Page 26 of Wolf Trap

“Please don’t grow a beard though, you’re too young for that look!”

“Agreed!”

He led me down into his basement, or the kingdom of the bizarre, as he named it. Full of old bottles, herbs, wands, bones and spices. On a top shelf with an array of poppets, I shivered looking at them. A beautiful teak desk at one end, up against a wall next to a small, bright red retro fridge. White-washed stone walls and floor, except for a highly intricate circle with the pentacle inside it, right bang smack in the middle of the room. It was warm down here, he obviously heated it and the scent of cinnamon and apple soothed me.

“So, a blessing. Simple enough. And what about you? We need to decipher what entity possessed you. A woman’s magic, I think.”

“Yeah, I’m not sure I want to know.”

Rolling his lips, he eyed the room. “There’s no need to worry. All magic is grey.”

Glancing away to the shelf, he reached up. “Ah, there… Ginger, oak bark and rosewood. Beautiful. We can do the blessing here? No need to go back to Savernake.”

“Good. Do we need something of hers?”

He shrugged, smacking his lips together as he picked up a jar, inspecting it.

“Nope! Just her name, a feel for the witch. Everything else is decoration. Intention is what you need the most. To be honest, we could do it on Mars, it would still work.”

“I understand. Great. Austin, the fact that we can soothe her tormented soul in your warm, clean basement and not in the cold, spooky forest, well… Thank God.”

His eyes narrowed. “Warm?” He placed the jar of herbs down, then rushed over, his hand placed on my forehead. “You’re boiling! It’s freezing down here… Oh dear. A witch and werewolf…oh, um… I think you need to lie down.”

9

KEEPER OF THE KEYS

Iwas warm, but after all those hours out in the damp, I hadn’t realised that I had a fever. Now I felt sweat on the back of my neck as Austin stepped closer, wrapping his arm around my shoulder and guiding me upstairs.

“Come on you. I’m afraid I’m going to put you in my bed. Don’t get any ideas. I’d hate to face off with your boyfriend, but you need to lie down, and I need to diagnose you.”

I didn’t argue. As soon as he said that, my head swam in a dizzy fog, my body moved up the next staircase automatically, leaning into him. My chest tightened and now my body felt freezing.

“There,that’s right. It could be shock. And not surprising. You’re in good hands. That’s it, sit down.”

As I perched on the edge of the bed, closing my eyes to hide the black spots appearing, Austin bent down, undoing my laces and pulled off my boots. With that done, he said, “Come on, lie down. I’m going to throw the covers over you. There…”

Suddenly,it was like all my energy drained away. The spots became larger. I shivered, too weak and cold to argue as I laid back. He pulled the duvet over me, then I felt his palm, clammy on my forehead.

Swirling, my head felt heavy and even with my eyes closed, I could see a glaring blaze before me as he took a sharp intake of breath.

The bed felt like it shook. I tried to open my eyes, but they felt weighted down.

His voice was sharp, then steadied.

“Ah… This is something to do with possession, surely?” A whisper, he continued, “Who are you?”

The spots before my eyes cleared, I could hear a dog barking in the distance and then in my mind’s eye, two large, ornate keys appeared. Then a creature with three heads! One of a horse, a dog and a lion.

A rush of energy swept through me, warm and bubbling, clearing away the brain fog, the confusion, the fear of everything that had happened. My body and mind felt invigorated. I sat up suddenly, Austin jolted back, lips twisted.

A slow breath in, I muttered, “It’s the keeper of the keys… I can feel her power now. I can…”

A rush of cool air swept around us. The light through the window darkened momentarily and Austin’s lips curved into a smile as he touched my hand.

He almost hissed, “Hecate! Of course. Allied with Zeus, Lycaon’s creator. She who serves and protects others, daughter of Perses and Asteria. With the power of a Titan! And now you’ve adjusted to her power, to her help?”

I swallowed.“Maybe. I’m not sure…” My body softened. “I’m, that’s reassuring, though.”

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