RoadBlock Page 10

  Alston’s demand seemed to echo in each of their thoughts, loud and brash and desperate, commanding they repeat his words. “My will is yours, I serve only you.”

  “I serve only my will, you yours.” This time Dagger, Wade and Betony said the words at the same time, and the power of that was enough to give Cal the strength he needed. He let Alston in and stopped fighting the compulsion, instead turning it to his own ends. He smiled in relief and marveled at his sister’s simple brilliance.

  When Betony felt Calderon relax and regain control of his mind she quickly spoke the words of the spell she and Wade had created that afternoon. Dagger hadn’t heard it before, and Calderon had been so beside himself with worry he hadn’t paid much attention, but they quickly repeated the phrases with her as best they could.

  Power sparked at their fingertips and magic thrummed in the air as they said the words aloud in unison. “power ill-used we now revoke. earth swallows you, water drowns you, air pushes you, fire consumes you, your deeds rebound and your spirit rejects you…” They spoke in a dull, even tone and repeated the words over and over without interruption while Alston fumed and fought outside their circle.

  He tried pushing in again, but found no purchase, sliding right through their minds with no effect. The longer he stayed in contact with their circle, the deeper Betony’s spell worked into him. Before he realized how potent the simple words were, they had taken hold and he could feel the power draining from him, just as it had the first and only time he’d taken a life. The feeling frightened and sickened him now, just as it had then, and he tried desperately to get away, but found he couldn’t. His body refused to obey his commands, and the sensation of paralysis sent him into a panic.

  Alston drew back, pulling his mind and influence out of their circle, but the damage had been done. The words replayed in a loop through his mind, more and more of his power draining with each repetition.

  Calderon and Dagger were both exhausted, and barely held on to the circle. Wade was still ready for a fight, and Betony was calm and relaxed, pouring her energy into maintaining their bond. Dimly, Dagger became aware of a loud crash outside the room, and Calderon perked up, adrenaline coursing through him. He started to tell Betony to break the circle, and his grip on Dagger’s hand loosened, but before he let go someone crashed into Betony, breaking their bond and sending her skidding across the carpet.

  The abrupt snapping of their connection would have stunned them, except for the charms they wore and the hours of practice they’d had keeping their minds open to each other without touching. Wade’s eyes snapped open and he turned in fury towards the intruder, a thin, sickly looking woman in her early forties. He considered attacking her, but turned to help Betony instead.

  Calderon immediately knew she was the seer, Alston’s mother. She scowled at them, shocked at their swift recovery from her interruption, then she ran across the room to Alston, who was curled up on the floor, moaning. She knelt protectively over him, and looked ready to defend him against them, although her physical condition would clearly not offer much protection. Her cheeks were hollow, her hair thin. Calderon had seen another witch like her once, years ago- an old healer who had been pouring energy into keeping her sick child alive for too many years. That witch had acted with love and devotion, but it had still cost her life, and that of her child, in the end.

  This woman, Cal was sure, had more devious intentions. She had been using all her power to block anyone from seeing Alston. In effect, she had been a living version of Calvin’s invisibility spell. Alston moaned pitifully, and his mother turned towards him, soothing him with her hands and soft words. Cal felt her hold on the block falter, and for an instant he saw her intentions. She was afraid, she truly feared the coven as evil, and had for her entire life. All she had done had been in a misguided attempt to protect her son and to rid the world of what she thought was a terrible malevolence.

  “Lucy? That’s your name, right? Lucy, please. Let go of this. We have no intention of harming anyone needlessly. Your power will tell you this is true. Drop the block you are holding, let yourself rest.”

  “You’ve harmed so many! You have killed our Angels, and now…now you have destroyed my boy!” Her voice broke on the last words, and she sobbed into Alston’s side.

  “We have not killed anyone. We have protected ourselves against malice, no more. And Alston will live, only his power to harm has been destroyed, not his mind or body.”

  Alston groaned and sat up slightly, his eyes like blue fire when they met Calderon’s. “You might as well have killed me. I won’t live like this. I refuse! Know this, witch: You may have defeated me, but another Archangel will be born someday. God will prevail, in the end, and your evil covens will all fall to ashes!”

  Wade had gathered Betony in his arms and led her to the door where Dagger waited, and they all stood watching Calderon and Lucy, unsure of what to do. Cal glanced back at them and knew he should join them, that they should leave Lucy and Alston to their own ends.

  But Cal alone had felt the terror in Lucy’s mind when she thought of the coven, and he understood now that while she and her son acted out of hatred and intolerance, it wasn’t a choice they made, but a philosophy that had been bred into them. He was filled with pity for them, and for the generations of ‘Angels’ yet to be born, who would live with pointless fear and misplaced hatred.

  “Cal, there’s nothing we can do.” Dagger’s voice was soft and close, and Cal turned to find him at his back.

  “I know.” Cal held Dagger’s arm as they all walked out to the car.

  19.

  That night they all slept at Betony and Calderon’s house, Wade sharing Betony’s bed and Dagger in Cal’s. No one wanted to be alone, and no one removed their charms. They didn’t speak, but the bond still connected them enough to offer reassurance without words.

  Dagger held Cal close all night, kissing him, stroking him, burying himself in Cal’s arms. He woke too early, feeling something was wrong, and found Calderon’s cheeks wet with tears. He kissed them away and asked softly, “What?”

  “I fell apart without you, Dagger. I was useless. If it wasn’t for Betony and Wade, that lunatic would still have you… I love you. I love you so much, and I was so afraid and so angry, I…”

  “Shh. I know all this, baby. I know. You can fall apart, sometimes, its allowed. That’s why there are four of us… I love you, too.”

  Calderon wept harder then, relieved and humbled by Dagger’s words. Dagger held Cal’s head to his chest, stroking his hair and murmuring soothing words until his tears subsided.

  “I’m sorry I’m being such a crybaby.”

  Dagger laughed softly and whispered, “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.”

  Cal wrapped his arms around Dagger, smiling into his chest. “Thank you.”

  Wade slept with more clothes on than he usually did, especially for August, but he had wanted to make sure Betony wasn’t uncomfortable in bed with him. He held her close, spooning into her back, and tried to breathe evenly. She hadn’t even spoken to him, had just taken his hand and led him into her room. He saw Dagger and Cal head to the room he’d used for the last few nights, and he realized what they all were doing and why, but he was still unsure of himself. When she had scooted back towards him and pulled his arm over her, he had been shocked. He’d slept with plenty of women, and shared his bed with a few girlfriends over the years, but his relationships were usually all about sex, and any cuddling most likely took place while he was passed out drunk.

  Betony was entirely different, and yet he felt closer to her, through their bond, than he’d ever felt to any of his past girlfriends. He dreaded the inevitable day when he’d screw up enough to drive her away. How would he move on from this? He’d never felt so accepted, so appreciated, so understood. Ever. Only Dagger had loved him like this, and Wade had made sure to keep a protective distance between them for years.

  “Stop worrying so much. I can still feel you, you know.�
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  “Fuck. Sorry.”

  “I think you should move in here, for good. Live with me. I’m sure Cal will move in with Dagger.”

  “Why…why would you want me to do that?”

  “Because we should stay close. Because I like you, could maybe love you. I’ve seen inside you, now, I know you. You belong with us, Wade. Nothing you do or say will make me stop caring about you.”

  “Uh. Well…”

  She turned towards him then, and tried to see his face in the dark room. “Listen, I’m not saying I want to be your girlfriend or anything, I just think we could-”

  Wade leaned in and swallowed her words with a kiss, and Betony squeaked against his lips before returning his kiss and wrapping him in her arms. He gentled his mouth against hers, moving slowly, drawing her lower lip into his mouth. He stroked his tongue inside, just a little, and ran his hand through her hair. Pulling away, he gave her two short kisses and then rested his forehead against hers, panting slightly.

  “I really like you Betony. I’m just so afraid I’m going to fuck this up.”

  “What makes you think it won’t be me who fucks it up? I’m pretty good at that, too, you know.”

  Wade burst out laughing and buried his face in her neck. When he recovered himself he said, “You could never fuck up enough to make me leave you, Betony. Never.”

  “Then why can’t you believe the same from me?”

  Wade closed his eyes and held her, for the first time daring to dream that she might truly return his affection. “I’ll try, Bet.”

  “Good enough.”

  They fell asleep twined together, and woke in almost exactly the same position.

  19.

  There were two weeks of peace following their ordeal with Alston. Two weeks of life returning to normalcy. Dagger worked, and came home to dinner cooked on the grill and wine-sipping sunsets. Calderon planned his curriculum for the impending semester, and Betony stirred lotions and sketched label designs. Wade asked for his job back and was re-instated, and once again led the spoiled sons of wealthy vacationers down the path to fitness. They all attended the monthly coven meeting, where Calderon and Betony met the congregation and were accepted with love and gratitude. Dagger’s mother, Diana, called a lot, wanting to hear how things were going, wondering what visions Cal had about the coven, asking about their living arrangements.

  Calderon moved in with Dagger, as Betony had predicted, and Wade brought most of his meager belongings into Betony’s house, although he didn’t unpack. Dagger felt a resurgence of the freedom and joy he’d enjoyed in college, when he and some friends had rented a house for a year and every day had felt like a party. Their little ‘neighborhood’ of two houses on a dead-end street was an isolated bubble of peace and happiness, and with every passing day they became more like a family.

  They went out one afternoon, walking the beach with garbage bags, cleaning up litter. It was part of their coven’s work, keeping the land, and they all contributed in some little way whenever they could. Wade reached down and picked up a small plastic tube and dropped it in his bag with a look of disgust. They were all wearing latex gloves, but he still rubbed his fingers together as if they were dirty. “Why the fuck are there always so many tampon applicators? I mean, do women usually insert tampons on the beach? How have I been missing this all these years? Seriously, that has to be the tenth plastic tampon applicator I’ve picked up.”

  Betony laughed. She was really starting to like Wade’s little observations. Even his social missteps made her laugh. “I don’t know. I have never had occasion to throw a tampon applicator onto the beach, but you’re right- I have a few in here, too.” She shook her bag for emphasis. Wade still wore a confused frown as he reached down and picked up a condom wrapper. “Gross.”

  They were on the thin strip of beach under the cliffs, only accessible at low tide. A lot of garbage washed up here, and Dagger had been cleaning it for years. Dagger watched Cal leaning over to pick up glass fragments and plastic drink bottle lids, and his heart felt so full it could burst. How had everything changed in such a short time? Three weeks ago, he was lonely, empty. Surfing, working, reading, hooking up with a few guys each year, he’d been happy enough, but not like this. Now he had what was essentially a family - Calderon, a loving partner, Betony, who was quickly becoming like a sister to him, and Wade, his childhood friend and the brother of his heart.

  Dagger smiled to himself and bent to pick up an empty juice-box, placing it into his almost full bag. When he straightened, he saw a figure approaching them along the sand. He placed a hand over his brow to shield the glare of the sun, and when he recognized the figure he let out a little gasp. It was Lucy, Alston’s mother, walking towards them, arms outstretched, pointing a handgun in their direction. “Shit!”

  Cal turned at Dagger’s outburst, and saw Lucy moving towards them with a slow determination. He had a flash of her intentions, she wasn’t wasting energy on blocking anymore. “Lucy. Consider what you’re doing. Your God doesn’t condone this.”

  She laughed in response to that, and her eyes glittered with hatred, the only spark of light in her shadowed form as she stood against the setting sun. She had cornered them against the cliffs, Wade and Calderon standing in front of Betony and Dagger, the waves crashing up on the rocky shore to their backs. There were a few beachgoers lingering, but at this hour most of the crowds had dispersed, and there was no one within earshot. Certainly no one close enough to hear them shout over the pounding surf. Dagger knew these waters well, as did Wade, and they might have dived in to escape, but Cal and Bet would still be stranded.

  Calderon knew a moment before she fired that she would, and tried to reach out with the bond to warn the others. But they had stopped wearing their charms two weeks ago, and hadn’t practiced finding their connection at all, so he was forced to simply shout, “Duck!”, which ended up being just as effective.

  Lucy fired at Calderon, but he had squatted down a moment earlier, so her bullet hit the stone cliff instead. She cursed and fired again, but Cal twisted to the side, pushing Dagger down and away. He knew it was just a matter of time before she hit one of them, it was only her obvious lack of expertise with the weapon that had saved them so far. There was really no where for them to go, and Cal desperately hoped that some of the stragglers on the beach had heard the shots and had called the police.

  Lucy fired a third shot, and it struck the cliff face directly above Dagger’s head, but glanced off the stone and hit a large boulder, ricocheting off that and striking Lucy in the abdomen. She doubled over and dropped the gun, holding both hands to her injured belly. The four witches watched in stunned horror as Lucy sputtered and coughed, her blood dripping onto the sand. Sirens wailed and several police officers ran along the beach towards them, surrounding Lucy. One picked up her gun and carried it away, and another checked her for additional weapons.

  A few harrowing moments were spent at gunpoint again, this time under the much more accurate aim of the police officers who surrounded them. Once they were all checked for weapons, two EMTs rushed up, examining Lucy’s wound. She was placed on a stretcher and whisked away within moments, leaving Cal, Wade, Dagger and Betony to answer questions. Emergency responders checked them over and pronounced them injury and shock free, and they spent the next hours sitting in the back of police cruisers, separately, giving formal statements.

  The sun had slipped into the ocean by the time they were released. They declined the offer of a ride home, instead walking along the cliff road together in silence.

  20.

  That night in bed Dagger was the one sobbing into Cal’s chest, all the adrenaline and fear finally catching up to him, and Cal stroked his hair and kissed him gently until he quieted. “I thought it was all over, Cal, I thought we were safe. Did you know? That she’d come back?”

  “No. I thought she might, but I didn’t expect her to have a gun, or to find us like that. I saw into her today, Dagger. Alston killed himself, and
she blamed it on us taking his power. She planned to kill us and then herself. Her body was weak, though, too weak to shoot properly even if she’d known how.”

  “Good goddess. Why would she do it? I don’t know a lot about the Theodosians, but they believe in a god, they believe in good fighting evil…why would she kill? Why are they all so hateful?”

  “I think its because, for them, their faith is more about protecting the church, less about the morality of their actions. Their god was a beneficial one, once, and their religion preached love. But they became obsessed with the power and politics of their church, and lost touch with the true meaning of it all. Lucy saw enemies everywhere. She was afraid of us.”

  “I almost feel bad for them. Almost… Do you foresee anything else? Are we finally safe?”

  “As far as I know, we are. But, you know the sight isn’t perfect.”

  “I know. But it still makes me feel better.”

  Calderon leaned in and kissed him, trying to erase the worry he knew still lingered in Dagger’s mind. Dagger responded quickly, more than willing to put the trauma of the afternoon behind him. As he had done almost every night for the past two weeks, Dagger laid himself open, letting Calderon take control, wanting to feel protected, possessed, cared for. Calderon gave him what he needed, loving him until they both found release and then fell asleep still holding each other close.

  In the morning, Dagger was brushing his teeth when Calderon stumbled in bleary eyed to use the toilet. It was so comfortable, so easy, living with Cal. Dagger rinsed his mouth out and smiled to himself. When Cal stepped behind him and wrapped his arms around his waist, something unwound in Dagger, some little hidden worry he hadn’t realized he’d been holding on to just melted away, and he felt like himself again, free. It was over, the nightmare of his mother’s prophecy had played out, and now he was wide awake in the safety and sunlight of a new day. He met Cal’s eyes in the mirror.