Keeper(40)

“A Continuance?”

“It’s like a bond, or a link, between the two of you. She’s trying to communicate.”

“Josephine just wants to talk to me?” I recalled the pain that had lanced through my body at her touch. “She could’ve just sent a text.”

“Lainey, you don’t understand. It is exceedingly rare for a witch to perform a Continuance from the other side. A link forged through the veil can only be created by channeling enormous amounts of energy, and sustaining it requires tremendous power from both parties.”

“But why create a link in the first place?”

“There’s only one reason I can think of.” Serena swallowed. “You’re in danger.”

Those three little words echoed in my ears. I shivered, feeling the branches of the tree slithering across my skin. I nodded slowly. “I almost died tonight.”

Serena gasped, but before she could ask questions, I told her of how the tree in the graveyard had attacked me.

“I know it sounds crazy,” I said, “but it happened. I don’t know how or why, but—”

“It was a dryad.” Serena’s face was still pallid, but she spoke with certainty. “A tree spirit.”

“A tree . . . spirit.” I swallowed. All I knew about dryads was what I remembered from a Greek mythology book I’d read a few years ago. “Aren’t they supposed to be . . . nice?” I swallowed again, feeling both confused and ridiculous for asking.

Serena shook her head. “Not all of them—that’s like asking if humans are nice. It depends on where their loyalties lie.”

“Oh,” I said, though the answer made little sense to me. “Well, I think Josephine saved me. There was a flash of green light right before the tree dropped me. Afterward, my eyes looked like this.

“Yes . . . green eyes,” Serena said, her knowing eyes staring into my mine. “Oh Lainey, do you know what this means?”

“Oh yeah, of course.” I rolled my eyes.

Serena’s eyes were closed, and she looked as if she were going to cry. “The cloaking spells aren’t working anymore.” She looked at me, tears brimming in her eyes. “Oh God, I told Gareth!”

The hysteria on her face made my heart race. “I don’t understand.”

“It’s called the Awakening,” Serena began, her tone resembling that of a teacher giving an important lecture. “Although witches are born with their powers, they don’t manifest until the witch is grown—usually around one’s seventeenth birthday. There are rare cases, though, of premature witches being able to perform small feats of magic. We call them pulses.”

“And these pulses?” I said, trying to grasp the situation. “They’re bad?”

Serena’s lower lip was trembling when she spoke, her voice barely louder than a whisper. “Powerful magic attracts attention.”

“And these pulses are coming from me?”

Serena nodded gravely. “You are your mother’s daughter.”

I swallowed. “So the tree was feeding off my . . . my magic?”

“I believe so, yes.”

My chest was starting to tighten. I sat down on the edge of the couch and tried to take a few deep breaths.

“And it wasn’t Josephine who saved you.” Serena knelt down in front of me. “It would be almost impossible for her to perform that kind of magic from the other side. No, I think it was you, Lainey.” She pointed to my eyes. “Magic always leaves a mark.”

I tried to speak, but the words were stuck in my throat.

“Gareth and I have been cloaking you your entire life, using magic to hide the pull of your power. But you’re getting stronger, Lainey. The spells . . . they’re failing. If Josephine has linked the two of you, it must mean she’s trying to warn you.” Her eyes flitted once again to the tarot card lying faceup on the table. “You’re in terrible danger.”

The words made me shiver. “You’re psychic, right? Can’t you look into your crystal ball or something? Give me something more concrete than that?”

“I’m a Seer, but my Sight doesn’t work that way,” Serena argued. “I’m afraid modern entertainment has painted a rather unrealistic portrait of my abilities. I can’t just tap into people’s lives and see what I want to see. I see flashes, things that will come to pass or might merely be a glimpse of what could be. And magic also distorts my Sight—it’s very susceptible to spells and charms. Even protection wards.” She indicated me. “It’s all very subjective.”

“Then what good is a Seer?” I seethed. Anger boiled under my skin until it exploded through me. “You say you knew my mother, that she was your friend. Did it ever occur to you that maybe her daughter deserved better than a life full of lies?”

Serena winced as though she’d been struck.

I wanted to keep yelling. I wanted to throw things and scream at the top of my lungs, but as quickly as it’d come, the fire leaked out of me. My entire face crumpled as the anger gave way to something much deeper. “You’re the closest thing I have to a mother anymore. Didn’t you think I deserved to know the truth?”

Serena didn’t bother wiping the tears that streaked down her cheeks. She stared at me with eyes that were full of guilt as she struggled to respond. “Lainey, I wanted to, but Gareth . . .” She trailed off and looked miserably down at her lap. Tears fell from her cheeks and made tiny wet spots on the fabric of her skirt. After a few moments, she looked back at me, the remorse in her eyes clear. “You’re right. We should’ve told you. But you have to understand, we’ve only ever tried to protect you.”