Double-Sided Witch (Covencraft Book 3) (33 page)

Did Jade even need to use magic against Sakkara? Or could she use her connection to Lily?

Lily
, Jade thought, trying to send the thought outwards, imagining it traveling with her intent to where Lily was.
Pull me out, wake me up
.

“What are you doing?” Sakkara asked. Her eyes sharpened, the bright blue of them (so like Paris’ eyes) clear and piercing.

Jade took a step backward from the lake, into the forest, still thinking about Lily.
Wake me up, Lily
. Jade could feel the moment Lily’s consciousness focused in on hers. She had been searching too, looking for Jade. Like two magnets put close enough together, they snapped into place. Jade felt her consciousness press up against Lily’s. She was feeling double, like seeing double. Jade could see the lake and Sakkara in front of her, but also, if she concentrated, she could see the inside of a medlab room and… Paris, like she was looking through a filmy overlay. Paris said something to Lily and Lily answered him; Lily’s words clear in Jade’s mind.
I’ve almost got her.

“Jade,” Sakkara said, moving forward. “This is exactly why you’re perfect for this favor, why she wants you to do it,
needs
you
to do it. The things you can do, things like this… But I need you to agree. Please. Don’t go just yet. Just… agree.” Her voice was tight and somewhat frantic.

Jade took another step back.

“I will come back,” Sakkara said sharply. “I may not have the dream hex, but I won’t need such a powerful spell this time. You’ve already gone to the lake and separated from Lily. I just need you to agree. I’ll keeping coming back.”

“You can try,” Jade said, taking another step backward.

Lily, Lily, come get me.

It was like being tugged softly at first, and then yanked hard. Like breaking the packaging on a cardboard envelope, she felt a sharp, strong pull, ripping through her brain with a tearing sound.

Then Jade was awake. Lying in medlab on a bed, squinting at the lights.

In front of her, leaning over her, for the first time ever in person, was Lily.

#

When
Josef confirmed his niece’s name, Paris wasn’t sure if he felt victorious, feeling like he’d solved part of the puzzle, or if he was more confused than before. Josef had, of course, asked why Paris wanted to know. Paris wanted to tell him his suspicions, but at the same time, didn’t want to say anything until he’d had a chance to discuss it with Jade. And Lily, he supposed. They were two of a kind now and even though Paris would like to speak to Jade privately, he doubted that would be possible.

Paris had indicated he was only certain at this point that Josef’s niece’s drowning and the lingering magical taint was somehow tied to the incident at the lake. Josef had questions himself as to what happened, who was involved and what sort of magical response from Counter-Magic Paris would be comfortable with at the moment. Now that Josef had finally been out at the lake, he’d found Paris’ mother’s old wards destroyed and was adding that to his list of concerns about the area. Paris wished he had more answers for him and let him know he was hopeful once Jade awoke, they could and would sort everything out.

Paris asked if Josef thought he could reset some wards at the lake, to try to contain any lingering magic, but Josef gave him another surprise.

“That’s another thing I wanted to tell you,” said Josef. “I don’t get a linger sense ‘wrong’ or ‘bad’ from the area now. No one does.”

Paris frowned. “Are you certain? No one feels anything?”

Josef shook his head. “I’ve had six Counter-Magic agents out there and I’m going to be calling in a random sample of witches today to do some testing. Well, I guess it’s not exactly random. I’m calling in the people that have previously been extra-sensitive to the area. But so far, I don’t sense anything anymore and neither do my agents.”

Paris wondered if what Jade had done tonight, with the creation of Lily, and the resultant power surge, had finally burned out the lingering tinge of the area. Or was it more tied to Jade herself, having gone back to the area.

More questions.

Paris thanked Josef and let him know he’d be in touch when Jade was awake and up for some questions. Not wanting to sit in his office and ruminate, he headed back to medlab. As he walked through he hallways, he saw the Covenstead was slowly coming alive. It was still early morning, but the early birds were arriving to their jobs - those that preferred getting up and having their workday start at six o’clock were filtering in, coffee or other beverages in hand. He saw a few surprised faces as he walked back to the medlab. Paris was an early starter, but not as early as these rare folks.

Medlab was quiet when he arrived. The door to Jade’s room was closed and Lily wasn’t in the sitting area. Paris didn’t see Dr. Gellar around and wondered if he should take a chance and peek in on Jade. He crossed to the door and knocked softly, his knuckles barely making a sound on the door. It opened rather quickly and Paris had to do a quick check on eye-color when he saw Jade’s face.

Green eyes. Lily, then.

“Oh, hey, come in,” she said, keeping her voice low. “She’s still sleeping, but Gellar says everything seems okay.”

As Paris came in the room, he was hit with a sense of low-level magic around Jade. It was the same magic he’d felt around her at the lake and he was confused.

“Did someone come by and cast a sleeping charm on her? To help her rest?”

Lily frowned and shook her head. “No, I mean, I don’t think so. Gellar said she was sleeping, but didn’t make a comment that they were making her or keeping her asleep. Why?”

Paris stepped closer to the bed. Jade’s face was pale. Her hair should have been tangled from her fall into the lake and subsequent rescue, but it was nicely combed around her face. He spied a brush on the nightstand and assumed that Lily must have done it for her, as though Jade were some kind of maiden in a fairy tale.

Paris leaned over Jade, seeing her eyes flicker back and forth, dreaming. “There’s definitely some kind of magic around her.” He pushed his own magic out at it and was surprised when something lashed back at him - whip-quick and stinging, slapping his magic away. It was neither Jade’s nor Lily’s magic, but he recognized it - the same licorice tinged magic that had been surfacing around Jade lately.

Lily went to the other side of the bed and leaned over Jade as well. “How can you tell?” she asked and then her own eyes moved back and forth, like she was reviewing something in her mind. “Oh, I can feel it now.” She looked up at Paris. “Jade knows how to poke stuff with her magic. I copied what she does. I guess that means I have magic too?”

Paris nodded. “Yes, I’ve felt your magic. Different from Jade’s, but definitely there.”

“It’s not me, is it? I mean, I don't know how it could be, but I’m new to all this, so….”

Paris shook his head. “No, it’s not you. I think it’s your Sparrow Lady. The woman you say you see in the dreams.  It feels the same as the magic I felt at Jade’s, taking apart her demon locks, and then again when she was sleepwalking.”

Lily’s lips thinned. “Fucking Sparrow Lady.” She sounded exactly like Jade and Paris wasn’t sure why he was surprised, but he was. “What does she want?” The tone of Lily’s voice suggested she was talking more to herself than to Paris. “You think the Sparrow Lady is keeping Jade asleep?”

“Yes. Of course, Jade was quite taxed after what happened at the lake. As near as I can figure, she conjured you a body. That’s… I don’t know anyone who’s ever done anything that big before. I’ve read of it, but only in conjunction with blood or demon magic. There was a hex at Jade’s cottage, under her bed and now, I can feel magic around her and-“

“And it’s keeping her asleep,” Lily interrupted, her voice a little far away. She looked down at Jade. “I think… It’s like I can get a sense of her.”

“Can you contact her?” Paris asked, intrigued. “If you can, we may be able to help her wake up, assist her or perhaps have her perform some kind of counter-hex from inside.”

Lily leaned further over Jade, appearing to study her, but Paris got the feeling her mind was far deeper than just the surface.

“She wants me to pull her out,” Lily said. “She knows she’s dreaming.” Lily blinked furiously, her eyes flickering back and forth. “She’s dreaming about the lake and the Sparrow Lady is there.”

“You can see this?”

“Yes.” Lily tilted her head. “She’s calling for me. She wants me to pull her out.”

“Can you? Pull her out?” Paris asked.

“I think so.” Lily nodded, going closer, bending over Jade further, her forehead almost touching Jade’s. “I can almost get her,” she whispered.

Paris could feel the moment Lily used her magic, intentionally, for the first time. He was overwhelmed by the singular mindset of it - Jade never had such clarity or pristine control over her magic. Lily’s wasn’t as strong as Jade’s, but what she lacked in brute force, she made up for in perfect precision. Paris could feel Lily reach through the hex and
pull
on Jade. The scent of grapefruit and cinnamon wafted through the air.

“I’ve got her,” Lily said, her voice quiet but strong. Paris felt another strong pull of Lily’s magic, directed at Jade, and he felt a responding pull back, along with the scent of cloves and flowers.

Jade’s eyes blinked open and Paris felt a sense of profound relief at seeing their clear grey color - so different from Lily’s. He’d been half afraid Jade would open her eyes and they’d be yet another color - not that he’d know what it meant - only that it would somehow mean he didn’t have Jade back. Not that she was his to have or not to have, only that he’d somehow be missing something if they hadn’t been grey.

Jade’s eyes were solely fixed on Lily and Lily looked down at her beatifically and smiled.

“Hi.”

Paris wasn’t sure what he thought Jade would do - smile back, or perhaps say something clever or teasing. He was completely unprepared for her entire face to crumble and for her to start crying.

“Oh, it’s okay,” Lily said easily, smoothing Jade’s hair back, like a mother or a big sister would.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, I didn’t know, I didn’t mean to,” Jade babbled.

Paris took a step toward the door, wondering if he should make a discreet exit. The rational part of his brain said that yes, he should give the two women some time they obviously needed. But the not-so-rational part of his brain wanted to stay and talk to Jade himself to ensure that she was still
her
and that nothing about her had changed.

“No, no, I know. I know,” Lily repeated. Paris wondered what they were referring to. It was clearly something they both immediately knew of without having to exchange any other words. “I never should have asked. You don’t have to be sorry, I’m the one who’s sorry.”

Lily’s words didn’t seem to mollify Jade who continued to cry even as Lily soothed and shushed her. Paris took one more step toward the door, but Lily looked up and shook her head quickly and mouthed the words, ‘it’ll be fine in a minute.’ He envied her in that moment. She seemed so sure that Jade would be better in a moment.

Paris guessed if anyone would know, it would be Lily. They’d been sharing a body for … well, years.

True to her word, in another minute or so, Jade calmed down - her crying shifting to the hitching breathing and stuttering breaths that often come after a hard jag - like a small child who has exhausted itself. Lily smiled at Jade again, tucking Jade’s hair behind her ears and Paris recalled what Lily had said before, outside in the waiting area. Jade had been younger than Lily when she arrived. Lily herself had been around six, but Jade had felt younger. Josefina had been just shy of her fourth birthday when she drowned. That would mean that Jade, who Paris was certain was somehow Josefina, was actually at least two years younger than Lily’s records would indicate she was. Suddenly viewing Jade as the younger, more child-like sibling, put a lot of her behavior into perspective for Paris. If Lily had always taken the role of elder sibling, of caregiver and protector, and if they had always been so intertwined, then Jade on her own would have been much like a child abandoned. Paris knew Jade had felt insecure when she came to the Coven, but now, framing it with his new knowledge of her, he realized how difficult things must have seemed to her.

“Okay?” Lily asked Jade and Jade nodded.

Jade finally looked over at Paris, her eyes rimmed red and her face all blotchy. “So you’ve met the person that used to share my brain,” she said, tipping her head toward Lily.

Paris smiled at her wobbly tone, trying so hard to be light. “Yes, we’ve met.”

Jade nodded. “I’m feeling a lot less crazy about the whole thing now that there’s a person standing in front of me.”

“Me too,” Lily agreed. She and Jade shared some kind of look Paris couldn’t decipher. He almost got the feeling they were having a conversation without saying anything.

“The Sparrow Lady,” Jade said suddenly to Lily and Paris felt like his thoughts were confirmed.

“Can you hear each other thinking?” he asked.

They both turned to him and at the same time said, “Yes.”

He blinked at their unity, about to ask something else when Lily turned her head sharply toward Jade.