Page 68 of Pure Magic
His face is a mask of pain. “You told me once that she had been possessed by a demon. That’s probably why Ariana chose her. Even as good as Trina is, darkness leaves a mark.”
“What is this?” Prudence places her hand on Adam’s arm.
He shakes his head and stares at his feet.
Somehow, I find the strength to speak. “Six days ago, we considered not arriving in time, thereby keeping Adam away from Ariana and her plan. Goddess came to us and told us Ariana had taken another to fill Adam’s role and that she would not survive the dark spell.”
“And Trina is this replacement,” Prudence says. She closes her eyes. “There is no time to change what is.”
“I will do all in my power to save her, Great Mother.” He scans the hundreds of witches. “If I can, I will save us all.”
Taking his hand, she leads us to the fire. “Come and eat something. You need to take care of yourself and not think you are alone in this.” She gestures to the crowd. “Any one of these witches would die to save this world and Goddess’s.”
I sit beside Prudence and accept a cup of hot tea from Sylvia. “Great Mother, it is more than two worlds at stake. We don’t know how pervasive this magic will be, but we met the fae king. He was equally concerned, though with a different way of showing it.”
“Can you show us the items you collected?” Prudence asks.
“No one said to keep them to ourselves,” I think.
Adam shrugs and draws the wand from inside his coat. “It focuses and bolsters my magic. It’s how I was able to get us here in time.”
Without touching the wand, Prudence moves her hand over its length. “That’s what it is, child, a drawing wand. It draws magic and increases the vibration, like when a pebble hits a still pond and the rings get bigger as they move from the center.”
“I still don’t know what I’m supposed to do with it.” He puts it back into his coat.
I pull out the staff. “She called this the shield staff and said her father made it. When I matched it with the stone you gave me, Great Mother, the two became one.”
She holds the staff, and power rolls from her and the item made by a god. “This will come in handy when things from other worlds try to come through.” She hands the staff back to me.
Deep in the magic pouch I keep tied at my waist, I dig and find the hart’s antler. I hold it out in my palm. “This was from the world of fae. While I suppose Midhir is the creator, the sacred hart offered the gift.”
June crouches and stares at the piece of horn. “You saw the hart.” Her voice is breathy. “My mother’s mother used to say that only one with a soul purely in the light could ever witness an animal so good.”
I close my fist around it and put it away. “I’m not sure about my worthiness, but seeing the hart was humbling in ways I cannot explain. He is the most majestic and magical creature I’ve ever encountered.”
With her typical voice of reason, Sylvia asks, “How do we use these things to stop your sister, Adam?”
“I don’t know,” Adam admits with slumped shoulders.
“She cannot be stopped.” Great Mother’s voice is strong and sure.
“Then we’ve already lost.” It feels as if a knife is embedded in my chest. “Why did Goddess have us traipse all over the country if we had no hope of winning?” I long to run as fast and as far from this place as I can, but I can’t leave my coven without their leader another day, and I’m too exhausted to run. Without meaning to, I find I’m standing.
Prudence takes my hand and turns me to face her. “I didn’t say we can’t win, Sara Beth. I said we can’t stop her from casting her spell. She will cast it. I have seen it. We shall fight the battle against dark magic, not the woman wielding it.”
The link between Adam and me feels distant.
He only smiles. “We have to fight the magic. With wand and staff and pure hearts.”
“What if she actually opens the gates of hell? How do we fight thousands of demons? It was deadly when we only had to kill one.” I look at my Witches of Windsor and worry about who will be lost in the coming battle. It would be far easier if it were I who fell.
My mind is so filled with worry I can’t make out what Adam is feeling or thinking.
Minerva says, “Come and eat. We’ll worry later. For now, we have our high priestess back among us, and we have that to be thankful for.”
There’s an exuberant round of agreement, and Jonah begins carving a leg of lamb roasting over the fire.
After the meal, all the witches gather at the center of the standing stones. Laura Pinkerton approaches with her nephew, Isaac. “I’m very pleased to find both of you well.”
