Cast in Stone

by Bilinda Sheehan

  “I don’t understand, I’ve never…” I trailed off, grateful that my voice didn’t betray just how off balance I felt.

  “I’m an empath, and she’s a reverse empath,” Carolyn said. “She can feel your emotions, the ones buried inside, but she can share her own too… make you feel what she’s feeling.”

  “So that’s how she feels?” I asked. Another wave of sorrow hit me like a punch to the guts, but this time it wasn’t because of Merry. If what Carolyn was saying was true… Tears welled in my eyes for the girl standing before me. No one deserved to feel like that. Everyone needed somewhere they were safe, deserved to feel protected, loved.

  “Sometimes I think her emotions get the better of her. And she can tap into buried emotions in others, draw them to the surface.”

  “How come you’re not affected by it?”

  “Natural immunity, I guess. I don’t really know…”

  I nodded. It made sense, in a roundabout kind of way. She was Merry’s mother, and she too was an empath. She could probably feel what her daughter was doing, but her empathic nature must act as a natural barrier to the true effects.

  “I don’t like others rummaging in my head and pulling out things I’ve buried. I put them there for a reason.” Folding my arms across my chest, I let out a long breath and forced my shoulders to relax.

  “It’s not her fault. She was upset and just wanted you to understand how she felt.” Carolyn brushed the stray strands of dark hair away from her daughter’s forehead, but Merry kept her face buried against her mother’s shoulder. I could practically feel her refusal to face me in the air. “Merry has Down syndrome, and so she doesn’t understand the motivations of others. She thinks because she’s so honest with how she feels that everyone else should be the same.”

  With a sigh, I let my arms drop back down to my sides and took my seat at the table once more.

  “Merry,” I said. “I’m sorry I frightened you. I didn’t mean to.”

  She sniffed but determinedly kept her back to me.

  “Give her a couple of minutes and she’ll be fine,” Carolyn said, attempting to manoeuvre the little girl. Merry had other ideas, though, and locked onto her mother with a grip that could have caused Carolyn’s jumper to tear.

  “It’s okay, I just wanted her to know I was sorry,” I said, feeling foolish. I’d overreacted, but the shock of feeling all those emotions I’d buried inside had taken me by surprise.

  “Adrian should have called,” I added, slumping back into my chair as I picked up my mug and sipped the now-cold black tea.

  “He said he would,” Carolyn said. “Perhaps he forgot. Look, I’m really sorry for turning up like this, we’ll go…” She hesitated, and I could feel her reluctance. Clearly whatever was following her had to be bad, at least bad enough that she didn’t want to leave the safety of a haunted house.

  “Stay,” I said. “And Adrian, forget? Not likely. He probably thinks it’s good for me. He’s always telling me I’m not spontaneous enough.” That wasn’t the only thing he was always telling me, since being a psychic gave him particular insight into who and what I truly was. But I’d shared enough with Carolyn.

  Carolyn gave me a watery smile and nodded.

  “So, are you going to tell me who you’re running from?” I asked, pinning Carolyn down with my gaze.

  She shuffled uncomfortably on the chair. “Running from someone? What made you think that?”

  “Look, I get it. You’ve got your secrets and I have mine, but if Adrian thinks you should be here then I’m not going to go against that.”

  Carolyn let out a long sigh before she burst into tears. I stared at her for a moment, suddenly unsure what to do. Give me a rampaging ogre or a vampire intent on ripping out throats, and I’d know what to do with them. But a sobbing woman? That was so far outside my remit.

  “Thank you, thank you, thank you…” she babbled, the words almost incoherent through her sobs.

  “Don’t thank me,” I said gruffly, climbing to my feet and heading for the sink with my cup. “But if you’re not going to tell me who you’re running from, I still need to know how dangerous they are.”

  She hiccupped and clutched at Merry. “Not dangerous to you,” she said unsteadily.

  “And if I get in the way of who they truly want?” I eyed the child.

  “Adrian said you could take care of yourself,” she said warily. “That’s why he sent us here.”

  Nodding, I turned back to the sink and washed the cup beneath the hot tap. She had unknowingly told me everything I needed. Whoever was after her was dangerous, especially if Adrian felt she and Merry needed the protection of someone like me.

  Goddammit. He knew I was in hiding. This was a complication I did not need in my life, and it certainly wasn’t going to help keep my true identity safely locked away to have Goddess knows what kicking in my front door in search of Carolyn and Merry.

  But I’d also known from the moment I’d laid eyes on Merry that I would give them sanctuary.

  “I’m going to run into the city and get some supplies. Is there anything in particular you want or need?” I brushed my hair back from my face. I was tired, and my body was beginning to ache after the fight with the ogre, but no matter how much I longed to go and curl up beneath the covers, I couldn’t. Not when there was a psychic who needed the imprint of my boot on his ass.

  “No, we have everything… Are you sure you have to go?” Carolyn asked, and I could tell it had taken a lot for her to even get the words out.

  “You’re safe here, Carolyn. This place is warded up the wazoo,” I said confidently. The witch I’d asked to lay the wards down hadn’t been cheap, and when I’d asked her to double them… Well, let’s just say I’d more than paid through the nose for that one. “Although, I didn’t have the witch lay down anything for the spirits.”

  Carolyn shook her head and smiled. “I’ve got that covered.” She raised her hand to display her delicate beaded bracelet. “Merry has a matching one. If I’d known about the ghosts when we arrived…”

  I nodded, taking her at her word that she knew what she was doing. After all, she was the empath, not me.

  “I won’t be gone more than a couple of hours,” I said. “Make yourselves at home. There are a number of rooms to choose from; I’ve got the one in the back.”

  Carolyn frowned uncertainly at me.

  “Don’t worry, it’s locked. You can’t mistake it.”

  I contemplated having a shower before I went out but changed my mind when I saw Carolyn rocking Merry in her arms.

  Heading for the door, I grabbed the car keys from beside the cupboard and left the two of them to their own devices. They clearly needed some time alone. They were both more than a little strung out, and perhaps when I returned the tension that was currently hanging in the air would have dissipated a little.

  Chapter 7

  The Land Rover’s front wheel hit the curb, causing the car to bounce and roll backwards a couple of inches. I killed the engine and peered out through the grimy windshield at the brightly painted shop set back from the pavement. Adrian always had a flair for the dramatic, and set amongst the other staid storefronts his occult shop stood out like a sore thumb.

  Hopping free of the front seat, I stretched my arms over my head, my spine popping as I shook out the kinks. A high-pitched wolf whistle caused the hairs on the back of my neck to stand to attention. Dropping my hands back to my sides, I flicked the key fob, and the sound of the locking mechanism snapping into place cut the air.

  I turned back toward the shop, spotting Adrian instantly. Last time I’d seen him, his dark hair had been long enough to graze his shoulders. Now it was shaved on the sides, but the crown was still long, and I cringed to think just how much gel it would have taken to get the tousled and complicated style to stay in place.

  Adrian’s brown eyes sparkled as he took in my frown. “Looking good, Jenzie. Seems country living suits you.” He appraised me from head to foot. />
  “Didn’t have you pegged for being sexist,” I said, crossing the pavement toward him.

  “Sexist?” A furrow appeared between his perfectly sculpted eyebrows as he frowned at me.

  “The wolf whistle, it seems beneath you,” I teased.

  “Sweetie, I can’t help it if you’re drop-dead gorgeous,” he said, before reaching out to wrap me in a hug. “Ugh, gorgeous you might be, but when did you last shower? You smell like the drain in my apartment when the neighbours clog their plug.” He wrinkled his nose in disgust as he pushed me out to arm’s length.

  “What, you don’t like my new perfume? It’s eau de ogre, with just a hint of prison cell… all the rage nowadays.” I kept a straight face as I allowed him to drag me into the store.

  Releasing me, Adrian grabbed a bottle from one of the nearby glass shelves and proceeded to spritz the air in front of my face. White musk and patchouli settled around me, tickling the inside of my nose, and I turned away, covering my face in an attempt to stop the sneeze that was threatening.

  “Oh, god, keep it away from me,” I said from behind my sleeve. “Smells worse than the ogre did.”

  “Don’t lie.” He grinned and spritzed the air once more before pausing, a horrified expression crossing his face. “I hope all of this,” he said, gesturing to my general aura, “wasn’t the result of a date with one of those beasts. Because if that’s the case, then there’s no hope for you.”

  “Trust me, it was no date. That creature had been killing women over in Ireland, and I decided to do a little clean-up of my own.”

  “Oh, a little vigilante justice. I like it. You need some spice in your life.”

  “Something like that. Speaking of spice, I’ve got a bone to pick with you. What’s the deal with the woman and child you said could stay with me?”

  “Oh, they got there safe, I’m so pleased,” he said, attempting to ignore my original question.

  “Adrian,” I warned, “‘safe’ is not the word I’d use for my house. The poltergeist already made a move on Merry.” I couldn’t shake the image of the dark tendrils reaching out to the little girl. It had never tried anything like that before, but something told me once wouldn’t be enough for it.

  “Is she all right?” Adrian asked, his tone suddenly serious as he set the spray bottle back on the glass shelf and then turned to face me.

  “Yeah, her mother and I got there before it could do anything… but we both know it’ll try again. Which leads me back to my original point: my house isn’t safe. So why the hell send them there? And why didn’t you tell me they were coming?”

  “Because I thought it’d be good for you, and we both know what you’d have done if I told you they were on their way,” he said, moving back through the shop.

  “Adrian, this is me, remember? Cut the bullshit and tell me the truth, or I’m going to drive them back down here to you.”

  He sighed and shot me a scathing glare that would have withered a lesser soul.

  “They had nowhere else to go.”

  “There are preternatural safe houses, Adrian. You’ve even been known to put those in need up yourself when push comes to shove, or was I just a fluke?”

  “Can you really imagine Meredith in a safe house? She’s cute as a button, but the kid is powerful, and she’s leaking magic everywhere she goes. Two minutes here and I had to cleanse the shop from top to toe.”

  “Her mother says she’s a reverse empath. Is there no way to help her control it?”

  Adrian shook his head. “I don’t know, maybe, but it’d take a witch versed in her power to do it. They’d have safeguards. Two minutes with that kind of power flowing free and I’d be a basket case.”

  “That still doesn’t explain why you sent them to me.”

  “Because you’re strong enough to help.”

  His words caught me off guard, and I stared at him, my mouth opening and closing like a fish stranded on dry land. I didn’t consider myself to be strong. Never had and, chances were, never would. Hell, if I couldn’t help myself, how was I supposed to help someone else? Never mind someone as vulnerable as Merry.

  “I know it sounds crazy to you, but trust me on this. I am the psychic, after all.”

  “You mean I’m physically strong enough to protect them? Does that mean something is coming for them?”

  “We both know the future isn’t set in stone…” He gave me a small smile. “Pun not intended.”

  “Just get on with it,” I said, my voice betraying my irritation. It didn’t help that a dull ache was beginning to form in the centre of my forehead, right between my eyes.

  “There is something. Or rather, someone. Carolyn attracted the attention of someone who doesn’t believe in taking no for an answer.”

  “Human or other?”

  “She didn’t exactly feel like sharing, and my judgement was clouded with Meredith around,” Adrian said.

  “What aren’t you telling me?”

  “The future isn’t set, but what I got from Carolyn wasn’t pleasant. Every possible future I saw for her ended with either her or Merry dead. Sometimes they both died. The only future where they stood a chance was the one that involved you.”

  His words were like a punch to the gut, and I gripped the edge of the glass shelf next to me, knocking over several coloured candles.

  “You’re wrong,” I said, my words woefully inadequate. He had to be wrong. I was not a protector, not a hero. Keeping people alive, having others rely on me… that wasn’t my thing.

  Now killing things, I was good at that. Enjoyed it, even.

  “I know you like to believe that death is the only thing you’ve got to offer, but it’s not true, Jenzie,” he said gently, talking to me as though I were a child on the verge of a tantrum.

  “Don’t patronise me, Adrian. We both know what I am. For Christ’s sake, my grandmother was a monster that had her head cut off…”

  “Legends aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. And even if she was a monster, you’re not her. We shape our own destiny.”

  “Look, this vision thing you’ve had about me protecting Carolyn and Merry, what am I protecting them from?”

  He shook his head, his shoulders drooping, and he suddenly looked haggard. “I can’t see it. And I’ve tried, like really tried…”

  “Well, what about me? Can you read my future?”

  “That’s the problem, Jenna. I’ve tried to read your future, and there’s nothing.”

  I laughed, but it sounded wrong and terribly uncertain. “Maybe because I was too far for you to get a read…” I trailed off. I didn’t understand his gift, but my reasoning sounded pathetic even to me.

  “I’m not an amateur,” Adrian said, sounding offended as he busied himself with the checkout counter. “I know how to do my job, Jenna. For example, I knew you’d call to ask for my help with Megan.” He glanced up at me, one perfectly sculpted eyebrow arching upwards.

  “Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that, and I didn’t mean to drag you into the Megan thing, but she needs help. And, well, the situation with me… it’s just…” I paused and glanced around the shop, as though divine intervention might strike at any moment and dig me out of this mess. “Well, it’s just not a great thing to hear, now is it? People with no future are usually dead men, or, in my case, dead woman walking.”

  A smile curled the corners of his lips. “It’s a little bit more complicated than that. Futures disappear for all sorts of reasons.”

  “Uh-huh,” I said, rearranging the candles I’d knocked from the display next to me.

  “Please don’t mess with my candles, Jenna. You’re going to infect them with all your conflicted feelings, and I don’t want customers coming back to me looking for their money because your vibes screwed up their spells.”

  “See, I can’t even fix the candles, so how the hell am I expected to keep two humans safe?”

  Adrian smiled at me as he moved around the counter and drew me into a hug. “It’s o
kay, I still love you.”

  “Even though I smell like dead ogre?”

  “Even with the dead ogre smell.” He released his hold on me and pushed me back out to arm’s length once more. “But probably not enough to run the risk of getting the stink on my clothes. That’s the kind of shit that doesn’t wash out.”

  Rolling my eyes at him, I scooped up the candles I’d been toying with and hugged them to my chest before placing them onto the counter. “Well, if you’ve got nothing to share with me, I’ll take my ogre-scented ass out of here.”

  “You’re taking those candles with you,” he said.

  “Fine. I’ll take my screwed-up-vibey candles with me.”

  “That’ll be twenty-three pounds,” he said as he wrapped them in tissue and placed them in a small paper carrier.

  “Nope. You sprung two houseguests on me without so much as a phone call, the least you can do is give me the candles.”

  “You roped me into helping a wayward witch,” he said dramatically.

  “But I called first,” I said.

  “Nah-uh, I called you.”

  “But I thought about calling you, and that’s how you knew to call me, so really it’s like I called you first.”

  “Jesus, just take the candles,” he said, rubbing between his eyes. “You’re giving me a migraine.”

  I started to laugh and grabbed the wrapped candles from the counter.

  “Oh, and one other thing.” He reached beneath the counter and pulled out a small, black, oak box, the engravings on the top practically vibrating with magic. “This should help with the poltergeist-Merry issue.”

  “What is it?”

  Adrian shrugged. “Hell if I know, but I got it from a witch friend, and if anyone knows how to keep wayward spirits from causing trouble, it’s Sam.”

  I stared at the box dubiously before tentatively reaching out to touch it.

  “Thought you said you couldn’t see anything?” I asked.

  “Future-wise, no. But I met Merry, and I know the thing that lives in your house, so it didn’t take a genius to put two and two together.”