“Because you haven’t slept a bloody wink in three nights, that’s why! I’ve tried setting traps for the blasted crow, I’ve tried hanging wind chimes outside our windows, nothing seems to make this thing want to move on! And you need your rest my heart! The babes are shifting position and making it hard enough for your to sleep, you don’t need that racket outside at night too!”
“Bird? What bird?” I whispered to Will, my senses up and he glanced at me with a knowing look.
“I’m willing to bet it’s the same one you chased out of their room not that long ago, lass. Been making a terrible amount of noise outside the Laird’s bedroom window the last couple of nights.”
“Why hasn’t someone told me about this?” I asked indignantly, forgetting to keep my voice down and it distracted the husband and wife, who both turned to look at me in surprise.
“There’s nothing to tell, Lani. It’s just an annoying bird that will probably move along when he gets bored of perching outside our window.” Ciara brushed it off as unimportant so I looked at Edan for more of an explanation.
“What can you do, that I myself haven’t?” He asked and I raised my eyebrows slightly.
“Leave it with me. In the meantime, Ciara, I’m not trying to take sides here but you know my feelings on you being in that room right now. Can you please just humor Edan and I for one night and try sleeping in a different room? See if it helps you?” I pleaded and she met my steady gaze with a slightly more hostile one. When she realized that I wasn’t backing down, and her husband certainly wasn’t either, she sighed and wilted onto a stool behind her.
“Fine. I will give it one night. If I don’t sleep better, I’m moving right back into our room. Got it?” she looked back and forth between us and we nodded quickly in agreement.
“Thank you. That’s all I ask.” Edan’s tone changed to a more placating one and I quickly ducked out of the house before I had an opportunity to find out if that irked her more.
“That crow is back, is he? I wonder what Mom might have written down in her journals that could help.” I thought to myself, breaking into a jog and heading for my cottage. Ian was coming out of a neighboring cottage and when he saw me, he stopped. I was clearly on a mission and without a word, he followed me to my door.
“What’s going on, Kailani?” he asked as I paused to open my door and I glanced over my shoulder at him, walking inside and leaving the door open so he could follow if he chose to. He chose to and stepped inside, closing the door behind himself and he watched me go straight for my laptop.
“Did you know that Ciara hasn’t been sleeping because that crow is back? And he’s been keeping her up the last few nights?” I asked over my shoulder as I pressed the power button to turn on the ThinkPad.
“I knew she wasn’t sleeping well, she told me it was because she could feel the babies starting to shift and were getting lower. It was making her back hurt.” He said honestly, coming up behind me as I sat down and opened up a few folders on my desktop. “What are you looking for?”
“Something that might help. My mother was a different kind of protector than my father was and I’m wondering if she might have made some notes on how to protect against this kind of evil.” I murmured vaguely, biting my bottom lip as I quickly ran a scan through one journal for ‘harbinger’.
“What? Evil? What are you talking about? And why are you looking for the word harbinger?”
“Really? You’re a doctor who believes in a bit of supernatural and you’re asking me that?” I asked in genuine surprise, turning in my chair slightly to look up at him and when I met his gaze, he paused and thought about what I had just said.
“A black crow as a harbinger….a harbinger of death? You don’t really believe - ?“ He cut himself off when I continued looking at him steadily and he swallowed hard. “Who do you think its target is? The Laird or Miss Ciara?” he whispered, his mouth suddenly very dry and I licked my lips and turned back to my search as my computer found the word I had been looking for. Thank you, Mom!
“My guess is Ciara because the crow first came to visit while Edan was on a business trip. If it’s back, I’m guessing it isn’t done with her yet.”
“What can we do?”
“Well, you as her doctor need to keep an eye on her and the babies obviously. I’m going to see what Mom’s journals had to say, and then worst case, if I don’t find anything helpful, I’ll make a visit to the house tonight and roast this little bird-brain.” I muttered, my attention once again on my monitor and Ian stood silently behind me for a few minutes, staring down at the top of my head. So many thoughts were running through his head; the first was that I smelled really good, a mix of pineapple and coconut. Right on the heels of that thought was that Ciara could be in danger and it worried him immensely. Everyone that lived and worked on this estate thought of the Camerons as family more than as employers and landlords and to think that the Laird’s wife; sweet and gentle Ciara, had some kind of target centered on her made him sick. The third thought on his mind was my determination to do something about it. I didn’t know the Camerons, or anyone on the estate very well and owed no one anything. And yet here I sat, scanning page after page on my laptop, trying to find a way to protect Ciara. Wow. And it wasn’t because I was stuck here and it was my job; I genuinely seemed like it mattered to me and that moved him.
“Dammit, this one needs to be done at sunrise. What else is here?” I muttered under my breath, my mouse making a faint whirring sound as I scrolled the center wheel rapidly, making the page I was looking at blur as it moved with my mouse and Ian scrunched his brow together in confusion.
“What are you looking at?” he asked, leaning over my shoulder and his eyebrows shot up almost into his hair when he saw the words ‘A Banishing Spell’ at the top of a new page I was reading. “A banishing spell? Is this - witchcraft?” he whispered, his cheek so close to mine I could almost feel his skin brush against mine and I nodded slightly, no longer concerned about what he, or anyone else thought of me. Ciara and her babies could be in danger and that was all the incentive I needed to get my act in gear and fully embrace whatever abilities I had inside me.
“My mother was a witch. I didn’t know until a few days ago when I did a Skype call with my Gran, who happens to be the woman who adopted Mom when she was a child, but these are her journals. My cousin Rachel has been scanning them for me and sending them to me to go through.” I pushed my chair back so quickly that it made Ian jump back hastily and he watched me get to my feet.
“Where are you off to now?”
“The main house. I need as much help as I can get to get it cleaned before I try this spell. Excuse me.” I put a hand on his arm, kissed his cheek quickly in farewell and then beat a hasty exit out of the cottage and headed towards Edan’s. Ian stood there, transfixed to the floor, his head swirling at the fact that I had kissed him, and that one simple act awoke butterflies in his stomach and raised goosebumps on his arms. Had I meant to kiss him?
As I jogged towards the big house, my head was spinning with doubts. What had I just done? I had kissed Ian without any warning, even after I had promised myself that I wouldn’t get between whatever was going on with him and Stephanie. It had felt good to have him so close, looking over my shoulder and while I had been so focused on my reading, part of me had wanted to turn my head and kiss him then. What did he think of me now? Was I too forward? Did it mean anything to him? Did he consider it just a parting gesture? I was such a fool!
When I went back into the kitchen, there was no sign of Edan or Ciara, and Will and Alice were busy doing the dishes. When I walked in they both turned to me with greetings and Alice paused when she saw the look on my face.
“What is it Miss Lani?”
“I need help Alice. Is Madeline around?”
“Aye, she’s doing some sewing in the parlor. What’s going on?”
“I need to clean the house from top to bottom before performing a ritual that will hopefully protect everyone
who lives here from whatever is harassing Ciara and Edan.”
“What do we need to do?” Madeline asked, appearing in the doorway and I turned to her in surprise. I hadn’t had much interaction with the housekeeper but she was looking at me with interest and intent, not like I was crazy so I relaxed.
“We need to clean each room thoroughly. Everything needs to be picked up and placed back down again. Dishes, laundry, you name it, it needs to be cleaned as much as possible. After each room has been thoroughly gone over, sprinkle some salt water all around, especially in corners and window ledges and in each doorway.”
“Okay. What are we hoping to accomplish?” she asked and I sighed.
“It’s called a cleansing and purification. Once we’ve finished cleaning and sprinkling the salt water, we need to burn a calming incense and fill each room with its scent, while asking the Gods to bless the house and fill it with love and laughter.” I waited for someone to laugh at me but the three Scots that stood with me just nodded obediently.
“Is that all there is to it?” Will asked curiously and I shook my head.
“Not quite. Once we’ve cleansed and purified the house, a ritual needs to be performed in the middle of the house, which I guess is the parlor. I will do that myself when the time comes. But we need to get this done before dusk.” I looked at each of them intently, still waiting for them to laugh or otherwise indicate that I was crazy but I didn’t get it.
“Will and I will take care of the kitchen and dining room. You and Madeline split the rest of the house and we’ll get it done in no time.” Alice said firmly and I nodded in appreciation. We collected as many cleaning supplies as we could, as well as rags and brooms and quickly set to work. I took the parlor as the first room to clean and Madeline went in the direction of the bedrooms. I could hear Alice and Will in the kitchen, studiously working away, the sound of dishes being taken out of cupboards and put back, a broom running along the ceiling to make sure there were no cobwebs. I dusted every surface I could; coffee table, side tables, bookshelves. I vacuumed the sofa and chair cushions, moved furniture in order to clean under and behind them. In one of the bedrooms I heard a second vacuum turn on and for a brief second I closed my eyes and sent a quick prayer upward. This was going to work. I had people around me that didn’t have any reason to trust or believe me simply because they didn’t know me well enough yet and still, they were working with me to help achieve a common goal; to protect the Laird, his wife and their unborn babies. And dammit, we were going to do it.
When the parlor was done I moved on to the next room, which happened to be Ciara’s painting studio. She was lost in thought in the room, staring at a painting she was clearly in the midst of working on but I needed her out in order to get the room clean. Looking around a touch frantically, I saw Edan sitting at his desk in another room, the door to his office partially closed. Going over to it, I knocked gently.
“Come in.” He called, his gaze never leaving his computer monitor until I stepped into the room. He cast a quick glance in my direction and, seeing me standing there, he turned his full attention to me. “What can I do for you, lass?” he asked, sitting back in his swivel chair and I glanced behind me to make sure Ciara couldn’t hear me.
“I need your help, Edan. I’ve got Madeline, Alice and Will helping me clean your house so I can perform a witch’s ritual and cleansing on it, to banish and keep away negative energies and I need to get into Ciara’s studio to clean it.”
“But you can’t because she’s in it, am I right?”
“You are. Is there any way you can get her out of the house for awhile so we can finish here without her getting suspicious? I doubt you’d like it very much if she found out I was going to cast a spell in her home.”
“Tell me about this spell you’re going to cast. You said it’s to banish...what exactly?”
“I’ve been doing some reading of my late mother’s journals and I discovered that she was what some people may call a witch. In her writings, I came across a banishing spell and a cleansing ritual, and I have visited the website she referenced to make sure I’m reading it right. The banishing spell is meant to rid the house of any outside negative influences, of which we know of two recent occurrences, and the cleansing is a way to ask the Gods to fill the house with laughter and love and positive energies.”
“This is because of that stranger that was in our room, isn’t it? What happened between you two the other day, Lani?” Edan’s dark eyes pierced me and I paused for a second before answering him. He couldn’t possibly know about my physical reaction to the strangers because he hadn’t been here, and other than passing out after they’d left, I hadn’t shown any ill-effects so what was he asking? I could lie and say nothing but I didn’t like lying to anyone and anyway, if they came back for any reason and I had a different reaction to them, I might need help.
“I don’t know if I can explain it to you adequately Edan. As soon as I knew they were coming I felt cold and uncomfortable. When they arrived, I kept my distance and let Ciara conduct her business without interruption until I saw one of them break away and head for the house. I followed him into your room, interrupted whatever he was trying to do and escorted him back outside.”
“What aren’t you telling me, lass? Da seems to think something more happened between the two of you because you were acting quite differently after you came out of the house than when you went it.”
“That man is more astute than I’ve given him credit for.” I thought to myself even as I sighed and shrugged helplessly. “I don’t know how to describe to you what happened or what I felt when he turned and looked at me, Edan.” I started, my tone very quiet and he went very still, listening.
“Do your best lass. I won’t judge you.” He encouraged and I licked my lips and closed my eyes, remembering what I had felt.
“When he looked at me, his eyes weren’t human. They were like churning clouds during a thunderstorm. And as soon as he looked at me, I had this overwhelming need to bow or kneel before him in submission. I fought the feeling as hard as I could and escorted him out of the house without him saying a word to me. When they left the estate I collapsed. It was just like a huge tidal wave of relief and freedom washed over me and I couldn’t stand any more.” I said as honestly as I could and he stared at me for a long minute with unblinking eyes.
“Well,” he cleared his throat roughly and ran a hand through his thick hair. “Do you think he knows what you are?”
“I don’t know. I had sunglasses on the entire time so he couldn’t see my eyes, but I have never experienced anything like that before. It was like my will wasn’t my mine anymore.”
“Well, you’re an incredibly strong young woman if you managed to fight that off. So because of these strangers and the crow, you want to do the cleansing, right?” when I nodded he paused and I could tell he had something on his mind that bothered him so I waited quietly for him to work through whatever he needed to say next.
“This crow - what do you think it means?” he asked slowly, but I could tell from the tone of his voice that he already had an inkling and was fighting not to believe it.
“Honestly?” he nodded once and I bit my lip before taking a deep breath and locking my hands behind my back, squeezing my fingers together for support. “It’s not good. The only thing that comes to mind for me when I think of a black animal visiting someone more than once, it means death is nearby.” I finished, my voice barely audible and he paled, even as he nodded silently, he gaze going past me to his wife’s studio.
“My love.” He murmured to himself painfully and I blinked back tears at the anguish in those two words.
“Sir, I’m going to do everything in my power to protect you, your wife, your babies and everyone else here on this estate. I will pull all of the tricks I can out of my mother’s books and I will circle your home every night if I have to to make sure no one goes in or out that isn’t supposed to.” I said earnestly and he looked at me intently for a
long moment. Then, taking a deep breath he pushed himself out of his chair and stretched.
“I need to take a break from my work. Perhaps I can talk my wife into taking a walk with me.” He forced his voice to brighten and as he strode out of the room, he squeezed my arm and I covered his hand with mine before watching him walk over to the studio and stick his head inside. I heard indistinct laughter and the two voices murmured back and forth before Ciara emerged out of her studio and she led the way down the hall. A moment or two later I saw them walk past a window, heading for the lane-way and I sighed in relief. Quickly going into the studio, I dusted and swept as much as I could without disturbing anything any more than I had to and then I grabbed the little dish of salt water that Alice had left for me on the floor in the hallway and sprinkled it around the room, in the corners and along the window ledges and doorways. After the studio I moved on to Edam’s office and did the same thing there. When I took my dish back into the kitchen, Madeline was just putting her broom away and she shot me a tired but proud smile.
“All cleaned Miss Lani. I have some sage incense in my room, will that do for a calming scent?” she asked, plopping her round rump on a stool and I nodded, brushing my hair back from my face, equally tired.
“That would be perfect. Thank you.” The housekeeper got up again and disappeared down the hall and a moment later she was back with the sticks of incense. I took the offering as well as the lighter that Will held out to me and we lit one of the scented sticks, let it burn for a moment and then blew it out, filling the kitchen with the heady smell of sage.
“What do we say?” Alice whispered in a panic and I shrugged with a lopsided grin.
“Gods, we light this incense and fill these rooms with calmness and serenity, in hopes that you might bless them and always fill them with love, laughter and happiness.” As a group, we all walked to each room where I repeated the words as I drifted around the perimeters, making sure the scented smoke had a chance to waft into each corner. When we were done, we re-entered the kitchen just as Ciara and Edan were walking in.
DragonSpell Page 13