"Which I did."
"Yeah."
"I have to admit, I feel like I've been played for a fool."
"You haven't. You're entitled to your feelings, but I swear to you, this was never meant to hurt you. I did all of this to ensure that I didn't hurt you."
Abby touched the tattered journal on the floor.
"You went to the Lourdes? Do you know how dangerous she is?"
Sebastian shuddered.
"Yes, I do and I did. It was Julian's idea, but the truth is that I wanted to go. I wanted to do whatever it took. For you, for our baby. I know how it must seem to you."
"Reckless."
"Necessary."
****
"It is bothersome that you did not tell us, Julian," Elda chastised.
"Seriously," Oliver snapped. "You've known Sebastian for what? Three months?"
Julian continued buttering his toast. After several moments of silence, he sighed and set down his knife.
"I think that I offered a thorough explanation for my secrecy."
"You don't think we deserved to know what was happening?" Helena asked, not touching her breakfast. "What if Oliver had killed Sebastian? He nearly did, you know?"
The sky beyond the breakfast window matched the mood in the room, gray and bleak.
"Faustine agrees with my choice. And the more who knew, the more likely that Kanti would have realized what was happening. It's that simple. Sebastian had to hide it from Abby. That's how far this had to go. Can you possibly deserve that information more than her? You don't see her raving about the situation."
"Yeah, well I'd bet Sebastian has had an earful from Abby," Oliver challenged. "And with good reason. You might have put her and the baby in danger with your lies."
"Or we might have saved her. Who knows what Kanti might have done if she believed that she had lost her control of Sebastian. Can't you see that everything depended on it?"
"My God, Abby thought he was trying to conjure his sister from the dead," Helena murmured, holding her hand over her heart as if it hurt to utter the words.
"Yes, an unfortunate belief, but that was Kanti's intention. She was using that promise to control Sebastian. Or so she thought."
"So why didn't it work? How did he get control back?" Oliver asked.
Julian shrugged.
"I honestly don't know. He is exhibiting powers. He has been since the Vepar's lair. Is he a witch? None of us can feel him in that capacity; maybe he is some kind of hybrid."
"Or maybe Kanti is giving him the power because she intends to exploit it," Elda sighed.
"That's what I thought originally, but he used it against her. You saw what happened, Oliver. He ripped the earth apart to get Abby to safety. If Kanti had given it to him, why didn't she take it away the moment he turned against her?"
"And he took the amulet. Why didn't it affect him?"
"We prepared him for that. I didn't know of course that she would put it on him, entrust him with it so quickly, but I suspected that her power would be greatest through the amulet. She survives through it, after all. Like most evil, she became arrogant. She believed she had him under her control. She was not afraid to put the amulet on him, but you see we've been building a psychic shield around him for months. I even created a shirt made from hair, sage and copper fibers to protect him if the moment came that he had to put the amulet on."
"Whose hair?" Oliver asked, looking disgusted.
"Sebastian and Abby's. Their love is the ultimate protection. Of course, I performed magic on the hair to ensure that it held only their purist intentions."
"Obviously it worked," Elda admitted. "Did you have a moment at all, when he went to Kanti, where you wondered if she might take control of him, after all?"
Julian considered, but shook his head.
"Nope. He has a strong mind. Few people could have pulled this off. He met her four or five times. She appeared as Dafne. The first few times, he had no control. We retrieved those memories with Faustine's crystal. After that, we prepared. The last two times, he was fully present. He told her everything she wanted to hear. He played the tortured soul desperate to bring his sister back from the dead. He was the man who wanted to be a witch and hated how everyone else had power, except him."
"All those times he had Dafne in his grasp. We might have saved her," Helena murmured, her eyes sparkling with tears.
Oliver moved close to her, wrapping his arm around her back.
"I wanted to save Dafne," Julian said. "I believed in the end that we would. I thought once we had the amulet..."
"You'd destroy it?"
"Yes, of course. That's the next step. I thought we would have the opportunity to take Dafne and the amulet."
"Instead she killed herself," Helena sniffled.
"Sacrificed herself," Oliver corrected. "She wanted to end Kanti."
"She took Tobias down too," Julian added. "Her life was not wasted."
Helena grimaced and Elda pursed her lips. None of them agreed with Julian's choices. They all considered how it might have gone differently. Could they have saved Dafne?
"But she told you to destroy the amulet," Elda said to Oliver. "So she knew that killing herself would not kill Kanti."
Oliver closed his eyes, trying not to see Dafne as she faded from the world.
"She wanted out," Julian told them. "Who hasn't felt that way at some point?"
****
That evening, Victor and Kendra joined them at the Coven of Ula.
"We will wait until the full moon to destroy the amulet," Faustine told the witches gathered in the library.
"Are you concerned at all about keeping it here in the castle?" Kendra asked.
"Yes," Elda answered. "But we have a special room in the dungeons that shields magical items. Any power that Kanti has through the amulet will be restricted to that room."
Julian had draped the amulet over a black canvas.
Abby watched the firelight flicker off the gold setting.
"So what is it?" Oliver asked. He walked closer to the necklace, but stopped short of touching it. None of them wanted to get too close.
"It's an ouroboros," Faustine told him.
"A snake consuming itself," Julian finished. "In ancient Egypt, it symbolized everlasting life. Of course, it was more than symbolic. There was powerful magic cast within many of these amulets."
"By witches?" Lydie asked. She sat on the floor with her back resting against Helena's legs.
Abby had noticed an extra hardness in Lydie's demeanor since they had returned to Ula the night before. Oliver had confided to Abby that Lydie had cried over Dafne the entire drive to Lake Superior and then stopped abruptly at the shore.
"Yes, witches and probably some Vepars."
"What is the stone in the center?" Kendra asked.
"Red jasper," Victor told her.
She looked at him in surprise.
"Been studying minerals lately?"
He shrugged.
"I've come across it a few times during research."
"Also regularly used in Egypt," Julian added. "And also representative of eternal life, eternal youth—that sort of thing."
"How could she possibly have gotten it?" Helena asked skeptically. "Could the magic have been placed in the amulet after her death."
"Doubtful," Faustine replied. "I have never heard of a soul being transferred from one magical item to another."
"The man who took her was not ordinary," Julian interrupted. "Those journals implied that he had powers. Possibly a dark witch or even a Vepar, though that's less likely."
"Why is it less likely?" Abby asked. She shared an overstuffed chair with Sebastian. It felt good to have him crammed against her side.
"Because they're savage animals," Oliver murmured. He looked tired and sad. Abby knew that he mourned the passing of Dafne more than he could admit, even to himself.
"Because they're often impulsive and violent. It seems that Kanti traveled with this man for a lon
g time. He also impregnated her. I'm not sure that a Vepar can reproduce."
"I hope not," Oliver grumbled.
"So how do we destroy it?" Lydie asked, calling everyone's attention back to the necklace.
"We're still figuring that out," Elda admitted. "We've got to do our due diligence and make sure we perform the proper magic."
"There's an ax owned by the Sky Mother's Coven in Australia," Julian added. "They say it can destroy the most powerful, the most evil, objects in existence."
"How do we get it?" Sebastian asked.
"We go to Australia," Oliver answered.
****
Dafne, a fire witch, had wanted her body consecrated to fire at the end of her life.
They had built the pyre together. It would sail through the cliff and into the lake beyond. Dafne lay on a bed of flowers picked from the floating garden.
The witches and Sebastian stood on the lagoon edge as Faustine folded Dafne's arms across her chest. He kissed her forehead. Elda pressed her hand into a stone bowl and smeared something red on the space between Dafne's eyebrows. She closed her eyes, as if warding off tears, and stepped back from the bed.
Lydie walked to the pyre and rested a glass ball of glowing fire on her funeral bed.
"By the element of fire you lived, passionate, driven and strong. Let fire light your path in the realms beyond this one. From fire you came, to fire you return."
She stepped back, closing her eyes as if she didn't want to watch as the others bid farewell.
Elda walked to Dafne next. She wove a braid of ice with her hands. It shimmered as Elda lay it around Dafne's neck.
"By the element of water you flowed, you dreamed, you loved, you changed. Let water carry you into the realms beyond this one. From water you came, to water you return."
Oliver stepped next to the pyre. His eyes glistened and his hands shook as he sprinkled sand over Dafne's body.
"By the element of earth you were grounded, you found roots, family, home. Let earth keep you steady as you travel into the realms beyond this one. From earth you came, to earth you return."
Helena went last, struggling to ebb her cries. She placed her hands on Dafne's arm and continued to cry. Faustine put a hand on her shoulder to steady her.
"By the element of air, you soared, you knew knowledge, wisdom and freedom. Let air liberate you from this realm into those beyond. From air you came, to air you return."
Helena took Dafne's hand and kissed it.
"Goodbye, beautiful friend," she whispered.
Faustine held his hands in the air and closed his eyes. The pyre pushed away from the shore.
Abby bit her lip. Tears streamed down her face as she watched the witch's black hair blow in the wind. Sebastian held her hand tight in his own.
Kendra and Victor had joined them for the death ritual. They stood further back from the other witches. Kendra's eyes mirrored the sorrow in the group, while Victor watched with an expression of curiosity. Abby knew that neither of the witches had experienced a death ritual for a witch. She too had never experienced one. When Max had been laid to rest, Abby and Sebastian had been in Trager.
Lydie did not cry. She stood resolute, her body tiny in the red cloak that she wore. Dafne's cloak. Oliver stood behind her, his face grim.
When the pyre reached the center of the lagoon, Lydie raised her arms. She conjured a ball of fire and then blew it from her hand. It sailed through the air and landed in the center of the pyre. The wood began to burn.
Helena sobbed into Bridget's shoulder. Bridget patted her back and whispered to her soothingly. Helena's cries echoed across the water.
The funeral bed blazed as it sailed from the lagoon, into the tunnel beneath the cliff, and disappeared from sight.
****
For dinner Bridget made all of Dafne's favorites. They had a spread of Greek salad, pasties and key lime pie for dessert.
"I'm going to need this recipe," Sebastian told Bridget across the table as he ate another forkful of beef pastie.
"It was Dafne's recipe, believe it or not. She never cooked, mind you." Bridget winked at him. "But apparently her mom used to make these when Dafne was a girl. In those days, you helped your mama in the kitchen, so Dafne knew how it was done and showed me."
"They're delicious," he said. "I helped my mom in the kitchen too, and my dad. They both loved to cook."
Bridget perked up and started questioning Sebastian about his parents' best dishes.
Lydie ate her food in silence.
Though Bridget and Helena had done their best to create a festive atmosphere for the celebration of Dafne's life, the truth was that her death overshadowed the experience. No amount of food, decorations or magic could lift the heavy reality of death.
"So when can we start planning the wedding?" Helena asked, reaching for Abby's hand.
Abby smiled and sighed. Wedding, baby, destroying an evil amulet—who had the time?
"Sebastian and I thought something small in the spring. Obviously we'd love to have it here at Ula, but I would want to invite my parents so..."
"We can make that work," Faustine declared.
Abby looked up, surprised. It never ceased to amaze her, the strange topics that Faustine commented on.
"Many of the witches of Ula have had family visit at some point. It's not something we make a habit of, but for special occasions..."
"A wedding here would be divine," Bridget added, nodding enthusiastically.
"In the floating garden," Lydie said, a smile finding her face. "I would like to sketch that."
"Ezra's a killer DJ," Victor offered.
Kendra nodded.
"Yeah, she DJs at a club in Chicago a couple times a month."
"Really?" Oliver asked, clearly interested.
Abby noticed an eagerness in his voice and wondered if Oliver had developed an interest in the feisty Chicago witch.
"We could throw an epic wedding reception in this castle," Victor continued.
"Let's not gloss over the 'something small' part," Abby reminded him.
By the spring she would be full-on pregnant. She had no interest in a wild party.
"No," Sebastian stopped the conversation. "I'm sorry to be the buzzkill , but we don't want a traditional reception. Actually," he turned to Faustine, "we want to invoke the elements, like during a ritual or..."
"Death ceremony," Lydie finished.
"Yes, like that. We want to invite magic into our marriage."
Elda nodded, seeming impressed.
"I have attended many ceremonies that invoke the elements," Faustine told him. "It would be our pleasure."
"What inspired you to desire that, honey?" Helena asked him.
"Lydie actually," Sebastian admitted. He smiled at Lydie. "She told me about her parents' wedding, the calling of the four directions and their elements. Her parents believed that they blessed Lydie by consecrating their marriage in that way."
"Well Lydie is definitely blessed," Helena murmured, leaning toward Lydie and petting her unruly curls.
"Okay, no wild party after," Victor chimed in. "Intimate magic ceremony worthy of an amazing witch and her superhero fiancé." Victor winked at Sebastian. "Followed by a small, tame, totally crazy party that maybe includes a DJ and cake."
"We can compromise on that," Abby agreed, looking into Sebastian's glittering blue eyes. He looked excited and, for the first time in months, at ease.
****
Victor slipped into the dungeons. The witches of Ula slept. He had waited until three a.m. to leave his bed and creep downstairs.
He took the skull from the leather bag he had slipped it into. The bone felt cold against his hot skin. He walked the dark hallway and held the skull out before him. As he moved deeper into the castle, the skull gleamed and glowed. As he passed a door, it burned red for an instant.
He tried to push the door open, but it didn't budge. He pressed a palm against the wood and directed his energy into the lock. It clicked open.
He walked the dark room slowly, extending the skull toward shelves and cabinets. It glowed red again in front of a large black chest. He opened the chest.
Inside, he found a metal box. He did not know the combination, but called upon the air to move the dials to their appropriate numbers. The safe unlocked. Nestled in the folds of dark fabric, he saw the beautiful ouroboros. The golden snake consuming its tail—everlasting life. The red jasper stone shone from its center. He smoothed his finger along the jewel and a shiver passed through his body.
Carefully he lifted the amulet from the cloth and slipped it neatly into the velvet box he had brought to Ula. He tucked the box into the breast pocket of his jacket, close to his heart. He took the replica from his pocket. The gold and the stone were real enough. He had paid a jewelry maker in Chicago five thousand dollars to create the piece. It was valuable in its own right and beautiful, but costume jewelry compared to the amulet now in his possession. He placed the replica in the metal box, closed the lid and returned it to the trunk.
He moved stealthily through Ula, back to his room. Taking the amulet from the box, he slipped it over his neck and laid in bed. He fell asleep to the gentle pulsing of the stone against his chest.
The End
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I love characters. For me that's the heart of writing and reading. I would love to hear about your experience with my characters and what other fictional characters you love. Reading has truly shaped my life and there's nothing more amazing than connecting with other readers who share passions similar to my own.
Kanti (Born of Shadows Book 3) Page 27
