Chapter 25
Alethea chose a gauzy white slip dress that was really more of a bathing suit cover up than it was an actual outfit. The spell’s instructions said to “bare thine skin to the elements” but she figured this was close enough. She’d already have a hard enough time explaining what she was doing if one of her friends woke up and saw her. In an effort to decrease the chances of that, she had suggested they all have a cup of Brent’s grandmother’s tea after dinner, hoping it would help them get a good night’s sleep. So far it seemed to be working, as both Danica and Priya had decided to go to bed early.
She gathered up the handful of colored candles and put them into the canvas tote where she had the rest of her gear. Her hands shook as she picked up the grimoire and slung the bag over her shoulder. Was she really doing this? What if something went wrong? What if she seriously hurt herself or worse yet hurt someone else? For the millionth time she wished Brent was here. His calm demeanor was always so reassuring and she could use some of that right now.
Tiptoeing out of the cottage with Dandelion in tow, she closed the front door silently behind her. The light from the full moon shone brightly down on the lawn, illuminating the pathway and garden. Alethea took in a deep breath. I sure hope you’re right about this, Brent. After sweeping the area with the little pushbroom to disperse any negative energies, she began laying out all of the necessary objects according to the diagram Brent’s grandmother had drawn, using the compass on her phone to figure out the directions. She placed a yellow candle to the east, symbolizing air and continued down the line, placing a different colored candle at each of the cardinal points. The further along she got, the greater that fear rose within her.
She was making a mistake. She shouldn’t be playing around with things she didn’t understand. This whole thing was stupid anyway. She wasn’t actually a witch after all. The negative thoughts flew at her, assaulting her ability to use judgment and reason. Suddenly, she heard the sound of footsteps approaching and she froze. Had a neighbor seen the fire she was building and come to investigate since it was so late? How was she going to explain why she had a chef’s knife, a bowl of salt, and colored candles scattered around an herb garden? Her heart raced as anxiety coursed through her. The beam of a flashlight came into view and the sound of footsteps grew louder.
“Alethea?”
She heard Brent’s hushed voice and instantly relaxed, relieved it hadn’t been a curious neighbor.
“I’m over here!” she whispered as loudly as she dared, waving her arm.
Brent turned off the flashlight and made his way across the lawn towards the fire. As he approached, his form coming into view, Alethea noticed a large gray tabby cat in tow.
“Brent, what are you doing here?”
“Chasing after this guy.” He pointed to the cat that sat perfectly still at his feet. “He bolted from the house and got about halfway down Main Street before I could catch up to him.”
Alethea smiled at the gray tabby who was looking at her intently. “Well, you must be Zax I presume?” She stretched out her hand and after a moment’s hesitation, Sir Zachery moved slowly toward it, sniffing the air as he went.
Brent continued his explanation. “Then I figured since it was near midnight and we were so close by, we might as well come the rest of the way here. I thought you might be trying the spell and maybe you could use a friend for support.”
“A friend?” Her stomach sunk.
“Alethea, you made it perfectly clear the other night that you’re not interested in me, I get that. But does that mean we can’t still be friends? The thought of you doing this by yourself, with no one around if something went wrong, was killing me. That is, of course, unless you don’t want me here.” His face looked so forlorn Alethea thought her heart might break in two.
“No, Brent, of course I want you here.” She stood up from petting Brent’s cat and looked him in the eyes, those deep green pools reflecting the sparkle of the moonlight. “Thank you for coming.” Summoning up all the courage she could muster, she hardened her resolve. She was getting a second chance, whether or not she deserved it, and she needed to get this right and not screw things up more than she already had. Just tell him the truth.
“Brent, the truth is I haven’t made things clear at all.”
He furrowed his brow, looking at her with a confused expression. “What do you mean?”
“I want to apologize for what I said last night. I don’t think being a contractor, or running a BB for that matter, isn’t real work.” She took a deep breath and continued on before she could chicken out. “I was afraid. I didn’t realize that you were interested in me because I didn’t want to see the truth. I’m still afraid.” She refused to break her gaze and continued to meet his eyes. She could do this! “I’m afraid of getting hurt again, of getting my heart broken. Of loving someone more than they love me back. I’m afraid of the way I feel when I’m around you, of how badly I want to be with you.” She felt like she was going to throw up. It was a mixture of mortification and release, confessing her innermost feelings to Brent about how she felt about him.
She was terrified of how he would respond, and she contemplated running out of the garden and locking herself in the cottage before he had a chance to. As his face lit up in front of her, that irrational thought melted away. He grabbed her hands, pine and frankincense mixing with the herbs all around her, electricity shooting through her arms like wildfire.
“Alethea, I understand. Or at least I think I do. But we don’t need to figure any of this out right now.”
“No, Brent, we do. I’ve put it off long enough. And I owe you an apology. I’ve been running instead of facing my problems and I haven’t cared that it’s been affecting the others in my life along the way.”
“Alethea, it’s understandable if you’re not ready for something new yet. You have to protect yourself, I get that.”
“I don’t really know if I’m ready or not but I do know there’s something between us, something that deserves to be explored. So if you’re willing, maybe we can figure it out together.” She was stunned as the words tumbled from her mouth but felt nothing but relief at finally having said them out loud.
His breath caught and he drew her in close. “I’m more than willing.” The touch of his skin against her bare arms felt almost agonizing. She wanted to melt into his embrace, but they had work to do. “To be continued,” he whispered, and after a long moment he finally released her, letting her fingers slip out of his hands as he slowly exhaled. He surveyed the scene around them, spotting candles and other objects spread out on the ground. “Okay, so what’s the next step?”
Sir Zachery was mortified!Brent had told Dandelion’s human his nickname? How could Brent have been so disrespectful with the level of familiarity he chose and for this of all introductions! It had taken years before he had let Brent call him by a pet name, and now here his human was just bandying it about like he was common riff-raff. He was never going to impress Dandelion now. This was not how he had pictured this evening going. Brent would definitely be finding a hairball in his slippers tomorrow, that was certain. Oh well, one must risk it for the biscuit, as they say.
Good evening, Dandelion the Great. Sir Zachery bowed his head deferentially, flattening his ears and lowering his tail in the proper respectful gesture. She raised her chin in acknowledgment. I am Sir Zachery McCalister III, it certainly is a pleasure to meet one with such esteem as yours. Relief rushed over him as she reciprocated his greeting and invited him to sit next to her up on the bench where he might have a better view. She was even more regal than the stories had portrayed her, the moonlight glistening on her shiny black fur. He was right. This evening was definitely not going as he had imagined. It was going even better!
Alethea lookedover at the pair of cats, now sitting next to each other on the garden bench. “Looks like they made fast friends.” Brent caught her eye and they shared a smile. “Should I put them inside, just in case anything happens?” She glanced back at them anxiously.
“I’m sure they’ll be just fine out here. They’re cats after all, they know how to take care of themselves.”
Dandelion twitchedher whiskers in agreement. She liked this Brent fellow more and more. There was always something intelligent coming out of his mouth. It appeared that Sir Zachery McCalister III had done well in choosing his human. She spared a moment of her intent gaze on Alethea to take in Sir Zachery. His stature was quite imposing but his manners were impeccable. She had liked him from the moment she smelled him on Brent, and now her intuition had been confirmed. This cat definitely had the potential of becoming a partner she could rely on. Goddess knows she was going to need all the help she could get.
Alethea litthe last candle and created the protective circle. She thought she could see a faint outline of light out of the corner of her eye, where she had drawn the invisible line. But when she turned her head to look it would disappear. Just like the words in the grimoire, she realized. Brent sat inside the circle with her, staying quiet and watching her intently. As she threw one bundle of herb after the other onto the fire, the flames grew bigger.
“Alethea,” Brent whispered. She was about to turn to him but immediately saw what he was pointing at. She was glowing again! And this time it was even brighter than before. Her stomach twisted in knots but she pushed through, reading the strange words of the spell out loud.
Dandelion watched with laser focus,extremely pleased by how well Alethea was doing. She tried to squash down her sense of pride. She didn’t want to smell boastful and embarrass herself, but it was difficult. Sir Zachary was much too refined of a feline to suffer that sort of behavior, she was sure.
As if sensing her thoughts, Zachary spoke in a reverent tone. She’s doing quite a remarkable job. But then again, who would have expected any less. She is yours, after all.
Dandelion tried not to let the flattery go to her head. Oh come now, you can’t give me all the credit. She wouldn’t be doing this without your human you know.
The pair of cats looked on at their humans, watching them like a couple of proud parents. And in a way, they were.
The wind pickedup around them and a rushing sound began to build in Alethea’s ears. The glowing that was radiating from her skin was almost as bright as the full moon now, and she felt like the two lights had merged into one, unsure of where the light from the moon stopped and hers began. The roaring noise in her ears grew louder until it blocked out all sound around her.
Suddenly she felt more tired than she ever had in her life. She was confused. Why was she out here again? What was she doing? So tired. Maybe she could just lay down and take a little nap. Just a quick one, only shut her eyes for a few moments, just until she figured out what was going on.
Brent saw the dazed look on her face and stood up, bracing himself against the wind. “Alethea!” She could see his lips move but couldn’t hear any sound coming out of his mouth. He reached out and grabbed her by the hands. “Alethea, I believe in you! You can do this!”
At Brent’s touch, she snapped out of that delirious fog and came back to attention. The breeze was picking up leaves and herbs and whipping them all around her. She used every last drop of energy she had to push down those feelings of apathy and despair, and drawing in a deep breath, she read out the last line of the spell.
SANA ME
MALADICERE RUPTOR
Her hair whipped around them, and she could feel pulses of energy radiating through her whole being. Brent held fast to his grip on her hands, gazing at her in awe.
“I didn’t think it was possible for you to be any more beautiful.” He wrapped his arms around her, drawing her body close to his, and unable to hold himself back any longer, he kissed her. She felt that kiss over every inch of her body, the gentle touch of his lips against hers igniting something ablaze within her, a passion so intense she hadn’t even known it possible. As they stood in the circle, embraced in each other”s arms, her lips unwilling to let his draw away, a brilliant white light cracked through the sky, illuminating the entire yard. Except this flash of light hadn’t come from heat lightning. It had come from Alethea herself.
She flinched at the brightness of the light and an almost imperceptible spasm ran across her back. Then another one, stronger this time. Suddenly, she felt the sensation of ropes breaking across her back and her limbs. It was like a million rubber bands were snapping inside of her, all at once, each one releasing something toxic, something tainted, into the night sky. The gusting wind slowly died down to a steady breeze, the whooshing sound in her ears dissipating. Brent held her hands tighter and the last rubber band popped, an invisible weight starting to lift from her skin. Alethea felt like she was taking off a heavy, woolen coat that had been soaked through with ice water. It was incredible, indescribable! It felt like pure joy. Every cell in her body seemed to hum at the same time, like she’d never felt more alive.
A distant crack of thunder rippled through the air, and then suddenly, all was still.
Alethea smiled up at Brent, leaning into his chest as he held her, his muscular arms wrapped around her tightly.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
She brushed a windblown lock out of his face and tucked it behind his ear and nodded, unable to stop smiling. “I’m more than okay. I might just be the best I’ve ever been.” Alethea breathed in. She felt alive. She could hear every insect in the garden, she could smell every flower, herb and shrub. Even in the darkness of predawn, the world looked so vibrant, like Alethea had never really seen colors before. She couldn’t wait until the sun came up. She could only imagine what the world would look like then.
Gratitude and joy coursed through her veins pushing out all the dark spaces where the apathy and anxiety had lived. She was free! She was herself again! But what did that mean, exactly? Her phone buzzed from the bench where she had left it. It was almost one o’clock in the morning, and Alethea couldn’t imagine who would be calling her at this hour. Even though the grimoire hadn’t mentioned anything about closing a protective circle once the ritual was done, Alethea instinctively put out the candles in the reverse order she had lit them, quickly giving gratitude to the elements. Somehow, it had felt right.
She walked out of where the circle had been and reached for her phone. Seriously? Her aunt chose now of all times to call back?
“Alethea! What’s going on?” Her aunt sounded panicked.
“Oh you know, the usual. Just breaking evil curses on a Thursday night. Standard stuff really.”
There was silence on the other end, except for a few muffled noises. Was her aunt crying?
“Is it really true?” Her aunt’s voice was barely more than a whisper.
“I don’t know, you tell me. You’ve got a lot of explaining to do, Aunt Scarlet. Why have you been avoiding me? I’ve called you a gazillion times!”
“Oh, Alethea!” Her aunt was full on sobbing now. “I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy! Finally!” She wasn’t making any sense. “I’m booking my plane ticket as we speak, I’ll be on the next flight out.” Alethea opened her mouth to respond, but her aunt had already ended the call.
Brent looked at her quizzically.
“Well, Aunt Scarlet was as cryptic as ever but she’ll be on the first flight here in the morning.”
Brent nodded and walked over to her. “Should we clean things up out here?”
“That’s probably a good idea.” She bent down to start picking up the candles but then stopped and sat back on her heels, closing her eyes. Picturing each object in the garden one after the other, she then visualized where she wanted them to go. She imagined the multi-colored candles on a shelf in the pantry, the kitchen knife back in the knife block on the counter, the little bowls of salt and water washed and drying on the dishrack. She opened her eyes to see Brent looking around in amazement.
“You did that I take it?”
Alethea looked around the small area where she had cast the protective circle earlier and saw no traces of the candles, or the athame, or anything else she had just visualized.
“Pretty impressive.” He was beaming at her. “So what should we do now? I don’t know about you, but there’s no way I can sleep. Oh, and I kinda need a ride home.” That lopsided grin spread across his face.
She looked over at the two cats, now rolling around on the lawn, batting at the grass. They sure were having a grand old time.
“Well, I’m starving!” She was utterly famished, like she hadn’t eaten in days. As if to prove her point, her stomach growled so loudly that even the cats looked up from their reverie at her.
“Boy, you weren’t kidding.” Brent laughed and put his arm around her shoulders, walking with her towards the kitchen door. It felt good to be so close to him, his spicy scent was so comforting. “Let’s get you something to eat.”
Dandelion was hysterical now.She couldn’t remember the last time she had this much fun! Sir Zachery was a born entertainer, and she had been pleasantly surprised by his sharp wit. Once Alethea had finally broken the curse and the hubbub had died down, Sir Zachary had snuck over to the catmint patch and procured them a few sprigs. She wasn’t a prude, of course, but Dandelion hadn’t indulged in fresh catmint in years. Sir Zachery had certainly been right. It was just what they had needed after such a harrowing evening. It felt so good to just let loose and let this new friend regale her with his many humorous tales.
And then he called her…no, you’re never going to believe it. Sir Zachary was almost laughing too hard to continue the story, his whiskers twitching so fast they were almost vibrating.
Tell me, tell me! Dandelion pleaded through her giggles.
He called her…Squeaky! The pair of cats utterly lost all composure at that point, Dandelion rolling back and forth on the lawn in hysterics. That had to be the funniest thing she had ever heard!
In the kitchen,Alethea took a few eggs out of the fridge, grabbing some cheese, spinach and butter while she was at it. She felt positively joyous, like she could float around the room! Uh-oh, better be careful what I think, she realized. She had meant that metaphorically and didn’t want to actually start levitating. Humming as she worked, she heated up some leftover roasted potatoes while she made the omelets, adding a little lemon zest over the top of the eggs.
Brent sat at the kitchen table, smiling as he watched her work. “You sure you don’t want any help?” he asked her again.
“Nope! I’m almost done!” The growling in her stomach grew louder. Maybe she should’ve made herself two omelets, she thought, and threw a few thick slices of sourdough bread into the toaster, slathering them with thick dollops of butter and fresh raspberry jam once they had turned golden brown.
“Dig in!” Alethea brought the plates over to the table and immediately began inhaling her food. She wasn’t sure she had ever been this hungry in her life!
“So what was all that nonsense you told me about not being a good cook?” Brent asked after chewing a few big bitefulls.
Alethea blinked in surprise. She hadn’t thought about making the late-night snack, she had just done it. She mulled over the rant-induced asparagus salad she had made. It appeared that as long as she didn’t think about what she was doing, she could cook! It was just like the writing in Brent’s Nan’s grimoire. If she relaxed and let go of her intense focus, she could let her intuition take over.
Alethea felt better after the hearty meal but not fully satiated. She opened the pink box on the counter top and took out a day-old pastry. It was a little stale around the edges but it still hit the spot. Alethea put a few scraps of omelet and some tuna fish in a pair of small bowls and set them down on the floor while Brent opened the door to the backyard and whistled for the cats. The pair quickly came running, somehow instinctively knowing that food was involved.
“Coffee?” Alethea asked him.
“I’d love some.”
She wasn’t at all surprised when she turned around to see the percolator and bag of beans out on the counter, perfectly laid out, waiting for her to brew a pot. She smiled. This whole witch thing was certainly going to come in handy!
They sat at the table together, drinking coffee and talking until the sun rose. After everything that had transpired, all of the embarrassing moments that had happened in front of him, Alethea felt a level of comfort around Brent that she hadn’t imagined possible. He had seen her at her lowest and yet he was still here. He had seen her many times at the house after she had just woken up, in her comfy pajamas with no makeup on and in full grump mode, and yet he had still called her beautiful. The hours had flown by as they talked, until the amber shimmers of the sunrise began filtering in through the windows.
“I can’t believe it’s morning already!” Brent looked out the window in surprise.
“Brent, before I drive you home, I want to try taking a look at your grandmother’s grimoire again. Maybe I can see something else now.”
He agreed that it sounded like a good idea as they walked upstairs. She had planned on going into the hidden room to retrieve the book, but as they walked toward her old bedroom, something began pulling at her, drawing her away. “Hang on a minute.” She changed course and headed in the direction of the master suite instead.
As she walked into the spacious bedroom, she stopped dead in her tracks, amazed. There, in the middle of the floor, the cedar hope chest had materialized, the picture on its front like looking into a mirror.