West (A Darkness Series Novel)

by Stacey Marie Brown

  “I’m sorry, but this is what the cards want to tell you.” Her jaw grew tight.

  I bent over, trying to control the rush of irritation pumping in my body. “What do I do?” I muttered to myself. “I can’t lose her too.” The words slipped out before my brain understood what I had just said.

  “Hermit...guidance.” Her hand went to her mouth like she figured something out. “Of course.”

  “What are you going on about?”

  “I think I might know who could help you.”

  I froze. “What?”

  “Olwyn. She lives close by. You might call her a hermit of sorts, but she has a young apprentice living with her. I see the girl come into town for supplies sometimes. Olwyn’s been around since I was a baby. She has to be in her nineties at least, but everyone knows who she is. The rumors about her being some kind of witch have been going around since I was a child. Kids and adults stayed away from her but, having abilities myself, I was intrigued by her.”

  “A witch?” Witches were on the low rung of magic, but I was desperate. “Where?”

  “She lives over the hill from the cottage.” Cara nodded to where I put the keys in my pocket. “If you head north from the house, follow the stone fence on the right, it will lead you there.”

  Hope bloomed in my chest, and I grabbed Cara’s hands. “Thank you.”

  “Hopefully she can help you. Give you guidance.”

  “Seriously, thank you for all you’ve done and giving us a place to stay. You don’t even know us, and I can be an asshole. So Rez would want me to thank you for her too. Dealing with me.”

  “You are a handful. It’s a good thing you’re so handsome.” A tiny smile hinted on her mouth. “Now go rescue your girl.”

  “Uh. Not really my girl. She’s someone else’s.”

  “Really?” She lifted her eyebrows. “That’s strange because I pulled the lover card for you two.”

  “Must have been a mistake.”

  Cara slanted her head with a knowing grin. “I always trust the cards.”

  The address to the cottage was on the key ring, but Cara gave me directions, warning me it was challenging to find because it was so remote and there were no real roads to it.

  When I finally pulled up to the single-story stone house, I realized it couldn’t have been a more ideal hideout. Even without trees, there was something about this rolling countryside you could get lost in, disappear.

  I quickly grabbed our belongings from the back, unlocked the door, and walked in. The phone/walkie-talkie rang in my bag, but I ignored it. I knew who it was, checking in, and he was the last person I wanted to talk to at the moment. Lars could wait till I had Rez back safe.

  The place was freezing, dusty, the air stale from being vacant since the summer, but other than that it was perfect. It was a large one-room house with two queen beds decked out in flowery comforters. A round table with four chairs sat next to the kitchenette facing a window with a couple of window seats. On the opposite wall was a fireplace, a bathroom at the far end, and a closet. Simple, but everything you needed.

  I tossed the stuff on the bed, zipped my jacket, grabbed a beanie, and took off out the door. Following Cara’s directions I trailed the wall and traveled north. The wind snapped at my face, turning it numb after a while. The already dreary sky darkened the afternoon.

  Billows of air puffed from my mouth, and the marshy terrain sucked at the bottom of my boots. “Over the hill” in Ireland clearly didn’t have the same meaning as it did back home. I traipsed over many hills for more than a mile before I saw the smoke from a chimney rolling into the sky.

  “Finally,” I grumbled. With a flash of fear for what might be happening to Rez, I jogged the last bit to the house. I crossed the gate and felt the slam of magic, heavy and dense. Complex. Not something I’d imagine a witch to be capable of. The curtains were shut, but I could see a soft glow illuminating from the slight gap. Thank the gods for hermits. I didn’t have to worry no one would be home.

  The thuds of my knocks almost drowned in the howling wind. I perked my ears, hearing a sudden whisking of movement along with dishes clanking. It was a full minute before I heard the door creak, then saw a sliver of a face, one brown eye peering out.

  “May I help you?” a quiet but firm woman’s voice asked. She sounded young. The apprentice?

  “Yes. I really hope so.” I stuffed my hands in my pockets, trying to look as unthreatening as possible. “Cara from the bookshop sent me. Told me an Olwyn might be able to assist me?”

  “I can’t imagine we could do anything for you. I’m sorry.” The girl went to shut the door, but I shoved my boot in before it closed.

  “I’m sorry, I don’t have time to be polite. I know you guys are witches. My friend was kidnapped by some real assholes, and I need your help to find her.” I put my hand on the door, pushing against her weight. I knew it would take only a little shove on my part. From what I could see she was a tiny thing. “Please. I don’t say that word very often, but I’m desperate here. I need to get her back. Now.”

  Her eyes scrutinized me. The girl glanced to her side, then nodded, letting the door open.

  “Thank you.” I stepped in, shutting it behind me. The house was bigger than Cara’s, but not by much. It included a loft, which was probably where they slept, and a full kitchen. The beams along the roof were lined with hanging dried herbs and flowers. A tall working table was covered in cuttings, liquid jars, and several mortars and pestles. The room was divided into the kitchen area and the living space by the fireplace. A huge black pot hung in there, boiling something which smelled sharp and herby. The lights were low, which seemed to set the mood for a witch’s lair.

  The girl turned to face me. She appeared to be in her early to mid-twenties. Five three and barely a hundred pounds, with long, glossy brown hair pulled back in a low ponytail, brown eyes, and a dash of freckles sprinkled over her nose. She was really cute, almost beautiful but hid behind the boxy brown pants, brown tunic, and long, knitted grandma sweater. Something seemed familiar about her. Knowing me I probably “dated” someone who looked like her.

  “Do you have anything of your friend’s?” the girl asked, folding her arms. “It helps with the locator spell.”

  “Shit.” I shook my head. “Not on me.”

  “Olwyn has worked without before.” She sighed and turned toward the chair by the fireplace. I almost yelped when I realized an old woman was sitting in the rocker.

  “Olwyn?” The girl’s voice sounded soft and sweet as she touched the woman’s arm. “This gentleman…?” She looked at me.

  “West,” I replied.

  “Fionna.” She motioned to herself, then turned back to the old lady. She sat so stationary it was hard to believe she was breathing as she stared at the fire hypnotically. “He needs to locate his friend. Can you help him?”

  The woman glanced up at her, coming to life. Her face was weathered, her white hair cut close to her head. She seemed even shorter than Fionna but much rounder than her young protégé. The magic was so thick around her I was beginning to think I had long underestimated witches’ magic potential.

  Some witches became Druids when they won the favor of the gods and they were given magic, extending their lives and powers. What we considered witches now were completely human and usually did little more than make herbal poultices and perform solstice rituals, rarely true magic. Most weren’t capable of doing any more than a charm or two, but based on the palpable energy of Olwyn’s magic here, she was capable of a hell of a lot more.

  Olwyn nodded. Fionna kissed her hand and put it back on the chair.

  “I always have to get her permission first. Her power takes a lot from her.” Fionna went to a shelf in the corner, grabbing a map and crystal hanging from a chain then went back to Olwyn, settling in front of the old woman.

  “Since you don’t have an object of your friend’s, I will need you to come here.” Fionna motioned me over, and I moved to them, squatting
down next to Fionna.

  Fionna’s delicate fingers laced the chain around Olwyn’s fingers, lifting her hand, and scooted the map on the woman’s lap. “She’s gotten shaky over the years, so I have to hold her arm.” Fionna reached over and grabbed mine. “You need to hold on to her hand and mine. Close your eyes and think of your friend. Especially the last moment you saw them. It’s easier for Olwyn to follow her journey from there. Understand?”

  I nodded and settled my knees into the carpet, clutching both Fionna and Olwyn’s hands, shutting my lids.

  “Ready, Olwyn?”

  “Yes, dear. I know,” the old woman spoke, her voice heavy with age, but there was something innocent and naïve in her tone as if she were proud she did. Hell, if I remembered anything at that age, if I lived that many more centuries, I’d be glad to remember when I peed last.

  They both started chanting, energy trickled down my arms. I focused on Rez being dragged back into the van. It was torture. I was ashamed I let it happen, but I locked on the image, replaying it in my head and straining to see where the van took her.

  Their incantations grew louder, pushing behind the words and into me. Energy filled the room, shoving down on my shoulders, forcing me onto the ground.

  Fionna’s tiny hand gripped mine tighter, as if she were telling me to concentrate harder. I drove further into my mind, hearing Rez scream and struggle, seeing the fear on her face, the way she called my name. Needing me.

  Sweat dribbled down my back, coating my forehead. The pressure was growing so tense; I squeezed my lids together with a grunt. Olwyn let out a chilling wail, stabbing the air like it was made of glass. It shattered, pushing me back, and I lost hold of the women.

  I opened my eyes to see Fionna still clutching Olwyn’s hand, the crystal touching the map, the chain pulled taut.

  “It worked.” Fionna glanced over at me, smiling. “We have the location of your friend.”

  “Where?” Anxiety and relief orbited my lungs.

  “She’s outside of Lisdoonvarna, a small village to the east of here.” Fionna set Olwyn’s hand down, patting it before taking the charm and map from her. “Thank you, Olwyn. Now rest,” she whispered to the woman. Olwyn immediately let her lids drop, slumping in the chair, going straight to sleep.

  “Outside? Is it any more specific than that? That’s still pretty vague.” I climbed to my feet.

  Fionna walked over to the table, brushing a few items away before placing the map down. “When I say it’s small, I mean it. Where the crystal landed there is only one place she could be.” Fionna stabbed her finger at the spot. “An old abandoned granary.”

  Hope sprang in my chest like the freakin’ Easter bunny, bopping around with exultation. I was already moving for the door. “Thank. You.” It was the truest my words had ever sounded to me.

  “Wait.” Fionna reached out for me, her grip firmer than I’d have imagined for a girl her size. “Do you even know where you’re going?”

  “There.” I pointed back at the map. It wasn’t detailed, but I was in too much of a rush to think straight. I’d find it. I had to.

  “Let me go with you. I can show you where.”

  “No.” I waggled my head firmly. “No way. It’s too dangerous. These guys aren’t playing around, and I can’t watch out for you too.”

  “I won’t go in, just get you there. Besides, if it’s locked up or has a spell over it, you might need a witch by your side. I may be an apprentice, but I know a few things.” Her smile was so sweet as she boldly offered her witchy services to me.

  I hadn’t even thought about the granary being enchanted. But there was a good chance it would be. Depending on the strength, it could block me out.

  “You can spend the whole night driving around, trying to find it, or I could lead you straight there. Your choice.” Her eyes slyly inched over my body but quickly looked away. Ah, little witch liked what she saw. Her shyness was adorable. Probably not too many guys had knocked on this door in the middle of nowhere.

  The thought of touching her did nothing for me. At all. Only one woman was on my mind. And I needed to get her away from those bastards. Now.

  “Fine.” I ran my fingers through my hair. “But only as far as the building. I go in alone, and if you hear or see anything, you run. Got it?”

  Fionna nodded, blushing deeper at my authoritative tone.

  Looking back over at Olwyn sound asleep, I realized this was probably the most excitement Fionna had experienced in a long time, if ever. It couldn’t have been terribly thrilling for a young girl here, all alone to tuck in an old woman by seven every night.

  “There.” Fionna pointed to an enormous old barn in the distance. The headlights bobbing over the road were our only light. Evening had encroached fast and neither moon nor streetlights lit the inky darkness. I begrudgingly admitted to myself I was glad Fionna was with me, showing me the way. Without her, I wouldn’t have found this place with all these turns and curves over the hills along one-lane roads and dirt paths.

  I drove the car behind a vacant outbuilding, far enough away, turned off the lights, and killed the engine. “Take these. Just in case.” I handed her the keys. “Like I said, after I’m in, come back here. If you sense any danger, if the worst happens, take the car and go. Okay?”

  Fionna met my gaze and nodded. “If that happens, you walk straight through those trees to the east, and you’ll eventually come to a main road. Follow it back to town.” She pointed out the window to the forest.

  “All right. Let’s do this, sweetheart.” I slid out of the car, my boots squishing into damp earth.

  Not far down the road I felt the pulse of magic. It wasn’t as strong as that around Lars’s compound, but it was more solid than I thought it would be. I could get in, but it would probably set off alarms.

  “Wow.” Fionna held up her hands, sensing the barrier. “This is tightly woven.”

  Again, I was surprised at her awareness and that she could sense the threads of magic twisting the protection spell together. Witch or not, most humans didn’t have the perception to detect fae magic. But Olwyn was more powerful than any witch I’d ever met, so she probably taught Fionna well.

  “Can you break it?” My legs jittered. Rez was somewhere in the building, possibly being beaten or worse.

  “I think so.” She nibbled on her lip and held her palms close to the magic field. She closed her eyes and started chanting under her breath.

  I looked back at the structure in front of me. The granary building was the main one, with a few smaller structures off to the side, probably offices at one time, but my gut told me Rez was being held inside the barn.

  Fionna’s chants grew more strained, wind blowing her ponytail around, and her lids squeezed firmly together. Watching her there, I saw a power and strength behind her shyness. She no longer looked sweet and fragile but confident and strong. Beads of sweat spread along her hairline, words shooting off her tongue. The barrier wobbled, weakened.

  Shit. She was doing it.

  Fionna grunted and fell to her knees, the invocation coming out choppier. The protection spell dimmed a little more. Fionna cried out, then the barrier blinked out.

  “Now,” she screamed.

  I didn’t hesitate, I leaped over the line and waited. Nothing. No bells or magic. I turned around to nod at Fionna, to tell her to get back to the car, when magic slammed down on me with a high-pitched noise reverberating in my ears.

  Shit! There must have been a trip wire or something. Too late. I was here and I wasn’t leaving without Rez.

  I swung back to Fionna. “Run!” I screamed and took off for the entrance to the barn. Determination drilled my legs into the ground as I ran, my eyes fixed on the barn door. The alarms ceased, and the air hung in unsettled silence.

  Rez. Rez. Rez… My head chanted along with my steps.

  I ignored the sinking feeling in my gut, the eerie sensation rippling over my skin. I wrenched at the door, flung it open, and plowed into the o
ld massive barn full of rusting granary equipment. The musty smells of grain, metal, and oil from the machines lingered heavy in the space, almost covering the slight odors of fae and human.

  The weird feeling tripled, wiggling over me like worms. I dug in deep, searching for Rez’s smell covered by a fresh ocean breeze traced with something sweet. My nose finally picked up her scent, but it was faint and hard to distinguish. Wanting to scream out for her, I bit my lip. Why was it so quiet? Were they even here?

  Thick shadows draped the barn in almost pitch darkness, my eyes adjusting slowly to make out shapes. I slinked around a large hopper tank, my boots squeaking over the cement floor as I came to a sudden stop.

  Dammit.

  A line of eight men stood before me, waiting. Their eyes were vacant. A sinking sensation told me this was too fast for them to already be ready for me. The alarms had just gone off, so how would they know I was coming? Three of them were human, the ones from the hotel. I knew it. The others were fae, but I only recognized Smokey Bear, his mini-me, and the reptile.

  “Sorry I’m late. Traffic here was a bitch.” I casually searched over their heads, taking in the eroding hopper tanks and equipment left in the barn, trying to form a plan. Behind the men sat a tiny go-cart, keys dangling from the engine. “Sheep-jam on the R478 again.”

  None of them so much as flinched or acknowledged me. Their faces remained blank.

  “You guys are a blast to hang out with. Seriously, you wouldn’t want to head to Vegas with me? Think it’d be fun; plus, you guys have killer poker faces.”

  Hiss lifted his lips, his forked tongue sliding out.

  “Is that a yes? No? Sorry, hard to tell.” A plan was finally forming in my head. “I appreciate you watching my girl for the day, but I think I should take her home now. It’s bath night.”

  Yogi Bear rumbled at last, stepping forward.

  “Yeah, enough of the chitchat,” I replied, stepping to him. He swung out for me. I ducked, darting under his arm, moving faster than the others could respond. I ran to the cart, turning it on, but the engine died.