CHAPTER 19

 

 

Astix was correct and Aisanna knew it, logically. She didn’t plan on contacting anyone once she settled down in the quaint cabin in the forest. In fact, she took great care to remove any electronic device from her person—i.e. her cell phone—and smash it to shards on the back patio. Her mind, however, spun a million miles an hour, going forward and backward over any detail she may have missed.

She clutched the stone at her neck and walked around the house, exploring rooms in an attempt to calm her raw, ravaged nerves. It was strange, she thought, being protected by the wards. Her insides felt as if they were cushioned, as if the magic wrapped her in packing peanuts. There was a considerable gravity to the whole area. A relief in some ways, but another hurdle to climb over in others.

Aisanna went over again the confrontation in her shop, now in ruins thanks to her. The police were probably having a field day trying to track her down. She looked forward to dealing with them and the insurance company when everything was over. If she made it out alive.

Having Orestes and Zelda corner her—in her safe place—and learning about Israel’s involvement added another layer to their overly complicated story. How could he betray her? Especially to someone like Zelda Vuur.

There was no doubt in her mind they were sleeping together. It didn’t bother her the way it might have before. When she thought about the double-cross, instead of an ache in her heart, her stomach churned with an acidic need for vengeance. Vengeance for her family. They’d been sold out.

Israel was a hound dog, sticking his nose into her personal affairs like she was in some sort of danger. And maybe she was, but it was none of his business.

He was playing both sides of the fence.

Energy spent and with nothing else to do, Aisanna roamed through the house before drifting into the living room. She sat down in front of the fire. Normally flames made her think of Israel. This time the warmth, the comfort, brought the image of another man to her mind. Aisanna thought of Elon, and a flush rose that had nothing to do with the heat.

An embarrassed smile teased her lips at the thought of his hands on her and their bodies moving together. He’d been good. Damn good. He’d treated her like a lady without any of the cheesy romance she detested. He could ravage her and she knew their friendship would still be intact. A solid steel foundation of friendship. Perhaps less solid now because she’d tried to do the right thing. Maybe for the first time, she thought. Why didn’t it make her feel any better?

Blossoms sprouted along the windows before she was aware of their formation. Pink camellias, like the ones he’d tried to give her on Imbolc. Aisanna stared at the flowers and wondered how she’d brought them to life without conscious effort.

“Hey, you.” Leo strolled around the corner with a pitcher of something smoking. “I made some tea.”

“I didn’t even hear you,” Aisanna admitted. She appreciatively accepted a mug of tea and inhaled deeply.

“I can be pretty stealthy when I want to be. The wards, they also make the atmosphere a bit heavy in the cottage. I’m not sure if you’ve noticed. It can mess with your hearing for the first few days.” Leo demonstrated by sticking a finger in his ear and swirling it around.

She held the mug between her palms to absorb the warmth. “Thank you for doing this, and for helping us when you didn’t have to.”

“It’s the right thing,” he insisted. “You don’t have to thank me.”

“I can’t help but feel like a line’s been drawn in the sand, and you’re standing on one side while your father is standing on the other.”

She watched Leo’s face harden. “My father is more concerned with control and authority than he is with helping people. It’s simple, Aisanna. He chose wrong. I’m always going to stand up when there’s a fight worth fighting.”

“What do you think we can do?” she asked. “We may be witches, but we’re still just people. We can’t stem the tide of a metaphysical tsunami.”

“We can do our best, and if that’s not enough, then I accept the consequences. Do you?”

Leo offered the sentiment neutrally, without challenge, then held his cup up for a toast. It brought Aisanna up short. Part of her, a part she trusted very little, wanted to leap up and agree.

“I’ll do my best,” she said at last, raising her mug to his with a clink. The severity of her immediate circumstances overwhelmed her other concerns, however well-founded they were. She couldn’t reason with logic.

 

**

 

Several hours later, Karsia burst through the door in a flurry of activity and snowflakes. “I’m here. I made it. Took me forever to find and I got lost a couple of times.”

Astix took the stairs two at a time. “Did they—”

“No,” Karsia interrupted, shaking her head. Water droplets dotted the floor. “They seemed to think the mansion was more defensible. They’re hanging back.”

“That’s ridiculous.” Aisanna wrung her hands. “Do they understand what’s going on?”

“Not entirely, which doesn’t help our case. I brought this.” Karsia swung her satchel around and dropped it on a stout three-legged table near the door.

“Brought what?”

“Our winning ticket. I’ve been doing research in my spare time. I think I’ve found a way to capture her. An ancient spell designed to keep evil spirits contained.”

“Will it work?” Aisanna asked woodenly.

“I don’t know, but there is only one way to find out. It’s the best one I’ve found so far. By all accounts, it’s done the job before.”

“Where did you get the book?” Astix wanted to know.

“In the safe storage back at the house. Not sure where exactly Dad picked it up along the way, and Mom had never seen it before, but there it was. Flipped open to the right page like magic.”

Aisanna hung back. “I don’t know. It might not be safe. Could be a trap.”

“Look, from what I understand, there’s always a risk when it comes to spell work of this kind,” Karsia stated. She flicked her gaze around in a circle to encompass them. “The best we can do is try and see what happens. The only thing I’m not quite sure of is getting her here.”

Aisanna started, her back straightening and her mind going clear. “I know how.”

“Then please, enlighten us.” Astix gave her a hard stare.

“This.” Aisanna took her time pushing her sleeve aside. “The tattoo. It’s a location spell.”

“I thought you couldn’t read it?”

“I can’t. Vane told me. I wasn’t sure of the purpose until now, but it suddenly makes sense. She uses it to locate me, therefore I can use it to draw her here.”

“Then we better prepare for this.” Astix had her hands on her hips.

Karsia put an arm around her hunched shoulders. “Don’t worry so much.”

The three of them headed out within the hour, carrying the essentials with them. Astix led the way, book in hand, while the others trailed behind with bags of salt. They headed toward the center of the property where the power of the monoliths was at its greatest. A center crux.

They stood together in a circle of trees, with dense fog obscuring their view. The air hung wet and heavy, clouds blotting out the light of the moon and stars. In the silence of the night, Aisanna heard each movement of the woods, animals rustling in the bushes and the beat of wings above her.

“I don’t know if we should be doing this. Deliberately baiting her like this,” Aisanna reiterated with an uneasy glance back toward Karsia. The younger girl appeared more stubborn than worried. “I’ve got an unsettled feeling in my stomach.”

Astix clenched her hands at her sides. “I am done with running. I am done with her using you as a plaything, available for her amusement whenever she has the inclination. I want this to end. No more worry. No more fear for our lives.”

Aisanna hesitated. “I don’t like the feel of the night. There is something off. The air smells of…” Death. It filled her nostrils with pungent sourness, reeking of decay.

The three girls circled the clearing warily. Their gifts would not help them here. Karsia let her magic whisper along the trees, dismayed when they remained silent. The woods told her nothing.

Aisanna crisscrossed the ground with one foot in front of the other. She mentally steeled herself for what lay ahead. Bile rose in her throat at the thought of a final showdown. What they would do if they succeeded. What they would do if they failed. She forced it down and concentrated on the proposed task. Doubts had no place here. There was no turning back.

Astix was right. They were out of options, and the plan she’d concocted was brilliant in its simplicity. Of course, it was probably a terrible idea. One of the worst, and given their track record over the last month, this was hardly grounds for celebration. Yet there they were, standing in the middle of a snow-covered field miles from home, because for some reason they were the ones slated to save magic for witchkind.

Too dramatic.

They gathered the materials they needed and produced the ones they did not have. With magic contents in tow and emotions falling in line, the three sisters prepared to confront their deepest fear.

“Why, might I ask, is Leo not here with us for magical backup? I know I’d feel better with a little protection at my back,” Aisanna said.

“He’s at work.” Astix’s answer came quickly. “He needs to look like everything is normal. Besides, this is something we need to do alone.”

“You want to keep him out of this so he doesn’t get hurt,” Aisanna replied bitterly.

“No, I don’t. That’s not it at all! You’re in a bad mood.”

“Sorry. I’m nervous.” Aisanna looped her hands behind her head and breathed in the bracing night air. “Karsia, take the book. The instant I summon her, be ready for the binding.”

“Good thing you didn’t just bring me along to look pretty. You brought me along to carry stuff,” Karsia muttered. She wrapped her scarf tighter around her neck, holding out her hand. “Give it to me.”

Astix handed the tome over, with the pages open to the correct spell. Karsia ran a finger over the lines of text and heaved a sigh.

“Are you sure you’ll be able to read the script?” Astix asked Aisanna.

“Something tells me when the time comes, I’ll not only be able to read it, I’ll be fluent.” Aisanna’s voice was dry.

Astix nodded. “There’s something to be said for having faith. The salt?”

“It’s right here.” Karsia held out the bag.

“Good. I’ll sprinkle it in a circle. Then we begin.”

Astix did just that, surrounding them in an unbroken circle of white crystals until the bag lay empty. Another nod to Aisanna let her know it was time.

Aisanna steeled herself, took a deep breath, and called out. “Cecilia!”

The others shrank into themselves at the name, the call, the beckoning. It rang among the trees and was carried into the wind.

“Come out and let me see your face.” Why, why was she doing this? Going along with a less-than-rock-solid plan? She’d never been very good with decision making, but she was tired. So tired. Her body trembled with an odd mix of fury and trepidation.

Aisanna turned to her siblings. She wished she could handle this on her own, tell them to stay behind and let her go it alone. She was the oldest. It was her job, wasn’t it? She should have been able to fix things.

Instead, they stood with twin expressions of fear adorning their slender faces. Both dressed in dark colors, nearly blending in with the trees. Their silence told her more than she wanted to know.

It had to be all of them. And it was time.

Aisanna let her eyes drift closed and focused on the beat of her heart. The fingers of her left hand rose to touch the spot beneath her collarbone. The beginning of the spell tattooed on her skin. Her mouth formed the words before her brain had a chance to process what they meant. Ancient Cyrillic in a spell long forgotten, a secret she now kept in her heart.

Fear gnawed at her gut, fraying her nerves. When the wind rose, she knew the spell was working and forced her voice to rise above the howling. Snow scattered around them and rose in a funnel toward the sky.

Come to me.

The words echoed in her mind, a parody of those spoken to her weeks ago. To her sister weeks before that. A roar sounded through the forest. A torrent of wind swirled, and blinding light from the sky speared through the night.

Come to me.

Voices spoke from the darkness, and Aisanna finished the rest of the spell, letting the final notes drift in the winter air. Then she noticed the stillness. The blackness around them grew darker until it blotted out the stars, the sky.

The wind picked up again, whirling around them and screaming. The turbulence scattered their ring of salt.

“She’s here!” Karsia said, raising her voice to be heard.

A presence filled the small space around them, agitated power, fury, strength. Still, there was no visible sign of her.

Aisanna slammed a fist against her open palm. “Dammit, Cecilia, no more games. As you’ve been summoned, so shall you appear. Show yourself!”

The three of them began to chant in unison. They stood in a circle, joining hands as the wind lifted. Aisanna fought to keep her balance, widening her stance to ground herself against the constant battering of the wind. Beneath her feet, snowy dirt heaved.

Shadows swirled around them, yawning, howling, until finally coming together in a single form, with feminine curves and the hint of a smile. The voice that answered resounded off the trees and splintered bark. The girls fell to their knees, hands covering their heads.

You call. I answer.

Aisanna drew air into her lungs and glanced over at Karsia, visible by the thin light of the moon. “Do it!”

The youngest nodded, shifting her gaze down to the book nestled in the snow. Her mouth moved and magic rose in a distinct green aura around them, vibrating from the force of the spell.

The instant the insubstantial mist touched her arm, Aisanna recognized the push at her mind. She’d experienced it several times before. Was intimately acquainted with what lurked there. Her stomach heaved and cramped like a dozen shards of glass were piercing it.

She yelled, lurching forward and clutching her stomach. Her soul felt fragmented, coming together in the wrong way. She was aware of the screaming. Knew it came from her and knew her sisters would do whatever it took to push through.

She heard the long low howl of a wolf. Panic stole over her and slipped through her defenses. Her pulse raged. A vortex whipped her hair into a frenzy around her face, stole her breath into a vacuum.

You called. I answered. Step forward in challenge, little witch, for now the fun begins.

Aisanna recognized the delight a split second before Darkness enveloped her body. Her feet left the ground and brought her higher. She was dimly aware of a weight at her back before she shot upward into the clouds.

All sense of time abandoned her. Wrapped in nightmarish pitch, she had no recognition of where she went. Up or down, forward or back.

Stop fighting, love. This will go easier for us both if you simply give in.

The voice cooed from somewhere inside of her. She felt the tendrils of cold at the twang and reverberation of each syllable. It chilled her blood. Cracked her bones. Took her to the brink of what her body could physically tolerate.

Her throat contracted to form words, although no sound escaped. An eternity passed by in that span of time, and for a brief moment, Aisanna caught a glimpse of the universe. It stretched before her, infinite and deep. A glow of galaxies, universes beyond her comprehension, billions of stars each hosting their own warmth and life.

Her vision tunneled and narrowed on a single point in space, nothingness, void. Somewhere in the dark, unswept corners of her mind, Aisanna knew she was about to die.

Suddenly it was as if she had been dropped, falling fast. She slammed into the ground with enough force to take her breath and snap her arm. An excruciating pain heralded the return of feeling and she howled when it ripped her in two like a nuclear blast. She could barely make out two similar thuds across from her. Astix and Karsia.

After a few moments, she was able to push the pain aside, rising up on her good arm. Though the edges of her vision blurred, she tried hard to focus and block out the pain watering her eyes. There was darkness, but also faint light as her eyes became accustomed to her surroundings and she realized they were no longer in the clearing. Was this…a cave?

“Astix,” she managed. “Karsia?”

An inhuman howl echoed off the walls of the empty cavern. It shook the ground until her body hummed like a human tuning fork.

A single shaft of unbroken moonlight pierced through an opening in the ceiling and illuminated pools of stagnant water. Stalactites and stalagmites fought for supremacy, lancing through the space like teeth ready to gnash together.

Dominating the cavern was a rock formation unlike any she’d ever seen. The bottom half appeared to be made of the blackest obsidian, polished to a sheen with edges sharp enough to cut. The top half jutted toward the moon in unbroken white with crystals dotting its surface.

Pulsing with power. Beautiful.

Aisanna drew to her feet, felt an overwhelming desire to touch, to take. To consume the stone for what it represented.

She shook her head to clear it and then noticed her hair standing on end as though she’d stuck her finger in an electrical socket.

Darkness coalesced in front of her, riotous ribbons of pure evil racing on an invisible breeze before enfolding around a too human shape. There, in the dim light of a waxing moon, Cecilia stepped forward.

She was as Aisanna remembered from the reflection in the mirror. Bountiful yellow hair cascaded down the tall, willowy frame and settled around full hips, her beauty perfection from her snake-like eyes to the deadly smile.

Though her mouth remained closed, she spoke to them, her voice scratching the inside of their skulls.

This stone is where it began, my daughters. Can you not feel it?

Cecilia raised her arms to the sky and power glowed along her fingertips. Unearthly power. She floated above the floor with luminous feet skimming inches from the earth.

I needed a way. The magic was too wild. Too uncontainable. My people were dying, but I found the way. I became the way. I give you a chance to do the same.

At last, Aisanna found the will to speak. “I’d rather not, if you don’t mind. I find I’m quite done with you.” She hissed, raising a hand to her throat. “We know who you are. The only thing I need to know now is how to kill you.”

Despite her brain screaming for retreat, Aisanna reached out a hand until she and Cecilia nearly touched. The ethereal woman met her eyes.

Their fingertips drew ever nearer, one cloaked in light and the other gloom. Aisanna ignored the agony of her broken arm, the myriad bruises and scrapes from her drop to the cavern floor, her attention focused on the woman in front of her.

I cannot be killed. Let me show you.

Aisanna wanted to touch the thing, to let go and, if only for a moment, feel the light Cecilia emitted. It glowed and pushed logic and reason from her until she ached to give in. To let her worries slide away and bask in a blankness of someone else’s making.

“Don’t touch her!”

Astix broke the impending contact, crawling over to place her body in front of Aisanna. “You fucking monster. You think a little trip to la-la land will help bend us to your will? You think you can agonize and alienate my sister after I didn’t play along with your dog and pony show? I see you for what you are.” Her finger whipped up and pointed at the stone. “And I know what that is.”

It was ancient. Astix recognized the saturation of emotion attached to the stone. Sadness and betrayal, fear and excitement. And above that, power. Raw, unadulterated power. It wasn’t from their world.

Cecilia chuckled, the sound like two pieces of steel rubbing together. Tell me.

“That’s your birth, evil one. A talisman, a magnet, a symbol for eternal balance. You thought you could use it for a fix-all, but it wasn’t a gift. It was a one-way ticket.”

Astix spoke with conviction, the knowledge imprinted on her through her connection to the stone. It spoke to her in riddles, words so foreign they swam before her in an indecipherable puzzle. Through the melee, she managed to grasp bits and pieces. Enough to know what had happened. To see the past.

All this she picked up with the speed of a thief stuck in a bank vault, one who has no choice but to weasel his way out as quickly as possible or be locked inside with no air. She saw the gift for what it was: a curse. And she knew what would happen to her sister—to any of them—if they caved.

She strengthened her resolve and moved her body to further block Aisanna. “You made a mistake bringing me here.”

Let me assure you, I make no mistakes.

Cecilia glided over to the stone and ran a ghostly hand above the surface. Power crackled in the depths and spears of energy passed through her.

Aisanna cradled her arm, letting her sister do the talking, still not understanding. “What’s going on?”

Before Cecilia had the opportunity to speak, Astix opened her mouth. “No more lies. That thing, stone, mineral, came from the world of ancient magicks. It holds the balance of good and evil in our universe. One side light, the other dark. It seeks hosts, bodies to keep the eternal balance. It chooses the two souls destined to become the veil keeping our worlds separate and stabilized. And someone thinks she got screwed hard without grease.”

I did not choose!

The booming rebuttal shattered their defenses. The shields of their minds tumbled down under the onslaught and left them vulnerable to her. Limestone, calcium, and granite shook, the whole of the cavern threatening to collapse.

Cecilia spun around with fury in her eyes and unimaginable power at her disposal.

I did not choose. The talisman was known to my people as the Telos Amyet. Magic was too unstable, and my husband and I found a way to fix it. The stone chose for me. It read what was in my heart, lurking there in wait, undetected by my own self. Everything I was, everything I loved, was taken from me.

Her open palm came to rest on the area above her empty womb.

I am the keeper. I am able to see the past, the present, the future. I saw new hope with an eclipse on the vernal equinox. An escape from my prison. I saw you girls.

She spoke each word slowly, the booming echo causing minute hairline cracks to form along the walls.

Aisanna listened to her, heard again the words in her mind. Finally, the pieces clicked into place. “You need one of us to make a choice, one of us to choose to replace you before the Harbinger witch repairs the balance. You were waiting—”

Yes…

“—for us to be old enough to accept.”

Astix shook her head vehemently, tears beading in her eyes. “Aisanna, don’t say it.”

“Old enough to take your place. We’re yours by blood. Your legacy. I know who you are, Cecilia Cavaldi.”

A bell tolled a deep, resounding peal, cementing the rightness of their knowledge. For a brief moment, Aisanna saw Cecilia as she’d been once. The innocent, headstrong young woman determined to find the stone, to find a way to save her people and be forever with her love. She’d been mistaken.

Darkness returned in an instant, blotting out the image. She brought both girls to their knees, their insides writhing. Aisanna heard the howl of spirits. Evil rolled over them with the stench of antiquity, immutability. It wanted their souls.

Give in to me.

The girls both reached for their power and were shocked when they found nothing.

The wind died and Darkness prepared a final blow. I admit it has been most intriguing communing with you girls. More fun than I’ve had in ages. Alas, our time has come to an end. One of you must take my place so I may live.

Astix tried again to harness the power of the earth around her. She dug her hands deep into the cavern floor, sending her consciousness down, down, down.

“We have to go!” Aisanna screamed. She tried to drag her sister with her, escape the confines of their prison. Her feet froze to the floor and both remained rooted in place.

A tendril of blackness eked out from the shadow pool and turned to face them, pointing first to one and then the other.

It came to rest on Aisanna.

I choose you.

She could do nothing more than close her eyes and wait for the end to come. She shuddered and reached out to clasp Astix’s hand one final time.

“I love you,” she whispered.

“No.” Tears leaked out and were lost. “Aisanna, don’t.”

Facing her fate, she turned toward Darkness with chest puffed out.

“Fine. I’ll do it, okay? You win.” Fog closed in around her, cold, full of voices. Tendrils reached for her and made her want to run. She could feel them, trailing along the lines of her pants, teasing her skin. “I’ll take your place. But you must leave my family alone.”

Perfect.

A lightning bolt of energy lanced out from Darkness, stretching across the space dividing them. Aisanna watched it in slow motion, seeing the dark web of energy intent on sealing her fate, feeling the gravitational pull of the woman she was now and, in some far corner of the universe, would always be even once she turned. Knocked completely out of orbit.

She saw more than heard the scream of protest. Her brain refused to process what her eyes beheld. Her heart seized up.

Karsia, racing toward them. Karsia, holding her hands up in front of her as she barreled forward. Mouthing words of consent.

Karsia, stepping in front of them. Absorbing the blow.