Chapter 19
Iwould forever be impressed by my mother and Rhi for the way they handled the next hour.
It was clear that Jess’ existence could no longer be kept a secret, and that all we had learned about the Source was too important not to share.
True, they both looked like they were going to pass out when Persi brought them downstairs and explained to them who the woman was standing next to me, but they recovered quickly.
It was with a rapidly beating heart that I took my seat with them in the kitchen—the beating, magical heart of Lightkeep Cottage; and, by the still-flickering light of the candle from the Shadow Tree, Jess and I explained everything again.
It would have been enough shocking information to send anyone into a spiral, but my mother remained calm and focused, her eyes trained on the candle as she listened intently.
Rhi was a bit less successful at hiding her shock, peppering our explanations with gasps and soft “Oh!”s of surprise, as she crumbled the cookie in her hands to a pile of cookie dust on her napkin with worried fingers.
At last, my mother looked up at me and spoke.
“Well, I suppose it all makes sense, as wild as it is,” she said, rubbing her hand over her face. “We’ve never understood the nature of the Source, but everything you say seems plausible.”
“And Asteria knew,” Rhi added, her voice no more than a whisper. “She knew we needed you here, Jess, so that you could explain all of this to us.”
“I guess so,” Jess said, squirming uncomfortably. “But as far as explanations, I don’t feel like I’m doing a very good job. I mean, there’s so much of it that I don’t understand, so I’m doing a lot of guesswork here.”
“Don’t be absurd, this is all invaluable information. Here, have a cookie, dear, you look dead on your feet. I mean… well, you know what I mean,” Rhi said, sliding the plate across the table. Jess took one with a nod of thanks, though she didn’t seem to have any interest in eating it.
“Asteria also knew we needed the grimoire back,” Persi said, “though how exactly it’s going to help isn’t exactly clear at this point.”
“Well, Sarah Claire tried to use it all those years ago, the night she died,” I said. “Maybe Asteria knew we’d have to use it now to fix… whatever it is that’s wrong with the Source—I mean, the Geatgrima?”
Everyone started nodding along, as though what I had just said made sense. But just like me, no one seemed to have any idea what to do next.
“You said the grimoire is in the lighthouse now?” Jess asked, breaking the loaded silence.
“Yes. The lighthouse is actually Vesper property,” Rhi said. “Oh, don’t worry, it’s incredibly well protected. When you were—or rather, when we thought you were dead—we didn’t feel safe keeping it in the house. And since the Conclave was already so worried about it—”
“The Conclave is like, our local town council,” I explained quickly. “It’s made up of matriarchs from several covens, including the Claires.”
“And you can imagine how the Claires feel about the reappearance of that grimoire, given what Sarah did all those years ago,” my mother added.
“Ahh,” Jess said, and then looked at me with dawning comprehension. “I’m guessing that’s why Nova decided not to help us tonight?”
I nodded. “Her mother is the head of the Conclave. She doesn’t agree with her mother on much, but there’s not a Claire alive who wouldn’t run screaming from that grimoire.”
“The problem is,” my mother said, “that we don’t know what to do next, and without the grimoire we have little hope of figuring it out.”
“Sarah Claire is still mixed up in this,” said Persi, who had been unusually quiet during the whole explanation.
“Bernadette may be… well, damaged by all of this, but this art is speaking for her; and as we all know, her art has always been accurate, even if we didn’t realize it until it was no longer a prediction, but a reality. ”
“If Sarah Claire is still here earthside, she has been awfully quiet,” Rhi said, sounding skeptical.
“Of course she has,” I said, and felt four pairs of eyes turn onto me, making me blush. “I mean, why would she alert us to her presence? Why would she alert anyone who she couldn’t manipulate or control? If Sarah was still here in Sedgwick Cove, we’d be the last ones to know.”
“You mentioned that witches were having trouble connecting with their ancestors,” Jess said. “Is that a fairly recent development?”
I nodded. “It’s been a few months for me, but I’m not sure how much of that is because I’m just new at all of this. But even powerful, experienced spirit witches have been experiencing it for a few weeks.”
“Then that leads me to believe that the damage to the Gateway—or at least, the majority of it—must be fairly recent,” Jess said, more to herself than to anyone else. “Otherwise, why would there be such a sudden drop off in spirit communication?”
No one else could answer her question, and so we all just listened, waiting.
“I think—and I realize this idea might not be popular,” Jess began, “but I think we should try to summon Sarah Claire.”
“Summon her?” My mother’s voice was sharp. “That sounds like an invitation for trouble.”
Jess raised a hand. “I understand that. But we—the Durupinen, I mean—have very powerful spells to protect us from spirits, no matter how hostile they are. We could communicate with her without subjecting ourselves to any danger.”
I could tell from the look that was passing between my mom and her sisters that they didn’t buy that assessment for a second, but they didn’t come right out and say it. Jess didn’t miss the hint, however.
“Look, I know I’m a total outsider here,” Jess said. “I don’t know much about witchcraft, and from what I’ve experienced, I’m not particularly keen to learn more. But as ignorant as I am about your kind of magic, I can guarantee that you know even less about mine.”
Jess let this declaration land, and though Rhi bristled ever so slightly, and Persi’s face twisted like she’d been forced to swallow some unpleasant-tasting medicine, no one argued with her. She took heart from this lack of outward disagreement, and went on.
“Over the last eight years or so since I discovered I was a Durupinen, I have interacted with thousands of ghosts. Most were completely innocuous—just lost souls in search of help. Others were hellbent on destroying me and everyone I hold dear. I promise you, I know what I’m doing, as far as spirits go.
What I don’t have any experience with is this Darkness. ”
My mother and Rhi both looked startled to hear Jess speak of the Darkness. I felt guilt filling me up, and struggled to find the right words to explain, but it was Persi who stepped in and answered their unspoken question, before I was forced to.
“There was no choice,” Persi said. “She’s connected with the Source, just like Asteria told Wren. It made no sense not to tell her. If she’s a… a Gatekeeper, like she says, and the Darkness is hellbent on acquiring a Gateway, then this is her business, too.”
It seemed this made too much sense for either Rhi or my mother to argue about, and so they didn’t try. Jess drew a bit of courage from their silence and, after giving them a chance to respond, pressed on.
“So here’s what I’m proposing,” she began.
“You three get the grimoire back and try to find what magic Sarah Claire may have used on the night she stole it. Wren and I will attempt to summon Sarah Claire. If we can lure her out of hiding, we might be able to get enough answers to set this all to rights again.”
“Absolutely not,” my mom said at once. “I’m not letting Wren anywhere near Sarah Claire without me. My sisters can obtain the grimoire without my help.”
Persi and Rhi looked at each other, and nodded in silent understanding. “We can do that,” Rhi said.
Persi, with a sudden gleam in her eye, laughed. “Sorry,” she said when we all stared at her. “It’s just… going behind the Conclave’s back—particularly Ostara’s, always gives me joy.”
Jess smirked. “Issues with authority, huh? Same, girl.”
“How do we expect to lure Sarah Claire out of hiding when we’re the very people she’s hiding from?” I asked.
“We have to tempt her with something she can’t resist,” Jess said.
“So we’ll bring together all of the elements from the night of her death—the Geatgrima and the grimoire, together in one place.
It will be easiest if we have something of hers, or at least, something that belongs to her bloodline. Does anything like that exist?”
My heart sank. “It used to, but it’s gone now. Persi and I used it to exorcise Sarah from Bernadette. It was destroyed and thrown into the sea.”
“Hmm,” Jess said, looking crestfallen. “Yeah, that would have been ideal.”
“The Claire coven has lots of heirlooms, surely,” my mom said. “Is there really nothing else tied closely enough to Sarah Claire to be useful?”
“The grimoire,” Persi whispered.
“Huh?” I asked.
She looked up and met my eye. “The Claire coven grimoire. Bernadette used it when she first brought Sarah back. She used it while Sarah was possessing her.” She whipped her head around to look eagerly at Jess. “Would that work?”
“That would be perfect!” Jess said. “Where is it?”
“At the Manor under lock and key, no doubt,” my mom said grimly. “Every coven jealously guards their magic, and the Claires are no exception.”
“Do you think there’s any way we could get our hands on it?” Jess asked.
“Ostara let us use that grimoire? Not a chance in hell,” Persi said without hesitation.
“Actually…”
I hadn’t meant to say the word out loud, but it had slipped out, and now everyone was staring at me. “Well… I just wonder if… if maybe Nova…”