Again I cried out for my Elementals. I tried to summon my Spirit. They hadn't taken that! But it wasn't answering. It was too weak and needed the other Elements to fully form. I was helpless and losing my vision as I gasped for breath.
The Hammer pulsed once against my chest. I felt it ripple out through the house and under my back. The world turned red and I thought it was blood over my eyes. But it sparkled and glittered as it lowered a filter over my vision. I looked through it at the Shadow and saw a kid. A skinny, terrified, insane child filled with rage and anger. I saw the make up of his soul as it glittered bright and pure, and then began to decay. Dark, rotting patches of it fell away and I knew I was watching what was, to what it was becoming.
The warnings about Shadow People and what they were. Bundles of emotions. A forgotten son. Left to die by parents who didn't even bother to call while they were off vacationing. A kid that never fit in. A kid that never had power, until today.
And then I saw my dad through the Shadow's eyes. I saw him yelling and screaming at something Pauline couldn't see. I saw him grab the knife and try to stab at it—over and over until he realized he'd stabbed the nurse. Pauline tried to take the knife and he stabbed her too. She staggered away to the door, barely making it to the couch before she fell to the ground.
I watched as light came back to my dad's eyes and he was himself in those last seconds as he realized what he'd done. Despair washed over him as he sat in that chair and stabbed himself until he couldn't pull the knife back out.
And through it all I heard the Shadow's laughter.
Laughter at horror. Laughter at what it had done. A final revenge against the Witch that took the children from him. Oh yes…he'd had plans for those children once he figured out how to control them. Manipulate them.
And then I took a long hard look at the Shadows legs and saw the bloody stumps of where my Gnome's axe and removed its shins and feet. The thing was in pain.
And it wanted to cause pain.
I saw it all in seconds as the Hammer's power, a power that now settled inside my blood, showed me what I could do. It instructed me on how I could easily, so…very easily…take the Shadow down to its base elements. I reached up and with a single touch, made it disappear. I heard Ronald Kennett's screams as he felt every painful, agonizing separation of every molecule of his body. The body is made up of billions of pieces, an infinite universe.
He would be screaming for a very, very long time.
I saw my father's body. He was no longer there. The vessel began its decay. I sat up and reached out for it. Touched my father's knee. Bid my creator a farewell as it disintegrated. I pushed up and touched the chair. That too fell away and then Pauline's body vanished. The nurse's body. I could see the make up of every thing in the room, the house, the yard, and the neighborhood. I could erase the place of my greatest pain!
There would be nothing!
No reminder of where my father died! No house to stand and suffer through another family. I could just banish it all.
A movement into doorway caught my attention. At first I thought it was Grey. Beautiful Grey. I beckoned her to join me. We could both disappear together in this red haze of peace. But it wasn't my wolf. It was a woman, dressed in a dated business suit, with dark hair and a familiar face. She came to me, held out her hand and spoke to me.
"Let it go, Sam. You can control it."
I didn't know what she meant. Control what?
"Sam, if you don't stop. If you don't use your Spirit to cap the power, it will destroy you, me, Crwys, everyone. Please…stop."
Spirit. I had called upon Spirit. But it wasn't strong enough. Until I summoned it again. The red haze faded as the glitter dimmed. It didn't want to do that.
An angel came into view. He was magnificent, with his golden skin, red amber eyes and leather wings. He wore nothing as he held his hand out to me.
Come back.
Was this my Spirit?
And then it was gone. A blink. A breath. A gasp. A stumble. A reawakening of color and smell. Of sound and taste. I stumbled and fell into Crwys's arms. He stood where the angel had been and his eyes were the same.
"Samantha," he said as he looked into my eyes. "I've been alive for a very, very long time. But you are the first human who has ever scared the hell out of me."
I shivered at him. I was cold. Wind brushed my hair against my cheek and I looked around the living room.
But there was no living room. No house.
We were standing in an empty lot.
We need to go. The neighbors are going to start looking out their windows.
"I know." Crwys picked my guns up off the pine straw ground and put his hands on my shoulders. "Are you with me, Sam?"
"Where…where is dad's house?" I looked around. I recognized the lot. I knew the house across the street. I was shaking now, but not from cold. "Crwys…where is my dad's God damn house?"
Grey barked.
But I heard, Get her in the car!
I looked at my familiar. I looked at the lot as Crwys led me away to his car. We piled back in and he urged me to put on my seat belt as he backed the car out of the concrete drive, the only thing left of what had once been my father's house. He turned the car down a side road as I heard sirens behind us. I turned to see cop cars arriving.
"I did that," I turned back around. "I remember…Kennett's dead."
"Kennett is in hell. A hell you put him in," Crwys glanced at me. "I can't say I'm sad about it."
"I…" with a look at my hands I stumbled over the memories. "I touched my dad and Pauline."
"Sam…I think what just happened, is what all the lessons your people taught you about Arcane Magic is for."
I leaned back in the seat. Pressed myself into the vinyl cushion. Arcane Magic will change you. It will take things from you. Arcane Magic doesn't belong in this world.
It was all true. This was what I'd been warned about. I'd obliterated my father's house, his body, Pauline's body, the nurse, and everything in it. And I could remember the cold, calculating method I'd used to do it. I hadn't felt anything. Except…satisfaction.
I grabbed at the USB around my neck, but the necklace wasn't there. I looked around the car and grabbed at the dashboard. "We have to go back. The Hammer came off the chain. It's not around my neck."
But he didn't turn around. He glanced at me and shook his head. "It didn't fall off, Sam. It's still there."
I put my hands to my chest. But there was nothing there.
He pointed to the rear view mirror.
I pulled the mirror down to look as I leaned over.
There…in the center of my chest was a tattoo of a combined symbol, the hermetic representations of the elements, all surrounded by a circle. "What…the hell is this?"
"I don't know, Sam," he looked straight ahead. "I just don't god damn know."
I went crazy for a little while. Not like straight-jacket crazy. This was something that happened inside. I avoided everyone for a few weeks. I spent Yule alone in my apartment. Crwys kept Grey and I closed the shop. He offered to pay the rent and utilities until I got my shit together.
But I wasn't sure that was ever going to happen.
Ivan called every day. He left me vlogs in my email. Kyle sent me hand-written letters and I could see the magic as it swirled around each one. They were reaching out.
I was pulling back.
Crwys was the only one that really left me alone. He didn't visit or write. But I had the feeling he was there.
I tried to have the tattoo removed. But nothing the artist did worked.
I even poured acid over it.
It burned like holy hell and when I finally recovered from that pain, it was still there. Not a mark on me.
I followed the news. Arden Vervain was exonerated of all charges, and even got an apology. Ronald Kennett's death was ruled a tragic accident and the deaths of the three Elders…were a mystery. I was pretty sure they were filed under cold case and were forgo
tten by New Year's.
Robin finally called New Year's Eve. Apologized for being distant and asked about my dad's disappearance. The house and the two elderly people that lived there made national news. Funny how they never tried to contact me. I thought maybe Arden, Crwys or even Parliament had something to do with that.
We decided to put our relationship on hold. He was busy trying to establish a new life for the girls. I could hear how happy he was that Kathy had been found. We admitted we loved one another and promised to talk again soon.
After he disconnected, I held up my glass of wine and toasted him a rich and wonderful life.
I heard the footsteps first. I was sitting on my couch in my living area. It was a half hour before midnight, before the ball dropped in New York City. I had it on my flat screen. Booze on the coffee table, along with an assortment of MSG laced Chinese food from a few doors down.
I knew who it was even before I heard Grey woof. It was so good to see her and I hugged her as she jumped on the couch and licked my face.
Crwys looked good. He wore his usual shirt, leather jacket, jeans and boots and had nice glasses in one hand and a bottle of Dom Perignon in the other. "I figured no one should be alone on New Year's."
"Not even Samantha the destructor."
"Not even you." He grinned at me as he set the glasses and bottle on the coffee table and took his jacket off. He slung it on a chair and took the spot to my right. Grey made her big old self comfortable between us. He unwrapped the foil from the cork and held his hand over it as he pried it loose. It popped and champagne gushed out. He poured it into the two glasses and handed me one.
"It's not the new year yet. We've still got twenty minutes."
"I know. I wanted to toast you, Sam. You've had two shit months. Devastating news. And you've lived through it."
I held up the glass, we clinked and I downed half of it. "Wow. That's good. So, any word on my warlocking?"
"Arden said Parliament is torn. The majority wants it lifted with a year long commitment of service. Apparently they want you as a Tracker, like your mother was. But as she reminded me and the boys, they're also a bit long at making up their mind."
"So I could be like this for another day, or a year."
"Yeah. But at least you won't suffer the consequences of what a warlocking does."
I swirled the glass. "No…I just have to make sure I don't lose control again and make the entire city of New Orleans disappear."
"You won't do that."
"You don't know that."
"I do. Grey and I both do."
"Crwys…an entire house disappeared and three bodies. What does that make me?"
"It makes you human. Your despair, anger, and sadness handled it the only way it knew how. It was the first time you used the magic."
"No. I killed with it. Maybe that's all the magic knows how to do."
"I don't know. What I do know is that Grey and I have something to tell you. We've talked about it long and hard and she feels it's time for you to know the truth."
Truth. I sat forward. "Is this that truth Ivan mentioned in that note?"
"What note?"
I punched him before I put my hand on Grey's back. "What do you two want to tell me?"
That I can talk.
I was smiling when the voice came to my mind. I thought it was Crwys but his lips didn't move. And I'd seen him try and throw his voice before. He sucked at it. "Wait…that's the same voice I've been hearing now and then."
Because sometimes I can't help myself. I want to protect you and well, you're pig-headed like your father was.
I looked at Grey. She was looking up at me. "You…you're talking to me."
Yes.
"You've been able to talk all this time."
Yes.
I looked at Crwys. "And you knew this?"
"She and I spoke the day I met you. But she wanted me to keep it a secret."
"Why?" I put my hands on Grey's face and turned her long nose to me. "Why would you keep such a wonderful thing a secret?"
Because I'm not supposed to be here. Keeping others in the dark as to my existence is essential.
"I'm not following."
And that's okay, Sam-Sam. As long as I'm with you, can be here to protect you, watch you grow up, that's all I've ever wanted.
I stared at Grey. Hard. She'd called me Sam-Sam. Only one person had ever…ever called me that.
My eyes burned as I thought back over what I'd learned, what I knew about Faerie lore, about taking humans on the Wild Hunt. I remembered Arden's threat that she would not be Brendi's dog.
Crwys put a hand on my shoulder. "Go on. It's okay."
I heard cheers somewhere and realized the big, jeweled ball had dropped in Times Square. The pop and crash of fireworks lit up the New Orleans sky as I stared into Grey's human like eyes.
Was it possible? All this time? Here I thought I'd lost my entire family and I learn at the start of new year, I'm not alone.
"Only one person ever called me Sam-Sam."
Yes.
"You were there, in the Arcane veil."
I was.
I brushed a tear from my cheek as Grey licked at my nose. I wrapped my arms around her warm, soft neck. "Mom!"
Look for the next book in Eldritch Files, Elemental Moon!
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Glossary:
Pronunciations:
Crwys - Cruise
Medbh - Mayv
Sidhe - Shee
Dijin - Gin
Alfheim - Alf-hime
Definitions:
Magical Parliament - a grouping of 13 High Witches chosen from all over the world to regulate magic use and the teaching of magic so as to avoid revealing a Witch's presence to the Cowen world. There are more than 13 High Witches at any given time, but only 13 are chosen to serve in Parliament.
Demon Realms - worlds that exist outside and yet beside the Material Plane. Other names used for these realms are the Mental, Astral, Abysmal, Ethereal, Peripheral, and sometimes Alfheim.
Mother's Tracker - The Parliament once granted tracking rights to some Elder Witches, especially those with Elemental Gifts. The last Tracker to officially receive this right was Samantha's mother, Elizabeth Hawthorne. The right gave them the ability to see, hear, taste, and smell trails left behind by a named target. This is the magic Eliza used to track Dionysus and made it impossible for the Leviathan to escape Eliza's abilities.
Elemental Witch - A God Mother's child who possess all five of the Elemental Gifts; Earth, Air, Water, Fire and Spirit. The combination of the elements make the use of Spirit possible, though small instances can be achieved with little training. Elementals use their own energy to power their magic as they transmute the magic inherent in the Material Plane into power.
Dianic Witch - A God Mother's child who does not possess any of the Elemental Gifts. Dianics are given Gifts such as second sight, telekinesis, telepathy, aural visions, clairvoyance, and psychometry.
Elder Witch - A title given to any Witch possessing three Gifts, one usually required to be Elemental, who serves on the local counsels under a High Witch.
Magical Sight / Other Sight - the ability to see magic. All Witches possess this ability, but not all Cowens do. Those that can are usually slightly touched with a Dianic Gift.
Circle - Cutting the Circle is the Witch's ability to cut a circle into the Earth, thus creating sacred space for ritual.
Drawing Down the Moon - The ability of a Witch to join with the God Mother through Her blood in their vein
s. The phrase is also used by Dianic Witches when referring to creating sacred space.
Athame - Usually a black handled knife. The Witch's ceremonial knife. Represents the Witch's will.
Warlock - Often thought to be the term given to male witches. It's not. This is a state of banishment, when a Witch's connection to their magic is removed.
Hierarchy:
Cowens - Non Magical folk
Dianic Witches - God Mother's children possessing only Dianic gifts, such as telekinesis and psychometry.
Hedge Witch - God Mother's children whose Gifts contain an inherent, working knowledge of all of the Gaia's plants. They possess a very latent touch of all the Elements but not enough to wield them. They generate their magic through these combinations of herbs.
Elemental Witches - God Mother's children who possess all five of the Elemental Gifts.
Elder Witch - God Mother's children who possess at least one Elemental Gift but have dedicated themselves to their craft and their follow Witches for the betterment of all of the God Mother's children.
High Witch - A position voted upon; a position of leadership, and not one to take lightly. In order to be a high Witch, a God Mother's child must have at least two of the Elemental Gifts and one Dianic.
Cyber Witch - Still fairly unknown.
About the Author…
Phaedra Weldon is a writer and mother of one. Born in Pensacola, Florida, Phaedra was raised in the lush, green southern tropic of Georgia. She grew up on southern ghost stories told while eating marshmallows around campfires, or on the back of pick-up trucks in the middle of cornfields on chilly October nights. She worked as a Graphic Artist for over twenty years in the publishing and sign industries until she became a full time writer in 2009. Phaedra currently lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her daughter.
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