Legacy Of Magick (Legacy Of Magick Series, Book 1) (19 page)

Bran tapped the pen against the paper and said, “It makes sense that David Quinn would communicate with Autumn. She has a strong gift for clairvoyance. We know she can divine both the future and the past. She must also have mediumship skills. Now that Thomas has contacted her about locating his missing grimoire, all of the pieces are beginning to fall into place.”

Mediumship skills?
Oh jeez, from the bottom of my heart I sincerely hopped that did not mean I was going to get bombarded with other roaming ghosts. The mere thought of that made me shudder.

Rebecca stared at me. “David’s been watching over you, then. Trying to protect you.” All I could do was nod in return.

Duncan put his arm around my shoulder. “I wish I could have seen him.”

“You will.” I heard myself say. When Duncan beamed at me, I wondered what had possessed me to say that. Oh crap,
possessed.
Bad choice of words from my stupid inner monologue. I started gulping water before something else embarrassing came out of my mouth.

Duncan looked to his mother, “What I want to know is, why did my uncle choose to make his move now? If the grimoire is that valuable, why would he wait twenty-two years to try and retrieve it?”

I was wondering the same thing. “He said he wanted the grimoire by the next full moon. Is next month’s full moon significant somehow?” I asked.

“There will be a total lunar eclipse in the month of October—” Gwen said to herself.

“But, the Hunter’s Moon is the name usually given to the full moon in October .” Duncan pointed out. “Not a Blood Moon.”

“In the old days a lunar eclipse was called a Blood Moon,” Rebecca said, “due to the rusty color the moon appeared to be as it passed through the earth’s shadow.” Then her gaze shot to Gwen’s. “The magick of the Blood Moon Grimoire must be connected to the lunar eclipses of the current tetrad!”

“What’s a tetrad?” I asked.

I felt Duncan tense up next to me, and Bran was all attention. Then Bran spoke. “A tetrad, is a series of four consecutive total lunar eclipses that occur at roughly six month intervals.”

“Currently we are in a tetrad cycle.” Rebecca explained. “The first total lunar eclipse was in April this year, and the second is coming on the eighth of October. The third and fourth total lunar eclipses occur in April, and September next year.”

“Is that unusual?” I asked her.

“Lunar eclipses come in no particular order; a tetrad itself is a frequent astronomical occurrence in the pattern of lunar eclipses...” Rebecca trailed off as she thought it over.

“It says here,” Ivy said, reading from her cell phone, “that during the 21
^st
century there will be eight sets of tetrads, and all four of the 2014-2015 tetrads will be visible in the United States. So that would make this tetrad special. This astronomy website also says that from 1600 to 1900 there were no tetrads at all.”

I thought about that for a moment. “So we’re thinking that Thomas wants the Blood Moon Grimoire because of the current tetrad cycle?”

“If all four of those total lunar eclipses are visible here... that would be a hell of a boost to his magick, or whatever he is plotting.” Duncan said quietly as he and his mother exchanged looks. “We have to find that grimoire, if for no other reason than to keep it away from him.”

“My brother has always been obsessed with power,” Rebecca said looking down at her hands. She wrung them once then lifted her head. “Legend claims that the Blood Moon Grimoire can increase its’ owners magickal abilities exponentially. If the owner binds themselves to the magick contained within the grimoire, under the light of a lunar eclipse they will become virtually unstoppable.”

“Shit.” Duncan hissed. “And if that power was boosted in succession with the three remaining lunar eclipses...”

“So to be clear, the Blood Moon Grimoire is like a magickal battery that holds a charge?” I tried to puzzle it out. “And Thomas wants to try and harness all that energy for himself?”

“That’s one way to look at it.” Rebecca said.

I thought back to the family’s collection of grimoires and journals. None of them had been red. They’d all been faded brown, green, blue and black. I figured if Holly and Ivy weren’t jumping up and off and running to go look, then they didn’t think the Blood Moon Grimoire was in the house either.

“Mrs. Quinn, do you know where they hid the grimoire?” Bran asked politely.

“No I don’t,” Rebecca admitted and I saw a pained expression cross her face. “They never told me, and then David died a few weeks after they took the book out of the manor.”

“My uncle never suspected you had a role in all this?” Duncan asked his mother.

“If I had shown any of the guilt I’d felt, he might have realized I played a part in the theft.” Rebecca said to Duncan, in a shaking voice, “I sent you away to boarding school, where you would be safe. Someone had to stay here and quietly monitor Thomas. And I played my part of the devoted sister well. I didn’t
want
to live here, but I knew you would come back someday, Duncan, and I had to be here to protect you.”

Oh god, they had paid a high price indeed. That price had been David’s life, my grandparents’ lives, and then Rebecca’s freedom. I was beginning to understand why my mother had insisted they leave, why my father had bound my powers, and why he rarely spoke of his family or came back to his home town.

The legacy of my family’s magick, that Gwen had made seem so attractive, suddenly didn’t seem very enchanting any more.

CHAPTER TWELVE

We had to find the Blood Moon Grimoire. Everyone agreed it was our top priority, with each of us using our own particular talents in the search. I wasn’t sure exactly what that entailed, but at least we seemed to be working together. What’s that old saying… the enemy of my enemy is my friend? I supposed in a way, Duncan and his mother were enemies of Thomas.

The general consensus was that Thomas Drake had probably cast a vengeance type of spell all those years ago when he found his precious Blood Moon Grimoire missing. Since he hadn’t known for sure who the culprits were, the group figured that he’d thrown out his magickal revenge, and then sat back, waited, and watched to see whose worlds blew up. Suddenly I felt like I had gotten off very easily with that near miss with the SUV, and then with my encounter at the library.

Rebecca stood. “Thank you for inviting me to your home.” She sounded stiff and formal.

My aunt walked over to Rebecca and took her hand. “We were friends once.” She met Rebecca’s eyes and then drew her in for a hug.

“I didn’t have the courage to face you.” Rebecca sniffled a bit. I watched as the two women embraced, and they both cried a little. I saw Holly wipe a tear away from her own eye.

They let go of each other, and Gwen said quietly. “We owe it to Arthur, David, and my parents to find this grimoire and put an end to this.”

“Agreed.” Said Rebecca, and the energy in the room shifted, became lighter almost.

“We should all meet back here in a few days and see what we have learned about the grimoire.” Bran said.

“In the meantime, I would like to work protection magick for Autumn and the girls.” Rebecca paused for a moment and looked at Holly, Ivy and me. “With the girl’s permission of course.”

“Thanks?” I said, not sure if that was the right response.

The twins looked to their mother and Gwen nodded.

Ivy took her twin’s hand. “I think that’s a great idea. That’s a source of magick that old man Drake would never expect.”

“How’s that?” I asked.

“Think of it like an insurance policy.” Holly said. “Its magickal coverage Mr. Drake would not expect to encounter or have to work against.

“I’d like to add some more protection to the mix.” Duncan volunteered. “Plus, Ivy and Autumn will be working with me at the house for the next week or so. I can keep an eye on them as well.”

Rebecca smiled at her son. “Good idea. We can cast the protection spells together, tonight. Thomas will be out of the house. He has meetings at city hall.”

Duncan looked to his mother. “Mom do you want me to walk you out? I can do a cloaking spell so you won’t be seen.”

Rebecca grinned up at her son, and it totally changed her appearance. She went from seemingly quiet and modest, to someone who looked ready to stir up a little trouble. “Duncan, I may not practice as openly as I once did, but I am still more than capable at my Craft.” She patted his cheek and tossed him a wink.

Saying that, she raised her hands up in front of her face with palms facing in. Then she smoothly moved her hands back down, and out to her sides. She started walking towards the front door, and with every step she took, I watched her be less and less in the room. She blended in to the point that I had trouble seeing her. “Blessed be.” I heard her say, and then I saw the door open and close as if on its own. And she was gone.

Gwen beamed over at Duncan. “That was beautifully done.”

Duncan shook his head in amazed appreciation. “I haven’t seen her do that since I was little.”

Seriously, that was impressive. I had seen a lot of magick since moving here, but holy cats! I had a few moments to think about what I’d seen Duncan’s mother do, and noted that Holly was now arranging the pots of mums in an artful way on the wooden crates all around the fireplace. Ivy had started to root through the box of decorations and lifted out a ceramic pumpkin that lit up, while Gwen pulled a long garland of autumn leaves out of the big box.

Well, it seemed to be back to business as usual. Except that Duncan was easily chatting with Bran, and the girls seemed happy. Before I could ask any questions about the shift in the mood, Gwen answered me.

“I find it best to focus on the positive. Yes, we have work to do and an enemy to defend ourselves from. We also have a sabbat to celebrate, and our lives to live.” My aunt looked up from untangling the garlands and met my eyes. “We go forward with awareness, Autumn. But we do go forward.”

It dawned on me then, that she wasn’t taking any of this lightly. Instead she was simply, as she said, moving forward. I suppose if you looked at it that way, if we all wrung our hands and worried — that would mean that ‘old man Drake’ as Ivy dubbed him, would be winning. Well, screw that. “I used to do the seasonal décor at the nursery’s gift shop. I could...” Before I could finish my sentence, Holly tossed me a little stuffed scarecrow out of the decoration box.

“Here,” Holly said. “Add this to the mantle. Only fluff him up a bit first.” I looked over and noticed that Duncan was still having his conversation with Bran, so I adjusted the scarecrow’s hat and fiddled with his shredded burlap “stuffing”. While Ivy plugged in the ceramic Jack o’lantern on the mantle, I set the scarecrow next to it and arranged some gourds and mini pumpkins that Holly handed me.

The doorbell rang and I jolted. Was Rebecca back? Had old man Drake decided to come by and threaten us again? My mind raced with a dozen fantastic scenarios as Gwen went to the door with a garland of autumn leaves wrapped around her neck like a boa, and looked out the peephole. “Did someone order pizza?” She asked us with a bemused expression, and opened the door to a delivery boy who held four large boxes.

“Yeah. Let me get that.” Duncan told her.

“You ordered pizza, to be delivered
here
?” I asked him.

“Do you mind?” He grinned at me. While Ivy and Holly let out a cheer.

Ah, well no actually, I didn’t. I glanced over at Bran. He shrugged and then asked Duncan, “You want a beer?”

“You read my mind.” Duncan said to him and went to go pay for the pizza.

Gwen stood back as Duncan paid the delivery boy. “Where do you want me to put them?” he asked Gwen. She directed him towards the dining room table, and Bran came back with a couple of bottles of beer. Ivy and Holly got paper plates and soft drinks for themselves. I went a grabbed a bottle of red wine from the kitchen. I poured a glass for my aunt and another for myself.

“I’ll take a couple pieces of the mushroom pizza,” I told Ivy as I walked back to the dining room. I handed Gwen her wine, and tapped my glass in a toast to hers. “To going forward.”

“Blessed be.” Gwen smiled at me.

***    

Later that evening after the pizza had been gobbled down and the seasonal decorations had been displayed, I was back in my room lying on my black and white patterned bedspread. I thought about the yummy goodnight kiss Duncan and I had shared on the front porch. I rolled over and buried my face in the pillows with a groan as I replayed everything that had happened today... Magickal threats, ghostly visitations, past secrets revealed, witchy alliances drawn, and then an impromptu pizza party as we decorated for the sabbat.

I let out a sigh as Merlin vaulted onto my bed and then walked across my back. He nuzzled my ear and started to purr. “Hi kitty.” I said.

I lay there, while Merlin did his happy feet impersonation on my back, and decided to finally put away the last of my personal things. I flipped over and Merlin simply climbed into my lap to continue his kneading. I ran a hand over his head, and stared at the last packing box that remained.

It seemed to be mocking me.
Are you in or are you out?

I rose and the cat hopped down. I went over to the box, pried the lid up, and looked at its contents. I could identify all of the items by their shapes,— even though they were wrapped in paper or bubble wrap. The little jewelry box my parents had given me for my sixteenth birthday, my framed high school and bachelor’s degree diplomas, and an ornate antique silver hand mirror and brush set. I never understood why my father had given that set to me, the silver of the mirror never seemed to tarnish, but it was useless, as the mirror was all black. However he’d told me it was valuable — so I’d humored him and kept it. Here was my scrapbook from college and all my other trinkets were still safely there.

What I was really after was the trio of framed, antique, botanical drawings at the bottom. I pulled the other items out, and then removed the wrapped framed art. I looked around at the pretty robin’s egg blue of the walls of my room. Which, according to Holly, had been repainted especially for me before I had arrived. I bet those matted and framed drawings would look nice up on the wall over my bed.