Lilith (18 page)

Chapter Nineteen

There be Witches

“I can’t believe you pulled it off.” Dean said.

He stared at the now clean blade in my hand. I smiled, knowing full well that it was all them and not me that had gotten it done.

“I didn’t even need to be there, Liv was amazing. If she wanted to she could be a master thief. No one would ever see her coming.” I said.

Rhi smiled smugly. She was right about what the Bad Girls were capable of. Lexie’s help was good to have but without all the other girls it never would have happened.

“You have no idea what we’ve gotten away with over the years Pacey. It would keep you up at night.”

I didn’t want to know, not really. But I was extremely glad I had them behind me.

“Thanks Rhi, you’ll tell the girls right?” I asked.

Rhi frowned. “It’d be better if you did, but yea I’ll let them know. They had a pretty good time anyways. The prank is going to go down in Union High history.”

Two days later we made plans to drive up to Concord. Wes had been staying in contact with Charlie and the boys. They’d set up a meeting for us with a witch they knew would help us. She was going to meet us the following morning at an ice cream shop.

Of all the places I could think of to meet a witch, over ice cream wasn’t one of them. Somehow I’d gotten it in my head that we’d meet her in some small stone cabin, or a forest surrounded by starlight, a big cauldron bubbling in the center of a pentagram.

Yes, my imagination was going a little overboard, but that’s what I saw when I thought of witches. Not an ice cream shop in the middle of the day. I thought of Hansel and Gretel, Harry Potter, and that movie
The Craft.
I didn’t in my wildest dreams imagine a completely normal meeting place in a town that was right out of Hallmark.

It took over three hours to get to Concord. We left early that morning and arrived just before noon. The sidewalks inside Concord were cobbled stone. Metal antique light fixtures were on each corner. Every business was painted cheerfully with colored flower boxes and window shutters. It was the perfect little town, quaint, and comforting.

We stopped in front of the ice cream shop and parked. We still had a half hour before Pillar arrived. Wes said we’d know her when we saw her. I glanced inside the ice cream shop and noticed the empty booths. Families walked down the streets together hand in hand. A small park at the corner was their destination.

Most of the children and parents had a strange almost yellow hazy glow shining around them. I squinted at their skin looking for the source of the light.
What are they?
A few of the men were surrounded by a grey haze. It was muddled and frothy like it was covered in dirt.

“Do you see that?” I whispered to Dean I motioned with my head towards the townspeople.

He shook his head not understanding. “What the people?”

“No, the light, it’s like their surrounded by their own little bubbles. It’s really weird.”

Dean stared at them, then at me. I could feel his gaze under my skin. I walked away and sighed. It must be another part of the second sight. The gift from Lilith that kept on giving.

“Pacey.” Dean whispered behind me.

I turned and watched him staring at an incoming car. Wes and Rhi were sitting on a bench just outside the ice cream shop. They both stood when the car parked next to Rhi’s vehicle.

A delicate girl with long hair rose gracefully from the car.
She wore a long grey skirt and a slinky black tank top. She smiled when she saw me. Her blue eyes were large and owl like, rimmed with bright green light. The same light that encased her whole body enclosed the other people of her town.

“You must be Pacey.” Pillar
said reaching out her hand when she was in front of me.

I held out my own. “Pillar right?” I asked.

Wes and Rhi introduced themselves, and lastly Dean. She paused and let her eyes roam over him. I was getting pretty used to it. He was nice to look at.

“So, shall we go inside.” She asked.

We followed behind her. Rhi stifled and laugh and I elbowed her in the side. I didn’t need her to tick off the only witch I knew that could possibly help us. Inside we each ordered and then took a seat at a booth. Wes grabbed an extra chair and Pillar sat in it slowly. Her body bowing with the elegance of a dancer.

“Alright, well we might as well get the pleasantries over
with. I’m Pillar, and yes I am indeed a witch, and on occasion the other kind.”

Rhi’s face scrunched in confusion.

“The kind with a b.” Pillar said around a laugh. The rest of us joined in with her and the tension died out.

“You need travelling mirrors right?” She asked me.

I opened my mouth but didn’t know what to say. Luckily Wes answered for me.

“She does. She needs to get to the Otherside, safely, into Lilith’s Hall of Mirrors.” He explained.

Pillar nodded. “That’s what Kyle said. I have to warn you though. Mortals aren’t supposed to go there. Well not until death. You take the risk by going. Kyle seems to think you can survive it.” She inspected my face then glanced at my scars.

“She’s marked you as her adversary, believe it or not that actually helps. It leaves her touch on you like a fingerprint. That should help you get there. The mirrors however.”

She blew out a steadying breath. “They aren’t as easy to come by. It’s not the reflection itself, it’s the names to enchant them. Almost every soul on earth has been recycled in some manner. Either by death and reincarnation or rebirth. Almost all of us have been someone else at one time. Some of us more than others.”

“New souls are born
too but it’s often the marked like you two.” She pointed to me and Dean. “That have been around a really long time. People call you old souls, and they aren’t wrong. The enchantment is like a passport. It requires your names, and I mean all of them in order to work. Most people don’t know all their names, which is why the mirrors never work. With you.” Pillar’s eyes landed on me.

“It’s a little easier. But just to be sure, you’ll have to drink this.” Pillar placed a vial of purple liquid on the table. I stared at the swirling liquid and swallowed hard.

“What does it do?” I asked.

She sat back in her seat and stared down at her long delicate fingers. “It gives you your names.”

“How?” Dean asked before I could.

Pillar smiled and studied him like he was a child. “It’s like a dream, she speaks the names as they are shown to her, and I write them down.” Pillar pulled out a pad of paper and pen.

I reached for the vial but Rhi stopped my hand. “Are there any side effects she should know about. You know warts, boils…being turned into a frog.”

I groaned at her insult. That was Rhi
, strike first, and ask for forgiveness later. Pillars eyes narrowed. A pulse of heat wafted off her skin. We all sat back and breathed in a breath of surprise.

“The only affect, is remembering what one may not wish to remember. Not all lifetimes are happy, you take the good, with the bad, that is your choice.” Pillar’s voice vibrated in the room. The haunting tones powerful and warning.

I stared at the bottle then at my friends. Dean’s face was frozen in a grimace his eyes on the vial near my hand. Rhi was shaking her head. Wes was the only one who looked eager. He nodded at me once and gave me a half smile. I reached out took the vial twisted the top and swallowed it down.

“Pacey.” Dean and Rhi said together.

I shrugged and waited hoping that whatever happened wouldn’t hurt. My vision fogged and the ice cream shop disappeared. I was staring into a mirror, but the reflection wasn’t the same. I tilted my head and watched the woman mimic me. Her eyes were identical but her hair was a warm rich honey. I smiled and watched her part her red lips and show her teeth.
Eve.
She whispered.

“Eve.” I said out loud.

The image in the mirror blurred and changed. Next I was an African women. Dark purple eyes and brown rich skin. Gold hoops rose on my neck.
Marrah.
She said with a husky voice. And my own voice followed behind her.

Three more images arose each one different and beautiful. I had blond hair, then brown, dark red. My name was Akima, Sorah, Leriatte. The image swirled. My face was tan and my eyes a rich
purple, my name was Annah. Two more names rose out of the mirror and were spoken from my lips. Elizabeth and last Patience.

I stared at my own reflection for a long time. The scars were visible on my neck and my eyes were a bright purple.

“Patience.” I said at last.

My image turned to show me her naked back as she walked away. I stared at the image of my soul retreating until t
he fog moved from my vision and the ice cream shop snapped back into place. Four sets of eyes were staring at me in wonder.

Rhi glanced over at Pillar and said. “Do me next.”

We all broke into cheerful laughter. Pillar sat back as giggles rocked through her chest. For a moment we were all just a bunch of teenagers with a new friend. We weren’t hunting a demon, or running on borrowed time. We were free even if it was only for a moment.

Pillar suggested we go back to her house to complete the ritual for the mirrors. We were silent on the drive over. Flashes of my past lives
kept crawling across my vision. I had Akima’s laugh, Eve’s blind ability to love, and Marrah’s unwavering belief in family. I was all of these women and none of them. Their souls carried along inside of me but unmistakable from my own.

I saw their lives in pieces, their triumphs and sorrows, loved ones gained and lost. They were all different yet somehow the same. We were sisters and daughters, lovers and wives. Some were even mothers and I felt older than I ever thought possible.

“Are you okay Pacey?” Dean asked.

I swallowed down the increasing pressure waging war inside my brain. It was too much data to try
to remember, too many lifetimes all thrown together into one.

Rhi place a hand on my shoulder. “You’re shaking.” She whispered.

I tried to shrug it off, but I could feel my body trembling. My fingers were slick with sweat and my mouth watered. The pain inside my head intensified and I felt my guts lurch.

“I think I’m going to be sick.” I croaked.

Dean pulled over, and I threw open my door. The chocolate flavored gelato tasted like crap coming back up. I emptied my stomach onto the dirt road. I sat back and wiped my face with my hand.

“You alright?” Wes asked.

Dean pulled me into his arms and handed me a bottle of water. I drew away from him and rinsed out my mouth.

“
I’m better now. Can we go?” I said. I was so embarrassed.

It wasn’t long before a
hiss of surprise went through the car. We pulled up beside Pillar and looked up at the large log cabin perched on top of a mossy covered hill. Cypress trees surrounded it as if it too grew from the ground.

Crud
e steps covered with flat rock cut into the earth leading up to it. A staircase made of earth. The railings were twisted limbs covered in green lush vines white flowers sprouting throughout.

The log cabin rose up from the hill like a warm enchanting palace. The wooden deck filled with pots and flower boxes. A pergola styled
ceiling covered the porch. Everything was dripping with vines, moss, and flowers. It was straight out of a fairy tale.

Dean took my hand and pulled me from the car. The others followed soundlessly behind me. Pillar led the way up the earthy stairs to the front door. I turned when we reached the top and sighed in disbelief. The mountains were open in front of me. Rolling hills covered with tall trees in various
shades of green. Mist rose from them like breath.

“My God.” Dean whispered beside me.

Pillar watched our expressions with a mixture of dread and fascination. I got the feeling she didn’t bring many people up here. It was a long drive from the small town and almost straight up the mountain. She probably didn’t have any neighbors for miles.

“Ready.” She asked and opened the front door.

The inside was just as spectacular as the outside. Large wood covered vaulted ceilings rose twenty feet into the air. Rod iron chandeliers hung from the high ceilings and glittered with crystals and light. It was warm and inviting. A large plush white rug covered shiny dark wood floors. A rock fireplace covered a large portion of the far left wall.

Gilded and rusted
sconces hung around it. Old black and white pictures, ornate mirrors, and old antiques filled the room. The sofa was cream and covered with lush throws and earth tone pillows. A miss matched buffet, hutches and old tables were scattered throughout the room. It was eclectic and country, a mixture of Victorian and old world.

Pillar walked farther into the room towards what I assumed was the kitchen. One wall of mixed glass with a set of French doors led from the kitchen into a sort of g
reen house. The kitchen had wooden beams across the high vaulted ceiling. White cabinets with glass fronts held various clear and white glass dishes. A wood burning stove sat near the corner, and a big farmhouse sink across from it.