An Enigmatic Witch, page 12
‘To bring peace into the world as we know it, stupid,’ he said. ‘What do you think? Although I cannae see why she brought the likes of you on board, for ye’ve never been much good at anything that I can tell.’
‘Behave,’ Cate told him absently, then she addressed me. ‘So. I saw the report you submitted. Well done.’
I couldn’t help but shoot a smirk at the goblin, who ignored this praise for me and helped himself to a fistful of macaroons. I couldn’t bear to watch him destroy those fine delicacies, so I turned my full attention back to Cate.
She must have caught the look of disgust on my face, for she turned to Trevor. ‘Be off now, you vile creature. I’ll call you when you’re needed.’
He looked askance, his jaw hanging open.
‘Do you not have work to do?’ She stared him down. He soon shut his mouth again and after shooting me the dirtiest look he could, slunk off out of the gazebo and through the hedges. I was liking Cate more and more.
‘Now. The game. What did you learn this afternoon?’
I looked straight into her black eyes and knew she wasn’t referring to the lopsided physical tennis matches we’d played with the goblin crowing every time she won a point. My right arm was aching and sore as I told her my observations on the psychological aspect of the game she’d played, positioning herself in the center of her side and how she had lobbed the ball constantly into different corners of mine, keeping me on the run to keep up with her.
‘Brilliant.’ She sat back and there was genuine pleasure on her face. ‘You’ll go far.’
Cate took a small sip of her lemonade. ‘You realize that a lot of magic, practical magic, is like that too.’
She obviously wasn’t finished her thought, so I stayed silent. ‘I don’t mean every day magic, spells, wards, and all that. I’m talking about defending yourself using magic.’ She looked up sharply. ‘I don’t suppose Nachtan or Hugh...’
I shook my head. ‘No. Not... as such,’ I told her. ‘Although at Scarp I picked up some things.’ Shields, ice balls, fire bombs, but these were all child’s play, literally. Any witch could do them. I felt a frisson creep up my spine, and I liked the way this conversation was headed. Cate was treating me like an equal, the powerful witch we both knew I was, and she was willing to take on my education, to teach me the things I needed to learn.
‘Yes, the defensive arts are all about psychology,’ she mused. ‘You have to position yourself to your advantage, wear your opponent out. It’s all about confidence and knowing and believing in yourself.’
Wait now. Wasn’t this similar to what Margaret had been jawing on about the other night? I sat up straighter in my chair.
‘I believe you haven’t gained the confidence you require, despite the wonderful things that have happened to you, that you have caused to happen,’ she continued. ‘And yes, I’m talking about the whole Crystal Charm Stone episode of course, but also the other things.’
She leaned closer to me over the table. ‘I truly believe you have gotten a raw deal from life, and I want to help you overcome all the wrong things you’ve picked up along the way. All the self-hatred, perhaps, not believing yourself worthy, the lack of confidence. You can overcome all those false ideas. I want you to shine and be everything you should be.’
Her words cut into my soul with their truth, as if they lifted me out of the artificial box that had been labelled ‘Dara Martin’, and I saw with immediate clarity the stultifying framework with which I’d defined myself for so long, a self created to keep the world and its hurts at bay. There was no way I could move on until I swept away the detritus of the old, took control of the reins of my life and began to really believe in the power of myself.
Margaret had also insisted this, but she hadn’t offered to help me achieve it, not without the stipulation of giving up on my dreams and ambitions, of renouncing the Kin and the life I foresaw for myself. Cate understood, for she was of the Kin, was an important member of them. Cate knew what I needed, and knew how to help me get there.
I nodded slowly. My heart was beginning to sing in a way it hadn’t for a long time. At last, someone understood my needs. The needs of Dara Martin. That this someone was Cate, this was the oddest thing, but odder things had happened during the life of Dara Martin.
‘That’s what I want, too,’ I breathed.
She continued to stare in my eyes as if she was trying to spy into my very soul, then gave a funny little smile and nodded. ‘Why don’t we work together? You’ll help me as I try to advance the removal of the Veil, and we’ll work on getting you to the point where you will be a far, far more powerful witch than I can ever be.’
Despite the history and all the shit between Cate and me, she cared. Unlike Margaret who had stormed off when I refused to do exactly as she had advised.
‘You need to accept right from the first, I’m not an easy teacher,’ she said severely. ‘There will be times when I demand things of you that it may not be in your nature to do. Knowing you...’ She smiled to soften her words. ‘Knowing you, you will be tempted to run amok and do things your own way. Understand right now, from this moment on, that is not acceptable. I am the Master at this game, and only through working closely with me, and observing what I do will you grow. And so we will assist each other in this process.’
I was ready to shake on it, but she didn’t offer her hand.
Cate smiled with a warmth I had never imagined she could possess. ‘Just one more thing,’ she said. She hesitated as if searching for the words, then shook herself and plunged in. ‘You really need to get in better shape, for I fear you lack the necessary stamina for what may be... required of you.’
‘Oh, I’m good,’ I assured her. ‘I ride my bike every day, these hills are a great workout.’
She shook her head slightly. ‘I mean strength training. You should be going to a gym every morning. One, even two hours with the weights and core work. I’d let you in on my membership but, well, it’s better that we don’t have a paper trail connecting us.’
I grimaced. A gym. Even a short term membership wouldn’t be cheap. Besides, what did this have to do with practicing magic? I was young and fit enough already.
‘Every morning at eight o’clock,’ she repeated firmly. ‘You’ll find it’s good mental discipline, it will strengthen you not just physically. And also...’
Her voice slowed and trailed off here, as if she was treading on uncertain ground. She sighed, and pushed on. ‘Also, in the past, I haven’t been... well, I haven’t always been the best person I could be, quite frankly.’ She inclined her head and shrugged in a self-deprecating manner. ‘So, Jon and Marian. It’s probably best you don’t tell them of our partnership. Not just yet. They might not understand.’
I nodded slowly. Yeah. Too true. Even though both my parents claimed the break-up between Jon and Cate was amicable, there were still a lot of undigested grudges and wounds from the previous twenty years. I remembered the satisfaction in Mom’s voice in Montreal when she saw the perfect dress for me, the one that would help me outshine Sasha. I knew Mom still held onto her grudges because, well, because she was just like me.
‘In fact, feel free to pretend you still hate me,’ Cate continued genially. ‘Otherwise it would just lead to awkward questions. Jon, Goddess bless him, he is so idealistic and truly believes that his endless discussions will actually see movement in the lowering of the Veil in our lifetimes. Hugh, also.’
She paused again all while keeping my gaze. ‘I know you love him. That’s natural. But it’s important that you keep him at bay for the next little while. It’s not difficult to do right now as he’s still overseas. Remember what I said last night. There’s jealousy lurking deep inside that man, as there is in all males. His ego won’t want you to shine your brightest, no matter his words. You need the space to truly grow into your potential.’
I left the estate that afternoon a changed witch. Now I had someone on my side, someone I could respect who believed in me and more to the point, was willing to go out of her way to help me achieve all my goals.
No matter our past history as enemies. Cate was proving that, more than anyone else in my life right now, she was fighting for me. As I waited on my bike for the light to change to green, I smiled. Nothing but the best, for that was what I deserved.
I rather thought Margaret would be proud of me, if she could see me now. I was gaining confidence by the day, along with my inner expectations. Wasn’t that how she said I should be?
12
When I got back to the house there was a surprise waiting for me.
Hugh materialized at the back door as I approached our house. I could only stare at him, drinking in the sight of him, those gorgeous green eyes with the flash of gold deep within them caught by the lowering sun, that tousled head of curls like a fifties movie star, and those strong arms. I didn’t waste a moment before I jumped right into them. Damn, it felt good to hold him, although it had been only a week since I’d last seen him in Edinburgh. It felt like a month.
‘Why didn’t you tell me?’ I finally managed to gasp out, then I reached up with my mouth and wouldn’t let him answer.
After a moment, or an hour, he broke off our kiss and gave me another deep squeeze.
‘Tell you?’ He stood back and held my upper arms in his hands. ‘Why didn’t you answer my phone calls or texts? I’ve been trying to reach you since yesterday.’
‘I haven’t received anything,’ I said as I took my phone out of the back pocket of my shorts. ‘Look.’
But it was dead, there was not a bit of life in it, no matter how much I tapped the glass or clicked the side button. ‘That’s so weird.’
‘You forgot to charge it?’ He looked hurt. ‘Has your life gotten that exciting that you’d forgotten I might want to be in touch?’
‘No! I wondered why I hadn’t heard from you.’ I tried to think back to the last time I’d even looked at the phone. This morning I’d just hung out with Mom, then left to meet Cate as we’d arranged. Yesterday perhaps? But that had been so busy with getting ready for the Solstice Service, I hadn’t had a chance to even think about the phone. I shook my head.
‘I don’t know what to say. It’s not like me to let it run down.’
‘Anyway, I’m here, you neglectful creature.’ He held me back into his arms as if he could never get enough of me, and I wasn’t going to argue.
‘So why are you here? Not that I’m not extremely delighted to be graced by your presence.’
‘Change of plans,’ he said. ‘The Taiwan talks fizzled out. and then everyone wanted to take off two weeks for the Chinese Solstice celebrations, they do things differently down there, and I thought I’d rather be here,’ he continued. ‘With you.’
I rested my head on his chest and breathed in the smell of him. He had been travelling for a day non-stop, but he didn’t have the stale smell of airline dinners or recycled air about him. No, his shirt had that unmistakable odor of fresh starch, like he’d just unwrapped it from the plastic cover of the dry-cleaners, and the scent of his soap still lingered on his body. I sniffed at him again. ‘You don’t smell like you’ve been travelling.’
He laughed, that deep rumble coming from his chest. ‘I took the Kin jet direct, of course,’ he said. ‘Otherwise it would have taken me days. Much more comfortable this way.’
I stayed leaning against him. The Kin jet. One day, I too would be able to travel in that style.
‘Sorry to have missed your first Solstice Ball,’ he whispered in my hair. ‘Did you dance?’
I giggled into his arms. ‘Only with Mom, and that was a disaster,’ I said. ‘If I’m going to get the hang of this moving to music thing, I’ll need a good teacher.’ I squinted up at him.
‘I consider that a challenge,’ he said. And he waltzed me back to the house, humming his deep tenor and twirling me as we danced along the paved pathway.
My phone’s mysterious death continued to haunt me, though. I plugged it into the charger for a couple of hours that evening, but nothing happened, no matter how hard I clicked the side button. The last time I remembered using it was two days ago. I’d had it in Montreal, we used it to find the small dress shop. After that, nothing.
But then I remembered. Margaret had touched it that night, she had picked it up from the coffee table. Looked at it and put it back down in disgust.
This realization made me gasp out loud. What had she done to my phone? She’d somehow caused its death. Had it been a deliberate action?
I remembered again how she’d warned me about Hugh and the Kin, advised me to make a clean break, couldn’t understand why I wanted so badly to become a fully functioning worker of magic and not become an outlaw like herself. Had she killed my phone out of spite? I was so busy being pissed at her for everything, that I didn’t remember who else had touched my phone. In the Temple garden, on the night of the ball.
Hugh was staying at one of the boutique hotels downtown. There were spare bedrooms at my own house, but I was glad he chose to be more independent. I was still trying to adjust to Dad having moved in, although we were getting along much better. It just would have been weird having Hugh sneak into my bedroom like we were kids.
He ordered a new phone for me, a brand new IPhone compliments of the Kin, the fanciest cell I’d ever owned. I flashed it every moment I got, but actually I only used it for texts and measuring my steps, so it was sort of wasted on me.
I began Cate’s recommended routine the very next day. I purchased a short-term membership at the gym up the road in the mall, using the last of the cash in my bank account and I’d researched what seemed like a good workout plan. The two hours passed painfully slowly, the clock hardly moving between sets. But I was determined not to disappoint my new mentor and I forced myself to stick with it.
Hugh and I met for coffee at the hotel afterwards. I was still sweaty despite the bike ride down the hill which had cooled me off. My hair had long lost its beautiful sheen achieved by the salon on the day of the Ball. I really wasn’t feeling at my most glamorous, and I hungrily eyed the last pastry on the plate.
‘You? Working out in a gym?’
I didn’t like the disbelieving tone in his voice, so I reached out and snatched the blueberry scone with defiance.
‘What’s brought this on then? Since when have you become fitness minded?’ He was ready to bust a gut laughing.
‘I need to,’ I told him earnestly between bites. ‘I have to be at my most fittest in order to accept the challenges which lie ahead of me in my new life.’
‘But I like you just the way you are,’ he said. ‘You’re not really one of the hard-body types.’
I glared at him as I swallowed the last of the delicious buttery pastry.
‘Who’s been filling your head with this nonsense?’ he continued relentlessly, then a deep sympathy formed in his eyes and his face softened. It stung. I didn’t need his, or anyone’s, pity. ‘Sasha?’
‘No! Cate...’ I shut my mouth quickly.
Hugh nearly choked on his coffee, and ended up spitting in on the table on front of us. I crossed my arms and watched as he mopped it up with his napkin. He was trying hard not to laugh.
‘What?’
Finally he looked at me, his eyes were crinkled at the edges. ‘Cate. Cate Huxor? Seriously? I thought you hated her. But all of a sudden you’re taking her advice? When did you two even start speaking?’
‘Things have changed.’ I bit my lip. This wasn’t the time to share the news of my new alliance with Cate. Yes, we’d had our differences in the past, me and Dad’s wife, but she was the first one to reach out to me, to really understand what I wanted and needed in my life, that I had to build my life according to what I wanted, and not what someone else wanted for me.
‘I guess it’s just time to grow up and let bygones be bygones,’ I said airily. ‘Mom and Dad are happy with their new arrangement, and Cate seems delighted enough to be free to do her own thing.’
‘That’s certainly an about-face.’
‘Like you pointed out, she’s responsible for me getting my first assignment,’ I said. ‘And I appreciate the encouragement.’
He looked at me with a peculiar expression on his face. ‘Are you sure she’s not ... planning something?’
He put up his hand to stop my flow. ‘I only say this because I know Cate,’ he continued. ‘Not well, I admit, but she’s never struck me as the selfless, nurturing type.’
‘I guess their marriage was never as perfect as she pretended,’ I said slowly. ‘And now, like I said, she’s free to be herself. And she knows the difficulties a woman of power faces, even in the Kin today.’
He reached over the table to kiss me. ‘Well, I’m glad the air is cleared between you,’ he whispered. ‘She’s a dangerous woman to have as an enemy.’
Hugh sat back again with a smile on his face. ‘So, have you found out anything about the elves?’ This was asked casually, but I was immediately on alert.
The elves. Brin was regretting his political involvement, although he couldn’t tell me of any concrete plans. Yet Cate had assured me she had it all in hand and I had to trust her in that, for there was that little matter of Eldric that I hadn’t reported. I waved my hand in the air as if to brush it all aside. It would be dealt with.
‘As you said, if there’s something happening, Brin doesn’t know the details,’ I replied. ‘So perhaps I can go back to Scotland when you do?’
That would really be the best case scenario, I decided. Leave St. John’s and all this messy business behind, and then I could claim all ignorance by the time it was cleared up.
‘I’ll be here for another week or so,’ he told me. ‘I may as well stick around for the clearing of the ley lines.’
‘The what?’ I sat up. ‘You’re talking about those magnetic lines underneath the earth? Aren’t they natural – why would you need to clear them?’
‘Yes, they are naturally occurring, but because of... well, because of Kin action in the past, it’s something that needs to be done at times, but very rarely,’ he hastened to add.
