Minutes felt like hours as they ticked slowly by. Jane wiggled in my arms until I let her go. I asked Jonathan to make everyone peanut butter sandwiches to keep him busy. I stared at the stairs and ignored Jill’s dazed stare. At least in her state she was spared the horror of this situation.
Elaria returned first, sauntering down the stairway as if she were a leading lady in an old flick. Elves have a natural grace. I’ll give them that. “Don’t worry, Abby, I’m sure Dante will think of something.”
“What’s he doing?”
Avoiding my eyes, she scanned the room. “I’m not schooled in the way of them.” Thankfully she didn’t say witches.
“But?” I could feel the “but.”
“He’s mumbling a lot of Latin and flashing light comes from his fingertips.”
That meant nothing was working. “Is it open or closed?” I referred to the portal. Jill watched us but said nothing. Her state of not-there, but there, was beginning to creep me out.
“Partially open.” Elaria sat on the sofa. “I offered to guard it to give him a break, but he told me to leave.”
The front door flew open and banged on the wall. Only one person would do that. I turned. Eric had arrived.
“Hubba, Hubba,” said Spark in my head.
“For fan I helvete!” Eric scanned the room. “How could this happen?”
“Eric, I’m so glad you’re here.”
“Jinx went through a portal?” His arctic-blue eyes blazed with fury. His square jaw set as rigid as an iceberg.
Elaria’s eyes widened.
“Long story short … This elf, Elaria”—I pointed to her— “called Jinx from a portal and had her open it. When she touched the surface of the mirror, magic swept into her body and she’s now a witch.” That was mostly true.
His mouth quivered on the right side. “A five-year-old witch. Abby, how could you let this happen?”
“I wasn’t here. I didn’t know about the portal. I …”
He held up his hand to stop me. “I’m sorry. I know you did not want this. I should have made sure the house was clean of magic sooner.”
“I thought I had.”
“I could have brought in an expert.”
“Eric, focus. Jinx is gone.”
“She’s in another dimension!” His face looked paler than when he was a ghost.
“I think so.” I had thought of all kinds of other answers. She could have gone out to catch butterflies, or she was playing hide and seek in the house … But, in my heart, I knew she had gone farther than that, and saying it out loud made it all the more real. I swallowed.
“I’ll take care of this,” he said.
He took the stairs two at a time. Elaria and I followed at our own speed. She murmured, “Who’s the Viking?”
When we entered the room Dante and Eric stared at each other.
“The man-witch. Figures you’d be here,” said Eric.
“The inter-dimensional assassin,” said Dante. “Nice of you to take time out from your killing agenda.”
As the men squared off, a small figure jumped out of the portal. She grew to her full height. My heart leaped. Jinx!
“Hi,” she said. “You won’t believe where I’ve been.”
Spark ran to her first and licked her hand, purring loud enough to wake an elephant. Eric gathered her into his arms and picked her up.
I glanced back at the portal. A swirling vortex of energy with a kaleidoscope of colors filled the opening. Jinx snapped her fingers and it returned to a silvery reflective surface.
Holy tamole. I didn’t know she could snap her fingers, let alone command the opening of a magical realm. I stared at her, unable to breathe.
“I met my fairy godmother,” she said.
Chapter 19
That was a night I’ll never forget. One I hadn’t asked for, one I hadn’t expected, one that came out of nowhere. But we got through it together, the family, Spark, Dante, Eric and, of course, Elaria.
Dante took care of the magic lingering in the air and patrolled the house looking for who knows what. I honestly didn’t want to know at that point. Jill, still in a dazed state, put Jonathan and Jane to bed.
“It’s all right,” Dante explained. “I put a happy spell on her. She doesn’t really see all that’s happening around us.” Jill retired to her room in a happy state.
Eric and I sat with Jinx. I had never seen her so excited. I had never felt so terrified. You know the feeling you get in the bottom of your gut when your kid gets really, really sick. It was sort of like that only much worse. You take pleasure in their every breath. You remember the first time you held them in your arms. You treasure them in a way you wished you treasured them every moment of their lives.
We sat with her on her bed. She crawled into Eric’s arms. “I always knew the voice on the magic radio came from a real person. I always knew you were there. I felt your presence,” she said. She was referring to the two years Eric had lived with us as a ghost. He would tell the kids Norse legends and I would pretend his voice came out of a radio. The kids loved their time with him.
His blue eyes softened as he tousled her blonde curls with his fingers. “I’ve always loved you, little one. I always will.”
She squealed into his chest and he held her tight.
In that instant I fell in love with him all over again. He was the father I had always wanted for my children, so loving and caring. I rubbed Jinx’s back.
“But you know,” Eric said to Jinx, “even though you have magic now, even though you can travel to distant realms, you must listen to your mother.”
Part of me wanted to laugh. Here we were, two witches and an immortal, having a normal family conversation. Some things never change.
Jinx pulled back from him and smiled at us. “That’s what my fairy godmother said.”
“Tell me about her,” I said.
“She had a wrinkly face and white hair like regular grandmothers, but she had lots of energy, and she had a really nice voice, kind of like Snow White.”
Elaria came into the room. “Can I help in any way,” she said in a tinkly voice.
I glared at her and she turned to go.
“Wait,” said Eric. “I want to know about your mission.”
Her ears wiggled, but she said nothing.
“Does it have anything to do with a shadow-warlock.”
Her head tilted. “No.” She left the room.
“What’s a shadow-warlock?” asked Jinx.
I looked at Eric.
“He’s a really bad guy, but do not worry. I will protect you and your family.”
Our family, I thought, but I didn’t say it. I couldn’t believe I thought it. He was still an assassin and he had broken my trust. But my heart could not deny how I felt.
He rocked Jinx in his arms until she fell asleep. Emotions swirled within me. Her powers were stronger than mine and I couldn’t comprehend mine, let alone use them properly. How could I raise such a daughter?
Eric stretched her out in the bed and I lay beside her. Spark stretched out on the windowsill, looking out into the darkness every so often. Eric sat in the chair and watched over us.
Chapter 20
Morning came with all its usual noise. The kids ate cereal and fought over who got to choose the first cartoon show. Jill stayed in bed with a headache and luckily had no recollection of what happened the night before. Elaria did stretches in the guest room. Who knew elves did yoga? Dante had long gone. The manor filled with the noise of my family. It almost felt normal. After backpacks were stuffed and teeth brushed we left for the morning drop-offs, Jonathan and Jinx to school and Jane to daycare.
Eric stayed by my side through it all and had me drop him off at the teahouse afterwards. He didn’t say where he was going from there, and I didn’t ask. Instead he brushed my lips with a goodbye kiss that said enough for both of us.
When I got back to the manor it was nine. I took a long hot shower and wrapped my head around the pr
evious night. No matter how much I worried, I couldn’t change things, so I decided to put my energy into my job.
It was time to catch the dealer of the Death cards, the man or woman who threatened people in the cove. It sounded good in my head, kind of like a movie by-line. When the universe sent me home the evening before I had been on my way to visit Sofia, Dante’s mother.
There were two things I knew for sure about Sofia. She scared the crap out of me and she knew more about magic than anyone else around. I hated it when she slapped a spell on me. Okay, that’s three.
The problem with living in a world where all the folk myths were true was that all the myths were true. Witches could be very scary and deadly. The idea of visiting Sofia had made sense to me the night before, after I felt waves of magic lingering around Katey Sawchuck’s dead body. But in the light of the day, second thoughts percolated in my head.
Was Sofia still mad at me? I had no idea. Really, I hadn’t done anything to her, ever, but she seemed to take my very existence as a personal insult. She thought I was after her perfect son. You know the type. She could easily be cast as Snow White’s evil stepmom.
Who then? Who would know about magic and the situation and … No, I really didn’t want to think about asking Dante for another favor. I had to find someone else.
There was the witch I had just met. The hair on the back of my neck rose. I didn’t know that much about her, and what I did know gave me the heebie-jeebies. Some things should stay in the pyramids, if you ask me.
But she was my best option. What my head said and my gut felt were two different things. I decided to revisit my suspect chart.
I pulled it up on my laptop screen and started filling in as many details as I could. I hemmed and hawed for hours. Surely something, or someone, on that screen held the key to this mystery. No one could get around a town, especially this town, handing out Death cards and not be noticed. Someone knew something.
I sent out messages on Twitter and the town Facebook page. People were chatting it up, but no one had a lead I could use. Everyone was scared. Were the cards harbingers of death? Who would be next? Their fear was palpable.
My skin prickled with the nearing of the full moon, my head ached from trying to manage too many unconnected facts, and my heart was trying its best not to think about Eric. At three I decided to go for a drive. Jill was picking up the kids, so I had couple of hours to spend on my own.
I get my best ideas when I drive with no destination in mind.
Chapter 21
In the diminishing light of the afternoon, I drove up my long driveway, counting the potholes as I always did. Ten today. I needed to fill them before they broke my car’s suspension. The Mini hobbled up and down. I had been away for two hours and felt no better than when I left.
I opened my car window to breathe in the spring air, trying to clear my mind. The salty breeze laced with the smell of verdant growth flowed in. Nearly home.
Was this how a warrior feels before a final battle? Edgier than a two-year-old forced to sit in a chair. I took a deeper breath. I needed to center my energy. I would face the murderer soon, I would face my daughter as a witch soon and I would face Eric soon.
The neighbor’s hounds howled in the distance as their way of greeting. Once upon a time the sound scared me crazy, but now it welcomed me. I was home.
I ran up the steps, put my key in the lock and turned it. It wasn’t locked. Jill must have forgotten. I had asked her to keep it locked. I stepped inside.
“Welcome home, Abby Jenkins.”
The stranger’s voice froze my blood. Low and menacing, it sent all my senses into hyperdrive. I counted my weapons. My keys were in my right hand, leaving my left free for a spell.
The door slammed behind me, rattling the windows. Where were the kids? I needed to witch-up.
“How dare you enter my house without permission,” I said in a voice that sounded more confident in my mind.
A figure appeared before me. Tall and slight in build, he wore black pants and a black button-down shirt with a red-and-white polka-dotted bow tie. His head was bald and his eyes blazed with fire. He chuckled as he pointed to the living room. “Your cousin welcomed me in and made me coffee. I told her I was an old friend. Of course it was my magic that charmed her.” His grin looked more lethal than the ebony wand that appeared in his hand. “Sit. We have much to discuss.”
The tattoo on his neck declared his high status, and his engraved whale-bone wand his power. His ebony nails were unusually long, sharp and pointy.
A shiver slithered up my spine. “Is Jill all right?” I walked into the living room.
“She’s sleeping at the kitchen table. The spell won’t hurt her.”
“My children?”
“Asleep upstairs. I thought they could do with an extra nap.”
When did he arrive? Where was my elf? Did he know Jinx had powers? I leaned back into the sofa. “What do you want?”
The grin that spread across his face sliced and diced my gut. He chuckled.
I squirmed. I knew that’s what he expected, but how could I not? My mind raced. What would this warlock do to me? If he wanted me dead, I’d already be dead. Where had he come from? Did the house hide him? Wait, maybe he wasn’t a regular warlock. Awareness filtered through my senses. “Are you a shadow-warlock?”
“Yessssss,” he said.
“You want to get even with Eric.” I nodded. “Ha. Join the club. He drives me crazy too.”
His evil grin hitched up on the right side of his leathery face. “He killed my father.” His words hissed in the space between us.
I swallowed. “You must know he works for Guiden, the dark wizard. He does his bidding. Why not take your revenge out on him?”
The shadow-warlock tilted his head and moved closer to me. The smell of misery, not unlike cheap incense, burned my nostrils. “Eric must pay.”
“I’m not his woman.”
“He loves you.”
“And I refuse him. An action that hurts him every day, more than my death will ever hurt him.”
The beast sniffed the air. “I can’t kill him. He is immortal and my magic cannot change that. You are my next best option.” He pulled out a cell phone.
“Death by cell phone?” I always wanted to be someone’s best option for a victim.
“I will tape your death. Your long, slow death.”
Great. I shrugged. There had to be a way out of this.
His wand transformed into a shimmering sword. I shuddered. No longer could I pretend this was all make-believe. It looked sharp. I couldn’t count on my posse this time. They didn’t even know I was in danger.
His right hand raised the sword, while his left swirled in a small circle in the air, creating a charcoal-colored cloud of magic.
I concentrated on the mist and pulled out of my memory a counter-spell of protection. I raised my hand. Lightning flashed from my palm and sizzled as it touched his dark essence. “Take that, you creep.”
He flowed backwards and hit the wall.
The momentary delay in his magic gave me time to use my other hand. I lifted it to the sky and silently called on all the sacred powers of the universe. I had only read about this distress spell, but I gave it all I had. A sudden wind blew through the room, making my hair stand on end, and his black essence diminished as he swallowed my lightning magic.
A bolt of bright red light shot from his hand and my world turned black.
When I regained consciousness, I found myself lying on the sofa, hands and feet magically bound by a black vine of thistles. The shadow-warlock stood over me. His long face had been burned on one side by my magic.
His cell phone, mounted on a tripod on a side table, faced me. I swallowed the lump of fear rising in my throat.
“I’m tired of playing games,” he hissed as he pointed to an array of knives lying on the coffee table. A scene fit for a Frankenstein movie. “You’re more powerful than I anticipated.”
I could
n’t breathe. Hope, the one thing I had left, trickled out of my body and pooled in the basement of this nightmare.
My magic didn’t work. I was helpless and alone. So alone. “I don’t deserve this,” I screamed.
The shadow-warlock grinned down at me. “I like it when you scream.”
“Help,” I yelled at the top of my lungs. No one would be close enough to hear me, but I had to try.
“Help. Someone. Anyone. Help.” I screamed over and over again, while the monster above me grinned with pleasure. I screamed until my voice cracked. And he listened, with that sick expression of appreciation on his face.
He lifted the first knife. The shiny edge flickered in my face. “I wonder if the Viking would like my initials carved in your pretty face.” His eyes roamed over my body. “Or perhaps elsewhere? I wonder what part of your body he loves best.”
“I want to live. I have children. I need to live for them. I’ll do anything.” Well, almost anything.
“I like a woman who begs. And a witch.”
Wonderful. He’s got a sweet spot. “Okay. I give up. Do what you will. But know that your soul will be cursed to hell.”
He chuckled. “Already there, my darling.” He cut my shirt in half and opened it up, revealing my bra.
“Just kill me already.”
“Not before I have my fun.” He cut my bra apart, freeing my breasts. “I want Eric to see how much fun we had before I get bored and release you from this plane.”
“I’m a witch. You know this won’t be easy.”
He laughed. “Your spells won’t work on me here. I have shielded myself.”
I closed my eyes. “Just kill me.”
“Din djavul.” Eric’s voice boomed through the room. I opened my eyes as a Viking battle axe severed the warlock in two.
Chapter 22
Eric gathered me into his arms and held me until I couldn’t think, his love filling every cell of my body. That makes no sense in my head, but love’s like that. It’s beyond sense. And that’s what I felt, a love so deep it went beyond comprehension.
Death by Tarot Card (A Ghost & Abby Mystery Book 4) Page 9
