Hayes steps in ‘She was an old lady. I don’t think she would be able to do it physically. She was a gentle soul.’
‘Everybody is capable if they want to,’ replies Bridget full of fire, this can’t be happening.
‘You didn’t see her, old and walking with a cane and she offered us tea.’ It is as if she slapped Bridget, who stumbles back. Damn it, why didn’t she use her senses! She regains her composure and opens her witch senses. Shit. Lucy got to Hayes. Connor looks clean. Hayes seems to have some sort of weaving around her. Like a warm fuzzy blanket. It doesn’t look as complicated as Tom’s spell, still… Bridget gently tugs it, but it seems to tighten, and Hayes immediately becomes restless.
‘Come Connor. Don’t tell the Captain we told you.’
‘Thanks. I won’t, I appreciate you filling me in. Tom… You know, it’s hard.’
In a rare display of feeling, Connor gives her shoulder a comforting squeeze.
Bridget sags back into the chair. Her problems had just gotten bigger.
‘Madigan!’ Bridget jumps back up, ‘come in.’
Great, more misery to come, no doubt.
‘I guess that Hayes and Connor filled you in.’ Bridget tries to come up with an excuse, but the Captain holds up his hand. ‘Forget it, I know they did. What are you doing back? I told you to stay away.’
‘I can help. I saw that woman too. Hayes and Connor must have spoken to somebody else or something. I’m positive it was her Captain.’
‘You’re biased. It’s an old picture, who knows what she looks like now. When Tom comes out of his coma, and he picks her picture out of a series, then we will know for sure.’
Bridget knows precisely what Lucy looks like. Frustrated, she tries a different angle. ‘There is aging software.’
‘How did you think I became Captain? Of course, we’re working on that. Go home. Go visit Tom. I don’t want to see you here. Am I making myself clear?’
‘Yes, Sir.’ Bridget gets up. When she’s at the door, the Captain adds, ‘I mean it.’
Bridget gives him her best sweet smile. Which unfortunately is nothing like Maeve’s. How she wishes she had a little more charm like her sister right now. It would come in handy.
Lucy stands in the hallway and takes one last look at her house. She’s going to miss this place. It has always been her preferred place to live. Boston is a city with lots of energy for witches to tap into. It has a history. And the dungeon as she likes to call it was her favorite place to work in. These Madigans are messing things up for her. Ah well, they’ll get what they deserve soon enough. It’s not reasonable to expect that her plan would be without sacrifices. Unconsciously she touches the Dagger which is safely attached to her waist belt. Time to get this baby to work. Ti’tsa-pa house is unusual in a whole different way and very useful for the rest of her plan. The ley lines give that place a tremendous boost. A laugh escapes her, come on you Madigan’s show me what you’ve got. With her wand she touches the wall, a spider web of lines light up, and the house buzzes for a second. Cal walks in and wants to go upstairs. Lucy puts a hand on his chest and stops him, just in time before he steps on one of the lines.
‘Too late, you can’t go into the house anymore.’
‘But I want to get a couple of more things.’
‘You should have thought of that sooner; the house is charged.’ Cal’s face falls.
‘You can buy it new. Let’s go!’ Lucy gently pushes him out the door and closes the door but doesn’t bother locking it. ‘Adieu, mon ami.’ And she blows the house a kiss.
A little later, Bridget and Kiki stand in front of Lucy’s home. The house is grey, dark and uninviting. She can’t believe that Hayes and Connor thought Lucy was sweet, even they should have picked up these vibes. Lucy must have disguised the house with a spell. Not anymore, Lucy is gone. No doubt about that, she actually used her witch sense to double check. Luna walks up and stands next to her facing the house.
‘She’s gone.’ Voicing out loud what Bridget just had been thinking.
‘I know, we’re too late.’
‘It’s probably better, this way she can’t hurt more normals. Do you want to go inside?’ Luna asks full of excitement.
‘I can’t, I’ll lose my job.’
‘Nobody needs to know.’
‘I said NO!’ says Bridget with maybe a bit too much force. Luna holds up her hands and does a little step back.
‘How did you find me?’
‘I’m your mother, and I’m a witch.’ Luna always knows how to make Bridget feel inadequate. If she hadn’t denied her witch powers, she wouldn’t have asked such a stupid question. Bridget ends the sentence in her mind as if Luna had said it out loud.
‘Is Tom awake?’
Luna holds up her bag full of herbs and other witch supplies. ‘Working on it.’
‘What now?’
‘I need your kitchen, let’s go home.’ Luna tries to throw her arm over Bridget’s shoulder, but Bridget manages to step out of reach it without it being too awkward.
NEW ORLEANS
Maeve, Tara and Wes sit around the kitchen table. They’re drinking sparkling wine, soft music playing, the sunlight filtering through the plants into the kitchen. Candles are burning, and the delicious smell of a roast fills the kitchen. Ron, his wife Selma, who’s not a witch but her keen business sense had helped a lot with keeping The Hat profitable, and their kids Mike and Lisa, the youngest grandchildren, waltz into the kitchen. Ron kisses his mother’s cheek. Selma takes a peek into the oven. Maeve introduces the kids to Wes and laughter fills the kitchen.
Wes’ cell phone rings, it’s Bridget, he smiles. ‘Hi, honey!’ Wes tries to hear what she’s saying, but the happy noises around him make it very hard. Maeve pulls the roast out of the oven. ‘Can I call you back? We’re just about to eat.’ Lisa pulls at his wild curls. He laughs. ‘Love you.’ And he hangs up.
BOSTON
Bridget hangs up, she can’t help but feel a bit jealous. Wes has way too much fun with her family. It worries her, their relationship is still pretty young. Will it stand up to the charms of Maeve?
‘Maeve would never steal your boyfriend.’
‘Are you reading my mind?!’ Bridget’s eyes shoot daggers.
They’re in Bridget’s kitchen. She’s watching her mother prepare a spell and make herb bags to take to Tom. She was hoping she could learn something.
‘I don’t need to read minds for that, your face says it all.’
Bridget doesn’t know if this irritates her even more. She opens her mouth but snaps it shut instead and starts to repeat her mantra in her head. It’s for Tom, it’s for Tom. No use arguing with her mother. Better let her make that potion. Once Tom is awake, she can go home. Luna shrugs and concentrates on her herb potion.
It’s later in the evening, and it’s quiet at the hospital. Bridget brings Luna in through the back door. Full of confidence they walk through the hallway and just when they want to enter Tom’s room a nurse walks over. ‘Visiting hour is over ladies. I’m sorry.’
Luna turns to her and says with a dark tone in her voice. ‘We need to see him for the next two hours, please leave us alone. We’ll call you if we need anything.’ The nurse’s face looks confused and then she says, ‘Okay, I’ll be down the hall.’
‘Thank you.’ Says Luna with a big smile. This is precisely why Bridget thinks her mother is scary. Goosebumps run up her arms. She could have stopped it if she only had known another way to get rid of the nurse. It’s wrong. Apparently, she will do anything to wake up Tom. Even letting go of her principles.
‘Don’t look at me that way. Do you want to stand guard? Now we know for sure we will not be disturbed. Bridget shakes it off and follows Luna into the room.
‘I can’t convince you to wait outside?’
‘Why? Something to hide?’
&n
bsp; Luna sighs. ‘Please stop being so childish. It’s complicated, it will require all my attention.’
‘I was hoping to learn something. You know my skills are very rusty.’ That is the right button to push. ‘Okay then, but not a word.’ Bridget makes a motion as if she zips up her lips.
Luna places eleven candles in a circle around Tom. One by one, she lights them while she invokes the elements to guard her circle. Bridget sits very quietly in a chair in the corner of the room. On the nightstand, Luna places an incense burner and lights a sandalwood one for purification. She fills a cup with water, and she is holding a small ancient looking knife. A witches athame, this one is made by Inuit people, from seal bone and skin. Bridget is now leaning forward as she feels that the energy is building within the circle. She opens her witch sight. Luna seems almost pulsating with power. The spell on top of Tom’s chest buzzes like an angry insect. Slowly Luna places the little bags with herbs on Tom’s chakra points. She had pulled the sheet back, and he’s only in his underwear. Slowly, she starts to rub him with a potent herbal scented oil. This surprises Bridget, and she wants to say something, but Luna puts her hand up without looking and keeps continuing to rub the lotion. Once she’s done, she places a gentle kiss on Tom’s lips. Bridget can’t help it. ‘What the hell!’ Luna ignores her and takes out her wand. Luna’s wand is willow wood with a lapis lazuli stone on the tip. Very slowly and very carefully, Luna uses her wand to unravel the fiery ball of tangled spell lines. A constant Latin counter spell rolls fluently over her lips. Bridget can’t help but be impressed, her mother is really good at this. To see the lines, stay focused, the power that rolls off her is pretty amazing. Transfixed, she follows Luna’s hands and before she knows it, two hours are gone. The spell is now just a tiny ball with its line going straight into Tom’s heart. He starts to stir but is still not awake. How in the hell is she going to get that dislodged? Luna stops and takes her time to look at it from different angles. From her bag, she gets some Balm of Gilead and Rosemary and starts to rub it together between her hands. Their fragrance starts to fill the air, and slowly she rubs some on Tom’s lips, then on her own. Then her mother opens her mouth over what is left of the spell ball. It’s like she’s swallowing the spell. Slowly, like she’s eating spaghetti, she follows the string to Tom’s heart. Once her herb infused lips cover his heart, his eyes fly open. Bridget jumps up and has to use all her restraint not to smudge the circle. Slowly Tom looks down into Luna’s smiling face. Her head is resting on his bare chest. They smile at each other. Bridget scrapes her throat, and that seems to break the connection between Tom and Luna. Luna gets up. Tom looks around in confusion. ‘Who are you? What’s this? Bridget?’
Luna grabs Tom hand, ‘Calm down, we’re here to help you. You’ve been sick. I’m Bridget’s Mom. I’m an herbal healer, and she asked me to come, as conventional medicine wasn’t able to help you. Welcome back.’ Luna quickly and efficiently deactivates the circle and starts to gather her materials. Bridget now moves up to Tom’s side.
‘Glad to have you back. You worried us.’
‘What happened? How long have I been out?’ He feels his stubbles.
‘For several days. Let me get you a nurse.’ Bridget walks out to find a nurse. Luna wants to leave quietly, but Tom reaches for her. She walks back and takes his hand. ‘I don’t know what you did.’ He says, ‘You talked to me, while I was sleeping.’ Luna only smiles. ‘Thank you.’
‘You’re very welcome.’ The nurse comes in. Reluctantly, he lets Luna’s hand go. The nurse takes control. ‘You shouldn’t be here. Please give us some room to work.’
‘Of course, sorry. See you tomorrow Tom. So glad you’re back!’ Luna and Bridget leave, while the nurse starts to check his vitals.
In the parking lot, Bridget takes Luna by surprise when she envelops her in a hug. ‘Thank you. Thank you. This means a lot to me.’
‘You’re welcome.’ Bridget lets Luna go and seems to snap back into her normal mode.
‘What was that shit with all the kissing and stuff?!’
‘Sexual attraction is a potent tool. I needed to make a connection with Tom to be able to pull him loose. As he apparently doesn’t have somebody special in his life, he needed that connection to be able to break free.’
‘You seemed happy enough to do it.’
Luna laughs, ‘You’re such a prude.’
Bridget says something, but no sound seems to come out of her mouth. She tries again. And again. What the hell? Luna snaps her fingers. ‘What the hell?!’ shouts Bridget.
Ping. Luna’s phone gets a text message. ‘Stop helping her.’
‘You asked the help of Ceri?’ Luna actually agrees, but hides her approval, because that would otherwise be the end of it. Out of all her sisters, Ceri is an interesting choice.
‘That’s none of your business.’ Snaps Bridget
Luna texts back, ‘Got it.’ With a smiley face.
Bridget stalks to the car.
ON THE ROAD
Lucy wakes up in the Renaissance Hotel in Albany NY, she had a wild dream, and something is nagging at her. They didn’t get far yesterday; after a three-hour drive, she was tired. It’s not something she likes to admit, but she definitely feels that she’s seventy-five. One of the reasons she didn’t wait any longer with her plans, otherwise she wouldn’t have any time to enjoy her new powers. Time to wake up her idiotic grandson, she’s ready to make some miles today. All dressed and ready to go, she wants to check something in her personal dark spell book. If she remembers correctly, they’ll pass an excellent supply shop today. There are not many around that live up to her standards, so when the opportunity arises actually to visit the shop instead of ordering on line… a rare opportunity she doesn’t want to miss. In her imagination she already let her hands explore the rare magical items. Quickly she digs into her purse. The spellbook is not there! Where did she leave that damn book? Frantically she starts to search in her suitcase. Not there either. Maybe in one of the boxes? Then it hits her, a flashback that she had put in on a little ledge in her dungeon. Oh no! So stupid! They have to go back. There’s too much information in there. She closes her suitcase and is already on the phone to Cal. ‘No time, we’ve got to go!’
BOSTON
In the meantime, Bridget is back with Tom at the hospital. It’s so good to see his smile, he looks all back to normal. ‘They’ll let me go later today. They don’t understand it, but I’m tired of tests, I feel great. I’m ready to go after that wicked witch.’
‘The Captain put Hayes and Connor on the case.’
‘I know, I know. They were just here and showed me some pictures. I immediately picked that woman’s, Lockwood is her name, picture out of the others. I’ll never forget those eyes.’
Bridget is concerned. ‘What are they going to do?’
‘They said she was such a sweet old lady.’
‘I told them they were probably played. There was nothing sweet about her when we met her.’
‘Are they getting a warrant?’
‘I think they’re going to pick her up on the way back to the station. I have to get out of here. I want to be there when they question her.’
‘You take it easy. I’m on it.’ Bridget is already at the door and waves at him. ‘I’ll keep you posted.’
Bridget looks at Hayes and Connor arguing in front of Lucy’s house. Every now and then, she catches some words, but she can’t follow the conversation. Finally, it dawns on Bridget, she can be so stupid. Use your senses. She points her finger at them and recites. ‘Oh dear Goddess, I want to hear. Bring these voices near.’ She puts her intent in it and all of a sudden, it’s like she’s standing right next to them.
‘This can’t be it.’ Says Hayes.
‘It’s the right address.’ Connor double checks his phone.
Bridget smiles, why hadn’t she done this before?!
‘It looks totally different. Do you think we went to the wrong house yesterday?’
‘No, I don’t. This makes no sense. She also said her name was Lockwood.’
Hayes looks around, Bridget takes a step back into the shade of a tree.
‘I don’t like it. Let’s hope she’s home and we start over at the station.’ Connor is already on his way to the door. He rings the bell. Nothing happens.
‘Please let her be home,’ mumbles Hayes.
Connor bangs on the door this time. ‘Mrs. Lockwood! Police open up!’
The house is very quiet.
‘Damn it. Let’s get a warrant.’
Connor gives one last bang on the door. ‘The Captain will not be happy.’
They head back to their car. Bridget makes another move with her hand and the spell snaps.
‘So good to see you’re finally using your talents.’ Bridget gives a little jump.
Luna stands right next to her.
‘Stop doing that.’
‘You shouldn’t lose sight of your surroundings.’
‘Right.’ Bridget tries not to get irritated. She needs her help again. Pretty sad she will owe her mother big time. ‘I see you got the message.’
‘I’m always up for something fun.’
‘I’m not sure if fun is the right word.’ Bridget doesn’t like the feeling of this. But she doesn’t see they have any other choice. Once the police go in with their warrant, all the witch-related things will be ignored. It’s their only hope. And they have to be quick, they will be back soon enough.
ON THE ROAD
‘Faster!’ Lucy urges Cal on. She has a bad feeling about this. Hopefully, the police didn’t go in the house yet. She would be so upset if she lost the book. Cal drives far over the speed limit. He knows that if Lucy wants something this bad, he’d better not mess it up. That will mean a week of punishment at least. He shudders at the thought of that and doubles his effort to stay focused. His witch senses are heightened, and he weaves through traffic with a formula one precision. ‘We’ll be there soon, Grandma.’
The Dagger Page 13