Chapter 19
Chapter
Nineteen
Elijah
D ark had fully descended when Kainda and I stopped along the side of the road. We’d left the coven as soon as we’d packed our stuff. Now we walked into a cottage in the forest off of a deserted highway in the middle of nowhere. It looked like what I imagined the witch’s cottage in Hansel and Gretel appeared to the children as, except for the made out of candy part. The place belonged in fairy tale.
Kainda knocked on the cheery robin’s egg blue door. Firelight gave off a warm honey glow through the windows. The night had gone silent, eerily so, and it made the wait for someone to answer the door seem like an eternity. With a gentle pop, the door opened and Kainda walked inside. No one stood on the other side of the door. Magic took some getting used to, that’s for sure.
“Welcome, Children of the Earthly Plane,” a honeyed voice said from the back of the cottage. We’d entered into a sitting room with antique looking furniture, hardwood floors, lit fireplace, and braided rug.
A skinny giant of a woman walked into the sitting room from a door at the back of the room. At least seven foot tall, white as death, long shimmery silver hair straight as a stick, and violet colored eyes I’d never seen on a living person before. Everything, even the way she moved, screamed not human. She wore an opalescent colored dress. It hung from her narrow shoulders and had no shape to it.
“My name is Maurelle. How can I help you tonight?” The woman tucked her hair behind her ears, showing us their pointed tips.
“Althea sent us. We need some magical supplies. Will you show us your store?” Kainda pulled a piece of folded paper from her pocket and handed it over to Maurelle.
The elf lady— at least I think that’s right— gave us a wicked smile, and the room went blurry for a moment. When the room refocused, nearly everything had changed. The fireplace and the floors stayed the same, but the furniture was gone, and in its place tables and shelves of her stock. Candles, books, balls of twine and string, herbs, crystals and stones, feathers, bones, gems, antique looking parchment, and jars of colorful liquid graced the surfaces. It had the feel of an old apothecary shop or a new age store in New Orleans.
“What is it you children are shopping for tonight?” Maurelle returned the note to Kainda who tucked it back in her pocket. The elfin woman swept her arms in a gesture around the room. Pride in her business evident on her face and in her voice as she took it all in with us.
“I need to restock my magic arsenal.” Kainda walked around the room looking at the supplies like a kid in a candy store. The glee on her face catching.
“What are you hunting?” Maurelle asked as she glided around the room.
“We’re hunting a demon,” I said, still standing off to the side, wary of what this woman was since I wasn’t sure.
“E, she’s an elf.”
“How did you know what I was thinking?” I didn’t think I’d ever get used to Kainda reading my mind.
She gave me a devious smile. “Lingering psychic connection.”
A blush I wasn’t prepared for warmed my face. “I feel like you’re the one who is lacking manners at the moment. I’m not sure what the etiquette is for figuring out what type of being someone is. I’m still new to this whole new world where everyone I meet isn’t exactly human. Is there a polite way to ask someone what they are?”
“The man is right, dear child. It was inconsiderate of you to out me in that way. I would appreciate you not to do it again. And you are quite capable of blocking his thoughts, yet you do not and invade the privacy of his mind.” Maurelle scolding Kainda was slightly comical, especially when she referred to us as children because she barely looked old enough to drive. “E, is it? There is no polite way other than to be sincere when you ask. Even then, most folk are not likely to think fond of you for it. Now, what kind of demon are you hunting?”
“The corrupt goddess, spider demon kind. Got anything for that type of baddie?” Kainda had this ability to lighten even the most tense situation.
“I believe that I do indeed have what you need. If I’m not mistaken, you’re actually hunting the former goddess Uttu. Am I correct?”
“Yes, Maurelle.” I answered her when Kainda made no move to do so.
“Now, why would a young man like you be hunting the Man Killer Demoness herself? You do know she kills men?” Maurelle looked at me like a bug under a microscope. I was a puzzle to her, she couldn’t seem to figure out. Something almost feline in her eyes came through the look she gave me. All of a sudden, I felt like the mouse between the cat’s paws.
“I’m the only one to escape her, so I plan on being there when she’s sent back to Gehenna.” It didn’t sound any less ridiculous when I said it out loud, either. If I didn’t know any better, I might need to take a trip back to that psychiatric hospital.
Maurelle’s eyes widened as she walked toward me. She intensely inspected me, making my skin crawl with her interest. It was uncomfortable to feel like a display in a museum, something to be studied. I almost felt like prey again, and it made me twitchy. Not too keen to be anyone’s prey again, thank you very much.
“Uttu is going to want to reclaim her prize. You are not wise to run toward her like she’s your dance partner. Risky business going after a fallen goddess. You’ll need much magic to defeat her. She will not go quietly back to Gehenna. I would like to help you in your battles.”
“The more magic, the merrier,” Kainda said, wicked laughter in her voice. “We can use all the magic we can get our hands on for this fight. If you and Elijah are done, can we get back to supplies?”
“Yes, child.” Maurelle blinked, and a leather satchel lifted into the air. Supplies began to pack themselves inside the bag.
“What is all of this and what’s it all for?”
“E, I don’t have the time to explain all of this to you. It’s all important, and it’s all for kicking Uttu’s fugly ass.” Kainda turned to Maurelle. “Thank you for your help. Elijah and I are going to meet up with my band of merry women to formulate our plan of attack.”
Maurelle took the bag in hand from the air as she said, “Now for my payment, little witch.”
Symbols glowing a purple light appeared on the walls, floors, doors, ceilings, and windows. Kainda walked over to the largest symbol and placed both of her hands on it. Her eyes closed and she bowed her head.
“Sigils to protect. They cover this sacred place. Protect those who abide within the inner sanctum. Protect the magic, shield this place. My will be done.” She spoke the words in what I thought was Latin, leaning in on her hands like she planned to do a push-up against the wall.
Maurelle sidled up next to me. “She’s recharging the wards to my security system.”
“If you’re an elf with magic, why do you need Kainda to charge the wards for you? It doesn’t seem like a great method of payment if it’s something you can do yourself.”
“I may be an elf and I may have magic, but not the same kind of magic that witches use. Witches can power wards much more effectively than creature magic can. Her recharging my wards will last ten times as long as it would if I did the same thing. I don’t have the wealth of magical access that witches do.”
Kainda lifted her head and hands, apparently all finished with her task. She took the bag from Maurelle and dug her cell phone from her pocket. “Those wards should hold for at least a few months from my charge. We’ve got to hit the road now. You’re welcome to ride along with us, or we’ll send word when it’s time to battle.”
“I shall meet you on the battlefield. You can send a magical courier when plans are in motion. I wish you both the best of luck on the rest of your journey,” Maurelle said.
I followed Kainda outside and as the door to the cottage closed, the whole place disappeared into the heavy fog that had rolled in. Nope, I didn’t think I’d ever get used to magic. We climbed back into Kainda’s car and I cranked the heat. I was never going to enjoy a crisp autumn night the way I once had, and I didn’t even want to know how I’d handle winter.
“Where are we going now?” I asked her as she pulled back out on the highway. We were in the middle of nowhere, with nothing around for miles as far as I could tell. The fog a buffer, keeping out the world, enhanced the notion.
Kainda tossed her phone in my lap. “Use the GPS and find us a hotel for the night. There isn’t anything else we can do. Might as well get some food, sleep, and then some time to strategize in the morning before we hit the road again. Hopefully by then Hida, Del, or Evin will call me and give me the location of a temporary headquarters. Might also take a detour and pick us up some camping supplies.”
“Think maybe we can hit up a Walmart and let me pick up a change of clothes. I’m just a little sick of wearing these.” Pinching the fabric of the hospital issued shirt, pulling it away from my chest. “I think I’m starting to stink.”
I pulled up her navigation app on her phone and put in the search criteria. Picking one, I started the route for her and clipped it back on a stand on her dashboard.
She shook her head. “Don’t have the time. When we stop for camping gear, you can get some wilderness gear to wear. You’re still recovering from all the injuries Uttu inflicted on you, and the rituals will take a lot out of you. Better if you eat and sleep tonight.”
“For someone who had amazing sex last night, you are very cranky.” I watched her out of the corner of my eye as I said it. Even in the dark, I could see her blush, and her hands tighten around the steering wheel.
“I’m always cranky, good sex or no. And that’s not happening again.” Something about her just demanded I push her buttons tonight.
I laughed. “I can believe that, though it really should be criminal. Good isn’t even in the ballpark of describing last night. It should definitely happen again, though it’s probably better if we wait until after this is all over. We were too good at that to never repeat it.”
“E, stop it already! It was the spell and the magic. There is no way in Tartarus that we could repeat last night. I have no idea what was going on with my magic. And I’ll concede to you the point about good. But I’m sorry, after this is all over we’re both going our separate ways and won’t see each other again. Thus, it’s never going to happen again.” She sounded so frustrated with me.
I wouldn’t argue with her anymore because now wasn’t the time, as we pulled up in front of the hotel. However, I did want answers to something bugging me. “So why is it some spells are cast in English and others in Latin? It was Latin, wasn’t it?”
“Yep, Latin.” She climbed from the car, pulling a lever to open the trunk. “And it depends on the type of spell you’re casting and what you’re hoping to achieve. It also is up to the caster as to what they feel most comfortable using. The flower, memory spell I cast at the hospital was done in Latin. I knew the flower spell in Latin already, so when I tweaked it, it was easier to do the whole thing in Latin. The other stuff I cast in English, so you’d be able to repeat after me without stumbling over a word and messing up the spell. Let’s go get checked in, so we can get some sleep.”