And he sure as hell didn't trust his Mother.
The grass and dirt to his right moved and pulsed and then caved in until a small woman with armor and a battle axe climbed out. She dusted herself off and walked over to Dáinn, putting her hands on her hips. "That went well."
"Sod off, runt," Dáinn said. "I told you he wasn't going to listen to me. He never does." Then he focused on the Gnome. "And what is this about a child? Is it true?"
"That's all on a need-to-know," she said. "God Mother said to bring him home."
"Yeah, and God Mother didn't tell me he was in one of his moods either. He's only like this after he loses someone special, Covy."
"Coventina," She narrowed her eyes at him. "I don't like Covy."
"Well I don't like not having all the information, Coventina." He held the thin onion up in front of him. "In fact, I think I'm bored enough that I want some answers first."
"I wouldn't do that. Mother has her plans."
"Yeah well, so do I, runt." He hopped off the stone and transformed again, stretching his wings out. New Orleans, right? Been a while since I've been to the Big Easy. They still call it that?
Coventina rolled her eyes.
Later runt. Tell mom I'll get in touch with her after I get answers for meself. And with that, he took off in the general direction of the United States.
EIGHT
Ah…screw this shit.
I flopped down on my stomach, crushing a few trees in the process, and literally gave up. Flying was hard. How do Dragons do this? I mean, we weigh tons, so that tells me we're not meant to actually lift into the air. Especially not by beating two flimsy, filmy…membrane-y wings.
But when I voiced this to Zephyros, my former Air Elemental, he pointed out that airplanes weigh a hell of a lot more than Dragons do, and planes don't have hollow bones.
That definitely got my attention. I lifted my head and looked at him. Zeph had transformed himself into a Dragon as well, matching my size and shape, only he was white and sometimes a bit hard to see when the light struck his near transparent form. Hollow? You mean, my bones are empty inside?
Not exactly empty, Zeph leaned his head to the side and I thought that was cute. Dragons were kinda like big, cuddly lizards. Yeah. Your bones even as a human, were in a sense hollow, full of caverns. He paused and looked to the side. That's how I knew he was thinking.
And when he was thinking, my own mind wandered and I let my guard down, the one God Mother said I needed to keep up. When that happened, I heard that child crying again. It was getting harder and harder to block out those sounds and the more I heard them, the more I didn't want to.
Sam?
I looked back at him. Present.
Not so much. He moved his head forward on his long neck. You dropped your walls.
I looked away from him again, in the direction of the sounds. I can't help it, Zeph. It's like… But I couldn't finish it. We'd had this conversation multiple times since I woke to this new incarnation of mine.
You're distracted.
You could say that.
Your life is calling to you.
I whipped my head back to him. My life?
Your memories of it. Things that were left unfinished.
I have things…unfinished? I narrowed my eyes at him. Every time we talked he gave me a little bit more of some big puzzle, some mystery that I was going to have to put together. But God Mother kept telling me it wasn't time yet.
Always, not yet.
The child cried again and I thought I heard…my name.
Samantha, Zeph said. I need you to focus on me. Put the walls back up.
I did it reluctantly, slamming the door on the sound of that baby, and for the first time, it hurt to do that. In fact, it hurt so bad that I—
Zeph reverted to his natural form, that of a man from the torso up, and a whirlwind below. He wasn't as transparent like this, and had features. He was handsome, with a kind face, and he'd been the strongest of my Elementals, that much I remembered.
He flew up to my face and reached out. "You're crying."
I blinked and my tears made small craters on the dirt beneath me. That…oh Zeph, please don't ever ask me to close the door on that cry again.
Even he looked sad as he moved to caress me, as well as a man-sized Elemental could hug a Dragon. "I'm afraid the call to your life is too strong, Sam. God Mother won't see it. She's determined not to make the same mistakes with you that she made with Lethe."
I remember Lethe, And I did. She was one of the larger parts of my memory. And lately, there had been others. But they were nightmares of skulls, laughter, and blood. Lots of blood. And… an egg.
Zeph pulled back and looked at me. I focused one eye on him. "You remember an egg?"
I have dreams about it. It's not that big. But it's mine, and I'm supposed to care for it. I snorted black smoke and plopped my head back down. I'm not sure I made the right decision.
"You did. Given what awaits you, this is where you need to be."
Can't you give me any clue as to what that is? Screw the frustration. Everything looked and felt so jumbled up. I just have this nagging—no—jarring feeling that I'm supposed to be somewhere else. That I'm needed. That I'm going to be late.
Zeph transformed again and moved back from me, decimating the last of the trees in this area of whatever this world was. The snap of wood and scruff of his talons against the ground roused my attention. Tell you what—you show me you can fly. Take off, soar, dive and land, and I'll… he closed his eyes. I'll take you back.
You will? I was on all fours, then reared up on my back side cause I had my wings out. It was odd, though, the feel of the wind—every tiny breeze—against the thin membranes. Thank you Zeph.
God Mother will probably demote me back to Air Sprite but, and he sighed. There is a final destiny, Samantha. A final boss to fight, before your new life will begin.
He launched himself straight into the air and I was doing a less graceful imitation of Zeph, flapping my ass off and getting nowhere. So I started running and flapping until I was finally in the air.
And wondering…what did he mean by final boss…
And why can't I have my new life now?
NINE
Kyle arrived home wanting a shower, soup, and cuddles from Jack.
Only Jack wasn't home. His car wasn't parked along the road and he didn't feel his lover's presence in the house.
Tas must not have informed Bastien yet. The distance from NO to Ireland had pretty much made the Links non-existent. But once back in town, they were re-established.
During their mental conversation, Kyle had parked his car, locked it, and walked up the concrete path to their house in the Garden District. Once the house and meeting place of Inamorata Devonshire, Witch and possessed by a Leviathan—an evil vampire—the house turned out to be the perfect home for he and Jack. Kyle wasn't all that sure, given the building's…er…sorted past with Ina, aka Dionysus. But after the work Crwys put into it, and the repeated consecrations by Arden and her Coven, it felt clean and all his and Jack's.
Stepping inside, he closed the door and waved his hand. The lights came on—not by magic, but by a sensor Ivan had installed for security. The place was wired as well as warded, much like Bell, Book and Candle was now.
Kyle flipped on the kitchen light and opened a cabinet. Lots of canned soups. Jack loved them. But Kyle wanted someth
ing a bit healthier and not loaded with sodium.
Actually…no. That's not what he wanted at all. He wanted a pizza.
So…what was in the fridge.
He found pre-made pizza dough, something he'd picked up at the market a day ago. He also found butter, pepperoni, peppers, onions, three different cheeses and Parmesan. Canned. He grabbed everything out of the fridge and piled it on the counter and preheated the oven.
Jack laughed in his head.
Since the dough needed to come to room temperature, Kyle started slicing up the herbs and vegetables just as the doorbell rang. He moved to the small monitor screen on a side cabinet that also doubled as a TV and touched a pad beside it. The monitor lit up with a four-split screen. Back door, left side of house showing neighbor's house, right side of house showing road, and front door—
Where Martin Cosgrove stood, dressed in a suit and his hands in his pockets.
What in the hell is Cosgrove doing at my house? Kyle set the knife to the side and wiped his hands on a towel before he pressed a button and said, "Just a sec," to the speaker at the front door.
He grabbed his phone and pressed a number.
"Bell, Book and Candle, Ivan speaking."
"Hey—it's three in the morning. Why are you answering the phone?"
"Why are you calling?"
Kyle smirked. "Martin Cosgrove is at my door."
There was a pause. "Connecting now."
Kyle knew that meant that Ivan was doing his cyber magic thing and connecting to the security on the house.
"Keep your phone on," was all he said before he disconnected. Within seconds a transparent text image appeared to his right. This was one of Ivan's weirder magics. And something Kyle had become used to.
I can text you answers, but don't text me back. Don't worry, I can hear and see everything. Just keep him in the living room and kitchen. Best lighting and audio.
With a deep breath, Kyle opened the door. "High Grand Master Cosgrove. I'm surprised to see you."
"Nice to see you, Mr. Kendrick. And I do apologize for the hour, but I felt it was important to speak with you."
"It's really very late," Kyle said. In fact it was nearly three in the morning.
"It's very important."
"Please, come in." Kyle stepped aside and let Cosgrove in. He started to close the door but the wind moved it back a bit. He tried again and locked it. But before he turned away, he whispered a quick spell warning him if anything not in the flesh entered. The spell immediately went off and he set a smile on his face as he faced Cosgrove. "Please, have a seat in the living room. Would you care for some sweet tea? It's fresh. Made it this morning."
"That would be nice of you. Thank you."
As Cosgrove meandered into the living room, Kyle went to his herb room and grabbed a few herbs, including Starflower, Cherry blossoms, Deerstongue, Violet and Licorice. He tossed them into his mortar before he went into the fridge and pulled out the carafe of iced tea. He grabbed two glasses, one of yellow glass and one of purple. They were a set he'd bought in the Quarter, five glasses in all, each cast in the colors of magic. Red, blue, green, yellow and purple.
"Ivan," he whispered, hoping the Cyber Witch could pick up his words. "What is Cosgrove's Magic?"
He moved the mortar closer and moved the pestle around widdershins thrice, then deosil thrice as he infused the herbs with his will. "So what brings you here to see me so late?" Kyle said louder, in an attempt to locate where Cosgrove was.
"I went to see your aunt today," Cosgrove answered. He was still in the living room, even though Kyle was pretty sure he just heard something behind him. So he quickly poured the tea over the herbs and then poured his own glass. The smoky exterior hid anything that wouldn't look like tea.
The text came back in front of his eyes.
Dude’s got three Elementals and a dozen Dianic Gifts. He’s also a Seer, remember, so be careful.
Thank the Goddess for Ivan. He’d forgotten that fact. Kyle didn’t know how strong the man’s powers were in foresight, which was the Parliament’s definition of being a Seer. Or if he was as unreliable as his aunt in that area.
Because Papa Dumaine had made him a bit paranoid of the Parliament and their agents, he opened up the cabinet over head and pulled out a bottle of saline. Of course, he'd already switched out the solution for one of his own, a tea infused with Eyebright. It always helped to have some around, whether in his kitchen, his bathroom, his bedroom or the bag he carried at his side. A drop in each, a few blinks and he spotted something as it moved out of the kitchen.
With a half-smile, he grabbed some of the cheese he'd been cutting up, some crackers, and a brick of softened cream cheese. He set the cream cheese on a green plate, opened a jar of capers and poured it over the cream cheese. With a small knife and the box of crackers and napkins, he placed everything on a tray and headed into the living room. If he didn't learn anything from this, at least he could eat some cheese and dream about the pizza he really wanted.
It took everything in him not to react to the semi-transparent creature floating near Cosgrove. Kyle had seen Sam's Elementals because he'd built up trust with them. Elementals usually took on the appearance most comfortable to their Witches. Sam's Sylph, Zephyros, looked like a handsome man from the waist up.
But this thing looked more like a Yeti made of glass. And it had teeth like one. He wondered if Elementals actually revealed the inner soul of their Witches. If so—Cosgrove was a literal monster.
Kyle set the tray on the coffee table in front of Cosgrove and took one of the chairs opposite, picking up his glass as he sat. "So, you went to see Aunt Arden. I bet that was fun."
Cosgrove took up the small cheese knife, cut off a hunk of the cream cheese and slathered a cracker with it. He ate it and chewed before he answered, smiling as he grabbed a napkin. "Oh, any meeting with your aunt was fine. But, seriously," then he grabbed his tea and drank a third of it. Cosgrove held the glass out in front of him and stared.
Kyle kept his expression schooled, hoping the man's hesitation wasn't because he tasted the herbs.
"That is very good tea, Mr. Kendrick."
"Thanks. It's Arden's recipe." He set his own glass on a coaster. "You met with Arden," he prompted.
"Yes, yes." Cosgrove set the glass down on the tray. "It's about Samantha's child."
"Child?" Kyle knitted his brows together. "When did Sam have a kid?"
"Please, Mr. Kendrick—"
"Call me Kyle."
"Kyle—Samantha was pregnant."
"No," Kyle gave a masterful, slow shake of his head. "Not that I knew of. And I saw her the day she—" The pause wasn't a put on. He felt real emotion when he thought of his last meeting with Sam. About not realizing that would be the last time he spoke to her. Ever. "Sorry."
"No, the fault is mine. I sometimes don't have much tact, you see. It's part of the job."
No it's not. Kyle nodded. "If she was pregnant, she didn't share it with me. And she didn't look pregnant. Why did you ask Arden about an imaginary child?"
Cosgrove cut more cheese and hesitated a second. He put the knife down with a tink on the plate before he looked directly at Kyle. The mixture was working. "Because Kingsley Thorn and Emily Pearson are convinced Samantha was preg
nant. They're so convinced, they made me believe it."
Kyle leaned back. Wow. The herbs were working too well. Might be a good idea to back off with the direct questions a bit. Also—
Where did the Air Yeti go?
As if to answer the unspoken question, he heard something from upstairs and looked up at the ceiling.
Cosgrove held out his hand as he continued spreading more cheese. "Oh, I wouldn't worry about that. Houses make noises all the time. Especially a house as old as the one."
"True. It could be a burglar."
"Nonsense."
"Though I'm not sure what they would be looking for up there."
Again Cosgrove hesitated as he held the cracker to his lips, then put it on the plate. "Maybe an heirloom left behind? Something of Sam's?"
"In this house?" Kyle shook his head. "No. We cleaned all of Ina's stuff out a long time ago. All of Sam's stuff is in her apartment."
The noise upstairs stopped and Kyle did an inner shake of his head. This was going way too smooth, and he was a little pissed because this bastard had waltzed right into his house under false pretenses so he could sick his big ass ugly Air Yeti to mess up someone else's stuff.
Kyle let Cosgrove eat a bit more and once he'd finished the tea, said, "So, this Kingsley Thorn. What's up with him? I mean, why would he believe Samantha was pregnant? Or even Emily—and we are talking about the Earth Witch. The one that helped get Sam Warlocked?"
"The same." Cosgrove munched on a cracker. Kyle found he'd lost his appetite and didn't want to even touch food this asshole had been near. "I'm not sure. But the Elders in Oregon gave him cart blanche when he was sent to replace Ethel Delacroix. Which we know now was really a Dragon."
Kyle crossed his legs and smiled. "So he wasn't your choice?"
"He wasn’t anyone’s choice. I’ve always asked the Goddess to provide and she did. When Thorn arrived and he and Emily hit it off so well, I just figured it was written in the stars, and he could keep that woman out of my hair. But he's actually been more of a presence than Miss Pearson."
"Do you know his history?" Kyle kept watch for the Air Yeti. It could be if it heard Cosgrove talking like this, he'd warn him to be quiet. So far, it hadn't come down the stairs.
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