High Priestess

by Wendy Hewlett

  “Can you tell me why you left home at such a young age? What drove you and your mother apart? What did you argue about the night you left?”

  Raven figured Dr. Shoal already knew the answer. If LaCroix hadn’t told her his suspicions, surely she’d seen it on the news. She stared out at Fairy Lake. The sky was clear today, the lake a sparkling, deep blue. The sun reflecting off of the lake’s ripples gave the appearance of tiny stars dancing across its surface.

  “Turns out it was all a misunderstanding.” That was true. She thought Ena was getting back together with Gregor when she was actually kicking him out of the coven.

  “What was the misunderstanding?”

  Crap. She’d be damned if she was going to open up about Gregor Paigo. “Look, I had a lot of resentments towards my mother back then for an assortment of reasons. People looked down on us because of what we were and I was bullied in school for it. I hated being different than everyone else.”

  “Hm. Those don’t sound like misunderstandings.”

  Raven clenched her fists then consciously relaxed her muscles. “I thought she was getting back together with an old boyfriend I couldn’t stand and I lost it. Turns out she was never planning to get back together with him. That was the misunderstanding.”

  “And that kept you apart for twelve years?”

  Raven exhaled forcefully. She was pretty sure she saw steam coming out of her nose.

  It’s okay, Rave. You can trust Dr. Shoal. She’ll understand.

  She’ll understand? Did that mean Dr. Shoal had been through something similar? Raven slowed her breathing while looking out at the lake. Then she listened. What she heard was not that Dr. Shoal would use what happened to Raven against her, but she would respect her more for talking about it. That took strength. Keeping it buried didn’t. Raven turned and met Shoal’s eyes for the first time since they sat down. It wasn’t pity she saw in Shoal’s kind eyes, it was compassion.

  “I’ve never talked about it before. With anyone.”

  “I know,” Shoal said quietly.

  Raven bobbed her head in short, rapid nods and turned back to the lake. She took several deep breaths trying to get up the courage to get the first sentence out. After that it had to get easier. She crossed her arms, hugging herself in an attempt to get warm.

  “One of my mother’s boyfriends started coming into my bedroom in the middle of the night when I was twelve years old.” She spoke so fast it probably sounded like one long word to Dr. Shoal.

  I’m so proud of you, sweet angel.

  Her mother’s words brought tears to Raven’s eyes.

  “The same boyfriend you thought she was getting back together with on the night you left home?” Shoal asked.

  Raven nodded.

  “When you look out at the lake, what do you feel?”

  Raven’s head whipped around to face Shoal. What the hell kind of question was that? Hadn’t she heard what Raven just said?

  The edge of Shoal’s mouth curled up in a half smile. “What do you feel?”

  Light twinkled over the surface of the lake and Raven could hear the soft whooshing of the waves caressing the rocky shore through the open window. She breathed in the fresh scented air on the light breeze flowing into the room.

  “Calm.”

  Shoal nodded now. “You’re using it to ground yourself, aren’t you?”

  With a shrug, Raven answered, “I guess, yeah.” To her surprise, Dr. Shoal closed her notepad, tucked it into her messenger bag, and got to her feet.

  “That’s it?” Raven asked.

  Shoal smiled warmly. “The concern was you may be having a difficult time coping with everything, but from what I’ve seen, you are doing as well as can be expected. I would like to keep seeing you to help you in processing your past trauma, if you’re comfortable with me.”

  The first session hadn’t been nearly as bad as Raven expected and it had the added benefit of getting LaCroix off her back, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to subject herself to this on a regular basis.

  At Raven’s hesitation, Dr. Shoal placed a business card on the table. “Why don’t you think about it and call my office for an appointment.”

  Raven liked the fact Dr. Shoal didn’t try to pressure her into talking or to committing to future appointments. Maybe seeing her wouldn’t be so bad.

  “Yeah, okay. Thanks.”

  When Dr. Shoal left, Raven stayed where she was, staring out at the lake, playing the plan for the gathering through her mind. Kiran was convinced it would set Adara off and she would reveal herself as Ena’s killer, but Raven wasn’t so sure. She was also nervous about Adara’s reaction after what she experienced yesterday. Adara was more powerful than anyone had guessed and the Goddess only knew what she had up her sleeve. She pushed to her feet and went over to the box sitting in the corner. Opening the lid, she reached in and pulled out the black silk robe that had been Ena’s and slipped it on over her clothes. She was taller than Ena, but it fit perfectly. Ena’s power seemed to be woven into every fibre.

  You will have my power in addition to your own tonight, angel mine. And you will have my protection.

  “You weren’t able to protect yourself.” It was out of Raven’s mouth before she even thought about what she was saying. “Oh, shit, I’m sorry.”

  No, you’re right. I trusted Adara. It didn’t occur to me that I was being poisoned until it was too late.

  “I wish I’d been there for you. Maybe if –”

  What’s done is done, remember. No regrets, darling.

  Tears welled in Raven’s eyes. “I love you, mom.”

  Oh, Rave. I love you, too. More than you’ll ever know.

  Raven reached into the box and pulled out the last remaining item. It was a lot heavier than she remembered. She was sure there weren’t this many pages the last time she’d seen her Book of Shadows. She placed the leather bound book on her bed and flipped it open to the last entry. Her brows drew together. It was dated less than six weeks ago and written in her own handwriting, but how could that be?

  Remember your dreams.

  Ena’s voice whispered through her mind as she flipped through the vellum pages. There were four or five entries a week going back years.

  When you decided you didn’t want anything to do with magick, I didn’t argue. I thought it would be safer if the world didn’t learn of your powers. But, I had to continue your training for your own protection.

  “How? When?”

  I came to you in your dreams, darling angel.

  Memories came flooding back - practicing her art with Ena long into the night, studying witchcraft and personal development, honing her psychic abilities. Not just Ena. Raven gasped, her hand flying to her heart. Simone stood by Ena at the altar in the woods as Raven knelt before them, sky-clad and bound with the colours of a third-degree priestess.

  I needed a witness and I trusted Simone more than anyone. Well, except for Kiran, of course, but he was at sea. You, my darling angel, are a third-degree priestess of the Solstice coven and very much qualified to take over as High Priestess. It’s your place, Raven Sage Bowen. Your birthright.

  Raven was still reeling at the plethora of memories flooding her brain. But, Ena was right. All of the knowledge and skills she would need to lead the coven were there. Ena had been grooming her for the role for years. But, did she want it?

  * * *

  “You don’t still need the list of coven members, do you?” Kiran asked. He sat with his feet up on the recliner in Raven’s living room. It was Raven’s favourite chair, but she found she didn’t mind her father sitting there.

  “No, I guess not.” Raven eased herself down onto the couch and reached for the mug Mick placed on the coffee table for her.

  “This is coffee. I can’t drink this.” She looked over at Mick with a frown. That was just plain mean.

  “Don’t worry,” Mick grinned. “It’s decaf. Kiran brought it over.”

  Damn these pregnancy hormones, Raven though
t. Tears welled in her eyes again. “You brought me decaf?” How had he even thought to do that?

  “I know you love your coffee,” he grinned. “Like father, like daughter, aye? I couldn’t imagine giving it up.”

  Raven stared down at the mug cupped between her palms. Her father was the sweetest man alive. She took a tentative sip, expecting it to taste less like the coffee she loved, but it didn’t. It tasted great. “Oh, it’s good.” She closed her eyes and breathed in the aroma.

  “You sound surprised, love. It’s the Solstice Café’s brand. That’s your favourite, isn’t it?”

  Goddess love him, he really was the sweetest man alive. “You’re really starting to grow on me, Pops.”

  Kiran cringed. “If you’re going to call me something other than Kiran, can we make it Da or Dad?”

  Emotions clogged Raven’s throat and she swore her heart swelled in her chest. Dad. She never thought she’d have someone to call that name. She took another sip of her coffee and cleared her throat. “Thanks for getting the coffee, Dad.”

  She watched as Kiran’s eyes filled and his white teeth flashed with a wide grin. “You’re welcome, daughter.”

  A knock sounded at the door and Mick jumped to her feet, sniffing and wiping tears from her eyes. “I’ll get it.” She was back less than a minute later with a frown and sad eyes. “Raven, Jaxon is at the door. He’d like to speak to you.”

  Raven got up and walked to the front door, stepped out and closed the door behind her.

  “Hey.”

  Jax’s face was red and that thick, ropey vein in his neck throbbed, his hair standing up in all directions.

  “First, are you okay?” Jax asked.

  “Yeah, of course.”

  “Second, is the baby okay?”

  “Yeah, she’s fine. Why – oh.” Someone told Jax about the cliff incident. “We’re both fine, Jax.”

  “Damn it, Rave. You should have called me. When Maxine told me you nearly fell off a cliff, I was scared to death. What the hell happened?”

  “It’s a long story and I’m sorry, I never even thought about calling. I’ve had a lot going on.”

  His nostrils flared as he sucked in a breath. “That’s no excuse. You’re carrying my baby.”

  Like she didn’t know that. “Will you calm down. I said I’m sorry. This is new to me, too, you know. I’m not used to having to report in.”

  That seemed to calm him down. His wild eyes softened and his eyes locked onto hers. “You’re really okay?”

  “I’m fine. Really.” Thinking of the baby inside her and that Jaxon had a right to her too was really going to take some getting used to. “We’re going to have to sit down and figure out how we’re going to handle everything, but it’s going to have to wait another day or two.”

  “Sometimes I hate your job, Rave. Knowing you’ll be taking our baby to work with you scares the crap out of me.”

  “I know.”

  “Can I take you out to dinner on Tuesday?” He asked. “Not a date or anything. I just want to talk about how we’re going to do this. I want to be part of our baby’s life.”

  “Sure. Tuesday works.”

  Jax nodded and started down the porch steps.

  “Hey, Jax? Can I ask you a question?”

  He turned and stared up at her. “Sure.”

  “Are you dating Mick Warren?”

  He studied her face for a moment before he answered. “We’ve been out a few times.”

  “Do you like her?”

  Jax breathed out a heavy sigh. “Why are you asking, Rave?”

  “Because I know she really likes you and she’s solid. You two would make a good couple.”

  A sheepish grin brightened Jax’s face. “Are you trying to match-make so I forget about you?”

  Raven laughed. “Maybe.”

  “Yeah, I really like her. She’s different than the other women I’ve dated. In a good way.”

  “Would you like to come in for a coffee?”

  Raven breathed a sigh of relief when Jax came back up the steps. She left him in the living room with Mick and took Kiran into her bedroom to work on their preparations for the gathering some more. She needed to fill him in on her status as a third-degree member of the Solstice coven.

  CHAPTER 17

  “TARGET IS IN the driveway loading boxes into the side door of a silver Dodge Caravan.”

  “Ten-four,” Raven responded into her police radio as she sat in her vehicle around the corner from Adara’s house. They’d left Kiran at Ena’s to prepare for the gathering which would take place in the clearing in the woods near the house. The first part of the gathering was the Full Moon Ritual, a sacred religious ceremony. Raven wasn’t needed until after that part of the evening and she wanted to be at Adara’s when they went in to see if she could get a look at Adara’s Book of Shadows before making her way to the gathering.

  “Target is leaving the location in the silver van.”

  “Ten-four,” Raven responded.

  Out of the blue, Mick said, “What you did this morning was very sweet – inviting Jax in for coffee then leaving us alone. You didn’t have to do that.”

  Raven could feel Mick’s eyes on her, but she continued to gaze out the passenger window. Had she done that for Mick or for more selfish reasons? “I want him to be happy.”

  Mick gasped. “And you think being with me will make him happy? You have no idea how much that means to me.”

  Raven turned then, her eyes locking on Mick’s glassy ones and she smiled. She supposed she did believe Mick was the one Jax would be happy with.

  “Target has arrived at the Bowen residence.”

  “That’s our cue,” Raven said, breaking the emotional moment between them. “Let’s roll.”

  They didn’t have to break Adara’s door in because Raven had a key. She entered through the kitchen, expecting to find Adara’s Book of Shadows sitting on the island, but it wasn’t there. She went straight down the hall to the office where Adara took the book the day before and found the office door locked. That was strange. It hadn’t had a lock when Raven lived there.

  “Mick?”

  Mick joined her in the hall and studied the door. “On three?”

  Raven nodded and counted to three. They kicked the door, just above the lock at the same time and the door flew open.

  Raven stepped inside with her mouth agape. What had been Adara’s quaint little office had been transformed into some kind of dark magick altar. Raven’s hand unconsciously covered the silver pentacle beneath her shirt. The once beautiful oak planked floor had been painted black and an inverted pentagram was carved into it. A black candle was positioned at each of the five points of the pentagram, flickering in the dim light of the room. A bowl of gold and silver sat in the exact centre of the pentagram.

  Raven stepped closer, fearing what the dark liquid filling the bowl might be. An herbal scent mingled with melted wax. “Shit, that’s a potion.” Looking over her shoulder at Mick, she said, “This is set up for some sort of spell. She’s planning to do dark magick tonight.”

  “If we blow out the candles and get rid of that stuff, will it stop her from doing whatever she’s planning?”

  “I don’t know, but it’s worth a try.” They blew out the candles and Raven picked up the bowl. Sitting beneath it was a photograph of Kiran. “Oh, damn. What the hell is she going to do?”

  Mick leaned over and studied the photo. “Do you really think she’d hurt Kiran?”

  “I didn’t think she’d hurt me,” Raven said. She put the picture in her pocket and flushed the contents of the brass bowl down the toilet, leaving enough residual liquid in the bowl for forensics to test. Raven had one of the crime scene techs collect the evidence and take it out to their mobile unit.

  She found Adara’s Book of Shadows sitting on a small desk in the corner of the room and flipped it open to the back. It was all documented – the spell she used to keep the hospital staff from doing any tests on Ena, the
spell she used to distract Raven so she walked into traffic, the spell she used to nearly knock Raven off of the cliff, plus many more Raven didn’t have time to read through. She took a picture of the last few pages with her cell phone and went out front to turn Adara’s house over to the Forensics Unit. The gathering was about to begin and she wanted to catch as much of it as she could. She looked around for Mick and found her in the Black Magick room.

  “Time to go, Warren.”

  “Raven?” Mick said in a wounded voice.

  “What?”

  “You need to take a look at this.”

  Raven walked back to the book and quickly read through the spell holding Mick’s interest.

  “You need to tell Riley,” Mick said.

  Hot, burning rage raced through Raven’s blood. Adara had cast a spell to make Raven sleep with Jaxon.

  “It doesn’t make a difference.”

  Mick gasped. “Of course it does. Riley can’t blame you for sleeping with Jax if you were forced to do it against your will.”

  ‘It doesn’t change anything,” Raven growled. She wanted to get her hands around Adara’s neck and squeeze the life out of her. “I still cheated on her.”

  * * *

  Mick and Raven approached the clearing through the woods, the full moon lighting their way. It shone down on the clearing bright enough to make identifying the twenty or so gathered there fairly easy. Some were dressed in casual clothes and a few wore robes much like Ena’s HPS robe. Kiran stood tall at the front of the circle wearing a robe that matched Ena’s with intricate gold and purple embroidery on the black silk. At his side stood Simone Wagnar, who Kiran asked to step in as acting High Priestess for the Full Moon Ceremony which Wiccans referred to as an Esbat Ritual. He trusted her more than anyone else in the coven and that, along with Ena’s vow of confidence, had been enough for Raven. She supposed that meant she trusted Kiran and that was saying a lot because the only other men she’d trusted in her life were Jaxon Lang and Grayson LaCroix.

  They took up a position behind a thick copse of trees to watch the rest of the ceremony and Raven handed Mick her phone.