RoadBlock Page 5

  “We need to contact Marcus, or Adelaide, or both. I think we should meet with them this morning, then go see your mom, Wade, and see if their stories line up.”

  “You think Marcus & Adelaide would lie to us?”

  “I don’t know. Either way I think we should see them.”

  Dagger nodded and took out his phone, calling Adelaide to set up a meeting. She was more than agreeable, as if she had been expecting him to call, and told them to come anytime. They cleaned up quickly and piled into Dagger’s jeep, making the short drive across town to the coven building.

  9.

  “Hey, guys…just so you know going in, Adelaide is not my biggest fan.”

  Betony rolled her eyes and groaned, “You seem to have that effect on a lot of people, Wade. What happened this time?”

  “Well, once again, totally not my fault, but I was in line at the grocery store, buying some unrelated, very innocent, normal items, and she was behind me in line. She made a comment, I made a comment, let’s just say she left without saying good-bye and hasn’t spoken to me since.”

  “I’m almost afraid to ask, but- what were you buying?”

  “Vodka, Astroglide, and double-A batteries.”

  Betony couldn’t stop her smile, “And what was the comment?”

  “Well she looked at my stuff and said ‘Big weekend planned?’, kind of bitchy, you know? So I said ‘I’m spending the weekend alone, but if you wanna stop by I’ll put the batteries back.’ She wasn’t amused.”

  “No, I can imagine,” Betony chuckled, “Although, once again, I agree- you didn’t start it.”

  Dagger just shook his head. Wade was always rubbing people the wrong way, but underneath he was a really nice guy. Adelaide, on the other hand…she could be a cold bitch. Luckily, she’d always liked Dagger, but he’d seen her mean side come out against a few of his friends, so he tended to avoid her whenever possible.

  They pulled up to the coven center and parked in front of the office door. Betony nodded her approval of the building. It looked like an old church, with silvery aged cedar shingles, and a modest bell tower. The offices were set to the side, and to the casual observer it would look just like any other Christian Church, if not for the small wooden sign that read, “New England Pagan Alliance, Coven No. 72, Est. 1723”.

  The outer door was unlocked, so they walked in and knocked softly on Adelaide’s office door, which opened almost instantly. Adelaide stood before them, dressed casually in her everyday street clothes, and urged them to sit. Her office was more like a small suite, with an antique desk in one corner, a tiny woodstove in the other, and several comfortable chairs and loveseats arranged in a circle in the center. She had prepared tea, and was pouring out steaming mugs of it without asking anyone if they wanted it, or how they took it in any case. She was an imposing woman, tall, with short silver-white hair and a severe manner. Although she wore khaki Capri pants and a crisp white blouse, she carried herself as if she were garbed in her ceremonial robes, keeping her back stiff and her head high.

  Betony was impressed, but Calderon bristled. Another seer, even one with little power, was an adversary to him. It wouldn’t bother him in a casual situation, but he was here on business, and the fact that she might stand in his way irritated him. She greeted them all warmly though, even Wade, who showed his surprise and then seemed to relax, sitting and sipping his tea.

  “Betony and Calderon, I am so pleased to meet you, finally. I welcome you to our coven, and hope you will bless us with your skills and friendship for many years.”

  “Thank you, Adelaide, we are pleased to be here. You have a beautiful coven-stead, and a wonderful location! And although we have only met two of your witches, they are fine examples of your coven’s kindness and power.”

  “Yes Dagger is a wonderful asset to our coven, and Wade is quite powerful. Tell me, will you be at our next meeting?”

  “Um, yes, probably…but the reason we’re here today is not just to introduce ourselves. We need some information. About this…thing we’re meant to do. Can you tell us anything?”

  Calderon watched Adelaide and Betony through narrowed eyes. Adelaide was hiding something, and she wouldn’t tell them the whole truth. Her intentions were honorable, though. Beyond that he could tell nothing. He tried to relax his expression before she turned to him.

  “Tell me something first,” she swung her eyes to Cal, and as she did her smile turned colder, “you didn’t contact me right away. Why?”

  “My priority was getting Dagger and Wade on board.”

  “Did you intend to ask me about this? Or did you just decide to do it recently?”

  Calderon face colored and he huffed out a frustrated breath. “Just say what’s on your mind, please.”

  “The original plan was not to tell you the prophecy, to let you deal with situations as they occurred. Now that plan has seemed to change, and I want to know why.”

  “Dagger’s mother?”

  “Yes. Last night.”

  Dagger and Betony exchanged confused glances. “What about my mother?”

  Adelaide took a deep breath, but didn’t respond to Dagger, instead asking Cal, “Are you sure you want to know this? Are you sure I should tell you?”

  “Yes.”

  “All right. I’ll defer to you, since you are a more gifted seer than I am, by far. But do not forget the original foretelling called for secrecy.” She took a mug of tea for herself, and settled back in her chair. “Twenty years ago, Dagger’s mother, Diana, had a vision. A strong vision. It upset her greatly, and she meditated on it for several days before bringing it to anyone. Finally she told me, and I told Marcus. Together we made a plan, and carried it out. Many sacrifices were made to help secure your success.”

  Adelaide paused and took a sip of her tea, then seemed to gather her resolve to continue the story. Calderon understood her reluctance. It was a difficult thing, going against one’s instincts as a seer. After the similar dreams he and Dagger had shared last night, though, he wasn’t going to take any chances. And if Dagger’s mother had called Adelaide last night, she may have had a similar dream, which prompted her to change her mind about keeping the secret.

  “Diana’s vision was of a very talented witch. A rare thing, now, but more common several generations ago. This witch would have several skills, and all of them strong. We were not sure if the witch was to be male or female, but the day of Diana’s vision was the day of conception, so he or she would now be just over twenty years old. The frightening thing is that this witch was born into the Theodosians.”

  Wade snorted at that and Dagger groaned, but Calderon let out a long breath and leaned back in his chair, waiting for more. Adelaide turned to Wade, her eyes angry.

  “The Theodosians are not a joke, Wade. I know we like to denounce them, and claim their powers are weaker than ours, but the truth is they are just as we are. They are witches, and some have powers as strong as ours, they are just a smaller group, thank Goddess. But their adherence to their bizarre form of Christianity makes them dangerous, and having a rare witch born to them is a major problem. They have been gathering information for years. Computers, the internet, all our secrets are out now. And they know how to find us. They have seers, as we do. You would all do well to take them seriously as a threat.

  “Diana’s vision revolved around this rare witch. His or her talent is a blessing to the Theodosians, and they join together around the new witch, or as they would say, the new ‘angel’. “ Adelaide turned to Betony and explained, “The Theodosians believe they are descendants of archangels, and that their job is to eliminate pagans. They think our existence serves their devil, and that their god is weakened by our rituals. They have always tried to undermine and attack us, however they can. Luckily, they are a very small group and we have them out manned and overpowered.

  “Diana wasn’t sure of the details of their plan, and it never became clear to her. She kept trying to see the rare-witch, but she was blocked. That’s p
art of why she moved away, so Calderon could come in and possibly see more. But she knew this new ‘angel’ of the Theodosians was the heart of the problem. You four must work together to stop her, or him.”

  “When you say ‘stop’…”

  “Yes, Dagger, unfortunately, I mean kill. We’ve seen no other outcome. If you find another way, then take it. But all Diana’s premonitions, and mine, pointed to this witch’s destruction as the only solution. I know it is a lot to ask. I know what this will mean to all of you. The only possible way you have of getting through this without damning yourselves is if you do it together, and share the cost.” She met their eyes then, and added softly, “But a price will need to be paid.”

  They all sat in silence as they absorbed this information, until Dagger spoke up again. “What did Calvin have to do with this?”

  Adelaide sighed, then closed her eyes and nodded. “He kept the house available for Betony and Calderon. He warded the cliff road against anyone with ill-intent. And he created an invisibility around your little neighborhood.”

  “An ‘invisibility’? What does that mean?”

  “It means that no one can find you there. No one can hear you, or see you. Only, of course, the people in the physical area of the homes themselves, but it is invisible to the powers of seers, or any other witches from afar. Calderon wouldn’t have even found the house if we hadn’t made sure he was shown it in person by the realtor.”

  “Oh, Goddess. That’s impressive.” Calderon thought back to the day he saw the house, and how it had struck him immediately as the right house for them. “Spells of that magnitude take years.”

  “Yes. Calvin used all he had on them. All his power, all his time.”

  Wade leaned forward, “And Melody gave her life so he could do it.”

  Adelaide looked down, regret sagging her features. “Yes.”

  Dagger shook his head slowly. “And I always thought Calvin was weak.”

  “He was weak in water manipulation, strong in spell craft. But he never used his power on anything else, not after the prophecy.”

  “Is there anything more you can tell us?”

  “I can’t think of anything relevant. You’ll need to find your own way to this witch, and your own way to destroy the threat. Not even Diana knew how that would play out, and as far as she’s told me, she still doesn’t. If you think of anything else you’d like to know, call my cell phone. I always have it with me.”

  Dagger got up and hugged Adelaide. “Thank you Adelaide, we’ll do our best.”

  “I know you will.” She smiled warmly at Dagger, and surprised Calderon and Betony by hugging them both. Wade stood awkwardly near the door, but Adelaide strode over to him and pulled him into a hug as well. “Take care of them, Wade, and yourself.”

  Her eyes were shining with unshed tears as she opened the door to see them out. All her hopes for the future of her coven rested on those four, and if Diana was right, the future of all witches depended on them as well.

  10.

  The ride back to the house was silent, everyone lost in their own thoughts. They had several hours to kill before they had to leave for Wade’s mother’s house, and after learning their homes were a kind of ‘safe zone’, they decided to go there to regroup and discuss what they’d learned. Betony stood in the driveway, arms folded across her chest, chewing her bottom lip. “I want to make a circle, Cal. I think we need to focus.”

  Dagger nodded. He was feeling the same way. “We have a circle. Follow me.” He led them to the empty strip of land between their houses, but instead of following the path they had taken to the little cemetery, he turned right and slipped between two fat bayberry bushes into a little clearing. Calderon and Betony looked around in admiration of the little space.

  There was a circular patio of blue slate, inset with red slate markers carved to represent each of the four directions. In the center, a small hollow had been dug out and a fire-bowl sat flush with the ground. A pile of logs were neatly stacked in a tiny open woodshed tucked between some large clumps of grasses, and a small wooden chest sat next to that. The waves crashed onto the beach below, and the wind whispered through the tall grasses, but no other noises reached them. It was a beautiful place, and Betony’s mouth hung open in a gaping smile. “This is awesome!”

  “Yeah, thanks. My parents and Calvin built it a long time ago. It’s always been a special place for me.”

  Wade looked around, remembering the times he’d spent here with Dagger during their training. Dagger had been the reason Wade had stayed with the coven after his mother left. Back then, he and Dagger were close, pretty much best friends. Dagger always stood up for him whenever anyone in the coven spoke against him, and he’d spent hours with Wade, helping him learn rituals, how to weave simple spells, how to focus his power. Wade looked at Dagger, who caught his eye and smiled. He’d always been a good friend, and suddenly Wade felt guilty for allowing them to drift apart over the years. He walked up to Dagger and clasped an arm around his shoulders. “Some good memories here, buddy.”

  Dagger smiled and nodded, “Yeah.” He often missed the close friendship he and Wade had shared in their childhood and early teen years. Those had been good times for him.

  Calderon walked around the circle, thinking. “What element do you feel the strongest affinity towards, Dagger?”

  “Uh...fire, I guess. I don’t really have any power to call it, but I can make it through telekinesis sometimes, and control it that way.”

  Calderon nodded. “We each have an element. That’s why there are four of us. I thought we should be three, that three was more powerful, but… now I see, four is more stable. It makes sense.”

  “Should we start? Do you want to do a full ritual?”

  “No, there’s no need for that. Let’s just sit and think together. But we should have fire and water, if we can.”

  “I’ll take care of it.” Dagger jogged away to his house and returned a few moments later with a small jug of water. He lifted the flat cover from atop the fire bowl and revealed a sectioned insert. Into one half, he poured the water, and in the other he stacked a small pile of sticks. He fished a match from his pocket and nestled it into the wood pile, then lit it using a small burst of power. He focused on the tiny spark, directing it’s energy until the larger pieces caught and a small fire burned steadily.

  Calderon sat cross-legged in front of the stone marking North, and the others followed suit, Betony choosing West, Wade the South, and Dagger on East. Dagger reached out to clasp Wade’s hand, and was filled with nostalgia. They’d sat like this before, cross legged, hands clasped, back when they were too young to control their powers. Wade gave him a crooked smile and nodded.

  Wade reached out for Betony with his other hand, and she in turn held her left hand out for Cal. When Dagger and Cal clasped hands to complete the circle, a spark burst in the fire and energy hummed along their connection. Emotions and scattered thoughts flittered through their minds, and static prickled their skin. Wade almost let go, but Dagger held him firmly. For a few moments, they all adjusted to the strange sensations running between them.

  Betony smiled in awe. “I can feel you! All three of you!”

  Wade’s brow was pinched. “This is fucked up.”

  “Relax. Let yourselves get used to it. Accept it.” Calderon used his most calming voice. If Wade bolted, they were screwed. “We need to open our minds to each other. Trust each other. That’s our strength.”

  They sat, connected. For minutes, or hours, or days. Time meant nothing. Wade’s pain at being misunderstood, his loneliness; Dagger’s fear of failure, his self-doubt; Betony’s guilt over her parent’s death, over her neediness; Calderon’s painful shyness, his self-consciousness. All their fears and weaknesses were revealed to each other, and tears streamed down all their cheeks.

  Calderon broke the silence, and his words were a broken sob, “Think of your strengths, of your love, of what you are grateful for.”

  Dagger re
membered the day Wade punched Randy Williams in the locker room for calling him ‘Dag the fag’. Betony thought of the day she graduated college, when Cal had looked at her with so much pride her heart ached. Wade remembered overhearing Dagger defending him to Marcus, remembered the emotion in his voice when he’d said ‘If you can’t see the good in him, then the problem is with you, Marcus’. Calderon thought of the day Betony learned to use her power, how she’d told everyone to ‘look at what my big brother taught me!’.

  Slowly, their strength built, and as the memories grew more powerful, more positive, they opened their eyes and saw each other, and knew each other truly. Love and acceptance flowed between them now, not just for the good things, but for the failures and weaknesses as well.

  Calderon looked around, and seeing everyone calm and relaxed, thought it best to start. “Okay. Let’s think about what we know, and what we learned today.”

  Wade spoke up quickly. “I don’t want to kill anyone. I don’t feel right about that, and I don’t see how they can ask us to do it.”

  Betony nodded, “I agree. It seems severe. There must be an alternative?”

  Dagger’s phone hummed softly inside his pocket, and he closed his eyes, ignoring it. It was probably his boss, again. He’d been pissed about the unexpected sick day, and Dagger had offered him no explanation. “I agree. But we have three seers who think its what has to happen. I don’t like it either, but maybe when we meet this angel-witch we’ll see things differently.”

  “Yeah, speaking of that, how are we going to find her, or him?”