Chapter 2 #2
“I’ve got to go,” Persi said suddenly, breaking the silence with the violent scraping back of her chair.
“I’m falling behind on my work, with all these goddamn divination lessons.
Someone else is going to have to take over.
” Then she flung her fork down on her plate, drained her wine glass in a single enormous swallow, and stormed out of the room.
It wasn’t until several seconds later, when the French doors slammed, that any of us dared to breathe again.
“That was my fault,” Rhi said in a tiny voice, eyes fixed determinedly on her half-eaten dinner. “All my fault. I shouldn’t have mentioned the Claires.”
“Rhi, stop beating yourself up,” my mom said. “We can hardly discuss this topic without mentioning the Claires. They’re as wrapped up in it as we are.”
“But still—”
“But nothing. She’s grieving, yes, but we won’t help her by walking on eggshells and burying every reminder of Bernadette under a mountain of unspoken things,” my mom said. “She has to face the loss to get past it, Rhi, you know that.”
“I do, but I’m not at all convinced Persi does,” Rhi said, shaking her head sadly and pushing her plate away, like the thought of food was suddenly repulsive.
“She hadn’t even gotten around to dealing with Asteria’s death yet, and now Bernadette was right on its heels.
You know Persi, she’s never been good with…
” Rhi trailed off, apparently searching for the right word.
“Actual emotions? Human connection?” my mom suggested dully.
“No, I… okay well, yes, kind of,” Rhi said, bristling a little. “It’s not that she doesn’t feel it, Kerri, but she’s never coped well with the fallout.”
“Trust me, I know,” my mom said. Then she looked over at me, as though startled to see me sitting there. “Sorry, Wren. This is all… you shouldn’t have to deal with—”
“It’s okay,” I said. “She’s my family, too, you know.”
My mom smiled and squeezed my hand, both of which still felt like an apology.
“Do you think someone should go after her?” I asked.
Rhi shook her head. “No. If she’s out in the workshop, then she wants to be alone.”
“Just because she wants to be alone doesn’t mean she should be,” I said.
“Well, you could certainly try, if you like being hexed and having heavy objects thrown at your head,” Rhi said flatly.
“Oh. Right. Well, yeah, I guess we should just… give her space,” I said.
“The fact is, we won’t be able to avoid the Claires, not with the meeting tomorrow,” my mom said. “It’s going to be difficult for her to even step into that house.” The words landed like a blanket over the room, draping us all in muffled silence.
The meeting. I’d been so wrapped up in interpreting my divination lesson that I’d actually managed to forget about it for a couple of hours; but now, all the anticipation came flooding back.
Ever since Jess had left the Cove, we knew we’d have to deal with the Durupinen again soon.
It was too much to hope that they’d leave the Source completely uninvestigated, and sure enough, by the next day, the phone had rung.
The Durupinen were coming. Or rather, the Durupinen were already here. They’d arrived yesterday morning, their every move tracked by the Conclave, and relayed to us by a breathless and overexcited Davina.
“All settled in the guest house behind the Manor, they are. Posh lot, expensive luggage, and designer clothes. Look like movie stars, if truth be told,” she babbled when she stopped by after breakfast the previous day.
“That’s all very interesting, Davina, but I was rather hoping for details like how many of them are there, and what their plans are for the day now that they’ve arrived,” my mom had said, masking her impatience behind a slightly strained smile.
“Oh, right. Two of the women, and four great hulking brutes of men—look like bodyguards, all in black, with the earpieces and the sunglasses,” Davina said.
“Ostara and Xiomara were there to greet them. They offered a tour of the town, but it seems the Durupinen want to keep a low profile, and they thought a tour might draw attention from the locals. Same reason they’re staying at the Manor, rather than one of the hotels, I imagine. ”
My mom snorted. “More likely Ostara wants to keep them on a short leash.”
“No question about that,” Davina agreed. “Still, the fewer people that know they’re here, the better.”
“And what are the plans? When will they—”
“This evening. Ostara, myself, and Xiomara will bring them and oversee the whole visit.”
I didn’t have to ask what they were talking about.
My mother wanted to know when the Durupinen would be brought to the Source.
It was the thing we all seemed to be the most anxious about, though I couldn’t really explain why.
It just seemed, if the Durupinen and the Source were brought together, that something must…
happen. What that nebulous something was, I had no idea, but I had a tight feeling in my chest every time I thought about them walking into that cave.
It took me some time to realize that I was feeling protective—of my town, my family, and most crucially of all, the mysterious power that had drawn us all here all those hundreds of years ago.
And if I was feeling like that, new as I was to being a witch of Sedgwick Cove, then I guess it was no wonder Ostara was teetering on the brink of a meltdown over the whole situation.
But this morning we’d been told that the trip to the Source had taken place, and nothing at all alarming or concerning had occurred. They had examined the site and performed, for lack of a better term, a test of the Geatgrima to ensure it was functioning as it ought to.
“From what I could understand,” Xiomara told us over a cup of tea earlier this morning, “all was as it should be. They could detect none of the damage that had led Jess Ballard to investigate it in the first place. It seems that Sarah’s Crossing really did heal whatever chaos she had wrought since Bernadette made contact with her.
The Durupinen’s main concern now seems to be ensuring such damage does not happen again. ”
“Well, I think we can all agree on that,” Rhi had said, looking decidedly relieved. “Surely we can work together to that end.”
But Xiomara’s lips were pursed into a skeptical little knot. “Hmm. We shall see,” was all she would say.
Maybe it was because I had spent more time with Jess than the rest of them, but I was cautiously optimistic about the Durupinen.
Jess had shown nothing but respect for our magic as witches, and though she had been concerned about the state of the Geatgrima, she hadn’t seemed possessive of it.
I really believed she cared as much about protecting us, the residents of the Cove, as she had about protecting the Geatgrima itself.
She’d also spoken very highly of their High Priestess, who was among the visitors now ensconced in the Manor guest house.
I trusted Jess, therefore I trusted the rest of the Durupinen. I just hoped that the next evening’s meeting would prove that trust was not misplaced.