As she stepped out of her beat-up old Subaru in the driveway, the overpowering scent of crushed rosemary reached her, sending a shiver down her spine. She followed the smell to the side gate and nearly collapsed against the post. The line of salt and pennyroyal oil, meant to keep unwanted guests out, had been scattered like ashes.
“No, no, no, this can’t be happening,” she breathed. Everywhere she looked, devastation reigned. The garden had been destroyed. Tomato vines were uprooted, and the lavender bushes looked as though they’d been steamrolled. Herbs and vegetables were scattered everywhere. Bruised peaches lay all over the garden, as though the tree had tried to defend its family by pelting the infiltrator with its fruit.
Sadie walked to the once neat rows on weak legs. It was as though the lifeblood of the garden, having been broken, was leeching the energy from Sadie herself.
“It’s okay,” she said, sagging to her knees. “I can make this right. I’ll fix it. You’ll be fine.” She sunk her hands into the earth, filling her palms with dirt as her chest tightened. It was all too much.
She couldn’t draw a deep breath. Her blood vessels were closing off in revolt. Her vision narrowed until her skin went numb. With a cry she dragged her fingernails through the dirt, filling her palms and then beating them against the ground.
She felt a prickling of unease and looked up. The same figure, a green mist surrounding it, like something rotten, was hovering at the edge of the forest, seeming more solid than it had last time.
All the magic in the world couldn’t prepare her for the fear that seized hold of her, as though she were drowning inside her heart.
Healing Salve
Apply this to minor cuts, scrapes, and bruises. Helps with inflammation and healing and works as an anti-infection and anti-microbial. Had to perfect this when the kids were little because they were like bulls in a china shop. Then, of course, Seth and Sadie turned out just the same.
Ingredients
2 T. coconut oil
2 drops each of:
tea tree oil
helichrysum
lavender
frankincense
1–2 tsp. beeswax pellets (optional, just makes the balm firmer)
1 oz. tin
Directions
1.?In a small double boiler, melt the coconut oil and beeswax until just melted.
2.?Take off heat and let cool for just a minute or two before adding the oils.
3.?Pour into your container, and then refrigerate to solidify. Apply as needed. Helps speed up the healing time and fights infection.
??10??
SADIE ESCAPED TO THE back porch, and three glasses of wine later she still wasn’t numb enough.
She didn’t have the heart to tell her grandmother about the garden. Gigi, who’d refused to wear the knot of Isis. Sadie had hidden it in her room, so at least it would be near her while she slept. But doubt had already crept in. Gigi was moving slower again, always with a hand to her back and a grimace on her face when she thought no one was looking.
Kay was louder than usual, and Anne was talking faster than a speeding train, filling every silence to say all the things before time ran out, even if those things didn’t matter. Uncle Brian had taken to fixing odds and ends around the house, muttering under his breath about Tava taking over the table with her sewing project. And Suzy had decided to clean and organize the hall closet. Seth, meanwhile, sat quietly next to Gigi on the couch; as always Abby was on her lap and Bambi at her feet.
There was a charged feeling to the air, everyone scattering to their respective posts, believing that if they could hang on to normalcy for a little bit longer, maybe their denial would waylay the inevitable. And Sadie couldn’t stand the taste it left in her mouth.
The screen door creaked open, and Sadie recognized Seth’s footfalls without turning around. He took the wineglass from Sadie’s hand as he sat.
“Fucking madhouse in there,” he said.
Sadie only nodded.
“What’s up?”
“For starters,” she said, pointing in the direction of the garden.
He squinted his eyes in the dying light and let out a sharp breath.
“Shit.”
“Yeah. And I don’t know,” she said, answering his question before he could ask who had done it.
“Okay, what else?”
“What do you mean ‘what else?’ That’s not enough?”
“You said, ‘for starters.’”
She looked sidelong at him. He was her twin; she couldn’t keep him out of her heart any more than she could keep her reflection out of a mirror. So she took a deep breath and spoke the words that had been weighing on her chest, like an anvil, ever since Jake had said them.
“Jake is engaged.”
“To be married?”
“Apparently so,” she said bleakly.
“Damn, sister, you can’t catch a break.”
“Oh, but wait—there’s more. She’s also pregnant.”
“I feel like this qualifies as asshole fodder. Or am I wrong? Is there something I’m missing here? This just doesn’t seem like Jake.”
“He tried to tell me. A few times, actually, but I kept—I don’t know—I pushed him away because I didn’t want to hear it. It doesn’t matter anyway.” She shrugged, taking the glass back and pouring another serving before drinking half of it in a single gulp. “The world I’ve been so carefully cultivating for the past twenty years is crumbling. Nothing is recognizable anymore. I’ve spent so long protecting my heart from the curse that there’s nothing in my life except for Gigi.”
“What am I—chopped liver?” he demanded.
She gave him a sharp, challenging look.
“You realize you have to forgive me at some point, right?”
“Don’t be stupid. I’ve already forgiven you.”
“We’re going to be okay, sister,” he said, putting his arm around her shoulders and stealing the wineglass back. “I promise.”
There was a sticky silence in the air, and Sadie was overcome with a sudden urge to dip her hands in lemon water to brush away bad luck. And that’s when they heard it. Like the universe had heard his promise and laughed in his face. A thump and a cry that had them both running into the house.
Kay was hysterical. Aunt Suzy had her head buried in Uncle Brian’s shoulder. The room had grown uncomfortably warm with the weight of so much worry. Anne was on the ground, trying to rouse Gigi, whose small, limp form shoved a spear straight through Sadie’s heart.
Finally, after a heartbeat that seemed to last for eternity, her eyes opened.
“Fell,” she croaked.
“Let’s get you to the hospital,” Seth said, and Sadie wondered how he kept his voice so calm.
“Pishposh,” Gigi said, her tone as disgruntled as the look on her face. “Absolutely not. What are they gonna tell me, sugar?” she asked, trying to sit up. “That I’ve got cancer? Just help me to the couch, would you?”
Despite her best efforts, Gigi’s face twisted in pain as Seth half carried her to the living room.
“Mommy,” Kay cried, sinking to the ground and clutching Gigi’s hand.
“Now that’s enough,” Gigi said in a not unkind voice. “I need to speak with Seth and Sadie. Alone,” she added to the room at large.
“I’m not leaving your side,” Kay argued.
“Like hell you aren’t.” Gigi’s voice was turning crochety now.
“Everybody out,” Anne said, taking charge as always, and they dutifully scattered.
Sadie was still by the door, unable to propel her legs forward until Seth gently pushed her.
“My time is coming. Soon, I think.” Gigi said.
“The knot of Isis,” Sadie choked out.
“I told you that damn thing wasn’t gonna work.” She turned to her granddaughter. “Sadie, there are spells I’ve done, rituals that you two will have to take over after I’m gone. You know Julian is buried on the grounds of Old Bailer. Now, that property isn’t in our name anymore. It got passed to the state after it was marked as a historic landmark. But our blood is still in the land, and that’s why we buried him there. Evanora has kept his spirit at bay, but every year on the day of his death, you’ve got to salt the perimeter of his grave to keep him where he belongs. Write his name on a piece of paper, and burn it with the flame of a black candle, saying the words I taught you long ago. You know the ones. Make sure the rope on the bell by the front door is changed on the same day.”