by Marnie Cate
“What are you talking about?” Cole said, angrily. “My home is burning. I am losing everything and you want to talk about magic?”
Holding my hands to the sky in front of me, I called to the elements, “Air, I call to you. I plead with you to call back your power that is feeding the flames before me. Fire, I call to you. Return your flames to the earth that I ask to welcome you. Earth, I call to you. Absorb the heat of the flames and smother them. Water, I call to you. Devour and wash away the dark anger that summoned you. The anger is no longer welcome here. I call the light in the name of the Goddess.”
Taking his hand, I whispered, “Connect with me. Connect with them.” Cole did not respond. He just silently stared at me as if I had lost my mind.
With no response from him and a lack of uncertainty in what I was doing, I tried to connect as Gram told me. I did not have a book of words telling me what was right. I had to trust myself and learn to release all doubts.
Taking a cleansing breath, I tried again, “Air, Fire, Earth and Water release the anger that surrounds us. In the name of Sarah, protector of the magic, I ask you to protect this home.”
The fire still burned strong. I knew that if I could not reach him soon, it would be too late.
“Cole, trust me.” Taking his hands in mine, I stared into his eyes as I said, “I call to the spirits of Genevieve Silver and Lucy Andrews. Bless this union of your protectors before you. In front of the Goddess and the magic that runs through my veins, I pledge my eternal commitment to protect the magic.”
These words seemed to spark a response. Small threads of white smoke danced and weaved encircling us in a figure eight. Cole's eyes widened in surprise as the smoke that was surrounding us grew stronger.
Holding his hand tighter, I commanded the elements. “Your protection is called. Flames of Fire, return to your home. Air, rescind the life you breathe into the flames. Water, I command you to pour down on us. Cleanse this home and dispel the flames. Earth, stand strong.”
Clouds formed above us and the boom of thunder sounded. With renewed confidence, I began repeating my pleas, “Air, Fire, Earth, Water, Light of the Goddess…hear my pleas.”
As a drop of rain fell on my cheek, I felt a renewed strength. “It's time to trust me, Cole. It is now or never.”
With a small nod, Cole began speaking the words with me, “Air, Fire, Earth, Water, Light come to us.”
As we finished the words together for the third time, the rain above us came pouring down and the fire of the flames on the house began to retreat. Sounds of the crowd cheering at the front the house reached us as they welcomed the rain. Taking my face in his hands, Cole looked at me as if he had truly never seen me before.
“How did you know this would work?” he asked looking at me with pride.
“I didn't. I just knew I had to do something and listened to my heart,” I said. “You needed me to be strong.”
Picking me up and spinning me around, he said, “My beautiful girl, thank you for not giving up on me.” We laughed as the rain poured down on us. Looking on as the once burning house smoldered as the flames were dying out, Gram joined us.
Taking our hands, she lifted her hands to the sky and spoke, “Water, the rain you gave served its purpose. Merry meet and merry meet again.”
Smirking as the clouds parted and the rain slowed, she said, “We wouldn't want to flood the town.”
Once the flames were out, there was nothing for us to do but begin trying to salvage Cole's belongings. Neighbors came to Cole with boxes and they began to gather anything that was not ruined by the flames or the water.
“I am sorry I was so angry. As I am looking at these things, I realized there is nothing in this house that I want or need,” Cole whispered to us." Anything that means anything to me is in the cottage or here with me now."
Stopping and looking around, Cole had a confused look on his face, “Wait, where is Meg?”
Gram handed the note that Eliza had written to Cole and apologized, “I am sorry that she included you in all of this. She never could do things simply. How a child of mine ever became so dark I will never understand.”
Watching his face as he read the note, I patiently waited until he finished, “So she started this fire? Why would she bother to burn down this house?”
“Cole, there is no understanding any of the choices my daughter makes,” Gram said and checked to see if anyone was in earshot. The firemen confirmed that the fire was out and had called it safe before they left. The only people that had stayed were nearby neighbors that were helping Elliott in his salvaging attempts.
Dismissing his questions, she asked a question of her own, “Where did you keep your mother's things? Were they in the house?”
“Rosalind had tried to throw out all of her things but I was able to save a few things. They are inside the cottage. I keep them in a wooden trunk,” Cole said, with a hint of sadness in his voice.
Calling to my father, Gram said, “Elliott, please get my truck. We are moving Cole to our home tonight.” Giving Gram a thumbs up and a nod, he stopped filling boxes and headed towards our house.
Gram spoke to those still helping, “Thank you everyone for helping but it is still night. Go home and sleep. These things can wait for tomorrow.”
Cole was met with words of concern, hugs and handshakes from our soot-covered neighbors as they said their goodbyes. “Thank you, everyone,” he said, graciously.
Not soon after everyone had left, Elliott returned with the truck. “I thought these may be useful,” he said, as he unloaded empty boxes. Stopping and looking around, he faltered, “Wait, where is Meg?”
With a disgusted look on her face, Gram handed him the note. After he finished reading it, he handed it back to her, “I came back too late to protect the girls.”
Taking his hand, Gram said, “You are here now and we will bring her home.”
Chapter 25
The cottage was warm and smelled like pine cones and vanilla. Looking around, I took in the pastel colors. The wide-open area was defined only by the furniture. The kitchen with its round yellow table and large sturdy wooden chairs, the living room's pale blue couches and white pillows and the soft lavender door that led to the bedrooms hinted at the fact that Cole's mother had decorated this space. I looked around the home taking in the warmth and comfortable feeling. When my eyes stopped on my family, I chuckled.
“Before we do anything else, we should clean up,” I remarked, as I looked at their soot-covered faces. “We look like a bunch of wet dogs that have been left out in the rain to play in the mud.”
Cleaning off most of the ash and mud we were covered with and changing into the dry clothes Cole had brought us, we began to box items. We packed in silence and soon we had finished putting the first load of Cole's belongings into the truck, Elliott offered to take it home and begin unloading. Gram gave him directions on where to put everything and then she began looking around the cottage.
“Cole, did Sarah spend much time here?” she said, as she ran her aged hands along the light wood walls as if searching for something.
Cole answered, “She would come over here to be alone and draw sometimes.”
Turning to him, Gram said, “This is important. Are there any hidden spaces that you remember playing in as a child? Did you recall spending time with your mother here?”
Shaking his head, he said, “No, I never really came here as a child. It wasn't until I was older that I began spending time here.”
“Show me the chest of her things,” Gram said, briskly. She looked at me as if trying to get me to understand what she was trying to find.
Trying to focus on her words, I began to wonder why would she be asking about Cole being here as a child. What was I missing? It seemed that Gram was speaking more in riddles and gestures than just telling me what to do. This was something we needed to talk about later.
As I followed them to the bedroom that held Sarah's chest, I followed the same path as Gram. I
continued to carefully run my hands against the walls while I looked on at Cole pulling out his mother's things. When he pulled out a lilac sweater, he stopped and held it to his face. I knew he was breathing in the scent and trying to remember his mother. I knew what he was feeling since I had done the same thing many times while I had longed for my own mother. For the briefest moment, I could see the grief that he was trying to hold back. Leaving him alone to his memories, I focused on searching the room.
As I reached the open closet door, I looked in and began my inspection. The large walk-in closet was filled with clothes and the shelves were stacked with boxes of various sizes. My eyes scanned every inch of the closet until I reached the floor. In the corner of the light tan rug that covered the floor, I noticed a small red spot. Upon further examination, I found the spot was really a piece of red thread.
“Cole, Gram,” I called out, “Can you come here? I may have found something.”
Lifting the rug half way towards me, I found it was covering a brass ring that was stuck in the wooden floorboard.
“What did you find?” Cole said, as he came closer. Kneeling down to closer look at my find, he commented, “How did I not notice that before?”
“It looks like a trap door,” Gram said from behind us. “Open it and let's find out where it leads too.”
We both moved back so Cole could pull up the wooden door. As he lifted it, the silken threads of spider webs that covered the opening began to stretch.
“Mara, there are flashlights in the box that I just packed on my bed. How did I not know this was here?” He commented again running his hand through his hair leaving strands of web in his dark locks.
Shaking off the urge to run my fingers through his hair and remove the webs, I went to find the light we would need. It did not take me long to complete my task. Bringing back the silver flashlights that I found buried under his books and other odds and ends, I teased Cole about the plastic figures I had seen.
“I noticed you are bringing your doll collection with you,” I joked, handing him one of the flashlights.
“I will tell you that they are collector's items not dolls,” he said, with mock indignation and shone the light down the hole onto a circular staircase.
Impatiently, Gram said, “What are we waiting for? Lead the way, Cole.”
We followed Cole as he led us down the steep staircase. As we walked, I counted each step in my head. Three, seven, twelve. Big spider! Don't scream. Sixteen, twenty, twenty six. At step twenty-six, our descent stopped on a concrete floor. Cole and I flashed the lights around inspecting the area. We both stopped when we spotted a hanging light bulb with a long chain extending from the side of it.
“There's a light,” Cole said, as he went to it.
When he pulled the chain, the small bulb lit up the room. Below the hanging light, there was a circular marble table much like the one Gram and I had cast the memory spell on. This table was a light gray marble with etching of the elements on the surface. In the center, an intricate image of the Goddess holding a quarter moon in her arms sparkled in the light.
“She made this,” he softly said, as he traced his fingers on the marble.
Gram began inspecting the room commenting, “Sarah had fully stocked this room with supplies.” As she started looking through the bottles lined up on an open shelf, she said with approval, “Very impressive. Her grandmother, Lucy, would be extremely proud to know this.”
Picking up a bundle of tree branches that had many brown needles with specks of green that hinted at the color they had once been, Gram said, “This is the juniper tree needles we needed. If you come across yellow rue, put it aside.”
As each of us continued to look through her things, I stopped at a cabinet with a tree of life carved on the outside. As I opened the door, I was amazed as I saw rows and rows of neatly labeled bottles. Reaching to inspect one of the clear bottles that held a shimmering pink liquid, I knocked over several of the bottles. Attempting to catch the falling items, my hand bumped the back of wardrobe. Instead of my hand hitting the side of the wood and stopping, it felt like I pushed something open. Leaning closer to inspect, I noticed that there was a false back panel. Sliding the panel out of the way and trying to not knock over anything else, I found a square silver box. Pulling the box out carefully, I saw the name Cole inscribed on the top.
“I found something,” I called over to Cole who was looking through a book and to Gram who was placing bottles and herbs into a box.
Handing the box to Cole when he reached me, I said, “This is for you to open.”
As he took the lid off the silver box, I could see a silver ring lying in the satin fabric. The ring had a square purple gem in the center. Looking down at the blue ring that I wore, I felt a pulsing coming from it. As Cole picked up the ring from the box, I felt an odd sense of déjà vu come over me.
Taking my hand, Gram pulled me towards her and whispered, “He needs to do this alone.”
We retreated to the opposite corner of the room where she began showing me the items she found including the yellow rue.
Still whispering, she said, “He will have to choose if he will make the promise just like you did.”
Chapter 26
While we had waited for Cole, my eyes began to scan the space we were standing in. The furniture contained in the large round room was centered around the stone table. In each section of the room, there was a distinct feeling of purpose and meaning. As you came down the circular staircase and entered the room, you were greeted with the bookcases and large chests that held the herbs, potions and spells. It gave off an air of secret and knowledge.
Following the circle of the room clockwise, I stopped on a small sitting area that held two red wingchairs with a small square bronze table between them. The table held a large white candle surrounded by four smaller candles. Behind the table, there was a large abstract painting filled with streaks of red, orange, yellow, white and gray. The art gave me the feeling that if I stroked my fingers along the color I would feel the biting sting of a burn. Even with the intense feeling, it surprisingly still gave off an inviting feeling of warmth and comfort.
Continuing my inspection, I stopped at the next area. This space contained a silver water fountain with a statue of a splash of water rising from the base. The burst of water held an elegant woman's hand that cupped a large tree as if presenting it for all to see. The fountain was not running but I could almost hear the calming flow of water. Shaking off the feeling that called me to relax and rest, I continued scanning the room.
The final area of the room was to the right of the staircase. This space held one small wooden table and a small green chair that looked like it was meant for a child. Above the table, the wall was covered with a collection of art. Unable to fight off my curiosity, I went closer for a better look. The floor had hand painted flowers. Most of the paintings were of trees in various stages of life and flowers in their brightest bloom. The gentle strokes of detail and bold colors of green, brown, orange and red were definitely the work of Sarah. As I absorbed each picture, a sense of change, growth and new life surrounded me.
In the center of the works, there was a black and white circle of sketches. These sketches were of Cole as he had grown. They began with him as a small baby with bright eyes smiling, a toddler chasing a butterfly, a young boy with a toothy grin proudly showing his catch – a trout that was almost as big as he was and a young man pushing a young girl on a swing. I ran my fingers over the image of the girl and smiled. Sarah had captured the feeling of pure happiness that I had felt that day on the swing. Feelings of deep love and echoes of soft songs and giggles vibrated in the air.
I was brought back to the moment with the soft touch of Gram's hand in my own. Squeezing her hand back, I turned my attention to Cole. Hand in hand, we watched quietly as Cole looked into the box. After a few minutes, he softly whispered something and closed the box. As he came over to us, I noticed he had put the ring on his small finger.
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br /> “I was here before,” he murmured. Cole did not speak anymore. He looked as if he had seen a ghost. Words that were probably never truer.
Taking his hands and trying to bring him back to this world, I led him to one of the red chairs. He collapsed into the chair and buried his face in his hands.
I knelt in front of him and covered his hands with mine, “Cole, I know this is overwhelming but I need you to talk to us.”
Cole lifted his head and I could see tears falling from his deep blue eyes, “It was so real. She was standing in front of me telling me how proud of me she was and how sorry she was for not being here for me now.”
Sighing, he stood up and started pacing, “When I opened the chest, I saw four girls reading a book. This image quickly changed to a woman. I did not know her but she felt familiar. Her blue eyes and soft curly blonde hair fell down her shoulders as she proudly promised to protect the magic. She stared right at me and smiled as she took the oath. It was like she was talking directly to me. As quickly as she came, she disappeared and a vision of a young mother holding her new baby in her arms appeared. She kept saying to the baby, 'Sarah, do not be afraid of your path. Be braver than I was, my baby.' The baby must have been my mother and the woman holding her my grandmother, Olivia.”
Cole stopped as if he was debating on continuing. Gram and I both watched quietly while Cole ran his fingers through his dark hair. Finally, working out whatever was troubling him, he continued.
“Then the image changed to two teen girls fighting. It was my mother and your mother that were arguing. As Eliza turned to walk away, my mother began pulling on her arm begging her to not go with him. My mother just kept saying, 'Remember your promise.' The cold look that Eliza had in her eyes told me that nothing would change her mind.”
Sitting back down, he spoke softly as he told the next part to us. “All of a sudden a brilliant ray of colors shone into my eyes. Out of the light my mother stepped out, her long blonde hair sparkled with a glittery shine and her blue eyes twinkled with bits of turquoise. She told me that she was sorry that she was not there to teach me everything but she was proud of the man I had become. Even though she was not able to teach me everything, I needed to know, she said that I was safe with the both of you if I always remembered my promise.”