by KT Webb
“Grace? Yeah. We actually had to help rescue her from the creepy guys chasing us. Then we had to find Harper.”
“Another witch?”
Lucy realized there was so much she had to tell Mallory. She suddenly felt exhausted at the thought of having to relive it all again. After a brief synopsis of everything they’d done and everywhere they’d gone, she waited for Mallory to say something.
“You got to be a mermaid?”
“Really, out of all that, you’re interested in that tiny snippet of the story?”
“Well, not everyone gets to be a mermaid. I mean, I wish I could see what that was like.”
“Maybe I’ll show you one day.”
There was silence on the other end of the line. For a moment, panic set in and Lucy thought something had happened to her only remaining family member. Well, only non-evil family member anyway. Mallory sighed and sniffled lightly. She was crying.
“Mal? What’s wrong?”
“I’ve just been so worried about you. Sutton’s picture has been plastered all over the country. Her parents have been on the news begging for information about her disappearance. Grace’s parents have done the same. Police think they may be looking for a serial kidnapper.”
Lucy glanced at Sutton and wondered if it would do her any good to know that her parents were so distraught over her absence. She didn’t think it would help her focus on the Awakening or anything else they needed to accomplish. Poor Grace was already worried about her parents; she was a typical good girl. It made sense that her parents were freaking out. At least Harper and Lucy could call home, they were dealing with all this, and the possibility that their parents thought they were dead.
“We’re okay Mal. I know it’s a lot for you to deal with alone.” An idea struck her out of nowhere. She waived her hand at Harper and the other girl came over to join her.
Placing a hand over the microphone, she addressed Harper. “Do you think your mom would be okay with talking to my aunt? They’re the only ones who really know what’s going on with us and it could be good for both of them to have someone to talk to.”
Harper nodded. “My parents would love to get in contact with her. I’ll text mom and let her know to expect a phone call. This is her number.”
Lucy took the piece of paper she’d scribbled on and returned to her phone call. Mallory was talking, but she hadn’t been listening. She interrupted her aunt without hesitation.
“Mal, I have someone you can call. Maybe you could even go visit them and meet them in person. Harper’s parents know the truth. Her mom is a practicing witch though she doesn’t have the power we do. I’m going to text you their number. They’ll be expecting your call.”
“Oh, honey. That’s a great idea. Maybe we can find a way to ease the troubled minds of the other parents without freaking them out—or ending up on the suspect list.”
“Maybe, just be careful, Mal. We have a lot going on here. I can’t be worrying about you too!”
After they hung up, Lucy went and sat next to Harper on her bed. They didn’t talk for a long time, but Lucy finally broke the silence by telling her about the other girls’ parents. She had to share the burden with someone and didn’t think she should trouble the other two with concerns about home. Harper told her she and her mom had had a similar conversation, so it was comforting to know they would all have someone to talk to about it. Lucy couldn’t help but feel like she was betraying the others by not telling them, but she knew in her heart it was for the best.
She woke hours later, slumped over on Harper’s bed. Ooghna was resting between them in a tiny little ball. Lucy had no idea what time it was, but she was wide awake. She went outside to get some fresh air and found Sutton had beat her to it. The other witch was staring up at the sky as though counting the stars. Her long blonde hair fell around her shoulders. When she reached up to brush a stray hair from her face, Lucy caught site of the ring that sparkled on her finger.
“Why are you wearing that?”
Sutton jumped slightly as she was startled from her revelry. She glanced at the ring on her finger before turning to Lucy. “I figured it would be easier to keep track of it if I wore it.”
“Oh, good. I thought you were going to say you were the next true King of Ireland or something.”
Sutton giggled. “Ya know, nothing would surprise me anymore.”
“I know what you mean.”
The girls stood in silence watching the sky. Lucy couldn’t be sure how long they stood there staring at the twinkling sky, but by the time they went back inside the sun was starting to rise. Lucy wasn’t surprised to find Harper wide awake, sitting on the edge of her bed. The reality of their situation weighed heavily on her mind. The Awakening was going to happen and they would have to face their enemies within a week.
Grace
Chapter Twenty-Seven
The Darkest Hour
They did their best to waste time until the sun began to set. At first, it seemed frivolous to Grace, but she knew they needed to blow off steam. With magic, anything was possible. Harper forced them to binge-watch Supernatural on an internet streaming program. It still floored Grace that there was no power supply and no internet but they were watching television.
After ten hours of non-stop viewing, she was hooked. She had never heard of the creatures they hunted, or thought anything of their existence until the day she was rescued by her new friends. The thought that some of those creatures could be out there preying on innocent people made her want to grab some salt and iron and hit the road. It seemed silly to think that people watched the show purely for entertainment value; if they knew what was really out there they wouldn’t think it was so exciting.
Evening fell and no one felt like eating. Harper was clearly terrified but she thought she was hiding it well. Ooghna stayed right by her side, ready to offer a soothing caress or subtle squeeze should the need arise. Grace couldn’t help but smile at the bond shared between the two. Harper had been reluctant to accept the little fairy in the beginning, but it was now clear that she wouldn’t trade her for the world.
Before they packed up, Harper excused herself to call her parents. Grace could hear her crying softly in the bathroom. She wondered idly how her parents were doing. They must think something terrible had happened to her. It wasn’t like Grace to disappear without a trace, let alone to leave during her own party. Before she let herself dwell on it too long, she pushed the thoughts away. If they were going to succeed in the Awakening, they needed to be focused.
“Okay, who’s ready to perform a dangerous spell on me?” Harper joked, though her eyes were red and her cheeks were blotchy.
With a wave of her hand, Sutton made it as though the tent had never existed. They stood in the open field, ready for the next step in their adventure. Another portal later and they stood on the path that led to the spring at Tobernalt. It seemed like a million years had passed since they first arrived in Ireland. Part of her was desperate to wake up and find it had all been a dream. The other part of her couldn’t imagine life without the girls she’d grown to love and trust.
Grace pulled out the grimoire and opened it to the page she’d marked for the Awakening. She conjured the altar, a small table with the battered oak tree carved into the wooden top. They would need candles in addition to the ingredients they’d gathered, so she waved her hand and five candles appeared on the table. Sutton and Lucy had busied themselves with their wardrobe; the ritual was very specific that they should wear purple robes, and Harper should be dressed in a white robe.
Grace finished setting up and changed into her robe. The girls stood together and watched as the sun dipped below the horizon. According to the book, the ritual could only be successfully performed in the darkest hour of the night. After much deliberation and a little internet search, they decided to perform the Awakening at eleven o’clock. It was the latest they could begin before the next day began, but the soonest they could perform the ritual without any residua
l sunlight. Once the sun set, the waiting game began.
Ooghna now rested in Grace’s hair, since they weren’t sure what would happen during the Awakening. It was safer if she didn’t stay tangled in the hair of the girl going through the ritual. Oddly enough, time seemed to fly by and they soon found themselves getting Harper ready for the big event.
The first thing she had to do was lie on the ground with her arms across her chest. Sutton took the Stone of Destiny off her finger and placed it on Harper’s forehead. Lucy removed Sarafina’s fire from her bag, and cradled it between the red-head’s ankles. Once they were satisfied with the placement, Grace set a candle at her head, next to each elbow and beside each foot. From above, it would have looked like a connect-the-dot star surrounding the young witch. They lit each candle and watched the flames dance in the gentle breeze.
Harper stole a glance at her fellow witches. Grace tried to offer an encouraging smile, but she was too nervous to pull it off convincingly. When Harper closed her eyes and began breathing deeply in an effort to relax, the other girls exchanged an apprehensive look. They were about to do some dangerous magic, and they weren’t about to make light of the situation. Lucy stood in between Grace and Sutton, gripping the jar that held the breath of Borrum. With one final deep breath, they read aloud from the book.
“We witches three do call upon thee,
To help us with our plight.
Here we stand before you now,
In this, the darkest hour of the night.
The winds of change will soon be free,
Our sister witch must wake
With the blessing of sacred Danu,
Her power she must take.”
The air was still as a multi-colored beam arched between the Stone of Destiny and the sapphire from the water dragon. Harper was enveloped in light and began to levitate, her long hair falling loosely behind her. Lightening flashed overhead and a distant rumble of thunder shook the ground.
“Imbue her now with magic from the deep,
And with the Stone of Destiny
Her power she will keep.”
Lucy opened the jar and the wind it held swirled around them in a cyclonic vortex. The candles were extinguished, the sapphire and the Stone of Destiny flew towards each other, releasing an explosion of heat and light when they collided. Suddenly, Grace couldn’t breathe. Through her panic she could see the other two girls were in the same boat. The air had been sucked from their lungs by the breath of Borrum. Harper’s eyes shot open, her mouth releasing an endless silent scream.
Dark edges appeared around Grace’s vision as flashes of multi-colored lights danced erratically, taking over what little she could see. Her legs felt heavy, but her head could have floated away like a balloon on a windy day. She fell to her hands and knees, desperate to suck in even a tiny breath. The last thought that crossed her mind before consciousness slipped away was how dangerous magic truly could be.
“You’re not what I imagined.”
Grace turned to find herself face to face with the witch she knew to be Samhain. “I’m sure I’m not.”
They were standing in a field in the early stages of transitioning from summer to fall. The tips of the grass were yellowing and the sky was streaked with the pinks and orange of an autumn sunset.
“I thought you would be younger.”
“I’m only sixteen.”
“That may be, but you look as though you’ve experience beyond your years.”
Grace shrugged. “Well, that tends to happen when you go from being a normal teenager to performing dangerous magic within the span of a few months.”
Samhain kept her face neutral. Grace decided she might as well have been speaking Greek. A thought struck her that made her stomach turn.
“Am I . . . dead?”
“No, child. You depleted your energy. The ritual you performed required more magic than you possess. Even combined with your fellow witches and using such powerful items, you will still take days to recover.”
Grace furrowed her brow. “So, where am I? And why are you here?”
Samhain offered a kind smile. “You’re in the Otherworld. It’s where your spirit resides when it leaves your physical form.”
“But I’m not dead?”
“Very much alive.”
Grace nodded and bit her lower lip. “And the other girls?”
She shook her head sadly. “I am only connected to you, I cannot tell.”
She had to believe the others were okay. They had all given the same amount of magic to the ritual, they were probably resting too. Something else was bothering her, and she was now with the only person who could set her mind at ease.
“Were you happy?”
Samhain tilted her head as though trying to understand. She didn’t speak for a long time. Grace was beginning to wonder if she was going to answer at all. Just as she was about to rephrase the question, Samhain offered a reply.
“The Druids only needed us for one thing; to defeat Carman. They didn’t give much thought to what would happen after we fulfilled that requirement. Once Carman and her sons were taken care of, they tossed us aside. We were basically newborns in grown-up bodies. If it hadn’t been for Danu, you wouldn’t be here today.”
She sat on a rock and gestured for Grace to join her before she continued her explanation. “The Druids may be powerful, but they’re cowards. They used their age and experience to encourage others to serve them blindly, but when it came down to it, they locked themselves in their castle and left us to fend for ourselves.”
“We haven’t been that impressed with them ourselves,” Grace shared.
“They’re meant to be guardians. The Druids were never meant to lead. Their only job is to maintain the balance between the human realm and the Otherworld. The Tuatha De Dannan trusted them to use Idir as the gateway between the two worlds, to keep the Fomorians from running amuck and the humans from stumbling upon our world.”
Grace had no idea what she was saying. Who exactly were the Tuatha De Dannan? Dee had told them very little, and their journey through time with Genovefa hadn’t provided any further explanation. What was a Fomorian? She felt wholly unprepared for what her future held. So much for hoping the Druids would guide them and teach them what they needed to know.
“I’m gonna ask you to back up. What are the Tuatha De Dannan? I know very little about them.”
“They are the most powerful beings of white magic in Ireland. Some are gods and goddesses, others are creatures. They are the followers of Danu. Have you not met them?”
Grace shook her head. “What about the Fomorians?”
Samhain stood and began pacing. “Have the Druids grown so complacent they haven’t even informed you of your greatest enemy?”
“I thought Carman was our greatest enemy?”
“No. Carman is only a complication. She is a very powerful sorceress, but she is nothing compared to the Fomorians.”
That didn’t sound good. “Seriously, what’s a Fomorian?”
“They are the darkness. The Fomorians are the beings who stood against good magic from the very beginning. Gods, goddesses and creatures who only seek to impose their evil will on the world and enslave the humans.”
Grace thought about all she’d experienced since discovering she was a witch. Despite the looming threat of the sons of Carman and Odessa, they had yet to face a true evil being. She thought back to what they’d been told about Carman. Her lover had been the god of death; her sons represented darkness, violence, and evil. Were they the sons of a Fomorian?
“You’ve given me a lot to think about, but you never answered my question. Were you happy?”
“My life was divided in two parts. At first, I can tell you I didn’t know what happiness was. I hadn’t been given a choice about my life purpose. I was created for one purpose and wasn’t needed beyond that. I didn’t find happiness until we were given our freedom.”
Harper
Chapter Twenty-Eight
&n
bsp; Awakening
She opened her eyes. The cool ground beneath her was hard and uncomfortable, the sky above her glowed with a purple haze. She sat up and quickly scanned the area for the other girls. Harper was alone. Her heart began to race as she looked around, desperate to find something that would tell her where she was. From the top of the low wall surrounding the stone floor under her, she assumed she was on the parapet of a castle.
Harper had no idea how she’d ended up here, but she needed to get back to her friends. Rising to her feet, she noticed she was no longer wearing the heavy white robe from the Awakening. She was dressed in jeans and a plain black t-shirt. Her green Converse sneakers were already on her feet. Harper walked to the edge of the castle tower and felt a dizzying nausea overcome her. It was a long, long way down. She stumbled backward, desperate to find an interior way down.
There were no openings in the floor, no stairs that would deliver her from the terrifying height that surrounded her on all sides. Deep breaths, she just needed to take deep breaths and everything would be okay. Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out. Okay, it was working. If she stood in the center of the tower she could pretend she wasn’t miles above ground, unable to see the base of the tower.
