The Witches of Dark Root: Daughters of Dark Root: Book One (The Daughters of Dark Root) (31 page)

Finally, she opened her eyes and smiled. “The good news is that the ‘thing’ you had following you when we last met has gone. Just as I suspected, it was a hitchhiker. Probably scared you a little during the night, fed, then disappeared. Nothing serious. Just siphoning off a bit of your life force before bouncing on.”

I thought about the ‘thing’ I had seen hovering over my bed the night I rushed out of my room and found Paul in the kitchen. I shivered, unnerved that it had ‘fed,’ but relieved that it was gone.

“But...” Jillian tilted her head as if we were conspirators in a secret. “There’s something darker and more powerful that has manifested. At your house, correct?”

“The house I grew up in,” I said, grateful I didn’t have to explain.

Jillian squeezed my hands. “For some reason, it has attached itself to you. I’m afraid he is here to stay.”

“Is it a ghost?” I asked hopefully.

Jillian bit her bottom lip thoughtfully. “I’m not sure. I can’t get a good read on it. Let’s hope so.” She gave me a mysterious look. “There are some things in this world more frightening than ghosts.”

“Like demons,” I said, in a voice so low I didn’t think she could hear me.

Jillian stood, moving towards the bookshelf.
 

“It’s a very old male energy and it likes your house because of all the feminine energy there,” she said. “Makes it feel strong, especially when it scares you. It also enjoys all the ‘power’ you girls put out. You have sisters, correct? And you all have gifts?”
 

Jillian said this in a way that let me know she didn't expect an answer. She grabbed a book and thumbed through it until she found the page she was looking for.
 

“And you, Maggie Magic...” she continued, catching me off guard by calling me by Michael’s pet name for me. “...You are the most gifted of all. It knows this and wants some of that power. It feeds off it. But the good news is, this particular entity is
not
a demon...

“It’s not so bad.” Jillian smiled bemusedly when I didn’t respond. “I’ve been seeing spirits since I was in the cradle, too.” She opened the book on her desk and pointed to a picture, a photo of a woman in a rocking chair with a smoky haze behind her. Within the haze you could almost make out the shape of a face. “It happens.”

Jillian flipped the pages of the book as she continued.
 

“So, the question is, if it’s not a ghost and it’s not a demon, what is it?” She found the picture she was looking for and pointed. “Something in between. A dark energy from another plane of existence who has decided he likes it here for one reason or another, and wants to stay.”

“Was it summoned?” I swallowed hard, remembering what Shane had told me about the original Council of Thirteen.

“No, dear. There are many planes and planets and realities. This one happens to be ours. But sometimes, sometimes...” She tapped the page. “...Realities cross over.” The picture was a painting of a dark mass with two red points of light where the eyes should be.

The picture was terrifying. “What does it want?” I said.

“Maggie, you are like a power outlet for these ‘things’ to plug into. Your emotions are so powerful they are almost tangible. Especially the darker ones: jealousy, envy, and anger. They gobble this stuff up.”

“No wonder they hang out at my house.”

“And fear. Especially fear.”

“Why fear?”

“Fear has a lasting effect. It’s like walking into a room after a fight. There might be no physical evidence of the fight, but you can still feel it. Fear leaves that type of imprint but it lingers longer and is easily digestible to certain types of entities. If they can make you afraid, they get to stick around longer.”

My heart was racing. “What can I do?”

“For starters, keep a night light on. The dark is the birthplace of fear. But most importantly, learn to control your emotions. The ‘thing’ can’t eat if you don’t give it food.”

I gave her a desperate look and she laughed.

“Easier said than done, huh?” Jillian closed the book and studied me. “You’ve always had visitors, Maggie. That is a gift, and one you’ve been running from, but an important one.”

“Visitors.” I repeated her word. “You make it sound fun. Like they come to have tea and crumpets with me on the veranda.”

Jillian laughed, her voice light and airy again. “Well, I do with mine, sometimes. Maybe I need to get some friends on this plane.” Then changing the subject. “Do you have a crystal?”

I reached under my shirt and showed her the crystal. She reached out to grab it, lifting it to the light. “This one is wonderful. Very powerful. But it’s not really yours, is it? It has the energy of someone else on it. Someone who hasn't been entirely, shall we say, behaving himself.”

“No, it was a gift.” I almost choked on the memory of Michael giving it to me.

“Its previous owner did have a certain power. Not like yours, but a power nonetheless, and it’s infused in this crystal. Get your own? The right crystal will help you center and clear your mind. Both of which are necessary to help you deal with these unwanted guests of yours.”

“How do I find one?”

“You don’t. Crystals find you. But for now, consider getting that one cleansed. The past owner’s energy is inhibiting yours.”

“That figures.” Even miles away, Michael was still trying to control me. “There is something else...”

“Yes, go on.”

“My mother had a stroke. She’s in the hospital.” I swallowed hard and felt a strange tingling in the tips of my fingers.

Jillian narrowed her eyes and looked past me. “Your mother’s fate is still unknown. There are too many factors.” She closed her eyes and inhaled. “The cards are not all drawn. The fate of many things, including her life, rests on the shoulders of her daughters.”

“I don’t understand. How does her life rest on my shoulders?”

Jillian opened her eyes and smiled knowingly. “There is another player. A woman. You will face her.”

“Larinda?”

At the name, Jillian froze. After several moments she spoke, her voice soft but serious.

“Honey, I should have confessed something earlier,” she said. “I hadn’t come to Dark Root by accident. The truth is, I knew your mother and some of the others back in the day.” She threw her head back, laughing. “They were a bunch, weren’t they!”

“I know.” I removed the picture of Jillian and my mother together from my purse. “How were you two acquainted?”

She took the picture from me, tracing her fingers along its time worn edges.

“I was one of the original members of The Council of Thirteen.” Jillian paused, choosing her words with care. “I was young and though I had gifts, they were a bit, shall I say, unbridled.” She smiled at the memory. “Your mother found me in a mall, of all places, and promptly recruited me. It was great fun playing coven and having friends who shared similar interests. For once, I didn’t feel like a freak. At any rate, the Council of Thirteen lasted a few years before we succumbed to dissension. Seven stayed in Dark Root. Five moved to another town and reformed. I went rogue.”

“I’ve heard that some of the members were trying to control demons. Is that true?”

“Yes, that’s true. But to the best of my knowledge, that never happened. They were not nearly as powerful as they pretended to be.”

“I was told the reason the group broke up was because the men were dabbling in the dark arts. If that wasn’t the reason, then why?”

“Whether they were able to summon or not, your mother wanted nothing to do with it. So, that was definitely part of it. But the real reasons we split were far more mundane. Power struggles, too many chiefs and not enough Indians. Jealousy. Love.”

“Love?”

“Love is the most powerful Magick of all, and sometimes, when misguided, the most destructive.”

“That doesn’t sound like love.”

“Bingo! You’re a bright young woman.” Jillian smiled broadly in approval. “No Maggie, real love is self-sacrificing. It’s a give, not a take. When somebody, or something, wants to take from you, use you, control you, that’s obsession, not love.”

“Was Larinda on the council?”

Jillian nodded. “Your mother and her clashed. Often. They each had their own way of doing things and come hell or high water, they were going to get their way. They couldn’t plan a picnic without fighting over who would bring the potato salad.”

“Mother liked to be in charge,” I agreed.

“She certainly did. Miss Sasha was a firecracker, that’s for sure. Still, I’m not certain what Larinda has to do with any of this now.” Jillian pressed her lips together. “Well, I hoped that answered your question. Larinda might be a player in this game but it is the Maddock girls who will determine the outcome. To many things.”

I didn’t like what she was saying. It sounded like even more responsibilities, best left for someone else. I had never really accomplished anything. If my mother’s fate partly rested in my hands, the universe had a cruel sense of humor.

“Will you come see us at the Haunted Dark Root Festival?” I asked, purposely changing the subject.

“I will do my best.” Jillian patted my hand. “I know the festival doesn’t seem very important to you, but in the grand scheme of things, this may be just what your mother needs to get well again. Now if you’ll excuse me for just a moment, I have a present for you.”

Jillian went into the adjoining room and returned with a bundle of sticks wrapped in string, which I recognized as a sage stick.

“Burn this in your house,” she advised. “It’s not strong enough to get rid of that ‘thing’, but it can lessen its power and keep out future hobgoblins,” she winked. “Well, dear, I do have to run. Call me and come see me again, okay? You’re a wonderful young woman and the door is always open.”

We stood and hugged. I felt a deep connection with her.

Maybe it was because we had similar ‘gifts’.

I walked out to the car, mulling things over.

Larinda was a real person. Jillian had once been a friend of my mother’s. The Council of Seven had once been the Council of Thirteen. There was something between a ghost and a demon inhabiting the nursery. And Mother’s life was dependent on us.

I chewed on my lip as I sorted it out.

Shane was leaned up against his truck, headphones plugged into his Ipod, tapping his toes. He didn’t see me and I noticed again how handsome he was, in that goofy sort of way of his. I touched him on the shoulders and he removed the earphones.

“Get any resolution?”

“Just more questions.”

He pointed at my sage stick. “What’s that?”

“A little something to push back the evil spirits.”

“Don’t point it at me then,” he teased.

“Maybe Eve can be in charge of this sage stick. Evil doesn't seem to bother her and I’m not sure I can go back in Sister House again.”

“I don’t blame you.” Shane looked at the sky. The clouds had parted and a small ray of light fell on his forehead like a target. “Let’s go home, Maggie. I’m playing around with a new chocolate sauce that has your name written all over it.”

“Is that in place of the cauliflower nightmare you were trying to push on me earlier?” I teased. We got in the truck and sat in our appointed spots. I even buckled.

“It’s dessert,” he said, once we were settled. “...You can have some if you are a good girl and eat all your vegetables.”

“You do know how to woo a woman, don’t you?”

“I try, but it’s not as effective as one might think.” He stretched an arm out of the window, turning his palm towards the sun.

It was the last day of September. We would likely not see the sun again for many months. My stomach growled and I realized I hadn’t eaten yet today.

“I’m so hungry I’m willing to try any of your concoctions right now,” I admitted.

“Perfect,” he said, turning onto the road that led us back to Dark Root. “You are exactly the type of customer I’m hoping for.”