Gods of Chaos (Red Magic) (14 page)

Her face was grim when she looked at me. “I realize now that there is much that you don’t know. Even the small arts may prove necessary to you in your coming struggle.” She set my cup down and frowned at me intently.

I stared back at her, twitching my fingers nervously. I wanted to ask what she’d seen in my cup, but part of me didn’t want to know.

Finally, she nodded once. “I will not hinder your quest, although I don’t agree with your reasons for using Isadora.” She waved her hand to silence me, and I swallowed back my angry retort as she continued. “Just know that if you do anything to put Isadora or any of my students in danger, you will have to answer to me.”

I glared at her, and she shrugged.

“It’s the most I can offer. Take it or leave it.”

I thought for a moment, and then I nodded. It wasn’t like I had a choice. “I’ll take it.”

Even though I was still on the school campus, I called my mom once I left Dr. Farren’s office. She picked up on the first ring. Her voice made my heart clench, and I had to fight back tears.

“How’s the weather?” I asked, trying not to let on how affected I was to hear her voice.

“Lena? It’s good to hear from you. The weather is cold. It’s a bad winter.” Her tone was serious, and I felt a twinge of worry.

“Have the pipes frozen yet?”

“Not yet, thankfully. But your dad and I haven’t gone to work all week; the roads are iced over, and just about everything is closed.”

North Carolina usually closed down at the first sign of bad winter weather, but a whole week was ridiculous, even in the South. “It’s that bad?”

“It’s worse. Something about this winter isn’t natural.”

I shuddered, remembering the hurricane Rochelle had created to kill me last fall. It hadn’t worked, of course, but the storm had done a lot of damage. “Is there anything I can do?”

She paused. “I don’t like the idea of you fooling with the weather.”

“I know, Mom, but if there’s something strange about the storm … ”

“You might just concentrate on sending good vibes to us. As long as the roads thaw soon, we’ll be fine. Right now, it’s too dangerous to go out.”

I took a deep breath. “I guess that works out then.”

“What do you mean?”

“I called to let you know when I’m coming home.”

There was a pause. “When?”

“I’m not sure yet, but I know it won’t be this week.”

The silence that filled the phone was frigid, and I swore softly to myself.

I started to explain. “I found the other Red.”

“Lena, that’s great. It’s just that I worry about you.”

“I’m fine, Mom.”

“I’m sure you are. But I’ve been having bad dreams lately.”

Interested, I pressed the phone closer to my ear. “What sort of dreams?” Loki’s offer flitted through my mind, and I forced myself to focus on Mom’s voice.

She laughed, but it sounded flat. “Oh, apocalyptic things, fire and ice. Maybe I’ve just been reading too much poetry.”

I knew the Robert Frost poem she was referring to—it had always given me the heebie jeebies. “Anything else?”

“No word from any goddesses on the home front, if that’s what you mean.”

I didn’t want to ask, but I needed to know. “Not even Demeter?”

Mom sighed, and I felt a twinge of guilt. “I keep trying, but she doesn’t seem interested in communicating with me right now.”

Demeter was my mother’s patron, but my deception last fall had damaged their relationship. I’d hoped it would be repaired by now, but that hadn’t happened. Guilt gnawed at my stomach. “I’m sorry, Mom.”

“You’re doing what you think is right.”

Her words made me bristle. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Darlena, we support you. That’s all that means.”

I looked at the phone and tried to get my temper back in check. “Sorry. I’m on edge today.” Meeting with Dr. Farren had left me feeling defensive, but there was no reason to tell Mom about that.

“Oh, sweetie. Can I do anything?”

I felt another twinge of guilt at her sympathetic tone. “I miss you guys.”

“We miss you, too.”

For a minute, we were both silent, and I brushed away the tears that prickled in my eyes.

When Mom spoke again, she sounded like she was trying to cheer me up. “Do you still have the herbs I sent?”

I smiled. “I do. I’ve used them for a few baths, too.”

“That’s what I was going to suggest. A nice hot bath with peppermint. Maybe you’ll think more clearly when you’re done.”

“Why do you think I’m not thinking clearly?”

She paused. “Maybe it’s the dreams I’ve been having. Either way, I’m worried about you.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“Promise me.”

I sucked in air between my teeth. Choosing my words carefully, I said, “As far as I can control, I promise I will avoid harm.”

There was a pause. “We love you.”

“Love you, too. Give Xerxes some tuna for me.”

Mom chuckled. “That cat is already spoiled enough.” She doted on him as much as I did, and we both knew it.

“Still. I’ll be home as soon as I figure some things out here.”

“I know.”

When I hung up the phone, I was puzzled and tense. I had the feeling she wasn’t telling me everything. Add that to the fact that Justin had mentioned dreams the last time we talked, and I was starting to feel uneasy. I felt the looming shape of Lady on the Lake behind me, but the building didn’t offer me any comfort. I was on my own.

“Why are you standing here looking glum?”

I turned around, startled. “What are you doing here?”

Izzy shrugged. “Dr. Farren said she met with you, and I wanted to chat.”

“What about?”

“The weather. What do you think? More about magic.”

I sighed. “I’m tired of talking about magic.”

“Did you just call your mum?”

I nodded. “She’s worried about me.”

Izzy thought for a moment. “Your mum’s a Witch too, right?”

“Both my parents are Greens.”

“Then maybe you should listen to her.”

“But I think she wants me to come home right away, and I can’t do that now!” As the words left my mouth, I inhaled sharply. I hadn’t told Izzy what I was really doing in Scotland, and I was afraid that she was about to ask.

Instead, she fixed me with a wide smile. “So if you’re here for a bit longer, come sightseeing with me.”

“How?”

“Marcus borrowed a car. We’re driving out to Clava.”

Part of me felt like a sightseeing trip would just be a waste of time, but I was intrigued. “What’s Clava?”

She laughed. “And you call yourself a Witch! You better come, just so you won’t sound so dumb the next time you meet another Scottish Witch.”

I eyed her, wanting to feel suspicious, but I was curious. “Won’t Marcus mind?”

“Not at all.”

***

An hour later, I was waiting in front of my hotel. I’d packed my camera and notebook in a small shoulder bag, and at the last minute, I’d stuck my athame and mirror in the pockets of my coat. I didn’t usually take my tools with me everywhere, but then again, I didn’t usually go sightseeing with a Witch who had made it clear he hated me.

When Marcus pulled up in a rusted black pile of metal, I grimaced.

“What is that?”

Izzy popped her head out the window. “It’s a Rover. Marcus borrowed it from a friend. Isn’t it something?”

“It’s something, all right,” I said, as I slid onto the torn upholstery in the back seat. Stuffing was everywhere, and the brown fabric on the ceiling had come unglued in places.

“It runs.” Marcus’s voice was gruff, and I looked up to see him staring intently at me in the rearview mirror.

This was the second time my relationship with Izzy had brought him back into contact with me, and I decided to make the most of it. “Thanks for taking me along today.”

He grunted wordlessly.

Izzy punched him playfully. “Now, be nice! We can’t send her back to America thinking all Scottish boys are pricks.”

“Where are we going?”

Izzy turned around, oblivious of the swaying car. I felt nauseous for her. “Clava Cairn. It’s an old site from prehistoric Scotland.”

“But what’s there?”

“Don’t you know what a cairn is?” Izzy looked surprised when I shook my head.

“A burial mound.” Marcus’s words were clipped, his eyes focused on the road.

“So we’re going to an ancient burial mound?” I began to wonder why I’d let Izzy talk me into this. In the past few days, I’d had more than enough of haunted places and death.

“Oh, it’s so much more than that! There are three mounds, each circled by standing stones. It’s a really powerful place. Have you been to Stonehenge?”

I shook my head, and she smiled.

“Good! Then you won’t try to compare this. Clava Cairn is different.”

Absently, I fiddled with the stuffing seeping out of the back seat. “Why are we going there?”

Izzy glanced at Marcus and turned around in her seat. “You’ll see.”

I wanted to press her for answers, but I was walking a tricky line. Because of Izzy, I had another opportunity to convince her brother to help me, but I didn’t think he’d be any more willing than before if I was a jerk to his little sister. I shrugged and leaned back against the seat, staring out the window as the misty Scottish landscape whirred by.

We wove through the countryside in relative silence for the next two hours. I was trying to figure out how to talk to Marcus alone; Izzy didn’t need to know about my plans, but maybe he’d be more willing to listen now. I studied the back of his orangey-red head while we drove. If I shifted slightly, I could see pieces of his face in the rearview mirror. He met my eyes in the mirror briefly, and I shivered, looking away. True, I’d come to Scotland to find him, but something about Marcus frightened me. Maybe it was just because he was a Red; I seemed to scare people from time to time.

When he turned the car into a dirt driveway beside an old barn, I thought he was asking for directions. But Izzy opened her door before the car was even parked.

“Come on, it’s this way!”

She set off, walking away from the barn into a wooded field. Marcus gestured to me, and I followed Izzy, trying not to glance behind me at Marcus. His long legs covered the terrain quickly, and he was practically breathing down my neck. I hurried after Izzy, but I felt a prickle of anticipation go down my spine. As we cut a path through the deserted field, I heard an odd buzzing in my ears. I shook my head to clear it, but the dull sound remained, like a machine running in another room.

Suddenly, we came upon the stones. Izzy was right: I wasn’t expecting anything like this. Three mounds of stone rose out of the field. Each was surrounded by a ring of standing stones. The scale of the space was nowhere near what I had expected; when Izzy mentioned Stonehenge, I had been thinking of a massive monument, but the cairns and standing stones weren’t much taller than my head. There was something familiar about the place, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.