Sword of Elements Series Boxed Set 2: Bound In Blue, Caught In Crimson & To Make A Witch

by Heather Hamilton-Senter

  “I’m agitating the atoms around us to create heat. At least, I think I am. I’ve never understood where science and magic meet.” He kicked at the remains of the leaves as they fell to the ground; the warm wind was gone. “It doesn’t matter. I won’t be able to do it again tomorrow.”

  A hint of warmth stayed with me as I followed him out into the yard. “It must be frustrating.”

  “If I knew who my real parents were, maybe I could make sense of it.”

  “You honestly don’t remember anything from before Taliesin found you?”

  Tynan shoved his hands in his pockets. “My first real memory is waking up in a bed at the ranch. Daley was watching over me.”

  “Don’t you think it’s strange that you and Daley were both found in New York?”

  He shrugged. “Not really. New York’s a magnet for anything paranormal. All the great cities of the world are. There’s lots of Paths in them too. If I somehow got lost on one, I could have come from anywhere in the world.” His fists clenched. “How can I find my destiny when I don’t know who I am?”

  I turned away and looked up at the moon—it was almost full and it filled the sky with cold light. “I don’t believe in destiny. Knowing who your parents are might not give you any more answers than you already have.”

  Tynan came up behind me and put his arms around me. I wasn’t short, but my head still came under his chin and I felt enveloped, trapped. “Finding out Cernunnos is your father is a good thing, Rhi.” His breath was warm on my hair.

  “Really? He sounds pretty scary to me. Even his own sisters are afraid of him.”

  “It’s better to know who you are than to be left guessing like me.” I tried to ignore a flash of irritation.

  Tynan just can’t let go of his own deal.

  The hard pounding of his heart against my back reminded me of the day Mom hid me from my father. She’d hidden me from the world. My birth mother had abandoned me to her. They never asked me what I wanted. Tynan wanted to make decisions for me too—wanted to make me feel something I didn’t feel.

  I untangled myself from his arms as gently as I could and tried to change the mood. “Ty, I need to talk to you about Daley.”

  The air around me ignited with a boom and I was hurled to the ground. Hot pain prickled across my arms and the smell of burning hair filled my nostrils. “What the hell!” I screamed, but Tynan was shouting back and his voice was unnaturally amplified.

  “Daley! Always Daley! Don’t you know he can’t see you with her around? He can’t see anyone anymore. She will never let him go!” The house lights were turning on and it was only a matter of seconds before everyone found us.

  “Can you see her?” I demanded. “Can you see Melusine?”

  Tynan seemed to sink into himself. “She haunts me.”

  Daley and Taliesin ran out. Ignoring me, the two of them half dragged, half carried Tynan into the house.

  Rowan rushed to my side and hissed through his teeth when he saw my arms. “Are you all right?”

  “I think so.”

  Taking my hands, he helped me to my feet as he examined me. “It’s just your forearms and they’re scorched, not burned. I have something that will fix them.” He looked at me with gentle eyes. “Please forgive him. He has these episodes sometimes, but he won’t remember anything in the morning. He likes you so much, and that’s the problem; it reminds him of Melusine.” Rowan spat on the ground as if her name tasted vile. “It wasn’t enough she bewitched Daley, she had to toy with the boy too. Ty’s broken and Melusine dug her pretty little teeth into that break whenever she could. She even tried to come after me once, but Bo holds all my heart.”

  Leading me into the house and down to the kitchen, Rowan retrieved an amber-colored glass jar from the fridge. The ointment in it smelled like wet grass. “Starweed for burns,” he explained as rubbed it into my skin, “but I’ve increased its potency.” When I ran my hands over my tingling forearms, they were smooth and hairless, but the pain was gone.

  Once I assured the druid that his medicine had worked, I gathered my things and went home. I wasn’t mad at Tynan anymore. Knowing his history, I couldn’t be surprised he wasn’t stable. At least I had the answer to one of his problems.

  The bitch has to go.

  CHAPTER TWENTY NINE

  At school the next day, I marched straight up to the one person who could help me—Lacey McInnis.

  In less than three months, Lacey had tumbled from the top of the food chain all the way to the bottom. The other Bumblebees had been tolerant of the new Lacey for a while, but once she quit cheerleading, they moved on. With her stringy hair and sloppy clothes, the rumor started that she was hooked on meth.

  I knew what she was really hooked on.

  I leaned against the locker next to hers. “So, how’s the witch training going?”

  Lacey lifted an eyebrow that hadn’t seen a tweezer for a while. “What are you talking about?” As she pushed a strand of dirty hair out of her face, I was shocked to see the growing length of black tattoos creeping up the underside of her arm.

  “C’mon, a moron could have figured it out. You keep having all these super-secret study sessions with Cailleach, and you’ve gone all Courtney Love all of a sudden. The answer is obvious to anyone who even guesses that magic exists.”

  Sighing, she closed her locker and leaned against it. “What do you want?”

  “I need your help.”

  Lacey looked at me like I was crazy. “You need my help? You’re the flavor of the month everyone’s all excited about and you need my help? Do you know how hard it’s been for me to achieve anything in magic? How much blood I’ve spilled from my own veins? I’ve basically given up sleeping and eating. Even with all that, I wouldn’t be anywhere without Cailleach helping me. And do you know what’s funny about that? Do you? Cailleach came here for you! When she found out you were already training with Taliesin, she decided to find a new apprentice. I said yes.” The last was defiant.

  “Good for you.”

  She stared at me for a second before responding. “What?”

  “I said, ‘good for you’. Why should you be the one left in the dark?”

  Lacey’s eyes went dead. Maybe she believed me. Maybe she was just too tired to fight. “What do you want?”

  “Let’s get out of here.” I was skipping again, but my new birth certificate was my get out of jail free card. Lacey closed her locker with a bang. I thought she was going to say no, but then she nodded and began walking for the exit. I had to hurry to keep up with her.

  We drove in my car to a donut shop a couple of blocks away and I bought us both blueberry muffins which we took to a table in the corner. After a slow start, Lacey devoured hers. I pushed mine over and she started pulling it apart and popping pieces in her mouth. Her wrists looked fragile with the dark knots and swirls of the tattoos enclosing them.

  “When was the last time you ate?”

  “Not sure,” she mumbled between bites.

  “Aren’t your parents getting worried?”

  “Cailleach put a whammy on them so they only see what they want to see. So,” she said, brushing the crumbs away and changing the subject, “why do you need my help?”

  “It’s something I think I need a witch for.” Either that or a priest. “It’s kind of an exorcism,” I added.

  That caught her interest. “Cool. Demon?”

  “Ghost, but a magic one.”

  “Still cool. Way above my pay grade though. We would need Cailleach’s help.”

  I told her the whole story. I even threw in the detail about Melusine coming on to Rowan to make sure I sealed the deal.

  Lacey shook her head. “Wow. She sounds like a real piece of work. But if she’s not hurting anyone, why don’t you do what Taliesin says and let her fade away?”

  “He can’t see her. I can, and believe me, she’s not letting go of Daley without a fight.”

  “But what makes you think she’s so dangerous? She co
uldn’t even stop herself from getting shot.”

  A thread of mauve unease wormed across my vision and I hesitated. When I didn’t reply, Lacey fidgeted and I knew I was losing her. Hoping I was doing the right thing, I said, “Melusine was the direct descendant of the original Melusine. She could turn into a dragon.”

  Lacey leaned forward, her face filled with excitement. “So she could turn into a big old ghost-dragon any second?”

  “I don’t know, but I don’t want to wait around and find out.” And I wanted Daley and Tynan out of Melusine’s scaly little paws.

  “Sounds interesting.” She laughed brightly and was the Lacey I’d known almost all my life again. “Who am I kidding? It sounds awesome! I’m in. But I know what Cailleach’s going to ask—what’s in it for her?”

  “She’s interested in me, right? Well, I’m interested in me too. If she still wants to, I’ll train with her. I’m not making a lot of progress right now. Maybe she can help me find some answers.” I was betting dangling that bait would be enough to snag Cailleach.

  Lacey started to leave. “Where are you going?” I asked.

  She turned and lifted an eyebrow at me. “I’m going to contact her.” I looked at her phone sitting on the table and she laughed again. “Haven’t they taught you anything? I need water and a basin. I use a scrying bowl when I want to talk magic with Cailleach. That way, no one else can listen in.”

  I could feel my cheeks go warm. “Of course,” I murmured to cover my ignorance, but by the look on Lacey’s face, she wasn’t fooled.

  After a few minutes, the girl returned and the fleeting energy some food had put into her was gone. Slumping down in her seat, she wouldn’t meet my eyes. “Cailleach has agreed to help, but she’s naming the time and place as a condition.”

  “OK, when?”

  “All Hallows Eve—Halloween. Are you going to the dance?”

  “What dance?”

  Lacey rolled her eyes. “The Halloween dance.” The “Stupid” afterwards was implied.

  “I don’t know. Why?” Eastdale always held its dance the Friday before Halloween. It had been one of Peter’s and Lacey’s first dates.

  Lacey’s face clouded and I wondered if she was remembering the same thing. “I’ll give you the rest of your instructions then.”

  “Why?”

  “Because Cailleach says so, that’s why. A spell like this is delicate and takes planning. She’ll let you know what she wants you to do when she’s ready.”

  As we left, I could tell Lacey was pleased to be back on top of our personal little food chain. I blinked away angry red specks—the dance was just a few days away and I could endure it until then. When I dropped her off beside her own car, she drove away without saying good-bye.

  When I went back to the mansion, Rowan met me at the door and told me Tynan had no memory of attacking me and the ability he’d shown was gone too. Still, I was glad he was out target shooting with Peter and Daley in the makeshift range at the side of the property. I’d been surprised when Peter told me he was learning to shoot. Guns were useless against advanced magic beings, but apparently they worked just fine on a lot of lower monsters and most of the Protectors were packing.

  I found Miko in her room and told her about my plan to get Lacey’s help. To my relief, the fairy was all for it. We both decided to leave Peter out of it. He was spending a lot of time with Daley and my best friend didn’t exactly have a poker face.

  I felt bad about it, but not as bad as I should have.

  The one wrinkle was Melusine. Each day I spent at the mansion, I became more attuned to Daley’s power. I was beginning to be as aware of him as I was of Peter—as if we had our own bright bond. But I could feel Melusine through it too. I could see her all the time now, hovering around him, whispering in his ear. When I closed my eyes and tried to sleep, she was still there, shimmering in aquamarine. Once I tried to touch the color of her power. As it passed through my fingers, my hand brushed Daley’s shoulder and we both jumped as electricity arced between us. Daley stared at me with dark, unreadable eyes. I looked at Melusine.

  The day before the dance, Melusine turned and looked back.

  We were all in the kitchen. Yelping in surprise, I bumped into Peter and he dropped the plate he was loading up with Rowan’s brownies. Melusine pressed herself against Daley and stared at me, her eyes filled with meaning. He seemed oblivious.

  For the rest of the night, she made sure I saw Daley was hers by pawing and kissing him whenever I was around. Then she confirmed my suspicion she wasn’t confined to the vicinity of the necklace—or my awareness of Daley’s power—when she appeared in the air above me as I lay half-asleep in bed. Screaming, I tumbled to the floor in a tangle of blankets and pillows.

  Tynan’s room was next to mine and he rushed in. “I heard you scream. Are you all right?”

  “I’m fine. It was just a nightmare.” I sent the same message down the green bond that vibrated with Peter’s concern.

  Floating in air and wrapping her white legs around Tynan’s waist, the ghost flicked a silver tongue into his ear. Tynan’s cheeks flamed and he excused himself.

  I couldn’t wait for Halloween.

  When I shuffled down to the kitchen for breakfast the next morning, I was surprised to find Peter sitting with his elbows on the table, running his thumbnail between his teeth. He looked up when I came in and laid his palms flat against the surface, but he didn’t smile.

  “I want to know what’s going on.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Don’t mess with me, Rhi. I can feel it in here.” He tapped his chest. “You’re hiding something and I want in.”

  I sat down. “I didn’t want to drag you into it.”

  “This thing between us—this bond—it doesn’t give us a choice, does it. I go where you go.”

  I sighed and nodded. “I’m sorry. You’re right.” I told him everything about Melusine and the plan to get rid of her, including Lacey learning magic from Cailleach.

  “Don’t you think you should have told me all this days ago?”

  I felt a twinge of guilt as the bond between us pulled and strained. “I know. I’m sorry.”

  Peter slammed his fists down on the table and I gasped at the violence of it. I’d never, ever seen Peter lose control.

  Is there a Protector version of ‘roid rage?

  He flattened his hands against the table again, but they were shaking. “You and me for always, remember? No matter what, I have your back and you have mine. Right?”

  A sudden chill crept up my spine. “Even if I’m wrong?” I asked softly.

  “Even if you’re wrong,” he replied without hesitation. “The way I see it, you pick a side and stick with it. Maybe sometimes we’ll be right and maybe sometimes we’ll be wrong, but if we stick with each other, it’ll even out in the end. If this is your plan, then I’m with you.”

  “What about Taliesin and Rowan?”

  Peter smiled and the man filled with coiled aggression who’d assaulted the furniture a moment ago was gone. “I’ve known those guys for like, what, five minutes? What do you think?” I leaned over to give him a fierce hug.

  “You and me,” he said when I released him.

  “You and me.” I agreed, but in my heart I knew I was capable of choosing something else.

  I pushed the thought away. “Do you want to go to the dance tonight?”

  “The Halloween dance? Are you joking? Why?”

  “Lacey wants me to meet her there so she can give me the rest of Cailleach’s instructions.”

  “Why doesn’t she come by and give them to you? Or text you?”

  Peter was right. Meeting Lacey at the dance seemed unnecessary, but I didn’t want to risk putting her off by being difficult about it. “I don’t know, but let’s just go with it, OK?”

  “Fine. But you know you have to dress up, right?”

  I stared at him as he smirked at me.

  Kill me now.

  CH
APTER THIRTY

  I checked myself out in the mirror again.

  “C’mon, what’s taking so long?” Peter had been asking some variation of that for the past half hour. Taking a deep breath, I opened the door and refused to look at his face until he said something.

  “Wow.”

  I could feel my cheeks burning. “Is it OK?”

  Peter laughed. “OK? Are you kidding me? Don’t get me wrong, Rhi, because I just don’t think of you that way, but you’re like totally hot.”

  I couldn’t help grinning. “Don’t be an idiot.”

  Dragon or no dragon, when Peter told me dressing up for the dance was mandatory, I wanted to scuttle the whole plan. He and Miko convinced Tynan and Daley to go too and it became a whole group date thing again.

  Because that turned out so well the last time.

  I fidgeted in my costume. Going as the Little Mermaid had seemed like a good idea at the time. Streaks of red hair paint enhanced the highlights in my hair and I’d scrunched and fluffed it into a mass of curls. A green bikini top was covered in sequins from the craft box hidden in the back of my closet. Rummaging through Mom’s wardrobe, I’d found a long green skirt so tight that I couldn’t imagine how she’d ever walked in it. It was made of a ruched material, and when I cut slits in the bottom edge, it fanned out to suggest a mermaid’s tail. The skirt hung low on the hips and it was sheer enough to show my legs and bikini bottoms in the light.

  I felt naked.

  Peter was dressed as Superman and it was the same costume he wore when he took Lacey the year before. I didn’t think it was the smartest idea, but it was too late to change now. Our school had a strict policy about dances—show up at the starting time or you didn’t get in.

  “Tynan’s going to pop a gasket.”

  “That’s not what I want.” I rummaged through my purse until I found the charm bracelet. I was starting to feel silly about hiding something so pretty. I fastened the silver chain around my wrist, but I still twisted it so the charm was on the inside and dangled against my palm. “I’m not interested in Tynan that way.”