Between Light and Dark (19 page)

"I want to use it when I ovulate."

Fiona didn't bother to keep the surprise from her face.
"You mean during sex with Axiom?"

Laurell nodded. "It's no big deal. Hillary just thought I
could use it for confidence or something."

"She did, huh?" Fiona remembered that day in the ritual
circle, the first time Laurell had attempted elemental work.
Laurell had clearly been distressed by the thought of having sex with Axiom. Or maybe the girl was just upset she
had to couple with Axiom instead of Reese.

Fiona smiled, an idea dawning. "Well, one thing I've
learned is you never argue with Hillary."

That evening, Laurell perched on the edge of a chair in her
cabin, arms resting on the scratched mahogany table in
front of her, eyes narrowed as she focused on the mirror before her. At each side of the glass a lit candle burned. No
other light illuminated the room, and shadows stirred and
crawled over the walls. In the distance, a bird made a keening sound, the only noise to mar the stillness and quietude
of the night.

She peered at the mirror, barely able to see her features, so veiled were they in darkness. She angled forward to form a
triangle of candles and mirror, her face the centerpiece. She
clutched the charm Fiona had provided, a voluptuous goddess etched in silver and hanging from a black leather cord.

Starlight, star bright, first star I see tonight. The childhood
chant burst into her mind unbidden and she almost giggled. She'd never said a spell before. To do so now filled her
with the giddy hopefulness she'd experienced as a child
wishing upon the evening's first star.

She squeezed her eyes shut and focused her will on the
chant Fiona had made her memorize. Believe in yourself. You
have to believe with all you are for this to work.

"Mighty Venus, goddess of beauty and grace. Enfold me
now in your strong embrace. The power is mine to enhance
my form as I see fit. An appearance most striking does your
magic beget. I take within the ability to transform my outer
shell. And all who view me, I enchant with this spell."

Laurell dropped the talisman over her neck. When she'd
finished the chant, she opened her eyes and waited expectantly. The air around her shifted, became weighted. A
trickle of electricity whispered over her skin and her face
tingled. She jumped from her chair and raced to the nearest lamp, flipping it on before resuming her seat.

Hmmmm. The face reflected back to her from the mirror
showed no signs of alteration. She crossed the room to get a
full-body view in the bathroom mirror. No change. She grimaced. Maybe others would see the changes, but not herself? Laurell didn't remember Fiona saying that was the case.
She had said that Laurell and others would sense something
was different, would notice Laurell's beauty was enhanced,
but the changes would be subtle enough so as not to cause
alarm. Like getting a makeover. I'm supposed to look like me,
only at my very best, Laurell thought.

Maybe Fiona was playing some kind of joke on her. The redhead had insisted that once Laurell experienced the tingle of magical current, the spell was complete. Well, she'd
felt the tingle alright, but so far the spell was a bust.

Fiona sure had some nerve. Laurell wished it weren't so
late at night. She'd have to wait until morning to confront
the other woman.

She paced the room a few more times, too agitated even
to think about sleeping. On her third time past the bathroom mirror, she caught a glimpse of her profile and pivoted
for another look. Was it just her, or did her nose suddenly appear larger?

The next morning, Laurell stood in front of her bathroom
mirror and craned her neck to view her face from every possible angle. She blinked a few times to clear her eyes. Her
features seemed normal again; her nose was its usual size and
shape-medium, straight, and nondescript. She must have
imagined its change. She really needed to start getting more
sleep.

She quickly dressed in her usual jeans and selected a
black sweater that hugged her ample breasts a bit more than
she'd have liked. She needed to do laundry, so the sweater
would have to suffice. She headed to the door, planning to
find Fiona and confront her about the spell's efficacy or lack
thereof.

Ah! Almost forgot. She halted and scanned the room for
the charged talisman. No doubt if she failed to wear it,
Fiona would tell her its absence was what had kept the spell
from working.

She spied the little silver goddess nestled amidst papers
and books on the night table where she'd left it. She slipped
the necklace over her head and went to find a certain High
Priestess.

"Wow, look at you!" Fiona exclaimed, doing her best to keep
her eyes from widening at the sight Laurell presented. The
other woman was striding purposefully around the corner of the main house, jaw set, her displeasure so evident Fiona
could sense its presence even before she caught sight of her.
The brunette bolted up the porch steps and halted in front
of her, lips pursed, head cocked to one side.

Fiona tucked the book she'd been reading beneath her arm
and rose from her seat. "So," she said. "I see the spell worked."

Laurell's jaw dropped. "Worked? What are you talking
about? Nothing has changed. Not even when I wear this
damn talisman, which I charged just as you instructed."

Fiona bit back a derisive snort. It had been a simple spell,
but a doozy. She studied the other woman, admiring her
handiwork. Laurell's features seemed different, but in such a
way that one couldn't quite pinpoint what was wrong. Her
eyes appeared closer together, her nose longer, lips thinner.
Fiona's gaze raked Laurell's body. Just as she'd suspected, the
spell made it appear that the natural witch had put on fifteen
pounds overnight. Laurell's appearance was striking, alright.

"The spell worked very well, silly. You look gorgeous.
Didn't I tell you that you yourself wouldn't be able to see
the difference?"

Laurell frowned. "You left that part out."

"I'm so sorry. I should have told you. Only other people
can perceive the changes. Goddess, how stupid of me."

Laurell's eyes narrowed as though she suspected she wasn't
getting the straight story from Fiona, who flashed her best attempt at an innocent smile.

"Look, if you don't believe me, go try it out on someone
else. I think Reese is in the living room." Fiona waved her
hand toward the main house with feigned nonchalance.

"Fine, but you'd better be telling me the truth," Laurell
ground out, turning on her heel and heading back the way
she'd come. Fiona settled back into her chair. Perhaps once
Reese got a look at the new Laurell, his infatuation would
wane.

"Don't forget to keep the talisman on!" she thought to
call out after Laurell. "If you take it off, the spell won't
work."

A muffled uh-huh confirmed Laurell had heard her. It was
almost too easy. A sliver of guilt sliced through Fiona. What
she was doing wasn't very nice. It didn't befit a High Priestess. But she couldn't seem to help herself. She'd lost her sister already, and stood to lose Reese, too. She couldn't take
another loss in her life at the moment. If one little spell
gone awry could keep that from happening, surely the Goddess would forgive her. Wouldn't she?

"You sure you're feeling okay?" Thumper asked with a wrinkled brow and a flicker of concern in his bespectacled
brown eyes.

"Fine," Laurell said, agitation creeping into her voice.
Why did everyone keep asking if she felt well? First Reese,
then Hillary, and now Thumper, too.

He shrugged. "You look tired." Laurell bit her lip. She
hadn't had a very restful sleep the previous night, but the way
everyone acted, one would think she hadn't slept in days.

"Other than that, how do I look?" she pressed.

Thumper got that expression men get when a woman
asks them if her outfit makes her look fat. "Ummm. Good.
You ... well, you always look good."

Laurell sucked in air and willed herself to be patient.
Why couldn't she get a straight answer from anyone? Reese
had insisted she was beautiful when she'd approached him
and asked if he noticed anything different about her. He'd
almost convinced her he meant his words, until she noticed
how his gaze kept flitting over her face and form as though
searching for a lost relic.

Hillary had pushed herbal cold and flu remedies on her
and insisted she lie down for a while. She'd sought out Thumper as a last resort, finding him holed up in his cabin,
concocting some strange potion in test tubes and beakers.

"Do you need me for anything?" Thumper's voice pulled
Laurell back to the present, his tone laced with nervousness. She sighed and shook her head.

"No. I'll see you at dinner," she said, not missing the relief that spread over his features as she left.

Later, Laurell entered her own cabin and tossed the useless talisman on her desk. Either Fiona had outright lied to
her, or she really did look sick. Just to be on the safe side,
she decided to take the nap everyone seemed to think she
so desperately required.

"What's the deal, Fiona?" Laurell didn't bother to hide her
anger when she sought out the High Priestess the next
morning after having revisited Reese, Hill, and Thumper,
minus the charged talisman. Everyone remarked at the good
a full night's rest had done. Apparently, she looked much
better. Laurell's lips thinned.

Fiona glanced up from her plateful of scrambled eggs and
paused, fork at her mouth. She patted the seat next to her
at the dining table. "Hungry? There are more eggs on the
stove. Probably not cold yet."

Laurell's eyes shot daggers at her. "Ignoring my question
won't cut it. What game are you playing, and more important, why?"

Fiona stuffed more eggs in her mouth. She chewed slowly.
"What do you mean?" she finally asked.

Laurell suppressed a groan. "The glamour spell you gave
me. There was something wrong with it. Everyone kept saying I looked sick or tired or both." Come to think of it, she
was sick and tired. Of Fiona's nastiness. She should have
known better than to ask the other woman for help.

Fiona took a sip of water.

"When I saw you, you looked great. I wonder if something is off with that spell? I haven't used it in a long
time."

Laurell folded her arms over her chest and searched the
High Priestess's apple green eyes. She wanted to believe Fiona
was telling her the truth, but her gut said otherwise. Fiona's
gaze remained even, her demeanor calm and collected.

"Doesn't the Wiccan Rede say to harm none?" Maybe
she could shame Fiona into honesty.

Fiona blinked. "Have I harmed you?"

Laurell raised her eyebrows. "If I'd put that talisman on
and then started to ovulate ... if Axiom and I had gone off
to make a baby, and for some reason my sudden trip into
Uglyland caused him to retreat ... that could have been a
bad thing, don't you think? A major missed opportunity?
Harmful even?" She didn't mention that the yearning probably would have driven Axiom to have sex with her, even if
she were a two-headed, one-eyed, hairy monster.

Fiona stared. I've got her, Laurell thought. She waited for
the confession.

"I guess you shouldn't use the talisman, just in case." Fiona
stood, expression blank, and scooped up her plate and cup.
"I'll double-check that spell. Sorry it didn't work for you."

The High Priestess placed her dishes in the kitchen sink.
Apparently there'd be no confession this morning.

"Wassup, witchy women?" Reese swooped into the room
in a wave of sweet-scented sage that clung to his jean-andsweater-clad body. He grabbed an empty plate and scooped
some eggs and bacon from the stove. "Mornin', Laurell,
mornin', Fi," he said.

Laurell mumbled a hello. Fiona flashed him a grin. Reese
paused in his breakfast routine and tilted his head, staring at
Fiona. "Wow, H.P., you look mighty fine this A.M."

The High Priestess in question viewed Reese through veiled lashes. Her face flushed. She tossed her loose braid
over one shoulder and licked rose-tinted lips, then smoothed
her forest green blouse over her matching velvet skirt. Laurell realized Fiona was wearing rather fancy attire for a casual
breakfast.

Realization dawned. Fiona has a crush. Fiona's lips parted,
but before she could respond, Reese pivoted toward the
dining room.

"Don't think I forgot about you, au naturel witch," Reese
teased. "You always look smashing." Reese winked at Laurell and disappeared into the living room.

Fiona's previously bright expression turned sour. Her jaw
hardened. She focused on Laurell. "Eat quickly. We've a lot
of work to do."

Now why did that sound like a threat?

Axiom traipsed through the woods, eyes scanning his surroundings with keen focus. Leaves crunched beneath his
feet and tiny woodland creatures scurried about-squirrels,
birds, snakes, rabbits. He tugged his long, black wool coat
around himself, fighting off the unfamiliar chill in his
bones. He would not miss this cold when he returned to the
Light Realm. He shivered. As a god, he did not experience
such things. He was impervious to cold, heat, hunger, fatigue, and desire.