“I’m merely visiting my sick uncle.”
“You put him here, you bastard.”
“An accident. I only meant to stun him. It’s you I want. Uncle and I have been having a nice visit waiting for you to show up, isn’t that right, Uncle?”
“Run, Thorn, go now!” Uncle Charles whispered, as loud as his fear would let him.
“Now, now.” Caleb pushed Uncle back down on the bed. “Let’s all play nice. I just want to talk.”
“I think we’re past talking, Caleb,” Thorn said, through gritted teeth.
“Little sis, there’s always time to talk. You have something I want. If you give it to me, I leave those you love alone,” he said as he looked at first Uncle Charles and then to Sé. Thorn bristled, her stomach filling with fire and her magick aching to be used. She stepped in front of Sé. Caleb just laughed hollowly. “You never did know how to play. I suppose you think you are in looove. Pathetic. Weak. Muirin’s bullshit love magick mumbo jumbo. Whatever. Just let me have your powers and I’ll let you live.”
“You know I’d only be a shell without them. Not to mention you would be an even bigger asshole the more powerful you get. There’s no way I’m giving them up to you.”
“Fine. I suspected as much. As badly as you think of me, I really did not want to kill you,” he said, with a slow smile.
“Somehow I doubt that,” Thorn sneered. “You’ve tried for years, why stop now?”
“If you insist.” He bowed his head and brushed his way past them and Sé rammed his shoulder into Caleb. Caleb spun instantly and was ready to send a spell out, and Sé was ready with a punch, but Thorn put up a protection shield to keep Caleb’s spell from harming Sé. Both men realized the futility of fighting in the small room. Caleb strutted out of the room.
Sé took a few minutes to calm down. Thorn let him have his space. She realized he couldn’t do anything to protect them and that he’d had to let a serial killer walk away. It went against everything he stood for.
Uncle Charles let out a deep breath and Thorn took him in her arms. Sé got on his cell phone, asking for a cop to be stationed outside of Charles’s room. He told the PD that someone had come in and threatened him, omitting the truth for now. Thorn gave him a weak smile.
Sé walked over to Charles. “How you holding up?”
“I’ll be fine. The misbegotten devil’s curse came in minutes before you got here, telling me all the horrible things he had planned for Thorn.” Charles had a death grip on Thorn’s hand. She looked at his old hand in her young smooth one.
“Uncle, Sé called in a police officer to protect you. You don’t need to worry about him coming back here.”
“I don’t think he will. He did what he came for. He let you know he could get to you,” Sé said. Uncle’s expression went fierce, looking up at Thorn. His pale blue eyes watered.
“Oh Uncle, please don’t worry. I’ll be okay.”
“Ach, child, don’t tell me not to worry. He wants to kill you. He weaves in and out of places like he owns the world. With each death, he gets stronger. You’re in trouble.”
“I know,” Thorn whispered.
“Is there anyone you can get to help you, Thorn?” Sé asked.
“Yes. We’re going to see him right after we’re done here.”
“Muirin could help,” Uncle whispered.
“I know. I want to work the spell but am having second thoughts.”
“Why? She would gladly sacrifice herself for you. She would give anything to help you. Why won’t you call on her?”
“What spell?” Sé asked.
“A spell to channel the powers of someone you’ve lost. You can only get them by permission. Caleb has tried but, of course, she said no. I’ve just never tried. I’ve never had a need, I’ve been too afraid and I’ve felt like it would leave her with nothing.”
“She’s not using them anymore, Thorn,” Uncle said, not unkindly.
“My brain knows that, but my heart feels differently. I might not have any other choice,” Thorn whispered, more to herself than to the room. “Mamó was a powerful witch. Her help would tip the scales against Caleb. I just don’t know if I can do this. On the other hand, the witch I knew would think I was derelict if I let him get away with this.”
“You must, child, dearest one.” Charles said. “Promise me. I can’t rest knowing you are without her.”
“Thorn, you have to do whatever you can to make yourself safe. I’m sure your mamó would want this.” Sé supported Charles’s suggestion. “She loved you and protected you from him before she died. Let her continue to protect you.”
“I need to think.” She saw a glimmer of dark blue and a large shadow fall across the door. “Uncle, the policeman is here. You’ll be safe now. I have work to do tonight. I’ll think about this. I love you.”
“I love you, too, child. Think hard,” Uncle Charles said.
“I will,” Thorn said.
“Goodbye, Charles, take care of yourself.” Sé patted him on the arm.
“Sé, take care of her. Talk some sense into her,” Uncle Charles begged.
“I will try.” Sé shook the old man’s hand. Then he put his hand at the base of Thorn’s back and followed her out of the room. He took a moment to talk to the police officer who was watching the door to fill him in on Caleb’s description.
“He’s dangerous. If you see him, don’t underestimate his willingness kill you or anyone who gets in his way.”
Thorn and Sé made their way back into the night. A cold October breeze blew up and lifted Thorn’s hair. She leaned into Sé for warmth.
Sé took his time driving them back to his apartment. Thorn appreciated the chance to clear her head.
He parked his bike next to hers in the garage and Thorn created a stay-away spell.
Sé reached for her hand and she grasped his tightly. She knew she had to talk to Gérard now. And steeled herself. She’d decided to ask him if he’d come to Sé’s since it was neutral ground. If not, they could meet somewhere else. Whatever it took, she knew she needed his help.
She fetched her cell phone and called his house.
“Hello.”
“Gérard, it’s Thorn.”
“Hello Thorn. Have you called to ask for my help?” Thorn sat on the bed and ran her hand through her hair. “Yes, I need your help.”
“Finally,” Gérard said. He sounded genuinely relieved.
“Caleb is stronger than me.”
“Shh, don’t say his name. You should know better than that!”
Thorn sighed and shifted on the bed. “Ach, I do. It’s been a long couple of days. I just saw him at the hospital. He was threatening my uncle.”
“He is afraid of nothing. Who is this man to you? Why you, Thorn?”
“He’s my half-brother,” she traced the pattern on the duvet of Sé’s bed. “He’s been chasing me for years. I think he might have me this time unless I stop him. I can’t keep running. I don’t want to anymore.”
“Good. I need to know you are committed to this if I am going to help you.” Thorn rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand. “Where do you want to meet? I am assuming you don’t want to come back to my home?” he said, as he snorted dryly.
“I’m staying with Detective O’Bradigen. Do you remember him?”
“Yes.” His voice revealed small interest. She could hear some shuffling in the background. “What’s the address?”
Thorn gave it to him and they agreed to meet in an hour. Thorn let out a big breath. She rubbed her eyes again, got up off of Sé’s bed and padded into the living room. Sé’s eyes lit up. She wondered if hers did the same. She walked to him and he pulled her down into his lap.
“Talk to me,” he said.
“I talked to Gérard and he’s going to meet us here in an hour. I’m not sure what we are going to come up with but hopefully something. I think I can expect a visit from the council tonight. They will have tracked me down by now.”
“How, if
Caleb hasn’t?”
Thorn got up and went about making coffee for them. “Vampires can track like no other creature. They are also good at piecing things together. Between the wisdom of several centuries of experience and their sense of smell, they will find me.” She poured the hot water into Sé’s French Press. “I have to answer for Sean’s death.”
“What will they do?” Sé shifted in his seat.
“I don’t know. They won’t kill me. If they try, I can handle them. They won’t drink my blood. There has been a pact between witches and vampires that goes back centuries, protecting our blood. Besides, I guess it tastes bad.” Thorn shrugged. She poured coffee into two mugs and handed one to Sé.
“I don’t like this, Thorn. How can I keep you safe from a vampire?” Sé frowned. “First Caleb, now this. I’m going to have to get some new tools.”
“How do I keep you safe, is the question,” Thorn said, taking a sip of coffee. She ran her hand up and down his arm, trying to soothe him. “I’m pretty sure everything will work out. It will probably be tense but I’ll most likely have to pay a fine or something like that. I have to remind them I didn’t do it and that I warned him.”
There came a knock at the door and Thorn went to answer it. Raven shifted on the coat stand.
“Snake magick coming,” Raven said. Thorn threw the dead bolt and opened the door.
“Good evening, Gérard,” Thorn said. The dark man was dressed in black pants and a lively yellow and orange shirt with tribal snakes all over it. It was the first time Thorn had seen him in something besides all black. He carried a small satchel and a small box with air holes and something inside that hissed.
“Thorn, Detective O’Bradigen.”
“Sé,” Sé said, as he shook Gérard’s hand. “Would you like some coffee?” Sé walked over to the counter to pour another mug.
“Yes, that would be welcome,” Gérard said, putting down his things. “Do you have sugar?” His Louisiana accent was sweet and slow.
“Somewhere,” Sé said, as he started rustling through the cupboards. “Aha, here you go.” Sé presented him with a pink and white paper bag full of sugar and Thorn shook her head at him. She thought it was just like a bachelor to hand someone a bag of sugar.
“Thanks,” Gérard said, adding four spoons of sugar, stirring it into his coffee. He took a sip and smiled for the first time since he’d got there. “I can tell Thorn made it. She makes the best coffee.”
“Thank you. I never knew you took it with sugar, though. I guess there were a lot of things I didn’t know about you.”
“Yes and for me too. We need to clear the air so we can work together. We must trust each other,” Gérard said, staring intently at Thorn.
“I want to know if you were the one doing black magick up at the murder scene in Tilden. The one who knocked Sé out?” Sé got stone quiet and lost his smile. He hadn’t known she’d thought it was Gérard. He wouldn’t have welcomed him if he had.
“That was me. But I wasn’t doing what you think. I was trying to bind and banish the murderer. I was laying protection spells down. Sé stumbled upon me and I got scared. I know what people think of voodoo. I panicked and hit him on the head so I could get out of there before he recognized me.” Gérard set his cup down and looked at Sé. “Please know I meant you no harm. I made sure you were breathing and in a safe spot before I left. I laid a spell of protection over you and a healing spell. I’m sorry but I didn’t know what else to do.”
“I’m still pissed, but I understand where you’re coming from. It took me two hours to wake up and it hurt like hell, man,” Sé complained.
“Again, I am sorry.” Gérard clasped his hands in front of him and bowed slightly towards Sé.
Sé finally started to sip his coffee again signaling he was past the incident and they should all move on.“Next, what were you doing in my shop? You should have told me you were practicing in my circle,” Thorn said.
“We don‘t use circles in Louisiana Voodoo. I didn’t realize I was violating anything. I didn’t want to tell you because you are a powerful witch and I wanted to stay under the radar.” Gérard blinked slowly at her. He moved like a mouse in a snake pit. Thorn suddenly realized he was afraid of her. She had carried her misconceptions of voodoo so far that she had overlooked the obvious and just judged.
“Why did you check out my Uncle?”
“I wanted to know if he was a witch, too. Not too smart of me to do with you standing right there, I admit.” He gave her a rueful smile.
“No, not a smart move. I almost took you out right there, before I remembered where I was. That man is very dear to me and I had no idea what you were doing.” Thorn set her now empty mug down, crossed over to Gérard, and took his hand and held it. “You and I have been at cross purposes for too long. Let’s put it behind us now and work together.” The tension around Gérard’s eyes relaxed as she said this. He squeezed her hand back and hugged her.
“My people are huggers,” he explained, when Thorn’s eyebrows rose in surprise by his exuberance.
“You wouldn’t know it from the Gérard I’ve been working with,” she laughed.
“That Gérard was always waiting for you to bite.”
“If you were so scared of me, why did you work for me?”
“You’re the best. I wanted to work at Stained the moment I walked in. Even if it meant watching my back.” He let go of her hand and stepped back politely.
“I’m really not that way, Gérard. Honest. I’m more about peace and healing. I’m sorry our practices have taught us to shun each other. I think that might be a mistake.”
“Yes, but for now, we have much to do. What are your plans?”
Thorn went to sit on the couch and Sé sat next to her. Gérard took a chair across from them.
“I’m going to invoke the spirit of my grandmother who was a great witch. If I do the spell correctly and if she agrees, I will then acquire her powers.”
“That is very strong magick. I’m glad I brought Maria along. She will help guide your grandmother’s spirit over from the next world.”
“Is Maria in the box?” Sé asked.
“Yes, in Louisiana we use snakes in our practice of voodoo. They are sacred to us. Don’t worry, Maria is tame and harmless.”
“If you say so,” Sé said, Thorn sensed he didn’t like snakes.
“I agree with Sé, I understand your beliefs, but there are no snakes in Ireland and I’m not used to them,” Thorn said.
“I will be the only one handling her, no worries, my friends.” Gérard smiled.
“Well, let’s get started then. It’s getting late. I’ll need you in my circle, Gérard. I’ve never mixed the two forms of magick before. I don’t know what will happen,” Thorn said, as she went about getting her supplies ready.
“Neither do I. We will be alert and adapt as well as we can.”
She nodded — it was good advice. “I cleansed the apartment earlier today and now I am going to draw a circle with salt. If you would step inside and stay inside until I tell you that you can leave again.”
“Let me get Maria. Take care of us, Thorn,” he said hesitantly.
“I will, my friend.” They traded looks. Now that old fears and prejudices had been laid to rest, she could look at him with clear eyes. He met her gaze straight on. “Sé, I want you just outside the circle to keep an eye on things. I don’t think Caleb can get in but have your gun ready, just in case. He will do anything to get Muirin’s powers.”
“Gotcha, hurry back to me, Leannán.”
Thorn took her athame and traced her circle and then drew a pentagram through the center. She placed candles in the four directions. She whispered and the candles ignited. She heard the sharp inhalation of Sé’s breath. She gave him a reassuring smile which he returned, sheepishly.
“Oh Great Goddess, We ask you to rise up and cast your protection over this circle. Strengthen its bonds and let no evil in. Your will be done.” Thorn then let her e
nergy flow out of her and into the circle she cast. A thin violet haze sat between her and Sé. Gérard looked nervous and shifted his weight.
“Gérard, it’s for our protection. Nothing else. You should feel safe in here, like being in a womb.” Gérard sighed and shook out his shoulders. He nodded to her. Thorn placed a bowl of rain water on the floor. Next to it, another bowl with ground wormwood, and a third stone bowl with a lock of her mamó’s hair in it.
She sat cross-legged in front of the three bowls and motioned for Gérard to sit, too. He lifted Maria out of her box and wrapped her around his arm and then went to join Thorn on the other side of the bowls. Thorn’s pulse sped up and a thin coat of sweat covered her back. She had never seen a snake so close. She reached out and felt the bond between Gérard and the reptile — an old bond of faith — and it calmed her down. For this spell she needed to be as centered and in control as possible. Snake magick strange, not bad but strange, Raven told her.
She consulted her book of shadows. She had written down the spell but never used it. The page was well worn like a page from a favorite book should be. She had visited it many times, whenever she was lonely for Muirin and felt weak and scared. She didn’t really need to read it, she had it memorized. Now she just had to wait for the witching hour.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Power from the rivers rise, journey now across the skies. Come to me, I summon thee. Cross now the great divide.
Midnight had come. Sé settled into a chair, a silent sentry. Thorn took her mamó’s hair and put it in the stone bowl next to a bowl of blessed rain water. In another bowl, she burned her herbs, asking for the spirits to visit and bring goodwill. Finally, she lit the hair on fire saying:
“Muirin, I ask you to come to me now from the veil of shadows. I ask this as your granddaughter, blood of your blood.”
Gérard started chanting and wove Maria around his arms. Thorn waited for a minute. She started to doubt if anything was going to happen when a hazy, iridescent figure appeared.
“Are you Muirin Beglan?”
The figure nodded.
“Are you my grandmother?”
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