Incarnate: The Moray Druids #3 (Highland Historical) (8 page)

"What the hell are you doing?"

Tierra De Moray jumped with the knife poised over her palm. Ah, crap. She'd been found out. Now there would be hell to pay.

"Aunt Justine,
don't
sneak up on me like that!" She'd have to start the chant over now. Everything had to be precise or the spell wouldn’t work, and it
had
to work. She couldn't go on like this any longer without going crazy. 

"You don't know what you're dealing with," Justine said, her fingers curling at her sides. Her face lost its mask of youth and she looked more her true age of sixty than the glamour of forty. "You're dabbling in things you don't understand."

It wasn't like she hadn't asked over the years. "It’s a simple finding spell." With a lot of summoning added in.

"Tierra, listen to me. Some things are lost for a reason and should never be found." Panic rose in her voice causing it to shrill and stir the wind in warning. 

"Are you ready to share those reasons with me?" Tierra demanded.

Justine had raised her after her mother had died in childbirth. Whoever her father had been still remained a mystery as the De Moray women didn't keep their men. There wasn't a man alive who had what it took to live with a De Moray witch. One of the many things Justine had refused to speak of, and Tierra had asked, begged, and wheedled over the years to no avail.

She waited with baited breath one last time to see if Justine would finally answer her questions. The tightening of Justine's lips was loud enough.

"I thought so," Tierra muttered, ignoring the hurt that came with her aunt's continued silence. "I need to find out. Part of
me
is missing. Once and for all, I'm putting an end to this." Either she'd finally know what had been taken from her, or she'd lose this void that echoed in her soul for good.

It was a two-part spell. She didn't waste energy if she could help it. Her movements were sure, confident as the earth whispered to her of ancient things, and directed her in the pathways of witches who'd practiced before her. Her bare toes curled into the lush grasses and rich soil underneath her feet.

She was an earth witch and while she rocked on the spring equinox—and the solstices—it was the autumn equinox that was really her night to rule the world. She couldn't wait that long. The circle was closed. The elements of air, water, fire, and earth all present at four directions within the circle representing north, south, east, and west.

Tierra untied the soft cotton shift and it drifted like mist to the ground. She stood naked under the tree limbs, having previously bathed with essential oils in preparation. The Pacific Northwest's old-growth forest of spruce, hemlock, fir, juniper, and bristlecone pines hovered over her in protection, their branches curved as though cradling a child. The air stirred and teased the long strands of her hair, the color of burgundy wine, in a dance around her torso. The scent of burning sage, lavender, and thistle wafted in the crisp night air. 

"This is nonsense, Tierra. Don't make me put an end to this." Justine tried to break into the circle and was repelled back a few steps. It spoke to her aunt's level of power that the push hadn't sent her all the way home.

Justine could try, but she wouldn't be able to enter the circle. Tierra had planned to perform this spell tonight, on the spring equinox with its blood moon, making she'd be more powerful. More powerful than her aunt.

For as long as Tierra could remember, she felt as if a significant part of her had been ripped from her soul. The only thing that made sense was an article she'd read about soldiers who'd lost limbs in battle, and the phantom pain that never left them. She had all her arms and legs, fingers and toes, but on another level something just as important had been severed from her.

Justine wasn't talking, and neither was the coven.

The earth would reveal her secrets.

"
Stop this, Tierra
." There was a threat in her voice now as Justine tried to tear into the circle, her fingers shaped like claws. This time the circle tossed her back a few yards. The next attempt would knock her on her ass.

Tierra restarted the spell her aunt had interrupted and raised the knife until the light of the blood moon glinted crimson off the blade.

"Keeper of secrets, release what was taken,

Hear me now—answer in three

Return to me what has been forsaken,

By earth, air, fire, and sea…"

She continued to chant as power infused her body and the air charged with energy. Her aunt's yelling and repeated attempts to break into the circle disappeared as Tierra lost herself in the spell. Her lungs expanded, and her heart raced. New spring flowers swirled in a tunnel of frenzy as vapor in the air caught fire and rained sparks. She drew the blade across her palm and blood flowed into the copper bowl, mixing with the dandelion, myrrh, sage, and wormwood.

Something tore free from her, stealing her breath, and the contents of the bowl burst into flame. Silvery, iridescent smoke twirled like ribbons into the starry midnight sky, splitting and then shooting three different directions. An implosion shook the circle and the resulting percussion sealed the spell.

Tierra was thrown backward. The soft meadow grasses reached up to cushion her fall. She lay there, catching her breath as her mind raced.

The earth sighed and a truth she was never supposed to know manifested itself. 

Her spell had broken another. A banishing spell as old as she was.

Whatever had been taken from her had also been banished never to be reunited. The acrid taste of pine was sharp on Tierra's tongue.

"What have you done?" Justine whispered, though the words sounded like a scream inside Tierra's head.

Justine's jade eyes were wide and scared, and her cherry-red hair had been teased into a chaos of twists and coils around her ashen face. Her aunt's mop of hair was always restrained, her clothes perfectly neat. Nothing about her was restrained right now. She looked wild and desperate.

Just how hard did Justine try to break into the circle?

A skittering of fear shivered over Tierra's skin. Shaking, she climbed to her feet, breathing like she'd hiked to the top of the Olympic Mountains.

"Would you quit overreacting," she said, reaching for the shift to cover her nakedness as the cold needled in. "It's not like I just brought about the end of the world."

"You insolent
witch
." Justine slowly got to her feet, her face a mask of anger and terror. "That's exactly what you've done." 

Excerpt by:  Tiffinie Helmer

Kerrigan Byrne's stories span the spectrum of romantic fiction from historical, to paranormal, to romantic suspense. She can always promise her reader one thing: memorable and sexy Celtic heroes who are guaranteed to heat your blood before they steal your heart. Kerrigan lives at the base of the Rocky Mountains with her husband and his three lovely daughters. She's worked in Law Enforcement for the better part of a decade.

To find other books by Kerrigan, visit her website at:

www.kerriganbyrne.com