others.”
(wild laugh) “Well, my, my, this is the first time we have a mixed audience.” [Wild hog snorting and walking beside Betty]
Betty and her pet, a long-dead razorback with the name Rawhead and Bloody Bones, approach from my left. Betty’s dressed in the same clothes I saw her in last time. Then again, I’m not sure she’s actually human anymore, so maybe she never feels the need to change clothes. Her dark hair is wrapped up in a side bun, and her hand hovers over Rawhead, who’s height reaches to
her waist. He was a big boy in life, and became even bigger in death.
Everyone knows the English version of Rawhead and Bloody Bones, like another boogeyman that steals and eats naughty children. But this Rawhead in front of me is a different legend. Betty’s a conjuring woman, another power doctor, and had that pet razorback not too long after the Spanish brought them to America. Her neighbor decided to kill and eat the razorback, and Ole Betty discovered the betrayal as the neighbor was butchering the thing. Betty animated the corpse of her pet and commanded Raw Head to kill the neighbor. So now any acts of betrayal or greed can be punished with Raw Head, though I’m sure Betty does more than that.
The howlers give them a wide berth. Not sure if it’s because of Rawhead or if they really are not to move until I fail to break her free.
Winnie and Dwight break through the trees next. They are the other two coven representatives. I hadn’t seen Winnie since her mother’s funeral, and last I knew her brother had been taken by the fae. I’ll have to ask her if she managed to save him. Dwight I hadn’t seen since a multi coven Solstice ceremony a few years back.
NaDette and another young woman appear from behind the other side of the Tar Tree. NaDette is a woman I barely know, but have a strong connection with. She was one of the few to come when I summoned the circle accidentally as a child. She stayed with me until my mother came. I hadn’t seen her for a long time after that, but at the last Solstice gathering, she came. She made a point to come see me after the business of the gathering was over, and she held me as I cried. I wonder if that is her daughter that’s with her, also ready to take up her torch.
I mutter the Allbright’s Promise song to myself, figuring out who isn’t here.
“This is the journey of the AllBright’s Promise.
The journey starts with the witches three:
The Watchtowers, the Kings, and Hecate – that’s the covens and our families Then came the earth, the wind, the fire, – Gale is the rep for the element The shadows brought their own desire, – that’s Marcus
The lone witch brought the razorback, – Betty
The moon and the wheel keep them on track, – NaDette is here but the Santerians are not With Jesus’s love comes the brother
To seal away the Buried Mother.” The pastor isn’t here.
“We’re missing the Pastor and the Santerians.”
“Brother Hank should be here. I already had him on alert.”
“Brother Hank is dead.”
A familiar voice cuts through the air, a voice I never expected to hear at this circle. “Uncle Dale?”
“Hello Jade, Beattie. Looks like the cancer is just about done with you.”
“How did Brother Hank die?”
“It looks like he was attacked, but it looks like a human attack, not supernatural.” The Buried Mother must have her enthralled followers moving.
“Our family is already represented here. I can only assume Hank passed the torch to you before he died?”
“You’d be correct. Where do I stand?”
Aunt Beattie points to the stone where Uncle Dale needs to go, but we exchange glances. This is more than half of what’s left of us Allbrights. Beattie’s kids and Dale’s kids are all that’s left, if things go south tonight.
[disembodied voice] “Well, well, isn’t this a nice surprise. All the Allbrights are together now.”
Her voice echoes through the air and sends a jolt of fear down my spine that’s quickly replaced with fury. She’s mocking my mother being her vessel. Does she think I forgot, or is she trying to get me to focus on the task?
It’s the first time I’m hearing her voice aloud as well; so far she’s been whispers in my head, but everyone heard her just now.
“I think we can’t wait on the Santerians.”
“We can start the ritual without them?”
“We don’t have a choice.”
“But what if they get here and we’ve already closed the circle?”
Maureen ignores that question. I don’t think she wants to say the answer we all know. “Let us begin.”
I take Aunt Beattie by the arm and join her on our stone. There is a stone for each representative group making a circle around the seal. Once we are all in place, we charge our stones with our energy. Laura steps on her stone alone. I’m not surprised no one is standing with her, but I wonder if she knew just how alone she would feel here once Maureen and Roz moved away from her.
“Jade, it’s time. Take my energy before you charge the seal. I’ll do my best to hang on until after that.”
I know we talked about this. I know this was the plan, but it just hits me what this moment really means.
“I don’t know if I can do it, Aunt Beattie.”
She hugs me and kisses me on the cheek, and her next words are soft and only for us before we connect to the circle.
“You do what I tell you, child. And you stop this once and for all. Take my energy as you charge the stone.”
From the trees, I see two people running towards us. Maureen waves off Roz and I from preparing to attack, so it must be the Santerians. They are out of breath, and from the looks of their plump bellies and short legs, not much makes them run. But the howlers still haven’t moved.
“Were you intercepted?”
Before the man could answer, Gale turns his attention to the woods.
“I know where the whispers went.”
[Scott this is where you do your magic with the chants and singing “unleash the mountain]
The voices come from all around us, even from behind the Tar Tree. God, how did she manage to enthrall so many people without us knowing?
“I helped all of these people. Their sickness, their debt, their rage, their grief. Me and my children helped them through it all, and I’ve asked for nothing in return. Until now. I am not the monster you know me as. Your ancestors were merely afraid of my power. I am forgiving. Release me, and no harm will come to you.”
“Does she usually plead with you before the ritual?”
“Not always, but she has before.”
“Let’s do this.”
Maureen, Roz, and Silas are the first to activate their stone. The others quickly follow suit as I stare at my Aunt, taking in how much she looks like my mother, and the pieces of her that have always only been my Aunt Beattie.
“I love you.”
“I will always love you too, Jade.”
I drink her down as softly as I can, but there’s a certain amount of pain with this death. I try to swallow that down for her as well, but I can’t take it all. She plasters a smile on her face and refuses to make a sound. I catch her in my arms as the last of her energy transfers to me, and I charge the seal.
“Beattie!”
I gently lay her down in front of me, the stone glowing around her, framing her like an angel. I look to Roz and Maureen and shake my head. I see them struggling with their feelings, wishing they could come to me, but we’ve already started; we can’t stop now.
The clearing glows with the white light from the closing circle, the enthralled followers watching on, still chanting, and I swear they’re looking right at me, that it’s me they’re directing their chants and songs to. They must be waiting on me after all.
“Eric!”
I turn to Silas and then focus on where his attention is. At the far end of the circle, near the Tar Tree, stands his son. Roz fights to hold Silas on their stone, to keep him from running to Eric. Eric pays no attention to his dad. It looks like his sights are on Marcus.
“Gale!”
“On it!”
Eric opens wide and the ectoplasm shoots out of his mouth at a speed I didn’t even know was possible. It’s a blur of copper through the night as it lashes out across the still closing circle towards Marcus, but Gale grabs Eric with a microburst, pushing him away from the circle while also catching him so he doesn’t smash into the trees. The ecto reaches its end of the Eric-leash and is pulled back with him. Eric ascends to his feet with unnatural speed, and attempts the attack again, but this time, the circle has closed. It cannot pass through.
“Jade!”
“I swear, Silas!”
“Then get it done!”
The circle is closed, and we let down our shields to create the circuit of power. I’m locked in place on the stone as if actually part of an electrical circuit, everyone’s powers flowing through me, and mine through them. I have the knowledge of generations of witches, vaudans, vampires, elementals, Santerians, and Christians. I have the full energy of those in the circle, and it’s a power I’ve never felt before. So strong, so raw, so open. No wonder they don’t like doing this. We are basically naked to each other as we empower each other.
The circle begins its incantation, and each group has a different spell to say. Uncle Dale’s lines sound more like verses from the Bible. NaDette speaks in something I haven’t heard before, but knowing where she’s from, I assume it’s Creole. The Santerians speak in Spanish. Marcus says nothing; instead he gathers his light. Gale releases his humanoid ethereal form and shines like a white orb with his elemental energy. Laura recites her lines, clumsy but with as much courage as she can muster. Roz and Maureen have started their lines. I’m the only one saying nothing.
I look over at Laura, and wait for her to notice I’m looking. I nod slowly, signaling that this is the moment I need her. She slows her incantation, as I continue to stay silent.
But not for long.
[SFX: rock breaking as Jade further destroys the seal]
I use Gale’s wind power and throw it at the seal, forcing another fissure cracking through the rock. Everyone stops their incantations and looks at me.
“Jade, no!”
“What are you doing!?”
“I am ending this!”
[SFX: more rock breaking]
The Buried Mother punches through the seal, her white fist shining in the moonlight. She claws the stone and pulls herself out, but the seal isn’t fully broken, and she’s only able to go so far.
Mom. It’s my Mom, clawing her way out of the ground, covered in black tar. I fight to run to her, still cautious of the Buried Mother, but the face I’ve longed to see and arms I’ve waited so long to hold me again are only a few feet away now. She looks at me and smiles.
“I knew I could count on you, Jade.”
(outraged) “How could you?!”
“How could you?! How could you leave my mother to this fate?! No more!”
Roz throws her fire at me, the heat of the flames just this side of burning, but Gale wraps the fire in a vortex and pulls it away from me.
NaDette begins to attack with her power as well, but Marcus hits her with his holy light. It doesn’t seem to harm her, but it distracts her. Marcus and Gale are standing by me as I asked. Laura hasn’t moved one way or another, so she’s still up in the air.
“We made a deal. I break you free, you let my mother go.”
“So we did. But I must inhabit someone.”
“Not any of these wretches that have kept you locked away. They’re dying tonight.” (in disbelief) “Jade!”
I ignore her, and release my fury in full throttle, let myself be consumed by it, so that it’s all the Buried Mother sees in me. But it’s hard to believe that it’s the Buried Mother in front of me, when my own mother is the one I see.
“She has hated you for so long, Maureen. Did you think she could let it go?” Roz attempts to attack again, but Gale intercepts.
“Good work, Gale. Your father will be so proud.”
“I’m not sure why he would be proud of me, but okay.”
“Release my mother.”
“Open the circle and I will leave her body and inhabit one of my followers. Eric seems to be the best choice.”
“Don’t you even think about it you fucking monster!”
“Get out of my mother and I’ll open the circle. I’ve already done enough for you. It’s time you uphold your end.”
She considers this, and seems to decide. The black tar covering my mother drips off of her body and onto the soil. Mom drops to the ground as a putrid essence of black shadow, a dark spot in all the glorious white light of the closed circle of power, hovers in the air.
I run to my mother, and kneel down in front of her fallen body. She’s not moving, she’s not breathing. I’m afraid to touch her, but I must know. Her skin is cold and hard. Her eyes shut, her mouth open like a gaping fish. I always knew this would be a possibility, that I wouldn’t see her again alive, and I told myself I would be okay just knowing she was free from the buried bitch. But seeing her dead now, I’m losing her all over again.
“She’s dead.”
The Buried Mother’s voice still sounds like my mother even in her essence state.
“She is not dead. She lives in me. Just like the ancestor before her. When they made themselves my prison, our souls intertwined. As long as I am free, your mother lives.”
I turn to Maureen.
“Is that true?”
Anger shrouds her face but she’s still shaking her head, not as a no but as a refusal to help me. “You have doomed us all, Jade.”
“No, I haven’t. I’m just finally forcing your hand to do the thing you were trying to avoid.” Her anger falters as she realizes my plan.
“Jade, no.”
“It’s too late for nos, Maureen.”
I turn back to Buried Mother’s floating energy, and begin to drink her down. It takes her a moment to realize what I’m doing, but once she does, the air turns thicker, and she actively fights against me.
“Are you becoming my next prison, Jade?”
“No, I’m just going to eat you.”
(laughing) “You certainly can try. But that’s going to be hard when the circle is open.” “No one is opening the circle now that you lied to me.”
“Oh? Then who is doing it… right now?”
I flinch and fight not to look. It must be a trick. I concentrate on swallowing her down. But then I hear Roz behind me.
“Sam? Sam, no!”
I don’t dare turn around. As long as I’ve got the Buried Mother in my grasp, she can’t move, but the glow of the closed circle dims as it sounds like Sam, for whatever unknown reason, has opened the circle. I have one second to wonder why the hell she is even here and doing this, but the answer is clear. The Buried Bitch somehow got to her.
“You’re stronger than I gave you credit for, Jade, but it doesn’t matter now. My children are coming for me.”
It’s less the humans that I worry about and more the howlers. Their thunderous steps and snarling fangs draw closer.
“We must close the circle again!”
I turn to see what’s going on, still drinking the Mother down. Everything happens in mere seconds, but I feel like I’m moving in slow motion, and unable to help anywhere. The enthralled howlers roar and come for us in the circle. One half of our group is backed up and acts like a shield for the circle members on that side, but the other half, the mostly human half, is wide open. Marcus and Gale do their best to fend off the howlers, but it seems they are not the only children of the Buried mother that has come. I smell honey on the air as the Endless Man joins the group. I dare not look upon him. I hope to God and Goddess her followers are immune to his power. A microburst of wind charges passed me. Gale must be facing his dad head on. I hope he can handle him.
Laura jumps off of her stone, but not fast enough. A howler catches her mid-air, and her screams join the cries of the howlers. Uncle Dale has charged his stone, but with Laura’s open, he’s a sitting duck.
I can’t even get the actual summoning words out of my mouth. I can only scream. “Domino!!”
A jet black howler lunges for my Uncle Dale. He tries to move out of the way, but it still latches his massive jaws into Dale’s side. It drags him into the trees. Finally, as if he did her my plea, Domino crashes into the howler that has Uncle Dale and they go tumbling into the fray.
I look back at Maureen and Roz. Roz and Marcus are fending off howler attacks with Fire and Light. Marcus’s power seems to disorient the howlers, and some of them even come to their senses, as if Marcus has driven the Buried Mother out of them. I’m hoping because I’ve got a hold of her that she’s not able to re-enter the freed howlers, but I’m not holding onto that hope.
A snarling howler lunges out of nowhere at me. This is it. I’m going to die in the mouth of a howler, all because I refused to recharge the seal. I had to end this, and I had to end it my way, with the chance to see my mother again. I close my eyes, too scared to watch my own death.
[Mr. Giggles’ roar]
I open them up to see Mr. Giggles holding the howler by the throat and tossing him like a rag doll to the side.
“Giggles, after this I am getting you all the treats you want for life! Try not to kill anyone, just knock them out!”
In a blur of motion I see Sasha join the fray. Sasha, Domino, and Mr. Giggles, move to defend the open side of the circle. After a moment, Rawhead jumps in, too, knocking howlers aside with his massive tusks. If I can just swallow the Buried Mother down, I can end all of this.
But I feel her power. Her energy is like this rock hard mass that I’m choking on trying to swallow down. I need help, otherwise it’s going to take a long time to eat her, and we don’t have that kind of time.
The glow of the circle brightens as someone steps up on a stone and charges it. I turn enough to see that it’s Ruth Ann. She’s taken Laura’s place. I’m not questioning how or why she’s here, just glad that she is. The line of the circle continues to crawl as someone else has charged the stone where Uncle Dale just was. It’s Efrain. Well, I’ll be damned. So this is why he’s been here this whole time. I’m sure I’ll never hear the end of this one. NaDette is steadfast on her stone as her younger companion faces the howlers and followers. One of the Santerians make it back to their stones, the other nowhere to be seen.
There’s just one stone left to be charged in the circle.
“Jade, get back to your stone! Close the circle!”
But I can’t move. It’s taking everything I have to hold the Buried Mother here, as she frantically tries to reach a follower.
“Eric! Save me!”
Eric runs into the circle, but Silas meets him and holds him back.
“Gale!”
“Right!”
Gale returns to his place in the circle and as he does, he pushes me onto mine. I quickly recharge the stone, my concentration wavering on drinking the Buried Mother down, and she breaks my hold. Her essence bolts for the quickly closing circle. The circle isn’t closing quick enough, she’s going to slip through. And when she enters a follower, we will be safe in here, but the rest of the world will be at her mercy.
A bright ray of light shoots at her, pushing her off course. It’s Marcus’s power. She cries out in pain as it touches her, but she manages to break his beam. Too late, though. The circle, once again, has closed.
[Buried Mother cries out in frustration]
As the Buried Mother throws a fit, I use that to start swallowing her down again, this time while I’m still on the stone. And it’s time I enlist more help.
“You can be mad at me all you want; you can exile me into a solitary existence for all I care. But right now, we must finish what I’ve started. You all have my power, the power to help me swallow her down. We must eat her. It’s the only way to put an end to this. I’ll take the most of her, but I can’t do it alone. Help me now, and let’s finish this. For my mother, and every loved one who has fallen to her. For all of those who came before us and lived through her hell. We end this. Now.”
Gale and Marcus immediately do as I ask. Ruth Ann follows next. Roz has ahold of Sam, who also tries to get to the Buried Mother.
“We are going to have a long talk after this, Jade.”
“Wouldn’t have it any other way. Are you going to help or not?”
Maureen starts drinking her down while Roz holds Sam. One by one, the rest follow suit. (Buried Mother laughs) “All you are doing is making sure I am a part of you forever.” “Pretty sure I can eventually just shit you out like all my other meals. Can’t wait to find out.” The Buried Bitch finally begins to panic as she feels her power wane.
“If you do this, you will never see your mother again!”
“Yes, I will. Just not anytime soon.”
The group helps me swallow her down, but I take in the biggest chunks of her.
[SFX: Overlay Abby’s Jade lines with Ashley’s as eating the buried mother changes her voice]
Abbey taking over/Ashley: As I do, I begin to feel what she means. She’s immediately absorbed into my body in ways that no other souls I’ve devoured had. I feel her latching on to not my soul, but my physical form, most likely in the same way she did to my mother’s body. She’s settling into my bones, my stomach, and even in my head I hear my voice changing. It seems for her to exist in this plane, she has to have a host. Well, we are hosting her together, I guess, but not in a way she can hurt anyone. will make sure of it.
I take the last bits of her into myself, and finally, it’s over. I guess this is what I sound like now. I wonder how I’m going to explain it to my regulars.
After we swallowed the Buried Bitch down, her followers came to their senses and we got them home safe and sound. Several of the howlers were killed, but we found Laura and Uncle Dale. The missing Santerian didn’t make it. I never even got to ask their name. Laura didn’t make it, either, but somehow Dale did. I’m sure the Allbright mountain magic is what to thank.
With Laura gone, that Leaves Ruth Ann in charge. I’m fine with it that way, as is Roz and Maureen.
Efrain left without a word. Well, spoken word anyways. He left a note saying his goodbyes, and that he would like to write to me like he did Mom, and tell me about his travels. He hopes God leads him back to me one day. I guess we will see.
Sam is beside herself, guilt-ridden that she was the one who opened the circle that led to the deaths. But she has me and her family and her coven to help her through it, and we made sure that she would never, ever have to go through it again.

Featuring the voice talents of Ashley McAnelly, Jessica McEvoy, Erin Lillis, Scott Thomas, Jeff Clement, Nikolle Doolin, David Ault, Erika Sanderson, Atticus Jackson, Sarah Thomas, Dolly Anderson, Maddie Girouard, and introducing Abbey Konzen as Jade.

With Additional voices by Saph the Something, Diego Herrera, Loggerhead, and YamiKakyuu

Theme music by ThaArsonist

Outro song “Be Still the Mountain” by Athan

Produced by Scott Thomas

Content Warning

Loud noises, death sounds, visceral sounds after 37:30 mark