“Did I say never?”
“‘I’m never living in Salem again’ is pretty much word for word what you said,” Breena agrees.
“Well, you know, plans change.” Lorelei shrugs and runs her hand over Nera’s head, not looking either of us in the eyes.
Breena and I share a look.
“Xander still lives here,” Breena says gently.
“I’m not here for him,” Lorelei snaps in defense with immediate heat. “This has nothing to do with him. I’m a grown adult, capable of living in the same town as him.”
“Of course, you are,” I agree with a nod, and Breena and I share another look.
“I’ve been dreaming,” Lorelei finally admits with a long sigh and pours herself a cup of coffee, adding both cream and sugar and stirring clockwise. “At first, I thought they were just simple dreams, that they meant nothing except that I shouldn’t eat lavender ice cream before bed.”
“The dairy will kill you,” Breena advises.
“But it’s not the ice cream,” I add, already knowing what she’s been dreaming.
“No.” Lorelei meets my gaze. “It’s not. Something’s happening, and while I don’t know what it is, I do know that I’m needed here. So, here I am. I’ll be living in Mom’s cottage by the shore.”
“Good. She has wanted you to live there for years. You’re a sea witch, Lorelei. You belong in that house.”
“I admit, I’m excited to be there.” Her voice is soft, but she glances at us with an excited grin and a twinkle in her beautiful green eyes. “I haven’t been honing my skills. I’ve been doing the bare minimum since I left, and that was on purpose.”
“I know,” Breena and I say at the same time.
What Lorelei went through was…intense.
“I can’t walk away from my Craft,” she admits. “I know that now, and I feel like I’m bursting at the seams to start practicing again.”
“I’m so damn happy for you,” I reply and hug her close once more. “You’re too powerful to suppress who you are, cousin.”
“She had to learn that for herself,” Breena adds. “I’m so happy you’re home. We’ve missed you terribly.”
“Thank you. I need some supplies. Herbs, oils, candles. Crystals.”
Breena giggles, and I smile widely.
“Lucky for you, we know where you can get all those things and more.”
“And you’re just in time for Samhain,” Breena says, jumping in excitement. “And the Harvest Moon. They’re on the same day this year, so we’re celebrating all week. The moms have been having a field day with all the plans for the coven.”
Several emotions play over Lorelei’s face. Excitement, caution, concern, and then happiness again.
“Don’t worry,” I say. “It’ll be fun. And good for you spiritually. It’ll give you the boost you need.”
“He’ll be there, though,” she whispers.
“That’ll be good for you, too,” Breena says. “Don’t worry. We’ll work some protection spells before you have to see him to keep your heart safe.”
“I don’t know if any spell can keep me safe from him.” Lorelei shrugs. “I’ve tried that. But I’ll be okay. It’s time I’m with my family again.”
I wake with a start and look at the time.
Three in the morning.
Of course.
My lips twist at the irony of another horrible dream tearing me out of sleep at the witching hour, and I sit up to wipe the tears from my cheeks. Why am I so unbearably sad? I heard the sinister laughter, the cries of help, and saw the horrendous darkness.
I don’t know what to do to stop any of it.
Nera sleeps on his bed next to mine, and when I reach out, I see that it’s a peaceful sleep, so I decide to leave him in bed and go outside to let the fresh air clear the darkness from my mind.
The garden soothes me. It always has. My mother would find me curled up in a bed of forget-me-nots or under the massive willow tree in the backyard many mornings. I didn’t run to her bed when I was troubled; I ran outside. At first, that terrified her, but then she learned it was my path. This is my safety.
And she cultivated it within me, taught me how to harness the power, how to show my gratitude to the deities and acknowledge the responsibilities that come with my gifts.
Goddess, how I miss her.
Barefoot and dressed only in a flowing green robe, I walk out into the night. My moonflowers are open and reaching for the moon. The sky is clear, and I search for the Sagittarius constellation.
The air is still tonight. I hear a dog barking across town and the water lapping at the shoreline less than a mile from where I’m standing.
Spirits walk through Salem at night, the way the living do during the day. I can sense them, especially as we near Samhain when the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead is the thinnest. But they don’t frighten me. I’m well protected, and they mean me no harm in any case.
I take a long, deep, cleansing breath and let it out slowly, already feeling much better. Suddenly, I see the glimmer of soft, yellow light in the trees.
Fireflies?
“Awfully bright for lightning bugs,” I murmur softly and step forward to get a better look. The light is building, growing as it moves steadily through the trees, and then I see that it’s a man.
Without thinking, I step through the garden gate and follow him through the woods. He’s walking quickly, but not as though he’s running to or from anything. I want to catch him and ask who he is and what he’s doing. The air is cool on my skin as I hurry after him, and I barely notice the scrapes and pokes in the soles of my feet from the underbrush.
He stops at the small wooden walking bridge that stretches over the creek at the edge of my property and looks back at me. He seems surprised to see me, and I call out to him.
“Wait. Can I help you?”
I don’t know why I think that he needs my aid, but it’s the first thing that comes out of my mouth. My energy is so focused on him, so weirdly hell-bent on contacting him, that even the branches of the trees around me reach for him.
Without answering, he turns and crosses the bridge. Once on the other side, he’s simply…gone.
The light blinks out as if flicked off by a switch, and I’m standing by the bridge in the dark.
“What in the world?” I ask softly as I turn back toward home. “Am I losing my mind?”
When I get back to the garden gate, I can hear Nera barking inside the house, and I immediately reach out to him.
I’m okay! I hurry inside and fall to my knees to hug him close. “I’m okay, baby.”
He’s whimpering and sniffing me as if he has to make sure for himself that I’m safe.
“I know I shouldn’t have gone without you. It was the…oddest experience, and we both know that I’ve seen some wild shit.”
He whimpers once more and sits in front of me, holding my gaze with his.
“I’m safe, Nera.”
He presses his face to mine.
“I’m sorry that I worried you. Come on, let’s go back to bed.”
But neither of us goes back to sleep. We lie in bed, Nera with me now rather than on his bed, and we listen to the night around us filtering in through the open windows. Night birds call, and I hear the ships in the harbor.