Hand out, she pulled open a drawer. Then, relying more on memory than sight, she located a knife and snatched it up to pierce the vacuum-sealed bag. Izzy stabbed with more force than necessary to break the seal. She realized her mistake almost instantly.
“Ow! Ow! Dammit!” Eyes round in horror as blood gushed from the wound she’d inflicted on herself, Izzy rushed to the sink. She turned on the water to wash away the worst of the blood and see how severe the injury was.
Her stomach rioted for a moment as she looked at the cut. The skin gaped open enough to allow blood to pump in a steady rhythm out of the wound and pool in her palm. Izzy snatched a series of paper towels off the roll and wrapped them around her palm several times, pulling it as tight as she could to try and stop the seepage.
Blood soaked through her temporary tourniquet in mere seconds. She grabbed more of the towels, trying to remember the little bit of first aid she’d learned in school. It was all about pressure points if she remembered right. She pressed her thumb at several spots along her wrist, hoping something worked. Indecision filled her, she wanted to look at the wound but worried removing the dressing would start the blood flowing again.
Izzy hoped it wasn’t as bad as she thought. She deliberated about going to the hospital. If she went and wasted hours there only to be told it was a scratch, that would be the cap on what had already begun as the start to a horrendous day.
A knock on the glass at her kitchen window had her head snapping up. A gnome, standing on the shoulders of another gnome, waved his arms wildly while shouting something. Izzy couldn’t make out what he was saying.
With her good hand, she struggled yet managed to push the window up enough to talk to him.
“Um, good morning?”
“And a great morning to you! Happy Ascension Day!”
Izzy closed her eyes to beat back nausea. “Not such a happy day for me. I think I’m sick.”
“Sick? You can’t be sick!”
“Can too,” she disagreed wholeheartedly. “Go to my bathroom, and you might still find some evidence to prove it.”
The gnome shook his head. “No, no, you don’t understand. You have ascended.” As if that explained everything.
“Well, I need to ascend back to the bathroom. I’ve cut my hand,” she held up the hand swathed in paper towels and covered in blood. “I need to tend to it.”
“Cut?!” the gnome appeared alarmed. “It should have healed. Let me see the wound.” The gnome squeezed past the small opening onto the other side of Izzy’s kitchen window. “May I approach, Marked?”
“Yeah, I guess.”
The gnome stepped closer, “May I see the wound please?”
“If it starts free-flowing again, I’m holding you responsible.” With gentle movements, Izzy unwound the paper from her hand. At first, she couldn’t see anything because of all the blood that covered it. “Let me wash some of this off. I can’t see a thing.” She worried as she brushed against the skin with the lightest touch.
She nudged the faucet back on and let the gentle cascade of water begin to remove most of the blood on her hand. When nothing awful happened, she let the water edge closer to the actual wound.
“This doesn’t make any sense.” Izzy rubbed her finger along the skin where the cut should be. “I don’t understand. It was just here. You see the blood right?”
The gnome nodded solemnly. “Yes, Marked. As I said, you have ascended.”
“Okay, I give. What does that mean exactly?”
The gnome blinked. “It is the day of your re-birth. You are coming into your powers and your destiny. While you aren’t immortal, you heal extremely fast and it’s wickedly hard to kill you. Would you like me to show you?”
She ignored his question, too wrapped up in what he’d said before. Destiny. It had always sounded like such a positive word before. Like it was the ultimate goal. She wasn’t so sure of that anymore.
“You have become Other.” The gnome looked at her oddly.
“Other, check. Destiny, check. I think I’m going to need some more coffee.”
The gnome smiled.
◆◆◆
Izzy sat at the kitchen table trying to recover from her talk with the gnomes. Dodger was running back and forth around the house. A pile of shiny trinkets was laid before her, his offering to make her smile. Dodger was worried.
The ferret approached again, crawling onto her right wrist. He bumped her fingers, edging her hand open with his nose and released a gold bauble he carried in his mouth into her palm.
Edith stood laughing unabashed. She turned as if looking at the viewer and winked.
“I miss her too, little guy,” Izzy petted his soft fur with her other hand as she leaned down to nuzzle him with her nose. “Stop worrying, I’m fine. It’s just a lot to take in.”
The phone rang distracting her from their snuggle. She glanced at the clock. It was late. She should have been at the shop over an hour ago.
“I’m on my way. I’m sorry!” she stated the moment she answered the call.
“I’ve got news! Hurry up, and I might even still tell you!” Cass could always make Izzy smile.
“Let me grab my keys and Dodger, and I’ll be in the car. Promise! See you in ten, fifteen minutes tops!”
“Betsy Ann just walked in the door,” Cass whispered low in the earpiece. “I believe you told me last time not to deal with her anymore.”
Izzy whimpered, “Is Jasmine there? Please tell me Jasmine is there.” Izzy remembered the last time Cass had helped Betsy Ann. Moles had covered Betsy Ann’s face. Not an inch had been missed. Luckily, the store didn’t have mirrors nor other customers at the time. It had taken every bit of magic ability Izzy had to remove them all before Betsy Ann left the store. Word around town was, despite her diligence, she might have still missed a few.
“Jasmine has class this morning, remember?”
“I’m headed in that direction, right this very minute. Do not do anything to her. Please?”
“I will try to restrain myself. But, you know how she pushes my buttons.”
“I know, I know.” Izzy searched for her keys then remembered they were on her nightstand in her bedroom. “Gotta go. See you soon!”
She raced back and retrieved her keys. Dodger already rested on her shoulder. He had jumped there while she talked to Cass. He held on, his sharp talons piercing into her shoulder, as she barreled around the corner and out the door in record time. She spun and locked the door, then turned and stopped dead in her tracks.
Maeve stood at the bottom of the steps, Gideon behind her. His hand was clasped on Maeve’s throat, and fear bled from her eyes. But, she only uttered, “Hello Isadora. I hear congratulations are in order?”
Izzy blinked. “Congratulations?”
“You have ascended. You now have obtained your power and are the Key.” Maeve moved not a single muscle except for the blinking of her eyes. Izzy hoped the blinking wasn’t code for something. She had no clue what the message was if that was her goal.
“I’m not sure what you’re talking about,” Izzy denied. She wondered how they knew when she’d only learned herself.
“Gideon has brought you a gift,” Maeve informed her. “To celebrate.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Izzy saw Gideon’s other hand raise.
Without thinking, Izzy shielded. The spell he lashed out to her bounced back toward the pair. Gideon reacted instinctively, pushing Maeve directly into its path. She let out a short shriek as she fell to the ground, unmoving.
“You are mine,” Gideon murmured low and menacing. “You will not escape me this time.”
“Wrong,” Izzy watched and waited. Her experience with the bush a few days before had her reticent to attack. She didn’t want him dead, just gone. “No one owns me.”
“You’ll learn soon enough. I take what’s mine,” another ball of light exploded from his palm. Izzy spun, narrowly escaping.
She wanted to push him. Press him to make a mist
ake. Braver, she moved towards the steps in front of her. “Don’t make me hurt you, Gideon. I will if I have to.”
Gideon laughed. “Power you might have, but it’s useless to the untrained. Your mother had it too. She hadn’t ascended as you have. I learned my lesson this time. Wait for the powers to form. Only then, can I attain them when I kill you.”
“My mother? Please, she wouldn’t have given you the time of day,” Izzy sneered.
“She gave me plenty,” Gideon spat. “And, all of it would have been mine if she hadn’t run. But, I have you now. Don’t I, Isadora. You will die just like all the others.”
“You have nothing! And, what are these others you are referring to?”
“Surely you’ve heard how the Council members were slain, one by one? I was the one that bested them. None of you are a match for me!” he barked.
In her surprise, she missed the twitch of his hand, saw the burst of magic heading in her direction too late. Throwing all her fury into it, she blasted back hoping to neutralize the spell.
His gleeful laugh tweaked her nerves. Izzy was determined, Gideon would not win today.
Izzy barely heard his shout of “Damn you!” as their opposing forces struck. Her memory flickered as arcs of power cascaded from her in a steady stream. They collided with his in the air, one against the other in their battle for strength. Images from the past bled into her present. “Mom…” she whispered. “Help me.” She didn’t know how much longer she could hold on.
Not sure if hours or minutes passed, Izzy came to, lying in her front yard. Gideon lay on the ground, several feet away. Maeve was on the ground as well, neither of them moving. Blood seeped from their eyes, hands chalked gray and dark markings scorched the rims of their lips. Both appeared to have been stricken by the same curse as Edith.
“What have I done?” she whispered.
A shadow moved over her, shutting out the sun. Izzy didn’t even flinch.
She had just killed someone. She was a murderer now. Maybe it was the sheriff, coming to arrest her. Izzy decided, if it was, she would go with him quietly. She deserved to rot in jail for what she’d done.
“Marked?” The distinctively squeaky voice of a gnome called for her.
“Now’s not a good time,” she answered. She heard a familiar bark then a screech. She tried to sit up, “No, Dodger. Friend. He’s a friend.”
Her ferret stood on hind legs between her and the gnome.
“Can you see him, little guy?” Dodger didn’t give any ground to the gnome but allowed Izzy to pet his head in recompense.
“I’m sorry for the intrusion,” the gnome muttered. There was a quality to his voice that forced Izzy to sit up and pay attention.
“What? What is it?”
“He has them, you see. The children. He’s lured them to the forest and he says only you can save them.” The gnome sniffed and a fat tear ran down the hair of his beard. “It’s our babies. I wouldn’t ask. But we can’t do it alone. War, it has come and we need your help.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Izzy
Galvanized into action by the gnome’s plea, Izzy sat up. “What children? Who has them?”
“The man in the woods. Hanzbag said he’d told you about him.”
“The man in the woods? He wasn’t talking about Gideon?”
“If you mean that worthless heap of a witch on the ground there, absolutely not. He was nothing more than a nuisance. Barely worth our notice.” The gnome sniffed.
Izzy struggled to keep up. “If it wasn’t Gideon, then who?”
“We know not his name. Names can be changed and have no true value. He has been stalking our kind - running us to ground, like cattle for slaughter. Hungry for the magic we hold.”
“He’s not a witch?”
“He is. Yet, he is a greedy one. Always wanting more than what he has.”
Izzy tilted her head. “I’ve never really thought about it. Your magic is different than ours?”
“Than a witch? Yes, of course. You though are no longer just a witch. It is important you remember that.”
“You’re referring to the whole Marked thing?”
“Yes. Gnomes, we hold power over the Earth. Dirt and rock are ours to command. But, water and wind can defeat us. In the beginning, magic had checks and balances. Just like everything else. We lived in harmony because we were equal. Times have changed. Others, like him, have tried to combine powers, ruining the balance. That’s why we live in secret. Away from the rest of the world. It’s not safe for us anymore.”
“How can I help?”
“You are the only one who holds all the power. We need your might. Our children are at your mercy. Please say you’ll help.”
“You think I wouldn’t? Lead on. I’m right behind you.”
◆◆◆
Cass
Cass paced the small space behind the counter at the store. More than an hour had passed since she spoke with Izzy. Izzy had promised she’d be there in no more than twenty minutes. Yet, she was nowhere in sight and now she wasn’t even answering her phone. Decision made, Cass grabbed her purse and keys, heading for the door.
The store’s front door opened, the bells chiming overhead.
“We’re closed!” Cass shouted to the newcomer without looking.
“Closed? What do you mean?” Agnes stood in the open doorway, preventing Cass from leaving.
“I have to go,” Cass reached Agnes and the door. “Now. Something’s come up.”
“Where’s Isadora?”
“That’s what I’m going to find out. Last I spoke with her, it was nine-thirty and she promised she’d be in soon. Fifteen minutes tops, she said!” Cass stepped forward, forcing Agnes to step back out of the doorway in response. “I don’t know what happened, but I’m going to find out.”
“Her phone,” Agnes suggested.
“Called it,” Cass shut the door behind her. Key already in hand, she locked the bolt. “No answer.”
“I’m coming with you. If you spoke with her, she’s probably fine. But, now you have me worried too. I want to be sure.”
“She promised Agnes. Izzy doesn’t break her promises to me,” Cass marched to her vehicle, Agnes keeping pace. Cass explained as they moved.“It’s a long story, but it’s something she vowed she’d never do. And she promised.” Cass’ voice was almost a wail at the end.
“Well,” Agnes took a deep breath, “if that’s the case, we should go find her. Get in my car. Everything will be fine.” As concerned for Cass as she was for the missing Izzy, Agnes called her name. “Cass, honey, come now. Get in the car.”
Cass, looking a little lost, nodded and changed direction to Agnes’ vehicle.
“Where was she when you spoke?” Agnes asked.
Cass revived a bit at that. “Her house, she was home. She said she and Dodger were walking out the door then.”
“Then that’s where we’ll go first,” Agnes announced decisively. “Maybe she got a flat tire. Or a fender bender. You know how all the paperwork takes more time than it should. She’s fine. You’ll see.”
“Maybe the gnomes are with her,” Cass mumbled.
“The gnomes?” Agnes asked.
“You know about the gnomes, right?”
“Well now, I can’t say that I do,” Agnes shot Cass a peculiar look.
Cass felt awkward. It wasn’t her story to tell. And Agnes thought she was insane. That was obvious by the side-eye she cast her way every few minutes while she drove.
“Let’s just get to Izzy’s first,” Cass told her.
“All right, love,” Agnes agreed.
They drove in silence for the remainder of the trip. Both women tense, but for different reasons. Agnes and Cass did a double take when they saw the other vehicle blocking the drive. The sight of Izzy’s car still parked in the driveway filled them with hope.
“I wonder what she’s doing here,” Agnes parked her car in the grass beside the drive since there was no other room to park. “
Let’s go see what’s up. That’s Maeve’s car. Stupid bitch is probably causing problems.”
Cass got out, letting her senses free. She wouldn’t relax until she saw Isadora with her own eyes. Something was wrong, she just knew it.
As they rounded the car blocking their view, Agnes spied them first. Their bodies still prone on the ground. Agnes bit back a scream. Cass rushed forward until Agnes caught her, holding her back.
“Where is she?” Cass screamed. “I don’t understand.”
“Get a hold of yourself. You aren’t doing Isadora any favors if you break down now. We need our wits about us.” Agnes turned Cass around, so her back was to the bodies. “You listen to me. I want you to stay right here. I’m going over to see if there’s anything we can do for them. Do not move. Do you hear me?”
Cass nodded. “There’s only two bodies, right?” Her eyes wide, body trembling. Agnes worried Cass was going into shock.
“Yes, just Maeve and Gideon. I don’t see anyone else.” Agnes rubbed her hands up and down Cass’ arms to generate some heat. “Go back to the car and sit. Let me take care of this.”
“I’m such a wuss,” Cass wailed.
“You are nothing of the sort! You’ve just worried yourself to this state. And those two only compounded the problem. You need to remember, as far as we know Isadora is fine but may very well need our help.” Cass’ breathing had slowed to normal and her color was improving, Agnes noted. “Go on, I’m not going to move until you head in that direction.”
Cass nodded, “How do you do it, Agnes?”
“Sometimes, we just do what we must. There’s no shame in loving someone so much it rips at you to think they are gone. Absolutely, none at all. I’ve always envied you and Isadora’s friendship. And I know she thinks the world of you too.”
“She’s always been there. I don’t know what I would do if she suddenly wasn’t.”
“I’m sure we’ll find her soon. In the meantime, go back to the car. Call the sheriff. We need to get this sorted.”
Marked: Thoth's Legacy ~ Book One Page 19
