by T. M. Cromer
“Thank you,” Alastair said. The gruffness in his voice spoke of how grateful he was for their assistance.
* * *
As Alastair looked out over the next generation of Thorne witches, he felt hope for the first time in a long time. These five women, in addition to his son, were smart, free thinkers who were all courageous to a fault and willing to take on the world if need be. They stood ready to assist him in waking Rorie, at great risk to themselves.
His gaze shifted to their significant others. Three of the four Carlyle men looked uncertain, which was perfectly natural when their unborn children were on the line. But it was Knox Carlyle and Quentin Buchanan to whom Alastair turned. These men were gifted. Not only in brains, but in powers handed down from the gods and goddesses who watched over them. These men were two of the most powerful people on the planet, yet their easy-going temperaments kept them in check. The Powers That Be had chosen wisely with Knox and Quentin.
Alastair addressed all the men. “I’d feel most comfortable if you all would spread out around the perimeter of the clearing to protect our family. This spell is going to take the bulk of the women’s power and will leave them vulnerable during the process.” He shrugged. “I don’t expect trouble because not many of the living know of this particular location, but I don’t want to take any chances. Knox, I’d like you to take the spot at the North end, there.” He pointed toward true North. “Quentin, you can guard the South spot on the path where we came in. The rest of you spread out between the two of them. Please keep your eye on the tree line.” He removed his tanzanite ring and handed it to Nash. “My overseer has cameras and sensors all over this area to detect movement. Wear this. It will give you a psychic connection to him should he need to warn us of any impending attack.”
“Isn’t this all overkill? How could anyone know we intend to do this here and now?”
“I’m not taking any chances, son. Our family has too many enemies. Victor Salinger was put in his place and humiliated by Athena only today. Or at least that’s how he would see it.”
“I understand.” Nash slipped on the ring and went to Spring to collect the amulet known as Thor’s hammer. “I believe you have the last remaining piece, cousin.”
“I was told never to take it off by Nephthys.”
He stared at her for a long moment. “Fair enough. We’ll do this with it in place. In that case, you’ll need to stand on the left side of the altar and be ready to place your hand over your mother’s heart, like you did when you brought Knox back to life. I have the herbs we’ll need.” To the others, he said, “We are going to make a tighter circle because it is only you five. Alastair will stand within the circle of stones, but outside of your circle. One of you will need to memorize this spell.” He held out the paper, and Summer stepped forward to take it. “Each of you will call on your elemental magic and the God or Goddess of the object you possess as Summer recites the spell. Autumn, the Chintamani Stone. Spring, Thor’s Hammer. Winnie, the Uterine Amulet. Holly, the Heart of Artemis. When you are able to harness the power, direct it to Alastair. He will open the portal. Any questions?”
Winnie raised her hand as if she were in the schoolroom addressing her teacher. “We all represent the four elements…” She gestured to herself, Autumn, Spring, and Holly. “…but how does Summer figure into this? Will a second water elemental offset the balance?” She cast an apologetic glance at Summer. “I don’t mean to exclude you in the least.”
“I’m not offended, sister. I understand your reasoning.”
Nash placed a hand on Summer’s shoulder and squeezed. “Actually, Summer has the ability to stop time. That will come in handy for the transfer of Aurora’s spirit from one plane to the next when Alastair recites his part of the spell.”
Watching Nash, Alastair felt a deep paternal pride. Whether Nash wanted to admit it or not, he was a chip off the old block. Had things worked out differently in Alastair’s life, he might have been the one in charge of the North American Witches’ Council. But he’d had a falling out with them long ago when they freely sacrificed him to Zhu Lin in order to save their own worthless hides. Though it had been decades past, Alastair wasn’t likely to forgive or forget.
The world viewed him as a rebel and a black sheep. He was perfectly content to let that impression stand. He knew the truth, as did those in the high seats of the Council. One day, he’d settle the score. For now, Rorie was his priority. The moment she was out of the woods, he’d take care of Victor Salinger.
“If you all are comfortable with Nash’s explanation, let us begin,” he said. “This will begin like the spell for—”
The air molecules around them shifted, and a rift opened on the far side of the clearing.
“Incoming. Be prepared!”
They all breathed a collective sigh of relief when his brother, Preston, along with GiGi and Ryker stepped through the rip.
“You are always hosting these little parties without me, brother,” GiGi scolded with a pretend pout. “I’m getting a complex.”
“I wasn’t the one who sent out the invitations. That would be your nephew, Nash.”
“I’m sorry, Aunt GiGi. If it’s any consolation, I fully intended to call you.”
“Come, dear boy. Give me a kiss, and all is forgiven.” She pointed to her alabaster cheek.
Nash laughed and dutifully kissed her.
“Now, how can I help?”
Alastair met his brother’s worried amber gaze across the distance. “Thank you for coming, Pres.”
They appeared as dissimilar as two siblings could be. Preston’s was a stockier frame, and his dark auburn hair always seemed to be mussed, whereas Alastair was blond without a hair out of place. Preston’s look lent to his absent-minded-professor air. Only when one looked past the surface did they recognize their mistake. Preston Thorne was wickedly intelligent and tended to be just as ruthless and unforgiving as Alastair.
“I wouldn’t miss it, Al.” In this, his younger sibling was kinder and more giving. Alastair envied the beautiful side of Preston’s personality. A part, he long doubted he possessed himself. While his little brother was quick to temper, mostly he had an innate sense of fairness. Along the way, he’d thrown away his hurt and anger over Aurora returning to Alastair.
He knew he couldn’t be as accepting if their situation were reversed. Hell, he hadn’t been. When he’d returned home from the witches’ war to find Rorie had married Preston, Alastair lost what was left of his mind. He didn’t sleep, didn’t eat. The rampage he’d gone on was epic. When Rorie sought him out to explain, Alastair was finally able to rein in his savagery. The magical world as a whole had breathed a sigh of relief.
Over the last twenty years, he wasn’t any less angry at his loss. No, he just learned to hide it better. He sighed heavily and brought his thoughts back to the matter at hand.
“We were getting ready to cast. The children have it covered inside the circle, and I had planned to act as a conduit to anchor Rorie to this plane.”
“And if you can’t convince her to step through?”
“I’ll chase her to the Otherworld and bring her home if I have to.”
Preston dropped his gaze, but not before Alastair saw the flash of pity. It came to him then that his siblings didn’t really believe he could revive his beloved. They all thought he’d been on a fool’s errand this entire time.
“Preston, may I speak with you in private?”
Surprise lit his brother’s countenance, but Preston quickly joined him at the edge of the clearing out of earshot of the others.
“I need you to make me a promise.”
“No!” Preston shook his head. “Not again. Not this time.”
“Please, hear me out, brother.”
The mutinous expression on his little brother’s face said he had no intention of listening.
Alastair grabbed his arm when he would’ve stormed away. “Please. In all our lives, I’ve only asked you for one thing; to take care o
f Summer. And in that, you had your own selfish reasons. Now I need another favor.”
“What? What is this damned favor, Al?” Preston snapped as he spun back around. “Don’t tell me; let me guess. If things go wrong, you want me to end you. Do I have that right? You want to join Aurora on the other side.”
“I do.”
“Goddammit, Alastair!” With his hands laced behind his head, Preston paced back and forth. Every five or six seconds, he would shake his head like an angry bear and glare at Alastair.
“How can you ask this of me?” he finally asked. “How?” Preston closed his eyes and swallowed. “You’re my big brother. I love you. GiGi loves you, as do all the children—your son included, although he would go to his grave denying it. How can you be willing to throw it all away for a woman who is already gone?”
“I’m tired, Preston. Bone weary to my very soul tired. Reviving Rorie is what I have lived for these past years.” Alastair studied the forest beyond the clearing. “If I’m forced to admit it, I’m lonely, too. Seventy-five years is a good, long life, brother.”
He faced Preston. The ravaged expression on his face tore at Alastair’s heart.
“What say you?”
“I can’t…” Preston cleared his throat. “…I can’t stop you if you want to go. I can only ask you not to. I can only tell you our families will be exceedingly sad if you aren’t there for the births of their children. Who will slip the little ones their favorite candy when their parents tell them no?”
Alastair chuckled at the knowing look in his brother’s eye. “You knew that was me, huh?”
“I think the sticky faces gave it away. Not to mention Winnie never quite saw the point of lying to her mother and father. Also, Ryker was highly offended when I accused him of ruining their dinner.”
Alastair shot Ryker the stink-eye from where they stood. “Don’t let that lying S.O.B. tell you he didn’t sneak them treats from time to time. I wasn’t the only one who spoiled your children.”
“No, but you did spoil them a little more frequently than I would’ve liked.”
He gave his younger brother a shrug and a half-hearted smile. “What can I say, Pres? You make adorable children.”
Preston snorted, then turned serious. “Whatever you decide, I will honor. I only ask that you reconsider what you mean to this family, big brother.”
“I can offer you that much.”
His brother started to step away but paused a few feet from him. “Al? Have you ever worried about the consequences of bringing Rorie back? Of what she will be like after this much time? How much of her soul will be lost?”
“I have.”
“And you still want to do this, even knowing she could be an entirely different person?”
“I do.”
With a heartfelt sigh, Preston joined the others.
Alastair took one deep, calming breath and followed suit.
Chapter 23
For the initial raising of the standing stones, all the Thornes participated except Nash and Summer.
For Holly, this was her first experience with such a powerful ceremony. To feel the ground rumble and witness the wide pillars rise up from beneath the earth’s surface was incredible. They towered above their group like giant tombstones with jagged tops. The moonlight filtered through the trees and backlit the stones, darkening the shadows in the clearing.
Alastair seemed to understand her wonder because he gave her a warm smile from where he stood across the way. She smiled back, reveling in the shared power of their group. The electrical current caused her hair to billow in the wind and goosebumps to stand at attention on her entire body. The brilliant white light filling the space between outstretched palms was awe-inspiring, and Holly wondered if Quentin had ever witnessed anything of this magnitude. They would have a lot to talk about after all was said and done.
The stones were roughly fifteen feet high and easily five feet in width. Moss grew on the southernmost part of the rocks themselves, but if one strained, they could make out symbols etched into the hard surfaces of each stone. There were fourteen formations in total, and she had to assume the number was as significant as the need for seven witches to resurrect them.
The spell had been in Latin based on the few words Holly recognized when she repeated the chant. Once the trembling ceased, Preston stopped speaking, and they all fell silent. The light flowing from palm to palm abruptly died out, but the energized feeling Holly experienced during the ceremony remained. It was as if she were a human live wire and her nerve endings were going insane. Her vision was sharper, as was her sense of smell and hearing. Colors around her were more vibrant, and the sounds of the forest were like music to her ears.
As they each moved from their places to prepare for the second half of their “Revive Aurora” plan, Holly crossed to the standing stone closest to her and rested her palm on the warm surface. She wasn’t sure what she had expected to feel, but the continuous low vibration wasn’t it. Tracing the grooves of the symbols, it occurred to her they might represent the elemental magic of each of the witches. The one she outlined appeared to be the mark for water. It was in the shape of a teardrop with ripples flowing out from the bottom of the droplet. The whole thing was encased in a circle, and as she ran her fingertip around the drop, a glowing light backlit the symbol itself.
“Did you see that?” She whipped around to the group and pointed. “Watch!” Once again, she traced the element and laughed when it lit beneath her touch. “How freaking cool is that?”
Her father moved to stand next to her. “Do it again, child.”
She complied, and watched as the light flared brighter.
Alastair grabbed her hand. “Again.”
This time, the color of the light shifted from blue to a bright golden yellow and pulsed.
“Preston, GiGi! Have you ever seen anything like this?” he asked his siblings.
“It’s miraculous,” Preston breathed. “Obviously, I’ve touched the stones the first time I saw them, but I never thought to trace the elements.”
Holly laughed and hugged her uncle. “I think it’s a girl thing.”
Preston stared down at her in wonder. “I believe that may be the first time you’ve ever hugged me.”
“Now that’s sad,” she said and meant it. Wrapping her arms around his middle, she squeezed. “I’m sorry if I was ever standoffish to you, Uncle Preston. It was never intentional.”
Quentin stood outside the circle, close to where they were. “She’s a prickly pear, Mr. Thorne. It’s her nature.”
She giggled and blew her husband a kiss. “You wouldn’t have me any other way.”
Love burned brightly and lightened the irises of his dark, bedroom eyes. “I’d have you on any terms, Hol.”
The smile started from the deepest part of her and spread out from there. “Quick, come see this.”
Quentin looked to Alastair for permission to enter the circle. When her father nodded, her husband joined her and faced the stone. With her left hand, Holly reached for him and laced their fingers together. With her right, she traced the water element. To the surprise of everyone, all the symbols on the standing stone lit like a Christmas tree and remained glowing.
“Holy shit!” Quentin breathed. “That’s badass.”
Alastair sighed and slapped Quentin on the shoulder. “Son, you have a way with words.”
Preston coughed into his hand to hide his chuckle.
Nash stood a short distance away, examining another stone. “The main element on this one appears to be wind. Winnie, will you and Zane repeat what Holly and Quentin did?”
Winnie waited for her fiancé to join her, then stepped up to the looming rock. Without hesitation, they joined hands, and Winnie traced the symbol. Once again, the entire stone flared bright and stayed lit.
“Quickly, find the fire and earth elements. Let’s see what these will all do when awakened,” Nash urged.
“Should we mess with things we know nothing
about?” Summer asked. “Not to be a Debbie Downer or anything, but what happens if we light them all? Are we bringing down the wrath of the Gods? Calling aliens from outer space?” The uneasy expression on her face made their sisters hesitate to take action.
As one, they all looked to Spring. She was the family encyclopedia and knew their spellbook from front to back. If anyone would have knowledge of these stones, it would be her.
Spring latched onto Knox’s hand and pulled him to the stone that represented earth. “Only one way to find out.” Like the other two, this formation lit up.
“I’m with you, sweetheart. I feel like this is a bad idea.” Coop said as he joined Summer next to the standing stone directly across from Holly and Quentin. As sheriff of the small town of Leiper’s Fork, Tennessee, Cooper Carlyle was programmed to believe anything that didn’t follow official guidelines was bad. Holly understood his reticence, but her sister was a little more inclined to break the rules now and again. There were times she needed a bit of encouragement.
That encouragement came in the form of Autumn, who stepped up, forcefully joined Coop’s and Summer’s hands, then slapped Summer’s other hand on the stone. “Don’t be a chickenshit. If it wasn’t meant to happen, we wouldn’t have the power to make it so, now would we?” In a very Autumn move, she spun away, faced her open-mouthed family, and shrugged. “What? You were all thinking it.”
Quentin snorted his mirth from beside her. “I adore your sister, love. She takes no prisoners.”
“Yeah, she’s a bit scary,” Keaton muttered from behind them. “I’d better get my ass over there before she loses her shit. Those pregnancy hormones have made her unpredictable.” He hurried to join his wife. With a wide smile—which Holly suspected was for show—Keaton lifted their joined hands and kissed Autumn’s knuckles. “No lack of balls here, babe.”
Autumn grinned and duckwalked to the rock with the fire element.
One by one, they each repeated the actions until all the stones were illuminated. A low hum started when the final one was brought to life.