Chapter 19
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Evangeline Lipscomb's yellow Craftsman style two-story looked exactly like all the other houses in the neighborhood backing up against the heavily wooded Beaver Creek. The eclectic front lawn was a warren of herb beds interspersed with bushes and shrubs. If Adalind had to guess, each one served a specific purpose.
Kelly babbled and pointed at a dozen different flowers as she mounted the stairs leading to the redwood front porch. She stood at the door for a minute, waiting, and then pressed the doorbell. Locks clicked and the older witch held her arms out. "Oh, it's so good to see you and your precious little one."
Kelly's smile bloomed. He craned towards the floor. Adalind wrestled her squirming toddler but the old woman's eyes sparkled. "It's all right I raised three children in this house."
He crawled over to the coffee table. A peacock feather's iridescent green filaments fluttered and teased his chubby fingertips. Adalind gasped as he craned and grabbed at it, but it slithered off, just out of reach, leaving him giggling. The chase was on. He shuffled his way around the short table before plopping down and crawling off in hot pursuit.
The lines of salt were carefully laid out, crisp and true in the interconnected five-pointed star. Each apex was set with a crystal or a small statue. The pungent scent of incense mingled with blood hung in the air. Everything was set to practice the ritual. Her mother had prepared things like this, though she never explained them. The old woman rattled on about the alignment of the points with various stars and planets while Adalind sat her baby bag and purse down. Kelly was reaching and pulling, so she hauled her curious little cat into her arms while rummaging for a note pad.
Evangeline explained the significance of each statue and crystal but Kelly was craning for his bear. His fingers caught her purse strap and it tipped, dumping everything out. Bud's grandmother's bible flopped onto the workbench with a clump. The bowls and crystals rattled while the small statues tipped over. Burp cloths, wipes, and spare jumpers smeared the lines out of place. Adalind quickly apologized and reached to straighten the arrangement, but the old woman took a quick step back. She was frozen, staring, mouth agape.
Adalind swallowed hard at the words staring back at her off the dog eared pages. Her stomach knotted as a rock dropped into her gut. It was time to go.
The woman's fingers trembed as Adalind shoveled burp cloths, bottles, and stuffed animals into the bag. A bead of sweat ran down Evangeline's nose as her thumb rubbed over a broken statue and then locked on the book in Adalind's hands.
The scents of sage, bay, and coriander intensified as the bunches of herbs hanging from beams crinkled and twisted. Evangeline's eyes followed each smoldering trail Adalind's fingers etched into the tabletop. "H-How? Is that a..?"
Kelly shifted in her arms. "I was trying to rescue my daughter and ended up chained to a stone floor. The only food I had was rats I caught. I was crying and begging and pleading to be saved. I'm not exactly sure what happened, other than it keeps saying I was bought for a price. I still don't totally understand it."
Dried flecks of herb and seeds crackled and landed on her shoulders. Wisps of smoke and orange sparks puffed off her clothing and hair. This new, fragrant aroma washed away the stink of acrid incense and calmed her frazzled nerves. Glittering flecks of ashy fluff drifted around Adalind's tan sweater in the lone sunbeam shining through the south window. She slid the bible back into her bag. Here she was, lighting the poor woman's house on fire. She had never even considered that. Shivers washed over her. What if someone had been hurt?
She was apologizing on her way to the door when Evangeline stopped her. "W-What did it say?"
"Those who regard worthless idols forsake their own mercy." Adalind held a hand up. "I used to administer all sorts of rituals for my last job. I think this means I can't do this sort of thing anymore."
The old witch picked one of the deformed statues from amongst the shattered crystals. The tiny mannequin's brass legs had slumped under its body and the once angry face was now a deformed, brown wart frozen in terror. Her eyes reddened and a tear rolled down her cheek. She sniffed, stared off into space for a minute, and sobbing poured out. "My daughters won't let my grandchildren visit because of the rituals. They're worried about exposing the children to evil spirits, but it is hard to leave the old ways. It's what my mother and grandmother taught me."
The sweetness of the herbal smoke coalescing around her head rejuvenated Adalind and drove the worry off. There was work to be done. Her friend needed her help. She laid a reassuring hand on Evangeline's shoulder. "If anyone didn't deserve another chance, it was me." She swallowed hard. "So no rituals. Can we do the fertility procedure without them?"
The woman's eyebrow quirked and she cleared her bench.
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The rain finally came after six weeks of nothing and it when it did, it didn't stop. Bleak skies had blanketed Portland for the last week. Trees drooped low. Melencholy light flickered out of every store front. Rosalee and Monroe hadn't said more than a few words in two days. Even Kelly was crawling around, searching the elevator and the bedroom, asking, "Da da? Da da?"
She hadn't seen Nick in a week and a half from the endless double shifts. They were like ghost ships, slowly drifting. Would he even notice if she was gone? The thought burned deep in her chest and left tears dripping off her nose.
She really needed to talk with him. Tell him that she was going back to work this week, and he could back off the eighty-hour a week schedules. Tell him that her powers were back and she still loved him.
Was it too late? Would it even matter?
He was off saving the world. How could she compete with that? Was it even right to pull him away? It's not like the world didn't need saving. Wesen were flocking to her from all over the Pacific Northwest for wills and property sales. They were in a hurry to free up cash, just in case. Nobody would say a thing, but they were terrified of the coming storm. It wasn't just the gang violence. Tension was running high as professional organizers ginned wesen up in churches, union halls, university campuses, and even coffee houses.
Fire flared deep inside. Listen to you! You sound like your mother! Blaming Nick for working hard to support you and your child. You've been independent since you were eleven, and this is the hill you're going to die on?
She beat the emotions back down and focused on the truth before her. Nick was the best guy she had ever dated, by a long shot. He was paying all the bills. Taking care of her and their son, and he didn't once lord it over her. That's why he was signing up for every scrap of overtime he could get and working two full shifts whenever they became available. She had said it herself a hundred times, he was shouldering the entire burden without complaining, and he of all people was the one with the right to gripe.
If he didn't care, he would have just dumped them on the street and walked away. And oh, by the way, she HAD been dumped on the street by Sean.
He could have bought himself a brand new, fully loaded Toyota Landcruiser and left her to scrounge diapers and stale bread, but instead, he gave her the only birthday party she could remember, complete with a "Happy Birthday Adalind," cake and ice cream. Her fingers drifted over the charm bracelet with little blocks that spelled Kelly and Diana separated by baby feet and rattles. She cherished that gift.
She knew what it was like to be shuffled off by Sean and play fifth place in Eric's harem.
She needed to talk with him.
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Adalind's eyes popped open. The bed was empty. The musty scent of caverns wafted past. She called for Nick and he said something about a glass of water. The tingle of ancient magic caressed her skin when his hand slid onto her belly. She let his familiar smell come to her. Burnt coffee was on his breath. His skin bore the remains of police department disinfectant, Wesen, and cheap shampoo. He really was a great guy, coming to bed clean. She was curious about where the magic was coming from. It was just like whatever he had gotten into in Germany, but she dared not say a word until they talked about out her powers returning.
She shifted and slid her hand across his chest, which left his cupping her breast. Nick's eyes were open. He slowly pulled it back off. "Did I wake you up?"
She lied. "No. It's ok."
He settled back into the bed, still staring at the ceiling. She still hadn't said a word about the new job. It was now or never. "Hey. I forgot to tell you something."
He perked up expectantly. She continued, "I'm interviewing with Berman tomorrow. You've been so good to Kelly and I, but you're right. We're drowning."
He nodded and his brow creased. "Are ready to go back to work?"
"I've never not worked. I got my first job at twelve, and you said it yourself, we need the money."
Nick stared at the ceiling while the fan slowly paddled through the air. She continued, "The city is beating the drum on that Asbestos deal. They're threatening to condemn Rosalee's spice shop, close Bud's repair business, jail over two hundred business owners, and tear down nearly half of downtown."
His laugh chuffed out. "Are the Trailblazers threatening to relocate again?"
She blinked. It was so obvious. Sports stadium? Casino? Some sort of new high-rise complex? Adalind hadn't even bothered tapping into the rumor mill, but she would. "It's gotta be, but I just don't have the resources to do all the research and filings. I can tell you that I'll know by the end of the week."
She rubbed over his shoulder, but he just kept staring into the ceiling. She laid her head on his chest and allowed his thoughts to creep past her mental shields. He was replaying incidents where Juliette woged in his face, snarling and gnashing broken teeth, screaming obscenities, and burning all his Grimm books. The woman was furious, clawing his face and raking gashes into his chest. And then she tried to to kill Rosalee, Monroe, Hank, and himself. Three times. In hindsight, he just should have cut her loose.
Her heart knotted as she slid her shields back into place. The words were stuck. He deserved to know, but she had to tread very carefully.