“My sweetheart, what are you gawking at?” her gentle voice scolded me lightly. “I believe your mother, father, and I all taught you better than that, young lady.” She shook her finger at me then chuckled. “Now get over here and give me a hug.”
I ran and jumped into her arms. Her embrace was so familiar, something I had missed so dearly. “Grandma,” I breathed. Tears streamed down my face. The most wonderful woman, other than my mother, was standing in front of me, holding me tightly in her sweet embrace.
“Why on earth are you crying?” She pulled on my chin gently to force me to face her.
“I’ve missed you.” I blinked as fast as I could to force the rest of my tears away.
“I know, my dear. I’ve been watching you. You’re going to do great. And that boy of yours is quite handsome.” She winked shamelessly at me.
“Grandma!”
We laughed.
She sobered up, and her face went serious.
“What is it?” My heart started to sink.
“There are a few spells you need to memorize from that grimoire. Also, we don’t have much time to keep this dream up.” With a flourish of her hand a bench appeared.
“What do you mean we don’t have much time?” I sat down next to her as I asked.
“A dear friend of mine is creating this bridge. It’s easier since you’re so powerful. Sorry for making you feel so sick. I didn’t quite like that part.” Her kind face went sad.
“Who is? And I don’t care that I got sick. I’m just happy I get to see you.” I grabbed her hand and held it tight.
“A half-blood, the one you call Mrs. Summer. Anyway, I need to tell you something. Well, a few somethings.”
“Okay, shoot. I’m all ears.”
“The spells you need to know. One of them is to detect shadows, just a few words that will force that shadow to show some part of itself, if not all. It shows you what or who is a shadow. It is the fateor spell. It means to admit, reveal, or make known. The next is a spell to help heal those around you. I know you; I saw the wheels spinning when you heard about the half-bloods. I know you want to save them. I tried many times, but I wasn’t powerful enough. You are, though. The spell is called the percuro. And lastly, a spell that will make you undetectable to the shadows, it’s called the—”
“Why do I need a spell to make me undetectable?” I cut her off.
“You’re going to need it to save Clamora. And you will need her to find your sister,” she answered matter-of-factly. “The spell to make you undetectable is the abscondere. It makes them believe you are one of them. However that one is tricky. You’re going to need shadow blood for it.”
“Why do I need shadow blood?”
“Because . . . you need to drink a potion that will allow the spell to work. If you don’t, it’s just words in Latin.”
“Sebastian said that would kill a vampire . . .” I spoke softly.
“I know. But you also have to remember you aren’t just a vampire. You’re three parts combined perfectly into one. Every supernatural that has been thrown into you was put there for a reason, to allow you to be invincible, to allow you to survive and save.” She spoke these words with a strength I had almost forgotten she had.
“You’re right. But I can’t tell Sebastian. He wouldn’t let me do it, even if it was to save Clamora.” I hated the idea that I had to lie to him, yet again. It left a bitter feeling in my stomach.
“I know. You’re doing the right thing. I know you know that. These spells will help you more than you think they will. I promise you.”
“Thank you, Grandma.” I hugged her tightly.
“You’re welcome, my sweet.” She kissed my forehead, just like she used to. “I’ve got to go now. And you need to wake up. We will meet again, my dear. I love you, AubrieAnna.” With a smile and one last squeeze, she was gone. She dissipated like fog. I stood there, staring off into a white fog. My heart felt cold and empty.
“I love you too, Grandma,” I whispered.
Something hard jerked me out of the empty space that had been dream. I looked around the room. Darkness had taken over the sky outside, leaving no trace of moon or stars. Soft snores rose from Sebastian’s sleeping form next to me. Careful not to disturb him, I got dressed and whispered the spell to collect my grimoire. With the heavy book in my arms, I tiptoed out of the room and down the stairs. Still being as quiet as possible, I flicked the curtain on the alcove to the side and stepped inside. I turned the lamp on, and it threw a soft glow throughout the small space.
We had already begun remodeling the little room into an office. Thick mahogany shelves lined two of the three walls. Up against the floor-to-ceiling window was a desk, big enough for some papers and a laptop to fit comfortably. Two tall lamps were the only source of lighting. One sat by the desk while the other sat by the soft, plushy orange love seat. A soft shag Aztec-printed rug covered most of the hardwood floor and pulled the colors of the room together.
I padded across the floor to the love seat, stopping on the carpet just long enough to wriggle my toes in the soft pile. There was a slight chill in the air so I snagged the black afghan off the back of the love seat and snuggled down. The moment I got comfortable, a deep rumble in the sky startled me. Seconds later a large flash darted through the sky and rain forced itself free from the clouds. Feeling caught up in the moment of the storm’s beauty, I stood and walked to the window.
I leaned against the glass as I searched the sky for more strikes of lightning. Thunder rumbled and rolled, making the glass shiver beneath my palms. Veins of light forced their way through the sky, illuminating the dark clouds above and streaking them with purple and blue hues. The rain started raging at an angle, causing the window to be flecked with droplets. It was a force of emotion from Mother Nature. Each raindrop was a tear of sadness, each rumble of thunder a cry of pain, and each strike of lightning a hint of her anger. Every second the storm raged on was another second I stood by and watched the beauty it created, and imagined the damage it would cause.
With a sigh, I pushed off the glass and turned away from the storm and back to the grimoire. I sat down once again, resting my back on the arm of the couch so I could still see the storm from my peripheral vision. My fingers hurriedly flipped through each page until I found those I was looking for. An anxious feeling rose up in my chest, and before I could do anything about it, the curtain wavered ever so gently.
No breeze was in the air, the fireplace didn’t even have wood in it, which could only mean one thing: Someone had been standing there. Careful not to make too much noise, I leaned as far over the loveseat as I could. There were no shadows cast on the walls or the curtain. My heart hammered so hard in my chest it felt like it was going to break through my chest cavity. I was pretty sure everyone in a ten-mile radius could hear it too. After what felt like years of waiting, little footsteps gave way to what was hiding on the other side. Helios.
His little head poked through and he looked at me. When I sat back down, I made clicking noises with my tongue and patted the space next to me. With a quick jump, he landed heavily on the cushion next to me. As the storm raged outside, Helios snuggled as close to me as he possibly could. My thirty-pound cat was scared of thunder. I chuckled. The book took up a large portion of my lap, and Helios grumbled angrily at it. Silly cat, I thought. I gave the giant fur ball a good scratch then returned my attention to the grimoire. My need to find the spells was far more important than my need to soothe my cat.
The pages were worn, yellow, stiff, crinkled, and even torn. Every time I turned to a new page a crackling sound wafted through the air. It took a few dozen pages until I found one of the spells. Its name was written elegantly at the top of the page, followed by instructions to allow the incantation to work, to allow a person, thing, or race to be healed: percuro. Feeling a little excited about the prospect of saving a race, I got up and headed toward the desk. In one of the drawers I found a small notepad and a pen. I snagged them both and went back
to the grimoire and spell.
I wrote each spell down. Most of my directions were abbreviated, but that didn’t matter. Satisfied that I had found each spell that my grandma had told me about, I turned the lamp off and scooped up my sleeping cat. I had successfully made it up the stairs and into the bedroom when I lost my balance and dropped the book with a heavy thud. Helios growled at the sound, which startled him, and Sebastian jumped out of bed with his supernatural speed. Embarrassment flushed my cheeks. As I stepped quietly toward the bed to put my cat down, Sebastian turned on the bedside lamp and sighed.
“Sorry,” I whispered.
“It’s all right. What are you doing up so late anyway?” His eyebrows knitted together as he looked at me.
“My grandma—”
“Are you still upset about it?” he cut me off and walked around the bed to hug me to his chest.
“Well, yeah. But that’s not what I was going to say,” I replied a bit too harshly.
“Oh, of course.” He apologized and let go of me. “What were you going to say?”
“She appeared to me in a dream. She told me about a few things that I needed to learn.” I looked down at the book and back up at him.
He sighed heavily and sat next to me. “What did you need to learn?”
“I wrote them down on some notebook paper so I could memorize them.” I handed over the pieces of paper with my messy scrawl on them so he could see what I was talking about.
“What are they?” Sebastian asked with confusion written all over his face.
“Spells. The first one is called a percuro, or healing spell; the second one is a fateor spell, which is basically a revealing spell for shadows. If I say those words, then the shadow, depending how powerful it is, will show me some or all of its true form,” I explained.
“Oh, okay. Those could definitely come in handy. Why do you need the first one?”
“To heal the half-bloods,” I answered simply.
“You can’t save them, AubrieAnna . . . ” His face became sympathetic and sad.
“Yes, I can. And I will, with or without your help.” I snatched the papers out of his hands and left the room. If he wouldn’t believe that I could save them then I didn’t want to be around him. Anger simmered in my chest, and I stormed out of the room before I said anything that I would regret later.
His voice filtered through the walls as I headed down the steps. My name on his lips sounded so desperate, like a plea of forgiveness. When I reached the last step, I sat down and sighed. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe he had meant to tell me that no one could ever save them, no matter who tried or what spell they used it never worked. I was about to turn around when the top step squeaked. I didn’t turn my head to see who it was. The wood of the step I was sitting on shifted and bent under the extra weight. Sebastian sat down next to me and stayed quiet for a moment.
“AubrieAnna,” he spoke my name softly, like a caress of a secret lover, intimate and delicately. “Please let me explain what I meant.”
I nodded.
“I meant that no one has ever been able to save them before. No one has ever been able to heal them of whatever is causing their problem. It doesn’t matter if it was a fairy, witch, psychic, or even a nymph. It’s never happened. I get that you want to try, and I will gladly help you with anything that you need. I believe that you might be able to, but I do not know if it will work. You very well may be powerful enough to do it, and I hope you are.” He let out a deep sigh. “I love you, more than you could ever imagine.”
“Then why didn’t you just say that instead of telling me that I couldn’t save them?” It didn’t matter too much that he had come down to apologize and explain. If that’s what he meant, then why didn’t he just say it in the first place?
“I should have. I’ve seen and heard of people killing themselves accidentally by trying to save them. I just don’t want you to hurt yourself trying so hard.” He looked down at his bare feet, suddenly ashamed of himself.
“I won’t. I promise. But I have to at least try.” I looked at him as I spoke, watching for his reaction.
“That I can handle.” His lips pulled into the smile I adored. “Now can we go back to bed?” he murmured into my hair.
I nodded and said, “Yes, please.”
We laughed and headed back to bed.
Chapter 16
School had been cancelled because of the thunderstorm. Power was out throughout most of the surrounding areas. We sat at the bar and decided what we were going to do for the day. Sebastian cooked breakfast while we thought about it. After bouncing ideas back and forth, we chose to run errands. As we ate, I wrote a list for the Wiccan shop and the grocery store. Once we were finished with breakfast we got ready and left.
My list for the Wiccan shop was long, and it took us a while to find most of it in the cluttered aisles. At one point, we had to enlist Arina’s help to collect everything. When we finally had everything that we needed, we stood at the register and waited while she rang everything up for us. She raised her eyebrows a few times but didn’t say anything. I could tell she wanted to ask about some of the items, but I was thankful she didn’t. Once she was done, I looked at the total and choked a little. Everything came out to a little over two hundred dollars. I cringed as Sebastian ran his card through the machine.
“I hope all of this stuff will last you a while.” Sebastian chuckled at me as we left the shop, bags in tow.
“It should, I’m sorry that it cost so much.” I looked down, feeling guilty about the cost of it all.
“It’s quite all right, AubrieAnna. You will never have to worry, and you will never have to work if you don’t want to.” He shrugged as if it was nothing.
“I still feel bad. It will never matter how much money you have, I’ll always feel bad about spending that much money on something.” I looked at him and half smiled.
“I understand, but you don’t have to.” He kissed my forehead and unloaded our bags into the trunk.
Our trip to the grocery store was quick. We were both getting hungry, and I was anxious to get home so I could start the protection spell. A few hundred dollars and a car full of groceries later, we happily headed home.
Many of the areas surrounding our house were still out of power even though it was in the afternoon. The second Sebastian pulled into our driveway, I knew someone was there. Hairs on the back of my neck tickled as they stood up. A familiar hum in my fingertips started making itself known. I tried my best to focus on controlling it so the u da yv la dv wouldn’t know I was coming.
As we turned the small bend in the driveway, Sebastian’s head snapped up and he stopped. He opened his car door and sniffed the air like a dog. If we hadn’t been in such a dangerous position, I might have laughed at him. I waited for him to look back at me, but he didn’t. Taking a deep breath, I focused on controlling the vibrations in my hands then climbed silently out of the car. With superhuman speed I ran into the trees and stopped just before the clearing in front of our house.
Sebastian slowly came up behind me and watched the house with me. There were two of them. Both were dressed in cloaked robes like the ones I saw in my vision on our honeymoon. They didn’t speak, at least not that Sebastian or I could hear. Each step they took was fluid, like they were made of water or air. One was quite small and the other was at least six feet tall. A deer popped out of the trees a few yards from where we were standing, but it was enough to startle the shadows. They scanned the tree line, searching for anything that looked out of place. With a quick scan they deemed it safe enough to continue what they were doing. After a few moments, the smaller one spoke. “Are you sure she won’t show up anytime soon?” It was a girl. Her voice was small and afraid.
“It doesn’t matter. We are almost done. And if she did show up, we would know.” The larger one was definitely a male. His voice was deep and booming. It shattered the silence that fell around us. “Anyway, do you remember when we talked about how she can sense us?” he asked. The
girl nodded quickly in response. “Well, that allows us to sense her too. The second that little sense of hers kicks in, we feel it too. It will give us enough time to get out of here.” He shrugged at her and continued doing whatever they were doing.
My legs started to ache and I was getting restless. The two u da yv la dv had been standing at the front door for what seemed like an eternity. It took all of my effort to not go over there and beat them both senseless. After a few more minutes, they stood up and dashed away into the trees on the opposite side of where we were standing. Before I could dash up to the house, Sebastian touched my arm and shook his head. Sighing in frustration, I sat down on the damp ground and waited for him to say it was okay. A soft breeze and his distinct smell flew past me. He was checking the area for any signs that they were staying behind. Seconds later, he came back and nodded at me. So far it was safe.
Since they had been sitting at the door for over an hour, Sebastian checked around to see if there were any visible signs of tampering. He couldn’t find any, but that didn’t mean a whole lot. I tried to feel around the area for any magic residue, but I didn’t feel any. Something in my gut told me not to enter the house or step on the porch. Before Sebastian could step up onto the porch to unlock the door, I yanked him back hard. There was only one person I could trust to find out what the shadows did to our door.
***
Luke stood at the base of the steps with squinted eyes and fingers drumming on his thighs. His black leather jacket stood in deep contrast with his faded blue jeans. Combat boots kept his feet covered, and the silver aviators that had been covering his eyes hung on the neck of his gray T-shirt. Sebastian paced back and forth angrily. He had some choice words to say about Luke. When the words came out of his mouth, it took all of my effort not to tell him what had really happened. If he knew, he would know what I was going to do, and if he knew what I was going to do, he wouldn’t let me do it. I sighed heavily and waited for Luke to tell us something.
Chasing Shadows Page 26
