Chapter 36
Chapter
Thirty-Six
MOIRA
Sometimes Hazel pissed me off. The witch was good at what she did, but the way she went about it made me want to chew my own arm off.
She was so goddamned slow. How many times did she have to mortar and pestle herbs to get the right consistency? Goddamn woman, get a food processor or a coffee grinder.
For fuck’s sake.
I was barely keeping my shit together while Hazel was humming to herself as she set up the boundary surrounding the tree.
Did all the candles have to be white? Couldn’t we just go to the dollar store instead of ordering some stupid European beeswax candles ‘soaked in the light of the first Monday’s full moon. ’
Witchcraft felt like being punked. Did any of this shit actually matter, or was there some massive conglomerate full of white dudes wearing suits and expensive cufflinks in the shape of dollar bills laughing their ass off while they tricked the masses into purchasing shit that didn’t matter?
Power was inherent. Power was everywhere, all around us in the air and ground. We were made up of atoms for crying out loud, and the forces around us fueled those atoms. We could all become supernovas if we put our minds to it.
And Hazel was over here worried about spring water pulled from a virgin’s tears.
Kill me now, please.
Even Caelan was twitchy. His claws kept retracting and sliding from his skin, and he looked like he wanted to bite Hazel’s head off like the last part of a lollipop.
“Staring at me won’t make me go any faster,” Hazel said primly as she added a touch of probably something stupid to the cast iron bowl in the middle of her wooden table.
“How is this going to help?” Caelan asked, his voice barely understandable. Eyes of burnished gold cast a light over the area.
Ash was seated cross-legged on the ground, his eyes closed, though I could feel his amusement. He always thought it was funny when I got annoyed like this. The dryad had seen my temper and didn’t flinch, so I wasn’t afraid for him to see my annoyance.
I kept my temper mostly hidden from Evie, though when she got back, maybe I’d be more open about myself. She deserved it.
I was a shit for hiding myself from her for so long. All she’d ever done was love me.
“It may not,” Hazel said. “This is merely a beacon to let her know where we are. If she’s still conscious, it may lead her home.”
“Her power is gone,” I said. “How can she escape?”
Hazel’s hands stilled. She turned to face me.
“Never in my life have I met someone with her sheer will to live. All Evie wanted to do was overcome her challenges and try to carve out some semblance of a life, even after everything. I have to believe she is fighting to find a way to return to us.” She buried her shaking hands in the folds of her skirt.
“It is the only thing I can believe if I don’t want to fall to my knees and scream to the heavens.”
I blinked in surprise as Hazel turned back around and finished up.
Okay. Maybe I’d been a little hasty in my judgment. If she needed virgin tear spring water, I’d stop being a bitch about it.
She finished up a few minutes later and stepped away, her sharp gaze taking everything in one last time.
“Step back,” she commanded.
We all walked back a few feet.
Hazel lifted a hand and twisted it toward the circle. As one, every candle lit up. The brick of incense began to smoke before a sharp, pungent scent circled the area. I wrinkled my nose but stayed silent.
Hazel nodded once to herself.
“Now we wait.”