by Brenda Trim
I chuckled, appreciating the levity. It reminded me that life was about more than fighting this evil despite the chaos of the past few days. My steps continued toward the backdoor and my Grams. My friends fell into step, and Sebastian stuck close to my side.
“The King is trying to destroy what he sees as the seat of your power, the portal. He doesn’t realize there is far more to you than that and likely doesn’t care. He wants to cut you off at the knees.” Finarr’s observation turned my blood to ice and made Bas growl low in his throat.
Finarr clearly dismissed the idea of the portal as feeding my power, but what if he was wrong? It would be just my luck for the king to cut me off and weaken me significantly while also denying us the chance to return and help overthrow him. It kinda made sense.
Grams said I shouldn’t be affected by the destruction, yet I was. Was this going to stop me? No freakin way. I’d never let anything stop me, and I wasn’t about to start now.
Chapter 3
“This isn’t good.” I wanted to say, 'No shit, Sherlock. What was your first clue?' But Grams wouldn’t appreciate the sass. Besides, I imagined she was still processing what was happening. “I think mom and grandma were onto something but didn’t really hit the mark with their theories. I’d bet my afterlife Vodor is trying to reclaim his mate’s power. I doubt he understands that you absorbed it.”
My eyes flew wide as I toed off my boots and cradled my side. “Holy crap. I think you’re right. If he was aware of me and targeting me specifically for my power, he wouldn’t be stealing it from everywhere. The flames were directed at me for sure.”
“He likely used the commotion to seed his spell before we could stop him,” Aislinn added.
Violet grabbed the teapot and filled it with water while everyone gathered in the kitchen. “We need to find a way to stop him from sucking Pymm’s Pondside dry.”
“Is that even possible? I have his enchantment contained. Perhaps I can keep it to those three-square feet.” It sounded ridiculous the moment I said it. Not that it wasn’t a valid question.
Grams shook her disheveled silver hair. How the heck did a ghost’s hair, get tangled anyway? She was incorporeal, so it shouldn’t be possible. “Eventually he will sink feelers into the soil and spread it out. Now that he has a taste for how much power our land contains, he won’t stop until he has it all.”
“We need to stop him before that happens,” Sebastian cut in.
“Do you have any idea how we do that?” I needed to grab some of the books upstairs, but I would take them if he had any ideas. I hated feeling helpless.
Bas shook his head from side to side as he leaned against the doorframe. “The only thing that comes to mind is for us to get to what remains of the mausoleum and have you open the crippled portal and pray we aren’t sent to another realm, then hunt him down and kill him.”
“We don’t have that kind of time.” Grams’ voice faded as she was speaking. My heart leaped painfully in my chest. The poor organ had been through so much. My entire body had been battered relentlessly over the past twenty-four hours.
I wanted to wail like a three-year-old about the unfairness of life. I might be losing my Grams and my magic, and all I could think about was crawling in bed and taking a nap.
“Can you sense him stripping the land of power, now?” The bluish image of Grams flickered even as I asked. He had to be stealing some of the power that enabled her to remain with me.
Grams tilted her head and went motionless. I jumped toward her, but my hand went right through her. My skin chilled as it passed and made me shiver. I waited several seconds, my heart racing and breathing increased as my grams remained frozen.
“I have to try something.” I was at the backdoor and heading out without shoes on. Several footsteps pounded behind me, letting me know my friends had followed just like I expected.
I paused at the edge of my cocoon and lifted my hands. “Saeclum.” When my bubble started to unravel, I recast the spell and held my breath until hundreds of tiny holes hit my shield instead. He had booby-trapped his enchantment.
Looking to Bas, I told him I needed to go inside the bubble. That was the only way to ensure my enchantment was directed at the right source. He grabbed my hand, grounding me before I crossed. Moving through the thick layer was far easier than the last time.
My entire body felt like it was being drained while my ears were stuffed with cotton. It reminded me of being on an airplane or in a hyperbaric chamber with a patient. Once pressurized, your ears felt like they needed to pop, and everything sounded far away. There was also a draw on my chest as my energy was being hoovered by the evil Fae King.
Squeezing Sebastian’s hand, I muttered my spell to disband Vodor’s. For a second, I thought it was going to work. The walls of the crypt flickered, and I saw the bones reform up above the existing stone structure. Unfortunately, it didn’t continue.
The blowback when the spell was smashed made my hair fly back behind me. If not for Sebastian, I would have ended up on my ass. “You have any other ideas?”
Bas pursed his lips and moved behind me, then wrapped his arms around me. I loved the sensation and wanted to melt into him. Unfortunately, we had an asshole to cut off. When I was about to let him know that very pertinent fact, he shared his idea with me. “Let’s combine our power. That might be enough to stop his progress. I think you’re onto the right idea, but you need more support.”
I shrugged my shoulders, trying to hide the way the mere idea made my insides turn all warm and squishy. I wanted to get closer to him. We’d fooled around, and I thought I was finally ready to take it even further. Later. When Vodor had been dealt with.
“Sounds good to me.” Both of us chanted the spell again, and I watched as even more of my ancestors’ remains returned. It didn’t last, though. One thing was clear, stopping him would bring back the bones that lined the crypt walls, but it wouldn’t remake the actual surrounding structure. I had known the power of the portal was in the skeletons. This was further confirmation.
“Try to cast a dissipation spell.” Violet’s voice was warbled as it passed through my cocoon to reach us.
I liked the idea, while at the same time, I was unsure if it was a good idea. I tried to think the problem through, but my energy dwindled rapidly. I felt suffocated and couldn’t catch my breath.
I refused to send Vodor’s magic to the town. The ocean wasn’t far from our current location. Dispersing it in that direction meant endangering everything in its path. Aislinn lived on the cliffs along with countless humans and supernaturals alike. It would be like deliberately dumping toxic waste in the water or burying it beneath the soil.
The rot would eventually eat away at the nutrients, slowly poisoning everything it came into contact with. Once he established a foothold in enough places, he would have an endless supply of power, and he wouldn’t have to destroy Eidothea as he took it. No. Spreading his filth around wasn’t going to work for me.
“That’s too risky. And would give his little suckers others to latch onto and suck dry. There has to be something we can do.” Fatigue was making me short-tempered. “I can’t stay in here anymore. I need to get out so I can think straight.”
Bas shifted his hold and twined our fingers together as we headed to the group. I continued until we reached the house. I had to check and see if Grams was still frozen. My heart fell to my feet when I saw Grams frozen in a new spot. It looked like she’d been heading to the window when she went immobile again.
I turned away from the house and rubbed my sore ribs while watching the progress I had made slowly disintegrate once again. “Dissipation isn’t an option, and I’m not strong enough to dissolve the spell altogether. Anyone have any other ideas? Or which book should I start looking in?”
“What if you feed your connection to the elements?” Aislinn was hesitant, and I knew she was grasping, but I didn’t cut her off. I owed it to her to listen. She and Violet had been there for me and supported every
one of my efforts.
“I can help rejuvenate your connection to the water,” Kairi added, making me gasp. I hadn’t seen the mermaid leaning on her elbows at the side of the pond.
Theamise was off to the side with Tunsall. The wood nymph’s head was bobbing up and down. “And I can help you bond with the earth.”
I had no idea if the plan would actually work, but it was our best bet. I looked at each of my friends in turn, and each of them nodded in agreement. “Let’s do it. You should know that the connection is still there. It’s just smothered, for lack of a better description.”
I approached the pond and paused when I was a couple feet away. With a groan, I knelt on the ground, so I was closest to Kairi. “What should I do now?”
“It’ll work best if you join me in the water.”
Of course, it would. I was covered in ash and needed a shower. It would have been so much better to stand under a stream hot enough to wash everything away. Especially if Bas joined me. No. Bad Fiona. It’s not sexy time.
My friends were a steady presence behind me as I removed the robe, handing it to Aislinn, then plopped onto my butt and swung my leg into the water. “I doubt I have enough energy to tread water for very long. Promise you won’t let me drown.”
Kairi giggled at that. “I would never let that happen.”
Good enough for me. Pushing off with my palms, I tried to arch my body into the water. What I intended to be a graceful move ended up making me look like a torpedoed whale. My chest and abs protested every movement, and my stiff body flopped with a big splash.
My head was engulfed by cool water. I ran my hands over my hair and face, trying to wash away some of the grime. I sucked in a breath when I surfaced a second later. Violet and Aislinn were peering into the water while Bas, Finarr, and Argies watched.
“That looks refreshing,” Violet said as she pulled her shirt away from her body. I saw the telltale sweat dotting her upper lip and forehead.
“It feels fantastic,” I told her before turning to the mermaid. “Okay, now what?”
Kairi grabbed my hands and closed her eyes. I watched as a subtle glow started under her skin. It spread to the water. Before long, the entire pond glowed blue. The lily pads on top seemed to plump and rejuvenate.
My legs were tired before entering the water, and now they were limp noodles. It was nearly impossible to keep my head above the surface without using my hands. I could likely stop moving altogether, and Kairi would make sure I didn’t sink to the bottom.
Instinct refused to let my legs take a break. Kairi was now a mermaid-shaped glowstick, and the water tingled as it surrounded me. It helped invigorate my legs and keep me moving. Within seconds my blood thinned and seemed to crash in waves against the walls of my veins. I couldn’t describe the sensation any other way.
My blood volume increased, making me feel like it was swaying back and forth far less. The wind picked up and blew cool air across my face. The combination was electric. A quick check of my dry creek bed, and I was shocked to find it was much fuller now.
Kairi continued sending energy my way for several more seconds before a wave lifted me out of the water and set me on my feet next to Violet. “Your skin is glowing. Not as much as Kairi’s, but there’s a distinct blue glow.”
I lifted an arm when Violet spoke and poked my forearm. She was right. I look like a Glo Worm. “That was the best idea all night. My river is a third full again, and I have more energy. Let’s do the earth too. Then I can face that asshole again.”
Aislinn and Violet chuckled while Sebastian looked at me with narrowed eyes. I sensed his muscles jumping as he held himself back. He didn’t like the idea of me facing Vodor. He’d better get used to it. I was in this fight whether I wanted it or not.
Theamise stepped forward with a broad smile on her face. “Let’s go to the garden. Tunsall and the pixies will join us, so your access is greater. None of us are of the royal line like Kairi.”
I wrung my hair out as we walked and tried to do the same with my t-shirt. I was tempted to remove the thing and put on my dry robe, but I wasn’t wearing a bra. Allowing Bas to see me naked was one thing. There was no way I wanted anyone else to see what I looked like without clothes. My body was a roadmap of scars, stretch marks, and loose skin.
I wasn’t nervous about Bas seeing my imperfections. He looked at me as if he was dying of thirst, and only I could quench it. No one aside from him had ever looked at me with such intense desire. Just thinking about it made me shiver.
The still bluish image of my Grams distracted that thought as we passed the window. She’d managed to move closer before freezing again. I followed Theamise to a bay tree placed near some angelica. There we stopped, and my friends circled us. Kairi had joined them this time.
Theamise grabbed one of my hands. “Take Tunsall’s hand. We need to form a circle.”
Bobbing my head, I knelt on one knee, so I was touching the brownie. A pixie took her hand, and Theamise closed the circle by connecting with the last pixie. I was immediately surrounded by the smell of fresh flowers and herbs. I could feel the dirt under my feet and the life of the plants all around us.
The physical link enabled me to feel the shift of the soil and the worms beneath the surface. They all closed their eyes. The pixies’ wings never stopped the hummingbird-fast pace of their beating. Like it had with Kairi, a subtle glow started under Theamise’s skin. I noticed the same with Tunsall and the pixies.
Theamise’s inner light was brown while Tunsall’s was darker, and the pixies were all different colors. One was pink, one was green, and another was teal. The light spread from our feet to the ground. Before long, the entire garden glowed brightly.
The strength returned to my body, and the pain in my ribs even decreased. I soaked in the energy like a sponge, and I felt every grain of sand and leaves on the trees. We were surrounded by so much life. Thanks to my cocoon, none of the vile energy had infiltrated the rest of Pymm’s Pondside.
We looked like a fairy ring. I kinda wish I had a drone so I could see what we looked like from the sky. The ground and air tingled all around us. It was like a boost of caffeine. My blood sang with vigor and nearly brought me back to normal. I had no doubt my river would run dry the second I crossed my bubble, but I was relieved the drain wasn’t permanent.
The wind picked up and nearly froze me. I was dripping wet and wanted to head inside but didn’t move as I enjoyed leaves rustling all around us. My river was over two-thirds full now, and I conjured a fireball to my hand with relative ease.
“Looks like it worked,” Bas said, breaking the silence. Theamise dropped my hand with a smile.
“Thank you, guys. I’m not sure I would have realized what I needed to do to stop Vodor or been able to do it, for that matter. I was dangerously close to burning out.”
“What do we need to do?” Violet asked while Aislinn blurted, “How the heck did you figure it out while getting an energy injection?”
I laughed and held up a hand. “That sounded vile, Ais. It was the method of how they helped reinforce my connection to the elements that made me realize how I could get enough power to dissolve Vodor’s spell. My family created the portal and have been its Guardian for centuries. I can’t push Vodor back without Grams’ help. The problem is too damn big. I need to bond physically with Grams.” I was already heading to the back door while I spoke.
Relief slammed into me when I saw Grams was no longer frozen. She was still faint around the edges but able to interact once more. I raced up the stairs to the attic, explaining to Grams what I need to do.
When I paused inside the workroom, I glanced at my friends, who had been awfully quiet since my proclamation outside. Finarr and Argies looked at me with their jaws on their chests. Aislinn and Violet simply nodded. Bas looked hurt and proud at the same time. I know he wanted me to need him. And I did. Just not for his power. I needed him to ground me and keep the dark energy at bay.
“Try the family grimoire
,” Grams told me, kicking me back into gear. I grabbed the hefty tome and started flipping through the pages. I gave up hope of there being anything in there to help me when I came across a spell to allow a connection to the dead.
“I’ve got it! There’s a spell here to bond a spirit with their physical body. Looks simple enough.”
This was the break we’d been needing. A weight lifted from my shoulders as I turned to grab the ingredients I would need. Watch out motherfucker. You’ll regret messing with a Shakleton.
Chapter 4
“You cannot do it.” I gaped at Grams when her vehement words spilled from her ghostly form. How did she talk anyway? I’d wondered it a hundred times and was thinking about it right now because I couldn’t think about the hurt that pierced my chest with her statement.
She didn’t believe I could do it. It was surprisingly awful to hear her lack of faith in my abilities. I’d always wanted to make her proud, even more so now that I’d discovered what I really was.
“I know you don’t believe in me, but there’s no choice, Grams.” I sounded like a petulant child even to my own ears.
“Fiona, it is magic that is far beyond your experience, and while the ingredients appear to be straightforward, there is nothing easy about this kind of spell. Messing with the dead, their souls, and bodies is advanced magic. You’d be delving into necromancy. That can turn a witch dark if they aren’t careful.”
I stormed to the window set in the attic's front, turned workspace, and pointed to the cemetery below. “Our ancestors are being destroyed. Vodor is stealing the energy from us. I have no idea how he found a flaw in the portal, let alone a spell to exploit said fault, but he did. And he is now stealing power from us. You were frozen just a moment ago.”
Grams stopped a couple feet away from the window, and her image flickered like a faulty signal on a television. “I don’t want to lose you. What would Emmie, Skylar, and Greyson do without their mother?” Pulling my kids into the argument was a low blow. She was well aware I worked hard to ensure they knew they were loved and cared for.
