Cals Book of Shadows
I’m going to have these scars forever. Every time I look at my wrists, I feel rage all over again. Mom has been putting salves on them, but they ache constantly, and the skin will never be the same.
Thank the Goddess Giomanach won’t bother us anymore.
-Sgàth


It’s odd to be the son of a famous witch. Everyone watches you, from the time you can walk and talk-watches you for signs of genius or of mediocrity. You’re never offstage.
Mom raised me as she saw fit. She has plans for me, my future. I’ve never really discussed them with her, only listened to her tell me about them. Until recently, it never crossed my mind to disagree. It’s flattering to have someone prepare you for greatness, sure of your ability to pull it off.
Yet since my love came into my life, I feel differently. She questions things, she stands up for herself. She’s so naïve but so strong, too. She makes me want things I’ve never wanted before.
I remember back in California- I was sixteen. Mom had started a coven. It was the usual smoke and mirrors-mom using her circle’s powers as sort of a energy boost so she wouldn’t have to deplete her own-but then to our surprise she unearthed a very strong witch, a women about twenty-five or so, who had no idea of her bloodlines. During circles she blew us away. So mom asked me to get close to her. I did- it was surprisingly easy. Then mom extinguished her during the Rite of Dubh Siol. It upset me, even though I’d known that it might happen.
It won’t come to that this time. I’ll make sure.
-Sgàth

I’ve been studying formally since I was four. I was initiated at fourteen. I’ve taken part in some of the most powerful, dangerous, ancient rites there are. Yet it’s very difficult for me to kindle fire with my mind.
But Morgan…
Mom wants her desperately. (So do I, but for slightly different reasons.) We’re ready for her. Our people have been gathering for weeks now. Edwitha of Cair Dal is staying nearby. Thomas from Belting. Alicia Woodwind from Tarth Benga. It’s a Woodbane convention, and the house is so full of vibrations and rivulets of magick that it’s hard to sleep at night. I’ve never felt anything like this before. It’s incredible.
The war machine is starting to churn. And my Morgan will be the flamethrower.
-Sgàth


Giomanach is alive. Back from the dead. Dammit! Having the council’s dog breathing down our necks could ruin everything. I need to take care of him. It’s my responsibility.
I’ll put the braigh on him, around his neck, and he can see how it feels.
–Sgàth

I’ve always wondered if my mother killed my father. After all, he left her, not the other way around. And then he had two more kids right away with Fiona. That really freaked mom out.
Dad “disappeared” when I was almost nine. Not that I’d seen anything of him before that. I was the forgotten son, the one who didn’t matter.
When mom got the phone call, she just told me that Dad and Fiona had vanished. She didn’t say anything about them being dead. But as the years have worn on and no one’s heard from him- that I know about, anyway- it seems safe to assume he’s dead. Which is convenient, in a way. It means Giomanach doesn’t have Dad’s power behind him. But still, I wish I knew what really happened….
-Sgàth