Mysterious Ways

by Christine Pope

  At last Rafe said, “Okay. We’ll be right over.” He touched the screen to end the call, then looked up at his watching family. I’d seen that terrible look in his eyes before…right after he found out his mother was dead.

  “That was John,” he said, quite unnecessarily. “Malena has collapsed.”

  7

  Targets

  Rafe

  Malena’s house was out in Las Campanas, not far from Louisa’s place. Rafe had always suspected that they’d both settled in that area west of downtown Santa Fe because it gave them a healthy amount of space from their mother, while not being quite so far away that she’d have any real cause for complaint. Also, that area was so upscale, no one could really question why they’d want to live there. His two sisters had always been close, maybe even closer than he was with Cat.

  And now one of them was….

  His mind skittered away from that thought. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Miranda watching him worriedly, her face pale and strained. Well, no wonder. What with the way family members were dropping like flies….

  Again, he made himself avoid following that line of thinking. Better to focus on the road ahead, the long, winding route that led them away from the 599 and into the heart of Las Campanas. Past the golf course, past several gated communities, and then into the neighborhood where both Malena’s and Louisa’s homes were located. Behind him was his parents’ dark gray S-Class, with José riding shotgun and Cat and Rosa in the back seat. Thank God there’d been too many of them to fit into one vehicle; Rafe knew he would have gone crazy if he’d had to ride along with everyone else, rather than taking his Jeep Wrangler. He needed to be able to drive so he could focus on the road rather than the horrors that seemed to be unfolding around him.

  They turned down onto a long gravel driveway, then pulled up next to the white Volvo crossover SUV parked in front of the garage. Louisa and Oscar’s car — Malena’s and John’s vehicles were probably safely inside.

  Rafe had barely cut the engine when the gate in the low wall that fronted the house opened, and Oscar came hurrying toward them. That made sense. John would have wanted to stay with Malena.

  The Mercedes came down the driveway next, parking behind Louisa and Oscar’s Volvo. Everyone climbed out, even as Oscar stopped a few feet away from Rafe and Miranda. “Thank God,” he said. “Louisa’s nearly in hysterics, and John has his hands full trying to keep Elisa away — ”

  “What happened?” Rafe asked.

  “We — we don’t really know,” Oscar replied. He’d always been an outdoorsy-looking guy, his normally olive skin almost always tanned to a dark brown, hair cut short, usually in jeans and a khaki shirt — about the last person you’d ever suspect was a warlock. Now, though, he seemed just about as pale as everyone else, brown eyes haunted. He paused for a moment, waiting for everyone else to get close enough to hear what he was saying. “Louisa and I came over because none of us really wanted to be alone, you know? Also, Malena and Louisa were going to plan the flowers for Genoveva’s service. We were all in the living room, having coffee and talking. Then Malena put her hands to her throat and whispered, ‘I can’t,’ and just sort of stopped for a second before she slumped over. John caught her before she fell off the couch, but….”

  “But…?” Rafe probed gently, even though he really hadn’t wanted to ask. He didn’t want to know what was going to come next, not after what had happened to his mother. None of us are safe, echoed in his mind.

  “But we couldn’t get her to wake up, no matter what we did. We called Yesenia, and she’s on her way. John and I put Malena in bed, since we didn’t know what else to do.”

  Eduardo’s face was tight with pain. “But she is alive.”

  “Yes…barely,” Oscar said. He made a helpless gesture with one hand, as though he wanted to reach out to offer comfort but didn’t quite know the best way how. “I guess all we can do now is wait for Yesenia, see what she has to say.”

  Aunt Rosa’s eyes were glittering with tears, and José put a comforting arm around her. Right then, Rafe felt Miranda’s hand slip into his own, clutch it tightly. He looked down at her, saw tears shining in her big green eyes as well. Thank God for her. Thank God for the way they’d made love the night before, such an offering of life in what appeared to be a season of death. No, Malena wasn’t gone, was still with them, but from what Oscar had just said, it didn’t sound good.

  Rafe wouldn’t allow Malena to be taken from them. Malena, who’d always been a bit bossy, had wanted to keep her obnoxious little brother properly in his place. Louisa had never been like that, had always seemed more distant, probably because she was focused on her role as the prima-in-waiting and thought she had more important uses for her energy than to scold her annoying younger brother. But Malena had been much more involved with him, and he couldn’t imagine the kind of hole she’d make in his life if…well, if.

  “Let’s go inside,” he said, and everyone sort of fell into place behind Oscar, who led them into the house.

  They went past the living room, where a leather couch and love seat formed what should have been a cozy group in front of a gas kiva-style fireplace, and down the hall into the master bedroom. Malena lay in bed, face still and white, while John sat in a chair he’d pulled up to her bedside, and Louisa stood a few feet away, staring down at her sister’s unmoving form, her face nearly as white as Malena’s.

  John looked up as everyone came in. Rafe hoped he would never see that expression on anyone else’s face — hopeless, and yet angry and confused at the same time. “Why didn’t it work?” he demanded, one hand clutching his wife’s where it flopped over the edge of the bed.

  “Why didn’t what work?” Cat asked, very gently, as though she was afraid the wrong tone of voice would cause John to shatter like over-stressed glass.

  “The spell of protection Malena cast on this house! She was sure it would work. And she said it should be enough,” he added, accusing dark glare shifting toward Miranda.

  Although Rafe felt her fingers tighten on his, she didn’t flinch or shrink away. Voice calm, she said, “I hoped it would work. All I had to go on was that Rafe and I hadn’t been attacked once I cast the protection spell on Rafe’s house, since I’d assumed we would be Simon’s first targets. And everything was fine at your father-in-law’s house, too.”

  “So you’re saying Malena didn’t cast it correctly?”

  “No, that’s not what I’m saying.” Miranda’s tone was still even enough, but Rafe could sense the tension in her slender form, the way she was keeping herself from biting out an angry retort. Obviously, she didn’t want to get in an argument with John, belligerent as he was being.

  Not that Rafe could blame him. It was easier to retreat into anger than into sorrow. He knew that all too well.

  “Then what are you saying?”

  “It could be anything. Maybe Simon’s powers are expanding, and he tested them here first. I just don’t know.”

  She looked from John up at Rafe, as though she needed some reassurance from him before she continued. He held her hand, keeping his fingers twined around hers, all the while hoping she could feel some of the strength and love he was attempting to send to her.

  It seemed to work, because she pulled in a breath and went on, “For all I know, Simon could breach the spells I set up, too, and didn’t because he wanted me to think we were all safe. It’s just the sort of twisted maneuver he would pull. And — and I’m very sorry if he attacked Malena because of anything I’ve done. I’m really…sorry about everything. I know Simon is doing all this to get back at me.”

  John’s eyes blazed with dark fire. Normally, Rafe would have described him as easygoing, friendly, the sort of person you could always rely on to show up with his truck when you needed something moved. He’d made a good life here with Malena and their daughter. Now, though, Rafe thought his brother-in-law was almost unrecognizable, his pleasant good looks twisted with grief and anger. “Then maybe you should leave
. Go back to Arizona and take your curses and this Simon bastard with you before he does anything worse.”

  “John!” Cat burst out, then put her hand to her mouth, as though she wanted to prevent herself from saying anything further.

  Eduardo stepped forward. Rafe thought he had never seen his father look so tired. Before he could speak, though, Louisa got up from the couch, tears still glimmering on her cheeks.

  “That is very unfair, John,” she said. Her voice trembled slightly, and Rafe could tell how much it was costing her to stay relatively calm while looking down at the limp form of her beloved sister, lost in some sort of magic-induced coma. “Miranda has done everything she could to help out. None of this is her fault. She’s not responsible for Simon Escobar’s actions.”

  John’s eyes narrowed, but he muttered, “Sorry,” and shifted back in his chair, his gaze avoiding everyone else’s…especially Miranda’s.

  Not exactly the most heartfelt of apologies, but that was probably all they were going to get. Rafe looked over at Louisa. “What next?” he asked.

  “I — I don’t know.” She plucked at the sleeve of the dark sweater she wore. Very rarely had Rafe seen his sister appear so helpless, and he didn’t like it one bit. “If it’s possible that Malena’s spell wasn’t strong enough, that means all the people we thought she was protecting might be in danger.” Her gaze shifted to Miranda. “I know we’ve already asked so much of you, but I would feel better if you would go and recast all those spells.”

  “It’s fine,” Miranda said at once. “I’ll do it here first, then take care of everyone else.”

  “You’re a little late to protect this house,” John said, and Louisa frowned.

  “There’s still your daughter to worry about,” she retorted. “And yourself.”

  At the mention of his child, John seemed to sag suddenly. Rafe wondered where she was. Maybe at a friend’s house? He knew that Elisa had a lot of civilian friends in the neighborhood, and it was very possible she’s been off playing somewhere else when Escobar’s dark magic struck at their mother. Perversely, he thought that the little girl was probably safer at a neighbor’s house than she would have been at home. Any incident or accident that occurred where the civilian authorities had to step in meant increased scrutiny, and Rafe doubted Simon Escobar wanted to deal with anything like that.

  “It’s all right,” Miranda said gently. “I’ll just go down the hall where it’s a little quieter and cast the spell there.”

  “Thank you,” Louisa said, gratitude clear in her voice and her expression. Although her eyes were bright with unshed tears, she appeared to be holding herself together, at least until the clan’s healer could arrive and deliver her verdict.

  Reluctantly, Rafe let go of Miranda’s hand and watched as she left the living room and went a little ways down the long hallway that ran the length of the house. Since the layout curved somewhat to match the contours of the landscape — and to offer the best possible views on the east side of the house, which faced toward the Sangre de Cristo mountains — he couldn’t see exactly where she stopped. And because their kind of magic was quiet, everything to do with internal focus for external effects, it wasn’t as though he could hear her reciting the words of the spell.

  “What next?” Rafe asked his sister.

  “When Miranda is done here, go to the houses where Malena cast her spells and make sure that they’re truly protected. As soon as I hear something from Yesenia, I’ll call you.” Louisa hesitated, fingers toying with the silver cross she wore around her neck. “I’m not sure there’s much more any of us can do right now.”

  “I’ll go with you,” Cat said. “Maybe I can help a little.”

  “Thank you, Cat,” Eduardo said. “I’m sure Miranda and Rafe would appreciate that.”

  Rafe didn’t bother to argue, although he didn’t know for sure what Cat could do. Casting spells of protection wasn’t where her powers lay. But she wasn’t needed here, either, for of course Louisa and Oscar and John would be with Malena until the healer arrived.

  Miranda came back to the living room. “The protection spell is in place. I hope — I hope it will work.”

  “I’m sure it will,” Rafe said. He extended a hand, and she came over and took it. Her fingers felt cold, and he wished he could take her back to his house and make love to her again. Maybe that would do something to fix this dead, hollow feeling at the center of his body, as though he wasn’t quite himself, was watching all these tragedies strike his family without allowing any of them to really affect him. “And Cat and I will show you where we need to go to strengthen the protection spells Malena cast yesterday.”

  “All right.” She glanced from him to Louisa. “I’m — I’m so sorry.”

  “I know,” Louisa said. “But we mustn’t give up hope. Malena is still alive, and Yesenia is a very powerful healer. She may very well be able to bring Malena back to us.”

  Rafe could only nod. After what Simon had done to their mother, he wasn’t nearly as sanguine as his sister. More likely, this was a spell that had gone awry, one that had been intended to kill just like the one that had struck down Genoveva. Now that the house had a real spell of protection on it, maybe Malena had a chance, but he couldn’t be sure of that.

  None of them could. Not really. Never before in his life had Rafe felt so helpless — not even after Miranda had disappeared — and he knew he would do whatever it took to make sure he never felt this way again.

  They all went out, John bringing up the rear so he could lock the door. Rafe and Miranda waited until Rosa and José and Eduardo all climbed into Eduardo’s S-Class, and then they got in the Jeep, with Cat squeezing herself in back.

  Dead silence as they followed the Mercedes out to the main road. It wasn’t until Rafe turned the Jeep north on Fin Del Sendero, while the two other cars kept going straight to the highway and on into town, that anyone spoke.

  “God,” Cat said. One simple syllable, but her voice trembled with emotion.

  “I know.” Rafe glanced at the rearview mirror, catching a glimpse of his sister’s pale face. “You okay, Cat?”

  “I’m not sure. I know Louisa’s right, that we shouldn’t give up hope, but…I guess I’m just sort of shell-shocked right now.”

  That was a good phrase for it. Just…numb. Too many shocks, too much pain. If he let it in, he wouldn’t be able to function.

  “I’m so sorry,” Miranda said again. She was huddled into her seat, looking very small and forlorn. Gone was the strong, vivid woman who’d made such fierce love to him the evening before.

  He couldn’t really blame her. But obviously she was still blaming herself, and that needed to stop.

  “It’s not your fault,” he told her.

  “It isn’t,” Cat chimed in from the back seat. “You’ve done everything you could. Malena swore she could handle the protection spells. Obviously, she couldn’t.”

  Maybe they should have challenged her more on that particular assertion. But they’d all been stressed and worried, and Malena had seemed confident enough about her abilities to take care of her own household and the other Castillo families in the area that there hadn’t been much point in arguing with her. It had seemed like a good idea at the time, especially since the last thing Rafe had wanted to do was make Miranda go to every single witch-occupied house in Santa Fe and cast her spell. That would have taken hours and hours, and she would have been completely exhausted by the time she was done, especially considering she’d started the day being attacked by Simon Escobar.

  Frowning, Rafe did his best to push that ugly image out of his mind. At least he hadn’t gotten any more panicked phone calls from clan members. He didn’t think he could take much more of that. Bad enough that they’d have to get out the news of Malena’s collapse, her inexplicable coma. Well, all right, it wasn’t that inexplicable. He had a pretty good idea of where it had come from.

  As he looked back to change lanes so he could turn onto Tano Road, he caught
another glimpse of Cat. She was staring off into the distance, lips pressed firmly together as though that was the only way she could keep herself from crying.

  If anything should happen to her….

  Was it wrong to admit to himself that he loved Cat more than either of his other sisters? It had always been that way, ever since she was born. Oh, sure, at the time he’d scowled and declared he was sick of sisters and wished he’d had a little brother instead, but the truth was, they’d bonded almost immediately, were always close, co-conspirators against their mother and sometimes even their sisters, if Malena and Louisa were being particularly stuffy about something.

  And now they all seemed so fragile, their lives something that Simon Escobar could apparently reach out and snuff the way an ordinary person might blow out a candle. No care, no thought except how such an act might affect the Castillo clan.

  Why Malena, though? Trying to get into Escobar’s thought processes was unpleasant at best, but you’d think if he was really trying to destroy the Castillos, he would have gone after Louisa rather than Malena.

  Maybe he had. Maybe the combination of Malena’s protection spell and the prima gifts that had just come to Louisa from their mother had been enough to repel that dark magic, prevent it from finding its true target. If that was the case, then he could see why the spell might have sought out Malena next. She was a strong witch, possibly stronger than Cat, although it was hard to say since their talents were so very different.

  But she hadn’t been strong enough to completely fight off Escobar’s death spell.

  “Should we go to Nina’s house first?” Cat asked from the back seat.

  That had been his plan, although there were several Castillo households out this way. Still, Nina’s was probably closest, although “close” was a relative term in an area where almost all the lots were between three and five acres in size, and the roads wound everywhere and meandered in picturesque but not very speedy ways.