None of us quite know how to respond to that. Yes, it is good luck that he has it with him right now, but it certainly didn’t bring him good luck this morning.
He hands the small plastic bag to Kallen. “Will this be enough?” he asks. Kallen nods and takes the bag from him. He sets it down on the table while we wait for the other ingredients.
“Josh and I will check the artifacts around the house and find a porcelain bowl,” Eliana says. She and Josh leave the room. Now all that’s left to do is wait.
Chapter 21
One hour and five minutes later there is a knock on the door. Agent Amman has spent the last five minutes pacing the floor and has a withering look on his face when he pulls the door open and confronts the person who dared to be five minutes late. A woman in her late fifties or early sixties breezes into the room as if he had given her the brightest smile. She has gray hair pulled back into a loose bun, a rather pear-shaped body yet still quite thin, and is wearing a dull gray jacket and skirt that she must have bought when she weighed a few more pounds. She is carrying two cloth shopping bags which she brings into the living room and sets on the low table between the couches.
“I had to run here and there across the city,” the woman says in heavily accented English. “Why do you need such items?”
I can see the deliberation clearly on agent Amman’s face as he decides whether or not to tell her the truth. Finally, he says, “They are for a locator spell.”
“Ah.” That is all the woman says. Then she sits in a chair by the fireplace and places her hands in her lap as if waiting patiently for a bus.
“Your services are no longer needed, Jacqueline,” agent Amman says rather tersely.
“I am not running around like a crazy woman and then not witness the reason for my insanity,” Jacqueline says, just as tersely. I suspect these two often have conversations like this.
I look up at Kallen who is standing next to me by the window with a questioning look. He shrugs his shoulders as if to say ‘what’s one more person?’ I guess he’s right.
“Where should we do this?” Eliana asks.
“Outside the best,” Kallen replies.
“There’s a gazebo out back in the garden,” Josh says.
Kallen nods. “That will work fine.”
Without another word, Agent Amman picks up the cloth bags and follows Eliana and Josh to the back of the house and out through a sliding glass door that leads to the garden. Kallen and I follow with Jacqueline right behind us.
The garden is beautiful. I’m assuming many of the flowers are native to Africa because the only ones I recognize are the roses, which are all white and perfect. There are more beautiful flowers everywhere in shades of white, purple and blue set against a background of green leaves, stems and vines.
The gazebo is not very large so there isn’t room for all of us to crowd in. Everyone else stands outside, leaning in to watch Kallen set up the items I will need for the spell. He carefully places the blue candles so they are positioned in the North, East, South and West directions. Eliana places the porcelain bowl that she found in the center of the gazebo and I sit down in front of it. When everything is set, Kallen hands me the paper he wrote the spell on.
I read the spell over in my mind again before I start. Kallen emphasizes again how powerful this spell will be and how precisely it needs to be performed. So now, of course, I am really nervous. I close my eyes and take a few calming breaths before I begin. Opening my eyes, I’m ready to begin the spell. I reach for the gold candle and place it in the porcelain bowl. I take a pinch of blue orris, a pinch of ground corn, several leaves from a willow tree, a tiny bit of St. John’s wort, and some pansy petals and place them in the bowl around the candle. How does Kallen remember the ingredients to all these spells that he can’t even perform? He’s told me before that Fairies like to be knowledgeable of the magic of other beings, but he must have a photographic memory or something because I would never remember all of this.
I light the gold candle and begin to speak, “From these gifts of the goddess and with her sanction, I seek the power of divination. Heart pure, intentions sincere, let me see now what is unclear. My desire confessed of knowledge suppressed to be harnessed by the psychic power of the flax and bound together with Golden wax.”
I pick up the Golden candle and raise it over my head. I’m supposed to light it with magic, but Kallen and I agreed that it would probably be best if I did not do that; we don’t want the whole garden to start on fire. So Eliana offered her assistance with this. The wick of the candle ignites and I keep it raised above me for a moment until I’m sure that some wax has melted, and then I bring it back down to the bowl and dribble wax onto the mixture I’ve placed inside it.
Next, I take garlic and peel away individual cloves until I have six of them and place those in the bowl. Picking up a pinecone from a larch tree, I do my best to crush it in my hand and let the pieces fall into the bowl. I take a leaf from an Aspen tree, hold it above the bowl and let it gently flitter down. How in the world did Jacqueline find this stuff in Cairo in an hour? She’s amazing. I suppose that’s why Agent Amman has her working for him.
The last ingredient I put into the bowl is the lock of hair from agent Amman’s daughter. “Taken before its natural time, return to me what is mine. With its absence my heart stolen, my spirit darkened, my soul blackened. Unforgivable is this theft which has left my spirit, my soul, my heart bereft.” I drop the Golden candle back into the bowl being careful not to extinguish the flame, which starts pieces of the pinecone and leaves on fire, safely contained inside the bowl.
I’m going to need Eliana’s help with this next part as well, again so that I don’t start the entire garden on fire. “Our sacred spell crafted, our quest untainted,” obviously this spell was written for several Witches to perform, especially at the end when the magic is needed. Kallen didn’t change the words so I guess I’m using the ‘Royal we’ as I perform it. “Our magic now we do send forth, to the East, to the West, to the South, to the North.” As I say each direction, Eliana lights the candles in that position.
I’m about to think yet again how unimpressive Witch magic is, because there isn’t an immediately seen effect, until a blast of magic comes out of the bowl with a sonic boom, knocking me flat on the gazebo floor and everyone else to the ground. Unfortunately, my head lands on the blue candle behind me, starting my hair on fire, which I quickly put out, but not before the smell of burning hair fills the air. Great, now I’m deaf and balding.
Turning my head to where Kallen is picking himself up off the ground, holding his ribs, I say, “I guess this means it worked.”
Chapter 22
“I believe it does,” Kallen says, slightly out of breath from the impact.
“Are you okay?” I ask him, rising to my feet.
“I believe I may have a broken rib or two,” he says, walking a little hunched towards the gazebo steps.
I look around at the others who are also slowly picking themselves up off the ground. “Is anyone else hurt?” I ask.
“I may have a concussion,” Josh says rubbing the back of his head.
“I’ll fix that,” Eliana tells them and she wraps her arms around him. A small windstorm starts around them as she holds him close. I can feel her magic healing him.
The agent is kneeling next to Jacqueline. “Are you able to stand?” he asks her.
She looks pale as she says, “My hip does not seem to want to move.”
Great, now I’m breaking old ladies’ hips. Not exactly on everyone’s list of things to do on their honeymoon. I give Kallen an apologetic look, because I’m going to make him wait a moment before I heal him, and kneel down next to Agent Amman, who is hovering over Jacqueline. “This might hurt for a moment,” I tell her as I lay my hand on her hip.
“What are you about to do?” She asks in her heavy accent as she pushes my hand away. “You are a practitioner of dark magic. I do not want you to heal me with it.”
What?
! What is she talking about? Then it dawns on me that she might think that because I just performed a gray magic spell. Some would say there’s no such thing as gray magic; that there’s only black or white magic. Obviously this woman knows little bit more than Agent Amman had given her credit for when it comes to magic. Even he is looking down at her in surprise.
“I don’t usually perform magic like this,” I say defensively. For some reason, it’s important to me that she understands this. Perhaps it’s the evil eye she’s giving me that might not have magic behind it but it’s still a little spooky, like she can see right through me. “I only did this spell to help Agent Amman.”
Jacqueline looks up at him. “Is this true?” She asks.
Agent Amman looks from me to Jacqueline and then back to me before answering. “I have only just met her, but I believe she is telling the truth,” he says and the look in his eye tells me that he’d better be right or he will find a way to hurt me.
Wow, this is a tough crowd. Ignoring her objections, I place my hand on Jacqueline’s hip again and send magic forth and begin to heal her, watching her face grimace in pain as the bone and soft tissue knit back together. I’m pretty sure she’s cursing me and my future children at this point. Fortunately it only takes about two minutes to heal her, hopefully not enough time for her to curse my future grandchildren as well.
Satisfied that she’s healed, I stand up and turn back to Kallen. He’s sitting on the gazebo steps still holding his side and gasping for breath in way that tells me that one of his ribs may have punctured his lung. I probably should’ve healed him first.
I sit down next to him and pull him into my arms. As quickly as I can, I heal him. I hate watching him in pain through the process, but I’m so relieved when I know that his body is once again strong and healthy.
“Thank you,” he says with lips that are still a little blue from lack of oxygen. He uses them to kiss my cheek and I smile up at him.
“What now?” I ask.
He smiles. “Once the spell locates the area she’s in, you will be compelled to travel in that certain direction. We will follow to where the spell guides you and hopefully that will be close enough for Eliana to work her magic.”
While he’s speaking, I start to feel my magic, for lack of a better word, touch things. I feel it spreading out from the house, through traffic, around buildings, across the Nile and through the city. Then I feel its pull. Kallen is right; I am literally compelled to follow my magic. Almost as if in a dream, I start walking. I walk through the house and out onto the street and keep going, oblivious to what anyone else is doing.
“Xandra,” Kallen says grabbing my arm, “wait for Josh to get the car.”
That means that I would have to stop following my magic; how can he expect me to do that before I’ve found what I’m looking for? In the back of my mind, I know how crazy that sounds, but I feel helpless against the power of my own magic. I cannot stop until I find what I’ve lost. Even if, technically, I wasn’t the one who lost it.
“I’ll get the car and catch up with you guys,” Josh says. It must be apparent to the rest of them, as well, that I’m not going to stop because Eliana and Agent Amman have both caught up with us now.
It just takes a minute for Josh to pull up next to us in the Land Rover. Kallen opens the front passenger door for me and I climb in, impatient to be moving again. Kallen encourages me to move over and then climbs in beside me. I glower at him, then Eliana and Agent Amman for taking so long to get into the back seat and close the doors. Before they’re even buckled, I’m pointing in a certain direction and ordering Josh to drive that way.
We do this for the next twenty minutes weaving in and out of cars in different areas of the city, both old and new. But no matter how far we go, it never seems far enough. Frustration is growing inside me because I have not found what I’m looking for. I am so on edge that the tone of my voice is getting sharper and shorter as I shout out directions. Fortunately, Josh is laid back enough to ignore it. I should take lessons from him on that; it’s a handy personality trait to have when magic is involved.
Then it stops. The magic stops pulling me, but my mind still doesn’t feel clear. As a matter of fact, it feels murkier than ever. It’s like I’m trying to swim through a river of mud. I know there must be another side, but I can’t get there by sight; I can only keep swimming and hope that I eventually reach it.
I assume this means that we are somewhat close to agent Amman’s family, but I have no idea how close. Hopefully within Eliana’s range of sensing evil.
“Why have we stopped?” Agent Amman asks. “Are they near?”
I wish I had a better answer for him but I don’t. “I don’t know.”
“Then the spell has not worked?” To hear the anguish in this distinguished man’s voice is heart wrenching.
“We must be close,” Kallen says. “As I explained earlier, it is simply that the spell cannot pinpoint an exact location.”
“Eliana, are you able to sense anything?” Josh asks.
Eliana already has her eyes closed and is concentrating, trying to pick up whatever signal she feels when evil is around her. I really hope we are close enough for her to feel it. When her eyes snap open and she turns her head to look out the left side Land Rover, all of our hopes rise in anticipation of finding agent Amman’s family.
Looking out the same side of the Land Rover, I see a car approaching. We’re in an unquestionably poor area of Cairo with overcrowded tenements and litter strewn over the roads and walkways. There are not many vehicles, but the ones here barely seem drivable. That is why it so noticeable when the sleek red sports car drives towards us. It obviously doesn’t belong.
“Are those the kidnappers?” Josh asks.
Eliana does not respond. She opens the door and steps out of the vehicle, making the rest of us scramble to follow. The red car is stopped and its occupants are also getting out. There are two men and a woman. One man is dressed in a dark blue western suit with slicked black hair that is pasted to his scalp with oil and black shoes that gleam as much as his hair. The other man is wearing a hegab, a traditional Islam headscarf, but under that he is wearing jeans and a T-shirt. Both men looked to be in their early thirties. The woman looks younger, probably mid-to-late twenties. Her clothing may be a little less modest than most women here that I’ve seen, but she is stylish in her loose fitting, cream colored dress pants and peach colored silk blouse that is sheer enough to give a pretty good picture of what’s underneath. Around her neck and wrists are strands of gold and her diamond earrings can be seen through her light brown hair. They catch the light, making it seem as if she has an aura around her. The three begin to walk along the broken sidewalk toward us.
“Why are you here?” Eliana asks the trio. Straight to the point, just like me. I like her.
“This power that I feel in the air, it does not come from you.” Obviously the woman isn’t much for idle chat either.
“Why do you care?” Josh asks. I’m sure he knows why the trio cares, but he’s just trying to annoy them. Maybe it’ll get them to go away. I doubt it.
“It comes from her,” the man wearing the hegab says, his finger pointing at me. His English is even more heavily accented then Jacqueline’s. They must be pretty good Witches to be able to sense the origin of my magic.
I try to look innocent, but I don’t think they’re buying it. Ignoring Eliana now, they start walking again, but also like me, Eliana doesn’t like to be ignored. A sudden windstorm blows them back almost all the way to their car and a bolt of lightning strikes the ground dangerously close to their feet. It was a small bolt of lightning, just meant to scare them. But still, it was a bolt of lightning. She definitely has style.
The man in the hegab begins to mutter something under his breath and from what I know about Witches, that’s never a good sign. I’m guessing Kallen agrees with me as sudden rush of magic flies towards the man who finds himself gagged with a sock and what looks like duct t
ape. I’m pretty sure they don’t have duct tape in the fairy realm. Kallen must have gotten that idea from our house in Colorado. For the man’s sake, I hope Kallen chose to put a clean sock in his mouth. I surreptitiously look at Kallen’s feet to try to see if he’s suddenly missing a sock. I can’t tell.
Under the corner of my eye I see Josh smirk, but Agent Amman is not amused at all. Pulling his badge from his jacket, he walks towards the trio who no longer look as cocky or self-assured as they once did. “You are interfering with government business,” Agent Amman informs them in a voice that says ‘I would like nothing better than to throw you in jail and take out every annoyance I have ever felt in my entire life on you.’
I’m not sure what kind of reputation the Egyptian government has, but there are now three sets of brown eyes looking very wary of the agent. “I did not know magic had become the business of the government,” the woman says, brushing a minuscule amount of dirt off her cream colored pants. I’m guessing she’s the type that cares a lot about her appearance. Probably not her biggest concern right now.
Blood of Egypt (Witch Fairy Book 8) Page 9