Celestial Magic

by T. M. Cromer

  “That’s why I said it wouldn’t work,” Damian said calmly, as if the mini earthquake hadn’t happened. “The risk is too great to bring back enemies of that caliber.”

  “We have to try,” Spring cried. “Our families could be facing annihilation in the Otherworld. It’s ridiculous to sit on our hands and do nothing when we have it within our power to stop it.”

  “But is it? Within our power?” Summer came around the table and hugged Spring. “Yes. We are a mighty family, but we still have limitations. Not to mention I don’t want to lose a single one of you. Everyone here is too important.”

  “Summ—”

  “No, Spring. You always have your say, and ninety-nine-point-nine percent of the time we go along with your plans.” Summer shook her head and blew out a breath. “The souls in the Otherworld have lived their lives. Shouldn’t we be allowed to live ours?”

  “You’re missing the point, child.” Alastair met Preston’s steady stare, grimaced, and faced his daughter. “Those are our ancestors and loved ones on the other side of the veil. Should their souls be obliterated, they can never be reborn. That could mean your child or Spring’s. Perhaps your future grandchild. If there are no souls to reincarnate, no lives can be born.”

  “So what’s our option?”

  “As Castor said. We bring our enemies to this time and place, to ruthlessly use them. Consider them decoys, if you will.”

  Chapter 11

  As the evening wore on and everyone hammered out the solutions for the problems surrounding the retrieval of the Thornes’ nemeses, Selene’s anxiety grew. The conversation around her barely registered as she thought about Victor’s resurrection. Could she face him again after what he’d done to her? A chill took her, and she absently rubbed her hands up and down her arms.

  “Selene, are you all right?” Preston’s soft question penetrated her fog, and she attempted a smile. It fell flat. Concern darkened his eyes, and he rose to his feet, drawing her up beside him. “We’ll be right back,” he told the others.

  He guided her out the French doors and onto the terrace overlooking the shadowed garden. Twilight had come, and even the exquisitely landscaped backyard seemed threatening to her. She shuddered.

  “What’s wrong?”

  Selene met his steady gaze and grimaced. “I’m being somewhat ridiculous, I’m afraid.”

  “I’ll be the judge of that. Tell me.”

  “I can’t help but feel that bringing back enemies—and such deadly ones as ours—is wrong. They’ll do whatever it takes to remain here and most likely harm every one of us in the process.” She touched his arm, half hoping he’d pull her into his embrace and chase away her demons. “Victor is vicious and not to be underestimated, Preston. Facing him after what he’s done… well, I’m terrified, if the truth be known.”

  “I believe Victor should be Alastair’s counterpart, not yours.”

  “You intend to leave me here while you go to another dimension?” Her voice rose with her fear. Rarely did things excite Selene, but the idea of Preston popping into an alternate dimension without her triggered all sorts of internal alarms.

  “The short answer is yes. I won’t put you in harm’s way, my love.”

  His words thrilled and irritated at the same time. She adored him for his protective nature, but she meant what she’d said earlier. She was a strong, independent woman with no intention of being shoved to the background for her own safety. “Preston, no one knows my brother like I do. If anyone is going to face him down, it’s me.”

  “As my daughter Autumn would say, that’s a whole lotta not gonna happen, Selene.”

  She didn’t appreciate his dismissive tone and said as much. “Isis sent us both back to fight this Evil,” she reminded him.

  His dark auburn brows slammed together, and the beginnings of temper showed on his face. “If I have to bind your powers and tie you to a chair, I will.”

  Her own anger took hold, and she took a threatening step forward. With a sharp poke to his chest, she snapped, “Try it.”

  They stood toe-to-toe, each glowering at the other, when a soft laugh broke their standoff.

  Selene cast a sharp glance over her shoulder in time to see Ryker Gillespie step from the shadows. Clamped between his teeth was an unlit cigar. “If she’s even half as stubborn as your sister, Pres, you might as well give in now,” he said. “And it’s a well-known fact you wouldn’t dream of laying a finger on a woman, so this is all bluster. You’re fighting a losing battle, my man.”

  Selene didn’t know whether to thank him or tell him to bugger off.

  “Thanks for pointing out I’m a marshmallow, Ryker. Anyway, it’s a moot point until we can find a spell to transport us all to the Nether.” Preston uncrossed his arms and sighed.

  “Spring has the entire Book of Thoth stored in her brain box.” Ryker tapped his temple. “If anyone can come up with the perfect solution, it’s her.”

  An affectionate smile tugged at Preston’s mouth, and Selene marveled at the sudden change in him.

  “Will you try to prevent your daughters from going to the Nether, Preston?” she asked curiously.

  “Yes. If I can, I will.”

  Again, Ryker chuckled. “This is going to be fun to watch.”

  “You’ve been hanging around my brother too long,” Preston said dryly. “If there’s humor to be found in a situation, Alastair will be the one to find it.”

  “Why do you think he’s my best friend?” Ryker quipped.

  “Your spying capabilities?”

  “There is that.”

  As Selene listened to the two of them banter, she once again felt like an outsider. She’d lived an isolated life for so long she didn’t know how to be anything but the ice queen she’d portrayed while she was alive. Yes, she’d had pleasant conversations, and she’d taken passionate lovers to her bed in an effort to feel something—anything, but she’d lived in a bubble of her own making since her mother died.

  “We should go back inside,” she said, pivoting on her heel to leave.

  “Selene.”

  She paused in her escape. “It’s as you’ve said, Preston. A moot point until the specifics of the spell have been worked out.” With those parting words, she left the men on the terrace and fled into the main house.

  * * *

  “When it comes down to it, will you trust her?”

  Preston tore his frustrated gaze from Selene’s retreating back and shot a glare at Ryker. “Of course I will. What type of foolish question is that?”

  “A legitimate one. How well do you know her?”

  “I’m not having this conversation with you.” Preston stepped toward the house.

  “Pres. I’m not trying to stir up trouble here. Don’t forget, I worked for the same organization she did for many years. It didn’t go unnoticed by the higher-ups that she fed her brother information when the occasion presented itself.”

  “She didn’t have a choice, Ryker,” he snapped.

  “How do you know?”

  “Isis showed me all. After.”

  “And you deduced Selene betrayed the Witches’ Council and the magical community as a whole because she feared for her life?”

  A tightness settled in Preston’s chest at Ryker’s words. Yes, he loved Selene, but he wasn’t blind to her faults. What his brother-in-law truly wanted to know was if Preston believed she’d betray their family if the opportunity arose to save her own hide. He didn’t have an answer.

  “Yes. I believe Selene feared for her safety. But remember, she also sacrificed her own life for Holly’s sake. She’ll do what’s right, Ryker.” If he told himself that often enough, Preston might believe it. He needed to examine if that was the real reason he didn’t want her to go to the Nether, should the situation arise. He didn’t want her put in the position to choose between his family and hers again. She might not care to lose her life a second time for a bunch of strangers.

  Ryker smacked him on the back and handed o
ff the unlit cigar. “I trust your judgment, my friend. Now, do me a favor and get rid of this, will you? GiGi will make mincemeat of me if she believes I even thought about smoking it.”

  As quietly as he arrived, he blended into the darkness. Presumably to skulk in the shadows and keep watch. Ryker wasn’t one to trust Alastair’s hired security team.

  With a snap of his fingers, the cigar was no more, and Preston headed into the house to join the meeting taking place. Selene gave him an undecipherable look when he arrived, then turned her attention back to whatever Damian was saying.

  Preston crossed to stand beside her and laid a hand on her tense shoulder. With his thumb, he caressed the stiffness from her neck, and eventually, her hand came up to clasp his. He was forgiven. For now. He’d have to wait until they returned from the other dimension to see if she would once again, since he had every intention of preventing her from going.

  He caught his brother’s inscrutable gaze. Al’s dropped to their hands, and the smallest hint of a smile tugged at his lips. Preston had to have faith that Alastair would pick up any ill intentions on Selene’s part. Hell, if it came to it, Damian could and would read her mind to protect them all. Hopefully, it wouldn’t come to that.

  “They’ll need to be revived and given powers to cross the threshold to the Nether,” Damian was saying. “And there lies the dilemma. Infusing Zhu Lin or Victor Salinger with magic is like signing your death warrants. They won’t care if it costs them their own lives if they can take their revenge on all of you for putting them in the grave.”

  “I agree,” Selene said. Once again, tension tightened her shoulders. “Victor is heartless, and his hatred of Alastair runs deep. If you hand him a magical loaded weapon, he’ll pull the trigger.”

  “Then the trick is not to give him a weapon at all,” Alastair promptly replied with an unconcerned shrug.

  “How do you expect to get around it, Al?” Preston was worried, but his curiosity woke. His brother was as devious as the day was long, constantly ready with some Machiavellian plan his incredible mind had conjured in a split second.

  “The illusion of magic should work. We don’t infuse them with magic; we create a magical cloak they can’t utilize. Just long enough to get them through any portal we open.” Alastair cast a sharp look at Damian. “It should work, right?”

  “In theory. However, we will need a trio of gods or goddesses to open the portal. We can’t do it ourselves, and they are the only ones with the magic to do so.”

  Alastair lost his satisfied air. He crossed his arms and used one hand to rub the spot between his brows. Seeing him stumped was new for Preston.

  “Set will help us,” Spring said. “He could probably influence his sister Nephthys. But if Isis remains stuck in the Otherworld, I don’t know where we’d find a third.”

  “What about Athena?” Summer asked. “She helped Quentin once. She might be willing to do it again.”

  Damian grimaced even as he shook his head. “I can’t be one-hundred percent sure, but I fear we’ll need a counterbalance there, too. One good, one neutral, and one to oppose the good.”

  “As in an evil goddess?” Knox’s expression turned grim. “We all know of one. Nothing ever goes well when she’s involved.”

  “Serqet.” Spring looked like she’d eaten the soil from one of her beloved plants. Preston was surprised she didn’t spit in her distaste. “Lovely. Just freaking lovely.”

  “Are there any other evil entities you can think of with the same power?” Selene asked. “Someone not likely to thwart your plans and save her horrid minions, Zhu Lin and Victor?”

  “One with evil intent? No.” Knox scrubbed a hand over his face and sent an anguished look at Spring. “I can’t do it, sweetheart. This plan won’t end well for any of us, and especially not for you and me.”

  She reached over and clasped his large hand between both of hers, bringing it to rest over her heart. “I buried Zhu Lin once. I can do it again, babe.”

  “Serqet isn’t likely to let us get away with only providing power to get those fuckers to the other dimension. She’s going to insist they be amped up.” Winnie’s hand went to her throat as if she were recalling her almost death at Zhu Lin’s hands. The man had been obsessed with her and had attempted to draw on her immense abilities to make himself stronger. When it hadn’t worked, he’d tried to kill her. “If the rest of the Désorcelers know their leaders have returned, will they rally around them? How much harder will it be to put those rabid asshats down afterward?”

  No one had answers, and they all seemed to share the same fear.

  Finally, Castor rose. “Do I bring them here or not?”

  “Not here. We should find neutral territory.” Preston blew out a breath and ran a hand through his already mussed hair. “I want our families’ homes to be as protected as possible.”

  “Aren’t you all forgetting something?” Summer’s expression was pure faked innocence. When she had their attention, she pointed to Damian and asked, “Who’s his opposite?”

  Chapter 12

  No one. The answer was no single magical being had as much power as the Aether. He was the balance in their world. Damian wanted to swear up a storm, but clamped his jaw shut. He didn’t want to tell them they were fighting a losing battle, or that the odds they faced if they brought gods, goddesses, and old enemies into the mix would quadruple.

  As he looked from person to person, he could see the hope they held for this futile plan. The heavy weight of responsibility rested on his shoulders alone. Sabrina had been right. Damian needed to save them, as his mother had done before him.

  At the thought of his mother, a wild, impossible idea struck. “What if we use Isolde? She was tainted with the Evil once. It might work. It’s possible there are enough black deeds in her past to make her my counterpart.”

  “Bring Isolde here?” Evie had remained quiet the entire meeting, sitting off in the corner and sipping on a glass of wine. “It’s risky, dear boy. If she’s been reinfected, she could start the whole cycle over again.”

  “I’m curious about one thing,” Spring said, interrupting what would’ve been Damian’s response. “If it piggybacked on you to the Otherworld, Grandma Evie, then why didn’t it take over your body or hitch a ride back here?”

  “I can answer that,” Preston said. “When Evie was recalled to the Otherworld, her Guardian abilities were stripped from her. It’s my assumption, based on what we know of this monster, that it would’ve had nothing to feed on once she had no magic left. It would’ve sought another source.”

  Summer leaned forward. “But was all her magic taken away or only the Guardian part?”

  “All of it initially.” Evie took another sip as a thoughtful expression crossed her face. “Isis restored my natural-born abilities after. It must’ve been removed at that time.”

  How odd Damian had never thought to question what two virtual baby witches had! Why hadn’t he? Because he didn’t want to consider the woman who’d raised him might be infected? Might, even now, be carrying the Evil within her.

  Evie’s eyes took on a shuttered look as she purposely blanked her thoughts, and Damian had his answer. His heart started to hammer, but he kept his face neutral with the exception of a small, indulgent smile.

  He needed to separate her from the others without suspicion on her part.

  A golden burst of light filled the yard outside the windows beyond Evie’s shoulder, and Damian was floored to see Isis step through the rift. His heart picked up its pace as a look of supreme distaste flashed across Evie’s face. Or the woman who should’ve been Evie.

  “Serqet,” he said softly.

  She flinched before she faced him again.

  He couldn’t wait. He had to find out how she’d possessed Evie’s body. “Where is she? Where’s Evie?”

  Serqet’s lips curled in a sneering smile, and her viciousness made it gruesome. His stomach lurched, and he knew real fear. With a simple wave of her hand, she trans
formed to her true form. He was relieved to see her presence was not possession, but just a glamour to fool them. His distraction over the Evil had blinded him to the enemy in their midst.

  “Consider her like Sleeping Beauty. It will take Prince Charming to wake her with his kiss.”

  Which meant none of them could help her. Her recovery was beyond their ability and required Nathanial’s touch.

  “She’d better be back to one hundred percent when she wakes, or I will hunt you to the end of time,” he snarled. Enraging a goddess wasn’t the smartest thing to do, but this one held little power now and was certainly no match for him without it.

  “Temper, temper, Aether,” she purred with a smirk and a glance around. “They’re all feeling the effects of your fury.”

  Sure enough, those present looked ill. Damian’s emotions had caused a hard magical punch of sorts. With supreme effort, he dialed it back, envisioning an impenetrable bubble around him to protect the others. That done, he turned furious eyes back to Serqet. “Where’s Evie’s body?”

  “Enjoying a long sleep, like your poor mother did.”

  “She must mean the rose garden,” Alastair inserted. “I’ll go check.”

  “Take a few of your guards and Ryker, Al.” Damian never removed his watchful gaze from Serqet. Had he detected satisfaction? Reading her emotions wasn’t exactly easy for him due to what she was. “And be extremely cautious of traps.”

  “Always.”

  Alastair strode out of the room, cellphone in hand. He stopped only long enough to speak to Isis at the base of the terrace stairs. Based on his grim expression when he looked back toward the house, Damian assumed whatever she’d told Alastair wasn’t pretty.

  “The blasted games you deities play!” Damian snapped at Serqet. “You haven’t a care for human life.”

  “Not true. I care a great deal.” She shrugged and sipped her wine. “More than I should, in fact.”