“It’s selfless to help someone,” Alanna protested as the implications of his accusation sunk in.
“If it goes against the express wishes of that someone — ” their inquisitor looked first to Beth and then more intently at Alanna, “ — what then would you call it?”
Neither witch had an answer.
Chapter Nineteen
Aden moved with stealth beneath the canopy of trees. He could see the faint outline of Rosa in front of him as she too, it seemed, made her way to the circle. With care, he followed, far enough behind to avoid detection. That was until Albert lit the night like a beacon with flame belching from his nostrils.
Rosa stopped in her tracks and spun back to look in his direction.
“Albert!” he whispered a warning. “No fire or you’ll have to go!” But it was too late. She had seen his familiar. Had she seen him? If she did, he was certain she would only see a silhouette. This would complicate matters, but there was no time to work out the how and why. He shoved indecision to one side and concentrated on the problem at hand.
“No fire.” Albert nodded his head. “Quiet, too.” The tiny dragon tucked himself right up into the crook of Aden’s neck as they both peered out through the branches.
Aden saw Rosa’s detection spell flying swiftly toward him, but he had already created a counter spell in case. Her spell went straight through both him and Albert instead of coalescing about them, as it should have done to illuminate their presence, but all the same he felt it crackle and spark as it sped on through the forest, searching until it weakened and died out.
That was too close. He held his spell strong, sensing another bolt of magic coming in his direction, this time stronger and unstable. Without time to warn Albert, Aden quickly strengthened his shield and steeled himself for the blow as the spell sped toward them.
Fire was Albert’s element, and he reveled in the warmth as it flooded through him. Sparks escaped his nostrils and burned Aden’s skin. Aden winced, squeezing his eyes against the pain his familiar unwittingly caused. But another danger had him damping down spots on his body as Rosa’s magic scorched his clothes and singed his hair.
It took every ounce of control to not react, cry out, or call upon additional power to protect himself. And when the spell had passed by, he was left shaking, sweat on his brow and knowing he’d come very, very close to losing control.
Thankfully Rosa turned and resumed her journey through the woods. Knowing he was close to the circle, he navigated away, searching for a vantage point where he and Albert could observe undetected.
When Albert would have sealed the burn on Aden’s neck, Aden stopped him. “Later, my friend,” he whispered. “When we are clear of the forest and no one is near.”
“What do you see?” Albert whispered.
“The same as you.” Aden touched a finger to Alberts mouth to silence his familiar. But it was like trying to contain an over-excited puppy. The little dragon bounced up and down on Aden’s shoulder when he immediately recognized someone familiar in the circle. “Goran is good. Albert likes Goran.”
“He doesn’t appear to be happy at present.”
“Witches break protocol,” Albert whispered knowingly. “Very bad magic.”
“Enough talk.” Aden whispered. “I’ve an errand for you. Go to Marylebone. Tell Anton that Aden is aware of the Greenwood sisters’ indiscretion and will investigate further.”
“Over and out,” Albert declared excitedly and disappeared in a twinkle of starbursts, forgetting completely about hiding or being heard. An instant later, and with fewer dramatics, Aden also vanished lest he be discovered. He had seen enough to know what would happen next.
• • •
It was clear to Rosa that if her sisters had been more observant, they would have seen the little dragon’s departure. They also would have sensed Rosa approaching. Anger caused her eyes to flare, glowing emerald in the night as she walked towards them and the stranger in their midst.
Both sisters looked down at their feet, clearly guilty and afraid. As they should be.
The warlock — there could be no doubt it was a warlock from his aura, glowing in the night brighter than the moon — quirked a sardonic eyebrow and bowed with a flourish in an old-fashioned greeting.
“Ah! The reason I’m here, I believe. Allow me to introduce myself.” And from his fingertips he wrote his name in the air. “Goran Thoreaux, apprentice Dragon to Marylebone Coven at your service.”
A Dragon! Rosa shut her eyes and sighed with a heaviness of heart. Saving her disappointment in her sisters for a later discussion, she opened her eyes and acknowledged his theatrical introduction with an incline of her head. Think, Rosa. Think! This warlock deserved their respect and had, as far as she could discern, received none so far. “Rosa Greenwood, and, much as I loathe to admit it, elder sister to these two.”
“It was me,” Alanna said, stepping forward to stand in front of Beth. “I held the veil open.”
Beth side-stepped to stand alongside Alanna and gripped her hand tight in a show of solidarity. “It was both of us. I’m so sorry, Rosa. I should have known better, but your wedding tapestry is not going well, and I was growing increasingly worried.”
Bile settled in Rosa’s stomach. Careful, Rosa, she intoned silently. Don’t let your anger get the better of you. Don’t lose control.
It was Alanna’s guilt that shone brightly, banded by something she’d never witnessed before — a dark cloud surrounding Alanna’s aura. Beth’s was similar but less dense. Fear scudded through her heart!
“I don’t know if you can fix this one, Rosa,” Beth continued. “It’s so terrible I can hardly say it out loud. We’ve … we’ve Called Goran down.”
Rosa felt the blood drain from her cheeks. She swayed. Goran put out an arm to steady her. The absolute power of his magic pulsing through him was astonishing. “Called you down! Surely there’s a mistake. They’re far too experienced to do something so foolish.”
“They might be talented magicians but maybe not so intelligent,” Goran told her plainly. “I was leaving Marylebone when their magic warped mine into a tangled mess. I’m Earthbound until it can untangled it and make reparation to Marylebone’s satisfaction.”
A determined edge to Alanna’s stance told Rosa she was not about to apologize this side of the next century. “Why can’t you just bind Rosa’s magic then? Why does she have to sacrifice it if she can’t earth it with another?”
Rosa looked to Goran in hope. The same thought had just occurred to her too.
Goran shook his head. “It doesn’t work. We’ve tried it on those who failed to meet their Fate. The results have been catastrophic. Their magic continues to increase despite being bound and their power is turned inwards. The individual goes insane. The only thing that works is binding it with an equal. Permanently. It takes two to balance the scales.”
Beth cried softly, her head hung in shame, tears dripping onto the ground. “Will that happen to us?”
Goran’s voice softened. “No. You’re time has not come. For now you are safe.” He looked to Alanna, the tone sterner. “You’d better work on atonement though. The Bells could toll for either of you at any time and then you’ll have cause to be concerned.”
“I would apologize for them,” Rosa said to Goran, her hope for a solution shattered, “but they’re adults now, and they can do that themselves.”
Goran’s aura pulsed and swirled in arcs of magenta and violet hues. Tall, handsome, and, most importantly, warlock, Goran possessed all the attributes required in her search for a mate with potential. Had the bells tolled for him too? Her heart sunk clear to her toes. She was not in the slightest bit attracted to him. Not a glimmer of zing flared in her soul.
Tonight her sisters had unleashed something she couldn’t fix. “Alanna, how could you?”
&n
bsp; “I didn’t break my oath to you,” Alanna quibbled, although there was hint of desperation in her voice. “Who knew thought is as effective as the spoken word? We asked for a warlock and Goran appeared. A little appreciation from you might be in order. We succeeded.”
“Are you blind as well as foolish?” Rosa said, unknowingly echoing Goran. “This man you’ve Called down is a Dragon. He has the authority to kill me if I fail.”
“We didn’t go to all this trouble to watch you fail. You needed a warlock with huge potential. We got you one. Here he is.”
Frustration at her sister’s refusal to face up to her own mistakes slammed into Rosa. Goran growled his displeasure and all three jumped. “I remind you I was not sent. In order to make honest choices, I must have free will. It was not my will to be Called. Therefore it is not fait accompli that I am here for Rosa.”
He obviously did not expect a response because he continued. “Thought created the world in which we live. Intent is a powerful tool. Mischievous intent was in Alanna’s mind when she held the veil open. She’s blundered and retribution is swift. Indeed, it is already done. For breaching the Code of Conduct rule eight states, your magic will be bound by Marylebone until further notice.”
So that was the dark smudge she could discern in their auras. “Is there any way they can explain their motives to Marylebone? Apologize for their actions? Would that help?”
“I can relay their apologies to Marylebone, but your sisters will need to redeem themselves through selfless thoughts and actions. Marylebone will determine when their powers will be unbound. As for me. I’m here until Marylebone has untangled the magical mischief they have created.”
Rosa’s heart broke for her baby sister. She knew Beth’s involvement in this duplicity was because of Alanna coercing her into doing something she didn’t want to. “It’s not going to be easy to fix, is it?”
Goran’s expression softened as he followed Rosa’s gaze. The sorrow was evident in Beth’s eyes. “I warrant you’ll not be without your abilities for long.” His tone conveyed, a regret he had not shown Alanna. “Your heart has barely a smudge upon it.”
He turned to Alanna and his demeanor changed. Eyebrows drawn together, his expression fierce, he studied her for an inordinate amount of time. “I believe the return of your power will be difficult to win back.”
All three echoed their dismay.
“No!” Beth protested.
Alanna was outraged. “I’d like to see you try and take it!”
“Too late.” Goran shrugged indifferently. “It is done.”
• • •
“What are we going to do?” Alanna paced the lounge floor of Clematis Cottage. Back and forth. Back and forth.
“You,” Rosa emphasized the word and pointed at her sister’s chest as she headed toward her, “are going to stay out of trouble and do good deeds for the rest of your days.”
Paler than Rosa had ever seen her, Alanna halted by the old oak table. “What if my work is affected? I have commissions to complete.”
“Your talent was evident as a child, long before your magical talents emerged.” Rosa turned to Goran, who sat on the couch, legs stretched out, ankles crossed, and his arms splayed across the back of the couch. The posture reminded her of Aden. “Will this affect their creative talent?”
Goran shrugged. “Only the magical elements. Their innate physical and artistic talents remain. Try and see.”
Beth picked up her bloodied tapestry and pulled out the needle tucked into the corner. She hesitated. “I don’t know why I’m bothering. I know this won’t work. This tapestry has refused to cooperate from the very beginning. Why should now be any different?”
“Try anyway,” Rosa urged, ever hopeful.
Beth tugged the gold thread through the eye of the needle. As always, she closed her eyes and uttered a brief prayer to the Goddess before undertaking the first stitch.
“Get on with it,” Alanna urged.
“I can’t!” Beth cried.
“Just stick the needle in the damn material.”
Beth shook her head. “It’s gone. Magic always directs my hand. I feel absolutely nothing.” She dropped the work on to the table, collapsed into a chair, and buried her face in her hands. “Oh, Rosa! I can’t complete your wedding gift.”
“Remember what Goran said. It won’t be for long.” Rosa plucked several tissues from the box on the table and pressed them into her baby sister’s hands. “Now, dry those tears. We need to work out where Goran is going to live. Raven’s Creek Inn is at capacity.”
“We also need a reason as to why Goran is here. You know what everyone’s like. What if we say he’s a friend of Beth’s who has come to attend the Festival? It’s only two weeks away.”
“Everyone knows our friends,” Alanna protested. “We grew up here. He’s more likely to be my friend. I’m the only one whose traveled anywhere.”
Goran cleared his throat. “Uh-hum.” All three sisters turned in unison. “I have an idea.”
“I hope it’s better than ours.” Rosa fell back into one of the lounge chairs.
“I’m a reporter writing an article on the famous Greenwood sisters. I made my career as a scribe several hundred years ago and have utilized that same skill often since then.”
Goran conjured a quill and scribbled the word Scribe in the air, then scratched it out, replaced the quill with a ballpoint pen and wrote Reporter. The letters remained suspended before him. “What do you think?”
“More plausible than Beth suddenly finding a lover, I suppose,” Alanna retorted unkindly. “Although I think it would be better if you said you were here to interview Aden.”
“Alanna!” Rosa’s reprimand was swift. “Face facts and stop taking your bad fortune out on Beth. It’s beneath you.” She turned her back on her sister and spoke to Goran. “Right now we need to figure out where you’re going to live.”
“Not so difficult,” he told them. “I like this place. I’ll stay here.”
“No. Beth’s upset enough without you reminding her daily of how you arrived here.”
Goran’s lips curled in distaste. “I’ll stay with Alanna, then. That witch needs someone to keep an eye on her.”
“Nuh-uh!” Alanna protested. “Not enough room.”
“I don’t know.” Rosa considered the idea. “Someone definitely needs to keep tabs on you. It would be better if you moved in with Beth and Goran has your studio.”
“No way!” Alanna’s cheeks flamed, and she shot from her chair to her feet. “That’s my sanctum. My special place. Why doesn’t he stay with you? After all, that’s why we got him.”
“No!” Rosa shot from her chair next. “No!”
A haughty Goran piped up, “Should I be offended by your reluctance to accommodate me? Am I such a poor choice?”
“I’m sorry, Goran, but I’ll not have my sisters choosing my future mate for me. I make my own decisions.” Rosa pointed a finger at Alanna’s sternum. “Goran is the consequence of your actions. You should be the one to sacrifice your accommodation. Not Beth.”
Alanna flung her arms into the air in exasperation. “Let him have the studio then!”
“No!” Beth turned to Alanna. “Sometimes you can be so offensive. There’s no way I want you staying with me. You’re moody enough with your magic let alone without it. Remind me never to help you ever again! You can have your precious studio. Goran is staying with me.”
Experiencing a rush of affection for Beth, Rosa gave her a fierce hug. “Way to go, girl.”
“I want you to think,” Rosa admonished Alanna, “about what you’ve done.”
“I’m not ten years old. I know what I’ve done. But what — ” Alanna voiced her worst fear, “ — if it takes years for my magic to be unbound?”
Goran huffed. �
�I’m immortal. I can wait for an eternity.”
But Rosa could not.
• • •
Later, when everyone had gone home, Beth, obviously depressed and tired, set about making up the spare bedroom for Goran. She carried a chair from the dining room out to the linen cupboard so she could reach the sheets on the highest shelf to make up his bed.
“Here,” Goran said and lifted her down from the chair. “Let me.” And the linen sailed in tidy, folded piles from the cupboard and into the bedroom where the bed then made itself.
Too weary to protest, Beth leaned against the door and watched.
“You’re tired, little one,” Goran said as he stood with her in the doorway. “I would not have you doing extra work when sleep is what you require most.”
“I don’t know if I’ll ever sleep again.”
Goran brushed a gentle finger across Beth’s brow, and her eyelids fluttered. “You’ll sleep tonight. You’ve worried too much of late about everything.”
Catching her as she fell, Goran swept her into his arms and carried her through to her bedroom, which was all lace and ruffles and enchanted by fairies. He laid her down and covered her with her patchwork quilt, then stood back and observed her for several seconds, ensuring she was well and truly under his sleep spell.
Such a beautiful soul, he thought. So easily damaged. Alanna had much to answer for. His fingers clenched at his sides. His anger on Beth’s behalf perplexed him. So did this soft side. Where had that come from?
Carefully, he crept from the room, not caring to think about it, and made his way out the back door and through the trees to where he knew Aden waited.
Chapter Twenty
Laughter, deep and strong, bounced off the walls of the small cottage and Aden, with fleeting belligerence, told his apprentice he should have the belly to go along with such a laugh.
The Silver Rose Page 14
