He scratched the silver hair at his temples. It was starting to coat the rest of his hair too, which was making the man feel old. As he headed back to his car, his men all around him he started to feel dizzy. His eyes moved back and forth, but the scenery was beginning to change. His head swam with the smell of incense that brought him back to his youth.
A hand clasped onto him and helped Sigmis into the back of a black SUV. He was released, sitting in the back seat alone when he heard his man speak to him.
“Are you okay?” Then the voice changed. It became more like the voice of a female. Like an angel. “Silas? Are you okay?”
He opened his eyes. He was sitting in the back of his car, but he was no longer alone. Her hand was on his, but he could not feel it. He looked at her face contemplating what he was going to say. She had her hair down. It curled as it spread out down her arms, her back and her breasts. Her face was smooth, not an age wrinkle in sight. The light in her eyes could have lit up the sky if they were out doors.
“Silas, I only have a moment. Speak to me.”
“How?”
“I’m gone. You must know that. I saw you speaking to my daughter.”
“She really did it?”
“Yes, but that’s not what I’m here to discuss. I want you to leave my daughter alone. Gwen. She means no harm to you or your family.”
“I never thought she did. I only hoped she could help.”
“I know, and she has. They both have. Her and your son. I have to say you did a great job with him.”
He bowed his head. At a different time, they may have been speaking of their child. The one they had always hoped to have together. “Thank you.”
“Listen to me, now. I know this is not the way you may have wanted things to be, but I know in my heart we followed the right path. Silas and Gwen have a child together. That child is the end of your curse. I need you to know, it’s been fulfilled.”
“You know?”
“I do. My mother,” she started but stopped short.
“I already know. Sabina showed me the journals. I swear I said nothing to the houses.” His eyes grew wide and he shifted in his seat.
“It’s alright. I trust you. Even if you’ve done some questionable things. I know what was driving you. I just wish I knew what was driving Sabina.” She put her head down and became quiet. He wanted to reach out to her, but his hand never connected. The vision wasn’t solid enough. She wasn’t strong enough. When she looked up the light in her eyes seemed to have dimmed. “Please. Please protect our grandchild. Our children. They need someone on their side.”
“For you, I will. I will keep Sabina from them if I can. I won’t stop searching.”
“Please Silas. Don’t harm her. Try to get her to see what she is doing is wrong. Try to help her find the right path. Please.” The visions faded, then she was gone.
“No don’t go. Isabella!” he shouted and his man turned in the front seat.
“Sorry, boss. Who’s that?”
Sigmis looked around at the empty seat beside him. “Nobody. Just a vision. Get me outta here.”
“Yes, sir.”
***
Alistair sat alone in the kitchen by the hearth. His pup, Hank on his lap as he rocked back and forth. The community was outside in his yard building a pyre for his wife whose body still lay three rooms away from him. He knew she was ill. Knew it was just a matter of time, but how could he believe his -son-in-law was to blame? He couldn’t. Not when Silas and Gwen were also reported dead. The baby too. Just twenty-four hours ago they had been celebrating the new life they would bring into the world. Then, almost as if in an instant, they were gone. Dead in a house fire.
He felt nothing as the men and women of the congregation walked his wife’s small frame from the house and placed her on top of the wood pyre. He could hear their whispers. Who would cast the circle and send her spirit to be with the ancestors? They all mourned their priestess and the young one that was to be the saving grace. How would they move on? Where was everyone?
All of Gwen’s friends. All of Silas’ too. They were nowhere to be seen. Unaccounted for. Some were saying they too, were in the house when it went up in flames. The doors and windows were all locked, barricaded from outside. No one could have gotten out, even if they tried. It was entirely possible that every member of the leading houses was in that fire. His boys, also members could have been in there as well. Since they were home mourning their mother, they’d been spared. For that Alistair was eternally grateful.
Alistair’s eyes became heavy. He closed them without wanting to and slipped into sleep. Her face was just as it had been before she’d gotten sick. Her hair swept up in a twist she always wore. Isabella smiled at him, but the look of sadness was there as well. She moved to him, touched him and he was surprised that he was able to feel her soft hands against his rough exterior.
“How?” he whispered softly.
“You’re sleeping. Anything is possible in a dream, my love. You know that. Especially for a clairvoyant such as yourself.”
“So, will you visit me often, then? Tell me of my failures and bicker as if we were still together?”
“No, darling. I’m afraid I cannot. I am here to warn you.”
“Warn me of what?”
“There is a traitor in your midst.”
“So, he is responsible.” Alistair let his hand drop from his wife and rubbed the scruff on his face.
“No. He is not. She is.”
His eyes flung up to gaze at her. “She?”
“I cannot say. I do wish I could, but you know the rules. I will tell you the wolf is in your own den, my darling. You must be careful, and prepared.”
“I will. I understand.”
“I love you. Never forget that. I must go.”
“Please, tell Gwen I love her. Tell her I’ll miss her too.”
As the dream began to fade he thought he heard his wife say, “But she is not here.”
Alistair woke with a start. He jumped from his chair, landing poor Hank on the floor. The pup yelped and scurried away. Alistair moved as quickly as he could to reach the back yard as Sabina stood at the head of a circle, about to invoke the elements for her mother’s funeral.
“Stop. You cannot do it. It won’t be right.”
“Father, a Crawford witch must complete the service,” Sabina yelled.
“No. A witch of age must complete the service. Our priestess is missing, as is her family. We will have no priestess while they are gone. I would ask Clara Moonfeld to perform the service.”
The red-haired girl moved through the crowd until she stood next to Evelyn. She stood slightly taller than her, her hair in a big poof hung down past her shoulders. She wore a green shin length corduroy skirt and a white blouse, the buttons done all the way up to her chin. She took one look at Evelyn before turning to Alistair.
“I’d be honored.” She bowed her head and took her place beside Sabina.
Sabina took a step toward Clara, then a step back. “Thank you, Clara. I’m sure Mother would be pleased by your generosity.”
“It’ll be my pleasure.” Her sincerity over masked Sabina’s contempt for the situation.
Sabina moved to her brothers in the crowd, as did Alistair, and quickly after, Hank. As the dog sat and fell asleep at the same time Clara began calling the elements. It was obvious to Alistair that she normally had no such connection to the elements. However, he could see the surprise on her face as each of them answered her plea. It was a gift of the goddess to his late wife. In her honor, the service was done. Her spirit released from her body and given freely to her ancestors. He thought of her at the end, above them looking down with her mother at her side. It made him smile.
The dream vision still weighing heavily on his mind as he looked around him, and those that she may have been warning against. He couldn’t come to a conclusion and left it for another day.
Chapter XXXI
They all sat in relative silence for ho
urs. Not one of them wanted to comment on how they would be able to walk away. To leave their friends to their own devices for eighteen years.
Chester knew he couldn’t. He wouldn’t. He swore an oath, maybe not thee oath that bound him, but an oath of a friend to another. He would stay and protect her. Even knowing that he may be giving up his own happiness. His own future at having a family and finding that one person who could love him back.
That was the reason of course. He loved her. He knew Silas was aware. It was hard being around an empath, let alone two and not let a stray thought slip out once and again. He also knew Silas hated him for it. If their places were switched, Chester would probably feel the same way. He knew he would.
He sat on the old green sofa in the living room watching as Elle and Marcus argued over when they would be leaving. They both had parents who’d lost a child. Silas told them they couldn’t stay for them, but that they should return home and save their parents any further reason to mourn. He was right of course. Making their parents mourn more loss would have been horrible.
Besides, Elle was supposed to be starting Harvard after the holiday break. She’d received a late acceptance after her brother died. She couldn’t stay in the house with her parents anymore. That didn’t mean she wanted them to think she was also, dead and gone. She just wanted to be gone.
Marcus was enrolled in the community college for business classes. His father expected him to take over the family business, an auto body shop. Not that Marcus minded at all. He’d been raised knowing it was his future.
Marshal would be leaving in a week. He was finishing up a few prerequisites before starting med school in the spring. So, he had a bit more time to stay and make sure the perimeter was secure. His gifts would be the most helpful for it.
Ophelia would be staying indefinitely, or at least that was the plan. Seraphine had left the night before. Her parents were close to the Sigmis family. Silas thought she needed to be close to them in case Sigmis got word of where they were hiding. She would find out and alert Silas and Gwen. Then the others.
Hex and Finis wanted to stick around as well, but nearby. Live life and grow, all at arm’s length. Chester figured that was the best idea. There was a city not too far away, but close enough in case something went amiss that they could get to the couple in time. He’d thought of doing that himself, but quickly dismissed it.
A board game was produced and spread out over the coffee table. Hex sat down, took the cards from the box and started shuffling.
“No cheating for Ginger, I’m gonna be banker.”
“Would you stop calling me that!” Finis kicked the shifter and the cards fell from his grasp.
“Come on, you know I don’t mean nothing by it. Just poking fun at ya, mate.”
“Yea, well I don’t like it.”
Silas pushed Hex’s foot with his, making him drop the cards he’d already retrieved. “Come on, Hex, leave him alone.”
“Fine. If you're all gonna gang up on me, I will. I’m still banker, though.”
The three of them laughed, Ophelia joining in. Chester figured it was a long-standing argument between the friends. He wasn’t really in the mood for a board game. Then again, he didn’t know what he was really in the mood for. Someone turned the television off, and everyone gathered around the table.
“Silas, you want the thimble or the hat?”
“Next game.”
“Aw, come on bloke. It’s not a game of monopoly without the reigning king to kick our teeth in.”
Silas just shrugged, then looked at Chester. He tilted his head toward the front door, asking him to follow. Reluctantly he pushed up from the sofa. Looked at Gwen to see she had slid her way from the chair and was on the floor so she could play along with the rest of them.
He followed Silas from the cabin and into the yard. He thought Silas would have stopped there, but he continued on into the woods. Obviously, he wanted them away from Gwen’s range. The conversation was bound to make emotions fly, or at least Silas seemed to think so based on the length of time they walked through the woods.
“This should be far enough.”
“Whatever it is, it can’t be this bad,” Chester said motioning to the mile between them and the house.
“It might be. I really don’t know. I won’t take the chance.”
“The chance for what? Do you think I’d intentionally upset her?”
“No, but unintentional stress came to mind. It’s too early for her to have the baby. She’s already experienced labor pains, I don’t want it happening again.”
Chester thought about it for a moment, then gave a nod. He agreed. That wouldn’t be a good thing.
“What I have to ask you might upset you, not her. Your reaction may cause her stress, but she is well aware of the conversation that is about to take place.”
“She is?”
“Yes. I need to ask you to…that is we wanted to ask you to return home with the others when they leave tomorrow.”
“What? Why?”
“She won’t say, but I believe she wants you to have a life. Eighteen years is a long time to put your life on hold.”
“Not when thinking of the alternative.”
“Chester, it was her idea. I know you love her, and would never want to leave her. However, given the circumstances, I’d like to think you know I would never let anything bad happen to either of them.”
“I can’t. No. I won’t go.”
“Chester. We are married, we’re having a child. The battle is won. You being here will only attract unwanted attention.”
“No, not if I don’t leave. I’ll stay on out of sight, just like you guys said.”
“Don’t you get it? We’re death watchers. Nobody can track or sense us here. They can track your scent. You’re not just a witch.”
Chester had to think on it for a while. He turned kicking up dirt and earth as he did. The fact that he was an animal as well as a witch hadn’t been a focal point. He hadn’t even considered whether or not other shifters could pick up his scent while he was on two legs instead of four. What if he was putting them in danger that very moment?
“They can, and you’re not, yet,” Silas said knowing what Chester was thinking, “but if you stayed and they came this way looking, they would scent you. You have to leave.”
“What about protection?”
“I’ll be her protection. I’m not going anywhere, and there is no way in hell I’d let anything happen to my family. Those two girls are my life, my very own heart beating outside of myself. I’d sooner die than let anyone get close enough to harm them. Not even my father.”
“I don’t know. She really wants me to go?”
“It was her who thought about it. She is still the high priestess.”
“Then I guess I’m going home.”
Silas shook his head, saying nothing more, he headed back toward the house leaving Chester to his own thoughts. He wanted Silas far away before he allowed them to roam inside his mind. Being close to an empath all his life he’d learned such tricks early.
Once he could no longer see Silas, he sat on a log, kicked at it with one foot and punched a tree nearby with his dominant hand. The pain made him remember he was his own person. He was not just some extension of a Crawford. It also made him realize something else, he hated that he hadn’t been the one to win her heart. He didn’t resent Silas until that very moment. Chester let it stew inside him. Let it fester into a ball of rage he couldn’t contain, but instead of lashing out he felt wet, hot tears escape his eyes and run down his face to his bare arms. Before he knew it, he was in the middle of a shift.
Skin parted, bones cracked and broke. Fur erupted and skin shed. It was painless after so long. He didn’t require so much as a thought about it before he’d completely emerge in animal form. The bear was his usual animal, but out in the woods, he wanted something with stealth and speed.
His coat was tawny, his muscles hard, lean and bulged as he moved. Chester
was in hunting mode, as he stalked the woods moving further away from the cabin. He wasn’t thinking about it. Didn’t want to think about it. He wasn’t needed. Gwen made that perfectly clear even if she used her husband as the speaker. So, he would. He would leave. He could get there in half the time as mountain lion than he would as a man. Besides, why should he wait to leave with the rest?
No, he would spare them an awkward goodbye.
Chester prowled the woods. His mind leaving the troubles of a man behind him. Only the beast resided within his mind. He hunted. Food, then he would travel back to his home. Back to Springfield. He would forget this day and move on with his life. He was free of the oath his family caused him to bear. He was free of his obligation of protecting a woman who didn’t share his feelings. He could start over.
He ate. Having taken down a doe in the woods. Then found a tree to climb and sleep off his meal. When he woke in the morning he made his way home. Making better time than any car could, he found his way back onto the Crawford farm.
When Chester shifted, the night before came back to him. Not just what Silas told him, but the stress on his friend’s body. The fact that he left without saying goodbye. His human form suddenly felt heavy. He dropped to the ground behind his house and beat his fists in the earth. His anger kept tears away, but drew his father from the small building.
“Chester, what’s wrong? Have you found her? Do you know if they're alright?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know if she’s alright,” he spoke the truth. He didn’t know if her best friend leaving her without a word had caused her any harm. For the first time in his life, he had no idea what he was supposed to do. Could he go back to check, to say goodbye and apologize? He didn’t know. He only knew he hurt, and he was suffering. He knew he didn’t like the feelings he was having, and he tried to shut himself off to them, but they kept flooding back.
“Come, son. Let’s get you inside.”
Turning the Stone Page 18