Spring Magic

by T. M. Cromer

  Knox opened his mouth to reveal his cousin’s scam when Summer shot him a wink over Coop’s blond head. Seemed like she had everything well in control.

  “I’ll see you downstairs, if you think you can make it,” he told Coop dryly.

  “I’ll try my damnedest. I may need Summer to lean on.”

  “Bullshit,” Knox coughed into his hand.

  Summer’s musical laughter filled the room. “More like feel up. It’s amazing how he can’t seem to find my shoulder for support, but that hand of his zeroes in on my bo—”

  Coop clamped a hand over her mouth. “I’m sure Knox doesn’t want to hear about our trials and tribulations.”

  “I tried to warn you a year ago that he was a trial,” Knox told her. He shuffled his way to the door. “See you downstairs in fifteen. If you can’t cop a decent feel in that time, there’s no hope for you, Coop.”

  Behind him, Knox heard the sound of Coop tackling Summer to the bed. He grinned and closed the door on her giggles. His cousin was well and truly recovered from the shooting.

  “Now that the gang’s all here…” Preston Thorne stood and tapped his water glass with his fork.

  The overhead chandelier caught his dark auburn hair and made it gleam. Spring could almost imagine she saw his fire element flaming to life within those strands. This man was her father. He should’ve been her rock. Yet, he was still a stranger to her in so many ways. But when Preston cleared his throat, Spring saw a softer, more human side of him and not the stern, autocratic man he appeared to be.

  “We’ve had an eventful year. My brother Alastair returned to the fold, for which I am extremely grateful.” He nodded toward the silent blond man by his side. “Summer moved away and developed a thriving practice and a beautiful sanctuary for her exotic collection of misfits.” His sunny smile showed he meant no harm. “Autumn and Keaton found their way back to each other after nine long years, and they have a bouncing baby boy on the way.” Tears gleamed in his eyes as he looked down at his firstborn child. “You’re one helluva fighter and always stand for the underdog. I’m proud of you, darling girl.” He shifted his attention to Winnie. “Winnie, what can I say? You are the spitting image of your mother. Lovely both inside and out. Your courage and bravery when facing down Zhu Lin…” His mouth tightened and he nodded, as if he hoped she’d understand his unspoken sentiment.

  His penetrating amber eyes turned to Spring, and she gulped. “And my youngest, Spring. You are the family jewel. You sparkle and shine like the brightest of diamonds. Your fierceness and determination are unmatched, except perhaps by the man by your side. I have never seen two people fight to save one another the way you two have fought for each other. Not Lin, not memory loss, and not death itself has kept you apart.” He gave her a half-smile and shook his head in wonder. “Maybe we should have all recognized your determination early on. You knew your mind and went after it. Poor Knox didn’t stand a chance.”

  Knox hooked his pinky through hers. “I’m certainly glad she persevered.”

  “You are a powerful duo and stronger together. I hope you will always remain so. Your love is one for the rest of us to aspire to.” He raised his glass. “To Spring, thank you for removing Zhu Lin from the chessboard.”

  “To Spring!” the family cheered.

  Pleasure, and something resembling pride, filled her. From the time she’d reawakened from death, Spring had only wanted to fit in. Wanted to have the awful pressure of expectation taken off of her. It seemed she’d achieved that and more. She’d earned their respect and love.

  “I still have one more thing to take care of,” she said aloud. “I intend to find whoever shot Knox and Coop, then make them pay.”

  “There’s the brilliant, bloodthirsty niece I know and love.” Alastair laughed approvingly and raised his whiskey glass. “Give ‘em hell, child.”

  Uncomfortable in the spotlight and unsure how to handle the sudden praise, she changed the subject. “Did anyone learn anything? The local news reports? Police stations? Carrier pigeon?”

  “Whoever it is, the person is protected by magic,” Preston informed her.

  “How do you know?”

  “Because even with the power of three Thornes, we’ve been unable to bring up the events surrounding that night. It was as if the shooter was cloaked. I have no doubt it was intentional with Knox as the target, I just don’t understand why.”

  “Who has stronger magic than a Thorne witch or warlock?” she asked. She suspected she knew, but she wanted confirmation that only a God or Goddess could set about protecting the shooter from discovery.

  Alastair immediately understood her reasoning. Slowly, he nodded. “Only a Goddess.”

  “Do you think Isis had something to do with this? Did she want to undo my rebirth?”

  “It’s not her style.” Alastair sipped his drink and gazed off into the distance. “Or at least not hers anyway. I wonder if another might feel differently.”

  Without another word, he stood and headed for the stairs. From her vantage point, Spring noted he took the steps two at a time. She shared a meaningful look with her siblings, and they all raced for the attic.

  “Whose do you think it is, Uncle?” As Spring approached, Alastair thumbed through their family grimoire. It was funny how they’d all taken that ancient book for granted. The leather still protected the worn parchment pages after hundreds and hundreds of years. Yet, they all used the book almost daily, never sparing a thought to the sturdiness of their spell bible.

  “Serqet.”

  She nodded and stopped his hands. With the edge of her fingernail, she zeroed in on the section concerning the history of the Gods and Goddesses. “Anything you’d find on her would be here.” Spring stepped back and left him to his research.

  “Why Serqet?” Winnie asked. “Why would she target Knox? And for that matter, how? Isn’t she in the Otherworld?”

  “Revenge.” Knox stated the word in a low, flat tone as he locked gazes with Spring across the distance of the attic. “Spring killed her favorite toy. She wants payback. And she’s still a goddess regardless of where she resides.” He faced Alastair. “Isn’t that where you’re going with this?”

  Alastair didn’t bother glancing up. “It is.”

  Spring sucked in her breath so sharply she coughed. How the hell was she supposed to get a pissed Goddess off her ass?

  In her willingness to assist, Autumn pounded Spring’s back extra hard. “Are you trying to dislocate my spine?”

  “Pfft. I’m adding you back to the fragile flower category.”

  “Shut it.”

  Teasing aside, Spring joined Knox by the window. “I’m sorry. I had no idea she’d try to retaliate against you.”

  “It’s not your fault, child,” Alastair cut in. “It’s not like Serqet or her descendants have ever been a particularly stable lot.”

  “But she wasn’t all bad. I read about all the good she’d done prior to her emotional breakdown.”

  All eyes turned to Spring in surprised wonder.

  “Uh, I’m assuming I’m the only one who reads the family chronicles?”

  Her sisters had the grace to look uncomfortable.

  She laughed. “Don’t tell me, y’all always counted on me to keep you informed in the past, didn’t you?”

  Summer spoke up in their defense. “You seemed to like the research more than the rest of us.”

  Spring hugged her.

  “It’s fine. I don’t mind being the family historian. It’s interesting stuff.” All the research and studying had paid off. It had also helped to restore her magic at a faster speed than anticipated when she initially recovered. Which brought to mind the entry of that particular spell. “Did any of you create a spell to restore my powers to full force?” All she received from the group was blank looks. If it hadn’t been Preston, Alastair, or her sisters, who created the restorative spell? “Never mind. Back to Serqet and her revenge. How do we stop her?”

  “I don’t kn
ow that we can.” Winnie shrugged when all the attention turned to her. “When we were in Egypt, Lin told me Isis had foiled Serqet’s planned revenge against her lover. He also stated he was a warlock—one without powers. His plan was to channel mine.”

  No one seemed to follow her reasoning. “Where did he learn to do that? What gave him the idea? I’d lay odds it was Serqet.” Winnie focused on Alastair. “What if she planted a bug in his brain? It would make sense as why he was always targeting our family in particular and rarely bothered with anyone else’s. There are other witches and warlocks he could’ve channeled for power. I think Serqet is obsessed. She’ll continue to find people she can use to come after us.”

  Silence filled the attic. They were each lost to their own thoughts. If Winnie’s hypothesis was correct, it didn’t matter who was to blame for the shooting. If taken out, another shooter would take the other’s place.

  “How are we supposed to have any semblance of a normal life when the next bullet might have one of our names on it?” Coop demanded harshly. “A head shot would have a helluva different outcome than a chest, shoulder, or leg.”

  A shiver of cold swept Spring’s entire body. Would her death have appeased Serqet? By coming back and killing Zhu Lin, had Spring added more weight to the wheel of revenge already in motion?

  Knox’s arm came around her shoulders in a gesture of comfort. Whether for her or him, she couldn’t say. But she knew what she needed to do; she had to right a wrong.

  28

  “Will you walk with me?”

  Knox studied Spring’s earnest face. She had some cockamamie plan in mind. He felt it down to his toes. “What are you planning?” he asked without preamble.

  All heads turned in their direction.

  Spring’s furious glare spoke volumes and told him he was right.

  “Sister?”

  Spring ignored Autumn and teleported. Had Knox not seen the sliver of movement from the attic window, he wouldn’t have known her destination. With a grim smile to the others, he teleported to the clearing.

  “What the hell do you think you’re doing? In case you forgot, there’s a crazy person hellbent on taking us out.”

  She whirled to face him. “I want to summon Serqet.”

  “Fuck. No!”

  “Hear me out—”

  “No, absolutely not. She’s dangerous and filled with hate, Spring. You killed her crazy pet human. Do you honestly think she’s going to let bygones be bygones? She had me shot in the fucking heart!” He knew he was shouting, but his fear was over the top.

  “We don’t even know it was her.”

  “I’d say we have a pretty good idea unless we gained a new, unknown enemy in the last week.”

  Spring’s chin rose in the air. “I intend to give her what she wants. A life for Lin’s. My life in exchange for leaving you all alone.”

  His mind went blank. Like literally devoid of thought. He’d heard others use the term, but he’d never been able to comprehend how it could happen. Now he knew. It only took one person to say something totally asinine to blow your mind.

  When he couldn’t form a response, she touched his sleeve. “I want you to be on board with this.”

  “How can I? You’re asking me to agree to have my heart ripped out.” He hadn’t been aware of gripping his hair in his hands until the pain in his scalp registered. Still, that wouldn’t be a fraction of a fraction of what he would feel if his soul was crushed by losing Spring a second time. “Christ, Spring! This is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard you say. Like ever! What guarantee do we have that she’ll keep her word or be satisfied with your d-d…” He couldn’t voice the word. Couldn’t bear to imagine losing her a second time.

  “You have none.” The soft modulated voice startled them both. The appearance of Isis always surprised him at every turn.

  Knox kneeled when he saw who had entered the clearing. “Exalted one.”

  He jerked Spring to the ground next to him to honor the goddess before them. Isis was kinder and more forgiving than most, but protocol needed to be kept.

  “Rise, children. There is no need for formality among family.” She moved closer and laid her hand atop his bowed head. “Such a darling young man.” To Spring, she said, “Your beloved is correct. Your plan will fail. My sister doesn’t care if you make it easy and sacrifice yourself. She cannot be trusted to honor any promises she makes.”

  “But she was good once. She helped people,” Spring protested as she rose.

  Isis’s full lips flattened into a straight line, and her amber eyes flashed. Knox experienced a moment of panic.

  “You are impetuous, Spring Thorne.” Isis lifted her arm and let out a low hum. Within a minute, Mr. Black swooped down from the sky and landed on her forearm. “Show her.”

  The raven fixed his intelligent eyes on Spring and cawed. He switched to perch on her shoulder and pressed his head into her neck. As her eyes rolled back, Knox lunged to catch her. The three of them—Spring, Knox, and Mr. Black—wound up on the ground in a heap with Knox taking the brunt of the impact. Spring’s body repeatedly jerked with whatever magic the bird continued to impart. Tears fell from closed eyes as they rolled around behind her lids.

  “What the hell did you do to her?” Knox yelled. It wasn’t that he wanted to be smitten, but his main concern was for Spring. Her seizure was magical in nature, but he reasoned it couldn’t be good for her overall health.

  “I once told you I needed to wipe her brain, that when she was resurrected, she would have no memories. Now, I am restoring the memories without the traumatic emotions attached. She will be able to see what her impetuousness caused.”

  He stared in dismay. The only solace he’d found in this whole damned situation was that Spring never had to fully know what she’d gone through. Other than the video Lin produced of her death, the truth of her torture had been hearsay. Something from which she could remain detached. A thing that, while horrific, had happened to someone else because she had no true memories or feelings to deal with. But that would change.

  “She’ll feel shame and degradation for what she’s been through. Why would you put that on her?” His voice was hoarse from the raw emotion churning within him.

  The gaze Isis turned on him was not unkind. “No one can go through this life unscarred or unchanged in some way, Knox Carlyle. Knowledge is power, whether you choose to believe it or not.”

  He hadn’t realized he was crying until she brushed a thumb over his cheek.

  “She will sleep now. When she wakes, show her what it means to be truly loved.” She glided toward the widening ripple in the fabric of the space around them. Before stepping through, she cast him one last long glance. “The one you seek was once employed by Victor Salinger, but that is not who commissioned him to hurt you. Many blessings on you, my dear.”

  “Thank you, Exalted One,” he returned humbly, wishing for more than the cryptic information she’d provided but knowing he wouldn’t receive it.

  As the late-morning shadows darkened to afternoon, Knox held Spring in the cradle of his arms and stroked her hair. The raven had flown back toward Thorne Manor hours ago. He assumed it was to roost in the old barn and rest from the heavy influx and outpouring of magic the poor thing had been subjected to.

  A new sensation triggered the hairs on the back of his neck. He sensed the moment they were no longer alone. A malicious, dark force—one he was deeply familiar with—tried to wrap around him.

  Knox gathered old, elemental magic within his hand just as he had when he struck down his mother. “Come out. I know you’re there.”

  A woman stepped from the trees. She was tall and had long, flowing black hair that hung to her waist. The curviness of her body would make a saint’s mouth water. However, the malevolent energy clinging to her repulsed him. He had borne the brunt of that ugliness in the past and had felt the repercussions of hatred a thousand times over not to recognize it for what it was now.

  “That’s far eno
ugh. Who are you?”

  “I am known as Serqet.”

  Fuck!

  Although he didn’t rise because Spring rested in his arms, Knox bowed his head in respect, never taking his eyes from her. “Goddess.”

  “You’re hard to kill,” she said conversationally.

  “I try.”

  Her lips twitched, whether in annoyance or humor, he couldn’t tell. “For years, my supporters have tried. Robert Knox was one of mine, as was Zhu Lin. I eventually turned your mother into one of my followers.” She shook her head. “But you and Spring Thorne have systematically removed them all.”

  He shook his head, stunned stupid by her confession. What was she saying? She’d been trying to have him murdered from birth? Why? “I don’t understand. Why would your followers turn on each other? Lin murdered my father. I was there and saw it happen.”

  “Did you?” She laughed, and the lovely sound was hardened by an evil edge. “You may want to check with those who were there that day. Alastair Thorne and Phillip Carlyle know the truth. You murdered your father, just as you murdered your mother. Alastair was the first to realize you would be in danger from the Witches’ Council if the truth came out.”

  She shrugged as if she didn’t care that a small boy might have been hurt. “He came up with the idea to alter your recollection of the events and to make you believe Zhu Lin killed your father. In fact, a single lightning bolt from you had the honor. Did you never wonder why your mother turned on you after your father’s death?”

  A cold smile graced her stunning face. “Oh, how Marianne hated you for murdering the man she loved. A word here or there fed that hatred. Helping her escape to seek vengeance on you and Spring was some of my finest work. The Witches’ Council spelled those prison cells with ancient magic. Magic my family created.”

  “I still don’t understand why you would target a small child. What did I ever do to you?”

  “Do you believe in the rebirth of the soul?”