Ghost in the Spell, page 11
Keir’s howls joined mine, and I swear I saw the beginnings of antlers poking from his forehead. He shuddered above me as he gave one final thrust.
After, he stared down at me, the black fading from his eyes. His eyes were wide with wonder as he stroked my hair away from my face. “That was….”
“Amazing,” I finished.
“I felt you inside me,” he said. “I felt myself inside you.”
“Well, I hope so,” I laughed.
He chuckled. “Not like that. It was like we were together outside our bodies.”
“Our souls intertwined.”
“Exactly.”
I nodded. “I felt it too, but I thought it was just a byproduct of mind-blowing sex.” I covered my mouth as a horrible thought popped into my head. “Oh. Oh, no. What if it’s my spirit magic? Could I have literally grabbed your soul and forced it to dance with mine?”
Keir snorted a laugh. “I can attest that my soul was willing.” He eased from me and rolled to his side. He traced a finger down my chest to my belly button. “We’ll figure it out.” He kissed me. “We always do.”
“I love you,” I told him. “And in case I haven’t told you lately, it’s embarrassing how much I love you.”
“You have all of me, Iris. Heart, body, and now, apparently, soul.”
I smacked his arm. “Don’t tease me.”
“I told you I’d make you howl.”
I giggled. “At least I didn’t grow antlers.”
His hands immediately went to his forehead, and I laughed again.
“We’re back!” I heard Rowan yell then he said, “Where is everyone?”
Thank you, silence spell.
CHAPTER 16
Michael looked out the living room window. “Dad’s here.”
I’d kept the bounce-bag from the night before, and I gave it to him. “Take this,” I told him. “Keep it in your pocket.”
He frowned. “What is it?”
“It’s a protection charm. If anyone tries to use magic on you, it will bounce the spell back at them. Carver made it for me.”
“Huh.” Michael tucked the charm into his front pocket. “Cool.” He kissed my cheek. “Thanks, Mom.”
“For what?”
“For not treating me like a baby.”
“You’ll always be my baby,” I cooed.
“And now you’ve ruined it.” He rolled his eyes and grinned. “I better go.” He opened the door and walked down the sidewalk to meet his father.
I went to the window and watched as they chatted for a moment. Then Michael shrugged and returned to the house with Evan behind him. Great. Ex-husband drama. And the day had started so well.
“Iris,” Evan greeted. “I wanted to check in with you. Anymore, uhm, supernatural trouble?”
“Nope. All’s good.”
Michael gave me a look that said, liar, liar, pants on fire. Whatever. He could tell his dad or not tell his dad whatever he wanted to at this point. I had made peace with Evan knowing about me being a witch. His getting magic-napped had made hiding it from him next to impossible. Thanks, bio-dad, for another shit sandwich.
“Good, good.” Evan ran his hands through his curls. “I’m glad you got it under control. Don’t want to have to worry about Michael.”
“Dad,” Michael said. “I told you I was fine.”
This must’ve been part of the sidewalk conversation. “Did you want anything in particular?” I asked my ex.
“No,” he said. “I’m just still trying to process everything you told me yesterday. After those men took me, you can’t blame me for being scared. I know that losing Michael would be the worst thing you, we, would ever experience.”
“Jesus,” Michael groaned. “I’m right here. Quit talking about me like I’m not.”
Evan’s concern made me anxious. Was I being too relaxed about the threat to our family? Maybe my job was to lock Michael somewhere safe and throw away the key. My neck started to itch. Was I getting hives now? Cripes. I needed the two of them to go have lunch before Evan pushed me to the edge with his paranoia.
My sweet Bob began to rub his body against my legs, purring as if my life depended on it. Thank you, sweet chonky-chonky. I picked up my Bob and cuddled him. He nipped my finger with a love bite.
As chill as possible, I said, “You guys go enjoy lunch. I’m sure nothing will fall apart in the time it takes to eat burgers and fries.”
“And a milkshake,” Evan added.
“That too,” I agreed. “I’ll be here when you get back. If you have more questions, you can ask. I can’t promise to have all the answers, though.”
Evan nodded. “That’s fair.” He put his hand on Michael’s shoulder. “And don’t worry, I’ll take care of him.”
My smile was as tired as I felt. “I know you will.”
I’ll admit, it was a relief to watch them drive away in Evan’s mini-SUV.
Carver, Rowan, Lu, and Keir were in the kitchen. Rowan sipped some tea and said, “And that’s why you don’t put wires up your urethra.” Both Keir and Carver were visibly appalled. Lu, on the other hand, looked amused.
“It was a dude, wasn’t it?”
“Without a doubt.” Luanne chuckled. “Women are less likely to stick things into their pee holes.” She gestured to Rowan. “Your brother entertained us with some horror stories from the emergency room. Like the one about the roach in the—”
I cut her off. “I’m good. No need to hear about the roach or anywhere it might’ve been.” I still had Bob in my arms. I sat down and put him on my lap. “What are we going to do about Bogmall?”
“Until she shows herself, she’s a ghost,” Lu said. “I’ve called my connections, and they’ve called their connections. She’s not on a single radar, and she has zero web presence and no credit cards, at least not under her name. I can’t even find a parking ticket.” She spread her hands wide. “But I didn’t come back with nothing. I found out some information about your mother.”
I scratched Bob’s ears faster. He shook his head but put it right back under my hand after. “You did?”
“Having the name helped. From there, it was easy to track down her social security number. It went inactive forty-two years ago.”
“A year after I was born.” I was suddenly nervous. “What else?”
“I found an adoption form.”
“For me?” I’d always been told I’d been abandoned at a hospital in Briarberry Falls. If there was a form, then my parents had lied to me.
Lu shook her head. “Not for you,” she said. “For Heather Goodall. She’d been adopted at birth. The adoption was closed. At nineteen, she petitioned the courts to unseal her adoption records, but the birth mother refused to disclose her identity.”
“Ouch,” Rowan said. “It’s one thing to not want to find your birth mother. It’s another to find out your birth mother never wants you to find her.”
I looked at my brother. He was five-ten, had dark red hair, blue eyes, a smattering of freckles across his nose, and he’d worn glasses since kindergarten when the teacher discovered that he couldn’t read the chalkboard. And, he’d always had a curiosity for science that seemed to elude the rest of us. I wonder how much was from his mother and how much was from his father. “Do you think about finding your birth parents?” I asked him.
He pushed his glasses up his nose and sniffed. “Sometimes. Mainly for health history. I had a patient who was adopted. A seemingly healthy woman in her late forties. She had high blood pressure, and within a year of her diagnosis, she had a stroke and a heart attack. Maybe if she had known her family history, we could’ve prevented the long road to recovery she’s had to endure.”
“But not because you want to know people who are related to you by blood?”
He shrugged. “I’m happy with the family I have.”
I put my hand out, and he took it. “Me too. Besides, finding your bio family is not all it’s cracked up to be. The two I’ve met both want to kill me. One of them is dead now, but you get the picture. I’m thrilled with the family I got as well.”
“I’ve got more information,” Lu said. “Heather Goodall’s last known location was Briarberry Falls. She had lived with another woman named Persephone Alexander.”
“Briarberry Falls is where I was abandoned as an infant.”
Lu nodded. “As luck would have it. Ms. Alexander still lives there.”
“You’re kidding me.”
“Nope.” Lu slid a piece of paper with a number on it. “I called her an hour ago to verify that she had known Heather. She says she’ll talk to you if you are interested.”
I felt numb. A woman living less than two hours away had known my mother and lived with her, probably while she was pregnant with Bogmall and me. If she could offer any insight into my psycho sister, it was worth the gas, right? So why did I feel like I was breaking a little on the inside?
Two and a half hours later, Keir and I drove to a cottage house in Briarberry Falls. The town, like Southill Village, was steeped in mountain heritage. Persephone Alexander’s cottage was a historic house, and a plaque above her mounted mailbox said, Kindred House, Est. 1899.
I took a deep breath and then pushed the doorbell. I could hear the chimes playing “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” inside the house.
The door opened, and a black woman with short gray hair, round glasses, and a steady gaze answered. “Hello,” she said. “You look just like your mother.”
I smiled nervously. “Can we, uhm, come in?”
“Yes.” She cast a suspicious eye at Keir. “Do come in, but be warned, I have safeguards around the house.”
Okay, not weird at all.
Keir didn’t take offense. “I don’t mean you any harm,” he told her. “I’m here for Iris. Moral support. I can wait in the car if you’d prefer.”
She made a show of mulling over his offer and then shook her head. “Do come in. I have tea and cookies.”
Ms. Alexander’s house was immaculately kept, and her furniture was all early 20th century. She had framed pictures of women lining the hallway walls, including black and white photos that looked like they predated the home. I raised my brows at Keir as if to ask wtf? He raised his back at me as if to answer, hell, if I know.
The woman wore pearl-beige silk pants with a matching jacket that went to her knees with a salmon pink camisole. She gestured for us to sit at her small kitchen table. There was a wooden box on the surface. “Those are your mother’s things. She left them behind when she ran.”
“Ran where?” I asked.
“As far away from you as possible,” the older woman answered. She took a kettle off the stove and poured hot tea into tiny cups.
Logically, I knew that Heather had been trying to protect me by leaving me behind, but hearing Ms. Alexander say those words stung. “And what about my sister?”
She stopped mid-pour. “What sister?”
“My twin,” I said. “My mother gave birth to two daughters. She gave me up, but what do you know about what happened to my sister?”
“Your mother didn’t have twins. There was only one child born. That was you.”
“That’s not true,” I said. “I have a twin sister. She was born before me.”
Ms. Persephone looked befuddled. “Child, I delivered you into this world right upstairs in the second bedroom on the left, and I promise you that you were the only child in that womb.”
Now I was confused. Derrick Asher and Bogmall were under the impression that Bogmall was my sister. My twin. But if Ms. Alexander had been the person to deliver Heather’s baby, me, how could both be true?
“I’ve met her,” I told the woman. “She’s a horrible person, but I believe her. For years, our biological father believed she was me.”
Her face grayed. “Derrick Asher?”
I nodded. “He’s dead.”
“Good.” Relief eased the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes. “I hope it was painful.”
“Not painful enough,” I said. I opened the box. Inside were pictures of a woman who did look a lot like me. She had light brown hair, hazel eyes, and a similar build to mine. The images of her when she was pregnant made me smile. One reminded me so much of my pregnancy. There were two rocks in the box. White and black. Fade and bright. There was also a necklace with a circle within a circle. “Spirit.”
The woman smiled as she brought the tea over. “Do you know what that means?”
“It’s the symbol for the spirit element,” I said.
The older woman nodded. “So you know your truth. I wondered if you ever would.”
I frowned. “You know about tru-craft.”
“Child.” She shook her head and pulled her necklace out of her blouse. It was an upside-down triangle with a line through the bottom.
“You are a tera-craft witch.”
She tucked her charm away. “What are you?”
“I am tera, ignis, aero, nero, and anima.”
She didn’t seem shocked. “Your potential was fulfilled, despite your mother’s best efforts. Ah well, with Asher dead, you should be safe enough.”
“Why did you think I wouldn’t?”
“Your mother had powerful spirit magic. She bound your soul to keep your power from manifesting. She believed it was the only way to keep you safe, but magic has a way,” she replied wanly. “Careful of the tea. It’s hot.”
“And Bogmall?”
The woman narrowed her gaze at me. “Bogmall….” She sighed and blew on her tea. “I can’t believe she did it.”
“Did what?” Keir asked.
“Heather asked me to make her a clay baby two months before Iris was born. Have you heard of clay babies?”
“No,” I told her. “But I’m guessing it’s a baby made of clay.”
“Your mother wanted me to create an infant out of clay who would look like a cross between her and Asher. She planned to animate the baby long enough for Asher to believe it was you, and then the infant would die within a few weeks. If Asher believed the child to be you, you would be safe. I used my tera-craft to sculpt the child, but I didn’t believe it would work.” The woman cackled. “She called the clay baby Bohdmall after a druidess from the Irish Fenian Cycle. Your mother was a romantic at heart.” She waved the thought away. “Anywho, it takes a god or goddess to create life from clay. I didn’t think she would get any of them to answer her prayers. She must’ve made them an offer they couldn’t refuse.” She looked suddenly weary. “But I guess she did. Are you saying this babe of clay is still alive?”
“Yes,” I said. “Definitely alive, and she’s extremely powerful.”
The woman leaned across the table and put her hand over mine. “She’s not your sister, Iris. She’s an empty vessel that should’ve never been filled.”
“This house,” I said. “It’s a refuge for tru-craft witches?”
“And other women in need.” Ms. Alexander smiled. “I was one of those women once. I stayed, so when Ms. Glenn died in nineteen seventy-eight, she gave me the house to carry on her legacy.” Her gaze caught mine. “I’d be pleased if you came back to visit. I don’t get much company these days.”
“I will,” I promised. As long as Bogmall didn’t kill me, I planned to keep it. “Now, please tell me everything you remember about my mother. The good, the bad, and the beautiful.”
Ms. Alexander grinned. “That I can do, child. That I can do.”
CHAPTER 17
I’d learned so much from Ms. Alexander, including that my mom had been a fan of Alien with Sigourney Weaver and loved listening to Fleetwood Mac and The Eagles. She’d been a young woman, not much older than my son when Derrick Asher turned her life into a living nightmare, but I was grateful she had Kindred House for a little while. A refuge in the storm.
I was still trying to absorb all the information she’d given me. One of the biggies: Bogmall wasn’t my sister. She was a piece of clay molded into something that had become a real living person. How in the world had my mother managed to pull it off? And what god or goddess had assisted her in the miracle? The visit to Briarberry Falls had yielded as many questions as it had answers.
“My mother had been anima-craft,” I said as Keir drove us back to Southill Village. I was just learning what it meant to have spirit magic.
“They are some of the most powerful tru-craft witches. A rare breed,” he added. “I can see where you get it from.” He reached over and put his hand on my thigh. “She sounds like the kind of mother who would do anything to protect her child. Sound familiar?” He squeezed my leg. “It runs in the family.”
“You’re not still upset with me for not telling you about the phone call, are you?” We hadn’t discussed it since last night, and I didn’t want us to be the kind of couple that avoided talking about the hard things. That hadn’t boded well for me in the past.
“I wasn’t upset with you,” he said.
“You’re not very good at hiding your emotions,” I told him. “You were mad at me all night.”
He gave me a coy glance. “I wouldn’t say all night..” I thought he might be referencing the part of the evening that I accidentally proposed, but since he hadn’t brought it up again, I’d let it go.
“So, you were mad at least part of the night..”
“I was…irritated.”
“I’m sorry,” I apologized. “I should know better than to hide things like that from you, but I was scared for Michael. As you said, I would do anything to protect him.”
“Not telling me wasn’t what irritated me. I knew you were keeping information from me when I left. Lu wanted to put a tracker on your car, but I told her we had to trust you.”
I arched my brow at him. “Did Lu put a tracker on my car?”
