He nodded and reached for the slice of pickle on my plate. “I knew another druidic pair who chose that route. It’s not common. Did he share anything else?”
“He buried the bodies in one of the mounds on his property. And he wants you and River and anyone else you can gather to pay him a visit and help him strengthen the wards around the orchard. He’s dealing with a heavy load of guilt right now.”
“We’ll go over tomorrow, whether my knee’s up for it or not. Do you think you could find the burial mounds again?”
“I’m not sure.” I really wasn’t. Each time I visited the Pearmain orchards, more magic revealed itself. “Cliff told me he keeps them cloaked, but if you’re going over there, have him show you.” I added, “I really think he could use a fellow druid to talk to.”
My eyelids refused to open when confronted by Tuesday’s overly bright sunrise. Nature was, on occasion, way too perky in the mornings. Fumbling for my phone, I was grateful to see I’d managed three hours’ sleep. And while the sting of the exposed skin left by the removal of the old tattoo had lessened, my entire lower belly was out of sorts. I couldn’t bear to touch or take pressure on the left side, so I rolled to my right, shoved a pillow between my thighs, and made a stab at falling back to sleep.
Ugh. Doug. The last person I wanted to be thinking about. Divorce papers should be accompanied by a spell. A spell of Unbinding I could alter at will, depending on how much of a jerk he’d been or how behind he was on the child support payments I was now convinced he could easily afford—he wasn’t nice enough to sleep his way into owning a condo in a brand-new building in Vancouver.
Or maybe he’d slapped a tattoo on some other unsuspecting person and finagled an upgrade to his housing situation.
Double ugh. Sleep was probably gone for the day.
I reached for my spell book, the one I’d cried on the day before, and hugged it to my chest. Palm to the book’s cool surface, I closed my eyes, shoved thoughts of Doug and revenge out of my head, and willed myself to picture my long-lost mother. I searched for memories, any memory, in the haze of exhaustion coating my bones.
The rough surface of barnacled rocks snugged against my palms. Long hair floated around my face and shoulders and down my back, strands shifting across skin with every ebbing and flowing movement of gentle waves. I released air bubbles from between my lips, turned my head, and spied my mother.
Genevieve nodded, smiled, and blew out answering bubbles in a slow-moving, aquatic kiss. Her body undulated and rolled, her hair similarly unfettered and floating like the long strands of kelp attached to nearby rocks.
My little-girl body was clothed in the bottom half of my favorite two-piece suit, the candy-striped one with the ruffle at my skinny hips. My mother had also shed the top half of her bikini, and I giggled, eyes closed, at the feel of warm salt water and seaweed on my skin. When I reopened my eyes, it was in time to watch my mother’s feet and legs disappearing into the deep green waters below where’d we’d been playing. A large, dark flipper waved in time to her kicks.
I released my hold on the rock and floated to the surface.
The bedding was soggy, and my face was wet with tears when I woke again closer to eight. The corner of the book left a red-edged dent underneath one of my collarbones, and my lower belly was suffering through slow waves of cramps. When I pulled the pillow from between my thighs, it was streaked with pale, reddish-brown blood. I flung it behind me and pulled the sheet over my head.
Fuck. Rose was the last person I wanted to see today.
I ignored the tapping at the door and whispered the wish to be left alone. An invisibility spell was beyond my knowledge, but I could always hope whoever wanted me would just go away.
A gentle tug at the sheet was followed by a warm, familiar hand on my shoulder. “Calli, are you awake?”
“No,” I answered, my voice muffled by cotton stuffing.
The side of the futon sank. I rolled slightly with the weight of a body determined to take away my covers.
“I know you’re awake,” Tanner said, “and I know you started to bleed.”
I ran my hand over my hip and around one side of my butt in an attempt to tuck my nightgown closer without getting blood on it. “I’m hiding.”
“Would you like a cup of coffee?”
I shook my head, pouting. “I want tea.”
“Be right back.”
Before I could plot an escape route out the window and to…to where, I had no idea, Tanner returned, accompanied by the pungent aroma of a strong batch of Assam. The warm washcloth he put into my hand after setting a mug on my desk broke my stoicism. “Thank you”.
He nodded. “Take your time, but when you’re ready, you have to call Rose.”
“I know.”
“There’s a towel on your desk,” he said, tilting his head to the right. “Harper and Tanner took the Jeep to work, and they’ll be back this evening, right after they’re done at the market. James is coming to pick up Leilani. As soon as he does, Kaz and I will head over to help Cliff.
“I’ll be in touch later.” He patted my hip, stood from the crouch, and left, closing the door behind him.
I rolled onto my belly and pressed the warm washcloth to my forehead. Feeling slightly less petulant, I called Rose to give her my good news.
“We’ll do the ceremony tonight,” she informed me. “I’ll text you the location. No, I’ll have Belle pick you up. Around nine.”
No. No, no, no.
