Angelique Armae

by McNamara's Ghost

  She stepped forward.

  He came closer.

  The sensual touch of his hand caressed her cheek. She leaned her head nearer, yearning for more. But her pleasure was short-lived.

  A strong, sudden force pulled her back.

  Her breath grew ragged. A dark presence enveloped her soul like a firm hand choking the life from the very core of her being. She gasped and dropped the bundle of lavender. She covered her mouth with her hand.

  Alex.

  Alex Caldwell had invaded her world.

  Surely she was going mad.

  Hugh stood in the near distance, a look of confusion crossing his face. He didn’t seem to notice his brother’s life force.

  “No,” she said to herself. “This can’t be happening.”

  The shadow came closer. Alex curled his lips in a sly grin. “Hugh can’t see me or feel me,” he said. “In your world, a Warlock’s ghost can appear only to one soul at a time, and I have chosen you as that soul, and not my brother. For now, I care only to deal with you, my little spellbound witch. Hugh is not amusing to me at present. I’ll deal with him later, when I return to the ethereal plane.”

  She raised her hand—palm up—out in front of her and marked the distance she desired to keep between herself and Alex. “Go away,” she cried to him. “Stay away from me.”

  A car horn beeped in the distance. Samuel.

  Julia backed away.

  The shadow faded.

  Alex’s life force released its hold of her.

  She ran around to the other side of the house and never once looked back. She loved Hugh, and she knew something was wrong. But she couldn’t fight Alex Caldwell’s evil wrath alone.

  Turning the corner, Julia caught her breath and tried to appear as composed as was possible for someone who had just come face-to-face with the soul of a dark, powerful Warlock. The last thing she wanted was to frighten off Samuel.

  She was pleased he’d kept his word. A silver SUV pulled into the driveway and parked at the bottom of the front steps.

  The sight of Sam’s vehicle eased her anxiety. A sense of relief flooded Julia’s soul as she tried to calm her panicking nerves. Together with Samuel, she could fight Alex and free Hugh. He was also her connection to the past—her only tangible link to Hugh—and despite their somewhat awkward relationship, they always managed to get along amicably.

  Samuel exited the car and walked around to the back. His casual stride alluded to the carefree nature Julia remembered him to have. He hadn’t changed; he never did.

  Sam opened the hatch and retrieved a large, black duffle bag and a small box. He slammed the hatchback closed.

  Julia waited for him at the bottom of the steps, her usual reserved fagade keeping its guard. Watching Sam was like watching the past.

  He reminds me so much of Hugh. Julia took a good look at him. Samuel Caldwell could easily pass for his uncle’s twin—both had hazel eyes, dark blond hair and the same square jaw line. Sam looked more like Hugh than he did his own father. He also had the same pure soul, and that frightened her. Alex Caldwell had no mercy for pure souls.

  “I’m glad to see you, Julia,” said Samuel. “It’s been too long.” He put down the duffle bag and offered an opened arm embrace.

  “I know,” she said. “It’s been a long time for a lot of things.”

  * * *

  He stared through the unseen veil of time and waited in silence. The frustration of being so close, yet so far away, angered Hugh.

  He wanted more out of existence.

  He wanted Julia.

  She came to him, welcomed him. Then, for no apparent reason, she pulled away. Hugh wondered if Julia remembered their heated passion. Or did she fancy her betrayal with Alex more than she did the love she and Hugh had once shared. Pain sliced through his heart. Even after two hundred years, the aching feeling hadn’t yet gone away.

  His heart had never failed him before. Why should it now? Hugh wondered what had really transpired between Julia and his brother.

  “Go away. Stay away.” Her words echoed in his head.

  A sudden rush of immortal energy enveloped his space—a dark, vile energy. He’d recognize such evil anywhere, anytime—no matter its form.

  Alex.

  A firm hand slapped him on the shoulder. “Oh, but to revel in the sweet sense of that which is life... It pleases me you miss it so much, brother.”

  “Leave me be.”

  Alex laughed. “I would never even consider such a preposterous notion.” He leaned in closer to Hugh. “Your misery is exactly what my soul thrives upon. That, and the fact the two souls for whom you care more than anything else in the world have now joined forces. I imagine their collaboration will make for good sport.”

  Hugh turned to face Alex. “You’ve been stripped of your powers.” “Only in this world, brother. Not in theirs.”

  “Then I suppose,” said Hugh, “I owe the gods my deepest gratitude. The veil between man’s realm and ours bars you from crossing over.” Alex removed his hand from Hugh’s shoulder. He stared dead ahead, his hands now clasped behind his back, his posture straight like that of a soldier in the devil’s own army.

  He was scheming revenge. Hugh sensed his brother’s wrath inside his own soul.

  “The more I disgust you, the more I am pleased,” said Alex.

  “What do you want?”

  Alex continued to stare straight ahead. “He stirred me from my sleep. Did you know that?”

  “Who? Samuel?”

  “Is that what you named him? I didn’t remember.”

  Anger twisted in Hugh’s soul. Alex had never cared for Sam and obviously he still didn’t.

  “Do you not think it the least bit ironic? Your bastard waking my soul from an age-old sleep?”

  Hugh struggled with his conscience. Alex didn’t deserve to know the truth about Sam. “Leave him alone. He’s done nothing to you.”

  Alex looked over his shoulder to Hugh. A wicked grin crossed the man’s thin lips. “Ah.. .but he has. He’s invaded my space. He seeks my powers—the powers of Ogham.”

  “Your rights to those powers were stripped away when you left me to burn in the tavern.”

  “He’s been plotting,” said Alex. “The boy’s good, I’ll give him that. He’s even managed to master a significant portion of grandfather’s magic. He’s succeeded where you failed.”

  So, Sam was a Warlock. The realization saddened Hugh. He wanted more for his nephew than to merely take up where Alex left off.

  “And now he collaborates with your whore.”

  Hugh held his tongue. He balled his hands into tight fists and took a deep breath. Alex wasn’t worth it. He never was.

  “I’m glad to see I haven’t lost my touch,” said Alex. “I was worried I’d never again be able to get the best of you. But alas, I have proved my doubts wrong.”

  Hugh shot him an angered glare. “He should take your powers—all of them.”

  “A change of heart? I do say, brother, this is truly a rare moment. Damning your own bastard? You shock me. Even I would never stoop so low.”

  Hugh lunged for Alex’s throat. “Samuel could never be like you. His soul is pure, not tainted as is yours.”

  “Do you hate me now, McNamara? Do you finally hate me as I have hated you?”

  He let go of Alex. Hugh stepped back and adjusted his shirt cuff. “Julia and Samuel would never betray me. If anything, they gather to plot against you.”

  Alex stared at him. “I never gave such nonsense a single thought.” He turned back toward the misty veil. “Fitting, though, I should say.” “What?”

  “Julia lashed out at me in anger the night I burned the tavern. She told me you had earned her blessings, and that I did not. Of course, I had to get to you before she did. And well, we know the results of that.

  “And now, here you are, lashing out at me as did Julia. I never thought those two would be plotting my demise.” He turned back to Hugh. “Thank you, brother. Now I m
ust get to them before you do.” “That’s impossible.”

  Alex shook his head. “Not really. The portal between the worlds is at its thinnest on Samhain. And if my mind serves me right, we are only two days away from October 31st.” He stepped close to Hugh and placed his lips against Hugh’s ear. “In man’s realm, my powers have not been taken from me. I will cross over and I’ll claim my birthright. And this time, dear brother, I’ll finish off your miserable little whore.” Hugh lunged for Alex’s neck, his temper no longer patient. But it did him no good. His hands passed right through Alex’s form. He stumbled and fell to the floor.

  With his evil laugh echoing about the ethereal plane, Alex Caldwell vanished on the instant.

  Chapter 5

  The candle-lit chandelier cast an eerie glow about the dining room. Julia preferred some things remain as they did centuries ago. The dim lighting calmed her nerves, and made her feel as if all secrets remained hidden.

  She reached for the crystal wine glass sitting next to her plate. The smooth, red liquid eased down her throat and warmed her soul.

  She avoided eye contact with Samuel, and hoped to avoid the inevitable. She didn’t want to talk about the night Hugh died.

  Sam stared at her. His curious gaze seemed to be searching her face, her soul, her inner most thoughts.

  “Why did you return, Julia, after all these years? Why now?”

  She put down the wine glass. “I don’t know. One moment I was in Manhattan at my desk working on a study of ghosts, and all of a sudden, I was overcome by a strong sensation to return to the tavern.” Anxiety welled up inside her. “I find it difficult to talk about Hugh, especially since he’s haunted my dreams. I feel as if he’s here.”

  She paused and took a deep breath. Now came the dreaded part. She hated to tell him, but Sam had to know. “I think Alex is here, too.” She heard her own voice quiver. “I’ve encountered him on several occasions.”

  Sam dropped his fork. The color drained from his face and made him look like a ghost.

  “What’s wrong?”

  He rubbed his right temple. “Real dreams or visions?”

  “What difference does it make?”

  “It makes a whole hell of a difference, Julia. Now if you want me to help you, answer the question.”

  “Both.”

  “Then we’re in more trouble than I thought.” Sam rose from his chair.

  “What are you talking about?”

  He turned to her; his eyes offered a pleading look. “Hugh isn’t actually dead.”

  She froze. Her body went numb. “What do you mean, he isn’t dead?”

  “He’s been stripped of his immortality, but in this world only. Unlike a mortal’s ghost, Hugh can still come back. He has one chance at reclaiming his immortal existence in man’s world. My greatgrandfather secured the privilege for those of his line when the gods blessed him for his heroic service in battle. At the time, he was a great Witch, and had not yet succumbed to the dark side of magic.”

  Sam paused. He ran a hand through his straight, dark blond hair. “I never told you about the night Hugh was left to burn in the tavern. About what went on here after you ran away.”

  “Well, maybe you better tell me now.” A sense of panic knotted her stomach. Had she been so lost all these years, so far out of touch from her world of magic, she didn’t sense Hugh’s life force? Her heart pounded with a frantic pulse.

  Sam placed his hands into his jean pockets. He paced the floor. “I returned here that night. And when I saw the state of things, I knew I had to start looking for a body—a dead body.” He paused.

  A nervous twitch jumped at his jaw line. “Only part of the building remained standing. I sifted through ash and still-smoking timber. But he wasn’t there. I couldn’t find Hugh. Then I heard a moan. The sound of a man in pain and confused. I found my uncle’s body buried under a pile of heavy beams. Somehow, he’d survived. And he did so without being burned. In fact, the beams showed no sign of being in the fire, not even singe marks, nothing.”

  “But even an immortal witch cannot survive fire.”

  “I know. But Hugh did. And since he wasn’t burned, his heart was still intact. He was as alive as are both you and me at this very moment.”

  Julia pushed her chair back. “It’s impossible,” she said. “We both saw the fire. There was no way he could’ve survived.”

  “We weren’t alone, Julia. Someone else was there. Something else was there.”

  She rose to her feet. “Another Witch?”

  Sam turned to her. “I don’t know. I pulled Hugh out from under the mound of wood and placed him in a grassy patch on the lawn. He kept repeating something about the Ogham stones. He told me where he’d hidden them, and I was to look for them. I left him briefly and went back inside the house as he instructed me to do. The stones were exactly where my uncle said they’d be. But when I came out of the house, something happened.”

  Julia walked over to the window. She folded her arms in front of her and stared outside to the front yard. “What?”

  “There was another being,” said Samuel. “A shadowy figure dressed in a long, black hooded cape. I saw him from the corner of my eye.” He paused a second time. He turned to face Julia. “Then I saw my father, too.”

  She swallowed hard. Her gut instincts were right then. Not only was Hugh here, but so, too, was Alex. “Did your father recognize you?” “No.” Sam shook his head. “He didn’t have time to realize who I was. He never had time to realize I was his son. In an instant, my vision blurred. It was as if I was watching a droplet of rainwater fall into a puddle. Everything shattered, rippled.then they were gone. The three of them disappeared as if they’d never been there in the first place.” “Maybe they weren’t.”

  “No. I know for a fact they were really there. I had the Ogham stones in my hand. If it weren’t for Hugh, I wouldn’t have known about the stones.”

  “Then were is he now?”

  Sam just stared at her, a blank look masking his face. “I think my great-grandfather might have been the shadow I saw that night. He would’ve had within his powers, the ability to create a ripple in time.” “But why would he desire to do so?”

  “To keep the Ogham safe, to keep Alex and Hugh safe from each other.at least temporarily. I believe in the ethereal plane they cannot harm one another. Only if they cross over into man’s world, will they regain powers to be used against their own blood and others.”

  The thought worried Julia. She didn’t like thinking about Alex be given back his powers. “What’s in the box you brought with you?” She knew better than to press the subject. Perhaps a change in conversation would sooth her nervous soul.

  “The Ogham stones.”

  “You brought them here?”

  “Why not? I would never dream of allowing them out of my sight. I couldn’t leave them in the city. They wouldn’t be safe.”

  Samuel turned back toward the table and reached out for the small box. He untied the frayed cord wrapped around the cardboard container and set it off to the side. He lifted the lid.

  Inside the box sat numerous round, colored stones. Pink, light blue, green, yellow—a rainbow of colors cradled in purple silk velvet. Black lines, arranged in various order, marked each stone. Julia marveled at the collection. “Can you read their etchings?”

  “Yes,” said Sam. “I am well-schooled in both the meaning and use of the Oghma.”

  “Have you used them to find out about Hugh?”

  He shook his head. “No. I can’t cast these.”

  “Why not?”

  “I don’t have the right to. These aren’t your average Ogham stones, Julia. This set once belonged to the god Oghma himself. He created the holy language with these stones. I’ve never known a mortal, or Witch for that matter, who had the power to use them. Even I can’t touch them with my bare hands.”

  Julia took a deep breath. She stared at the box and reached her hand inside. The stones lifted from their bed of velv
et before her hands even neared the box.

  “That’s impossible,” said Sam, his voice quivering. “They aren’t supposed to react to a Witch—only to Oghma and the keeper whom he appointed.”

  “And to those born of his line and of his kin. Oghma came from the Irish fairy race. He was a hero among my mother’s people.”

  Sam just stood there. A look of shock crossed his ageless face. “Of course. Why didn’t I realize that before?”

  The stones settled in Julia’s palm—a white aura reflected around each individual circle illuminating the entire set. Her hand tingled. “The Ogham has many purposes, and in Hugh’s case, they were to be used in more ways than one. The Ogham was used for divination and for marking land boundaries.”

  The stones rose from Julia’s hand and shifted. They fell in a specific pattern, lining up in a straight line from her elbow to her fingertips.

  Julia turned to Samuel. “Read them from bottom to top.”

  Sam leaned in closer. “Hugh, son of Aodan.”

  “The Irish version of Hugh is Aodan. The name means fire. Hugh once told me he was named after a powerful ancestor, Aodan. He must have kept the stones here at the tavern to mark his lot. This land was his, as was the surrounding ethereal plane. Other Witches would’ve sensed this and stayed away. Or, at the least, they’d have come in peace and avoided any wars.”

  “Obviously, my father didn’t take heed.” Sam stepped back.

  Julia sensed a bit of anger in Samuel’s soul. “You did what you could to help Hugh.”

  “But I didn’t do enough. My father destroyed our family. He brought shame upon our sacred heritage. I should’ve seen it coming. I should have stopped him.”

  “Maybe you still can.”

  “How?”

  Julia stared at the stones. “If there was a ripple in time when the tavern burned, then Hugh and Alex are out there somewhere. They’re trapped on the ethereal plane. We need to find a portal, open the doorway and bring Hugh back to the mortal realm.”

  Sam laughed. “You make it sound so simple.”

  “It is.”