reason.
“Stop, Orla. You’re killing him. You’re killing him!” Caroline tackled me, knocking us both from the circle. Simon’s eyes rolled back in his head and then he too collapsed onto the waiting sand.
The Devlin witches stopped. They looked at me, their green eyes opaque, reflecting neither approval nor judgment.
“Enough,” Caroline panted.
I sat up and shook the sand from my hair. “You’re right. It is finished.” I looked over at the raven-haired woman, Mna dorcha , and said, “ Go raibh maith agat. Thank you. ”
They nodded, joined hands and disappeared into a mist.
Caroline noticed the mist. “What was that? Who was that?”
“Our saviors.”
We picked up the Book, walked to Caroline’s minivan and left my treacherous coven mates to their fate.
* * * *
I slept for twenty-four hours straight. Declan, convinced by my flushed face I was suffering from the flu, took the day off from work and minded the boys. When I woke, all the magic settled within me, integrated into the cells of my body. There was no buzzing in my head, no pain. I had asked for this power, demanded it, taken it into my very being, and the power must have realized it was now housed in a willing vessel.
Declan dropped the boys off at school and left hot coffee in the pot. I wrapped his soft flannel robe around me as I sat in my warm kitchen, savoring the hot coffee left by my loving husband. I closed my eyes and appreciated the silence in my home and in my head.
Cold fingers touched my cheek. I opened my eyes.
“It worked?”
“Yes, Granny. It worked. Thank you.”
Roisin smiled. “’Twas a hard lesson for you to learn, but one I think you won’t soon forget. Trust no outsider with your power. Serve only those who share the blood.”
Her cheeks were pale, and for the first time it occurred to me how much energy Roisin must expend coming through to me. She looked tired, bone weary.
“What now, Granny? What is it you want me to do?”
The doorbell rang. “It is Caroline, love. Let her in and then I will tell you.”
Caroline wheeled in her twin sons, asleep in their buggy. “Hi,” she whispered. “Is there somewhere I can leave them?” I beckoned her into Declan’s home office then led her into the kitchen.
Caroline rubbed her arms. “It’s cold in here.”
“Don’t freak out, we have company.”
Caroline laughed. “Freak out? After your performance on the beach I’m a little past freaking out.” She poured herself a cup of coffee and sat down across from me at the table. “I’m not sitting on anyone, am I? This is worse than Aidan’s imaginary friend.”
Roisin smiled. “She’s a grand girl, Orla. I don’t know why you don’t like her.”
“No, you’re fine,” I said, ignoring my grandmother’s commentary. “My grandmother’s sitting in the other chair.”
The smile left Caroline’s face. “Really? No joke?”
“No joke.”
“Has she seen your mother or Bobby? Have you seen them?”
“She mentioned my mother was, uh, recovering. She didn’t say anything about Bobby. I haven’t seen either of them.” I looked at Roisin.
Roisin shook her head. “I can’t tell her anything. I’m sorry, but I’m here to help the living, not the dead. We don’t have much time. Do you think seeing me would upset Caroline?”
“I think she can handle it.”
The air around Roisin shimmered.
Caroline gasped. “Oh my God.”
“It’s okay, Caro. It’s only my Granny.”
“Your dead Granny.”
Roisin took Caroline’s hand. “I need you to be strong, Caroline. I need you to be a strong Mountain woman. Can you do that for me? For your daughter?”
Caroline nodded.
Roisin smiled and dropped Caroline’s hand. “All right, ladies, bring me the Book.”
I went down to the basement and brought up the Book. Caroline and Roisin weren’t speaking when I came back to the kitchen; Caroline looked shell shocked and I think Roisin was trying to conserve her energy. “All right, where
Andria Large, M.D. Saperstein