Witch & Curse (47 page)

She stared down at the bandage wrapping her burned palm. Philippe had told her that within twelve hours there wouldn't even be a mark.

A stray cat that had been lurking close by for the
last hour approached quietly. Its fur was dusty and tangled, and its eyes held a feral gleam. It crept close and finally curled up so that it was touching Nicole's chest. She dropped her hand upon the cat's back.

It purred, startling them both. It settled, though, and stared at her with great almond-shaped eyes. “What am I going to do?”

The cat blinked at her once before squeezing its eyes closed and falling asleep.

SEVEN

SEED MOON

Brains and blood, tissue and bone
Time to reap the death we've sown
Sun above and stones in hand
Help us spread fear throughout the land

Come and see through scrying stone
The plans they make against the Crone
Cast the runes and we shall see
How to triumph, blessed be

Nicole: Outside Madrid, November

Nicole's dreams were wild, vivid. She struggled against the man she had seen in her vision. He leered at her, laughing, always laughing. His mouth gaped open larger and larger like a cavernous yaw. Flames started shooting out of it, searing her face with their heat. She tried to scream, to turn away, but her feet wouldn't move and only a whisper escaped her lips.

“Nicole, come to me,” the voice was soft in her mind.

She was finally able to turn, and she saw Philippe standing several feet away, his hand outstretched to her. She reached for his hand.

Now she awoke, and he was saying something to her.

She turned her head toward the door and there he stood, smiling gravely at her. Something warm, like a gentle touch, brushed against her mind, and she smiled. He moved to her and sat down beside her. He took her hand in his and warmth flowed through her.

“We have talked. We will do everything in our power to protect you.” He added, “You have a great destiny, Nicole.”

Tears stung her eyes. Maybe she had once believed that; it seemed long ago, back when her mother had been alive and they had practiced simple magics together.
But I thought I was going to become a great actress, not a witch!
Now she had nothing. Holly, maybe, had a great destiny, but not her.

“I think you've mistaken me for someone else,” she said, dropping her gaze.

With his free hand he tilted her head up so that her eyes met his. “We are not mistaken, Nicole Cahors. You have a great destiny. I know it. I feel it.”

She stared deep into his eyes and felt all her barriers falling one by one. She began to cry in earnest,
and he wrapped his arms around her, holding her, loving her as all the pain washed through her. His body shuddered slightly at each new wave, as though her pain, memories, and fears were assaulting him as well. When at last she looked up, she saw tears streaming down his face. His lips were moving as though in silent prayer.

He opened his eyes, and she could barely believe, let alone trust, what she saw shining in their depths.

“There's so much I want to tell you,” she whispered.

“I know, I can feel it.” He bent slowly and kissed her on each cheek.

“I'm not a saint,” she said, dipping her head.

He put his hand under her chin and lifted her face back to his. “If you were, we'd have problems. Oh, not that we don't have a few already.”

She smiled at his joke even as his touch sent her pulse skittering out of control. She fought down her emotions. There was something she had to do.

“I need to make a phone call.”

He nodded as though he had been expecting that. “It has to be short,” he warned. “They have been casting their nets trying to find you. We will need to be very fast and very clever.”

She nodded and then put her head back against his
chest. All the forces of hell might be looking for her, but for the moment she felt safe.

José Luís had not slept since the vision. When the others had pressed him about it, he had answered in vagaries. Nothing about the vision had been vague, though. He knew even the moment of his death. He also knew there was nothing he could do to avoid it. That didn't mean he wasn't going to try.

This was the fourth place they had been to in search of a phone for Nicole. They needed to avoid the towns, so they had been approaching villas. Within a mile of each they had turned away, sensing something amiss. They were running out of time, though. They could all feel it. Traveling by day was dangerous because of the increased numbers of people, the increased risk of being seen by the wrong person.

He glanced up at the sun as it approached the horizon. Being about during the day, though, had posed less risk than the night would. It was going to be a full moon.

He gazed along the cobblestone street. This tiny village might be their last chance to find a phone before night closed in. Pablo came up next to him. He placed his hand on the boy's head.

“There is a phone next to the café in the square.”

José Luís nodded. Something didn't seem quite right here, but he couldn't place his finger on it. He glanced again at the setting sun. There wasn't much time left. They'd have to take the risk.

He began to walk and felt the others falling in behind him. Armand cloaked them so that the villagers would not mark the passage of so many people.

They reached the phone, and Philippe and Nicole began to place the call. The rest of them spread out. José Luís kept one eye on the square and one eye on Philippe and Nicole. He could see the bond that was forming between them and he couldn't help but approve. Philippe was strong and had a stability that Nicole lacked and needed. With his strength and her fire they could make a mark on the world.

It looked as if they had been connected. He smiled tightly. Only magic could allow an international phone call to go through that quickly from a pay phone in a small village.

Nicole's hand shook as she dialed. What was the number? She'd lived in that house all her life, and now when she needed it she couldn't even remember the phone number. Slowly, digit by digit, it came. At last she got through and the phone began to ring.

The answering machine picked up and she hung
up in frustration. She breathed a prayer of thanks to the Goddess when she remembered Amanda's cell phone number. She picked up the phone and dialed.

“Hello?” She nearly wept with joy when she heard her sister's voice on the line.

“Amanda, it's me. Listen carefully.”

“Nicole! Nicole, oh, my God! Where are you?”

“In Spain, somewhere, I think. That's not important now, though. You have to listen to me. Eli is still alive.”

“Nicki, the
ferry!”

“Listen to me, Manda.” She looked around anxiously. “Eli is still alive.”

“But . . . how do you know?”

“I had a vision. It's complicated. But he's alive, and there's big evil happening.” Nicole swallowed. “I'm sorry I left, Amanda. Hecate . . .”

“She's fine. Oh,
Nicole.”
Amanda was sobbing in earnest now.

Philippe gestured at her to hurry. She took a breath. “Did something happen to Holly?”

“Eddie's dead!”

“What about Holly?” Nicole almost shouted.

“She saved me. I would have died. Nicki, oh, please, Nicki, come home. We need you.”

“I—I will,” Nicole said firmly. Now Philippe
waved his hands and shook his head, silently urging her to get off the phone. “I have to go.”

“No!” Amanda wailed.

“I have to,” she said firmly. “I'll try to call again soon.”

Hating herself, she hung up.

Nicole looked very upset. José Luís was concerned, watching, unable to hear what she was saying. At last she hung up, and Philippe gathered her close. José Luís took a step toward them. The sooner they left, the better.

Searing pain exploded in his back and chest. He crumbled to his knees, trying to shout. No sound came out. He twisted as he fell, landing on his back and driving the knife further into his punctured lung.

As he stared up into the face of his killer, he could see the moon, pale and full already, visible in the sky above.

As the world went black he thought,
Ay, Dios mío, the visions never lie
.

“I shouldn't have left. I should never have left,” Nicole murmured against Philippe's chest as they walked away from the phone booth.

“
Ah, petite
,” Philippe whispered “I am so sorry.”

They turned toward José Luís.

Nicole gasped as she saw the dark figure looming behind him.

Then José Luís fell to the ground, stricken.

From everywhere, menacing hooded figures appeared, as though rising from the very earth. Their cloaks were so dark they seemed to absorb the last vestiges of light around them. One rose behind Philippe, and Nicole shouted a warning.

He turned to face it just as the others of the coven exploded onto the scene. Armand shot into motion, a spinning whirlwind of magic and death. The last ray of the dying sun glinted off the sword he wielded. Nicole's shocked mind wondered briefly where it had come from. The man twisted and turned like a fiend, chanting, shouting curses, and swinging the deadly blade. Three dark figures fell. More surged up to take their place.

From the top of a nearby roof, Nicole heard a loud, keening wail. She glanced up to see Pablo. He slowly extended his hands; bright light suddenly seemed to engulf his body. It shot through his fingers and cast the entire square in a blue, unearthly glow. The dark figures squealed and tried to scuttle away from the light.

Suddenly a hand clasped her upper arm and yanked her backward. A moment later another creature appeared where she had been standing. Alonzo
kept hold of her arm but took a step forward. He thrust a crucifix toward the creature's face.

“
Ego te expello in nomine Christi
.”

The creature shrieked and dissolved before her eyes. She looked from Alonzo to the cross held in his outstretched hand.

“Hey, whatever works.” He shrugged. “It was a demon.” He gestured up to where Pablo continued to illuminate the scene. “They have more cause to fear Light than we do. Problem is, not all of these things are demons.”

Alonzo spun away at a call from Armand. The younger man was surrounded by cloaked figures brandishing swords of their own. The bluish light flickered for a moment and Nicole glanced upward nervously. Pablo's strength was fading. Maybe she could get up on the roof and help him.

Her scalp began to tingle, and she twisted just in time to sidestep a dark figure rushing her. Demon or something else? She couldn't tell, but she could feel power begin to surge through her. She summoned a fireball. If it was human it would burn. If it was demon it would feel right at home. The thing turned just in time for the fireball to explode in its chest. A deep laugh came from it and set her hair on end. It took a step forward and she braced herself.

A ball of bright blue light burst through the creature's chest, and it stood for only a moment, staring, before it dissipated into smoke. Behind where the creature had stood was Philippe. He gave her a small smile before turning to battle two other demons who had been trying to sneak up on him.

She moved to help him. Just then Pablo's light was extinguished, and the entire square was plunged into darkness. Nicole whispered a spell to help her vision, but it only helped slightly.

Arms wrapped hard around her, lifting her, shrieking into the air. She opened her lips to scream a spell, but a strong hand clamped over her nose and mouth, shutting off her air. She struggled, trying to break free, but her attacker was too strong. As her strength was fading, she managed to twist around. The figure's hood had fallen back to reveal a familiar face, the face she had seen in her dreams.

As the world went black, the last thing she heard was Philippe's voice echoing in her mind. “
I will find you, Nicole. I will track you through heaven and hell if I must
.”

Amanda, Nicole, Kari: Seattle, November

Tante Cecile, Silvana, and Tommy—who had not been called to attend the meeting on the ferry—found Holly
and Amanda at the hospital. Like so many of the other survivors, they had been herded into a private conference room in the hospital away from the throngs of news media demanding eyewitness accounts, demanding to know exactly what had happened on the dark waters.

The place was in chaos—people in blankets crying, other people shouting, some sitting in numb silence on padded conference chairs or the additional gray metal folding chairs that had been brought in. On the conference room table were urns of coffee and trays of sandwiches.

Ensconced in their own little corner of the room, the two
voudon
enfolded the witches in their arms; all of them wept for Eddie.

Then Nicole called Amanda—whose cell phone, miraculously, had stayed in her jeans pocket and survived the ordeal in the water, as the little case she kept it in was waterproof—and told her about Eli.