Something Witchy (Mystics & Mayhem) (28 page)

It wouldn’t have been so bad if he had just stopped haunting my dreams.  Every time I closed my eyes, he was there waiting for me.  I wasn’t dreaming of the past, either, but of a present and a future that would never be.  Knowing those dreams were all I was ever going to have was worse than having nothing at all. 

Nathan wasn’t the only one haunting my dreams, either.  Jack had become a real nightmare—literally.  He made regular appearances in my dreams.  He scared the hell out of me, but there seemed to be a shield around me that kept him from hurting me again. 

“It’s a protection spell,” Grams explained when I told her about the nightmares and how I felt different than I had when he’d tried to roast me alive.  “I put it on you the night you arrived, after Nate told me what happened in Colorado.  He can’t get past it unless he is actually with you in physical form.  I’m working on a more powerful spell to cast on you before you go back, but at least you’re safe in your dreams for now.”

Wonderful.  He couldn’t burn me in my sleep, but he could still roast me in person.  Didn’t
I
feel reassured?

Um, no.  Definitely not.

“Now, enough distractions,” Grams said, placing all the jars she had been scurrying around the kitchen collecting on the counter in front of me.  “You’re not nearly ready for healing lessons, so I am going to teach you how to make a potion that will heal most wounds.”

Cooking?  Oh, that wasn’t good.

“Um, Grams, you do know that I tend to burn toast, right?” I asked, giving the huge pot she pulled from beneath the counter a look that clearly said I thought it would bite me.

“Then it’s time to learn a new skill,” Grams said brightly.  “Let’s get started.”

You know those horror stories you hear about Chem Lab accidents?  Yeah, it went just that bad.  Two hours, three of her best pots, a serious burn, and lots of tears—from me, not Grams—and Grams gave up.

“I would swear you were doing it on purpose if you weren’t so upset,” Grams muttered as we escaped the kitchen.  The noxious fumes coming from the giant hole in the countertop my ‘potion’ had created would have been enough to drive anyone out for fear of permanent lung damage. 

“I tried to warn you,” I told her, my voice hoarse from breathing in toxic waste for the last hour.  “I’m probably going to kick myself for asking, but what’s next?”

 “I’m almost afraid to try anything else,” she replied, flipping through her book again.  When her eyes lit up, I feared the worst.  “Tell me, sweetheart, what do you think of attempting some mental shields?”

“Huh?” I asked, not having the first clue what she was talking about.

“I don’t think that’s necessary,” Nathan said at the same time, dropping the magazine he had been reading.

“Shields protect the mind, Ember,” Grams said, grinning from ear to ear.  Nathan looked like he was wishing for laser vision so he could kill her without having to get up.  “They keep people out of your head, leaving your thoughts private.  Interested in that, by any chance?”

After having spent almost a week with Nathan?  Hell yeah I was
interested in that! 

I did everything Grams told me to do without asking a single question or complaining once.  I envisioned my thoughts as little bubbles floating in space for anyone to see and hear.  Then, following Grams’ instructions, I created a barrier around them, like a big dome that contained all those little thought bubbles. 

But, it was all for nothing in the end.  No matter what we tried, nothing worked to keep Nathan out of my head.  When we finally called it quits and Nathan gave me a smug little smile and a wink, I wanted to throw something at him.

I turned to find Grams giving him a narrow-eyed look herself.  I thought I saw her eyes flicker to my scarf for a second, but when she shook her head and walked over to get another one of her endless books to torture me with, I decided I must have imagined it.

“All right.  I guess it’s time to get down to business.”  Laying the book on the desk next to her, she rapidly flipped through the brittle, yellowed pages.  When she found the page she was looking for, she turned and looked at me.  “Ember, may I borrow your necklace, sweetheart?”

My hand immediately flew up to the cross I hadn’t taken off since Nathan had given it to me.  My first instinct was to say no, she couldn’t have it.  I glanced at Nathan only to find him staring back at me, his expression totally unreadable.

“Oh, for heaven’s sake!” Grams muttered.  “I’m not going to steal it.  I will give it right back.”

“No,” Nathan said as I started to pull the leather cord over my head.  “Damn it, Shea!  I don’t want her to do this!”

“And I don’t want her to die,” Grams said, her voice sharp.  “Do you think this is what I wanted for her?  Well, it is not.  But there is no other way, Nate.”

“
You
do it!” he hissed, walking over to stand next to me.  “She’s had no training.  You’ve had years of it.  It makes more sense for you to confront him than for her to do it.”

“Don’t you think I would if I could?” Grams shouted, throwing up her hands in frustration.  “It’s not that simple!  It has to be
her
, Nate.  I’ve already seen it!”

Nathan went so rigid at my side that I was afraid he was going to snap in half.  Confused, I looked back and forth between the two of them.  What the hell did that mean, she’d seen it?  If I was hoping one of them would explain, it was in vain.  They were too busy glaring at each other to explain anything.

“Your necklace please, Ember,” Grams said in a low, cold voice, never taking her eyes off Nathan.

Slowly, I walked over and placed the cross in her open palm.  Tearing her eyes from Nathan, she gave me a strained smile and turned back to her book.  Looking over her shoulder curiously, I found myself looking at an illustration like nothing I’d ever seen.  It was in the shape of a pentagram with circles around it composed of what appeared to be an incantation in Latin.  In the center of the pentagram was a triangle with what looked like an eye drawn in the center of it. 

“This is known as the Triangle of the Arts,” Grams explained as she carefully laid my cross on the illustration, making sure to put the three-part knot directly over the eye in the center of the triangle.  “When enclosed inside a sacred circle, it is better known as a Devil’s Trap.  Using an old incantation that only a few souls left on Earth know, I am going to channel the power of the trap into your necklace.  Do you understand so far?”

“Uh…no,” I told her honestly.  She glanced over at me and I saw her lips twitch.  Rolling my eyes, I said, “Speak English, Grams.  I don’t speak Witch.”

“In essence, we’re going to turn the very powerful symbol on your necklace into a Devil’s Trap,” she said, giving Nathan another angry look when he started to protest again that had him snapping his mouth shut.  Smart move on his part, in my opinion.  “Once that is done, I am going to show you how to activate it.”

“How are you going to do that?” I asked, frowning.  “I mean, don’t you have to have a demon or something?”

“Yes, you do.”

 “And…what?” I asked, rolling my eyes.  “You have one locked in the basement or something?”

“No, she’s going to summon one,” Nathan growled.  “You can’t levitate, you can’t cook up a simple potion, and your mental shield isn’t worth the time you wasted to form one, but she’s going to summon a being of pure evil and expect you to get rid of it.  Isn’t that about the gist of it, Shea?”

“Actually, yes,” Grams said, shrugging.  When my mouth fell open and I started to feel like I was going to hyperventilate, she patted me on the arm.  “I’ll be right here, sweetheart.  You don’t have to face them alone.”

“
Them
?!” I squeaked in terror.

“Well, you didn’t think you were going to get it on the first try, did you?” she asked, starting to sound annoyed. 

“This should be interesting,” Nathan muttered, leaning his hip against the doorframe and crossing his arms over his chest.

“
You
can go if you like, Nate,” Grams said without looking up from the incantation she was reading. 

“If it’s all the same to you, I think I’ll stick around and make sure you don’t get her killed,” he said, his tone icy.  I choked on a hysterical snort of laughter when Grams, without even turning around, flipped him off.

Too terrified by the idea of hosting a demon house party to move, I stood there and stared as Grams started to chant softly in a language I had never heard before.  As she chanted, my cross started to glow with a bright, golden light.  It rose slightly off the page, then, before my widening eyes, the three-part knot in the center started to swirl like a whirlpool.  Then, from out of nowhere, a violent wind tore through the living room and I felt a sucking sensation tear at my hair and clothes.  Pushing my hair back I saw that the symbol on my necklace was gone.  In its place was a shimmering, sickly-looking light.

I nearly screamed at her not to touch it when Grams reached out for it, but the second she wrapped her hand around the cross the portal she had opened disappeared and it was once again just a pretty piece of jewelry.  Too awed and astounded to speak, I could only stare at her.  Seeing the look on my face, she grinned.

“Now, how about you give it a try?” she said, walking over and holding the cross out to me.  When I didn’t take it, she placed it in my hand herself and curled my fingers around it. 

“Why is it so cold?” I whispered.  It felt like she had just handed me a lump of ice.

“The lost plane is neither warm nor pleasant,” Grams explained with a solemn expression.  “Those that are banished there… Well, let’s just say they’re not on vacation and leave it at that.”

Yeah.  Good idea.

“Now,” Grams said brusquely, leading me to the center of room, “What I would like you to do is close your eyes and clear your mind.”  Knowing she was going to summon a demon?  Yeah, right.  “You will need a clear head and a great deal of focus to open the portal I created for you.  There is amazing power in you.  You must reach deep down to access it, however, due to the bind.”

I closed my eyes and did as I was told.  No matter how much I tried, though, I couldn’t seem to call up that buzz of power.  All I could think of was the terror I felt.  I was going to open my eyes.  There was going to be a demon standing there.  And I was going to die. 

Before I could really start to panic, I felt Nathan’s hands on my shoulders.  The second he touched me, I felt this amazing rush of peace and calm flow through me, washing away my fear and doubt.  With that one touch, he grounded me, making it possible for me to think.

I’ll be right here, love,
he whispered to me silently. 
You don’t have to be afraid.  I’ll keep you safe.

“Just stay close,” I whispered aloud.  Then, to Grams, I said, “Let’s do this.”

“All right,” she said, sounding nervous suddenly.  “When the demon appears, I want you to envision the portal and focus all your energy on your cross.  That kind of magic is called spirit magic, because it draws on the power of your soul.  Only that kind of power will activate the portal.”

“Focus all my energy,” I repeated, eyes still closed.  “Got it.”

“Nate, get out of the way,” Grams said when Nathan stayed right there behind me, his touch keeping me calm and relaxed.  “She has to do this on her own.”

I could feel his reluctance in the slow way his hands slid away from me.  I missed that contact acutely when he stepped back and away from me.  I wanted to turn around and grab him, keep him right there within my reach, but I forced myself to remain still.  Grams was right.  I had to do it on my own.

Unfortunately, that didn’t work out so well.

The first demon Grams summoned was the ugliest, most terrifying thing I’d ever seen.  The second he appeared I felt my heart thud to a stop.  His twisted, misshapen form was covered in brownish-green scales.  The talons at the ends of his mutant fingers were yellowed and I saw stains on the tips that looked entirely too much like blood for my taste.  And his fangs… I still feel nauseous when I think about those razor-sharp, blood-stained incisors.

I found a whole new definition for the word ‘terror’ as the thing turned its mutated head and its eyes focused on me.  Unlike when Jack forced me to meet his gaze, I didn’t smell smoke or feel like I was burning.  What I
did
feel, though, was little better.  Pure, undiluted terror gripped me so hard I felt like I was encased in an icy block of it.

“A witchhhhh,” it hissed, sounding entirely too much like a snake.  “It’s been so long since I had a witchhhh.” 

For what?  Dinner?  Or a nice human suit?  Either way, I didn’t want to be on the menu.  I instinctually started backing away, my fist gripping the cross in my hand so hard that I could feel the edges of it cutting into my palm.

“Focus, Ember Leigh!” Grams shouted.  And I really tried.  I swear, I did.  But I couldn’t think through the panic that was one second away from turning me into a blubbering idiot. 

Just as the thing made a swipe at me with its knife-like talons, it shattered.  Like,
shattered.  
With an eardrum-rupturing screech, it blew into a million tiny fragments.  As I watched, the pieces remaining disappeared in little wisps of inky-black smoke.

“Is that what you call focus?” Grams yelled, stomping over to stand right in front of me, just as the last of them vaporized. 

“Leave her alone, Shea,” Nathan said from just behind me.  “What did you really think would happen?  She’s not ready, damn it!”

When he pulled me into his arms, I didn’t try to stop him.  Instead, I turned and buried my head against his chest.  My whole body was shaking hard enough to vibrate the floor beneath my feet.  Nathan just held me closer in response and started rubbing his hand in soothing circles on my rigid back.

“Well, she’s going to have to
get
ready!” Grams said in a biting tone of voice.  “She has to learn to focus despite her fear and the only way she will do that is to face it.”

The second demon she summoned wasn’t any prettier than the first—and I didn’t do any better at banishing it.  That particular little monster was nice enough to give me a rather graphic description of what it was planning to do with my dismembered corpse before making its move. Though I tried to do what Grams said and focus through my fear, I still couldn’t activate the portal.