Seduced by Magic

by Cheyenne McCray

  Silver had just finished wrapping Copper’s foot when Darkwolf was mentioned. Polaris the familiar hissed, and Silver stilled, a strange look on her face.

  Copper explained the battle with the warlock and the demon Junga, and their narrow escape. She told Silver about the library.

  “I scried as much in my cauldron—except you weren’t in the vision,” Silver said. “We were on our way there just now. Hawk was trying to make me stay here.”

  “I’ll bet they’ll change their base of operations now that we’ve discovered their location,” Copper said.

  “No doubt.” Silver gently set Copper’s bandaged foot on the floor. “But we can hope the D’Danann make it before they do escape.”

  “Darkwolf said you walked the line, close to the dark,” Copper said softly. “I didn’t believe it for a second.”

  Silver took a deep breath, her chest rising and falling. “No, I would never turn to black magic. But I do have a lot to tell you.”

  Copper waited, but Silver said instead, “Your dress.” She touched a leaf and fingered it at Copper’s shoulder. “It’s all vines and leaves.”

  “The Faeries made it for me.” Copper gave a wry smile. “I wasn’t wearing a darn thing because I was going to perform the ‘new moon’ ritual, and that’s when Darkwolf showed up and I was spelled into Otherworld.” Copper brushed at the leaves and vines of the skirt. “All the Fae were so mad about being imprisoned—they blamed me—that I had to run around naked for days. Eventually I made friends with the Faerie queen, Riona, and she had the dress designed for me. It’s magical—it never gets soiled.” She gave a big sigh and a grin. “I’m glad I had something to wear all this time, but you don’t know how badly I want to get into T-shirts and jeans!”

  “I still have all your clothes and belongings.” Silver hugged her sister. “I knew one day that you’d return. I just knew it!”

  “Thanks for not giving up on me.” Copper gave Silver a tight squeeze. “It’s more than wonderful to be back home. It’s incredible. Unbelievable!”

  While all of Copper’s scrapes, scratches, and cuts were being tended to, Silver and Copper spent time trying to catch up on everything that had happened in the fifteen months or so that Copper had been gone. Once Silver finished doctoring Copper’s wounds—which had all nearly vanished due to Silver’s magic—the sisters settled on one of Silver’s overstuffed couches, within touching distance, neither wanting to be very far from the other.

  When it was her turn, Silver explained who Hawk was and how he had appeared to her one night, warning her about the Fomorii being summoned by Darkwolf and his Clan of warlocks. Hawk told her she must perform a ritual to bring him and other D’Danann to San Francisco to battle the Fomorii. Silver had tried to convince their D’Anu Coven of the dangers they were about to face, but they refused to believe her until it was too late and the demons had taken all but Silver, Eric, and her apprentice, Cassia. Eric had later been murdered by one of the Basilisks the demons had brought with them.

  While Silver continued to tell Copper the condensed version of what had happened during the time Copper had been gone, Zeph buzzed around Polaris’s head and the python playfully stuck his tongue out as if to catch the bee. The two familiars had almost always gotten along well, and had shared their magic with both Silver and Copper more than once.

  “What happened when the Fomorii and Darkwolf took the D’Anu?” Copper asked with dread in her belly.

  “A lot.” Silver looked beyond sad. “Some of the witches and apprentices were murdered, a couple turned to black magic because they had no hope left—like Sara. Can you believe she turned to black magic? The others . . . they were traumatized and injured, but they’re alive.”

  “Witches murdered and turning to black magic. I just can’t believe it.” Copper laid her hand on Silver’s arm. “Where are they all now? What about Rhiannon and Mackenzie—are they all right?”

  Silver nodded. “They’re okay. As a matter of fact they’re living here with the rest of us—Jake Macgregor, the D’Danann, along with Hannah, Sydney, and Alyssa.”

  With a frown, Copper eased back on the couch, flinching when her foot hurt at the movement. “What about the rest of the D’Anu? Surely the Coven hasn’t split. That would destroy the balance of white magic with the other twelve covens in the U.S.”

  “I was banished.” Silver’s voice was soft as she spoke. “I used excessive gray magic and the Coven saw me performing it.” Her throat worked as she swallowed. “I killed, Copper. I didn’t mean to, but I killed a demon. And I also used my gray witchcraft to aid the D’Danann in slaying what Fomorii they could.”

  Copper stared at her sister in shock. “Surely you didn’t turn to black magic. Darkwolf said—”

  “No!” Silver’s features darkened. “I walked a little too close to it, but I never turned to the black.”

  Relief flushed over Copper in a warm wave. She hadn’t believed it, but when her sister said she had killed . . .

  “When I killed the demon it was in self-defense,” Silver said as if reading Copper’s mind. “And my gray magic—I think the Ancestors blessed me in what I had to do. Otherwise I shouldn’t have been able to summon the D’Danann, or banish many of the Fomorii back to Underworld. I think the Ancestors believe as I do that gray witchcraft is needed to fight these demons.”

  “What has happened to the Coven?” Copper fidgeted with the hem of her vine-and-leaf dress. “What about the balance?”

  Silver crossed her legs at her knees. “Apprentices from other parts of the United States and the world have come to San Francisco to replace those who are gone.”

  “So Rhiannon and the others left our old D’Anu Coven, too?” Copper asked.

  “Yes.” Silver pushed her long silvery-blond hair over her shoulder. “They believe the D’Anu are far too conservative and will not use the power that is needed to defeat the Fomorii. So we have started our own D’Anu Coven of gray witches.

  “But something surprising happened,” Silver continued. “Janis Arrowsmith visited me a couple of weeks ago.”

  Copper couldn’t help the surprise in her voice. “What did she want?”

  “It was kind of surreal,” Silver said, “finding Janis on my doorstep. She has appointed herself as representative from their Coven to ours. She is still angry with me for using gray witchcraft, but their D’Anu Coven is doing what they can with white magic. They are praying, chanting, and trying to heal whatever damage they find—taking the cleanup end, because it’s more consistent with their beliefs. They will come to heal after battles, restore plants and so forth.”

  Silver still looked somewhat mystified, when she added, “The part about helping us after battles surprised me, because that was almost like approval of what we’re doing. They just won’t have any part of actually destroying the demons.”

  “Interesting.” Copper raised her brows. “Of all the witches, Janis must have found that hard to do.”

  Silver gave a quirky smile. “You should have seen her. She was looking down her nose at me as if I were the lowest of the low, yet obviously giving an inch while we take the mile.”

  She continued her story, explaining how their parents, Moondust and Victor Ashcroft, had been taken hostage by the Fomorii and warlocks. Her voice choked when she mentioned their mother’s name, and when she got to the part about Moondust’s death, Silver fell apart and so did Copper.

  They comforted one another the best they could. When Silver explained her talk with their father, Copper had a hard time believing that their hard-as-nails father had opened up so much. Oh, he loved them, but he wasn’t one to show emotion. She couldn’t wait to talk to him. The fact that Moondust had been half Elvin was amazing, but when Silver explained how they could move between Earth and Otherworld because they too were part Elvin, Copper shook her head in amazement.

  “So it’s only a matter of being taught by Cassia how to use the entryways?” Copper asked.

  “I’ve taken Hawk acr
oss several times to see his daughter, and to visit his home.”

  Copper noticed the way her sister looked every time she spoke Hawk’s name. She grinned and interrupted Silver. “You and Hawk have a thing going.”

  Silver gave a radiant smile. “I’m in love with him. He can be frustrating and overprotective at times, but he’s mine.”

  “So he has a daughter?”

  “Her name is Shayla, and she is so precious.” Silver’s expression grew animated and her tears dried. “She chatters like a little bird. I adore her and she acts the same with me. When Hawk and I are bonded, we’ll live part of the time in Otherworld, and part here in San Francisco.”

  Silver’s smile disappeared and anger filled her voice next. “Once we rid this world of the Fomorii, that is.”

  The door opened with a crash that made both sisters jump in their seats and their gazes to shoot toward the door.

  Hawk and Tiernan stormed in, both looking furious.

  “They were gone.” Hawk scrubbed his hand over his stubbled jaw. “They managed to escape before we made it there.”

  Tiernan looked like he wanted to kick something, and Copper was going to jump all over him if he did. Instead he rubbed his hand over his head and the tie holding back his hair slipped off.

  His hair immediately sprang up into a blond Afro with braids, and for a moment Hawk and Silver just stared at him. Then Hawk snorted and gave a laugh. Silver started giggling. Copper couldn’t help but laugh, too. The big, arrogant warrior looked like he’d been electrocuted. Well, he sort of had been.

  Tiernan snarled and snatched the tie off the floor and drew his hair back again.

  “The braids,” Hawk said in a choked voice, as if holding back more laughter, “are an especially fine touch.”

  Tiernan glared at all of them. “I need to bathe.”

  “We have to make up some dandelion shampoo.” Copper grinned at Silver. “Although back in Otherworld, the Faeries may have used some magic to help get rid of the frizzies.”

  “Maybe my shampoo will do.” Silver left to go into the bathroom within her bedroom, then returned within moments and handed it to Tiernan. “Let me know if this works.”

  While Tiernan stomped out the door to his own apartment, Copper explained the electrified wall that had kept them prisoner and how the Pixies enjoyed teasing Tiernan whenever he tested the barrier. Hawk and Silver laughed out loud as Copper told them about the Brownies clinging to his boots and nipping at his knees while the Pixies added flowers to their hair artwork.

  Hawk snorted again while Silver and Copper couldn’t stop laughing.

  “The big bad warrior with a Pixie Afro and an attitude,” Copper said between giggles.

  When they settled down, Copper talked about the Drow and King Garran, and how Tiernan had helped the Elvin warriors battle the giant. “It was thanks to Tiernan,” she said, “that they finally brought him down.”

  Tiernan eventually let himself back into the apartment, his wet blond hair subdued but still wavy. He looked clean and refreshed, even if he was grumpy.

  “Definitely need dandelion shampoo,” Copper said with a grin and Tiernan scowled.

  “I’ve got to take you downstairs.” Silver smacked her forehead with the palm of her hand. “Everyone will be crazy to see you again. And we need to call Father!”

  “I can’t wait to talk to him.” Copper looked down at her vine-and-leaf dress. “Can I clean up first? I’m dying for a nice warm bath and real clothes!”

  Silver was all smiles as they went to her bedroom, and she brought out one of Copper’s old chests from under her bed. The smell of cinnamon, spice, and cedar swirled through the air when Copper opened the chest. She smiled at her sister. Silver had put sachets in with the clothing to keep them from smelling musty.

  After Silver left the room, Copper dug out her favorite pair of worn jeans, a cropped T-shirt, jogging shoes, a thong, bra, and socks. When those items were piled on the bed, she paused and drew out one of her thigh-high boots and a sexy silk mini-skirt. Wouldn’t Tiernan just die to see her dressed to kill?

  As she put the skirt and boots back into the trunk, Copper grinned at the thought of being out on the town with Tiernan. Now wouldn’t that be interesting?

  She stripped out of her vine-and-leaf dress, folded it, and put it into her trunk. She winced from the pain in her foot as she walked to the bathroom. The aged knobs squeaked as she turned on the hot water, and soon the room was filled with warm steam and the sound of water rising in the bathtub.

  Copper climbed into the tub, careful to keep her bandaged foot raised on the side of the tub. She closed her eyes and reveled in the warmth of the water as it surrounded her skin. She’d had nothing but icy cold hand baths for so long. And this felt soooo good she didn’t want to get out. She shampooed her hair with Silver’s lily-scented shampoo, soaped her body, and scrubbed herself with a luffa sponge and lily body gel. She hadn’t had a decent bath for ages. Well, over fifteen months according to how long Silver said she’d been missing.

  When her fingers and toes started to wrinkle like prunes from being in the water so long, Copper knew she’d better get out. She let the water out of the tub, got up, then grabbed one of Silver’s fluffy sea-blue towels and dried herself from head to toe.

  It felt so weird putting on clothing. Everything seemed just a tad bigger after her sparse diet over the last year or so. And after wearing just that short little dress all the time, she felt as if she had on too much clothing. No matter, it still felt good.

  It did hurt like crazy to pull her shoe over her bandaged foot, but she was determined. She was a witch and she’d heal very fast, but right now she couldn’t help but cringe.

  The steam finally cleared from the mirror as Copper blow-dried her hair using her fingers as a comb. She paused. She hadn’t seen her own reflection for so long. Her cinnamon eyes stared back at her, her hair was long now, not shoulder-length, and the freckles across her nose seemed lighter. She looked different. A little older. Maybe a little wiser?

  She had to snort at that one. Wise—she didn’t know about that.

  As soon as Copper came out of the bedroom, Silver handed her the telephone. “It’s Father. I broke it to him slowly—didn’t want him to have a heart attack or anything.”

  Copper took the phone, her hand shaking. “Father?”

  “By the goddess and the Ancestors.” She heard the tears in Victor Ashcroft’s voice. “I have missed you so much, my little witch. It seems but a dream that you are back. That you are real.”

  “It’s me.” Tears coursed Copper’s cheeks. “I missed you so badly. I thought about you and Silver and Mother every single day.”

  “As you have never left my thoughts, daughter.” She heard a honking noise and knew her father was blowing his nose. “I must fly out there at once.”

  Panic welled up within Copper. She didn’t want to take the chance of losing her father—the Fomorii were still in San Francisco. “No. I’ll catch a flight and come home. Just give me a week, okay?”

  Victor finally gave in, obviously respecting her need for a few days to gather herself before she joined him in Salem.

  After her conversation with her father, she found herself being swept down to the new shop, Enchantments, and into the kitchen where she was hugged, exclaimed over, and bombarded with thousands of questions.

  She was fed real food—cooked by a part Elvin witch named Cassia, and plied with fruit drinks. Everything smelled so good and tasted even better—dumplings, ambrosia salad, asparagus with toasted pine nuts, honey-nut bread, and so much more.

  By the time she had finished eating, her head was spinning and she was so exhausted she could hardly keep her eyes open. Cassia seemed to be the one in charge and she told Tiernan to take Copper upstairs and put her to bed. Tiernan scooped her up and she gave a squeal, then insisted she could walk on her own. But with Silver leading the way, she was taken from the shop to the apartment building and into a vacant apartment with a
wonderfully soft bed.

  When Tiernan left for his own apartment next door, she wanted to fall facefirst onto the bed and pass out, but Silver insisted on helping her get out of her clothes first. She was wrapped up in a nice satiny robe and then put to bed like a child and tucked in.

  The last thing she heard was Silver’s voice saying, “Don’t you dare leave me again, Copper.”

  Copper snuggled into her pillow and murmured, “Don’t worry, I won’t,” before everything faded away.

  Fifteen

  She was in the passageway. Walls crowded in on her as she moved. Smells of damp earth, sulfur, and the stench of rotten fish crawled up her nose. She sniffed again. Wolfsbane, too.

  Down, down, down the tunnel she walked. She kept waiting for the blood to come rushing toward her, but all her wand light showed was more of the passageway ahead.

  Confidence rose within her. This wasn’t so bad. Nothing she couldn’t handle. She was a witch.

  She frowned. Ahead of her was a corner, red light bleeding around the turn, blending with her golden wand light and turning her light to a foul shade of crimson. Was that—was that a being with flames for hair?

  No. That was crazy. Nothing was there.

  Yet her confidence drained away, and her heart jumped back into her throat.

  When she rounded the corner she came up short. She was on a narrow pathway. Below her was a massive cavern with stalagmites and stalactites jutting from ceiling and floor. She’d never seen such an incredibly huge place. The walls were hewn of rough stone that glistened in the now red light of her wand. The entire cavern was bathed in red light.

  She started down the pathway. The trail was smooth and her jogging shoes didn’t make a sound as she crept forward.

  This place was old. So very, very old.

  Her journey seemed to last forever. She walked. Walked. Walked.

  Goddess, why was it taking her so long?

  And there! Those dark shapes again. She knew what they were. Knew it. So why couldn’t she quite grasp it?

  The shapes blended with the darkness and she pressed ahead.