by Pat Esden
Beneath her fingers, the tug of the crystal swung in a tightening circle. Then it pulled downward, until the point of the crystal touched the screen.
“Got it,” Devlin said, bringing her back to her senses. “Come on. Hurry. We’ll take the path. She’s closer to the Earth Clock than the parking lot.”
Chloe threw on her sweater and he grabbed his jacket.
Outside the front door, they found Henry waiting, looking a bit cowed. Devlin snapped a leash on his collar. “I’m not leaving him here with Merlin—that fucking shade around.”
“I don’t blame you,” Chloe said. “I’m worried about Chandler’s son, too.”
“So am I.” He took a firmer grip on the leash. “I’d also like to know why you’re worried about the Shade’s new appearance.”
As they jogged through the gate and down the deserted bike path, Chloe gathered her nerve and told him about the leather bracelet: how Athena had presented it to him in a box, how when he put it on the air around him had rippled violently with energy, obscuring him as he transformed. Her voice trembled as she explained that the Shade now looked exactly like a goth she’d met at a nearby bus stop, the same vivid blue eyes, the same voice. She skirted around the worst of the story, but finally couldn’t hold off any longer.
“I’m sorry, Devlin. The Shade said he orchestrated the goth’s death—” Her voice caught in her throat. “But Athena did it.” She couldn’t bring herself to mention the skinning.
Devlin kept walking, his gaze straight ahead, his fingers fisted around Henry’s leash. His face had gone as white as a candle at dusk on the winter solstice, at the start of the darkest night of the year.
“I can’t believe that,” he said. But his bleak tone told her he did believe.
* * * *
When they reached the Earth Clock, Chloe was glad Devlin had a few minutes to recover from the shock, not that anyone could ever get over hearing his sister most likely had committed a murder and used black magic to create an object like the bracelet. But he at least seemed to be trying to hold it together—which was doubly good because they weren’t alone. A couple was wandering around the circle of stones, tourists judging by how they were photographing everything.
“We need to focus on finding Keshari,” Devlin whispered. It sounded like he was saying it as much for his benefit as hers. “We don’t need someone else spotting her first and calling the police.”
They walked fast past the tourists and into the Earth Clock, the shortest way to the line of trees and an overgrown area where the pendulum had indicated Keshari would be. As they passed through the middle of the clock, a chill raised the hairs on the back of Chloe’s neck. Even if the goth was still on her mind and she hadn’t spotted the dribbles of candlewax and the stain of her blood on the leaves, the shadow of magic in the air once again drove home how real the danger was. Thanks to her, a powerful, murderous shade now walked the world and her friend lay here somewhere, dazed and alone.
“Keshari! Keshari!” she shouted as if she were searching for a lost dog. Henry turned to look at her, concerned.
Devlin jutted his chin to where weeds and piles of windswept leaves gathered against a tall fence that separated the park property from an old industrial site. “Cross your fingers she’s on this side,” he whispered.
A sick feeling churned in Chloe’s stomach. She took off her bracelet, allowing the pendulum to dangle. “Show me where Keshari is.”
Straight and true, the pendulum pointed ahead of her, in the direction they were going. But when they got there, there was only a thicket of bright purple asters, goldenrod, and fallen leaves, nothing even vaguely human shaped.
Chloe’s gaze went to the fence, tears of frustration welling. “He must have thrown her over.” Worry clogged her throat. “Dear Goddess, she can’t be dead.”
Henry whined, tugging on his leash.
“What is it, boy?” Devlin glanced back as if checking to see if the tourists had left, then he let go of his leash. “Find her.”
Tail flagging, Henry plunged into the weeds and started barking. Chloe ran to him and dropped to the ground, shoving leaves aside, not caring about the dirt and bits of leaves sticking under her fingernails. Devlin joined her, digging furiously.
Something glinted with in the bed of leaves. Keshari’s keyring and bell-studded wand.
Chloe sat back on her heels, scanning the ground ahead of them. Keshari had to be right here.
A yard away, patchwork squares of pink and orange all but blended in with the bright autumn leaves and weeds. Keshari’s jacket, camouflaging her body, curled up in a fetal position.
Chloe scrambled over to her. “Keshari! Keshari, are you okay?”
“Is she alive?” Devlin asked hesitantly.
“I don’t know.” She pressed her fingers against Keshari’s throat. She was warm. There was a pulse. “Keshari, can you hear me?”
Keshari moaned. Her eyes flickered open, dark and unfocused.
Chapter 24
The magic burst from the small stone, shooting upward like a butterfly taking flight, casting off smaller magics as it took wing. It was entrancing, a new shade of power, a prismatic hint of the possibilities he offered.
—Reflections by Rhianna Davies
The gray-bearded tourist dogged Chloe and Devlin as they half-carried Keshari down the bike path. “I’m calling 911,” he announced.
“You don’t need to,” Chloe said. “She just had too much to drink. That’s all.” Sweat drizzled down her temple, plastering her hair to her cheek. The man was probably right. Keshari didn’t look good at all.
The tourist turned to his wife. “Don’t you think she needs an ambulance?”
“No.” Devlin shot a glare at them. “I’m going to get my car and take her home. She just needs to sleep it off.”
Chloe readjusted her grip on Keshari, her feet now scuffing the ground as she attempted to walk instead of simply being dragged along.
Keshari raised her head. “I be all right. Just sick,” she slurred.
“Hmpf. I doubt that.” The man took his wife by the arm and stormed away. But when Chloe glanced back, they were huddled together and the man had his phone out.
“Keshari,” she said, “We need your help. Can you try a little harder to walk on your own?”
“Hell with this.” Devlin picked Keshari up in his arms and strode down the bike path toward the park’s entrance.
Chloe grabbed Henry’s leash and jogged ahead to make sure the coast was clear. It was early Sunday morning, so chances were the park employees hadn’t arrived yet. But if anyone were around it might be Matt, and that wouldn’t be good at all.
She glanced skyward and said a grateful prayer when they found the entrance area deserted, except for a couple boys on bikes, and a single car in the parking lot that most likely belonged to the tourists.
Devlin lowered Keshari onto a curbside bench. “Can you sit up?”
She nodded as if she could, but Chloe quickly sat down and put an arm around Keshari to give her a shoulder to lean against. “Hurry back,” she said to Devlin.
“Don’t worry. It’ll take me maybe ten minutes at the most.”
As he and Henry sprinted down the road, Chloe’s mouth dried. Not worrying wasn’t going to happen. She glanced back toward the Earth Clock. She couldn’t see the tourists, but she was certain they’d called 911. Even if they hadn’t, most likely they’d walk back this way to get to their car. Keshari was more alert than a few minutes ago, but not enough to convince them that she was fine. If an ambulance showed up, no rescue worker in their right mind would blow Keshari’s state off as normal.
Her mouth went dry. Rescue workers. Shit. What if the Rescue Twins were on duty? Dear Goddess, no. Anyone but them.
Keshari snuggled closer and mumbled, “Can’t go home. Dad kill me.”
“
Don’t worry. Devlin will take us to my apartment.” Chloe located Keshari’s phone in her jacket pocket and fished it out. “I’ll text your mom and tell her you fell asleep at my place last night studying.”
Keshari nodded, then slumped down until her head was on Chloe’s lap.
Despite her shaking hands, she typed the text in record time. She’d just sent it when the crunch of car tires came from nearby. It was too soon to be Devlin.
She glanced up and almost died.
A police cruiser.
She ducked her head and nudged Keshari. “Wake up. Cop.”
Keshari shifted upright, swaying as if her head were too heavy for her neck. Chloe cringed. There was no way to make her appear simply tired or a tiny bit drunk. There was no getting out of this.
The cruiser pulled up to the curb, right in front of the bench. A lone male officer got out and swaggered around the car to them, one beefy hand resting on his holstered gun. Why did he have to be patrolling here? Why couldn’t he have been doing something else, like been off somewhere discovering the goth’s body? Except, that would be worse for the coven. Much worse than this.
“Nice morning,” Chloe said. Her smile strained her cheeks and she was certain it looked as forced as it felt.
“You ladies have IDs?” His gaze scanned Keshari, then swung her way.
“Ah, sure.” Chloe fumbled in her pocket. “We’re waiting for a ride.” She gave him her Connecticut driver’s license and college ID. Hopefully, he wouldn’t ask them to get up. Keshari could barely stand, let alone walk a straight line or count backwards.
The officer studied Chloe’s IDs and handed them back. He nodded at Keshari. “Does she have an ID?”
“Oh.” Chloe dug into Keshari’s pocket, produced her ID, and handed it over.
“What are you doing here this time of morning?” He handed the IDs back to Chloe, then pulled a Maglite out and shone its light at Keshari’s eyes. “What’s she on? You can tell me the truth.”
“Ah—” Yeah, that wasn’t going to happen. “She was at a party last night. I don’t know what she took. She’s okay, really. My boyfriend’s going to be here any minute.” She wanted to do something with her hands, to wipe them down her jeans or rake them through her hair. She picked at the corner of her license, then forced them to go still.
“Do you mind turning your pockets out for me?”
“No problem.” Chloe did as he asked, nothing other than her phone and keys. Relief stole some of her tension as Keshari began rooting in her own. Thank goodness she was coming out of it, and just in time. But what if she pulled out something weird by mistake?
Keshari stopped and gaped at the officer. “My keyring,” she slurred. “It’s missing. I dropped it—” She stopped, rubbing her lips as if thinking. “Someone—stole it.”
Chloe thought back. She’d seen it in the leaves, the bell-wand and homemade atomizer. Not something they needed the officer looking for, especially with the bloodstain in the circle. “Devlin has it,” she blurted, though she wasn’t positive.
A flash of an orange car appeared down the road. Chloe jumped up from the bench. One eye on Keshari to make sure she stayed put, she waved at the car. “That’s him, my boyfriend,” she said to the officer.
Devlin swung the car up to the curb and leapt out, opening the passenger door before he even strode over. “Good morning, officer. Thank you. I was worried about leaving them alone.” He frowned at Keshari. “Like it or not, we’re going to Urgent Care.”
“That’s a good idea,” the officer said.
Devlin swooped his arm around Keshari, hoisting her to her feet. “I was so pissed when they called me about this. Thank you again, officer. Don’t worry, you won’t be seeing her like this again.” Half-carrying her, he headed for the car.
Chloe lowered her gaze, trying to fade into the background as she followed.
“Not so fast,” the officer’s voice rumbled. But as Devlin loaded Keshari into the passenger seat, his tone changed, and he switched to making alternate suggestions about where to take her, as if he’d realized someone else was saving him work and potentially from having vomit in his squad car.
Still, Chloe didn’t let out a relieved breath until she, Keshari, and Devlin were out of there, across town, and inside the apartment house. She was equally grateful when the Rescue Twins didn’t come out while they were crossing the foyer or dragging Keshari up the stairs.
She unlocked her door and was about to let Devlin and Keshari go in first, when Greta’s apartment door flung open. She stomped out into the hallway, hands on her hips. “Do I need to ask about the front door?”
Chloe swiveled toward her. “Don’t worry, we shut it.” The whole conversation sounded ludicrous, considering Keshari was currently sinking toward the floor, despite Devlin’s efforts to keep her upright.
“And locked it?” Greta’s asked. Her gaze winged to Keshari, like she’d just noticed her. “I don’t even want to know about that.”
“She’s fine. Just drunk.” Chloe nudged her door open wider with her foot and Devlin propelled Keshari inside.
“For all I care, you can drain her blood and drink it. But no candles or chanting.” Greta folded her arms across her chest and glared darkly. “It’s enough that I’ve got to put up with Juliet’s yowling cats.”
“Promise, as quiet as mice.” Chloe pasted on a smile, backed into her apartment, and slammed her door without waiting for Greta to retreat.
While Devlin helped Keshari lay down on the couch, Chloe beelined for the kitchen and poured a glass of water. “First, we need to get her comfortable and hydrated.”
He slid a pillow under Keshari’s head, then took the glass and held it while she took a sip. His gentleness struck Chloe and her heart tightened thinking about the emotional turmoil he had to be in, but the phantom sensation of the knife against her wrist sent a chill down her spine. Trust him, her heart murmured. Don’t let the sorrow and glitter blind you to the darkness behind your back, a ping of uneasiness whispered.
Devlin set the glass on the coffee table, then took Keshari’s keyring from his pocket and tucked it into her jacket. “I wish I had a gift for healing. Unfortunately, the Shade’s right, mine’s minimal at best.”
Chloe frowned. That was bullshit. “When I left my body, I saw and felt you holding my wrist. It was your magic that stopped the bleeding. So what if you didn’t do a perfect job? If it weren’t for you, my spirit wouldn’t have had a living body to return to.”
He shrugged halfheartedly. “Water is my element. It’s liquid. Blood’s liquid. That didn’t have much to do with real healing.”
“So you did what—pretended my blood was a river and you were plugging a hole in a dam?” Despite how serious the situation was right now with Keshari and everything, she couldn’t help but roll her eyes. It was ridiculous.
“Something like that.” He grinned. But the brief break in the tension faded as all the water she’d given Keshari dribbled back out her mouth and down her chin.
Chloe wiped the water off. “You all right?”
Keshari nodded. “Tired. Head spinning.”
“Hang in there. We’ll figure this out.” Chloe glanced at Devlin, telegraphing her worry. “If we had Merlin’s crystal, maybe the two of us could do something. It worked on my wrist. When you were away, we used it to heal Em’s spirit too.”
His eyes brightened. “We could make a staff crystal. Midas and I checked it out the other night. It’s essentially nothing more than an amplified generator crystal. All we’d need to do is recreate it.”
Chloe laughed. “Is that all?”
“Chloe?” Keshari’s weak voice stole her attention.
She crouched, brushing the hair back from Keshari’s heated face. “What is it?”
“Mandala. Blessings. Prayers.”
Adrenaline shot into Chloe’s ve
ins. “You’re talking about the mandala sand, right?”
“Shaman use it. Many ways.”
Chloe flew to her feet and retrieved the jar of mud-colored mandala sand from next to the other end of the couch. She showed it to Devlin. “This is what she’s talking about.”
“Sand is crystals. Infused with prayers and magic, it should work,” he said.
“Plus,” Chloe began as she went to her windowsill altar where she kept her favorite crystals, “I’ve got an idea of how we can ramp the sand’s power up even more.”
As she took off the jar’s lid and added the smallest crystals in with the sand, the light sparked against them, casting rainbows across the room. She replaced the lid and gave the jar a good shake, mixing everything together. After that, she gathered the rest of the supplies they’d need. Apple twigs and sage for a smudge stick. A bowl of larger crystals for Devlin and Keshari to choose from.
Devlin opened a window. “We don’t want your neighbor smelling anything.”
“Good idea. It’s kind of stuffy in here, too.” She peeled off her sweater. Maybe the morning had been crisp, but the day was rapidly turning stifling. Another thought came to her.
“Can you wedge a chair against the door, too? Juliet has the master key. We don’t need her walking in.”
He did as she asked, then together they helped Keshari to the middle of the floor. Once she was lying comfortably, they cast a circle around her using the Tears of Tara to ensure that the Shade and Athena wouldn’t sense they were working magic.
“Hold your crystal in two hands.” Chloe placed the stone Keshari had picked out at the base of her rib cage.
“On the third chakra,” Keshari murmured, closing her eyes.
Chloe and Devlin knelt on opposite sides of Keshari. Chloe took a deep breath and another, bringing up her magic. The other night when they’d healed Em, she hadn’t understood the words Athena had chanted. But she knew their sound, a vibration in her ear like a choir of voices. She brought up that memory, letting the incantation flow off her tongue, old magic, the kind the Shade and Merlin knew. Devlin joined in, their voices echoing off the walls.
