Stained

by Jessica McBrayer

  “No, but some of my salt will help,” she said, as she pointed her good hand towards her bag. Sé went to get the salt and helped her to the bathroom, where he started running the bath as hot as a person could stand it. He took the salt out and shook in a liberal amount. When the water was high enough, he helped Thorn get undressed and into the tub, scowling at the bruises on her ribs. Thorn winced as she moved. He should have taken her to the ER. She refused.

  While Thorn soaked, Sé made them dinner. By the time the water started to cool, Sé was back in the bathroom and to help her out of the tub and into some yoga pants and a long Irish wool sweater.

  They sat down to the soup and garlic bread Sé had made. With each bite Thorn drew a little more energy. She hurt everywhere, the stiffness from the previous night’s spell was nothing compared to the new trauma Simms had inflicted. Yet she was not alone to suffer by herself – she was most definitely not alone.

  Sé watched Thorn eat and the burn he had been feeling in his stomach since Kate had attacked her started to ease. He hadn’t been there to keep her safe in his own house against a vicious human. He knew it would be worse with Caleb. He wouldn’t be able to do anything in that fight. It frustrated and angered him. A slow acid burn was all he had to show for it.

  “I know I’ll probably scare Uncle, but I’d like to see him tonight for a few minutes, if you don’t mind,” she said, when they had finished.

  “Could we call him instead? It’s going to be a bitch in the cold on the back of a bike.”

  “I want to see him. We missed last night.”

  “Okay. I want you to wear my old leather jacket. It will cover you up more than yours will.”

  “You have to tell Uncle I got in a couple of good hits though. He’d be so ashamed of me if I hadn’t.”

  Sé smiled thinly, clearly not happy. He gave her some ibuprofen and called a cab.

  When they got to the hospital, Thorn regretted the trip. She was stiff and sore and had a hard time walking. It would have been impossible on the bike. Sé helped her out of the back seat. He led her slowly through the maze of rooms, over-worked hospital staff, and visiting family members. When they entered Uncle’s room, he had just finished his own dinner.

  “Thorn! What on God’s green earth happened to you? Sé, I told you to take care of her. I knew this would happen. Was it Caleb? I need to be out of here watching over you.” Uncle started making like he was going to get out of the bed. Thorn hurried over to him and tucked him back in. She kissed him on the forehead and winced.

  “This is a gift from the delightful Special Agent Simms, Uncle.”

  “We’ll sue the pants off the FBI,” Uncle snarled. Color high in his cheeks.” I want out of this fish bowl.”

  “Sé called the police and had her arrested.”

  “Oh, that’s even better. Bet she was fit to be tied,” Charles calmed down. His mood improved noticeably. “That’s enough red tape to keep her in lockup at least most of the night.” Uncle reached for his Jell-O to take another bite. “I do like your style, Sé. She’ll be thoroughly humiliated. Hope that doesn’t backfire though.”

  “I do too, sir. This should be the end of Kate’s harassment. I don’t even know what she was doing over at my place tonight. She was surprised to see Thorn.” Sé sat down in the chair next to the bed, as Thorn made herself comfortable on the bed next to her uncle.

  “She was pounding on the door like the building was on fire. That’s why I opened it. I should have used the peephole. I didn’t think it through at all. I just took down my wards and threw open the door,” Thorn said.

  “I would have answered, too. I’d have wondered what was wrong,” Sé said. “Kate’s always been extreme and she’s crazy jealous. But this behavior is unbalanced. I’ve never known how she became an FBI agent.”

  “It’s over and you are the worse for it. How bad are you hurt, niece?”

  “My hand hurts and my ribs might be cracked, and of course, I’ll have a black eye.”

  “I need to get her home and put more ice on her,” Sé said.

  “I’m going to get out of here in a couple of days, and we will set everything to rights then.”

  “You rest now.” Thorn pushed the hair back from his forehead. “I’ll be back to see you tomorrow.”

  “Yes, dearest. Tell Raven hello for me.”

  “I will, he worries about you. Rest now, Uncle.” Thorn and Sé got up to leave. Sé touched base with the police officer outside of the door. No one else had tried to visit Charles.

  “Is it true about Simms?” the burly guard asked.

  “You know her?” Sé replied. The guard nodded, a disgusted look on his face. “She likes to lord it over the uniforms,” he grunted. “You take care, Miss, it looks like you need to be here tonight.” Sé called a cab and they made their way slowly to the front door.

  Sé watched her sympathetically. He wanted to punch something as she held her side while she struggled to get into a comfortable position. It wasn’t so much that she was hurting, he hated that. It was that Kate had done this to get back at him. It was that he hadn’t been there for her in time. He knew Thorn wouldn’t want him to fuss. She didn’t want to hear his pity or his guilt.

  She needed to tough her way through this. Her ribs ached, it hurt to take a deep breath, and she had a hard time closing her hand. That bitch. She should have used magick. She couldn’t afford to be off her game right now. She hung on stoically.

  When they got back and Thorn had checked all the wards and Raven, Thorn headed towards the bathroom to take another hot bath. Sé stopped her.

  “What you need is some Tiger Balm. Let me rub you down and then you can get into bed,” Sé said, taking her hand. “I know you probably have herbs that work better but you’re out of them right now, so let a layman work some magick on you.” He smiled.

  “Anything that will take this stiffness out and help the swelling. I have to be back in commission as soon as possible. Damn the unholy harpy!”

  “Come on, Leannán, this will help. I use it all the time when I’ve taken a beating at the gym.”

  Sé took off her sweater and Thorn stripped out of her pants. With just her bra and panties on, the bruises stood out spectacularly. Vivid purple and blue black contrasted with her pale Irish skin. Sé cursed under his breath as he went to get the balm. He came back and lowered Thorn carefully to the bed. He rubbed the pungent menthol-smelling balm into Thorn’s stiff muscles and bruised skin. Relief followed and Thorn sighed.

  He found her a nightgown and helped her out of her remaining clothes and into it. Then he tucked her into bed. Sé changed into pajama pants and got into bed with her, holding her close. Sleep was a long time coming for Thorn.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  Every tear I’ve cried, may you suffer by and by. Three times three, make him see what he does to me, so will it be.

  Sé left quietly early the next morning before Thorn woke up. He left her a note telling her that he was going to take care of some things at the department. He didn’t want to wake her since she was so tired. He’d stood and watched her for several moments while she slept. He thought she was easily the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, even with lumps in brilliant technicolor. With reluctance he left her and made his way down the elevator and to his bike. Before he could pull away, he heard a low mumble. It was the last thing he remembered.

  Sé slowly came to. His head felt like hell. His thoughts were disordered. The ground was spinning underneath him and nothing looked familiar. He didn’t know where he was or what he had been doing. Slowly, he pieced together his last memory. He had been on his way to the department to see how things were going there. He had just been about to get on his bike when he had heard somebody saying something under his breath.

  He tried to open his eyes but it hurt so he did it slowly. The room was dirty, an abandoned building. The windows were broken out of their casing and there were leaves and fast food wrappers on the floor. He was cold so he
must have been there a while. He realized his hands and feet were bound. Finally he was able to open his eyes fully and look all around.

  “Oh good, you’re awake. We can play now,” Caleb said.

  “Fuck you,” Sé croaked. His throat was very dry. Caleb must have knocked him out magickally and brought him here, wherever here was. Sé cursed. He had given Caleb the worst kind of leverage.

  “Now, now, you’re not playing nicely.” Caleb sent a spell at him that made him feel like a bolt of electricity was flowing through him. Sé gasped for breath as his body writhed on the ground. He panted when the spell abated, drenched in sweat.

  “That’s better. Maybe you can learn some respect after all.”

  “I doubt it,” Sé said, through gritted teeth. The pain still resonated through his body.

  “Somehow I thought you’d say that,” Caleb said. “That’s okay. I prefer to take a hands-on approach when I teach. See this is how it’s going to work. I play with you until my dear little sister comes to fetch you. Then I strip her of her powers and kill you both. A two-for-one deal. I have to leave you alive until she gets here because I don’t know if she’ll be tracking you or me, but I can play with you a lot and still keep you alive.” Caleb chuckled.

  “Chicken shit. Have to have me bound up like this.”

  Caleb took a knife out and quick as a thought, he made a slice across Sé’s leg. Sé grunted in pain, not giving Caleb the satisfaction of crying out. He felt the blood oozing down his leg, hot and wet.

  “Big brave detective. That’s okay. We’ve only just begun,” Caleb sang. Sé knew Caleb was insane. Panic rose inside of him, somehow he worried that Thorn would know what was happening. He would distract Caleb. He had a few of his own mind games – if Caleb was angry enough, he’d be more vulnerable to Thorn. Sé’s greatest fear was having this sociopath get control of Thorn. He had no idea how long he had been unconscious or how long it would take Thorn to find them. He prayed she wouldn’t. He would gladly die, if it kept her safe from facing this lunatic. Oh God, Thorn. Please be all right. It was all he could think about.

  Caleb came over to Sé, looking at him like he was trying to puzzle out what Sé was thinking. He took the knife and made a long cut across his belly. Sé grimaced, refusing to make a sound. Caleb then took both hands and started choking Sé. He’d choke him until he’d almost black out and let him get some air and then go back to choking him. He did this a few times until he got bored. Then went back to slicing him up.

  Sé lost track of time. He thought of Thorn and how peaceful she looked when he left her. His thoughts of her kept him focused. Caleb got no satisfaction.

  A loud booming noise echoed through the building and Caleb jumped to his feet. “Looks like little sister has come to fetch you after all, Detective.”

  “Oh God, no…” Sé whispered.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  I call upon an ancient power. I invoke thee in this hour. Cast a white net far and near, for the protection needed here.

  Thorn woke up in pain. The physical results of her encounter with Agent Simms punched her as she rolled over slowly and got to her feet. She stretched tentatively, testing each muscle for damage. She decided it was going to be a long day but she could function. She stepped into the shower wondering where Sé was. She reached for the connection they’d forged in the past days and knew something was wrong. Then she saw Sé’s note and reached for the cell phone she’d bought for talking to Uncle. She searched her backpack for his card and dialed. There was no answer. Not trusting her dialing, she did it again with the same result. She rushed through dressing, and tried again. Same results.

  “Raven, I can’t reach Sé, come with me.” She left the apartment with the big bird swooping at her side. When she saw Sé’s bike parked beside hers. Her stomach dropped. She ran back to his apartment and grabbed the clothes he had worn the day before. She cast a circle and sat in the middle and started scrying, focusing on Sé. She couldn’t find him. Caleb must be cloaking him, the bastard. She took her athame and pricked her finger. She rubbed it into Sé’s clothing and said an incantation over it. All of a sudden, she was awash with pain, Sé’s pain. She doubled over with it, taking it in, sharing it.

  She knew where he was now. She broke her circle and raced to her bike. Raven flew to her side.

  “You’re not leaving without me, witchling.”

  “It’s Caleb, Raven. I didn’t want to speak for you. You know how dangerous it will be.”

  “I can take care of myself. We’re a team. Let’s go.”

  “He’s in an old warehouse in Oakland. Follow me, stay close.” She flipped the throttle and thumbed the ignition key. She took to the streets and flew down Hollis to the freeway towards Berkeley and the abandoned warehouse where she knew she’d find Sé. She took chances, weaving full speed through the slow traffic bottlenecking the freeway, just before the on-ramps at University, her speed earning herself harried looks from drivers. Her injured hand was clumsy and her ribs ached. Raven followed high above. When they got to the warehouse, she doubled over, feeling the intensity of Sé’s agony. She called up her courage and forced herself upright. Her chin came up. She shook her hair back and rode up to the padlocked door. She aimed a spell at them and blasted them aside. The time for stealth was gone.

  She thundered into the interior of the building to the central loading area. She blasted that door too. “Come out, Caleb. What are you doing hiding in there? Afraid of your little sister?”

  Caleb’s mad laughter echoed in the empty halls. He sauntered into the warehouse. Thorn set her protection spell in place. Caleb hit her with a percussion spell and it dissolved harmlessly.

  “No fair, Thorn, I thought you wanted to fight but you’re just still hiding. But that’s what you do, Thorn. Don’t you?” he taunted her as he moved in the shadows. “You run, you hide.” Raven’s superior eyesight allowed him to follow the male witch. He sent Thorn telepathic messages. Caleb was trying to flank her. Thorn had dismounted. Thanks to Raven, perched above them, she was able to turn, following Caleb’s movement, though she couldn’t see him.

  “You confuse hiding with surviving, brother.”

  “You will never survive. Give yourself up and I will make it painless, at least.”

  “Mamó would never go down without a fight.”

  The realization of what she had done dawned on him. He screamed.

  “Noooo! She owed me! She should have taken me in, I am oldest. She should have taught me. Instead, she protected you from me. Precious little Thorn, well fuck you, Thorn!” Caleb started throwing spell after spell at her and at Raven. Raven dived, his sharp beak pecked at Caleb’s head and swooped, away dodging the fireworks Caleb was creating. His attacks hurt and distracted Caleb. Thorn’s shield weakened under the onslaught. The shields would hold for a few more seconds.

  Thorn changed tactics and tried her spell for a return of three. She released her shield of protection and was hit with a burning spell. She felt herself burning from the inside out. She screamed. Her concentration broke. She drew the counter curse from Raven’s mind. She said it and felt a jolt of energy wrench through her, sending her to her knees.

  From her knees she whispered her return of three spell, gasping the words. She knew if she didn’t finish, it would be for nothing. Caleb would continue beating her down until she was unconscious and then strip her powers and kill her. Then Sé. She felt Muirin’s powers twine with hers as she pulled from her deepest reserves. The ward went up and flooded the air around her.

  Caleb thrust another spell at her. It reverberated against her circle and sailed back at him instantly. He howled, dropped to his knees, then fell to the floor. He writhed on the ground. His eyes bulged, he was sucking air but none reached his lungs. She saw his muscles swell and contract. Somehow, he summoned power and threw another spell at her, only to have it revisited on him again. This time he burst into flame. He created a jet of water to douse himself. It was a weak stream that steamed as it
hit him. He was singed, the skin of his face shiny pink and blistered. His clothes smoked and the room stank of burnt hair. But he had figured out what she’d been doing. She was in trouble now.

  Before he could gather himself, she chanted her new immobilizing spell. She gathered Muirin’s power into it. A wind blew her hair around her head in a nimbus of shadow as the spell built. She tingled in every cell before she pushed it at Caleb, knocking him down. As soon as he was down, Thorn was on him, chanting her binding spell.

  I bind you, Caleb, I bind you twice, I bind you thrice. I bind you from doing harm to person, place or thing. Do no harm. I bind you. So mote it be.

  She stepped away from Caleb and left him immobile on the floor. She staggered into the room where Sé was. Raven flew ahead of her. Sé’s eyes were open. They flooded with relief when he saw her. She took Caleb’s athame and sliced the bonds on Sé’s wrists and ankles. Sé flinched. His shredded clothes and blood told her he would be living with Caleb’s torture beyond the time it took to heal the physical wounds.

  She rubbed his hands and ankles to get the blood flowing. Sé cried out as the feeling returned. Thorn kissed him over and over. Once Sé could walk, they made their way to Caleb. Sé looked down at the murderer, wanting to kick his ribs in. Caleb remained motionless, helpless, and that forced Sé to turn away. He reached into the back pocket of his jeans for his cell. He grunted when he flipped it open and there was a signal. Scettico answered on the first ring.

  “This is Sé. I’ve got the bastard.” He asked Thorn for the address and then gave it to Scettico. “We’ll be here but hurry.”

  Sé’s knees buckled abruptly. Thorn sat with him, holding him, weaving healing comfort in a net around him. Raven landed on her shoulder, while Sé leaned on her other side.

  “I love you, Sé,” she whispered, tears running down her cheeks. “You’re alive. I’m so sorry you were hurt because you loved me.”