“She took me to see an eccentric djinn. Thadrick explained to me that magic didn’t simply just happen. You couldn’t wave a wand and accidently turn a friend into a toad. Magic has to bedirected.”
“Intentional,”Jewelsaid.
“Exactly. And the magic in me had been given an intention, to do evil, and no amount of my efforts to try and wield it differently would alter it. This book”—she held up the one they’d stolen—“is the record of how Mona created the witches and how I broke free and changed the dark magic inside of me to something different, something akin to the magic of the fae, only not nearly as strong. I retained my powers, but I broke free of the will of Volcan and mysister.”
“How did you do it?” Jewel asked. She’d scooted forward and was on the edge of her seat as she waited for Jezebel’sanswer.
“Thadrick, Peri, and I went through our own trial and error in search for either a cure or something that would slow down the spread of Volcan’s darkness. The final spell was one written by a fae eons ago. Thad found it after searching through the vaults of history in his mind. The spell was originally written to reverse the taint of evil on something pure. We thought we might convert it to our own purpose. We went to find the fae who wrote it. Her name wasMetea.”
“It’s a Greek name. It means gentle,” Jewel said and then slapped her hand over hermouth.
“Why on earth do you know that?” Periasked.
Jewel’s face turned bright red as she shook her head and kept her hand over hermouth.
“Don’t make me force you to talk. It will come out sounding all robotic and crap. It’s creepy, so just spititout.”
She let her hand drop and huffed. “Doesn’t every girl dream about growing up and getting married andhavingkids?”
“I’ll play along. Of course they do,”Annasaid.
“Thank you. Well I used to look up the meanings of names trying to pick out the ones that I might one day name my own children. There was a time when people believed a name could define the character of aperson.”
“You looked up names meaning gentle,” Perioffered.
Jewel nodded. “I encountered quite a few not-gentle people during my high school experience. And I figured there needed to be more gentle souls in theworld.”
“Jewel Stone, just when I think I have you figured out. Okay then, continueJezebel.”
“Yes, her name does mean gentle and that she was, an incredibly gentle soul. Metea explained the spell to us, including how risky it was. The spell required several things converging all at once. The fae stones, a willing sacrifice, and a pure heart. If the second or third was missing, then the stones would not show up. As for the sacrifice, it didn’t necessarily mean a life, it just meant some type of bloodshed. When she’d done the spell on previous occasions, cutting her own hand hadsufficed.
“She only asked this of us in return, that we hide the knowledge of the spell from Volcan, should we be successful. And only use it when, or if, we ever came across any others who had not given in to the evil. Of course, we readily agreed. Metea insisted upon being there when the spell was performed so she could help if anything were to go awry.” Jezebel paused and met Peri’s eyes. The sorrow from the events of that night so long ago still lived inside ofthemboth.
“I’ll take over,” Peri said as she cleared her throat. “Myself, Metea, Thad, and Jezebel all gathered at Metea’s home two days later. I began the spell, but when I was halfway through, and all of the fae stones had appeared, Matea insisted on taking over. I was just on the point of cutting my hand to offer the willing sacrifice. I didn’t know why she wanted to finish the spell, but I assumed maybe she realized I was doing something wrong or she remembered some key thing she’d originally forgotten. I agreed and handed her the blade. She continued the spell and, as the power in the words and stones culminated, Matea gave her sacrifice.” Peri blinked back the tears she hadn’t known she’d still be able to cry over herfriend’sgift.
“What happened?” Annaasked.
“Matea hadn’t told us the entire truth about the sacrifice. The payment demanded by the spell wasn’t always the same as she’d led us to believe. Rather, a small sacrifice would only work for a small amount of evil, but a large sacrifice was required for darker possessions. Matea gave her life as the sacrifice to finish the spell.” Peri’s words seemed to reverberate through the quietapartment.
“It is a painful truth,” Gustavo said, breaking the silence, “that which means the most to us, requires that we give the most of ourselves. Seeing evil defeated meant everything to Metea. I did not know her, yet through her actions I can see this. She saw the pure heart in Jezebel and knew she was worthsaving.”
Jezebel covered her mouth as she attempted to quiet her tears. After several deep breaths, she looked up at him. “I would have never performed the spell if I’d had known what it required,”shesaid.
“Which is why she didn’t tell you,” Jewel said. “It was her right to choose whether she wanted to sacrifice herself, not yours. And that is why Desdemona thought you dead. She thought the spell killed you. She never knew aboutMetea.”
“Exactly,” saidJezebel.
Anna reached out and took her mother’s hand. “I will be forever grateful to a woman I will never know because she saved the woman who I callmymom.”
“I know we were never super close because I was always moving around. I was so scared I would draw supernatural beings to you. I used the voodoo shop as a front because most supernaturals think shops like this are a joke andavoidthem.”
“It’s true and we do,” Peri addeddryly.
“When I found out I was pregnant with you, I was so incredibly happy. And after you were born, you were this little miracle, and I quickly realized how vulnerable you would be in the world I knew. So, I put wards on the store and our apartment to protect you, and then I tried to stay away as often as I could but I missed you so much. I have always been so proud of you. You have grown into a woman who can think for herself and take care of herself. I never wanted you to be a part of all of this, but you were destined to be, I fear. Now you can make your own choices. I only ask you forgive me for the part I played in dragging youintothis.”
“The Great Luna brought her into this, not you, Jezebel,” said Peri with a finality that brokered nodiscussion.
Anna didn’t blame her mom. Jezebel did the best she could under the circumstances. She hadn’t asked to be turned into a witch either. “What about myfather?”
