Chapter 17
“I’ve come to spring the captive free,” Grandma Mullins said with a smile as she stepped through the door. “Vance called me and said I better hurry, that a massive interior redesign was taking place, spurred on by boredom and magical experimentation.”
So Vance had been keeping mental tabs on me from school during the morning. That made me feel good—even if he was spying without my knowledge.
“I’m quite happy with my work to be honest.” I grinned. “Would you care to come have a look?”
“Sure, why not?” Grandma followed me to my bedroom.
“Wow. Green. It’s a good color. When dealing with magic, green symbolizes balance and healing. It’s a very good choice.”
“Is that why you use it for the labels on the bottles in your store?” I asked, curiously.
“It is,” she replied with a smile. “Is that where you got this color from?”
I nodded. “I’ve always loved your prettily labeled bottles.”
“You must be naturally attracted to it. With all that’s been going on in your life, you probably could use some balance and healing . . . , which actually brings me to my other reason for coming over.”
“What’s that?”
“I need to make some more things for the store. I was wondering if you wanted to come spend the rest of your time out of school with me. I could teach you how to make some of my favorite potions and lotions. Babs is going to cover the register for me. I figured we could work at my house where things might be a bit safer, since it has the same type of protection charms your dad has here.”
“That sounds lovely,” I replied with a sigh of relief. “I’ve been going crazy. The time passes so slowly. That’s how all this experimentation began,” I explained. “I was trying to make it through until lunch, but then Vance said he wouldn’t be coming back. I didn’t know what to do with myself.”
“Well, it doesn’t look like it’s been a bad thing. I’m glad you decided to try some things out. It’s how you’ll learn.” She turned to walk out of the room. “I need to go get some herbs from your dad’s office that he picked up for me. Why don’t you grab some of your stuff, and we’ll get going. You might as well spend the nights there too. Then we can work whenever we want, and I won’t have to worry about you being here alone.”
I packed a small bag of things for myself, while sending a mental message to Vance about what I was doing. He told me to have fun and said he’d meet me at Grandma’s after school. When we pulled in front of Grandma’s house, we saw my dad had just arrived also.
“Hello, Sean,” she called to him with a wave as she exited her vehicle. “What brings you here?”
“Can we talk?” He inclined his head toward the house looking very serious. A wave of apprehension washed over me. Something was wrong.
“Sure. Let’s go inside,” she replied, leading the way, and soon Dad and I settled in the living room, watching her light a couple candles before she sat down across from my dad.
“Is there news, Sean?” She leaned forward in her chair, getting right to the point.
“There is. One of my sources found some activity in the area of Albuquerque. I believe it may be the person we’ve been looking for. If it is, he already moved on from this new location, but it puts him significantly closer to our position. I think we should call Marsha and Vance and see what we need to do from here.”
“Definitely,” Grandma agreed. “I’ll call Marsha right now and have her and Vance meet us here after school today, unless you feel this warrants something quicker than that.”
My heart began racing at epic speed, the thought of Vance being in imminent danger sent me straight into overdrive.
“No, no,” my dad replied. “I think we’re okay for the moment. But we need to readdress our current plan of action.”
“Vance?” I called out to him mentally. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine, baby. Taking a calculus test. What’s up?”
“Take your test,” I replied. “I didn’t mean to bother you. I’ll talk to you after school.”
I didn’t want to distract him from his exam with news of his father. As long as he was at the school he was safe, and Marsha would be getting ahold of him.
“Okay. See you later,” he replied, and all was quiet once more.
After she placed the call to Marsha, Grandma, Dad and I went downstairs into the basement to begin making some herbal lotions together. I enjoyed learning about this process and discovering what things the herbs could be used for. I was also surprised to find my Dad was a pro at making these things. I’d never seen him do anything with herbs before in my life. Of course, I guess it shouldn’t have surprised me to find out I didn’t know something about him, since he’d fooled me into believing he was an encyclopedia salesman for my entire existence.
Grandma went through the whole procedure manually with the first batch we made. Then we played with magic to make the rest. I really enjoyed that since I’d never witnessed Dad doing actual spells, outside of past coven rituals, before. He seemed pretty impressed with me too. The rest of the afternoon flew by, and before we knew it, Vance and Marsha were coming down the steps into the basement. I stopped what I was doing and ran over to wrap my arms around Vance’s neck, thrilled he was safe and back with me again.
“Hey, baby,” he said softly, hugging me back tightly. “I missed you today. Let’s not stay apart that long again, okay?”
“Fine by me.” I raised my head so he could kiss me softly on the lips.
“How did things go with the principal?”
“I’m off the hook. Marsha got a big lecture about the school policy on cell phones, but other than that, everything’s okay.”
We walked over to sit with the others at the table.
“So, what’ve you found out?” Marsha asked.
Dad filled her in on the details he’d discovered, and I was surprised to see how nervous she looked.
“He’s too close. It’s time for us to move on.” She looked at Vance, and my stomach dropped.
“No,” he stated harshly, and I could feel strong emotions running through him. “I’m not running again.”
“Think about it, Marsha,” Dad said, trying to help calm her. “You have safety in numbers here. We’ve promised to do all we can to protect both of you.”
“I can’t risk it.” Marsha shook her head. “I swore to his mother I’d die before I let anyone get to him.”
“I won’t leave!” Vance shouted this time, pounding his fist hard on the table, causing all of us to jump in response.
I’d never seen him angry like this, and I placed a slightly trembling hand on his shoulder attempting to calm him. The others stared at him with wide-eyed expressions.
“I’m sorry,” he said, taking a deep breath. I could feel him trying hard to rein his anger back in. “You don’t understand. I’ve already lost one home and one family because of this man. This is the first place that feels like home since my mother ran away with me.
“And I’m with Portia now. I’m bound to her, and I won’t leave her. I’m eighteen—this is my decision to make.” He looked at Marsha. “Sorry.”
Vance and Marsha stared at each other for a few moments before she gave a slight nod.
“All right,” she said, conceding softly, but she didn’t look too happy about it.
“I’m sorry I’m the reason all this danger’s coming here,” Vance said to Grandma and Dad. “If we have real proof he’s getting too close, then I’ll be happy to leave to help keep everyone else safe if that’s what you wish.”
“This isn’t your fault in any way,” Grandma replied. “We’re glad you came here, and I think it’s wise for you to stay, regardless of how close he gets. We can protect you better if we know where you are.”
“Plus, we need to find out the reason your dad wants you so badly,” my dad interjected. “He was obviously using you to strengthen his own powers. We need to know why, what he’s planning, an
d why he’s been recruiting more forces. That’s definitely worrisome to all of us.”
“I still hope we can find your mom out there somewhere too,” I added softly.
Vance gave me a soft smile and placed his hand over mine.
“Thank you,” he said. “I hope for that too.”
The five of us spent the rest of the evening together, lost in our own thoughts, as we continued to make products for Grandma. At nine o’clock, Grandma called an end to the evening.
“We need to get these kids to bed,” she said. “Vance has school in the morning. Portia and I can continue things once we get him off.”
Dad and Marsha agreed. We quickly finished what we were doing and put things away. Vance grabbed my hand, and I followed him up the tiny set of stairs, through the closet, and down the hall into the guest bedroom.
“I’m sorry I lost my temper earlier,” he apologized, looking truly remorseful.
“You were fine,” I replied, feeling badly for him. “It’s understandable under the situation.”
“It was wrong.” He reached over to run his fingers through my hair.
“Do you really think it’s wise for you to stay here?” I feared his answer.
He sighed in frustration. “I have to take a stand somewhere, Portia. I’m tired of running. I want a life, a real life—with you, to be precise.” He rested his chin on the top of my head, moving his hands to run his fingers in lazy strokes up and down my back. “There’s safety in numbers here. If I leave, we become weaker and so will the coven.”
“I just don’t want to be the reason you’re in harm’s way.”
“Portia, I won’t leave. I’d rather die than be parted from you. And honestly, under our current physical situation, it would probably feel like death to both of us if we were to be separated now.”
I nodded, understanding the point he was trying to make. The separation of a few miles caused enough torture. I couldn’t imagine him gone completely from my life. Even the mere thought gave me torment.
“Don’t even think about it,” he said, pulling me to the bed. “It isn’t worth the pain.” He turned back the bed covers, and I sat down, flipping my shoes off and flopping back against the pillow. It was at this point a scratching sound came from the window. “Looks like we have company.” Vance chuckled and lifted the windowpane so Jinx could hop inside.
“Hey, pretty girl,” I crooned, and she jumped onto the bed, into my arms. “Did I leave you behind? I’m sorry. It wasn’t intentional.”
Jinx purred lovingly, nuzzling under my chin.
“Looks like I’ll have to play second fiddle for your attention tonight,” Vance said with a smile. He removed his shoes and sat down next to me on the bed.
“Not a chance.” I grinned. “I can love you both. I’m talented that way.”
The stresses of the day caught up with us quickly, however, and the three of us were soon fast asleep.
I was awakened sometime in the wee hours of the night when Jinx suddenly swiped my face with her paw, her claws grazing me slightly. I let out a squeal, rising in time to see her jump off the bed in the direction of the window. I gasped when I saw two red, glowing eyes staring in the window at me.
Instantly, Vance was beside me.
“Don’t move!” he ordered, jumping from the bed and running toward the window.
The red eyes suddenly disappeared, and Vance filled my view as he quickly crawled over the windowsill in hot pursuit of whatever was out there.
Grandma came rushing into the room, flipping on the light as she passed the switch. “What is it?”
“I . . . I don’t know,” I stammered, trying to catch my bearings enough to explain the sight I had beheld. “Something was at the window looking in at us. It had bright, glowing, red eyes. Vance told me to stay put and ran off after it.”
Grandma went to the window and slammed it shut, locking it tight.
“Come with me,” she said, gesturing abruptly with her hand.
I followed her into the living room where we sat silently in the dark. I nervously ran my fingers over Jinx, who was curled in my lap now. Soon we heard a tapping sound on the door.
“It’s me,” Vance called out.
Grandma didn’t move a muscle, but the lock turned and the door opened slowly. Vance entered the room, and the door swung shut and relocked itself. I didn’t know if he had done it, or if Grandma had.
“What did you find?” Grandma asked him.
“Nothing really,” Vance replied, collapsing onto the couch next to me. “Someone was out there, but whoever they were, they moved really fast. By the time I rounded the corner after them, I couldn’t see anyone at all. I ran another block just to be sure, but there was nothing. It was like they vanished into thin air.”
“I think we’re dealing with some very powerful magic here,” Grandma said soberly.
“I agree.” Vance sighed, sounding as if the weight of the world were on his shoulders. “Those eyes—they were demon.”
“Uh, demon?” I said, sitting up straighter. “Could you elaborate, please?”
“A demon is a witch or warlock who’s been exposed to the dark arts for so long that the evil they work with will actually begin to possess them,” Vance explained. “The magic begins to take control of them instead of them controlling their magic. It’s very bad since the witch or warlock can lose all sense and reason of what’s right or wrong. It becomes all-consuming to them, causing them to do some very bad things.”
“Were either of you ever going to fill me in on this tidbit of information?” I asked doubtfully.
“Eventually,” Grandma said with a sigh. “It isn’t something we’ve had to worry about very often around here. I guess we kind of overlooked it. I wanted you to feel free to explore your magic without repercussion.”
“You mean you were protecting me,” I grumbled. “I’m not a little kid anymore, and I need to know what’s going on.”
“They think my dad is a demon,” Vance said softly. “They’ve been trying to protect me, not you.”
“How long have you known?” Grandma asked, looking surprised by his comment.
“For a while,” Vance replied. “I first suspected when Sean started recruiting other witches to help be on the lookout. It was the only reason he’d think we needed the extra manpower. Plus, it was obvious that the path he’s been on was headed in this direction.”
“I guess we should know better than to keep things from you. You have a very quick mind, Vance,” Grandma responded. “We weren’t trying to keep you out of the loop. We only wanted you to have a normal life.”
Vance snorted in disgust. “That’s never going to happen, no matter how much I desire it.”
His melancholy words hung heavily in the air, and we all sat in silence a few moments longer.
“Shall we go back to bed?” I finally asked, not knowing what else to say.
“No,” Grandma said. “Not up here at least. Let’s go downstairs.”
She stood, and Vance and I followed her to the basement. She pulled a small fold-out bed from the storage room and arranged it with the head of the bed against the wall. When she was finished, she placed her hand on the cot, muttering a few words, and I jumped back when it doubled in size into a luxuriously covered bed.
“Nice,” I said under my breath, feeling a bit in awe.
Grandma went to the shelves that held the collections of crystals and gathered many of them together. She placed several around the bed, touching each one and whispering a small incantation. The crystals began glowing.
“Get some rest,” she said, pointing to the bed. “I doubt we’ll have anymore company tonight, but I’ll keep watch upstairs anyway.”
“What about your protection?” I asked, not wanting to leave her to fend for herself alone.
“I have some more crystals for my room. I’ll be plenty safe,” she assured me.
I gave her a hug and thanked her, and she headed up. I made myself comfortable i
n the bed while I waited for Vance, who had gone with her to make sure things were all right. He was back shortly, and to my surprise, he crawled under the covers next to me.
“I don’t want anything to separate us tonight,” he explained. “I want to know you’re safe in my arms.”
I shook my head in response. “You don’t need to worry about me. I’ll be fine,” I said solemnly.
“What do you mean?” He looked confused.
“I don’t think they’re after me. I think they’re after you.”
Of Witches and Warlocks: The Trouble with Spells Page 18