My father shakes his head solemnly. “Smells like a trap to me.”
“Me, too,” Spring adds.
“It might be, but we can’t take that chance. Something is wrong.” Hopper may not be psychic, but he’s nailed this one. “We have to help him.”
Tristan has an arm around Spring. He looks at my Dad. “Let me go by the house, see if anything seems out of place. I’ll call Spring if I think it’s safe, you can decide what to do then.”
I put Cinders in the van. “There’s no time for that. We have to go now, all of us.”
“I don’t like it,” Winter says.
Frustration boils inside me. I ball up my fists and put them on my hips. “I don’t either, but we still have to do it, so get your butt in and drive.”
She raises one elegantly arched eyebrow at me. Hopper takes my elbow to help me in and the others reluctantly climb in as well, familiars and all. A few seconds later, we’re speeding to the Fontaine mansion. Tristan follows in his car.
“So, what’s the plan?” Spring asks.
“Save Kaan from the ghost,” I reply.
Autumn frowns at me. “I thought you said it was Mariel.”
“It is. She’s so angry. Something’s not right though.”
Dad holds Godfrey, who wriggles out of his hands and resumes his normal spot on the dash. As Winter swerves around a car, Godfrey digs his nails in.
Winter says, “Maybe her husband did kill her—not to save her but because of something else.”
We’re bewildered about Kaan being evil or not. “That’s a possibility,” I admit, but I don’t want to accept it. I want to believe he and Mariel have such a deep love, that he’d never harm her. That he would do everything he could to keep her from the master.
Even delving into black magick.
But maybe I’m nothing more than a sappy romantic.
Hopper once more has the kittens in his lap. He catches my restless fingers. “Are you sure? Do you really want to help this guy?”
His face is grim, and his eyes tell me he’s confused regarding my sudden about face with Fontaine. Just a few minutes ago, I was ready to trap the dark wizard in the pentagram and make him answer questions, afraid of his intentions. Now I’m rushing to his aid. “Yeah, I am.”
He gives me a nod filled with grim determination. “I just want you to be safe.”
I hook my fingers around his, feeling that tingling again right through my gloves. “Same goes for you. I don’t know what we’re facing, but it would help me to know you were in the van.”
I see him set his jaw, resisting the idea once more. “Not my style to let my woman run into the jaws of danger while I sit back and do nothing.”
My woman. A silly grin slips over my face, even as we swerve again, and I have to grab his arm to keep from falling into the kittens. “You’re very brave.”
In my head, I hear my sisters chattering, clucking their tongues, saying aww, and in general, making me feel like I’m baring my soul to the world.
Hopper smiles. “Seems like that’s you in this scenario.”
I can tell he doesn’t like it—the idea of me venturing into whatever’s happening with Kaan and Mariel, but it isn’t going to stop me.
We drive to the estate, Tristan following, and find the gate closed. We file out, and Autumn sends her spirit to the other side. Spring and Dad catch her physical body, and a few seconds later she’s inside the small guardhouse. It takes her a minute to find the button, but finally, they swing open.
At the back of the van, I open the doors and release Cinders. He flies from the cage with a squawk. Sirius bounds out and follows me, my familiar flying ahead of us.
Autumn’s astral-self steps from the guardhouse. “Let me go first,” she says. “I’ll scope things out. Be right back.”
I don’t want to wait, but it makes sense to let her get the lay of the land before we rush in.
Winter calls, “Everybody back in the van and I’ll drive us up there.”
We get in, Tristan and Hopper carrying Autumn.
Clouds move in from the ocean as the sun begins to sink. I stare at the mansion, trying to see through the front windows, but the curtains and shadows reveal nothing.
By the time we’re at the porch, I’m buzzing with nerves. Autumn hasn’t returned and fear starts to worm its way into my belly.
“Everyone sit still until Autumn returns,” Dad warns.
“But,” I start.
He gives me a hard look, shutting down the rest of my protest. “Stay put.”
The next few seconds are excruciating. Is Kaan alive? Could Mariel’s ghost kill him?
It’s not out of the realm of possibility, although from what I understand about spirits from Winter she would have to be extremely powerful.
There’s a sudden loud gasp as Autumn reenters her body and draws a deep breath in. Spring helps her sit up and she blinks several times, adjusting into the 3D world once more.
“What did you see?” I demand. “Is he in there? Is Mariel?”
She nods. “They’re in a room upstairs. When I tried to get in, magick kept me out.”
Hopper and I exchange a glance. “Mariel’s bedroom,” I say.
“I could hear Kaan trying to communicate with her, but her responses were… wailing,” Autumn continues.
“Wailing?” Winter repeats.
“Almost like keening.” Autumn rubs at her ears as if she can still hear it. “Reminds me of a banshee.”
A new round of goosebumps covers my skin. Banshees warn of death. Is Mariel now one?
“Maybe she’s not trying to hurt him.” I feel more confused than ever. “Is she here to warn him that he’s going to die?” I ask, looking at my sisters.
No one has an answer.
The sky suddenly fills with black birds—ravens. They descend on the lawn, fountain, gazebo.
I pointedly glance at Spring. Ravens often come to inform her about things.
“Why are the birds here?” I ask. “Another death harbinger?”
Her green eyes are brighter than mine and wide in her face. “Death is coming. Maybe for Kaan or maybe…us.”
Heavy silence falls among us, and I can see in my father’s face he wants us to turn around and get out of this place as fast as possible.
He has great wisdom, and I know he’s right. This may be too dangerous for all of us.
But I can’t walk away, can I? Can I leave him to whatever is coming—whether Mariel intends to kill him or something else does?
“Is it possible the demon is coming for him?” I ask my family.
Winter shakes her head. “It’s locked in its prison.”
“But Mariel’s not,” I say.
“What are you thinking?” Spring asks.
I feel it in my belly where the worms are churning, spreading fear throughout my whole system. “Mariel escaped the demon when she was a baby, and not this time. Kaan’s magick didn’t work, and the demon’s angry. What if he’s using her to bring Kaan to him for revenge?”
“Did you have a vision?” Autumn asks.
“I don’t need a vision to tell me this.”
My father’s face seems to age even more. He looks toward the mansion. After a moment, he nods. “We must stop it.”
A certain calm comes into my body then. Fear diminishes and I feel the rise of the fire inside me.
“Do you want me to cloak everyone again?” Winter asks quietly.
“Everybody but me,” I tell her. “Kaan needs to be able to see me.” If he’s still live.
“What do you plan to do?” Hopper asks.
“Same as before. Find out the truth, if we can.” Cinders flies from around the corner. Sirius stands at attention as though he hears something following the bird. “Beyond that, I’m not sure.”
A second later, I’m shocked to see who appears, walking around the corner.
“Mrs. Sorensen?” Fear comes roaring back. “Oh no, what is she doing here?”
She
stops at the bottom step, puts her hands on her hips, and calls, “Are you just going to sit there all night, or come in and help me?”
She doesn’t wait for our response, stomping up the stairs and going right in the front door.
21
We scramble out of the van.
“Mrs. Sorensen,” I yell, rushing into the foyer. She’s already halfway to the second floor. “You don’t want to go up there. It’s dangerous.”
“I know.” She keeps climbing, barely looking over her shoulder at me. “Come on, Summer. I need your magick.”
“But… But…”
I start up, my sisters filing into the wide-open foyer, as Mrs. Sorensen continues. Her hair begins to change, growing longer, whiter. Her summer outfit morphs into long flowing robes. Her wrinkled skin becomes youthful.
Shocked, I glance at my family. Hopper and Tristan have also entered but I don’t have time to order them back out.
Once more, I begin climbing, trying to catch up to Mrs. Sorensen.
Or whoever she is.
“I don’t understand,” I say as we hit the top of the landing together.
Her eyes are as dark as my favorite chocolates. Her smile serene. “I know you don’t, dear, but I’ll explain once we take care of this little problem.”
From the end of the hallway I hear screaming, the keening Autumn mentioned. “What is she?” I ask. “Mariel? She’s Mary Ellen, from the lost colony, right? But what is she?”
Mrs. Sorensen seems pleased I’ve figured this out. “I was at her birth, but she was frail, and I charmed her. The spell was supposed to help her grow healthy and protect her from her mother’s bad karma. Instead, it protected her from much, much more.”
“You’re the witch from the journal. The beast didn’t take Mary Ellen because of your spell.”
“I was trying to help, and accidentally cursed the poor girl. I saved her from the beast but sentenced her to other unfortunate events. I wish I had more time to explain, but if you’re going to save Kaan—and Mary Ellen in turn—we need to put a stop to what she’s about to do.”
The others have joined us. My father asks, “What exactly is she about to do?”
Mrs. Sorensen meets his stare. “The beast can’t truly take Mary Ellen’s soul unless she spills the blood of an innocent.”
“Kaan isn’t innocent,” I argue. “He’s a dark wizard, using black magick. He’s resurrected her several times, if I’m not mistaken.”
“Kaan—Alexander—rescued Mary Ellen that day so long ago, and he’s continued to try and save her, going to certain extremes. But it was done out of love, not desire for power. He’s never killed anyone, except her, and only because she begged him to each time the beast came for her.”
A crashing noise comes down the hall from the bedroom. We hear Kaan’s voice cry out, before it’s suddenly cut off.
Blood and bone. How could I have been so stupid not to connect the dots sooner? “We have no choice but to trust you. Tell us how we can stop this.”
She looks down the hall. “Three times the beast has come for her and Kaan ended her life before it could get her soul. But that was the end of the charm. It couldn’t last forever. I only wanted her to be an oracle to the world about the beast, what happened to the lost colony and tribes prior to that. When I realized it had given her a form of immortality, I encouraged her to be that voice. Things didn’t work out that way, and Alexander was able to raise her three times. He couldn’t this time, though, because the charm finally ran out. The only thing we can do is contain her spirit until we can find a way to destroy the beast.”
“You want us to trap Mary Ellen’s ghost?” Winter asks. “Like in some sort of container?”
Mrs. Sorensen nods, her white hair falling over her shoulders. “Do you still have her jewelry, Summer? The garnet ring?”
“It’s in the van,” Hopper says.
“Go get it, dear.”
As Hopper jogs downstairs and out the door, she looks at me. “Are you ready?”
Am I? Cinders flies through the open door and up the stairs to land on the railing beside me. The phoenix necklace heats on my collar bone. “I’ve never done anything like this.”
She smiles patiently. “Just follow my lead.”
Robes flying, she rushes down the hallway past the library. I follow on her heels, praying to Brigid, Hestia, and any other goddess listening for assistance. I have no idea what we’re about to walk into. No idea how to trap a spirit in a ring.
And honestly, I’m a little peeved Mrs. Sorensen didn’t tell me who she really is.
All that flees my mind as magick sparks from her fingertips and the doors to the room open.
It’s a disaster. The items on the makeup table, the fireplace mantle, and the reading table are strewn across the floor. Drops of blood form a trail leading to Kaan, whose pinned against the window overlooking the garden.
He seems to be held up by his neck, dangling off the ground. His eyes bulge, his mouth moving, but no sound is coming out as he struggles to breathe.
“Holy magick mushrooms,” Winter says. She quickly moves next to the space in front of him. “Mariel—Mary Ellen—listen to me. No matter what the beast is telling you, he’s lying.”
Winter can see Mariel. I stand there and pretend I do, too. “She’s right. Kaan—Alexander—loves you. He always has. And you him. He’d do anything for you—he did. Killing him won’t bring you peace, it’ll only seal your connection to the beast. You have to resist.”
Kaan coughs and chokes, his body rising higher in response.
But the keening stops, leaving an echoing silence. I lean close to Winter and murmur, “Is she saying something?”
A shake of Winter’s head. “We can help you,” she tells Mary Ellen. “You don’t have to spend eternity with the beast, or do what he says.”
Winter gives a little nod to encourage me to keep talking to her.
“You could spend the afterlife with your children.” I tell her. “Your babies want you.”
It appears I’ve hit a nerve. Without warning Kaan drops to the ground.
Mrs. Sorensen rushes over, leaning down to help him. “I’m so sorry, Mary Ellen,” she says to our ghost. “I never meant for the spell to do this to you.”
Cinders flies in and lands on a bedpost. He squawks at me and I feel a surge of magick.
It gives me inspiration. I wave at Spring and Autumn to help, telepathically telling them my plan, as Dad helps Mrs. Sorensen pull Kaan from the window. I watch Winter as she stares at the ghost, making sure Mary Ellen doesn’t follow them.
She doesn’t. As our other two sisters join us, Winter and I hold out our hands. The four of us become a circle and I continue talking to Mary Ellen. “I know your babies meant everything to you. I know you wanted them to live, to ease your pain, but it wasn’t their time. They’re waiting for you on the other side of the veil, not the beast, if you let us help you. They want their mother to come take care of them.”
In my mind, I hear Winter. Keep it up. It’s working.
“All I’ve ever wanted is to get married and have children,” I confess to Mary Ellen. “You lost your mother before you even got to know her, same with your children. They’re all there, opening their arms to you. You can move on and see them. You can be a family again.”
Hopper rushes in with the ring and I try not to shift my eyes to him. I focus on Mary Ellen, sending my magick into the ghost and hoping I can encourage her to not give in. From the corner of my eye, I see Hopper hand the ring to Mrs. Sorensen. She moves toward the circle.
I glance at Winter and send her a message. Can we get her to cross over? Or do we have to trap her in the ring?
Winter seems as torn as I am. We can’t guarantee that allowing Mary Ellen to cross will save her soul. And if we trap her, perhaps, we can truly free her down the road once we figure out how to destroy the demon.
But can we take that chance? Once again, there are too many questions and no answers.<
br />
If only Spring could freeze the ghost, or I could see into the future.
“That’s it!” I say out loud. Mentally, I send a nudge to Spring, can you freeze a spirit?
Her gaze flicks to me, uncertainty in her eyes. I can try.
Do it.
She breaks our circle, raising her hands to the space where the ghost is. I can’t see the magick leaving her, but I feel it.
We all glance at Winter. For half a second her face is blank, then a crooked smile spreads across it, “By the goddess, that worked.”
Mrs. Sorensen hands me the ring. “How do we trap Mary Ellen inside?” I ask, a sick feeling in my stomach. There’s something about doing this that feels off.
“I have a spell for it,” she says.
The off feeling grows. I hand the ring to Winter. “Hold this for me.”
Mrs. Sorensen frowns. “What are you doing?”
Stripping my gloves, I let them fall to the floor, then rub my hands, stimulating my palms. The heat of my magick flows. “Put my hands on the ghost,” I tell Winter.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
My sister guides them to Mary Ellen. As they come into contact with the essence of the spirit, I flinch. Shivers race over my skin, punctuated by icy prickles.
Wait. What is this?
It wasn’t only Kaan’s black magick causing this sensation before.
It was Mary Ellen’s, too.
“You’re the one who turned to black magick first, aren’t you?” I ask her ghost, even though she’s frozen and I couldn’t hear an answer anyway.
I glance at Mrs. Sorensen, then past her to Kaan. Their eyes tell me I’m on the right track. “You tried to keep her from it, didn’t you?” I ask Kaan, as understanding floods my mind.
He lays in a heap but gives me a sad nod. His lips move, straining to say something, but no sound comes out. What is binding his voice?
He struggles to raise a hand; it keeps falling. Something is draining his magick as well as keeping him mute.
Then he shoots a very purposeful glare at Mrs. Sorensen, before his attention returns to me.
Godfrey jumps up on the bed. Don’t be so naive, human.
Before I can put two and two together, and speak the truth, my connection with the ghost triggers the Touch.
Of Curses and Charms Page 12
