The Heart of Arima.

by Emma V. Leech

  Yeah, eternity was looking shaky.

  It was getting late and my stomach was making itself heard so I figured I’d better get up. All the things we’d bought yesterday had been swallowed along with Rodney’s car and I now had less than no money and no presents. Something would have to be done.

  I headed to the main kitchen, all the while keeping an eye out for Cain, though for how long I thought I could avoid him I didn't know. Just as long as possible was good for me. I helped myself to croissants and a crusty baguette which someone had thoughtfully put out for me, and ate more than was good for me. Apparently vanquishing a goddess gives you an appetite.

  Once my stomach had been dealt with I investigated the cupboards. With a grin I realised I had Rodney’s present sussed at least. Feeling pleased with myself I crossed him off the list. What the hell could I give the vampires though?

  I had thought long and hard about Corvus’ present and I was thrilled with what I’d come up with. It hadn’t actually cost me anything but a lot of time and effort and I knew it would please him more than any expensive gift would. Before Corin had turned up like a bad penny I had just figured out what I had been doing wrong and had been so excited about giving it to him. Cyd had helped me, and had suffered for it. I definitely owed her something nice. The problem was that she had extremely expensive tastes and didn’t wear anything unless it had a designer label sewn in. I decided to head over to Inés’ and see if I could find anything in her herb room. I figured she'd probably be sulking now she knew that she was never going to have a King of the fae for a grandson but she'd just have to lump it.

  She'd been disgusted but intrigued by my work on Corvus’ present and to my surprise had joined in the work. Only, she insisted, because it was interesting magic. I did harbour concerns that she was probably storing the knowledge away for an opportunity to use it against some poor unsuspecting vampire in the future instead of what it was meant for but there was little I could do to control Inés.

  I pulled up at the cottage and sat in the car for a moment. I watched the smoke curling out of the chimney and looked at faded blue shutters, remembering a morning not so very long ago when I’d done exactly the same thing. My life had begun to change that day. Despite everything I’d been through and all that was still to come, I didn’t regret coming. Sometimes it was easy to long for a normal life, where the most I had to worry about was what university I should choose or what career to follow but then I would be missing out on so much. The magic was a part of me and the idea of a life without it seemed dull and colourless. The idea of a life without Corvus was unimaginable.

  I got out the car and grabbed hold of my coat as a fierce north wind blew up and snatched at it. The sun was shining this morning again and most of the snow had gone but the wind was freezing and took my breath away as I hurried to the front door and pushed it open, ramming it shut again with my hip. “Inés,” I yelled, pulling off my coat and unwinding my scarf.

  Boughs of holly and pine branches decorated the cottage, a small tree glistening in the corner. Her decorations were a million miles away from Rodney’s gaudy tinsel and gold angels. She’d strung cranberries and popcorn and made baubles from crystals strung onto gold wire. Slices of dried oranges hung on strings too and she had a bowl of oranges studded with pretty patterns of cloves, which gave off a wonderful spicy scent. The effect was understated and very beautiful.

  Inés didn’t actually celebrate Christmas as such but rather the old pagan celebration of Yule, which for me was a blessed relief as before everything in my life had gone to hell I’d made Corvus invite her for Christmas. The words had almost choked him but to our immense relief she had declined as she had made other plans. We were both looking forward to our first Christmas together and I would have hated it to be ruined by the two of them sniping at each other all night. Equally I would have felt awful if she had been spending it alone.

  This meant that it was just me and Corvus, and Rodney and Amelia celebrating together. To my surprise Cain had agreed to come for dinner, and Cyd was going to pop in at some point. The French traditionally celebrated Christmas on Christmas Eve rather than on the day and that obviously suited the vampires, so we were sticking with it.

  With Rodney’s new interest in food it also meant I could go the whole hog and cook a turkey and all the trimmings without having to be the only one stuffing my face. Rodney was quite excited about it, as was Amelia. She couldn’t eat anything but was keen to help with the cooking. This surprised me as she couldn’t normally bear to get her hands, or manicured nails, dirty and I had to admit I couldn’t wait to tell her she was in charge of stuffing the turkey.

  I went over to the range and was helping myself to a cup of coffee when Inés came out of her herb room. She brought with her the usual intriguing smells. I could decipher thyme and rosemary but everything was overlaid with the smell of magic. I wondered what she’d been working on.

  She looked at me with a sigh and shook her head sadly.

  "Don't, Inés, just don't. I was being tricked and manipulated!"

  She pouted and poured herself a cup of coffee. "Peut-être, but you could still have had the child. You saw it. He was gorgeous, powerful, just like his Papa. Didn't you want that?"

  I felt my stomach clench in anger that she would speak to me like this when she knew everything I had suffered. "I really don't think we should talk about it," I said through gritted teeth as the magic sparked at my fingers.

  She rolled her eyes at me. "Gods, Jéhenne, the opportunities you are given and throw away ... What I would do in your position."

  "Oh please!" I sneered at her. "Frankly, I don't think any of us are in any doubt about what you would have done. Bloody hell, Corin is the biggest womaniser I've ever come across and you even frighten him!"

  A smile settled over her mouth that made her look like a satisfied cat and I fought nausea. "With good reason, cherie," she chuckled and I looked away in disgust. "Alors, so what are you here for, I’m assuming it’s not for the pleasure of my company?”

  “I'm broke and I need a Christmas present for Cyd. I thought I'd make something, if that’s OK?”

  She nodded, getting up and going to a big plate on the sideboard. She uncovered it to reveal a big chocolate cake and I groaned inwardly. “Bien sur, cherie, my house is your house, you know that. Help yourself to whatever you want. Alors, du gâteau?”

  “It’s not even lunch ... Oh what the hell, yes please.”

  She cut me a disgustingly large slice and then the same again for herself. I wondered how she stayed so slim. Maybe she had a spell? Now that would be magic worth knowing about.

  She handed me the chocolate cake. “I take it you heard what happened yesterday- with Hekatê?"

  She frowned at me and I raised my eyebrows.

  “You mean to say you haven’t heard about it? Wow, your jungle drums are a bit slow aren’t they?”

  I grinned as Inés forked a large piece of cake into her mouth and looked daggers at me through narrowed eyes. She prided herself on always knowing exactly who was doing what to whom in the supernatural community, so missing out on that bit of info would really gall her.

  “Alors?”

  I filled her in on everything she’d missed, and she listened, nodding occasionally until I got to the bit about the birds. She choked on her cake and got up out of her chair in such a hurry it scraped alarmingly on the stone floor. I ran her a glass of water and she gulped it down.

  “Les Corbeaux?” she rasped.

  “Er, yeah, I guess.”

  “Non!” She slammed the glass down with such force I was surprised it didn’t shatter. “Il n'est pas juste ! Pourquoi est-il toujours vous?”

  Bloody hell it was the ring all over again! “Well it isn’t my bloody fault. I don’t even know where they came from! It’s not like I did it on purpose. I don’t even know how I did it. I take it you can’t?”

  “Non!” She took another sip of her water and I could see the effort it took he
r to calm down. “Les Dames Blanche have always had an animal to call, for us it was always the birds. Obviously that is why our family are known as Les Corbeaux, the ability to control and communicate with the birds but ... But the gift was thought lost. It’s been generations since anyone could call them. It just always seems to come to you so easily, Jéhenne, it’s not fair.”

  “Easily?” I gaped at her in horror. I couldn’t believe the words had come out of her mouth. I mean this was Inés. I should be used her by now but honestly ... that really took the bloody biscuit! “Are you out of your frigging mind? Has Cain explained what's been going on? Well, alright then, Inés. I tell you what, you pop off to the underworld, go fight the Ekhidna and get Sariel’s heart and then go and give Hekatê back the key and get back here without her killing you. Oh, and while you're at it tell the bloody freak who's haunting my dreams to fuck off and leave me alone. Do that and I’ll give you the bloody birds, the ring, the key, whatever shit you want ... It’s yours, right?”

  “Oh, Jéhenne," she said, her eyes cold. "There is no need to be such a prima-donna!”

  “Wha ...?” I snapped my mouth shut and clenched my fists, sending blue sparks flying in all directions, and retreated to the relative safety of the herb room before my temper got the better of me. I made good and sure to slam the door hard enough that all of the glass jars rattled on the dresser but decided it was safer to leave it at that. I could have cheerfully murdered her at that moment but what the hell, she was family. Dammit.

  Chapter 38

  A couple of hours later Inés braved the herb room to come and bring me some tea and a croque monsieur. I knew it was as close as I’d ever get to an apology from her so I said thank you, if a little ungraciously, and we managed to work together for the rest of the afternoon without killing each other. Mainly because we both kept our mouths shut. She did help me make a rather wonderful spell for Cyd though, which I knew she was going to really love, so I guessed that was something.

  It was getting dark by now and we’d lit dozens of candles around the room. When we worked magic it always tripped the electric and we got fed up with tramping outside in the cold to turn the breaker back on, so now we stuck to candles. It felt cosy and familiar. The bundles of herbs gave off their various scents, bringing with them memories of warmer days. It was nice, the two of us working without trying to kill each other. I wished briefly that we were able to do this more often and that I could have an ordinary kind of grandmother, rather than a cross between a sex kitten and a sociopath but then nobody was perfect.

  She had begun writing up notes about whatever it was she'd been working on and I had calmed down enough to try and have a civil conversation with her. Admittedly, my choice of subject matter may not have been the most diplomatic.

  "So ... How's it going with returning the book to Aradia? That all sorted now is it?"

  She gave me a dirty look. "Cain has returned it to her, oui."

  "And ...?" I pressed, intrigued by the furious glint in her eyes. Whatever Cain had arranged as penance for her behaviour was seriously pissing her off. I restrained the desire to laugh in her face but I could feel a smile tugging at the corners of my mouth. "What's up, Inés, you got to stay after magic school ... Do a hundred thousand lines? I shall not steal from powerful witches ..." I sniggered and she narrowed her eyes at me. Good job I was family. "Oh come on, spit it out!"

  She huffed and folded her arms. "She wants help with something. She's coming here and I ... I will do some research for her and help her prepare the spell."

  "So basically you have to work for her until you've made amends."

  I was given the benefit of one of her scary looks and she decided not to dignify my comment with an answer. So yeah, she was working for the witch bitch.

  "When's she going to be here?"

  "Anytime now ... She's staying," Inés admitted, looking nervous. "Over Christmas."

  "No shit!"

  "Oui, shit, Jéhenne. What do you think the likelihood is of the two of us surviving Christmas? Damn Cain and his idiotic ideas. It's going to be a nightmare," she muttered gloomily.

  "Merry Christmas," I sniggered helpfully. Damn but it made me feel better when someone else's life got complicated instead of mine. “OK, Inés, I’m all done here. I’m going to get off now.”

  “Attendez un instant, Jéhenne, j'ai quelque chose pour toi.”

  I sat and waited obediently as she asked, wondering what it was she was going to get. I’d already left her present wrapped under the tree but I had wondered if she would buy me anything as she didn’t go for the whole Christmas thing. She came out of her bedroom holding two small parcels. I was surprised to see how differently they were wrapped. One in white tissue paper with a green silk ribbon and the other in what looked like hand-printed paper tied up with raffia and with a pretty card, again with a hand-painted Christmas scene on the front. Intrigued, I thanked her and opened the white parcel first. It was a Book of Shadows, kind of the witch’s version of a diary with details of spells cast and ceremonies etcetera.

  “It belonged to a good friend of mine. It’s very old but the spells are still good and ... I thought you might like it.”

  I turned it over carefully in my hands. It practically vibrated with magic, as if the spells were clamouring to be let out. Whoever the owner had been, she had been a powerful witch.

  “Was she Dame Blanche?”

  “Oui.”

  “What happened to her?”

  Inés sighed and bent to put some more logs on the fire, sending sparks flying up the chimney. “She died.”

  “She was killed?”

  “Non, she just ...got tired. She married a mortal man and their children did not inherit the gift. It’s rare now you know, and she watched them all grow old and die. It was too hard. She couldn’t bear the thought of outliving her grandchildren too, so she didn’t. She was a powerful witch.”

  "She was your friend?" I guessed.

  Inés snorted. "I don't have friends, Jéhenne."

  I smiled and nodded but despite her protestations I realised the book must mean a lot to her. “Are you sure you want me to take it, it’s obviously precious to you.”

  She smiled. “No, it is full of wisdom and ways long forgotten. Someone who can call Les Corbeaux should own it.”

  I leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll treasure it, thank you. Was she a Corbeaux then?”

  “Non, but she could call cats, in all their forms. You’ll find her advice works as well for birds.”

  I sat back down and turned my attention to the next parcel. The paper was thick and pretty enough to go in a frame. I held it up to admire it before looking at the contents, wrapped in tissue. Carefully unwrapping it I found the most beautiful athame.

  “Oh, Inés, it’s just lovely.” She got up and headed for the ugly dresser in the corner and got out a bottle of her home made eau de vie or ‘paint stripper’ as I thought of it, and two small glasses. I turned the knife in my hands. It had a simple black handle and runes inlaid across it in silver. Once again I felt a shiver of power against my skin. It had been used for strong magic. “Thank you so much, Inés. I don’t know what to say, it’s wonderful.”

  “Il n'est pas de moi,” she said, pouring out two large measures. "That one is from Heloïse."

  She knocked back the eau de vie in one go and refilled the glass, offering one to me. I shook my head. "No thanks, I have to drive."

  I looked around as a knock at the door sounded behind me. Inés buried her head in her hands and I almost felt sorry for her. Almost.

  I got up, as she was showing no signs of moving, and opened the door. There was a girl outside. She looked about twelve or thirteen, dressed in jeans and a pair of red converse. She had a big duffle coat that seemed to be a couple of sizes too large and a rucksack on her shoulder. She looked at me with interest.

  "So you're the witch everyone's on about?" She pouted. "I thought you'd be taller."

  I shrug
ged. "I thought you'd be older."

  She grinned, deep green eyes twinkling maliciously. "Helps to pass unnoticed. Little girls are not usually dangerous and those who think to take advantage of that fact, they come to a sticky end."

  I nodded approvingly. "I like you."

  She stuck out her hand and I shook it. "Aradia, pleased to meet you."

  "Jéhenne, and you'd better come in, it's freezing out there."

  She stepped through the door and I bit back a smile as I saw Inés glower at her.

  "Oh, do wipe that miserable look off your face, Inés. You messed up, you pay up. Stop sulking or it's going to be a very long week."

  It was extraordinary and delightful to see Inés put in her place by, what looked like a child. I mean I knew she was ancient, far older than Inés in fact but still. I saw sparks flashing at Inés' fingertips and I sat back down at the table. This was going to be fun.

  "Didn't you have somewhere to be, Jéhenne?" Inés glared at me.

  "Yes, absolutely but this is so entertaining I may stay a while."

  "Non." She shook her head. "You may not."

  Aradia had divested herself of her coat and bag and given the kitchen a cursory glance. "Well then, Inés, let's get started. Go and get the stuff we need prepared please." She sat down and made herself comfortable in the chair beside the fire and looked at Inés expectantly. "Well? What are you waiting for?"