by Pat Esden
“Athena’s always been that way.” Devlin scooched nearer to her. The warmth of his closeness soothed away her tension. He ran his hand down her back. “My point is, life didn’t come together for me until I blocked out other people’s bullshit, took a chance, and aimed for my dreams. You should have seen my grandfather’s face when I told him I wanted to design waterfalls for a living.”
She laughed. “I can just imagine.”
“The thing is, Chloe, I’ve never told anyone my whole dream. When I listen to a stream or the beat of waves, when I design a waterfall or stream to play a certain song, I feel relaxed, renewed. I think—”
Her own worries faded a little as she waited for him to go on. “Yeah?”
“I think once we have Merlin to help guide us, we might be able to rediscover ways to heal with the sound of water. Your friend, Keshari, her family heals with singing bowls and chimes. Can you imagine healing diseases by creating specific rhythms with water? We could install fountains in hospitals that cured people. Ever since I was a boy, I’ve believed it was possible.”
She stared at him. She hadn’t considered until now why he was as into medicine and magic as she was. But this…Devlin was the most amazing person she’d ever met. Still—“But what if we succeed and bringing Merlin back causes some huge disaster? If his power is too much for modern witches to handle? What if —”
His hand cupped her chin, raising her gaze to his. “What you’ve chosen to do by joining the Circle and being a part of this path has nothing to do with conceit, like what I did when I went to prep school. You have a dream backed by sincerity and good intentions.” His lips touched her forehead, more of a blessing than a kiss. He released her, his tone deepening. “If you knew you couldn’t fail, what would you do with your life?”
Magic. Medicine. Not just for the one boy, for other children, for old people, for everyone.
Whereas a second ago Chloe’s intuition had still screamed for her to run before something horrible happened and she shamed her family even more, now she felt a seismic shift in the universe, a larger sense of purpose that was more important than her fears. The sunlight flooding through Devlin’s apartment windows was sharper, brighter. Under her fingertips, the couch’s upholstery was softer. The trophies on his shelf glistened, as silver and gold as stars.
She swept her fingers down his cheek, trailing magic over the silk of his freshly shaven skin. “If I knew I couldn’t fail—I’d stay here.”
His lips were on hers with a fierce intensity that made her gasp. Heat raged into her blood. She kissed him back, mouth opening. Teasingly he nipped her bottom lip, then trailed kisses down her neck. Her neck tingled and throbbed with heat. She slid her fingers under his T-shirt, relishing the sensation of his kisses and the warmth of his skin.
Abruptly, they both pulled back, faces flushed.
She laughed; she had to do something to break the spell or they’d be in bed in a second and there were still things to talk about, serious things.
Devlin anxiously rubbed his hands down his pants legs, then gave her a guilty look. “About yesterday, I planned on getting in touch with you once I got to the Adirondacks,” he said. “I didn’t realize I was going to be in a dead zone. It was hard to believe, a gorgeous multimillion dollar log cabin but no cell service or Wi-Fi. Once I got back to the real world, dozens of texts downloaded. Most of them from Midas.”
“From Midas? Athena said he went with you.”
“He was supposed to. He backed out at the last minute.” Devlin frowned. “Speaking of which, you don’t have classes today?”
“Yeah, but I already missed most of them.” She took a deep breath.
He folded his arms across his chest. “Now tell me what else is bothering you, all of it.”
She told him about her and Keshari catching Midas stealing the phone and her fear that he might be working for the High Council.
“Ahem”—Devlin cleared his throat, interrupting her story— “I already know most of this. Midas told me. He knows you saw him and that you ran into Jessica.”
“I can’t believe he confessed. Did he tell you why he took the phone?”
“He was mad about Jessica getting into his files. He planned on looking for a photo or something he could use for blackmail to keep her from prying or messing with his records.”
An unexpected flare of anger sizzled in her veins. “I can’t say that I blame him.”
“I understand how you feel. It’s one of the ways the Circle’s always investigated initiates, but that doesn’t make it a good policy. However, it’s also the reason I can reassure you he doesn’t work for the Council.”
She breathed a sigh of relief, but then pushed her shoulders back and sat up taller on the couch. “That’s only part of the problem. Coven members are supposed to trust each other implicitly, honest and open. But someone’s performing rituals on the sly. And I’m not talking about average ceremonies.” Even if it wasn’t evil, she suspected he didn’t know. “There’s an altar in a grotto near the bridge.”
“Yes. What about it?”
“Last night, I saw the orb again. It led me there. There was incense burning, some other objects and a blackbird’s head—just the head. It was a banishing ritual to get rid of the orb.”
“Damn it.” He raked his fingers through his hair. “Athena is…since she’s come back from Wales she’s been micromanaging everything. Doing things without discussing them first. She’s always liked to be in charge, but she never was this much of a control freak.”
“Like doing sacrifices at the Earth Clock and in the grotto? Could her impulsiveness be what the orb wanted to warn you about?”
“No. What Athena’s doing may be old magic, but it’s not dark. It’s more like she doesn’t trust anyone else to get it right.”
“How about Merlin? We’re planning on awakening a wizard who’s been gone from this world for eons. What if bringing him back affects the balance of energy? What if that’s what the orb’s warning was about?”
“We’re righting a wrong that was done to Merlin centuries ago. We are freeing him from a prison made of dark magic.”
Righting a wrong. Prison of dark magic. Chloe stroked her thumb across her charm bracelet and let the words play in her head. She hadn’t thought of it like that. “You could be right. Maybe I’ve been looking at the orb’s message the wrong way. It could have been trying to encourage us to restore the balance between light and dark.”
“Protect the Circle could refer to making sure our ritual circle is warded well,” Devlin said.
Even as he said it, her heart felt lighter. That was what the orb had been trying to tell them. It made sense. It was how she’d felt about the Circle and their path when she’d first heard about it, before she’d started to overthink and panic.
Chapter 20
Beauty is not the seat of Nature’s power. I learned that in the Everglades. Nothing survives unless it’s armed with brute force or cold indifference. Death of the weak is as inevitable as the survival of the fittest.
—Matt Dominic
A tough job, but someone has to do it, Chloe thought dreamily as she kissed her way down Devlin’s abs and belly to the belt line of his chinos. Last time they’d made love, he’d insisted on it being all about her. This time she turned the tables on him.
She undid the button on his fly, then teasingly strummed a trail of magic over his clothed groin.
He squirmed against the couch cushions, his magic purring. “Dear Goddess, you’re horrible.”
She looked up at him, a wicked glint in her eyes. “You don’t know the half of it.”
Scrunching down, he caught her face between his hands and moved in to kiss her. She nipped his lip playfully, and pushed him away.
“Bed,” he said, staggering to his feet. But before they were halfway there, she had his chinos around his ankles. Sh
e slapped his butt. He grappled with her, pulling her with him as he stumbled and fell onto the bed, rolling and laughing. He kicked his pants and briefs the rest of the way off. She shimmied out of her jeans. He tugged off her shirt, kissing between her bra-cupped breasts, before undoing the clasp and releasing them.
She trembled under the chill of the air and the thrill of his magic. Her mouth moistened. She longed to pull him closer, but she shoved him back against the mattress and straddled him.
An impish smile twitched on his lips, dimples forming. She leaned forward, her chest caressing his as her lips eagerly found his. The tip of his hardening cock nudged between her legs. Her breath hitched, and a coil of tension pulsed inside her, almost unbearable. All she had to do was move backwards a few inches and—
No. She slid off him, determined to make him suffer a little longer.
“On your stomach,” she commanded, tough as a drill sergeant.
He grabbed her by the wrists, pretending to fight against her, both of their bodies growing hot and slick with sweat. He surrendered, rolling over and letting her mount the small of his back.
“You’re going to pay for this later,” he growled.
The rumble in his voice went straight to the sweet spot between her legs. Excruciating need throbbed and spread through her body, still she pressed him hard against the mattress, bent close to his ear and whispered, “I’m counting on that.”
She took a deep breath, mixing her magic in with the air. Then she let it out as she nipped and nibbled her way from his ear lobe down along the side of his jaw. He moaned and writhed from the torturous pleasure, his muscles snaking beneath her. She shuddered with pleasure and moved on to kiss the base of his skull, her fingers slowly skating down his spine, igniting each synapsis one at a time. She kissed and licked her way south, fingers splaying over his ribs, then waistline. When she reached his tailbone she lingered, teasing it with a fierce vibration of magic while her lips massaged the dimples in his butt.
He groaned in ecstatic agony. Then in one powerful twist, he threw her off him and onto her back. He fumbled for a condom and put it on with lightning speed, thrusting into her with a groan. Their lovemaking was urgent with hunger, a bonfire demanding release. An explosive moment later, they fell apart, exhausted and laughing at how fast it all had ended.
“Shower?” he suggested.
She grinned. “Definitely.”
* * * *
Chloe decided not to worry about classes for the rest of the day. Instead she and Devlin spent what remained of the morning enjoying each other, and taking a walk to the Earth Clock with Henry. This time there were no encounters with dead birds.
In the afternoon, she went to the main house to watch Chandler’s son while she and Athena finished preparing food for the gathering. By dinnertime everyone had arrived, including a rather withdrawn Midas, and Brooklyn and Matt. The only people missing were the elderly couple and the off-the-grid witches who Chloe had met the first night. Athena explained they weren’t being included in the Merlin plan for the sake of expediency.
When they sat down at the table, Chloe took the chair between Devlin and Chandler. The rich smell of the homemade bread and simmering lentil soup had made her hungry for hours. She was more than ready to get the blessing over with and dig in.
Athena tapped her wine glass with her knife, the ringing sound silencing everyone. “I’d like to have a word before we begin.” She set the knife down. “With the new moon only four days away, I think it’s time to relate the details of what the awakening ritual will entail. To start, everyone will need to be here for various rituals from sunset until one a.m. every night from now until then.”
Devlin half-rose out of his chair, glancing at Midas and Brooklyn. “I’ll be glad to give either of you rides if need be, or you’re welcome to spend the nights here. We have plenty of extra beds.”
Warmth radiated in Chloe’s chest, her pulse beating an ecstatic rhythm. He hadn’t included her in his offer, which could only mean one thing. That he thought of them as a couple and rightly assumed she’d want to stay with him.
Athena took over. “There will be a ritual dinner and a ceremonial cleansing, but we won’t attempt to awaken and draw Merlin to us until midnight. That’s the moment when the stars and moon are best positioned to help us open doorways to enchanted places.” She folded her hands in front of her. “We’ll be performing the ritual at the heart of the Earth Clock.”
“Isn’t that a little public?” Chloe said, though she wasn’t shocked by the location. In fact, perhaps preparing for that was what the first bird sacrifice had been about.
“We happen to have a city park employee on our side.” She nodded at Matt. “He’s been assigned the less esoteric but no less important role of making sure our ritual isn’t disturbed by outsiders. The Earth Clock itself is perfect. Powerful, and it has all the attributes of the stone circles Merlin is familiar with. We’ve also already anointed it.”
Matt raised his glass. “I personally guarantee there won’t be any journalists to worry about this time.”
“Journalists?” Devlin’s sat forward in his chair, frowning. “Did I miss something last night?”
Athena waved off his comment. “Matt’s talking about that other initiate.”
Tilting her head, Chloe listened closely. She vaguely remembered a fourth.
“I thought he left before the first gathering?” Devlin said.
“I can’t believe I forgot to tell you what happened.” Athena paused, her brow wrinkling as if thinking deeply. “Oh, I remember now. I intended on telling you later that evening. But first you ran off to take Midas home, then you had a house guest.” She shrugged. “It must have slipped my mind. I’ve had a lot going on.”
Jessica snickered. “The man was an idiot. I overheard him in the bathroom talking to his editor on the phone. He swiped an invitation from a real witch and was planning on joining, then writing an article from the inside.” Her voice turned nasty. “The bastard is going to get his wish, just not the way he planned.”
A chill raised the hairs on Chloe’s arms. “What do you mean?”
Athena’s voice went saccharine sweet. “Let’s just say the journalist was more than willing to make a small donation for violating our sanctity. In exchange, we agreed to not curse his family for his trespass.” She picked up her wine glass, twirling the stem between her fingers as she relaxed back in her chair. “We didn’t ask for much, some hair and blood, a few fingernail clippings, things we needed for the ceremony.”
Even without looking at him, Chloe sensed the tension go out of Devlin. “I see where you’re coming from,” he said. “I just wish you’d told me.”
Midas huffed. “Would someone mind filling me in?”
“To prevent the Lady of the Lake from discovering Merlin’s escape, something must be left in his stead,” Athena explained. “Part of the spell must be made of human.”
Midas nodded. “Oh, you mean an offering.”
“Essentially.” Athena raised her wine glass in a toast. “To the journalist and all those who have in small and larger ways been a part of this journey.”
Jessica was quick to raise her glass.
“To them all,” Matt and Brooklyn said, raising their glasses.
Chloe raised her glass as well, but she didn’t take a sip. She understood that spells worked that way with one thing representing another, parts from a human used to create the illusion of a human. Still…she couldn’t help feeling that threatening people into offering was a step back into that gray zone between dark and light.
* * * *
Chloe’s uneasiness about the journalist lessened after a hearty bowl of soup and bread, washed down with a robust lager. No one else acted concerned. Devlin certainly wasn’t. She relaxed, getting into the chanting session that followed as well as an intricate ritual designed to get them used t
o focusing and entwining their magic as a group. She didn’t go back to her apartment that night. But in the morning, Devlin woke her up early and made sure she arrived at campus in time for her first class.
It was noon before she finally straggled back to her apartment house. As she went inside, the antiseptic odor of the cleanser the Rescue Twins used to sanitize the foyer hit her nose, making her sinuses prickle. She sprinted upstairs and into her apartment, letting out her breath once she closed and locked her door.
But the air inside wasn’t pleasant either, musty with a hint of men’s athletic shoes. It was as if in her absence, the apartment had reverted to smelling like the previous tenant.
She lit a cinnamon candle and set it on the kitchen bar. As much as she needed to study, the first thing she had to do was take Athena’s advice and create a spell or potion to keep the Juliet situation from becoming a problem, at least until after Saturday night. And she had just enough time to do that before Juliet would return home for the day.
Guilt about putting a spell on Juliet feathered the back of her mind as she used the Tears of Tara to cast a circle, then lit a beeswax candle and went to work. She’d decided on a spell that Brooklyn had recommended, involving using the candle’s melted wax and her athame to write Juliet’s name and a couple trigger words on a piece of parchment. In this case, Northern Circle seemed like the perfect words.
With that done, Chloe folded the paper and held it over the candle’s flame as she intoned, “Honey and ash. Words are my weapon. From my lips to her mind, a force irresistible. Sleepy, tired, in need of a nap. Eyes must close. Sleep must come. Honey and ash…”
The spell’s theory was simple. Once she made tea that included the paper’s ash, sweetened it with honey, and convinced Juliet to drink it, then anytime Juliet thought or heard the words Northern Circle, she’d be overwhelmed by the need to sleep. Essentially, the spell worked like a hypnotic suggestion and would make Juliet want to stay home in bed instead of socializing.