by TJ Green
“A time-walker? It’s a term I’ve heard of, but I don’t know much else,” Briar confessed.
“Neither do we,” Alex said. “But I have an idea for where to find her. We’re going to spirit walk.”
Reuben frowned. “That could be dangerous if she can do that, too.”
“But I can cover a lot of area that way, and I might be able to pick up her energy signature.”
Avery added, “He won’t be alone. We’ll go together.”
“Where will you look?”
“Natural springs, waterfalls—I need to start checking uncle Google,” Alex said.
“And what about protecting Old Haven Church from paranormal obsessives?” Newton asked, still bristling with annoyance. “The police can’t do this.”
Alex smiled. “Our friend, Gabe, is looking for some security work.”
Newton looked stunned. “The Nephilim guy?”
“It’s a great fit, surely! Nephilim protecting the Church. Perfect,” Alex said, grinning. “In fact, I’ll call him now.”
“No, wait,” Avery said, stilling his hand. “Let me check with James first. Is he at home, Newton?”
“Maybe. It depends if he’s conscious, or has concussion.”
Avery sat silently thinking for a moment. She really didn’t want to talk to James after their conversation, but she knew she had to. He was injured because she hadn’t intervened more forcefully, and the church grounds would be swamped with paranormal enthusiasts unless they acted quickly. And she liked him, despite their differences. He was a good man, and she wanted to help him. “I’ll call him now. And Briar, what do you want to do about Caspian’s offer of help?”
“Call him. We need all the help we can get.”
Avery promptly called Caspian before James. He answered with a slow drawl. “Avery. What a pleasure.”
She cut to the chase. “Did you mean what you offered earlier? About El?”
“Of course.”
“Then could you come to El’s flat? Briar has made virtually no progress, and we need help now.”
Avery could sense him bristling with smugness at being asked, and she fought to subdue her annoyance. “It will be my pleasure. I’ll be there within the hour.”
“Do you need the address?”
“Of course not. I know where she lives.” And with that he hung up, leaving her infuriated.
She then called James, but it went straight to voicemail. She looked up at Alex. “I’m going to his house. Want to come?”
“Sure. Newton, we’ll call you with news about the Nephilim and the church. Until then, see if you can post a couple of police up there for a short time. We don’t need anyone else to get injured.”
“And what about these other Device witches?” Newton asked, concerned.
“We’ll deal with those when they arrive.”
***
“I’m not sure how pleased he will be to see us,” Avery said to Alex as they stood poised on James’s doorstep, ready to knock.
Alex smiled that slow, sexy smile that always turned her knees to water. “You’re adorable, you know that?”
She flushed with pleasure. “Well, thanks, but that doesn’t help me right now.”
“I’m telling you that you’re adorable, and that doesn’t help?”
She laughed. “It’s awesome, and you’re adorable, too. But I don’t think James thinks I am.”
“Clearly he’s an idiot,” he said softly as he leaned in for a kiss that left her breathless, and she pushed him away playfully.
“We’re snogging on the vicar’s doorstep. Behave!”
He laughed as she knocked on the door, and they heard footsteps approach from the other side. The woman who answered looked to be in her late thirties, with shoulder-length brown hair and tired eyes. She was petite in build, shorter than Avery, and she looked up, frowning uncertainly. “Can I help you?”
“Hi, I’m Avery, and this is Alex. Any chance we can chat to James for a moment?”
As soon as Avery mentioned their names her face fell, a trace of fear flashed through her eyes, and she stepped back. Avery’s stomach turned. Was this woman afraid of her?
“What do you want?”
“Just to talk. I heard he was hurt earlier today.”
“Yes, thanks to you. His arm’s broken and he banged his head.”
“And that’s why we’re here. I did ask him not to go there today,” Avery said gently. “Are you his wife? You must be worried. We want to help.”
For one horrible moment, Avery thought she was going to slam the door in her face and wondered if they would have to glamour her, which she didn’t really want to do. But then his wife stepped back again, opening the door wider. “Come in. I’ll take you to him.”
They stepped inside and Avery held her hand out, “And your name is?”
She hesitated for a second, and then shook her offered hand. “Elise.”
Alex did the same, and gave her his most gleaming smile. “Thanks, Elise. We appreciate this.”
She turned her back and led them down a wide entrance hall, and Avery and Alex exchanged a furtive glance. This was going to be hard.
The house was warm from the central heating, the entrance hall and corridor were panelled with wood, and the floor covered with rugs. Stray toys were strewn along the way, and as they walked, Elise picked them up wearily. They entered a living room, filled with the chaos of family life, and passing through it, she led them to a door at the back of the house. She knocked tentatively and then pushed the door open. “James, you have visitors.”
It was a study, lit with a single lamp, and furnished with a desk overflowing with papers, and several bookcases full of books. James was reclining in a large armchair, the material of the arms and headrest worn thin over the years. A fire was burning low in the hearth, and he sat looking into the flames, vacant. He didn’t turn his head.
Elise glanced at them, and then marched over to the fire and threw another log on, prodding it back into life.
Avery moved around the front of the chair very slowly, as if she was approaching a scared child, and dropped to her knees so she was at his eye level. “Hi James, how are you?”
For a second he didn’t move, and then he raised his eyes slowly to meet hers, cradling his left arm, which was now encased in plaster. “Not great.”
“I’m really sorry you were hurt today, we both are.” She nodded to Alex, who now moved into James’s line of sight, and he sat cross-legged on the floor, nodding at James in sympathy. Avery continued, “How are you feeling?”
“Pretty confused actually, Avery.” He looked across her towards Elise, and Elise straightened and left the room. He waited until her steps retreated. “I’m not exactly sure what happened today, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t a hoax.”
“What do you think it was, then?” Avery felt her throat constrict with worry, but she kept her expression calm and relaxed.
James looked away, back into the fire. “I felt a jolt of something flash up my arm and through my body. It felt like every nerve ending was on fire, and it just threw me, right off the ladder and back against a tree. But I saw something...”
Avery looked at Alex, who appeared calm, but she knew he was as worried as she was. She prompted James, “What did you see?”
“A face, a woman’s face. Old eyes, so very old. Haunted.”
“How did you see her face?”
“In my mind.” He turned to her, his eyes equally haunted, and lifted his uninjured hand, pointing to his head. “Right in here. Just for a second. And a voice was shouting something like, ‘No, run away, preacher man.’ Then I blacked out, but her face is stuck here. Every time I close my eyes, I see her.”
Alex frowned and leaned forward. “Did you feel anything? Any emotion?”
“Yes.” His eyes moved to Alex. “A raging anger. Who is she?”
“We don’t know,” Alex confessed. “But we’re trying to find out.”
“Would you recognis
e her again?” Avery asked, eagerly.
“Oh, yes. Definitely.”
“That may help us, I guess,” Avery mused.
James added, “There’s power around there. I sensed it. It was eerie. It felt very different from when that spirit was in the church. Those things on the tree, you called them witch-signs. Is she a witch? Are you?”
Avery felt her breath catch in her throat and she faltered for a second. Before she could respond, James leapt in. “Yes, I see it in your face.” He looked at Alex. “Are you?”
Alex kept his gaze firmly locked with James’s. “There are many definitions of a witch.”
James allowed himself a brief smile. “Semantics. What’s your definition?”
“What’s yours?” Alex countered.
For a few seconds the room was silent, and all Avery could hear were the shifting embers, crackling logs in the fire, and the quiet tick-tock of the clock on the wall, which seemed to get louder with every passing moment.
A new hardness entered James’s voice. “I’ve heard of Wicca, of course—witches who celebrate the seasons, who worship the Goddess, who forgo the one true God. But there are also those who sign pacts with the Devil, who wear the Devil’s mark, who have familiars who do their bidding, who cast spells and engage with the occult. Which are you?”
Avery sighed and hardened her tone too as she came to a decision. This was not the time for lies, and if this went badly, they could still glamour him. “There are no witches who sign pacts with the Devil, James. That’s medieval nonsense. Innocent men and women were burned for it, including my ancestor, Helena Marchmont. But yes, I am a witch. I perform magic, natural magic.” She watched James’s face change and his eyes widen with surprise. “Actual magic. It has been passed down to me through the centuries, and to Alex, from his family. We have no pacts with anyone, and we are good, our magic used to protect. We protect White Haven, and that includes you.”
His eyes narrowed with suspicion and doubt. “What do you mean, ‘actual magic?’”
Avery glanced at Alex, and he nodded. Turning to James, she summoned air, and a small breeze drifted around her, lifting her hair. She sent it around the room, ruffling the papers on his desk and lifting them until they floated freely for a few seconds, and then moving on to brush across Alex and James’s hair, too. James started, the shock clear on his face. Alex then turned to the fire and made the flames grow higher and higher, creating twisting shapes within them, and then he held his palm out and summoned a flame onto his hands.
James edged back in his chair, a mixture of fear and wonder in his eyes. “Actual magic,” he said, exhaling softly.
“Elemental magic,” Avery corrected, watching his reaction.
“I think I’m concussed.”
Avery smiled. “You might be, but it is real. And it has nothing to do with the Devil.”
Alex was watching James carefully, and he leaned forward. “We’re trusting you with this information, James. It’s a secret—between us.”
James nodded in acceptance. “You could have lied.”
“Yes, we could have—and still can.”
“Are there more than just you two?”
Alex hesitated a second. “Yes, but we won’t tell you who they are. It’s not important.”
James accepted this silently. “And this woman in my head?”
“Another witch, but we have no idea who she is or what she wants,” Avery answered. “It’s important we keep people away from Old Haven right now.”
“And that includes you,” Alex added.
“Do those paranormal investigators know about you?”
Avery nodded. “Please believe me when I say that we are safe, James. You have nothing to fear from us, but you also have no idea of the nature of magic and how dangerous it can be. It is powerful and mysterious, and can be used for ill by those who choose to do so.”
“Like that witch. She threatened me,” he said, starting to get angry.
“Which is why you need to stay out of it,” Alex said, insistent.
James stared at him, and it was clear that his moment of wonder was ebbing back towards fear and suspicion. Had they just made a terrible mistake? “How do we stop what’s happening at Old Haven?”
“We’re working on it,” Alex said. “But we need time and space.”
“As I told you yesterday,” Avery said, unable to keep the impatience from her voice.
“You can’t just remove those things with your—” he swallowed, “magic?”
“No. But we can protect the area. We have friends who can help; they work in security. Shall I ask them?” Alex asked.
“Who are they?” James looked warily between them. “Other witches?”
“No. But they’re strong, and no one can do this better. Their manager,” Avery said, inwardly wincing at the lie, “is called Gabe, and you’re welcome to meet him.”
“All right,” he said, resignation and desperation all over his face. “Now, please go and let me try to get my head around this. What do we tell the press?”
Alex smiled. “You don’t want them to know now? Because they saw a lot there today.”
“No. Not now.” He held his hand to his head again, looking appalled. “Can you imagine what they’d say?”
Avery rose to her feet. “They ended up interviewing Newton, the DI, and Ben and the others, so it’s already done. Not sure if that will calm anything down, though. We’ll be in touch.”
11
Once again, Avery and Alex sat within a protective circle on the rug in front of Alex’s fire, just as they had done the first time that Avery spirit walked with him.
The room was dimly lit with only candles and firelight, and Avery sat cross-legged and knee-to-knee with Alex. He held the small, silver goblet filled with the potion to help them enter the necessary mind state, and he took a sip before passing it to Avery. She grimaced as she sipped and then passed it back. She had forgotten how bitter it was. “Where are we going first?”
“Up to Old Haven. I thought it would be interesting to see how it appears in our spirit state,” he said, reaching forward and squeezing her hands. “And then on from there over the moors. Maybe follow the river up the valley.”
Avery nodded. “Do you remember the last time we did this?”
“Of course. It was the first time I kissed you.”
Avery reached forward and stroked his cheek, feeling a wave of longing rush over her. “Lucky me. I misjudged you then.”
“I know, but I forgive you,” he said cheekily, and then pulled her in for a kiss again. “Stop being so distracting. We have work to do.”
“All right, I’ll distract you later.” She lay down and held his hand as they had done before, and listened to him say the spell that helped their spirits leave their body.
She felt herself slip from consciousness into some strange dreamstate, and as before, Alex lifted from his body first and floated above her, his body shimmering silver, a cord linking him back to his corporeal self.
He smiled down at her and pulled gently, and she felt the jolt as she floated to join him. His voice resonated in her head. Do you need to go around the room again first?
No, I’m fine, she replied. Let’s get on with it.
He turned and pulled her through the walls of his flat and out above the streets of White Haven. Although it was cold out she felt perfectly warm and comfortable, impervious to the autumn weather, but the elemental energies looked very different tonight. Rain and wind swirled about them, and the sky overhead was heavy with brooding clouds, appearing purple and grey on this plane. Street lights still sparked brightly below them, and Avery could see the auras of the people who were braving the weather. Above the town was the faint pulse of their magic, released on the night when they broke the binding spell, much smaller than it had been. However, Alex didn’t hesitate, pulling her quickly over the town and towards Old Haven on the hill.
There were no people up there. The landscape was quiet and da
rk, and the bulk of the church was solid below them. But behind it, a dark red glow seemed to vibrate in the night. Can you see it? Alex asked, his voice in her head as he guided them closer.
Yes. That’s a pretty threatening energy signature. A red aura around a person could mean passion, energy, and strength, but when it was cloudy and tinged with black as this was, it meant anger and negativity. Does that reflect the witch’s aura? Avery asked. Alex understood this better than she did.
Probably. She built this spell, and as we thought, it’s very strong.
As they moved closer, staying clear of the energy field, Avery saw silvery sigils glowing around the area. Wards.
She means business, Alex said. I wonder if these were added today, after James’s attempt to remove the witch-signs.
Maybe the area doesn’t need protecting by Gabe. These wards would discourage anyone from getting closer.
The runes were protective, but also defensive, and Avery could feel their power from here. She wondered what sort of a spell it was.
Maybe James’s attempt to remove a witch-sign triggered them, and that’s why he heard her in his head? Alex suggested.
Avery agreed, but was distracted by something beneath the cloudy red area that seemed to emanate from the yew itself. Can you see that? She pointed towards the heart of the tree.
The yew’s trunk and branches were flush with a green aura, indicating life and vitality, and all the other trees and bushes vibrated with the same colour. The yew’s, however, was darker and richer, Avery thought probably as a sign of its great age. But within its hollow trunk, she saw a faintly iridescent, white glow.
Alex twisted as he tried to get a better view. That’s a different energy signature.
I agree. But what does it mean?
I think that whatever she’s doing is working, and a portal is starting to form.
But to where? The last one we saw was full of fire and darkness.
Hopefully not to demon realms, then. The witch-signs are resonating, too.
He was right. There were lots of them hanging in the yew and the surrounding trees, and they also glowed with rainbow colours, shaking slightly with power.