Page 9

CHAPTER NINE

By the time Astra arrived home, I was settled at the table with a cup of hot cocoa and some cookies. I was still shaken by my experience at the beach. I had a feeling it was Aphrodite talking to me, but even though I honored her and occasionally called on her for spell work, I had never had direct dealings with her. So why would she push me with those questions? And if I hadn’t come back to Midnight Point because I wasn’t sure where else to go, then why was I here?

Miss P. jumped up on the table, letting out a long purr. I pushed aside my plate of cookies and pulled her to me, burying my head in her fur. She smelled warm and comforting and safe, and as I held her against me, she purred and let out little squeaks.

“You’re such good medicine for when I need reassurance,” I said. I sat back and stared at her. She gazed into my eyes and gave me a slow blink, and I returned it. In cat language, it meant I love you and I feel safe with you .

I took a sip of my cocoa, wiping the whipped cream off my lips.

The front door opened. “I’m home,” Astra called. “Are you here?”

“I’m in the kitchen,” I shouted back.

A moment later, she joined me. “How are you doing, my dear?” She wrapped her arms around me from the back, squeezing me tightly, and placed a kiss on my cheek.

“That cocoa smells good. Is there more?”

I nodded. “In the pan. You may have to heat it up if you want superhot.”

Astra heated up the cocoa and carried it over to the table. Dahlia came bouncing into the kitchen, yapping her head off. Miss P jumped down, giving her side eye. The two bounced away together, racing back into the living room.

“I swear, they act like best friends who haven’t seen each other for years,” Astra said.

“Yeah, it sure seems that way. So…So much as happened in the past couple days it’s hard to keep track.”

“Why don’t you start from the beginning?”

I nodded, thinking back. I told her about Brenda and her dreams, the snake creature, and about Devon’s predicament. After that, I told her what happened with me down at the beach.

“Well, it seems like you’ve been busy while I’ve been gone. Let’s take these things one at time. First, from what you say you heard at the beach, I think you need to meditate and ask Aphrodite if she’s trying to contact you. It could be a spirit guide, or it could be your own subconscious talking to you. Regardless, it sounds like you have issues to think through.”

I nodded. “That’s what I was thinking. I’ll do a ritual tonight and meditate on it.”

“As far as the snake creature, I asked January to text me if she had any information. So far she’s come up with nothing. I also called Ona Sera, but she’s on vacation, her husband says. So she won’t be available for another week. I’ll check the wards tonight, and reinforce the patch that you and Crystal created.”

“What about Brenda’s dreams?”

“There’s something to them. I can’t tell you what, but I can sense it. Now, with regards to your friend Devon. Psychic vampires are extremely dangerous. Let me talk to Nightshade, the high priestess of the Dark Moon Society, and see what I can find out. Meanwhile, it sounds like the women shelter’s the best place for her.”

“If it is a psychic vampire, like I think it is, what can we do about it?”

“I’ll have to ask Nightshade. We cannot allow someone like that to stay in Midnight Point. Unlike traditional vampires, psychic vampires very seldom conform the rules. They’re chaotic, and they usually like to create even more chaos around them. In fact, I believe a number of them belong to the Covenant of Chaos, and that makes them even more deadly.” Astra held her hand out for a cookie.

I handed her one. “It’s good to have you back. Even though you were only gone for a couple of days, I missed you.”

“I missed you, too, hon. I’m glad January’s back, though. I don’t think Teran should be on her own for the time being.”

“How did she wrench her back?” I asked.

“That’s a good question. I gather she was trying to pull fifty-gallon bags of soil off the back of her truck, and she’s not as young as she used to be. She thought she had one in hand, but when she pulled, it threw her off balance and she twisted as she fell. The bag landed on top of her.”

“That sounds horrible,” I said.

“It wasn’t pleasant. She has a couple bruised ribs, and a broken finger. She’ll be all right. She may need some PT, but none of her ribs are actually fractured. Though, a sprain can be worse than a broken bone.” Astra poured another cup of hot cocoa for both of us.

“Well, that’s good.” I paused, then asked, “Astra, do you think I came back to Midnight Point for a reason? I mean, beyond losing my house? That maybe fate was playing her hand?”

Astra stared at her cup for a moment. “When you called me to say you were moving back, and asked if could you stay with me for a while, I was overjoyed. But when I think about it, I did believe there was something going on behind the scenes. As to what? I don’t know.”

I didn’t like thinking that I had been funneled here. I hated not having control. But when I searched my heart, I had to admit, it really did feel like fate had brought me home.

The doorbell rang and I answered it. Crystal was standing there, shivering. The snow event we were expecting this weekend had announced itself early. A light snowfall was drifting down to cover the ground, and while we’d been having some snow, this felt different.

“Come on in, we’ve got cocoa in the kitchen.” I hustled Crystal in, and took her coat, hanging it up on the coat rack.

She rubbed her hands together. “Cocoa sounds wonderful. I got Devon stowed away and the shelter will keep an eye on her. I also checked and they are heavily warded against outside interference and eyeballs. I doubt if Marcus will be able to find her there, though there’s no real guarantee. We need to clear those cords out of her. Even I could see them.”

“My aunt’s home.” I let her into the kitchen, stopping to pour her a cup of hot cocoa. As she sat at the table, I said, “Auntie, Devon safe in the shelter. But we still have to clear her cords.”

“I’ll call Nightshade in a few minutes,” Astra said.

“Astra thinks the Covenant of Chaos spawns a lot of the psychic vampires,” I said.

“Well, they don’t spawn them, but they provide a haven for them.”

“That would make sense,” Crystal said. “Psychic vampires break every rule they can. It’s not like they’re part of the Fae, either.”

“True that.” There were several species among the Fae races who fed off life force. While they weren’t welcome, they weren’t out in society, siphoning chi off everybody they met.

Astra set down her mug. “All right, I’m going to go call Nightshade and ask her what we should do.”

Nightshade was in her sixties, though she—like my aunts—didn’t look as old as she was, and she had taken the mantle of high priestess when Ella Sanders died. Ella had been close to one-hundred and sixty—not an old age for witchblood—when she passed, and she had maintained control over the Dark Moon Society until that time. Members of the witchblood lived longer than humans, though not usually longer than shifters.

I turned to Crystal as Astra stepped out of the kitchen. “So, I’m going over to Brenda’s house tomorrow. She had another dream about me, so I figured I’d better look into this. I also want to run one potential candidate past her. I found a star witch who lives in Port Ludlow, and while I don’t have that feeling I usually get when I’m about to make a match, he seems like he might have potential. Something tells me to go ahead and try.”

“Do you really enjoy your job?” Crystal asked. “I mean, I know you always have had a knack for bringing people together, but…”

“It is an odd job, being a matchmaker, but knowing I’ve helped bring love into someone’s life? It makes me happy. It makes the world feel like a better place. I am concerned that I won’t be able to drum up enough business here, I admit that. In the Seattle area, there are thousands of people looking for love. Here, I’m not so sure.” I stared down at Dahlia, who was bouncing around, begging for a cookie. “No, you cannot have a cookie. But you can have a dog biscuit.”

As I opened the drawer with the dog and cat treats, the Pom bounced around my feet, then stood on her hind legs, dancing like a maniac.

I snorted. “Good girl. Here.” I tossed her the biscuit and she caught it midair, then daintily carried it over to the dog bed in the corner, where Miss P. was snoozing. Miss P. took up most of the bed. She was over three times the size—in weight—as Dahlia. Dahlia glared at her for a moment, but when the Maine Coon showed no sign of moving, Dahlia let out a sigh and curled up on the edge of the bed to chew on her biscuit.

“What are you going to do if you find out you don’t have enough clients?” Crystal asked.

“Well, first I hope that’s not the case. But, even though I’ll likely have to dilute my time with doing psychic readings and house cleansings, as long as I have a few clients looking for love, I should be happy.” I shrugged. “It’s not the amount of people, it’s that I still get to help others make their dreams come true.”

Astra returned at that moment, her expression serious. “Well, I talked to Nightshade.”

“What did she say?” I asked.

“She asked us to catch him to go before the Court Magika. Since I’m a member of the Dark Moon Society, I have the authority to lead the case. She can offer me some assistance, but we have to find him on our own.” She paused, then looked at me. “Nightshade’s interested in meeting you,” she said. “We have a couple openings in the Society.”

I froze. “You mean, me join the Dark Moon Society?”

“Yes.” Astra smiled. “Frankly, it’s a good idea. You’d make a valuable member and we could use your help.”

“But…” I tried to think of reasons why I shouldn’t. For one thing, it meant giving up some of my time to the group. For another, it meant I’d be governed by strict rules, in terms of Court Magika laws. But then again, since I was a member of Queen Heliesa’s court anyway, and I was on the witchblood rolls, I had to follow the rules no matter what.

“I think you should do it,” Crystal said. “I’d love to become a member. I think it would be exciting.”

Astra laughed. “It’s not that exciting, not usually. But we do valuable work, and we help govern the world of witchblood. Being a member of Order of the Moon means giving back to society.”

The Order of the Moon ruled over all the individual witchblood groups that existed in every shadow town. We worked with the local governments and, when need be, the local authorities to align our purposes. Queen Heliesa and the Witchblood Nation had stricter rules for our members than most local governments, but that was because we were more dangerous because of our powers and the things we were capable of.

Astra put the kettle on for tea. “I’ll talk to Nightshade, if you’re serious, Crystal.”

“I’m absolutely serious,” she said. “I would love to be part of the Dark Moon Society.”

“We’ll see if we can make it happen.” She slid back into the booth. “All right, since we—I—have been charged with finding this psychic vampire, we need to do several things. First, I have to verify that Devon’s being attacked by him. After that, we arrest him.”

“I saw the cords coming off Devon, and so did Crystal,” I said.

“Yes, but since I’m the official agent on this, I have to make that call. Once you’re both members, then your word would be good enough. But you aren’t, so I have to verify that it’s true. Which means, I need to meet Devon. We should take her to one of the safe houses.”

I blinked. “What’s a safe house? She’s at the shelter. Isn’t that safe enough? They’re warded against intrusion.”

“I guarantee you, it’s not safe enough. We keep safe houses to protect those who are in magical danger from those who are witchblood. They first were fashioned when the Covenant of Chaos rose to power, but even though the order faded, we kept with the tradition. It’s a good thing, too,” Astra said, staring glumly at the table.

“Why? Hasn’t that order all but vanished?” I asked.

“It almost did, but in Moonshadow Bay, the Covenant of Chaos is making a resurgence. Which means it’s only a matter of time until they show up here again.” She frowned. “I talked to Rowan and January while I was over there, and they both verified that the chaos magicians are banding together again. Queen Heliesa knows, which means that the Court Magika is going to be busier than it has been for a while, if this keeps on.”

“That’s not good,” I said. “What do we know about them? I’ve heard of them, of course, but my knowledge is limited and I thought they had mostly died out.”

“For one thing, they work with a group of rogue vampires—traditional ones—known as the Blood Collective. Not all the time, but often enough. The Court Magika considers them domestic terrorists because all of their activity is focused on disruption through magical means. The Covenant, that is, not the Blood Collective. The rogue vamps are also terrorists, but oddly enough, they aren’t as organized as the chaos magicians.” Astra rose, pushing her chair away from the table. “Hold on for a moment. I want to talk to Nightshade again.”

As she left the kitchen, I looked at Crystal. “We’ll have to bring Devon here. I doubt if the shelter will allow us to visit her there.”

“Right. They aren’t going to want us drawing any attention to them. I was sworn to secrecy in terms of taking Devon there. In fact, a few blocks from the alley, I had to pass her off to one of the organizers of the shelter, so I can’t even tell you what the exact address is. I’ll call them and see if they can either drop her off here, or I can meet them to pick her up. Do you think your aunt will want to see her tonight? It’s getting late.”

I glanced at the clock. It was nearing eight. “I’m not sure, but if she’s not safe at the shelter, probably. I’d call her, just in case.” I froze, my alarm bells ringing like crazy. “I had a thought. He might be able to track her by her phone’s location. Call her, tell her to get ready. We need to bring her here now .”

Crystal pulled out her phone as Astra returned, her face pale.

“Crystal’s calling Devon. What if Marcus can track her via her phone? We need to pick her up now.”

“Good, because Nightshade told me to bring her in tonight. She made a couple calls. I gather the Order of the Moon knew that a psychic vampire was in the area, but they didn’t know exactly where. Marcus is dangerous. He killed two people in Terameth Lake. Cleo, the high priestess of the Mountain Moon Coven, had one of her operatives—Marquette—on his tail, but he managed to vanish before they could catch him.”

“Crap. Two victims already?”

“Yes, until they caught onto him. Somehow, he found out and skipped town.” She shook her head. “Marcus has no reason to give himself up. We have to hope he doesn’t realize that we’ve found out, so he’ll probably still be after her. Psychic vampires gain the most energy from an actual kill. So, if he thinks he’s in danger, he’ll go for max energy and then run.”

“Which means a string of dead bodies,” I said.

Crystal returned. “They’ll drop her off here. I told them that someone may be able to trace her phone, so they’re bringing her immediately.”

“Once she gets here, we need to break the cords, then get her to the Safe House,” I said.

“We have to get his address,” Astra said. “Surely, Devon has to have his address since they’ve been involved for a while. Then we go after him.”

“How are we going to arrest him?” Crystal asked. “He’s stronger than us?—”

“Not true,” Astra said. “I’m far stronger magically than most psychic vampires. Not only that, but I’ve also called for backup. Reese is coming over.”

“Who’s Reese?” I asked.

“Reese Saremay is one of the members of the Dark Moon Society. He’s not exactly a witch, but he’s…let’s put it this way. He’s what we call a problem solver . Most of the Order of the Moon societies have at least one around. Reese works with the police, unofficially. Officially , he’s branded as being on the wrong side of the law. But he steps in where the actual authorities can’t take a stand. I called him, and he’s on his way over.”

I still didn’t understand, but if my aunt said he would help us, I believed her.

“When Devon gets here, we’ll get Marcus’s information from her. Then, Reese will escort her to the Safe House. After that, we go after Marcus.”

In a matter of moments, my aunt had gone from being a firm, but sweet older woman to a take-no-prisoners official. I flashed back to when I was young. Astra had always been one of those women who kept under the radar until she was needed, then she burst forth like a dazzling ray of light. Now, she was practically glowing.

A car pulled up outside—its sounds muffled by the snow. Crystal peeked through the window. “It’s Devon. I’ll go get her.” She threw on her jacket, then vanished out the door.

“How long till Reese gets here?” I asked.

“Not long,” Astra said. “He should be here within ten minutes.”

Crystal escorted Devon in, locking the door behind her. I led her into the living room and my aunt approached her.

“Look into my eyes, child,” she said.

Devon obliged. A moment later, my aunt let out a sigh.

“He doesn’t have his full hooks into you yet. Or, at least, he hasn’t tried. The cords are there, and we’ll take care of those before the evening’s done.” Without a beat, she added, “Maisy, can you get the door?”

“But I didn’t hear—” I had no sooner started to speak when the bell rang.

I hurried to the door and opened it. A talk man stood there, husky and muscled, with pale hair against his tanned skin. He looked weathered, as though he’d seen too much anger in his life. He handed me his wallet, and I scanned it, seeing that he was who he said he was. I handed it back and motioned for him to enter the house.

Astra glanced at him as he entered the living room. “Hey, Reese. I was about to do some cord cutting. As soon as I’m done, you need to get her to the safe house.”

“Can do,” he said, sitting on the edge of the sofa.

Turning back to Devon, my aunt said, “I’ll need your phone.”

Devon handed it to her.

Astra gave it to Reese. “Wipe Marcus’s information from it, after taking down the number.” To Devon, she said, “Marcus can track you through it, thanks to the app here.” She pointed to one of the apps on the home screen. “If we can’t catch him, you’ll have to stay at the Safe House until we make certain he’s been neutralized. Do you have his address?”

“I understand, and yes, I do.” Devon said.

“Then sit down. Maisy, fetch me my athame and wand from the ritual room.”

I nodded, hurrying down the hall.

The ritual room had been a den until my aunts changed it into a personal temple. I’d joined them many a weekend afternoon, meditating and learning magic at their feet. Oh, the Academy taught me well, but my aunts had taught me all the shortcuts. In front of the altar, where Astra kept her magical gear, I gave a respectful bow, then picked up her dagger and wand. I kept my own ritual gear on a small altar in my room.

I hurried back with the tools. “Did you need anything else?” I asked. “war water? Begone potion?”

“No, I don’t think so. He’s probably not expecting someone to free her from his cording, so it shouldn’t be difficult. If he was prepared for the attack, then it might be a different matter.”

She motioned for Devon to sit on a chair in the center of the living room. After casting a circle, which magnified all the emotions and energy in the room, Astra began to slowly chant. I couldn’t understand what she was saying—she spoke so softly—but the energy felt like waves, caught in a glass, sloshing from side to side.

The words seemed to take a power of their own, circling Devon like autumn leaves caught up in a gust of wind. I could see the cords that Marcus had tethered into Devon. They were sickly vines, pulsing with energy as they siphoned it off of her. They reminded me of leeches, almost making me gag.

But the incantation formed into winged shards, hacking away at the cords. Astra changed tone, and one of those shards turned into something that looked like a drill bit, luminous and sparkling, and it rose over Devon’s head and began to spin as it lowered itself into her crown chakra, burrowing deep into the biggest cord there. As the tip of the drill hit the flesh of the cord, it burst, sending bits and pieces every which way.

The splinters of cord immediately withered, like leaves on a vine in the hot sun. The cord began to glow with a pinkish undertone, looking more like an earthworm every second. I tried to keep from gagging—it looked disgusting. And then, as the energy drove inward, the cord exploded. Bits of energetic debris flew every which way as the cords turned to dust.

Devon let out a sigh and slumped, looking exhausted. She was free, and now our job was truly beginning.