21. Sebastian
Sebastian
S ebastian gathered his tools and spell elements into the large working room on the first floor of the house.
He’d sent Justin home with his coven master.
He didn’t want the vampire to get any ideas about tagging along.
Veronica was a dangerous witch, but Sebastian was fairly certain she wouldn’t kill her own brother.
Justin, on the other hand, she would have no qualms about.
The casting circle was etched into the wood floor, a deep groove from almost a century of use by the witches of Bayonne, now painted white.
Because of the nature of his magic, Sebastian seldom set up a circle—his chaos spirits didn’t particularly care for such structured spells—but for this, he’d need the power amplification.
After all, he wasn’t sure exactly how far away Veronica was.
She could be as close as the island of Manhattan, and as far away as somewhere in Canada.
She would be well hidden. He was sure of that.
Sitting cross-legged on the floor at the center of the circle, Sebastian picked up one of the nearby silver bowls and dumped several large oregano leaves from a plastic baggie into it.
He placed it in front of him with a little bit of room between for him to work.
From his pocket, he pulled out a necklace Linda had given him.
Although Sebastian had several items Veronica had given him over the years, birthday presents and the like, Linda’s affinity for bonds meant anything she owned with a connection to his sister would be more effective.
Placing it down on a square of unadorned black fabric, Sebastian admired the gold necklace.
A simple chain, the links were fine and well-made, and a single small sapphire hung from it.
Sapphire was Linda’s stone. If Sebastian remembered correctly, this had been a Mother’s Day present. How things had changed.
Sebastian folded the black fabric around the necklace, then took a thin silver cord and wrapped it twice around the small packet, tying it in a simple bow.
Fetching a book of matches from his pocket, he lit the oregano aflame, the smoky, herby smell filling his nostrils.
He wafted the ensuing smoke toward him with his hand, directing it to envelop the silver-bound fabric packet.
Closing his eyes, he placed one hand on the encased necklace and reached out with his senses, enticing the spirits to help him find his sister.
With the power of the casting circle behind him, it was but moments before they were swirling around him, bouncing around and jostling to get his attention like a pack of impatient toddlers.
For this, he would need all of them.
Sebastian reached out with his mind, sending the spirits a visual of his sister and encouraging them to follow the bonds entrenched in the gold necklace. With a vibrating pulse, the chaos spirits shook and wiggled as one, caressing the fabric package under his fingers with their incorporeal bodies.
Then they were off, spinning out in a million different directions, heading on their journeys to find Veronica.
Breathing deeply, Sebastian attempted to relax his shoulders and get comfortable.
He would be here for at least three hours.
Longer, if she was further away than he thought.
There was no way she was physically in Bayonne.
Everything that happened the night before could have been managed from a distance. From whatever hole she was hiding in.
He hoped she was holed up, at least. Tracking a moving target would be much more difficult.
Settling in, Sebastian waited for the first pull.
The sun was peeking through the art deco stained glass in the old, converted dining room when the pull manifested.
It was from the north, and it was weak. Sebastian grumbled in annoyance as he opened his eyes.
She was miles away, possibly even out of the country.
He hoped not, since that would complicate things.
Although if his senses were serving him, he didn’t believe she’d gone that far.
She was several hundred miles away, though.
Great.
He didn’t bother packing beyond shoving a few spell supplies in his backpack before jumping in the beat-up old junker the Circle used for the rare occasions when they needed to drive.
It was early morning on a Saturday, and if he got on the road now, he’d be out of town before the Manhattan tourist traffic built up.
The sedan must have been from the 1980s.
The exterior was a wood grain, which looked insane on the road amongst more modern cars.
Sebastian had no doubt that, without the help of magic, the thing would have fallen apart years ago.
But his mother was nostalgic sometimes, and she was willing to expend power to keep the favorite car of her twenties still running.
At first, Sebastian drove vaguely north, checking in sporadically to make sure the necklace continued to pull in that direction.
After he’d been on the road a few hours, and the trees around the highway had grown taller and denser, he opened up a map on his phone.
The pull was stronger now, strong enough to do some guesswork.
Stopping for gas, he leaned against the side of the car, the sickly-sweet fumes filling his nostrils.
Doing some directional math in his head, it was clear Veronica was somewhere in the Adirondack Park.
The only question was, had she holed up in one of the tourist towns? Or was she somewhere in the wilderness?
Probably the latter. She’d find the most inconvenient spot possible before any aggressive moves toward the Circle. She wasn’t stupid. She had to have known if she’d failed, someone would come after her.
Hopping back in the car after being eyed by a young mom with two kids under five—probably because of his disheveled appearance—he sped off north once more. He had at least another hour to go, if not two, before he got anywhere near close.
He kept closer tabs now, one hand on the piece of jewelry at all times, gauging when he’d need to get off the main roads. Eventually, he did, the way getting bumpier and the pavement more broken the stronger the necklace pulled.
Finally, he came to an impasse.
Looking at the possible routes on his phone, it was clear this was about as far as he would be able to travel by car. The woods were dense, with tall, thick underbrush stuffed in between each larger evergreen trunk.
This was going to suck.
Leaving the car behind at a rest stop, he stared melancholically at the line of trees in front of him. He hadn’t been smart enough to bring anything to hack through the brush with.
Sighing, he walked back to the trunk of the car. Would his mother have stashed some kind of weapon in there? Sliding the key into the lock, the latch popped open as the top swung upward, revealing a sight that shocked Sebastian, even though it shouldn’t have given Linda’s proclivities.
The trunk had twelve hard black cases of varying sizes. He was looking at a travel armory. Opening one case revealed a small pistol. Another contained a butterfly knife.
Shaking his head, he popped one of the longer ones open. There it was. A machete. Shrugging, he picked it up, the large, lightweight knife balancing perfectly in his hand.
Might as well get to it.
Grasping the wrapped necklace in his left hand, Sebastian hacked a path with his right. His instincts told him he was only a few miles from his sister, although those miles would be hard won. The brush was tightly packed, and he’d be fighting through a foot or two at a time.
It was times like these when he wished he had any skill at flying. Chaos affinities were the worst for that sort of thing, though. His spirits might hoist him aloft and then decide at the last minute it would be funny if he came crashing down.
The going was slow, and as he went, his clothes grew damp with sweat. Briars and barbs poked holes in his jeans and light coat. It was only the ever-growing pull of the necklace that kept Sebastian fighting his way through.
By the time he reached a clearing, the sun was setting, casting dark layers of shadows throughout the forest. Sebastian was exhausted, panting hard as he stumbled out of the undergrowth.
He was met with a welcome sight. There at the far edge of the clearing was a rickety wooden shack, its boards ashen gray from years of weathering.
The necklace pulled straight toward it.
He stopped for a moment, grasping the machete tightly.
He swung his backpack around and, after tucking the necklace away into the large compartment, grabbed a small glass spell jar from one of the front pockets.
A simple flash spell. It wouldn’t do any damage, but it would blind anyone who might attack him, giving him an extra moment to react.
Taking a deep breath, he strode to the rotting front door of the shack. He didn’t know what he might find inside, but he knew his sister was here somewhere. His first tactic would be talking. There had to be some way through this without bloodshed.
Reaching down, he grasped the rusted iron door handle and pulled, wincing at the effort it took to unstick it from the frame. He stepped inside.
There was no one there.
He moved to the center of the one-room shack, glancing around, then staring at the dirt floor. His sister had to be here. Spinning around, he opened his senses, attempting to find any trace of Veronica or her magic.
And that’s when a bright orange cage of energy sprang up around him. Instinctively, he threw the spell jar to the ground, and the whole cabin was filled with a blinding light. In his surprise, he forgot to shield his own eyes, and his vision instantly went blurry.
Dammit.
He reached around blindly, but didn’t dare to move far. As his hands neared any of the bars of magical energy, intense heat poured off them. Ultimately, he stopped moving altogether, accepting defeat.
His eyesight was starting to return when a figure stepped into the doorway.
“Hello, little brother.”