UTAH
Lucy finds herself back at her front door in Utah. Her grandkids are probably still searching for her at the winged rock. That damn sister of hers, Lucy hadn’t seen it coming. If it weren’t for the Dagger, she wouldn’t have had the power to get out of Fairy quick. She couldn’t afford to linger in Fairy. So annoying. Ah well, she made it. It’s obvious she underestimated her sister and her family. That will not happen again. Time to regroup. Make a plan, and get that spellbook back and if she plays it right, maybe the Wand.
NEW ORLEANS
Tara finally managed to escape the endless questions and concerns of her family. With a big sigh, she closes her bedroom door behind her. Seamus startles awake in his portrait; he instantly sees something is wrong. With concern on his face, he tries to reach out to her. The portrait bulges and his fingers reach for Tara’s face. She steps forward, and the fingers from the magic portrait caress her cheek. This ultimately does her in, and she bursts into tears. All her worries spill over, Seamus doesn’t need words to express the sadness he feels for not being able to wrap her in his arms and comfort her. Tara manages to reach the bed and let her tears run freely. ‘Oh Seamus, things are spinning out of control. How could I be so naive to think I would be able to control anything? I let the Ferrymaster take Freya.’ Seamus’ shocked face doesn’t comfort her. ‘I needed to stop Lucy before she would hurt any normals. I had to.’ She defends herself. ‘I had no choice. But I knew Freya is no match for the Ferrymaster. Damn it. We can only hope Ron and Ceri find her soon.’ Seamus’ face screams ‘WHAT!’ ‘Yes. I know.’ Another loud sob escapes her. ‘What if she runs into anybody from Mab’s court?’ For another couple of minutes, she gives in to her feeling of despair. Slowly however her inner voice starts to scold her for letting herself go. Nobody was ever helped by feeling sorry for themselves. Time to get it together. Old or not, she’s still a capable witch. Her children are accomplished witches, and she has to trust that they will be able to take care of themselves. When she looks up, she sees compassion on Seamus’ face. A bit stiff she gets up, and he smiles encouragingly. ‘I know, you never believed in letting your emotions overwhelm you. But you know, it also clears everything up.’ She waves her hand vaguely around her head. ‘Cobwebs are gone now. Let’s see what I need to be aware of.’ She walks over to her desk and snatches the four of pentacles off her altar. The bag with her deck is still on her desk. Quickly and with practiced hands, she puts the card back, shuffles the deck and thinks about her troubles. With her left hand, she chooses a card; the six of cups. Two salmons are making their way up stream, through a water mirror the old and new are reflected. Does this mean she’s too nostalgic? Is she hiding away in her memories of happier times? Is something of her past coming back to haunt her? Or has she been too naïve? Funny, she mentioned that earlier. As she put the card on her altar, she lets her mind wander to a time when she and Lucy where happy. Not even ten years old, laughing and playing in the garden. Practicing silly spells, as children do. It makes her smile and long for a time when things were different. With a shake of her head, she snaps back to the here and now. This is exactly what the card had warned her about. Focus on the future, not on the past.
BOSTON
Luna invited Tom out for a romantic dinner. Although Maeve had stressed to her that she needed to come home. As much as she enjoyed their quiet time together, she can’t afford to keep him in the dark any longer. He could be a great asset to the family, not to mention her spirit. Gosh, how she has missed sex and having someone who adores her. Grotto is a romantic Italian restaurant. They have a table in the back. Luna twirls her glass of prosecco and observes Tom while he dips a piece of bread in the olive oil. She deliberately chose a public space to tell him, as it’s less likely he will make a scene. Tom looks up, ‘Why don’t you tell me what’s on your mind? You’ve been simmering on something all afternoon.’
‘You noticed?’
‘I’m a detective, you know.’ He gives her a wink. He’s so adorable. One more sip.
‘I need to go home. Something happened, and I leave the first flight tomorrow morning.’
Tom’s face falls, this was not what he had in mind.
‘If you can, with your work.’ She waves her hand through the air, a habit when she’s nervous. ‘You could come with me.’
Without hesitation, he says, ‘Really?! I’m not allowed to work for at least another week or two. I would love to go, help you and finally see New Orleans.’ Luna is touched, she melts even more, savoring this moment, as she’s about to crush it.
‘Before you say yes, there is something you need to know about our family.’ Now she’s got his attention. ‘I don’t know if you ever noticed something strange about Bridget?’
‘No. Not really. What should I have noticed?’
It’s weird she has such a hard time saying it out loud to him. She never had that before, not even with Steven. ‘Well, eh, you know…’ Tom raises his eyebrow, waiting.
‘We are… Our family is different.’ What is wrong with her? Just say it!
‘We’re witches.’ For a moment nothing happens, he stares at her. ‘Tom?’ Then he starts laughing. ‘You can tell me what’s wrong? You don’t have to make up something silly like this. I’m pretty open-minded.’
‘It’s true. Have you never thought Bridget had a powerful instinct?’
‘She’s a gifted detective. But witchcraft…’ He makes a ‘come on’ face.
Okay, she needs something more to convince him. ‘Tom, the lady that had injured you. Do you remember that? She hit you with a spell. Witchcraft. That’s why the hospital couldn’t heal you. I guess they still can’t figure out what’s wrong with you.’ He has grown very quiet now. Luna labors on, ‘I’m the strongest witch in our family. That’s why they sent me.’
‘I’m sorry, but this is just too farfetched.’ Here we go, he’s leaning backward now. Time to land the final blow. ‘I feel very strongly for you. I even think I’m in love. I’ve never felt for anybody what I feel for you. It frightens me. I think it comes from the way I had to wake you up. I made a connection with you on such a deep level, it sparked… desire.’
Another long awkward silence. Tom finally blinks.
‘So, you’re saying what I feel is magic?’
‘No. What you feel is real. It’s because of magic. Magic is what I used to find you and bring you back.’
‘I appreciate that you brought me back, and I am very attracted to you. But come on, be real. This is crazy stuff.’
Luna glances around, nobody is paying attention. She holds out her hand between them and turns it over. Above the palm of her hand hovers a little ball of energy. Tom looks at the ball and then at Luna. For a very long time, they stare into each other’s eyes. Luna tries to keep a blank face, but she can’t help showing him how much she admires him, wants him. It takes all her restraint not to say anything, to let the ball of energy hover there and let him work through it. After what feels like an eternity, Tom grabs her hand, and the ball of energy gets absorbed by their entwined fingers. A shudder runs through Tom. When he opens his eyes, the twinkle is back, Luna relaxes a little.
‘I don’t believe in witches and things like that, but I will go with ‘different’. You do something for me that I never felt before and I want more, I want to explore it. It feels good to be around you, so I’ll play along.’ He gives her a big smile.
A feeling of gratitude floods through Luna, she might be a grown-up woman, but apparently, you can still be insecure about a man. If she only could understand why she cares so much about this man. Anyway, she’s happy, very happy he is coming home with her.
NEW ORLEANS
Bridget has gotten up early, sneaking out of bed without waking Wes and now she runs the uneven streets of the Garden District. Moon and Seeker, her other big dog, have no trouble keeping up. It’s easy to get distracted by the beautiful mansions and gar
dens. The morning dew on the flowers and the chirping of the birds. She needed to get out of the house for a minute to clear her mind. It’s been a long time since she had to stay in a house with so many people. The constant chatter and energy that sparks are too much at times. She needs to work on her protection, she needs to work on a lot. It looks like all her family does is talk about things. Bridget is someone who prefers action. So, this run will hopefully clear her mind and gives her some ideas of what she wants to do.
When she returns she manages to evade everybody, she hears Maeve already in the kitchen. That girl needs to get a life instead of caring for the family. Go out, find her own boyfriend, laugh and love a little. This is not healthy. Maybe she should take her out one of these days. She shakes off the thought and decides instead to take a quick shower.
The water feels so good, as it cascades around her and she starts to relax. Soon she feels her mind wandering. On an impulse she lets her witch sense open up and for the very first-time casts it out deliberately. Although water can negate some magic, it now stimulates her senses. It’s like tendrils growing from your fingers and you can feel the world around you. She senses the other witches in the house and her dogs. For a moment, she caresses them with her mind, and they respond, without words they can communicate. Her bond with dogs has always been exceptional, did she ever talk to them this way? Encouraged, she moves on and finds herself in front of Seamus’ painting. Her grandmother is not there. Her imaginary finger pokes Seamus awake. His eyes grow large when he sees Bridget airy form floating in front of the painting. A huge smile forms.
‘Hello, Granddaughter.’ Bridget is surprised she can hear Seamus, she thought this was only an image. An embodiment in the painting. Not really Seamus.
‘It’s me, alright.’ Answering her thoughts.
‘I don’t understand. Why can I hear you while grandma…’ She doesn’t need to finish that thought, and a flash of pain crosses over Seamus’ face.
‘We’ve always had a special connection. Who knows how that works. The Goddess has a wicked sense of humor. And at last, you’re starting to come into your power and connect to it. This portrait is a window to the afterlife. It’s an experiment, and the Fates are not happy with it. I think that’s why they don’t let me talk to Tara.’ He quickly glances behind him. ‘We don’t have much time. You can’t tell anybody about this.’
‘But Grandpa, we have problems, big problems. We could use your advice.’
‘My time is passed. It’s your time now, and that of the other kids.’
‘What do you know about Lucy?’ Bridget has trouble to keep herself out there.
‘Tara is not objective when it comes to Lucy.’
‘I’m starting to notice that.’
‘They were very close growing up, like Ying and Yang, black and white; it was hard to have one without the other. Although the last twenty years, they have hardly seen each other, some bonds never die.’
Bridget is jerked back in her body. She screams her frustration. Instantly, she feels someone is with her in the shower. She turns and pushes a naked Wes up against the wall. ‘Wow. It’s me.’ Bridget blinks, shit. This was why she had trouble, Wes had joined her in the shower. A rush of anger comes over her, Wes’ puppy eyes grow large. She manages to let it go. ‘Sorry. I–’ She has to come up with something. ‘I… I was meditating.’
‘In the shower?’
‘Yes. It’s hard to get away from everybody, the water calms me.’
‘If you want to be alone…’ He opens the shower door. Bridget pulls him back against her. What better way to make him forget than some shower sex? Without another word, she slowly makes her way down his body with her mouth.
It’s late afternoon when Bridget, Maeve, Diane, and Tara finally sit down at a table in the back of ‘Under the Witches Hat’ for a well-deserved cocktail. With Freya, Ceri, Ron, and Luna gone, they’re low on personnel. Whatever happens, the show must go on. The boys can run the bar and do some readings, but they can’t work twenty-four hours a day. It’s been busy and even now around five in the afternoon, the bar is buzzing. Fin and Dylan are chatting up customers while they whip up cocktails.
‘We need to talk.’ Bridget is so itchy from all this. Ceri, Freya, and Ron lost in Fairy; Lucy and the Dagger; It feels like they should be out there doing something. Not run the family business. Without a word, Tara pulls a spell around them for privacy.
‘This, all back to normal, drives me crazy! Don’t we need to go out there? Save them or find Lucy?!’
Diane blows on her little umbrella; it starts to twirl again. Then she quietly says, ‘We have to trust Ron and Ceri to find Freya, we can’t all run around in Fairy. It makes no sense.’
‘Then we have to find Lucy. We have to stop her.’
‘I agree, she’s a scary witch. She doesn’t care about anything but power.’ Adds Maeve.
Tara turns to her ‘You’re right, we need to find her. Stop her. But how? She has become so powerful. We can’t… can’t kill her.’
‘GRANDMA!’ shouts Bridget shocked. ‘Of course not. Why would you think that?’
‘What options do we have?’
‘We could capture her and contain her.’ Offers Maeve.
‘Lock her up?’
‘Yes, we can make a power circle in the tomb and keep her there. We can’t turn her over to the police. A normal cell won’t hold her.’
Tara looks depressed. ‘Then we might as well kill her.’
‘Jesus, Gran! Don’t be so dramatic. We need to diminish her powers,’ suggests Bridget.
‘How?’ wonders Maeve.
‘We need to steal the Dagger.’ All heads whip to Diane, she rarely offers advice, and this probably means she has seen something.
‘It will not take away her powers over Air. Once you’re attuned, it lives in you.’
This raises some eyebrows. Something Tara had neglected to mention earlier.
‘I think it will weaken her enough, we should try before we decide to do anything more drastic.’ Diane seems certain.
‘Great, how do we do that?’ Bridget is happy they have some sort of goal.
Right then, the door opens, and Luna and Tom walk in. Bridget’s face darkens. What is Tom doing here? It doesn’t escape her attention that he has his hand on Luna’s lower back as they walk to their table. Tom takes in the Hat with amusement. Clearly he thinks this is all fake. Bridget stands up and steps in front of Luna. ‘What is he doing here?’
‘Hey! Watch your language.’ Says Tom, immediately in Luna’s defense. Luna quietly puts a hand on Tom’s arm to show him she will handle this. He grumbles but steps back. The others at the table watch in silence. ‘Tom is here to help and we… hit it off.’
‘You hit it off?’ Bridget’s anger is building. ‘With my partner from work?’
‘He’s special.’
‘I bet. What about Dad?’
‘Yes, what about Steve?’
‘You show up with a… boyfriend, and you ridicule Dad?’ Now Bridget is off, like all her frustration with her mother is back in full force. ‘It’s always all about you. You’re so wise and smart. We should all listen and bow to you. It’s a miracle he stayed with you. Nothing has changed. They all seem to worship you. But I’ve seen the real you, and it isn’t pretty.’ Luna doesn’t say anything, but tears start to flow down her face.
‘Yeah, start crying.’ Bridget has no patience for that. She quickly glances at the others. Diane is engrossed in her drink. Tara looks shocked, Maeve and Tom are angry. Without another word, she storms out of the bar.
Maeve catches up with her a little down the street. ‘Wait!’
Bridget turns around. ‘Don’t start.’
‘You’re so full of it. At least as bad as Mom.’ Bridget is about to bite her head off; Maeve raises her hand to stop her. ‘When is the last time you spoke wi
th Dad?’
‘I didn’t stay in touch with him either.’
‘Right. And I know you asked Fin about him, but you didn’t attempt to go and see him.’
‘He said he was teaching out of town.’
Maeve doesn’t say anything, and she doesn’t need to. Bridget knows she ignored this on purpose. Like the others, she had cut off all communication. She didn’t look forward to seeing the pain in her Dad’s eyes. She can only handle so much guild at the time.
‘That’s what I figured. Here, this is his address. Go see him. Then we’ll talk.’ Maeve turns around and heads back to the bar.
Bridget looks at the address, which is in walking distance. She can clear her head on the way.
Bridget finds herself in front of a cute pink shotgun home in the Bywater, she glances at the address Maeve had given her. Yes, this is it. For a moment, she hesitates. It’s been a long time, how will he react? She never had a problem with her father, as she did with Luna. Steve was the voice of reason at home, quiet and a mediator. No use delaying any further, she rings the doorbell. A bubbly young woman opens the door, she can’t be much older than Bridget. Her gentle curves and ready smile explain the pink home.
‘Maeve? No, you’re not Maeve. Are you Bridget?’ Bridget focusses on the wrinkles that form in the woman’s forehead, anything as long as she doesn’t have to think about what this could mean. She gathers her cop training, breathes out and replies; ‘Yes, I’m looking for Steve, does he live here?’
‘Oh my God!’ The woman jumps up and down and hugs Bridget. ‘He will be so happy to see you!’ She steps back and blushes. ‘Where are my manners?! It’s just that he told me so much about you. I have a feeling we’ve been friends forever.’ She thrusts her hand forward. ‘Lillian Neumann, I’m your father’s new wife.’ Bridget feels the color drain from her face. Her father had married someone her age?! What the hell had happened? Why didn’t anybody call her? Scratch that stupid question. Damn it, poor Luna. Bridget feels so ashamed.
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