by L E Gordon
I grabbed the shop phone and dialled her number from memory. She picked up quickly, meaning her meeting with her new client was finished.
“Hi Kenna, Flora has a theory that it could be a Baobhan Sith that’s terrorising the town. Do you remember seeing any scratches on Joe as well as the bite mark?” I asked, hoping the answer would be no.
The line went quiet as she thought and then answered, “Shit. He had a big one up his arm, but I just put it down to a fall when he was rock climbing. It didn’t show when I looked at his aura so I thought nothing of it. This isn’t good.”
“No, it’s not,” I agreed and promised to call her back soon.
“I’m guessing he had scratches?” Flora said. “We are in deep shit.”
Chapter ten
“If those things are in our neighbourhood, we are in deep shit. I don’t like the idea of a vamp of any kind, let alone a nest of them, hanging about. How do we get rid of them?” I answered, my mind going a hundred miles an hour to think how we would get rid of the female vampires.
“Iron works on them rather than silver,” Cait said.
I jumped, almost forgetting she had been in the workroom with Flora. “Do you know anything else about them?”
“Some of traditional vampire lore can be applied to them. They hate the sun and live underground in daylight hours, so almost like a grave. They usually attack men; when they do attack a woman, she will become one of their clan. If we’re hunting one we must be wary. They might prefer men, but if they are building their numbers, a powerful witch would be an ideal target,” Cait said.
Cait was our authority on the rarer Fae and had a large collection of books and artefacts on the cultures and creatures of their courts. She also had a library of air magic books, which were passed down from her aunt and would be passed on to the next air witch to hold the position of Keeper.
I nodded, deferring to her superior knowledge about these creatures. “If they’re asleep during the day we could maybe find a lair where they are holed up. Then we can get a plan together on how to approach them. I don’t think it would be good to go on the offensive to start with, but weapons will mean we can defend ourselves if we’re in danger. This is one of those times we need all of us there to make sure we have the full protection of the elements.”
Flora and Cait agreed with this idea and Flora added, “They could be hiding out anywhere. We should scry for them to try and pin point a location so we can at least have a look for signs before we head out tonight. Tarn, do you have a map of the area?”
I pointed to the old framed aerial photo of the town on the wall behind us. It had been in the shop when I took it on and I figured it would have its uses along the way so I had kept it. “It’s not recent but it’s got enough detail to give us a starting point.”
“Perfect,” she replied, taking off her clear quartz point pendant to use to scry for the Baobhan Sith.
I got the framed photo off the wall and put it on the table in the workroom so we were out of sight of the public. “Okay Flora, do your thing.”
She held her necklace loosely, giving the quartz room to move, and closed her eyes. Drawing lightly on her power, the energy trickled into the stone and it began to swing and was quickly pulled towards the ruin of a castle a few miles out of the town before landing on the castle location itself.
Flora opened her eyes, looking at where it had identified and laughed. “Is that the biggest cliché for a vampire to hide or what? I thought these vamps weren’t like the usual blood suckers?”
“They aren’t normally, but you have to admit, it’s a great hiding place. It’s in a wooded area, right beside the river and no one is going to go in there during the day, never mind at night,” Cait said, agreeing with the cliché.
The castle hadn’t been in use in decades and was closed off to the public as it was no longer safe, which meant it was an excellent place for something that didn’t want to be found to hide. It also meant it was going to be scary as hell and dangerous for us to check out.
I took the photo and put it back on its hanging place on the wall while Flora and Cait picked up their coats. “Do you want to check it out? From what Cait said it will be safe during the day, and if there are any traces of them you can ask the earth, Flora, and Cait can listen to the wind. I’ll stay here and see what Scott will tell me when he comes in to pick up the tea. Phone me if you find anything. I’ll give Kenna a call and make sure she cancels any plans for tonight.”
After agreeing to check in soon they left the shop, I sent Kenna a text message bringing her up to date. I decided to find out what I could on the Baobhan Sith, not wanting Cait to be the only one to carry the knowledge, but the internet didn’t tell me anything she hadn’t already and our usual private forums weren’t much better.
If it was them, we’d have to trust in what we knew and our own powers. If it wasn’t, then we were back at square one with who was attacking the people under our care. I hated sitting about doing nothing but sometimes we had to let the other Keepers run with tasks that their powers were better suited to.
A little after 2 o’clock Scott came to pick up his tea. He was looking quite pale so I asked him if he wanted to have a seat and have some tea with me in the treatment room so I could check out the bite.
I turned the sign on the shop to show I was with a client and locked the door so no one could come in, giving me a little privacy to see what I could do to help my customer.
Scott was relaxed in one of the arm chairs I had in the room. I wanted to smudge him, but not be obvious about it, so I had set up some sage to burn in a small brazier, which would allow the smoke to move freely and give some of the benefits of a full smudging.
I lit the leaves and sat down, enjoying the hot tea I had made both of us. “I made up a salve for your love bite, is it still sore?”
“It is actually, I was going to get something from the pharmacy, but your potions always work. If I didn’t know any better I’d say you were a witch, Tarn.” Scott laughed at the idea and I let him have his fun.
“Actually I am, how do you think I make my tea so good and have so many people coming in for it?” I teased. Sometimes sharing the truth was easier than trying to hide it. He would believe what he wanted and it gave me a little bit of leeway. “I can dress the wound for you if you like, that way I can see if it needs anything extra added to the salve.”
“That would be great,” he replied, unbuttoning his shirt so I could see the affected area while I got the lotion out of the fridge and some gauze to cover it with.
I moved behind him so I could get a better look. The bite was still the same size and hadn’t changed in my second sight either. I gently picked up the smouldering sage and pushed the sweet-smelling smoke towards his skin so it could be of greater benefit. Once I had covered the area with smoke, I put it back on the table, picked up the glass jar and scooped a small amount onto my finger.
“I’m going to be as gentle as I can; tell me if it’s sore. It’s just aloe vera, sea salt, lavender and garlic. You shouldn’t have any reaction to it, but you might be a bit smelly! At least the garlic will keep any vampires away. Now, do you have any other bites or scratches I should look at?” I asked, putting the gauze over the area and some tape to hold it in place.
“Not that I know of,” he replied, looking more than a little embarrassed. I really wanted to push it and see the scratches, but I reminded myself he would have the salve to apply at home and the salt bath would also clean them out.
“In that case you’re all done. Put a new application on before you go to bed. I’ve made up some salt for a bath. Use it tonight to help with any aches. There are a couple of crystals in the jar, tip it all in and have a soak, they’ll make you think you’re twenty years younger!”
“Thank you Tarn, I’m glad there’s someone like you in the town that remembers the old ways. My Granny used to make us a poultice if we got infections and they always worked. It’s good to know it’s not been forgott
en completely. How much do I owe you for all this?”
“Just the cost of the tea. Bring the jars back once you’ve finished with them if you remember, I’ll use them again, and if you need any more of the salve I can make it up for you. That bite will have faded a little by tomorrow, but if it gets worse come in first thing and I’ll try something else for you.”
I put everything in a paper shopping bag for him and rung up the sale on the register. Remembering the door was locked I walked him out and turned the sign back to open.
The afternoon dragged on as I waited for Flora and Cait to call me and give me an update. Finally my phone rang and I rushed to answer it, seeing Flora as the caller. “Hi, did you find anything?” I asked, desperate to know what we would be facing tonight.
“All signs say they are making the ruins their home for now. The earth and stones tell me there are magical beings there and the vegetation isn’t happy about it either. Cait said the birds are chattering non-stop about them. The only thing we aren’t sure about is how many, but we do know there is more than one.”
“Bollocks,” I responded, sick to my stomach that we were going to have to do a vampire raid tonight. “Okay, so we’re going in tonight to speak to them?”
Cait spoke this time; Flora had put the phone on speaker. “There’s no getting round it, we have to approach them. I think the best idea is to approach in peace, woman to woman so to speak. Ask nicely first and if they get defensive then we bring out the big guns.”
“Is there any way to banish them from our land?” I asked, knowing the answer was probably no.
“I can check in my books, but I doubt it. While it falls under our care, we don’t own the land they’re living on so have no real rights there. But where there is Fae, there is always a loop hole if you can find it to exploit. It might save a lot of trouble if I can figure it out,” Cait responded, I could imagine her mind turning over the things she knew about the courts.
“Flora, your house is closest to the castle, can we meet there to get organised? The sun sets at about seven thirty so we should meet about six thirty.” I suggested, hoping that gave us enough time. “Cait, if you can come up with anything in the meantime, message us all. I’ll message Kenna and tell her I’ll pick her up on the way over. See you all later.” I hung up and swallowed my nerves. Tonight could be easy or it could be a shit storm of epic proportions.
Chapter eleven
I messaged Michael, asking him to pick me up early. He arrived just as I was locking up. I put my box of supplies for tonight in the back of the car and got in beside him.
Explaining the situation to Michael in the car, he shook his head. “It’s been a long time since I’ve heard of these creatures. They’re dangerous if you catch them off guard, but they have nothing on you and your coven sisters. Do what you need to do, I’ll keep the children out of your way.”
Once we were home I took the box out of the car and went straight to my spell room. My aim was to make rust bombs, seeing as iron was the only metal which affected the vamps. I poured holy water into a glass bowl and tipped some rusty nails in to soak. Hoping to get my hands on a metal brush, I headed out to the shed, and finding one without too much trouble went back to my spell room and rubbed at the nails to flake rust into the water. After twenty minutes of scrubbing at them, the water started to turn an orange colour from the iron in it. I poured the rusty mixture into smaller glass vials and twisted cork stoppers into each of them, I had managed to make eight, giving each us two physical weapons.
Satisfied that we had something we could throw if we needed space, I also hunted out some iron to put in my pocket for protection. I was fairly confident water magic wouldn’t do much against the women, but I looked through my books anyway, in case there was a spell I could call on.
At 6.15 I got in my car with my iron bombs and headed over to Flora’s house. Instead of going to the house, I went up to the tower, where our supplies and power rested. The others were already there, putting what iron and weapons we had available on a folding table.
“Merry Met, Tarn, we’re gathering our supplies,” Flora explained, gesturing to the various items on the table.
“These might help.” I put the vials of iron water beside the weapons already there and added some nails for our pockets too. “Cait, did you come up with any loop holes we can use against them?”
Our air witch shook her head, “Nothing, so we’re relying on our wits. I’ll do the talking when we get there. I know more about the Fae and will try to keep us out of trouble with them. If it comes down to a fight, the only things that can help are iron and sunlight. We have plenty of iron, which might make them keep their distance, but sunlight is only something Mother Nature can provide.”
Flora went on to add, “We marked a circle in front of the castle while we were there this afternoon. When we get there tonight, call a witch light to light your way and walk to the circle as fast as you can and stand at your cardinal point. It will give us more protection and allow us to access magic quicker.”
We all nodded, gathered our weapons, and walked to Flora’s car, the 4-wheel drive being best for taking the drive out to the castle. I sat in the back with Kenna, knowing I was out of my depth. I didn’t think my water magic would be of much use and was concerned about defending myself and my sister witches from danger.
Sensing my unease Kenna reached over and took my hand, giving it a squeeze for reassurance. “We have faced bigger threats and survived. We are as one and will all protect each other. I don’t think it will come to that. Cait has a way with the Fae; fighting will be a last option if she can’t get them to leave.”
I nodded and squeezed her hand back. It was only a couple of miles to the castle. I closed my eyes drawing strength into my core, creating an intention that all would turn out as it should with minimum fuss and sent that though to the universe to manifest.
Two large pillars of hand-carved local sandstone marked the entrance to the grounds of the castle. At one point there would have been gates attached, but, like the castle, they had fallen into disrepair and had long since been removed.
Flora drove us up the single-track road, the car headlights our only source of illumination in the wooded area that surrounded the crumbling ruin. Small branches scraped past the windows and it wasn’t difficult to imagine them being the Baobhan Sith’s long fingernails raking along the length of the car. I put my hand in my pocket and gripped the nail I had there, seeking strength from the cold metal.
We continued through the wood until we came to the gardens in front of the castle. These were still open to the public and beautifully maintained with walks, a lake, and cabins in which tourists could stay in during the summer. They were empty now. Tourist season had finished a couple of weeks ago in this sleepy part of Scotland, and I was glad that there should be no humans nearby.
The car pulled into the small carpark and Flora brought the car to a stop, turned the engine off, and turned round so we were facing each other. Cait laid out the plan “I will walk in front and call to the Baobhan Sith. I’ll ask them a few questions and if the goddess is shining on us tonight, that will be the end of it. If they decide they want witches to join their ranks, we are in for a fight; the only way they can turn us is by killing us. Their nails are their best weapons so keep your distance, use your weapons when pushed, and worst comes to worst we get back to the car, they won’t be able to touch the metal.”
Pep talk done, it was time for action.
Leaving the safety of the car, my feet crunched on the gravel that covered the small car park. I drew on a small amount of power and released a witch light to guide my way, the others following suit so we didn’t trip on our way to the safety of the circle.
The skin on the back of my neck prickled, the ancient physical sign telling me we weren’t alone. I glanced round, but the dark was so complete out here that they could be waiting outside our pools of witch light and we wouldn’t know.
Quickly, we walked towa
rds the area Cait and Flora had marked and, once we were all inside, Cait invoked the circle with her magic, allowing us to take our points. Looking round to make sure we were settled in our positions, she turned to face the castle.
“I’m Cait, Keeper of Air for our coven. Merry Met, Baobhan Sith, sisters in magic and blood,” she called to the night, her air magic carrying her greeting into the castle without the need for her to raise her voice too much.
We stood there in anticipation, looking at the castle, wondering if they would approach. Minutes passed and every noise raised my heart rate a little more. Kenna and Flora were looking round as well, wondering where the threat might appear. Cait looked at us all and shook her head, telling us not to let our guard down just yet.
“I call to you, Baobhan Sith, if you are living in this ruin. As Keepers of the land we ask that you show your selves and make your intentions clear so that we may be on our way.” She let a little more magic trickle into her voice this time, the request becoming more of a demand on the creatures and making it harder for them to ignore.
The hairs on the back of my neck stood up and I looked around, knowing danger was approaching, but unsure which direction. Every noise felt like a potential attack. Bushes rustled, but no more than usual, and suddenly, from all round us, women started take shape out of the darkness, approaching us with confidence that showed in each stride these beautiful creatures took. They were dressed in close fitting clothes, showing off curvaceous bodies which were not starving for food from what I could tell.
One of them stepped forward from the group and walked slowly round to face Cait. Her hair was black and waist length, tied back from a face that was too beautiful to be human. Sharp green eyes that seemed to glow watched every move Cait made; she was in full predator mode and we were on her territory. She stopped in front of the air witch, one denim-clad hip jutting out as she tried to stare Cait down. Cait stood her ground, not letting her gaze drop, well aware she was facing a deadly predator.
