A Coven of Her own

by Saskia Walker

They walked hand-in-hand across the meadow. Sunny marveled at how good it felt, being with him, even though they’d had a row. “It feels like we’ve been together forever, and yet the time is so short.”

  His hand tightened on hers. “I feel that way too.”

  “What do you think it means?”

  “We are right together.”

  She nodded.

  He pulled her closer, tucking her in against his side with his arm around her.

  When they reached Eben’s workshop, Cullen lingered, as if reluctant to leave her side.

  “Come in and say hi,” Sunny said.

  Eben heard the bell ring and laid down his hammer. Picking up a rag, he wiped his hands and strode over to greet them.

  “Come back once you’re done shopping,” Eben encouraged.

  Cullen’s expression relaxed, and he set off.

  Sunny watched him disappear down the street. “He’s worried because the deadline looms.”

  “It’s natural,” Eben replied. He wore his leather apron. The shirt and trousers beneath were heavy duty and scored with smudges and burns.

  Sunny turned to him and gave him her full attention. “Celeste tells me you’re going to instruct me on controlling the elements.”

  Eben laughed, a deep, rolling belly laugh that never failed to make people smile. “I think you already have that in your grasp. You can already project yourself inside a storm to see the ship disguised by magic within the elements.”

  I can? Sunny thought, still baffled by it all. “That just happened.”

  “My aim today is to help you refine your skills.” He beckoned her over to the forge. “I want to show you how the magic works for me. I work with fire, and I’ll tell you about the moment I found I could control the fire as easily with my magic as I can with the tools I have around me.”

  Sunny looked into the flames, far from convinced.

  “I hasten to add I don’t do that on a daily basis. I enjoy the traditional method.” He smiled broadly. “It’s important not to abuse your magic, once you get a hold of it. It can be tempting.”

  “I guess so.” Sunny stared into the smoldering coals, the rising scent entrancing her.

  “Allow me to get the fire going again, and then I’ll demonstrate.” He squeezed the bellows, breathing in new life.

  Sunny studied him while he worked. He was a handsome, soulful personality with eyes full of tales and glorious black skin. Why was he single, she wondered.

  He glanced her way. “I hear Aveline is looking after your web design business for you,” he said, “while you study with us.”

  Sunny smiled. Had he sensed her question, or was it a coincidence? “Yes, she’s been wonderful. During the quiet times at the library she’s doing my client website updates to give me time to work on...this.”

  “She’s very good with web stuff. It’s way beyond me.”

  “I’m sure it wouldn’t be, if you had time. But you’ve got enough going on here.”

  “I don’t feel right, sitting at a computer.” He gestured at his leather apron and laughed.

  “It suits you, and you make Cullen feel more at home. Your clothing seems more familiar to him than ours.”

  “We all welcome him, as we did you.”

  “Little did I know you were a...coven.”

  “Don’t be afraid of the word. Consider us your friendly neighborhood community.”

  “That certainly makes it more accessible, I agree.”

  “In the coven, we each bring different things to the table, but we have common magic, even though our skills and practices stem from our own backgrounds. Deep within ourselves it is humanity that bonds us, the magical element is a commonality.”

  Sunny listened, trying to take it all in. He talked about it in a way she could relate to. Celeste was chattier, Aveline and Willow more theoretical. “Why don’t you tell Aveline you’re in love with her?”

  Eben paused and stood upright at his full height. He was well over six feet tall, imposing. “How did you know?”

  “I expect everyone knows, except maybe Aveline. You must be brave and tell her.”

  “I would rather remain a friend than have her push me away because I showed her the tempest of my affections.”

  Sunny swayed on her feet. Seeing just a glimpse of his affections for Aveline was quite daunting. “She might draw you closer. If you don’t take the risk, you might live to regret it. I’m surprised Celeste hasn’t matchmade for you too.”

  His eyelids lowered. “I forbade it.”

  Sunny nodded. “I can understand that. I had doubts about the fact Cullen and I were brought together through witchcraft. He assures me he would have loved me anyway.”

  He shrugged. “Some days I think it shouldn’t bother me. People in our century meet through internet dating. Why should we worry about matchmaking with positive magic at its heart?”

  “Good point.” It was hard for her to imagine having met Cullen through an internet dating site, but she took on board what he was saying.

  “Come,” he said, beckoning her closer to the fire. “Let me tell you about the moment I discovered my magic.”

  Sunny stepped closer to the forge, looking into the flames. Eben was right up against them, unafraid. He moved his hands around the flames and they shifted and danced, as if responding to him.

  “How do you do that?”

  “I can answer your question one of two ways. I can try to explain how I do it, logically.” He laughed, a deep belly of a laugh. “Or I can tell you how it happened for me, which will go some way in explaining.”

  Curious, Sunny nodded. “Was it very long ago?”

  “Longer than I care to remember.” He took a deep breath and stared into the flames, as if casting his mind back. “I’d already begun my training as a blacksmith apprentice. I don’t know how old I was, maybe fourteen.” While he spoke, his hands danced amongst the flames, sometimes sending spirals of light from the fire.

  “One day, our village was attacked by enemies. They ransacked the dwellings, killing at random, taking what they wanted.” When he lifted his eyelids again, he looked straight at her. “One of them lit a torch from the forge where I was apprentice. I was hiding behind a rack of tools. I watched as he set fire to the building.”

  He cupped both hands in the flames, as if to capture the fire. Cradling a ball of fire in his hands, he lifted it free of the forge. The flickering flames were reflected in his eyes, showing his domain over the elements. “They ran away, and I was alone and trapped. The anger I felt listening to the screams of the women around me, and the sight of the place going up in fire, unleashed my magic.”

  “An emotional response,” Sunny whispered, identifying with what he said. “That’s what happened to me, I think.”

  “It often happens that way. The anger boiled up inside me. I wanted to undo the harm they’d done. I found myself controlling the flames, dampening them down, and sending them on their way.” He smiled a sad smile. “I managed to save a few, but not many.”

  “That must have been incredibly difficult.”

  “It was. I stayed long enough to help rebuild the dwellings for those that were left. Then I knew I had to find others like myself, because the ones I saved were grateful, but they didn’t trust me any more. They feared me because of what I’d done.”

  Sunny ached with the immensity of his loss.

  “I traveled the world until I found my resting place here in Raven’s Landing. Eventually, I became comfortable with fire again.” He moved his hand through the flames again, playing with it, sculpting it into shapes of his choosing.

  Sunny was mesmerized.

  “The most important thing is to play to your strengths. I understood fire, and controlling my fear of it enabled it to become my creative source. My understanding of it became a bond. I am now bonded with the element.” He paused. “You can play to your strengths too. If your source is emotional magic, which we suspect it is from your description of your encounter wi
th Fox, then store up your fiercest emotions. They can be used as defensive weapons. If nature is your channel, work with it.”

  “How?”

  “Communicate with nature as much as you can, drawing on it. Once I began to enjoy working with fire again, it strengthened my bond with it, even though it’s dangerous. A bit like magic.” He lifted his eyebrows, seeking her acknowledgement.

  “Yes, it does feel dangerous.”

  “Especially in the wrong hands.”

  “You’re thinking about Fox?”

  “As I suspect you are.”

  “He’s always there.”

  “Like a dark shadow. He’s biding his time.”

  “Where?” she asked, suddenly needing to know. The heat from the fire didn’t stop a shiver running down her spine at the thought of him appearing.

  “There are signs of life at the manor house. He takes to ground up there when he’s got something brewing.”

  “Really? I thought he’d...” She hadn’t really thought about where he physically was, having left him in 1820. She shuddered.

  “Don’t worry, we’ll be ready. Come on, let’s sit down and do a little practical magic.” He stepped away from the forge and led her to a long wooden workbench beyond.

  He gestured to a tall stool on one side. Moving to the other side of the workbench, he pushed everything off the surface and sat down facing her.

  “Start small. Focus on a simple object, decide to move it via magic alone.” He lifted something off the shelf and put it on the wooden bench in front of her.

  Sunny stared at the metal object he’d put on the bench between them as she took her seat. She laughed nervously. “Move it? I don’t even know what it is.”

  “It’s a clamp.” He chuckled. “It doesn’t matter what it is. Imagine your life depends on shifting it. Don’t be nervous. Concentrate on the object, draw on your emotional resources and feel your power. You already know elemental magic is within you. Once you recognize the way it works you’ll be able to nurture it.”

  What would it be like to move an object without touching it?

  The concept of doing so was seductive, she couldn’t deny it.

  Surely she could do this, if she’d managed to stop those people following them in the marketplace during Cullen’s time? She concentrated on the clamp until her head hurt, and her eyes stung from staring at it. Flexing her arms, she held out her hands and tried to visualize light coming from her palms, as Eben had manifested moments before. Nothing happened. “Oh, bloody hell! I can’t do it.”

  Slumping, she pushed her hands into her hair. It was stupid of her to have hoped for such a ludicrous thing. She looked at Eben for guidance.

  Eben lifted his eyebrows, a gentle question in his eyes. “Do you believe the power exists inside you?”

  She could no longer deny what’d happened. She nodded. At some point, she’d accepted this was within her grasp, yet it still felt as if she was clutching at straws.

  “That’s half the battle. Trust in what you now recognize as part of you. Open yourself to your emotions like you did when Fox threatened to take your lover from you.”

  She recalled Fox, the dark eternity Cullen faced at Fox’s hands, and the usual feelings of anger and injustice rose up inside her.

  Frustration boiled up inside her and she glared at the object, imagining it was Fox standing there, taunting her. As the rush of emotion was unleashed, the small, solid object started rocking backwards and forwards, and then suddenly flipped over and shot off the workbench, landing on the floor with a clatter.

  Eben clapped his hands together.

  Sunny stared in astonishment, her mouth open.

  “You did it! Now remember how easy it is so you can do it again. It’s as simple as that.” Eben laughed when he saw her face, and bent to pick up the clamp. “Try it again.”

  This time it was easier. Sunny looked at the metal tool and allowed her feelings to bubble inside her stomach until they were strong enough to handle Fox if he’d been standing here with them, then she let it go. The small, solid object whisked off the table. Sunny concentrated hard, attempting to hold it in place, her heart racing with excitement.

  “That’s it,” Eben said and stepped away from the bench, lifting his hands to encourage Sunny. “Keep it going, keep it going.”

  The object moved back and forth, lowered gently to the table, rolled across the surface, then dropped to the floor. Astonished, she rose to her feet, her hand at her throat to quell her erratic breathing.

  “You see, it’s within you. Don’t let go of that feeling. You need to draw on it.” He put the small item back on its shelf in its original position. “May I ask how you think your magic worked?”

  “It was as you suspected, an emotional response.”

  Eben nodded. “It’s that way for many women. For men it’s often to do with power, as well.”

  Sunny’s curiosity about the magic grew.

  Eben smiled, as if he knew what she was thinking. “There will be lots of time to learn. For now you must concentrate on your own abilities. Take what you’ve learnt today and exercise it.”

  “What do you mean, just move things around?”

  “Yes, but challenge yourself too. On your way home, perhaps try to influence something in the natural world around you. Believe me, it’s quite thrilling when you see it happen, and that’s where we’re most powerful, when we are working directly through and with nature.”

  A noise behind her attracted her attention. Someone was rattling the door handle. By the time she turned around and looked over her shoulder, the shopper had turned away. “I’d better let you get back to work, you’ve got customers, and you don’t want to lose them.”

  “They’ll come back,” Eben said with a grin. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m the only blacksmith in town.”

  Sunny chuckled. It was true. “I really appreciate your time. You’re good at explaining things.”

  “Keep it simple, I always say. Besides, your grandmother was good to me when I first arrived in Raven’s Landing.”

  “You knew her?”

  “Yes. In fact she gave me a room when I first arrived with nothing but the clothes I stood up in. She took pity on this Gambian soul, and the lessons I teach you today, she taught me. She was the one who recognized my magic and nurtured it, and I give it back to you as a thank you.”

  She was touched by his comments. It was a beautiful legacy, and Sunny was pleased. She stood up. “You get back to work and I’ll let your customers in.”

  She slid back the bolt on the door and turned the sign from closed to open. Peering through the bullseye glass panel in the door, she saw Cullen striding up the hill, bulging backpack in one hand, and a cardboard box full of shopping on his opposite shoulder.

  She waved at him and opened the door.

  Once inside, he rested down his box and backpack and grabbed her into his arms as if he hadn’t seen her for days, kissing her.

  Eben strode towards him and raised his hand in a high-five. “You remembered what I taught you?”

  “Of course I remembered.” Cullen returned the high-five. “Down low,” he added.

  Eben laughed heartily, grasped Cullen’s fist, and bumped shoulders with him.

  Sunny was delighted and astonished. “When did you learn that?”

  “We saw each other in the DIY store the other day, when you were studying with Celeste. I thought Cullen should learn some of our modern-day customs.”

  Cullen grinned when he saw how pleased she was. “I’ve learnt a good greeting, yes?”

  “You certainly have.” The bell on the door rang as a family entered the workshop, looking around with interest. “We’ll head off now. Thanks again, Eben.”

  “It was a pleasure. Just remember, the more you use your senses as conduits and your emotions as tools, the more aware of them you’ll become. Eventually it’ll come as second nature, and you won’t even have to think about it before it happens.”


  “Hard to imagine,” Sunny replied under her breath.

  “Don’t be afraid to try it.”

  “Okay.”

  “Use it or lose it,” he added with a laugh.

  “Have you learnt much today?” Cullen asked as they walked back home.

  “I suppose so. I surprised myself. Eben explains things well.” She glanced at him. “He tells me I’ll be ready, when the time comes. They all say it.”

  Cullen didn’t respond. Dark, brooding, strong and stoic, he was largely silent on the subject of Nathaniel Fox. Sunny knew he felt guilty because he felt responsible for bringing Nathaniel Fox into her life, which wasn’t the case. He truly was an old-fashioned man through and through. Inevitably he felt it was his duty to protect her and keep her safe. How do I know that, she thought, glancing at his overcast expression.

  He’d said as much at their first meeting with the coven, but his eyes were always dark and troubled when Fox was mentioned. With a gentle start, she realized what Eben had said was true. The more she used her senses, the more natural it became to draw knowledge, energy and power with them. She had sensed Cullen’s thoughts and troubles. She also knew confronting him about it would humiliate him.

  Instead she looked at the old oak tree that marked the border of the meadow between the top of the town and her cottage. The branches were all but still, only occasionally moving in the breeze.

  She concentrated on them, caressing the leaves with her eyes, flexing her emotional response to this beautiful part of the natural world—part of her world, as it had been part of her grandmother’s too.

  The breeze lifted and floated through the branches.

  The branches shivered as if in delight, then flexed reaching out toward her like a mother reaching out for her child, as if returning her greeting.

  Awestruck, she stared up at the beautiful old tree as they walked past. It was just as Eben had described. Nature responded. The branches grew longer, tendrils of foliage unfurling, reaching out and touching them reverently as they passed. Several leaves drifted free of its branches and floated down toward them. They landed in her hair, like a crown, and she laughed in delight.

  Cullen put down his packages, his expression one of awe. “You truly are part of the fey world,” he whispered. “I wish I could commission a portrait of you looking just that way, nature’s princess.”