Several rooms down the hall, Luna is basking in the afterglow of having sex with Tom. That man seems insatiable, and that is fine with her. This was just what she needed after seeing the disappointment on Bridget’s face. That damn conscience of hers, even she should understand that this was the best for everybody. Poor Bert was so distraught, at least now he will be able to bear it.
‘Does your brain ever stop working?’ whispers Tom in her ear while he snuggles even closer.
‘I was thinking how good you make me feel.’ She turns around, and she feels he’s ready for another round. His mouth finds her, and for another half hour, she is distracted.
While Tom is having a snooze, Luna turns towards the bed stand where she left Lucy’s spell book. It has been quietly trying to lure her for the last hour. It feels like the book has been growing closer to her. Every time she opens it, it feels more familiar, and the book seems at ease with her now. They’re forming a bond. Lucy did an amazing job creating this book of shadows, it’s different from their family book, more alive and more tempting in many ways. So much knowledge and old magic are poured into it. After their little experiment, Tara warned her not to use it, but it caresses her in places that even Tom can’t reach. What the heck, she grabs it from the nightstand and gently opens it, she leaves through it to the very end. Here Lucy mentions the search for the dagger as the book is a combination of spells, magical drawings, and diary. Luna skips over the page. Stops. And rereads it. Shit, Lucy explored the spell she used on Alana and even mentions her by name. Would this be proof? Her head snaps to Tom, who’s still snoring. She relaxes, quietly scoots out of bed and slips into something comfortable. Before she even thinks about it, a little spell falls from her lips to ensure he will sleep for a while longer.
Luna knocks on Tara’s door. It takes a while before the door finally opens. For a moment, Luna is struck by Tara’s age. Although she already lost her father, it’s hard to imagine life without Tara.
‘I found something in Lucy’s spellbook. Proof, I think, that she wanted to kill Alana.’
‘What did Tom say?’
‘I didn’t tell him, I thought… you know. We could talk about it first.’ Tara looks at her daughter; she has surprised her.
‘Come in.’ Tara opens the door, and Luna quickly steps inside.
Tom stretches and opens his eyes, he can’t remember having felt this rested. His hand reaches for Luna, but she’s not there. Slowly he looks around the room. His eyes rest on Luna, fully dressed, looking nervous in a chair at the opposite end of the room. A small feeling of panic rushes to the surface. Something must be wrong. ‘Are you breaking up with me?’
‘No, but maybe you’ll want to break up with me after this.’ Tom looks at her hands nervously fingering that little black book that she has been carrying with her. He has seen it, he’s a cop, he notices things. These women seem to think men are idiots. They’re so secretive, it only sparks the curiosity. Tom waits and doesn’t say anything. For a moment a pregnant silence hangs between them. Luna sighs and gets up. ‘Do you mind?’ She motions to the bed. Tom scoots over and makes room for her to sit by him.
‘When Bridget and I were in Lucy’s home, and something exploded… we were in the basement, Lucy’s workroom as you would call it.’ Tom smiles encouragingly.
‘We took something that we didn’t share with the police.’ She holds up the little black book. Tom reaches for it, but she draws it closer to her. ‘Wait, there are some things you need to know about it.’
‘You should give it to me.’ Tom moves and sits straight up. He puts his hand out. Gently Luna pushes it down. ‘I will. Hear me out.’ He leans back and doesn’t look pleased anymore.
‘It’s her spellbook. And as she’s a dark witch, a lot of spells in here are extremely dangerous. Most won’t work for a normal, but some do. If you would utter them out loud, it could create serious problems.’ Tom stifles a laugh. ‘Come on, you know I don’t really believe that.’
‘Tom! After all, you’ve seen in this house, you must have some idea. That we’re… different.’
He reluctantly nods.
‘So, I need you to be very careful with this book. Don’t read out loud from it. Promise.’
For the longest time, they stare at each other. All sorts of thoughts race through Tom’s head. His cop mind and the things he has seen since he arrived here are battling over what is real. Finally, he nods in agreement. Slowly Luna hands him the little black book. He feels she’s reluctant to let it go. ‘The book is a mix of spells, thoughts, and diary. If you go to the very end, you can see she mentioned Alana, the witch that got killed.’ Tom snaps into cop mode and quickly leaves to the end and his eyes race over the page.
‘And you’re telling me this now?! How long have you known?’ He can’t hide the anger in his voice.
‘I swear, I only just read that part. When you were sleeping.’
‘Sure.’ His voice is full of disappointment.
‘It’s true. I swear. And a witch doesn’t swear lightly, it can have big consequences for us.’
His heart leaps, he wants to believe her, but he manages to keep his face blank.
‘Please. Tom. I don’t want to lose you over this.’
It’s so hard not to hug her, but she kept evidence from him.
‘I need to think about this.’ She stiffens next to him.
‘I’m sorry, it’s a lot.’
‘I understand.’ Luna gets up and leaves the room shutting the door quietly behind her. Tom can’t believe it. He re-reads the part. This is the proof they need. He jumps out of bed, gets dressed in record time and rushes out of the room.
He finds Bridget in a quiet spot in the garden, watching the dogs. When she looks up, and they smile at each other it’s for a second as if they’re still partners, nothing happened. He misses that, but he also realizes that things will never go back to normal. Not now he knows she’s a witch. Although he does not fully understand what that means.
‘Have you seen this?’ he holds up Lucy’s spellbook and shakes it.
Bridget answers without hesitation, ‘It’s Lucy spellbook.’
‘So, you know.’ Tom can’t hide his irritation with her. ‘How can you? You’re a cop.’
‘It contains spells. At least that’s what Luna tells me. She has had it ever since we took it from Lucy’s home.’
‘You haven’t read it?’
‘No. And believe me; you have to be careful with it. Don’t read anything out loud from that book. You never know which spells work for normal people as well.’ Bridget blushes.
‘Explain. You’re blushing.’
‘I’m not.’ Now she positively looks embarrassed.
‘Spill or I will read this spell.’ He opens the book. ‘Abrevia—’
‘STOP!’ Bridget jumps up and tries to grab the book from him. He darts back and tries to read the next word. Shit, why can’t spells be in a normal language?
‘Stop. Please. I’ll tell you.’ Tom stops but stays out of reach. He raises his eyebrow, encouraging her to start talking. Quickly, the story of Wes and her spellbook spills out. As if she wants to get it over with as quickly as possible. Tom starts laughing, he can’t help it. The image of Wes calling for help while the tree is engulfing him is too much. This makes Bridget smile. She’s happy they at least have this part of their relationship still. As Tom recovers, he gets back to business.
‘You didn’t read the book.’
‘No, I didn’t.’ Tom looks her in the eye and believes her.
‘Luna founds Alana’s name in it.’
‘WHAT?! And she tells you this now?!’
‘That’s what I said.’ He lets Bridget snatch the book from his hands.
‘It’s on the last pages.’ She quickly reads through it. A bright smile forms on her face.
‘We’ve got her. We need to go
back to Boston.’
Tom can’t hide his relief. ‘You’re coming.’
‘Of course. But first, I have to talk to Luna.’
‘She did swear she hadn’t read it before. That she came straight to me.’
Bridget turns to Tom. ‘She swore.’
‘Yes.’
‘Okay then. Let’s get packing.’ She whistles for the dogs.
‘Just like that?’ Tom is puzzled.
‘If a witch swears something and it turned out she lied, she will get it returned on her three-fold. That’s generally not something you want. So, if she swore. I believe her.’
Tara stands in front of her bathroom mirror. There’s an itching sensation between her shoulder blades, a feeling of being watched. Seamus’ portrait can’t see in the bathroom, and she made sure she was alone. A little spell on the door makes certain it stays that way. Anyway, she still looks around, takes a deep breath and looks at herself in the mirror. Old, she looks old. Old as dirt, her mother used to say. Now she finally knows what she meant as if you can turn into dust in an instant. ‘You’re pathetic,’ she scolds herself. Without further hesitation, she pulls her athame, her ritual knife, from its sheath. Again, she looks in the mirror and reaches deep within herself with her feeling, her heart and thinks of Lucy. Something stirs, like an old clock that starts to tick again. First one hesitant click, then another and another. Something old and unbreakable unfolds within her, and it reaches out for her other half. Tara relishes the feeling, it has been too long. How she has missed this. Will Lucy feel her reaching out? She shivers and throws out her feelings. Slowly her knife moves to her finger and swiftly makes a shallow cut. First, she doesn’t feel anything, but the sting soon follows. Her hand reaches for the mirror.
‘Remember this spell, remember it well. Sisters forever, hear me now.’
Then, Tara starts to write on the mirror.
UTAH
Lucy is in her workroom in her house in Utah. Fully recovered from her loss at the Winged Rock. It’s been a busy couple of days. Making plans, practicing new spells with the Dagger and whipping her grandchildren into shape. She shivers, it’s like a finger tingles up her spine. Something is trying to find a way in. Irritated she gets up and goes to her bathroom. Again, a shiver, this time it feels like a caress over her heart. Not on her chest, but literally over her heart. A laugh escapes her. Well, well, her sister is getting inventive. Calling on a spell they made when they were fifteen. Lucy faces the mirror and letters written in blood start to appear. MM MN AP, Meet Me Mid-Night Astral Plane. What does she want? Is it a trap? Will she bring some of her nasty children?
1S. Alone Swear. Hmmm, now she’s intrigued. If Tara swears… Lucy reaches out her hand, and the Dagger comes flying to it. Quickly she pricks in her finger and writes on the mirror. K. Okay, she’ll bite.
NEW ORLEANS
Luna, Tom, and Bridget are hanging out on the doorstep waiting for their Uber to take them to the airport. Tara has a hard time hiding her impatience. She can’t wait to get rid of them, she will need the time to prepare for her meeting with Lucy tonight. The Astral Plane is dangerous enough without adding a crazy variable like her sister. Luna and Bridget are way too perceptive, it’s fortunate they chose to leave straight away for Boston. Bridget is glued to Wes, who never wants to leave the house anymore. That boy reminds her of Seamus, once they’re painting, you might as well not exist. Well, he does no harm and Maeve seems to like some company. Maybe she’ll finally come out of her shell. Thank the Goddess, here comes the car. Luna walks over to her Mom. ‘Take care. We’ll let you know when we get there and when we will go after Lucy.’
‘Good luck. Please be careful, don’t underestimate her! Tom. Make sure to take Bridget and Luna if you find her. It will not be safe to let normal people arrest her.’
‘Of course.’ Tom clearly indulges her.
‘I’m serious. Look at me.’ This makes Tom a little nervous, it’s hard to look at Tara and not think of Lucy.
‘Luna is the only one who can keep you safe. Don’t forget.’ And she touches his heart where the spell had hit.
‘I didn’t forget.’ He grudgingly admits.
‘Good. It will make you careful.’
Wes and Bridget throw the suitcase in, and with a last lingering kiss, Bridget says goodbye to him. Luna and Tom get in and off they go.
Wes walks over to Tara and throws his arm around her. ‘Don’t worry, they’ll be fine.’
‘You’re a sweet boy.’ She plants a motherly kiss on his cheek and walks into the house.
11pm, it’s quiet in the house. Some very soft footsteps shuffle through the hallway, Tara is as quiet as she can. It’s harder being stealthy at her age. Moon lays next to the front door and raises his head when Tara approaches. Gently she pets his head. ‘I guess you’ll be coming. Clever girl, your Mommy.’ When she opens the door, he follows her out. It has been raining, those lovely torrential rains, it’s still warm, and the humidity hits you in the chest. The overpowering smell of fresh rain and flowers flow around Tara and Moon while they make their way to the tomb. She should have worn her boots. When they arrive at the tomb, her feet and the bottom of her gown are soaked. The door opens just enough to let Tara through, hoping to keep Moon out, but he manages to slip in. Ah well, he might as well watch over her. Who knows what Bridget asked him to do. She’s a little jealous of her talent of conversing with animals. Not to mention frustrated, because Tara is well aware that the dogs might be spying on them. The others don’t seem to notice, but she has seen that there is always a dog around when things get discussed. Something she can appreciate, only not when she’s the one being spied on. Moon walks the room and sniffs around. Tara doesn’t hesitate further and gets her supplies out, to cast the protective circle and put on her talisman to go on the Astral Plane. She hadn’t forgotten her last close call with the demon-like creature. One by one, she lights the candles on each of the wind directions and calls for protection. She walks the circle clockwise, and she feels it snap shut. Like a quiet hush, a bubble around her. Only then, she realizes she’s not alone. Moon looks at her from under the altar. Tara glances at her watch, close to midnight, she doesn’t have the time to open and close the circle again. With a big sigh, she sits down and crosses her legs. It’s hard to stay in one position for a long time, and her body won’t be thankful if she chooses a position which will give her pain. She won’t feel it when she leaves her body, but when she returns… it won’t be fun. Moon stirs and lays down behind Tara, as support for her back. Wow, she has to reconsider the dog thing. This one seems to be very attuned to her needs. Maybe Bridget will let her keep him. Enough, she needs to hurry. Breathing in and out deeply, she calms down and she lets her feelings for her sister come out and let her spirit be drawn out of her body onto the Astral Plane.
The wind hits her in the face, her hair swirls all around her, she should have braided her hair. A squeal escapes her as she feels something rubs against her leg. She jumps to the side and recognizes Moon. How the hell?! This is a first. He nudges her hand. She pets him while she takes in her surroundings. It has been a long time since she came to this particular spot. The spot she and Lucy picked many, many years ago to meet in secret. It has changed, probably together with their relationship. It’s how these places work, they represent your moods and darkest thoughts, your intuition and feelings. Evidently, their relationship is on the rocks. It’s dry, the dust swirls around her and only one lone yucca, the Lord’s Candle, graces the earth. It’s in bloom too, which means it will die soon. Great.
A growl escapes Moon, Tara turns around and is face to face with her sister. For a moment she catches her breath. Lucy has grown old too. Still, it’s like looking in the mirror. Strangely enough, she didn’t register that on the Winged Rock. Too busy with other things. She remembers Lucy as a strong woman in her forties. Although she looks as old as she does, a strong presence of power ema
nates from her. Like the power of fire recognizes the power of air. An extra attraction to their relationship.
‘You’re picking up stray dogs now.’ Typical Lucy, to go for the jugular.
‘Lucy, I’m so happy you came!’ Tara awkwardly tries to hug Lucy, who stays rigid.
‘You threw me into Fairy.’
‘You didn’t leave me any choice.’
‘There’s that.’ Lucy’s face breaks into a smile. ‘I’ve missed you.’ She hugs Tara back. For a moment the sisters reconnect. The feel of the other twin close by. They both have missed that. Even Lucy, who prides herself to be able to remove herself from such feelings. More flowers sprout from the ground around them, and the wind seems to die down. Tara sees it as a good sign. There must still be good in Lucy.
The Dagger Page 24