Demon's Moon: A Celia Winters Novel Book 2 (7 page)

It was only a twelve hour trip, but they decided to stop somewhere
in Pennsylvania, which was about two thirds of the way there, since they didn’t
leave until noon.  It would be much easier to slip into Albany during the day
with all the traffic, rather than pulling in after midnight.  They still didn’t
have much of a plan besides trying not to be seen, and gathering information on
Gerald and his home when they got there.

All Elaine had really known is the whole coven, over twenty
six people last she knew, all lived in the coven house.  She’d always been
under his control, so she had no idea what kind and how many wards and trap
spells there were around the place.  It would take some time to gather the info
and form a plan that had any chance of success.

She was also painfully aware that not only would Ed and she continue
in close proximity as they had before, but they were also alone with no one
else around.  After the last assassination attempt and her decision to live
life, and learn about herself through experience instead of simply thinking
everything to death while too paralyzed to take a chance, she could hardly get
the thoughts of him holding her out of her mind. 

He may have lacked shifter strength, but he was defined, and
his body of hard muscle had fit very well against her body of soft curves. 
Silva wasn’t a help at all, if anything the tiger made it all worse, heightened
her emotions and the reactions of her body.

She shook her head and pushed it all away, or at least, she
tried.  This was going to be a long day…

She shifted slightly in her seat for the hundredth time that
first hour and laughed.

Ed glanced over at her, “What?”

She shook her head, “I feel like a kid that had too much
sugar, too much sitting.  Sometimes I think the store will kill me when I have
too much energy, but the car is even worse.  At least at the store I can walk
around and stretch my legs.”

Ed snorted, “Aren’t cats supposed to be lazy and lounge in
the sun all day?”

She shook her head, “Real tigers don’t have shifter magic
enhancing their bodies, or a witch’s core magic to feed it even more energy.”

Ed frowned, “So you have more energy than other shifters,
you think?”

She shrugged, “I believe so.  It doesn’t make me stronger or
faster, it’s more an endurance thing.”

Ed suggested, “Why don’t you burn some of it off, we could
use some wards on this van, plus a subtle glamour so the police don’t take
notice of it.  After all, we did kill the owner and steal it… technically.”

She smiled and jumped at the chance to get out of the seat.

“That might help, I can charge my personal wards up little
higher as well I think,” she had to be careful with that though, the earrings
could only hold so much magic before the spells would destabilize and fall
apart, releasing the stored magic.

She did the glamour first, so no one would see her walking
around and crawling over seats to the corners of the van while it was in
motion, it would be ironic if they got pulled over for a seatbelt violation. 
Not that they couldn’t get out of it with magic, but it was better not to be
noticed at all.  It was very subtle work, and would affect witches as well.

They hardly wanted to arrive in town in a vehicle that was a
beacon of magic, might as well call ahead or drive in with a sign painted on
the side that boldly spelled witches.  Witches would still feel the magic if
they got close enough, but wouldn’t really pay attention to it or take note of
it.

The van had two rows of seats in the back, about half of it
was open space for storage, so she crawled over the back seat and got started. 
She duplicated the wards from her store, they would be much safer from fire and
air attacks, she also added physical wards.  It wouldn’t help if they rammed
into a brick wall, or another car, but it might stop a shifter from ripping off
the door, or shooting them through the glass with a weapon.

She did Ed’s corner last.  She did the best she could not to
be intrusive, but she was pretty much leaning over him if not touching.  She
could scent his attraction to her easily from this close, and the effect she was
having on him being so close.  She had to concentrate harder to get it done, and
then returned to her seat.  She felt a little better, doing magic had helped.

Silva settled down quickly, only getting a little upset,
wards weren’t something that took too much magic at once, but the tiger was
still sensitive.

“I think that will do it, but you should maybe add water and
earth protections when we stop.”

She turned her head when Ed cleared his throat nervously, so
he wouldn’t see her knowing smile.

“I can do that.”

She looked at her watch.  The wards had only taken an hour, which
left at least six more to go before they’d find a motel somewhere in
Pennsylvania.  Then she adjusted her body in the seat…

Celia asked curiously, “I was kind of forced into this, not
that I mind it.  I think I like being an enforcer, but…”

She left the question implied.

Ed replied, “You’re curious why I am?”

She said softly, “Yes, but if you don’t want to talk about…”

Ed shrugged and glanced over at her for a moment before
looking back at the road.

“My parents were killed in the war twenty years ago, when I
was just twelve.  My aunt took us in, my sister and I, but I turned pretty
angry as I grew into my teen years and I watched the coven fall by ones and
twos.  No one would let me fight of course, but that didn’t stop me when we
were attacked two years later.  I was just fourteen when I killed my first
shifter.  After that, Damon guided my anger into some useful training, and how
to fight smart.

“By the time I was sixteen, I was allowed on my first
mission.  The war was my life for a long time, until I turned twenty four and
peace happened.  I’m not complaining, just trying to explain.  I was glad the
war was over, but all I knew how to do was protect my coven and fight.  I had
other knowledge of course, but those were my habits, and my passion.  I just
couldn’t imagine not protecting the coven after doing so for ten years, since
it was all I had wanted to do for all of my teen and adult life, so I chose to
be an enforcer.”

The war, it always seemed to come back to that.

She asked, “Sister?”

He smiled, “Doing good, works for the coven business.  Her
name is Anna Marie, she followed a more peaceful path than I did.”

On the rare times he smiled, she thought he looked really
good, and that he should do it more often.  Considering what he’d gone through,
she thought it a wonder he was able to deal with shifters at all, much less
seem to care for one… her.  She bit her lip in thought.

It was a long trip, but they got to know a lot about each
other as their chat grew more intimate, and more about their personal lives
than they’d ever touched on before.  Usually she’d been lucky if she could pry
small talk out of him, but then most times the third partner, another shifter
had been present, either Paul or over the last week, Josh. 

She’d also discovered if she played with fire or air it
would settle her energy a bit.  Not much, because she didn’t want Silva to be
uncomfortable, but a small candle sized flame, or small burst of air at a one
or two on their self defined magic power scale didn’t faze the tiger at all
anymore.  Not to mention playing with a fist sized fireball in a moving vehicle
was probably a bad idea anyway…

But it was only when she hit three on their arbitrary scale that
Silva would get nervous and have to fight not to freak out.  Progress was good,
if painfully slow.

During a lull in the conversation, she called the store. 
Berny assured her everything was fine, and that she should concentrate on not
getting herself killed.  She was smiling when she hung up the phone.

It was just after eight when they stopped, grabbed dinner,
and got a motel room in a smaller sized town.  She went out back into the woods
and shifted for a quick run while he took a shower.  It was a relief to be out
of the van, not to mention expending the energy.  Silva’s joy and excitement
were catching as they ran, climbed trees, and generally just had fun.

She didn’t run into any border scent markers, so that was a
relief as well, no local shifters to worry about.  When she got back she took
her own shower, got dressed in comfortable sweats and a t-shirt, since they
were sharing a room she couldn’t sleep her preferred way, and slipped into her
bed.  She bit her lip and looked over at Ed’s bed, it was tempting, and she
knew if anything was to happen it would be up to her.

Especially as she’d subtly rebuffed his advances a few weeks
ago.

But he was already asleep, it had been a long day in the
van, and they hadn’t been getting the best sleep the last few days.  He must
have passed out while she was in the shower.  Regretfully, timing was
everything, and the time wasn’t now.  She was warm, tired, and her stomach was
full, so it didn’t take long for her to follow him into sleep once she closed
her eyes.

She had to be dreaming, but it felt so real.  She looked up
at the oaks that towered above her, as high as any skyscraper.  The bases of
the trees were so vast it didn’t look real, perhaps twenty yards wide.  Her
nose was full of the familiar scents of the forest, but somehow they seemed
more crisp in her nose, and the colors around her were not the gray of dreams,
but if anything were more vibrant.

She had an absurd thought that maybe this place was more
real than the world she would soon awaken in.

She heard tinkling laughter behind her, “You are not far
wrong my daughter.”

She spun and looked at the one that spoke.  The woman looked
young, perhaps sixteen years of age, just short of five feet tall, and had long
platinum blonde hair that reached down to her knees.  The woman also didn’t
look like a teen despite having the appearance of one.  She had a lush body and
held it in a way that spoke of experience, not the uncertainty of tender years. 
But it was the eyes that gave up the lie of this beings appearance, they looked
old, ageless, and yet the amber orbs still sparkled with youthful amusement.

The woman waited patiently as Celia finished her examination.
 The ears were a trifle too long at the top, and partially pointed.  The face
was thinner than a humans as well, more angular, and although Celia had never
seen one before, she had no doubt the woman before her was a fae.

She shook her head, “You’re not my mother,” she said almost
harshly.

The woman smiled, “Yes and no, your human concepts are odd. 
You are of me, a daughter of magic, I believe you would call me great great
grandmother.  What a mouthful.”

She frowned and tried to remember what she knew about the
fae.  They were both alien and familiar.  Their nature was dual, they had
physical bodies, but they were also of spirit.  Not in the way a human spirit
was bound to their body, but the spirit was actually a part of their body. 
Most witches were smart enough to avoid them, they weren’t as treacherous or as
alien as an elemental which was all spirit, but misunderstandings were still
common.

“I am not fae.”

The woman laughed, “Call me Cilla, please.  My full name is
harder to pronounce.  Let’s see, you’re Great grandmother was… seduced by my
son.”

She worked it out in her head.  That would make her… one
eighth fae?  How was that possible?

Cilla frowned, “I can feel your doubt, trust me, it isn’t
that rare for a fae to go out and have some fun.  Have you not wondered about
your lines power, where it came from?  Why your magic and your mother’s magic
are so strong, how the very weather obeys your commands?  Most if not all of
the witch lines that boast such powers contain fae blood.  Were you not taught
this?”

She felt strangely guilty at the woman’s demeanor, as if she
had failed in some way.  It was… disconcerting.

“No, I was taught nothing of this.”

Cilla sighed, “Very well, you know now.”

It suddenly struck her forcefully as she made the connection,
she’d been called a daughter of magic, what the elemental called her.

She shook her head, “Why am I here?  Is my fae blood the
reason I can see elementals?”

Cilla beamed, “Yes, and it’s why I’ve invited you here to
share my dream.  When I first sent my elementals to you I didn’t think you saw
them, but lately it was apparent your blood is still potent enough.”

She scowled, “My mother could see them?  Why didn’t she tell
me?”

Cilla frowned, “I told her not too, if you couldn’t see them
there was no reason for you to know.”

She swallowed a caustic reply, this may be her great great
grandmother, but she was also of a race she didn’t understand.  On top of that…
it felt wrong to be mad at her, and she wondered if some subtle magic was at
work.

She took a calming breath and nodded acceptance, though she
was far from feeling that right now, and wasn’t at the same time, “So, why am I
here mother?”

Cilla nodded in satisfaction for some reason, “The
elementals will come if you call, fire and air anyway, and if you challenge
their will you can command them.  Not just once like a witch, but for the
entirety of your life unless another assumes control over it.  I am here to
persuade you to be exceedingly cautious if you try this.  Even to the fae who
are half spirit, the elementals are alien things never to be taken lightly.”

She shook her head, “I have no intention of…”

Cilla held up a hand, “That is a good attitude to have, even
I only use elementals to spy, it’s hard to screw that up, and even if you do
the repercussions are usually not at all severe.  It is something you may want
to consider, especially where you are going and what you’re planning to do.”

Celia shook her head, “Can you explain that?”

Cilla shrugged, “All you need do is close your eyes and feel
the essence of the wind or fire, and they will come.  Not your witch magic, it’s
your spirit that will call to them.  If you challenge their will and win, they
will become your servants until death, or until they are stolen from you.”

She thought about that a minute, “Is that why the elementals
following me won’t let me look at them?”

Cilla beamed, “Yes, because if you challenge and take an
elemental away from me, you could then learn everything it knows about me. 
It’s important, one of the first orders you should give your elemental if you
ever capture one, is not to let others challenge it.”

She shook her head, “Why just spying?”

Cilla sighed, “I can’t stop you daughter, from doing what
you wish.  But it is dangerous.  To simply ask an elemental to gather information
without affecting anyone is fairly safe.  It will gather the information and
then bring it back to you.  Asking it to perform actions is another thing
altogether, they understand nothing of the physical world, morality, or even
life and death, they simply exist as spirits of their element.  Never changing,
never dying.”

She frowned, “So if I asked it to save me from something, it
might decide the most efficient way would be to separate my spirit from my
body… to kill me?  Unless I spelled out every step?”

Cilla giggled, “That’s a simplistic example, but yes.  Keep
in mind though, it’s impossible to truly explain every step, there is no common
ground.  Explore your ability daughter, but please, stick to knowledge, even if
you’re desperate.  Some things can be worse than death.  You might even get
lucky a few times, and decide it’s not that hard, and then you’ll go too far
with it.  Or worse, ask it to do something that it simply can’t do.”

She raised an eyebrow, “What happens if I do that?”

Cilla shook her head, “It would destroy you.  The elemental
is bound to do your will, but then it can’t.  This isn’t like a human asking
someone to do something another human can’t, doing that to an elemental would
create a strain your spirit couldn’t survive.  No more than you could jump off
a building and decide gravity doesn’t exist.  Elementals are a spiritual force,
and if you’re lucky a mistake will just kill you. 

“My advice to you daughter is to capture one of fire and
air, then use them only to spy after ordering them not to accept challenges
while they are bound to you.  Anything more than that is folly, anything less
than that is not living up to your potential.”

She thought of a question she was afraid to ask, about what
she was keeping secret.  Surely though, a being partially of spirit would know.

She asked reluctantly, “Is there a way to heal my spirit, my
soul?”

Cilla shook her head, “Damage to the spirit is forever my
daughter, and it’s why I decided to guide you with the elementals, before you
did something stupid out of ignorance.  But do not fret, you can still live
your life in balance and harmony with yourself, you aren’t crazy as the humans
define it, and Silva is still you.”

She considered that, and the advice she was given.

“You said there is still danger in asking for knowledge?”

Cilla smiled, “There is danger in everything.  Suppose you phrase
something vaguely enough, you may find your mind overwhelmed when the elemental
returns and dumps more knowledge into you than your physical body can handle. 
Still, it isn’t likely if you’re even a little cautious, and there is no risk
to your soul in it, only a risk in destroying your mind and body.  I’m afraid
it is time to go daughter, that delicious man you’re with is about to wake you
up with breakfast.  Time flows slower here.”

“Will I see you again?”

Celia found she had a lump in her throat.  She’d thought she
had no family left anywhere, and though a little alien, this fae standing
before her was family.

Cilla seemed to be ten feet away one moment, then hugging
her without any time in between.  She hadn’t seen her move at all.

“I’ll be watching, and I’m sure we’ll see each other again.”

The world that seemed more real than the world she thought
of as real started to fade around her.  As she woke up she could smell eggs,
bacon, and sausage.  She smiled up at Ed and sat up in the bed before taking
the bag of food he was offering her.  She had a strange residual calmness from
the dream that would stay with her for hours.

“Thanks, this smells delicious,” she said happily.

He grinned, “You’re not hard to buy for.”

When he turned and went back to his own food, she decided
her great great grandmother was right.  Ed was a delicious man, and it had just
taken her time to see it…  Now if she could only decide what to do about it,
was she waiting for the right time, or simply afraid to dive into a relationship?