by Lee Roland
Brilliance surrounded me, streaked through me, and spread. It seemed it could illuminate the impenetrable darkness in the void and race away through an unending universe. It faded but continued to flicker in my mind. I had no time to explore this strange new thing. I flung my calling out across the world of earth magic with all the energy I could muster.
Marisol.
Magic thrummed like a low note on a giant bass fiddle. It thumped with the heartbeat of a deeper drum. It rattled like windows in a massive storm and roared like a tornado. A tornado not of wind and rain, but of fire and ash. I called again.
Marisol.
Silence fell, a silence deeper than any I’d ever known.
Through magic, the blood of the Earth Mother, came my answer. Soft, dreamy, barely a whisper, it caressed me.
Nyx.
That single trembling thought touched me—and was gone. Marisol remained upon this earth, though I did not know where.
My body jerked. The fire dissipated, the magic vanished—and all hell descended upon me.
Herschel howled.
I stuck my fingers in my ears. That howl, so loud it hammered my eardrums to the point I thought I’d be deaf. Etienne knelt on the ground, his face twisted in pain and his hands over his ears.
It stopped.
I’d barely drawn a breath of relief when Laudine came rushing out of her front door shrieking undecipherable words. The words weren’t important. The significant ax she held drew all my attention. She chopped at the air, her focus on me and her intention quite clear. She wanted me in pieces—immediately.
Etienne suddenly stood between us, gun drawn. Feet planted, body tense, he aimed directly at her heart. He would not hesitate.
Laudine stopped. Her body swayed. She stood, poised, teeth bared like an animal, ax ready to strike. Her hair, released from its binding, flew wildly around her head and shoulders. The frozen mask of a madwoman twisted her face. She stepped to the side, trying to get past Etienne. Silent as a stalking tiger, he moved with her, covering me the entire time.
I tried to stand. Didn’t make it. Herschel hauled himself to his feet, shook his heavy body, and yawned. I grabbed his back and used it as leverage. He grunted, but let me struggle until I made it.
I didn’t know what had happened. I did know I had never before had the power to use magic the way I had here and at the traffic stop. This was shaping up as a night for great revelation, though the exact significance escaped me at the moment. The boost Herschel gave me through magic bordered on incredible.
Incredible, too, was the stink of burning asphalt. Where my circle of fire touched it, it bubbled and boiled. Part of the fence protecting the Bog was missing, probably burned away. Witch fire had become a true burning, something I had not thought possible.
I wobbled over to stand by Etienne. Not too close, in case he needed room.
Laudine still stood on guard with her ax. She’d stopped moving, but she kept the ax ready. It really seemed a pitiful weapon for an earth witch. Sadly, she seemed pitiful for an earth witch.
“I was only doing a sending,” I said to her. “I know it was loud, but don’t you think you’re overreacting here? What’s going on?”
Laudine lowered the ax. Like the average witch, she’d never had any need to learn to use a weapon. Magic usually sufficed for defense. Tonight, she’d grabbed the only thing she had. She couldn’t match the power of my sending, my magic. She’d known, or maybe just anticipated, I’d be vulnerable to physical attack when it was over. She hadn’t counted on Etienne being there to defend me.
“Witch.” Laudine snarled the word at me. “You have misused earth magic to such an extent that you will probably find a Triad of Sisters seeking you tomorrow. Sacrilege, a curse on the Earth Mother’s name.”
Okay, the aggressor was going to excuse her aggression by blaming her intended victim—me. It was all bullshit.
“I was only trying to find Marisol,” I said. I wanted to sound defensive, to placate her. I had more important things than to start a war with another witch—even if she seemed to have already begun one with me. And I really didn’t believe I’d done anything wrong.
Laudine raised an eyebrow. “And did you? Find her?”
“No.” Something deep inside ordered me to lie.
“Very well.” She shrugged as if I’d merely dropped one of her teacups on the floor. “Come in and let’s see if we can repair the damage.”
“What damage?” What the hell?
Laudine stared at me. “I don’t know, but there’s bound to be some.” She softened and bowed her head. “I ask your pardon for my rash actions. I would not have harmed you.”
“Rash actions, my ass.” Etienne shoved his gun in his holster. He stared straight at me, his face a mask of implacable anger. “Want some advice?”
“Sure. I can always ignore it.”
“Never, ever trust a witch.” He spoke softly, but with such force I knew it truly came from his heart. “This bitch would have diced you like a carrot if I hadn’t been here.”
It was good advice. Never trust a witch. And this particular witch had disliked me from the moment I walked into her world. The carrot analogy wasn’t quite bloody enough, though. I was thinking along the lines of a slaughterhouse pig. A least I knew Marisol was alive somewhere.
I would eventually have to rest tonight and did not wish to leave myself vulnerable to Laudine. Of course, that meant I’d be leaving myself vulnerable to someone else—a man about whom I knew virtually nothing except his hatred of witches. Thus far, Laudine hadn’t offered me anything but cowardly indifference and swift violence. Etienne’s intentions, other than control of me, were unclear. Etienne had one shining thing in his favor. Darrow.
To Laudine I said, “I’ve got somewhere to go, Laudine. I’ll be back tomorrow.”
“As you wish.” Laudine marched off like a queen.
Etienne laid a hand on my shoulder. It surprised me how steady it made me feel.
“What happened earlier?” I asked. “What did you see?”
“Fire. It covered you. I thought you were dead. Then it went away. Your dog howled. No dog is that loud.”
My sentiments exactly. Herschel’s howl could be heard across miles of the swamp. “Maybe he swallowed a stereo speaker. He eats some weird stuff.”
A smile twitched at the corner of Etienne’s mouth. “Come on. Darrow can watch over you if you like.” Interesting. He’d known to offer me something, someone, I would trust. He glanced down at Herschel. “And there’s always the mutt.”
The easy way wasn’t always the best way. Etienne had taken me to Abigail at some risk to himself. He’d stood between me and Laudine’s ax. I’d rather have gone somewhere I could be alone, but my strength rapidly faded. I didn’t have that option.
“Why didn’t you shoot her?” I asked. Given his enmity toward witches, it would seem the logical thing to do. She believed she couldn’t hurt him with magic.
He shrugged. “There was no real threat. I would have if she’d gotten too close. Is that what you would have wanted?”
“No. I’ve never wanted to kill anyone. There are always greater consequences for killing a witch, no matter your reason. My grandmother told me it sets up an imbalance in nature.” He’d shown some reluctance to killing. That didn’t necessarily make him a good guy, but it helped.
I nodded and headed for Gran’s car. “Come on, Herschel.”
The police still had my wallet with my ID, credit cards, and all my cash. They would be looking for me as an associate of a wanted man. I just hoped that, in contrast to what had happened to Etienne, the Barrows would not become my prison.
Chapter 14
I had little reason to trust Etienne, to go with him, but if he hadn’t been there when I finished my sending, Laudine might have been hiding my various body parts in the Bog. Or maybe not if Herschel had actually decided to take action in my defense. Laudine had apologized, but offered no rational explanation for her violent reac
tion to my magical melee. I had no doubt she was right that there would be consequences.
While I drove toward Etienne’s compound, I realized how easily I’d fallen back into a life I thought I’d left behind. I didn’t really miss it, the life where danger and death walked beside me within easy pouncing distance. In San Francisco I did my work, met with friends for drinks or dinner, and shopped for frivolous things. Occasionally violence was required, but most cases in SF were an easy find this person or find this object. A sudden sadness came over me. Why hadn’t I ever invited Marisol? Or Gran. Gran wasn’t a city girl, but she would have enjoyed some things I could show her, like the museums, art galleries, the ocean and the bridge. I’d screwed up big-time in my desire to stay away from the Twitch Crossing witches.
I pulled into a parking space in the empty lot that Etienne specified. As soon as I turned off the engine, the vast weariness I’d been expecting gripped my body and mind. Overuse of magic two nights in a row demanded physical payment. I’d spent the night before unconscious on the ground at Laudine’s. Tonight I’d also walked and run a number of miles after setting off a lightning storm of a spell. The sending required more strength. Even if, as I suspected, I had help with the magic, it drained me.
Etienne led me up some stairs. I stumbled halfway. He came back, grabbed my arm, and held me steady as I made what had become an incredible effort to place one foot after the other.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Spell catching up with me.” My words came out a bit slurred. “Need rest.” By that time I couldn’t even see the room around me.
He lowered me onto a bed. I felt him removing my still wet shoes. I was in desperate need of a bath and dry, clean clothes, but it seemed unimportant just then. I needed to say something else. I had to force the words out. “Tell Herschel to drool outside. He can understand you.” I couldn’t say more. I’d hit the wall when it came to energy. Nothing remained. I had to rest.
Darkness descended, but it didn’t last long. At least I knew I was dreaming and my body resting. I found myself suddenly standing in a forest of trees taller than any I’d ever seen. I wasn’t afraid—there didn’t seem to be any point. Dreaming. Right?
When she came drifting toward me, I knew her instantly. The Earth Mother. Beautiful beyond anything I’d ever seen, she looked a bit like Abigail, and probably me, but a bit like my own mother, whose face I’d often seen in my dreams. She was the essence of all witches, some of whom lived their whole lives without being blessed with actually seeing her.
“Mother.” I bowed low to her.
“Nyx. You have surprised me, daughter. I do enjoy it when my children . . . to use a modern phrase, step outside of the box. Your search, your sending, was mighty and powered by your love for your sister.” I basked in her attention, her love and approval. Whatever my actions, I had never wavered in my loyalty to her.
“Did I screw up too bad?”
“No. You did no wrong.”
“You helped me, didn’t you? With the rain.”
“A bit. Know that I will not do such things inside the ward around the Barrows, lest I break it and allow Aiakós to go free. I will not permit that at any cost. I am forbidden to tell you more.”
“Mother, is Marisol with you? I heard her, but . . . is she . . . ?”
“Marisol is alive. If she were not, I would know. I do not, however, know where she is.” The Mother drifted closer. “One of the things that most distresses me is that occasionally my children think that I am omnipotent. I see much, but not everything. I can intervene, but not always in the way my people wish. Marisol is hidden from me.”
“When I called this evening, she did answer faintly.”
“I heard. But I feel she is weakening. You must find her soon.”
“I will. One more thing. Can I trust Etienne?”
“I understand your concern. He is a stranger. A powerful stranger. He is occasionally brutal, but left to his own conscience he would harm no innocent. Although I suspect his perception of innocent is a bit flexible. You must teach him to trust you. That is your considerable challenge. He is a complex man with complex secrets. Twice set upon by witches, once with his knowledge and once without, he has good reason to be wary of all magic. Consider Etienne my gift to you. He would suit you, I think. But the choice is yours.”
The Mother laughed and all the birds in the forest sang, in a magnificent melody in perfect harmony. One question spoiled the beauty of the moment. Etienne, damn him, I had to deal with the man no matter what. The Mother hadn’t really said I could trust Etienne. While she soothed me with the idea that he would harm no innocent, she waffled on it with the words flexible and innocence. It both comforted and terrified to know that my powerful patroness, my demigoddess, could be unsure of herself. That she could be less than omnipotent, more human. It terrified me because it meant that she could fail. She could be wrong. I listened to her song for a few minutes, then fell back into true sleep.
I woke when Herschel grabbed my foot and dragged me off the bed. My butt hit first, then my head. Thank the Mother for carpet. I yelped and let out a few choice words, then threatened to send him to the dog pound.
I sat up and looked around. Etienne stood at the foot of the bed, laughing. He’d obviously bathed and found clean clothes. He looked just fine. “Consider him my gift to you.” The Mother’s words.
“Good morning,” my so-called gift said.
He grinned. Oh, he did have a nice smile. I had to smile back, all the while telling myself it was a bad idea. The Mother had said I should teach him to trust. I just wasn’t sure that would be good. This was not a man a careful woman should find attractive. But then, when was I ever more than moderately careful?
“You said your dog understood if I talked to him. Madeline had a lizard once that she talked to. It understood. I asked the mutt if he would wake you.”
“Yeah, but he could have barked.” Damn, I hurt.
My stomach growled loud enough to be heard three rooms away.
Graceful as a giraffe, I forced myself off the floor to sit on the bed. “Where am I?”
“My apartment. My bedroom.” He laughed a little more. “My bed.”
“You couldn’t have put me on the couch?”
“Oh, I’d be a poor host if I did that.” He tossed a bundle of clothes on the bed, a pair of black fatigue pants and a blue T-shirt. There were socks and panties there, too. “I thought you might want some clean clothes. I got these from one of the women. They should fit you.”
I accepted the garments. “Guess this covers everything except . . .” I picked through the garments. “No bra?”
“No. Hers wouldn’t fit you. She’s a bit more . . .” He grimaced, apparently unsure of the words he needed. Finally, he found one. “Substantial, I would say.”
I looked him up and down and gazed pointedly at his crotch. “Substantial. Yeah. You either got it or you don’t. Not that I’ve ever had complaints. Of course, with me, a good surgeon could work wonders. Others have to accept things as they are.”
Etienne gave another good-natured laugh. He was in a good mood this morning. I wondered how long it would last. “The bathroom is there.” He pointed to a door. “And in case you’re wondering, I had Darrow come and get you out of your wet clothes.”
I hadn’t noticed. The man seemed to be dominating my thought process. I was wearing a man’s T-shirt and a pair of boxer shorts. Etienne had shown me a small consideration in having Darrow come. I’d worked in really close quarters with Darrow and other men and by necessity we’d occasionally had to get naked. As long as I knew them, I got used to it. Embarrassment didn’t hold up when we were hiding from people who wanted to kill us. It would have troubled me a bit if Etienne, a stranger, had stripped me.
Etienne frowned as if he’d taken a quick, emotional step back from his pleasant mood of only minutes ago. “Why didn’t the fire burn you last night? It didn’t even dry your clothes.”
“There are
different kinds of fire.”
He wasn’t satisfied. “I felt the heat. I couldn’t get close to you.”
What did I tell him? I wasn’t into soul baring yet. He didn’t need to know that fire was a part of me. I could start one as hot as the sun, but no fire would burn me. “It works different with magic, that’s all. I used magic to protect myself.”
He watched me for a moment, then left. I could tell he wasn’t satisfied.
Bathroom, yes, and a shower, too. The garments Etienne brought fit me quite nicely, in spite of the lack of substance in my chest area. Not that I’m super small, but I didn’t complain. They’d been described as perky and just the right handful. Big breasts would have been a hazard considering some things I’d had to do. My shoes, dried, sat on the floor by the bed.
I also checked my cell phone. Dead, but the charger was in my backpack, which someone had conveniently brought from the car. I plugged it in. I really needed to call Karen and warn her of the firestorm of official demands that were about to descend upon her. When I finished in the bathroom, Etienne was in the living room and Herschel had disappeared. Etienne led me down the stairs. Once outside, I found that Gran’s car was missing.
“What did you do with my car?” Irritation made me clench my fists.
“It’s parked in a building. We don’t permit vehicles outside here. It draws attention. There are plenty of empty buildings.”
“Which building?”
Etienne shrugged. “I don’t know. I just ordered it moved. I’ll check on it for you.”
Sure he would. Not that it mattered. Herschel would find it if I asked. If I located the miserable mutt anytime soon.
Etienne led me across a parking lot to another building, a large bright dining room where breakfast was in progress. It was served buffet-style and about fifty men and a few women sat at tables scattered around the room. They were all dressed in crisp black fatigues, as Darrow had been when I met him earlier. Only my blue shirt set me apart. They all stopped talking when I walked in with Etienne, but quickly went back to their conversation, their voices hushed.
