Between Light and Dark (17 page)

Laurell and Axiom jumped to their feet. A moment
later, the branches parted and Hillary bounded past them
toward the house, cloak billowing behind her, Wayne fast
on her heels. Reese appeared, carrying Lynn in his arms.
Dawna hovered next to them, eyes wide with worry.

"I told you, you don't need to carry me. I can walk," Lynn
insisted. Her chocolate brown cloak was pushed aside, and
she pressed a scrap of white cloth to one thigh. It looked like
someone's handkerchief. She struggled to be free of Reese's
arms, and he sighed loudly and set her on her feet. She immediately cried out in pain. The cloth she held darkened in
color. Blood.

"Satisfied?" Reese asked. Lynn glared.

"Is she okay?" Laurell asked. "Can I help?"

Reese shook his head. "She'll be alright. I'll take her to
Hill. She'll stitch Lynn up, and I'll bet she has a healing
salve for the wound."

Axiom stepped forward. He bent and looked closely at
the wound. "It is not deep. She will be fine."

Reese gave Lynn a pointed look. "Just because he says it's
not bad, that doesn't mean you should walk on it."

"Fine," Lynn muttered. Reese scooped her back into his
arms and trudged onward.

Dawna made to follow, but Axiom stopped her. "What
happened?"

She twisted her hands, her features scrunched with apprehension. "I was casting the protective circle on the east
side of the property. I had my arm held out with my athame
pointed, you know, to direct the energy."

Axiom nodded his understanding. "And?"

"Poe was skipping around my feet, and I was telling him
to back up so I wouldn't trip over him-"

"Poe?" Laurell interrupted, stepping forward and tilting
her head toward the other woman.

"My familiar. Poe."

"Poe's a raven. You know, a bird," Thumper said, joining
them. "Dawna can communicate telepathically with animals." Admiration tinged Thumper's words. The look on
his face made Laurell certain he had a crush on Dawna.

"Not all animals," Dawna corrected. "At least not yet.
So far, it's mostly birds. Anyway, Poe was under my feet,
and I told him to move. I bent down for a second to shoo
him out of the way, and I thought I saw something swoosh
by out of the corner of my eye."

"Swoosh by? How do you mean?" Axiom asked.

"Just that. I thought something moved in the air just outside the circle. I got spooked and spun around. Of course,
there was nothing there. Anyway, I guess I still had my arm
outstretched. Habit, you know. And that's about the time
Lynn walked up beside me. She said she called my name,
but I didn't hear her. When I'm communicating telepathically with Poe, I tune out everything else."

"And she walked into your athame?" Laurell prodded.

Dawna nodded. "Yeah. I feel awful. I should have been
paying more attention. Especially since there's the fivesecond delay to worry about." She paused and bit her lip.
"I'm gonna go check on Lynn." She pushed past them and
headed toward the house. Thumper made to follow Dawna,
then halted and turned toward the bonfire. "I've gotta put
out the fire," he murmured.

Laurell watched the young man walk away, running his
hands through his shaggy hair. "What's this five-second delay thing I keep hearing about?"

"That's how long it takes for the new protection circle to
become fortified once the old one has dissipated," Fiona said,
entering the ritual clearing, sword sheathed and strapped to
her side, crimson hair tousled from a gust of night wind.

Laurell frowned. "Isn't there some way to cast the new
circle earlier, then? Before the old one is gone?"

Fiona shook her head. "No. The prior circle dissipates on
its own at exactly midnight of the full moon, and must be
gone before we can recast."

"Why?" Laurell wondered. "Why not just recast in a different spot or something?"

Fiona sighed. "I guess you need more training than I realized," she muttered, causing Laurell's insides to twist in
embarrassment. "The circle isn't just some invisible wall set
up to keep out demonic forces. It creates a boundary between the mundane world and the magical one we inhabit.
You can't just create one magical world within another. It
doesn't work like that."

"So we're in another world here?" Laurell didn't bother
to hide her confusion. To hell with Fiona and her condescending attitude. She needed to understand this stuff, and if she
had to pry the information out of her reluctant teacher, she
would.

"Yes, inside the protection circle, we're literally in another
place, another dimension, if you will. From the outside, others can't view us. If you were to be standing outside our property right now, you'd see the trees, possibly even my house,
but not us. And you wouldn't hear us either."

Laurell's eyes widened. "So the Umbrae can't see us
here ?"

"Unfortunately, this does not apply to the Umbrae," Axiom broke in. "They do not exist in the world of men, but
on a different plane. Their Finders, however, cannot view
us here, since they are human."

Fiona seemed to be growing impatient with the conversation. She waved her hands at them as though to wave
away any concerns. "As long as you two keep your wards in
place during those five seconds, there's no way for the Umbrae to track you here. And once the circle is in place, even
if they can see you, they can't get in. Which means they
can't get close enough to harm you."

Fiona glanced around the clearing then, eyes narrowed.
"Where is everyone? Aren't they back yet from the casting?
I sensed the protection spell was secure a while ago."

"You did not hear of Lynn's accident?" Axiom asked.

Fiona's spine stiffened, and she shook her head.

"Apparently Dawna got spooked and Lynn walked up at
the wrong time and was injured by Dawna's athame.
They're up at the house now," Laurell explained.

"Do not be alarmed," Axiom said. "The wound was not
deep."

A dark shadow crossed Fiona's face, and she muttered
something unintelligible.

"It's okay. She looked like she'd be fine," Laurell assured.

"I know she'll be okay," Fiona said. "It's just . . ." For the
first time, Fiona lost her arrogant self-assuredness.

"Just what?" Laurell pressed.

"An athame should never shed blood. As omens go, this
one's pretty bad."

As though to emphasize Fiona's words, a gust of wind
barreled through the clearing, kicking up dirt and leaves
and sending an ominous chill over Laurell's skin.

The next morning, Laurell found Lynn and Dawna relaxing
on the porch outside the main house. Lynn reclined in a
lawn chair, her injured leg elevated on some pillows, a blanket strewn across her lap.

"Mornin'," Laurell murmured, sitting down next to the other two women. Lynn's sky blue eyes met hers with
warmth and she nodded.

"How's it goin'?" Lynn asked.

"I'm good. How's the leg?" Laurell motioned to the limb
in question and took a sip of coffee from the mug she held
in her stiff fingers. It was getting colder by the day.

"My leg's okay. Thank Goddess for Hill. She stitched me
up and gave me some painkillers and antibiotics. I'll be
good as new before you know it," Lynn said.

"Is Hillary a doctor?" Laurell wondered how she'd missed
that bit of information.

"She's a nurse practitioner. And a midwife. We're lucky
to have her. You'll be glad she's around when you get ready
to deliver."

At the mention of the child she'd yet to conceive, Laurell swallowed more coffee and looked at the sky. No sun
today. Clouds puckered over the treetops and a brisk breeze
stirred the branches. Brown leaves still clung to some of
the tree limbs, but she suspected they'd be bare soon.

"You look frozen," Dawna said to Laurell.

Laurell tucked her head farther into her jacket, trying to
keep her ears from the wind. "Yeah, well, it's a tad bit
colder here than it is in Florida. How do you guys stand it?"

Dawna flipped her blue-black hair over one sweater-clad
shoulder and shrugged. "Used to it, I suppose. It'll be snowing before you know it, so enjoy this weather while you
can.

"Snow?" Laurell couldn't remember the last time she'd
seen snow.

"We're only a week from Samhain-or Halloween, as the
rest of the world refers to it. Weatherman forecasts a white
and chilly November," Lynn said.

"Poe, you little rascal, come here!" Dawna jumped to her
feet and scampered across the porch to crouch in front of a black bird perched on the edge of the wooden railing. Laurell craned her neck and watched with amazement as the
bird hopped across the railing toward his friend.

"Kraw! Kraw!" cried the raven. As it moved, a tiny purple string tied to one of its legs trailed loosely behind it.

"Oh, you goof, your bow is untied." Dawna stroked one
finger over the bird's head before retying the bow. The bird
watched her, not moving as she finished her task.

"What's the string for?" Laurell wondered.

Dawna glanced over her shoulder. "It's just so I can keep an
eye on him and so you guys always know which bird is Poe."

"Hillary came out of the shower once to find Poe sitting
on her bed, and she thought he was a wild bird that got in
our cabin," Lynn said with a wry smile.

"She was swatting at him with a broom when I came in
and found him flying all over the room, squawking,"
Dawna finished. "I used to share a cabin with Hill."

Dawna turned back to the bird. "You go fly now. Get
something good to eat. I think I saw a dead mouse or a squirrel or something on the east side of the property."

The bird tilted its head to one side. "Kraw!" Then the
raven took flight and, sure enough, headed toward the east.

"That's amazing," Laurell remarked, shaking her head.

Dawna resumed her seat by Lynn. She stroked the other
woman's hand affectionately. "Yeah. Poe's pretty cool. Lynn
and I share a cabin now, so he's allowed to come around
when he wants."

Lynn grinned. "I'm used to the little guy by now." She
lifted one hand and touched Dawna's cheek. "Dawna's familiar is always welcome in our cabin." Their eyes met and
Dawna blew Lynn a kiss.

It suddenly dawned on Laurell the two women were a couple. Ah, well. To each her own. The two certainly seemed
happy.

Laurell's chest constricted. She'd hoped once to have
someone look at her the way Lynn did Dawna. Deep down
she still dreamed of loving someone so much she'd do anything for that person. Even put up with a wild bird hanging
out in her cabin. What must it be like to love and be loved
like that?

Laurell entered the Astral Plane with trepidation. Not only
did being there mean communicating with her mother, but
the last time she'd visited, the Umbrae had made an appearance. She shuddered. She really could do without seeing those vile creatures again. She glanced at the orange
sand beneath her feet and the gray, smoke-filled sky, then
remembered what she'd learned from her previous visit.
She'd focused her will, and the ground soon sparkled like
diamonds, while the sky turned luminescent violet.

The air shimmered, contracted, and a moment later,
Elaine appeared, clad in a flowing white dress, her dark hair
curling around her shoulders. Elaine smiled. Laurell simply
stared.

"I'm so glad to see you," her mother exclaimed.

"We need to talk," Laurell said.

Elaine nodded briskly. "You're right. We've lots to discuss.
But first, please know the Council has determined Anne's
death was caused by the Umbrae, just as mine was. And they
have no reason to believe the Umbrae know of the coven's
location. So you should be safe there."

Laurell heard her mother's words, but they passed by ears
numb to anything but the words just as mine was. She blinked,
and her hands twisted at her sides. "Did you just say the Umbrae killed you?"

"Yes, I did. The Council is pretty certain the Umbrae
caused me to fall from the balcony," Elaine confirmed.

Laurell shook her head. "No. No, you killed yourself."
Was the woman having delusions in her spirit life? "The
coroner ruled your death a suicide."

"He was wrong. I was pushed," her mother insisted.

Laurell frowned. "But Riley-"

Elaine groaned. "Yes, I told Riley I'd kill myself if he left,
but I said it tongue in cheek. I was being sarcastic, and he
knew it. I can't believe he told the newspapers that!"

Laurell bit her lip. She didn't know what to think. She'd
just spent weeks angry and hurt that her mother hadn't
wanted to go on living-not even for her only daughter.

"Think about it," Elaine continued. "I was at the height
of my career. Why would I want to die? Just because Riley
wanted to shack up with some whore half his age?"

"But you were always so concerned about appearances,"
Laurell said. "I thought-"

Elaine sighed heavily and stepped closer. Her slender
hands rested on Laurell's shoulders, and her hazel eyes met
their likeness in her daughter's gaze. "I know. You had every
reason to believe Riley. I was selfish, self-centered, and controlling. Part of me wanted to curl up and hide when I
learned of his betrayal. Not because I was hurt so much as
because I was mortified that the world would know. But if
there's one thing you should know about me, it's that my career came before everything and everyone."