Witch Way: The New Ashton Chronicles

by F. R. Southerland

  Casey toyed with the strap of her backpack. “Uh, four years.”

  “Four years is a long time. He could be anywhere.” Mara gave her a sympathetic smile. Casey looked away.

  “Yeah, so the stronger spell is necessary. It can find him almost anywhere provided he’s still ali—uh, around.” Andy blinked a few times then tapped a finger to the page. “We need white willow bark and” —she paused as she read the remaining ingredients to herself—“we have the rest. Vinnie, do you think you could—?”

  “Yeah. I can.” Vinnie stood and glanced at Casey. “I’ll have to go to the garden to get the bark. Do you want to come?”

  Casey wasn’t sure if she wanted to, but she stood anyway and clutched the backpack to her chest. She still hadn’t made up her mind how good these witches were yet. Andy scared her. She’d been able to so easily overpower her with little more than a wave of her fingers. Vinnie and Mara so far seemed nice and welcoming, but Casey had been fooled before. People had to earn her trust. It was difficult for her to go along with them. Putting aside their differences and trusting her instincts would not be easy.

  “Hey, wait. We’re going to need something from you.” Andy pointed at Casey’s bag.

  “What? Why?”

  “It’s for the scrying,” Mara explained. “We need something of your father’s—something personal. It will make locking onto him much easier.”

  She looked between the witches, uncertain. She remembered what they said of the blood and bone and hair. They didn’t need that dark ick factor, so what did she mean by personal? “Like a picture or something?”

  “A picture might work, but it’s better with something, well, more personal than that.”

  The journal, Casey thought. She opened her bag and brought out the leather-bound book. She pressed it to her chest. “I have this,” she began. “It’s got his writing in it, some drawings. Addresses.” And New Ashton right there among them, in bold print and underlined. “He left it behind with some of his stuff.”

  “That’ll work.” Mara held out a hand for it.

  Casey hesitated. “You ain’t gonna burn it or destroy it?”

  “No, we just need the energy from it. That’s all.”

  Casey didn’t understand, but with Mara’s small smile of encouragement, she passed the book to her. “I’ll take good care of it for you. We’ll have it back to you in no time.”

  They’d better. It was all she had left of him.

  Vinnie tugged on Casey’s sleeve. “Hey. We should go now. The sooner we get back, the sooner we can find your dad.”

  With one final look back at Mara and Andy and the journal, Casey followed. They passed the shelves and boxes and paused in front of the back door. Vinnie slid the metal lock and muttered something beneath her breath. The door swung open.

  Casey thought she’d see a loading dock or an alley. A parking lot, maybe. But the lush, green meadow surprised her. And not just a meadow, she realized, but a huge garden.

  Colorful flowers bloomed abundantly. Trees grew straight and tall amid bright green grass. Herbs grew in little patches, all labeled neatly and everything. She thought she smelled mint again and saw it growing close by. Vibrant and fresh and perfect.

  Too perfect.

  “This ain’t real, is it?” she whispered.

  Vinnie’s lips pulled into a gentle smile. “They’re real. Real trees, real grass, real plants.” When she glanced up, so did Casey. The sky was a brilliant blue. It hadn’t seemed so blue before. “It’s all real. It’s all contained in a bit of a, uh, a magical bubble?”

  “A magical bubble.”

  “There’s probably a better way to describe it, but this garden we’re in right now? It exists, but on a plane of existence right next to ours. Sort of a parallel dimension. Only it’s not.” Vinnie chewed her lip.

  “Okay.” Casey didn’t understand. At all.

  “Like, it’s not really here, attached to the shop,” Vinnie continued. “It’s in another place. Everything looks so ethereal and unreal because of magical influences. That door” —she pointed her thumb back toward it— “works like a portal in-between.”

  Casey struggled to wrap her head around it. “So the door leads to another world?” She considered that and thought she understood. “That’s actually real fucking cool.”

  “Yeah? I always thought so too.” Pink crept up Vinnie’s neck. “It was a gift from my godfather. For my last birthday. Not the portal itself, but the garden.” She looked forward, at the tree in front of them. “This is it. White willow. We don’t need a lot of bark, only a little bit.”

  “Okay.” Casey pushed the strap of her bag higher onto her shoulder and slid her hands into her pockets. “This is the closest I’ve been to a witch preparing for a spell—well, without the witch trying to kill me.”

  The flush rose higher into Vinnie’s cheeks. “Oh.”

  Shit. She said the wrong thing. “I mean, the ones I’ve encountered have been hostile. Like, real fucking hostile.”

  “Did you hit them in the head with a gun?”

  Casey winced. “Ah, about that—I said I was sorry. I feel bad about it.”

  “I know.” Vinnie pressed her hand against the trunk of the tree. “There’s good witches and bad witches, and there are good hunters and bad hunters. We started off on the wrong foot, but we’re working for the better now. That’s all that matters.” She closed her eyes.

  Casey fell quiet as she watched. Vinnie stood there, hand poised on the tree trunk. Her lips moved but no sound came from her. After a minute, she opened her eyes. A sheepish grin passed over her face when she noticed Casey’s stare. “Sorry. I was, uh, thanking the tree for letting us use her bark.”

  Unable to stop herself, Casey snorted. “You’re talking to a tree? Thanking it? I thought it was a spell.”

  “Well, it is. Kind of. It’s a blessing.”

  “That’s the weirdest thing I’ve seen since I got here.”

  Vinnie’s blush deepened. “It’s not that weird. I like plants and they understand me.”

  “Okay, it’s probably not the weirdest thing.” This whole thing was weird to her but Casey switched gears. “How do you get the bark? Do you cut it off, or what?” Despite the beautiful scenery and the fresh air, she was anxious to get back inside and do this ritual thing. And forget the awkwardness of this entire situation.

  “I’m going to peel it off.” The bark crunched as she began to do that. Her fingers moved slowly, sliding beneath the bark to ease it up. “I want to get a big enough piece that I can use the rest for other spells.”

  Casey nodded and said nothing else. She glanced around, observing the garden in its full beauty. Everything was so still and quiet. No buzzing insects, no birds chirping. Even the wind, what little there had been before, had calmed. No leaves rustled.

  Weird.

  “This is a pretty good piece.” Vinnie carefully turned the willow bark over in her hand and brushed away excess dirt and debris. She wore a soft smile on her face, but it vanished. Abruptly, she looked up and the corners of her mouth turned down. “Wait—do you hear that?”

  “Hear what?” Casey turned her head, listening, immediately on alert.

  “Nothing. There’s no sound. Nothing at all. I don’t hear anything.” Worry edged into her voice, making it thin and high.

  Oh. Oh no. Casey didn’t like that. “That’s weird, right? I thought it was weird, but I wasn’t sure because it’s a magical place or whatever.”

  “No, that’s not— Something—” Vinnie’s eyes widened and she staggered back a few steps.

  Casey rushed forward and grabbed her arm. “Hey, you okay?” Her heart kicked wildly against her ribs. What the hell was going on?

  “I—I don’t know.” Her pupils went wide. The color drained from Vinnie’s face. “Something’s not right. I felt this…this power. A surge of it. A bad power. And it—”

  An anguished scream shattered the silence.

  Vinnie

&nbs
p; Vinnie never knew she could move so fast. With Casey close on her heels, they burst through the back door of the shop, panting from exertion and fear.

  Andy writhed while Mara held her head so it wouldn’t bang against the hard floor. She looked up, somehow managing to look calm. “It hit her all at once. We were preparing the ritual when we felt this surge of energy—”

  “I felt it too.” Vinnie caught her breath, holding the willow bark against her chest. “What was it?”

  “Gods, I don’t know.” Mara smoothed hair back from her daughter’s face. Andy immediately went motionless—save for her eyes. They were open and milky white, darting back and forth but without seeing anything. “She’s still in the middle of it. Damn it.”

  “What’s going on?” Casey sounded so small and so far away, though she stood just behind her.

  “She’s having a vision. A big one.” Vinnie couldn’t say much else.

  “Will she be okay?”

  Vinnie wanted to say yes. Andy had suffered debilitating visions before but few were so bad to leave her groaning on the floor. “I hope so.”

  “She will.” Mara frowned but it soon melted away into a smile when Andy stirred.

  Her eyes were clear, but she still looked dizzy and unfocused. “I hate when that happens.” Andy groaned as she sat up. She glanced first at their mother, then at Vinnie, and finally to Casey in the doorway. “Well, I’m embarrassed,” she said, a breathy chuckle accompanying her words.

  “Are you okay?” Vinnie asked.

  Mara helped Andy to the cot. When she settled, Andy shoved her thick hair out of her face and looked to Vinnie. It took a few seconds before she seemed to understand the question.

  “I think so. I mean, physically I’m bruised as hell. The floor’s none too comfortable. Mentally? Like a freight train full of bricks slammed through my head. Bruised all around, I guess.” Andy wiped at her nose and made a noise of disgust at the red smeared on her hand. “Great.”

  “Casey, can you grab some tissues?” Mara asked and Casey scrambled to make herself useful. She returned with a handful of tissues as Vinnie sat next to her sister.

  Andy pressed one against her nose to stop the immediate flow. “Ugh. Did anyone else feel that? The magical energy?”

  Mara held out a bottle of water to Andy, followed by a vial of potion. “I felt it. Vinnie felt it.”

  “I didn’t,” Casey murmured.

  “Yeah, well, that figures. You’re not a witch.” Andy wiped her nose again then gulped down the potion and made a face. She chased it with a drink of water.

  Vinnie took the bottle from her, closely watching her face, trying not to let anxiety rule her. “What did you see?”

  Andy didn’t answer immediately. She rubbed her forehead, fingers sliding to her temples to massage them. It seemed like an eternity before she exhaled and spoke. “It was the darkness again.” Her eyes flicked to Casey. “But different than before. There was darkness, the living shadow, the same as ever—but you, Casey, you weren’t there this time. Instead, there—”

  The air shifted and Vinnie frowned. She recognized the edging of immense power. Familiar and comforting, but also worrying. He must’ve felt it too. Why else would he be on his way?

  Andy dropped her head, shoulders slumping as she relaxed. Her words vanished in her heavy sigh. “Mason…”

  “He’s right on time, as I knew he would be.” Mara turned to take the kettle from the stove. “Vinnie—could you?”

  “Yeah, of course.” Vinnie stood and wiped her hands on her slacks. She began for the door but Mason appeared suddenly before her. No matter how often he teleported into their midst, it always startled her. The heavy scent of amber and ozone flooded the room with his presence.

  He must’ve been busy because his usually tidy appearance was unkempt. His suit jacket was missing and the sleeves of his wrinkled white dress shirt rolled up past his elbows. His hair—brown and long enough now to curl at his ears—was mussed. The circles around his eyes suggested he hadn’t slept in a long while.

  Though he hid the demonic ridges along his jaw and temples with a glamour, it did not hide his unnaturally blue eyes. Or his stern expression. Vinnie stepped back. The sheer, intense determination she saw on his face frightened her.

  His eyes darted from face to face, lingering a mere second longer on Casey, before focusing on Andy. “You felt it, yes?” he asked, only a touch of his French accent stressing the words.

  “Yeah. But I’m okay.”

  He crouched in front of Andy and took her hands. “What do you remember of it? The vision?”

  Andy’s eyes shone clear as she looked at Mason. “It was like before only—Casey—she wasn’t there.” She gave a small nod of her head in Casey’s direction.

  Mason didn’t acknowledge the introduction but nodded in understanding. “And what else? I know there is more to it than that. Your mother told me of the darkness.”

  “Yeah, uh, the darkness. It was bigger.” Andy gestured vaguely at her head. “More sinister. And it came from the center of town this time. I think this is real darkness. Like, a real force taking the form of a dark mist and not something more abstract. Not a manifestation.”

  “Are you certain?”

  Andy hesitated, but after glancing at Mara, she answered. “I feel it. I mean, a part of me is hoping it’s not because that’s terrifying as fuck, but my gut’s telling me otherwise. And my gut’s never let me down before. There’s something about it.’’ She shook her head. “I can’t explain it more than that. I wish I could. Gods, I wish I could.”

  “Does it have anything to do with the recent random demon summonings?” Mara asked.

  “In my experience, demon summonings are rarely random. But perhaps there is a connection.” Mason stood and glanced at her. For a second, they held eye contact before Mara glanced away. The tension in the room thickened and it took a minute for Vinnie to understand why. This was the first time in a long while they’d been in the same room for more than five minutes, she realized. No wonder Mason seemed more closed-off and curt. It made no difference if they were on-again or off-again when it came to Andy. They always managed to put aside their differences for her, the golden child.

  Would they have done the same for Vinnie? She tried not to feel hurt by the intrusive thought.

  “There is a connection,” Mara murmured, moving Andy’s hair back from her shoulder. “I can feel it.”

  Mason said nothing, his striking blue eyes still on Andy. At his non-response, Mara pursed her lips.

  Vinnie stepped over to Casey while her mother fussed with her sister more. She couldn’t sit still. She couldn’t just watch. “You okay?” she asked, her voice soft, forcing her focus on anyone, anything, other than Andy.

  Casey managed a little smile. “I guess. I have no fucking idea what’s going on.”

  “Yeah. No one else does either.”

  “The magic is localized. And old. Something ancient and powerful.” Mason paced as he talked, voice low and droning.

  “There have been twinges of strange magic—” Mara said.

  “The demon summonings, yes.”

  “They’re too common these days.” Andy shook her head. “I was called in to help with a demon pest. She said she didn’t summon it. Then there was the demon that chased after Casey. And countless others.” Her laugh was dry. “And Others.”

  “We have handled those without trouble thus far, but there is a connection, without a doubt.” He turned to Casey. “Can you tell me how you encountered the demon?”

  Casey cast an unsure glance at Vinnie and fidgeted. “Well, I didn’t summon it, if that’s what you’re asking.” She sounded more than a little defensive.

  “No. I did not think so. But what can you tell me?”

  “Um, I was only walking into town, along the highway and I heard someone scream. I checked it out and the demon attacked.” She finished with a shrug. “Standard shit, I guess.”

  Mason studied her a minute l
onger, then nodded and resumed pacing. Casey waited until he was on the other side of the room before she leaned toward Vinnie. “Um, who the hell’s this guy and why’s he giving me the third degree?”

  Though Casey whispered, Vinnie knew Mason would be able to hear. His senses were incredibly heightened. She didn’t bother to whisper back. “Mason’s… a friend of the family.” No, he was more than that—a father figure, almost step-dad, half-demon. “He’s our godfather. And a powerful warlock.”

  “Warlock? Like, a dude witch?”

  Vinnie cringed. “Uh... a lot of people think that, but warlocks can be any gender. Just like witches.”

  “What? I don’t get it.”

  Vinnie let out a breath. “A warlock is someone who betrayed or turned against their coven. It doesn’t matter if they’re male or female or whatever. They, uh, don’t shy away from the dark arts, or dark magic when they need to.” She tugged at a string on her sleeve. “I guess that’s the textbook definition. It doesn’t mean they’re bad,” she added hastily when she saw Casey’s eyes widen. “Not always. They just… use whatever they can. Every advantage or opportunity.” She glanced toward Andy for a moment but quickly looked away. “But it’s mostly the first thing. The betrayal thing.”

  Heat rushed to her face and Vinnie knew her blush was full-blown. Andy had betrayed two covens and breathed dark magic like oxygen. By definition, her sister was a warlock too. Like Mason. Like their father. Few’d say it to Andy’s face though, or bring it up in her presence.

  When Andy said nothing, Vinnie breathed a little easier.

  “So he’s not evil?” Casey asked.

  “Evil is a matter of opinion. Even the smallest slight in the eyes of a wronged person may be evil,” Mason said.

  “And shit is never black and white anyway,” Andy added.

  Casey stared for a couple of seconds, then shook her head. “That… sounds like a riddle to me. Just tell me—are you on the good side or the bad side? Because that’s all I need to know.”