Page 17 of Wicching Hour (The Sea Wicche Chronicles #3)

SEVENTEEN

Age-Old Betrayals

“Y eah, but I might as well tell you all at the same time,” I said, pulling my phone out of my pocket. I swiped and dialed Mom first.

“Hello, darling. Did your artwork get packed up?”

“Hi, Mom. Yes, it did. I’m calling because I have some things I need to talk with you and Gran about. Do you have time to talk?”

Mom’s voice became muffled as she spoke to someone. “All right. Roseann’s going to cover the shop for me. I’m in my office now. Did I tell you I was hiring your cousin to help in the shop?”

“You didn’t.”

“She’s smart as a whip, but when she’s not talking to customers, she’s sneaking away to read. It’s currently a contest to see which of us will break the other first.”

“My money’s on you, Mom. Let me loop in Gran.”

The phone rang a few times and then, “Hello, dear.”

“Hi, Gran. I have Mom on the line too and Declan is here with me. You guys are on speaker.”

“What’s happened?” Gran asked, her voice urgent.

“That’s why I’m calling. We have a few problems.” I explained about the stalker and his podcast and then went into the vision. When I got to the little boy being poisoned by my cookie, Declan kissed the top of my head and held me tightly.

“Poison again,” Mom mused. “How will Cal poison your baked goods?”

“I don’t know,” I said. “If we can’t figure it out, I’ll stop selling food.”

“I’m afraid you’ll have to,” Gran said. “And we’ll come and help you ward Bracken’s vehicle. We can at least get that worry dealt with.”

I squeezed Declan’s arm. “Gran, that hellhound, or whatever it was, has me worried about you leaving your house.”

“Nonsense,” she argued. “That girl is not locking me up in my own home.”

“And I totally get that,” I said, “but what if something happens to you? We’ll be back to two-thirds of the Council trying to fight a sorcerer and her demon. I know it feels like the strong thing to do is ignore the threat, but the Goddess gave me the vision for a reason. I don’t think it’s wise to ignore Her warning.”

“She has a point,” Mom said. “I think it makes more sense to bring you out when we have a plan for defeating Calliope. Not to waste it for wards that Arwyn and I can build. If her demon puts you in a coma, how are we, as the three, going to finally destroy her?”

This was unprecedented. Mom and I never argued on the same side. Normally, the two of them stood together. Maybe allegiances were beginning to shift.

Gran was quiet for a long time. “Has it been unseasonably cold?”

“No,” Mom said. “It’s been a normal July. I think it was sixty-eight today.”

“Gran,” I said, “in the vision, you were sitting by a fire and pulled a shawl around your shoulders. Have you been colder than normal?”

She was quiet again. “Fine. I’ll stay behind my wards, but, Arwyn, you have to find Calliope. She can’t be allowed to continue her sorcery.”

Declan opened his mouth, no doubt to remind her this wasn’t all on my shoulders, but I shook my head. Gran had agreed to wait, and that was huge for her. We didn’t need to push. With a sigh, he coiled one of my curls around his finger and continued to listen.

“We all need to work together to find her,” Mom said, and I felt my eyes suddenly fill with tears.

Declan kissed the top of my head again.

“All right,” Mom added. “I’m coming to you, darling. We’ll ward Bracken’s home and then I’ll take you to your Gran’s. We need a shared vision to help us know what to do next.”

I swallowed the sudden emotion down and said, “Sounds good. I’m here.”

After I disconnected, I pushed Declan back onto the bed. Of course, if he hadn’t been willing, I wouldn’t have been able to move him. “Now will you go back to sleep? Mom is on her way, and you know how boring ward building is to watch.”

“I’m all keyed up now. I’ll guard you while you work,” he said.

I crawled up him and gave him a kiss. “I could always relax you.”

Grinning, he wrapped his arms around me. “How long will it take your mom to get here?”

“Not long enough for that,” I said, grabbing a hair tie from my nightstand. “This is all about your relaxation.” I coiled my hair up and began kissing and caressing him until I made my way down and settled in.

Later, on a final groan, Declan said, “Thank you, and your mom just parked.”

The fear of getting caught by Mom didn’t seem to ever fade, even in adulthood. I undid my hair, swirled some mouthwash, and was running down the stairs a minute later. “Go to sleep,” I shouted as I ran out the back door.

I found Mom standing beside Bracken’s RV. “I knocked but he hasn’t answered,” she said. “Is he home?”

Wincing, I checked his windows. “He sleeps during the day and studies all night,” I told her.

His door opened and he came out, dressed in his usual slacks, button-down shirt, tweed blazer, and sneakers. “Ah, guests. How lovely.”

“I’m sorry we woke you,” I said.

He waved that away. “Nonsense. Would you like to come in?” He waited for Mom’s reaction. When he got none, he said, “Or we could sit on one of Arwyn’s benches over here.” He gestured to the deck.

Mom smiled. It was the first time I’d seen her give him a smile. “You’re right. We should go in and talk first, so we can explain what’s going on.”

He pulled the latch and held the door open for us. Mom looked genuinely surprised by the interior. Bracken had made the RV a kind of beautiful dark wood and green leather study. Mom and I sat on the bench below the window in the front part of the RV. Bracken took his usual wingback chair and then popped back up.

“Tea. How rude of me to have forgotten to offer you both tea.” He went to his kitchenette and gathered three cups.

Mom opened her mouth to stop him but I shook my head, and she listened. It was a day of firsts.

“Sybil, your daughter gave me some of your excellent blends, so I think you’ll like it,” he said.

“I’m sure I will. Thank you.” She studied the compact sitting room and then looked down the hall to the wall of bookcases, his bathroom, and the bedroom he’d turned into an office.

“I’m afraid I have no little nibbles to offer you two.” He handed us our mugs of tea. “Perhaps next time I will. Your daughter is very kind, always making sure this old man is taken care of.” He took his own cup and sat back down.

He gave me such a delighted smile, I had a hard time swallowing the lump in my throat. “I had a vision this morning.”

“Oh?” He picked up the journal on the side table at his elbow. “Anything related to our little problem?” Bracken knew not to use names when it came to sorcerers and the fae. Better safe than sorry.

“Yes, and tangentially.” I went through the vision with him. He stopped me often to ask questions and take notes.

“You haven’t made any peanut butter cookies, have you?” His handwriting was tiny, but I knew it was probably quite clear to his own eye.

“Not in months,” I said, “but I keep tons of baked goods in the freezer, so…” I shrugged. “Hester knows where they are, if she needs to fill in the case.”

He nodded. “So, this could be prophesy. I’ll check everything in your kitchen. I have an affinity for poisons. I believe you were baking earlier today. The workers were quite excited about the cookies you gave them.”

My hand flew to my mouth. Had I poisoned half the black bear shifters in Monterey? No. My hand dropped with the understanding that they’d had time to develop symptoms and they were all fine. “I’m sorry they woke you too. They were here to pack up my art and ship it to two collectors. I made them honey cookies because they’re bear shifters. Oh, and one wicche.”

I turned to Mom. “Do you know the Swans?”

Mom tipped her head side to side. “I know Catherine, sort of. She’s the current head of the family. She’s your Gran’s age. I also know a few of her children.” She shrugged one shoulder. “They’re not a powerful family.”

Bracken nodded. “Though it’s not for a lack of trying. I knew Catherine when I was young. She’s a few years older than me but I thought she was a friend. It turned out she was using me to get close to your grandmother. She seemed to believe she could become more powerful if she used the same grimoire or if she knew what Mary was studying.”

Mom leaned forward at that.

“When I realized what she was doing, I told her she’d never be as powerful as Mary because she was nowhere near as powerful to begin with.” He took a sip. “She didn’t like that. And suddenly, I was an outcast among my peers.” He sighed. “Even my sister had no use for me. Well, I suppose I could have been more tactful.” He took another sip.

“Uncle Bracken,” Mom began, “I’m confused. Didn’t you take the family grimoire and give it to Catherine?”

Bracken’s head whipped around like he’d been slapped. “Of course I did no such thing. Where on earth did you hear such a ridiculous story?”

Mom glanced at me and then turned back to her uncle. “It’s an old story I’ve heard from multiple family members. Our grimoire had gone missing. No one knew where it was. The then-Corey Council did a finding spell, and they located it at the Swans’ house. Gran and Mom went to get it. The Swans swore they had no idea what we were talking about. Mom said she hit Catherine with a truth-telling spell, and Catherine finally admitted that she did have it.”

Bracken’s brow furrowed in confusion.

“She went to her room and brought it back to where everyone was standing by the front door. She told Mom and Gran that you’d loaned it to her, and she was just reading it.”

The look of betrayal on Bracken’s face broke my heart. “I see,” he said quietly. “A person who posed as my friend stole from us and then my family all accepted the story of a liar and thief, assuming the worst about me.”

His hand trailed to his chest. “It was a very long time ago. I don’t know why it bothers me so.”

I went to him and took his hand in both my gloved ones. “Because you’ve spent your life locked outside your family, forever looking in, and no one even bothered to ask you if it was true.”

He took in a deep breath and blew it out. “Yes. I believe that’s why.”

“I’m so sorry,” Mom said, rising to her feet.

He waved away her apology. “You hadn’t even been born. I, myself, was still a child. And an odd one, so I suppose they assumed me capable of horrible disloyalty.”

“No,” I said. “We’re not making excuses for them. What they did to you was cruel.”

With a sad smile, he patted my hands. “You’re such a blessing to me.” With a head shake, he added, “What’s done is done. You came here because you had a vision of me being crushed under my desk and my books burning. That is far more pressing.” He glanced down the hall. “I won’t feel comfortable sitting behind it until we fix this.”

“Then let’s do that,” I said, going to his door. I held it open for both of them.

Mom stepped out and glanced around the parking lot. “We’re out in the open here.” Her fingers flicked as she stood east, south, west, and north, casting a safe spot for us where we couldn’t be observed.

I looked over the RV as I slid off my gloves and stuffed them in my pockets. “Bracken? I have a suggestion you might not like.”

Eyebrows raised, he waited.

“I think we remove the tires and do what we can to make this a stable addition to the gallery.”

I thought for sure Mom would protest, but instead she said, “You could hire Phil’s construction company to come back and build a proper in-law unit.”

I tried to gauge Bracken’s reaction. “We could ask him to make it as close to what you’re used to as possible,” I said. “If you’d like that.”

He swallowed. “That’s quite a bit more permanent than we discussed earlier.”

“I don’t want to push, but I love having you here,” I said. “You don’t have to decide n?—”

“Yes. I’d like that very much,” he said, nodding. “Very much indeed.”