The Enchanted Crossroads

by Dora Blume

  When the door flew open, Caroline gripped a dagger in her hand. “How do you know my sister?” Her voice was firm and dangerous. She held the dagger poised to strike us.

  I took a step in front of Leif. “I’m her daughter.”

  She appraised me. When she stopped on my eyes she nodded. “So you are.” Her hand dropped to her side. She opened the door wider. “Come in.” She walked into the living room. She took a seat in the chair adjacent the couch. The small flowers on the couch matched the deep red of the chair. I took in the room, examining the small details. A vase filled with matching tulips sat atop the glass coffee table. There were even small flowers on the vine-like table legs. Caroline must really like flowers. She motioned for us to sit on the couch. I took a seat close to her and folded my hands in my lap. Leif mirrored my posture when he sat next to me.

  “So, you’re one of Catherine’s babies. You have her eyes.” She commented as she continued to appraise me. I shifted under her scrutinizing gaze.

  “What do you know about my mother?” I asked. I had so many questions for her, but I wasn’t sure where to start. I wanted to know everything I could.

  “Oh honey, she was my twin. I know everything about your mother.” She gave me a pensive look. It was also slightly sad. Considering she’d died recently; the grief was probably still fresh in her mind.

  “Do you know about her being a mage and the prophecy?” I asked wanting to ask about the little things, but knowing I needed to get to the point.

  “Of course, I’m a mage. Your mother told me about her visits with Hecate. She had five babies. All of you are the descendants, who are prophesied to be able to take out the God, Morrigan. But you already know all of this. It’s what led you here. What you really want to know is about your siblings? I don’t know where they are. Your mother was protective of the information. She didn’t want to help Morrigan find you. Hecate promised to protect you, but Cat was always nervous. I admired the sacrifice she made for you guys. She loved you fiercely and was willing to let you go to protect you. She was a marvelous woman.” She sniffled and I watched as a tear slid down her cheek.

  I wasn’t sure what to say. I agreed with her entirely. “Do you know where any of them are?” I asked.

  “I have an idea of where they could be. I knew your mother well. We were twins after all. I’m not sure I’m ready to tell you just yet. I need to know your intentions. I need to make sure you won’t destroy the sacrifice she’s made for all of you.” She wiped the tear from her cheek. “I’m going to make some tea. Would you like some?” she looked from me, then to Leif.

  “Yes, please.” I responded. Leif nodded slightly when her eyes met his. He was curiously quiet as Caroline spoke. She walked into the kitchen. I turned to stare at Leif.

  “What’s up?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at him.

  “Nothing,” he answered quickly.

  I looked to the kitchen then back to Leif. “Yeah, I don’t buy it.”

  He put his finger against his lips, to silence me. “I have a weird feeling, not sure why.” He spoke in a soft voice. I felt a prickling over my skin, raising the hair on my arms. I looked wide eyed at Leif. By the look on his face, he felt the same prickling. I rubbed at my arms and realized I couldn’t hear anything coming from the kitchen. I looked back to Leif and he held his finger up to his mouth again. He stood in one fluid motion. He turned to face the kitchen.

  I turned my head. I could see Caroline’s fire-red hair stretched across the floor. Her body was motionless. There was a large male standing in the doorway. I was surprised that a woman who opened the door with a dagger in hand could be surprised so easily. I worried my lip and stared at her attacker. My eyes hardened at the self-satisfied expression on his face.

  “Morrigan will award me handsomely for finding you.” He looked at me with a self-satisfied expression. I thought about how this guy may have just ruined my chance at knowing my mother. I was infuriated. I felt the fire flicker within me.

  I smiled, knowing I wasn’t weak. “He’ll only reward you if you can take me with you. I promise to make that difficult for you.” I snapped my fingers and a flash of fire appeared between my fingers. Leif’s gaze flicked to mine and back to the attacker.

  “You came alone?” Leif asked.

  “I don’t need anyone to capture a new mage. Morrigan told me all about you. I know you don’t have enough knowledge of your power to take me on. You’re easy pickings.” He smirked at me with a hunger behind his eyes.

  Leif nodded in understanding. “Morrigan doesn’t know you’re here.” Leif looked over to me, trying to communicate something. I had no idea what he wanted me to know. Suddenly, Leif flicked the guy against the far corner. A painting crashed to the floor from the force of the impact. My eyes widened as Leif strode over to where the guy was held against the wall.

  “What is the Morrigan planning?” He asked as he twisted the man’s arm with his telekinesis power. The man cried out in pain. I wanted to test my power out on him. I sharpened my anger into a pool and threw a small ball of fire onto the sleeve of his shirt. When it lit, my eyes sparkled with delight. When I met Leif’s eyes he stared daggers at me.

  “What? You don’t get to have all the fun.” I smiled and looked to the man who was looking down at his sleeve and blowing rapidly in the direction of the fire moving up his arm.

  “We need to question him before you begin the fireworks.” He gave me a pointed look before he stepped forward and put out the man’s sleeve.

  “Think she’s unable to use her power now?” Leif asked.

  “Bitch,” he spat at me.

  “Back to my question. What is the Morrigan planning?” He asked, twisting his arm in an unnatural position. The man cried out in pain, then locked his lips together.

  “You’ll have to kill me. I’m not telling you anything.” He screamed as his other arm twisted. He panted when Leif let his arm go.

  “I can make it a lot worse for you.” Leif explained. “Tell me what I want to know.”

  Leif twisted his arm again. When he screamed out, I crossed my arms over my chest.

  “I don’t know everything. The Morrigans in the area were supposed to go check in. I heard about you and figured it be worth it to go looking for you instead of checking in. I knew if I returned with the girl, I’d be rewarded. So, I went hunting.” He tried to shrug but couldn’t move much under Leif’s power.

  “Is that all you know?” Leif asked. The guy let out a surprised screech. I couldn’t see where the man had moved, but Leif did something.

  “Yes, yes, I happened upon you after you left the diner. I couldn’t believe my luck when you walked right out in front of me.” He chuckled. “I followed your car to this house.”

  Leif jerked his head slightly and the man’s head slammed against the wall before his body slumped to the ground. “You want to go check on Caroline. He’ll be out for a while. I need to decide what I’m going to do with him.” Leif gave me a pointed look.

  I nodded and headed to the kitchen. I bent before Caroline’s still body. I was worried the Morrigan had done more than knock her out. I wasn’t sure what her power was, but she seemed pretty tough. I touched her shoulder and shook lightly. I didn’t want to scare her into stabbing me. I pushed a little harder.

  “Caroline, are you okay?” I asked. I realized it was a stupid question considering she was unconscious on the floor. I pushed again. “Caroline?” I felt her neck for a pulse. I could feel the steady beat under my fingers. I breathed out a sigh of relief. She was alive at least. I shook her again. “Come on, Caroline. Wake up.”

  A muffled moan escaped her lips and she rolled onto her back. “What the hell happened? Why am I on the floor?” She met my eyes and groaned. He reached up to touch the back of her head.

  “A Morrigan attacked. He knocked you out. Leif has him unconscious in the next room.” I sat on the floor next to her.

  “How the hell did he get in my house? I set the wards myself.” She sat
up, holding her head with her right hand.

  “He followed us from the diner. He thought he was lucky running into me at Curan’s.” I shrugged. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to put you in danger by coming here. I guess I have to get used to the reality of constantly being in danger.” I took a deep breath. I wasn’t ready to accept that reality. I didn’t want to be in danger. I didn’t want anyone coming after me. I wanted to go back to my normal life where the only people coming after me was opposing counsel in court. At least in court there are rules.

  “It’s okay. You don’t know much about our world yet, do you?” she asked, giving me a quizzical stare. She sat up, wrapping her hands around the back of her legs.

  “Not really, only what Hecate and Leif have explained to me.”

  “Your mom wanted to raise you in our world but she couldn’t. Not while keeping you safe. She had to make the ultimate sacrifice to make sure you’d be able to grow up. I always suspected she wanted to live a normal life, without all the magical stuff. I think it pleased her that you all got a normal childhood. She used to check up on you, you know. She didn’t do it often, and she always made sure to cover her tracks, but she had to make sure her babies were alright.”

  She reached her hand over and brushed down my hair. “I suspect she was proud of the woman you’d become. Graduating and becoming a lawyer.” The look she gave me was kind and proud. It warmed my heart to know she’d been checking up on me. I wasn’t forgotten.

  “How could she know?” I whispered.

  “I told you. She checked up on you. She snuck in the back of your graduation. The pride she held for you was evident every time she talked about you. She only gave me bits and pieces of information. She didn’t want any Morrigans to get to me and force the information out of me. Not like they’d get much. I have a mental ability. I can block other’s mental gifts when they use them against me. I also have my own mental abilities.” She winked.

  “I didn’t want to say any of this in front of your friend. I don’t know him, and I suspect you don’t know him all that well either. Be careful who you trust baby girl. This world isn’t like the one you know. Evil wears many masks. Including the face of a friend.” She laid her hand over mine and nodded once.

  “Leif, he’s been helping me since I found out.” I trusted him. I couldn’t believe he would be evil. He was a mage like me. She did have a point though. I hadn’t known him very long. Although, he’d saved my life numerous times already. Would he have an ulterior motive for helping me? I didn’t want to think about that. Leif had been nothing but kind. He was my protector against this new, unfamiliar world.

  “I just want you to be safe. Your momma went to a lot of trouble to protect you. I don’t want her effort to be in vein. Now come on, help a girl up.” She took my hand. I stood and pulled her up with me. “Now, back to our tea.” She turned to the stove. I was surprised the kettle hadn’t whistled yet. I shrugged and turned back to find Leif. He had found a roll of duct tape and was taping our friend to a rolling desk chair.

  “What are you doing?” I asked.

  “I’m not sure if I’m done with him, yet. I don’t know if he told us everything. I want to be sure.” He continued to roll the tape around the guys hands. He pulled the tape to his teeth and ripped it. When he secured the end, he looked to me. “You haven’t learned to vanquish one of these guys. I figured now would be a great time to learn.” He shrugged. I could tell by the look on his face he was buzzing with excitement. He liked the battle. It’s probably the reason he was the leader of Minneapolis. He was calm, but also pumped for a fight.

  When Caroline walked into the room, she started at the sight of him. “What the hell are you doing? Why haven’t you gotten rid of him by now?” She scolded.

  “I thought Kaira could learn how to vanquish one of these guys.” He rocked on his heels.

  “In my living room? You thought this was a good experiment to do in a stranger’s house?” She shook her head and sat the tea service down on the coffee table.

  “I’d hardly call Kaira’s aunt a stranger.” He wiggled his brows.

  “An aunt she only learned about recently. To you, I’m a stranger and I’ll not be having you kill him in my living room.” She scolded, pointing to the man in the chair.

  “Would the kitchen be better?” he asked.

  “No, can’t you take him out of here?” she asked.

  “No, what would your neighbors think if I dragged a unconscious man out of your house?” His brow rose, waiting for her to protest.

  “Ugh, fine. But you better not get a single drop of blood on my new area rug.” She turned back to the sofa and poured herself a cup of tea. She turned to me. I had been watching these two bicker like they were family. “Come Kaira, have a cup of tea.” She waved me over.

  I shook my head at Leif and walked over to the sofa to sit down. I took the mug she’d poured and took a sip. The tea had a fruity undertone. It was quite pleasant on my tongue. She smiled when I took another sip. I turned to Leif.

  He’d finished with the man and walked over to the couch. He sat in the chair and reached for the teacup. I took another drink and set my empty cup on the tray. Caroline snatched my cup into her hands.

  “What are you doing?” I asked, my brows furrowed at her sudden gesture.

  “Reading your leaves, of course.” She turned the cup in her hands.

  I shrugged. “Of course.” I spoke in confusion.

  “She can see your future in the tea leaves.” Leif said, matter-of-factly.

  “Oh, how can you do that?’ I asked.

  “There are certain shapes in the tea leaves which have specific meanings. I read the shapes to make meaning.” She turned the cup in her hands and studied it. She held it out to me. “See those squiggly lines toward the rim, those symbolize that your life is going through a change. You have some big decisions to make right now. Those lines there also indicate a change in your life. Those two shapes that look almost like a crescent moon, those show some introspection happening in your life. I bet you knew all that already.” Her eyes met mine.

  “Yeah, pretty much.” I shrugged.

  Caroline set down my mug. “So, what are you going to do with the guy in my dining room?” She gave Leif a pointed glare.

  “I would like to give Kaira the opportunity to see how we vanquish Morrigans.” He watched her. They stared at each other, a silent duel between them. Looking between the two, I wasn’t sure who was winning.

  “Do you think that’s really necessary, today, with this guy?” Her eyes hadn’t left him.

  “Yes, she hasn’t gotten the chance to actually vanquish any and it’d be nice for her to learn from experience. I’d consider this a safe learning environment, wouldn’t you?” Leif stood from the chair. He clenched his hands into fists and I could tell he was trying to stay calm.

  “Can’t I just start him on fire, and poof he’s gone?” When Leif tried to hide his smile, I shrugged. Glancing between the two, I didn’t understand what was so humorous about what I’d said. I could just light the guy up, couldn’t I?

  “Poof?” Caroline’s eyes were wide. She looked aghast at my suggestion. “I don’t want you lighting anything on fire in my house. You’re too new to the craft and I don’t want you burning down my house.” Seeing the hurt in my eyes, she amended. “Sorry dear, but it’s my home.” She patted me on the shoulder as one might a child and I was more annoyed at the gesture than anything. Maybe I should light the Morrigan on fire just to prove I could. I knew it was a silly thought. But after the lack of confidence coming from these two, I felt the need to prove myself worthy.

  “We have other ways of vanquishing Morrigans. They’re basically warlocks after all. We have different spells for different evils in this world as there are more than just Morrigans. We have books of spells as you’ve seen in my house. Do you have a book with the spell needed to vanquish a Morrigan?” His eyes moved from me to Caroline.

  “Well of course I do.” She stoo
d and headed down the hallway. When she returned, she held a large leather bound book in her hand. I have the herbs for the potion in the kitchen. I didn’t have a batch made up because I hadn’t been expecting any visitors today.” She held the book up and then headed into the kitchen. “Come with me Kaira. I guess I’ll show you how to cook up a potion for vanquishing Morrigans.”

  I narrowed my eyes at Leif. “Why can’t I just light him up?” I whined.

  “It’s good for you to know our ways.” He took a step closer and dropped his voice. “Besides, this will give you some time to bond with your aunt. I’m going to step outside for a moment to make sure no one else might be scouting around to attack us.” He squeezed my shoulder and walked out of the house.

  I rolled my eyes at his attempt to get my aunt and I to bond. I didn’t think we’d bond over killing someone, but maybe. I had spent many hours learning to cook with my mom. Our time in the kitchen were some of my most cherished memories with her. I sighed and walked into Caroline’s kitchen. Most everything was along two walls forming a small L-shape. It was a small space, but it felt cozy rather than cramped. There were mugs hung on hooks below the cupboards. A wicker basket on the counter held fruit and a few herbs were growing in the small kitchen window.

  “So, here is the potion we will make for the spell. I have to seep a few of the ingredients in hot water before adding them to the pot. Otherwise, we just put everything in the order it says. It’s as easy as reading a recipe.” She smiled brightly at me. “Do you cook?” She asked as an afterthought.

  “Ah, yes I can cook. I used to spend weekends baking with my mother.”

  Her voice brightened. “Good, then this will be easy. We just have to make sure we get the amounts right and everything has to be placed in the pot in the correct order.” Her eyes met mine. I nodded in understanding. It was just like baking, you had to get everything just right or you’d end up with a flat cake. I followed the directions to the letter. Together, we bottled up the batch. It didn’t seem too difficult. I wasn’t sure what the fuss was about.