A Spell for Crossroads and Connections
There comes a point in every journey, my gem, when you realize you’re not where you’ve intended to be.
For me, in my various travels, that has often been a literal truth.
If you’re lost and you could use some aid getting on the right track, this working will work like a charm.
Hopefully my wordplay put a smile on your face, even as you wrangle with veering off course.
If you’re not near a proper path, even a worn pooka track will do, best if there’s signs of passage in all four directions, as a crossroads emboldens magic.
Now, then, this spell has two stages. The first will present a suggestion as to what direction you should set out, so you’ll need ingredients suitable for orienteering, and the second part aims you toward someone within the vicinity who will prove helpful to your situation.
I have said this before, but it bears reiterating.
You might be borrowing help today so it won’t be available the next time you need it.
Magic can be a boon or a curse, and I never want to see you on the wrong side of a pixie’s hex. You’ll know when you need to cast this.
This one is best cast right before departure. You’ll require:
Azurite and hematite
Cinnamon and peppermint
A copper teapot
Clean, clear water
Heat the water, and make a lovely pot of peppermint cinnamon tea.
Savor each sip, and feel your head becoming clearer and lighter.
Drink it all down to the last drop, then take the crystals in hand and press them to your heart.
Allow your magic to rise, and you should feel a pull.
Let yourself walk in that direction. Whichever way you’re facing, that’s the right path for this moment.
Once, you went off with Ferghus, but I didn’t know where you’d gone.
I scoured the palace and went to Miremorel, thinking you might’ve gone home without me.
Everywhere I looked, no Thea. I was frightened half to death when you showed up on that pooka’s back, all smiles and wild hair and dirty face.
When I said I was worried because you’d gone missing, I’ll never forget what you said with a roll of your eyes.
“I wasn’t lost, Da. I was adventuring.”
Thea
The monster has Ragh’s face.
That thought occurs to me as everything happens at once.
As the monster rushes, a human woman shouts something, but I can’t make out the words.
The portal is a trembling golden vortex, expanding, twisting, writhing, and I don’t know how long Kerboros can keep it open.
I remember my dad telling me to trust myself, and the idea pops into my head, fully fleshed out.
But exigence forces me to be brief. “Push that beast back,” I call.
Our magic is still linked, or the portal wouldn’t be open.
I give an experimental tug, and the energy surges toward me.
Instead of trying to fight the monster, I envision the magic as a giant wall and exert force.
The creature rebounds against the shimmering field and tumbles toward the wavering portal.
Zeph locks their will onto mine. “I see what you’re trying to do. All hands, push!”
“Everyone, together!” Rosa grunts with effort, and her will is astonishingly strong.
Tara settles into the bond, adding her determination, and then Kerboros and Govannon lean in.
Their colors swirl around me. While we’re joined, I can see their auras, shaded by their moods and personalities, but I don’t let the magical rainbow distract me.
Another heave, and the immense creature careens toward the vortex as it snaps closed, severing our magical connection and bisecting the beast. The back end plops to the ground, jerking in death spasms; it doesn’t dissipate.
Rather, the unwholesome flesh unbinds, oozing into a more liquid state, so the objects that were lending mass squirt out into a crimson puddle.
The smell is indescribable.
“We should burn it, just to be sure,” Kerboros says.
Zeph spearheads the magical initiative. They set the first sparks, and I add my will to the flame. One by one, the others commit to this course, until there’s a conflagration before us, a pyre immolating our foe.
A human woman has been observing our struggle with wide eyes and finally speaks. “Who the heck are you people?”
I finally turn to look at her fully as the flames die to ash, cooling from orange to gray with magical precision.
And then I blink. Rub my eyes and look again.
Because she looks like me. She’s softer and rounder; she has deep dimples and incredibly kind eyes, but there is no mistaking the resemblance.
I’ve never met anyone who looks like me. Good chills pepper my skin as I take a step toward her, confused but drawn by her mere presence.
Kerboros gazes at her, head tilted, and it makes his ridiculously beautiful hair shimmer. “I would be inclined to ask that you answer the same question,” he says.
“Why?” I ask.
He explains without looking at me: “Amid all the chaos during the attack, I lost the mushroom circle. But I felt a pull. A presence that felt like an echo of you, Thea.”
“Thea?” the woman repeats.
It’s not really a question, more like an expression of joy. Her eyes are wet with it. Then she rushes forward without hesitation and wraps her arms around me.
“Feels like I’ve been searching for ages. When I heard you were missing, I had to come. I’m Olive. And we’re sisters.”
Tentatively, I raise my arms, hugging her back. “Really? Are you sure?”
“I’m sure. You’re the only one here who’s…not fae.” Suddenly, she pulls back, careful with what she says.
Maybe in case they don’t know that I’m different? I suspect Olive doesn’t want to alienate my friends, and I adore her for that moment of caution, her instinct to protect me. I step back after giving her a gentle pat on the shoulder. I have no idea how I should feel.
I have a sister? I have resisted the urge to try to learn more about my mortal family because I feared it would hurt Da.
That he’d think I didn’t love or appreciate him enough.
Though some fae are all about the bloodline, Da doesn’t care about that.
Neither do I. What matters to me is how people treat me, if they love me for who I am without trying to change me.
But the sad little girl inside can’t stop smiling. Because someone I’ve never even met cared enough to come looking.
“Wait,” Tara cuts in. “You’re Thea’s actual sister?”
“Biologically,” says Olive. “Yes. We are sisters. Though I won’t force a relationship if Thea is uncomfortable. I just had to make sure she was safe.”
Rosa waves her arms. “Uh, can we go back to the part where Thea is missing? And you’ve been searching?”
“Technically, I haven’t seen her since she was born. But that’s not exactly what I meant. You see, the fae notified Rain and Fen that Thea disappeared while on some official dispatch for the Winter Court. Rain and Fen told Iris, who told me about it.”
“Who’s Iris?” I ask.
Here, Olive hesitates. “Rain and Fen’s natural daughter. Raised as my sister, but she never fit in with our family. They’re…they can be difficult. Right now, she’s only talking to me and, occasionally, our dad.”
Oh. So Iris is the daughter they abandoned me for, and she grew up with my family.
I can’t believe I’m asking this: “What’s she like?”
Olive takes a moment to consider. “Kind. Creative. She’s never met a stranger. And she can be impulsive. It frustrated our mother, who cares more about achievement than joy.”
“She sounds a lot like you,” Tara says.
If that’s the case, maybe I wouldn’t have been a good match in that family either. “What do you mean, ‘achievement’?”
“I’m a doctor,” Olive answers. “Our sisters—”
I blink. “How many are there?”
“Four, if you count Iris. We’re all named for flowers. Sort of. Iris, Lily, Rose, and me, Olive. I’m more of a vegetable. My dad named me, and he said olive trees do flower, so it doesn’t disrupt the theme.”
“Sorry, I think I interrupted the answer to my own question,” I admit.
Olive smiles. “No problem. It’s a lot to take in. You asked about the achievement thing. It means our mom cares more about success. She loves bragging about how well we’re doing in our careers. Rose is an attorney, and Lily is a therapist.”
“Are those good jobs?” I flush because it’s embarrassing how little I know about the mortal world.
“Mother thinks so.”
Belatedly, I realize we’ve kept the group standing while I questioned this woman—my sister, though I still can’t wrap my head around that—relentlessly. “Sorry to be so inquisitive. This probably isn’t the time or place, but I hope I’ll have a chance to ask more later.”
“Not at all. I’m just happy I found you.”
“I’m stunned that you came looking,” I admit.
Olive says, “I was concerned from the beginning, but time wore on, and there were no updates from the Winter Court. Rain and Fen did make a few inquiries, but nothing came of that. And I…well, let’s say I also needed a break. For personal reasons.”
“It’s not easy for a mortal to visit,” Zeph says. “How did you manage it?”
Olive smirks. “It’s better to leave you wondering, isn’t it?”
Zeph narrows their eyes, but they’re absolutely sparkling. “Tease. How did you know that I prefer delayed gratification?”
I frown at the two of them. I can’t believe Zeph is flirting with the sister I just met. “Seriously? Now? Of all times.”
Pink rushes up Olive’s throat and blooms to her cheeks. I watch Zeph track the heated flush with an indecent level of interest. They smile and lick their lips.
Kerboros clears his throat. “I agree with Thea. This isn’t the time.”
“Yeah,” Rosa says. “Keep it in your pants, you two.”
“Oh my God. Sorry!” Olive whispers, pressing her hands to her cheeks. “I don’t know what came over me. Normally, I’m not like this, I swear.”