by Marnie Cate
Kicking and clawing at the air, Meg screamed, “Let me down now! Let me down or I will scratch your eyes out!”
Laughing, he ignored her screams. Miles tightened his fists and stood ready to attack. Catching his eyes, I slightly shook my head. Understanding, he loosened unclenched his fingers and sat back down.
“Stop playing, Cedric,” Eliza said, as she dragged her long red nails along his beard and kissed him on the cheek. “She is no use to us anymore.”
Tossing her into the back of the cab, she scrambled to my grandmother and fell into her arms sobbing. Gram wrapped her arms around Meg and whispered calming words in her ear. Meg hugged her tightly and tried to choke back her tears. Cole held out his hand to Miles and soon he was holding him in his arms. My father was no longer struggling against the ropes that he had been tied up with and had closed his eyes.
“I am going to ride with them in the back. I need to make sure that Elliott is okay or I will not be able to concentrate on breaking the binding.” I said, firmly.
Eliza's cold stare met mine. I stared back concentrating my thoughts on making sure everyone was ok.
Her black eyes stared intently at me as if she was trying to figure out my plans. Nodding, she finally agreed, “Fine, you can ride with him but your boyfriend rides with me.”
Unsettled, I began to change my decision when Cole turned to Eliza with his most flirtatious smile saying, “I would be honored to ride with you.”
For half a second, I thought Cole's charisma would be a benefit to him. I was wrong. Cedric jumped in the bed of the truck and grabbed him, roughly knocking Miles out of his lap. Ripping his wrist out of Cedric's bruising grip, Cole held up his hands as if surrendering.
“I said I would come with you,” he said, with mock indignation, “No need to be so rough, Mr. Drygen.”
Shoving him out of the back of the truck, Cedric sneered, “Save your charm for someone else, pretty boy.”
Jumping down from the truck, Cedric walked to me. Standing close to me, his eyes scanned my body settling for an uncomfortable penetrating gaze on my breasts. “Did you want my help getting into the truck? I am sure I could help you,” he leered.
Quickly hiking myself into the truck, I replied, “All good here. No help is needed.”
Shutting the tailgate to the black truck, he quipped, “Pity. Maybe another time.”
Eliza glowered at him as she entered the truck. My eyes met Cole's and he winked. Smiling back at him, I sat down near my father as the truck started. The engine roared and Cedric revved the engine before peeling out and knocking me down into my father who groaned in pain.
“I am sorry,” I said, touching my father's bruised face. Turning to Gram, I whispered, “Do you have anything to help him with the pain?”
“Untie him,” she directed, as she began to look through the lining of her jacket. Sliding me a miniature glass jar with a blue gel in it, she instructed, “Rub this on the cuts on this face. Elliott, it will sting but you will feel better.”
Loosening the ties on his wrists, I coated his cuts with the icy gel and he winced in pain. As I continued to lightly rub the ointment on his broken skin, I apologized, “I am sorry that this happened.”
“It is okay, Caterpillar. It is just a few scratches,” he joked. “Can you untie me so Drygen won't get to throw me out of the truck when we reach our destination? You know he would enjoy that immensely.”
As we drove through the forest, Cedric took every opportunity to make the ride as uncomfortable as possible for us. Hitting large bumps and erratically swerving, we were tossed around. When I was finally able to free my father from the ties on his arms, I slid over to Gram. Taking the lid off the jar of healing potion again, I began to rub the gel on the cuts on her cheek.
Hissing in pain from the salve, she took my hand and held it. “She will not honor her promise,” she said, with defeat in her voice.
“I know, Gram,” I said, as I hugged her tightly, “Don't worry about that right now. I have a plan.”
“How could I worry with you in charge,” she chuckled, releasing some of the tension that I had first felt in her body, “I know that it will turn out as it should.” Gram pulled out of my hug and took my hand.
“Grandmother Mae,” a soft voice whispered, “are you okay?”
Releasing my hand, Gram held out her hand to Miles and said, “Come sit with me, Miles. I am just fine. Can you do me a favor? Do you think you can call me Gram? Grandmother Mae makes me sound like a little old lady.”
Nervously taking her hand, I watched as his look of fear and uncertainty washed away. Sitting down on her lap, she pulled him into a big hug as she kissed him lightly on the cheek. His body stiffened as if he was worried what would happen next. Gram did not release her hug. Instead, she held him tighter. Finally, the stiffness in his body weakened and he wrapped his arms forcefully around her neck as he melted into her hug.
“Gram,” Miles said, in a whisper, “can I live with you now?”
Tears glistened in Gram's eyes as she kissed him on the cheek again and held his face in her aged hands, “Miles, I would love nothing more than for you to live in my home with us.”
Meg said, proudly, “I told you that they would love you. Didn't I?”
Sliding off Gram's lap, he hugged Meg. Meg whispered something to him and they both beamed as they looked at Gram.
“Miles, I am sorry that I was not able to be there for you but I am now,” Gram said. Taking a vial from her pocket, she handed it to Meg. “Meg, I brought this for you. Can you drink this and tell me what you think.”
As she took the vial that I knew was the memory potion, I silently watched my sister drink the liquid. I was thankful that Gram had thought to restore her memories. There was no guarantee that tonight would go as planned.
Smiling as she handed the empty container to Gram, she whispered, “We need to make some of that for Miles. It was so delicious,” she said, with a big yawn. “I missed you, Gram.”
Leaning against Gram, Meg snuggled into her arms and drifted off to sleep, “I missed you, too, my little dancer. I missed you too.”
Chapter 50
We continued the bumpy ride in silence as the truck drove towards our home. When we arrived, Cedric drove past the house and continued until he reached my grandfather's woodshop. Slamming on the brakes, he sent us sliding into the cab of the truck.
“Now the fun begins,” my father whispered to himself, as Cedric turned the truck off and hopped out of the truck.
Cole exited the black truck and held his hand out to Eliza. “It is a long step down. Let me help you.”
Accepting his hand, she allowed him to help her out of the truck, “You always had such nice manners.”
Cedric lowered the tailgate and roared at my father, “Stone, why are you not tied up like I left you?”
Standing up, I stood in front of my father. With hatred in my voice, I responded, “I untied him. If you want me to unbind Eliza's magic, you will watch your tone, Cedric. My family has had enough of your threats.” Keeping the aggressive tone in my voice, I said, “You might want to be very careful when you decide your next move. You really wouldn't want to anger me. You didn't forget that Eliza is my mother, did you? I'm afraid my temper can be just as volatile as hers when properly provoked.”
Holding my hand out, I concentrated until I formed a small ball of fire in my hand. Bouncing the flame in my hand, I icily said, “Eliza is not the only one who can play with fire.”
With those words, I made the fireball grow until it was the size of grapefruit. Throwing it towards Cedric, I aimed at his feet. The ball landed before him and sizzled in the grass.
“No need to get yourself worked up,” Cedric submitted, raising his hands in front of him and stepped back. “Always having a woman fight your battles, Stone? Seems like nothing has changed.”
“Do not take the bait,” I whispered, as my father began to charge at Cedric.
“The next one will not miss,”
I said, coldly. Directing my next words at Eliza, I warned, “If you want me to unbind your magic, you need to put a leash on him. He needs to be controlled.”
“Cedric, be nice darling,” Eliza purred, dismissing my threats. “We will be done with them soon.”
Snorting, he replied, “Not soon enough.”
Exiting the truck, I helped my family get out the vehicle. As I handed a sleeping Meg to my father, Eliza stared at the exchange and tightened her grip on Cole's arm.
“What is wrong with her,” she asked, with no concern in her voice.
“She's tired. She probably hasn't slept well with all of the threats she has been receiving recently,” I responded, “Lead the way, Mother,” I said, locking eyes with her and giving her a long, hard stare.
I thought I saw a glimmer of sadness in her eyes for the briefest moment before her eyes turned dark and she sneered, “Cedric, get our son.”
As she stormed away, I felt a pain in my heart. Reality hit that I had been praying for an idea not a real person to return to my life. My self-pity was halted by the gravelly voice of Cedric.
“Let's go,” he growled at me and pointed at Gram, “One trick from you and your precious family dies starting with the old lady.” Lifting Miles roughly, he picked him up and slung him over his shoulders.
“Please put me down, Father,” Miles begged. “I will walk by you. I can keep up.”
Storming over to Cedric, I pulled Miles out of his arms from behind. As I held him in my arms, Cedric held on to his feet until he saw the cold look of anger in my eyes. Releasing his hold, he sneered at me and stormed off to Eliza.
Hugging Miles to me, I whispered, “Don't worry. I am here. I will not let him hurt you.” Carefully setting him down, I wiped the tears from his eyes and kissed him on the both cheeks. “Take Cole's hand. You are safe.” Looking first at Cedric and then to me with fear still in his eyes, I smiled at him, “It will be okay. Go on. Trust me.”
As we walked through our property, the smell of lavender in the air comforted me. Gram took my hand as we entered the crimson red forest and we walked through the fallen leaves of the red and black trees. Turning to my father, I could see Meg resting on his shoulder. Gently, he stroked her hair. As I watched them, Meg slowly opened her eyes and smiled at me. As we looked into deeply looked into each other's eyes, I knew she understood everything that had happened. I mouthed to her, “I love you.” With a sleepy smile, she winked and gave me the thumbs up signal.
We continued to walk until we reached the stone table where Gram and I had made the memory spells. Out of the corner of my eye, a small flash caught my attention. When I turned my eyes to look, I saw a small lavender light blink again. I gasped. Gram squeezed my hand confirming that she saw had seen it too. The glow had flashed over a large nest-like opening in the ground coverings. The same nest that I had dreamed about. A pulsing feeling emitted from the ring on my finger.
Gathering my confidence, I said, “We need to go over here.”
Stepping into the center of the nest, I felt a cold rush of air. Everything around me changed. I was no longer in the forest. I was standing in the center of a large nest of silver twigs. The ground covering was a soft white that shimmered with pastel colors and flecks of silver. Above me, the moon was full and its light glowed down on me.
“Listen to your heart,” the soft voice of the Goddess filled the air. Small bubbles of blue, red, green, orange and silver floated in the air around me.
Holding my hand up towards the moon above me, I said, “Air, Fire, Water and Earth. I call upon you. Your guidance and support are needed. In honor of the Goddess, I will keep my promise but now I ask for your assistance.”
The balls of light surrounded me and a warm sensation covered my skin. Washed over by a blinding white light, I found myself back in the forest. Cole looked at me with concern and I smiled reassuringly back at him.
“Eliza,” I said, confidently, “You will need to stand in the center of this circle.”
Stepping into the nest, she went to the middle. “You better know what you are doing,” she hissed at me.
Holding out my hand toward her, I sent a stream of colored light at her. Trying to contain my surprise, I took a deep breath and watched as the lights surrounded her.
Listen to your heart, I thought.
“Gram, Cole and Elliott,” I directed, “come into the circle.”
Elliott set Meg down and kissed her on her forehead. Miles took her hand, my father tousled his hair and smiled.
As my family began to join me, Cedric started to follow. Stopping him, I rebuked, “You need to stay out there.”
With a look of surprise, he stopped. His disbelief quickly faded to anger. “This better not be a trick,” he snarled. Standing on the edge of the nest, he stood glowering at us.
“Meg and Miles, sit by the table,” I said, ignoring his threat. “We will need to focus so you will need to be silent.”
Hoping that they understood that I needed them to stay away to stay safe, I turned back to my family and I began the unbinding.
“Danu, with an open heart, I request the binding placed upon Eliza be released.” I began, “Air, may your strong winds renew the pure magic.”
A strong wind circled my grandmother. She nodded at me and directed the air into the center, where it joined the colored lights that were still twisting around Eliza.
“Fire, your gift of cleansing warmth is called upon,” I said, as I formed a ball of fire in my hand. From the ball, long threads of fire drifted to surround Eliza.
The air and fire began to slowly lift her off the ground. Feeling sure that my instincts were correct, I turned to Cole.
“Water, please wash away and renew the magic that Eliza promised to protect.” I continued. Cole held out his hands and a stream of water droplets left his fingers. The droplets floated above Eliza and showered on her.
My eyes met my father as I said, “Earth, the blessing of your new life and growth are called upon. May the gift of new beginnings fill Eliza's heart.”
The ground below us shook and began to crack. A white flower grew from the ground underneath Eliza. The stems grew taller, began wrapping around her legs and continued up around her body. Lifting her higher off the ground, she was held above us by the elements.
“It's working,” she cried and began to laugh uncontrollably as the colors of the elements spun around her.
“With the blessing of the elements, we ask for the gift of forgiveness and renewed faith. Goddess, we call upon you and ask you to undo what was done.” I called, into the night sky.
A large crack sounded as a bolt of white lightning struck Eliza. Her body shook and then she went limp. The leaves of the flower surrounded her and wrapped around her in a tight cocoon. Unsure what my next step should be, I hesitated. Gram stepped forward and said, “With the bindings I cast removed, Goddess, our request is complete. Thank you for the blessings you have bestowed upon us.”
The cocoon shook as it began to crack and slowly opened as it lowered to the ground. Stepping out of the broken shell, she began laughing maniacally calling to Cedric, “It's is back. The magic is no longer bound. My magic has finally been restored.”
Chapter 51
Turning to face my grandmother, Eliza's eyes grew dark and the tips of her fingers glowed with a green fire, “You took what was given to me and it can never be repaid.”
“You were bound because you were using your gift selfishly. You did not keep your promise to protect the magic. You were taught harm to none and your castings for the Drygens were used to hurt people,” Gram said, as she held out her hands and released long tendrils of air that flew at Eliza. As the air hit her, Eliza reeled back. Gram stood firm as Eliza charged forward.
“Stop,” I screamed, throwing a fireball at Eliza and redirecting her attention to me.
Cedric started stepping into the circle. Seeing the glint of the large knife that he was tightly clutching in his hand, I threw a fireball that h
it him striking his thigh. He howled in pain but the injury did not to stop him from going forward. As he advanced towards me, he was suddenly stopped as my father and Cole tackled him. While I was distracted by their fighting, I was knocked down by a cold electric stab that surged through my body. The dark shadow of Eliza covered me as she stood above with hatred in her eyes.
“You always loved her more,” she screamed. Her cries seemed to feed the flames blazing from her fingers. She threw more of her magic at me. This time it knocked me down into the center of the circle, “I was your mother. She was not but you always ran to her.”
Her body glowed as the magic forming from her hands grew larger. Scrambling to my feet to face her, I stumbled. The tingle from the magic she cast kept zapping me and the pain threw my balance off. Falling to my knees, I gasped as I tried to breathe. Focusing my magic on fighting what was running through me, I felt a warm wave wash over me and I faltered again from the pain. Her magic was so strong. I did not know how to push it out of me. Collapsing, I tried to tap into any magic that I had inside me.
“Stop! Mara, your magic will feed her magic running through your body,” Gram called to me, as she sent ribbons of air in my direction. “Her magic is dark now.”
While she was distracted throwing her magic at Gram's gusts of air, I tried to stand. My attempts were stalled as I was brought to my knees again and again by the excruciating pain.
“What's wrong, darling,” she purred. “Are you having problems standing?”
As I tried to stand and fell again, she cackled with glee at my agony. Her sinister laugh filled the air as she loomed over me.
“You were so eager to save her that you forgot yourself,” she sneered and threw her magic at me again.
The bolt of electricity she flung knocked the wind out of me and I was thrown back hitting my head on the ground. The pain running through my body was unbearable and I gasped for breath. Blackness rushed over me and I fought to not slip into it. A hard kick to the side of my leg jolted me out of the darkness and I tried to pull myself away from the sharp blows that repeatedly struck me. Stand up or you will die. I scowled at myself and tried again to stand up. I would have to fight her or she was going to kill me. This time I focused on blowing air at Eliza. The wind I was able to push at her tossed her back but it was not far or hard enough.
