by Sandy Wright
Nicholas led me up the shadowy curved staircase to the second floor. He opened a door halfway down the hall. "This is Bella's bedroom. There are extra pillows in the wardrobe chest. The bathroom is just across. I believe there is a fresh toothbrush in the medicine cabinet as well as other toiletries."
He looked at me, his eyes dark with an emotion I could not identify. "Do you mind staying in Bella's room?"
"I'll be fine, thank you."
"My room is next to the bathroom. If you need anything."
I felt his eyes on me as I walked into the bathroom and closed the door.
He was still waiting outside when I emerged a short time later. He stood perfectly still, eyes closed, as I stood on tiptoe and kissed him on the cheek.
"Good night, Nicholas."
No answer.
As I closed my door, I heard him mutter, "Si es atal es atal." What will be will be.
Chapter 22: The Familiar's Secret
The snowstorm had ended during the night. Morning sunshine streamed through the lace-curtained window. I had forgotten to pull the blind, but something else woke me. I rolled onto my back and listened.
"Meow."
I sat up and looked around.
Magic sprawled on his back at the foot of my bed. With his four paws stuck in the air, he looked like an overturned, splayed-legged table. He was out cold.
I listened again.
"Meow."
I drew back the quilt and blanket, careful not to disturb my furry bedmate, opened the door and tiptoed into the hall. Nothing. Back in the bedroom, I spotted a second door in the corner, tucked next to a huge oak wardrobe. It opened to a steep, narrow staircase painted light blue. Wan light lit the top of the stairs.
Partway up the steps I heard it again. "Meow."
I climbed into a large attic. The dirty panes of the beveled glass window at the far end refracted the hazy sun and turned the swirling dust motes into fairy crystals. Under the window, a second black cat crouched on a thick book.
"Shadow?"
"Meow."
I walked up to him slowly and quietly, murmuring soft sounds of encouragement, knelt, and stroked the top of his head. He answered with a raised rump and a contented squint of two startlingly amber eyes.
"So this is where you've been hiding." I picked him up, still scratching his ears, and turned to the stairs, thinking I should really call Rumor and let her know I'd be in late today.
He hissed and hurled himself out of my arms, settling back on top of his book.
"Geez, cat." I looked around. The floor was too dusty to sit, but I pulled an old footstool over and sat next to Shadow, stroking the top of his head. He purred and bumped my hand for more, just as Magick had the night before. He seemed mellow now.
"Hey fella, are you one of those guys who hates to be held?" I cooed at him.
He stood up, stretched languidly, and jumped onto my lap.
"Guess not, as long as it's your idea." Arms around the purring cat, I leaned over to look at the cover of the book he had just vacated.
It was the size of an encyclopedia and bound in black leather, dusty brown from disuse. Strange symbols were etched into the silver corner guards and a pentagram and crescent moon were embossed into the leather cover. I picked up the book. A lock with a metal clasp, engraved with an emblem in the shape of an eye, similar to the one on a dollar bill, kept the book closed. I pushed the latch. It didn't budge.
Suddenly the eye glowed with green luminescence and blinked.
I jumped, upending the cat on my lap, and heaved the book across the room. It bounced against the leaded glass window with a dull thud. Shadow stood at my feet, his back arched and his incisors bared, growling and ready to fight.
I slowly backed away, giving the book the same wide berth one would a rattlesnake. A voice whispered, "You need not be rough. Simply state yourself. Who comes before the book of Orenda?"
I stood against a rafter brace, rooted to the spot in fascinated terror, afraid to turn my back on the thing. Something brushed against my ankle and I squealed. Shadow, purring now, wound through my bare legs. I drew in a shaky breath and slid down the slanted brace onto the floor.
"Well? I'm waiting."
Shadow mewed and rubbed his whiskers along the back of my hand. He then darted over to the book and rubbed his face over its cover, purring so hard his whole body vibrated.
With a soft click, the latch fell open.
The cat looked up at me with expectant, calm eyes and dipped his head as if nodding yes.
A snippet of conversation with Nicholas ran through my head. Learn to control your mind and its powers. I crawled to the book—which now looked quite innocent–and picked it up. I ran my palm over the ancient leather, thinking, why did you open?
The pages ruffled and I heard the answer in my head. No key is necessary when you are known. What you need will soon be shown.
Inside the front cover was a folded piece of parchment. The spidery handwriting had faded from black to tan with the years:
To the one who now opens this book,
If you have been allowed inside my Book of Shadows,
I welcome you, new friend.
Use it well, for it contains a lifetime of learning.
What may now seem impossible will soon become clear.
~ Mlle. Renard Corbeau Orenda,1944
Below, in a different hand, was written
~ Bella Orenda, 2009
I thumbed through the pages, but could find no title or index. They were dated, appearing in no discernible order and written in more than one hand. Many of the entries were written in French, others in a language I didn't recognize. Still others looked like no language at all, but rather a child's imaginative stick figures.
I picked one of the more recent entries written in English. The ink on this page was clear and dark:
September 2009.
R is gone. No time to prepare.
I fear I will be next.
But I will make things more difficult for them this time.
The telephone rang in the lower recesses of the house. Then, Nicholas called, "Samantha. I have the tow company on the phone."
I returned the book to its place and tiptoed quickly from the attic back to Bella's bedroom. I heard Nicholas's quick footsteps on the stairs and pulled a fluffy robe from the closet. I was belting it around me when he knocked on the bedroom door.
"They need directions to your truck." He handed me the phone, eyeing my bathrobe. "And I'm making coffee, sleepy-head."
* * * *
When I joined Nicholas in the kitchen, he pointed to an empty coffee cup on the counter. "Sorry, we ate the only eggs last night. I can make dry toast…there's no butter."
I wrinkled my nose. "Any chance of jam?"
No reply. The London Daily Times obscured his face.
Looking around, I spied a walk-in pantry next to the stove. I filled my coffee cup and went into the storage area.
"You are very nosy." His gruff voice came from behind the paper.
I popped my head out of the walk-in. "No, I'm looking for jam. Why are you reading the London paper?"
"Why are you asking so many questions?" He sounded irritated and tired. "I'm reading it because I prefer the civilized world rather than the opinions of a man who calls himself Sheriff Joe."
Nicholas was most decidedly not a morning person. "But why London?"
From behind the newspaper, a snort. "As I said, nosy."
"But?"
With a long-suffering sigh, Nicholas lowered the paper. "Because I live there."
"You don't have an accent."
"Well, you do. It's nasal and twangy and–before I've had my breakfast at least—quite irritating." The newspaper went back up. "Are you fixing toast?"
"Not until I find jam," I muttered, returning to the pantry.
A mason jar in the very back looked promising until I opened it. "Eeww. What is
this? It smells like sweaty gym shoes and soot."
Another snort. "Previous house guests."
Giving up the search, I sat at the table across from him. "My, you're a gracious host."
"I am when the guest is invited."
I gritted my teeth to bite off the snide reply he deserved. So, last night was an anomaly. But remember, more flies with sugar. I bet you just hate sugar, especially in companions.
"You'll be pleased to know I found Shadow."
Nicholas folded the paper. Now I had his attention. "Where was that wretched cat?"
"In the attic. Now, he's asleep on my bed."
"You went up in the attic? You truly are a snoop."
"Well, he called me up there." I smiled sweetly to irritate him further. "Now, I'd like to take a shower before the tow-truck gets here."
I left him at the table, toastless, muttering something like "…quite sure she wouldn't come if I'd been the one calling."
I ran the water in the shower to cover the creaking of the attic steps. Shadow remained there, guardian of the mysterious book. This time, as my head appeared at the top of the stairs, the big cat strolled over to purr and bump against me in greeting. I knelt down to scratch his whiskers with both hands.
"Watcha think big guy? Will your grouchy new master let me read this book if I tell him about it?"
Shadow regarded me solemnly with those amber eyes and blinked, giving his head a quick shake.
I frowned at him. "Didn't think so."
He followed me as I retrieved the book and then accompanied me into the steamy bathroom downstairs. There he jumped into the sink bowl and curled up for a nap.
I tucked the book under a stack of towels before stepping into the shower. I just had to figure out how to smuggle it out of the house.
As I dressed, male voices drifted up from the foyer. I came down the stairs in time to see Nicholas hand a check to the man from the tow company.
They both looked at me.
"Everything okay?" I asked.
"Your truck?" the stranger asked me.
I nodded. "There was an elk in the road."
He gave his head a quick jerk of agreement. "Lot of 'em out foraging, with this weather."
He pulled his ball cap down lower on his head, nodded at Nicholas and handed me the keys. "You're one lucky lady. A foot more and you'd a'been at the bottom of the mountain."
We were both silent for a moment after the tow-truck driver left. Discussing the accident had curbed Nicholas's morning petulance. He cleared his throat and turned to me.
"Would you join me in the library? I'd like to give you some books for your first lesson."
The room had been dark the night before. Today, shafts of sunlight streamed from narrow beveled windows wedged between each bookshelf and extending clear to the ceiling. The room smelled faintly of wood smoke, leather, and musty paper. Books packed every wall.
I walked the circumference, perusing titles here and there, as they caught my attention. This was no ordinary library. The shelves were arranged by type of magical working. One entire wall was devoted to divination, from tarot to runes to scrying. The front section contained books on general witchcraft and spells. "These books look handmade," I said, opening one of the leather-bound volumes to leaf through parchment pages covered with handwriting.
"Those are family grimoires, mostly from other branches of the Orenda family, but some of grandmother's friends shared theirs as well," Nicholas said.
"What's a grimoire?"
"It's a textbook of magic, compiled by a family or a coven," Nicholas replied. "Spells, invocations, instructions for making talismans and amulets, ritual outlines, and notes. Almost every group compiles one. You may also know it as a Book of Shadows."
"Do you have one?"
"My family does, started by my great-grandmother." Nicholas frowned. "I haven't located it yet, but I'm sure it's around here somewhere."
"When you find it may I read it also?"
Nicholas snorted. "No. It's Orenda family business, not yours."
Well then, it's decided. If he hasn't found it yet, he won't notice if it goes missing for a few days. I'll read it and then slip it back in with the rest of the family grimoires.
Nicholas sat patiently for several more minutes, looking faintly amused, as I rambled in a large circle. Finally he called, "Back here, Samantha," and gestured from the far corner. "This is the section we will be starting with. I'd like you to compile a Materia Magicka—your own personal filing system on herbs and their actions."
He gave me an indulgent smile. "Pick a few volumes to start with."
I trailed my fingers over the books in this section as I scanned titles. Fatal Fauna. Plants of the Southwest and Their Magickal Uses. Treatise on Poisons. Potions for Binding. I picked one for each plant subject I could imagine, including the poisonous plants, figuring it best to be prepared. When we left the room, I toted a three-foot stack of borrowed books.
Nicholas offered to take the books out and start my truck to let it warm up and charge the battery up a bit. I handed him part of the stack. I needed the others for camouflage. While he was outside, I dashed to the upstairs bathroom and retrieved the Book of Shadows from under the towels. I tucked it into the middle of the other books and carried the stack out to the truck, depositing it carefully on the back seat.
"Next week?" Nicholas asked.
"I can't on Sunday. I'm going out with Maya and some friends to cut a tree for Christmas, uh, Yule," I stammered, my mind still working on fleeing the house without getting caught. "Do you celebrate Yule?" I asked quickly, diverting him away from the backseat of books and toward the driver's door.
He nodded. "I celebrate all of the Sabbats, some more extensively than others." He stood back and I slid behind the wheel.
"Why don't we have your next lesson on Monday," he suggested. "I will pick you up and we can come back here for supper and study. We can go over the Sabbats, beginning with Yule.
You'll need extra time on the herb assignment anyway. And then you'll be informed and ready for your outing on Sunday."
Interesting, I thought on the way home. Yuletide traditions, taught by Scrooge.
Chapter 23: Cat and Mouse
After Samantha left, Nicholas added a spot of honey to his Earl Grey and left it steeping on the kitchen table while he climbed the stairs to the attic.
"Here kitty, kitty, you damned cat," he called gruffly from the top step, peering into the dim light.
A form jumped down from the far window. It stood and stretched its long tail in a question mark arch before sitting primly to watch him approach.
He picked up Shadow and settled the big tomcat into his arms, looking around the attic. "So this is where you've been living?"
The cat stared at him.
"Well?" Nicholas stared back. "You were her familiar. Don't you have anything to tell me about Aunt Bella?"
Shadow gave a soft mew and struggled out of his arms, jumping to the floor and returning to his spot under the window.
Nicholas squatted down beside him, but the cat moved back, flattening himself against the wall.
Muttering in irritation, Nicholas started to reach for the animal again but stopped. The floor in front of the cat showed a distinct clean square in the dust, as if an object had been recently removed.
Nicholas put his open palms over the outline and closed his eyes, moving his hands in a slow figure eight. Yes! He could feel residual magic in the space. Slowly he ran his hands around the edges of the imprint and a jumble of impressions spread through him: Chants, spell workings, and a deep, ancient power.
He also sensed a more recent human presence. Samantha. He opened his eyes and studied the rectangular outline. Maybe a paper or a book? Maybe even the missing family grimoire?
He sat back on his heels and looked around the room for anything fitting the shape. Samantha had been in the attic and moved something, but what? Wha
t did she find up here she didn't want him to know? His suspicions were interrupted when Shadow rubbed past his waist and walked to the stairs, looking back at him expectantly.
Nicholas took a last look around the attic, then rose and followed the cat down the stairs, along the landing, and to the main floor.
He really must keep closer tabs on Samantha. She had weeks of free time she didn't account for, at least not with him.
"I put my trust in you and all you want is to be let out?" he scolded Shadow, who was now pawing at the front door. He opened the door to let the cat out, but Shadow simply sat down in the doorway and stared at him.
"What are you telling me? Or not telling me, you furry traitor? Come on, I've had enough." He scooped the cat into his arms once again and carried him into the kitchen, dumping him into an empty chair at the table and turning to his now cold tea.
Chapter 24: Book of Shadows
At home I unloaded the truck, bringing armloads of books inside and dropping them in an untidy heap in the living room. Once I'd changed into sweats and my sheepskin-lined slippers, I headed into the kitchen where I microwaved a quick bowl of spaghetti, shook some dressing into a box of salad, and grabbed a soda from the refrigerator.
Then I dug through the pile to the hidden Book of Shadows. Maybe whoever or whatever chased Bella had lost her trail. The rest of the idea lodged in my gut, twisting it into knots of fear. Maybe it has turned its attention on me. Somebody wanted me dead, and I had no idea why. Maybe part of the answer was in this book.
I examined the book carefully for any sign of movement before giving it a tentative touch. If ever there was a propitious time for one of my weird visions, this was it. I placed both palms on the book cover. Where is Bella? Waited several heartbeats. Why did she leave? Nothing. Open up and give me a clue. This grimoire was less responsive than an Ouija board. It wouldn't help me much if I couldn't get it to re-open.
Maybe I wasn't asking the right questions.
Bella knew someone was attacking her family. Hopefully she also had some tricks ready for her attacker. A protection spell would be a good start. Something darker and more drastic, would be even better.