“Is it a vision? Should I get Lurleene?” Cayden asked Summer as he reached her, still looking around the room, tirelessly searching for the healer.
“No, it’s nothing. I’m fine.” Summer eased his mind as she touched his face. He let out a sigh of relief and kissed her forehead, a gesture she had come to expect.
Everyone had started to descend into the lower chambers, where they would cover the clothes of a mortal with the robes of the coven. Summer went first this time, down the stone stairs into the cool, damp clutches of the room. Cayden’s hand stayed on her shoulder as she went to take her robe. He let go so that she could shrug it on. He reached for his and went from the man she loved to the warlock she loved. The transformation wasn’t much of a difference, but he looked sexy as hell in the brown fabric.
She smiled to herself in spite of the circumstances and reprimanded herself for thinking of anything other than the summons she was about to perform. She brought the photo in which Faline’s image was forever captured to mind and held the image steady, praying she wouldn’t screw this up. The coven members circled around the stone slab as Cayden walked from candle to candle, lighting them and calling the corners. He came to her, kissed her lightly, and then helped her up onto the pedestal made of rough rock. She did as Cayden had told her. She moved to the center, placing her toes at two points of the pentacle.
As the coven members offered up blessings to the god and goddess, Summer silently prepared herself, running the words of the spell through her mind, imagining Faline as she did. Finally, it was Cayden’s turn. He stood directly in front of Summer, raised his hands and tipped his head back. He chanted softly and when he brought his head back to worship Summer, his eyes had turned to starless holes, with slivers of silver swimming in a circle around his irises.
He nodded at Summer, signaling her to start the summons. She did as he had done, brought her hands up, palms to the sky and closed her eyes. Thinking of nothing, but Faline’s flowing hair and kind face as she recited the spell.
“I search the universe for a spirit, strong and true to the very end. I look in field and fairy glen and where the dragons once have been. I search for truth and honesty; I look for love and loyalty. I touch the pulse of energy, I manifest Faline.”
The coven went slack-jawed as Summer opened her eyes, never stopping the steady stream of the spell as it rolled forth and showered the coven with shivers. Where a beautiful woman once stood, a goddess had taken her place. Her blonde curls waved and spiraled around her face and she had gravitated a foot off the stone altar. Fire sprang from the soft palms that were still turned towards heaven. The soft flames highlighted where her eyes had been, two burning pieces of charcoal now sat in their place.
She threw her head back and growled as a figure materialized between Cayden and the woman who was suspended in mid-air. The figure took the shape of a woman with long hair. Summer and Faline wafted there, the pentacle between them. Summer looked at Faline and began to speak.
“Faline, I have summoned you here to ask for your help.” Her voice sounded foreign and was rebounding off the stone walls as if she was talking from some distant, far off place. “I don’t have the book you offered me and we are running out of options. Can you tell me where the book is?”
Faline looked disappointed as she answered. “I can not help you, Summer. I come from a place that has rules the likes of which you could never imagine. If I help you or tell you where the book is, I will lose everything.” Faline floated in place, flickering and fading as if a candle in the wind.
“I wrote that book as a mortal, when I was still alive, so it was safe for me to give to you. Any information I might have in my current form, I’m restricted from giving to anyone. The repercussions of such an action would doom me.”
Summer’s eyes swelled with the ink-like substance as she spoke again. “I don’t understand. What are we supposed to do?”
Faline put her hands together, brought them to her lips. “You will figure it out. You will conquer this evil; you just have to have faith.”
Summer’s lips twitched, “Faith in what, Faline?”
“In yourself, trust yourself to now what you should do when the time is right.” Faline lowered her hands. “I must go,” she said in haste.
Just as quickly as she had appeared, she was gone.
The flames that had taken over Summer’s thin hands sputtered and died out. Her eyes thawed and blinked back to normal. She collapsed onto the stone, panting. Cayden closed the corners in a blur and rushed to pick her up off the stone. As he bundled her in his arms, he asked if she was okay.
With tears in her eyes, she hid her face in his shoulder. “I’m fine, I….” she trailed off.
As Cayden carried her back up the steps he urged her speak, “You what?”
She looked at him with horror in her eyes. “I expected Faline to know what to do.” A single drop escaped and slid down her cheek. “Cayden, what will we do? I can’t defeat him. I just can’t. Everyone I know and love will be a part of my destruction, will be caught up in it.”
He hushed her, sat her on the couch. Sophie was right behind them. She once again pulled Summer’s head against her ample bosom as she cooed. Scooting back, Sophie allowed Lurleene passage.
“Cherie, do you need me?” Lurleene waited, a faithful friend, ready and willing to ease her pain.
Summer had cried without knowing it, tears were falling freely, drenching her neck and making her eyes hurt. “Thank you, Lurleene, but no. I actually feel fine.”
“Well, now, that’s great news.” Lurleene waited for someone to agree with her and giving up, she smacked Sophie on the arm.
Sophie jumped and immediately agreed, “Yes, ma’am, great news indeed.” She cleared her throat as silence once again took over.
The coven had traveled upstairs and huddled around the pair on the couch. Cayden got to his feet and addressed the coven members. “If everyone wants to go refresh themselves, feel free. We might need to give Summer some breathing room.”
In salute, they recognized the wisdom in his words and shuffled in unison to the kitchen. Cayden sat back down next to Summer and smeared the wetness away from her face with his thumbs. “We’re going to figure something out. I promise.”
“You keep saying that, but what you don’t understand is that people will die or become slaves, which would be worse.” Summer threw herself back into the cushions in a churlish manner. “Do you want to die, Cayden? Is that why you’re with me, you have some kind of death wish?”
The words should have hurt him, at least made him flinch, but he slid closer. “If having a death wish is what has to happen in order to be with you, then yes.” He raised his head in defiance. “I resent the fact that you would think I’m that much of a coward that I wouldn’t die for the woman I love.”
“That’s not what I meant, and I’m sorry.” She flung her hands in the air. “I just don’t know what to do. I’ve never been faced with all of this. My hardest decision up to this point in my life was whether I should go to Arizona or Maine.”
Cayden brushed a curl from her forehead. “Do you realize the amount of courage and strength it has taken you to get this far in so few days?” He put his hand on her leg, rubbed. “Most people would’ve run for the hills screaming. But, no you. You’ve stayed and you’re determined to not only be a hero, but a silent one that the world will never recognize. You’re doing all of this for the world, for the underworld without an ounce of glory.”
“It’s not all selfless. I’m also saving my own hide. I might’ve run, but I knew I wouldn’t get far from him anyway. It wouldn’t have mattered where I went.”
“Well, you got that right.” He rumpled her hair affectionately as he got to his feet again. “Listen, I’m going to go get you something to drink and eat and we’re going to act like this is a party and you know what a party means, right?”
She looked up at him. “No, what does a party mean?” she asked.
“It m
eans you have to mingle.” He winked as he joined the rest of the group crowded in the kitchen, filling plates and glasses.
Summer knew she had to do something. She would never be able to put these people in harm’s way. Faline’s words skipped in her mind like a broken record. Have faith in yourself. How could she have faith in herself when she knew that whatever she chose to do was bound to doom the friends she had just found? There was only one way to have faith in herself and that was to come up with a plan. A plan that included nobody else but herself, one that left the man she loved and her exceptionally magical clan somewhere safe. And the only safe place right now was far, far away from her.
Chapter 22
That night Summer dreamed for the first time in her life. She dreamed of spirits with luminescent wings. Some bore the faces of familiar souls while there were others she hadn’t seen before. They came to her, talking with no sound as she tried endlessly to read their glittering lips. An army of them scattered in the wind, the farthest in the distance resembling a tiny puff of cloud. They touched her arms and a toasty snug feeling made the expedition across her body. The surroundings were sky blue, as if they had flown her to the very highest point of heaven.
Puffy vapor misted around each flying spirit, making them gleam and reflect the sunlight that shone from somewhere above them. Their skin was almost white, sheer. She was positive she could see through them to the other side if she tried hard enough. They wore armor of some sort, made from burnished copper and swords with jeweled handles hung at their sides. They looked like warrior angels, massive and protective force.
A tiny beam of light traveled closer, gradually increasing in size as Summer saw the flowing blonde hair. She knew who it was without the face having revealed itself yet. Faline! She unfolded her wings as she came to Summer. They reached at least ten feet on either side and the sheen reminded Summer of the silver tinsel she used to hang on her Christmas tree as a child.
The glitz had Summer staggering. Faline’s eyes met hers and Summer could read what was there. There, in Faline’s eyes, she saw what she had to do, what she must do. She only prayed she had the strength. That the weakness she had felt all her life had vanished along with her misconceptions. What terrified her the most was that she could still feel it. That haunting voice inside her head, the one that told her how crazy she was, was telling her this was all a dream taking place somewhere inside her unstable subconscious.
****
Summer sat bolt upright in bed, her mind already performing the tasks she had to complete. And she had to complete them without waking the sleeping man beside her. She eased the covers back and, moving one leg at a time managed to slip from the bed. Turning, she slid, her soles coming to rest noiselessly on the floor. Creeping on tip toe, she journeyed towards the door and stopped dead in her tracks when she heard Cayden take a deep breath and move in the bed, the sheets making a swishing sound.
She waited for him to call out, but he didn’t. After delaying for a minute, she started for the door again and made it. In the hallway, she avoided the creaks that came with the old house by walking along the wall, arching her back in an effort not to knock any of the framed photos to the hardwood. When Summer had made it to the stairs, she decided to take them quick, there was no way to avoid the groan of the old steps like there had been in the hallway.
Her bare feet made slapping noises against the wood as she took them two at a time. At the third to last step, she caught the edge with her heel and almost went tumbling. Catching herself on the banister, she went still hoping she hadn’t waked him with her fumbling feet. Cursing her natural clumsiness, she made it to the landing. Turning, she headed for the sun room where Cayden kept all his supplies.
She quickly grabbed up a few small sized crystal decanters that were labeled. She placed the pepper, leek, curry and a sprig of African violet in a basket that lay by the door. Cayden had showed her this room, though only briefly. He had pointed out where the herbs, incenses and oils were kept and after reading his family’s books, she had gathered the necessary knowledge to do what she was about to do without knowing it. The candles she needed were already in the chambers.
The stone steps chilled her feet as she took herself to the room under the house. She shivered, either from fear or cold, she didn’t know which. Her determination hadn’t faltered, but now that she had reached her destination she wondered if she was doing the right thing. She didn’t have any other choice. Cayden would probably never forgive her; the coven members might also bear feelings of betrayal, think she had gotten a big head and admonish her for being so careless. On the other hand, the hand that held all her dreams, she could save the day. She could save herself, her soul mate and her friends without anyone ever being the wiser.
If it succeeded, fingers crossed, and it made her sick tomorrow, she would make up a story of a vision. As she continued with her inner battle, she started the business of preparing the sight. She had stripped herself of her nightclothes, her blue tank top and the same sweats she had had on that first night she made love to Cayden. She loved those pants. Glancing at them, in a heap on the stone floor, Summer prayed she’d get the chance to wear them again. The brown robe swept the floor as she walked towards the altar.
She had studied Cayden and his movements, watched as he crushed herbs into the bowl and sprinkled them with the oil. She mocked him as she walked the four corners, calling forth all the help she could get. She crushed the African violet in the bowl, added the other ingredients and sprinkled lavender oil over the top. The redolence of the brew gave her poise enough to hoist herself up onto the altar for the second time that day.
Planting her feet at the two points, she once again held up her arms, the flesh of her sensitive palms pushing up. One last time, she cast a glance around the room and said goodbye. If she didn’t make it, she hoped that one day Cayden would stumble upon the imprint of energy she left, confirming that she had done this for him, for all of them.
Tipping her head back, she closed her eyes and brought back the image she never again wanted to lay eyes on again. She was bringing herself back into her worst nightmare. Alsandair’s face came at her and she fought to keep herself from flinching away from the image. His yellow pointed teeth hung over his bottom lip as they had the last time she had seen him. She felt herself being sucked away from the chambers and into the mouth of her enemy.
When the whirling stopped, she was fixed in front of the bone throne and looking at Alsandair. His eyes were already lit, glowing red with embers as he snarled at her. His pasty hair churned as if he was standing in the middle of a windstorm. She gave him the opportunity for the first word.
“You’ve come back to me, have you?” His voice was hollow, sodden with animosity. “You are either the bravest or most brainless mortal I have ever met. Tell me which is it? Are you stupid or have you reconsidered my offer?”
“I haven’t reconsidered a fucking thing. I will never willingly be your slave.”
Alsandair hissed. “Oh, rest assured, you don’t have to be willing.”
Summer mustered a grin as she replied. “How many times have you tried now? I bet you feel like a complete failure, especially when you were about to diddle me with that toothpick you call a dick.”
He showed his teeth and leaped from the throne. “I don’t think you truly understand what sort of trouble you are in, bitch. Take a look around.”
Summer didn’t have to look and didn’t dare take her eyes off of him for a second. She could feel the lost souls; see them in her peripheral vision. They were mobbed around her on all sides, and though she couldn’t see behind her, she knew they were there also.
“Your army doesn’t scare me. I’m far ahead of quivering at your feet, Alsandair.” Summer took the initiative and took a bold two steps closer. “I have a proposition for you, you disgusting sack of bones.”
“Do you? Let’s hear it.” He smiled now, believing he might actually get what he wanted if he bargained for it.
“You take your plot to ruin the worlds with you and you run. To where, I don’t care. If you stay away and never bother me or anyone I know again, if you never enslave another soul again, I will let you keep your puny existence, save you a shred of dignity.”
He looked shocked for moment before he leaned closer. “Who is going to stop me from my plan, wench? You and what army, might I ask?” He howled, amused with his sick sense of humor.
Summer stepped back, quickly raising her arms as she let the power flow through her. Alsandair’s crimson eyes went on alert as he watched the fire dance in her palms in disbelief.
“That was so the wrong question.” Summer said as the wind picked up around her. “I will give you another chance. Stray from this evil path of yours or fight me and lose everything.”
“What is this?” he stammered. He took a step back in astonishment when Summer pierced him with eyes the color of a raven.
“This, my friend, is retribution.”
The blaze that sprang from Summer climbed higher as she felt the words bubbling up, the words that would save everyone.
Warrior Guardians of mine,
Feel my summons,
Rise and shine.
For this battle cannot be won alone.
Evil will not overcome,
It must be shown.
For when you wreak havoc,
It is yourself you doom.
Karma unfolds itself
From it’s hiding place,
Shedding its stealth;
Rise, my spirits
And fight with me this day.
Seek your revenge and show the way.
Many innocents are lost
And we must capture them back at all costs.
For this is your story and mine, forever entwined.
The words recoiled around Alsandair’s makeshift kingdom, rattling the stones. The ground began to shake and the coat of arms and fabric that was hung on the ceiling fell loose, littering the great hall with splashes of color. Lightning lit the atmosphere as blinding streaks of light whizzed and circulated the skeleton king.
Bayou Summons Page 13