Shadow Magic (13 page)

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Authors: Cheyenne McCray

BOOK: Shadow Magic
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“They're created to neutralize magic.” Silver gestured to the bars. “A few of the Fae who live in Golden Gate Park came to us and suggested it.” Her eyes were wide with what appeared to be amazement. “They helped us build it in a matter of hours, and then they vanished.”
Surprise made Hannah shake her head with wonder. She'd never heard of the Earth-bound magical creatures helping beyond answering summons during certain moon ceremonies. They often lent their magic to aid the witches in various causes, but to leave the park itself?
Silver and Copper led Hannah through the rest of the warehouse. One half was still under construction with workers building walls and making rooms with no ceilings. The warehouse was huge enough to make
lots
of rooms. Everyone was using sleeping bags instead of mattresses to sleep on the concrete floors. Roughing it, most definitely.
The sisters also showed Hannah the special room that had been built for Garran to stay in during daylight hours, but now that he was able to be in the sunlight, it wouldn't be necessary.
Hannah was immensely grateful there were a couple of bathrooms and showers already constructed in the warehouse.
When they were done with the tour, Copper and Silver drew Hannah into one of the many rooms that looked as newly built as the rooms in the rest of the warehouse, but more “finished.”
“Since you're here now, it's a good opportunity to scry,”
Silver said as they closed the door behind them. “It's been a while since all of us have been together.”
Hannah hitched up the pack that held her scrying tools. A little normalcy would be welcome right about now.
Smells of incense and scented candles met her senses as soon as they'd walked through the door of the kitchen. Patchouli, sandalwood, pine, and cedar incense. Rose, cinnamon, and chamomile candles. Safflower, almond, and hazelnut oils. And then there was the blessedly wonderful smells of freshly baked cinnamon rolls and bread. All familiar scents that filled her with a sense of being home, even though they were far from a real home.
The room was amazingly beautiful considering they were in a warehouse.
Two large, industrial ovens crouched directly across the room from the door, and to the right stood two big refrigerators. White cabinets took up the remainder of three sides of the room, in a U-shape.
A giant cauldron with golden steam rising from it sat on one counter. Even from across the room, Hannah could smell fresh breads, roasted meats, and cooked vegetables emanating from it.
“The Cauldron of Dagda.” Silver caught Hannah's attention when she spoke. Silver rested one hand on her belly while she gestured to the cauldron with her other hand. “Thank the goddess it was finally located in Otherworld. It was getting harder and harder to find enough food to feed these bottomless pits called the D'Danann.”
“Now that
is
a blessing,” Hannah said with a smile.
Dried herbs hung from a rope slung across one corner of the room. On the counter sat candles, clear vials of oils, fat pottery jars no doubt containing magical creams, and a Dragon vase holding sticks of incense from its gaping jaws. Tools of their craft were arranged neatly on every counter-top. Except for the left side of the ovens, where an array of cinnamon rolls, baked breads, potpies, and other delicious things stood cooling. Surely Cassia's handiwork.
Speaking of the mysterious witch—Hannah's eyes met Cassia's blue ones, and once again the wisdom in the blond half-Elvin witch's eyes amazed Hannah. For a time Cassia had served as an apprentice to the D'Anu, not revealing what a truly powerful being she was. Still, no one knew the extent of her magic, and when asked, Cassia gave noncommittal answers.
Where once Cassia had acted bumbling, unsure, and “common,” she now had an ethereal, elegant look to her and she was beyond graceful. She had a calmness and strength that all the witches leaned on. Cassia cooked and healed, but Hannah was certain there was so much more to her.
Hannah tore her gaze from Cassia's. A long oval table took up one side of the room, and the other witches were already assembling around it. At the center of the table a cone of incense burned in a Dragon holder. Mulberry scented for protection, strength, and divination.
Rhiannon sat at one end of the table, her arms folded across her chest as she leaned back in her chair with her eyes closed and her chin-length auburn hair tucked behind her ears. Her gift was visioning the future.
Alyssa worried her lower lip and studied the candle in front of her. Soft brown curls bobbed around her pale cheeks.
Raven-haired and lavender-eyed Sydney adjusted her elegant glasses before settling into her seat close to a silver consecrated bowl of water and three fat candles.
Silver stood in front of her pewter cauldron, rather than taking a seat. The snake bracelet winding its way up her wrist glinted in the light.
Hannah met Mackenzie's usually mischievous blue eyes. The witch pushed her blond hair behind her shoulders before she began shuffling her deck of tarot cards so fast she appeared nervous.
Cassia was the last of the eight witches to settle in a chair and she rested her bag of rune stones on the table.
Slim, athletic Copper sat with her forearms on the black laminate table and her hands clasped as she looked at
Hannah. Soon, no doubt, Copper would be able to remove the ankle cast that she'd had since she crushed her ankle due to the battle to close and keep the door closed to Underworld. Copper's ability was dream-visions, so she had no visible tools.
Besides Copper and Rhiannon, Hannah was the only one at that moment who didn't have scrying materials out. She raised her pack and withdrew her black Dragon mirror and the vial of salt crystals and arranged them on the table.
“What about Darkwolf?” Hannah asked after she set her pack on the concrete floor beside her chair. “Is he still on the run from Ceithlenn?”
“According to our scrying, and”—Silver glanced at Sydney—“Conlan and Sydney saw him firsthand battling and then escaping from Balor.” Silver returned her gaze to Hannah's. “We think he's not on their side anymore. But we don't know
what
he's up to, if he plans to do anything with the eye, or if he's even a threat.”
“So basically Darkwolf's a loose cannon,” Copper said.
Hannah looked at each of her sister witches. “Who's going to start scrying?”
“I might as well.” Copper clenched her hands on the table in front of her as she leaned forward. “I've been having dream-visions that haven't made a whole lot of sense. Last night's was the clearest so far, although I don't know what it means.” She frowned and looked at Hannah. “I saw a strange black sphere, something dark and shadowy, but I could tell you and someone else were inside the bubble.”
Hannah resisted rubbing her arms as a chill slid over her skin. Copper shrugged, but Hannah could tell it wasn't done casually. “I know it's not much.” Copper tugged her long copper-colored braid over her shoulder. “But that's all that has come to me.”
Rhiannon opened her eyes and tipped her head forward as she looked at Hannah. No hostility was in Rhiannon's expression, only thoughtfulness and puzzlement. “I see you with King Garran—my father. You're on rocks, near water—
an island, I think—and you're in danger.” Rhiannon looked concerned as she studied Hannah. “Very serious danger. I just can't see what.”
Hannah did her best to remain calm and to not acknowledge the sharp edge of fear knifing through her. Before, their visions tended to be more general, encompassing them all. This was the first time Hannah had been the focus of Rhiannon's and Copper's visions.
Everyone looked at Hannah for a moment before Alyssa picked up a match lying in front of her and struck it on a porous stone. The sharp tang of sulfur mixed with the blueberry scent of the blue candle Alyssa lit. “I chose blue for hope, spirituality, and protection …”
Her words trailed off as she stared into the candle flame. Alyssa had always been the most sensitive, almost fragile, of all the gray magic D'Anu. Hannah had never said anything to any of her sister witches, but she'd always worried more about Alyssa than anyone else. The worry came from flashes Hannah had seen in her scrying mirror, feelings she'd had when she was close to Alyssa.
Alyssa straightened in her seat and took a deep breath before blowing out the candle. She closed her eyes for a moment, a pained expression on her face.
Not a good sign.
The silence in the kitchen was so great that Hannah could hear the rumble of conversation, banging sounds, and other activity outside the room that she hadn't been paying attention to before.
Finally, Alyssa opened her eyes and met Hannah's gaze. Alyssa's soft brown eyes looked a little glassy and Hannah's belly sank. From years of practice at keeping her expression unreadable, Hannah kept the growing fear off her own face.
Alyssa took another audible breath. “Something's going to happen, Hannah, and you're going to be in the middle of it. Unless we can change the future, something's going to happen between you, Garran, and Ceithlenn.”
Hannah merely nodded before she turned her steady gaze
to Sydney. The lavender-eyed witch calmly looked away from Hannah and struck a match before lighting one of the candles between her and the bowl of consecrated water. The citrus scent of the orange candle energized Hannah, sending a burst of strength through her. Orange candles were for success, strength, and fire.
Candlelight reflected on Sydney's glasses as she looked at Hannah and said, “I think I chose the appropriate candles for this divination.”
Hannah simply gave a single nod before Sydney lit a gold candle, which signified not only wealth and abundance, but connection with the divine, the goddess Anu. The third candle Sydney lit was black, a color she always used. It had strong magic for banishment and protection from unseen forces.
Sydney raised the orange candle and tipped it so that its wax dribbled into the bowl of water. After frowning at the patterns for a moment, she raised the gold candle and poured the wax from it into the bowl. She only waited a few seconds before adding wax from the black candle. She set that candle down, studied the wax in the water a little longer, then blew out all three candles that sat in front of her. Remnants of smoke drifted away.
Sydney's throat worked as she folded her arms on the table and looked at Hannah. She tried a gentle smile. “Looks like you're the star today.” Her smile faltered. “This war is going to hurt you in many ways. Perhaps physically, mentally—stressful situations that will challenge you and put you in much danger.” She glanced at the bowl again before returning her gaze to Hannah's. “I see all of us in trouble, but you're at the center. You and someone very, very close to you.”
Hannah raised her eyebrows. She'd never been truly close to anyone—she kept people at a distance. As much as she loved her Coven sisters, she didn't even let them get too near emotionally.
“Well, this is all very interesting.” Hannah kept her tone dry. “What do you have to say, Mackenzie?”
Hannah's sister witch didn't answer. She simply dealt her tarot cards in her favorite spread, a Celtic cross. She quietly flipped each card over and looked down at it before turning over the next and the next until she'd revealed all ten cards.
She pursed her lips. “I see a lot of conflict within you, Hannah. In the way you look at what's around you now, and how you will view things in the future.” Mackenzie studied the cards again.
Hannah's throat felt so dry it hurt. What could
that
possibly mean?
Mackenzie's blue eyes met Hannah's. “You will go on a quest. I can't tell whether this is something you do willingly, or something you're forced to do. I can't see if you're successful.”
Hannah couldn't think of anything to say, so she turned to Cassia who was already tumbling her rune stones onto the black tabletop.
It only took a moment before Cassia looked up, but she moved her gaze to each witch in the group instead of just focusing on Hannah like everyone else had. “The Alliance is facing an enormous battle ahead, and we
will
need the aid of the Drow, just as we had thought.”
Cassia cocked her head as she studied the stones. “Something strange and unusual is on the horizon, but all we can do is wait and see what that is and be prepared to deal with it the best we can.”
“How do we prepare to deal with something when we don't even know what that something is?” Hannah asked, tucking her single shock of blond hair behind her ear.
Cassia's turquoise eyes remained steady, calm, like … Like what? “We have to face this as it comes. I can't see any other way.”
Hannah resisted a frustrated huff and snatched up her vial of salt crystals. While taking a deep breath, she uncorked the vial and set the cork aside. She squeezed her eyes shut and said a soft chant in her mind to the Dragon Elementals, asking their assistance.

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