Water Witch (16 page)

“How do I do that?”

“I don’t know. I’ll ask.” She typed in a few lines and then looked at me. “Maybe she’ll respond soon.”

“Okay. I didn’t think this was…shit, I just didn’t think.”

She nodded and pressed her lips together. “Vincenzo. My friend said banishing is not something adults do to each other. Salil might be reluctant to ask for help from another Fae, due to embarrassment.”

“Ugh.” I stood and paced the kitchen.
Shit. Why had I taken my anger out on him?

“Here we go, she replied to me.” She peered at the screen again, speaking as she read. “Okay, you have to focus your power, focus it…into a very small point, like a tiny piece of air…and then visualize the place or person you want to reach. When you can combine those two things, the portal will open.” She looked at me again. “Does that make sense to you?”

“Sort of.” But it wouldn’t be easy.

“Good. Because I am not sure I could do it.”

“I think I’m going to go practice before it gets dark.”

“Call me if you need me.” She pulled an apron from a low drawer. “I’ll be here in the kitchen.”

I started by trying to make a portal to the beach on my property. No need to spend too much time thinking of Salil. That would only alert him to my practice. In the past hour he’d either stopped trying to contact me, or I’d finally blocked him completely. I didn’t want him coming back before I was ready.

An hour later, I had managed to open a line in the air to my yard, not large enough to walk through, barely even thick enough to see through. When I tried to poke my fingers in, mimicking the way Salil had pulled his portals open, the line faded into nothing.

What if I just waited? Just let him find his own way back? If we were really pre-destined mates, like he thought, he’d have to forgive me. And if he didn’t, I could go on alone. Just as if I’d never met him.

Goddess, the thought of that bothered me.
Fuck.
I tried again, and again, and finally after another hour I was able to see a slice of my yard. Still, the opening snapped shut when I touched it, but if I could get to Salil, maybe he could open it fully from his side? Worth a try, anyway.

I focused on Salil, his face, his scent, the feel of his skin. I concentrated on his name, and willed the portal to open to him. It took more effort than the one to my yard, more focus to keep my power locked on a thought instead of a known physical location. But a sliver of ivory opened, and within it, Salil’s shoulders and hair. “Salil!”

He turned to the portal, shock transforming his face into an almost comical mask of confusion. When recognition lit his eyes he narrowed them at me and reached forward, wrenched open the slim opening I’d created, and stepped through.

“Witch. You have disappointed me. And broken my trust.” He crossed his arms over his chest and scowled.

“I’m sorry.” Tears of relief and exhaustion pricked my eyes, and I swallowed hard to stop a sob from embarrassing me. He noticed anyway.

His eyes softened with concern. “Do not be upset. Come here.” He pulled me to him and I sagged in his arms.

I’d never worked so hard with my skill, and never had so much to worry about. I soaked up the comfort he offered. “I didn’t mean to—”

“I know. We’ll talk about it later. Shh.” He rubbed circles on my back. I realized I was crying into his armpit, but I was too tired and strung out to care. “What have you been doing to get this way? You seem weak.”

“I’ve been…just trying to get you back. And see things more clearly. And I worked at the house. And—”

“All right, that’s enough. Inside, now. You need food.” I wasn’t too weak to hear the edge of anger in his voice, but I was tired enough to ignore it.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Liliana was surprised to see Salil, that much I noticed before her focus turned to me and my weak state. Salil made me eat a banana, and a piece of bread smeared with peanut butter, though I clearly told them both I’d rather have some of Liliana’s bruschetta-in-progress. Liliana also forced me to drink some herbal tea, while Salil nodded his approval from behind her back. There must have been a sedative in the tea, because the next thing I knew I was being tucked under a blanket on the couch, and Salil and Liliana were talking in murmurs far above me. I heard something like, “too much, too fast,” and then I fell asleep.

I woke in Salil’s bed, with no idea what day or time it was.

I couldn’t find my cell phone, either, so I wandered around his house until I found him in the kitchen, shells and wire and beads laid out before him on the table.

He looked up, startled at my presence. “Vincenzo! You should still be asleep.”

“Why? What time is it? What the hell was in that tea?”

“You needed rest. It is noon. Most of your things are still at your coven house.” He put away the small pair of pliers he held, and began snapping lids closed on tiny vials of glass beads. “Hungry?”

I was starving. I nodded and he pointed to a plate on the counter: egg sandwiches and fruit. “Thanks.” I ate one sandwich standing at the counter, with no regard for table manners. He said nothing. The second one I ate more slowly, watching him. “Making jewelry?”

“Yes. A special order.” He gathered some stray beads and wound up a length of wire. “It can wait. Still hungry?” He looked over at my empty plate.

“No, I’m good. Thanks for that.”

He nodded, and I noticed the tightness of his jaw, the way he held his spine perfectly straight, the lack of warmth in his speech. He was still angry. “I’m sorry about the banishing thing. I really am.”

He sighed. “I know. It still hurt.”

“Damn, I never meant—Okay I did mean to hurt you. I was pissed and scared, but I—” I pulled him up from his seat and wrapped my arms around him. “I’m so sorry. I promise to never do that again.”

He seemed to relax a bit, and returned my embrace, if weakly. “It wasn’t the banishment that hurt. It was you shutting me out. Not allowing me to help you. Not wanting me.”

“Please forgive me?” I whispered the words, and realized as I said them it was for the first time. Ever. In my whole life, I’d never asked anyone for forgiveness. At least not seriously, not when it mattered. And it mattered now, with Salil. I held my breath.

“I will always forgive you.” But his shoulders were still stiff, his arms barely held me.

“Just not yet, huh?”

“I spent two days on the Fae plane, Witch.”

I cringed. “What is it like there? Did you—Oh man, did you eat? Sleep?”

He smiled and sighed. “Yes, I ate at a small cafe. The Fae plane is much like the human one. Without the shopping malls and highways.”

“So…you could have gotten back on your own, right? If I couldn’t do it?”

“Sure. If I admitted to my family that my lover name-banished me like a spoiled child.”

My cheeks heated. “Ugh, I am so sorry.” I buried my face in his shoulder. “Please forgive me, Salil? I’m really sorry.”

“All right.” He held me firmly then, and kissed the side of my face. “I was proud of you, you know. You kept me out of your head despite all my efforts to reach you. And when I saw that portal open? I was impressed.”

“Thanks. That took me a while.”

“And it drained you, but you did it. I didn’t think you would be capable of it.”

“I had a sort of breakthrough.”

He pulled away to look into my eyes, and I actually felt him pushing at me, his second sight searching for more information.

“Stop that.”

His eyebrows shot up. “You could feel me?”

I nodded, tilting my head away to hide my proud smile. I could get used to putting that impressed look of surprise on his face.

“What have you been up to?”

I groaned. “Too much and not enough. I should have gone back to the house today. My mom is probably there now, alone.”

“She is not. I spoke with Liliana, and we convinced Ren to administer a sedative tea to your mother. You both needed a break from that pain.”

That relieved me almost as much as holding Salil in my arms again. “Thank the Goddess. What would I do without you taking care of me?”

He only laughed. “I will always take care of you, my witch. I love you.”

The truth of his words stole my breath. He did love me, and he did think of me as his witch, his mate. Maybe I should have said it back. Instead, I just held him and kissed his shoulder. When I pulled away to see his expression, it held no hurt, just a sweet smile.

He made us tea, and we drank it while sitting at his kitchen table, his long fingers wrapped around a mug and his eyes happy.

“You will rebuild.”

“Yes.” I saw in my mind a house standing on my family’s land, a modern structure with reinforced windows and breakaway walls, a house built for the waterfront. With more windows. And maybe even a small hot tub. I’d loved my family home, and mourned it, but that house had been more about my mother than me, more woodland and earth than water. If I could choose my home, it would be different. I met Salil’s eyes. He’d like it there, too. Better than his parents’ house in the woods.

“Will you show me what you have in mind?” He reached a hand out across the table.

“I don’t know how.” I put my hand in his anyway.

“Focus on the image, and push it to me like a thought.”

His hand felt cool and smooth, with a slight tingle that I tried to ignore. “Okay, tell me if it works.”

He laughed softly. “I will not need to tell you; if you succeed, you will know. Trust yourself.”

Considering I had no idea how to do this, the chances I’d “know” anything were slim. But I kept my confidence up, held the feeling from yesterday’s breakthrough in the field in my mind. I formed the picture of my ideal home, like the houses I’d seen going up in the newly sold lots north of the town beach: all glass and cedar with big high decks overlooking the water. I pushed the image at Salil, but he was right, I knew I’d failed.

“Think of the time you were able to find me in the forest, or when you opened the portal. Focus on me.”

Oh damn, I didn’t want to go through that again. But I was rested, and stronger. Salil squeezed my hand in his, and I realized what to do. I approached it like a vision, only instead of being receptive to images and information, I delivered them. 

It worked. And just as Salil had promised, I knew it had worked. I felt his mind, and his spirit. I knew his attention was mine. “Ah, my witch, that is beautiful. Now, show me inside.”

I could tell by his tone that was meant as a challenge. I was up for it. Now that I understood this image-pushing, I could show him anything. I pictured a top-floor bedroom, all the windows open to the water view, a salty breeze blowing against sheer curtains. And in the center of the room, a bed with the two of us on it, his head thrown back in bliss, my head between his legs.

“Naughty witch. You will cause no end of trouble with this new skill.”

I pulled his hand to me and opened my eyes, kissing the inside of his wrist. “Will you help me build it?”

“Of course.”

The excitement of the new house held my sadness at bay that night. I set the alarm on my cell phone to wake us in the morning, and we spent the night lost in the pleasure of each other’s skin, talking about possible features of my new home, and dreaming about our future.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

The next day, at the ruins of my family home, all my silly dreams from the night before sat like guilt-filled stones in my chest. My mother had contacted the insurance company, and FEMA, and there were some disaster workers traveling around in vans with paperwork and supplies. By afternoon we’d done all we could do: the rest would require professional help.

My mom had a dull, shocked look, and I pulled Dana aside to ask about her. Ren jogged up to join us, and from them I learned she had pretty much lost it the previous night, crying about her missing charms, wishing I had been with her, and saying there was nothing left for her in this town.

I scanned the yard for Salil, and spotted him down by the water with my mom, his arm around her shoulder. When I got there, his brow was creased with worry and her mouth was turned down in an uncharacteristic frown. “Mom?” I slid in next to them, barely fitting on the edge of the rock where they sat. “Hey I was thinking maybe we should stay together. I know Ren and Dana are your best friends, but…” I glanced at Salil, hoping he’d be on board with this.

“I would be honored if you would both stay with me, I have plenty of room.” Salil searched her face for an answer. “Maria? Will you stay in my home?”

She smiled at him and nodded. I met his eyes gratefully and mouthed “thank you” to him behind my mother’s head. He dismissed my gratitude with a little headshake.

“Let’s go out to dinner first. Sound good?” I hoped for some kind of response, a smile or even a refusal, but she just shrugged.

My mom ate, and held a conversation with us, though she was obviously distracted and sad. After our early dinner, we collected her things from Dana’s house and then drove back so I could leave my car in the ruined remains of our driveway. I held her hand as Salil stepped ahead of us to open one of his portals. “Check this out, Mom.” I nudged her and jerked my chin towards Salil.

The novelty of walking through air to a new destination did impress her, I could tell by her open mouth and wide eyes. She held my hand tightly as we went through. But she barely noticed the circular field, and trudged though the forest without realizing the wealth of herb and plant variety around us. I was getting nervous, and spent the walk thinking of things we could do together to divert her attention, or cheer her up. Maybe she could make some charms for Salil? Or we could play Gin Rummy, like when I was a kid? Salil must have a deck of playing cards somewhere…

When Salil took her hand to break the shielding spell on the house, she gasped. “This—This is your home?”

“And yours as well, for as long as you wish it.”

I rolled my eyes behind his back.
Laying it on a little thick there, Fae.
But I said nothing, because my mom was excited and alert for the first time all afternoon.

“I know this house.”

“What? How?” I held her by the elbow, waiting for an explanation.

“My father showed it to me once, he drew me a picture of it. Said I would live here one day. I didn’t believe him, told him I’d never leave the house he’d built by the water.” She ran her hand through her hair. “It was right before he’d died, and he’d been…confused. I thought he was wrong. I thought for sure he was wrong.” She was shaking her head, looking at the house, a small smile on her face.

Salil beamed at us both, and I wondered if he’d foreseen this as well. Probably. I’d never get used to his powers, or understand them completely. That realization made me inexplicably happy.

Inside, my mom walked around like she was touring a museum, running her fingers over everything, asking Salil questions, complimenting the decor, her eyes wide and her mouth half open. Finally she sat on the couch, shaking her head in wonderment.

“I meant what I said, Maria. I hope you feel comfortable to live here as long as you like. The house was meant for a charm crafter, and it has been many years since one worked here.”

She went to him and hugged him, whispering something I couldn’t hear. He said nothing, just closed his eyes and smiled against her hair.

When my mom left to go explore the bookshelves, I pulled Salil close, leaned in and whispered “thank you” in his ear. Again, I almost wanted to tell him I loved him. Did I love him? Already? Or was it just that he had said it to me?

Turned out Salil did have a deck of cards, and we played by the fire while we drank some oddly delicious herbal beer Salil had made.

“What is in this, again?” My mom pursed her lips and squinted at the liquid in her glass.

“Chamomile, lemon, passionflower, jasmine, ginger—”

“Ginger! That’s what I taste. But I smell the flowers. It’s really good.” She took another sip. “I wonder if I could make it with some magical qualities, like a protection or confidence charm that you drink.”

Salil sat up and nodded enthusiastically. “You could! I think that if you did, the shelf life would be much longer than a standard charm, probably closer to that of an ointment or salve. I would love to work on that with you.”

It was my mom’s turn to draw a card, but she dropped her hand, turned the scrap paper we’d been using to keep score upside down, and began scrawling possible charm-beer recipes while Salil looked over her shoulder. His cards were next to hers, forgotten on the coffee table.

I stretched out on the carpet and watched them get more and more absorbed in their project. With a sad and sudden insight, I saw them for what they were—my family. I had no aunts or uncles, no cousins, and my father was long gone. All I had was the coven, and my mom. And now Salil. His talk about being “mates” still didn’t sit well with me, but it offered a kind of comfort. He would shelter me, stand by my side, grow old with me. Maybe the most difficult thing to accept about Noni’s death was the reminder that my mother would die someday as well, and then I’d be alone.

Salil turned to me, as if he sensed the direction my thoughts had taken. “Vincenzo, what types of charms would you like best in this form?”

“Uh… Well, for me I’d say a cleansing spell. I’d use it before divination.”

“Nice!” My mom scribbled madly.

Salil hadn’t taken his eyes off me, and now scooted over to sit nearer to me on the carpet. He definitely had read some of my thoughts, and was trying to soothe me now. I let him. It felt nice to have someone notice when I needed soothing.

My mom glanced at us and smiled, dropping the paper and pencil. “Wow, what a funny thing. This house feels so right to me, and now this beer idea just got me thinking about the future in a way I didn’t imagine possible this morning. Thank you, Salil.”

“You do not need to thank me. I am as excited about the herbal charm-drinks as you are, truly. As for my home…it speaks to you because you are an earth witch, and it was built by earth Fae. Most of the Fae of my line were earth based. In many ways, this home is more you than me.”

I closed my eyes and leaned into Salil, and without effort a vision came to me. I saw my mom living here, the house all decorated for Yule. Salil and I were visiting, she opened the door for us and we hung our coats, complimented the tree, and commented on the smell of gingerbread. I opened my eyes and rubbed my hand over my face.

“You all right, sweetie?” My mom was watching me, concern wrinkling her brow.

“Fine. I guess I’m just tired.” I didn’t want to think about the things that vision implied. That Salil and I would live together, that my mom would live here, that we’d still be together whenever that vision was, maybe years in the future.

She nodded and stretched her arms over her head. “Me, too. Today was a bit of an emotional roller coaster for me. You boys mind if I go to sleep?” She gathered up the cards, sliding them all into the box neatly.

Salil collected all the glasses and bottles and stood. “Let me get your room ready, Maria. This house is solid, but it is old and can be drafty. I’ll light the stove and find you some extra quilts.”

She smiled at him, and though he’d already turned away and didn’t see it, I saw the love in her expression.
We’re a family
. I sat there, on the rug alone, and tried to absorb the knowledge that somehow in the last few weeks Salil had become a permanent part of my life.

My mom leaned down and kissed me goodnight, then followed Salil upstairs.

I was still sitting there when he returned, and he tilted his head at me. “Are you upset, love?”

“No. Not at all. Just thinking.”

“Hmm.” He sat next to me, pulled me into his arms, and kissed my neck. His tongue darted out and he licked my skin, a shock of sensation that sent a jolt of desire through me. Unexpected, that I would be able to feel anything so pleasurable on this day. “Ready for bed?”

The thought of just snuggling with him was so much more exciting than sex with most of my previous boyfriends had been. I wondered how long this connection would last. Would his skin always feel electric to me? How long would we continue to be prone to losing track of time?

“It happens now, let’s enjoy it.” He whispered in my ear, and I laughed, realizing I’d forgotten to mask my thoughts.

I know it’s a cliché reaction, but I insisted on rebuilding right away. Before the disaster aid paperwork was even all filed I’d hired Maxwell as contractor and began working with the first architect he recommended. I spent the next few weeks standing in lines, going to meetings, and pacing with my phone to my ear while on hold with various government agencies and insurance companies. Finally, everything was in place. It would still be a while before any real work could begin; early winter on the water isn’t the best time to break ground. But everyone promised it would happen with as much speed as possible.

I’d been working, though it wasn’t as convenient getting into town from Salil’s. His portal abilities knocked ten minutes of walking time off the journey, but having to trek to the circular field was a pain in the ass. I left my car at the Covenstead, with my massage table in it, but I had to allow an extra twenty minutes of travel time to get anywhere.

My mom, on the other hand, was delighted with the location. Salil’s family had planted dozens of varieties of herbs and trees around the house, many that were non-native and hard to find. Some had even been protected by complex spells, allowing them to survive the harsh northern winter. Salil’s kitchen was an ideal working area, and he had more than enough tools and supplies to make her charms. At least once each week she traveled with me to town, and spent a few days staying with Ren and Dana.

It was clear to us all that my mom would live in Salil’s house for the rest of her life. The one time she broached the topic he seemed almost offended she felt the need to ask, telling her it was her house already. The implication, of course, was that Salil would live with me in the new house on the water. Weirdly, I had no problem with that plan.

On Yule, we went to a breakfast at the coven and then visited with Ren and Dana for the afternoon. The day was warm, for December, and when we got home Salil and I took advantage of the weather with a few beers out on his garden bench.

“I’m fairly certain I should tell you this.” Considering he was nervously tapping his fingers against the armrest, I gathered he had his doubts.

“Okay.”

“You should combine your skills.”

“What does that mean?”

“Healing, massage, and premonition. You could offer a more thorough consultation if you did so. I realize you could never fully explain it to humans, but other witches could benefit. A massage, herbal aromatherapy, a healing if needed, and a reading. That would be a great experience for witches under stress or just wanting assistance. You could have a profitable business, and you would be helping people. Perhaps consider it?” He kissed my cheek and walked back inside, not waiting for a response.

“Huh.” I swirled the last inch of beer around in the bottle as the idea grew on me.

I already did readings for my mom, Maxwell, Jasper, and a few other friends. I often cured their small illnesses as well. If a person asked for help, I was free to do so. The trouble was, I couldn’t do it to humans, because they couldn’t be told about my skill. And healing someone without their knowledge was against our law. Doing anything, even something potentially helpful, to someone without their permission was a violation of their autonomy.

My mother could sell her charms to humans, because for some reason humans had enough superstition to believe in charm magic. The ones who bought them knew exactly what they wanted, and enough belief to make an informed choice to use them. If anyone noticed my mother’s charms actually worked, as opposed to the fake spells sold in so many other new-age shops, no one ever commented. But if I went around curing people’s diseases and telling them their futures with pinpoint accuracy, the word would get out.

I thought about it, turning over the possible clients, what I might have to do, how I could market myself. If I stuck to witches for the more supernatural services, and still offered standard massage to humans, I would do well. Yes, this would be good for me.