The Dagger

by Marieke Lexmond

  ‘You killed a woman, Lucy. How could you?’

  Lucy doesn’t miss a beat; her face turns full of anguish. ‘It was an accident. I didn’t want to do that. It happened. I wanted to grab the Dagger, I never intended for her to die.’

  Tara feels sorry for her, but she squashes that feeling resolutely. Accident or not that’s a serious crime. ‘That is serious Lucy. I don’t understand.’

  ‘I wanted to feel how you feel. The power you wield. You know I’ve always been tempted. I know it’s not the best quality to have, but I could feel it. Through you, how you have become so much more than I am.’ This touches something in Tara. Only recently, since Lucy had attuned herself to the Dagger, did she fully understand how much her sister must have felt of her power. It must have been agonizing for someone who wanted to have that power. She feels guilty, although she never chose this path. Lucy goes on. ‘Please Tara, you have to believe me. You can feel me. I didn’t want to kill her.’ Lucy projects her horror and doubt onto Tara. For a moment, Tara can only blink. So much pain washes over her. Her sister must have been through a lot. Tears start to roll down her face. Lucy touches her arm. ‘Please, don’t cry for me.’ Tara is torn between her feelings for her sister and the things she has done. She wants to be able to reach Lucy, maybe pull her back from the brink. To believe that’s still possible. There must still be good in her. She knows it, she can feel it.

  ‘Tara please, help me.’ This is it. How can she refuse? She can’t let her sister go down. She probably wouldn’t survive it. Lucy sees Tara’s struggle and waits.

  ‘Why did you contact me?’

  Tara had wanted to know, to feel, if there was even the slightest chance of saving Lucy. Something her children would not understand. And there is this little shimmer of hope. She knows Lucy is probably lying, but she can feel, really feel her heart. Lucy can’t hide that. There is hope. So, she can’t let her sister be captured by the police.

  ‘I came because I wanted to convince you to stop whatever you’re doing. Let us work together. Let me help you.’

  Lucy takes her sister in a fierce hug, letting her feel close. But Tara can’t see the wicked smile on Lucy’s face. Somehow, she has mastered how to disguise her true feelings. Tara has always been a softy. When Tara breaks free, she looks deep in Lucy’s desperate face. ‘We can work this out,’ agrees Lucy. Moon growls. Tara puts a hand on his head.

  ‘I need to get back. Let’s meet again soon. Where can I find you?’

  All of a sudden, the lights go out. Moon growls really loud now. It’s pitch black. ‘Lucy?!’

  Lucy’s voice seems to be coming from farther away. ‘Something is coming. We need to go.’

  ‘Wait!’

  ‘Go Tara, we will talk soon.’

  ‘The police. They have proof! They’re coming for you!’

  Tara feels a brush of a kiss on her cheek. A thank you from Lucy.

  A howl pierces the dark. Tara doesn’t hesitate and reaches out to her body and plops back into safety. For a moment, her body doesn’t seem to work. Too long in the same position. Comfortable or not, it simply doesn’t work at her age.

  On the Astral Plane, Lucy is laughing as the light returns. Her sister is, and always will be, a sucker.

  BOSTON

  Bridget is ready to climb the walls in her apartment. It’s so quiet without the dogs and Wes. Tom took Lucy’s spellbook to the station, and they’re looking for Lucy in full force. However, she’s still not allowed to join them. There’s only so much you can clean while waiting. Her mother’s scent was still lingering in the house when she arrived, and she couldn’t stand it. To be rid of that is at least something. Her mother had given her a lecture after they visited Hayes, who’s finally home. It was painful to see her that way, of course, but it’s much more painful for Hayes. She lost her eyes. Hayes lost everything. There’s no escaping the mountain of guilt that rest on her conscience. But Luna being Luna, she had to rub it in. Angrily, she had driven off. Luna could make her own way back to Tom. Thankfully, they’re staying at his house.

  Lucy and Mara wasted no time making their way to Boston. They had left Cal at home, this is a mission requiring subtlety and power, neither which of these traits he possesses. Casually, they stroll past the police station while they scope the place. The ladies’ arms are full of shopping bags from Neiman Marcus, Alan Bilzerian, and Barneys New York. No reason not to combine business with pleasure and it makes them blend in with the crowd. Or at least that’s what they think. Lucy’s and also Mara’s presence is hard to miss. Their auras take up too much space to go by unnoticed. Mara throws out her witch sense and feels out the building. This shouldn’t be too hard. Ordinary people are so pliable; she’s surprised her Grandmother had brought her along. It’s something that she could do with her eyes closed. A tingle across her spine. Mara spins around, but nobody is there. Not for the eye to see. This must be a talented witch, if she can hide from them so easily.

  ‘Yes, we’re being watched,’ smiles Lucy, ‘ever since we left the airport. I expected that. It’s probably Tara’s daughter, the one I’ve seen here before.’

  ‘Do you—’ Mara wants to stop and investigate, but Lucy swiftly holds all her bags in one hand and hooks her arm around Mara’s arm. ‘Don’t worry. Give an old lady some support.’

  Cheerfully, Lucy leads Mara down the street.

  Luna breathes out heavily. She was sure that the granddaughter of Lucy’s had spotted her. The disguise spell she made is topnotch. That the young woman could sense her means Lucy made some powerful offspring. Who else did Lucy bring? Or is she arrogant enough to just come together? They were the only ones at the airport. Luna was excited when Bridget left her. That way she didn’t have to convince her to let Luna stand watch at the airport. And she wanted to reconnect with Gwen. After all, she had promised to stay in touch.

  It was the biggest odds for the Lockwoods to show up at the airport. She picked up their trail when they came out and had been following them ever since. From the airport to the Four Seasons, to fancy shops, only the best for Lucy. This was the first interesting thing they did. Time to talk to Tom and Bridget.

  Bridget is fighting the urge to start pacing. Her disguise spell requires that she stays as still as possible. She can feel the dawn pushing away the night on this early Sunday morning. After endless conversations last night, they agreed that Lucy and her granddaughter would probably try to get into the station this morning, as it would be relatively quiet and there would be the minimum staff around. It took them the better part of the night to set protective spells around the precinct and to secure the book. Tom is inside, wearing one of Luna’s protective amulets, hopefully it will keep him safe this time. There’s that nagging feeling in the back of her mind that they forgot something. What if they missed someone in Lucy’s party? What if they turned out to be too strong for them? It doesn’t seem right to take a risk with all these normal people around. Luna seems confident in her powers, but she has seen Lucy at work, it’s scary. Even though she’s not the fondest of her mother, she doesn’t want to see her hurt. Their plan is shaky. Too many things can go wrong. A little tingle draws her back to reality. A witch had crossed one of their wards. Nervous anticipation takes over, the adrenalin rush of what’s to come. Sure enough, when she peeks from her hideout, she sees two vague figures are making their way towards the steps of the precinct. Bridget is surprised that she’s thrilled to take on other witches. The challenge is giving her a boost. She didn’t know that this had been missing in her life.

  Time to focus. Her witch sight is opening up, and the world seems more alive. The witches, although still veiled are more pronounced, and Bridget can make out the difference between Lucy and Mara. Luna steps from behind the building and slings a spell towards the witches. Lucy lifts a hand but is a second too slow, and their disguise vanishes. Luna rushes down the road, and Lucy follows. However, Mara stays put
and scans the area. Bridget freezes; she was ready to rush after them. Shit. Does she stay and take care of this witch or does she follow Lucy and Luna? Mara doesn’t hesitate and enters the police station. Damn it! This was one of the holes in their plan. Bridget looks down the street, and Luna had already disappeared around the corner to Congress St. Lucy is the most dangerous witch, stay with the plan. She must trust Tom to take care of this. They set so many security spells on the book. It should be fine. Without further delay, she rushes after Luna and Lucy.

  Mara smiles while she pulls a charming spell around her. Lucy was right, the witches were there, and they followed her. She wishes she had the sight of her mother, the voodoo priestess. To see glimpses of the future could be handy in cases like this. Confident, she strides into the police station, her already stunning features take on a lovely, seductive edge and it would be near impossible for a normal person to resist her now. Time to make her Grandma proud.

  The moment she sets foot on the top of the stairs, an agonizing scream escapes her. Her spell is stripped, and it’s like she’s naked in the lobby. All heads turn towards her, and the first police officer’s hand moves toward his gun. Those witches, she’ll get them for this. Her instinct kicks in, and the first spell flows from her lips. ‘Frigus maneat manere tranquillitas. Hic non sum. Remitte mihi, et obliviscator. Remitte mihi, et obliviscator.’ Stay calm stay cool. I’m not here. Look away and forget me. A powerful wave of magic leaves her, and when it hits the police officers, it seems to confuse them for a second. She immediately put her disguise back in place. A little-bewildered, but everybody is back to normal and back to what they were doing before she came in.

  Pfffft, better pay attention. It’s apparently not as easy as she thought, but she can manage. With a megawatt smile, she approaches the deck. The officer behind the desk can’t help but smile back.

  ‘Can I help you, Miss?’ he chirps politely.

  ‘Where can I find the evidence room?’ Her melodious voice caresses his thoughts and even before he says it, she knows.

  ‘Down the hall. Take the stairs down, it’s on your right.’

  ‘Thank you, officer.’

  Quickly, she makes her way down. Tom quietly follows her, pleased that he wasn’t affected by her spell; Luna’s amulet must be working. He’s shocked to see what happened to his colleagues. The last week or so in New Orleans made him aware there might be more in this world, but this really brings it home. Dangerous women.

  Luna quickens her pace, but Lucy doesn’t seem to have any problems keeping up. That point between her shoulder blades is itching like crazy. If Lucy is as powerful as everybody says, this will be dangerous for her. She’s happy when she finally spots the Old State House. A seven-minute walk can seem endless when you have somebody following you. The red bricks and yellow windows are a welcoming sight between the modern high rises. Despite everything, it makes her smile. So much history, she can feel it. Quickly, she rounds the building and is pleased to see it’s still empty down here. The wards to keep away ordinary people must be working. Although it’s still quiet at this time of day, they couldn’t take any chances. Luna slows down and casually strolls towards the memorial of the Boston Massacre. It’s a powerful seal over the spot where five people were shot by the British, put there to commemorate the first to die in the fight for American freedom. Lucy is catching up, and Luna feels her weaving a spell. She spins around and activates her ring, a dome-like shield hums to life. Not a second too soon as Lucy’s spell makes her stagger.

  ‘Well, well, well. I see Tara raised you properly.’ It’s unnerving to see her mother reflected in this evil woman.

  ‘Let’s talk, we don’t need to fight.’ Luna tries for some diplomacy.

  Heartfelt laughter escapes Lucy. ‘Seriously, you think I will fall for that?’ Lucy is now very close to Luna. Bridget is visible right behind her. Luna steps back while Lucy steps forward. They’re both now in the enclosure of the seal on the ground. Lucy freezes and scans her surroundings. Luna doesn’t hesitate and slings a binding spell at Lucy. For a moment Lucy is bound tight, but it only takes her a split second to get out of that one. Boldly she steps towards Luna who takes one more step back. Out of the circle of the seal. With a snap of her finger a pentacle snaps to life, its center is the seal of the Boston Massacre. Lucy’s face darkens, and a snarl escapes her. Right then the veils fall, and she’s surrounded by five witches. Disbelief shows on her face. The points of the pentacle represent the four elemental powers, and the fifth is for Spirit. Luna guards the point of Spirit. Tara guards the point of Fire. Bridget guards the point of Air. Maeve guards the point of Water and Gwen guards the point of Earth.

  ‘You betrayed me!’ Shouts Lucy.

  ‘You’ve betrayed me long ago, sister.’ Tara sounds awfully calm. This whole thing has definitely taken its toll on Tara. To convince her children that this was the right way, to deceive and lure Lucy, and to even take Gwen along. It took quite some convincing to have her on board with this plan. Who can blame her? Lucy killed her sister. Tara didn’t have much choice in who to take, they needed five witches to contain Lucy. So here they are.

  Lucy sends an electrifying spell towards Tara, but the barrier of her prison doesn’t let it through. It’s like a light show bouncing around the circle. When it finally dies down, Lucy looks slightly frazzled.

  ‘I wouldn’t do that if I were you,’ adds Luna totally unnecessary. Bridget feels for Lucy, her mother can make things even more irritating then it already is, and by the look on Lucy’s face, she’s ready to strangle Luna. Lucy swallows her anger and starts to feel the boundaries of the circle. ‘What do you want?’

  ‘Give me the Dagger!’ demands Gwen. Tara shoots her a look. This is not what they had agreed upon. ‘You’re a danger to people, we can’t let you use the Dagger,’ states Tara.

  ‘I want my book back.’

  ‘You can’t have that either.’

  Lucy looks around the square. ‘You can’t keep me here forever you know. People will notice that they can’t get to the square. What on earth possessed you to catch me here?’

  ‘There is blood spilled here.’

  ‘There’s that,’ smiles Lucy wryly. ‘I can wait you out you know.’ Slowly she lowers herself to the ground and makes herself comfortable. Gwen shoots angry looks at Tara. She had pointed that out to her when they discussed the plan.

  ‘You were right honey,’ Tara smiles at her. It looks like they will be here for a while.

  In the meantime, Mara has made her way down the stairs and talked her way past Sergeant Blake at the evidence room. Rows and rows of tagged bags with god knows what in it if she had to search in there it would take days. However, that’s not necessary. The book shines like a beacon, there are so many protective spells on it. Her hand glides along the shelves while she slowly approaches the spellbook. For a moment, she feels something behind her and snaps around. Tom hides behind the shelves. Mara smiles, she has felt him before, he has some protection spell on him. For now, she’ll let him watch, her finger twirls around and she mumbles an incantation. It will set a protective circle around her, just in case he decides to try something. With the circle in place, the hum coming from the book is more pronounced. She cocks her head and let it speak to her for a minute. The book pulls her, draws her in; it probably recognizes her. Slowly, very slowly, she walks around the book while she lets her witch senses examine the protective spells. Hmmm, a pretty potent memory loss spell, a burn spell, and an iron casket weave. Well, these ladies know what they’re doing. The memory loss and iron casket will be a piece of cake for her. That burn spell might present a challenge. With a quick glance towards Tom, she cracks her fingers and gets to work. She places both her hands on each side of the book, just out of reach of the spells. The first one is the iron casket. It reminds her of her youth. Her mother would lock her in one when she didn’t want to be disturbed, but Mara was a curious child and
eager for knowledge. Soon enough she managed to escape and spy on her mother doing her voodoo work. The trick with the iron is to find one minuscule weakness and work that. Her witch sense follows the iron bars, up and down, up and down. Patience is key here. After what looks like an eternity, she finds the tiniest dent. Quickly she mumbles a weaving and a drop of cold liquid forms on her fingertip. Ever so gently, she touches the soft spot, and the cold liquid finds its way into the iron. With a loud crack, the casket spell falls apart. One down two more to go.

  Tom is startled by the loud noise and inches forward. Mara is already busy with the second protection. What a remarkable woman, getting this close to her makes him in awe of her. He shakes his head. Even with his safeguard, he feels the influence of her charm. Absentmindedly, he fingers his gun. The cold of the steel makes him come back to the presence. No time to lose his head. A cascade of laughter makes him think she probably made progress with getting rid of the spells. Maybe he should have caved and let one of the witches stay with him. But he’s a detective for crying out loud, he can take care of himself.

  Mara is indeed down to the burning spell. Pondering on how to remove it before its able to burn the book. That would be bad, really bad. Grandma doesn’t tolerate these kinds of mistakes. And as she has still only the one policeman down here, she knows she still has time.

  Lucy has made herself as comfortable as possible on the cold floor in the seal of the circle. She will not show signs of weakness. Let them think that she’s waiting, this will give her time to examine the binding. It feels awfully familiar.

  Tara studies her sister, she’s well aware that she’s working on her escape right now. Let her, they made their own plan. Time to go to the next phase. With a caress of her witch mind, she lets Luna know to move on. Luna is the Guardian of the spirit in this circle, and when they cast this prison for Lucy, they left open a tiny crack. Luna starts a weaving of spirit. Deep within the earth, the blood that was spilled answers and the souls of the five killed are sparking to life. Lucy feels a slight vibration and gets up. The spirits fight Luna, obviously not happy to be disturbed and used by witches. Drops of sweat start to pour down Luna’s face. Lucy whips around and looks at each of the witches, while she pushes on each one of the pentacle arms, to find a weakness. Every one of them is focused. Too bad, something is coming up and she would rather not fight that. Bridget looks at her struggling mother, with her witch sense open, she sees behind her mother a tranquil pond with crystal clear water. From the sky falls one very black drop; with a plop it lands in the water and creates a ripple effect. It colors the water ever so lightly grey. As if it’s now contaminated. Bridget feels her barrier bulge, shit, she let herself be distracted. With all her will, she strengthens her part of the pentacle. Unfortunately, that isn’t as easy as he hoped. Lucy’s wicked smile comes into focus and Gwen and Tara are yelling at her. That vision had shaken her. Without hesitation, she reaches deep in the core of her power, Strength. With pure willpower, she slams the wall back in place. In the meantime, Luna has finally mastered the spirits and one by one, they emerge from the ground. Their ghostlike features flood through the seal until all five surround Lucy. Not happy, but compliant they await instructions from Luna. Lucy, not one to panic, measures them up. After all, death is one of her specialties, and she has trapped her share of souls. Luna commands unceremoniously. ‘GRAB HER’. As one, the ghosts grab Lucy. A frustrated scream escapes her, and she trashes around wildly, but the ghost hands seem to be everywhere. Tara lets no time go to waste, a flash of fire pierces through the circle while she recites, ‘Elements together, elements as one. Air come. Air come to me.’ Tara points the Wand at Lucy. The Dagger quivers by her side. ‘Come to me. Unite!’ She pours all her command in it, Lucy shouts ‘No!’ One of the ghost hands tries to cover her mouth. Tara repeats. ‘Come to me!’ The ghosts manage to keep a fighting Lucy under control, and even cover her mouth and eyes. The Dagger at her belt edges loose. Slowly, it floats towards Tara. Lucy struggles partly free ‘No, you’re mine!’ The Dagger goes back to Lucy. Luna throws her intent at the ghosts, and they go for Lucy with renewed energy. Tara doesn’t hesitate and uses all her gifts combined to lure the Dagger. ‘Unite. Air and Fire!’ With Lucy occupied, the Dagger moves through the hole in the circle and touches the Wand. A violent, fiery funnel of fire starts to whirl around the pentacle. The witches look worried; they didn’t plan this. It’s mesmerizing. For a moment, the world only seems to exist of Fire and Air. It’s a potent combination. Finally, Tara snaps out of it and pulls the elemental objects apart. The Wand disappears in its usual spot, and she wraps the Dagger in a magical cloth to try to shield it from Lucy’s pull. The ghosts took their chance to drag Lucy into the ground while the witches were distracted. Only her head and arms are visible. Desperately, she tries to struggle free. Luna tries to regain control over the ghosts, but it’s not working.