Making Magic: Books of the Kindling, Book 3

by Donna June Cooper

  Thea looked at Nick who was listening with an intent expression. That couldn’t be true? Had Old Annie found Grace’s carvings?

  “But what about the meth lab?” Marilyn asked. “Jake found—”

  “That was all a big lie to hide what they done. They’re using the power to keep Jake under control, the same as they’re using these children. We have to find the source to stop them from using it,” Sarah waved the gun around as if it were a toy. Not only was Sarah deranged, she had clearly never handled a gun before. Thea cringed every time the gun waved in their direction.

  Marilyn looked at Nick then at Grace for a long moment then back to Sarah. “You never told me about any reading for Annie Taggart. You told me that Ron told you about the mountain.”

  Sarah shrugged. “I don’t talk about other people’s readings. You know…that privilege thing.”

  Thea wanted to snort in derision. This was pretty far removed from attorney-client privilege.

  “And Ron did tell me about it…about the evil it could do, in the wrong hands,” Sarah continued. “But he also told me it could be used for good. I told you he said that. In the right hands, it could be a great power for good.”

  Marilyn shook her head. “You didn’t—”

  “We talked about destroying it, remember?”

  “Yes. And that’s exactly what we need to do,” Marilyn said.

  “But we also talked about what we would do if it couldn’t be destroyed.”

  Marilyn crossed her arms and shook her head.

  “I didn’t tell you what Old Annie’s grandpap told me, but…I suppose, since Annie’s gone, I can share it with you.” Sarah said, lowering her voice.

  Marilyn looked skeptical.

  “It cured him of the Whooping Cough. Brought him back from death’s door when he was just a babe.”

  Sarah paused for a long moment and Marilyn’s expression slowly shifted to one of comprehension.

  “You…you want to use it on yourself, don’t you?”

  Sarah frowned. “So what if I do? I deserve it as much as anyone.”

  Thea looked up to find Grace’s gaze on her.

  “And once you use it for yourself, then you plan to destroy it?” Marilyn asked.

  “If it can be. And if it can’t, well then we can put it to good use.” Sarah was waving the gun again, as if she had forgotten it was in her hand. “Imagine what we can do with a power like that. That’s what Old Annie was going to do. She even asked their Pops about using it to help others. He lied to her. Told her he didn’t know anything about it. They want it all to themselves.”

  There was a long silence. Marilyn looked over at Nick and Grace again. “I understand you need a healing, but I knew Annie Taggart. If she found anything of worth anywhere, she would’ve sold it to the highest bidder or stuffed it under her mattress. ” Marilyn said. Her voice trailed off into a more haunted tone. “And…she burned with those flickering flames, too. Always burning and never consumed. I don’t know what is going on around here, but I know that if Annie Taggart had plans for whatever is on that mountain, they weren’t good ones.” Marilyn stepped forward, waving her finger at Sarah. “You give me that gun back. That was my Ron’s and he wouldn’t—”

  Sarah pointed the gun right at Marilyn. “You listen to me. Your Ron, he wouldn’t want them to get away with what they’ve got planned. Those babies—”

  “I don’t know what is going on with those babies, but there’s something wrong here.” Marilyn took another step, hand out. “And I want Ron’s gun back now.”

  “No. You can’t. They’re using the power on you now. You see?”

  Sarah’s lies were catching up with her. Her voice was getting higher and thinner. She was beginning to sound frantic and desperate.

  “Sheriff’s here,” Emmy said so only Thea could hear.

  Thea looked over at the girl. Her blue eyes were full of hope, even if her smile was lopsided.

  “He says he’s coming in.” Her words were clear, without stammering.

  Thea strained her ears, listening for anything outside.

  “With Aaron.” Emmy added.

  Grace made a pained noise. Nick surged up to hover over her.

  “Oh crap,” Grace gasped, white-faced. “Not right now, Lily-girl.”

  “Time to push?” Nick asked.

  “I told you to shut up!” Sarah yelled.

  When Thea looked back at Sarah, she saw Jake.

  He’d appeared out of thin air in the kitchen—right behind Sarah.

  Thea blinked. Jake hadn’t been there, then he had. And of course, there was Aaron right behind him, but only for a moment. She could have sworn Aaron had glanced over at her and Emmy, then disappeared into the wall.

  Jake reached around Sarah, grabbing for the gun with one hand while he looped his other arm around her arms.

  It was a sloppy takedown from the start, but he had the excuse of never having walked through a wall before. It had felt like moving through water, only the water was hot and it didn’t move around you in eddies or currents. It seemed to push through you and sap your energy as you passed. The whole experience had left him feeling drained and unsteady.

  In the struggle, his mother grabbed the gun away from Sarah first, before he could get his hands on it. She pointed it at the woman.

  Sarah let out a wild scream, struggling madly in Jake’s grip.

  “Mom. Take it easy. Don’t do anything…” He didn’t want to say ‘stupid’. “Just don’t do anything.” He pulled Sarah’s arms behind her and ratcheted them together in a double loop with his zip ties before she could react.

  When Sarah was secured, his mom put the gun on the counter. “I’m getting myself a drink.” She went to the refrigerator.

  “Nick,” Grace said in a firm voice. “It’s too late…to move us. Get the bag.” Nick was halfway across the kitchen and into the great room before she’d even finished.

  Looking around, he saw that Thea had managed to get to her knees beside Grace on the couch, but had sunk back onto her heels helplessly.

  She was all right. Mad as a wet hen, but all right. He took a relieved breath, but he wouldn’t relax until he had her out of those zip ties and that gag and in his arms.

  He watched his mom bring out a bottle of beer. At least it wasn’t anything stronger.

  Sarah kicked wildly back at him. “You’re in on this. You know they killed Old Annie. You know—”

  “Dammit,” he growled. “If you don’t stop that, I’m gonna knock your legs out from under you and leave you on the floor.”

  “Shut up! You’re one of them now. One of—”

  “It’s your turn to shut up, Sister,” Jake said, yanking on the cuffs. “Remember that whole thing about the right to remain silent? Maybe you should, considering you just kidnapped two people at gunpoint, not to mention assault and battery, unlawful confinement… I could go on.”

  Sarah clamped her lips shut. She was well acquainted with her Miranda rights.

  Jake took some satisfaction in perp-walking her to one of the breakfast bar stools. He lifted her up and sat her on it. It would be very hard for her to get down without falling flat on her face, but for good measure, he cuffed one ankle to the chair.

  Nick sprinted back in carrying a big soft-sided bag.

  “Emmy, could you go let in the folks on the porch?” Jake said, still watching his mom. “Then lock the door again.”

  Emmy nodded and headed off to the foyer. This was about to get very complicated. Jake had warned Aaron not to talk about his ability or use it in front of anyone else. That was right before the boy had shoved Jake into the kitchen in front of him and ducked back out.

  “Mom?”

  Marilyn turned around in front of the open refrigerator door, bottle in her hand.

  “I need to cuff you too.�
�

  She sighed, glanced at the beer and put the bottle back in the fridge without even looking. She walked meekly over to one of the bar stools and got up on it, holding out her hands. Jake looked at the stool and took one of her wrists and attached it to the backrest. “I’ll get you something to drink in a minute.”

  “I’ll have coffee,” she said.

  With that taken care of, Jake hurried over to kneel beside Thea on the floor. He tested the edge of the tape on her face. It was that damn fiber-reinforced stuff and had been wound several times around her head and over the knot in the scarf. It was thoroughly stuck to the fabric of the scarf and to her hair and face. When he found the end of it and tugged, she made a pained noise and elbowed him. He let go of the tape and she leaned away from him, holding out her bound wrists as if to say “Do these first, jerk!”

  “Okay. Okay. We’ll wait for the clippers and let you do it yourself. Can you hold on till then?”

  She nodded, all of her attention on what was happening on the couch. He squeezed her shoulder and she leaned her cheek onto his hand.

  He looked over at Greg, who sat hunched over on the chair against the back wall, his arms behind him and his feet trussed up like Thea’s. The man didn’t look up and what skin Jake could see was really pale. He was breathing, but he might be in shock. Possibly passed out, the way he was leaning.

  “Nick, what can I do to help?” Jake asked. “I’ve delivered a couple of babies.”

  Nick had propped Grace up with another pillow and draped a second blanket over the back of the couch and her legs. He was in a very awkward position now, crouched on the end of the couch with most of his upper body under the blanket.

  “It’s too late,” Grace said in a strained voice. “I’ve been…in labor…for a while. And Lily—” she pushed herself up with her arms, her face a reflection of the strain she was under, “—is on her way…right now!” The last word was something between a grunt and a scream.

  “There you are!” Nick’s voice was muffled by the blanket, but he sounded jubilant. “One more push and…hello, Lily-girl!”

  Grace dropped back onto the pillows, grinning and exhausted.

  Thea had raised herself as far as she could on her knees and was watching the lumps moving under the blanket anxiously. Jake put his arms around her. Damn, he needed those wire cutters.

  “Is she okay?” Jake asked.

  “Perfect. All her parts are where they should be,” Nick said, his voice a little shaky. Not bad for a first-time dad delivering his own baby.

  “Gimme, gimme,” Grace said, making grasping motions with her fingers.

  “Be patient, sweetheart. I’ve got to disconnect her first,” Nick said. “Like you made me practice, three million times.”

  Thea made a stifled sound that might have been a laugh or a sob. Jake couldn’t tell.

  Grace did laugh, sounding very tired, but very happy. Tears tracked down the side of her face. He was torn between comforting Thea and jumping up to get Grace a tissue or a towel or something.

  There was the sound of running footsteps in the great room and Jake rose long enough to confirm it was Aaron coming in, followed by Eddie. They had run into Eddie on the porch trying to figure out why the door was locked and told him to wait there while they circled around the back to deal with the invaders.

  “Don’t you tell me that baby’s come on top of all these goings on.” Eddie sounded disappointed to have missed the excitement. “Ouida’s gonna be pi—” he looked around at the mixed company, “—upset.”

  “Well, Lily almost has the audience she was waiting for,” Grace said, still smiling.

  Eddie stopped in the archway to the kitchen. Aaron had to weave around him to bring Thea’s tote to Jake, as instructed. He handed it over, crouching down beside them.

  The boy seemed to have a hard time not staring at what was going on under the blanket. “The baby’s really coming now? Emmy’s baby?”

  “Already here. Can somebody dim the lights? She may desire the spotlight, but she won’t really like it much,” Nick said, his voice still muffled under the blanket.

  Before Jake could get up, Eddie moved to the wall and pushed down a couple of the switches. The lights in the keeping room went out except for a lamp on a side table and the ones in the kitchen dimmed.

  Jake patted Aaron’s shoulder. “You did great out there, Aaron.” He fished around in the tote and found the wire cutters.

  He snipped the ties on Thea’s wrists and frowned at the bloody abrasions where she had fought like hell to get out of them. Damn. His own mom had put those on her.

  Thea grunted while he snipped the ties on her ankles. Apparently her shoulders were protesting her attempts to move after being restrained for so long. She finally put them around him, a bit slow and stiff, but he relished the weak hug she managed. He slid behind her and dug his fingers into her shoulders, massaging carefully as she waited for a first glance at her niece.

  Nick backed slowly out from under the blanket with a wiggling bundle swaddled in a green blanket. “She is definitely her mother’s daughter.”

  Lily had her mother’s hair, thick and dark red, although it was wet right now. Her eyes were wide open, surveying her audience with the solemnity of the newborn. Jake had always felt that know-it-all gaze was because they remembered all the answers to the important questions about life—for a minute or two anyway.

  Jake checked on Sarah, who stared at the baby from her perch on the stool. His mom also strained to see the baby. There were tears in her eyes.

  “Aren’t babies supposed to cry or something? Should somebody smack her butt?” Aaron asked.

  Nick laughed as he laid Lily in Grace’s waiting arms and perched beside her on the couch—one hand on his daughter, the other on his wife’s arm.

  “She will remember that comment, young man,” Grace said, her expression indescribable as she touched her daughter’s face. “Run and hide while you still can.”

  Jake leaned over Aaron. “Redheads. Not to be messed with.”

  Thea whacked Jake with her elbow, making a pained sound behind her gag.

  He examined the mess in her hair and looked at the clippers in his hand. “You sure you want to try this yourself? It’s really stuck in your hair. We should probably use scissors and go real slow or you are going to lose major chunks.” He leaned next to her ear. “And I really like your hair—the longer the better.”

  Pooka howled loudly, making everyone in the room jump.

  “Eddie, can you let Pooka out of the laundry room and put him outside? I don’t want him running around in here yet,” Nick glared over at Sarah. “He might bite someone.”

  “And lock the door,” added Jake.

  Thea started struggling to get to her feet, but her arms were still giving her trouble.

  “Hey,” Jake protested. “What is it?”

  “Probably Bailey,” Nick said. “She’s worried about her. Sarah kicked her a couple of times. The last one sent her out that door onto the porch.”

  “Damn,” Jake said. “Stay put, Thea. I’ll go check on her. Can somebody find Thea a pair of scissors?”

  Thea sank into the other chair in the keeping room with a muffled sound of frustration, finally able to lift her hands to explore the tape in her hair.

  Jake almost kicked Sarah as he went by her in the kitchen. Hell, she looked like she was daring him to.

  Eddie looked relieved as Jake joined him in the hall. Pooka was a big dog. And if he decided he wanted to get to his mistress, it would take both of them to convince him otherwise. In the end, with some prodding and manhandling, he and Eddie herded the dog out the back door and onto the porch. Pooka immediately ran for the front door, no doubt thinking he could get someone to let him in there.

  Jake stepped out on the porch, looking out in the darkness for Thea’s little white fur
ball. There was no sign of her.

  “Bailey!” he yelled. “Hey, Bailey! Come here, girl!” He whistled into the dark, walking around the side and back around the front.

  Damn. Thea would be heartbroken if something happened to that dog. They might have to take a search party out to hunt for her. But before that, he had to address other more pressing issues.

  He shook his head at Eddie as he came back inside.

  “The laundry room is wrecked. He was plumb through the wallboard and near into the stairwell,” Eddie said.

  Jake looked into the stairwell as they passed and whistled. Sure enough, there was a hole in the back wall above the staircase to the basement and chunks of plaster and splinters of wood on the steps below.

  They could hear Pooka’s distinctive baying at the front door. Pretty soon the hound would be checking every door then circling the house, knowing his prey was somewhere inside. Hopefully he wouldn’t start digging through any outside walls.

  When he came back to the kitchen, the look of hope in Thea’s eyes hit him like a painful punch to his chest. Her face fell when he shook his head. She tugged gingerly at the tape that was practically welded to her hair. He could see reddened skin where she had been digging at it on her face.

  He looked around, but everyone was too distracted with other matters to help find him some scissors. “Here, Eddie,” Jake pulled the wire cutters out of his pocket and handed them to the handyman. “Get our friend Greg loose from those ties.”

  Eddie went to crouch in front of Greg. At least Thea’s colleague was a bit more animated now. Jake knew he posed the biggest risk of exposure in this whole situation, but there was a lot of risk and situation to go around.

  Aaron and Emmy were huddled together at the edge of the kitchen, looking uncertain and out of place. Jake smiled at them, putting as much reassurance behind it as he could.

  “This stuff is tough. I didn’t know it was this hard to cut through,” Eddie said, working at Greg’s ties.

  “You okay there, Greg?” Jake asked.

  Greg blinked at him then nodded. “I could use a drink,” he said in a thin voice.