covencraft 04 - dry spells (14 page)

Oh holy God, she was going to send Jade over there. To the other side. The demon side. In a panic, Jade threw out as much power as she could, imagining in her mind Sakkara’s body being set afire, burning down to a crisp. It felt like the magical equivalent of punching a steel wall. Her magic rebounded back at her with a quick flick of Sakkara’s free hand. The power rippled and bubbled under Jade’s skin until it finally settled uneasily back into her veins. Looking up, Jade saw a group of sparrows swirling madly above them, spiraling into a tight tornado. They shrieked and squawked.

“A host of sparrows to facilitate your journey. My mistress must be watching,” Sakkara said. She started speaking, her words strange and harsh. It sounded like a thousand screeching animals, clawing over one another, ripping and tearing.

If magic wouldn’t work, then maybe plain brute force would. Jade tipped over onto her butt and kicked out, her feet hitting Sakkara right in the knees. Jade snapped up her elbow and hit Sakkara in the nose, sending her stumbling back, nostrils already dripping blood. The horrible screeching stopped and Jade flipped over onto her belly and scrabbled at the earth, crawling away. She staggered to her feet and was about to start running when Sakkara grabbed onto her ponytail and yanked yard, pulling her backward to land solidly on her ass again, her teeth snapping shut painfully.

“I must admit, I didn’t see that coming,” Sakkara said, her tone grudging. “You’ve got pluck. It will serve you well over there.” Sakkara’s hand came down on her shoulder again, a whispered word falling from her lips at the same time. Jade felt anchored to the spot, as if gravity were stronger under her bones, dragging her to the earth. Sakkara started an incantation again and, as Jade twisted and turned, she dug her fingers into Jade’s shoulder. Jade felt something sharp break through the fabric of her jacket and thermal top and pierce her skin, holding her in place like tenterhooks.

Jade screamed in annoyance, in rage, in fear. It was an ugly animal sound that horrified her. If she’d heard that sound coming from someone else, she’d think they were dead or dying for sure. She needed magic, she needed escape, she needed help.

“This rune will bind you to the other side until you’re successful. Once you have the token, you’ll be unbound and able to return.”

Oh Jesus, this was really happening. Sakkara traced runes in the sky and they burned bright and silver for brief moments before flaring out of existence. The air around Jade went shimmery and hazy, the sky wavering and flickering in front of her, like heat coming of a pavement.

It was like when Seth appeared in her pantry.

Seth.

Before Jade even knew she meant to do it, she was screaming again, but this time, it wasn’t a wordless sound of pain or horror. She screamed with intent.

“Seth!”

Sakkara kept chanting, her hand on Jade’s shoulder feeling hot and heavy.

“Seth, I need you!”

Sakkara’s fingers, or claws - Jade wasn’t sure -dug deeper into her shoulder and a quick whine escaped Jade’s lips. God damn it, he said if she called, he had to come. Lying sack of shit. Taking a deep breath, Jade put every ounce of magic and will she had into her next words.

“Seth! I need you now! You get your ass here!”

Jade saw him then, in the forest, just behind Sakkara. A small dot appeared and then it was if he unfolded into being, a horrible tearing sound preceding him. He was bent forward, hands on his knees. While she normally only got the impression of a tail when she wasn’t looking directly at him, this time, she could see it flicking behind him, swishing side to side. He raised his head and his eyes fixed on Jade immediately. He was furious. She got a dizzying sense of vertigo and blinked, wanting to break eye contact, but unable to. She listed to the side until Sakkara held her upright, her claws digging into Jade’s shoulder. The forest started disappearing around Jade, a pale teal sky replacing the slightly overcast winter one. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw dark shapes rising up around her, stark and spindly. The wind across her face was hot, the ground under her hands was no longer earth, but sand. Warm, prickly sand.

Well, better the devil you know,
she thought. “Seth!” Jade called again.

He was beside her in a moment, looking like he wanted to rear back, but unable to get his feet beneath him. She reached out, her fingers caught the fabric of the t-shirt he wore, and she
pulled
.

Her world went black.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Still reeling from the realization his mother was with Jade, somewhere, Paris heard a popping sound from the pantry. Both he and Lily turned their heads in unison toward it.

“Seth,” Lily whispered just as the demon appeared. Paris stood up so fast he knocked his chair over. It fell to the floor with a loud clatter.

Seth smirked at the sound, his coal-black eyes flicked from Paris to Lily. “Oh,” he said, his shoulders slouching in defeat. “Just the Englishman and the understudy.”

“What are you doing here?” Paris asked, keeping his voice even.

Seth smiled and Paris fought the urge to step backward. “Big magic afoot. Mommy Dearest is quite busy. I thought if I came here I’d get a front-row seat, but…” He craned his head. “No luck. Hmph.”

“What kind of magic?” Paris moved as he spoke, coming to stand between Lily and Seth. Seth watched his progress with careful eyes.

“How gallant, protecting her. But the carbon copy doesn’t interest me.”

“Hey!” blurted Lily.

Seth laughed at her outrage. “I’m sure you’re quite lovely and an all-around average witch. But I’ve a history with dear Possum and I see big things for her in the future. Big. As for what kind of magic?” His eyes flicked to Paris again. “Your mother’s quite the task-master. You know, consent is so important and your mother won’t take no for an answer.”

Paris’ skin went cold. “What’s she done?”

“It’s what she’s about to do.” Seth looked at Lily. “You can feel it, can’t you? Sakkara’s magic?”

Paris turned to Lily, saw her eyes darting around, seeing everywhere but the kitchen. She took a step backward.

“Lily?” Paris asked.

“She can’t get away. She can’t.”

Her words raised gooseflesh on his arms. They had to leave. Now. Go after Jade and his mother. Lily must have had the same thought as she grabbed his hand and started pulling him out of the kitchen.

A choking sound made them pause. Paris turned back to the pantry, seeing Seth straining at the edge of the warding, pushing against it - his face grim, his teeth bared.

“What are you doing? You can’t break her wards,” Paris said, although he wasn’t sure. Jade was excellent at demon magic and powerful, but he didn’t know if her demon warding could hold off against Seth straining against it.

“I’m not doing it by choice,” Seth grit out. “She’s calling me.”

“My mother?” Paris asked, dumbfounded.

Seth snorted. “Hardly. I’d lick the bottom of my demon-infested shoes before I answered a call from her.” He gagged, bending forward a bit as though in pain.

“Jade,” Lily breathed. Paris’ eyes flicked to her and back to the demon, who nodded.

“I told her to call if she needed me, with intent. She’s a quick study.” Seth’s voice was low as he muttered. He gave a horrible grunt which was followed by a high-pitched shrieking sound that seemed to come from the pantry itself. He folded in on himself, like he was only two-dimensional instead of three, and then only one, dissolving to a pinpoint.

Then silence.

“What the fuck was that?” Lily said, her voice barely audible.

Paris tore his eyes from the pantry to look at her. “What do you see? What can you hear? Anything?”

Lily shook her head for a moment and then stared off to the side and flinched. She pressed a hand against her chest and her face went pale and slightly grey. There was a loud thump from the living room and then the skittering sound of Bruce’s talons on the hardwood.

Bruce came barreling into the kitchen, staring accusingly at both Lily and Paris. He spat three times on the ground and then let out a horrific sound - like a set of bagpipes being squeezed by an unskilled hand - out of tune and droning.

“What?” Paris demanded, wanting to reach out and touch Lily, or Bruce, but not sure if he should.

“She’s… gone.” Lily blinked a few times, looking around like she wasn’t sure what she was seeing. Bruce let out another loud, mournful sound and then flopped onto his side, falling against Paris’ leg as he did. Paris stumbled a bit under his bulk.

“Bruce,” Paris began, not sure what to say or do. “We’ve got to get to the Preserve,” he managed, speaking to Lily, sparing one last glance at the now silent and dark pantry. He took two steps into the living room, leaving the kitchen, stopping short when he realized Lily wasn’t behind him.

Lily shook her head, standing in the kitchen, looking shocky and pale.

“No, it’s too late. She’s gone,” she repeated. Bruce thumped his tail against the floor and let out a different noise, a kind of whimper.

“Gone where?” he asked.

“I don’t know! She’s just… not here anymore.” Lily rubbed at a spot on her chest and then touched a hand to her temple.

“Just…We’ll go to the Preserve and figure this out. My mother…” he choked on the word, and started again. “Sakkara can’t have…” If they could just move, if they could just go to the Preserve and see… something, do something.

“Can’t have what? What can’t she have done?” Lily asked, her voice going high-pitched and loud. “Can’t have faked her own death? Can’t have stalked us in Jade’s dreams? Can’t have come here and asked Jade to face the goddamn Gorgon?”

Lily’s eyes were even more green than usual as she stared at him, or maybe he was comparing them too much to Jade’s in that moment. He paused, waiting for something, not sure what at first, and then it hit him like a punch to the gut. He was waiting for a burst of magic. Jade’s magic. She was still so new, so untrained that when she got angry or upset, there would often be a flare of power from her, unskilled and inexperienced, bursting out of her. Her power was so raw and immense she lost control of it.

But from Lily, there was nothing. Just wide eyes and heavy silence.

“You tell me what you think your mother wouldn’t do,” added Lily, her gaze accusing.

“I don’t know,” Paris said. “But standing here isn’t getting us any answers.”

Lily looked down at Bruce, his tongue lolling out of his mouth, touching the floor. “Oh, Bruce.” She made a move like she was going to hunker down and Paris had a thought that if she did, she’d never get back up.

“We should go to the Preserve. Find Sakkara.” He couldn’t bear to call her his mother at the moment.

Lily looked from Bruce to him and then nodded slowly. “Okay,” she said. She took a short, sharp breath and then said it again. “Okay.”

Bruce stayed on the floor where he was. Lily called his name when they got to the foyer and she stared searching for shoes.

“Bruce, let’s go. Let’s go find Jade.”

“I don’t think he’s getting up right now,” Paris replied, watching Bruce from across the room. The lizard’s tail thumped once more on the ground and he let out another pitiful whine.

Lily spared him a quick glance and then was back in the closet, searching.

“Just grab the first pair of shoes you find,” Paris snapped, pulling his coat and shoes on.

“I’m trying, but we only have one pair of everything and she took the runners! And the boots are at the shoe place getting a heel replaced and I don’t know where she put our other things! And I can’t… I can’t read it in her head right now. I’m just getting…” Her fingers waved madly around her hair and his stomach rolled at what it might mean. Was Jade ill? Perhaps even dead? He took a breath, deciding to focus on just getting them out of the cottage and to the Preserve.

“All I’ve got is this.” Lily tossed one sparkly high-heeled sandal out of the closet, hard enough for it to leave a dent in the drywall behind him. He vaguely recognized it as one of the shoes Jade had worn to the Coven Ball. Lily made a frustrated sound and then yanked out a flat shoe followed by its mate. “Jesus, okay, this will do. God, I can’t find shit to wear for the forest. We don’t have a lot of those kinds of things!” She pulled a rather nice wool coat off its hanger roughly. It was entirely unsuitable for hiking in the Preserve, but he supposed it couldn’t be helped. “And we only have the one running jacket and she’s got it. This is ridiculous! We haven’t even had time to go shopping.”

Paris didn’t know what to say as Lily said “fuck” about four times as she pulled harshly on the belt of her coat, tying it shut.

“Okay, let’s go.”

#

Jade opened her eyes, not entirely sure if she’d been unconscious or asleep or something else. She was on her belly, the ground under her hands. The earth was hard and warm as she pushed herself her knees. She didn’t recognize anything she saw. She was in some kind of desert landscape - only recognizable because of old spaghetti westerns she’d watched during insomniac nights. An honest-to-God tumbleweed blew past her, moving faster than the wind on her face would lead her to believe was possible. It squirmed and writhed over itself - a thing alive. She watched it, afraid to blink, as it moved away.

It was quiet. Too quiet. Her ears strained to pick up a sound other than her own heart beating and the soft wind. It was harshly bright and she squinted. Desiccated trees with leafless branches clawed their fingers toward a teal-colored sky, framed in the background by red-rock hills. The hills weren’t large enough to be mountainous, but too large to climb just for a day hiking. Not that she was much of a hiker. The strange teal color of the sky made her brain stutter. With the sun as high as it was, the sky should be a bright, clear blue, with yellow-based light. Instead the teal was far too deep and green, and when she look down at her hands, it was as though the light the sun gave off had a grey cast to it, making her skin look dirty.