by Marnie Cate
After a few minutes of their silence, I joined them in the kitchen grabbing myself a cup of tea and pretended that I had just returned and had not heard their conversation, I said, “It is so nice outside tonight.”
Walking over to Gram and putting my arm around her, I slipped the remaining potion into the pocket of her sweater. She patted my arm letting me know that she understood.
“You both missed a beautiful night sky. The stars are so bright and the moon has a devious smile,” I said, sounding wistful.
Sitting down at the table with them, I saw how much everything was affecting Cole. His eyes were dark and he was not full of the sunshine that I usually felt from him. Softly, I spoke to him. “We had a busy day. Cole, you look so tired. Why don't you go get ready for bed? Sleep will make you feel better.”
Looking weary, Cole hesitantly agreed. Taking my hand in his hand, he kissed the inside of my wrist before he left us. Turning back, he said, “I love you, Mara.” Then with a soft chuckle, he added, “Mae, I love you too.”
Shaking her head at him, she grinned, “Off to bed. You look like you haven't slept in weeks.”
Waving her off, he climbed the loft ladder. Once I knew we were alone, I updated Gram on the path I took as I sprinkled the potion.
“Why can I not feel the elements anymore? Why could they not stay?” I questioned, trying to hold in my frustration.
“Mara, they were sent to guide us to find our inner connection. We are the protectors of the magic,” she said, enunciating the we.
“Stop blocking what you have inside you,” she said sternly. “When you were young, you could control the elements on your own. You didn't need to find your connection. You most of all just needed to learn to control it. They taught you how to control it. Even when you were not aware of the magic it was still within you.”
She stood up and went to the living room. Taking one of the decorative candles from the mantle, she brought it back with her and placed it in front of me on the table. “Light this candle,” she said firmly.
Starting to stand to go get matches, she put her hand on my shoulder and stopped me. “I want you to light the candle. Focus and look inside you.”
As if to show me what she wanted, she stared at the wick of the candle. A small flame started. The bright orange and yellow flames grew and rose above my head. As quickly as the fire began, it was abruptly gone.
“Light the candle,” she commanded, lightly holding my shoulder.
Staring at the flame, I tried to focus and remember what I once knew. Discouraged, I said, “I can't do this.”
“Stop this nonsense, you can,” she said. “Your doubt is the only thing keeping you from connecting with the elements. This doubt is the only thing that will keep you from succeeding. You saw what Breeze, Blaze, Bay and Daisy could do. Now trust yourself, Mara. This is the time to remember.”
Closing my eyes, I thought about Blaze. Words from my past filled my thoughts. “Mara, you cannot call that much fire. You will burn down the forest. The elements will listen to your command. Kindly dance with them.”
Opening my eyes, I focused again on the wick of the candle. Each breath I slowly took made a small spark. With one deep breath, I whispered to myself, “It is inside you.”
With a spark, the candle before me lit and began burning with a strong orange and red flame. Looking over at Gram, I could see her smiling.
She grabbed my hand and patted it. “You just needed to regain your confidence. Now off to bed, love. Tomorrow, we will deal with the past.”
Agreeing, I stared at the flame and silently released it. The fire died out and a small thread of white smoke swirled towards me.
“Thank you, Fire,” I said and decided it was time to go to bed. Hugging Gram, I left to get some sleep.
When I entered my bedroom, I found Cole sleeping. He was still dressed in the same clothes he had on all day including his shoes. I untied and removed his shoes and covered him with the blanket that was on the end of Meg's bed. He did not stir.
Kissing him on his cheek, I softly whispered, “Sleep sweet, love.”
Feeling no energy to change either, I took my boots off. As I fell into my bed, the metal cylinder dropped to the floor. Picking it up, I hid it back in my pillowcase and laid my head down on it. Unable to fight the exhaustion that was overcoming me, I drifted off into a dreamless sleep.
Chapter 22
“Stop making that noise, Meg,” I called out, not wanting to leave the sleep I had just fallen into.
The loud murmur and clanging bells did not stop. Taking one of my pillows, I threw it at the direction of Meg's bed. “Please go back to sleep.” I said, with frustration.
“Mara, it's not Meg. Wake up,” Cole said. Climbing on my bed, he looked out the small, round window. “Those are sirens outside.”
Trying to understand what was going on and wake up, I stood on the bed by him trying to look out. I questioned him, “What do you see?”
“It is fire trucks and they are near my house. I see smoke and flames. I can't tell exactly where it is but it is close to my home.”
Hopping off the bed, he frantically began putting his shoes on. “I need to go there.”
“I will go with you,” I said. Slipping my boots on, I went to him. “Are you sure it was your house?”
“No,” he said. “But I am not going to sit here and wait.”
Grabbing his hand, I stopped him, “Let me go with you.” Feeling his hesitation, I said again forcefully this time, “I am going with you.”
Sighing, he agreed. “Ok but we are going now.”
When we reached the front door, the voice of Gram called after us, “Cole and Mara, where do you think you are going?”
Gram appeared in the kitchen. Her outfit told me that she had planned on going to the same place. The mismatched brash combination of a lime green sweater, gardening jeans and red garden wellies were not something she would typically wear.
“Gram, I think the fire trucks are at my house,” Cole said, with the panic in his voice rising. “I need to go find out.”
Feeling a sharp electricity shoot through my body, I held back a gasp from the pain that I felt. I looked over and I saw my father exiting his room. Looking at the grimace on Gram's face, I knew she felt the same jolt. The spell had worked. She closed her eyes and slightly nodded confirming my thoughts.
“What is going on, Caterpillar? Why are you all awake?” Elliott asked, looking disheveled and confused.
Interesting. I thought to myself. Why would he be in the same clothes from last night? Looking down at my own outfit, I realized he could be thinking the same thing.
“There is a fire coming from the direction of Cole's house. We are going there now?” I responded.
The surprise look on his face turned to concern. “I'm coming with you,” he said, as he grabbed his coat and started putting on his boots. Grabbing a sweater from a hook, he handed it to me.
As we headed out the door, I felt another set of jolts as Cole and Elliott crossed the barrier. Gram stopped and called to us, “Wait, we need to wake Meg.”
In the confusion, I had forgotten about my sleeping sister. “You all go,” I said. “I will wake Meg and join you.” Kissing Cole on the cheek, I whispered, “I will be there soon. It will be ok.”
Hugging Gram, I whispered, “I won't be long. Please watch over Cole.”
Watching them all walking quickly down the road towards Cole's home, I turned around and went to wake my little sister. When I arrived in Gram's room, I climbed up on the bed to calmly wake Meg. Lifting the blankets, I found pillows instead of my sister. Tearing the comforter off the bed, I had expected to find her hiding but there was no sign of her.
Calling out to her, trying to not sound angry, I calmly said, “Meg, don't hide right now. We need to go to Gram and Cole.”
Stopping to listen for her giggles, there was only silence. I checked under all the blankets and under the bed. Feeling panicked, I decide to look in G
ram's walk-in closet. Pulling out everything that Meg could hide behind, I searched every possible hiding space. There was still no sign of her.
“This is not funny, Meg. Please do not do this now,” I pleaded.
Giving up on the closet, I decide to inspect the rest of the room. I lifted the lid on the trunk at the end of the bed but it only held blankets and photo albums. With a final desperate thought, I decided to look in the bathroom. She was not in there. There really was no place for her to hide but I continued my search. Knowing my search would be futile, I opened the cabinets anyway. Alarmed, I stared out from the bathroom scanning the large bedroom with my eyes. What was I missing? My eyes stopped when they landed on my stuffed animals. The sheep and the wolf were propped up on the nightstand. In the wolf's arms, there was something white between the gray and white fur. Racing to it, I saw that it was a white scroll with a silver ribbon tied around it. Hesitatingly, I removed the tie and unrolled it. My heart sunk as I saw the embossed snake design on the paper. As I read the dark red words, my heart began to race.
My Darling Marina,
You can stop your frantic search for Meg. I bet you felt quite a fright not finding your little sister sleeping soundly in the bed. Of course, you should not worry. My sweet child is finally where she belongs…with me. She is now in the loving arms of her mother.
How silly of your grandmother to not consider that her little blood alarm may work on that fool, Elliott, but it could be countered by someone with half a brain. She forgot that I know all her little tricks and I am much stronger than the weak little girl that she had tried to raise me to be.
Now back to the important matter at hand, I was so devastated by how you treated me at our long awaited reunion but I understand that living with that woman has turned you against me. She always clung to her silly beliefs. I fear she will until her dying day. Do not worry, darling; I will do my best to try to forgive you for your coldness. We certainly haven't been apart long enough for you to forget what a wonderful mother I was to you both.
Enough of the nonsense you have been spoon fed by her, you will come to me and will learn truly what your gift can do. Please choose wisely. I may not be able to get over the deep hurt you have caused me if you make the wrong choice again. We do not want Mommy to become too angry… As you should know by now, the results can be intense — one may dare to even say fiery.
When you are back in my arms, we will build our future together. The legacy that was always planned for our family will begin. Under my guidance, your new marriage will make such a powerful union. How lucky for you that you have chosen so well the first time. Sometimes, we are forced into situations and our real path is blocked. Nevertheless, we can always find the way, Goddess be damned!
How exciting it will be to see what is formed from the mixing of Sarah's and my bloodline. Such a combination will ensure that your children will be even stronger than you both. I am excited about all of the raw magic together we will have. But all of this is better discussed face to face. Don't you agree?
Do not keep me waiting. You will come to me soon, my dear Marina. I would hate for any more little accidents to happen.
Love, Mother
Reading the note again, I fell to my knees and began to cry. How was I so stupid to not watch over Meg? Who was this monster that claimed to be my mother? Beating my fists on my legs, I began to scream as the world around me seemed to be crashing down.
Chapter 23
My screams silenced when I felt arms wrap around me. I began to struggle against the person that was holding me. The more I struggled, the tighter the arms wrapped around me.
“Stop, child,” Gram's soft voice soothed.
Realizing who it was, I stopped fighting and collapsed into her arms sobbing, “It will be ok, Mara. I'm here.”
“She's gone, Gram.” My words barely forming, I cried, “She took, Meg.” Handing her the note, I pulled myself out of her arms. “It's my fault. If I had not…” I said, through my tears.
Stopping me, she scolded, “We are not doing this now. You need to calm down and collect yourself. Now is not the time for self-pity.”
As she read the note, I could see her anger growing. Taking my hand, she shoved the note in her sweater pocket.
“Mara, right now you need to focus your energy. We need to help Cole,” she said, slowly and calmly. “We must go to him. There is nothing that we could have done differently. Meg will not be harmed. Eliza will not hurt her. You know how charming your mother can be. Meg will think that they are having a grand adventure.”
It was my turn to stop her. “What did she mean about Cole's mother, Sarah?” I questioned. “What is she talking about? Why do all these secrets keep surfacing? I need to know everything if I want to keep my promise. Don't I?”
“I will tell you the short version on the way,” she said, taking my hand. “One day you will know more than you want to know. Sometimes ignorance can be bliss, Mara. But I will explain what I can as we walk.”
As we began our walk to Cole's house, she began to tell me the story of how her mother received her gift. "The time that my mother grew up in was much different than the one we live in now. People forgot about the Goddess and nature. They worried about their day to day. The old ways were considered fantasy and were stories for movies and books.
“One day four friends found a book in the library about the Goddess and the magic of nature. With their new interest, they began to practice the craft as it was described in the book. As a gift to the girls for their commitment, the Goddess sent them each a guide to teach them how to connect with the elements. This is how the guides were born.” she continued.
“Your mother was one of the girls, right?” I asked.
“Yes, my mother, Genevieve, was one of them,” she answered. “She took her oath seriously. For a while, all four girls were committed to the magic together and their power grew strong. As they grew older and began their lives of being wives and mothers, they still came together to honor the Goddess. At first Genevieve Silver, Lucy Andrews, Michelle Elliott and Camille Black were always careful to not flaunt the gift.”
Sadly, she continued, “But such a gift is tempting to misuse. Soon after Camille married Brandon Drygen, my mother said she changed. She started using her newly learned skills to increase her husband's power in the community. She would stop at nothing and made sure that anyone in their way was made to realize how powerful she had become. She destroyed many lives in the name of money and power.”
Gram stopped when we were less than a block away from Cole's house. The flames were consuming his house and the sky was filling with black smoke.
“This is not how I wanted to tell you but it will have to do,” she said, with defeat in her voice. "The three women came up with a plan and they decided to bind Camille's magic and that of her children. The spell that was cast together was so strong that she could not even tap into any dark magic that was within her. This angered her but the Drygen family did not need magic anymore. They had acquired money and power.
“Camille never forgave the women for what they did. The betrayal she felt fueled her anger and in retaliation, she began directing her rage at her closest friend, Michelle. Camille made it impossible for her to live here. Out of fear, Michelle and her family left town.”
“When Camille's daughter, Blanche, grew up the pure magic that was passed on to her was still bound. While Blanche was not able to access the pure magic, she learned how to tap into small parts of the dark magic that her mother was never able to access. The women had made a mistake. They had bound the Drygen family line of pure magic but they neglected to realize that Blanche's magic had begun to turn dark. So, she still carries some of this dark magic. Magic that she had acquired from misusing her gift. But it was not enough for her, she wanted what in her mind was stolen from her family. Thankfully, dark magic does not pass through the generations. So the Drygen line of magic being passed on ended with Blanche,” she said in a faint voice.
“What does this have to do with Cole?” I asked impatiently. I wanted to run to him and protect him from the pain he must be feeling watching his home burn, not be here listening to stories about the Drygens.
“Lucy's daughter, Olivia, never showed any interest in taking the oath. When Olivia died in childbirth, Lucy raised her granddaughter. The child was Sarah. The same Sarah whose son is Cole Oliver Sands,” she said and took my hand.
“The legacy your mother has set her mind on is the pure magic of Genevieve and Lucy combining. Your mother is naive to believe that we are the only ones with access to the magic. Our family has been blessed with an understanding and a bond with all elements and an awareness of the dark and the light. Only those who understand the existence of both sides and those who balance it will truly have access to pure magic.”
“Does that mean Cole can connect with the elements?” I asked.
“Yes. He does have the gift. I do not know if Cole will be able to understand. It is up to you to help him,” she said. “Now go to him, Mara. He needs you.”
Chapter 24
When I reached Cole, I could feel the pain he was trying to hold back. The front part of the house was completely engulfed in flames and the firefighters were barely holding the fire back enough to keep it from spreading. The fire was so strong that I did not think they could hold it back much longer.
Taking his hand into mine, I said, “I am here, Cole.”
“It will all be gone and I can't stop it. There is not a damn thing I can do to save my home,” he said, as the water that had filled his eyes broke loose and sent large tears down his cheeks.
Taking his face into my hands, I said, “We can stop this together if you trust me.” Looking around, I could see that the back of the house where the fire had not reached was secluded. “Come with me,” I said, grabbing his hand.
When we reached the isolated area, I began, “I don't have time to explain everything to you. Cole, your family has the same connection to the Goddess as mine.”