by Ever Coming
“Is he the stranger?”
“No, it was my great aunt who helped.” Jason’s voice was low and soothing. Amber would have to ask him about that later because there was definitely a level of magic added to his tone.
“She didn’t help.” Amber looked at the girl and then back to the tent. A small wave of magic, strong enough for Amber to feel, but not strong enough to scare her. A warning. This little one was going to be a force to be reckoned with when she grew up. Amber quickly took her eyes from the tent.
“She did, just not in the way I thought I wanted her to.” It was true. Amber went there looking to find her Jaguar, but instead found a gift of healing and Jason. “But she helped me a lot.”
“The storm.” Jason took a step forward and then dropped to one knee so he was now looking the young girl eye to eye. “It was yours?” Amber had assumed it was the young girls, but she couldn’t taste magic the way Jason could.
“Not mine.” The girl’s hands were now on her hips. The girl had spunk.
“Then whose?” Amber joined Jason kneeling in front of the girl as she spoke.
“Mama’s.” Jason had said the new magic felt younger. Of course it was the girl’s mother.
“Where is Mama?” Jason looked to the tent briefly and then back to the girl, who in turn gave a slight nod before catching herself and meeting his eyes again.
“Will you help her?” For the first time since they found her, the girl sounded like a scared little girl. Amber’s heart hurt for her.
“We will try.” Amber wanted to lie to the girl and say all would be well, but if a witch as powerful as the one who created the storm was allowing her young daughter out here without her, then things were bad. Really bad. “Can we go see her?”
“In the tent.” The little girl pointed. Amber got up and was stopped by a hand on her knee. Jason didn’t want her up yet.
“Is she angry? Is that why there was the storm?” Protective Jason was out in full force.
“No. She wasn’t angry. Mama says to never use magic in anger.” That was a relief. “Mama said she needed people to know she was here and that the magic would bring them.”
“Did she say why?” There were so many ways to draw attention that would not lead to a town meeting and possible removal of powers.
“No. She said time was almost over, made the storm, and then went to sleep.” That didn’t sound good.
“The illusion, is that hers, too?” It seemed counterproductive to draw in all of the attention a storm would bring and then hide.
“No. I did that. We always block the tent when we are sleeping.”
“You?” She seemed far too young to be that strong, but Jason had mentioned her magic, so maybe it was. “How old are you?”
“I’m five. Mama says I am the most powerful witch in my generation.” She puffed out her little chest as she said it. It would have been adorable if the situation had been less intense. “I can’t wake her up. I tried. She just lays there, not moving.”
“We felt it. The storm and you.” Amber’s voice cracked. Please don’t let her mom be dead. “I brought things to help.” Amber held out the backpack.
“How did you know what to bring?” The girl took a step back, as if aiming to either run or to bring forth her magic. Stinks.
“The person who helped me when I came here,” Amber stood slowly as to not scare the girl any further, “she was a Unicorn Healer, and she left it for me.” The girl’s posture relaxed a bit.
“Is that what you are? Is that why you feel so off? Mama says that Unicorn Healers are to be respected.” The girl dipped her head in Jason’s direction.
“Yes, princess, they are. I am a unicorn, but I am not a healer; my great aunt was. Amber is the healer.”
“I’m not a princess. My name is Kit, and I’m a powerful witch.” Her indignation was cute, and now that they had her name. Amber felt like they were getting somewhere.
“Yes. Yes, you are very powerful,” Jason agreed whole heartedly. “Can we see your mom now?”
“Help her, okay?” Kit closed the distance and grabbed Jason by the hand. He had won her trust. Amber just prayed she didn’t lose it.
The scene in the tent was worse than Amber had feared. On a small blow up mattress lay a young witch, no more than twenty-five and the spitting image of Kit. Unlike Kit, however, this witch didn’t seem to be breathing. Amber bent in front of the woman and placed her fingers under the witch’s nose. It was warm, so she was breathing, but barely.
As Amber grabbed the powder from the backpack, she thought about how to administer it. Normally, the directions for any of the powders they made would be to mix it in a tea and sip it slowly, but that was out of the question for multiple reasons. Amber took a few pinch-fulls of the powder and put them in her cupped hand. Unscrewing a water bottle with her teeth, she added a few drops at a time to the mixture. It was less than sanitary to make a paste in her hand, but options were limited and it looked like nothing in the tent would be any better.
Once the powder was almost the consistency of toothpaste, she swiped some onto her finger. “Kit, I am going to take this medicine and put it in your mom’s mouth.”
“Will she wake up then?” Amber’s heart hurt. She wanted to say, “Of course she will and all will be sunshine and roses,” but in all honesty she had not a clue what was wrong with the woman or what the medicine she was giving her actually did. “I hope so.”
“Fix Mama.” The little girl was now hugging Jason and crying.
Amber placed the paste under the woman’s tongue and leaned back. Amber knew things wouldn’t happen immediately, but she wanted to see a small sign before continuing. The last thing she wanted to do was fill the poor woman’s mouth with the past and leave her choking. A small twitch of the woman’s eye was all the sign Amber needed. She added a bit more of the medicine onto the inside of each of the witch’s cheeks and then took the bottle of water and pushed the rest of it in the small opening. She closed the lid and shook it. It was slightly cloudy, but not quite the consistency Amber was hoping for so she added some of the loose powder that was still in the jar, taking care to leave half the jar full in case this plan didn’t work.
Gasp.
Amber heard a gasp, but in her head. She gave a quick look around the room. Kit was sitting on Jason’s knee staring at her mother. Jason was watching Amber intently, but neither of them looked as if they had said a thing. She looked back to the woman. Her eyes were now moving a mile a minute as if in REM sleep.
Sit. Up. Please.
It was the woman; Amber knew it. How, she had no idea, but for now it would have to do.
“Help me sit her up, Jason.”
Without question he did and they sat the woman up. There was nothing solid for her to lean against in the tent, so they stayed by her side as supports. They sat like that for seconds that rolled into minutes. The entire time Kit sat on the other end of the bed rubbing her mother’s foot and chanting under her breath.
Amber focused on hearing the words the girl was saying. It was now her time to gasp. They were the same words that were said over the powder. Amber joined in and both of them began speaking louder. Jason joined in after a few repetitions, as if he had just figured out the words. Amber had no idea if any of them other than Kit had the ability to use the words as more than just noise, but she gave it her all. Kit was far too young to lose her mother.
Cough.
They kept chanting, only now all eyes were on the still closed eyed witch who had coughed. That was an amazing sign. From being so close to death that Amber thought for a moment she was dead to coughing was a great improvement. Now if they could get her to awaken, speak, and move on her own.
Cough. Cough. Cough.
This time was different. This time the woman’s eyes opened. They were not the bright green of her daughters; they were dark and the whites of her eyes were tinged yellow. They were not out of the woods yet.
“More,” was all the woman got out
before her eyes closed again. More what? More chanting? More Medicine?
“Mama.” Kit had stopped chanting. But Amber and Jason continued on. “Quick, she wants the bottle.”
“Huh?” Amber was pulled from her chanting as Jason continued on.
“Mama asked me for the bottle. Help her drink.” Kit was adamant, and Amber reached for the bottle, gave it a shake, and took the top off as Jason moved behind the witch so she had something to lean on.
Bringing the bottle to the woman’s lips, she poured a tiny bit in, not wanting to choke her. When she felt the woman swallow, she repeated the action until the bottle was half empty.
“More?” she asked Kit, who just stared at her for a moment before giving a slight shake of her head. “Should we lie her down again?” This time the girl nodded.
“Mama says we just need to wait.” Kit laid down beside her mother and snuggled in close. The poor girl had obviously gone through a lot.
“Did Mama say how long to wait or if we should do anything while waiting?” Jason seemed at a loss as to what to do, not that Amber felt any more confident.
“She said not long now. She told me to close my eyes, and when I woke up, all would be right.” Kit closed her eyes again, taking the nap mandate seriously. Amber smiled at the cuteness of it and knowing everything would soon be okay.
When Broken is Perfect
“This was not the evening I had planned,” Jason teased with Amber snuggled into is side as they waited for Kit to emerged from the tent.
“I would imagine not.” Thinking back over the day, it was hard to believe all that had happened.
“What do you think is going to happen?” That was the million dollar question.
Amber entwined her fingers with his. “I don’t know, but those two have some power in them.” Amber knew she should be afraid of that, but she wasn’t. They were here for a reason. All four of them.
“They really do,” Jason agreed. “Kit seems to believe her mom will be fine now.”
“Then she will.” Amber looked to the tent again. Straining her ears, she thought she heard the beginning of movement, which filled her with much relief.
“Agreed. Why do you think they really came here?”
“It looks like we are about to find out.” Amber signaled toward the tent as the witch emerged without her daughter. The woman’s eyes were no longer near black. That was a really good sign.
“I’m Mariah.” The woman began as she walked in their direction. Her movements didn’t appear weak. If Amber were to guess, she was close to as good as new. “Kit says that you are who I have to thank.” The woman sat in front of them before they could rise.
“Honestly, I think Rosemary is who you have to thank.” It was true. Rosemary not only taught her the art of making healing powders and tinctures, but also left her the book to direct her.
“The healer.” Mariah nodded in acknowledgement. “She is why we came here, but I couldn’t find her.”
“That is because she passed,” Amber confirmed what the woman had clearly been thinking.
“And she gave you her gifts?” Mariah looked Amber up and down. “I see. It makes sense now. Is that why your jaguar is in hiding?”
“What?” Amber spit out with zero composure. “Can you sense her?”
“I can, but barely.” Either Mariah had a stronger sense of shifters than Jason did, or her jaguar really was coming closer to the surface and earlier had not been a fluke. “It is as if she fears that she will harm you more than help you. Does that make any sense to you?”
None. None at all. Amber just stared back at the woman.
“It seems odd to me, too. Maybe after I am feeling a bit better I can ask her about it.”
“You can talk to inner shifters?” Amber had heard of lovers whose animals were able to talk to each other, but it was rare. She had been led to believe it was because of their connection to each other. She had never heard of someone being able to talk to random inner animals.
“I am a shifter.” Mariah stated as if it made sense, even though her body language shouted out worry as she picked at her skirt.
“I sense witch.” Jason wrapped his arm around Amber’s shoulder in a protective movement. “I don’t sense your animal.”
“Ahhhh … the unicorn is unable to sense another of his kind. Interesting.” Mariah spoke low and as if more to work it out with herself than to antagonize.
“You don’t feel unicorn,” Jason’s voice was firm with an accusatory tone. “You feel witch.”
“Part witch,” Mariah conceded. “Are you of Rosemary’s line?”
“I am.” Jason’s tone softened a bit, and Amber had a feeling he was putting some pieces together. Pieces of what? She had no idea. “Then we will have lots to discuss in the future, but for now, I fear we need to get Kit and leave this place. “Can you take me to your home?”
“No, but I can take you to Amber’s.” It was weird hearing Jason refer to the cabin as hers.
“That will do; although, some unicorn magic would be good about now.” Fear tinged her voice. “I feel them coming. It looks like my storm worked a bit too well and some angry townspeople are on their way.”
“They probably are.” Amber swallowed roughly. “The storm you created caused a lot of damage.”
“I meant to keep it right where we were so someone would come looking and find Kit, but it was too weak. I never meant it to be so broad.”
“They did look for her … you. I heard them mention a town meeting which is, come to find out, a euphemism for taking care of supernatural business.” Amber looked to the tent and saw two eyes staring back. She waved the young girl to her. “Your Kit here hid the tent when she realized you couldn’t. She has a very powerful illusion.”
Kit ran to her mother and was engulfed in a hug. “Mama, you’re awake. Are you all better now? Is the sickies all gone?”
“Oh, sweet Kit, I am awake, and we need to go. We are going to stay with Amber and Jason for a bit.” She put Kit down. “Go grab Mr. Teddy and run right back. We will get everything else tomorrow.”
The little girl did as she asked and they were at the cabin in very little time, eating the now cold rotisserie chicken on the front porch in under an hour. Mariah shared their story as they ate. The story of how the young mom was struck by an illness that she couldn’t take to a traditional doctor and how she came here to find Rosemary.
It turned out that she was the great granddaughter of the witch who took Rosemary in as a child, and while they never met, Mariah had been told stories about Rosemary her entire life. While they were not related by birth, she called Jason her cousin, and he seemed to like that just fine. Kit did as well and quickly took to calling him Uncle Jason. It wasn’t long before she fell asleep on her mother’s lap, and they could talk more freely.
“What should we do now?” Mariah whispered over her sleeping daughter’s form.
“Now, we get you two to bed. I hope it is all right if you share a bed. The house is pretty much an episode of an organize your home television show waiting to happen.” Amber gathered up the plates as she spoke.
“Sharing is fine. What about tomorrow though? The town?” There in lied the rub. Amber didn’t know the town well enough to know what would happen next. She had only recently discovered their brand of justice, and while she chose to believe that no harm would come to the girl and her mother, she couldn’t be sure.
“I say that tonight you and Kit sleep.” Jason took the reins, which was great since Amber had no idea what to say. “Amber and I will go and get your camping supplies. They know Amber, so they won’t think anything of it.” That was a stretch. They kind of knew her, only because of Rosemary’s demise, but they could easily think they were camping since Rosemary had kept her house so hidden.
“There’s not much there.” Mariah’s voice still barely more than a whisper. “Just the tent, the air mattress and a backpack of clothes. We forced to travel light after the car broke down and we had
to hitch rides.” The story just got sadder and sadder. Amber swore to herself that she would help the woman get her car and her life back.
“Before we get you settled in for the night, can you tell me what was wrong with you? I know you didn’t want to say in front of your daughter, so it must have been really bad.”
Mariah looked down at her daughter and gave her sleeping face a small smile. When she looked back up at Amber and Jason, she swallowed deeply before beginning to speak. “It was—” Her voice cracked and Mariah’s face showed every bit of her youth.
“You don’t need to share if you don’t want to,” Jason reassured the woman as he took the plates from Amber and placed them beside her. She had forgotten she was holding them.
“No, you saved my life, so you should know.” Mariah looked down, as if embarrassed by what was coming next. Amber wanted to reach out and hug the woman and would have if she wasn’t holding her sleeping daughter. “My ex, Kit’s father, was a very powerful witch. He was also an abusive prick and unbeknownst to me he was married. When his wife found out, she killed him and put a curse on me.”
“A death curse?” Jason asked as if he already knew.
“Yes. She said I deserved to die slowly for tempting her husband. I was eighteen when I met him. I was waiting on tables, and he was nice and handsome and treated me well at first. I didn’t lure him. He lured me.” Yeah the bastard deserved his death, preying on a woman barely an adult all the time he was married.
“But you are okay now? I mean with the curse and all?” Amber had a brief moment of panic. What if she only bought the woman some time and she was going to die soon anyway.
“I am.” The reassuring smile that shown on Mariah face reduced Amber’s anxiety tremendously.
“How?” Jason seemed less reassured.
Mariah looked to Amber as she answered his question. “The spell you said over the medicine, did you not know what it was?” Amber shook her head no. “It was to raise the dead.”
“I … I … I can raise the dead. That’s impossible.” Amber had been told numerous times by Rosemary that they could help many people with many ailments, but something would be beyond them. Death surely hit that bill.
