| |
Sedona was as energetically intense as Morgan had always warned. She had taken Raven to visit the city once or twice, but never brought Ella. Of course, since she was Morgan’s apprentice, Ella had requested permission for the trip. She didn’t tell Addison. It was something she didn’t need to share yet.
Morgan gave permission reluctantly, accepting the idea that Addison’s mother might have some useful insight. “But if things get wild out there, run. Don’t wait around to see if you can get a handle on the situation. Just teleport home.”
Ella didn’t know what Morgan could have possibly meant. She didn’t expect any issues with meeting Addison’s mom, and she told Raven as much.
“Well, the last time we were there, a couple of shifters got into it and it was pretty insane,” Raven said.
“What do you mean?”
Raven rolled her eyes. “Midnight on the night of a full moon, my friend. We were in the wrong place at the wrong time, and ran into a little pack spat. I wanted to stick around for some entertainment, but Morgan wouldn’t let me. Anyway, she’s being totally alarmist about the whole thing. What’s the worst thing your girlfriend and her mom are going to do—disagree about witchy philosophy? It’ll be fine.”
And, for the most part, it seemed like Raven was right. The main issue Ella could see was that there was no telling witch from shifter from fae from human in Sedona. It seemed to Ella that every person they passed had the same heightened vibrational rate, one that concealed the truth about a person’s nature until you got close enough to investigate. By then, of course, it would be too late. If a shifter thought you were a threat, then surely they would lash out in a heartbeat and it would get, as Raven put it, insane.
The house Addison pulled up in front of was a little yellow cottage with green trim, tucked among shrubs and flowers between two other houses built in a similar style. In this tightly-packed suburban neighborhood there was, Ella saw, nothing here to differentiate between the homes other than their paint colors. Most of the residences here had some kind of crystal or fairy statue in their front yard or flower bed, as well as windchimes hanging from a tree or front door.
Witches by the dozen lived in Sedona, but interspersed with the humans and shifters, and goodness knew what else. It was the perfect place for anyone with a supernatural lineage to hide in plain sight. Genius, really, and Ella stifled a sigh. She’d had enough witches to last a lifetime. This seemed like something Addison should do on her own, visiting her mother to talk about covens and whatever else it was witches discussed. Ella didn’t even know why she was along for the ride, but she couldn't very well turn back now that they were here. And she’d come all this way after getting special permission from Morgan.
“Ready?” Addison blew out a breath and it helped somewhat to know that she was also nervous. About what, Ella couldn’t imagine, so she nodded in response and unbuckled her seatbelt. If Addison wanted her here, Ella would do her best to be a friend and faerie godmother. It was all she could offer.
The front door was green with a decorative little half-circle window at the top. Addison knocked and gave Ella a half-smile.
“I know you and witches don’t exactly get along, but I appreciate you being here. You might remember something that I forget to bring up while we’re talking, like... I don’t know. There’s been so much, it feels like a blur, now.”
Soft footfalls approached and a dark energy washed over Ella, the kind that made her skin prickle whenever Anthea was near. Ella had no way of identifying a witch’s specific powers or abilities without seeing them for herself, but the person on the other side of the door had none of Addison’s warmth. The woman who opened the door took Ella’s breath away. Her features were sharper and older than Addison’s, her hair and eyes darker, but she was no less beautiful than the young lady who resembled her.
The woman regarded Ella for a long, silent moment, eyes hard. She finally turned to Addison and said, “While I’m glad to see you, hija, you could have told me what you were bringing.”
Addison cast Ella a sideways glance. “She’s a who, not a what, Mama.”
“I meant what I said. Come in and you can explain yourself.” The woman turned away, leaving Ella to stare helplessly at Addison. This wasn’t exactly the welcome she’d expected, not that she’d known what to anticipate when calling on a witch.
“She’s usually very sweet. I’m not sure what it is she doesn’t like about you...” Addison’s voice trailed off and Ella wondered what she was thinking, another worry that sent her heartbeat skittering erratically.
They crossed the threshold and, for the second time, Ella lost her breath. This time, however, it was from the spellwork shimmering in the doorway. A protection to keep those with ill will from entering the home. Even if Ella didn’t harbor any animosity, she knew why she might not pass muster. Witches and faeries were uneasy allies at best, vicious enemies at worst. She suspected Addison’s mother had never talked to her about the fact that other supernatural races existed in the world, let alone instilled any prejudices about them.
Ella pushed out her lower lip in a pout, certain her girlfriend was about to get a crash course in it today.
“You said you were having problems.” Addison’s mother led them into the kitchen, a room bright with sunlight pouring through the windows. She poured three glasses of lemonade and set them on the table, along with a platter of cookies. When Ella’s gaze met the woman’s, she saw firm resolve in her expression. The elder witch might despise faeries, but she couldn’t deny one hospitality in her home. It would have been unforgivably rude and might open her up to otherworldly mischief.
Those stereotypes were partially true, but mostly a thing of yesteryear. Fae tricksters were few and far between, but Ella wasn’t about to tell Addison’s mother that. Furthermore, Ella couldn’t be rude either, so she accepted the lemonade and a cookie with the quietest “thank you” she could offer.
“I am and they’re...” Addison sat at the table and folded her hands on top of it. “They’re witch problems, I guess, and I thought you would be the best person to ask. But I ought to introduce you first. Mama, this is Ella. She and I have been seeing each other for a little while. Ella, this is my mama, Adriana.”
“Your family has a thing for names that start with A,” Ella remarked, unable to help herself. Naming in faerie families was nothing like the mortal world. If you were lucky enough to have a child in the first place.
Adriana made a face as if she’d eaten something sour and turned away from them. Addison placed her hand on Ella’s arm and muttered, “You have no idea.” In a louder voice, she said, “Mama, Ella and I noticed something strange one night, and we need to ask you about it.”
“Of course, strange notices strange.” Adriana turned back and nodded.
It must have been her way of giving Addison permission to go ahead, because she cleared her throat and said, “This might sound crazy to you, but I have powers. Actual witch powers. I can make things grow from nothing and, well, there are witches after me. They want me to join their coven and I think it’s because of what I can do. Have you ever heard of anything like this?”
Ella saw how Adriana stilled, how her body went stiff and she held her breath. It was as if the woman was frozen in ice for the barest fraction of a second, before her chest rose once more.
“I never thought it would happen, hija.”
“I-I’m sorry?” Addison blinked and now it was Ella’s turn to soothe her with a touch, gently rubbing her hand up and down her girlfriend’s back.
Adriana rubbed her hand across her forehead. “Your powers didn’t manifest by the time you turned eighteen, so I was sure you hadn’t inherited any, that you had your father’s mortal nature. Even the Sight didn’t give me so much as a hint as to whether or not you would develop powers. It always showed me visions of you in the shop, tending to the needs of the mystical community. Now I see that I was wrong. And all witches know the later powers manifest, the stronger they are, which is probably why this coven wants you. Which coven is it?”
Ella glanced at Addison, who had gone as white as a sheet, so she said, “I don’t think she knows the actual name of the coven, just one of the witches who’s been trying to talk to her about it. Someone named Anthea, but we don’t know the other witches she’s brought with her.”
Silence descended on the room again, only this time, Ella saw recognition and resignation warring on Adriana’s face. The witch sank down into a chair on the opposite side of the table from them and blew out a long sigh.
“I’m so sorry, hija. I should have told you sooner, but I wanted to prevent you from having to make the same choice I did.”
“What do you mean?” Addison seemed to have recovered her voice, but it was high and thin. “What choice—the one you made to leave the coven?”
“The one all witches make by the time they reach womanhood. I thought if I never brought it up, you would never face that crossroads.” Adriana turned her hands, palms facing up, on the table. “You see, there is a right-hand path and a left-hand path. My sister and I were in the same coven and, when the time came, your Aunt Adela, chose left. I chose neither, because I knew if I stayed, they would continue to use my gifts for their own gain.”
Ella saw a flash of surprise cross Addison’s face. As Addison opened her mouth, her mother continued.
“I never did explore what a right-hand path coven might have to offer me, not after my experiences with the one I’d grown up in. There are two in Winslow, you see, the one our family always belonged to and then another. I didn’t want any part of either, so I came here, where I could get lost in the energetic noise.”
Addison’s entire body tightened beneath Ella’s caressing hand. “Back up a sec, Mama. I thought Aunt Adela was dead. You said she was gone and you never talked about her to me.”
“Gone, yes, but not dead. She and I haven’t spoken since we made our choices. As for Anthea...” Addison’s mother closed her eyes, nostrils flaring as if she was gathering all the courage she could. “Anthea is her daughter.”
“She’s... my cousin?”
Adriana nodded.
“My first cousin. The closest family I have besides you and my aunt.” Addison lifted her hands to her head as if trying to comprehend everything her mother had just revealed. “Fine, setting the fact that you kept my own family a secret aside for now, can you explain something else to me? What’s the difference between right and left, and why would it matter? Why does that distinction need to exist?”
Ella had about a hundred answers to her girlfriend’s questions, but they all came from the perspective of a faerie godmother, not an actual witch. So she kept her mouth shut and let Adriana do the talking. All she was here to do was listen and support Addison.
“Because free will exists, and that means you may decide between a path that is benign or one that may turn a blind eye to harm done to others. Neither is superior to the other, and both have their prices. That’s why I chose Sedona. The energy of this place hides me from people like my sister. I wanted it for you, too, the right-hand path, but there was a third, better option: a normal mortal life. When I didn’t see power in you, I thanked the goddess that you were like your father. Clearly, I was wrong.”
Addison let out a choking sound that tore Ella’s heart in two. “So you lied to me all this time, telling me you had no family, telling me your own sister had died, all because you thought it was better than explaining these potential choices to me and trusting me to choose my own path.”
“It would have been better if Adela did die, especially before she had children.” There was no mistaking the hardness in Adriana’s voice, but Ella heard another thing, too. The love of a mother for her daughter, the desire to defend and protect.
“How can you say such a heartless thing?” Addison pushed away from the table and backed toward the front door. “Maybe if you’d had more faith in your own parenting, if you believed you had raised me right, you wouldn’t have anything to fear about the choices I would make. Now I guess it’s up to me to make a decision anyway, for all the good trying to hide me from the world did either of us. Thanks a lot, Mama. I’m no more equipped to choose now than I was in the first place.”
Addison turned and bolted through the front door before Ella could stop her.
“And you—does she know what you are?” Adriana’s voice now held a challenge that sent a chill to Ella’s very core.
“No.” Ella rose from the table and put her chair back in place, frustration making her tighten her grip on the back of it. “But she’s about to find out.”