“And all the lives of everyone who had touched it coursed through him at the same time.”
“Yes.” Sorren nodded and then paused. “Perhaps if he were younger or stronger… but it was more than his heart could take.”
Sorrow lodged in my throat. Having been possessed by moments of other people’s lives, I did not want to think too hard about the power that had overwhelmed Evan.
“He picked me to inherit the store. I remember the first time I met him. I was a little girl.”
“What do you recall?” Sorren asked.
I thought back. “He gave me a bracelet,” I said quietly. “And he asked me what I saw.”
“What did you tell him?”
I smiled, remembering that long ago day, my seventh birthday. “I told him a story about a dark haired girl with curls in a white dress who liked to chase ducks. He listened as I told him all about her.” I looked up and met Sorren’s gaze. “It was a test, wasn’t it? To see if I had the gift.”
Sorren nodded. “Yes. He was very excited when he came back. He was so thrilled that someone in a new generation had the talent. Sometimes the magical gift skips a generation, and even then, Evan had an eye on retirement.”
I stroked Baxter’s soft fur. “But he didn’t get to retire.”
“No, he didn’t. And I mourn him, as I mourn all your ancestors, back to the first Evann, who opened this store when South Carolina was barely a colony.” I heard the sadness in his voice.
“So there’s no retirement plan,” I said, but the humor sounded forced.
Sorren looked at me and chuckled. “Cassidy – I am a very wealthy man. I take care of my own. I have never left one of my partners without support.”
I returned his gaze. “Trifles and Folly isn’t the only store like this, is it?”
He shook his head. “Over the centuries? No.”
“And now?”
A faint smile touched his lips. “There are several sister shops scattered around the world. All managed by someone with a gift that enables them to identify – and intervene – when dangerous objects come onto the market. From there, the Alliance takes over, as it does here.”
“I want to find more things I can use to protect myself. I’m tired of getting knocked flat on my ass every time we go out.”
Sorren nodded. “I agree. Your Uncle Evan was quite good with a number of weapons, both mundane and magical. You and Teag need protection.”
Just then, the phone rang, and I jumped. I could tell from the caller display that it was Teag. “Just talking about you,” I said with as much cheer as I could muster. “What’s up?”
“Is Sorren there?”
“Yep.”
“Mind if I come over? I’ve got some more information – and something to show you.”
“Sure,” I said. “I’ll put out some cookies. Come on over.”
I looked up as the call ended. “I’m glad Teag called. If we’re going to decide what to do next, he should be part of it.”
Sorren nodded. “That’s fine. Lucinda should be here in a few minutes as well.”
Teag made it in record time. “Good evening,” he said cheerily.
“I think that’s supposed to be my line,” Sorren said, with an utter deadpan delivery. It was so unexpected that I did a double-take. Maybe the fear of facing down the big bad darkness made me a little punchy, because I laughed harder than the joke was worth.
Teag grabbed a soda from the fridge and came to sit down with us in my living room. A moment later, the doorbell rang, and I welcomed Lucinda into the room.
“I know you say you don’t read minds,” I said, “but I had just been thinking that we really needed to invite Lucinda into this before we take the next step.”
“That’s just common sense,” Lucinda replied. Tonight, she was dressed in a form-fitting black cami and a crinkled, loose cotton skirt. I glimpsed silver necklaces with the veves of several powerful Voudon Loa.
Her hair was held back with a headband. It was quite a departure from the buttoned-down business suit-wearing professor. “Good. I’m glad we agree,” I said.
“Now that Lucinda is here, we can get to one of the reasons I dropped by tonight,” Sorren said. “You wanted to be better able to protect yourself.” He said with a look in my direction. “I brought you something that will help you do that.”
Sorren took a piece of amber from his pocket. It was circular, about the size of a stuffed mushroom, and the smooth amber surface had been carved with runes. He held it up between his thumb and forefinger.
“Do you know what this is?” he asked.
Teag frowned, thinking. “It’s a spindle whorl,” He said, finally making the connection. “They were used to weight the spindle and help twist fiber into thread.”
Sorren nodded. “They used to be quite common. Long ago, people understood that there was magic in the process of weaving and spinning. It’s not a coincidence that it’s said that someone ‘spins’ a spell.
Teag’s beginning to understand it, although he’s more prone to spin data than wool. Spinning whorls were thought to possess magic.”
All traces of humor left his eyes. “This was a gift from a Viking Seior to my maker,” Sorren said. “I’ve seen its power.”
I looked to Sorren and then to Lucinda. “I thought the Seiors died out back in the Dark Ages.” I’ve always loved mythology, and reading old legends and folktales has been a hobby since I was a kid.
Sorren gave a half-smile. “I assure you, Secona is very much alive.”
Mentally, I did the math. If Sorren was five hundred and some years old and Secona had given the whorl to Sorren’s maker, then both the staff and Secona were very, very old. Well, damn.
“What does it do?” I asked. The thought of taking up the centuries-old spindle whorl of a Viking witch and wise woman gave me pause.
Sorren’s smile was encouraging. “I don’t know what it will do for you. Why not try touching it and see how it speaks to you?”
I could think of about a millions reasons why that might not be a good idea, but practicality won out. If we were going into a dangerously haunted facility to face down a demon, then I needed a better way to defend myself.
I sighed and nodded my assent. “Okay. Pass it over. Probably better if I do this sitting down.”
The whorl was a beautiful piece of amber. Its rich, clear color drew me down into its depths, into the one-of-a-kind bubbles and imperfections. I knew enough about weaving from Teag to know that a whorl weighted a distaff, which was a pole around which thread or yarn was coiled. Legends all over the world revered the distaff as a powerful and sacred tool for gaining divine guidance, cursing enemies and seeing into the future.
I had no idea how such an ancient magical item might react to my touch. Lucinda came to stand on one side of me as Sorren brought me the whorl.
“Honestly, Teag’s the Weaver,” I said. “It might be more in line with his Gift.”
“And perhaps at another time we’ll test that but Lucinda has something else for Teag,” Sorren said giving a nod to Teag. “But you need something now. See how Secona speaks to you,” he urged.
“Hold on,” I said, setting aside the spoon that was inside my sleeve. I thought about unclasping Bo’s collar, but left it wrapped around my wrist. I took a deep breath and held out both hands, palms up, to receive the whorl.
The amber felt warm and smooth on my palms, and the whorl was heavier than I expected for its size. I sensed the incredible age of the whorl and the disillusionment that came with long existence. So much gone, never to return… Power thrummed through the amber. Every magical working leaves a residue. Magics great and small had been done with this whorl, and the echo of those spells clung to the smooth resin. She who wielded this piece had great magic. I remembered the name, Secona, and I saw a blonde woman wearing a blue cloak with a headpiece of black lambskin trimmed in white rabbit. A gem-inlaid mantle covered her