Grey and I stepped inside. The place smelled of fresh paint and sawdust. I could also smell the newly packed dirt and sod out back. My Elementals appeared and headed in front of us to the garden to check it out.
They seem excited.
"Yeah. They are. New earth, new plants, new everything." I flipped the back garden's lights on and stared at the completed work.
It was breathtaking. Crwys's new design was nicer than Ina's had been, with less weaving and not as much color, but the simplicity made everything more elegant. I unlocked the sliding door and stepped out onto the new cement patio. The house itself made a squared U-shape, with the left wing housing the bedrooms and the right wing Ina's old study and the private rooms. The center of the house had been where Ina taught her students in Witchcraft and built her coven. A coven that was now little more than ash floating about in Couturie Forest. They had been Ghouls. All of them. Created by the Leviathan inside of Ina. The coven had been a facade created to build a stationary Coyote Flame, a gateway to the Other Worlds.
Gone was the center circle of flowers arranged in Elemental colors. In its place was a simple, concrete sundial built into a stone and granite dais an inch above the grass. I walked out to it, still a bit freaked out and expecting the grass to erupt and spit zombies back out at me. On the dais were circles within circles, the increments of time marked off with Roman numerals. Zodiac signs also marked along one of the larger spheres, and along the edge, set into its correct place along the large circle, were the Hermetic symbols for the four Elements.
Everything looked in place. Except for a row of four shrubs in the back corner where Ina kept the old tool shed. The shed was gone and in its place were three box hollies. Odd. Where was the shed?
"Looks nice," Ivan said from behind me.
I jumped. Said a few words under my breath and turned to point at him. Dharma stood beside him and I stopped myself. I hadn't expected him to bring her. "Yeah," I said and lowered my hand. "Crwys did a good job with this."
"I think he actually asked Kyle to help him," Ivan looked around. "Where is he?"
"He's with Arden. Soon as Levi gets here, I need to fill you all in."
Ivan looked happy. He seemed to glow when he was around Dharma. Maybe Grey was right and she was good for him. Or maybe I'm just too over-protective.
I told you.
"Your Elementals look happy," Dharma nodded to them as they flitted about. Except for my Gnome. She was on her back on the fresh grass, her short arms and legs at her sides.
"Yeah they are. They say the place is clean. No more of what Ina did," I glanced at Dharma. "Look—"
"Don't start," Ivan said and held up a hand. "She's here because I asked her to be. She wants to help."
"I understand that. But do you understand why I'm hesitant?" I looked at both of them.
"I do," Dharma said. Her pink and blue hair glowed under the floodlights. "And it's okay. The only way you're going to trust me is if I prove myself. But if you want me to go, I will. This is your house."
I looked from her to Ivan and back again. Geez…I could see it in his eyes. Ivan is in love. I wondered if this was his first girlfriend. Yes, I worried about him. He's my responsibility. I took him in when his own family turned their backs. Though our ages were close, he felt like a younger brother.
Watching the two of them, Ivan and Dharma, made me miss Crwys even more. I wanted to feel his heat beside me, hear the sarcasm in his voice. All those things I found annoying, I missed in the pit of my stomach.
I didn't want Ivan to feel like this if he ever lost Dharma, or if she betrayed him. He depended on me for a lot of things, and I depended on him. "Fine," I looked past them to the house. "I wonder when Levi's going to get here."
"Is there a time crunch?" Dharma asked.
"To me there is," I looked at the two of them. "I'm gonna go ahead and tell you what we learned from Arden, and why Kyle stayed behind with her." With that I let them know everything I knew, with a few prompts from Grey to get the story right. And when I was done, Dharma had her hand to her lips and Ivan looked stricken.
"Is…is the curse going to kill her?" he asked.
"I don't know that much about it. She believes it will. And I sensed a mortality about her."
Dharma moved away from us to the center of the dais. "The Coyote Flame is still here."
"How? The bodies are all gone."
"The bodies weren't the important ingredients. Their deaths were. The door's still here on the Astral. This is also still a sacred space, believe it or not. It's why the Elementals feel good here," she raked her hand through her hair. "I think we should contact Tzariene now. With me here, you have a witness."
"A witness?" Ivan asked.
I nodded. "It's something highly recommended when Witches contact the Other Worlds. Having a Cleric present to assure the talks, or negotiations, go smoothly. A Cleric has to be an impartial observer. And Water is the great mediator, so Dharma's the perfect witness."
She put her hands on her hips. "There's just the three of us. You want to Call a Circle for the communication? I mean it's not like she can enter this world and survive."
"Yeah, I do. Because I just don't trust Faeries." Being an Elemental Witch, it was easier for me to cut and Call on my own because I had the support of the Elements. I asked them quietly if they would bear witness to a long distance call, so to speak. They all agreed and I clapped my hands. "Gonna have to improvise since I don't carry the accoutrements."
"It's all about the will to begin with," Dharma winked.
Okay, I might like her.
Might.
Grey moved to sit in the north. Ivan stood in the east. I planted myself in the south and Dharma in the west. I closed my eyes, quieted my mind and tuned into each of the Elementals. They, in turn, answered me and took their places around the Circle. I moved to the north, held up my hand, pulled down the moon and slammed the power into the Earth as I moved quickly around the Circle, cutting the line deosil, clockwise, as I laid the groundwork for a sacred event.
I had done this so many times in my youth. If there was one thing Ina had continued despite her no longer being human, it was my lessons in magic. She seemed to stress it. My practicing magic was as important as finishing homework.
As I came back to the north, I fused the two ends and heard the whoosh of the Circle sphere as it rotated deosil. My ears popped as the space was sealed.
"That has got to be the tightest I've ever seen anyone cut a Circle," Dharma said as I moved to the center of the dais.
"Isn't it cool?" Ivan said. He put his hands in his pockets.
"Well, as cool as it might be," I said. "I'm not exactly excited about talking with a Faerie again."
"It's just a mirror, a doorway. Neither of you can really step into the other world. You're both safe." Dharma clasped her hands in front of her.
Yeah. I hadn't asked Arden how Brendi got Crwys into Alfheim, so I wasn't so confident about any hole that connected the two worlds. I assumed the Circle her people built had been more than a two-way mirror, and more of a door of some kind.
I closed my eyes again, recited the spell for the door and cut a long, six-foot oval in the air in front of me. The edges glowed red, then blue, then green, and then yellow and finally white as the center of the oval burned away. Warm air filtered through the portal and I could smell the lush greenery of a garden. I could also see it. It was the same place where we'd met Tzariene before and exchanged the milk and—
Dammit! I didn't have an exchange!
"Samantha!" came a breathless voice from inside the portal. Abruptly, Tzariene came into view. She was as daunting as ever; tall with her horned brow and silver white hair. Yellow and pink flowers adorned her gown that swirled around her and seemed to grow into the grass on this side of the portal. "You received Cordelia's message!"
I shook my head. "She had a message? She said you told her to go through the Cairn, that the Obsidian Queen was dangerous."
&nbs
p; Tzariene's pale features creased into a frown. "Yes. But she was supposed to tell you I needed your help. I'm willing to offer you anything for it."
I glanced at Dharma who looked as surprised as I felt. A Faerie offering a mortal anything was a switch. "Tzariene, what is it? You look upset."
"I don't think we have a lot of time to go over everything. These kinds of communications are now forbidden in Alfheim, even in the Silver Palace. That's why I sent Cordelia since Boggarts can move between the worlds."
Forbidden? "I'm missing something, Tzariene. Since when can you not make a call in your own home?"
"Since that half breed bitch of a queen brought the Destroyer back into our world."
The Destroyer? I licked my lips. "What or who is the Destroyer?" I had the feeling I already knew.
"The worst of all our mortal enemies, Samantha. A creature that once tried to destroy this world by engulfing it in fire. We believed the creature was dead all these centuries. But she has it! She has it in her castle!" Tzarine looked past the portal and then lowered her voice. "I was told by one of the Obsidian court that only you could help us. That you were the one Witch who could slay the Dragon."
Slay… "You…you want me to kill a Dragon?"
"It's the only way to quell the realm's fears, Samantha. It's the only way to restore order where she has wrought chaos. Will you help us?"
"I don't—"
"Anything, Samantha."
"Anything?"
"Yes. If it is within my power to give it."
I looked at Dharma who shook her head. I realized why the Water Witch was hesitant. Making deals with Faeries is always a bad idea—even when it seemed the deal was good. There would be a catch. Of this, I was sure. But I wasn't going to back down. "Tzariene, I request two things. One now, and one later."
The Silver Queen looked worried but she didn't refuse me. "Yes. Just slay this creature, Samantha, and we will destroy this betrayer queen."
I took a step closer to the portal. Grey left her post and bounded to me, leaning against my side to peer in. "The thing I need now is information about the Obsidian Queen. What is it she wants? What is it she wants more than anything else?"
The Silver Queen looked down in thought, and I thought I heard voices come from somewhere behind her. Someone said something to her and her expression brightened. "She wants a book. She wants it so badly she's bored the courts to death talking about it. It's a magical tome of some kind. Very dangerous. Do you know what book?"
This time I glanced at Ivan. "I think I do. It's a book of Arcane spells?"
"That's it! It's a book of spells. That's what she wants above anything else. I heard she's tortured the Dragon, thinking he can tell her where it is. This action has the entire kingdom in an uproar. Everyone's afraid she'll lose control of him and he'll kill us all."
I had guessed the Arrow was what kept Crwys powerless. Apparently, Tzariene didn't know anything about it. Or she avoided talking about it.
Tzariene looked behind her. "I have to go, Samantha. You will come."
"How can I get to—"
The portal vanished with an audible pop and I lunged for it. "No!" I heard myself cry out. But the door was gone. The magic vanished. I went down on my knees and felt hands on my shoulders. I smelled Ivan's cologne as I lost hold of the Circle and it collapsed around us. All I could think about was Crwys, an arrow through his heart.
But he was alive. Somehow, he was alive.
"Sam!"
I heard Levi's voice as I wiped at my nose and looked into Ivan's face. His eyes were red rimmed as he looked at me and I knew he understood. Now that he had someone he loved…he understood. He hugged me and I pushed back, ready to face Levi and let him know what I just learned.
But Levi wasn't alone. Captain Prescott and about a dozen uniformed NOPD officers came with him. I stood just a Levi reached me but Prescott came up level with him and thrust a piece of paper in my face. "This is a warrant to search the premises. I suggest you, your wolf dog and your friends leave. Now."
THIRTEEN
I didn't remember leaving Ina's house. Ivan took the keys and drove Grey and I back to my shop while Dharma drove her own car back. She made tea while I sat at the head of the break room table. Grey sat beside me, her head in my lap. My stomach growled, but I'd gone so far past hunger that the thought of food nauseated me.
I couldn't eat. Not until I had Crwys safe with me.
"I think that says a lot if a Faerie queen is begging a Witch for help," Dharma said as she set the tea in front of me and sat to my left, where Ivan usually sat. He sat in the chair beside her, online and moving his hands in the air. I had asked him to keep an eye on what the police were doing at Ina's house. "Are Dragons that powerful?"
"I don't think any of us know," I said. "I mean, I don't know that much about Dragons. Other than what I've read in fantasy books or seen in the movies. We don't even know if Crwys can physically shift into a big huge flying…lizard."
"I'm pretty sure he can," Dharma sipped at her tea. "Given the level of fear you two saw with Tzariene, I'm willing to bet that's what they're afraid of. But for some reason he's not."
"Because she stuck an arrow through his heart," I said. I noticed the odd tone in my voice. It sounded dead in my ears and probably sounded the same in everyone else's. "I'm pretty sure the book Brendi wants is the Hammer."
"You mean the Malleus Maleficarum?" Dharma's brows arched. Her blue and pink hair looked extra shiny. "That book's with Parliament under lock and key and some seriously high powered spells. There's no way you'd be able to get to it without telling Cromwell what's going on. And even then he discourages all contact with Faeries."
-You really think the Parliament would help you?-
I cringed inwardly at the resurgence of that damn voice. Just when I thought it was gone, it always reared its ugly…uh, voice.
-Because I'm always here. Listening. I'm part of you now. But you already know if Cromwell discovers a Dragon exists, he'll do everything in his power to contain it, to control it, and to make it his, just as he would Ivan if he learned of that boy's true magic.-
"Don't ever mention that man's name," I said in a very low voice. I made sure it was filled with venom and hatred. It was meant for the voice inside of me, but since no one else could hear it, Dharma took my comment to mean her own suggestion of the Grand High Master's help. The little Water Witch sat back and chewed on her lower lip. "We're not talking to Parliament. Not ever about this. Parliament knowing about Crwys would be as dangerous as them knowing about Ivan." I was a terrible person, playing on Dharma's feelings for Ivan to keep her mouth shut.
She slowly nodded. "You're right. But I don't see how you're going to get your hands on the book."
I had a flashback to another deal for trade I'd been a part of a year ago when I helped a friend try to trade a prophetic mantle to Medbh in exchange for his daughter, Brendi.
I sighed. And we all know how well that went.
-Use the same tactics you used then.-
I didn't know what the voice meant. And it seemed to sense that.
-The mantle, Medbh's mantle, had been a fake. A creation of Arcane Magic and Faerie dust. You have the means to create a duplicate book. What do you care if the Queen takes it, as long as Crwys is safe?-
"Sam?" Dharma said. "You spaced out on us."
I blinked at her. "I was thinking of using a fake book. We have the means to make one. Then we just have to lure her here with Crwys."
"I know you're avoiding going into Alfheim," Ivan said as he blinked and lowered his hands. His eye color shifted from green to brown. "I've seen Crwys in action and I've seen his power. That arrow's got some kind of power over him and that arrow is obviously the linchpin between her control and Alfheim's destruction. I doubt very seriously she's going to risk bringing him here."
"He's right," Dharma looked at me. "And…how are you going to make a fake Hammer? I mean that'd be some serious magic."
I looked
at Ivan. "You get anything?" I avoided answering Dharma.
Ivan answered. "Installing the electronic surveillance was a good idea on Crwys's part. That helped me take a look in. But what I'm not understanding is why they're concentrating on an area of the garden in the back."
"The back?" I frowned. "You mean where the old shed used to be?"
"I guess? It's straight back if you were to come out of the sliding doors of the house. They've got hazmat and CSI all over the place. There aren't any good cameras in that area. Luckily, the crime scene photographer's camera is on a network cloud for the police so as soon as he uploads his pictures I can grab copies."
Concentrating in the back of the garden? Why?
"I wouldn't worry," Ivan said. "Crwys was pretty confident he got rid of all the biological matter from those dead bodies."
"And has Crwys ever been the victim of over confidence?" I asked.
He smirked.
I pushed my chair back and stood. "Ivan, I need to talk to you. Upstairs."
He nodded and followed Grey and I up the stairs. Once in my living area, I threw up a sound ward by using a bit of Spirit as Ivan sat on the couch. Grey jumped up with him and put her head in his lap. I sat on the coffee table, facing him. "Ivan, I need a favor—"
"I was listening." He didn't look happy as he raked his thick black hair from his face and fixed his dark eyes on me. "You want me to make another copy of the Hammer. But I told you, I didn't keep any of it when I made that last copy for you."
He meant the one Parliament had under lock and key and heavy spells.
"You don't know where the original is." Ivan said.
The original Hammer became a pendant jump drive. The last time I'd had that thing was when I went to my dad's house to confront the other Cyber Witch turned rogue Shadow Person. And now that house was gone and so was the jump drive. At first, Crwys thought the odd symbol on my chest was the Hammer because it rested where the pendant did. But later we both suspected that wasn't true. I now believed the symbol was my Witch's mark and the original Hammer was lost.
Elemental Flame Page 10