Copper flung her arms around Tiernan’s neck as he soared higher and higher, and she almost lost her grip on her wand.
Wind rushed through her hair and ruffled the leaves of her dress. Zephyr buzzed in her ear, sharing his delight. Copper’s head spun with the magnitude of what had just happened, and the fact that they were back in her city.
She clung to Tiernan as she stared at the sights below. The Coit Tower. The Transamerica Building. Chinatown.
She could see it all from the height he had taken them to. The Golden Gate Bridge, the foggy bay, Alcatraz, the Bay Bridge, Market Street, trolleys. Union Square—her hungry gaze took in everything.
And the air—it smelled wonderful. Even the pollution coming from cars and buses didn’t bother her. It was home.
I’m home!
“Are you all right?” Tiernan held her tight as he pumped his powerful wings. He headed in the direction of Golden Gate Park.
Copper laughed. “I’m wonderful. I’m home!”
She didn’t care about the blood trickling from the glass wounds or the blood running down her foot or the burn from the demon’s teeth. Adrenaline still pumped through her body and she felt high from it and from the excitement of being back where she belonged.
Tiernan gradually lowered, circling the Haight-Ashbury district, then began his descent. “Where are we?” Copper asked, as he came closer to what looked like a large apartment building.
“Headquarters is here.” He dropped, causing her belly to bottom out.
When their feet met the rooftop of the building, he kept his hands on her waist, steadying her. The roof was made into a little patio with lounge chairs and a small garden area near the stairwell. The flagstone floor felt cool beneath her bare feet.
Copper’s head felt like it might float off, but she also felt supercharged, as if she could do anything. Even her bleeding foot with its open wounds from the demon’s teeth didn’t feel too bad.
“You’re injured.” He frowned as he looked down at her. “I must get you to the witches immediately.”
Tiernan scooped her into his arms and she gave a surprised cry. “I can walk. Really.”
“I think not.” His tone told her this was one fight she wasn’t going to win.
Instead she held on and pelted him with questions. “Is Silver here? What about the other witches? The Coven?”
He opened the door to the stairwell. “All your answers lie within.”
Zephyr tickled the curve of Copper’s ear as she let Tiernan carry her. She was so excited that had she been on her feet, she would have darted ahead of him—if she had had any idea where they were headed.
Her heart raced, and as far as she was concerned Tiernan wasn’t moving fast enough. He opened a door to a hallway on the second floor and her heart beat even harder against her breastbone.
Tiernan finally stopped in front of an apartment door at the end of the hallway, gently set her on her feet, and reached for the door handle. He paused and met her anxious gaze. From the other side of the door she heard muffled voices that sounded like they were arguing.
He opened the door and she took a deep breath.
Silver!
Her sister stood in the middle of the room, her hands on her hips, as she glared up at a man who stood well over a foot taller than her.
The man was clad much the same as Tiernan, including a sword belt, but he had dark hair to his shoulders and a shadow of a beard. At their feet was Silver’s python familiar, Polaris, and he seemed to be glaring at the man, too.
All Copper really cared about was her sister. Silver was as beautiful as ever with her long silvery-blonde hair and her large gray eyes. She wore a silk blouse, short skirt, and heels as usual.
Silver enjoyed dressing sexy when she wasn’t working with the Paranormal Special Forces. Copper was a more down-to-earth jeans type.
All these crazy thoughts went through her mind in just a matter of seconds.
Silver jabbed one finger at the man’s chest as she was saying, “I am going and that’s—”
She glanced at the doorway and her face went pale. For a moment she didn’t speak.
“Copper?” Silver’s eyes widened as she dropped her hands to her sides. “Copper?”
Tears came out of nowhere, rolling down Copper’s face as she nodded. She couldn’t speak. Instead, she ran toward her sister and flung her arms around Silver’s neck, almost hitting her with the wand, and held her tight.
Zeph buzzed his annoyance at just about being crushed between the two, but Copper couldn’t begin to think about the little familiar.
She felt her sister’s tears against her neck as Silver said, “I can’t believe it. I can’t believe it!”
“Goddess, I’ve missed you,” Copper said in a choked whisper. Silver still smelled of lilies, a scent that brought back so many memories and had a comforting effect. “I love you so much.”
They pulled away but continued holding on to one another.
“You’re really here.” Silver stared with amazement at Copper as tears continued to leak from her eyes. “I can’t believe you’re standing right in front of me! That I can touch you.”
“Me, too.” Copper reached up and brushed Silver’s tears from one cheek. “It’s been so long. I’d begun to think I’d never get back.”
“This is like a dream.” Silver shook her head, as if not sure Copper was real.
Copper rubbed her thumb along her sister’s cheek, wiping away more tears. “It’s real,” she whispered. “I’m real. You’re real.”
While the sisters hugged and cried and laughed, Copper heard Tiernan explain about their ending up within the Fomorii lair and their escape.
From the corner of her eye she saw the dark-haired man’s face harden and his jaw tense. “We must gather our brothers and sisters and go at once. Perhaps we can catch them before they escape.”
Tiernan nodded. “My thoughts as well.”
“You stay with Copper,” Tiernan ordered Silver.
“Well, no kidding,” Copper snapped at him. Then, “Arrogant jerk,” as he closed the door behind them.
Silver hugged Copper again. “I have no intention of letting you go. Ever.”
Copper laughed. “Not even to go to the bathroom?”
Silver rolled her eyes, then shook her head with a smile. “I’ve missed your sense of humor.”
Polaris, Silver’s familiar, wrapped his body around Copper’s bare feet, just avoiding her injury, and she felt the mental warmth of his own pleasure that she was back. Zephyr buzzed from Copper’s ear and landed on Silver’s shoulder.
“It’s good to have you back, too,” Silver told the little bee familiar.
After another quick hug, Copper and Silver separated. Copper didn’t bother to brush away her own tears.
Silver’s expression of mingled joy and shock turned to one of dismay as she noticed all the blood and scratches. “What happened to you? Are you okay? We need to treat these wounds.” Her expression was still one of disbelief as she looked into Copper’s eyes. “I feel like you’re going to disappear again.”
“I’m fine.” Copper smiled. “I’m here for good, and I’ll tell you everything that happened.”
Copper stepped over Polaris and let Silver lead her to the kitchen of the apartment. It was bigger than the one she and Silver had lived in before Copper ended up in Otherworld, but not by much. The furniture and the decor were the same, and that told her Silver lived here now instead of in the apartment above Moon Song.
Zephyr landed on the edge of Silver’s pewter cauldron that perched in the middle of a table. Silver pushed Copper onto a chair beside it, then immediately started rummaging through cabinets and pulling out small jars, a little bottle, and grabbed a soft cloth and some cotton balls.
“Where on earth have you been?” she asked as she returned with everything. The jars and bottle hit the table with a thump as she set them down.
Copper managed a smile as she set her wand next to the jars. “I haven’t exactly been on earth.”
Silver paused in the act of opening the bottle. “What?”
With a shrug that was more casual than she felt, Copper said, “It’s a long story.”
“I think we have time now for you to tell me everything.” Silver finished opening the bottle and Copper caught the strong scent of tea tree oil. “Well, time enough to get started.”
Silver tended first to the foot the demon had bitten. She took the bottle of oil and poured the contents over the slashes on Copper’s foot. The tea tree oil burned and Copper flinched.
“This must hurt.” Silver glanced up at Copper. “What happened?”
Copper gritted her teeth from the pain. When she could speak, she said, “It was one of the Fomorii that Tiernan and I just ran into.”
Silver looked stunned and horrified. “The Fomorii? Were you clawed by one of the demons?”
Copper shook her head. “It bit me.”
Silver breathed an audible sigh of relief. “Thank the goddess it wasn’t their claws.”
Copper scrunched her eyebrows. “Why?”
“A lot of them have tipped their claws with iron,” Silver said with a sigh. “Iron’s deadly to Fae and Elves both.”
“Huh?” Copper blinked. “Um, you’re not making any sense. We’re witches, not Fae or Elvin.”
Silver bit her lower lip.
“Tell me, whatever it is.” Copper hissed in pain as Silver cleansed one of the deeper gouges in her foot. “You’re either scaring me or pissing me off. I’m not sure which.”
“Mother... Our mother...” Silver took a deep breath and more tears spilled down her cheeks as her gaze met Copper’s.
Copper’s own tears returned. “I know. Tiernan told me that she—that she passed on to Summerland.”
“It was horrible,” Silver whispered. She wiped away some of her tears with the back of her hand and tried to compose herself. “Did he tell you she was half Elvin?”
Confused, Copper stared at Silver with wide eyes. “What?”
“I couldn’t believe it either.” Silver repeated as she reached for a jar and opened it. Copper caught the scent of yarrow. “A lot has happened. After she died, Father told me that Mother was half Elvin. That’s why you and I tend to lean toward gray magic.”
“Really?” Copper blinked. “That means we’re a quarter Elvin.”
With a nod, Silver put the yarrow cream on her sister’s foot. It soothed the pain and some of the tension left Copper.
“It’s a long, long story,” Silver said, “but I promise to explain more.” She looked up at Copper. “First you have to tell me where you’ve been. And where Tiernan disappeared to and how you came back here together.”
Copper gave the condensed version of her story while Silver tended to her foot. She started with the attempt at the ceremony on the beach and her spell hitting a shield. Then she moved on to her time in Otherworld.
She explained how another spell had brought Tiernan to Otherworld rather than help her to escape. She left out the part about the wonderful sex with Tiernan and moved on to how they were able to break the barrier, freeing all the captive beings, and how they ended up in Darkwolf’s lair.
Silver had just finished wrapping Copper’s foot when Darkwolf was mentioned. Polaris the familiar hissed, and Silver stilled, a strange look on her face.
Copper explained the battle with the warlock and the demon Junga, and their narrow escape. She told Silver about the library.
“I scried as much in my cauldron—except you weren’t in the vision,” Silver said. “We were about to head there just now. Hawk was trying to make me stay here.”
“I’ll bet they’ll change their base of operations now that we’ve discovered their location,” Copper said.
“No doubt.” Silver gently set Copper’s bandaged foot on the floor. “But we can hope the D’Danann make it before they do escape. Since they fly, they can get there quickly.”
“Darkwolf said you walked the line, close to the dark,” Copper said softly. “I didn’t believe it for a second.”
Silver took a deep breath, her chest rising and falling. “No, I would never turn to sorcery. But I do have a lot to tell you.”
Copper waited, but Silver said instead, “Your dress.” She touched a leaf and fingered it at Copper’s shoulder. “It’s all vines and leaves.”
“The Faeries made it for me.” Copper gave a wry smile. “I wasn’t wearing a damn thing because I was going to perform the ‘new moon’ ritual. Darkwolf showed up and I was spelled into Otherworld.”
Copper brushed at the leaves and vines of the skirt. “All the Fae were so mad about being imprisoned—they blamed me. I had to run around naked for days.”
She shook her head. “Eventually, I made friends with the Faerie queen, Riona, and she had the dress designed for me. It’s magical—it never gets soiled.” She gave a big sigh and a grin. “I’m glad I had something to wear all this time, but you don’t know how badly I want to get into T-shirts and jeans.”
“I still have all your clothes and belongings.” Silver hugged her sister. “I knew one day that you’d return. I just knew it.”
“Thanks for not giving up on me.” Copper gave Silver a tight squeeze. “It’s more than wonderful to be back home. It’s incredible. Unbelievable.”
While all of Copper’s scrapes, scratches, and cuts were being tended to, the sisters spent time trying to catch up on everything that had happened in the over fifteen months that Copper had been gone.
Once Silver finished doctoring Copper’s wounds—which had all nearly vanished due to Silver’s magic—the sisters settled on one of the overstuffed couches, within touching distance, neither wanting to be very far from the other.
When it was her turn, Silver explained who Hawk was and how he had appeared to her one night, warning her about the Fomorii being summoned by Darkwolf and his Clan of warlocks. Hawk told her she must perform a ritual to bring him and other D’Danann to San Francisco to battle the Fomorii.
Silver had tried to convince their D’Anu Coven of the dangers they were about to face, but they refused to believe her. Then it was too late and the demons had taken all but Silver, Eric, and her apprentice, Cassia. Eric had later been murdered by one of the Basilisks the demons had brought with them.
While Silver continued to tell Copper the condensed version of what had happened during the time Copper had been gone, Zeph buzzed around Polaris’s head. The python playfully stuck his tongue out as if to catch the bee. The two familiars had almost always gotten along well, and had shared their magic with both Silver and Copper more than once.
“What happened when the Fomorii and Darkwolf took the D’Anu?” Copper asked with dread in her belly.
“A lot.” Silver looked beyond sad. “Some of the witches and apprentices were murdered, a couple turned to dark sorcery because they had no hope left—like Sara. Can you believe she turned to sorcery? The others—they were traumatized and injured, but they’re alive.”
“Witches murdered and turning to sorcery. I just can’t believe it.” Copper laid her hand on Silver’s arm. “Where are they all now? What about Rhiannon and Mackenzie—are they all right?”
Silver nodded. “They’re okay. As a matter of fact, Hannah, Sydney, and Alyssa are also living here with Jake Macgregor and the D’Danann.”
With a frown, Copper eased back on the couch, flinching when her foot hurt at the movement. “What about the rest of the D’Anu? Surely the Coven hasn’t split. That would destroy the balance of white magic with the other twelve covens in the U.S.”
“I was banished.” Silver’s voice was soft as she spoke. “I used excessive gray magic and the Coven saw me performing it.” Her throat worked as she swallowed. “I killed, Copper. I didn’t mean to, but I killed a demon. And I also used my gray witchcraft to aid the D’Danann in slaying what Fomorii they could.”
Copper stared at her sister in shock. “Surely you didn’t turn to sorcery. Darkwolf said—”
“No!” Silver’s features darkened. “I walked a little too close to it, but I never turned to the black.”
Relief flushed over Copper in a warm wave. She hadn’t believed it, but when her sister said she had killed—her mind couldn’t help but go there.
“When I killed the demon it was in self-defense,” Silver said as if reading Copper’s mind. “And my gray magic—I think the Ancestors blessed me in what I had to do. Otherwise I shouldn’t have been able to summon the D’Danann, or banish many of the Fomorii back to Underworld. I think the Ancestors believe as I do that gray witchcraft is needed to fight these demons.”
“What happened to the Coven?” Copper fidgeted with the leaves at the hem of her dress. “What about the balance?”
Silver crossed her legs at her knees. “Apprentices from other parts of the United States and the world have come to San Francisco to replace those who are gone.”
“So Rhiannon and the others left our old D’Anu Coven, too?” Copper asked.
“Yes.” Silver pushed her hair over her shoulder. “They believe the D’Anu are far too conservative and will not use the power that is needed to defeat the Fomorii. So we have started our own D’Anu Coven of gray witches.”
Silver continued, “But something surprising happened. Janis Arrowsmith visited me a couple of weeks ago.”
Copper couldn’t help the surprise in her voice. “What did she want?”
“It was kind of surreal,” Silver said, “finding Janis on my doorstep. She appointed herself representative from their Coven to ours.”
Silver frowned. “She is still angry with me for using gray witchcraft, but their D’Anu Coven is doing what they can with white magic. They are praying, chanting, and trying to heal whatever damage they find—taking the cleanup end, because it’s more consistent with their beliefs. They will come to heal after battles, restore plants and so forth.”
Silver still looked somewhat mystified, when she added, “The part about helping us after battles surprised me, because that was almost like approval of what we’re doing. They just won’t have any part of actually destroying the demons.”
“Interesting.” Copper raised her brows. “Of all the witches, Janis must have found that hard to do.”
Silver gave a quirky smile. “You should have seen her. She looked down her nose at me as if I were the lowest of the low, yet clearly giving an inch while we take the mile.”
She continued her story, explaining how their parents, Moondust and Victor Ashcroft, had been taken hostage by the Fomorii and warlocks.
Her voice choked when she mentioned their mother’s name. When she got to the part about Moondust’s death, Silver fell apart and so did Copper.
They comforted one another the best they could. When Silver explained her talk with their father, Copper had a hard time believing that their hard-as-nails father had opened up so much. Oh, he loved them, but he wasn’t one to show emotion. She couldn’t wait to talk to him.
The fact that Moondust had been half Elvin was amazing, but when Silver explained how they could move between Earth and Otherworld because they too were part Elvin, Copper shook her head in amazement.
“It’s only a matter of being taught by Cassia how to use the entryways?” Copper asked.
Silver nodded. “I’ve taken Hawk across several times to see his daughter, and to visit his home.”
Copper noticed the way her sister looked every time she spoke Hawk’s name. She grinned and interrupted Silver. “You and Hawk have a thing going.”
Silver gave a radiant smile. “I’m in love with him. He can be frustrating and overprotective at times, but he’s mine.”
As she listened to her sister, who sounded so happy in her relationship with Hawk, warmth filled Copper’s chest. “So he has a daughter?”
“Her name is Shayla, and she is precious.” Silver’s expression grew animated and her tears dried. “She chatters like a little bird. I adore her and she acts the same with me. When Hawk and I are bonded, we’ll live part of the time in Otherworld, and part here in San Francisco.”
Silver’s smile disappeared and anger filled her voice next “Once we rid this world of the Fomorii, that is.”
The door opened with a crash that made both sisters jump in their seats. Their gazes shot toward the door.
Hawk and Tiernan stormed in, both looking furious.
“They were gone.” Hawk scrubbed his hand over his stubbled jaw. “They managed to escape before we made it there.”
Tiernan looked like he wanted to kick something, and Copper was going to jump all over him if he did. Instead, he rubbed his hand over his head and the tie holding back his hair slipped off.
His hair immediately sprang into a ball around his head. Braids stuck out every which way, and for a moment Hawk and Silver just stared at him.
Hawk snorted and laughed. Silver started giggling, and Copper couldn’t help but laugh, too. The big, arrogant warrior looked like he’d been electrocuted. Well, he sort of had been.
Tiernan snarled and snatched the tie off the floor and drew his hair back again.
“The braids,” Hawk said in a choked voice, as if holding back more laughter, “are an especially fine touch.”
Tiernan glared at all of them. “I need to bathe.”
“We have to make up some dandelion shampoo.” Copper grinned at Silver. “Although back in Otherworld, the Faeries may have used some magic to help get rid of the frizzies.”
“Maybe my shampoo will do.” Silver left to go into the bathroom within her bedroom, then returned within moments and handed the bottle to Tiernan. “Let me know if this works.”
While Tiernan stomped out the door to his own apartment, Copper explained the electrified wall that had kept them prisoner and how the Pixies enjoyed teasing Tiernan whenever he tested the barrier.
Hawk and Silver laughed out loud as Copper told them about the Brownies clinging to his boots and nipping at his knees while the Pixies added flowers to their hair artwork.
Hawk snorted again while Silver and Copper couldn’t stop laughing.
“The big bad warrior with a Pixie Afro and an attitude,” Copper said between giggles.
When they settled down, Copper talked about the Drow and King Garran, and how Tiernan had helped the Elvin warriors battle the giant. “It was thanks to Tiernan,” she said, “that they finally brought him down.”
Tiernan eventually let himself back into the apartment, his wet hair subdued but still wavy. He looked clean and refreshed, even if he was grumpy.
“Definitely need dandelion shampoo,” Copper said with a grin and Tiernan scowled.
“I need to take you downstairs.” Silver smacked her forehead with the palm of her hand. “Everyone will be crazy to see you again. And we need to call Father.”
“I can’t wait to talk to him.” Copper looked down at her dress. “Can I clean up first? I’m dying for a nice warm bath and real clothes.”
Silver was all smiles as they went to her bedroom, and she brought out one of Copper’s old chests from under her bed. Smells of cinnamon, spice, and cedar swirled through the air when Copper opened the chest. She smiled at her sister. Silver had put sachets in with the clothing to keep them from smelling musty.
After Silver left the room, Copper dug out her favorite pair of worn jeans, a cropped T-shirt, jogging shoes, panties, bra, and socks. When those items were piled on the bed, she paused and drew out one of her thigh-high boots and a sexy silk mini-skirt. One of these days, wouldn’t Tiernan just die to see her dressed to kill?
As she put the skirt and boots back into the trunk, Copper grinned at the thought of being out on the town with Tiernan. Now wouldn’t that be interesting?
She stripped out of her Fae-made dress, folded it, and put it into her trunk. She winced from the pain in her foot as she walked to the bathroom. The aged knobs squeaked as she turned on the hot water, and soon the room was filled with warm steam and the sound of water rising in the bathtub.
Copper climbed into the tub, careful to keep her bandaged foot raised on the side of the tub. She closed her eyes and reveled in the warmth of the water as it surrounded her skin. She’d had nothing but icy cold hand baths for so long. And this felt soooo good she didn’t want to get out. She shampooed her hair with Silver’s lily-scented shampoo, soaped her body, and scrubbed herself with a loofa sponge and lily body gel. She hadn’t had a decent bath for ages. Well, over fifteen months according to how long Silver said she’d been missing.
When her fingers and toes started to wrinkle like prunes from being in the water so long, Copper knew she’d better get out. She opened the drain, got up, then grabbed one of Silver’s fluffy sea-blue towels and dried herself from head to toe.
It felt so weird putting on clothing. Everything seemed just a tad bigger after her sparse diet over the last year or so. And after wearing just that short little dress all the time, she felt as if she had on too much clothing. No matter, it still felt good.
It did hurt like crazy to pull her shoe over her bandaged foot, but she was determined. She was a witch and she’d heal very fast, but right now she couldn’t help but cringe.
The steam finally cleared from the mirror as Copper blow-dried her hair using her fingers as a comb. She paused. She hadn’t seen her own reflection for so long. Her cinnamon eyes stared back at her, the freckles across her nose seemed lighter, and her hair was long now, not shoulder-length. She looked different. A little older. Maybe a little wiser?
She had to snort at that one. Wise—she didn’t know about that.
As soon as Copper came out of the bedroom, Silver handed her the telephone. “It’s Father. I broke it to him slowly—didn’t want him to have a heart attack or anything.”
Copper took the phone, her hand shaking. “Father?”
“By the goddess and the Ancestors.” She heard the tears in Victor Ashcroft’s voice. “I have missed you so much, my little witch. It seems but a dream that you are back. That you are real.”
“It’s me.” Tears coursed Copper’s cheeks. “I missed you so badly. I thought about you and Silver and Mother every single day.”
“As you have never left my thoughts, daughter.” She heard a honking noise and knew her father was blowing his nose. “I must fly out there at once.”
Panic welled up within Copper. She didn’t want to take the chance of losing her father—the Fomorii were still in San Francisco. “No. I’ll catch a flight and come home. Just give me a week, okay?”
Victor finally gave in, obviously respecting her need for a few days to gather herself before she joined him in Salem.
After her conversation with her father, she found herself being swept down to the new shop, Enchantments, and into the kitchen where she was hugged, exclaimed over, and bombarded with thousands of questions.
She was fed real food—cooked by a part Elvin witch named Cassia—and plied with fruit drinks. Everything smelled so good and tasted even better. Dumplings, ambrosia salad, asparagus with toasted pine nuts, honey-nut bread, and so much more was spread out on the table before her.
By the time she had finished eating, Copper’s head spun and she was so exhausted she could hardly keep her eyes open. Cassia seemed to be the one in charge and she told Tiernan to take Copper upstairs and put her to bed.
Tiernan scooped her up and she gave a squeal as she insisted she could walk on her own. But with Silver leading the way, she was taken from the shop to the apartment building and into a vacant apartment with a wonderfully soft bed.
When Tiernan left for his own apartment next door, she wanted to fall face-first onto the bed and pass out. Silver insisted on helping her get out of her clothes first. Copper was wrapped up in a nice satiny robe and then put to bed like a child and tucked in.
The last thing she heard was Silver’s voice saying, “Don’t you dare leave me again, Copper.”
Copper snuggled into her pillow and murmured, “Don’t worry, I won’t,” before everything faded away.