Arcane Circle

by Linda Robertson

  “It’s me,” Theo said. I heard the click telling me Nana had shut off the cordless.

  “How’s the memorial going?” I asked.

  “Depressing. I just left.” I heard her car door shut. “The wife and family of the one guy are shocked and sad and grieving like you’d expect. The other guy’s girlfriend is totally losing it. Last I saw, the crying women had Johnny looking overwhelmed. He said to tell you he’d be late getting in, and that the wæres who survived are scheduled for tomorrow around ten or ten-thirty.”

  “In the morning?”

  “Yeah. Seems weird to be doing a moonlight spell during the daytime, huh?”

  “The moon is in the sky during the day as often as it is at night,” I muttered. The time they’d set meant I couldn’t have Menessos with me. While the wæres would probably have objected to the vampire being present anyway, having him as a backup would have made me feel better.

  I heard papers rustle and Theo said, “The moon rises tonight about five minutes to midnight, and sets tomorrow afternoon at one-thirty-ish. They want to do this at the den and someone calculated it all for him and said the westward windows will have the moon in view by ten in the morning.”

  A heavy sigh seeped out as I stretched the cord and sank into my desk seat again.

  “Are you all right?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine. I knew he was going to schedule it for tomorrow but it’s been one train wreck after another here today and I haven’t gathered the supplies or reviewed the ritual. I’ll need to do that tonight.”

  “You’ll be able to do it, though, right?”

  “Oh yeah,” I assured her. “It’s not that.” I didn’t want her to think any of the wæres might be endangered due to a lack of preparation on my part. “There’s just a lot on my metaphorical plate right now.”

  “I hear ya.” She gave her own little sigh. “And speaking of other things we have to do … my source at WEC got back to me. She can’t find any leads on witches named Arcanum who are tattoo artists. Is there anything else you can tell me, anything at all, that might refine the parameters even a little?”

  “No,” I whispered. If this is two separate people, why did I get just one name?

  Most witches took an alternate name for spell work. Typically, they used an animal, flower, or gemstone, or a combination of names. Sometimes it was simply an ancient name or archaic word. “Arcanum” sounded to me like it fell into the latter category. Either way, since these magical names were attached to spells, witches didn’t share them on the WEC rosters. Theo’s source wasn’t going to find anything helpful. “Can you flip the search? Try the name itself or the tattoo artist aspect.”

  “I’m on that, but the witch angle was a smaller net to cast and sort through so I concentrated my efforts there,” Theo said. “You’re a solitary. You’re listed.”

  She’d looked. Hmmm. “That’s because my family’s lineage is traceable back centuries on their rosters. I’m the black sheep doing my own thing without a coven, but Nana wouldn’t let me not register.”

  “So it’s optional?”

  “Yes. Some people prefer to keep their religious beliefs a secret.”

  “Ahhh. Speaking of secrets, do you care to share what all this is about, or do you have to keep it on the down low?”

  “Do you remember, after I did that spell that forced you to transform, when you asked Johnny about his tattoos and he got all tight-lipped?”

  “Yeah. Found out they’re his sore spot.”

  “They’re more than that. They’re the crux of his past.” This information was Johnny’s to tell, but she needed to know it to do her job. She kenneled at my house and I’d saved her life, so I trusted her. “Johnny’s power is bound in his tattoos. We need to find the person who gave them to him and get that power unlocked so he can transform easily. Hopefully, he’ll get his memories back, too.”

  “You didn’t say this was for him.”

  “Can I claim the multiple train wrecks again?”

  “Sure. But if this is for Johnny, I’m going to call in favors across the network.”

  “Hey, don’t broadcast that he has a weakness.”

  “I know better than that. No offense, Seph, you’re one of my very best friends and your requests rank high, but my pack takes priority. Knowing my dirija is involved makes finding this Arcanum my prime objective.”

  “No offense taken, Theo. None meant to you, either. Protecting the people I care about comes first. Sometimes, it seems like saying less is safer for everyone.”

  “It’s okay, Seph. If I’ve learned anything in the investigative business, it’s that knowing when to share and when not to share is just as important and dicey as knowing whom to share with.”

  With the spell scheduled for early tomorrow, and Nana busy with Beverley, it was time for me to get some answers to my lingering questions about what I intended to do.

  Using the satellite phone, I called Menessos from my bedroom. He answered on the third ring. Laughter in the background preceded his delayed greeting. “Hello, Persephone.” The sound of his voice caused warmth to flow over me like a slow, heated tremor. “What might I do for you?”

  “I wanted to ask you about the forced change ritual we did for Theo.”

  “The moonlight amplifying spell. Yes?”

  Another trill of female laughter trickled through the phone. My ears detected other sounds—rustling fabric?—and I heard a woman call, “Come back!”

  “Yes, that one,” I said quickly. “I need to repeat it for the wæres tomorrow morning and I have questions.”

  “By all means ask them, but give me one moment?”

  “Of course.”

  As I waited, the silence sounded like the inside of a seashell, and I guessed he had covered the receiver. Though muffled, I heard, “Get out.” Momentarily the sound of a shutting door followed and Menessos said, “Now you have my undivided attention. You will be casting the spell after the sun rises?”

  “Yes. You intervened before. You took over and all I did was sing. How can I be sure it will go the same way this time?”

  “You cannot be sure,” Menessos replied. “Since you have slain me and I cannot be with you in the daylight, it is impossible for the ritual to be executed in the same manner. In my opinion, it should not be the same.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “We used the energies of others to help supply the magic because you had limited experience with using ley lines. Perhaps now you can fully fuel the ritual from the line.”

  “I was thinking I’d have to do that, but I’m not certain I want to.” Using the line could be dangerously addictive, more so in larger quantities, and this would definitely involve a larger quantity.

  “We forced four wæres to fully transform the first time—that was no simple task. How many are you attempting now, my dear, ambitious Persephone?”

  “There will be twenty or more. And it’s not because I’m ambitious. It’s because I agreed to reward them for coming to your aid.”

  “You have so many admirable qualities, not the least of which is your witchcraft. And speaking of witchcraft, I must say Heldridge’s witch is quite satisfactory.”

  “Was that her you just put out?”

  “Oh, yes, she’s put out.”

  I wasn’t certain how to take that, but I was convinced that he’d intended for me to be unsure.

  “She’s a very talented witch, you know. Not like you, my Lustrata master, but she has certain skills.” He cleared his throat. “She’s headstrong. She was not satisfied to be merely pampered in Heldridge’s court. She owns a confectionary shop. It is called DeMonique’s Boutique of Unique Chocolat, and is in Terminal Tower.”

  “I take it she’s French.”

  “Eva de Monique is many things, but first and foremost, she is French. French couture. French chef. French witch.”

  I wondered if he was trying to make me jealous. And then I wondered if he was succeeding. “That’s great,” I said quick
ly. “Perhaps you can publicly renounce me—send me home as unwilling to take orders or something—and make her your Erus Veneficus.” Maybe that would appease the local parents and Beverley wouldn’t be left in the middle, friendless.

  “You would leave me?” He sounded hurt.

  “If you have another witch you don’t need me.”

  “Forever will I need you, my master.” He put special emphasis on the word “need.” “She could be your apprentice.”

  “That’s backwards. She’s an experienced court witch. I’m not.”

  “That hardly matters since I dictate what her place is.”

  “But taking her would be a benevolent gesture to the others in Heldridge’s court.”

  “I have taken her.”

  Ignoring the remark, I went on. “What I meant was if you make her your EV then it shows the rest of them that you are willing to take them on. It might be the very thing to cement their loyalty to you.”

  “There are many ways to cement one’s loyalty. I could use her to show them the depths of my cruelty. Fear accomplishes much.”

  “Menessos.” I hoped he was teasing me.

  “It is expected that I should take Heldridge’s trophies. To give up my own for them is illogical.”

  “So dismissing me in favor of her would have meaning for them?”

  “You have been the single bright spot in all this darkness, Persephone.”

  When he said my name, I could smell cinnamon. He clearly hadn’t lost the ability to affect me by saying my name, but it had changed. The second hex evidently provided him a broader range in which to influence me, and a refined amount of control.

  I thought of the vampire PR campaign broadcasting the idea that vampire lords were merely executives who keep their employees, the vampire underlings, in line. I gave it one last shot. “This would be a good business decision for you, wouldn’t it?”

  “I find myself unwilling to part with you in that way.”

  But you’ll join with her in my stead. My jaw was clamped shut and I did not voice the thought. It was as if our bond, and the predilection for him it gave me, stoked up false jealousy. My inner smart-ass had always been easily riled.

  “And,” he continued, “since the witches have denounced you for becoming my EV, if I denied you as well, you’d have only the wærewolves left. They have little tolerance for witches. What you suggest is folly.”

  “Maybe this spell is folly,” I grumbled. “They will retain their man-minds without you being a part of the ritual, right?”

  “Yes. Magic is so fluid that spells are rarely performed the same exact way twice, what with planetary alignments always in motion changing the mixture of energies. Do not fret over this detail. The desired result is often reaccomplished. That is because of the spellcaster, and you, dear, delicious Persephone, are quite capable.”

  I’d just saved the final version of my column on the computer in the dining room when I caught a glimpse of headlights turning into the driveway. “Maxine and Zhan are back,” Mountain called out. He held the door for them as they came in, each with a sleeping bag and a pillow tucked under her arm. They allowed him to return to the grove and informed me it was their plan to alternate for night watch; whoever wasn’t on duty would unroll their bag and sleep on the couch.

  I handed Maxine the TV remote and headed upstairs. Pausing atop the steps, I eavesdropped on Beverley and Nana playing Old Maid. On any other day, I would have tried to get in on a game, but not today. Not after Beverley’s outburst. Not with all I still had to do.

  I considered telling Nana about Eris showing up when she was done with Beverley. But it wouldn’t be that simple. I couldn’t just drop the bombshell and walk away. She’d want to talk. Nana had her own guilt trip about the way she’d raised me.

  I was already emotionally drained and still had to review the spell for tomorrow. Plus, Johnny had had a hell of a day himself. He’d be home soon. He’d need me, too.

  Eris hadn’t been part of Nana’s life or mine for a long time. Announcing her sudden reentry … and exit … could wait.

  I got my Book of Shadows out, took the copy of the Trivium Codex from Nana’s room, and sat down to study.

  When Johnny finally arrived home, he snuggled in beside me, naked, spooning his warm, warm self right against me. His arm snaked around my waist. I ran my nails lightly up and down his forearm and asked, “How’d it go?”

  “The families of Robert Connor and Brian Kimball are grieving and in disbelief,” he said.

  It seemed important to him to say their names, just as it had been important for me to know Ross’s name. “Did you know either of them?”

  “No.” His whisper was full of regret. “But now I know about them. Robert was laid off when his factory job was outsourced and his wife, Donna, is waitressing at a Bob Evans out in Beachwood. He’d been jobless for months and she said he thought if he got in good with me, he might be able to work as part of my security. She didn’t want him to. She thought it was too dangerous.” He squeezed me. “She was right.” He sighed into my hair. “They had two sons before he contracted the virus. They’re twelve and fourteen now. Bright kids. He volunteered in order to provide for them, and now they don’t have him anymore.”

  Recognizing the guilt in his voice all too well, I rolled to face him.

  “It’s hard for them with no body.” The superheated beam had left nothing of those it claimed. “Seeing him, his corpse, that would make it more real.”

  “Not just for the families.”

  “Yeah. I’m having a hard time, too, Red.”

  He was silent while I stroked his cheek.

  “You know what it’s like,” he whispered. “The Eldrenne gave her life for yours.” His fingers fidgeted with the bottom of the tank top I’d worn to bed. “In my mind, I can understand that Robert and Brian did the same, they gave their lives for a greater good, but …”

  He didn’t finish, so I did. “But your heart has a hard time accepting that you’re the instrument of that greater good.”

  “Exactly,” he whispered. He grasped a lock of my hair and tickled under my chin with the tips.

  I pushed myself against him under the covers, slid my knee up to his hip.

  He shifted gears but not in the way I expected. He asked, “Are you all set for the ritual?”

  “I made a list of the supplies I need to gather up tomorrow morning, but I have everything so it’ll be quick.” My hands wandered. My lips found his. My tongue tasted an oaky sweet flavor. “Todd get the Laphroaig out again?”

  “When it was all over, Todd, Kirk, and I toasted our fallen comrades privately. Said some words to the crescent moon.”

  He took my roving hands in his and said, “Tell me about your day.”

  Is he seriously not in the mood? “Are you drunk?”

  “No.”

  “You realize you just asked me how my day was and stopped my hands from fondling you?”

  “I’m a regular dreamboat, ain’t I? Being the sensitive guy interested in your monotonous day and all that.”

  “Yeah, because ‘monotonous’ is certainly the one word I’d use to describe my days lately.”

  The sarcasm made us both feel better. So I tried another dose of it. “What’d that Laphroaig do to you?”

  “I didn’t think it could get any worse than you making me hold that vamp’s hand and sharing a piece of my soul with him. But a battle, a chest wound, the probing you and I did, all followed by the long-ass day I had … it left me with some tight muscles in my neck and shoulders. The single-malt Scotch loosened ’em up. I get a rain check, though, right?”

  I smoothed his black curls away from his forehead and fingered the white-gold loops piercing his brow. He’d removed the little studs from his nose and hadn’t worn them in a while. “You can have whatever you want.”

  “Oooo.” He kissed my forehead. “So tell me. What’d I miss here?”

  He had no desire to make love at all. I’d seen him like
this once before: after seeing his father figure, Ig, bedridden and terribly ill. Right now he needed intimacy, but not sex. “The good news is, the barns and the coop are up and need minor finishing touches tomorrow. The poles are in and ready for electric to be installed. The well is dug. You met Maxine and Zhan?”

  “Zhan must be the one asleep on the couch. Maxine introduced herself, told me she was security sent by the vamp. She recognized me from the ceremony at the haven, but I couldn’t say I remembered her. Though I did compliment her on the Audi.”

  Nana’s old LeBaron with the AARP sticker in the back window really wasn’t the kind of car Johnny could be comfortable in. And the Domn Lup should have at least eight cylinders in his engine. If things ever settled down, maybe we could do something about that. “Tomorrow the well pump will be installed, Mountain’s mobile home is coming, and they’ll get more of Nana’s addition done.”

  He was silent, then said, “Was there bad news?”

  “Plenty. Xerxadrea’s body was identified. Vilna-Daluca stopped by with the lucusi to be sure I knew they were pissed at me.”

  “Oh goody.”

  I snuggled under his chin and let my arm drape over his side. “And guess what else?”

  “There’s more?”

  “Always.” I started to tell him about my mother’s visit, but I could feel tears burning my eyes at the thought of mentioning it. Considering what Theo had said about Johnny being overwhelmed by weeping women today, I decided not be another crying female he had to deal with. I could tell him later, too.

  I did, however, tell him about Nana and me having our little disagreement and fixing it, and about the calls from worried parents coming in this evening. “And to top it all off Beverley’s mad at me.” I felt awful again just thinking about it. I told him what had happened with her. “I’m not sure what to do about her party. I guess I’ll have to leave for the day, but the bigger issue remains.”

  “What bigger issue?”

  “Me.” I sat up and wrapped my arms around my knees. “I want her to have a normal childhood, Johnny. She deserves that. But with me being the Lustrata and you being the Domn Lup, how is that ever going to happen?”