covencraft 04 - dry spells (9 page)

The phone only rang once before it was answered, and he realized without being there in person and seeing their eye color, he would have no way of knowing if it was Jade or Lily.

“Hey, English.”

“Jade,” he intoned, feeling more settled once he heard her casual nickname for him. He felt reasonably sure that Lily would use no such term. “How are you feeling?”

“Migraine’s gone. So thanks for knocking me out. It’s way better to be unconscious for that.”

“You’re welcome. No ill effects from my spell?”

“No. Were you winging it?” she asked and he could hear the slight teasing tone in her voice.

“After a fashion. You keep your spell ingredients well organized so it wasn’t too much of a stretch.”

“Well, I had a good teacher.” There was a pause and then she blurted, “Is your mom still around?”

“Yes.”

“Kind of a bummer. Or maybe not. I mean, she’s your mom. And I kind of thought… I mean, you were surprised when we found those demon grimoires.”

“I was. And now, it appears there’s even more I didn’t know about her.”

“She didn’t try to kill you while you slept or anything, did she?”

“No,” he replied, and a small part of his brain wanted to add, ‘at least not yet.’

Jade made a non-verbal sound, a sort of
hmm
. “Maybe I should send Bruce over to protect you while you sleep. Guard lizard.”

“I’ve seen how he guards your place. It’s a bunch of lounging in front of the fireplace and begging for coffee.”

Jade laughed. “Hey, he protected me from Dex and Veronica. And! He even already protected you once before, in the forest, from Dex’s spell.”

“Yes, he did,” Paris said, thinking of Bruce’s magic, a diluted form of Jade’s, catching the spell meant to wipe his memory. “I certainly didn’t mean to cast aspersions on Bruce’s character. He’s more than earned his keep.” He felt lighter now speaking with Jade.

“Well, if you change your mind, as long as you have a big fireplace and some pastries, he’ll probably be all yours.”

“I’m fine,” he answered automatically.

She snorted, the sound loud in his ear. “Yeah, ‘cause people come back from the dead all the time. No big.” She paused. “Wait,
do
people come back from the dead all the time? I mean, I’m still new to this witch thing.”

“No, people do not come back from the dead, generally speaking.”

“Generally speaking?” she repeated.

“It would involve a great deal of magic and someone with necromancy. It’s a rare gift. We don’t currently have anyone at the Coven with that ability.” It was easy to let himself be led away from the topic of his mother and go into training mode with Jade.

“All right, filed for discussion later: necromancy,” Jade said. “But, uh, I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to tell you. Or warn you. About your mom, I mean. I didn’t know it was her. Not until the end.”

“You had no way of knowing.”

“Yeah,” Jade said, her tone sounding unconvinced to his ears. “Still, I’m sorry.”

“You’ve nothing to apologize for. You were being manipulated by my mother, under circumstances we still don’t fully understand and…” He paused, not sure how to finish his sentence. He sighed. “There’s no need to apologize.”

“Did you talk to her last night or did she have to go sleep in a coffin somewhere?”

“We spoke briefly, but…” He sighed. Jade let him gather his thoughts, staying silent while he did. “She is as I remember and yet not. Although it occurs to me that I have changed as well. I only became Coven Leader upon her death and am used to being in a position of authority.”

“And now your mom’s back and you’re not quite sure how it all fits?” Jade supplied, hitting the nail right on the head.

“Yes.”

Jade took a breath, exhaling loudly. “I’m not the best person to ask about parental units since I don’t talk to mine and wouldn’t even if they died and came back from the dead. If I’d had magic when I was younger, I probably would have used it on them.”

Paris only knew that Jade was estranged from her parents, and had been for some time. When her past came up, she’d made allusions to substance abuse, child abuse and neglect.

Except the people she lived with weren’t her birth parents. They were Lily’s parents. Jade had been born in the Coven and drowned as a small child.

“What about your birth mother? Josef’s sister,” he asked.

“I don’t remember her,” Jade answered quickly. “Josef said he’d bring some pictures by, but I… he hasn’t…”

“You’ve only just started to get to know one another.”

“Yeah. It feels weird to jump in and I don’t… I don’t even know what I…” She took another deep breath. “He might come by today. Bruce likes him.”

Bruce liked everyone Jade liked,
Paris thought. A familiar echoed its witch’s preferences. Paris wondered if Jade realized how much Bruce’s reactions broadcast her feelings.

“Before you do too much today, Dr. Gellar would like to see you.”

“Ugh, she’s going to poke at my brain, I just know it.”

“She’s concerned about your migraines.”

“So am I,” Jade said wryly. “But I don’t like getting poked.”

“I can call her if you like and book a time.”

“Is that you’re sneaky way of making sure I go? Thanks, but I’m a big girl, I can make my own calls.” There was another pause and Paris could hear her shuffling around. “So, are you just going to hang out with her all day? Your not-so-dead mom?”

He thought about Jade’s question. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do. What he wanted to do. “I should talk to her,” he said slowly, grudgingly. “See if I can learn more about where she’s been and what she wants from you.”

“You don’t have to, if you don’t want to. Like…” There was a scrabbling sound through the phone, like plastic being battered, and then Jade’s voice. “Bruce, stop that. Sorry, he just woke up and now he’s trying to get up close to the phone. I think he wants to talk to you? I don’t know. It’s not like he speaks English. You don’t speak English!” Paris assumed the last bit, a near shout, was directed at Bruce and not him. “Ugh, he’s right in my face trying to listen in. Big snoop.”

“Hello, Bruce,” Paris intoned. “Are you checking up on me?” He smiled as he said the words, feeling somewhat foolish for speaking to a lizard.

“I think he is, or was. He seemed happy to hear you and then darted off. Likely to go sleep in my laundry. Sooky-baby. Anyway.” She took a deep breath. “If you don’t want to ask your mom about the Gorgon thing… don’t do it on my behalf.”

“I’m not. Not entirely. I… need to know more. About where she’s been. About why she’s back now.”

“Okay. I guess I’ll call Gellar and stop by the Covenstead.” She sounded about as pleased about it as she would have been for a root canal.

“Will you call me when you’re finished? I’d like to know how you’re doing.”

“Uh, sure. Um. Be careful?” She said it like she wasn’t sure she should say it to him, but wanted to nonetheless.

He smiled at her tone. “I will. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Bye, English.”

“Good bye, Jade.”

#

Dr. Gellar wanted Jade to change into a gown.

Jade looked from Gellar, to the gown and back again.

“You wanted to look at my brain.”

“I would like to run some tests.”

“What kind of tests for my brain involve my ass hanging out of that thing?”

Lily wandered around the medlab while Jade and Gellar stood by the door to one of the examination rooms. She plunked herself down on a sofa and picked up a magazine.

“Just do it. It’ll be quick,” Lily replied, not looking up from her magazine.

Jade glared at her. “If I’m putting a gown on, you’re putting a gown on.”

Lily finally looked up. “She’s not examining me.”

“Actually, if you don’t mind, it’s quite helpful to get some tests on you as well, a contrast and comparison.”

“Not so keen on the gown now, are you?” Jade smirked.

“Fine,” Lily said, tossing her magazine back on the table. “I can be an adult about it.”

Jade stuck her tongue out at Lily who waited until Gellar turned away and then did the same. They ended up going into the examination room together and getting changed. It wasn’t like either one of them hadn’t seen the other naked before.

After some tests, Dr. Gellar asked them to come into her office.

“I knew it. I’m dying,” Jade deadpanned to Lily. Lily laughed, but behind it, Jade could feel Lily’s unease and worry. “I’m not really dying, you know that, right?”

“You’re not all together well either,” Lily replied as they each took a seat in front of Gellar’s desk.

“I’m afraid Lily’s right,” Gellar said. “Your blood pressure is up as is your resting heart rate. And I can see last night’s migraine written all over your face.”

“I knew I should have worn more blush,” Jade muttered.

“I’m concerned with you having such extreme migraines so close together.”

“It’s been a really stressful time,” Jade replied, waving her hand toward Lily.

“That’s partially why I’m not sure what to do. Your headache is a very physical symptom of what I believe is a magical problem. You used an awful lot of power to… conjure Lily.”

“Do you think there’s permanent damage?” asked Lily, shifting in her seat. Jade could feel the unease and guilt pouring off her.

“I don’t know.” Gellar’s face went thoughtful. “Do you have an indication of what triggers them?”

Lily shook her head and it was Jade’s turn to squirm a bit in her chair. Lily turned to her quickly. “You do know.”

“I don’t
know
anything.”

“But you have a guess,” Lily countered.

Jade looked away from her, picking at the skin of her cuticles. She felt Lily push at her mind a bit, trying to get some information and she flinched.

Lily immediately shifted back. “It’s me. It’s when I… push at you, or try to use our connection.”

“I don’t know that. It’s only happened a couple times.”

“But just now, you flinched from me,” Lily said.

“My brain still hurts right now. And I don’t know anything.”

Lily pursed her lips. “I think you do. And I think maybe you’re right.”

“But you don’t experience migraines or headaches, do you, Lily?” Gellar asked.

Lily shook her head, her gaze still focused on Jade. “No. I don’t. But I can tell when Jade’s having one. It’s like… pressure or numbness in my brain. It doesn’t hurt me.”

Gellar took a moment before speaking. “I’m hesitant to offer any advice given the magical nature of this problem. I think we may need to send your records into the Supernatural Council to see if they have any insight.”

“I don’t want my stuff just… out there. For people to read.” Just the thought of it made Jade feel hinky.

Gellar considered her carefully. “I won’t send them for now. But I think you should limit the connection you two have. We can run some follow up tests in a week or reassess if you have another migraine.”

If it meant getting out of medlab, Jade was ready to agree to it. She bolted for the door, thanking Gellar over her shoulder as she left. She heard Lily offer a slightly more prolonged goodbye before she caught up with Jade in the hallway, heading down the master staircase.

“I can’t believe you weren’t sharing this with me.”

Jade sighed. “There is nothing to share. You’re back. I get migraines. Correlation does not imply causation.”

“You can’t assume the opposite either, that it never implies causation.”

“I hate when you use good logic against my logic.”

Lily reached a hand out to her, stopping them where they were on the landing of the staircase. On the weekend, the Covenstead was a ghost town. Jade wasn’t sure how many people were in the building, but it couldn’t be many. They’d only passed maybe three people since their arrival to see Gellar.

“I’m serious. You should have told me.”

Looking at Lily was exactly and nothing like looking in a mirror. Same features, same hair, but different eyes and different expressions. Currently, Lily’s apple-green eyes were wide, but blameless. Jade didn’t think she could manage to look that genuinely and openly at someone unless she was lying through her teeth to get something. Lily was just looking out for her. Jade shrugged one shoulder. “You’re right. I should have. And I didn’t.”

Something in Lily’s face relaxed. “Next time you’ll tell me, ya?”

Jade nodded. “Okay.”

“Okay.” Lily nodded her head in return. “You mentioned something about seeing Josef today? Is that still on?”

“I think so.” Jade pulled her phone out of her pocket. “I was going to text him. You need the car?”

“I thought about doing some groceries.”

“Oh my god, if you do them, you can have the car.” Jade hated getting groceries. What a thankless task. Why couldn’t coffee just appear when you needed it?

Lily chuckled in amusement. “Nice to know some things haven’t changed. Okay, I’m on groceries. Text if you want something. Don’t send it through our woo-woo connection.” Lily pointed a finger in Jade’s face.

“It sounds dirty when you say it like that.”

“I know.” Lily waggled her eyebrows.

Josef texted her back, asking if she wanted to come over to his house. After waffling for a moment, Jade sent back a quick reply asking if he could come to her place instead. She wanted to talk to him, get to know him more, but going to his place felt like too much. She liked being at her own place, surrounded by her own things. What if she went to Josef’s place and there were pictures of all these people Jade didn’t know and maybe there’d be stuff and things. It felt ridiculous. She should be able to do it, and yet… she was afraid to. Thankfully, Josef seemed happy enough to come to Jade’s, and Lily dropped her off at the cottage, with a promise to get coffee, half and half and maybe even some Danishes from the grocery store.

Mmmm. Danish.

One of the things Jade liked about Josef was that when they were at the Coven, at Counter-Magic, he was all work. He was friendly and polite, but very focused. She could appreciate that. Bruce came barreling down the stairs when the doorbell rang and ran his lizard-snout up and down Josef’s pant leg as he came in.