Of Potions and Portents

by Nyx Halliwell

  He turns to leave, and I open the bedroom closet door. Nothing unusual in here, just an assortment of men’s and women’s clothes, shoes, a couple suitcases stuffed in the back corner. It smells musty.

  I look up and see a door in the ceiling—pull down steps to the attic, no doubt. There’s a handle, but I can’t reach it, being too short.

  “Tristan,” I call over my shoulder. “Can you help me open this?”

  He rejoins me, stepping into the walk-in closet. He sees the handle and reaches for it. Flashlights in hand, we go up the creaking steps.

  The smell of dust and dry air fills my nose. There's the usual collection of cardboard boxes, memorabilia, a couple of wooden chairs and a side table.

  Behind a collection of stacked boxes, I find a large circle drawn on the old floor boards with chalk. Within it are candles, sigils, two handmade dolls meant to represent Annie and Jace, a red ribbon wound around them. I’m guessing our neighbor, Mama Nightingale, who runs the convenience store down the road knows more about this kind of magick than I do, but even I can see that it’s strong voodoo.

  “Do I want to know what that is?” Tristan asks quietly.

  Rusty brown splotches outline the sigils—blood. “Exactly what I was afraid of.” Regardless of whether the Lily of the Valley caused Annie and Jace’s hearts to stop during sex in the sauna, my worst fear is confirmed. “Annie was playing with magick. She attempted a binding spell, by the looks of it. If she was trying to get pregnant in order to hang onto Jace, and it didn’t work, she might’ve resorted to this. Unfortunately, what she managed to do was open a portal and raise a demon. Two of the master’s minions, in fact.”

  Tristan takes photos and we return outside to stare at the sauna for a moment. As both of us mentally review different possibilities, I have a new idea. What if Annie put Lily of the Valley into my oil and used it for herself? We have no real way of knowing exactly what happened unless I can somehow tap into the impressions her energy left behind.

  Tristan starts toward the car, but I stop him. “I want to try something, if you’ll agree.”

  His face is in shadows, but I sense the debate going on in his head. Finally, he walks back to me, staring at the sauna once more. “If it’ll help me solve this mystery, I’m all for it.”

  “Give me your hand then, but you’ll need to remove your glove.”

  He shifts his flashlight, strips it off, and takes my hand. “What do I need to do?”

  I’m not sure this will work, but it’s worth a try. I don’t have Winter’s ability to communicate with the spirit world, or Autumn’s to astral project, which seems similar to what I’m trying to do here, but Winter couldn’t sense Annie and Jace’s spirits anyway, and Autumn has never perfected astral projecting into the past. Summer has the Touch, but only gets tiny snippets of the past. I need a full movie reel.

  “Your job is to keep me grounded,” I tell Tristan. “Just in case.”

  His hand is warm, firm, as it holds mine. “Just in case what?”

  “If this doesn’t work, I may need you to sever the tie I create with the past.”

  “I don’t like the sound of this.”

  I’m not sure I do either. Letting the Sight travel across my physical eyes, I plunge an energetic cord into the earth, connecting with it. I feel a rush of power, the strength of the mountains, the depth of the oceans, wisdom flowing from my ancestors, and a collective power of nature as it pumps through my veins.

  I imagine turning the eternal clock, the wheel of life, back to the night Annie and Jace entered the sauna for the last time. I ask the earth to show me the impressions of their spirits, like a movie playing out in front of me.

  For several moments nothing happens, and disappointment wells inside me. I’m considering giving up, but then, a cool wisp of energy passes right through me.

  I see Annie’s spirit walk to the sauna carrying candles, a wine bottle, and glasses. She returns to the house, passing through me once more, and I follow, dragging Tristan along.

  She moves stiffly, as though her limbs are wooden. On a cutting board in the kitchen is a large knife, a scattering of Lily of the Valley flowers she’s chopped into small pieces.

  She scoops them up and drops them into a pot of boiling water. There she stands, not moving, her head over the pan, watching the water. Steam rises, coating her face.

  My head begins to throb, probably from stretching the Sight and throwing my energies into this past dimension, but the earth energy continues to show me what she does next.

  She looks at the clock above the sink, turns off the stove. Using a sieve, she removes the flowers. Two bottles labeled Sex Magick are on the counter next to the cutting board. She removes the roller ball from each and places the wilted flowers inside, replacing the caps and pocketing the vials.

  Next, she carries the pot of boiling water and a dipper out to the sauna. She sets it next to the stove and fires things up. Wood goes into the cavity at the bottom, the stones on top heat. She begins pouring the water over the stones and steam rises. She adds more wood, the fire popping and crackling.

  Jace arrives home. He enters the house, her following on his heels. They exchange words, she tells him about the underwear and the wine. He goes upstairs to change out of his work clothes.

  In the kitchen, she rubs the oil on her hands, her cleavage and behind her ears, still with that wooden affect. She’s clearly being controlled by something.

  As Jace comes back down, Annie rubs the oil on her lips, and goes to kiss him. After a second, he breaks the kiss, wiping his lips off with the sleeve of his robe.

  My head feels like it might explode, and we don’t need to see any more. Tristan and I travel after the spectral couple and I hear Jace complain about how hot it is as they step inside and Annie closes the door.

  I release the Sight and my connection to the earth, coming back into present time and bringing Tristan with me.

  “Did you see all of that?” I ask him.

  He nods, rubbing his temple. “How did you do that?”

  My mouth is dry, and I can barely hear the croak of frogs and insects above the roaring in my ears. My eyes feel blind and my knees go weak. I sway and collapse against the chief.

  “Spring!” He picks me up and carries me to his vehicle, tucking me inside. He secures the belt around me, then climbs in on his side.

  “So, you did, right?” I ask through chattering teeth.

  He backs us down the driveway. “I did. Are you okay?”

  “I will be. It wasn’t really her fault. She was being controlled by something else, must have been that demon.”

  “That she called up.”

  “She was trying to save her marriage. Playing with magick is like playing with fire, a lot can go wrong. I wish she would’ve come to me, let me guide her. She thought she was binding Jace to her and had no idea the consequences opening a circle like that could create.”

  I don’t know what he’ll put in his official report, how he’ll close out this case due to the fact it was magickally controlled, but at least we finally have answers.

  I feel relieved, having used my powers to clear my name, and prove no one besides Annie was behind her and Jace’s deaths.

  * * *

  Tristan returns me home, and in the parking lot he turns to me. His face is lit by the dashboard and I see the weariness there. A lot has happened in the last forty-eight hours, and he’s having trouble catching up and sorting through all of it. I am too.

  “Thank you,” he says.

  On the way here, I briefly explained the Sight to him, and how being connected to me, he could see what I saw with it. Yet another thing for him to come to grips with. “I’m glad I could help, and I’m sorry your introduction to magick has been so traumatic. Most of the time it’s quite helpful and even fun.”

  He shrugs. “I can handle it. I still have a lot of questions, though.”

  At least I'm feeling a little better. “Anytime you want to talk you’re wel
come to come by.”

  “At the station in the basement, there are cold cases no one’s ever been able to solve. Some of them go back a hundred years. One of them is your mother’s death—I saw it when I first came to town. I’m guessing, there are others that are of a supernatural cause.”

  There’s a question there, an invitation. I see it in his eyes and hear it in his voice. “I’m happy to look into them if you want. No one has to know about it. I know I’m not law enforcement and have no clearance to do so, but maybe I can get you some answers.”

  He likes answers, likes closing things out. “I would appreciate that.”

  “There aren’t many bottles of Sex Magick for you to test, but I’ll pack them up tonight and have the box ready for you to pick up tomorrow.”

  “It’s just a formality so I can record it in the case file.”

  “I understand.” I reach for the door handle. “Goodnight.”

  “You’re sure the Master isn’t hanging around, right?”

  He’s worried and I don’t blame him. “So far, the spell is holding him in his prison. I’m so connected to the earth right now I’d know if he were loose. It was the lesser demons doing his work, coming after me because I was the weak link in the Whitethorne sisters.”

  “You? I have a hard time believing that, after what I've seen you do.”

  I sigh heavily. “I think, since Mom died, I’ve been scared to use my magick to its fullest extent. Plus, I want friends, people who like me. A lot around here consider me evil, or at the very least, weird."

  A lump forms in my throat. “I’ve been suppressing my magick, hoping to fit in and attract…well, you know. In reality, fitting in is the last thing I want to do. I can’t. There’s no way. Like my dad, I’m sort of a misfit. Not fully embracing the magickal world, fearing what happened to Mom might to me, but not embracing the human world fully either. To do that, I’d have to deny my magick completely, and I could never live that way. I love magick, love who I am. It’s like breathing or drinking water for me, I have to have it. I can do so much good with it, and now that I’ve embraced my true power, I don’t fear the master or his minions. Some way, somehow, I’ll wipe him off the face of the earth. He’s never going to hurt anyone again.”

  For a moment, Tristan stares at me with a smile. “You’re amazing, you know that?”

  “Now that’s something I never thought I’d hear you say.”

  He grins. “Never thought I’d say it, either.”

  I lean over and brush my lips lightly across his. “See you tomorrow.”

  I get out and go to the shop, unlocking the door and letting myself in. I watch as he pulls out of the parking lot and heads to town. Like I promised, I gather the few bottles from the shelf and realize there are even less than earlier. Some probably fell during the earthquake and broke.

  I slip the three unbroken ones into a bag, seal it, and put Tristan’s name on it, leaving it behind the register. I go out the back door and walk to my cabin, where I see the lights are still on. I’m only feet away when I sense my sisters’ magicks.

  As I reach for the doorknob, it swings open and Summer is there. She grabs me and pulls me into a fierce hug, dragging me inside. “Where have you been? We were so worried.”

  In the kitchen, I apologize for forgetting my phone and tell my sisters what we discovered.

  We’re gathered around the island. Summer puts the quiche in the oven to reheat. We talk for the next hour, me telling them about my near-death experience during the earthquake, talking to Mom, and my theories about the master and why he took her. Why he came after me.

  Summer and Autumn have lots of questions, Winter simply argues that she cannot raise the dead. I leave the necromancy subject alone.

  By the time the sun is coming up, I’ve convinced them we have to release mom from the master’s grip. None of us are exactly sure how, but we have some ideas.

  For now, the Whitethorne sisters are together, and our bond is our greatest power.

  19

  I convince my sisters to un-cancel the Beltane celebration. They really don’t have much choice when groups start showing up even before the shop opens.

  They bring lawn chairs and coolers, blankets and baskets of food and flowers. Summer, Hale, and Storm direct everyone toward the area with the bonfire. Dad and some of his friends patrol the woods and report back that all is quiet, normal.

  Winter wards the edges of the tree line, but I’m not worried. Mother Earth and I are one, and she will hold as long as no one opens a portal nearby anytime soon.

  I’m frantically baking more Bannock bread and surprisingly, Dara and Aaron show up around noon and offer to help. Aaron is determined to teach Hoax tricks, and they stay on the back porch of the shop together. Cranky Godfrey tries to correct Hoax’s mistakes and the two nearly end up in a fight.

  All day I wait for Tristan. I remind myself he has a lot to clear up now, tons of paperwork and red tape and creative story telling. The presence of the toxic flower will help his report sound normal, since it’s the biggest factor in the deaths from a non-supernatural standpoint.

  By nightfall, my gardens, the pergola, and the space for the bonfire are packed. People are singing, dancing, laughing and storytelling. Hale and a few men set up the maypole and people add their ribbons and flowers, taking turns dancing around it and enjoying themselves.

  As the sun begins to sink, my sisters and I gather near the pile of wood, which is higher than our heads, and ask our father to say a few words to kick off the evening celebration.

  He does, including a prayer over our bounty, and asking the earth to bring prosperity and abundance to all gathered during the coming year. He blesses the animals, people, sky, water, and directions. All the spirits of those who’ve passed that we’ll pay homage to at Samhain.

  As I hold my sisters’ hands, I feel our mother join our connection. I hear her voice in my ear, “I’m so proud of all of you.”

  I’m crying by the end of Dad’s prayer, accepting hugs from my sisters before Autumn brings Cinders to the stacked wood in the center of the clearing. The phoenix turns to fire under the full moon, igniting the bonfire, and a great cheer goes up.

  Summer and I share a special moment together, as we feel the wheel of the year turning from my season to hers. The Bannock bread gets handed out, and people begin to make their wishes, throwing pieces into the fire.

  Summer goes to dance around it with some of the others, and I see Storm and Hale slipping off toward the shadows of the pergola, hand in hand. My father makes his way to the groups gathered there, saying hello, and ends up stopping to talk to Hale’s mother, Tala. She’s been a widow for years, and I see her face light up as my father talks. Maybe tonight will be a new beginning for both of them as well. She’s already agreed to take Tristan under her wing—her paw?—and show him how to work with his shapeshifting.

  I take the path to my cabin and find Dara with Aaron and Hoax. She sits in the rocking chair, smiling as they tell jokes to each other. I get Aaron a brownie, then I take the straight back chair as he sits on the step and digs in, sharing a few pieces with the mockingbird.

  “I wanted to thank you,” Dara says. “I haven’t seen Aaron this happy in a long time.”

  I wonder if she’s hanging out, hoping Tristan will show, like me, but I sense she’s here for the boy, not herself. “I’m glad you took me up on my offer, and I appreciate the help today.”

  “I owe you an apology about some of the stuff I said. Jace was the only man I ever loved, and I couldn’t tell Annie.”

  “You don’t think she knew?”

  Dara runs her hand over her face. “She knew. I don’t know why she stayed friends with me, but she loved Aaron as much as I do.”

  I think about the pregnancy test, the fact Annie was trying to have what Dara had—a baby—while Dara wanted what Annie had—Jace. Love can certainly screw people up. “There’s someone I’d like you to meet.” I tell her.

  She’s desp
erate for love, to have a partner in her life, and her best friend and the father of her child are both dead now. I motion her to follow me and we weave our way around the party goers until I find a friend of Autumn’s, Martin Lowrys.

  He’s Autumn’s age, teaches history and geography at the middle school, and recently went through a tough divorce. He’s a fun guy who likes to get out and hike, canoe, and camp. He has a young son of his own, and he’s great with children, tolerant and kind.

  I introduce them and tell him about Aaron, who’s only a couple years younger than his son. “Maybe you can get your kids together for a camping trip or something,” I suggest.

  Dara’s a pretty woman and I see Martin’s instant attraction. He’s not bad looking himself, and Dara gives him a shy smile. “Aaron and I both like camping,” she says.

  I don’t know how much the two have in common, but tonight is for new beginnings and I hope they’ll at least be friends if nothing else. Both could use the company, their sons could, too.

  Returning to my porch, I find Aaron curled up in the rocking chair asleep, Hoax nestled beside him. I retrieve a blanket, make myself a cup of tea and bring both outside. There is one brownie left and I bring that as well.

  I set down the tea and brownie and cover the boy before pinching off pieces of the chocolate and leaving them around my yard for the fairies, thanking them for all they do to help my gardens grow. Once that’s done, I return to the straight back chair, finding a four-leaf clover, and smile. I place it on the table and watch the celebration.

  As I look over the partiers, my eye snags on Summer, enjoying the glow of the fire with Hopper beside her. They share a blanket and I can see he’s regaling her with one of his famous stories. She laughs at his theatrics, and I feel happy for her. She deserves to find love, just like everyone else gathered here.

  Winter has disappeared—no surprise—probably returning to her cabin alone. Autumn is with a group of her friends, enjoying some wine and food.

  I stare into the fire, pushing away all thoughts about Annie and Jace, the master, and my plan to free Mom. I’m not sure how she’s able to escape on occasion and make her presence known to me, but perhaps again, it’s my connection to the earth. I’ll think about it more tomorrow and in the coming days, but for now, I want to enjoy Beltane.