“Who is the Sparrow Lady?” Paris asked.
Lily paused, thinking about the question. “I don’t know.”
“What do you know about her? Jade said you called her that.”
“I guess I named her too,” Lily replied. “I don’t know when I started waking up, not exactly. I have this sort of sense that I was present for a while before I realized it. The first thing I remember, actually, is you.”
“Me?” Paris repeated, surprised. “Why?”
“It was in the forest, after Dex. When Jade was trying to bind him. I was there. That was the first time I remember being aware. She needed help. Focus. I could always help her do that. I helped her that day. To focus her spell and try to bind Dex. But he disappeared before it worked and there was this… vacuum of her power. I think it pulled her away for a moment and pulled me to the forefront. I remember being in a circle, and you were there. I touched your coat. But I was tired. I was so tired and I had to close my eyes and then I was asleep again, I think.”
Paris remembered that moment so clearly. It was Lily’s green eyes he’d seen that day, only he didn’t know what it meant then. He was still learning all it meant now.
“When did the Sparrow Lady arrive? What does she do?”
“I don’t know when she showed up exactly. I felt like I was waking up, but it was slow. I was tired. Jade knew I was waking up, or rather, I think she hoped I was waking up. I can’t imagine what it was like for her being alone, after I left. She’d never been alone.” Lily stared at the window to the courtyard again, and Paris realized with a jolt that from where she sat, she would be able to see her reflection. Jade’s reflection.
“I think the Sparrow Lady knows that. Somehow. She knows about me and Jade.” Lily fidgeted with the towel on her lap. “And the lake,” she added slowly.
“What about the lake?” Paris asked.
“Jade’s been there before.”
“Yes, with me. We passed by it on the way to work on her circles one day and also recently. She reacted very violently. She was ill, she bled from the ears and nose.”
Lily shook her head. “No, before. She was there before.”
“She’d been dreaming of it,” Paris said.
Again Lily shook her head. “No, I think…” she laughed, “I was going to say, ‘I know this sounds crazy,’ but then I realized, we passed that station a long way back.” She sighed and shook her head again, this time like she was clearing it. “Before Jade fell in tonight, she saw something in the water and I’m not sure if it was her or if it was the Sparrow Lady that made her see it.”
“What did she see?”
“A little girl, underwater. And I think it was Jade. A long time ago, I think it was her.”
#
Jade sat on the dock, her bare feet hanging off the edge and dipping into the water. She kicked them, watching the water ripple and swirl. She leaned back, resting her hands behind her. The sun was shining and she squinted as she looked up at the sky. Not cloudless, but she liked it better when there were big, fat, fluffy clouds drifting lazily along. She lay down on the dock, her feet still submerged. She closed her eyes, seeing red on the inside of her eyelids from the bright sun. Her face was hot, but her feet were cold. She inhaled and exhaled, breathing out long and even. She could hear the quiet lap, lap, lap of the water against the wood of the dock. It was a nice day.
But…
What if there were something under the water? What if something lurked in the deep, watching her feet from below? What if something dark and ugly lived down there, waiting to reach up and grab her around the ankles, pulling her down, into the cold? Was that just the watery currents trailing against the soles of her feet, or was it some unseen thing’s hand, coming closer, closer, wanting to snatch her from the surface?
Jade pulled her feet up from the water sharply, sitting up like a jackknife. She looked down at the rippling surface, not seeing anything but the clouds in the sky and her own reflection staring back at her. A large shape loomed over her shoulder. Someone was standing behind her.
Jade turned, eyes narrowing against the sharp light of the sun. She raised her hand, like a visor over her eyes. The woman looked down at her. She seemed vaguely familiar. Jade had seen her face before, but couldn’t place where. A flock of sparrows circled above her head, black spots against the blue sky.
“The Sparrow Lady,” Jade said aloud.
She was beautiful. She had the kind of face that ages well - pristine, sharp bone structure. As she got older, her bones hadn’t made her sallow or stark looking - only more refined. She looked to be in her forties or fifties, but with that bone structure, she could easily be in her sixties and just look that good. Her hair was still dark and Jade had the fleeting thought that it could always be from a bottle, but drugstore color didn’t normally shine so bright in the natural light. She had lovely highlights - streaks of blue-black and deep mahogany, which both set off the blue of her eyes - deep and clear.
“I’ve seen you before.”
She smiled at Jade. “Perhaps. It’s hard to say.”
She had an accent like Paris - British and slightly formal, her words clipped. She wore a dark cloak, the same cloak she’d been wearing in Jade’s other dreams. Until that moment, it was as though her dreams were far, far away, but noticing the cloak, recognizing it as the same one she’d seen before, brought Jade’s other dreams back to the front of her mind. Jade scrambled backward, mindful of the edge and got to her feet. The Sparrow Lady’s blue eyes watched her, more like a hawk than her namesake.
Jade looked at the water, remembering being cold, remembering the sky being dark. She looked back at the Sparrow Lady.
“Am I asleep?”
The Sparrow Lady smiled and that too was familiar. “After a fashion. You’re unconscious more than asleep. Slightly different, although both make it easier.”
“Easier for what?” Jade asked warily, stepping around her, trying to move past her on the slender dock and get closer to shore.
She didn’t answer. Jade started walking backward on the dock, moving closer to shore, while keeping her body facing the Sparrow Lady. Her bare feet made it easy for her to keep her balance, the soles of her feet finding their purchase better without shoes in the way.
“What do you want from me?”
“I need a favor.”
As Jade stepped back, the Sparrow Lady stepped forward, keeping pace with Jade.
“You’ve been making me dream of Lily. Of the lake.”
The Sparrow Lady looked contemplative for a moment. “Yes and no. You were already dreaming of the lake and of her. I just needed to push you a bit. And I needed you to come here.”
“Why?” Jade stepped off the dock, feeling the solid ground beneath her feet. The sun-warmed rocks were smooth against her soles.
“There’s magic here. There has been for a long time.”
“I already had magic.” Jade stepped sideways toward the treeline.
“Yes. Yes, you did. And I needed more for you. I needed more from you.”
“Who are you?” Jade wanted to turn away from her and run, but she was afraid to take her eyes of her. Like a children’s game, as long as Jade watched her, the Sparrow Lady couldn’t dart forward and get her.
The Sparrow Lady paused, as if sensing Jade wanted to bolt. “My name is Sakkara.”
Jade shook her head. “No, that’s Paris’ mother’s name.”
The Sparrow Lady, Sakkara, nodded once.
“She’s dead,” Jade continued and then had a horrible thought. “Oh, shit. Am I dead?”
“No, dear, I told you. Only unconscious. Separating yourself from Lily and conjuring a body for her was quite taxing on you. I imagine you could sleep on your own for a little bit longer yet.”
Jade continued to shake her head, as though by denying what she was hearing, she could make it untrue. Paris’ mother, Sakkara, was dead. Paris wouldn’t have lied to Jade about that. The Coven knew she was dead too. When she was
spoken of, it was always in quiet, reverent tones.
“What do you mean, separating myself from Lily?”
Sakkara tipped her head. “Ah, of course. You wouldn’t actually know what you’ve done yet since you’re still unconscious. Lily. You’ve crafted her a body, from magic. It’s quite impressive and I’m not sure I know any other witches that could do it. Although, you’ve got a bit of a boost working for you.”
“What do you mean?”
Sakkara smiled. “All in good time.”
“I’ve read your books,” Jade blurted. “Your magic. Your demon grimoires.”
Sakkara nodded. “I know. It took me a while to remember some of my hexes without my books.”
Realization struck Jade. “You unraveled my demon locks.”
“Well, technically they’re my demon locks. But you altered them. You cast that spell very well. Better than myself, I daresay. It took me time to remember it, figure out what you’d done and then break them.”
“Why? Why did you break them?”
Sakkara pursed her lips and Jade almost did a double-take. The gesture was so familiar - Paris had the same expression sometimes. “I needed you to come to the lake and my influence on your dreams wasn’t strong enough. I had to enter your house to cast a dream hex.”
“You did what? Where? How?”
“It’s in your room, under your bed.”
“But I did go to the lake,” Jade protested. “Paris brought me.”
“Yes, he did.” Her tone softened as she spoke of Paris. “The talisman he made you is quite powerful.” Sakkara tipped her head, eyes darting down to the salamander charm Jade wore. Jade automatically raised her hand, pinching the small charm between her fingers. “He imbued a considerable amount of magic in it. It was difficult to get around.”
Jade fisted the charm, her fingers holding it tight. Even now, it was warm - far warmer than it should have been from only resting against her skin.
Sakkara took a breath. “But when he brought you to the lake, you didn’t stay long enough.”
“For what?” Jade asked suspiciously.
“For you to bring Lily back.”
Jade shook her head. “I didn’t bring her back. She came back. On her own.”
“Did she?” Sakkara asked, a glint in her eyes. It was one of those questions that wasn’t really a question. “You don’t give yourself enough credit.”
“What’s going on? What do you want?”
“I told you, I need a favor. Or, rather, my mistress does.”
“Who the hell is your mistress?”
“Another piece of information that will come in good time,” Sakkara said, again with a slight smile. Her expression faltered and she looked sad, remorseful. “I’m so sorry. For everything. If I’d known… but you must understand, I thought I was protecting him. That’s what mothers do, isn’t it?” She looked at Jade beseechingly, her hand outstretched as though she wanted Jade to take it.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about and it’s creeping me out,” Jade said bluntly, taking another step back.
Sakkara’s hand fell back to her side and she sighed softly. “No, I suppose you don’t. You don’t remember who you are.”
“Of course I do. I’m me,” Jade said simply.
Sakkara looked like she felt sorry for Jade and it scared her. “Perhaps now with Lily back, and the two of you separate again, you’ll remember.”
Jade’s stomach rolled over. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“You’ve been here before. The Preserve. The lake.”
Jade kept shaking her head even though she felt it was true. She wanted to disagree with everything Sakkara said. “No.”
“The Coven,” Sakkara continued.
“No,” Jade repeated. “I’m the first witch born outside the Coven. I’m different.”
“You are different. I made you different. We made you different. But you were not born outside the Coven.”
Jade could feel her power swirling inside her gut. It roiled and rolled, twisting and turning her insides about. “Yes, I was. I had a mother and a father and they were shitty parents, but they were ours, Lily’s and mine. And we grew up away from here. We didn’t have magic.”
“You always had magic.” Sakkara paused, as though considering. “Lily has it now too, but I think that is a side effect of being tangled with you for so long. In a sense, she is the first witch born outside a Coven. As a result of her association with you.”
Jade stumbled backward. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. You’re crazy. Or I am. You’re dead! I’m talking to a dead woman. Through a dream.” God, maybe she really was crazy. She’d feared that being the answer, but it seemed more real than the convoluted mess she was getting from Sakkara.
“You remember being here before. Even when you were dreaming of the lake, you remembered it. You’ve always feared water.”
A sound caught her ear and Jade turned. Off to the side was a little girl, toddler-aged. She wandered the rocky shore, her fat feet giving her that unsteady, drunken toddler walk that kids have. She had light brown hair in a mess of thin curls and a round belly poking out from the gap between her pink shorts and yellow shirt.
The sight of her made Jade feel dizzy and sick.
“There you are. See, you’re already remembering.”
Jade turned and ran into the forest, her legs going as fast as she could make them.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Lily turned her head quickly to the closed door, behind which Dr. Gellar was with Jade.
“What?” asked Paris. “What is it?”
“Jade’s dreaming. Of the Sparrow Lady again.”
Paris regarded her carefully. “How do you know that?”
Lily paused. “It’s like… I can hear it. I can hear it happening in Jade’s brain.”
The door to the room opened and Dr. Gellar came out along with some nurses who discretely made their exit. Dr. Gellar came over to stand next to Paris, eyeing Lily.
“Dr. Gellar, this is Lily, Jade’s…” he trailed off, not sure what Lily was. She wasn’t Jade’s alter, she wasn’t Jade’s family member.
“I’m just Jade’s,” Lily piped up amiably. She held a hand out for Dr. Gellar to shake, which she did, her eyes trailing over Lily with curiosity.
Paris looked around for a moment, ensuring they were alone, and then said lowly, “I believe somehow Jade brought her to life, but I’m not sure how just yet.”
Dr. Gellar’s eyebrows went up and she looked at Lily again, who only shrugged. Dr. Gellar turned back to Paris. “I look forward to hearing all about it. And I’d probably like to run some tests.” She addressed Lily. “Are you all right? Is there anything I need to know right now?”
Lily shook her head. “Nope. I’m still a little cold, but I feel fine. How’s Jade?”
Paris was grateful for Lily’s change of topic and waited anxiously for Dr. Gellar’s report.
“Still unconscious.” Gellar’s eyes darted over to Paris and he nodded.
“Anything you have to say about Jade can be said in front of Lily. In fact, she may be able to assist you.”
Lily nodded. “Yeah, if there’s something I can do, let me know.”
“Well, as I said, Jade is still unconscious. I’m not sure if you know, but Jade has adverse reactions to using too much magic and it looks like tonight, whatever she did, presumably bringing you to life, overtaxed her. In the past, she’s not done herself any permanent damage and I hope she hasn’t this time, but we won’t know for sure until she wakes up. I think that when she uses too much magic, her pressure spikes, which causes her to bleed from her nose and ears. Now that she’s unconscious, her pressure’s dipped down again and is rather low, probably as a result of her body being in shock.” Dr. Gellar regarded Lily again. “Are you a double of her? A complete double?”
Lily blinked. “I think so?” she replied. “Did you want to run some tests to see?”
“Would you be am
enable to that?” Dr. Gellar asked, her tone surprised. Paris knew how she felt. Jade was quite averse to medical attention and getting her to agree to tests was akin to pulling teeth.
Lily shrugged. “If you think it would help Jade, then sure.”
With one more look to Paris, Dr. Gellar ushered Lily into the small medical room where Jade was. Paris craned his neck but only got a glimpse of Jade, her eyes closed and skin pale, before the door shut again.
“Okay, that’s really creepy,” Paris heard from behind him and turned to see Callie standing there. She still looked slightly sleep mussed and in disarray, but she was wide awake. “Obviously, asking at the lake was a bad time, but now that I’m here, why does it look like there are two of Jade?”
Paris directed her to the sofa, where Callie took up a perch, and he told her the bare minimum of what he knew - somehow, Jade had conjured Lily into being, but he wasn’t sure how or why. Nor was he sure who Lily was. Callie bombarded Paris with a hundred questions for which he had no answers. How, why, why now, why the lake, what kind of magic was this, where did Lily come from, why did she look like Jade?
“I don’t know,” he kept repeating, tiredly, although, there were bits and pieces coming together in his mind and he was starting to have some suspicions. “Did you find anything else out by the lake?”
Callie shook her head. “No. Josef still has some witches out there, but we didn’t find anything. But back to Jade. She’s all right?”
Paris turned and looked at the closed door again. “I believe so. I haven’t had a chance to go in and see her myself yet.”
Callie rested her hand on top of his, giving it a squeeze. “I’m sure she’s okay. Would you like me to go check on Bruce again?”
“I think she’d like that, when she wakes up. To know that someone looked in on him.”
“I can do that. I’ll even filch him some goodies from the fridge. Or maybe buy him a latte on my way over. I think the coffee shop should be opening up about now.”
Double-Sided Witch (Covencraft Book 3) Page 28