Shadows in Ravenwood (Daughters of the Circle)

by Lenore Wolfe

THRITY-SEVEN

  CLAIRE

  Claire had put away the last dish when Thorick suddenly appeared at the back door. He’d been using the doors lately since the weather had turned cold and the windows were all closed. Yet, the sight of him didn’t bring them much comfort.

  Thorick, coming out into the open, could only mean one thing.

  He still hadn’t made it a practice to appear to them openly, except when the shadow appeared, or to visit Claire. So, when he did so now, they all knew something was wrong, even before they saw the warning look in his gaze.

  Claire’s heart seemed to stop—before taking up a loud thudding within her chest as he raced forward, propelling her out of the kitchen. They found Morgan and Tara in the living room. Her face must have given it away because both looked immediately alarmed, racing toward her.

  “No!” she yelled. “Run!” She grabbed Morgan’s arm as she reached her, spinning her around toward the stairs. “The attic,” she breathed. “We’re stronger in the attic!”

  The four women, Thorick, too, raced up the stairs, like moving through mud. Where was Alex? Where were the Twins? The faster she tried to go, the more it seemed she couldn’t move fast enough. They reached the landing, and Tara yanked up the attic door, sending it crashing into the wall.

  Claire screamed, “Jake! Jack!” then had to block Morgan from turning to go look of Alex. “Alex!” all three of the women screamed at the same time, as they squeezed in the narrow passageway and made their way up the second flight of stairs. Tara was in the lead, and reaching that landing, she burst through that door, as well, sending it also crashing against the wall.

  All Claire could think was that she was glad it wasn’t locked. The five of them turned, facing the door as they backed into the room.

  This was it then.

  She eyed Morgan and Tara with forewarning in her eyes. Tara glanced wildly around, and she did the same. Morgan’s gaze had gone past Claire’s head, then she froze. Time stood still, in what it took for Claire to turn around, like the effort it took to move through mud. Like being caught in a paralyzing dream. When she did manage to turn around, her gaze collided with Dante.

  Claire’s mouth dropped open. How the hell had he done that? Thorick tore after him, but Dante sent him flying. Claire had to wonder how long he’d been planning to do that.

  She sensed the power burning within her, as anger coursed through her veins. Calmly, she reached over and took Morgan’s hand. Morgan must have sensed it too—for suddenly the glazed expression of fear left her face—replaced by a warm, shimmery light.

  Claire called up the power. She sensed Morgan beside her, felt her tap into that power, Claire had gotten a taste of while on the journey, intensifying it until Claire thought her heart would burst from her chest.

  No wonder Dante had wanted her sister.

  She couldn’t see but knew that Alex and the Twins had burst in the room. She felt Tara on the other side of her. Sensed Tara as she began to channel the energy that was moment by moment intensifying in both her and Morgan. Energy swirled around them, building.

  Too strong.

  She wanted to stop. She could only stare at Tara, as she came up beside them. Claire had no clue she could channel something like this—emotions, yeah, but not something like this. The power, moving through her caused her head to snap back. The weight caused her eyes to slam shut from the full force of pure intensity.

  Then, power coursed through her as Sophia stepped in, and like a giant generating crystal, she amplified all the energy moving around and through them. Claire’s first instinct was to resist. They were going to kill her.

  Her heart couldn’t take all the energy moving through her. Couldn’t they see that? Couldn’t they see what they were doing to her?

  She tried to open her mouth, but she couldn’t.

  Claire started to panic. She couldn’t move. They would kill her, and she couldn’t warn them—to tell them to stop.

  Then, Morgan merged with her mind.

  “It’s okay, Claire,” she said. “Just relax.”

  “How do you know?” Claire shouted.

  Morgan smiled gently, squeezing her hand. “Because mom is here with us. They all are.”

  Claire opened her mind and immediately found herself standing in front of her mother and grandmother. Morgan stood to her side, still holding her hand. The room around them went white.

  “You can do it,” her mother said to her. “We’re all right here with you. It’s not your time to come to us. It’s your time to fly.”

  Claire stared at her mother. “I love you, mom,” she said.

  Her mother beamed. “I love you too, baby,” she said.

  Claire let her eyes fall shut. She focused on Dante with all her being—and she let herself fly—tapping into the Daughters to move as one with the Goddesses.

  The gathering power, from all of them, amplified by Sophia, flew from the palms of her hands. She went up in pure white energy—and focused it all on Dante.

  He screamed—then seemed to just disappear into the light.

  Claire crumbled to the ground. She sensed Morgan did too. The last thing that crossed her mind was—maybe if they’d had more time….

  She woke to someone tapping her cheeks, then a cool cloth was placed against her face. She opened her eyes and found Alex leaning over her. He brushed the hair from her face.

  “Morgan,” she croaked, worried because he wasn’t with her.

  He chuckled. “She’s fine,” he said. “She just yelled at me to check on you.”

  She smiled wanly. “Did we get him?”

  “Yes,” he said, serious now. “I think so.”

  He thought, so? She let that go—for now. “What about Sophia—and Tara?” she said, trying to turn to see her friends.

  “Thorick went for Shantra,” he said.

  Claire fought to sit up. “Why? What happened to them?”

  He shook his head. “The power was too much for both her and Tara,” he said. “We don’t know if either of them will—make it.”

  Claire fought to get to her feet. Thorick had come to the door, and when he saw her, he came and put his arm around her, helping her to where Tara and Sophia lay. Sophia looked to be in the worse condition. Jack whipped her forehead with a cool, damp cloth, much like the one Alex had been using on her.

  Morgan kneeled beside Tara. She held her hand in her own, tears slipping down Morgan’s face, as she talked to her.

  “She should be here any moment,” Thorick said, trying to comfort her.

  “How could this have happened?”

  Alex shook his head. “No one could have anticipated how much power the two of you could call,” he said. “There wasn’t time to prepare.”

  A moment later, Shantra literally shimmered into the room with Thorick, taking them all by surprise. She rushed to her daughter’s side with a bag she held in her hands. Taking her daughter’s hand, she seemed to sense something. She placed her daughter’s hand down gently over her stomach and held her own hands over her daughter’s body. Claire could practically see the energy she channeled as she chanted. She ran her hands slowly down her daughter’s body, not quite touching her. Within moments, Sophia woke.

  Shantra quickly stood and rushed over to Tara, as Morgan quickly stood to move out of her way. The mixture of panic and hope on her sister’s face broke Claire’s heart.

  They stood there, like that, in shock and awe, watching Shantra work.

  Sophia sat up and, though shaking, trying to get to her feet. Claire moved to stop her, still weak herself. But Sophia wouldn’t have it. “Alex,” she commanded. “Take me to her, now.”

  He came to her, picking her up and taking her over to Tara. Shaking, she knelt on the other side of Tara, laying her hands near her mother’s, moving them down Tara’s body. Like her mother, she didn’t quite touch her.

  After a long moment, Tara sucked in a deep breath and opened her eyes. Morgan sobbed and fell by her side. “You scared the hel
l out of us,” she said, crying. She took Sophia’s hand in her other one. “You both did.”

  Claire had silent tears slipping down her cheeks. “How did you do that?” she said to Shantra, then looked at Sophia.

  “You call it Reiki,” Shantra said. “We’re just better at it.”

  Claire laughed with relief. She chuckled through her tears to realize that the Reiki she’d been practicing could heal something so severe—when channeled through the right hands.

  She’d never felt so relieved as she felt at that moment. Morgan had one arm around Sophia, and she held Tara’s hand in her others. Still weeping, she watched as Tara gently teased her, trying to get her to calm down.

  “I’d never be able to live with myself—if anything happened to the two of you because of what I called down…”

  Claire nodded in agreement. “We’re going to have to get a grip on that power,” she agreed.

  Morgan gawked up at her. “I’m never using it again. Never. You don’t understand. I couldn’t survive it if I’d killed any of you with it.”

  Claire moved to the other side of Tara. Reaching across her friend, she cradled her sister’s face, leaning in closer to see her clearly, looking deep into her sister’s eyes. “Morgan,” she said. “You saved us because you could channel the Goddesses so clearly. I don’t blame you for how much that scares you, sister,” she said. “You need to realize—we wouldn’t have taken him—not without you. But we’ll never do anything you don’t want to do—I promise.”

  Morgan sagged in her relief. Claire worried she’d live to regret that promise—but she resolved to keep it. She wouldn’t coerce her sister into using a power that had nearly killed their friends.

  Neither of them could live with that.

  As she glanced around at her friends, reality started to seep through. “Did we do it, then?”

  They hadn’t even had the chance to let anything sink in.

  Suddenly, she felt as light as air, and she had to sit down. “Did we really do it,” she said through fresh tears.

  Her sister looked up, and Claire stared into her sister’s gaze. “I think so,” she said again. She gazed up at her friends. There were tears in their eyes too. She took a deep breath, looking at Thorick.

  He shrugged. “I don’t know for sure,” he said. “But one thing is for sure. If you didn’t kill him—you sure hurt him. If he managed to live through that—he won’t be around for a very, very long time.”

  The freedom his words generated through her made her feel buoyant.

  Morgan sucked in her breath, and Claire turned to eye her. Her sister’s eyes were wide with fright. “What? What is it?”

  “If we’ve destroyed him—or even hurt him,” Morgan said. “Where—is our aunt?”

  Claire’s breath left her in a whoosh. She sensed the shock, in everyone watching. If they’d destroyed Dante—or even managed to hurt him so that he was out of commission for quite some time—then where was their aunt? She eyed her sister’s face, then turned to stare at Tara, her gaze moving from one to another in her fright.

  “Be calm,” Shantra said to them. “We’ll send the Gargoyles and Fae Warriors to find out what they can.”

  Stunned, Claire could only look at her. Only a moment ago, she’d felt relief like she hadn’t felt for many years.

  Now, suddenly, the nightmare had started all over again….