“Ok, more like graduation,” I said, leaving my image in the mirror to pick up the robe and boxes before heading to the Cooper.
“Hey, you need a hand?”
When I looked up, I saw Crystal, a white dress and a blue fleece robe draped over her arm. She also had her hair braided around her head like a crown. Although, it also looked like it was supposed to be a head-band.
“Sure, could you get the hatch?” I pushed the boxes up with the help of my knee.
She jumped behind the Cooper and lifted the hatch. After putting her clothes in the back seat, she came back around to help me load the boxes and put my robe in the back seat with hers.
“I thought I’d ride with you, if that’s okay?” She looked at me, and just like that, I felt ten again. It was like when she came over to go swimming and just decided she would borrow my suit.
“Sure, why not? How’s Matt getting there?”
“Chester and Chad. I guess he’s the only one of the parents coming. My mother couldn’t even be bothered to help me with my hair. I fibbed and told her it was for a date, so then she was all too happy to help.” She looked down and kicked a small pebble on the ground. “When she finally remembered what tonight was, she asked if the date was before or after and not to be out all night. No ‘good luck,’ ‘have fun,’ or whatever a parent says for this kind of thing.”
I could feel her resentment and her sadness. I reached out, grabbed her hand, and squeezed. Then I pulled her into a hug when she looked like she would cry.
Crystal was excited to talk to me about witch stuff, as she put it, when I found out about who and what I was. She told me her mother had been really into her work lately. She hadn’t even made time for her and her brother at dinner time. She liked being able to throw her money around, because she could, but Crystal said she had been so busy recently that she did it because she had to. They had ordered in from every restaurant, within a fifty-mile radius that would deliver, over the last two years.
“Thanks.” She patted the tears from her eyes, being extra careful not to smear her eye makeup.
“Hey, where you going today?”
I heard Michelle before I saw her. When I turned around, she was sitting on the iron railing that wrapped around the porch.
“Hanging out with Crystal, ya know? A movie, mall . . . the usual.” I turned my back to my sister and rolled my eyes. Crystal let out a strangled laugh.
“What? No Clara today?”
I spun around on my heel and bore my eyes into her.
“For your information, I did not steal your friend, nor do I hang out with her every chance I get. Don’t suck me into the middle of your marital problems.” I moved around Crystal and the Cooper to slide into the driver’s seat. I could see Michelle in my rear view giving me a dirty look, and then she disappeared inside.
“Well, I guess she doesn’t like you and Clara being friends,” Crystal said as she closed the passenger door.
“Michelle saw her get out of my car at Chad’s. Now she thinks Clara is blowing her off to hang out with me.” I winced, realizing it wasn’t entirely false information, but Clara had her own reasons for not hanging out with Michelle. All that had nothing to do with me.
Since the clearing had been compromised, and none of us wanted to lose a vehicle, we decided to use the woods surrounding my parents’ house in Dublin. I called Ophelia and asked if it would be okay. I think she laughed at me before she told me I didn’t have to ask. The house was titled in my name. She thought that was why my name had never changed when I was adopted. Helen and Michael had told me when I was twelve and had asked them that question. They didn’t want to take the identity my parents gave me and change or ruin it. I thought that was admirable at the time. I still do.
As we drove the hour and a half to Dublin, Crystal kept us well away from any awkward silences. She was able to hop from one topic to the next with ease. Once, when I thought she had run out of steam, she sneezed and kept on going.
Based on what she was going on about the most, there seemed to be some trouble between her and Matt. He wanted to spend more time in the woods as an animal, and she felt he didn’t care about her anymore, since she felt that was his way of avoiding her.
“Since I gave in, he’s just been so distant.”
“Wait, since you gave in?” I chanced a glance in her direction while maneuvering the Cooper in and out of traffic.
“You know; I mean, we talked about this. We said we were going to wait until we were eighteen.”
“So . . . what? Like on your birthday?”
“Well, yeah. It was my gift to him.” She looked out the window and became suddenly very quiet.
I realized it was a possibility, but we had always talked about everything. I felt like I’d been spending too much time away from my friend. I didn’t even know the most important things about her until weeks later. I sunk down in my seat and concentrated even harder on the road.
Crystal sat in silence for the first time since, well, since forever. There had only been two other times, in all the time we’d been friends, that she had ever sat this quietly. Once was when her parents had gotten into a huge fight, and her father insisted that Crystal and her brother should live with him. Crystal didn’t realize it at the time, but later on, her brother told her it was because of Wiccan problems.
Will Freeman was not a magical being. The story I got from Chad, and later from Crystal herself, was that her parents had dated and were high school sweethearts. They got married against Elle’s parents’ wishes. Before the wedding, Elle told Will about who she was. Peter, Crystal’s brother, had been born only a year out of high school. Elle and Will had struggled with life and college at the same time. By the time Elle had graduated from law school and was eight months pregnant with Crystal, Will had moved out.
Will had told the kids at some point that he suspected Elle of using magic in school. Overwhelmed in her last year and about to have a second child, she was obsessed about finishing school and being able to provide a good life for them. He felt he couldn’t compete with her career. He didn’t even think she had wanted to be a mother at that point.
Crystal hadn’t spoken for three hours once, when we were ten years old. Her father had gone to her house every weekend for six months and spent time with the three of them. I had guessed her parents were trying to make things work between them. Of course when people aren’t meant to be together, the inevitable happens. Elle and Will had fought that last weekend for an entire Sunday, and Crystal had run to my house in tears. She curled up with me in my room and we watched old movies.
The second time was when we were fourteen. Crystal had a recurring sore throat for months, and finally had to have her tonsils out. She couldn’t talk for almost a week.
I sat in silence and stared as the white lines on the road passed by the car in a blur. I didn’t even notice how close to the exit we were until it was almost too late. I swerved so hard to make the turn in time that Crystal ended up smooshed into the window she was staring out.
“Hey!” she yelled as I slowed for the traffic light on the exit ramp.
“I guess the passenger should watch the road, too,” I said while giving her a goofy look.
It didn’t take but two split seconds for us both to start laughing so hard that tears were sprouting from our eyes. I had to move my sunglasses from my face and rub them away so I could see. After our laughter subsided, Crystal resumed her usual chattiness.
“So, you and Chad? Have you?”
“No, and I doubt that will ever happen. He’s so mad at me right now, it’s a wonder we’ll even be able to do the ritual tonight without anything backfiring.”
“What do you mean?”
“From what Alistair says, emotions play a big part in how your magic responds. Chad and I have been at odds for weeks.”
“Alista . . . you didn’t tell me you were training with your grandfather. I thought you and Chad were just, ya know . . . busy.” She looked at me
and I caught the hurt in her voice.
“I’m so sorry. There’s been so much going on. I just found out I’m a witch, my parents were supposedly killed by their own family. Then poof . . . nope . . . they’re alive, on another plane of existence, and my mother’s own sister put them there.” I stopped for a breath and pulled the car up the winding, wooded road. “Not to mention, I’ve been dodging all these attacks and hoping not to get any one of you hurt in the crossfire. Last weekend could have been so much worse. It could have been us getting blown up, instead of a couple of cars.”
I had to calm down and pay more attention to my driving. My adrenaline had picked up just reliving the memory of it that I had my foot pushed too hard into the gas pedal. The faster the little car hit each bump, the harder we were landing on them. I started counting to ten, and Crystal held on to the handle above the door to pull her bottom off the seat.
Finally, the little house appeared in front of us. I pulled the Cooper off the road and to the left so others had a chance to park, noting that we had arrived first. Ophelia was in the window waving, so I waved back and then turned to Crystal.
“I’m sorry I’ve been off doing my own thing. I had to make sure we were going to have no problems with this tonight. I didn’t want the fact that I didn’t grow up around all of this to be the reason I let you all down. I needed the extra training, and to be honest, I think Alistair needed to find a way to connect with me. His daughter has been presumed dead for seventeen years, and then out of the blue, he found out about me.” I looked at her and tried to gauge her thoughts until she hugged me.
“We knew about all of this our whole lives, you’re right. We went to school every day, knowing you didn’t know who or what you were. You owe me no explanations. Furthermore, there is no way you’re not going to be able to do this tonight . . . we all have parts to play, and we will be there with you to help you along. We got this, Elyse.”
She looked at me. The weight that had been sitting on my chest, all of the pressure, had lifted. Why hadn’t I thought about that before?
“Okay, then let’s go.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
We spent the next few hours setting up a clearing deep within the woods, behind the old cabin house. As I had been told, there would be witches and shifters lingering around us. I began to let myself be in the moment, rather than worry about the impending attacks from Sabina. I didn’t want to think about her or what she was capable of doing tonight, if she had even learned of our new location.
I had almost forgotten, until we arrived at the cabin, that Sabina had already visited Ophelia once before. That was the night I learned the truth of my parent’s imprisonment. She had obviously attacked them when they were in the cabin house. So, she had known about it since the night she took me away from them. It wouldn’t be a hard guess at where we had moved the ritual, and I was grateful my parents had thought of that, and the backup.
Chad and Chester showed up shortly after we had the clearing fixed and were making our way back to the house. Matt walked into the woods, opposite the house, and waved Crystal over to follow him. Chester looked from Chad to me, and back to Chad again, but didn’t say anything. I was sure he was aware that something was off between us, and I knew what he would say. He grabbed a bag from the back of the truck and walked up the front steps, stopping to look back at the two of us.
“Fix this. Magic feeds on emotions. Don’t let this be the reason something doesn’t go right.” He didn’t stand around long enough for us to dispute him. He hoisted the bag in his hand and walked inside.
Chad stood down by the truck. I walked down until I was even with the nose of the Cooper.
“So, was that his doing, too?” I asked, pointing into the direction that Matt and Crystal had walked.
“Yeah. My dad feels like there’s a power shift in our circle. He could feel it all week.”
We had met every day after school the last week, going over everything and making sure it went smoothly. Each day ended with Chester’s frustration at the fact that we had all been at odds with each other. Nobody wanted to talk or ask questions, when we were usually misbehaving because we wouldn’t stop talking and asking ridiculous questions.
“Well, there has been some stuff going on. Impending doom and all.”
“You know that’s not the problem . . . at least, not with us.”
“What do you want me to say?”
“I want you to say we can be friends. I don’t want us to be awkward as we have been. I miss the way things were.” He shuffled around a few dried leaves with his foot.
“After all these years, I don’t consider you a friend anymore.” I stopped short, looking away from him, but the cork had been pulled and I had no choice but to explain it. I looked up and he shot me a look that burned straight through to the depths of my soul. “Not just a friend,” I added quickly.
His facial expression relaxed and changed. “Then what?”
I couldn’t help the anger building in me any more than I could explain why it was there. I let it go with every word I shouted out at him, and I didn’t care if everyone in the vicinity heard me.
“You really need me to tell you? We have spent every minute we could have together. I know that for you, it was about being my protector, but for me . . . Damn it, Chad!” I flung myself around so I didn’t have to see the question in his eyes. “I’m just a girl. We get emotionally attached to people, and things.” I laughed a little. “I already love my car and I’ve only had him a few months. I’ve had you for a lifetime.” I turned again to look at him.
“I don’t understand, E.”
“We hold hands when we walk to school, we go to movies, hang out at each other’s house, and we snuggle on the couch all weekend. Even when we’re out with friends . . . to me, it feels like a date.” I stopped as he took a step back. My fears about the time we had spent together were surfacing. He was merely protecting his High Priestess, and I’d fallen in love with him.
I turned around and headed to the clearing. Not hearing his footsteps behind me, I silently thanked the goddess that I would be able to cry in peace and let this go once and for all. I found the log we had pulled to the middle of the clearing for our altar and sat down. My back was still facing the house, and the silence pierced the air around me as the area ahead of me began to darken. Was it that late already? I looked up to the sky for the answer. Tears filled my eyes, but I could still see the blue sky between the trees.
That’s when I noticed that the darkness I saw in front of me was Chad’s shadow, and he was standing behind me.
“Believe me, I get it. You don’t feel the same way, and it’s okay.” I kicked a rock out of the clearing as I rubbed the tears from my eyes. Taking a deep, calming breath, I stood up and turned around. Chad stood, his back to the light that shone through the trees, so I couldn’t see the expression on his face.
“I have no idea where you would get that idea from!” It was his turn to yell, and I braced myself for it. “I’ve always wanted to protect you. The more time we spent together, the more I could watch over you.” He stopped and looked around.
“I know.”
“No, you don’t know anything, Elyse! I’ve been protecting you because I’m assigned to you. I’m a shifter and you’re the High Priestess. It’s been that way with our families for centuries, just ask Chester.”
“I know that too, Chad.” I sat back down on the log.
“Damn it, Elyse . . . ”
He turned around and walked to the front of the house. I didn’t know if we fixed anything or made it more complicated, but I felt a bit better knowing and hearing it in his own words. I was his assignment. A family tradition, passed down through centuries of Wiccan generations. In my family, High Priestesses are born, and his family were the protectors of them. So why had I thought anything could have been different? If we were to be together, we would change everything.
I stood when I saw Clara walking over to me.
“So
, you look . . . not happy at all. Need a hug?”
She slowed her steps to a crawl, crouched, and made a face. It was hard to believe that after a lifetime of hating this girl, at that moment, she would have been able to make me laugh, but I did.
“No, I’m good.”
“So, this is the new spot . . . how do we feel about that?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, did it even occur to you that your parents are . . . ” She held out her arms to the side and swung around, pointing everywhere. “Somewhere around here?”
“I actually hadn’t thought of that, but maybe my mother did.”
“Huh?”
I pulled the book from the box and placed it on the log. I turned it to the letter that had been waiting for me that morning, when I found the box in my closet. While she caught up on a little reading, I pulled the rest of our coven tools out and set them up in front of the log.
“Wow, so should we just assume they follow you everywhere? That’s kinda creepy.”
We shared a look that usually would have meant we smelled a rotting fish nearby. I thought on that. At the moment, I had to shake the thought from my head of being watched . . . really watched, my entire life.
“Okay then. Now that I’m sufficiently creeped out, can we go get the rest of the clan?” Clara started moving away backwards, and nearly walked into Crystal and Matt. “Never mind . . . were all here.”
“Where’s Chad?” Matt looked at me, but I just shrugged my shoulders. He gave Crystal a quick kiss on her temple and ran back to the house.
“So . . . ” I started to ask, but Crystal held up a hand.
“We’re fine. There was a communication problem is all. We are good.”
The smile on her face matched the smile in her eyes. I could tell my friend was feeling better, and silently wished I could have said the same. I went to her and hugged her, then playfully grabbed Clara and pulled her in too.
“Ok, now that everyone’s all happy and whatnot, can we get a run in before we lose the light?” Chester taunted as he set a large pedestal down, next to the log I had in the center of the circle. “Normally, we need a tall standing altar for this ritual, and with a flat surface.” He looked up at me and gave a sigh.
Immortal Slumber (The Crawford Witch Chronicles Book 1) Page 15
