Witch Reborn Box Set: Books 1-3: Includes Gemstone Coven Holiday Shorts 1 & 2

by Belinda White

  Namely, how to get baby Pearl out of that tree.

  Mason looked over at me. “You want me to climb up and get her?”

  I chewed my lip, thinking. Mason might not be a witch, but he was the best tree climber in the whole family. He even topped my niece, Amie, and that was saying something. But I didn’t think that was the solution here.

  Oh, he could climb up to her. I had no doubt of that. But how on earth would a six-year-old boy be able to get her back down the tree safely?

  No, this just had to be up to me. And I really wished I’d brought along the harness. Hard on my back or not, it sure would have come in handy for this.

  For that matter, so would a ladder.

  I looked up at the still cackling baby Pearl. Then I turned to the older kids. “You two go on back home. I’ll handle this.” Then I hesitated. “And I’d appreciate it greatly if you’d let me be there when you broke this news to Kimberly.”

  Nancy didn’t look so sure about that. “What if you need help?”

  I shook my head. “I can handle this.” I fervently hoped so, anyway. “You two just head on back down and tell Kimberly the two of us will follow shortly behind you.”

  Nancy took a deep breath but finally nodded. “If you say so.” Then she grabbed Mason’s hand. “Come on, Mason. I don’t think she wants us to see what comes next.”

  Which of course made Mason want to stay all that much more. But he was a good boy, and the two of them headed back down the hill.

  I waited until I could no longer hear their footsteps before I turned my full attention back to baby Pearl. Not that I’d let my eyes drift from her tiny body for more than a second. I would not make that mistake again.

  I stood as tall as I possibly could and gazed up that tree. Goddess help me, but I was about to try to reason with a one-year-old.

  And I wasn’t at all sure the end result wouldn’t be me having to climb that bloody tree. And Nancy was right. If that did indeed come to pass, I didn’t want anyone to be a witness to that.

  Climbing trees was an activity for folks much younger than me.

  It wouldn’t be a pretty sight.

  Chapter 5

  I stared up into that tree for a good three minutes, formulating my plan. Baby Pearl did her part by giving me intermittent cackles of delight.

  For sure, she thought she had the upper hand here. Time to nip that thinking right in the bud.

  Finally, curiosity got the better of her, and she met my gaze. Was that a teeny tiny gulp? The cackling stopped. Good. I had her attention.

  “This isn’t funny, you know. You are stressing your poor mother to tears. If this kind of behavior continues, I’ll have no choice but to take measures. I don’t think you would like that.”

  Her little head tilted at me, inviting me to go on.

  I laughed. “You do recall I’m the daughter of the original Pearl Ravenswind, right? You truly think I don’t have a few tricks of my own up my sleeve?”

  Yup, a definite gulp on that one. She lifted up and then floated down to me. See, that’s the thing with levitation spells, you really didn’t have to have the broom for short little jaunts. Like, oh, say going up a tree.

  Brooms kind of became necessary for longer trips, though. Then, they became nice little focal points for the spell. Making it a whole lot easier to control and maneuver.

  Or so Mom had told me. Unfortunately, I couldn’t personally attest to it. I had a genuine fear of heights. Yes. Me. Opal Ravenswind, High Priestess to the Goddess herself, had a major issue with being more than a few feet off the ground.

  Looked like if I was going to have any hope of raising this one, that would have to be a fear to work on. That levitation spell sure would have come in handy today. Time to add it to my repertoire.

  Once I had her little body in my hands, I put her on the ground and clamped one hand around her wrist. Then I marched her back down the hill, double-time.

  I didn’t trust myself to make words right now. For her part, baby Pearl was acting more than a little subdued. Hopefully, that would continue, but I wasn’t about to count on it.

  If I didn’t put my magic where my mouth was soon, she’d figure out I’d been mostly bluffing up there. And if that happened, Goddess help us all.

  When we got back to the farmhouse, it was to find Kimberly waiting for us at the open kitchen door. Her hands were on her hips, and she did not look pleased.

  “What did she do now?”

  Okay, so my first assumption had been mistaken. The kids had kept quiet. That couldn’t have been easy when faced with an angry Kimberly. The woman was a force to be reckoned with on a normal day. Get her angry and that force doubled.

  I looked down at baby Pearl, who looked up at me with sad and pleading eyes.

  “Sorry, kiddo. You brought this on yourself.”

  And then I told Kimberly everything. I was half expecting her anger to increase and for that anger to include a fair bit my way. That didn’t happen.

  The woman was full of surprises like that.

  What really came as a surprise, though, was when she came up with the solution I’d been searching for the whole bloody way down from the hilltop.

  Kimberly looked at baby Pearl, and then at me. “She understands a lot more than a normal baby should, doesn’t she?”

  I nodded. I mean, there was no point in denying it, was there?

  “I thought so.”

  Then she stood, picked up baby Pearl and walked upstairs. When she returned, she was alone. “I think this is a conversation for us adults to have in private.”

  Somehow, I didn’t think I was going to like what came next.

  Her gaze locked with mine. “You put a magic barrier on those child locks, right?”

  I felt my eyes widen as I realized where she might be going. “I did,” I said slowly.

  “Can you do the same with Pearl? Put some kind of magical barrier around her so that she can’t work magic?”

  I took a deep breath. “That’s a tricky one. There are some things we could try that might work, but here’s the thing. The Goddess gave her early access to her magic. Taking that away kind of seems like going against Her. And that’s something I don’t want to do.” Like ever, but hopefully, Kimberly would understand that.

  Kimberly nodded. “I thought that might be your answer.” Then she squared her shoulders. “But I’ve been thinking about this a lot over the past few very stressful months, and I think my daughter deserves a more normal childhood. For the life of me, I can’t see any reason for a baby to be able to do magic.”

  She took a long breath, then her tone changed to one of sheer determination. “I think it’s time I talked to the Goddess.”

  My eyebrow went up on its own accord. “You know the hilltop is always open to you. The meditation gazebo too.”

  Kimberly shook her head. “I’m not talking about a one-way conversation, Opal. I want to see her face-to-face. This is too important of an issue for anything else.”

  Swallowing, I let my mind whirl on that for a second. “You realize that meeting the Goddess face-to-face is a very rare thing, don’t you?”

  “Yes. But I also know that you have had that honor yourself.” She paused. “And I’m not asking for myself. I’m asking for Pearl. She deserves to be a baby, with everything that entails. I want that for her. I would think the Goddess would too.”

  I stared at her for a long, long minute. “How’s your meditation practice coming along?”

  She blinked at me. “Well enough, but why... oh.”

  Glancing upward, I listened hard. No sounds of war or general upheaval. Maybe baby Pearl had been sufficiently tuckered out to do any more real damage for a while. Either that, or she knew she’d went too far this time.

  Either way, Nancy should be able to handle things for a while. She was dependable like that. Besides, it wasn’t like she couldn’t come get us from the gazebo if they needed us.

  Standing, I looked down at Kimberly. “I can�
�t guarantee this will work, you know. I still haven’t managed to get through to the Goddess every time I seek her out. She’s rather a busy entity.”

  But looking at Kimberly’s face set in determination, I really hoped that She’d take the time out of her busy schedule for a quick visit.

  Kimberly was at the end of her rope.

  And that was a very important rope.

  Chapter 6

  It took a while to get Kimberly in a relaxed enough state to finally reach the Goddess’s treehouse. And that was just the outside of it. The question was, how did we get in?

  Come to find out, we didn’t have to. Even as we stood gazing up at the behemoth of a tree, the Goddess herself came walking around it. “I thought I had company.”

  A glance over at Kimberly showed that she was struggling. Yeah, I got that. Meeting the Goddess in person had been an eye-opening experience for me too. And I’d known her a lot longer than Kimberly had. In witch years, Kimberly was even younger than baby Pearl.

  But even as I watched, her face set again. The woman was here on a mission, dang it. And she wasn’t about to be awed into forgetting that.

  The Goddess motioned over to a beautiful patchwork quilt that was now lying on the ground to the side of her tree. It hadn’t been there a second ago. But then, things like that happened here in the Goddess’s realm. “Please,” she said, “won’t you have a seat?”

  We all settled on the quilt, which provided much more cushioning than it had any right to, and the Goddess looked over at Kimberly. “I believe you are the one who wanted to talk with me?”

  Kimberly opened her mouth, but nothing came. Yup. The struggle was real and still going on. Finally, she went with a nod.

  “I’m guessing this is about Pearl?”

  Another nod.

  The Goddess gave a huge sigh, then glanced over at me. “She’s using her magic pretty heavily, isn’t she?”

  “You could definitely say that, yes.”

  “I was afraid that might be the case. I’m afraid I made a slight miscalculation when I allowed her soul to return. Pearl insisted on retaining at least a part of her memory, and I agreed.” She hesitated. “Pearl will be needed before long, I’m afraid, and having her start from total scratch just didn’t seem prudent.”

  Kimberly looked at me and then at the Goddess. “Are you saying that my daughter will be in danger soon? Because, I think you should know, I’m not okay with that.”

  Ah, Kimberly had found her voice. Good.

  “My child, it isn’t a danger that I will put her in, you have my word. The world is a very scary place right now, and it’s getting scarier by the day. Old entities are starting to waken after centuries of slumber, and not all of them are good ones. There is a very real battle coming up. Simply standing on the side of Good versus Evil will be enough to put one in danger.” The Goddess paused. “Pearl’s magic is strong. That magic will help protect her.”

  Kimberly stared at her. “But what you are saying is that war is coming. And from what I’m hearing, you’re planning to put my child on the front lines of that. I’m really not okay with that.”

  “For what it’s worth, child, neither am I. But you must look on the flip side of that coin, too. Pearl’s power will give her strength and safety that others will sorely lack.”

  I could tell Kimberly still wasn’t happy. Not that I blamed her. I loved baby Pearl too. And I didn’t like the idea of her spearheading a war either. Not one little bit. And I had a funny feeling that was where this was all going to lead.

  Then the Goddess smiled and a warm, calming breeze caressed us. It wasn’t nearly enough.

  “But that is a time years and years down the road. And I was trying to admit that I might have made a slight miscalculation in granting Pearl her wishes.” She hesitated. “A child should be allowed to have a childhood. A normal childhood. That’s why most witches don’t come into their power until they reach their teenage years.”

  She stopped and gave another massive sigh. “Hence my dilemma, I’m afraid.”

  Kimberly looked confused, but I understood what the Goddess was saying. All too well. Magical power, like everything else in life, got stronger with use and practice. Starting out using magic as an infant? Baby Pearl would be an incredible force of magic in her adult years. She just might make Amethyst, my niece of a light witch, look like an amateur.

  And that was a very scary thought. With awesome power came awesome responsibility. My heart ached at the thought of young Pearl having to play such an integral part in the world’s game. I truly wished it could pass her by. But that wasn’t to be her fate. It wasn’t to be any of our fates, apparently.

  The Goddess straightened up and reached out for Kimberly’s hand. “I’ll have a talk with Pearl. Surely there is some kind of compromise that we can come to.”

  Kimberly’s face cleared at the Goddess’s touch. “That would be lovely.”

  Something told me that touch was more than just a passing one. I had a very strong feeling, from Kimberly’s much more relaxed stance, that much of our earlier conversation had been wiped from her mind. Too much information for a young mother to have to live with. And knowing it was coming wouldn’t change things one little bit.

  I kind of wished I’d get one of those touches myself.

  But I wasn’t so lucky.

  The Goddess needed me to know. I had to help baby Pearl prepare.

  Chapter 7

  The next few days were quiet. A little too quiet, if you ask me.

  Baby Pearl was a whole different baby entirely. At least, as far as it went with magic use. The magic just... stopped. No levitating, no random objects flying through the air, nothing magical at all.

  And the tiny baby witch’s broom in my closet stopped banging against the door, so that was a good sign that baby Pearl had stopped calling it.

  Don’t get me wrong, it was a welcome relief from a few angles. It was also kind of worrisome. In a kind of a calm before the storm kind of way. I just wasn’t so sure how long my mother’s soul could go without putting her powers to use.

  We’d find out. Maybe the Goddess had used a little of that memory-altering power of hers on baby Pearl. But somehow, I didn’t think that was the case. I just think baby Pearl had been given notice. She and the Goddess must have struck a powerful bargain.

  How long it would last was anyone’s guess. I know I certainly didn’t have a clue.

  I stared down at the overly large rainbow-colored stuffed dragon that I had modified as a broom cover. The idea had been a good one... back when baby Pearl was riding that broom of hers. I mean, having the somewhat pointed end covered in soft fluff had to help with the safety aspect of things, right?

  But now that the broom riding had stopped... well, giving her this gift would just seem to be a bit too tempting for it to all start up again, now wouldn’t it? I couldn’t do that to Kimberly. Or the rest of the household either.

  Orville came through from the bedroom on his way to work. He took one look at the dragon and gave a low whistle. “That was your gift for Pearl, wasn’t it?”

  I nodded. “It was. Now it isn’t.”

  He picked up the dragon and turned it over. “You could always sew this hole back up, couldn’t you?”

  “Yes.” And I would too. But then it would just be an overly large stuffed dragon. Not all that special of a gift. And I wanted special, dang it. But where would I come up with a super special gift in a matter of hours? Today was Halloween, and tonight was the big party. I’d told Kimberly I was saving my gift for last.

  At least that bought me a little time.

  I glanced up at Orville. “What are you giving her?”

  He grinned at me. “I bought season passes to the indoor playground over in Oak Hill. I figured all the kids could benefit from that. And Pearl wouldn’t be going by herself, anyway.” He saw my look and shook his head. “Don’t worry, they have a toddler-only area for the tiny ones.”

  Well, all right then. T
hat was a pretty decent gift. The other kids would like it too. I’d seen those big blow-up slides and bouncy houses that place had. Looked like a blast. If I was a few years younger, of course.

  Or if one were set up in private in the backyard and not out in public. Might be something to think about for baby Pearl’s second birthday.

  WHILE EVERYONE ELSE took turns spending time with baby Pearl and giving her their special first birthday gift, I helped get the Haunted Hilltop Trail and Bonfire ready for the night’s festivities. To give the girls credit, there wasn’t a lot left to do. It was pretty much all ready to go.

  At six o’clock when the trick or treating hours started up, our little farmhouse got very, very busy. Cars lined up on the road leading to our house as they unloaded entire carloads of kids (and a fair few adults) for the short trail walk.

  We’d gotten smarter this year and had sold advance tickets. Not that we were out to make a profit, because we weren’t. But having the money upfront allowed us to not go in the hole when it came to buying the candy and treat bags. Everyone with a ticket got to walk the trail, enjoy cupcakes and Halloween goodies in the bonfire's warmth on the hilltop, and leave with a bag filled with a night’s worth of trick or treating candy.

  All in all, they got a bargain. And we almost came out even. A win for everyone.

  I have to say this year went much better than last year’s event. Of course, I hadn’t been around for much of the event last year. Kimberly’s water breaking right at the start of it kind of took care of that. It surprised me to find that it was actually a lot of fun.

  And if it helped cement the Ravenswind name in a favorable light in the community? All the better.

  By ten o’clock, we were ushering the last of the trail walkers back down the hill and to their waiting cars. Then we all met back up on the hilltop for the final part of baby Pearl’s birthday bash and, yes, the eventual cleanup.

  I made my way over to stand beside Kimberly. After thinking long and hard, and brushing up on a certain spell, I knew what I wanted my gift to baby Pearl to be. But I would not go there without Kimberly’s permission. If she didn’t give it, well, then a stuffed dragon it would be.