Of Fire and Storm

by D. G. Swank

  She curled her upper lip. “You wear two spelled and blessed knives. Why wouldn’t we be wary?”

  I didn’t ask how they knew the blades were spelled and blessed. I imagined they knew that the same way they knew so many other unknowable things. “I’ve faced two demons today. I’m not going anywhere without these daggers right now.”

  “Two?” Deidre said, sounding worried.

  “A fire demon and a frost demon. One is dead, the other is missing a hand. Can you tell me any more about them?”

  Deidre cast a glance to her daughter, then scooped up the bones and shells for another throw. They landed with a clatter and she studied them for longer this time. “There is nothin’ to tell me more about the demons.”

  “But there is something there,” I said. “I can see it in your eyes.”

  “The man who gave you the pendant. He is so much more than he seems.”

  “I’ve figured that one out already. Can I trust him?” I asked her again.

  She was silent for nearly ten seconds. “The answer is still unclear. He will help you, but he has ulterior motives. Be wary.”

  “That’s it?”

  She lifted her shoulder into a lazy shrug, then scooped up the bones and shells again.

  “Can the demons see my aura?” I asked.

  “Yes,” Luna said. “You need new protections to hide yourself.”

  “And these protections will allow me to be close to a demon without it realizing what I am?”

  “Unless it already knows you,” Luna said. “You maimed one of the demons. Did it see your face?”

  “Yeah…”

  “Then it will know you. But if you wear the protection, you will go unnoticed with the others.”

  I turned back to Deidre. “You said there was a more permanent protection I could use, but that I wasn’t ready.”

  “A tattoo,” she said. “To protect your soul.”

  I shrank back in my chair. “What kind of tattoo?”

  “I need to do more research to be certain.”

  “So you’re not ready,” I countered.

  A wry grin spread across her face.

  I had to admit I was relieved. I wasn’t ready to get inked, especially if she wasn’t certain it would work.

  “In the meantime,” I said, “I could really use that ward to hide my ghost.”

  Deidre studied me for several seconds. “Why is this ghost so special? Is it the ghost of one of your parents?”

  I was unnerved she knew my parents were dead, but if she knew who I was, it stood to reason she’d done her research. “Never mind who the ghost is. Can you give me something to hide and protect it?”

  She sat back in her seat. “I can give you a short-term ward that you can place on your own, but I should come to your home in the near future to perform my own ceremony of protection.”

  “And how do I know you’re not going to do something to my house to make it a neon sign for ghosts and demons?”

  “How do you know the short-term ward will work at all?” She didn’t give me time to answer. “You came to me, slayer.”

  “I didn’t realize you’d be waiting for me.”

  She grinned, and it looked mischievous. “True, but here we are, nonetheless. We trust each other or we don’t.”

  “How are you trusting me?” I asked.

  “The demons will want to destroy us as well,” Luna said. “We’ve protected ourselves, but you could tell them where we are.”

  “And your shop doesn’t clue them in?” I asked incredulously.

  “There are many shops like ours, and most of the owners are either weak or imposters.”

  “So I was lucky when I found you?”

  Deidre laughed. “No. We led you here.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “How?”

  “We can’t share all of our secrets,” Deidre said as she got to her feet. “The protections are downstairs.”

  My breath stuck in my chest. Jack had sent me here. Was he the person I couldn’t trust? He was an Episcopal priest, for heaven’s sake. Of course I could trust him…right?

  We all left the room, Luna at my back. I was slightly unnerved since she still carried her machete, but if they’d intended to attack me, they probably would have done it by now. Besides, Rupert had made me practice an ambush from behind more times than I could count. It didn’t mean I’d win, but I’d have a better chance at survival.

  When we got downstairs, Deidre didn’t take me to the front. She opened a door in the hallway that led into what looked like a workroom. Shelves filled with glass jars lined two walls, and a tall table surrounded by several stools filled the center of the room. The surface of the table was covered with a couple of open books as well as an old-fashioned balancing scale and mortars and pestles.

  Deidre grabbed a jar from a shelf and placed it on the table. “First I’m goin’ to make the ward to protect your ghost.” She glanced back at Luna. “Get the stones for the protective pendants.”

  Luna headed down the hall to the shop area while Deidre began scooping herbs into one of the stone bowls and crushing them with a pestle.

  “Will I need to smear it on him?” I asked, suddenly nervous.

  “So it’s a him.” Deidre shot me a quick look before turning her attention back to the task at hand. “And how could you smear it on a ghost? They have no form.”

  Oh crap. I’d not only told her the gender of the ghost, I’d also revealed that I could physically touch him. “I was being sarcastic.”

  Her lips pursed as though she was thinking it over. “It’ll all go into a pouch. Ideally, the person needing the ward would wear it, but since it’s a ghost, place the bag at the entrance to the room, but be sure to salt all the openings.” She shot me a sly look. “Of course, it would be better if the ghost could wear it.”

  “Like I could figure out how to do that…” I said, trying to sound nonchalant.

  “You’ve figured out a way to cross the spiritual planes.” The fierceness in her eyes scared me.

  Luna walked back into the room just in time to hear her. “That’s impossible,” she scoffed in a disgusted tone.

  I shrugged as if to say, no shit, but didn’t respond.

  “How?” Deidre asked, her eyes guarded. “I saw it in the bones, but I didn’t believe it.”

  What else had she seen in the bones? There was probably no use denying the truth, but my gut told me not to tell her what I’d done to the attic.

  “Let’s just get the ward and the protections taken care of. Maybe we can discuss all the eccentricities of my job next time.”

  “When I ward your house,” Deidre said.

  “How much is all of this going to cost?” I realized I should have pressed her about the cost sooner. She’d deflected my question earlier.

  “I’m sure we can work out a deal,” Deidre said. “Seein’ how we expect you to be a repeat customer.” Then she waved to a stool on my side of the table. “Have a seat while we get you fixed up.”

  Even though she’d shed some of her hostility, Luna still looked much less hospitable than her mother. “How many protection amulets do you need for your friends?”

  “Three,” I said, “but two are guys, so maybe keep that in mind.”

  Rolling her eyes, she turned to her mother. “Knowing what we know now, do you want to add anything to hers?” She gestured in my direction.

  Deidre pinned her calculating stare on me. “She still needs obsidian but use the ultra-pure piece we bought in Mexico. And add a piece of blue kyanite.”

  Luna’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.

  “She’s stronger than we thought. The demons will figure it out as well.”

  She nodded with a frown, then left the room.

  “What’s she doing?” I asked.

  “We’d prepared a talisman of sorts for you, but after what you told us, I think you need a stronger piece of obsidian. The blue kyanite will help guard you against the head games the demons will play.”

>   When she saw my surprise, she chuckled. “I told you we knew you’d come.”

  “Then why did Luna turn me away when I showed up?”

  “She’s scared of you and what you bring to our door.”

  That sobered me. After what happened to Rhys’s girlfriend, I felt like a walking curse. I could hardly blame someone else for seeing me that way. “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t you be sorry, child. Our destiny’s firmly tied to yours.”

  I made no effort to hide my shock.

  “I’ve known it for years,” she said with resignation as she returned to mixing her herbs. “I’ve been preparin’. I was told to come here and wait for you.”

  “How long have you been waiting?”

  “Seven years.”

  I sucked in a breath, my head swimming. “No. I’m sure you got it wrong. I can’t be the person you were waiting for.” Because if I was, that meant I was important enough to have disrupted multiple people’s lives.

  Which meant I had some monumental task to fulfill.

  Which I was utterly unprepared to fulfill.

  She gave me a stern look. “I don’t make mistakes, you hear me?”

  I startled at her tone. “Yes, ma’am.”

  “That’s more like it. And don’t you worry about Luna and me. We all have our parts.”

  “So we all have roles,” I said. “But what’s the play?”

  Deidre gave me a reassuring smile. “A hero’s story, summer child.”

  I couldn’t decide if her optimism stemmed from confidence or foolishness. The dread in my gut steered me toward the latter. From where I was standing, this was looking more like a tragedy.

  Chapter 18

  A half hour later, Deidre sent me on my way with instructions on how to set the ward. I’d considered throwing caution to the wind and asking her how a ghost could wear it, but I’d already been too trusting.

  I couldn’t stop thinking about her insistence that someone would betray me. Was Olivia the culprit? It seemed the logical choice, yet we weren’t close. Not in the slightest. In my gut, I feared my betrayer was Rhys, but I made myself stop dwelling on it. Of course, there was a chance that Deidre had simply planted the idea to mess with my head. If she turned me against my friends, then I’d be more likely to turn to her and her daughter. And then she could use me to cross the spiritual plane.

  Now I was being paranoid. Or was I?

  I’d asked her about how she’d known to come to Asheville and wait for me, but she’d been nearly as vague and evasive as I’d been in response to her questions about the spiritual plane.

  Hudson still wasn’t home when I pulled into the driveway. My hair stood on end as soon as I got out of the car, and I could sense more supernatural creatures hidden in the tree line behind the house. I considered confronting them, but they gave off the neutral vibe of the Nunnehi, and I figured it would be a better use of my time to make sure Tommy was protected.

  When I got inside, I set Hudson’s pendant on the table, then headed upstairs with the ward. I stopped at the door to the attic and closed my eyes, focusing on the alternate version of the attic I’d created. A sudden twinge of fear gave me pause. What if I couldn’t go back to Tommy’s dimension?

  Thankfully, I had nothing to worry about. Tommy was still where I’d left him, playing with Lincoln Logs.

  He turned around to face me. “I thought you were leaving, Piper.”

  I started to tell him I’d been gone for nearly an hour and a half, then stopped. Time flowed differently here—something I’d do well to remember if I spent much time with him. When I’d gone downstairs after first getting him settled, I’d lost a good half hour to forty minutes.

  “I’m leaving now,” I said. “But I have something to protect you from the monsters.”

  “A bow and arrow?” he asked with wide eyes.

  “No, those are dangerous. It’s a bag of plants and rocks.” I held it up and showed it to him.

  He wrinkled his nose. “It’s stinky.”

  “That’s part of what keeps the monsters away. I’m going to put it downstairs, but I don’t want you to touch it, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  “You’re a good boy.” I reached out to him, and he wrapped his arms around my neck and pressed himself against me. “I might be late coming back, so if you get sleepy, you can go to bed. I’ll check on you when I get home.”

  “Will you read me a story?”

  I smiled. “How about I read you one of my favorites? Junie B. Jones. My mom used to read it to me when I was little.”

  “I don’t know that one.”

  I wasn’t surprised. It had been published about forty years after his death. “Then it’ll be extra special.”

  I kissed his soft cheek, then reluctantly stood. What if the ward didn’t work? What if the demons found him? What if the creatures outside were planning to get him after I left? I reminded myself that they’d had plenty of opportunity to do that before I’d come home.

  No, the creatures outside were here for me.

  Nevertheless, I considered calling the whole thing off to stay home and watch over him. But Deidre had sworn the ward would work, and if I could find the Great One, maybe Tommy wouldn’t have to worry about monsters anymore.

  I was lying to myself, of course—there would always be more demons—but I let myself believe it for one sweet moment.

  I checked the windows to make sure they were still salted, then checked the bed to make sure he had a blanket to cover up when he got tired. He’d gone back to the Lincoln Logs, so I walked over and kissed him on top of the head, surprised at the maternal feelings that had sprung up since I’d met this boy.

  Sure, I’d wanted a husband and children someday, but it was an abstract wish, something for the future. This boy drew something out of me I hadn’t expected, and I wasn’t sure what to do with that. “Be good while I’m gone.”

  He looked up at me with trusting eyes. “I will, Piper.”

  I forced myself to go downstairs and place the ward. While driving home, I’d struggled with whether to leave it in Tommy’s dimension or my own. In hindsight, I wished I’d gotten one for both, but there was no fixing that now, and asking for a second one would only have intrigued Deidre more. I ultimately left it on the bottom step in Tommy’s plane of existence. He was firmly entrenched in his dimension, which meant a demon would have to enter it to get to him. And if I left it in Tommy’s dimension, it was less likely for Hudson to find it on the off chance he decided to go into the attic.

  I estimated I’d been upstairs for no more than ten minutes, but when I glanced at the clock in my room, I realized I’d lost nearly an hour—it was after ten. Then it hit me that I hadn’t heard back from Abel. Maybe he’d changed his mind. What if something had happened to him? I felt a mild panic at that thought, but I quickly pushed it aside.

  If anyone could take care of himself, it was Kieran Abel.

  I pulled on a pair of knee-high, three-inch-heeled black boots Rhys had loaned me. I would have preferred something more practical, but the heels weren’t stilettos and the design helped disguise the dagger hilts with the blades tucked inside. Plus, Rhys had broken them in, so they only hurt my feet after the end of a very long day. I switched my T-shirt and sweater for a black silk, sleeveless shirt with a high-collared neckline that buttoned at the nape of my neck. I’d braided my hair after washing it, so I left it as it was. As a final touch, I applied makeup to give myself smoky eyes and red lipstick. I was headed to a party for college students. I needed to stand out. I needed to draw the demons’ attention.

  I fingered the bracelet on my wrist. There had been too many stones for a necklace, so Deidre had put it on a chain on my left wrist. I’d be hard-pressed to explain it as a fashion choice since most of the stones were some shade of dull black or brown. Definitely not your typical charm bracelet. Deidre and Luna claimed it considerably dimmed my aura—not completely, but enough to help me hide from demons. I had to take thei
r word for it since seeing auras wasn’t in my skill set.

  Hudson still wasn’t home, and I wondered if he’d found his next blond girlfriend who was destined to cheat on him. But I was anxious. Something big was about to happen. I could feel it like you could feel the ozone in the air before a thunderstorm. Shivering at the sense of foreboding, I tucked two of Deidre’s pendants into my jeans pocket just before I left.

  I grabbed my phone and called Hudson as I headed south to Fairview. When he answered, I could hear loud music in the background.

  “Pippy!” he shouted above the noise. “It’s not too late to celebrate your birthday!”

  “Thanks,” I said, feeling relieved. Deep down I was worried a demon would get to him. “It sounds like you’re celebrating for me.”

  “I had dinner with a new client tonight,” he said. “A big client.”

  “Congrats,” I said. “You’ve kicked ass the last few months. I’m proud of you.”

  “Why are you calling? Did your plans fall through? Are you home?”

  “No, I’m on my way to do a little investigating, but hopefully it won’t take too long.”

  “Investigating?”

  “No ghosts tonight; I’m just checking up on something,” I said. “I should be home soon.”

  “Well, I’ll be late. We’re planning to hit a party later.”

  “A party?” Was he going to the warehouse party?

  “Yeah, my new client wants to introduce me to her friends.”

  The tension in my shoulders eased. Hudson had graduated three years ago, and he’d never been into wild parties, even back then. If his client was taking him to meet friends, I had nothing to worry about. Most of his clients were middle-aged couples.

  I heard someone call out his name. “Coming, Rosalyn. Gotta go, Pippy,” he said. “If you change your mind about celebrating, call me and you can hang out with us.” Then he hung up.

  As I got closer to the warehouse, my anxiety began to spike. I was unsure of what to hope for. Ideally, I’d find the Great One, but I didn’t delude myself into thinking I could take the demon on by myself. I was fairly certain it wasn’t called the Great One for nothing, and I’d barely handled the lesser demons I’d faced today. My plan was to get into the VIP area and wing it from there. Deidre had said the bracelet should conceal me from demons as long as I didn’t use my power and kept my distance. I’d do a little reconnaissance, then report back to Jack. As far as plans went, it sucked, but it was all I had.