All in the room remained silent and looked to Dagon. He spoke with a confidence that startled everyone. “It will be an honor to have her here, and I look forward to her arrival.”
Sarina stood and offered Sydney her seat. “Please sit, I’ll bring fresh coffee and hot eggs for you.” She gathered her dishes in her arm and carefully moved a clean place setting in front of the seat. With a soft, “Excuse me,” she left the room.
Sydney took the vacated seat and directed her remark to Dagon. “She will arrive how and when she pleases, as is her way.”
“She cannot give a precise time?” he asked, annoyed.
Ali answered abruptly, “You requested her presence.”
“That doesn’t mean she can’t be civil,” Dagon snapped back.
“With her powers she can do as she likes.”
Dagon was about to argue when Sydney interrupted their tirade. “Enough, she will arrive in her own good time, and she will certainly be civil unless circumstances prove vexing, then you may find her demeanor changing.”
Ali interpreted for him. “She is attempting to warn you to be on your best behavior.”
“Which is why you won’t be staying around for her visit,” Dagon said bluntly.
Sebastian entered the debate. “I don’t know. She sounds like a witch worth knowing.”
Ali turned wide eyes on her husband. “We are leaving tomorrow.” She stood, dropping her napkin to the table. “I am going to pack now.”
Sebastian protested. “But I’d like to meet this Ancient One. I bet she’d let me levitate her.”
Ali paled, shook her head, and hurried out of the room.
“That wasn’t nice,” Sydney scolded.
“But most effective,” Sebastian informed her and stood. “I better go help her and soothe her ruffled feathers.”
Dagon held his hand out to him.
Sebastian took it. “You owe me for that one, pal. Otherwise we would have spent the next week here with Ali instructing you on your behavior with the Ancient One.”
“Thank you, I won’t forget.”
Sarina returned with hot eggs and fresh coffee surprised to see only Sydney and Dagon remaining. She silently placed the platter on the table and filled Sydney’s cup with steaming coffee. She then scooped up the remaining dirty dishes.
Dagon was about to protest her domestic flourish when he felt Sydney’s hand to his arm. He remained silent until Sarina had vacated the room.
“You wish to talk with me alone?” he asked.
“No, I sensed Sarina’s unease with the situation. It would be best for you to speak with her alone concerning this matter.”
Dagon’s irritation returned. “There is nothing to discuss with her, I have the matter well in hand.”
Sydney sighed and added a drop of cream to her coffee. “Do you, now?”
“I know what I’m doing,” he insisted.
“If you say so.”
“If you have advice to offer, then offer it and be done with it.”
Sydney tossed a defiant chin at him. “You obviously don’t believe you require any assistance; therefore, it is pointless to offer any.”
Remarks flew back and forth, and Sarina listened quietly on the other side of the doorway. She shook her head with a sad smile and walked to the kitchen, grabbing the heavy navy blue cardigan from the peg by the door.
“You need more than that sweater if you’re going outside. The air has a winter bite to it today,” Margaret warned.
Sarina seemed not to hear or chose not to pay attention; she simply slipped out the back door and walked down the nearest path, needing and wanting to be away from the castle if only for a while.
She was at a loss as to how to proceed from here, and giving it serious thought, she realized that her hands were tied. She had made choices, taken a chance, and now what was needed was faith.
Faith in love and faith in Dagon.
But how would he react when he learned the truth? The answer came easy. If he loved her, truly loved her, it wouldn’t matter.
She sighed away her frustration and hugged herself.
“Cold?”
Sarina turned to smile at Sebastian.
He wore a brown, worn leather bomber-style jacket with a heavy navy knit sweater beneath and chinos. His casual attire fit his casual mood, and she felt relaxed with his easygoing yet strong nature.
“Not really, the bite in the air feels good.”
He walked up beside her and strolled along the pebbled path with her. “I know what you mean. I enjoy the sting of a good cold day.”
“It refreshes.”
“It is also the place to be when your wife chases you out of your room,” he confided with a smile.
Sarina nodded. “I understand. I felt my own need to escape the castle.”
Sebastian didn’t pry; he seemed to understand and continued the conversation. “I was wondering about those candles.”
“Candles?”
“The ones cast during the Winter Solstice? You never did get a chance to explain how you knew about them.”
Sarina stopped by the mermaid pond and decided honesty was her only sensible choice, and besides, she sensed Sebastian was only seeking confirmation of what he already suspected. “I’ve cast the candles.”
He nodded slowly. “I thought so, and if I’m correct, that makes you a wise witch and an old one.”
She smiled. “It’s not polite to ask a woman her age, whether mortal or witch.”
“Can’t help it, prying is in my blood, and my instincts tell me that you’re older than Sydney.” He waited for confirmation.
“Your search-and-find skill is not only remarkable, but natural as well. It is no wonder why you do so well in the security business.”
“I feel my business is more like a hobby—that’s how much pleasure I derive from it. But diverting my attention away from my question will not work. I’m still waiting for an answer. “How old are you?”
Sarina was as honest as possible. “Older than you think or want to know.”
“And your powers?”
“Waiting.”
“Don’t understand that one,” he admitted.
“It’s best you don’t.”
Sebastian accepted her answer and didn’t pressure her to explain, though he did add his own opinion. “It will all work out well.”
“Do you think?” she asked hopefully.
“Dagon won’t have it any other way.”
Sarina hugged herself tighter. “He may not have a choice.”
Sebastian shivered at the helplessness in her voice and was stunned by her sudden change when she turned to him and asked, “Let’s practice levitation.”
Sebastian rubbed his hands together and grinned. “At last—a viable volunteer.”
o0o
Dagon retained his controlled demeanor while Sydney and Ali lectured him. Ali had returned looking for her husband, and when she didn’t find him in the dining room, she proceeded to join Sydney in berating Dagon for his foolish actions where the Ancient One and Sarina were concerned.
“You think me dim-witted?” he asked, looking from Sydney to Ali.
Ali considered his comment. “Dim-witted, never. Stubborn, definitely.”
“We do have something in common, don’t we,” he said with a teasing laugh.
“At least I’m not foolish,” she said.
“That’s a debatable issue.”
Sydney allowed the two, free rein, sitting back and savoring a second cup of coffee.
“Why don’t you admit you love Sarina?” Ali asked, standing face to face with him near the tall narrow window.
“That’s for me to decide.”
“I admitted my love for Sebastian to you.”
“You practically shouted it from the rooftops.”
Ali narrowed her eyes. “You’re impossible.”
“First I’m stubborn, now I’m impossible, make up your mind.”
“You’re impossibly stubborn.”
“Like brother, like sister.”
“So help me, Dagon, I—” Ali stopped abruptly, her eyes widening. “Oh, no!”
Dagon followed the path of her shocked glance and his own eyes widened. Sarina lay flat on her back floating in thin air over the mermaid pond, and she was smiling most delightfully.
Dagon and Ali raced out of the room not hearing Sydney’s warning.
“Don’t disturb Sebastian’s magic.” Sydney shook her head and went to the window to watch what she was certain would be a predictable and entertaining scene.
Sarina laughed with pleasure. “I had forgotten how delightful this was.”
“I’m doing well, then?” Sebastian asked anxiously.
“Excellent,” she assured him. “You have moved from novice to pro.”
“You’re not nervous? After all, I am really nothing more than an amateur witch.”
Sarina scolded softly. “Never refer to yourself as such. You must believe in yourself, or you will never possess the full power of your skills. Belief and faith in yourself make you who you really are. And to prove how much I believe in your abilities, I want you to turn me slowly around so that I am looking down at the pond. I would love to view the water from an aerial angle.”
Sebastian sounded reluctant. “I don’t know if I should attempt that feat. What if I accidentally make you spin?”
“I’ll grow dizzy and it will pass.”
“What if you drop in the pond?”
“I’ll get wet and I’ll dry off.”
He laughed. “You have an answer for everything.”
“I wish.”
They both laughed.
“Give it a try,” she urged. “I don’t mind, and when next do you think you’ll get someone to practice on who is as willing as I am and enjoys it as much as I do?”
“You’ve got a point.”
“Then go for it.”
Her encouragement convinced him, and he used his finger to execute a perfect turn that had her looking facedown at the pond.
She shouted her excitement. “Hurrah, you did it!”
Unfortunately her gleeful shouts sounded like screeching pleas to Dagon and Ali, and they broke into a run, Ali shouting out Sebastian’s name.
Sebastian thought his wife’s anguished shout a cry for help, and he turned suddenly, forgetting about Sarina. She descended rapidly toward the water. Dagon and Ali immediately pointed in her direction hoping to guide her out of harm’s way. Unfortunately Sebastian got in the way and went tumbling into the pond from the force of their magic, bumping into Sarina and falling with her into the water.
Ali and Dagon stood speechless at the pond’s edge watching the two attempting to stand. They were laughing much too hard and slipping with every step they took, and they looked to be having the time of their lives.
After several failed attempts, Sebastian and Sarina emerged dripping wet from the pond. They hung on to each other as they stood confronting Dagon and Ali.
Sebastian immediately took charge. “We were doing fine until you two interfered.”
“He’s right,” Sarina agreed, hugging his arm, to Dagon’s annoyance.
Sarina’s wet hair dripped water in her face, and water dripped from the hem of her jumper to pool at her feet. Her clothes stuck to her, and she shivered when a gust of wind wrapped around her. Dagon wanted nothing more than to wrap her in his arms and carry her to the warmth and safety of his castle.
Ali had different ideas for her husband. “Interfered? You dropped her.”
“Because of your shout,” Sebastian accused with a shake of his finger.
“He’s right,” Sarina agreed again and irritated Dagon all the more.
“You had no business being outside the castle,” Ali said with a firm stamp of her foot.
“You told me to get lost,” Sebastian said with a laugh. “And while I didn’t take you literally, I thought it best to vacate the premises for a time.”
Ali pointed to Sarina. “So you convince this poor girl to let you practice your magic.”
Sarina laughed at her remark. “I volunteered.”
“To allow a novice to levitate you over a pond?” Dagon asked incredulously.
Sarina was quick to defend. “Sebastian is no novice and he was doing excellent with his lesson until you two, who I should point out should know better than to interfere with a person’s magic, did just that—interfered!”
“So it’s our faults?” Dagon asked in disbelief.
“Exactly,” Sarina and Sebastian said in unison.
“Two inept witches practicing magic, and yet it is the fault of two skilled witches,” Dagon confirmed, though he shook his head at the absurdity of the notion.
“Now you understand the problem,” Sarina said with a tilt of her chin and another shiver that was obvious to all.
“You’re cold,” Dagon said, concerned.
“Chilly,” she corrected defiantly.
Dagon turned to Ali. “This is all your fault.”
“Mine?” she said, shocked.
“Yes, if you would allow your husband to practice his magic on you, he wouldn’t seek out anyone else’s help.”
Ali placed her hands on her hips ready for battle.
“He’s in for it now,” Sebastian whispered with a smile to Sarina.
Sarina agreed with a nod and her own grin.
“This is your fault,” Ali accused back.
Dagon laughed at her remark. “How is that?”
“You should teach Sarina how to counter command a spell.”
“And how do you suppose I do that when she doesn’t have a lick of powers.”
“Sebastian barely possessed the ability to cast a decent spell, but I’ve trained him,” Ali said defensively.
Sebastian raised a brow and looked to Sarina. No words needed exchanging; they both understood each other completely.
“So what you’re saying is that I have lacked in training Sarina properly?”
“You haven’t given her the time and patience she requires to develop her skills, therefore, this is your fault.”
Sarina spoke. “I think you both need cooling off.” With that Sebastian pointed his finger at them, and with a crook and a whirl of his finger he sent the startled couple flying into the pond.
“That was fantastic,” Sarina said, praising his magical feat. “Perfectly executed and completed.”
“Wow, I even impressed myself,” Sebastian said, staring for a moment at his fingertip. “I guess I’m getting the hang of this after all.”
Ali and Dagon swatted at each other like irate children until finally they both burst into a fit of laughter and fell into each other’s arms. They then made their way easily out of the pond and hurried to catch up with Sebastian and Sarina, who were strolling back to the castle.
It was two laughing couples who burst into the kitchen with Dagon demanding, “Send hot tea and brandy to mine and Sebastian’s quarters.”
And with peals of laughter following them through the hallway, not to mention trails of puddles, the couples made their way to their rooms.
Margaret looked at Sydney, who had been sitting at the table, a hot cup of raspberry tea in hand. “Love is good.”
“At any age,” Sydney said with a raise of her teacup.
o0o
Dagon and Sarina fell laughing into his room, their hands hurriedly undressing each other, their chilled bodies seeking warmth. Dagon retrieved a beige, soft knit blanket from the closet and wrapped it around the both of their shivering bodies as they sat down on the thick carpet before the blazing fire.
A knock on the door announced the tea and brandy had arrived, and Bernard entered at Dagon’s command. He arranged the silver serving tray on the floor beside them and brought two towels from the bathroom to place alongside Dagon.
With a thank you from Dagon, Bernard left the room as quietly as he had entered it.
Sarina saw to pouring the hot tea and adding a liberal amount of brandy while Dagon reached for the towels, quickly drying his hair as best as possible and then seeing to hers. When he finished she handed him a teacup, and they both relaxed against each other and allowed the heat of the tea and the strength of the brandy to warm their insides.
“In all my years here, I have never fallen into that pond.” His free hand wrapped around her waist, drawing her closer to him.
She went willingly, content in the safety of his arms. “I thought it a delightful dunking and a good time amongst friends.”
Dagon thought it best to tell her of their planned departure. “Ali and Sebastian are leaving tomorrow.”
He felt her disappointment in the slight tensing of her body against his.
She sighed. “I will miss them.”
“Sydney will remain.”
Sarina said nothing, but understood everything. The time was drawing near, the spell would be tested. What would be the outcome? Would she disturb or hurt the spells cast if she admitted to Dagon her love for him now? Could she take the chance?
“You grow quiet. Is something wrong?” he asked with a hug to her midsection.
“Deep thoughts.”
“Share them with me,” he urged. “I would like to know more about you.”
The tea and brandy were beginning to relax her, and she sighed contentedly, nestling back against him. And while she would have loved to tell him of her life, she wisely chose to avoid the issue. “There’s nothing to tell.”
He placed his empty teacup aside and wrapped his other arm around her, resting his cheek against her temple after kissing there lightly. “There’s always something to tell. Tell me what you enjoyed most as a child.”
She smiled and ran her hands along his arms, favoring the feel of their strength wrapped so protectively around her, and chose a safe answer. “Wandering in the forest.”
“You favor the outdoors.”
“The Mother Earth holds the essence of life; what better place to learn?” She moved the questioning to him. “And you? What did you enjoy most as a child?”
His answer came easily. “The freedom to explore who I am.”
“And did you find your answer?” She held her teacup up for him to take a sip.
He did, and then answered. “I feel I did and yet I still question at times.”
“A natural reaction and one shared by many. We think we know who we are, but we fail to understand that we change, grow, evolve with the years. So, therefore, who we once were we no longer are, and the search continues, an exciting journey for sure.”
She sounded much wiser than a mere one hundred years, and he felt it was time to confront the issue of age.
“Don’t ask me, Dagon,” she said, sensing his question and hoping to prevent it
His arm tightened slightly around her waist. “Why?”
“You may not like the answer.”
He recalled Sebastian speaking those very words to him, but then he wanted to solve the whole puzzle, and he persisted. “Tell me your age.”
She attempted tact. “It isn’t nice to ask a woman her age.”
He was firm in his resolve to learn the truth. “I think that at this point in our relationship it is necessary—not that it will change anything.”
“Are you so sure?”
“Age matters not to me, I told you this.”
“Then why ask?”
“Let’s say it’s a piece to a puzzle I am trying to solve.”
“Am I the puzzle?” she asked, moving out of his arms and walking to the closet to retrieve his black silk robe and slip into it.
He admired the trim, firm set of her body and the way she moved with grace and ease, comfortable with herself and with him. His arousal was quick and expected, though he chose to ignore it. This talk was necessary, and he would have his answers.
“You must admit, you are like a puzzle, so many pieces yet nothing fits, nothing makes sense.” He eased himself off the floor, wrapping the blanket around his waist to conceal his desire from her as he walked to his closet.
Sarina reached in the closet and grabbed his silver robe, handing it to him. “And I must make sense to you?”
“It would help,” he said, putting his robe on, letting the blanket fall to his feet and stepping over it he walked back to the fireplace. He picked up the silver serving tray and placed it on the table by the window, pouring them each another cup of tea and brandy.
“Now will you tell me your age?” he asked, handing the cup to her.
She walked over to him and accepted the tea, wishing the cup held only the brandy. She hoped her answer would appease him, though she doubted it would. “I am older than you think.”
He realized she intended to skirt the truth and attempted to at least pinpoint her age. “Are you older than me?”
She nodded and sipped her tea.
“Listening to your wise words of late, I had the feeling you might be.”
He did not seem upset, and she hoped he would stop there. He didn’t.
“Are you older than Sydney?”
“Dagon, please don’t pursue this,” she urged, her voice filled with concern.
“You are, aren’t you?” he persisted, placing his cup on the table and approaching her. “Why do you fear telling me your age?”
She reached past him and placed her cup beside his, and then she ran trembling fingers through her damp hair. “The answer will only bring more questions.”
He took her by the arms and held her firm. “Questions you don’t wish to answer?”
Her dark eyes turned soft, and he once again caught a glimpse of her wisdom and it startled him as did her response.
“Questions I have no answers for.”
He felt the need to offer her solace. “Perhaps I can help.”
She eased out of his arms and stepped in closer to him, her hands going to cup his face. “You don’t know what you ask and I fear—”
She grew silent and with a shake of her head she stepped away from him. How did she tell him she feared losing him? How did she tell him she could not bear to live life without him? How did she tell him that she loved him from the deepest depths of her heart and soul, and still that might not be enough?
He refused to let her go, and he reached out, pulling her back into the circle of his arms. “Let me help you with your fear.”
“You don’t know what you ask, Dagon.”
He pursued regardless of her warnings. “The wise witch dressed in black that haunted my grounds recently was you, wasn’t it?” He attempted a guess at her age. “Eight hundred years old?”
Her lips remained locked.
He slowly released her and stepped back away from her. “You’re over a thousand years old, aren’t you?”
She confirmed his suspicion with a simple nod.
He was stunned by her admission and asked the next logical question. “A spell stole your powers?”
She answered with another nod.
He closed his eyes, shook his head, and rubbed at his temples. Her powers far surpassed his, and that meant that it took a witch of equal or greater powers to have cast a spell on her. His meager skills could not hope to compare to her opponent’s, and yet there had to be a way of helping her. He loved her much too much to lose her.
An idea hit him. “I will speak to the Ancient One on this matter when she arrives, perhaps she can offer help.”
Pleased with his decision, he opened his eyes.
Sarina was gone.