Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
It was six-thirty by the time we left. Traffic was in full rush-hour swing.
I was grateful that Orik was driving. I could barely hear myself think.
I’d totally missed everything Seton told Penn about exorcising the house and, right now, I really couldn’t invest one more brain cell in thinking about it.
I leaned back in my seat and stared out at the brilliant lights against the evening sky.
It wouldn’t be dark until around eight-thirty, but the evening light was different than afternoon, and you could feel the release of the day as it slid into night.
“Where do you want to go?” Orik said.
“Back to the office. We’ll see if anybody’s still there. At least we’ve taken care of Rowan—one problem off our list.” I paused, then asked, “Did Seton have any good ideas about Konstantine’s house? I kind of tuned out.”
Penn nodded. “Yeah, primarily to tear it down and salt the earth.”
“My uncle can’t do that?—”
“I know,” she said, laughing. “Don’t worry.
I showed him what I’d planned and he said that it might work, but I can’t start inside the house.
I have to start from the outside—at the corners of the lot.
I leave one narrow space open, and at the end of it, I put the trap.
I didn’t build it right, but I can alter the one I have. Then I keep moving the energy?—”
“Hold on, I can’t even follow right now. Tell me later, okay?” I was exhausted.
“Later, it is,” Penn said, sounding worried.
“So he thinks this will work?”
“He thinks there’s a chance.” She paused, then added, “Seton thinks I have more potential than I thought. My Fae heritage seems to have given my magic a boost. He’s going to talk to a friend of his who specializes training witches who have more power than they can handle.
It’s too bad that Riana didn’t have someone like that to help her. ”
I blinked. I had no clue that Penn was that powerful, but apparently something had happened to shift her magic. “What do you think Hecate will say?”
“I need to call on her and ask her. I have the pendant that can summon her, remember?”
During our last meeting with the goddess, she had given Penn a garnet pendant that connected them together, and while she had cautioned Penn not to abuse the power, this situation felt like it warranted the use.
“Right, you can do that when we get home,” I said. “I’m so tired, I don’t trust myself to drive.”
“I’ll do it,” Penn said. “Just give me your keys.”
“Sounds good.” I closed my eyes again, resting, until we reached the office.
Orik ran up to check, then returned with our things. “The lights are off and the door locked. Everybody has gone home. Which makes sense, given they didn’t know when we were going to be back.”
That was fine. We could wait until the next day to tell them everything that had happened.
Penn and I waved goodnight to Orik and, with Penn driving my car, she and I headed for home, for what would hopefully be a good night’s sleep.
* * *
That night, after we ate—we had stopped for takeout on the way home—Penn settled in the living room with the pendant.
I curled up on the sofa, feeling reticent.
So much had gone on that I needed to process.
I wasn’t even sure how to process everything I had learned.
I was so overwhelmed I felt like I was drowning.
Penn cast a circle, calling the elements to protect us, and then she put on the pendant, draping it over her head. She had set up a little altar on the coffee table, with candles—battery-operated so the cats wouldn’t get into them—her dagger, a chalice filled with wine, and a crystal ball.
“Oh Mighty Hecate, hear my call. I need your guidance, and I need your advice. Please, if you can, come to me.”
A swirling light filled the room, the energy crackling like bonfire flames. I averted my eyes, expecting some magical fanfare. But, with barely a whisper, Hecate appeared.
Unlike the first time we met her, she was wearing a calf-length black dress with a plunging neckline, cold-shoulder cap sleeves, and a silver belt.
She still wore her silver circlet with the Triple Goddess moons, and her hair flowed down to her ass.
The wavy strands were the color of the night sky, setting off her eyes which were a deep, watery grey.
She hadn’t brought her staff, though I imagined it was a simple call away.
I sat up straight, inclining my head as she stood there in front of Penn.
“Thank you for coming,” Penn said. “My lady, I need your advice.”
“Get up off your knees,” Hecate said. “I know you revere me, but you don’t need to grovel. In fact, my priestesses never grovel unless I choose to force the issue. And that only happens when I’m angry.”
Penn started to get up, and Hecate held out her hand. Looking startled, Penn took it and allowed the goddess to help her to her feet. There was an awkward pause, but then Penn motioned to the sofa.
“Please, sit down.”
Hecate took a seat, looking across the room at me. “Hello Kyann, I hope you’re well?”
It’s not every day that a goddess asks how your health is. Startled, I let out a nervous laugh.
“I’m fine, kind of. Actually, I’m not so fine. It’s been a difficult day.” Horrified to hear myself babbling, I clapped my hand over my mouth.
Hecate laughed. “Your energy tells me it’s been worse than that.” She turned to Penn. “Sit down . You aren’t my handmaiden, you’re my priestess. What’s going on? What do you need?”
Blushing, Penn sputtered out, “I need to ask your permission for something.”
“I trust it’s a serious matter. I’m not your mother, after all.” Suddenly, Hecate paused. “I’m sorry. That’s insensitive, considering what’s going on with your mother. And yes, before you ask I know all about it. I thought perhaps you wanted me to heal her for you.”
“You can do that?” Penn asked, a quiver of hope in her eyes.
“I can do a lot of things, although I’m far from omnipotent.
The only omnipotent being in the universe is, the universe.
And that sort of knowledge is so far beyond any of us that we can’t even comprehend what level the universe works on.
But, to your question, yes, I can heal your mother.
I’ll take care of matter as soon as you finish telling me what you want. ”
Penn let out a shout. “Really? You’d do that for me? I can’t begin to tell you what that means to me. I truly thought I was going to lose her.”
“I hate those creatures. They’re like leeches. I’ll be glad to squash it for you. Anyway, get to the point. What you need me to give you permission for?”
“Seton has offered to introduce me to someone who can help train me. Apparently I’m stronger than I knew, and he thinks it’s a good idea that I have some guidance.
I guess something shifted when I tried to create a counter spell to what’s essentially a Romalie curse.
We’re trying to clear a haunted house, and one of the ghosts was a victim of a serial killer.
She used the Romalie death wish on him. Together with the other spirits of his victims, and his spirit who lingers there, it’s created one hell of a mess. ”
Hecate smoothly crossed one leg over the other. Even though she looked like a beautiful, elegant visitor, the energy that swirled around her was enough to belie her goddesshood. She glanced over at me again.
“You wouldn’t happen to have a glass of wine I could cadge off of you, would you? I’m actually feeling a little peckish.” She patted her tummy.
The absurdity of feeding snacks to a goddess who was hanging out in my living room hit me, and the nervous laughter I’d been suppressing bubbled over.
“Yes, I think we have some wine in the refrigerator,” I said. “Would you like some cheese and crackers with it? I think we might have cookies.”
She pointed to the remains of the pizza that was sitting on the table. We finished off one and half of the other. “Is that up for grabs?”
“If you want the rest of the pizza, it’s yours,” Penn said, flashing a look at me. There was a small stack of unused paper plates sitting next to the box, and Penn picked up one and handed it to her.
Hecate tore a off two slices of the pizza and dropped them onto the plate. Then, the goddess gave me another look. “You said you had wine?”
I jumped up, heading to the kitchen. “Of course, I’m sorry.” I hurried into the kitchen, where I leaned against the counter and pulled out my phone.
you’ll never guess who is sitting in the living room eating pizza and drinking wine, I texted to Dante.
who? He texted back.
hecate. i’ll tell you about it a little later.
He sent back a laughing emoji as I retrieved a crystal goblet from the cabinet and filled it with wine, carrying it back to her.
“Here you go. I hope you like Cabernet Sauvignon.” I handed her the wine.
“I do,” she said. “At least it’s not Mad Dog 2020.”
“ You’ve had Mad Dog?” Now I’d heard everything.
“Don’t be so surprised. As I told you before, the gods often walk the earth.
You just haven’t noticed before.” She sighed, took a sip of the wine, and then set the goblet on the table.
She had already finished the pizza, and she took the remaining two slices.
After she set them on a plate, she turned to Penn.
“So, I assume it’s your Fae heritage that is altering your magic? ”
“That’s what Seton seems to think. By the way, he told us who he is.”
“Did he, then? Good, now I can talk about him without worrying about what I say. He actually studied with me at one time, back when Athens was still one of the centers of the world. He studied in my temple for a while. He’s not a witch, per se, but is more of a Renaissance man.
He knows a bit of magic, he can fight, he can even play the piano.
And of course, he has pledged himself to Solimentary.
His talents are much better suited for research than for actual magic. ”
“So you two actually do know each other?” I asked.
“Yes, and I will tell you right now — I would trust him with my life, if I were mortal. I approve of his assessment, Penelope. Go and train with whoever he pairs you with.”
“Maybe you can help me too, if you don’t mind me asking,” I said.
“I am aware of what you are about to ask me, and no, I cannot interfere. If you were my priestess, I could. But the lines of destiny are set there, I can see them around you as clear as I can see the web of the universe. If I interfere, it could cause disaster down the road. You’ll have to walk through this on your own, I’m afraid.
The best I can tell you is to trust Seton and what he is asking you to do.
” She bit into the remaining pizza, then picked up her wine glass.
“Thank you,” I said. “In a way, that answers a question that I had. I’ll walk through this as best as I can.”
“I am the goddess of the crossroads,” Hecate taste said.
“You may not realize it, but you’ve just made a choice that will define your future.
You set into motion one fork in the road.
I cannot help you with your father, but I can help you by taking the spirit of the serial killer with me.
That way you’ll be able to exorcise the house without a problem.
Once he’s gone, the ghosts will be happy to go on to rest.”
“What will you do with him?” Penn asked.
“Oh, I have quite a little collection of serial killers in my closet. Trust me, their spirits don’t need a cushy life. Eventually, I send them through to be cleansed in the Great Lake where souls go when they’re ready to step out of the cycle and be cleansed forever.”
“What happens to them afterward?” I asked.
“They forget who they were and simply become universal energy again. They go back to their primordial selves, all sentience wiped clear. They are not absolved, but they are absorbed. The universe draws on that well of power to create anew.”
Hecate finished the pizza and then chugged down the rest of the wine. “If there’s nothing else you need, I will go check in on your mother and take care of her. She has usefulness left in this world, she’s not ready to go.”
“Tell me,” Penn said. “Would she live if you didn’t intervene?”
Hecate shook her head. “Not everyone is ready for death when it comes. But I can see her on the web in the future, and there are places her presence is necessary. So I’m more than willing to change the path she’s on.
There will be a price, of course, but there’s always a price for every choice you make.
” And with that, Hecate stood, and in another whirl of smoke, vanished.
Penn and I stared at each other. Then, looking at the empty pizza box, I once again broke into laughter.
“I can’t believe your goddess just sat here and ate our pizza and drink our wine like she was one of the girls. It’s kind of fun, isn’t it?” I realized I was getting a kick out of it. If hanging with the gods was this much fun, I wouldn’t mind doing it more.
Penn snorted. “We have a lot to go over,” she said. But first, I’m going to call the hospital and see how my mother is doing. I can’t believe that Hecate spared her. I’ll never be able to repay her.”
She put in a call to the hospital where Eileen was staying.
When she explained who she was, I could hear the doctor’s excited voice on the other end of the line, blaring out from the speaker.
“She is? She did?… That’s incredible! I can’t begin to tell you how relieved I am…
Yes, it is a miracle.” After she listened for a moment more, Penn said goodbye and hung up.
“Hecate already made good on her promise?” I asked.
“Yes, she did. My mother’s going to be okay. She’ll have to remain in quarantine for another week, but she woke up, and she’s going to be okay.”
On that note, we declared the rest of the evening a drama-free holiday, and broke out the ice cream.