"No, I have Sebastian for the sultry man voice. He's here with me, by the way."
Silence from the shell and then Oliver laughed.
"Hey man, how's the snow blowing going?"
Sebastian started to respond, but Abby interrupted.
"He can tell you all about his power tools when you come back. I had a vision of Dafne today."
"It's not a power tool," Sebastian argued.
"A vision? As in a dream or something real?"
"It was real, I astrally traveled. It's happened to me before. I could see her in a dungeon. I saw Alva and Tobias too."
"Wait, let me snag Helena, she's walking by."
In the background, Abby heard Oliver yell for Helena.
"Okay we're both listening."
"I saw Dafne sleeping in a dungeon. She looked ill, skinny, bruised, but alive."
"Oh thank the Goddess," Helena breathed.
"Tobias bit her. I think he's using venom to keep her unconscious. Tobias told Alva that Dafne was getting weaker and then they injected her with something."
"Injected?" Oliver broke in. "That's not a tactic I've seen a Vepar use before."
"Any idea what they injected her with?" Helena asked.
"No, something clear and sort of, well, magic looking, for lack of a better word. It was shiny, like liquid light."
"Like mercury?"
"No, more like light cast off a pearl or an opal."
"The stuff from the lair, that they were extracting from everyone," Sebastian jumped in, excited. "I couldn't think of how to describe it, but that's it, Abby. It was like looking at an opal in the sun, but as if the opal were melting."
"You're right," Oliver agreed. "I didn't spend much time examining it, but I had a similar thought."
"So they're injecting her with the essence they removed from everyone in the lair?" Helena asked. "How come?"
"I don't know," Abby answered, honestly. "But they said something else. Tobias told Alva that Dafne was getting weak. He seemed to be implying that they shouldn't inject her, but Alva told him to do it anyway. He said Kanti travels tonight."
****
Elda tapped her fork against her glass until the din around the table died.
"A porpoise!" Oliver finished with a guffaw, and Julian burst into laughter beside him.
They continued to laugh until Elda stood and cleared her throat loudly.
"Oh sorry." Oliver held up his hands in apology.
"I want to take a moment and thank you all for being here this evening. When we're all together like this, I have real hope for the future of Ula."
"Here, here," Bridget declared, holding up her glass.
Abby smiled and nodded her agreement. The Coven of Ula felt especially magical that evening. They had come together to celebrate Imbolc, the middle of winter and the shift toward spring. They had also gathered to create a plan for the map that Julian had found. Abby felt much less excited about the prospect of that conversation.
"It is especially auspicious that we celebrate Imbolc because we are honoring the cycles of birth and death. As winter and darkness die, the spring and sun are reborn. Birth is a powerful ally in the rebuilding of a coven, and though we have agreed to spend this night in merrymaking rather than discussion about all that has transpired, there is one announcement that must be made."
Elda paused and looked to Abby.
Abby felt her face flush. Beside her Sebastian clasped her hand and squeezed. She stood awkwardly and he stood with her. She had never been a fan of public speaking and though she knew and loved the witches around her, she felt a little nervous as she prepared to talk.
"Well, I guess I should just come right out and say it," she told the group, locking eyes with Elda, who gave her a smile of encouragement. "Sebastian and I are having a baby."
Lydie's mouth dropped open and Oliver's eyes widened in surprise. The other witches looked less surprised, and Abby knew that Elda had likely confided the secret before their dinner.
Helena stood and walked around the table, sweeping Abby and Sebastian into a hug.
Bridget joined them.
"Oh, it's so exciting," Helena beamed.
"We'll spoil that baby rotten," Bridget added. "It's a sign. Of course, it is. There are no better happy tidings than a baby."
"Congratulations," Faustine announced.
"Yes, congratulations," Julian agreed.
"Wow, does that mean I get to babysit?" Lydie chirped. She had moved into Helena's empty seat to eat her unfinished banana cake.
"Absolutely," Sebastian told her. "She's going to need someone to show her the ropes."
"She?" Oliver asked. He smiled, but Abby could see a look of hurt in his eyes. "Are you far enough along to know that it's a girl?"
"Not technically, no," Abby confessed. "At least not by medical standards, but I still know."
She broke from the group hug and walked closer to Lydie and Oliver.
"I'm sorry that I didn't tell you guys sooner. I just felt like I should wait."
"Yeah, of course," Oliver agreed, taking a long drink from his glass of wine. "Suddenly your cravings for peanut butter and pickle toast make sense."
Abby laughed.
"And noodles with hot fudge. Gross!" Lydie added.
"Hey, that was a secret," Abby grimaced, covering her face with her hands.
"Really?" Sebastian asked, grinning. "You have your very own chef and you're resorting to college stoner food?"
"I couldn't help myself," Abby admitted. "I'm just happy that no one saw me eating sardines on apple slices."
"Eeeew!" Lydie moaned, finishing Helena's dessert and moving to Bridget's chair.
"You know, Lydie, Bridget has more cake in the kitchen," Elda told her.
"Why waste these?" she asked.
"Good point," Julian agreed, reaching across the table to swipe Faustine's remaining cake.
"So, you're engaged, with a baby on the way," Oliver said. "Going for the Happily Ever After experience?"
Abby smiled and nodded as Sebastian grabbed her from behind and whirled her to face him. He kissed her and then pulled her against him. She savored his smell and the soft texture of his T-shirt. She didn't want to turn back and face Oliver. He was hurt, as she knew that he would be. Not because she was pregnant, but because she had been keeping secrets.
"So when do we get to have the baby shower?" Helena asked. "Bridget is already planning the menu."
****
"How are you feeling?" Abby asked Helena, joining her in the breakfast room.
Helena sat at a small table with a violet blanket draped over her shoulders. She wore gold satin slippers and a long silver robe, but still looked cold.
"Better every day, I think," she told Abby, taking a sip of her tea. Steam rose from the dark liquid and Abby smelled a pungent garlic aroma.
"Doesn't smell like chamomile."
Helena laughed.
"Bridget has me on some superpowered concoction. Almost made me gag when I first started drinking it, but it's growing on me."
"I thought we could use some of my blood today."
"Your blood?" Helena looked at her quizzically.
"Elda mentioned it before. She believes it could be healing. I want to help."
Helena stared into her tea and Abby thought she might cry.
"I'm not sure of the process, obviously," Abby explained. "But I'll do whatever it takes. Maybe you and Bridget could find some way to develop it into an elixir for other ailments too."
Helena nodded and some of the light returned to her eyes. She looked hopeful.
"Only if you're sure, Abby. Lately, I feel like I need a miracle, and the old me saw miracles every day. This new version, well sometimes, I see storm clouds even on sunny days."
"Of course, you do. We all do. I can only avoid depression and anxiety if I turn my brain off. The moment I have an hour of free time, my mind goes..."
"Apeshit," Helena finished and they both burst out laughing.<
br />
"What's all the ruckus about?" Oliver called from the doorway. "And where's the food? I figured Bridget would have left breakfast out until noon at least."
"Bridget said any late sleepers have to fend for themselves today. She's hot on the trail of a new anti-viral potion. She's spending the day in the greenhouse."
"Yeesh," Oliver complained. "Guess I'll have to survive on leftovers. No Sebastian either? I've gotten rather used to his protein pancakes."
"He's at the lagoon," Abby told him. "Cold cereal for you, my friend."
Oliver sauntered off to the kitchen and Abby turned back to Helena.
"Did Dafne ever mention Kanti?"
Helena's face darkened, but she only shook her head.
"Never. We didn't have a clue, Abby. Not that she was pregnant, that she'd been with Tobias, that her friends had died. We definitely didn't know about Kanti. A part of me believes that she didn't know about her either, but maybe I'm wrong."
"Why would I be the only one having these dreams? I feel like she's reaching out to me."
"We've talked about it, a lot, in fact. Faustine believes that she's grown stronger. He thinks that each time the curse has struck, Kanti has captured the energy in some way. Now she finally has enough power to manipulate energy. She can appear in spirit form, she can send you her memories."
"But why?"
"I wish that I had an answer. We have a dozen theories and I believe we're getting closer to the truth, but we're still very much in the dark. Let me ask you this. Why do you think she's contacting you?"
Abby paused.
"She wants something. I know that. She wants something from me, but she can't come right out and say it. Maybe because she's not strong enough or maybe because she wants it to remain a secret until the last possible moment."
Helena sat up straighter, nodding her head.
"You're the direct link to her. You have to remember that. Trust your feelings and intuitions. You have more information than any of us, but be wary. She is giving you access to the cruelty that was inflicted upon her. She wants your empathy. Why?"
****
Abby sat on the bed in the healing room. Bridget and Elda bustled around the space, preparing the tools to extract Abby's blood. Helena sat on the edge of the huge stone tub that occupied a large corner of the room. Lotus-shaped candles floated on the surface. The glass dome overhead revealed the purple sky of the half-light as the day waned.
Bridget placed two glass pitchers on a rolling cart and wheeled them to Abby's side. Next to the pitchers, an array of bandages, herbs and unfortunately needles sat in a row.
"You won't feel a thing," Bridget promised.
She rubbed a smooth stone over Abby's skin. Abby felt a light tingling sensation when Bridget lifted the stone away. She swabbed Abby's arm and tapped gently on a blue vein. Attaching a needle to a long clear tube, she deftly slid the point into Abby's arm.
Abby stared at her skin, surprised. She really hadn't felt anything.
"Was that the effect of the stone?" Abby asked. "It numbed me?"
"The stone and a bit of placebo effect," Bridget confessed, smiling. "You believed me when I said that you wouldn't feel it, so you didn't feel it."
Elda moved to the tray and helped direct the flow of blood into one of the pitchers. After several minutes, she quickly shifted the tube into the second pitcher.
"Will you do a transfusion?" Abby asked, looking toward Helena, who had swung her legs into the tub.
"Yes," Elda responded. "A transfusion with the blood from one pitcher, and the other we will study and attempt to create a tincture from."
"We'll have to separate and isolate the different components," Bridget explained.
"You know how to do that?"
"We've been around a long time," Elda replied. "It's hard for me to even imagine everything we've learned."
"Abby, we've also been talking about your mother," Helena mentioned.
Abby had told Helena and Elda about the event with her mother over Christmas. She had been reluctant to confide the experience, but at Oliver's urging had done so in the hopes that they might offer their insights.
"It's not safe to bring her to Ula, unfortunately," Elda said.
"But we can take the healing to her," Helena chimed in. "Faustine has a very special crystal that I am able to utilize with my sight. Hopefully I can discern what sort of energy or experience is plaguing your mother, and then it's only a matter of performing the proper magic to rid her of it."
"That sounds great. I'm just not sure how to present it to her so that she willingly participates."
Abby didn't mention her other concern. After a lifetime of observing her mother's mood swings, she didn't feel confident that even magic could help her.
"Don't you give it another thought," Helena told her. "We're working that part out."
After they collected the blood, Elda encouraged Abby to soak in the healing waters of the bathtub. They would wait until morning to do Helena's transfusion.
Abby stripped out of her clothes and stepped into the steaming water. Oils floated on the surface and reflected the glow from the flickering candles. She settled onto a stone bench and closed her eyes as the water lapped against her chest and the base of her neck. She would only stay for a few minutes, having read that hot water submersions were contraindicated for pregnancy. She pressed a hand on her belly and imagined the tiny person already forming within her.
"The size of a poppy seed," she said out loud, thinking about the book she had been reading about baby development in utero. As she marveled at the awesomeness of the physical body, an image of Kanti rose in her mind. She saw Kanti holding her own baby in the snowy cabin, a baby that she hated.
"She won't hurt you," Abby spoke to her unborn child. "I promise."
Chapter 20
Abby stood on the stone slab, shivering. She pulled her cloak tighter and tucked her face beneath the hood to protect her chapped lips.
Elda and Faustine stood on either side of her. They both swayed and murmured. Elda had created a cone of water that rose out of the lagoon. Faustine had conjured a cone of sand that emerged from the beach. The two witches brought their energies together. The cyclone of sand and water swirled faster, and then with a thunderous clap it exploded into the slab beneath Abby's feet. She felt the jolt as the energy traveled through the rock and into her body. It burst through her fingertips and the top of her head. She stumbled and Faustine caught her around the waist before she plummeted off the slab.
She pressed her hand to her belly and looked wildly at Elda, afraid that the energetic blast had hurt the baby.
"Don't worry, honey," Elda told her quickly, helping her into the wooden chair that sat on the slab. "It will shield the baby. It didn't hurt her."
Elda lifted the hood on Abby's cloak so that it covered her red-rimmed ears.
"I can sense you sensing her," Elda confided. "And I sense her a bit too, though she's just a tiny little light right now. Though that energy is getting bigger every day."
"Do you think she will be a witch?" Abby asked, feeling for the child and smiling when the flutter responded.
"Unlike the sex of the baby, it's much harder to tell if she will be a witch. Do you want her to be?"
Abby considered.
"I don't know. There's a part of me that believes the human world is safer, but I know that's naive. How do I hide my true identity if she's not a witch? How do I protect her if I don't hide it?"
"Those are some of the hardest questions we face in the witches' life. And the reason that many witches do not have children. They are not a burden, no—if anything, it is our gift that can sometimes feel burdensome—but they change our reality. They make us vulnerable in a way that we never imagined possible."
"Did you have children, Elda?" Abby asked, noticing a tremor in the older witch's voice.
She looked at Abby and shook her head.
"I wanted to and it broke my heart to turn away from that part
of myself, but Ula needed me and I needed her. If I would have chosen the mother's life, I could not have stayed here on the island. It doesn't support a child and a family."
"Why not? I feel like Helena and Bridget would love a baby to look after."
"Now it is time to activate your light body," Faustine said briskly, closing the conversation.
Elda looked at him. Abby thought she saw hurt behind Elda's gray eyes, but the older witch hid the expression.
"My light body?" Abby asked, shifting back and forth on her feet. The initial magic had warmed her up, but now she felt the cold again through her cloak.
"I'm sorry you're cold, honey," Elda told her. "We can't do any additional magic that might interfere, but I promise, I'll warm you up before we return to the castle."
"Oh, it's okay, Elda," Abby reassured her. "It's strangely energizing. I've been so tired lately, it's nice to want to hop up and down."
"Your light body transcends the physical world. It is woven into the collective light of the universe," Faustine explained.
"I like to call it harnessing the power of the stars," Elda added romantically.
"Close your eyes, Abby," Faustine directed. "Focus on the chakras, beginning with the space just above the crown of your head. As you guide your vision down the center of your body, feel the wheels of energy begin to spin."
Eyes closed, Abby directed her attention toward her subtle energy body. When she first learned of her powers, the subtle body had felt like a concept that she might never grasp, let alone truly experience. Now she found the space easily. As she kept her attention there, she sensed the vortices of energy, like orbs of light, pulsing through her body.
Elda's soft cool hands took hold of her forearms. She felt Faustine's bony, and surprisingly strong, hands settle on her shoulders.
"Allow an opening at the crown of your head. Feel the beaming white light, the whole of the universe, traveling through those waves, coursing into your body," Faustine spoke with vigor.
"Now beneath your feet an opening," Elda continued. "As if the world is breaking apart to let you in. Another beam of light, golden, sparkling. It moves into your feet."
Kanti (Born of Shadows Book 3) Page 18