covencraft 04 - dry spells (3 page)

“Thank you, Lily,” Sakkara said, nodding in her direction.

“I didn’t do it for you.” Lily crossed her arms over her chest and sat back in her chair. “What’s your favor?”

Sakkara’s eyes darted toward Paris and then back toward both Jade and Lily. “It’s rather difficult to explain.”

“We’re smart,” Jade said. “We’ll keep up.”

Sakkara swallowed. “Yes. Well.” God, she sounded so much like Paris. Or maybe Paris sounded like her, Jade didn’t know. Even while keeping her focus on Sakkara, her eyes were still drawn to Paris periodically to check on how he was doing. His body was ramrod straight and stock-still. While he was always slightly formal at the Coven, lately he’d been a bit more relaxed around Jade. That ease and comfort was completely gone in the presence of Sakkara.

“A long time ago, my… employer, for lack of a better word, had several… objects of great importance taken from her. She’s been trying to get them back. She needs you to retrieve one of them.”

“Who’s your employer and what’s the object?” Jade asked quickly. She didn’t like all the long pauses Sakkara was using. She was too careful in the way she picked and chose her words. The hesitations as she spoke worried Jade.

Sakkara blinked in surprise at Jade’s questions. “I had hoped we could ease into the details of the errand gently.”

“We’re not gentle people,” Lily supplied, her hand coming to rest on the back of Jade’s chair.

“I hardly see the need for dallying around the topic, Mother,” Paris added.

“Of course,” Sakkara replied smoothly. “I work for an Egyptian goddess.”

The kitchen, already silent, went fat and heavy with the weight of Sakkara’s proclamation. Lily looked at Jade, Jade looked back at her. Then they both turned and looked to Paris who was staring at his mother.

“You work for a goddess?” he repeated.

“Yes. Since I left the coven.”

“You mean since you faked your death,” Jade clarified.

Sakkara inclined her head once in agreement. “Yes.”

“Define ‘work,’” Lily said, making a set of air quotes around the word. “Do you get a salary? Is this something you applied for, or something you’re obligated to do?”

“I’m under a contractual obligation to her.”

“You made a deal with her,” Jade said, understanding suddenly. She remembered when she’d first met Seth and the research she did about him, finding out he was the Egyptian god Set. If Sakkara was under obligation to another Egyptian deity, it was probably a demon as well. Paris and Jade had also found three demon grimoires belonging to Sakkara - magic spell books that dealt only with demon magic, hexes, curses and runes. “She’s a demon, like Seth.”

Paris’ eyes narrowed as his mother shifted in discomfort in her seat slightly. “Yes,” Sakkara answered.

“What was the deal?” Paris asked.

Sakkara brushed at the table, as though she found crumbs or debris on the tabletop. It wasn’t pristine, but it certainly didn’t have food left on it. Jade wouldn’t win any awards as a housekeeper, but she was okay at. Mostly. Okay-ish.

“It’s not relevant to the errand at hand.” Sakkara folded her hands back in her lap primly.

“The hell it isn’t.”

Jade recognized that tone of Paris’. It was the tone he got when he was really angry and a step away from knocking his hand agains the table. It had this sort of repressed sensation to it - like she was watching a pressure cooker that needed a better release valve. She’d only seen him get that angry once and frankly, at the time, she’d been pretty choked to be on the receiving end of his tone and the accompanying glare. It was a lot more comfortable being on this side of it.

“Paris, please. I’m here on behalf of my employer.” Sakkara ignored Jade’s snort and continued. “I’m here,” she repeated, “to engage Jade, and Lily, in an errand for her.” Sakkara reached out, as though she was going to try and soothe Paris with a touch of her hand.

He jerked back, taking himself out of her reach. Her hand hovered a moment in the air and she looked like she would go after him. Instead, she lowered her hand slowly, carefully, setting it down on the table.

“So you’re only interested in discussing the things that are
relevant
to that?” he said, and wow, Jade didn’t know you could say the word, ‘relevant’ like it was some kind of curse, but apparently, Paris could.

“Until I get these details sorted out, I’m not at liberty to discuss other items regarding my mistress.”

“Not at liberty,” Paris repeated and Jade was unsure at this particular tone of his. She was good at interpreting most of them, but didn’t know this one. He was either concerned, confused or ready to tear a strip a mile wide off his mother.

She couldn’t give it much thought. Her migraine was rapidly spiraling into a full-blown state. She squinted as strange halos cropped up in her vision. Paris looked like he was encircled in a wavy, crystalline orb and Lily was turning fuzzy at the edges. She blinked, as though she could clear the visual effects of her migraine. It didn’t work. A ringing sound started in her ears, like someone dragging a handsaw across a metal plate.

“Okay, so you work for some demon,” Jade summarized, wanting to move the conversation along. Jesus, the ringing in her ears was loud. “What’s the errand? What does she want and why can’t someone else do it?” Lily’s mind reached out and brushed against Jade’s and unthinkingly, Jade slapped at it with her power; a bright spot of light bloomed in the corner of her eye as she did, flashing. Lily breathed in sharply and Paris’ attention turned from his mother to the two of them.

“Is your headache worsening?” Paris asked, his hand coming to rest on Jade’s knee again. He pitched his voice low and Jade appreciated it. She wasn’t sure she could take any more loud sounds right now.

“It’s fine for now.”

She wanted to get this over with. Find out what Sakkara wanted and tell her to fuck off. Maybe. Probably. She wasn’t sure. Jade was curious to find out what had Sakkara jumping through magical hoops to show up on her doorstep. Curiosity may have killed the cat, but Jade could damn well sympathize. She liked a puzzle. And, once she knew what Sakkara wanted, she could tell Sakkara to take her request and shove it where the magical Coven sun didn’t shine. Most likely. Unless there was something in it for Jade or Lily. Or… maybe Paris. Jade looked down again to where Paris was resting his hand on her leg. It was comforting to have him there. If he hadn’t been, she didn’t know if she would even entertain Sakkara’s request. But knowing this was Paris’ mom definitely had an impact on Jade. She wondered how badly Paris was itching to demand answers of his mother. He was far more… reserved than Jade was. He must have questions, but he was doing a remarkable job keeping them to himself.

Bruce thumped his tail against Paris’ leg and Paris looked down at him. Jade could see Bruce pick up one of his feet and carefully place the talons of it against Paris’ leg. Bruce looked at Jade pointedly and then tipped his head up, showing his neck where his scaly patch of skin was still healing. It wasn’t as sore or cracked since Jade and Lily separated, and now that Jade wasn’t having nightmares of Sakkara, Lily or the lake, but it wasn’t yet totally healed. It was turning a dull shade of red just now and Jade frowned at it.

“Hey,” Lily said, “Bruce’s scaly patch is red again.”

Paris reached down with his other hand as Bruce tipped his head higher so Paris could see the dry, flaky skin. “Yes, it does seem worse.” Paris turned to Jade. “Your headache is turning into a migraine, isn’t it.” He didn’t put quite enough inflection in his question and it came out like a statement.

Jade nodded once, shortly.

Paris turned back to his mother. “This will have to wait.” He pushed back from the table and stood. “We should take you to medlab to see Dr. Gellar.”

“It’s not that bad, yet.” Her own voice sounded loud to her ears. She turned her eyes up to Paris, squinting a bit more. The lights in the kitchen were right above his head and with her migraine spreading, it caused him to look like an Orthodox Christian icon - haloed in gold, his blue eyes standing out sharply.

“Let’s find out what the Sparrow Lady wants first,” Lily added.

Paris’ fingers drummed against his leg for a moment and then he sat back down reluctantly. “All right. What’s the errand?”

Sakkara eyed her son up and down, and then did the same to Jade and finally Bruce, pressed up against Paris’s leg under the table, his lizard snout hiding behind the arch of Paris’ foot. Lily snapped her fingers twice, like she was summoning a waiter, bringing Sakkara’s attention back. Sakkara looked annoyed as she spoke.

“We need Jade to face Medusa.”

CHAPTER TWO

Jade couldn’t have heard Sakkara right. Maybe it was her migraine, maybe she’d finally broken something permanent in her brain, or maybe her imagination was running wild, finally cracking under the stress. There was no way she just heard Sakkara say she needed Jade to face off against Medusa.

“As in the Gorgon?” Lily asked, sparing Jade from having to say the same thing herself.

“Yes, the Gorgon,” Sakkara confirmed.

Lily waved her fingers around her own head. “Snakes for hair, turns people to stone?”

Well, thank god one of them was still able to speak. With her migraine ratcheting up another notch, Jade was more than happy to let Lily suss out all the details. Jade would just sit there quietly and try not to puke.

“You cannot possibly be serious.”

Oh good. Paris was chiming in as well. Honestly, between Lily and Paris, Jade felt like her interests were pretty well protected. She dropped her head into the cradle of her hands, closing her eyes. The light in the kitchen burned her retinas. Lily placed a hand between her shoulder blades. A simple reminder she was there. Jade could feel Lily’s presence brush across her brain again, scanning it for information on the Gorgon. Jade had read about as much classical mythology as the next person and knew only the basic details. She could feel Lily pluck the details from her brain like ripe grapes, checking for anything she’d want to question Sakkara on. With each pluck came an additional
ping
from her migraine.

“Of course I am serious,” Sakkara replied, her tone going sharp with annoyance. “I wouldn’t come here on some fool’s errand or whimsical fancy.”

“I’ve got 99 questions and all of them start with, ‘why,’” Jade said, pitching her voice low and not bothering to look up.

For a split second, she shifted her gaze, turning her mind’s eye to Lily’s brain, seeing through Lily’s eyes instead of her own. It was similar to what she’d done when she’d been stuck in a dream with Sakkara. Jade had been able to shift her sight to Lily’s - see through Lily’s eyes and use the connection to be pulled out of the dream. It felt less painful to tap into their shared senses than it was for her to open her own eyes and have the glare of the light strike her migraine. From Lily’s eyes, she could see her own body curling in on itself as she hunched inward. She could see Paris leaning toward her, watching her carefully. Finally, there was Sakkara, watching both Jade and Lily, her eyes going back and forth between the two.

“Why the Gorgon?” Jade asked.

“She has something belonging to my mistress. It’s required.”

“For what?”

Sakkara bristled. “Not relevant.”

“Well, what is it then?” Jade snapped.

Through Lily’s eyes, she could see Sakkara shift uncomfortably in her chair. “To make a long story short-“

Lily snorted. “Too late.”

Sakkara eyes flicked over to Lily briefly and then back to Jade again, studying her carefully, as though she thought she saw something, but wasn’t sure what.

“Someone died. Many years ago. He was dismembered. Pieces were… scattered.”

Jade shook her head slightly.
This is going to be so gross, isn’t it?
she pushed the thought at Lily.

We don’t have to do it,
Lily replied.

“Medusa has one of the pieces.”

I fucking knew it.
The thought came from both of them simultaneously.

“Is this thing needed to set off some kind of apocalypse?” Jade asked.

Sakkara’s eyes flickered. “No,” she said, as though the thought were ludicrous.

“World domination?”

“No. Why would you ask that?”

“Oh,
I’m
the one that’s being illogical,” Jade muttered. She took a deep breath. “Fine. Why me? Why do you think I could do it. That Lily and I could do it.” She still had her head in her hands, her voice echoing off the table. She heard Bruce stick his tongue out, making his
pfffffft
sound. He pressed his tail against Jade’s leg.

“Your eyes,” Sakkara said to Lily, realization coloring her tone. “They’re grey now. Jade’s color. You’re sharing your sight, aren’t you? It’s exactly what we hoped. It’s why you can face the Gorgon.” Sakkara’s face was lit up in excitement.

Sharing Lily’s sight, Jade could see as Paris leaned closer to Lily, trying to view her eyes. It was a strange sensation. She heard him moving slightly from her, but ‘saw’ him moving closer as she shared Lily’s viewpoint. For a moment, she and Paris locked eyes - Jade seeing through Lily’s. His gaze was searching and targeted. Feeling uncomfortable under the scrutiny, Jade let her control of Lily’s eyes go. Her sight on the room went dark as she did. She could feel the warmth of Paris’ presence as he shifted again, drawing away from Lily and back into his seat, closer to Jade.

“Now they’re green again. You’re no longer sharing,” Sakkara stated. “When you share, do you both see out of one pair of eyes? Or does one person’s vision eclipse the other’s?”

Jade raised her head, opening her own eyes, squinting against the light in the kitchen, her migraine thudding. “You know, as soon as I don’t feel like I’m about to lose my brains out my ears, I’ll be sure to take notes.”

“Mother. They’re not some kind of experiment.”

Sakkara turned to her son. “Look how extraordinary it is. Physically, they are separate, but able to share senses like they are of one mind. It’s how Jade will be able to face Medusa. She won’t be turned to stone by the Gorgon’s stare. She can look through Lily’s eyes.”