Reckoning

  I almost dropped the book in shock.

  “Charlie!” I called, my voice husky.

  He came right around from the row behind. I explained what I had seen and offered the book to him. He took it, examined it all over.

  “Edelsteine und Metalle,” he said, holding the spine out for me too see. “Something and metals.”

  I looked at the spine again. There was the title, in gold letter in the greenish black cloth. It hadn’t been there a second ago. I was shaking a bit now, and he put his hand on my shoulder to steady me.

  “It must have been spelled with some kind of glamour or concealment spell,” he said. “That’s all. You’re not going crazy. Let’s have a look at it and find out why it was being hidden. This is a private family library, so it’s kind of strange for a Rowanwand to hide a book from a relative.” We took it over to the reading table and switched on the light. Charlie began to page through the book. In the first moment we could see it was definitely not a German textbook on something and metals. It was handwritten, in English. It looked like a Book of Shadows, with dates at the tops of the pages. Charlie’s eyes grew wider with every page. “This is Máirin’s book,” he said, looking up, his eyes full of awe. “Oona’s daughter. No one’s

  seen this book in years. How the hell...”

  Máirin’s book. That was what I had found. The story of the family witch, down here, in the secret Curtis family library. This was where my mother had experienced a frightening telekinetic episode. There was too much magick, too many feelings tied into this house. I chose this moment to become completely overwhelmed. Even though I tried to will them back, I felt tears well up behind my eyes. Charlie looked up in alarm and saw my eyes glistening. “What is it?” he said, setting his hand back on my shoulder. “All these weird feelings,” I answered, rubbing my eyes. “All of these strange things I don’t understand.”

  As much as I knew he was dying to look in that book, he slid it aside and turned all his attention to me.

  “It must be really hard to have to deal with so much magick at once,” he said. “Just try to relax. I’m right here. Nothing that’s happened is too out of the ordinary.” “Everything is out of my ordinary,” I moaned. Instead of reading, we sat there for a while, talking. I found myself telling him about the dark wave and how frightened I had been. I told him about Hilary and all the things that had led up to my running away---all of the really personal things that I’d left out of my first explanation. I finally explained that I had a problem with telekinesis and that that what I was trying to find out more about.

  “The newest thing,” I explained, feeling my defenses collapse under the calming weight of his hand on my shoulder, “is that I can feel other witches around me. I can sense their feelings. I can sense my mother here, even though she’s gone. I like the feeling of connection, but it also scares me. Everything comes so fast now. I’m never expecting any of it.” Then he leaned in, and his look took on a new level of seriousness. “Can you feel my senses right now?” he said. My body seemed to freeze in time. My heart stopped. I didn’t breathe, didn’t move. Everything was anticipation. I could feel him. He was going to... what? He came in close, took my face in one of his soft hands, and kissed me. I’d never been kissed before, and I’d been kind of worried that I wouldn’t know what to do when and if it ever happened. Luckily I didn’t freak out or accidentally bit him or anything. I pressed to his mouth and responded naturally. He slipped his hands behind my neck and pulled me closer. Warmth...so much warmth. A universe of warmth. As he pulled away, he looked at me in happy surprise.

  “I...” He seemed to catch himself speaking bit didn’t know what to say. “I’ve been wanting to do that since I saw you yesterday.”

  Could I speak? Did my mouth still work? Was my voice going to come out all funny? Only one way to find out.

  “Me too,” I said. “I mean, not kissing myself. You know. You.” Smooth, Soto. Smooth.

  Fleeting concern zapped through my brain. What about Brigid? What did this mean? Those feelings were numbed when I felt the sensation again. He wanted to pull me into him, and I wanted him to wrap his arms around me. But the flow cooled quickly, like we’d blown a fuse, and all the power went down. We must have become aware of it at the same moment. We sat very still and listened.

  Someone was upstairs.

  13. Attack

  September 24, Goddess, goddess, where have I been? I'm only just now getting the strenght to get out of bed and resume my daily activities.

  We opened the lith dearc two nights ago. Claire Findgoll and I, down on the shore below the

  house. IT is a terrible yet fascinating thing, this small hole that rips through the fabric of

  the universe and seems to go on eternally. I maintained the dearc while Clair comducted the spell to try and draw Oona from the house into the opening. I am glad that Claire stood away from it, as it possesses a devastating force. It actually drains you of life energy. I feel as though I've been poisoned.

  We haven't had any visitations since we performed the spell, but only time will tell if we've been successful.

  Oh, I must go to sleep again. There is nothing left in me. No energy at all. ---Aoibheann

  "Hello?" called a female voice. "Mom?"

  "It's Brigid," Charlie whispered, all color draining from his face. "She's home early.' "Should I... hide down here while you go up?" I offered. Good one, Alisa. The sitcom situation always works so well in real life.

  "No," he answered, shaking his head. "She knows we're here." "Brigid, I had figured, wasn't a powerful witch---but she was still a witch. Feeling another's presence in the house seemed like something she would very well be able to do. We head her walking through the kitchen and then opening the basement door. "Okay," Charlie admitted, "this is kind of bad." "What do we do?" I asked.

  He squeezed my hand quickly, as a kind of apology for what was probably going to happen next. "I have no idea," he said.

  "Hello?" Brigid called again. She approached the door to the library, which was still open behind us. "Aunt Evelyn?" Brigid said. She came down the steps and looked at the two of us, first in confusion and then with a growing flurry of emotion. "Charlie? Alisa?" she said, her voice wavering. "What are you two doing here?" "Researching," Charlie said simply.

  "Researching?" she said. "You came in here when we weren't here... both of you?" Whether through magick or regular female intuition (which might also be magick, I don't know), Brigid seemed to know at once that there was a problem. She sat down on the bottom step, blocking our way out. Did kissing a witch leave a mark on your mouth? Did my lips glow? Could she see some kind of imprint?

  "Alisa needed help." Chalrie said. "She's trying to find out about her ancestors, and Evelyn was definitely wasn't going to give her a hand. Sorry. We had to come in when Evelyn wasn't here." "You could have told me," she said. "I would have helped you."" Oh. If we didn't feel bad before...

  "So," she said, staring hard at me, "did you find anything?" "A book," I said immediately realizing how stupid that answer was. I went to a library and found... a book. Not for the first time in my life, I wished the floor would open under me and swallow me whole.

  After a few moments of silence it finally dawned on my that I should leave them alone. I didn't want to leave Charlie to the wolves or anything, but had no place here. They needed to talk. And I had a feeling Charlie was going to come clean about what had just occurred. "I should probably go," I said, "before Evelyn gets home, like you said. She'd be furious to find me here."

  "That might be a good idea." Charlie nodded. We probably realized at the same moment that he had driven me here.

  "I'll walk back," I added. "I could use some fresh air." I tucked the book into my messenger bag. "I'll return this to Sam," I said to Brigid. "He'll put it back in the library." Then I did my walk of shame, crossing the room and headed to where she was perched. Brigid slid aside to let me pass. She said nothing. She wouldn't---or couldn't---even look at me. As I stepp
ed past, my leg brushed against her. I almost jumped as a surge went through that

  whole half of my body. I felt a wave of pure raw emotion coming off her. She might look furious,

  but inside, everything in her was weeping. It was a long walk home through the mist and the wet, with my brain clanging between elation and guilt.

  I mean, he kissed me. What was I supposed to do? Slap him, like they do in old movies. Call him a cad. I hadn't done anything wrong...it wasn't my fault... But then I examined my motives. Did I want Charlie to kiss me? Yes. Was he my cousin's boyfriend? Yes.

  Guilty.

  I sucked. I sucked, I sucked, I sucked.

  But still it had been the best moment of my life. I had touched his face and felt the tiny, soft curls at the back of his head, down near his neck. It had been good, so good, too good. I still felt like I was walking through an incredible dream. Yet Brigid's feelings were still so close, so strong. She loved Charlie---who wouldn't? He was adorable and funny and smart. Tall. Powerful. She had turned her back for a moment---to be responsible and go to work, no less---and then her weird out-of-town cousin appeared, broke into her house, and made out with her boyfriend. I trudged along, seagulls screaming overhead, my hair slowly collecting dampness for the air. It took me about forty-five minutes to get back to Sam's. When I got there, Enya was playing and delicious smells of garlic, fish, and cooking tomatoes were coming from the kitchen. Sam had obviously gone to the trouble to make sure I came back to a nice welcome---and I returned, the other woman, the coven wrecker... "Did you have a good day?" Sam asked, putting a salad bowl out on the table. "Great!" I said with forced enthusiasm.

  "What did you do?"

  "Oh," I said, picking up Mandu and letting him climb up on my shoulder, "just hung out with Charlie."

  "Charlie's a great guy." Sam nodded. "A fantastic witch, too." You have no idea, I thought... Sam looked up at me strangely, and I banished all thoughts of Charlie from my mind and set a straight and steady expression on my face. "Before I forget," he said, "I found some pictures of your mother I wanted to show you. Could you watch the stove for a second? And feel free to start the salad." "Sure," I said, setting the cat on the floor. As Sam headed for the stairs, I started making the salad, dumping the mesclun into the salad bowl and replaying the kiss again and again in my mind. I set it against the music, felt the surge of bliss thrumming through my body. Charlie was so handsome, so tall, so funny, so nice, so smart, so... Taken. By my cousin. What was I thinking? I tossed some vinaigrette into the greens a little more aggressively than was really necessary. The cats cocked their heads at me.

  Just as I had the night before, I suddenly felt something in the pit of my stomach telling me that something was wrong, very wrong. I looked up, all senses alert. Something was here. A presence. Something very foul. I let go of the salad tongs and looked around the kitchen. And then it happened.

  The first blow was on my left arm, and it sent me reeling backward, pain jagging all the way down my hand. I heard glass shattering behind me. I whirled around to see all of the dishes flying out of the open rack under the cabinets, and they all came at me, one after the other. I didn't have time to move or think. Something broke against my head. Glass fell onto my eyelids. I pulled my arms up to guard my face and head as best I could, but the blows were coming harder, pushing me back against the wall. Something in me stirred, ready to battle. I felt every fiber of my being tingling. I could stop this. I could...

  I concentrated hard. Some of the dishes started to pop and splinter midair, before they got to me. It was as id they where smashing against an invisible wall, and I knew I was doing it. No idea how---but I was doing it. Some still made it through. There were so many. The drawers were rattling, coming loose, coming at me. I dropped to the ground and started crawling for the

  table, elbowing my way through the shards.

  I could see Sam trying to get to me, but I felt myself growing weak. Everything went black and white, and there was a ringing in my ear that drowned out every other sound. I was fainting, I realized.

  The next thing I knew, Sam was putting me down on the sofa. My clothes sparkled with bits of plate and drinking glass.

  "I'm all glassy," I said, tears welling into my eyes. "Sam, I'm all glassy." "I know," he said, checking over my head, my face, my eyes. "Look at me, Alisa. Look at me." It was hard, but I focused on his face. He studied me. "I'm going to take off my clothes," I said, standing uncertainly and wobbling from foot to foot. For some reason, the glass on my clothes was really preoccupying me. "I have to get this stuff away from me."

  "Steady now, sweetheart." He looked over the shards that dangled like icicles from my clothes. He yanked a pair of pajama's from the top of my bag and set them down. "Get changed. I'll be back in a second."

  I heard him run upstairs, heard the bang of a cabinet door. I pulled off my pants and T-shirt and dumped them in the center of the room. Then I put on some soothing fleece pants and the camisole pajama top. That was better. So much better. I looked down and saw that my forearms were dripping with blood. The sofa loomed up at me, and I grabbed for it, holding tightly to the cushions for balance. And then everything went black again.

  The lights in the room were dim. I was waking up. I was under a blanket. Was it morning? I didn't think so.

  Where was I?

  Sam's, I realized after a moment. The dishes. I remembered now. I looked up to see Ruth sitting next to me, holding an ice pack to my forehead with her uncasted arm. I tried to sit up, but she put a gentle hand on my shoulder. "Stay down, Alisa." she said.

  "What happened?" I asked.

  "We don't know." Ruth smoothed my hair. "We're trying to figure it out." "We?" I asked.

  "Charlie was here when you were out," she said. "He put a ring of protection spells around the house."

  "While I was out?"

  "You've been unconscious for hours," she explained. "It's almost ten. Kate Giles is here now. "She's another member of Ròiseal. She works in defensive magick." "Where's Sam?" I said, trying to lift my head to look around. "Doing a divination spell to see if he can find out what caused this," she answered, indicating that I should rest again. "He's fine."

  I took an inventory of myself. Both my arms were wrapped in gauze from my palms to my elbows. I felt something on my head as well. I had no shirt on---that was probably why I was under the blanket. There were soft little things resting on various points of my stomach and chest---they felt like little cloth bags. I guessed they were full of herbs or witch ointments. I was generally a bit sore, but nothing felt broken. I'd done a lot of strange telekinetic things in the last few weeks, but I'd never attacked myself. Also, what I'd felt right before the dishes started flying hadn't come from inside me. I'd felt something coming from the outside, like a magickal draft. This time it hadn't been me. What was happening? I thought of calling Hunter. He would know what to do. This was his kind of job.

  There was the sounds of loud heels on the steps. A young woman, maybe just around Hilary's age, came into the room.

  "She's awake," Ruth said. "Come on over." The woman approached. She was strinking---definitely shades of Raven. Her hair long and auburn with a dramatic streak of blond in the front. She had a powerful body, with sleek, defined arms and a Celtic tattoo up near her right shoulder. The whole effect was set off by the

  formfitting black pants, sleeveless shirt, and black boots she wore. This was Kate, I guessed.

  She looked really tough, but also feminine. Pretty much exactly how you think a female defensive magick expert should look---kick-ass and cool. "Alisa, this is Kate," Ruth said, confirming my suspicion. "Hi Alisa," Kate said, sitting down on the floor next to me. "How do you feel?" "Like I've just been hit on the head with a lot of plates." She smiled. "Well, at least your sense of humor is still intact. That's a good sign." She looked up at Ruth, "Sam get anything?"

  "Not yet." Ruth shook her head. "So, what do you think?" "Well," Kate said, twisting one of her many silver rings, "it
looks a little like Oona'. I'm finding the same residual energy disturbance that I usually see after she graces us with her presence. It's not exactly the same, but it's close enough." "But how can Oona be here?" Ruth asked, putting her hand to her head in concern. "Beats me," Kate replied. "She's never transferred her energy like this before. This is totally new. Charlie covered this place well, but I'll add another layer of protection spells before I go. It's all I can think to do."

  "Goddess," Ruth groaned, panic in her voice. "Oh, Goddess. It's spreading." Sam came in from the kitchen. He looked to Kate, and she repeated what she had just said to Ruth. Then he came over to me.

  "Hey, kiddo," he said, squatting down.

  "Sorry about your dishes," I said.

  He broke into a boyish grin and stroked my hair. "Okay," Kate said, "I'd better get back. Don't worry, Alisa. We've been spelling this house for hours. Rest easy tonight. If you have any more trouble, Sam, I'm a phone call away." Kate gave Ruth a gentle pat on the shoulder, pulled on a black leather jacket and a pair of gloves, and headed out.

  "Do you want me to stay?" Ruth asked. "Or I'm sure Aunt Evelyn is home by now. We can call her..."

  "No," said Sam, standing up. "Let's not. We've done all we can do. Alisa just has to be able to rest. There's nothing left here. I don't see any immediate threat." She and Sam shared a long look, as if they were communicating telepathically. (Which they may have been able to do, I had no idea.) Ruth finally nodded. "Leave these packs on for another half hour," she told Sam. Also, put some marigold tisane and apple cider vinegar on a washcloth. You can apply that to the bruises tomorrow. But I'll check in and see how things are going."

  After Ruth had gone, Sam and I sat down at the kichen table and drank tea out some paper cups he had left over from a picnic. Sam lent me a snuggly bathrobe to wear since I couldn't put my shirt back on over the packs that Ruth had attached to my chest with medical tape. The kitchen looked more or less normal, just with piles of broken glass swept into the corners. "Tomorrow," he said, "I'm taking the day off. How about we go to Salem? You know, get out of here for a little while."