50. Anna

50

Anna

Smoke rose from the earth after Janelle used the fire extinguisher to put out the last of my fires. Irene, Lunessa, and the Crone all watched with fascinated expressions. I'd bet not a single one of them had ever seen a fire extinguisher before. Irene couldn't even believe there was one in her cottage.

Lucky, since it turned out that my barrier magic did produce fires, and they weren't so easy to extinguish with magic.

I leveled a look at the Crone. "I think we should try something different. Jax already kindly requested that I not start any wildfires in his territory."

"We have the extinguisher," the Crone began.

"It's empty," Janelle announced.

"Empty? How can it be empty? Doesn't it just harness the magic of the wind?" Lunessa demanded.

"You guys really need to get out more," I muttered. "No more boundary spells."

At least I had formed a forcefield. I'd also nearly set us all on fire. The flames didn't hurt me, but in my shock, I'd started waving my hands around and hurling little flames everywhere. Not ideal since Irene's dress had caught on fire, proving that they were flammable.

"How bad is the burn," I asked as I gestured to her dress. With a grimace, she picked up her skirt and examined the burn on her leg.

"I have a salve I can whip up. Damage can be reversed in a few days. I'll be fine."

Frustrated, I ran my hands over my face. "I need a break."

"We don't have time for a break," the Crone thundered. "You need to learn to protect yourself from Maeve!"

"But we don't even know what Maeve is planning! This forcefield only protects against magic. I guarantee that if the fire extinguisher could get through the boundary, so would a bullet. Or a wolf."

"You have to start somewhere."

"Great. Let's start with something that doesn't catch on fire!"

Muttering under her breath, the Crone turned and stormed inside. I blew out my breath. "Is she any less intense when I leave?"

"Unfortunately not," Irene muttered. "We should really consider building some guest housing."

I snorted with laughter, which faded when she took a few steps toward me and winced. "Are you really all right?"

"Let Janelle and I take the pain away," Lunessa said kindly. "Just a few minutes of chanting, and then you can make the salve for the physical damage."

"Do I need to leave?"

"Not at all. Some magics are so simple that even a null cannot dull them. Watch." With a happy smile, Lunessa, Janelle, and Irene linked hands. "There is a reason covens are so effective. Linking magic has powerful results."

"What's so simple about taking away pain?"

"Not taking away. Shifting it. It's all internal. It'll flow from Irene, through us, and funnel into the earth."

"Handy."

"Indeed. The more the pain, the more witches it takes, but I think we can handle this."

Curious, I sat amid the scorched marks in the grass and watched. They might call this simple magic, but once they started chanting, I could see the colors of their magic. A dark red for Janelle, almost the color of blood. Pink for Irene, soft and light. Lunessa was a vibrant purple. The colors began to shimmer off their skin, like a dusting of glitter, and rose into the air before swirling around them. I saw the moment that Irene's pain lifted. Her face softened, her magic darkened, and it moved through the colors.

The darkness funneled into the earth, and I thought about how it almost looked like the darkness that took over my memories when I was trapped inside my mind. Was that harnessed pain? My pain?

My mother's?

The colors dissipated, and they separated. "Nothing simple about that," I murmured. "But I'm never going to be able to that, am I?"

"Every witch is different, even without two other parts of them vying for dominance. The Crone is frustrated because her teachings may very well be useless. Magic is her whole life, but she doesn't know how to get you to take in yours. To control. I think that will have to come from you," Lunessa said softly. "Spend some time with your wolf. She's known about your magic for a long time. I think she can help you."

Suddenly, Irene cried out and clutched her stomach. I jumped to my feet, and Janelle reached for her. When she made contact, Irene snarled and shoved her away.

"Don't touch her again," Lunessa cried out. "Crone. Crone!"

The woman ran out of the cottage, far faster than I would expect an old woman to move, and by then, Irene had stilled. I watched in horror as she turned to face me, and her eyes grew so dark they blackened.

"I didn't know if this would work around you, Anna," Irene said as she grinned. "Some of the witches speculated that it wouldn't."

It was Irene's body. Her mouth. Her gestures. But it wasn't her voice.

"Maeve. What have you done to Irene?"

"Sadly, nothing. The possession is only temporary, and all I can do is speak. An annoying little for how much energy and magic this is taking. It's a little fail safe I had built in when I took her. You'd be surprised at what a little witch blood can do."

Janelle paled and hurried to Lunessa's side.

"I have a cellphone, you know," I pointed out. "You even have the number."

"I do, but this is so much better, don't you think?" Slowly, Irene reached into her pocket and pulled out a dagger. Fuck, Irene was armed? She held it out in front of her face. "I could stab the little bitch to death, and there's nothing you could do about it."

A strong wind blasted from the Crone's staff, and Maeve snarled as the dagger flew out of Irene's hands. "You could have a thousand witches on your payroll and still not understand a tenth of what magic can do," the Crone said evenly. "As you've already stated, your clock is ticking. I suggest you not waste any more of it."

Irene bared her teeth. "Crone. I should have known you'd be here. I have plans for you, old woman."

"Your fight is with me, Maeve. What do you want?" The longer I kept Maeve distracted, the more I could ensure that no harm would come to Irene. At least, I hope so. I had no idea of the lasting effects of possession.

"Andrea. My sweet Andrea. I'd hoped to get you alone, but you're never alone. No matter. I wanted you to know that this, all of this, is not about power."

"You're trying to take over a mountain. You're going to have a hard time convincing me that that's not about power," I said dryly.

"It's about unity! The very fact that you exist is proof that Fae blood is still active in our world. It still exists. It's an unknown threat, and one we may very well not survive if we are divided. You saw what happened when we met. Our packs are so loyal to our alphas that we cannot see the bigger picture. We can only follow orders, but if we are united, then nothing can hurt us. One pack. There will be no more pain among the rogues. They'll belong. No more feuding among the packs. One big happy family."

"Sure, but you'd be leading them, and no offense Maeve, but you're psychotic."

Irene's eyes flashed, and for a moment, she looked like her old self before they darkened again.

I kept pushing. "And you have no proof that the Fae are still alive. Dormant genes become active all the time, and the null power, the Fae power, have been inactive for a long time."

"Fool," Maeve crowed. "You would not have all three if your Fae blood was not calling out the others. If you were not trying to find all your brethren."

Where the hell had she gotten that idea? Still, I watched as Irene's eyes flashed again. I needed to push her out, but first, I needed information. "We were attacked by rogues last night. That wouldn't happen to be your doing, would it?"

"Why would I bother with rogues?"

"Because you just mentioned them. Seriously, for someone who's pulled all of this together, you're not as clever as you should be. Did Emerson come up with most of this plan?"

"How dare you," Maeve roared, and then Irene collapsed. Lunessa immediately raced to her side.

"Her own emotions pushed her out. Clever, Anna," the Crone mused.

I ignored her as I joined Lunessa. "Is she all right?"

Irene opened her eyes and took a deep breath. "Just me," she murmured. "Need sleep."

Her eyes closed again, and I bit my lip anxiously. "If Maeve kept her blood, can she do this again? Interact through Irene? See through her eyes?"

"Not for long periods of time. She could have buckets of Irene's blood, but it doesn't matter. She's not a witch and not powerful enough to sustain the connection." Lunessa looked up. "What's troubling is that she tried it at all. It's not exactly a secret spell, but no witch would ever try it."

"Why not?"

"Because to take over another soul, even temporarily, you chip off a piece of your own. If you're questioning Maeve's sanity now, I've got bad news. This little power stunt she just pulled will make her even more unstable."

Fabulous.