DARK SACRAMENTS: BETRAYAL IN THE COVEN

By Coltrane Decker

Shane reunites with his former girlfriend, Zoe, and discovers that she has joined a witch coven. He finds himself being drawn into a world of romance, mystery and magic where illusion masquerades as reality and the forces of good and evil fight for dominance.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: May 6, 2022
• ISBN: 9781387984022

Book preview

DARK SACRAMENTS:

BETRAYAL IN THE COVEN

Coltrane Decker

Copyright © 2022 by Coltrane Decker

All Rights Reserved

ISBN:  978-1-387-98490-9

Technical Advisor: Morganna Moon

Cover photo by Erik Mclean

This is a work of fiction.  Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner.  Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the copyright owner and the publisher of this book.

for Dana

FOREWORD

Fortunes, Tarot and Palm Readings read the banner on Miss Codona’s tent on the carnival grounds.  It was a family business.  The men would pitch the tent then sit in lawn chairs at the front while the women inside parted the yokels from their money. 

As a child I was leery of the fortune telling tent.  The dark-skinned gypsies seemed cordial enough, but I was convinced that something sinister was afoot behind the entrance flap.  When I was eight years old, one of the gypsy kids punched me in the back as I was walking down the midway minding my own business, and my distrust of the people was confirmed. 

I became an atheist at some point but had committed a fair amount of scripture to memory as a result of having spent three years attending a Baptist church.  For me the myth was gone with fairy tale and legend.  Nevertheless I remained intrigued by those who followed a path of spiritualism and magic. 

We all have an uncertain amount of time on this journey through the universe and our perception of the world determines the quality of life to a degree.  Fantasies, dreams and illusions seem to make the trip more pleasant for some, others seek reality, regardless of where it leads.  In the end I suppose it makes no difference as long as we do no harm to others.   

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Reunion With Zoe....1

Murial’s Gift....5

Bast and Robert....  8

Dark Sacrament....11

Jasmine the Celestial....15

Emily and James....  22

Book of Shadows....26

Glinda  ......29

Danielle the Eclectic....35

Tea Party.....41

Roaming the Street....45

Murial’s Book of Mirrors...50

War of the Covens...54

Aftermath.....61

DARK SACRAMENTS: BETRAYAL IN THE COVEN

Chapter 1 – Reunion with Zoe

Zoe lived in a one room loft above a book store in a shopping mall in the middle of Brea, California.  The furnishings were modest but comfortable and one corner of the room was covered with a canvas tarp that safeguarded the hardwood floor from her art supplies and easel.  Her paintings showed talent but the subject matter and style were not suitable for the tourist trade in the galleries and shops along the coast.  Her work was of a more personal nature and without regard for marketability.

We met in an art class at Cal State Fullerton.  I was a student in my senior year and she was a model for the life drawing class.  She was studying to become a medical biller at the time and working in a gentlemen’s club at night. 

She was older than I and we became a couple for a while, long enough to understand each other.  At that time I was sharing a rundown apartment in Fullerton and she was living with one of the dancers from the club.  We didn’t have a lot of responsibilities and neither of us had reached the first rung on the ladder to our goals.  I don’t know what went wrong.  I guess we weren’t willing to make a commitment back then.  She was also a bi-sexual but we never talked about it to any extent.

We reconnected when she called me one day.  I was happy to hear from her.  I arrived at Zoe’s apartment ten minutes early for our dinner date that evening.  She answered the door, barefoot and wearing a leotard.  Come on in, Shane.  How are you doing? 

I’m doing well.  What have you been up to?

She answered, Reading, painting, a little writing... just passing time.  What about you?

Same old nine to five.  I play a little chess at the La Habra club.

Where are we going for dinner? she asked.

I was hoping you could recommend.  Zoe liked to be given options. 

She walked over to the closet, slipped out of her leotard and into a black, form-fitting sheath dress with a hemline above the knee and said, Let’s go.

We drove to the El Torito Mexican restaurant in Marina del Rey.  Heads turned as she made her entrance.  I was accustomed to that with her.  She had done some fashion modeling and knew how to attract attention while appearing nonchalant. 

We sat in a booth by a window overlooking the ocean.  The waiter understood that he was there to provide unobtrusive, efficient service rather than entertainment.  He was a consummate professional. 

Zoe told me she spent a little time in a drug rehab program after we split and had been clean for three years.  She had completed her schooling and was working as a medical biller and making decent money.  By the end of dinner we were up to date and the relationship was back on track as though our time apart had been nothing more than a short detour on a road to an unknown destination.

We drove to the Newport Beach pier and parked facing the ocean with soft rock on