How Torie Got Her Hex Back: A Paranormal Women's Fiction Novel: Singing Falls Witches Book Three

by M. J. Caan

  Jasmin read her discomfort and smiled. “It’s okay. She’s alive. We may not have contact, but believe me, I’d know if something happened to her. It’s stretched thin, but we’re still connected.” She shrugged. “It’s a witch thing I guess.”

  Torie didn’t know what to say at that point, so she said the only thing that popped into her mind. “I always wanted a sister. Someone I could share secrets with. Someone to swap clothes with. Someone who would have my back growing up when my mom was being unrealistic. Someone I could trust with everything, and vice versa.”

  Jasmin nodded. “We were like that growing up. We were inseparable. She is older than me by a couple of years and our grandmother couldn’t wait for our powers to develop…to see what we would become.”

  “Wait, your grandmother told you she was a witch?”

  “Absolutely. She would show us all the incredible things she could do and tell us that one day, we would be able to do them as well. She began prepping us for our powers early on. Our mother wasn’t too thrilled but that was because she was just coming into her own powers and was scared of them.”

  Torie frowned. “But if you haven’t spoken with your sister in so long, how do you know what her powers were? Didn’t they develop after you turned forty? And that would mean you stopped communication before that happened, right?”

  “Yes, you are right. But we were tested early to see what kind of hex witches we would be. Being from a line of paranormal beings that most people in the south were afraid of, Grams left nothing to chance. She told our mother we needed to know what our powers would be so we could prepare for our future. One day, a traveling carnival came to town—you know, the kind that put up Ferris wheels and other death-traps overnight. Well, this particular carnival had a fortune teller, so our mother decided that it was time we had our fortunes told.”

  “Wait, hold up a minute. You mean fortune tellers are real?”

  “Most of them? Not at all. But every now and then you’ll stumble across the real thing. My mother’s magic told her this one was the real deal. As soon as we walked in, the teller recognized our lineage and immediately dispensed with all the hokum that she usually used to con those who wanted to believe out of extra money.

  “She took one look at us and said I would follow in my mother’s footsteps with magic that was hard to master at first and was best handled by an aggressive personality. With my sister, she said that she would walk in both worlds…that of the living and that of the spirits. She said she would be very powerful and the spirits would smile on her; granting her the power of vision and mastery over wayward spirits. We were twelve at the time.”

  “And like me, you both got your powers after turning forty?”

  “Mine came the day of my fortieth birthday. I have a feeling Opal’s did as well.”

  “When was the last time you saw one another?”

  “At our mother’s funeral.” She choked up, the words refusing to continue.

  Torie reached over and placed a hand on her friend’s arm. “It’s okay. We don’t have to talk about this.”

  Jasmin shook her head, motioning that she was okay. She took a sip of coffee and then continued.

  “She was killed…she gave her life protecting me and Opal from a Tommyknocker. Do you know what that is?”

  Torie shook her head, eyes wide as Jasmin continued.

  “A Tommyknocker is a very particular type of ghost. It’s the ghost of a man killed in a mining accident. When we were fifteen, our father was killed in a mine. That was the only job an uneducated man in the south could get at that time. He worked ridiculous hours for barely enough to keep us fed and a roof over our head.”

  Her eyes began to mist up, filling with emotions long held back.

  “Anyway, one day there was a knock on the door. It was the town sheriff, delivering the news that every coal miner’s wife dreaded. There was a collapse at the mine…no idea how bad it was. Opal and I joined our mom at the site along with all the other wives, waiting into the night and then the next day for word.

  “When word came, we were told that everyone in the mine had perished. And to make matters worse, the collapse was so bad it meant the bodies couldn’t be recovered. When the shock settled, the mine paid out claims to all the families. It was enough, barely, for one of us to go to college. Opal, having always been the, how shall I put this…less structured of us, decided I should be the one to go to college. She had other plans she said, though she would never tell me what they were.

  “But then, one night when our mother was out, I caught her in the woods behind our house. She was trying to perform a magic ritual, even though she had no powers at the time. She had an old book of incantations from some back-alley bookstore in town. That, combined with some foul smelling candles and a Ouija board was all she thought she needed to speak with our father. She was convinced that if she would one day have the power to command the spirits, she would jumpstart her magic by compelling our father to come back to us.”

  Torie sat silently, one hand over her mouth. She barely breathed, her attention focused on Jasmin.

  “I begged her not to, but she was intent on doing it. She said that there was no way our dad’s life should have been cut so short. It couldn’t have been his time to go, so that meant she should be able to get him back. She begged me to help her, to combine our non-existent power and demand that the Ouija board return him to us. She read some phrases aloud from the book…I have no idea what they were, they sounded Latin; then we lit some candles and turned to the board.

  “We had no idea what we were doing, or the ramifications of our ignorance. We called to our father, asked any spirits that were listening to bring him back. And then, in her arrogance, Opal commanded them to obey her. She demanded that our father return to us.

  “When nothing happened, we finally gave up and went back home. That very night, while we were sleeping, it came. A spirit that had been twisted by the darkness that lives in mines.”

  “What kind of darkness?” Torie asked.

  “I don’t know for sure, but in my time, I’ve found anyplace that is a source of misery to those who spent time there, takes on those negative, black emotions; and can then pass those feelings on to the spirits of the ones who die there. That’s why you see so many hauntings in old hospitals, prisons, plantations, and mines. Places whose residents carry so much sadness in them that it becomes a part of their surroundings.

  “That was what came to visit us that night. A black spirit, darker than the night around it, fueled by sadness and hate and called forth in the name of our father. It attacked us, in ways that I still have nightmares about. It couldn’t be reasoned with or controlled. It lashed out, tearing at us. It would have killed us, but our mother heard the commotion in the room we shared and came to help us. For some reason, the spirit became fixated on her…ripping into her, crushing her.

  “Opal and I ran from the house, ran as fast as we could to our Gram’s house. We told her what had happened, and she told us to stay in her house, and not to step outside the threshold, no matter what, until morning. She left us there, huddled in her one-bedroom house that was little more than a shack, while she made her way to our house.

  “The next morning, she came back. We knew immediately that something terrible had happened. She didn’t speak for a while. When she finally did, she said that she had been too late for our mother. And that it had taken everything she had to repel the spirit and send it back to whatever hell it had come from. She looked at us differently from that day…I’m sure she knew what we had done, but she never asked.

  “The funeral for our mother was the last time I saw my sister. There were a lot of hurt feelings and misplaced blame between us. Our Gram passed shortly thereafter. She was just never the same after that night. I guess seeing her own daughter like that sapped whatever light she had left in her.

  “So as a result, I was alone when I came into my magic. I learned what I could from who I could.” She looked at
Torie and gave her a warm smile. “I guess that’s why I’m so intent on helping you. No one should have to weather what we go through alone.”

  The two friends looked at one another, both feeling raw and exhausted from such a deep, emotional dive. Then Jasmin reached up with both hands and lightly wiped the tears from her face.

  “Girl, enough about all that sadness. We need to get you back in the magic game.” She stood up and offered a hand to help Torie to her feet. “And I have just the thing that might help.”

  She gestured, and the large purse she carried everywhere floated to her hand. She reached in and withdrew a vial of liquid and a handful of glowing stones of various colors.

  “These are enchanted gems that were given to me by a rock troll.”

  “And what exactly do they do?”

  “Well, I’m hoping they will help you get some aspect of your magic back while we wait for my sister. If you’re brave enough for a little experiment.”

  She looked at Torie and offered a wink. Together, they went back into the house. Torie’s heart hammered in her chest as she tried to keep hope alive, but not let that hope swell too much inside her soul.

  4

  “So how do these troll rocks work?” asked Torie.

  They were sitting in the living room with the colored gems spread on the coffee table before them.

  “First, they’re not rocks, they are gems. Big difference.” Jasmin leaned forward, taking one of the red stones in her hand and holding it up for Torie to see. “Second, they are suffused with earth magic. Meaning they are connected to the same wellspring our own magic flows from; good old Mother Earth.”

  She opened her hand so the gem lay flat on her palm.

  “Ignitus,” she whispered. The gem flared to life, releasing red and orange flames that flickered. “In the case of the gems, the magic comes from inside them, not from inside us.”

  “Okay, so how does that help me get my magic back?”

  “Well, and this is just a theory, but maybe your magic isn’t gone. Maybe it’s blocked. If you can work with these gems, maybe we can get you unclogged. Consider these training wheels to getting you back on the bike. Here—” she stopped the fire and handed the gem to Torie, “—you try.”

  Torie took the stone in her hand. Amazingly, it was actually cold to the touch, despite having been fully engulfed in fire just seconds before.

  She held it flat on her palm and whispered the same incantation. One she had used countless times over the past months.

  Nothing. No flame. Not even a spark.

  She looked at Jasmin questioningly.

  “Are you concentrating? You can’t just be going through the motions.”

  Torie furrowed her brow, focusing her intent on making the little gem flare to life. In her mind she pictured the fire and fixed that image in place, willing the gem to ignite.

  “Ignitus,” she said forcefully. Again, nothing happened.

  “Hmm. Let me try something.” Jasmin leaned forward and whispered to the gem. Instantly it burned bright with mystical fire.

  “Ouch!” shouted Torie, tossing the gem to the ground and grasping her singed hand.

  Instantly, Jasmin doused the flame and looked at her friend’s reddened palm.

  “That shouldn’t have happened. The power in the gems is part of our magical eco-systems. It shouldn’t hurt us.”

  Torie nodded, staring at her hand. “So what does that mean?” Even though she had a good idea what it meant.

  “I’m not sure. Maybe your blockage runs deeper than I thought.”

  Torie stood, walking to the corner of the room where there was a large aloe plant growing. She broke a tip off one of the small leaves and rubbed the viscous liquid that oozed out onto her hand. The cooling liquid took away the sting almost immediately.

  “Or maybe, we just need to face the facts,” she said as she made her way back to the couch.

  “You know, you need to get your magic back for all kinds of reasons,” Jasmin said. “First and foremost, I need my friend back at full hex so we can continue the work we started here in the community.”

  “Oh, so you do enjoy helping people,” Torie said, breaking into a smile.

  “I mean…maybe it’s been more fulfilling, and fun, than I thought. Minus the close calls with death; that I can do without. But yes, we are filling a much needed niche in our society. But also, you have made a name for yourself in the supernatural world. We all have. I don’t like the thought of you being unable to protect yourself if the need arises.”

  This was something Torie had not considered. “You think I might be in danger at some point?”

  “Honestly, I don’t know. But you’ve been responsible for taking out a serial killer, a vampire and a warlock. All I’m saying is, this town is not as sleepy as it once was. More and more paranormals are moving in almost daily. All of them can’t be friendlies.”

  “Well, there are also plenty of humans living in Singing Falls now. They don’t seem to be afraid.”

  “True, but they do seem a little more nervous than usual. Granted, they don’t know all the supernaturals in the community, but they know that this town is anything but normal. That little scrap at Jim’s Bakery didn’t help calm the masses.”

  “True. We still don’t know what happened to cause that. Something about it just didn’t feel…right.”

  “And that’s another reason we need to get your powers back. You can’t go into hot zones like that again with no magic.” She reached out, picking up another gem. This one was the color of a sapphire, with rough cut edges and only slightly larger than the red stone from earlier. “The red gems generate heat and fire. The blue ones generate pure light. The white ones emit energy blasts, and the green ones are for communication over distance. Kind of like magical walkie talkies. These are all gems meant to replicate some of the magic your hexes granted you.”

  “Wait, I didn’t know that witches could communicate over distance with one another.”

  “Sure you did. Think of it as telepathy. Though in your case, it worked better with shifters. It was that hex ability that allowed you to communicate with them.”

  Torie felt a lump form in her throat as she stared at the green gem on her table. The connection she felt with the shifter community, and Elric in particular, was what she missed the most. Maybe it was because that was the first of her abilities to develop and the one she had felt most at ease with.

  “So, what’s going on with Elric?” Jasmin asked.

  Torie squinted at her. “No peeking inside my mind.”

  Jasmin held up both hands. “Hey, I would never. But I guess that means you are thinking about him.” She smiled and gave her friend’s knee a squeeze. “No one needs to be a mind reader to know that something is going on with the two of you.”

  Torie nodded reluctantly. “I don’t know what it is. I get the feeling that, ever since I lost my magic, he’s been treating me like a fragile child. That I need to be placed in a plastic bubble at all times and kept away from furniture with sharp edges.” She slumped back into the couch with a sigh. “I mean, I’m not that delicate. I managed to keep myself alive for a long time without even knowing that magic existed. I still remember how to…how to human!”

  Jasmin didn’t say anything, just letting her friend contemplate what she had said.

  “Are you sure it’s him who is feeling that way, or are you projecting that onto him? You know, werewolves are not the bloodthirsty, alpha male, top dog that a lot of people think they are. I don’t mean this to sound rude, but think of them like big, cuddly…well, dogs. They are very familial creatures. They form bonds to their pack that are, for the most part, unbreakable.

  “And they mate for life. If he has chosen you…he will move Heaven and earth to protect you. He will be loyal to you no matter what happens, and he will never be happier than when he is looking into your eyes. You’re a very lucky woman.

  “So no matter what you’re feeling right now…my guess i
s, he’s giving you time to work through it, no matter how long it takes. And he’ll be there when you come out the other side.”

  Torie thought about this as she remained quiet, deep in contemplation.

  “The truth is, I’m glad he’s around. I have always felt safe with him, and I hope he knows that. I just need a bit of time to adjust to what’s happening to me.”

  “Hey, I’m not the one you need to be telling that to.”

  “You’re right. You’re absolutely right. I’ll talk to him. But in the meantime, what do we do with all these gems? It’s not like I need them now. I’m not even sure why you brought them, knowing my magic is gone.”

  “Not gone, blocked,” replied Jasmin, projecting confidence. “And I want them here, because like I said, it’s practice for you. Think of them as you would a thigh-blaster. When you’re not doing anything just give them a little squeeze…start to build those muscles back up.” She stood up, heading for the fireplace and taking the red one with her. “Maybe we’ll just leave this one in here…no need to risk third degree burns.” She tossed the gem into the wood piled in the fireplace, and then turned to face Torie.

  “I want to do something else for you as well,” she said. “I want to place some wards around your house. Nothing big, just something to act as a first line of defence against anyone who means you harm.”

  Torie wasn’t sure how she felt about that, and Jasmin could tell from the look on her face she wasn’t sure it was needed.

  “Think of it as a supernatural alarm system; always set and ready in case you need it. And if you don’t need it, no harm, no foul.”

  Finally, Torie agreed. “Alright, if you think it’s needed. But what if it goes off? What do I do?”

  “Well, if something sets it off, you won’t have to do anything but stay inside the house. I’ll know if it happens and I’ll be here before you know it.”

  Again, Torie felt like a burden to her friends. That plastic bubble she imagined Elric wanted to lock her in was starting to feel more and more real. She nodded, knowing that eventually Jasmin would wear her down anyway.