Spells

by Kristen Proby

  And I can’t wait to find out what it is.

  The front door opens as we all exit the car, and Miss Sophia walks out onto the porch and smiles down at us. She’s a petite woman with titanium-colored hair and gray eyes, wearing jeans and a red sweater. I rarely see her dressed casually. When we’re working together, she prefers to wear flowy dresses that remind me of Stevie Nicks.

  The thought makes me smile.

  “Good morning,” Miss Sophia says as we approach the porch. “Ruth, you look lovely. It’s so good to see you recovering and healthy.”

  Mama climbs the porch steps and enfolds Miss Sophia in a hug. “Thank you, my friend. It’s been a long, long time.”

  “That it has. Let’s go in, shall we?”

  We’re led inside, moving past the living room to the kitchen where there’s already a pot of tea steeping, and a plate of apple muffins set out for us.

  We sit at the table, and once our tea has been poured, Miss Sophia looks right at me.

  “You’re angry, child.”

  All eyes turn my way, and I shrug a shoulder. “I was angrier a few days ago. It’s simmered down some. Now, I’m confused and frustrated.”

  “It’s understandable,” she replies. “This table is a place for truth, answers, and for love. It’s always been that way. And, sometimes, yes, there’s anger. But I won’t allow that to fuel the conversation.”

  “Like I said, I’m okay, but I have a lot of questions.”

  She watches me with those shrewd eyes for a moment and then nods. “Let’s see if we can’t answer them then. First, Ruth, how are you doing? I’m sure you have some questions, as well.”

  “I don’t know that you can answer them,” Mama replies, her hands wrapped around her warm teacup. “I want to know where I went for all those years. I think I peeked through at times, but then it’s like I was shoved aside, and I don’t remember anything at all.”

  “First of all, I know I apologized when we found you at his lair, but I want to do so again.” Miss Sophia takes Mama’s hand in hers. “I didn’t know that you’d fallen victim to him and the evil that surrounds him. If I’d known, I would have done something to stop it. Ruth, you were an angry woman in your youth, and I just thought you’d become angrier, meaner. And for those reasons, I stayed away, even after Millicent came to me and asked me to help her learn.”

  “I was angry,” Mama admits with a nod. “My parents, although not abusive, were too involved in the coven to pay much attention to me. I loved my mother, and I miss her fiercely. I’m so glad she was good to my girls. But she had a hard time with affection. And their father was a mean man. So, no, I wasn’t exactly a pleasant person to be around sometimes. And I’m sorry for that.”

  “No need to apologize,” Miss Sophia says. “And you certainly didn’t deserve to be manipulated the way you were for so long. I don’t know where you were when the evil took over. I suspect you were there, observing in some way, lying dormant. As if you were asleep for a very long time. I’ve done some reading, and I believe that he put a series of spells on you, and your home, to lure evil energies there. It would make sense that he would want you incapacitated so you couldn’t teach the girls about the craft. He needed them to be as defenseless as possible.”

  “This is so fucked up,” I mutter, shaking my head. “Why is he so obsessed with us?”

  “That goes back a thousand years,” Miss Sophia answers.

  “Wait.” Brielle holds up a hand. “Are you saying that he is a thousand years old?”

  “You all are, child,” Miss Sophia replies. “This has been happening for many lifetimes. Though I don’t know the exact reason he targeted you three. It could be you were his daughters in another life. I haven’t been given that information. I only know that a war is coming that will make last year look like an amusement park, and until the six are together, he won’t be defeated.”

  “There are only three of us,” Daphne says.

  “There will be six.” Miss Sophia takes a sip of her tea. “You should all drink this. I prepared it in anticipation of what I’m sure you’re going to ask of me.”

  We glance at each other and then at Mama, who nods. “I want to go to the house.”

  “No,” Brielle says immediately, shaking her head. “It’s not safe.”

  “It’s toxic, and I’m not just talking about the smell,” Daphne adds.

  “I don’t know if you’re strong enough,” I agree.

  “I need to go.” Mama’s voice is strong but quiet. “I need the closure, girls. I don’t want to live there again, of course. But there are a few things I’d like to gather, and I need to say goodbye.”

  “I think it’s healthy,” Miss Sophia adds. “I’ve put a strong protection spell on the tea, and I’ve asked Lucien to join us as he and I, along with Millicent, will cast a circle to protect you as you walk through the house.”

  I want to ask, “Why Lucien?.” But before I can, a knock sounds on the door.

  “There he is now,” Miss Sophia says.

  “I haven’t asked all of my questions,” I say.

  “But you’ll get all of the answers in time,” she replies. “Why don’t you see to the door, Millie?”

  I nod and open it to find Lucien standing on the porch, dressed in jeans and a green button-down, his dark-rimmed glasses on his nose. I want to climb him like the tree of life. His lips twitch as if he can read my mind, but I know he can’t. My thoughts must be written all over my face.

  “Hi,” I say. I sound lame even to my ears.

  “Did you miss me this week?” he asks and reaches out to brush his thumb over my forehead. “No headache?”

  “No, no headache. I might have missed you a little, though. Also, this doesn’t count as our date.”

  “Of course, not.” He looks over my shoulder. “Hello, ladies.”

  “You’re going on a date?” Daphne asks with an innocent blinking of the eyes. She’s not innocent at all. “Where are you goin’?”

  “I don’t even know,” I say and close my eyes in defeat. I didn’t intend to tell my sisters about Lucien and me until later, when I could explain everything more clearly.

  Looks like that plan didn’t exactly pan out.

  “So, are you two, like…a thing?” Brielle asks.

  “We’re not here to talk about Lucien and me,” I remind the group, who are all grinning at me now, including the man in question. “Let’s stay on task, shall we?”

  “I’m Ruth,” Mama says, reaching out a hand to shake his. “Are you Lucien Bergeron?”

  “Yes, ma’am.” He glances at me and then back at Mama in confusion. “Do you know me?”

  “Well, I haven’t seen you since you were a small boy, but I know your parents, of course. How are they?”

  This is surreal. My mother knows Lucien and his family. Considering she didn’t recognize me just a year ago, I don’t know what to say.

  “They’re doing just fine, thank you, ma’am.”

  “Well, you let them know I said hello.”

  Lucien nods, and I just turn around and walk out onto the porch. “Let’s do this.”

  Miss Sophia catches up with me and wraps her arm around my waist as we walk to the car.

  “None of this is her fault, any more than it is yours, child. She didn’t ask for it. Punishing her for something that isn’t on her will only blacken your heart and make it easier for him to win.”

  I blow out a breath and glance back to see Lucien and my mother talking together.

  “I know. I’m working on it.”

  “Doesn’t seem to me that you are,” she replies. “Maybe you need to have a conversation with her. You need to heal just as much as she does.”

  “I keep seeing her with that broom in her hand, beating me with it.”

  “It might have been her face, but it wasn’t her will that did that. You need to think of that. And you need to set the anger aside for the next hour, or all of us could be in danger.”

  I nod an
d take another deep breath. Lucien appears by my side.

  “Millie can ride over with me.”

  He slips his hand into mine, and I’m instantly calmer. It’s as if I’ve just sunk down into a warm pool of water.

  Miss Sophia nods, and we all climb into the two vehicles and drive toward my family’s property.

  “It’s not pretty,” I say immediately. “The house is dilapidated. It looks like something out of a horror movie, Lucien.”

  “Are you warning me because you’re embarrassed?” He takes my hand and kisses my knuckles, which would normally unnerve me, but I’m already unsettled.

  “Partly, yes. No one wants to show someone they lo—” I stop and swallow hard, shaking my head to clear it of the thought that came out of nowhere. But he heard me. “Like that their family lived like animals. It’s humiliating.”

  “We know the why of it now, darlin’,” he reminds me. “There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. That doesn’t concern me in the least. What worries me the most is keeping you safe, a stór mo chroí.”

  I frown over at him. “You’ve said that to me before. In the dreams.”

  He pushes his glasses up on his nose. “Have I?”

  “You know you have. What does it mean?”

  “It means my heart’s treasure in Gaelic.”

  I blink at him, astounded. “Lucien.”

  He follows Daphne off the main road and down the driveway to Mama’s house. “I’ve called you that since our first wedding day, more than a thousand years ago. And I didn’t mean to say it now. It slipped out because I’m worried about this. Before you get out of this car, I want to work a spell between us, something to link us. It’ll open us up to each other so you can read my thoughts and vice versa. I need to be linked to you at all times so I can protect you, and so I know you’re safe.”

  “I’ve been in this place a thousand times—”

  “This isn’t up for discussion, Millicent.”

  I raise a brow, but he’s not backing down. And frankly, I don’t mind the extra protection. I take a moment to breathe and clear my mind, empty it of the anger and frustration from this past week, and find my center.

  I feel Lucien park the car, and I can sense the energy of the house.

  This horrible house.

  “Boy, you weren’t kidding.”

  I open my eyes and feel my stomach clench. The building hasn’t changed much since last year. What was once a gorgeous plantation home is now nothing but a pile of ruin and rubble. The wrap-around porch has separated from the main building, and half of the roof has caved in.

  I still have no idea how Mama managed to survive here for all those years.

  Lucien takes my hand in his and starts to chant in a language I don’t even recognize. I know he’s something of a savant when it comes to the craft, but what he does takes me by surprise. The energy in the car changes, the air grows cooler, and a breeze swirls around us.

  Except the windows are closed.

  Suddenly, I feel a peaceful, cool calm wrap its way around me like a blanket.

  This is how we’ll communicate until this is over.

  I hear his voice as clearly as if he spoke the words aloud. It’s just like in my dreams, from the memories of previous lives.

  We’ve been doing this for a long time.

  I can hear you, I reply. He squeezes my hand three times and then lets go so we can climb out of the car.

  “Lucien and I will stay outside and cast a spell of protection over all four of you as you journey through the house,” Miss Sophia says. “That, along with the tea you drank earlier, should keep you safe. Don’t dillydally. The spirits inside are sinister, and they’d love nothing more than to taunt you while you’re here.”

  “Oh, I see them,” Brielle assures her. “I thought they left with him when we defeated him last time.”

  “Some, but not all,” Miss Sophia adds.

  “Let’s get this over with,” Mama says. “The photos should be upstairs, along with the grimoire in my bedroom.”

  “I have the grimoire,” I reply. “We came and got it last year.”

  “Oh.” She frowns but then nods. “Good. I’m glad it’s safe. Perhaps, one day, I can borrow it.”

  I nod and, with my sisters and I flanking her, we walk up the creaky steps to the door. Mama opens it and then gasps when she sees the state of the inside. Piles of garbage are piled in the living room. The second floor caved in entirely, and now sits in what used to be the dining room.

  “Oh, this is just horrible.” Mama gasps. “We worked so hard to buy this lovely house, to make it something that you girls could have for your children. And just look at it.”

  Brielle takes Mama’s hand. “You stay with us, Mama. Promise me.”

  “Of course.”

  The spirits are everywhere, lurking in the shadows and sneering at us as we walk through. Some are livid that we’re here, others seem curious.

  Put your shields back up, Millicent.

  I shake my head, even though Lucien can’t see me. No, I need to be able to see what’s here to navigate it. I’m being careful.

  I can feel his concern and his protectiveness. I can also feel his love, and that both excites and scares me.

  Both things to think about later when I’m not being attacked by the dead.

  Daphne’s careful not to touch anything as we make our way through the house. Everything in here is psychological torture for her, so I take her hand in mine and cast a quick spell of extra protection for her. She offers me a small smile.

  “I love you,” I whisper to her.

  “I love you, too.”

  “Are these stairs passable?” Mama asks, eyeing the former grand staircase that leads to the upper floors. “I don’t know if we should trust them.”

  “One at a time, and no one steps on the same stair. We go single file,” Brielle says. We follow her up to the second floor, thankfully without falling to our deaths.

  Bonus points for us.

  When we reach Mama’s bedroom, I blink in surprise. It looks completely different from how it was last year when I was here to fetch the grimoire. Last year, this place was destroyed and rotting in decay.

  Today, it looks as fresh and tidy as it had when we were little kids. As if Mama were here this morning to make the bed and fluff the pillows.

  “I don’t understand,” I say.

  It’s an illusion, Lucien says. It’s meant to confuse you. Just keep going.

  “This place is a pit,” Daphne whispers. Clearly, she and I see two very different things.

  But Mama finds the table next to the bed and opens a drawer. “They’re here.” She pulls out two photo albums. “Just where I put them. My albums of you girls and my parents. This is what I was after.”

  The door slams shut behind us, locking us in.

  Brielle’s face turns white.

  “What is it?” I ask and turn to the door, but I don’t see anything.

  “We need to go now,” she replies but recoils in pain when she tries to open the door. “It’s hot.”

  “You’re not going to keep us here,” I announce and hear hissing and laughter throughout the house. Suddenly, something starts to squeak in the corner.

  “The rocking chair,” Daphne says, pointing to the chair, which is currently moving all by itself.

  It always did that.

  And it’s always moved to different places in the house, seemingly on its own.

  You have to get out of there.

  The door flies open and bangs violently against the wall.

  “I want to take my mother’s chair,” Mama says, pointing to the rocker.

  I share a look with my sisters. “That was Grandmama’s chair?”

  “Yes, and I want to take it. She sat there with me all those years. She protected me. I don’t know how I know that, but I do. It’s the only thing I remember. The chair.”

  “It was in your room downstairs when we came to see you last year,” Briel
le says. “But, Mama, I don’t think we can take it with us. We don’t have room.”

  The rocker moves faster now as if in warning.

  Millicent, where are you? Come on!

  “We have to go,” I say and start for the door.

  “The chair,” Mama cries.

  “We’ll come back for it another time,” I reply and take her hand. “Mama, we have to go. It’s not safe for us here. Let’s take the pictures and go.”

  Mama’s crying softly with grief and fear as we hurry down the steps the way we came and head to the front door.

  There’s wailing and crying behind us as we step outside. Both Miss Sophia and Lucien are sweating as they chant, holding hands. They both breathe a sigh of relief when they see us.

  “Did you find what you came for?” Miss Sophia asks.

  “Yes, but we couldn’t take my mother’s chair,” Mama says. “We’ll have to try another time. The house was too angry, too aggressive.”

  Get your damn shields back up.

  My eyes find Lucien’s. He narrows them on me, and I immediately do as he asks, raising my protective shields so I can’t read the spirits’ energies anymore. My whole being calms considerably.

  Thank you.

  You’re welcome. You’re bossy, you know that?

  He smiles and gives me a wink.

  You can close the connection spell, I suggest. I’m out safely.

  He nods, and I feel him quietly close the door that links us. While it’s good that he can’t read my mind 24/7, a piece of me immediately misses the connection.

  “Is everyone okay?” Brielle asks.

  “Yeah, but we need to go,” Daphne says. “I hate this place.”

  “I’ll take Miss Sophia home on my way back to town,” Lucien offers.

  “Thank you,” I say to him, and then walk to Miss Sophia and hug her close. “Thank you, mother of my heart.”

  “You’re welcome, daughter. Speak with Ruth. Be openminded and open-hearted so you both can heal.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  She and Lucien get into his car and leave, and the rest of us pile into Daphne’s vehicle. She peels out of the driveway, getting us out of the bayou as quickly as possible.

  “I’m so sorry, girls,” Mama says. Her voice and hands are shaking. “I saw little snippets, little flashes of time while we were in there. Things that I did to you, said to you. Made you endure. And I’m horrified that you were treated that way. It’s my job to protect you. I would never have let anyone else treat you that way, but it came from me. I’ll never be able to forgive myself.”