Catalpa's Curse

by Terri Reid

  “I’ve seen that before,” Finias responded. “Brimstone soot, it’s sulfuric in nature.”

  “Are you kidding me?” Rowan asked. “As in fire and brimstone in the Bible?”

  “Exactly,” Finias said. “Although the Bible has been interpreted and changed over the years, it still contains many truths. How much is there?”

  “Just a dusting,” Rowan replied. “How should I deal with it?”

  “It would be nice if we could contain it,” Finias said. “Rather than release it into the atmosphere.”

  “I can help,” Hazel said.

  “No, you’re pregnant,” Joseph inserted. “I don’t want you anywhere near that toxic stuff.”

  She reached up and kissed his cheek. “I don’t have to be near it,” she said. “I just have to link with Rowan, see what she’s seeing, and move it somewhere. Let me transfer a beaker and lid from Rowan’s laboratory here and then we can move it.”

  Donovan lay back in his self-hypnotic state, partly listening to the conversations around him, partly daydreaming.

  “You do that, and I’ll deal with his heart,” Finias said.

  My heart, Donovan thought lethargically, I have a good heart.

  “He has a good heart,” Agnes Willoughby said, as Donovan hid behind the door to the kitchen to eavesdrop on her conversation with Cat. He had learned in his young life that people rarely told you the truth to your face, but once they stepped a few yards away, they would let loose.

  “I think so too,” Cat agreed. “And he was so nice to me.”

  “I like his eyes,” Agnes added. “I like how he looks at me, without dissembling, and seems to be saying ‘take me as I am.’ That takes courage.”

  Donovan’s eyes widened in surprise. He had been told that he was bold and arrogant, that he didn’t know his place. No one had ever told him he had courage.

  “He told me that his folks were from the wrong side of the track,” Cat said.

  Donovan started to feel betrayed, but then remembered he hadn’t told her in confidence.

  “The world’s round,” Agnes replied, as she filled up a plate with cookies. “There are no wrong sides of the track. Sooner or later, the sides join together.”

  Cat giggled. “I should tell him you said that,” she said.

  Agnes’ voice softened, and Donovan leaned in closer to listen. This was when she was going to warn her daughter away from him; he just knew it.

  “No, don’t tell him that,” Agnes said. “Just accept him for who he is and treat him like he is the best friend you ever had. Because, if you treat him like that, he will be.”

  And at that moment, Donovan vowed that he would be the best friend not just Cat, but the whole Willoughby family ever had.

  Chapter Thirty

  “This stuff is disgusting,” Hazel said, peering at the closed container of brimstone soot. “Donovan had this in his lungs. How could he breathe?”

  “Not very well,” Finias said. “It not only affects breathing but also limits the amount of oxygen you get into your bloodstream.”

  “So, it slowly kills you,” Cat said, meeting Finias’ eyes.

  He nodded slowly. “Yes, that’s the way poison works,” he replied evenly.

  “This wasn’t poison,” Cat argued. “This was darkness. This was evil.”

  Finias shook his head. “Doesn’t matter what you call it, it was poison,” he said. “And Donovan allowed it into his system.”

  “But we got it out, right?” Hazel asked. “He’s all fixed up now.”

  “No, he’s not,” Henry said, lifting his hands from Donovan and wiping the sweat from his forehead. “We repaired the physical damage, but there’s a far more insidious poison lurking inside of Donovan.”

  “Where?” Hazel asked.

  “In his soul,” Finias answered. “That’s where the demon has its greatest hold on Donovan. That’s where the real danger is. All we did this evening is useless if Donovan can’t fight off the hold it has on his soul.”

  “We can’t help him?” Cat asked.

  Finias shook his head. “I wish we could,” he replied sadly. “But this is his war to wage.”

  “So, what do we do?” Cat asked. “We can’t let him just go back out there and be hurt again.”

  “That depends on what he wants to do,” Finias said. “Donovan, can you hear us?”

  Donovan nodded slowly and blinked several times before he opened his eyes and looked around the room. He breathed in slowly and then smiled tiredly. “I feel much better,” he said. “Thank you. All of you.”

  “The question on the table is, what do we do with you now?” Finias asked.

  Donovan tried to sit up, but the iron bands held him in place. He looked at the bands, then up at Finias and sighed. “Okay, so you can’t trust me, I get that,” he said.

  “You can’t trust yourself,” Finias corrected him. “Or do you remember pointing a gun at me and shooting?”

  “The last thing I remember is thinking that I needed to take a break and get some dinner,” Donovan replied. “And I think I remember leaving my office, but after that it gets fuzzy.”

  “Do you remember picking up the gun?” Joseph asked. “Hell, do you even have a license to carry?”

  Donovan shook his head. “No to both,” he said. “I don’t own a gun, with magic I never thought I’d need one and I’m not crazy about iron or steel.”

  “And yet you had one tonight,” Finias said. “Do you remember who gave it to you?”

  “No,” he replied with frustration. “No, I don’t.”

  “So, you are wondering if we can trust you,” Finias stated, his eyebrows lifting in question. “Do you trust yourself?”

  Donovan sighed. “No. No, I don’t,” he said. “But I don’t think I can stay locked up forever.”

  Hazel shrugged. “Maybe just until the Samhain,” she suggested.

  “No!” Donovan exclaimed vehemently. “No, I need to be able to help.”

  “Help who?” Finias asked.

  “Ellis, that’s not fair,” Cat cried.

  “No. No, he’s right,” Donovan inserted. “Even with my best intentions, I don’t know how much it’s controlling me now.” He looked over at Finias. “So, you seem to be the guy with all the answers. What’s my next step?”

  “You need to keep yourself out of its influence until you can regain control of your subconscious,” Finias said. “He’s got a strong hold on you.”

  “How long?” Donovan asked.

  Finias shook his head. “It all depends on you,” he replied. “But for now, let’s start with overnight and tomorrow.”

  “Okay, where am I staying?” Donovan asked.

  “I reserved the entire second floor of this bed and breakfast, so you can use the next room,” he said. “There are twin beds in there. I’ll take the other bed.”

  “No, I’ll take the other bed,” Cat said.

  Finias turned and studied her for a long moment. “Why?” he asked.

  “Donovan put himself in danger for my family…” she began.

  “So he says,” Finias interrupted.

  Cat nodded. “Yes, so he says,” she agreed. “But if he’s willing to try and break the connection, I have to believe that he was truthful.”

  “Misguided, but truthful,” Joseph added. “An idiot, but truthful. Naïve, but…”

  “Yeah, we all get your point,” Donovan said to Joseph. “But, Cat, no, I don’t want you staying here. I don’t remember what I said to you about drinking your blood. But, if there’s a chance that I could say something like that again or do something that would harm you, I don’t want you anywhere around me.”

  Finias folded his arms and nodded slowly as he considered the situation. “So, you care about what happens to Cat?” he asked Donovan.

  “Yes, I do,” Donovan said. “And I won’t have her…”

  “She’s staying,” Finias said.

  “No!” Donovan exclaimed.

  “The person
you care about the most is the one who is going to have the greatest chance of saving you,” Finias replied. “If she is willing to take the risk, I think she should stay.”

  “Settled,” Cat said.

  “Yeah, not quite,” Hazel replied. “Let me call Mom and see what she thinks.”

  Hazel pulled her phone out of her pocket and stared at the screen.

  “Dammit,” she exclaimed. “Something’s happened.”

  “To your mother?” Finias asked urgently. “What? What’s wrong?”

  “She was paid a visit by the demon,” Hazel replied, reading the text. “He had taken the form of a raven. It got a little dicey until she used the super-soaker filled with holy water. He left quickly after that.”

  “He’s getting stronger,” Henry said. “If he’s able to either possess animals or shape-shift, his power is growing.”

  “All the more reason for us to keep Donovan out of his influence,” Cat said. “I’ll drive back home and get some things for my stay.” She turned to her sisters. “And I’ll talk to Mom. Okay?”

  “Okay,” Hazel agreed and then she turned to Finias. “You promise to keep her safe?”

  He smiled at Hazel and nodded. “You have my word of honor,” he assured her.

  Chapter Thirty-one

  “No,” Agnes said, trying to keep her voice calm and steady as she kept herself busy wiping down a kitchen counter that didn’t need cleaning. “And that’s the end of it.”

  “You can’t say no,” Cat argued. “I’m thirty years old.”

  “And yet, I did say no,” Agnes replied with a shrug. “So, I guess your age doesn’t matter, does it?”

  “Be reasonable,” Cat pleaded.

  Agnes clutched the damp rag in her hand and tried to count to ten, but it was no use. She whipped the dishcloth across the room, sending it flying into the sink and, with eyes blazing, turned to her daughter. “Are you kidding me?” she cried. “Be reasonable! What the hell is reasonable about anything that is going on in our lives right now? What the hell is reasonable about you wanting to nurse a man who just threatened to drink your blood? What is reasonable about a crow threatening to kill my family? What is reasonable about anything we are doing right now?”

  Agnes felt the angry tears flow down her cheeks, but she didn’t bother to wipe them away. “This is not what I thought would happen,” she confessed, her voice shaking. “I don’t know what I pictured, but not this.”

  Cat walked across the room and put her arms around her mother, hugging her, offering her comfort. “I don’t think any of us pictured this,” she said softly. “I always thought it would be like something out of a Disney movie where we all just sing a magic song and wave our wands.”

  A surprised laugh burbled up from Agnes’ throat, and she stepped away from her daughter, wiping away the tears. “I like that version of it,” she said, then she sighed. “I’m frightened. Not for myself, but for you and Rowan and Hazel. I’m so frightened for you.”

  “The thing is, Mom,” Cat said. “We’re a little freaked out too, but we’re not frightened. We’re pumped. We’re ready. And we’re confident that we can do this. We’re confident because you taught us that we could do anything we set our minds on.”

  Agnes pulled a tissue out of the holder and blew her nose. “So, all of this is my fault,” she asked with a sad smile.

  “Yeah, if you weren’t such a great mom, we would have given up long before this,” Cat replied with a sympathetic smile, then she put her hands on her mother’s shoulders. “You need to have faith in us. In all you taught us. In the people we are, and the strength we have.”

  Agnes looked up at her tall daughter and sighed. “Those are the words a mother is supposed to share with her children, not the other way around.”

  Cat shrugged. “Oh, you probably did,” she admitted. “Where else would I learn them?”

  “Why do you need to stay with Donovan?” Agnes asked, meeting her daughter’s eyes. “Why you?”

  That was a fair question, Cat thought. And one that she needed to answer aloud, so she could understand the need herself. Cat stepped away from her mother and took a moment to gather her thoughts. She slipped onto a stool next to the kitchen counter, put her head in her hands, and tried to put those thoughts into words.

  “Ellis believes that my connection to Donovan might be just what he needs to overcome the influence of the…” she paused, and Agnes nodded.

  “Yes, I know who you’re talking about,” Agnes inserted, slipping onto the stool next to Cat. “But what if your connection isn’t strong enough. What risk do you put yourself in by being there?”

  “I don’t know,” Cat replied frankly, turning toward her mother. “Donovan is bound with iron, so he can’t use his powers against me, but I don’t know what other things he might be able to manifest with the evil influence inside of him.”

  “Do you think he has powers beyond witchcraft?” Agnes asked, surprised.

  “Well, Ellis said that what happened in the ambulance was because the demon was able to use Donovan as a conduit,” Cat explained. “But Ellis has placed wards and charms inside the B&B to keep the demon out.”

  “Who is this Ellis?” Agnes asked. “And how did he suddenly arrive on the scene and seem to know what’s happening?”

  Cat shrugged. “Joseph was the first one to meet him,” she said. “It sounds like he questioned him and felt good enough about his answers that he let us meet him.” She paused for a moment, then added. “And I’m nearly positive that the gun in Donovan’s hands was aimed at Ellis and not me. So, he must be a threat to the demon.”

  “Well, that immediately gives him more points in my book,” Agnes replied. “And, before Donovan came in, how was your evening going?”

  Cat smiled at her mother. “He’s a nice man,” she said. “Older, like your age.”

  “That is not older,” Agnes responded immediately. “Why I’m barely middle-aged.”

  Cat chuckled, and it felt good. “I did feel a friendship, a connection, with him,” she said. “But it wasn’t romantic at all. It was more trusting or familiar. I don’t know, that doesn’t make sense, does it?”

  Agnes placed her hand on Cat’s hand. “Of course, it makes sense,” she said. “We can have connections with people we hadn’t met in this life because, perhaps, we met them before we were born.”

  “That’s kind of what I feel,” Cat said slowly. “That he’s familiar but in an otherworldly kind of way.”

  “But you trust him?” Agnes asked.

  Cat nodded. “Yes, I do,” she said.

  “Did you look?”

  Cat’s eyes widened in shock. “Mom! Of course, I didn’t look,” she said. “That would be…”

  “Just like what you did with Henry,” Agnes reminded her quickly.

  Cat shrugged. “Well, yes, but that was different,” she hedged.

  “Because it was for Rowan, not you, right?” Agnes asked.

  Cat grinned. “Exactly,” she replied. “So, I’m going back to stay with Donovan?”

  Agnes sighed and nodded. “I suppose so,” she agreed. “But please be careful.”

  “I will,” she said, kissing her mother’s cheek. “I promise.”

  Chapter Thirty-two

  Hazel picked up a deep-fried cheese curd and dipped it in ranch dressing before she took a bite of the oozing, cheesy deliciousness. She sighed in pleasure and leaned back in the patio chair on their back deck. “I think getting take-out from Second Salem was a brilliant idea,” she said.

  “It was your idea,” Rowan replied, munching on a French fry.

  “And won’t the waitress be surprised when she discovers the food ordered by someone else just disappeared from the kitchen?” Henry asked.

  “Well, I paid for it all,” Hazel said, justifying her magic as she picked up one more cheese curd. “And I left her a really good tip. All in all, this was a good day.”

  Joseph, sitting next to her, glanced down and shook his head. �
�What are you talking about?” he asked. “Donovan nearly killed one of us. A demon attacked him. Cat doesn’t know whether or not she can trust him. We have a stranger in town who seems to be all-knowing and a little bit intimidating. And you just ate the last cheese curd.”

  She looked up at him and grinned. “You snooze, you lose,” she replied. “And, to counter your comments. No one got killed. We healed Donovan as much as we could. The demon is barred from Donovan’s room, so he has a chance to recover. Mom super-soaked the demon with holy water. And I think Ellis arrived just in time to help us.”

  “And Cat?” Rowan asked, sipping on her soft drink.

  Hazel sighed. “Yeah, well, she probably just talked Mom into letting her go back to Ellis’ and stay with Donovan.”

  Henry shook his head. “There is no way that your mother is going to allow Cat to go back there tonight,” he said decidedly. “Absolutely no way.”

  Hazel looked over at him. “You want to bet?” she asked.

  “You’ve got to be kidding,” Joseph exclaimed. “There’s way too much danger for her to…”

  Joseph’s words died in his throat as Cat walked out of the house, a small overnight case in her hand.

  “Don’t tell me that you think you’re going back to the B&B?” Joseph said, standing up and moving in front of Cat.

  She looked up at him and nodded. “I don’t only think it, I know it,” she said firmly.

  “No,” Joseph said.

  Henry stood up and moved into place next to Joseph. “Cat, I’m afraid I have to agree with Joseph,” he said. “It’s not a good idea for you to put yourself in that kind of danger. You need to stay at home.”

  She looked from one man to the other and sighed. “You are both really adorable doing the whole big-brother thing,” she said. “But I’m going, and you can’t stop me.”

  “Well, no,” Henry said. “We could stop you.” He glanced over at Rowan. “And your sister will back me up.”

  Rowan slowly pushed her chair away from the glass-topped table and stood up. Then she sighed and walked across the porch, positioning herself next to her sister. “No, sorry,” she said. “I’m backing Cat on this one.”