"I'm not sure what you mean."
He sighed.
"You young witches exasperate me. You're all so stubborn, so intent on keeping your secrets."
Abby stepped back, surprised by Julian's frustrated tone.
He watched her intently, but she held her silence.
"Everything comes out, you know? In time, the truth is revealed and the longer you hold it back, the more deception you weave into the fabric of your life. Deception is an energy like all other things. It lives and breathes inside of us. Is that what you want in your body?"
He was referring to her child, and Abby put a hand protectively over her stomach.
"Of course that's not what I want," she told him angrily. "But I also don't want to cast suspicion on the person I love when one of you old witches already tried to destroy him for that very thing."
Julian smiled and shook his head.
"Like a tempest, you are. Forgive me? I was not trying to create a rainstorm. Just so we're clear, I can sense that you're hiding something and it puts me on edge. I've had a lot of pain in this life. At this point, I've got nothing to lose, but all of you," he waved his hand toward her stomach, "you have everything."
Above them the door opened and they heard footsteps pounding on the stairs. Sebastian came into view. His black curls dripped and his face looked red and chapped.
"It's pouring rain out there," he exclaimed.
****
"Brrr, it's cold," the woman moaned, wrapping her scarf further up her neck so that it covered her chin and mouth.
"It's a winter paradise," the man corrected her, awkwardly lifting a snowshoe and knocking it against a tree to remove some of the snow that had caked on and begun to slow him down.
"You said hot cocoa and roaring fires when you sold me on this vacation, Jeremy. So far it's mostly been icicles and mittens."
He laughed and flicked his snowshoe at her. A glob of snow hit her in the forehead. She wiped it away furiously and tried to hobble across the snowy cliffs toward him.
"Be careful," he reminded her.
They hiked along the craggy cliffs of the Lake Superior shoreline. In winter, the dark rock was mostly covered by snow and ice.
"I wouldn't have to be careful if you'd taken me somewhere civilized, like Florida or Hawaii."
"Oh, come on, girlie, what's life if we always live in the comfy spaces? This is an adventure." He held his arms out to either side and grinned.
The woman smiled, reminded of why she had fallen for Jeremy in the first place. If nothing else, he did remind her that she was alive.
She took a breath and savored the expansive view of Lake Superior that stretched out behind him. The dark waters tossed and churned. The sun lit the day, but brought no warmth.
She walked to Jeremy, laboriously, and hugged him.
"You feel like an abominable snowman," he told her, squeezing her tight.
The snow sparkled beneath the afternoon sun. As a shadow blotted out the shimmering snow, she looked up. Expecting a bird, she shoved Jeremy away and screamed as a wolfish creature with bat-like wings rose up from the cliff.
Jeremy twisted around.
"Run," he shouted, trying to do the same, but tripping over his snowshoes.
She ran. She wanted to stop and help him. She should have stopped to help him, but sheer terror drove her away.
She tripped and fell. Crying and swearing, she fumbled at the latches on her snowshoes and yanked them off. She stood in her hiking boots and dared a glance back. Hunched over Jeremy's body, the creature's head rose and fell as it consumed the man she had only just begun to love. She tried not to see the glittering snow streaked with red.
She turned and ran into the forest.
****
"It's concerning," Faustine agreed after Julian recounted the experience in Chicago with the bone magic.
"I feel like it implies our worst fears," Elda said. "That Sebastian is being seduced by this dark spirit. However, I don't sense that energy in him."
"Nor do I," Helena added.
Julian shook his head, but did not offer his opinion.
"It is true that I don't perceive it in him," Faustine murmured. "But do you think Dafne fell for a man whom she sensed desired great power? I don't believe that Tobias had it in him either. I think something put it there. I think one morning he was the Tobias he had always been and the next morning, he was something else."
"With no predisposition to evil? He killed all of her friends, Faustine, all of their friends," Helena argued. "He burned them alive. Is there any entity strong enough to strip someone of their very soul?"
"I tend to agree with Helena," Julian commented. "It seems to me that Tobias hungered for power as did Ira, or Alva, as we know him now."
"What makes you say that?" Faustine asked.
"Mostly the journals of the Asemaa. There are a handful of comments about Tobias—the man. He was a fisherman, but never satisfied with that life. Some of the Trager people spoke of him as a dreamer, a man who desired a better life than the one he'd been given. Perhaps in Dafne, he saw an opportunity. She was a witch, a talented, powerful witch, but then along comes Alva, with a better offer."
"So, Alva knew he was next in line? And groomed him?"
"Well, that I don't know," Julian admitted.
"Should we be worried about Abby?" Helena asked.
"Of course," Faustine said, incensed. "We should be worried about Abby, Sebastian, Lydie, Oliver and ourselves for that matter. Nothing we do seems to take us closer to the heart of this thing. Meanwhile this Kanti spirit grows stronger and continues to pursue her plan, whatever that may be."
"Dante said that Sebastian was burying him alive?" Elda asked for the third time.
"Not in those words, but yes. He said that he heard Sebastian. He thought Sebastian was shoveling the dirt on top of him."
"But Sebastian described being buried alive as well?" Helena asked though she knew the answer.
They had been discussing the experience in Chicago for more than an hour. Julian had confided what occurred as soon as he returned to Ula.
"Could Sebastian have been digging him out?" Helena asked.
"I doubt it," Julian admitted. "He felt trapped. He couldn't see, couldn't move, couldn't breathe."
"And another thing, Abby described Sebastian as thrashing and yelling. The only person who didn't appear to react with fear and panic was Victor."
****
Julian and Oliver picked along the rocky shoreline. They both wore black nylon suits that Helena had made for them. Thick enough that a Vepar's fangs or the skin-walker's claws would struggle to break through. They were also designed for intense cold. Though both witches could increase their body heat by focusing their element, if they were injured, they might not be conscious.
"Where was the couple attacked?" Oliver asked, reaching behind him for the second time to check his bow. His arrows were tipped with Julian's powder. In each pocket, he held a vial of venom antidote.
"About a mile further," Julian answered, cocking his head and nodding. "Faustine is sending me a map of the cliffs up there. He's found some sea caves that he finds promising."
"Why would they attack and risk exposing themselves?"
"I've been wondering that myself," Julian admitted. "I have a couple of theories. One, in the animal form, they have less control."
"They took Sebastian from a cabin at night, Lydie from Ula. They didn't kill either of them. That seems like an awful lot of control."
"Which makes sense in the beginning when it is new and they are careful, but what happens when you spend more and more time in the psyche of a creature? Not just a monster, as the Vepars already are, but an animal with a prehistoric brain and powerful instincts to kill and eat. At what point does the animal begin to take over the higher mind?"
Oliver nodded, remembering the wolfish thing that Tobias had become.
"Other theories?"
"That they're calling us to them. They kn
ow that we will respond. It's our duty as witches and, in this case, it's personal."
"That was my first thought."
"Unfortunately, we all tend to agree on that point. This Kanti has been far too premeditated to suddenly let her creatures wreak havoc and expose her. It's more likely that they have orchestrated this attack to call our attention to it."
"I'm suddenly feeling a bit unprepared," Oliver grumbled.
"There they are," Julian said, stopping.
He pointed to a black crevice in the cliffs ahead.
They took their time, pausing often to watch the cave, but nothing emerged.
As the sun sunk on the horizon, Oliver removed an arrow and cocked in in his bow. Julian wore a belt of steel stakes, and he drew two daggers from sheaths around his ankles.
They stayed close to the rock wall as they drew toward the opening. A screech from deep in the tunnel stopped them both.
"Skin-walker," Julian murmured.
"I remember the sound, vividly," Oliver agreed.
They ducked into the opening. As witches, they could see easily in the darkness, but it took a moment for their eyes to adjust. As they walked deeper into the cave, Oliver slowed his breath. Claustrophobia had never been a problem before, but after his last experience in a Vepar's lair, the underground world felt more oppressive. He shook away visions of the dead soldiers the Vepars had created, though calling them soldiers gave them too much credit. They were barely animated, dead things given a puff of breath that they exhausted quickly.
The screeching came again, but further now.
"It's moving away from us," Oliver whispered, stating the obvious.
"Shh."
The pathway sloped down. It grew narrower.
Oliver shifted, crouching lower as they moved. He returned the arrow to its sheaf and took out a knife.
Now the screeching grew louder, deafening. They were getting close, but the tunnel seemed to be shrinking more and more.
Ahead Oliver could see something dark wriggling in the black. It shrunk away from them, fixing them in its gaze with shining red eyes.
"Is it a skin-walker?" Oliver asked, unsure about the creature before them. Tobias had been larger, terrifying and more...human. This thing seemed like a giant angry bat, more scared than lethal.
"It's a decoy," Julian said suddenly. He turned and began to run out of the tunnel.
Chapter 28
"Now this is raspberry leaf tea," Helena announced, holding up a bowl of herbs. "It helps tone the uterus in preparation for birth and may even speed the birth along."
Abby and Sebastian sat at their kitchen counter, where Helena had arranged a menagerie of herbs, supplements and tinctures to aid in Abby's pregnancy.
"Is her uterus trying to get a date?" Sebastian joked. Abby rolled her eyes and Helena bent over laughing.
"You and Oliver could be brothers with those terrible jokes, you know?" Helena teased.
Sebastian grimaced and waved toward a bowl of sparkling ginger.
"Candy's on the menu?"
"Not candy, candied ginger. Helps with nausea. Though you can opt for straight ginger instead, or ginger tea."
"Did someone say candy?" Lydie asked, padding into the kitchen in her slippers. She held Baboon in her arms. "I thought we were watching movies and eating popcorn tonight?"
She eyed the contents on the counter.
"We're almost done, honey," Helena told her. "Go pick out a movie, we'll be there in ten minutes, tops."
"Please, no more Annie, either," Sebastian called behind her. "If I have to hear 'It's a Hard Knock Life' one more time, I may knock myself out."
"Oh I love Annie," Helena murmured. "I used to have a TV you know, at Ula? But then Faustine got the flu and we had several electrical explosions in the castle. Ended my movie era."
"His flu caused electrical explosions?" Abby asked, impressed.
"Yep, he has quite the electromagnetic field, a force to be reckoned with, surely."
"Maybe we should finish this tomorrow," Abby yawned. "Lydie will be peeved if I zonk out before the opening music."
"Sure honey, you're the queen of this household." Helena winked. She put lids on several of the containers.
"The queen, I like that," Sebastian added, pulling one of Abby's long curls and watching it swing back and forth.
"This hair is getting out of control," Abby started, reaching her hands back and attempting to gather it into a ponytail. "It was already growing fast, but since I started taking the prenatal supplements, I swear it's three inches longer."
"You're a mama lioness," Helena growled.
"Heck yeah, much sexier than a hippo." Sebastian laughed.
Abby leaned over and tried to bite him.
"Better not cross me then," she told him when he danced away.
"Popcorn and black bean brownies?" he asked. "Made special for the occasion."
"Yay movie time." Helena jumped up and down and laughed.
"What'd you find for a movie, Lydie?" Abby called toward the living room.
"Avatar?"
"Yes!" Sebastian yelled, his head in the oven. He came up with the pan of brownies.
"What's Avatar?" Helena asked.
"Only the best movie of all time," Sebastian began.
Abby grinned and walked into the living room. Sebastian might spend five minutes describing the ethical implications of the movie in comparison to their own society. She joined Lydie on the couch.
****
Dafne raced through the woods. Branches ripped at her face and hair. After months of captivity, her legs had no strength. Bones and skin with little muscle to propel her forward and away from the devil that chased her. She fell and skidded in the snow.
It took her. She had no strength to fight the spirit. Even if she wasn't weak in body, she was weak in her soul. Bone tired, weary to the core of her being. She considered surrendering to the being, allowing Kanti to take over completely. Dafne could slip into oblivion. She could wake after it was over, but she knew that this was her last chance. Soon the being would strip the last of her energy. She would die and Kanti would go on.
She drifted into the background. She felt the darkness of Kanti's presence, pushing her further into the recesses of herself. She struggled to keep contact with her body, to see through eyes that she no longer controlled.
Kanti turned back toward the house. Dafne heard the distant sound of voices. She knew that retaking her body had alerted Abby and the others. AS if looking through smudged binoculars, she saw them. Abby, Sebastian, Lydie and Helena. They stood on the porch looking into the moonlit woods, searching for the noise that awoke them. They felt the presence of something, but they could not name it.
The sight of Lydie and Helena made Dafne's heart ache. She wanted to seize her body and run to them. She wanted to fling herself into Helena's arms and beg mercy from the witches, the friends, that she'd betrayed. Kanti felt her rallying and stopped in the forest. Dafne felt a wave of black push her further from her body. She started to fall into the void—the place that she disappeared into when Kanti possessed her. A place where she had no consciousness, no memory of what transpired. She clung to the edge of awareness. She retreated so that Kanti could not sense her.
Kanti darted through the shadows. She conjured a fire and held it in her palm. She put the fire to her mouth and swallowed. The rush of flame and power poured through her. She took out the dragon dagger and removed the blade from the sheath.
****
"Answer your damn phone," Oliver spat, dialing Abby's number for the fifth time. "What is the point of these useless things if no one ever answers them?"
"They may be fine," Julian told him, staring through the windshield as the trees raced by. His eyes darted everywhere. He was not only wary of creatures on the ground, but also those in the sky.
"You don't think so though, why? Why, Julian?" Oliver demanded, starting to throw his phone and then taking a deep breath before setting it on the dashboard.
>
Julian glanced at him.
"Sebastian has been experiencing some things. A pull toward dark pursuits. Eventually this curse is meant to move from the abstract into the tangible. That skin-walker we just encountered was placed there to draw us away from something. What this spirit wants is not at Ula—she wants Sebastian and Abby."
"And Lydie and Helena are with them right now." Oliver slammed his hand on the dashboard. "No, it's okay," he spoke out loud. "Helena is a powerful witch, they're all powerful. It's going to be okay, right?"
Julian said nothing.
****
Abby stood in the snow, disoriented, but alert. Sebastian had woken her. The movie had nearly ended and she had dozed on the couch. It was Lydie who sensed something off and then Helena who heard a sound in the woods, a familiar screech.
They stood on the porch. Abby's eyes raked across the trees and the lake. Her ears perked for any sounds that didn't belong. At first, the four of them stood motionless, listening, and then Lydie lifted her face to the night.
"I smell something...animal," she whispered, and Abby glanced at her.
Abby expected Lydie to appear the way that Abby felt, terrified, but Lydie looked determined and angry. Helena opened the door of the house and slipped inside. She returned with pouches of Julian's powder and a shotgun.
"Abby," Sebastian started and she could see the fear in his eyes, fear for her safety.
"No," she told him. "I have to stay and fight, Sebastian—it's the only chance we have."
The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. The baby shifted within her. The ball of blue energy had begun to expand at the base of her spine. She was ready to fight.
Sebastian started to argue, but he stopped as she drew her hands in front of her and the energy began to glow in her fingers.
"How did they get in?" Helena asked. "We placed a dozen spells at least."
"Someone on the inside," Abby answered, reluctantly.
She turned to Sebastian.
"If Claire is about to walk out of those woods, this is the time to tell us," she said.
Kanti Page 25
