Arch of Shadows

by C. L. Bush

  “Having brunch in the Central Park.”

  “Figuring out how to start the stove without magic,” he suggested.

  She burst out laughing. “I know how to do it!”

  “I’ve seen you try, Cathy, and it was a miserable failure.” His lips crooked up in the corner, a sly grin to soften the blow.

  “Don’t blame it on me. Blame it on my mentor.” She stuck her tongue out and smiled wide as she pushed out of his arms. Playfully swinging her skirt while she twirled happily at the idea of leaving Richmond. “Ian, think about it. Maybe we could go to college.”

  “Of course, we can.”

  “You think so?” she asked hesitantly. “You don’t think it’s too late for us?”

  “Cathy, we’re just beginning.”

  The light started to fade as Clara watched him pull her back into his arms and capture her lips in his.

  ***

  Clara forcefully opened her eyes and dropped the pebble. It rolled over the marble floor, unscratched and unchanged. A golden speck on the cold white stone mocked her as Clara picked it up and barely managed to still her fingers enough to place the memory where it belonged. She hesitated before taking another, and with the gentle touch of her magic, the memory encompassed her fully.

  ***

  “Mom, I’m going to die,” Ian said, and Helen silently stared him down, the tears barely escaping her glistening eyes. He lay on the ground, the dirt and grass smashed under his young body. His face was bone white, as if all the blood was leaving him as well as his magic. “I know you’re going to want to fix this, but you can’t. I don’t know what I did wrong, but I’m causing people pain. And I know you’re going to want to enter the Arch, but I need you here. I need you to figure out what went wrong and, Mom... I need you to take care of Cathy. Promise me, okay?”

  “I promise, son,” Helen coolly answered, pulling her son into a tight embrace, and pushing her face into his shoulder to hide her tears from him.

  ***

  Clara shook her head, quickly pushed the pebble back with the rest of the memories and rushed out of the crypt. Helen was standing outside, calm, eyes closed. She seemed to be sunbathing, but the sun was red and didn’t give off heat.

  “You lied,” Clara said, taking a seat on the stairs in front of the crypt. “You broke your promise.”

  “I was a much better mother than a person,” Helen answered, perfectly still while Clara shuffled uncomfortably.

  “Thank you for this,” she said in all honesty. “You can’t imagine how much it means.”

  Helen remained silent, breathing in and out in a rare, stolen moment of peace.

  “Why did you show it to me?”

  Helen shrugged her shoulders slightly and approached Clara with a barely noticeable limp. “I wanted you to know that asking you for a sacrifice like I did isn’t something I do lightly,” she said solemnly. “I’ve failed your father, and I’ve failed in protecting your mother. I’ve failed in protecting you. There’s a long list of failures I need to answer for, but my failures aren’t yours. If I knew any sure way of getting you back home without endangering your very soul or the lives of those you love, I would spend an eternity here working on it. But I don’t know, and I don’t have an eternity.”

  Clara listened carefully, hugging her knees and slightly rocking back and forth. She watched her grandmother cautiously before responding.

  “I know,” she told Helen, and Helen looked relieved. “I’m not ready for it, but I guess I’ll never be ready, not really. So, let’s just rip off the band-aid.”

  Helen watched her patiently and then lowered her palm onto Clara’s shoulder.

  “Fearless,” she proclaimed. “You’re your father’s daughter.”

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Late May

  SAM

  “Did I just see you leave a Spanish test with a smile?” JJ asked as he caught up with Sam. “Did you do that well or did you just get another potentially deadly idea?”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Sam responded with a pearly white smile.

  “I heard you’re handling the social committee like no one before.” He laughed, half worried, half amused.

  “Apparently, if I just delegate most of my work to other people, they’ll bother me less than if I do it all on my own,” Samantha whispered. “But I’m fairly certain I passed my Spanish test. Apparently, parents are less worried about a possible Armageddon if their child has a high school diploma.”

  “You’ll be ready for the new, emerging market,” JJ playfully agreed, prompting Sam to grin. “But seriously, Sam. What’s happening? I smell a breakthrough on you.”

  “Possibly,” she answered mysteriously, but her face darkened as Damen broodingly walked toward them. “And here you’re.”

  “And here I am,” Damen affirmed, and JJ shook his head. “How did Spanish go?”

  “Muy bueno,” Sam answered confidently, almost defiantly.

  “Guys, can we just stop with this?” JJ suggested but remained ignored by both parties. “You’re giving me a migraine.”

  “Everything gives you a migraine, JJ,” Samantha noted, and he responded with a death stare. “And how have you been, Damen? Preparations for college going well?”

  “All in perfect order,” he answered, his gaze nailed to Samantha.

  “I feel it’s my responsibility to tell you this, as your friend and as the only emotionally literate person you know,” JJ said. “Both of you need to get out of your own heads for at least a minute. Your egos are choking me and neither of you feels much better than the other one. Sort it out.”

  JJ clasped his hands and walked away almost cheerfully but definitely satisfied by the amount of discomfort he’d produced.

  “It’s been a while since we had a normal conversation,” Damen admitted, and Sam awkwardly smiled. “You look better lately.”

  “I am,” she responded, tapping her foot and glancing up and down the corridor. “How are things with your parents?”

  “Same mostly. They’ve been pretty distracted with the whole barrier maintenance, which gave me some breathing space.”

  “It’s not going to hold for much longer,” Sam pointed out.

  Damen rolled his eyes. “I’m aware,” he said sourly, nervously shifting his weight from one to the other. “Are you planning on ever telling me what were you and JJ doing during last coven meeting? If you’re going to use me, you should at least tell me what you’re doing.”

  “Do you really want to know?” Samantha teasingly asked through a sly smile. “JJ seems to think we’re not including you enough in what we’re doing, but I don’t think you really want to be included.” Damen remained silent, and her smile widened. “I thought so.”

  “What do you want me to say, Sam? It’s a downward spiral. Once you tell me the first bit, there’s no going back to not knowing.”

  “Then why ask anything?” She arched her brow in challenge. “Oh, it’s jealousy, right?”

  “I’m not jealous.”

  “You’ve got me convinced,” Sam sarcastically announced.

  Damen rolled his eyes. “I miss my best friend, and I miss my girlfriend. Is that so terrible?” Damen’s voice fell to a whisper. “We can’t even have a normal day out. We can’t even go to get a fricking milkshake because both of you’re so focused on-”

  “This is our reality now, Damen,” she said slowly, confident and unshaken. “I told you that already. And you can choose to ignore it, but you can’t ignore it forever. Your destiny will come for you; it’s in your blood.”

  “Don’t be so melodramatic, please. I have a mind of my own, Sam, and so do you. Use it,” he responded harshly, awkwardly avoiding her death stare. “You should probably know that none of the other covens are coming to Richmond. They’ve all declined the call for help. Even New Orleans.”

  “I guess not all alliances made through marriage are very reliable,” she poisonously remarked.

  Damen turned hi
s head. “You always were very good at being cruel.”

  “I guess it’s your fault you ended up on the other side of my words,” she said curtly, breathing in and collecting every bit of patience she had. “What’s your point, Damen? Why are you telling me this?”

  “I’m telling you this because I know you well enough. I know you haven’t stopped trying to get Clara back. You’re just hiding it better and that means you’re planning something dangerous. Cue the alarm. I also know you well enough to know you always disregard rules if they stop you from getting what you want. Sure, you do it very politely, but the crap still happens. And I’m telling you this because I overheard several arguments, and our parents are planning something big. The barrier isn’t holding up that well and there have been sightings of...”

  “Shadow-men?” she interrupted, and Damen’s stunned look amused her for a moment. “Yes, I know about them.”

  “Then you know something bad will happen. The shadows turn up in Richmond only before something truly awful happen and whatever you’re planning, there’s a pretty good chance that something on the other side is looking forward to it.”

  “Maybe it’s whatever the coven is doing,” she suggested.

  He simply shook his head. “No, most of their spells are containment and exploratory.”

  “So, completely useless spells are being cast?” she asked, her smile widening. “You’re very well informed for someone who doesn’t want to have anything with magic.”

  “It’s hard to avoid anything in this town,” Damen said, and something in his tone softened Sam.

  “I’m sorry it’s been this hard for you, Damen-” she tried but he cut her off.

  “No, you’re not,” he told her, bitterness obvious in his words and his unwillingness to look her straight in the eyes.

  Sam sighed and took his hand into hers. “I am,” she insisted. “I know how hard all of this is for you. I can only imagine the stress and pressure your parents are putting you under, and I know you want to see the best out of the worst situation. It’s who you’re and who I loved,” Samantha said gently. “JJ and I are the same people we’ve always been; it’s just my priorities have changed. Whatever we’re doing, we’re not doing it for ourselves. We’re trying to make things better for everyone.” He sighed and shuffled from one foot to the other, unwilling to stay but also unwilling to leave the conversation. “Let’s go outside and talk,” she suggested as he stared at the ring on her hand.

  “I have class,” he said but caved in under her silence and followed her out. The schoolyard was small but unfenced. There were few reasons to build a fence in Richmond, and those who had reasons for such a restriction knew that materialistic fences were a weak protection against anything. She led them toward a bench at the far corner of the yard and sat down, gesturing to the seat next to her. He sighed in defeat and complied. They sat in silence for a couple of moments, both enjoying the countdown before they disappointed each other all over again.

  “What do you know about the Parkers?” Samantha asked eventually, and her words were reserved for Damen’s ears only.

  “I should’ve known,” he mumbled bitterly. “I thought you wanted to talk.”

  “I do.” She nodded.

  He turned his eyes away, rubbing them forcefully. “Parkers?” he frowned, correctly predicting where her interest came from. “I know the same story as you. They were coven leaders in Richmond before my family took over. Ian Parker constructed the spell that created the Arch, and that killed him and almost everyone else who participated. He was Clara’s dad. All of the Parkers are dead now.”

  “Except Clara,” Sam interrupted, and Damen sighed. “Do you know who the original spellcasters were when the Arch was created?” Damen eyed her worriedly, unwilling to share the information. “I only managed to collect here and there names of people who were there at the moment, but-”

  “Where are you going with this?”

  “Can I trust you?” Samantha asked and Damen sourly grinned to answer the insult. “I’m serious, Damen. What I want to tell you can’t leave this bench. You can’t even tell it to JJ.”

  He frowned more and more with each word until he hesitantly nodded.

  “I have reason to believe that Cathy is exploring the subconscious of JJ’s uncle by with several herbs I saw at her house,” she concluded.

  Damen’s eyes widened in realization. “Do you realize what you’re saying?”

  “I know, that’s why I told you it’s a secret,” Samantha stressed. “It’s only a guess based on something Richard Gaskill said recently and based on some other things I noticed on my own.”

  “That guy? Seriously?”

  “Yeah, that guy. I know he’s... unusual, but he’s been right so far.”

  “He’s a man who lived in the forest for more than a decade and marked children with runes at birth. He also allowed Xander to die, you almost followed, and Clara went through the Arch right before his eyes. Sorry for not believing in his credentials.”

  “Now, that sounds like something your dad would say,” Sam suggested.

  Damen’s face darkened. “My dad isn’t perfect, but he’s intelligent, Sam,” he told her curtly. “It doesn’t take a genius to come to the same conclusion.”

  “Whatever the case, my instincts say to trust him, and I trust him,” Sam decisively said.

  Damen rolled his eyes. “Now we’re listening to your instinct? So, you have no solid proof that Cathy has been entering Jared Jameson’s mind?”

  “I have enough proof - Gaskill’s feedback, the herbs I found, the way Cathy looks. She’s been deteriorating the last couple months, and at first, I thought it was just because Clara’s missing, but it’s more than that. Even JJ noticed she’s not her old self.”

  “That kind of spell is extremely dangerous!” Damen exclaimed in a whisper. “Entering anyone’s subconscious is potentially deadly. Entering the mind of someone like Jared... it’s a suicide mission. Possibly for both of them!”

  “I don’t want to tell JJ anything yet. He’s been so happy because Jared’s exhibiting signs of slight improvement. And I’m sure Cathy is careful.” Sam comfortingly placed her palm over Damen’s. “Either way, I wanted to mention something to JJ, but I want to be sure on my own first. Can you check with your dad if it’s true? Can you ask him if Jared participated in the spell casting?”

  “I can try but-” Damen started before freezing for a few seconds. He stared straight ahead and then turned to Sam. “You really have no shame.”

  Sam smiled innocently and flicked her hair over her shoulders. “Shame is a commodity.”

  “Not for a decent human being,” he noted.

  Samantha grinned. “But we’re not human beings, Damen, remember?” she teased as he shook his head. “Come on, Damen. You can’t deny how important this could be. Imagine if it’s true, if JJ’s uncle’s the last living pillar of the creation of the Arch. If Cathy’s entering his mind, she might be able to find the complete spell from A-Z. That would mean not only the potential to fix this Arch, but maybe to close it once and for good or to even create a new one.”

  “Sam, you’re aware that any information Cathy might get from JJ’s uncle is compromised? Nothing from him can be trusted completely. For all we know, Cathy might just be disturbing an already disturbed mind.”

  “You’re just impossible to talk to.” Samantha waved her hand in annoyance.

  He sighed. “We don’t talk anymore, Sam. It’s all wordplay with you now,” Damen accused her. “I can see how deep you’re in with all of the coven shenanigans but everything else is passing you by, and you don’t even see it.”

  “Oh? And what would that be?”

  “The story that Cathy said about Clara isn’t holding up. People know she isn’t taking time off for volunteering. Fan favorite theory around the school is that Clara is away, having an abortion or waiting to give the child up for adoption. Who the father is, is up in the air,” Damen cited, and Sam laughed at t
he mere imagination. “It’s not funny.”

  “Of course, it’s funny,” Samantha corrected him. “It’s high school, Damen. People like drama.”

  “Sam, did you wonder how in the hell you’ll manage to graduate in a month when you’ve basically sleep-walked through the whole semester?” he asked and Sam remained quiet this time. “Have you told your parents you didn’t apply to any of the colleges?”

  “What’s the goal of this conversation, Damen?” she asked pungently. “Are you showcasing how well adjusted you are? Or how irresponsible I am?”

  He listened to her without interrupting, and once Sam fell silent, he pulled out several envelops from his back pocket.

  “I talked with my dad,” he started flatly. “He settled with the school administration. You won’t have the highest grades, but you’ll graduate. As for these...” He offered her the letters and sighed. “Those are acceptance letters in your name.”

  “What did you do?” Sam whispered, shuffling through the letters. “What did you do, Damen?”

  “I did what you kept avoiding yourself,” he said haughtily. “I gave you options. You can respond to all of them, or none of them. I don’t care. I just wanted you to know that there are other places and other lives than this one in Richmond.”

  “You shouldn’t have done that. You had no right.” She shook her head in anger. “This just makes everything worse.” The betrayal was almost more than she could bear. Her emotions had been barely in check for months, this cut deeper than she knew possible.

  “Can things get any worse?”

  “Apparently so.” She crumbled the letters in her fist. “I can’t be who you want me to be.”

  “I want you to be happy. And alive,” Damen finished, shrugging and gazing in the distance. “You have a month to decide for some of those colleges. I hope you’ll choose one, for yourself.”

  “I hope you’ll choose none of them,” she playfully responded, and he hesitated before giving her a clumsy kiss. The kiss was different from any before, Sam realized. She also realized he was getting ready to say goodbye. “I hope you’ll choose us, me and JJ. And Clara. Richmond. Maybe one day soon we’ll figure all this out and realize magic is a gift after all.”