The Fallen One (Sons of the Dark Mother, Book One) Page 18

  Jes scanned the tree lines surrounding them. She felt for the knife on her hip. She had taken to wearing a curved dagger like the one Mira wore. It was her sister who had gifted her with it when she had arrived. They had placed a protection spell on it: a spell written by Mira when she had taken her first trek into the Land of the Fae looking for Xavier Dubioux.

  The Bat Things were everywhere.

  A chill snaked its way up Jes’s spine. How could the armies fight a shadow?

  They pressed in—just outside the strike of the armies, who now surrounded the women. And then, as quickly as they had appeared—they were gone.

  The leader of the Dracasians laughed. His laughter sent another chill snaking down Jes’s spine.

  He stood and walked before Justice—and Dracon without fear.

  “Now,” he said. “You begin to understand.” And with that he and all his men turned and melted into the night.

  Justice turned and looked at Dracon, and Jes followed his gaze.

  The ancient vamp was watching the woods where his enemy had disappeared, his eyes dark with the bloodlust pouring through his veins, his body taut with heightened anticipation, which had also brought out his fangs—and Jes knew….

  The time for peaceful conversations was at an end.

  And in its place—was war.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Power of Three

  The sisters worked together to figure out the spell in the Book of Shadows. They were trying to work with the old spell that talked about the bat-like beings, trying to work out the spell to help the guards to deal with them.

  To do this, they had decided to call on the wisdom of Morrigan.

  Dara had mentioned that Bat Things were immune to garlic and, in fact, very little would affect them. However, if the guards were able to stake them, their bodies would die—much like the vampires.

  But they—the sisters—needed to weaken the creatures, first, to allow the guards to get close enough to do that—and like many spirit-based beings, their spirit would not die; and the problem was they were still plenty dangerous without their bodies.

  Still, they wouldn’t be nearly as powerful in spirit form.

  None of it was encouraging to Jes, and frankly it gave her the creeps. Both she and Mira were intrigued by the depth of Dara’s understanding of these beings—and the level of her training as a Jaguar Witch.

  She was almost able to teach Mira as much as Mira was able to teach her: Jes was the only one that didn’t know much about being a witch—though she was learning quickly. Dara had been the one to tell her that one day she would be more powerful than both Dara and Mira combined.

  Jes doubted it, but it was nice of Dara to say. Still, she wasn’t concerned with being powerful, just keeping them all safe. Though she would be very happy if these two would reveal her true name to her, because thus far the sisters had refused, stating that they would have Amar to deal with if they should do so.

  They reinforced the spell of protection around the manor using dragon’s blood, along with some other things—like crystals that they had programmed with their intent—and they had placed several small smoky crystals into the potion, chanting beneath their breath as they worked.

  The three sisters clasped one another’s hands, leaving Jes’s right hand free to stir. Once more, they stood in the center of the circle. A statue of the Goddess Morrigan sat on the table. They had a feather for air, a candle for fire, a shell for water, and dirt for earth on the altar before them.

  Jes continued to stir as the three sisters began to chant.

  We call the ancient ones of old,

  Those who have gone before us.

  We call the power to help us now,

  As we walk our path as Jaguar witches.

  Lady bless us, protect us now,

  Masters show us the way.

  Light our path so we may know,

  The song of the ancients.

  As we speak these words of protection,

  We bring the power of three.

  Maiden, Mother, Crone of old,

  As we will it—so mote it be.

  Jes stirred in ¼ cup of Myrrh to aid in meditation, ¼ cup of Mugwort to aid psychic powers and prophetic dreaming, and a teaspoon each of honey and olive oil. She used these because they had come to her in a trance, so she had looked them up. She had found they were excellent herbs for inducing trance. They simmered the mixture and put it into a tiny container.

  Mira took out three Candles: one for the Goddess, which was red, one for sisters, which was yellow, and one for the spirits and ancients, which was white. Dara took three stones, large enough to stack them with the largest on the bottom and the smallest on top. They would meditate for the next three nights on the symbols to go beneath the stones.

  They began the main part of the spell in the hours just past the dark moon, calling those who would assist them as they began to chant:

  Sweet Mother of the scared Moon

  Just as you are round

  I call your moonbeams as a boon

  To see this Circle sound!

  They called out to Morrigan:

  Ancient Goddess of the night

  We invoke you, hear our plea!

  We ask that you attend this rite

  To bring old knowledge to be

  To sing the old songs

  The words which hold the key!

  They called the Quarters chanting as they lit the candles in each direction.

  We call the East to bring the light of the rising Sun! We call the South to bring the knowledge that our will is done! We call the West to bring the wisdom of other days gone by! We call the North that we may sit between the earth and sky!

  And then they began to chant:

  Great Mother whose heart beats

  Below me

  Great Father Sky above

  May we have the grace to know

  When we’ve been shown great love!

  After meditating for some time, Mira picked up the large stone to write the first symbol, knowing that they would know the order. Dara picked up the second stone, writing the symbol she had seen in meditation on the bottom and then stacked it on the first, and finally Jes picked up the third stone, and wrote her symbol on the bottom, and stacked it on the second.

  Again they began to chant:

  As the stones know to lie

  Within the arms of time

  As they hold the ancient knowledge

  Between your world and mine.

  Now we stand between the worlds

  And know the way each lays.

  So, from this day we will remember

  The old songs from the pyramids they gave.

  As our ancestors brought the knowledge

  And the people soon forgot

  We remember within the void

  That silence brings the drop.

  Watch the rain, dear child, they heard within their minds. As each drop brings the new, they become part of the old.

  “Thank you, Mother,” they said, “Blessed Be!”

  They thanked the four directions for their knowledge and wisdom within the circle and closed the circle, then Jes and Mira ate to help ground themselves. Dara no longer ate human food.

  They laid around for more than an hour after that, the three of them each caught up in their own thoughts, each personally affected by the ritual they had just performed.

  After a time, Dara got up, once more, to go. It would soon become daylight. It was time for her to return to Dracon.

  Mira watched her for a long moment. “I wish I could understand what it is you see in him.” She shook her head at the warning in Dara’s eyes. “No. I’m not being facetious. I really want to understand.”

  Dara watched her for a long moment. She seemed to gauge the sincerity of the Mira’s question.

  Jes was forever surprised by Mira’s complete lack of fear with Dara. Jes wasn’t put off by their older sister; she just had an innate respect for the level of powe
r she felt within her.

  Finally, Dara answered Mira saying, “Isn’t that the way of it?” she reproached quietly “That we are constantly trying to understand the motives of the women around us? And don’t we, so often, find ourselves judging those motives—and finding each other lacking—convincing ourselves that we would be so much stronger, so much wiser—so much better than that. Telling ourselves that we would never allow ourselves to be affected by whoever her man might be, or that we would never allow ourselves to be affected by whatever her situation may be.” She shook her head. “We are all so very arrogant,” she said in a near whisper. “Because the truth is, we’ll never really know exactly how we’ll respond, until we’re faced with our own mortality—our own weaknesses—our own deep love for that one man who will affect us so deeply that we’ll throw away everything—for him.” She stepped close to her sister now. “You know the one.” She took her hand and placed it over her heart. “He is the one who can raise us up—or break us.” There were tears in her eyes. “And when that happens—we can be sure there is someone else—who is watching us—and judging us for our weakness—in loving him so much.”

  There were tears, now, in Mira’s eyes too. “So true,” she agreed in a whisper. “And I will only understand, on some level, anyway, in my own deep love for—my own man.”

  Dara wrinkled her nose, and Jes knew what was coming and grinned.

  “Or men—as it were—depending on which past life our sister here is living in at the moment—and for which lover.” She laughed.

  Mira laughed out loud. “Oh, unfair, cheeky sister.”

  Jes laughed. “Ahhh…,” she nearly sighed, “but I am only just beginning to learn about my own strengths—and weaknesses—when it comes to love. I think we should count our blessings when we happen to fall in love with the right man. The wrong—wrong man—we’d simply walk away from. But—the right wrong man….” She sighed. “Well, I’d hate to find out about my weaknesses then.”

  Dara nodded. “Exactly. And only when you’ve actually met him will you know—exactly what you’ll do, or what fire you’ll be willing to walk through to walk even a mile—by his side.”

  Mira shook her head and hugged her sister. “And until then,” she interjected, “We will go on judging other relationships by our own inflated views of our own strengths, and weaknesses, and believe ourselves above it all.”

  Jes half laughed, and then shook her head at the thought of it. Her eyes went wide. “How truly sad we all are!”

  Mira grinned, “Speak for yourself.” She stuck her tongue out. She turned to her older sister, who had opened the door, “Love well, dear sister. Because in the end, all we can take to our graves—is how well we’ve loved.”

  Dara inclined her head. And pulled the door shut behind her.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Jes and Justice

  Jes had not been able to spend any time alone with Justice in several weeks. She missed him. She had realized a long time ago why he’d had to kill those kids. Her father had sent them to kill him. He’d been a fourteen-year-old boy defending his sisters—and fighting off a gang—alone.

  She knew she would have had to do the same—that any member of the Jaguar People would have been forced to do the same—regardless of their age—regardless of their strength and power—it was self-defense. And every single living being—human or otherwise—had a right to protect himself or herself, whichever the case may be.

  Even a wild animal would do the same. The instinct to live was strong in all life.

  She loved him—had loved him since they were children. And she was tired of everything that constantly prevented them from being together.

  She was tired of Dracon taking up his nights, because the vamp was never out during the day—and he still refused to stay at the Alliance during the day.

  She was tired of not getting to just be with Justice—period.

  She knew that her emotions stemmed primarily from the impending war. Like everyone else, she wondered how long the war would last. But she also knew that her sisters were right when they had said that in the end, when we go, all anyone ever really has—was how well they had loved.

  She planned to love to the fullest extent that her life would allow for her. Who knew what would be left of their lives—when this war was over?

  And it was war.

  It wasn’t a war like some of those that the humans had become used to in the past fifty years. It was a war like the American civil war. This was head-to-head—hand-to-hand—looking the enemy right in the eye while he died. This was a war that would be in their backyard, not far away in some distant country where they could pretend it wasn’t happening.

  Hand-to-hand, she mused, with vamps that were either powerful because they were fledglings—or powerful because they had lived much longer than most of the Jaguar People. And if they were to lose, the humans would become like cattle to these vamps.

  Jes was afraid for them. She couldn’t imagine a fate worse than that.

  She was afraid for her people. She was afraid for her sisters and his sisters—who had only just been recently returned to her.

  She was afraid they would be taken from her once more.

  But most of all, she was afraid to lose Justice again, when she’d only just got him back.

  She decided to leave the compound to go for a walk. She’d been doing that a lot of late—but only during the day. She was too frustrated, too agitated, to do anything else. She was supposed to start her hand-to-hand combat training in an hour. And she didn’t know if she would be able to see him before that.

  He caught up with her before she made it out of the gate.

  He spun her around and kissed her—hard. It only took her a moment to end up with her arms around his neck—kissing him back. The men on the walls started hooting. He broke it off, and she flushed slightly. He was smiling.

  “I’ve missed you,” he said.

  She gave him a tentative smile. “I’ve missed you too,” she whispered. Her emotions—the love she felt for him—were welling in her heart, making it impossible to say any more than that.

  “Jes,” he started to say.

  She laid a finger across his lips. “It’s okay. I know how important this is,” she broke in. “It just gets—hard sometimes,” she whispered.

  He nodded. “For me too.”

  She looked up into his green-gold gaze. He was wearing the glamour. It made him look like his sisters. Remembering them, she said, “I’ve heard that your sisters are heading here, now that they’re done at the main temple.”

  He nodded.

  She smiled openly now. “I’m glad. I’m hoping I’ll get to spend some time with them in between all of this training. I’ve missed them terribly. And I really haven’t had any time to spend with them—after all of these years of being apart.”

  He nodded again, and kissed her lightly. “Me too.”

  Even those few minutes with him had made it easier for her to get through her day. She was actually smiling when she entered her class.

  He had that kind of effect on her.

  She wondered how she’d ever spent all of those years without him.

  Her training was grueling, and she was in a full sweat by the time it ended. On her way to the showers, she noticed Mia, Justice’s sister, was waiting for her.

  “You made it,” she said, smiling openly. “I’d hug you, but I don’t think you’d appreciate it.”

  Mia grinned. “Yeah—that’s okay,” she teased. “We just got here. I came looking for you first thing.”

  “Let me hit the shower, and I’ll meet you at my apartment,” Jes told her.

  A half hour later, Jes and Mia were exchanging updates on what they’d both been up to. Jes wasn’t surprised to learn that Mia and her sisters would be here now for the battle.

  They’d been training for this all of their lives.

  She was relieved to have them. Mia and her sisters made an amazing team. They were d
angerous in their own right.

  They spent the afternoon catching up. Mia, like Mira, had spent a lot of time studying in the Land of the Fae. She had, in fact, just come back from there. She frequently went there to learn how to do some pretty amazing things. She had just told Jes about the power of shimmering and invisibility. Jes hadn’t believed her—until Mia showed her.