Alyse James
Alyse woke the next morning with a mixture of excitement and dread in her heart. She hated to leave her grandmother, but the urgent need to find her sister compelled her. In the storage closet, she found her old trunk and pulled it back to her room. All the clothes she owned fit easily into the old traveling case. Alyse added an extra pair of shoes, two sets of gloves and hats, plus two nice shawls Mémé had made for her last spring. Her travel attire was a simple dark blue dress with stout shoes and dark stockings. She laid her greatcoat across the bed. It continued to rain, and the ride to the train station in Toronto would be a wet one.
When she finished packing, she walked down the hall to the main room. She could hear her grandmother’s chant in the kitchen. Through the front windows, she saw Uncle Bern harness the horses to the wagon. She stopped before she entered the kitchen to watch her grandmother complete her spell.
Chantal’s grimoire laid open in the center of the workspace. All around the book were cloth circles cut from satin, three of blue and a dozen or so of white. Alyse could tell her grandmother cast protection spells by the ingredients she placed in the center of each circle. Chantal normally kept her spellcraft ingredients on the family altar to infuse them with power.
The blue satchels were for protection while traveling. She knew those would be for her and her uncles. The white ones were for pure protection and warding. A warm golden glow infused the work surface as Chantal added cloves and pine to each pouch. Tiny scrolls marked with protective runes came next, with an additional scroll for each of the blue satchels, then she placed several crystals in the center of each circle, chanting soft words the entire time.
As she finished, she held her hands over the satchels and asked for the Goddess's Blessing. The golden glow intensified for a few moments then faded away. Chantal dropped her hands to the counter and leaned wearily over her work.
“You think it’s coming here? The demon?” Alyse asked.
Chantal pushed an errant strand of white hair out of her face with the back of her wrist and looked at Alyse. “I think it’s a possibility,” she said in her low husky voice. “There’s an equal chance it will go after your sister first. I hope he comes here. At least I am prepared. Amylia—Amy knows nothing.”
“You must come with us,” Alyse insisted. She halted at the line of salt on the floor.
Chantal shook her head and began tying up the small bags. “I cannot travel as quickly as you and your uncles can.” Each circle of cloth had a braid of yarn woven through openings along the edge. Chantal pulled the yarn tight, tied a knot and set the satchel aside to move on to the next. “Should the demon come here first, I plan to delay him, even if it is just for a few days. I can give you time.”
She stopped tying the pouches and looked at her granddaughter. “You need time to reach your sister, to teach her what you already know. Time to train with her.” Chantal stepped toward Alyse and gripped her shoulders. “This demon will find you, my dear. Never doubt it. It’s coming for you and your sister. It has but one purpose, to find and destroy you. You need to be strong.” Chantal released Alyse and lifted one of the blue satchels and pulled the closure tight. “This one is for you.”
The scent of clove and pine and the forest after rain reached Alyse. The items inside pulled the satin bag lengthwise, making it about the size and shape of her thumb.
Chantal chose a silver chain from a bowl on the counter and drew it through the braided ties, then clasped the chain closed. She held out her hand to Alyse.
Alyse crossed the line of salt that encircled the workbench and stood beside her grandmother.
Chantal placed the satchel in Alyse's open palm and held her granddaughter’s hand between her own.
Familiar with the ritual, Alyse covered her grandmother's hands with her other hand. She closed her eyes and inhaled a deep cleansing breath, as she waited for Chantal to begin.
“Lord and Lady, I call to thee,
and to the four elemental spirits of this world –
Air, Fire, Water, and Earth.
Attend me now Spirits.
I summon thee, and invoke your protection,
for this one so dear to my heart.
Banish all evil and protect her from harm.
Let my will be done.”
“Let it be done,” Alyse repeated. She could feel the heat in her hands, and knew if she were to open her eyes, a golden glow would surround their clasped hands. She waited until the warmth faded, then gazed into her grandmother’s eyes, so much like her own.
“I love you, dear heart.” Chantal lifted the chain, placed it around Alyse's neck, and tucked the satchel out of sight beneath Alyse’s blouse. She kissed her granddaughter’s cheeks.
Chantal turned back to the workbench and closed her grimoire. She lifted the large book, slid it neatly into a plain white cloth bag, and cinched it shut. “You’ll take this with you. I know you are familiar with it.” She winked at Alyse. “Also, I have a package for your sister, and one for your mother. They’re in the main room on the settee.”
“It feels wrong to leave you here, Mémé,” Alyse complained as she took the grimoire from Chantal.
“You’re not leaving me yet. I’ll come with you to the train station. Now, mind the circle, pack the book and those packages in your trunk before your uncle carries it outside. Bay, come here, please.”
Bayard sat his niece's luggage down and turned to his mother. He noted the satchels, bowed his head, and stepped into the protective ring to receive his blessing.
Alyse found the packages addressed to her mother and sister wrapped in plain brown paper and tied with twine. As she picked them up, she realized she would meet her mother and sister very soon. Nervous excitement bubbled in her chest, despite the doom of the prophecy. She put the packages and the grimoire in her trunk. After she closed the lid and fastened the leather buckles, she laid her hands on it and fashioned a quick deterrent spell. It would make opening her trunk undesirable to anyone but herself.
Bayard walked up to her as he slid his satchel into his coat pocket. “Are you ready for this, niece?” He picked up her trunk by the leather handles on either end.
“Are you, Uncle Bay?” Alyse asked.
Her uncle winked at her and smiled. “Sometimes, it seems like I've prepared for this my entire life.”
“At least you knew about it,” Alyse muttered.
Bay shook his head. “Do you think that makes it better, or worse?”
“I don't know.” Alyse shrugged. “I think it would have been better to know.”
“And I think it would have been better not to know,” Bay responded with a smile.
Alyse held the door open for her uncle
Bay shouted to his brother as he stepped down from the landing into the yard, “Ho Bern! Mum wants you.”
Uncle Bayard stepped out into the misty rain and across the muddy yard to the wagon. He passed Bernard without glancing up. The brothers always dressed similarly, both preferring dark trousers and vests. They wore bowler style hats over their thinning brown and gray hair.
Although they looked identical to most people, Alyse could tell them apart. She felt familiar head bumps on her calf and shin as Anaïs and Sabine made themselves known to her, winding in and out between her legs. She bent her knees to stroke them, and they continued to move around her, butting their heads and letting her know they required her attention.
Chantal watched from the kitchen, with a bittersweet smile on her face. “What are you going to do with them?”
The black cats found a way to knock Alyse onto her rump and jump into her lap. Alyse laughed at their antics. “I should leave them here with you, Mémé. I don't think they would appreciate being locked up on a train.”
“They don't need to travel by train, dear heart. They’re fairies beneath their fur.”
The animals stopped their antics and turned to regard Chantal.
Alyse’s hand hovered over her pets’ fur, and her gaze rose to her grandmother’s. “Mémé, they are cats. Are you teasing me?” Alyse grinned.
“Not at all, dear. It is they who tease you. You love them as cats, so they remain cats. Now, however, I would send them straight away to your sister. It would be best for them, I think.”
Alyse looked down at two sets of yellow eyes. They blinked solemnly back at her.
“Do they know where she is?” Alyse wondered aloud.
“I imagine they have always known, if not always, then at least since you twyned. They should be able to find her.” Chantal nodded at the felines and cinched another satchel.
The door opened, and Bernard came inside dripping moisture from his greatcoat.
“Bay said you wanted me, Mum?” He noticed Alyse on the floor with her cats. “I thought they'd be gone by now.” He passed Alyse and the cats and stepped carefully over Chantal's circle.
“How will they go? How do I send them?” Alyse wondered to her grandmother and uncle.
“They were barn owls when you were a baby,” Bernard commented as Chantal prepared his satchel.
“I've seen them as rats, raccoons and starlings, dear. They will know the best way to travel.” Chantal took Bernard's hand and closed her eyes.
“And you never told me.” Alyse scolded her pets.
You’ve never been mine at all.
Anaïs licked her paw and began to groom her head, while Sabine kept her full attention on Alyse.
“Will you go to Amy and stay with her until I get there?” she asked them, not sure what to expect.
Sabine lifted her paw and batted Anaïs on the head.
Anaïs paused her grooming and looked at Alyse.
With two sets of yellow eyes trained on her, she ran her hand down each beloved animal’s fur. “You should go now. We’re all leaving. I don't want you here alone,” Alyse explained.
In a blink, both cats disappeared. Alyse watched in wonder as two tiny lights, brighter and steadier than fireflies, floated toward the ceiling. They paused, bobbed several times, and then streaked down and out underneath the front door.
Alyse jumped to her feet and ran to the window, just in time to see two red-tailed hawks disappear into the rainy mist. They were headed south.
“Owls?” Bern asked her as he came up beside her and looked out the window.
“No. Hawks,” she said, her heart full of wonder.
Bern nodded. “Good choice.” He turned to Chantal.
“We’re loaded and ready to go, Mum, whenever you are.”
Chantal finished knotting the protection satchels and released her wards. She swept the salt on the floor into a pile, scooped it up with a stiff piece of paper, and poured it back into a jar.
She nodded at her son. “Let me get my coat and I’ll be ready.” She placed her craftwork on a tray and carried it across the room to the family altar. She placed the white satchels around the altar, now decorated for summer solstice with roses, wild thyme and ferns, and then slid the empty tray beneath the settee.
Alyse slipped her arms into her coat as her grandmother came back down the hall with her large black cape and hood. She handed Alyse a hat like her uncles wore, and opened the door. Together, they headed out into the rain.
Alyse and her grandmother sat in the wagon with the trunks while her uncles sat on the seat above. The rain had made the road bumpy. They had to go slow to avoid puddles for fear hidden potholes would damage the wheels. What would, on a clear day and a well-tended road, be a two-hour ride to town, became a four-hour muddy and miserable trip.
They paused briefly at the Chesham home where Bay went in and spoke with them about their furniture order. Bay said they understood about the family emergency and would be willing to wait for their dining room table and chairs.
When they finally reached the station, Bay climbed into the back of the buckboard to help Chantal to her feet. Then, the men unloaded the wagon and carried their trunks to the raised wooden platform around the train station. A wooden awning built around the station kept the platform dry for passengers and baggage.
As they gathered together beneath the awning, Chantal gave Bayard the money in her reticule. “Ask for the train departing to Boston, Bay. Find out the departure time and remember to only purchase three tickets.” As Bayard moved to stand in the line for the ticket window, Chantal turned to Bernard. “I won't be able to get the wagon back home in this rain.”
He nodded his understanding. “Do you want to take a room at an inn? I could stable the rig and horses until the weather clears.”
Chantal shook her head, as she massaged her hands. They always became stiff and sore in the rain. “No. There isn't time to wait for good weather. Take them to the stable and see how much you can get for Pippin and the wagon. Ask if they have an inexpensive saddle for Acorn they will sell you. I’ll ride Acorn back to the farm today.”
Bern gave his mother a single nod and stepped back into the rain. He took the horses by the lead to walk them and the wagon across the muddy street to the livery stable.
“Are you sure about this?” Alyse questioned, as Bay returned with their tickets.
“Of course, I'm sure, dear heart. That old wagon has seen better days. Acorn will get me home without losing a wheel or breaking an axle and do it in half the time.”
Bayard looked to his mother. “What are you doing?”
“Riding Acorn back home, dear. Bern is going to sell Pippin and the wagon for me. Did you get the tickets?”
Bay held up three tickets and offered Chantal back the extra money.
She refused it. “Divide it between the three of you. You will need it for meals and incidentals.”
“Mum, this is quite a bit of money,” Bay argued.
Chantal smiled. “I know, dear, but I won't need it, and you three will.”
Alyse watched her uncle Bayard's face fall.
He didn’t realize this was goodbye.
“Ah, Bay, dear heart, don't start.” Chantal scolded and wrapped her son in her arms. “We’ve been together a good long time. Longer than many get to be near the ones they love. This is the best thing I can do for you and the girls.”
Bay nodded his head against his mother's silver white hair and managed to say, “I love you, Mum.” Then, he released her, and walked into the station.
Tears streamed down Alyse's face as Chantal reached out a hand to her.
She took her grandmother’s thin, strong hand and held it tight in her own. They waited together in silence for Bernard to return.
Bernard emerged from the stable yard leading Acorn. They watched him walk across the muddy street in the rain. He wrapped the reins around the hitching post near Alyse and stepped up on the platform out of the rain.
“Did he get the tickets?” Bern asked as he shook the water off his hat, then returned it to his head.
“Yes. Bay went inside.” Chantal’s gaze never left her son’s face.
“I hope this is the right saddle.”
“It’s fine, dear. I’ll need you to help me mount,” she said to Bernard.
Chantal turned to Alyse. “My dear beloved girl, never forget how strong you are. Have faith in yourself. Remember, Amylia is just as strong with her elements, but she is untrained. Your uncles can teach you to twyne and pair, but it will be different for you and Amy, because the two of you can only work as a pair when you’re twyned.” Chantal ran her gloved hands up and down Alyse's arms.
Alyse could only nod as emotion tightened her throat.
Chantal wrapped Alyse in her arms and whispered into her hair, “Remind your mother I love her. I’ve thought of Margaret every day we’ve been apart. Tell your sister about everything you and I have shared. When you share it with her, I will be with you both.”
Alyse nodded and whispered, “I love you, Mémé,” before her throat closed.
“I love you too, dear heart—so very much. Go on inside, now, and get warm.”
Alyse hugged her grandmother one last time, then turned away and entered the station.
Through tears, she saw Bay at the end of a bench against the wall, his face turned away. She spun around and leaned against the window to watch her grandmother and uncle.
Uncle Bern lifted Mémé to the saddle and gave her the reins. He made sure her leg was secure, and her cloak covered her dress and boots.
Chantal bent to speak with Bern, and he nodded his head several times.
Bern kissed his mother’s gloved hand and stepped back.
Chantal tightened the reins, turned Acorn away from the station, and rode down the street toward home.