Magic Rising

by Jennifer Cloud

  They hooked Lora onto the block with chains that ran through holes in the slab. The cuffs were too big to pass back through, leaving Lora trapped, not that she was struggling. The girl seemed to be asleep.

  Sabrine had woken tied to a post at the edge of the circle just before they’d brought Lora down to the altar. Tech was tied next to her along with Gladys, Sabrine wasn’t sure when they’d gotten her. A few others stood nearby, one of whom was Detective Ryan Farmer.

  Farmer didn’t look well at all. He stood a few feet from her, swaying with his eyes closed. His hands were behind him, but not bound. Sabrine guessed that Farmer was working for Tamara but from the looks of things, he wasn’t a willing participant. Whatever Tamara really was, she had some mysticism locked away behind her actress’s façade.

  Sabrine didn’t like this at all. Even being this close to that circle frightened her. It gave off a weird feeling, like standing too close to a transformer with thousands of volts flowing through it.

  She tried to calm down, relax. Everything would be fine. Everything always worked out. Deirdre would appear kicking ass as usual, and by tonight they would be having drinks at that little coffee shop or maybe the tavern on the corner. Sabrine might even have two drinks, maybe even get plastered. Deirdre wouldn’t, she only drank water, but Sabrine was in the mood for something a little stronger, something that could erase the past twenty-four hours.

  That’s it, just think about tonight when all this is another ugly memory. We’ll leave Lora laughing and playing at Gladys’s house. Everything will be fine.

  Somewhere drums began to play. Very odd considering this was a compound in the middle of one of the most exclusive sections of town. She looked up and saw two speakers on the posts above. Great, the occult has turned to technology. She guessed it enhanced the mood and really, what was a good sacrifice without mood music?

  In front, strolling down the short walkway from the house was Tamara. She had a small entourage, a few flunkies carrying guns. It didn’t appear very magical but upon Tamara’s arrival, the circle started to hum.

  “It looks like things are coming together nicely. Bring our Dragonfly.”

  Sabrine shook her head, knowing she’d heard Tamara wrong. They couldn’t have Deirdre. She was unstoppable. Then Sabrine looked at Farmer, his quiet stance like some robot ready to be ordered to life.

  Please, no.

  Then came Deirdre, being led by two men on either side. On a good day, Deirdre could take them without breaking a sweat. This however didn’t look like a good day.

  Deirdre hung between them, appearing unable to walk under her own power. They brought her to the circle, stood her next to Lora, and then placed a dagger in her hand. Deirdre looked at the dagger and started moving it down towards Lora’s chest. Sabrine gasped, watching the metal drop toward Lora. Inches before impact with the girl’s flesh, the man at Deirdre’s left grabbed her hand.

  “Not yet. It must be done during the ceremony.” The man spoke slowly, as if it was the only way she could understand.

  “Dragonfly must be eager to get rid of her demons.” Tamara touched her shoulder. “Not much longer. Finish the ceremony and you’ll be free of Niam forever. If you’d like, I’ll make him suffer as he passes from you and into hell.”

  Without comment, Deirdre hung her head, staring at the dagger in her hand. Her expression seemed as blank as Farmer’s. In that moment, Sabrine started to scream. There was no way any neighbor would hear her. The area was designed too well, and from her position, all she saw were woods and walls. She kept screaming though, even after one of Tamara’s guards struck her across the face. Sabrine screamed for everything she was worth, hoping that her voice could break the spell. When the men had finally subdued her, by duct taping her mouth, there was no change in Deirdre. If anything, she looked worse.

  * * * *

  She’s trying to reach out to you.

  Deirdre ignored his voice. She had to or lose what little bit of her sanity had remained. The elixir had left her body, but the calming effect of Tamara had also faded. Niam could be heard again, quieter than with the potion, but not silent. She may never be free of them.

  The world was too dark. At least she could see and as she looked around, she saw Lora, lying there. The girl seemed to be asleep. That was some comfort considering what she had to do.

  Deal with me.

  Again she ignored him. She couldn’t deal with Niam or whatever remained after she’d killed him. Her mother had risked everything for her and Niam had killed her. Niam had tried to kill both of them. There was no way to make peace with that.

  I was doing a job. Stone House was everything. My cruelty was for the greater good.

  She wished he was alive so she could kill him again, this time making sure no black arts spell hung over her. After all this time free of him, she’d been cursed and it was worse because it had been by her own hand.

  Deirdre might’ve found her mother. The two of them could’ve run the business together. They would have dinners, talk about the world around them, maybe go shopping like Sabrine was always doing. Deirdre had been robbed of all that.

  Stone House had taken more than her family, it had taken her. She longed to feel real emotions, not the numbed-down, muted versions she’d been trained to deal with. All she knew was pain and that was an empty promise, something always there in the background, a certainty. There had been anger, and she’d learned to control it.

  Where was the love? I think we were both robbed of that experience. Inside her mind, Niam laughed.

  The one thing she longed for and never really knew was love. She didn’t love herself or anyone else. The one person she had loved died. Perhaps that made Deirdre a curse, something nasty to run away from. She didn’t seem real any longer, more like caught in a dream, cascading onto a stage where everyone knew the script but her.

  I don’t want to do this, she thought, looking down at Lora.

  Then don’t.

  The only chance she had to save any of them was to let Niam in, past his slice of her mind and into everything. Deirdre went to her knees. She couldn’t let Niam inside. He was evil. He would take her and she’d have no choice. Odds were he’d make her kill the girl anyway.

  Dragonfly, don’t.

  “It’s time,” Tamara said softly then began speaking that awful Latin.

  Deirdre began mumbling along, as the two men helped her back to her feet. She waited for her cue, while gripping the dagger tightly as she’d been instructed inside. The rules were clearly laid out. She was to stab Lora through the heart while repeating the words the guard whispered to her. When it was finished, she would give Tamara the dagger and, with a cut on the wrist, Niam would be taken out of her.

  Tamara raised her hands over her head and the circle around them seemed to come alive. The wind whirled, picking up strength in the incantation. In another moment it would be over. Either Niam would get her will or she risked losing it to Tamara.

  That’s it. I’m a better fate than the witch. We could work together.

  Deirdre closed her eyes and waited for Tamara. Waited to end this nightmare and go back to her house in her little subdivision. All she had to do was finish this and she would get her life back, or at least something of it.

  “I’m a murderer.”

  The guard next to her gave her an odd look that she saw from the corner of her eye. She didn’t dare make eye contact. Even a hired hand’s scorn was too much to bear, knowing the sin she was about to perform.

  “Now,” he whispered.

  Deirdre looked at Tamara, her sister who smiled broadly, hands still in the air above Lora’s quiet body. This was the moment, her only chance to be free and she would take it. She’d killed once. Doing it again shouldn’t be so difficult.

  “I’ve killed before. I liked it too.” Deirdre finally made eye contact with the hulking man next to her and she saw fear in his eyes. This she hadn’t earned through a heated fight, only the evil consuming her. “I like
d watching him die and it took him to teach me that sometimes, that’s okay. Shameful isn’t it, then again, most messy things are. Without the mess, there’s no justice.”

  She gripped the dagger tightly, holding it over Lora. Deirdre looked at Tamara and saw her nod. Then she brought it down, turning the blade to her target at the side. This way would she be free and right. Innocent little girls shouldn’t die.

  Tamara Haas gurgled, blood spreading over her chest. Deirdre pulled the dagger out but threatening the guards was unnecessary. They were tending their mistress, unable to staunch the flow of blood.

  Deirdre ran to the posts, cutting Sabrine and Tech free. Both ran to Lora, trying to find a way to free the girl from the chains. As if waking from a spell, one of the guards handed Sabrine the key. Deirdre only stood there, watching them release Lora, waking her by petting her hair out of her face. Gladys rushed over from the posts, tears streaming from her eyes, a stifled cry of relief coming from her closed mouth. By all appearances, things were right.

  “You had me worried there for a minute.” Sabrine hugged Deirdre, who managed to half heartedly hug her back. “You got to tell me what happened.”

  “Not now. Call the cops. I just want to go home.”

  Deirdre walked to the mansion, going inside and to a phone where she called a cab. Then she made her way out the entrance, feeling lost in the real world. Her head was too heavy, too full. Every second seemed to take an eternity before the yellow creature pulled up to take her away.

  She climbed into the cab and gave the driver the address. The choice she’d made hadn’t been easy, although she would never intentionally harm anyone, much less a child. She wanted Niam out of her head but Tamara’s price was too high. She supposed they’d reached a kind of truce, her and her parasitic friend. How long it would last, she didn’t know. In the end, she was certain he’d take over. He was too methodical, too detailed.

  There was more. She knew the identity of her father and his strange hatred. She feared his evil had passed into her like some defunct gene that she couldn’t deny. She didn’t want to become like him.

  After so many years of hiding from death, she’d committed two murders, and she knew her soul was darker for the crime. It seemed strange, but she wasn’t sure she could go back into security. Everything had changed, yet nothing had. She was different but familiar. Her world would go on tomorrow, but for some reason she didn’t think it should.

  The cab pulled into her driveway. She paid the driver then stood there, staring at her home like she’d never seen it before. Going inside, pulling off her clothes and crawling into bed was the only thing her body would permit, yet she didn’t think she could do something so mundane.

  What would sleeping be like? Will Niam run amok while I slumber? What will he do while I’m bathing?

  She stood there, staring, hardly aware of the dark figure coming toward her. When she registered it, she smiled. It was Noah, although she wasn’t ready to talk about anything. At least it was someone who wouldn’t demand that she sacrifice children.

  “What are you doing here?” She stepped forward, wishing he’d take her into his arms, hold her. She deserved some comfort after all this.

  “Deirdre?” He stood there a moment and that’s when she noticed the gun in his hand. “You shouldn’t be home yet.”

  She’d been afraid to use her senses since Niam slipped inside, but even before his intrusion, she’d never suspected Noah would harm her. His eyes lost the warmth, the caring he’d shown earlier. The expression could only be described as murderous and she didn’t have the strength to stop him. It might be better to go this way. A bullet to the brain and her sorrows would be over.

  “Noah, why are you pointing that gun at me?” She was too tired for this.

  He only smiled.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  The pressure in Ryan Farmer’s head reduced, and he looked at Tamara Haas. A crowd of people had formed around her bleeding body. Her voice was gone. He couldn’t feel her influence anymore, then he remembered what he’d done.

  His knees turned to jelly and it took very strict concentration to remain standing. He never considered himself weak but looking at the young woman they freed and brought to her feet made him realize exactly how weak he’d become.

  Behind the crowd, Ryan caught a glimpse of Deirdre going inside the mansion. No doubt she was going home, hoping to forget this horrible place. Then again, Deirdre had grown accustomed to the horrible. He, however, had not. The need to escape the sight of the stone circle, and the memories of Haas’ house grew overwhelming.

  “Are you okay?” one of Deirdre’s men asked. Tech, he thought it was.

  “No. I did some terrible things.” He wasn’t sure how long he could stay standing. The world swam in front of his eyes and he wished he could wake from this nightmare.

  “You’re telling us?” Tech patted him on the shoulder. “It’s okay. Tamara had a hold on all of us.”

  It was more than that but Ryan couldn’t explain how badly he’d wanted Deirdre dead. The sensation had ended though, almost like a spell had lifted. Tamara couldn’t be blamed though. The thoughts, the need to track Deirdre down, had started a long time ago when Smythe was his partner.

  Ryan had always thought Smythe dating Deirdre was odd. Whenever he was alone with him, Smythe never had a kind word to say about her. It was only after she’d agreed to go out with him that things had slowly changed. Smythe always hung around Ryan’s desk but never said another word against Deirdre.

  In the distance, he heard sirens, no doubt heading here. He didn’t want to talk to them, to explain. Too much had happened for logical discussion and another long series with IA made his stomach turn.

  “I need to go. Is there any way we can leave my name out of this?”

  Tech grinned but instead of cruelty, he seemed to understand. “Sure. Get out of here.”

  Ryan went through the mansion and found the garage. He had a vague recollection of parking his car there. It was dreamlike and strange. He remembered seeing Deirdre and loading her into the backseat while she mumbled incoherently. She’d been in pain. That was the one thing he remembered clearly.

  “What in the hell am I going to tell Deirdre? What have I done to her?”

  He’d broken so many laws and trusts. It wasn’t like him to behave that way. Sure, he’d screwed up a few times but nothing illegal, nothing immoral. The fog lifted away and he realized that he hadn’t felt right in months. Could Smythe have done something to him? Before Tamara, he never would’ve believed it but now he couldn’t trust his next thought, afraid it was transplanted by some foreign will.

  Come to think of it, many people who worked closely with Smythe had a deep-seeded hatred for Deirdre. He’d heard them talking, their conversations matching his too closely to be coincidence.

  The police sirens grew louder and he knew this wasn’t the time to piece together the last few months.

  “I’ve got to get out of here.”

  * * * *

  “You wouldn’t believe the day I’ve had.” Deirdre looked at the gun still pointed at her. “Why are you here?” She had a bad feeling about this but after all the madness, she didn’t trust herself.

  Smythe answered her question with another. “What happened with Tamara? It’s like she’s not connected with the family anymore.”

  “How did you know where I was?” She watched his movements. He didn’t seem to be in a trance like so many of Tamara’s other accomplices. Whatever he was doing, was of his own free will. “Well?”

  He could’ve heard it over the radio but she didn’t trust the look in his eyes. It wasn’t the soft way he’d gazed at her over dinner. This time he looked annoyed with her presence.

  He’s the source. The thought came through hard like a lightning bolt. He’s one of Colinster’s men.

  “I thought you were going to switch teams.” He cocked the gun and held his finger on the trigger. Noah Smythe was ready to kill her and she wa
s having trouble gaining the will to fight.

  “You knew about that?”

  She took a step back, searching for a weapon, but those had been taken from her at Haas’ place. There wasn’t much to hide behind either. Odds were she could take him, but he’d get in at least one good shot in the process.

  “You’re the source.” Deirdre repeated the foreign thoughts in her head. “You reported my movements to Colinster. You knew I had Shope. Did you arrange his death? Is that how he ended up with a gun and managed to get out of a police car?”

  “That’s right. We couldn’t have that Shope bastard coming after his daughter or making a scene. Once we had Tamara, she helped confirm that you were indeed from the original Stone House. Colinster was thrilled to hear about his daughters. He wants both of you in his fold.”

  “There are probably a dozen cops at Haas’ place right now. That is over. There’s no way he can resurrect Stone House here.”

  “I felt Tamara slip from our grip an hour ago and knew something had gone wrong. I guess I underestimated you, Dragonfly.” He’d never called her that before. “I guess even your daddy underestimated you. Now he can’t control either daughter.”

  The mansion, the guards, it all made sense. They might not have been working for Tamara but guarding her in case she rebelled from whatever drugs or magic they’d used to control her.

  “It was all neat.” Smythe stepped closer. “Tamara has magic in her veins and with our line dwindling, we needed her. Unfortunately, her daughter had to go. We tracked her to the father. That’s when Tamara hired you. She was trying to bring you in to protect her from us but by the time you answered her call, she’d been turned. She heard you’d escaped Stone House. That was all she needed. Of course Colinster needs all the magic blood he can summon. It would’ve been easier if you’d killed the mixed child too, been one of us. You would’ve bred wonderful children.”