Seren had the good grace to look guilty.
“I didn’t think so.” I shook my head, tired. Witches. “I’ve only seen Chyler a couple of times since you came.”
“Did you put the masking spell on her?” David asked and I nodded. “How did you do it? I didn’t teach you to do that.”
“I just kind of felt it and pushed the magic at her. It was... automatic.”
David’s eyes widened in surprise, and what I thought was a glimmer of admiration. “You didn’t say a spell at all? Interesting.” Whatever I thought I saw faded into a wary expression as he rubbed his thumb against his jaw, lost in thought.
“When did you see her again?” Seren asked.
“When I was out running. I run some mornings and she just appeared when I was taking a breather. That was the day after you came. And I found where she lived so I went to check on her today.”
Seren latched on to the first bit of my confession. “So she could find you?”
I nodded. “She has some sort of book that helps her do stuff. She said it was the family spell book and that’s how she found me. And I can find her; her magic isn’t masked to me.”
Étoile and Seren exchanged a look and I asked, “What is it?”
Étoile pursed her lips and I could feel her thinking before she added. “A family spell book is tied to the family. An imposter shouldn’t be able to access it, unless...”
“Unless, Chyler is still here,” Seren finished, her eyes far away in thought.
“I don’t understand.”
“You can’t use a spell book unless there’s express permission from the keeper of the book, and even then it wouldn’t necessarily work. The keeper would have been Andrea, Chyler’s mom, and she wouldn’t have offered it up to something as dark as that imposter. But with Chyler as the keeper, that’s a different story,” explained Seren, Étoile nodding in agreement at her side. “But what I really mean is, there must be some part of Chyler still there or the book would be no use at all.”
“I’m sure I spoke to Chyler sometimes, but other times she was acting so strangely. That must have been the imposter,” I surmised, trying to think this through logically. “So this witch wants... the book? Why? Doesn’t she have her own?”
David took up the story. “Not all witches have spell books, plus when a witch dies it passes on to her descendents and her power goes with it. Old books like the Anderson’s are stuffed with power that the next generation can tap into. It would be quite attractive to someone dangerous, someone who wanted to come back even more powerful than they had been.”
“She said that other witches wanted it too; her aunts, for example.”
David nodded. “That’s also quite likely. They would be able to use the book but they can’t be the keeper because they aren’t direct descendents of the keeper and that’s where the biggest draw is. Do we know if any of the aunts died recently?”
Everyone shook their heads.
“What has someone dying got to do with anything?” I asked.
“This spirit that’s got Chyler is almost certainly dead. It needs a body and this particular body can access that book,” replied Étoile. “Chyler is the keeper. She’s got the potential for enormous power now. The spirit hit the supernatural jackpot.”
“At the risk of sounding freaky, Chyler said the book helped her out, told her what to do. Why would it do that if she was possessed?”
David didn’t seem that surprised by my question. “It’s probably that the book is helping Chyler. I’ve often thought that the books take on a kind of persona of their own when they got old enough and hold enough power. It’s all to do with the power they’ve absorbed – perhaps something of the ancestors coming through to help their descendents.”
I raised my eyebrows sceptically. “So there is a chance we can still help Chyler?”
“Possibly. If you’re certain you’ve spoken to her, and not this spirit each time, and the book is helping her, then Chyler is fighting back. We might be able to separate them and banish this thing,” said David.
“I’m sure I spoke to Chyler. She didn’t even know her mother was dead.”
“That’s possible,” agreed David. “She was probably possessed when it happened.”
I had to ask, “And what if we can’t do separate them?”
“It’s simple: Chyler dies, at least, the Chyler everyone knows does and she’ll be taken over completely. Her body will live, but her soul will be gone.”
I, for one, did not like the sound of that.
“How do we find her?” Étoile asked our little assembly. “She’ll be prepared for a summoning spell again. It won’t work.”
David nodded. “She won’t come back here willingly. As soon as she, this spirit, is in control of Chyler again, she’ll be getting the hell away from here...”
“I know how to find her though,” I interrupted brightly. “I might have masked her magic, but I can still trace her. I went to see her at an abandoned house about three miles from here. She’s been staying there.”
“That doesn’t mean we’ll get anywhere near her. She’ll be on the alert for us,” pointed out Seren and my shoulders dropped as she continued, “Plus the chances of Chyler trusting us are slim, that’s if we even speak to her and not the imposter.” So much for my great plan.
“I can get her,” said Evan. He had avoided looking at me so far and instead watched us parry, his arms folded, his face blank. “She wasn’t here long enough to take much notice of me and she’s only expecting witches so I might slip through. Now I know where she is, I can get her and bring her here.”
“Can we help her?” I didn’t know what it would take to get Chyler back to normal, if it could even happen, but I wanted to help. It was my mess and I wanted to fix it before anything bad happened... anything worse, anyway.
“We can but not on our own.” Étoile looked sad and I had a sinking feeling about what she was going to say next. “We just don’t know how strong this spirit is, or who it is. We need to call the council.”
“I don’t want any members of the council here,” I said, but my voice was just a whisper.
“I don’t think we have a choice. Not if we want to help Chyler.” Étoile didn’t seem particularly enthusiastic either. “They asked us to investigate. They will help.”
“Why would they? I don’t see why they’re so interested in Chyler?” I asked, looking between them, trying to read something from their faces.
“Andrea’s mother is a council member. She was the one who called us. We can trust them,” Étoile replied.
“Can we?” I muttered.
“This time,” said Seren, which wasn’t exactly reassuring.
“We need to go.” David pushed his chair back from the table and stood up. “Chyler’s not going to come back here and we need to get in touch with the council members and see who we can call in. We need a stronger magic and we need to find out exactly who this spirit is before it’s too late.”
“Does it really matter who it is?” I asked.
David nodded. “Yes. A name will help us target the spells better. It will make them more effective.”
“Do you need me to come too?” It was a half-hearted offer but I felt I should make it. Any fear or apprehension I felt, I’d just have to swallow it. A part of me was arguing that it was more important to help Chyler than to keep hiding away. What was the point of my power if I didn’t use it for good?
“No, you stay here,” said David with a surprising firmness as he pushed his glasses back up his nose. I got the distinct impression that he and I were on the outs though he didn’t seem as furious as Evan was. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see his posture tight, his fists flexing.
“Just hang tight,” said Étoile, rising to join him and her sister. “We’ll come back soon. We’ll need you.”
“Okay.” I waited until they had left the kitchen, their footsteps echoing through the hallway into the living room, before I turned to Evan who ha
d sat still and silent next to me. I had some apologising to do. Apologising stunk.
“Evan, I...”
“You lied to me, Stella. You knew they were looking for Chyler and you hid her.” Anger rolled off Evan in waves that crashed into me. “Why would you do that? Why didn’t you trust me?”
“Why can’t you trust me now?” I pleaded. “Chyler came to me for help and I said I would help her. She was all alone.”
“You could have turned to any one of us. Anytime, but you didn’t. Even if you didn’t trust them... I get that, I do. I get what you feel about the council, but you didn’t trust me.”
“I know. I’m sorry, I should have come to you. It was stupid not to.”
“How were you planning on helping her anyway? And what if you got heart, Stella? The longer this thing is in Chyler, the stronger it will get and the less there will be of Chyler. What if you were there when that happened and you couldn’t defend yourself?” Evan threw back the chair and paced to the back door before turning back to me, fury spanning his face. “Have you any idea the amount of danger you put yourself in?”
“I know now.” I swivelled to follow him with my eyes as he paced.
“You put all of us in danger today,” Evan continued like he hadn’t heard me. “You heard David. His protection circle wasn’t strong enough to cope with something like that. They thought they were summoning a frightened kid and look what they got instead. If Chyler wasn’t still fighting we might not be here right now.”
“I said I was sorry.” My voice etched upwards towards a whiny pitch.
“I can’t deal with this.” Evan’s jaw shook like he wanted to yell, or thump something, and there was something disturbing in his eyes that bothered me. “I’m going to follow the others into town.”
“Wait. You’re leaving?” I stood up like I could possibly stop him when in my bare feet I barely reached his shoulders. More than that, his power was phenomenal compared to mine. He even showed that through the control he exercised in keeping his anger checked, though barely.
“I can’t stay here right now. I’m so... mad at you.” His voice was low and laced with disappointment.
Before I could ask him if he was coming back, he was gone. He didn’t walk out, he didn’t slam the doors or knock anything over in a fit of pique. Instead he simply vanished, taking a rush of air with him. A moment later I heard the engine of a car starting up and I rushed through the house in time to see his car peel out of my driveway while I stood and just watched him leave, knowing there was nothing I could do.
After the red flash of his tail lights were gone, I finally turned around. The salt was still there, strewn across the room like a breeze had whipped through a sand dune but all Evan’s things – his jacket, the ever present book he was currently reading were all gone. I went back through to the kitchen. Yes, his laptop, too. Everything was gone. I stomped back to the living room and rested against the wall looking at the mess. With a flick of my head I made it all disappear, using my magic to set the candles in a row on the mantelpiece. I channelled my anger into physically pushing the furniture back to where it should be.
The resentment inside me threatened to bubble over into acute pain as I shoved the sofa into place. I didn’t want Evan to leave and here he was, walking away without listening to me. He hadn’t even said if he was coming back. I couldn’t help feeling like something had shifted and things would never be quite right again, never as uncomplicated as the days when our relationship had begun. I couldn’t help scoff at myself. It was funny to think of those days as uncomplicated when they were really anything but, but now, well, it felt like the whole game had changed and I wasn’t sure if Evan was on my team, which flew right in the face of finally feeling at peace with myself.
I put my head in my hands and cried, alone again.
~
There was an unpleasant sense of déjà vu in the waiting but wait I did. I sat and waited, and pottered around the house, but they didn’t come back and after a while I felt the fury creep up on me. I could either be the girl who sat at home and cried and felt sorry for herself, or, even if my heart felt like it was breaking, I could pull my proverbial socks up and get on with things, because the world wasn’t going to wait for me. Sitting at home wailing wasn’t going to bring Evan back.
I did the next best thing I could do. I went across the street, dragging my feet like they were concrete weights, to see if Annalise was home.
“Well don’t you have a face like a wet weekend,” said Annalise, taking in my red-rimmed eyes, beckoning me to come in and take a seat amidst a pile of yarn. I’d introduced her to the idiom ‘wet weekend’ a few weeks ago and she thought it was hilarious.
“What are you doing with all this?” I held up a clutch of brightly coloured balls and resisted the urge to sniffle.
“Making knitting kits for the Christmas fair and you can help me. You look like you need to keep occupied.” Annalise passed me a heap of plastic bags which were already stickered with her logo and showed me how to pull a pattern leaflet from the heap on the coffee table, then add needles and a selection of yarn. I’d packed a few kits quietly and held them up for her approval before Annalise asked me, “So, what’s going on with you? I’ve been watching you guys coming and going all week.”
“Well, they’re staying in town so they’re in and out, and right now they’re out,” I said sullenly.
“I saw Evan leave in a hurry,” Annalise said slowly. I looked up in alarm. I wondered if she’d seen him appear out of nowhere on the drive or if he’d just appeared in the driver’s seat, but if she saw anything out of the ordinary, she didn’t say.
“That he did.” I agreed, looking around. “Is Gage here?”
Annalise shook her head, no. “Just us two so if you need some girl talk... well, he won’t be butting in.”
“I feel like I’m messing up,” I confessed after a moment of silence while I gathered my thoughts. “I never thought I’d see Evan again and then he was back and now he’s mad at me and he just walked out.”
“Did he say he was coming back?”
I shook my head. “But he didn’t say he wasn’t either.”
“Why’d he go?”
“He’s mad that I kept something from him.”
“Like kissing my brother?” Annalise asked, with a wink.
I blushed the same shade of raspberry pink yarn I was about to package. “No, and for the record, nothing else happened between us.”
“Hmm.”
“Hmm, nothing,” I said emphatically. “Gage fell asleep at my house, that was all. Honestly, Annalise. I feel really bad about it because I know he likes me, but there’s Evan and... I just feel bad about it, okay.” I choked back a tear and took a few deep breaths to calm myself.
Annalise opened her mouth like she was about to say something then closed it again and stuffed a few more yarn balls into packets. Finally, she said. “He really likes you, you know.”
“I know but I can’t worry about that right now.” I tried to put a wall between the guilt I felt at liking Gage a little too much, and the other me that had other problems to contend with as I said, “Please understand.”
“Bigger problems, huh?”
“Something like that.”
“So tell me more about Evan and your friends. Where did you meet them?”
I gave her the short, condensed, palatable for humans, version. I’d met Étoile in London and gone with her to New York to meet friends of my parents. There, I’d been given the documents about this house. I’d stayed with Étoile at a house where I’d then met Evan but through all that I was hazy about details, intimating there had been an accident and we’d been separated and I hadn’t known where they were. I left out the bits about the Brotherhood, the magic, the destruction. The deaths. When I’d finished my vague account, Annalise looked at me as if she knew there was some other back story I hadn’t mentioned, but she still didn’t ask.
“I really didn’t think I’d eve
r see them again. I feel like I’ve put roots down here.” I finished, wiggling my toes in my boots like they might shoot tendrils into the ground.
“And your friends arriving put a kink in all of that?”
I sighed. “I’m so thrilled to have them here, but what I want isn’t quite what they want.”
“What do they want?” Annalise sealed another bag and tossed it in the box with a pile of others, before reaching for the next one to start all over again.
“Evan wants me to go to Texas with him, where he lives,” I answered, even though it wasn’t quite the question she had asked.
Annalise looked up sharply. “That’s a long way, honey.”
“That’s what I said.”
“Are you going?”
“I said I’d think about it, but right now he’s not talking to me.”
“Men,” scoffed Annalise. “And they think we’re complicated.”
“Right.” I nodded in agreement.
“Here’s what I think, and take it or leave it, or whatever. I think you should do what’s best for you. Don’t go because Evan wants you to and don’t stay because Gage wants you to either. If you like it here, stay, but that doesn’t mean you can’t ever leave. You’ve got a car. There are planes and trains. You can go back to London, or go to Texas or wherever you want. You’ve got friends here now and you’ve got friends elsewhere too. True friends will work around what you want. They won’t just ditch you because you aren’t doing what they want. Ya got me?” She sucked in a breath and gave me a lopsided grin, pink highlights dropping around her face.
“I got you.”
“Feeling better?”
Unruly Magic (#2 Stella Mayweather Paranormal Series) Page 16
