“Are you ready?” I asked, as nicely as possible. He started for the door, but took one last look at his home. “Yep, I think I’ll have everything I will need.”
“You do know you won’t be gone too long, right?” Connor stepped into the grass in front of Eli’s home as he spoke.
“You never know,” was Eli’s response. Connor made a face and created a circle around us with salt, he’d carried here for this reason. We all sat down and closed our eyes. I felt my stomach to a flip flop as the energy around us started to shift.
When I opened my eyes, I saw the wall of The Oracle’s home. I took a deep breath and glanced around myself. Connor was already standing and Eli was sitting quietly beside me. He met my eyes and smiled.
“That’s not so bad, is it?” He said, standing and putting his hands out to me to help me up. I took them, much to Connor’s dismay.
The Oracle was sitting in a chair at the far side of the room. I noticed her out of the corner of my eye. She didn’t say anything, but she seemed pleased we’d made it back alright.
“How long were we gone?” I was curious. “You were gone for three nights. I wondered if you would make it back in one piece. The Fae are good for the most part, but there are always ones that look for a bounty.”
“They can’t come here, can they?” I suddenly felt a chill up my spine.
“That I don’t know, but they haven’t been in this world recently.” There was something in her eyes that made me worry. I didn’t want to think about another supernatural being coming after me, especially one I didn’t understand.
“We’ll take him back to the house,” Connor said and turned to the Oracle. “Thank you for helping us.” She smiled and patted him on the back. Her expression instantly changed when her hand touched him. It twisted to something dark and scary. I took a step back, running into Eli. When Connor walked past her, she glanced at me. There was a warning in her eyes. Something I needed to know, but couldn’t figure out.
She took a step away, as though she knew I was afraid to walk past her. I felt Eli’s hand on my shoulder and felt better, but there was something for sure, I needed to know. Now whether Connor would tell me what it was, was a different story.
*** It wasn’t long before we were back at Connor’s home. I still had a hard time calling it my own. Seemed he only kept it because he was waiting for his sister to come back. We both knew the truth. She never would.
“There’s an extra room upstairs you can stay in,” Connor said, motioning up the stairs. Eli smiled, but didn’t say anything. When Connor glanced at him, he took the hint and headed up the stairs with his bag in tow.
“What’s up with that guy?”
“He’s just in a strange place. Give him a chance,” I said. It wasn’t really an answer, but it felt like the right thing to say.
“Hopefully he won’t be staying long.” I closed the door behind me and pulled a chair up to the kitchen table. Connor was busy charging a crystal to help protect the door and I just started to let my mind wander.
I thought about everything we’d been though. Connor saved me from the person I thought was my friend. He helped me to understand who I was, but a part of me wondered where that same man went. He was so consumed with bringing the sister he lost back into his life, he was ignoring the one life in front of him. He was letting me slip away, even though I wanted to be with him. I was scared for him and what he was doing. A random thought popped into my mind. One I never considered until he became so obsessed with bringing his sister back. What if he was dipping into the dark side of magic? What if that was what the Oracle felt when she touched him? I sighed and pushed the thought away. He couldn’t do that, not my Connor. Not the man I loved. I refused to believe it.
“I’m almost done with this, but you don’t have to stay up and watch me,” Connor said, bringing me out of my thoughts. “You’re probably tired. Why don’t you just go to bed.”
I was tired and sleep sounded so good to me. “Will you be up soon?” “In a little while. Don’t worry about me. I’m a big boy. I can take care of myself.” His voice was a little colder than normal and I could feel the alarms going off inside my gut, but I didn’t know why exactly.
I pulled myself up the stairs and practically fell into bed. Sleep came over me almost instantly and pulled me into my dreams.
I heard somewhere in the distance a door opening and hitting the opposite wall. I thought I opened my eyes, but it wasn’t Connor I saw. It was Eli.
He held his finger to his lips to keep me from asking questions. That was exactly what I wanted to do, too. I wanted to yell at him for being in my room at this time of night. That was until I heard the commotion downstairs.
My first thoughts were of Connor and what could be happening to him. I loved him and didn't want to lose him, even if we were not totally put together as we should be.
Eli grabbed my arm and pulled me away from the door. “You can't go out there,” he said. “Why?” I protested almost too loudly.
“It's not safe.”
I thought about his words for a moment. Had Eric found us? I swallowed hard and nodded back to Eli. If Connor was downstairs, he would be already captured. There was nothing I could really do for him.
“What do we do?” I asked Eli.
“I thought you were protecting me?” I sighed and pulled him from the bedroom door. The intruders were banging loudly on the wood, trying to find a way to break it down. I knew deep down we didn't have much time. I'd have to use a travel potion to get out of the house.
“When Connor and I first met he told me to keep one of these with me at all times. You never know when you may need it,” I said rolling the bottle in my hand.
Eli glanced down at it and then at me. “You don't need magic to use one of those. It's in the potion already.”
I threw it down and thought about my father. My hand slid around Eli's as I thought of my dad and getting to him no matter where he was. When I opened them, I was standing in a living room, with my adopted dad staring up at me from his favorite recliner. Somehow he had managed to get it before all hell broke lose with Eric.
His dark eyes met mine and then slid to Eli and back to me. “Lucy, you sure know how to make an entrance.”
Five
We sat down on the couch across the room from my dad. He just seemed to keep looking at Eli for some reason. A part of me knew there was something he wasn't telling me, but I couldn't figure it out.
“This is the Half blood the Oracle was talking about?” He didn't look at me as he spoke, only to Eli. “I guess. We need someplace to stay where Eric won't find us,” I said, trying to get my dad's attention back to me.
“You can't stay here. This will be the first place they look and if I go with you, They'll know you were here,” he said, finally meeting my eyes.
“The last time you stayed behind, you almost died. I don't think I like that idea. Plus I don't know where to go or anything.”
“You can do this.” He put his hand on my arm and walked past me to the kitchen. “What aren't you telling me?” I was tired of not knowing what was going on. It started with my birth and now there was clearly something else going on with Eli.
“I can't talk about it.”
“It's about Eli, isn't it?”
“You need to keep him safe and away from Eric. It's not just his magic he's after.” He turned and walked away from me back into the living area. I was getting tired of games, but if my father tells me someone is important, then he had to be. I just wished I knew what it was all about.
“You can hide out in the Bluffs again. There is an old commune not far from here. It's deep into the Bluffs, but it's also magically protected. Eli should be able to sense it.” My father shoved some canned foods into a bag and pushed it at me. I hadn't seen him grab any of it from the kitchen, but that was the only way it could have gotten there.
“What about you?” was all I could get out. “I'll be fine. Eric thinks he's got lots of magic pr
otecting him, but you have to remember, he has none of his own anymore.” He smiled and pushed us towards the back door. “Be careful and take care of each other.” He glanced at me and could see the sadness in my eyes. “Don't worry about Connor. He's a cunning kid and I bet he can get though anything Eric could throw at him.”
“I hope so,” I whispered. A part of me felt that he would be okay, but there was still that nagging feeling I'd gotten at the Oracle's place. The feeling that something was way off with Connor.
I remembered the layout of the Bluffs area well. When I was a kid, I'd played in the trees and followed the many paths through the area, but finding this place was proving to be a lot harder than I thought it would.
“I think it's this way,” I said, looking at a fork in the path we were on. Eli just watched me and then smiled and pointed to the other path.
“It's harder when you don't have magic on your side anymore.” He took a step in front of me.
“I don't need magic to live my life.” “No, there are a lot of people in the world who just watch it go by. They never realize what there is underneath. They don't feel the pulse of the earth or the air talking to them, but people like us do.” He smiled as he glanced around us.
“You mean people like you. I don't have magic anymore.” A part of me was upset that I'd given up my gifts. I never even got a chance to use them before I chose to give them away.
“No, but you gave it up for a good reason. When you do something like that, the normal rules don't always apply.” He stopped suddenly almost making me run into him. “It's not far now. Just behind that treeline, I think.”
I didn't say anymore, but kind of followed him as he walked. I thought about everything. Not even a couple months ago I was normal. I was in college and I was just Lucy. There were no dark witches coming to get me and I didn't have nightmares I didn't understand. Sure, the nightmares were gone, but so was any idea of ever being normal. Even when I didn't have magic, people still hunted me and wanted to kill me. I can't even have a normal relationship with my boyfriend. How had life gotten so complicated?
Lost in my thoughts, I didn't even notice when we stepped through the bubble around the commune until Eli said something.
“This is it.” He turned and glanced at me. “Are you worried about him?” I shook myself out of my thoughts and smiled at Eli. “No, I know Connor will be okay. He wouldn't want me to get myself into trouble. We still need to keep you out of Eric's reach for a few days longer.”
“Not just me,” he said holding my gaze. “What does that mean?”
“You are Eric's daughter. He probably wants you too.” “I betrayed him in his mind. As far as he's concerned, I'm as big a problem as my adopted father.” I walked past him towards the large building. The look of it made me smile. Something about this place felt right. It felt like home.
An old wood barn had been turned into the main part of the building and repainted a few times over the years. It also had a clear path around the building where others did protection spells on it. Even without my magic, I knew this place held a lot of power and the witches that once lived and met here, were more powerful than anyone I'd ever met.
“This was the old meeting place. My mother used to talk about it,” Eli said, walking up behind me. “Tell me about it.” He grabbed my hand and pulled me through the big wood double doors and into the main part of the building. It took a minute for my eyes to adjust to the dark, but when they did all I saw were hundreds of crystal hanging from the ceiling. It was a sight that took my breath away.
“This was where the magic took place. The crystals magnify energy and make the spells work better,” Eli said, pointing at the ceiling.
“I remember Connor telling me about crystals and some of what they can do.” I made a face and felt my heart ache. I couldn't help but wonder if he really was okay. It was easy to say he would be, but knowing it was a little different.
Eli glanced at me and then reached up and pulled a crystal from the ceiling. He took the two steps it took to reach me and tied the crystal around my neck.
“This one is special,” he said with a smile. “What does that mean?”
“It was my fathers. He gave it to my mother before I was born. She brought it back here when he died and put it with the others. It carries not just my fathers magic, but the magic of the Fae as well.”
I put my hand on the clear gem and smiled. I could feel the tingle of magic inside it. This was truly something powerful, even without my magic, I knew that much.
“Thank you.”
He didn't say anything, but took a step back and looked back to the ceiling. “This is a good place to be.” “Do you think Eric will look for this place?” I suddenly felt a pit in my stomach.
“I don't know,” Eli said, not looking at me. “But if he does and finds it, we may not be able to stop him.” I swallowed hard. Great.
*** It didn't take long for me to fall asleep. This had been a rough couple of days and it seemed to only be getting rougher. Sleep brought with it, its own set of problems.
I glanced down to see my bare feet standing in the wet grass. I was alone and in the middle of the clearing. We were right in front of the commune and I could feel the magic in the air. Something was happening.
I took a few steps until I was at the big wood door to go inside, but a part of me didn't want to go in. A part of me knew it would be trouble. I took a deep breath and opened the door only a few inches. My eyes focused on the group inside. They were dressed in red robes. I couldn't see their faces, but I knew they were not good people.
When I got closer, I could see the crystals glowing a peculiar shade of light blue. They were working with the magic the group was raising. I strained my ears to hear what they were saying, but nothing would come to me. I focused on them, trying to see their faces. Only one would come clearly.
Connor.
Six
I sat up in bed and grabbed at my heart. It was beating fast and hard. I felt a little bit of stabbing pain and gasped for breath. The door to the little room upstairs burst open and Eli ran in. He looked concerned and unsure all at the same time.
“What's wrong?” He said, sternly.
I opened my mouth to answer, but the pain in my heart seemed to get worse. “Breath. It's your magic trying to break though,” Eli said holding my face in his hands. I tried to hang onto what he said, but my magic was gone. I'd given it up when I bound Eric, my birth father from his.
My vision cleared and the pain in my chest eased up. I felt like I could breath again and looked around. “You're alright.” He seemed to notice I was calming down, but didn't let go of my face. “You have a strong will and your magic will too. It's part of your personality.” He smiled and pulled his hands away.
“The magic is gone from me. I did it of my own free will. How can it just come back?” I whispered. “You're in a powerful place and it knows you need it.” He didn't stand, but stayed back a little. “What did you dream about?”
My gaze shot up to him. “I don't know. It was confusing.” “Where where you?”
“Here in this place. I think Eric finds it.” I didn't feel like saying anything about Connor. I didn't want to believe he could be with them and I didn't know if it was of his own will either.
“Is there anything else you want to tell me?” He asked, not taking his eyes off of me. I shook my head. “Maybe I should take this thing off.” I pulled at the crystal around my neck. Eli held his hand up and stopped me.
“You need that more than you realize right now.” I took a breath and laid back. He still didn't move from his place by my bed. I thought about Eric and this place and what he was planning. If he found us and took this land, he could not only get his magic back, but he could also do things no one is prepared for and nothing would be able to stop him.
Seven
I stepped out into the cool morning air. It smelled different than the air in town. It smelled clean and pure. A part of me wished I could jus
t fade into it. The smell of bacon and eggs drew me back to the house.
“I didn't know what you liked,” Eli said putting a plate on the picnic table in front of the building. “This is great. Thank you.” I smiled and started to eat. This made me feel normal. It made me feel like I wasn't in the middle of a huge mess. I was supposed to protect Eli, but how was I supposed to stop Eric and his people. They were everywhere and had more magic than I could imagine and they had the one person that would have been able to protect both Eli and myself, Connor.
“What are you thinking about?” Eli asked sitting in front of me eating his own plate of food.
“It's just so much to deal with.” I didn't meet his eyes. “You know, I'm not as helpless as everyone seems to think I am. I have my own brand of magic” He smiled and took another bite. I took a breath, but didn't say anything. “I have faith. Maybe you should have a little too.”
I stared into the forest behind the building, trying to focus on anything, but what came to me was not what I wanted.
***
The sky was dark. I was standing in front of the home my birth parents had taken me to once before. I stepped inside and glanced at the fireplace in the living area. It was lit and burning brightly. The same books I'd once looked through lined the wall. I took a breath and listened.
“They can't run far,” a voice said, causing me to turn around abruptly. It was Eric. He was standing in the living area talking to someone I couldn't see just yet. He was leaning on the fireplace mantel. “Do you have any idea where they may have gone?”
“No, not yet. They will still be unprepared. Lucy has no magic so she's nothing really to worry about anymore,” the voice said. “Eli is the one to fear. He has a different kind of magic”
“And that's why he's so important. We only have a couple more days until the New Moon. We have to have the halfling by then.” Eric turned and the image cleared. I could see who he was talking to and my heart fell.
“Once this is over, I get my sister back and we are done,” Connor said turning to him. “You just have to leave Lucy out of it.”
The 13th Witch Complete Trilogy Page 9