by L E Gordon
Chapter five
Kenna walked up to Joe’s front gate and looked at his cottage, viewing it through her second sight. She couldn’t see any obvious signs of spells on the doors, windows, the gate, or path. She looked to see if anything was missing from the garden or even if someone had left hex bags in plain sight, although that would be foolish.
Satisfied that everything was in order she dropped back to her normal vision, strode up the path, and rang the bell. The wind blowing in from the nearby harbour whipped her hair about her face. She caught hold of her mane with one hand, pulling her leather jacket closed with the other. After a minute he opened the door, smile on his face, expecting Kenna to be his visitor.
“Hey honey, come on in. You should just use your key, that’s why I gave it to you.” He gave her a quick kiss on the lips and walked into the living room.
Kenna followed, looking for anything that stood out as strange about him, “You know I don’t like using it, Joe, I don’t know why you insisted I have it. How are you after your big night out? I thought I had better check on you.”
Joe had sat down on the leather sofa which took up half the room, and grabbed the remote to turn off an equally large TV. “I’ve felt a bit hungover all day but I know I didn’t have much to drink. I still can’t figure out the missing time though.”
“Can I see the bite? It might help explain what went on.” Kenna asked.
Joe looked a bit embarrassed to show Kenna the love bite, but pulled his Tshirt off revealing the kind of chiselled physique you would expect from a personal trainer. Just off the base of his neck, almost on his shoulder, was a purple mark, Kenna stepped forward to see it better.
“Tell me if I’m hurting you,” she said as she prodded round the bite to see how bad the damage was. “Well, whoever it was didn’t break the skin which is good or you could get an infection. Teeth are pretty dirty, even in humans. It looks almost like a human bite, but the teeth are a different shape. Do you mind if I take a picture to show the others?”
“Go for your life, like I said I have no idea who it was or when it happened. You know you are the only girl I’m interested in, Kenna, even if you do keep me at arm’s length most of the time. Are you going to do some witchy stuff on me? ” Joe knew all about her being a witch and was remarkably relaxed about it.
“I’ll take the photo first then I’ll try a few of my tricks on you.” She smiled, looking for her phone in her backpack.
It took a few attempts to get a photo that was clear enough to send to the other Keepers, but finally with the aid of a few more lights Kenna got one that showed the teeth marks and the shape of the bite. She put the phone in her pocket and brought up her second sight to look for magic. Opening her eyes, she could see Joe’s aura, which was its normal an orangey red, but took a sharp breath as she spotted something unusual.
“Well, your aura looks normal except for the bite area. Joe, it’s a dark grey, which isn’t good. Do you have anything planned for tonight, because I want you to come to see Tarn so we can try and figure this out? And you aren’t sleeping here in case your visitor comes back; you can stay with me.”
Joe grinned. “You know I’m always up for a sleepover, babe.”
Kenna shook her head and threw his shirt at him. “Get your clothes on, Fabio, I’m not concerned about your body in that way right now. Let’s pick up some food then head to Tarn’s, she’s better at healing than me. I don’t think that bite is going to do much right away, but I’d rather be safe than sorry.”
Kenna messaged Tarn on the way to The Café Royal, the best fish and chip place in the county, and told her she was bringing Joe over and ordering fish and chips for them all. Kenna and Joe chatted to John, the owner of the café, and his husband Danny while they wait to get their food. Arms full, they placed the bags in the back of the car and headed to Tarn’s, the smell of hot chips and vinegar filling the car. Apart from the sound of Joe’s stomach rumble, they sat in a comfortable silence, happy to listen to the radio rather than make meaningless small talk. They walked into the kitchen and were met by the twins who were excited to be getting fish and chips as a treat for dinner.
“Come in, guys, thanks for bringing dinner over. The plates and things are already sitting out.” I got wine out of the fridge and some milk for the kids.
Sitting at the kitchen table, they listened to the twins tell them about the walk they had gone on and that Daddy had seen a seal in the water. When the food had vanished and little bellies were full, Michael took them for a bath so I could speak to Kenna and Joe.
“Can I see the bite?” I asked, hoping Kenna was wrong about the mark on his aura. I pulled up my second sight. I looked at Joe and then at Kenna, giving her a small nod to show I could still see the grey mark. Her magic hadn’t had an effect on it at all.
“Do you think this thing is serious, Tarn? I wish I had some idea of who it was. The boys said I left on my own so it must have happened between the pub and my house.”
“I’ve not seen anything like it before to be honest, but there are a few things I can try that might take the magic away or lessen its impact. Let’s not worry about it too much, remember we have a whole coven at our backs if I can’t fix it up.” I wasn’t sure who I was trying to reassure, Joe, Kenna or myself.
“Let’s go to the spell room so we have some peace; I don’t want the kids bursting in on us if you are half dressed,” I laughed, trying to make light out of the situation.
As we entered candles lit and a small fire started in the hearth; Kenna smiled, showing me it was her magic warming up the room.
“I wish I could do that, mornings would be so much easier if I could get the fire going that quickly. You are such a show off!”
“Jealousy is a terrible thing, Tarn,” Kenna bantered back, easing some of the tension we all felt.
Joe laughed, “Ladies, should I sit down, lie down or stand? Do I need to take my clothes off? Are you going to put a spell on me?”
“Joe you are a fine specimen of a man, but you can keep your clothes on, unless you really want to get your tackle out?” Joe laughed and probably would have gone buck-naked, just to make me uncomfortable. Before he could start stripping off I thought I had better nip that idea in the bud. “Keep your clothes on for now and take a seat while I get a few things out of my cupboard.” I picked some herbs and crystals and turned back to him.
“Because this is showing on your aura, I’m going to smudge you with a sage stick. The smoke should cleanse your aura of anything negative so it might take that mark away. I’ve also got a hematite crystal for you; it’s a stone for protection. The ceremony will cleanse you and the crystal, then Kenna can make the crystal into a necklace for you once we’re done.”
I handed him the crystal, which was a natural point shape, and got him to hold it in the palm of his hand. Bending down to the flames in the fire, I carefully lit the sage stick encouraging it to catch fire and brought it to a gentle smoulder so the fragrant smoke was released. I held it over a metal brazier to catch any embers as I spoke to Joe.
“If you can stand up and hold your arms away from your sides so I can make sure the smoke covers your body. You shouldn’t experience any pain when I do this, but if you do let me know.”
Joe did as I asked. I bent down and starting at his feet directing the smoke against Joe’s body. I worked up and round his legs and torso, quietly repeating an incantation to help with the cleansing ritual.
“I call to Brigid to witness this rite,
Watch over this man by day and by night.
Let no one come near that will do him harm
Cleanse him by smoke and protect him by charm”
I worked over his outstretched arms and finally, his head, then turned to the corners of the room, the windows and the door, to clear any lasting negativity from the room.
Finished with the sage wand, I put it in the brazier on the hearth to burn out; once it was finished burning I would bury it in the garden, returning i
t to the earth and finishing the ritual.
“Now for your crystal. Kenna can you wrap it in silver and iron to give you more protection against supernaturals? Iron works against the Fae, silver against vampires and shifters. When she is done put it on and DO. NOT. TAKE. IT. OFF.”
Joe put the crystal on the plate Kenna held out. She put it down and took one of her chunky silver earrings out. “Have you got anything iron? Maybe a nail or something lying about?”
I went outside thinking there must be something in the shed that could be used to complete the pendant. Looking on the shelves of the old hut, I saw a couple of old nails. I picked them up and went back inside. “They are a bit rusty, will they do?” I held out my hand.
“Perfect. The rust doesn’t matter, it will disappear.” She took one nail and her earring and we watched her use her fire magic to melt the metals and wrap the crystal in an intricate Celtic weave. It was beautiful. She then took a necklace off and threaded the silver chain through the loop she had left.
“All done. There is magic in the metal so it will heat up if you are near whoever did this to you. If it gets warm, leave their company and call me or Tarn straight away.”
Joe took the necklace in his hand and look at the workmanship before fastening it round his neck. He was, as always, amazed at Kenna’s talents. “Even if I didn’t know that it could protect me, I don’t think I would be taking this off. Thank you, Kenna, it’s beautiful.”
“Think yourself lucky that I like you. The Smith and the Seal have a huge waiting list and people pay a lot of money for pieces like that!” she told him.
“If you can stand still I’ll check your aura now that you have been cleansed,” I instructed. Closing my eyes, I centred myself and brought up my second sight. I looked at Joe and checked his aura, relieved that the bite mark had faded a little and the cleansing had placed a healing ring of white round it to keep it in check. In a few days it would hopefully disappear altogether.
“The cleansing is working on the bite. I want to check it in a couple of days to make sure it’s fading and I think you should have a salt bath when you get to Kenna’s, but it’s looking good. How do you feel?” I asked Joe as we walked back to the kitchen.
“Relieved, tired and in need of more wine.” He said in return.
“There’s plenty in the fridge, help yourselves while I tuck the kids in. And Joe, there’s no question about you going home tonight - I want Kenna to keep an eye on you.”
“I don’t need anyone to twist my arm to spend a night with a beautiful witch.” Joe winked at Kenna as he filled up her wine glass.
Kenna rolled her eyes at him, but I could see how relieved she was that the mark had been treated and Joe wasn’t in any serious trouble. I smiled, thinking this might be a turning point in their relationship. Now Kenna knew what it could be like to lose Joe to something outside her control.
Chapter six
I was up early on Sunday to meditate and open my mind to new ideas about the magic we had encountered and what had happened to Joe. I sat in my favourite spot in my spell room, perfectly placed where the early morning sun would warm me up while I pondered our dilemma.
The quiet contemplation was peaceful, I enjoyed it, hoping the goddess would bring me inspiration, but knowing it would do me good to clear my mind if an idea didn’t come to me. Meditation time was never wasted, even if you fell asleep doing it you would be refreshed.
Noise from the kid’s room told me they were awake and any hope of looking inward disappeared, along with the chance of a vision springing into my mind’s eye. I made their breakfast and tea, the soothing morning ritual calming my worry about the unusual activity in our small community. Getting Michael’s favourite mug from the cupboard, I poured him a cup and took it through to the bedroom.
I brushed his black hair from his face and kissed him to wake him. He rolled over and gave me a sleepy smile.
“I made some tea, love. I have to go to Cait’s house this morning, do you want any breakfast before I go for a shower?”
“No thanks, I’ll get something later. You have your shower and I’ll go through to the kids.”
Enjoying a chance for an interruption free shower, I took my time in the simple cleansing ritual that was so often hurried. Sighing, I finally turned off the water, dried myself, and put on cosy clothes for meeting the other Keepers.
I grabbed my bag and headed out the door, making sure to give everyone a kiss before I left. Traffic was non-existent as I drove over to Cait’s house on the other side of town. I picked up my tote bag and let myself in the side door and saw her busy making tea with mugs on a tray to be taken to the table.
“Merry Met, Tarn!” she said, spying me come into the house. “Just pop your bag over there, I thought we would sit at the table today in case we want to take notes or have books to look at.”
“Merry Met, Cait, thanks for having us all over at short notice.” I put the bag on a seat at the kitchen table and walked over to give her a hug.
I picked up the tray of mugs and set them out, helping at each other’s homes were second nature to all of us. “Anything else you need help with?”
“Everything is organised, not much to do really. Did you write up the report for the Grannies? Cait asked.
“I did it last night, do you want to you read it over and add in anything that I missed out?” I gave her my laptop. We might practise the ancient arts, but there was no need to handwrite everything when typing it was far easier.
I opened up the file for Cait to look over and add in her findings as an air witch. She finished typing up her additions to the report when Kenna came in, closely followed by Flora. After our usual greetings we all sat at the table and helped ourselves to tea.
“Did anyone find information in their grimoires?” Kenna asked. “I had a quick look this morning, but my focus is on fire and didn’t come up with anything remotely like you described. With it being so close to the water I can’t help but think it is some kind of water magic, especially as you felt it pull on your power, Tarn.”
I nodded my agreement. “Yes, it’s starting to look that way. I couldn’t find anything that fit which associated with Mabon, summoning, or water magic in my books. I think Kira is our best lead so I’m going to speak to her again this afternoon. I don’t think she’s hiding anything and she might not even be aware of this magical trail. It can’t hurt to take her down there, and much as I don’t like to, cast a charm so I can tell if she is holding information back.”
Flora agreed, “She is our only lead Tarn. I looked through my library and couldn’t find anything either. What about you Cait?”
“My magic didn’t pick up on anything at the circle, except what we have already described, and my books were no better than yours. If your talk to Kira this afternoon doesn’t turn anything up then we have to talk to the Grannies on Tuesday. We’ll figure it out, we just need to keep looking and thinking outside our normal pathways.”
“So how is Joe this morning, Kenna?” Flora asked.
“I gave him a thorough physical this morning and can report everything is in working order,” she laughed. “I checked his aura before I left and the bite mark is shrinking. It looks like Tarn’s cleansing has taken care of it, but it worries me that I couldn’t burn the magic out to begin with.”
“Well at least the cleansing worked, that’s what’s important. And you got a workout in early in the day, you lucky woman. If only my kids would sleep longer.” Flora sighed.
We all laughed knowing full well that was the only reason Flora didn’t have even more children running about the house.
With business taken care of we all went back to our houses. I gave Kira a call once I got home and arranged to go and see her after lunch.
We sat down together and had a quick meal. Michael and the kids had already decided to go for another walk this afternoon, which left me free to make the charm before I went to visit my sister. I gathered what I needed in my spell room and set to
work putting the spell bag together.
It wasn’t a long walk to Kira’s house from mine and the fresh air brought scents of the sea and farm land towards me. I loved the change in seasons from summer to autumn and all the abundance that came with it.
Kira was waiting for me when I reached her gate and walked down the path to meet me.
“Merry Met, sister. I’m so glad we can spend some time together. Do you want to come inside or shall we walk for a while?” she asked.
“I actually need to ask you about the circle you cast on Mabon, Kira. There was a strange incident in town on Friday night so I need to go over it with you because you weren’t at our casting. Let’s do the official stuff first then we can start to work on getting to know each other again. I’ve missed you, sister.” I replied.
“I’ve missed you too. What happened in town? Has anyone been injured?”
“Joe was bitten by something and he has no memory of it. Kenna brought him to me to do a full cleansing on him as he had a mark on his aura. He’s okay now, but I had a look at your circle yesterday and it was a bit unusual. Let’s walk down to it.”
Other people might think me snooping on my sister’s magic was a bit underhand, but as a Keeper it was my duty to check on all things magic when something out of the ordinary happened. Kira knew this and wasn’t offended in the slightest.
We walked to the circle in silence, enjoying the sunlight and the wind in our hair. As we approached I asked Kira to bring up her second sight so I could show her what we had found the previous day.
“I have a charm against falsehoods, Kira. You know it’s standard to have it, but I wanted to make sure I wasn’t hiding it from you.”
She nodded and looked at where she cast her circle, seeing the white ring of magic still visible. I let her do her own search round the circle, wanting to see her reaction when she found the trail of magic leading up to it.
As she approached where the two magics joined she stopped and bent down, a curious look on her face. Like myself and Cait, she put her hand out to touch the magic. Not being able to sense much she stood up and followed the path down to the edge of the grass.
