Stained

by Jessica McBrayer

  “See, little sister, not so easy to keep big brother down, is it?”

  “You’re no brother of mine,” Thorn spit out.

  Caleb’s face contorted in anger. “Not for long at least.” He got on his bike, her spell still holding but weak. He sped off.

  “Didn’t see that coming. We should have.”

  “I know. I just didn’t expect him to attack so soon. I don’t think he was trying to kill me just now. I think he was playing with me.”

  “I think you’re right. He was much too easy to subdue. We need to study, witchling. Study hard.”

  “I know, Raven. Have you eaten? Go and we’ll go back home. We will see Uncle and then we study.” Raven flew off again. When he was done, they headed back to Sé’s.

  She paid close attention to her surroundings as she made her way down the hills. Once back at Sé’s, she put her stay-away spell on her bike, and she and Raven headed to the elevator. Then she reinforced the spells surrounding the house. The love magick was still making them strong. She got Raven situated and then went to her backpack to find her phone.

  First she called the hospital to check on Uncle Charles. She was told he was doing well. All his vitals were good and he had been resting comfortably. They had even gotten him up and walking already this morning. It was clear from the call that he had spread his charm to the nursing staff. Thorn felt better. She left a message that she would see him soon. Next, she called the number of Sé’s cell phone. He’d given it to her that morning. He answered on the second ring.

  “Thorn,” he said, in his whiskey voice. It sent a shiver through her.

  “Sé, Caleb surprised me in Tilden when I took Raven out. I’m okay, I think he just wanted to play with me.” Sé was silent.

  “Are you home?” he said. “I’m coming there.”

  “Not necessary. I’ve handled it and now I’m going to visit Uncle and then sequester myself and study.”

  “I’m still coming over. I’ll meet you after you see your Uncle. I’ll bring lunch. I know this Vietnamese restaurant that is very conscientious about how they prepare their food. Good enough for the health inspector to patronize.”

  Thorn sighed and then relented. It wasn’t that hard to do. “Fine, but be careful.”

  “Always.”

  “Raven, I’m afraid you’re going to have to stay here. I’m going to visit Uncle and they don’t allow birds in the hospital.”

  “Say hi to the old bird for me,” Raven said.

  “I will my, friend, and thank you for having my back this morning.”

  “Alwaysth.”

  Thorn got her bike and made the short trip to Alta Bates Hospital. She parked in the parking garage, putting a stay-away spell on it, and made the quick walk across the street into the hospital. She found her way to Uncle Charles’s room on the first try. The faint odors of the hospital followed her on the way. She knew she had to get him back into the fresh Irish air as soon as possible.

  Thorn knocked gently on his door.

  “Ach! What is it now?”

  “It’s me, Uncle. I’ve come to visit you,” Thorn said, brightly, as she peeked inside the door.

  “Oh, my dearest, you are a welcome sight!” Uncle said, as he put down his newspaper.

  “How are you feeling today?” Thorn took his hand in hers. “I heard they had you up and walking already. And you’ve already got them eating out of your hand.”

  Uncle raised his eyebrows in mock surprise. “In self-defense, I assure you.”

  “Uh-huh, tell me more about this walking around you did.”

  “Yes, it’s to keep everything working properly. Damn painful if you ask me. But I did it. Doing everything they ask me so I can get out of jail as soon as possible.” He smoothed down his blanket. His face was still pale and there were dark circles under his eyes. He still had the IV’s in and an oxygen tube under his nose, though he wasn’t using it.

  “You look tired still, Uncle.” She kissed his forehead and he closed his eyes and sighed.

  “A little. It’ll take more than being blasted by your brother to keep me down though,” he said, pursing his lips. “What are you planning to do about him?”

  “After I leave here I am going to start studying. Sé and I moved all my books to his house. I need to stop on my way back there and get some herbs and candles but then I should be ready to do some practicing.”

  “Good. Have you thought more about asking for Muirin’s help?” He turned his head and gave her a sharp look. Thorn turned away and ran her fingers through her hair and began to pace. “She would want it. You are just being bull-headed, you know,” Uncle said.

  “I’m going to ask her, Uncle. I’m also going to ask another person for some help, too,” she admitted.

  “Good, good.”

  He was starting to get sleepy now.

  “Uncle, I’m going to go so you can rest. I love you.”

  “As I love you.” She kissed his cheek and left quietly. She heard his soft snore before she was out of the room.

  Thorn stopped at a shop that sold botanicals, candles and some of her the other supplies she needed. The owner was a Wiccan but catered to a wide clientele. Her shop was nestled in between a famous bath and body shop and a comic store. The outside was painted purple and there was a Help Wanted sign in the window. Herbs hung from the doorway and a mirror hung on the wall across from the door. The whole interior smelled of herbs and beeswax. Thorn liked the soy candles that the store stocked and their herbs were fresh and wild-crafted when available. She picked up some rain water, lavender plants, and oil, lemon oil, sage, rosemary and wormwood. She didn’t know if Sé had salt, so she picked up some salt too. Then she got as many candles as she could carry in her bag on her bike.

  The woman at the register was wearing a long flowing dress and had a small braid in a piece of her hair around her face. She wasn’t wearing any makeup and the laugh lines around her face gave Thorn a good feeling about her store.

  “Will that be all for you? We have a special on Tarot cards this week. Twenty percent off,” the woman said.

  “No, thank you.”

  Thorn wanted to hurry and she didn’t feel like making idle chitchat. The woman’s friendly manner never faltered as she rang up the sale. After she paid for her purchases, she made her way back to Sé’s.

  Before Thorn could work in Sé’s condo, she needed to cleanse it. She took the lemon oil and added a few drops to an empty squirt bottle and then added some lavender oil to the same bottle. She filled it up with spring water and began to spray it throughout the apartment, cleansing it thoroughly. Then she took her sage and smudged the apartment, making sure she got all the corners, chanting a spell of peace and protection. When she was done she could feel a difference in the air. The good energy fed her magick.

  Thorn pulled her grimoires down off the shelf Sé had cleared and spread out a fine Irish woolen cloth across the floor. She set the grimoires upon the cloth, she said a cleansing spell, and lit candles. When she was done, Sé had arrived with lunch. The smell reminded her that she needed to refuel. She broke her circle and blew out her candles before meeting him at the table. They kissed when they met in the middle of the room.

  “Mmmmm, that’s better than food any day,” Sé said. “Are you sure you’re okay?” He ran his hands over her, searching for bruised and broken bones. He made her gasp when he felt a spot on her head she didn’t realize was tender from her fall. “Okay, sit. Let me look at that.”

  Sé tenderly moved her hair and pronounced it to be a bump and that he would get some ice for it while she should start eating. Thorn responded strongly. She had denied herself the intimacy of letting someone take care of her for many years. The physical contact was the most obvious part of it. She didn’t realize how much she missed being cared for. She remembered Muirin’s sure hand and soft voice.

  “Here, Leannán. Hold the ice on that bump. It will help.” Sé bent down and kissed her.

  “Will you get in
to trouble at work for leaving?”

  “No, I got yelled at for seeing you and not checking in sooner. Then I asked for a leave of absence to get my head straight. I was going over the file on the murders with my replacement when you called.” He started getting the food onto plates. “I want to be available to you right now. When this is all done, I want to take you back to Ireland for a visit. We both could use a vacation. Someone has to take Uncle Charles home, anyway.”

  Thorn’s heart sang. Not something a witch was accustomed to. She knew she had a big goofy smile on her face.

  “Sit back down and eat now. You have work to do, I don’t want to keep you from it.”

  While they ate, Thorn told Sé about her encounter with Caleb in more detail. He asked good questions, questions a cop who was skilled in interrogation would ask. She didn’t know him well enough to know how much effort it took for him to remain objective. His questions helped her analyze the scene in ways she wouldn’t have done on her own. Questions like what direction he went when he left, what his bike looked like, model, color, and whether he was limping or acting injured. She answered the best she could, recalling details she’d forgotten. Sé refused to let her help clean up and herded her back to her circle. Sé picked up a book from one of his many floor-to-ceiling shelves and found a comfortable seat.

  Thorn grounded herself. She asked the God and Goddess to be with her as she searched for help and protection. She whispered and her candles relit themselves. She took a deep breath to fill herself up with the pungent aroma of herbs. Having placed herself in a more open mindset, she reached for the first book.

  Thorn ran her hand down the cover and thanked the author silently. She thought about what she needed to find, and opened the book. The first spell she came to was a spell to immobilize the focus of her intention. A good spell to have. She read it over a few times, committing it to memory, and then she asked Sé if she could try it on him.

  “I promise it won’t hurt. It’s supposed to keep you tied up. It’s stronger than a binding spell, which I found doesn’t last on him.”

  “Sure, I’m up for a little bondage,” Sé said. His dimples showed and his hands rested easily at his sides. Thorn threw the spell at him so fast he didn’t know what hit him. He fell back on the floor unable to move.

  “Was that what you were thinking of?” she giggled. Thorn released the spell and Sé got up, shaking off the effects.

  “Damn, you’re fast. That’s a tight spell. Of course, I don’t have his powers but I wasn’t able to move anything. I could barely breathe.”

  “Good. Thanks. Did you bump your head?”

  “Nope, my head hit the rug.”

  “I hope it has the same effect on him. I don’t know how far I want to go with him. I want to defend myself and you, but will that be enough? Will defending myself against him make him go away?” She sat back down and crossed her legs. “What do I have to do to convince him to leave?”

  “I don’t know, Leannán. Do you want to kill him?” Sé crouched down to her level.

  “I don’t know if I could kill anything on purpose. But I do know I would never let him kill you, or Uncle, or myself, so if it came to that, I guess I would have no choice.”

  “Visualize that happening,” Sé said, grimly. “He’s a killer. Count on it. Prepare for it. He’s not going to give you a chance to go back and figure out what to do. Why don’t you look at some more spells and see what you come up with?”

  Thorn went back to her books. She opened another with the same request. This time the book gave her a spell to put a stronger shield around her. The spell said it was impossible to penetrate. Thorn worried Caleb might know a way, but it was another tool she was going to learn all the same. Just thinking his name was making her nervous. She practiced the spell over and over in her mind and then tried it out.

  “Raven, please try and communicate with me telepathically. I’m going to put a shield up that should stop you being able to get through.”

  “Yesth,” Raven replied, eager to help.

  Thorn gathered her energy, pulling it from deep inside. She visualized the purple shield that it cast as she threw her spell out and waited for Raven’s voice to fill her head. She waited a full minute. She watched as Raven tilted his head, first one way, then, the other. Thorn took the spell down.

  “Were you talking to me?”

  “Yes, my little witchling. A good spell that is. I only heard a buzzing instead of your thoughts. Will this keep spells out?”

  “It’s said to be impenetrable. He’s powerful, though.”

  “You need to have confidence in yourself, Thorn,” Sé said. She had forgotten he was in the room he had made himself so quiet. “Where’s the confident, independent woman who owns her own business and rides a bike like it’s a part of her?”

  “You’re right. My spells are only as strong as I am. My heart magick will make them stronger, thanks,” she said, with a brief smile. “I have to get over the fact that I’m not a sixteen-year-old girl on the run from him. He’s powerful but so am I.”

  “That’s my witch! You must survive this or it’s back to the Tower for me.” Raven shifted his body from side to side and tilted his head. “I refuse to go.”

  “Sé would watch over you, Raven. He wouldn’t have to go back to the Tower, would he, Sé?”

  “There will be no need to if what I think you are talking about is not making it back from this battle. You will come back to us, Thorn. Like you said, he is strong but so are you and he doesn’t have a heart. He’s a psychopath, cold and twisted, unable to love.”

  “Right he isth,” Raven said.

  “I want to work on one more spell for the day and then I need to go and talk to Gérard.”

  Thorn centered herself and began using a combination of spells to make her own unique spell. She wanted something that would reflect what was aimed at her. She wanted it to hold true to the Wiccan belief that it return threefold to the sender. She asked the God and Goddess to help her. She concentrated and read and practiced. Finally, she felt she had something but there was no way to test it. No one would want to try it out on her, considering they would get what they sent back threefold. No Wiccan would curse anyone. They were peace-loving and gentle. She would just have to trust in her abilities and wait to use it on Caleb. It was what it was.

  Thorn got her Book of Shadows out and wrote the new spells down. She also wrote in it all that was happening, so there would be an account for the next witch that read it if something happened to her. When she was done, she wrapped it up in silk and placed it with the other books on the shelf. Finally, she thanked the God and Goddess for their help and cleaned up her accoutrements.

  Sé took this as a sign she was done, put his book aside and came over to her. He gave her a long kiss and massaged her shoulders, rubbing out the kinks.

  “Mmmm… If this is what co-habiting is all about, I love it,” Thorn murmured.

  “Wait until later,” Sé whispered into her ear.

  “Heard that,” Raven said. Sé’s chest rumbled, followed by his stomach.

  “We’re all hungry,” Thorn said. “Let me get some meat out for Raven and then why don’t we ride over to the hospital and eat with Uncle Charles?”

  “Sounds great,” Sé said. He released his hold on Thorn and she got meat for Raven. The familiar mantled in protest at the cold temperature of his dinner.

  “Let it sit for a while, Raven. I’m sorry we aren’t hunting.” He turned his back on her. But as she turned to go, she heard in her mind, Stay safe, my witchling.

  “Let’s go, Leannán,” Sé said, as he held the door for her. They moved through the door towards whatever was ahead.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  Negativity, small or big, I banish thee from these four walls, I banish thee from this place forever. I banish thee now.

  They took Sé’s bike, which was still parked in front. He said his good will with the meter readers only lasted so long. Thorn gladly climbed
on the back of his bike and enjoyed the physical thrill when she flattened herself against his back. She squirmed closer and Sé pulled her arms more closely around him. He turned on the bike and let it get its breath before taking off down the street weaving expertly through the traffic, the mixture of college students meandering across the street, beat-up cars with ‘vote for Obama’ stickers on them, and high-powered luxury cars. When they arrived at the hospital, Thorn noticed that he parked in the parking garage, no taking advantage of special privileges here.

  They stopped by the cafeteria first, where Thorn picked out some food for Uncle, too. He hadn’t taken kindly to the restricted diet they have him on.

  The smell of antiseptic barely masked the underlying perfume of sickness and urine that seemed to cling to hospital walls. The smell reminded her of death. She wanted to get Uncle out of there. She remembered Caleb had put him in there and the slow burn of anger, which never completely left her now, built inside her belly. When they came to his room, the door was partially closed but they heard the TV. They knocked gently.

  “Knock, knock. It’s Thorn and Sé, Uncle Charles. How are you tonight?” Sé asked, pushing the door open.

  When they opened the door, they saw Uncle Charles looking terrified, and Caleb standing over him with a smirk on his face.

  “What do you want?” Thorn growled.

  “What, no hello? The niceties must be observed.”

  “What do you want, Caleb.”

  “Why, little sister, I want you, of course. Isn’t that obvious by now?”

  “Leave Charles out of this.”