Southern Charms

Dream Walker

 Deciding what we needed to do was easier than actually doing it. It was far too late to do anything tonight. Flannery protested when I told her she had to leave with Willow, but after assuring her it was the best way to save Charlie, she nodded, her eyes hollow and sad.

We spread out across the shack, and for once, I was thankful for the south's balmier Septembers. The rain and breeze kept the shack at the perfect temperature for sleep, though I didn't expect to get much of that. Beating an old pillow to rid it of dust and any creepy crawlies, I tried to push aside the worries crowding my brain, but with every one I banished, a new one slipped into its place.

Folding hands beneath my cheeks, I drew my knees up to my chest and stared across the room. My friends were motionless and doing a fine job of pretending they were asleep, but the room lacked the sound of even breathing that comes with true rest. We were all afraid of what tomorrow would bring.

The worst of the storm had passed, but lightning still lit up the room from time to time, stealing away my night vision for a few seconds. I would blink rapidly and strain to make out the shapes around me, sometimes jumping when the unfamiliar objects wavered between dark, nebulous shadows and solid forms, tricking my brain into thinking monsters had found their way inside.

Wind whined through the slot walls, the boards long since deformed from constant weathering of the elements with no one tending to their care, and I found myself hunching to avoid its touch. It was silly, I know, but in just a few short hours, I'd come to fear the world that lay beyond these barriers- weak, though they were. It was a world where demons stole the souls of dearest friends and sisters betrayed blood. Surely, the wind could carry ill intent.

I closed my eyes, seeking sleep, but with my vision gone, my ears picked up on every sound. I heard each hiss and scratch of branches against the roof. Leaves, not yet changed to gold and amber, rustled like childish whispers, and the few that had dropped from limbs scuttled over the porch. In between gusts, the world would go so quiet, the hairs on my arms would stand up straight from the eeriness of it, but then another blast of air would blow through, starting up the cacophony once again.

Huffing, I rolled to my back and drew in deep breaths, feeling my rib cage expand and holding the air until it felt as if I might break apart. Then, I released it in one long exhale. Repeating it three more times, a sense of calmness finally drifted over me. And then sleep.

"Finally."

I sat straight up as Clemmy's snippy voice jangled through my mind. Blinking to clear away my confusion, I looked around the room, only to grow more confused. I was no longer in the Widow's Shack but back in my bedroom.

"Clemmy?"

My grandmother sat on my windowsill, her fingers curled tightly around the edge as she stared at me. Her face, normally unlined by age or care, was crinkled with worry, and her lips were pursed.

"You better hope it's me. My, my, my girl. You have landed yourself in a heap of trouble haven't you? You're not a very good spy, by the way. You should've told me there were demons running about."

I chose to ignore that tidbit. Clemmy was usually right, but I rarely chose to acknowledge it. Her ego was big enough. "Where are you?"

"Luis and his new friend paid Caly and me a visit when we were coming out of the police station. He attempted to persuade us to come to his Mabon gathering this evening, and when I advised him I'd rather pull out my eyelashes one at a time with tweezers, he didn't take it well."

I snorted. "I bet not."

"Listen to me. I don't have much time. Holding you here too long is dangerous. I had to take Caly into hiding, and there are those on the Council and police force who are helping Luis. They know I can use dreams to communicate, and there will be someone watching. You must break the connection between your father and Luis. It's the only way to save his life, and besides Luis, your father is the only one who knows what Malphas wants and how to stop him."

Shivering, I shook my head. Clemmy didn't miss it, and a hard glint formed in her eyes. "Clemmy. I'm not magic. I can't do this. Surely, it would be better if you came out and helped."

"Enough. You're more capable than Harmony and Caly combined, and I'm tired of you pretending like you aren't."

My tongue suctioned to the roof of my mouth. High praise indeed from Clemmy, but she couldn't mean it. She was just trying to boost my confidence. "But you're always trying to fix me."

Clemmy growled and pushed herself into a standing position. I noticed the edges of her form was starting to flicker and fade. "I only do it because I want to see you happy. I know you feel like you're lesser, and the damn people in this town- our family included- doesn't do anything to make you think differently. I fully believe you have magic, but whether or not you ever show a single spark of power or not, you're special, Rose. Because you're my granddaughter."

Her words touched all the wounds inside me. The ones careless words and looks had created over the years. I felt them change- grow smaller- all though not disappearing completely. I would have to believe it to be true for that to happen. It didn't change that it was nice to hear.

"But Clemmy-"

"No buts. I have to go. I feel another presence, and if they find you, it's over."

"Clemmy!"

"Rose! Rose."

My eyes snapped open and met a set of panicked brown eyes. Ash hovered over me, his hands gripping my shoulders as he shook me.

"Ash-"

"You're so cold," he whispered, drawing me into his embrace and rubbing his hands over my arms to generate heat. An almost unnecessary action considering I was growing warm just from touching him. "Are you okay?"

Clemmy's words that holding me in the dream world was dangerous came back to me, and there was a knot in my stomach making me feel queasy. Whether it was from the nerves or exposure to magic, I couldn't tell. Either way, I would be glad when it faded.

"I think so. Did I wake anyone else?"

He brushed a strand of hair away from my face. Searching my face, his brows dipped into a v. "No. I was closest to you, and you started to mumble in your sleep. Then you began to thrash. I thought you were having a seizure. Thought maybe my father had done something to you."

I gripped his hand and squeezed. "No. It was Clemmy. She came to me in a dream."

Ash let loose a long whistle. "That's powerful magic."

"That's Clemmy. She and Caly are in hiding. I don't know why she can't come out, but she said we had to break the connection between your dad and mine."

"But how? We don't even know the exact spell he used."

"I know he used garnet. Mama called it a Vampire stone."

The boy across from me sat back and ran his hand through his dark hair. "I don't know enough about charms to even begin to understand how to unravel that kind of magic."

"Me neither," I confessed, though the admission was unnecessary. Mama's admonishment about refusing to learn magic was coming back to haunt me. Then, a dangerous idea formed. "But I know who can help us."