by Jane Tara
“Hello, Brigid.”
Chapter 42
Brigid was not prepared for this. She should’ve been. She didn’t need to be psychic to know it was inevitable, especially now that Rhi’s path had crossed with Crystal’s. They were bound to meet again.
At first, Crystal’s appearance shocked her. She’d aged, of course, but she’d done nothing obvious to delay the march of time. No cosmetic work. No dermas and fillers. And she’d certainly piled on the pounds. But then, in a second, more careful look at the woman she’d once been so close to, Brigid saw the vivacity on her face. Years of laughter and lust for life, something she occasionally searched her own face for in the mirror. She’d accidentally erased all that. Or her dermatologist had. If it had ever been there to begin with.
Crystal was wearing black pants, a gray blouse and a beautifully cut black-and-white patterned jacket over the top, but still her ample cleavage threatened to spill. Lucky thing. Brigid had had to buy her breasts. Crystal’s hair looked messed up, in a delightful way. Mostly, Crystal still looked like she’d just tumbled out of bed after a marathon shag. So despite, or perhaps because of, the ample curves and laughter lines, Crystal looked sexier now than she had at twenty-five, and she’d been a showstopper then.
Brigid was immediately envious.
“You look fabulous, Brigid.”
“I look like every other woman over fifty who visits Dr Godfrey.” Brigid waited for Crystal to say something. She didn’t. Brigid was grateful that Lugh was out for the day. Whatever this was about, she didn’t want him to know. “You had best come in,” she finally said.
Brigid led Crystal through the entrance and along the hall. She glanced around at her home, wondering what Crystal thought of the understated antiques, or the living room she’d just had decorated in whites and neutral shades. The fireplace, the curtains, the walls, everything was a brilliant white. The sofas were a delicious taupe, apart from one oversized chair covered in animal print fabric.
Brigid watched Crystal for a reaction, but there wasn’t one. Even now she couldn’t impress Crystal. She didn’t even seem to notice the brass pentacles on the light fittings or the foot-high statue of the Goddess Brigid carved from marble in the corner.
Brigid led Crystal over to the bay windows and two French Rococo chairs, with a small table in between. She could watch for Lugh coming home from here.
“Would you like some tea? Or water?”
Crystal shook her head. “I won’t take up too much of your time.”
Thanks Goddess for that, thought Brigid.
Crystal appeared to be nervous. She stared out the window at the street below. “Rhi is lovely.”
“I’m aware of that. She’s my daughter.”
Crystal perked up a bit. “Are you going to be a bitch?”
“It seems to be my natural state of late.”
“Of late?” Crystal sniffed.
“Listen, Crystal, you’re in my house, taking up my time, so get to it.”
“Firstly, Rhi is happy up there. She’s made good friends and she’s worked her butt off to renovate that theater.”
Despite herself, Brigid felt a surge of pride. “That’s nice but it’s not her home.”
“It is now. And she gets to make that decision, not you. You cut her money off and outed her as a witch, and still she’s soldiered on and made something of her life up there.”
“Thanks for the update on my daughter.”
“She’s in love, you know,” Crystal said. “With Kip’s son.”
“You can’t be serious. Please tell me he’s not an alley cat like his father?”
“Imagine all Kip’s decent qualities and none of the ego or vanity.”
“You didn’t come here to tell me about my daughter’s love life.”
“No…I came to talk about Kip,” Crystal said.
Brigid was annoyed now. “Crystal, get over it. It all happened so long ago. I’ve moved on.”
“So have I—but Kip hasn’t. He’s haunting the theater.”
Brigid felt the room tilt off balance. “He’s haunting Rhiannon’s theater?”
“Yes.”
“You’ve seen him.”
“Yes.”
“Has Rhi?”
“Yes.”
Brigid spoke in controlled but very icy tones. “Does she know?”
“She knows nothing.”
“Oh, come on. Surely you’ve told her about us.”
“No.”
This shocked Brigid. “You haven’t?’
“I knew you wouldn’t want me to.”
“You knew, did you? Like you know me now.”
“I believe I still do. Your desperate attempts to get her to leave Hamlet indicated how you felt about Rhi being near me. But mostly, people don’t change.”
“Kip has.”
“Not as much as you’d think.”
“So she knows nothing of us, or Kip?”
“She knows nothing of you and Kip. That’s your story to tell, Brigid, not mine. However, she does know about Kip and me. She’s friends with our daughter.”
Brigid didn’t say anything for the longest time. Memories surfaced, the late night banging on the door. Crystal on her doorstep, looking swollen, her eyes, her breasts.
*
“He’s dead, Brigid.” Crystal’s face was a mask of pure pain.
“Shhh, you’ll wake my boys.” Brigid didn’t let her in. Instead, she stepped onto the doorstep. “What’s going on?”
“Kip is dead.”
Brigid felt it like a kick to the guts. The breath was knocked from her body.
“The stage ceiling collapsed on him. He’s gone.”
Brigid actually took Crystal into her arms then, for what else could she do? But she didn’t shed a tear herself. She was afraid that if she did, she’d never stop.
Finally, Crystal drew breath. “I thought you should know.”
“Thank you. Yes.” Brigid looked at Crystal’s bust, more swollen than ever. “Crystal, are you…?
“Am I?”
Brigid realized she couldn’t bear the answer she knew she’d get. So instead she said, “Are you going to be okay?”
“I’m going to try.” Crystal turned and disappeared down the street.
*
“Yes, I suspected you were pregnant that night you came to tell me he’d died. What’s her name?”
“Tye.”
Brigid’s face remained composed, but she’d be lying if she said this information didn’t hurt. She’d loved Kip. She’d known from the very start that he wasn’t hers, but the heart wants what it wants. She turned and stared out the window.
“Why are you here?”
“Kip was killed before he got to the end of Hamlet.”
“I know.”
“Rhi is in rehearsals with him right now, to finish the play. She’s cast some Wiccan actors and they’re performing Hamlet to an audience of psychics, so Kip can finish the play and cross over.”
“I’d be very careful about who else you relay that information to. People get locked up for less.”
“You obviously haven’t received an invitation.”
Brigid wasn’t going to let Crystal know that Lugh had mentioned an invitation to Rhi’s opening night, but that she’d taken no notice because she had no intention of going. “I’m busy at the moment. I don’t have time to be traipsing all the way up there.”
“Surely you want Rhi to succeed?”
“Of course I do.”
“Well, her first play will bomb. He won’t cross over. None of this will work. He’s not trapped there because he didn’t get to finish the play. He’s trapped there because of us.”
“Us? There is no us.”
“You cursed him.”
Brigid glanced at the door and then the street below the window, afraid someone would overhear. “We’ve talked about this. Years ago. Why are you bringing it up again?”
Crystal’s eyes welled up with tears. “Becaus
e I didn’t tell him.”
The color rose in Brigid’s face. “You continued to let him believe I cursed him?”
“Yes. I didn’t want him going back to you. When he was afraid of you, he needed me.”
“Kip died thinking I cursed him?” Her voice grew louder.
“I’m sorry, Brigid.”
Brigid stood, towering over Crystal. “Get out of my house.”
Crystal didn’t move. “All I ask is that you come and talk to him. He needs to hear it from you. Tell him the truth.”
“I told you the truth that night, even though I knew it could be the end of everything I’d worked for.”
“I’ve never told a living soul. Ever.”
“You were meant to tell one. Him.” Brigid was furious. “You cursed him more than I did. You have his blood on your hands, not me.”
Crystal grabbed her purse and walked quickly from the house without uttering another word.
It was only after she’d slammed the door on her that Brigid fell to her knees and finally cried for Kip.
*
Outside on the pavement, Crystal was doubled over. She couldn’t breathe. Oh Goddess, don’t let her die here, on Brigid’s doorstep. Even though she knew she deserved to. Brigid was right. She had Kip’s blood on her hands.
“Are you okay?”
Crystal looked up into the face of Taran’s brother. She knew it was him, not only because they were identical in all but coloring, but also because she recognized him from the dozens of drawings Tye had made of him over the years.
“I live in Hamlet,” she managed to say.
“You know Rhi?”
“I do. And Taran.” She drew strength from his kind eyes. “You need to go to Hamlet immediately. My daughter has been dreaming of you her whole life.”
Finn didn’t question her. He didn’t falter. He simply said, “Would you like a lift home? I could do with the company on the drive up there.”
Chapter 43
Crystal watched the full moon rise over Connecticut from the passenger seat window in Finn’s car. They were already firm friends.
“You don’t have to stop for anything? Clothes, a toothbrush?” Crystal had asked.
“I have a bag in the trunk.”
“Are you always that prepared?”
“I was on the way to Hamlet tonight anyway. Rhi asked me to help with the show tomorrow. I was just dropping by to see if Dad wanted a lift. I entered through the poor door, as Mom always calls it.”
Crystal had no idea what he meant.
“The house was built with a maid’s entrance,” Finn explained. “It’s rarely used now, but we kids used it when we were teens. Anyway, it was the only key I had on me, so I let myself in and overheard you and Mom.”
Crystal put her hands to her face. “Brigid will be so furious with me.”
“Not to mention how Kip will feel.”
Crystal’s chest felt tight again. “I’ve made such a mess of things.”
Finn laughed, glanced at her and then returned his gaze to the road. “We’ve always known about Mom. Do you think my father wouldn’t quickly realize that she was a powerless witch? But he loves her so much that he’s always let her think he has no idea. He covers for her when they work. Taran also picked it up years ago, and so my father sat us both down, told us the truth, and said if we ever let on to Mom, he’d skin us alive.”
“She has no idea.”
“Not that I’m aware of.”
“Does Rhi know about her?”
“I don’t think so.”
“If this got out…if the press caught wind of it…”
“I know. She’d be ruined. But the only people who know care about her enough to never say a word.”
Crystal knew that was true. She’d watched Brigid’s rise to fame and although she knew she held knowledge that could bring her down, she’d never considered it, not even for a moment. She was pleased Brigid had got what she’d so desperately wanted. All their history, all the heartache…and Crystal had never wanted anything but good things for her. “So you heard everything?”
“Enough. And Rhi had told me a few things about this Kip guy. I’ve pieced together enough to know what’s going on in Hamlet,” Finn said. “Can I ask why you didn’t tell him about the curse?”
Crystal stared out the window. “I guess I loved him too much.”
*
“Kip says you cursed him when you found out about Collette.”
Brigid slammed the door shut so her new boyfriend Lugh couldn’t hear them.
“So what if I did?”
“Then you need to lift it. He’s obsessed with the idea that he’s going to die, and he has a baby now.”
Brigid was distressed. She paced the room. “He actually thinks I cursed him? That I would do that?”
“He does.”
“You say it’s affecting him? How?”
“He’s depressed. He’s fearful. He’s thinking he should give Tad back to Collette, in case something happens to him.”
“Oh for fuck’s sake!” Brigid placed her hand on her flat stomach. “I’m pregnant. Twins apparently.”
“To Lugh?”
“Of course to Lugh.”
“Congratulations. I didn’t think he was your type.” Crystal couldn’t help herself. She’d always had foot in mouth.
“I was wrong. We’ve got our radio show and a new magazine column and Lugh is in talks for a book deal for us both.”
Crystal smiled. “Then he is your type.”
Brigid glanced at the door. “I’m telling you all this so you know that I’ve got a new life. It’s the one I’ve always wanted.”
“I’m pleased for you, Brigid.” She actually was. Although she had no idea what this all had to do with Kip.
“I didn’t curse him.”
“Then why does he say you did?”
“I pretended to. I went through the theatrics. I shrieked and pointed and summoned different demons.”
“Brigid, that sounds like a curse to me. And it shows. He’s scared.”
Brigid moved toward Crystal. “I’m going to tell you something now that could ruin everything I’m working for. I need to trust you.”
“I think I’ve shown I’m trustworthy.”
“Share this information with Kip, the best way you know how, but then I ask that you never utter it to another living soul.”
“You have my word.”
“Ever! I’m serious.”
“I hear you.”
“And after tonight, stay away from me. I don’t want to be reminded that you know this.”
“Know what?”
Brigid stepped forward and whispered. “I can’t curse.”
“Why not?”
“I have no magic.”
Crystal’s eyes bulged. “You’re a powerless witch?”
“Don’t you fucking tell anyone.”
“I said I wouldn’t.”
“It’s why I left London. My parents kept it a secret but I could always see the disappointment in their eyes. My lineage is virtually royal in the witch world.”
“I know.” It was Crystal’s turn to glance at the door. “Does Lugh know?”
“Absolutely not. No one but my parents and now you. Lugh is powerful enough for both of us, and I’m good enough at faking it. But…there is no way I can curse someone.” Brigid’s eyes narrowed. “And if you ever tell another living soul apart from Kip, I’ll learn to curse.”
“Why tell me? Is it because you’re pregnant? You feel for him?” Crystal was surprised by Brigid’s compassion.
“No, you naïve idiot. It’s because I’m in love with him. Probably always will be.”
Crystal decided Kip didn’t need to know anything of her visit to Brigid.
*
“I was so insecure. So worried he’d go back to Brigid. I wanted him to need me…” Crystal felt weary. “It sounds pathetic to me now, but I was so young.”
Finn reached out and gave her h
and a squeeze. “You weren’t to know he was going to die. And he didn’t die because of that. Two separate things. A bit of bad luck really.”
“But he’s been stuck for thirty years because of it. Just thinking he’s been cursed was enough to trap him.” Her voice wavered. “I’m so ashamed.”
“Everyone makes mistakes, Crystal. Just think…you have the opportunity to fix this one.”
“True. I hadn’t thought about it like that.” She smiled at him. “I’m very pleased I ran into you today. So are you going to be in the audience?”
“Rhi has asked me to do sound. Should be an interesting gig.”
“She said it’ll be a full house.”
“It’ll be like the New York Psychic Fair.” Finn gave Crystal a cheeky smile. “So is your daughter attractive?”
“I feel like a marriage broker. I’ll give her to you for four camels.”
“She must be attractive. I’ve never paid four camels for a woman before.”
Crystal let out a husky laugh. She liked Finn. He had a good heart and a good sense of humor. What more could one ask for? Oh and those looks. While Taran was sex-on-a-stick, Finn was gloriously golden. He had all of Taran’s features, but on Finn they looked like the boy next door. He was approachable. Not that she disliked Taran—she liked him a lot based on the few times she’d met him, but he was a predator while his twin was a loyal pup.
Finn pointed to a sign for Hamlet. “Not long to go.”
Crystal curled up on her seat and decided to enjoy these last miles with Finn. She wasn’t looking forward to facing Kip. “Drive slowly,” she said to Finn. “I’m in no rush.”
Chapter 44
Tye used Rhi’s key to open the backstage door. She was so nervous her hands were shaking. She shone the torch into back of house to get her bearings, and then walked over to the backstage lights and switched them on. It was so quiet she could hear a pin drop. The place smelled of fresh paint, and looked shiny and clean, but still there was an eerie air to the place, being there alone.
“Hello? Kip?”