by Marnie Cate
“Marina, my dear, are you not going to come give me a hug? How I have missed you,” purred the voice from behind me.
Turning to face the voice that I had not heard for many years, I said, “Hello, mother.”
Chapter 5
Eliza strode over to me and grabbed both of my hands with her icy hands. “Let me look at you. My how you have grown,” she said, as she pulled me to my feet. “Why, you are a woman now. I always knew you would be a beauty.”
I pulled myself from my mother and coldly glared. “To what do we owe this honor?”
My heart began to beat faster and I could feel the anger inside me rising. The sting of finding out she had left us was still strong.
Eliza stood back eyeing me. “That is not a warm welcome, darling,” she voiced, opening her arms to welcome me into a hug. I kept my cold glare.
“Why are you here?” I said, not hiding my fury, “Don't you have your new life with Cedric Drygen? I cannot imagine what we could offer you here. Are you in need of jam? You can buy this at the market on Main Street.” I continued aggressively, “You do remember where that is, right?”
“Don't be ridiculous,” she said, as she moved towards me. “I came for you. I have missed you so much. It was painful for me to be kept away from you for so long.” Her eyes glistened with tears. The show she was putting on did nothing but harden me even more against her.
“You need to leave!” I shouted. Anger that I had never felt before boiled inside me. “You are not welcome here anymore!”
Surprised by my reaction, Eliza turned her eyes to glare at Gram who had just come down the loft ladder. “I shouldn't be surprised that my daughter would be turned against me by you,” she accused.
“Enough of this nonsense. Pack a bag for you and your sister, Marina. I will explain everything once we are home,” Eliza said, turning back to me with a look of hurt. “I have so much to tell you.”
“You will not be taking these girls anywhere. Mara was right in saying you are not welcome in this home anymore,” Gram said, as she stepped forward and blew small flowers into the air. The smell of lavender and cinnamon engulfed the room.
The flowers turned into white smoke tendrils that surrounded my mother. The smoke tendrils wrapped around her. Shock filled her eyes as the small strings clasped at her arms and began to circle around her neck. Eliza turned from the room grabbing and pulling at the tendrils attaching to her.
Quickly opening the front door, she exited and turned to say, “You cannot keep them from me, Mother. They are mine.”
Gram held her hand out in front of her and a warm wind blew through the room and slammed the door shut.
No one spoke for minutes. My eyes caught Cole's and he looked at me sadly. He knew how much I had missed my mother and how I wanted everything to go back to the way it was before she had left. Closing my eyes, I breathed in the lavender that was in the air and tried to calm my heart. I could feel gentle patting on my hand. When I looked down, I saw the tendrils of smoke that had chased my mother away. The smoke was warm and it felt like a soft touch of my grandmother's hand comforting me. I closed my eyes again and let myself be comforted.
Realizing that Cole was still sitting on the couch quietly watching the interaction, Gram turned to him and said, “Cole, go home and pack some of your things. You are staying here for a few days.”
Cole began to protest, “Gram, I don't need protection I will be…” His voice trailed off as he saw the serious look in Gram's eyes.
Gram walked to the fireplace and grabbed the iron poker. With wide eyes, Cole watched waiting for my grandmother's next move. The white and gray stone of the fireplace shimmered as if millions of little stars were buried in the stone. To the right of the dark brown mantle, Gram took the poker and held it high in the air making tiny circles. Her circles turned into silver chains. The silver chains twisted and turned in the air around us. Gram put the poker down and the chains slowly continued to weave themselves into small circles.
As I stared on, I could see the circles forming a nest shape. The chains quickly circled and twisted as they dived down towards Cole. He put his hands out to stop the attack and instead of striking him, the silver slowed and twisted around his wrist. Twisting and twisting it formed the most elegant silver bracelet. Circles entwined and in the center an oval shape began to take form. Weaving and weaving it began to look like an eye.
When the weaving stopped, Gram took Cole's arm and closed her eyes. The eye-shaped silver turned a glowing red. Gram released her hold on his arm and Cole lifted his wrist to stare at it. The red had faded and the silver disappeared. His wrist now was wrapped with a tattoo. The silver circles became black ink that seemed to glimmer. Near the back of his hand, the eye had outlined and filled with white and inside the white was the pupil of an eye. The blueness of the pupil was a color I had never seen before. Rich blue that almost seemed to change between blue to purple and then to green. A peacock feather of colors seemed to fill the eye on his wrist.
Gram took Cole's hand and gently patted it. “Cole, this will protect you and will ward off any harm. Go quickly and gather just what you need for a few days,” she said forcefully.
“Ok, I will be back soon. I will just grab a few of my things,” Cole said, as he kissed me on the cheek and placed the ring in my hand. “We will continue this conversation when I return.”
I watched as Cole walked out the same door my mother had left. “He will return,” a whisper on the wind told me.
Chapter 6
“Mara, do you remember the prayer I used to say over you each night? Go to Meg and circle this around her bed while saying the prayer,” Gram said, as she handed me the purple bag that held the herbs she had just sprinkled.
“Gram, I remember the prayer but I can't create magic like you just did,” I wavered.
“You will do just fine,” she said, as she took my left hand and held it in front of me. The blue ring on my middle finger swirled with magic. “Trust your promise. I have been preparing you for this day all of your life. Now go,” she said, as she swatted me away.
As I climbed the ladder, I reached the sixth rung that held my mother's name. Seeing this just made me more committed to my promise. When I reached the top of the ladder, I could hear Meg was softly snoring. She was deep in sleep. The energy she expended in the day always made sure her night's sleep was deep. Amazing that not even the chaos below had awoken her.
I took the bag and pinched a small amount of the herbs. They felt warm. I slowly began sprinkling the purple flowers around her bed and saying the words I had heard my grandmother say each night as she put us to bed.
“Goddess, I ask for your guidance on this night and ask you to aid in invoking the elements that guide.”
“With my hands to the east, I call upon you, Air, and ask you to blow away any harm and to clarify my thoughts.” A rush of air sent the herbs I had dropped up into the air about me and swirled my hair.
“With my hand to the south, Fire, I call upon you and ask you to burn away any fear I have and burn away those feelings that harm.” Taking more herbs from the pouch from my left hand, I watched as the light purple turned to small, red embers as they fell to the ground and quickly died out.
“With my hand to the west, Water, I call upon you and ask you to wash away my fears and cleanse those who wish to harm.” The herbs I dropped from my right hand turned into a droplet of water and when it landed on the floor, I heard a string of chimes.
“With my hands to the north, I call upon you, Earth, and ask you to ground me in goodness and strengthen me.” I felt the wood below me move and it turned into a grassy field. I could smell the fresh grass and dirt. The herb that I dropped disappeared in the grass for a moment but then a small yellow flower began growing from the dark green blades beneath my feet.
“Goddess, my request is complete and I ask you to keep us safe. Please guide this child as she sleeps and wake her with the light of morning.” The herbs I dropped this time t
urned into white tendrils of smoke that sounded like a small child's laughter. They danced and swirled through the air and around my sleeping sister. A small smile covered her face as she continued to sleep soundly.
“Thank you, Goddess,” I whispered, as I kissed my sister on the cheek. “Sleep sweet, my little Meg, sleep sweet.”
Her small eyes barely opened and she wrapped her arms around my neck before she fell back to sleep. Holding my sister in my arms, I felt all the doubt that I had been carrying around off and on all day fade away as I drifted off to sleep.
Chapter 7
I was jolted by a set of sharp nails in my forearm. The hot searing pain filled me as I tried to pull my arm away. The harder I pulled the tighter the grip became.
“How ridiculous you are to think that anyone but me will truly ever love you,” she snarled. “Everything you are and will be is because of me.” Looking around for an escape, all I could see was darkness.
“You can run but I will always be able to find you. You are my child. You are from my blood. Soon you will forget the ridiculous ideas that have been planted in your head by that woman and you will see what real power the magic you hold has in store for you.”
Tearing myself away from her, I felt a sting of pain in my arm as the skin ripped. Falling to my knees trying to find something to stop the warm blood running down my arms, I jammed my shoulder into something sharp. Feeling helpless, I cried out for my grandmother. Moving away from the voice, I found myself trapped. There was nothing but solid walls around me.
“She can't save you now, Marina. Only I can…only I can,” hissed the cold voice of my mother. She laughed as she shook me, “Listen to me, Mara, join me…”
The voice of my mother suddenly turned into a soft voice, “It's me, Mara; it's me.” The voice pleaded, “Please wake up, please.”
Looking around, I could see a rainbow mural on the wall and a small bed covered with at least twenty different stuffed animals on top of a pink bedspread. The moon shined in the round window and I could see the stars shining in the night sky. As I looked around trying to understand what had happened, I realized that I was in my room. I must have fallen asleep. Recognizing that it was all a bad dream, I began to take in the damage I had caused.
Still crouching in the corner of the room shared with my sister, I was wedged between my nightstand and my wardrobe. My jewelry box and all my vanity items were strewn across the floor. The picture frame that held the picture of my mother and father was shattered and on the floor with a large piece of blood soaked glass sticking out of it. Blood droplets formed a trail that led to me.
My little sister's scared face came into focus. “I'm sorry, Meg. It was just a nightmare. Did I hurt you? Are you ok?” I asked apologizing. Shaking, I held out my arms to Meg.
“I'm okay but you are bleeding,” she said, pointing to my arm. Her green eyes were wide and filled with concern.
Looking down, I could see that I had a deep cut running on the back of my left hand from my ring finger to my elbow.
“Can you bring me a towel from the bathroom, please?” I said calmly, trying to not scare my sister. “It looks worse than it is. Stupid nightmares. Lucky I didn't fall off the ladder, huh?”
Trying to make light of the situation did not appear to be working. My little sister still wore a brave face but I could tell she was trying to hold back her tears.
“It will be ok. Can you just grab the first towel you see?”
Meg nodded and quickly went to the bathroom we shared. Moments later, she returned with a small hot pink bath towel.
I held out my arm and asked, “Can you open it, fold it in half the long way and place it around my arm?”
My little sister was definitely still a child but when needed she could follow directions as well as any adult. She quickly held the towel up and folded it just as I had asked. Then, she gently laid it on my hand covering the deepest part of the cut. Carefully removing my hand, I pulled it away and tightly wrapped my makeshift bandage around my throbbing arm.
Putting on my best don't worry little sister face, I patted her on the head. “Let's go downstairs and see Gram and Cole. Cole should be back. He is going to stay with us for a few days. I bet they will make us hot chocolate with mint marshmallows,”
My promises were my attempt to make up for putting her through this. She nodded and put a small smile on her face. My nightmares were nothing new to her but I could tell that this time I had really scared her.
“Put this on,” I said, as I handed her the fluffy white robe that was hanging on a peg beside her bed. “You don't want to catch a cold.”
Narrowing her eyes at me, she retorted, “You cannot catch a cold from being cold.” But she still slipped her arms into the soft robe covering her satin blue princess gown.
“Very true, smarty. How did I get such a wise little sister?” I retorted.
Shrugging, she remarked as she began to climb down the ladder, “Lucky, I guess.”
Carefully climbing down the ladder, I followed my sister. As we entered the kitchen, I could see the worried look on both their faces. Gram came over to me and took the towel off my arm.
“Oh dear, what have you done to yourself,” she asked. “Come with me.” I followed Gram to the sink and let her begin to wipe the blood off my arm.
“Cole, go to the pantry and grab my emergency kit.” Turning to me she asked, “What cut you?”
“It was just a nightmare, Gram,” I tried to reassure her, grimacing as the cold water flushed the wound. "I knocked the picture off my dresser and broke it. I am okay. It really doesn't hurt, I lied.
Cole brought Gram the bag. “What can I do to help?” he questioned me.
“You could make Meg some hot chocolate.” Looking into his eyes, I could feel his concern. “I am fine. I promise. You know me. These nightmares are more painful for those around me than they are for me,” I said trying to remove his worry.
“At least she didn't have one of those nightmares where she screamed so loud that Old Lady Callaghan was sure the banshees were coming for her again,” he said, laughing and picking up Meg.
“Let's get you something warm to drink. What are we going to do with your sister?” he asked Meg, as he picked her up and swung her around.
Giggling she put her arms around his neck, “We should sell her at next Market Fair.”
Gram and I left them to make their hot chocolate in the kitchen and we moved to the dining room so she could mend my wound.
“You are very lucky that you didn't cut any deeper. Tell me what happened.”
Lifting the formerly hot pink towel that now looked like a red Rorschach test, she once again washed the blood from the wound. The blood flow lessened and I began to relax enough to tell my grandmother what had happened tonight.
As I retold my dream, Gram listened patiently. Slowly coating my cut with a purplish paste, she smoothed the cool goo in long strokes followed by a slow figure eight pattern. The cold paste stung at first but then began to feel warm. It felt like hundreds of hot pins were being poked into my arm. The pinprick feeling began to subside as I finished my recalling of the night's events.
“Did I do the blessing wrong?” I built up the courage to ask, not really wanting to know the answer I feared. “When I called the elements I felt all of them come to me. Shouldn't it have protected Meg from my harm?”
“No, love. You say you felt all of the elements come to you? If that is true, then you did everything correctly. The Goddess wouldn't have blessed you in such a way if she didn't feel your open heart.”
Taking a cream-colored roll of linen bandages from her bag, she lightly wound the fabric around my forearm creating a cast like protection.
“I am sure that what happened tonight was just a dream. You know that they come more when you are worried and if you didn't have a nightmare tonight of all nights I would have been surprised,” she said, patting my hand. “Now let's finish this up and go check on those two.” Gram finished the b
andage and gathered all her supplies into her bag.
Chapter 8
In the kitchen, we found clues that hot chocolate had been made and crumbs indicated cookies must have been added to comfort. Not wondering whom the cookies were really to comfort, I smiled.
In the front room, Cole and Meg were sitting on the couch watching her favorite movie. Gram had a collection of movies from her childhood that we loved to watch on the old DVD player that Cole had repaired.
Sitting down on the couch on the opposite side of Meg, I put my head on Cole's shoulder. “Thank you for being here for us tonight.”
He kissed the top of my head and said, “Always.”
“Let's all go to bed,” Gram said, as she picked up Meg who was unsuccessfully fighting sleep.
Her slight frame gave the illusion that she was frail but my grandmother could out work most men in town. My little sister seemed like a light cloth in her arms as she lifted her with ease and carried her off to bed.
Stopping she turned and spoke, “Cole, you can sleep in the guest room since you have already put your things in there. Mara, there is plenty of room in my bed for the three of us. Do not be long with your good nights. We can deal with things tomorrow.”
Watching Gram carry my little sister away, I felt a wave of sadness and relief wash over me. I cannot keep putting her through this. I needed to figure out why my dreams were so real. I needed to control them for her sake. She had more to deal with than was fair. If Eliza is as persistent as she was in my dream, I couldn't begin to imagine what would be in our future.
“I won't ask you what your dream was about tonight,” Cole said, as he held me tightly. “I am glad that you are safe. Do I dare look at the damage in your room?”
“I don't even want to think about that right now,” I said. “I just want you to hold me and tell me it will be all okay.”