“Thank you,” she said, leaning into the chair. “That was close.”
“Maritza said she smelled death on me.”
Airlie pressed her lips together and nodded. “I smelled death coming from that house and the marsh and it wasn’t the natural, seasonal decay we expect to scent at this turn of the wheel.”
“I can’t wait to hear what the men have found.” I patted her knee. “Are you okay out here by yourself?”
“Your garden is lovely, Calliope, and perfect.” As if to underline her pleasure, several tall stems of rosemary and lemon balm bent in Airlie’s direction and caressed her cheeks. Her features softened as she closed her eyes. I went to leave her to her rest, then turned on my heel.
“Airlie?”
“Yes?”
“Can a witch have strong affinities to two elements?”
She tilted her head and shielded her eyes. “The answer is yes, but it’s a very complicated yes. For instance, your base element can be earth—like both you and Belle. If that leads to an affinity with plants, you might develop an interest in plants, and plant medicine, like both Belle and Rose. And then develop further skills as a healer. Why do you ask?”
“Do you have a secondary affinity?”
“I do.” Airlie closed her eyes, lifted her face to the sun and took a long drink of the warmth. “Being a water witch has led me to many a fork in the stream.”
“A fork in the stream?”
“Yes, a place where I would have to divide myself, and potentially divide again and again in pursuit of the answer to a question, or simply because I was intrigued by an idea. It’s all rather complicated because I have no anchor.” She inhaled and exhaled noisily for three or four breaths, then added, “Without an anchor, I might not find my way back to my body.”
“Which would mean you’d die?”
She nodded. “It would be a death of sorts, yes. My body would likely remain. My mind? Not so much. So let me ask again, Calli, then I really do need to rest. Why do you ask?”
“Because even though I am an earth witch, I keep having all these nighttime dreams and daytime visions and visitations where I am underwater, often with my mother.”
“Your mother is dead. Are these perhaps memories from when she was alive?”
I swallowed back tears and whispered, “Yes.”
“But not all are memories?”
“That’s correct.”
Airlie lifted her hand to me. I took it, letting her cool touch soothe my agitation. “It is very, very rare, but not impossible, to be a doubly-blessed witch. If you have been so gifted, your training will need to shift.” She squeezed my fingers. “I shall help you.”
I left her being ministered to by assorted flowers and herbs and walked the inner ambit of my property. Maritza’s comment about smelling death continued to unnerve me, and Airlie’s answers to my questions only added more uncertainty. I passed the bunkhouse, with its newly shingled roof. Christoph was in the process of adding a deck all the way around, nothing fancy but wide enough to accommodate an outdoor shower at one side and a couple of chairs in the front. The woods behind the outbuilding were alive with bird activity, perhaps set off by Tanner and the others. I kept walking, at one point lifting my arm and letting my fingers trail along the invisible wards.
Emerald-green light shimmered, a sheer curtain running the full height of the tallest trees all the way to the ground. The wards were solid, healthy. I was intrigued to see what they looked and felt like from the other side. I almost barged into the undergrowth—the salal bushes were predisposed to liking me—but after the earlier adventure with Airlie, going alone didn’t seem the wisest choice.
I continued, keeping the woods to my left and following the edge of the grass to the driveway. Staring across the street at the rise in the land and the trees along the low ridge, I felt a faint call tug at my feet. I closed my eyes and rooted down, scuffing away the little rocks digging into my toes, and waited.
Water.
Was this what the dolls had felt, that night they made me take them for a walk? Water, clouded with rotted plant matter and tasting of…salt? The water found its way from below the ridge to the drainage ditch running parallel to the road.
Pushing my search farther, I hit more water. Fresher. Untainted. Bubbling up from the artesian well feeding the marsh before making a slow flow toward the house.
My land was downhill from the larger of the two mystery properties. The marshy area Airlie and I had seen appeared to be healthy. There was lively bird activity. But something there had bothered Airlie. Though we hadn’t gotten close enough to see the plants and test the quality of the water, we could do that later today with reinforcements. I imagined if we told River and Tanner about our adventure, they would insist on going with us. I could bring the sample kit on permanent loan from work.
Vehicles sent vibrations through the surface of the road, sounding their approach. I opened my eyes to see the Jeep, followed by Tanner’s truck. The arrival of the teenagers meant it was getting close to five. I’d been meandering longer than I realized.
“Is Leilani here?” Harper cut the Jeep’s engine, grabbed the roll bar, and stood.
“I’m not sure,” I said. “Cover your car. We might get rain tonight.” I waved to Sallie and Azura and reminded them to roll up the truck’s
