was going to fall into a bog and never be heard from again, when I heard them call me. Like sirens, they were. They wanted me to come down from my horse and spend the night with them. They tried to enchant me, feeding me wormwood tea and poppy-seed cake, and salads of nasturtiums and morning glories. You know me, Lanore; you know I have a strong constitution, but after a meal like that, I was stoned out of my mind and tame as a house cat. They waited until we were in bed to tell me that they were witches. I’d never been around women magic-handlers before. The great alchemists I’d met had all been men.” He stroked his beard thoughtfully. “I grant you, there might have been a few female alchemists back then, though I would imagine that they’d have hidden their interest, as it wouldn’t have been to their advantage to be discovered, but more than one or two? I doubt it. And if there were, this very practice of keeping apart from other practitioners, the great practitioners, would have been their undoing. Because that is how you become great. Alchemy is not something you can master on your own. You must learn from the discoveries of others.
“I found the witch sisters’ magic disconcerting at first, but got used to it soon enough. Adepts called it ‘kitchen magic,’ the kind that’s passed from one generation to the next without formal training; it’s roundly thought of as primitive. The sisters didn’t want to hear that, of course. They were proud, and didn’t want to be judged or looked down on, but I had something they desperately wanted: a book of spells. That’s like the holy grail to them, and once they found out I had one on me, they came up with a plan to rob me. They tied me up, but I managed to escape.”
I settled close to him on the pillows, to share his sunny spot. “You couldn’t have been too pleased about that.”
“I didn’t appreciate it, no. I let my anger get the better of me, I’m afraid. I destroyed their home,” he admitted sheepishly. That sounded like the Adair of old, the Adair I knew, with a temper as explosive as a nuclear warhead. “And they swore to take revenge on me one day.”
“And you think these two girls are Penthy and Bronwyn, come back to make good on their threat?” I asked, dubious. “Reincarnation?”
I felt his weight shift restlessly beside me. “Maybe . . . why not? There’s something about this island that makes things happen. This place has a magical history, but I think there’s more to it than that. I think there’s a strong magical force here. That’s why Crowley’s disciple came here, that’s what drew me here. That force could have enabled the witch sisters to come back.”
“I suppose anything is possible,” I said, trying not to sound as uncertain as I felt. “Let’s say, for argument’s sake, that it’s true, that these witches have come back through Robin and Terry. Have they done anything to you, done anything malicious?”
“Not that comes to mind,” he admitted.
“What do you think they’d want from you?”
“I don’t know.” I could tell I’d vexed him by the dark look that clouded his face. “Look, I realize it sounds far-fetched, but I know how I feel and I think they’re Penthy and Bronwyn. But as to why they’ve come back . . . well, that part I don’t know yet , but whatever it is, it won’t be for the good,” he said, and sounded a bit slighted by my skepticism. “I grant you that I might have it all wrong. Maybe it’s just the island making mefeel this way. There’s something uncanny about it, almost as if it has a will of its own. Perhaps the barrier between this world and the next is at its thinnest here . . . or it’s positioned at a special confluence of stars. Or it’s a combination of magnetic forces, or a balance of elements found nowhere else, as legend has it. You’ll have to take my word for it. I can feel it.”
I didn’t want to tell him, but I could feel it, too, just as
“I found the witch sisters’ magic disconcerting at first, but got used to it soon enough. Adepts called it ‘kitchen magic,’ the kind that’s passed from one generation to the next without formal training; it’s roundly thought of as primitive. The sisters didn’t want to hear that, of course. They were proud, and didn’t want to be judged or looked down on, but I had something they desperately wanted: a book of spells. That’s like the holy grail to them, and once they found out I had one on me, they came up with a plan to rob me. They tied me up, but I managed to escape.”
I settled close to him on the pillows, to share his sunny spot. “You couldn’t have been too pleased about that.”
“I didn’t appreciate it, no. I let my anger get the better of me, I’m afraid. I destroyed their home,” he admitted sheepishly. That sounded like the Adair of old, the Adair I knew, with a temper as explosive as a nuclear warhead. “And they swore to take revenge on me one day.”
“And you think these two girls are Penthy and Bronwyn, come back to make good on their threat?” I asked, dubious. “Reincarnation?”
I felt his weight shift restlessly beside me. “Maybe . . . why not? There’s something about this island that makes things happen. This place has a magical history, but I think there’s more to it than that. I think there’s a strong magical force here. That’s why Crowley’s disciple came here, that’s what drew me here. That force could have enabled the witch sisters to come back.”
“I suppose anything is possible,” I said, trying not to sound as uncertain as I felt. “Let’s say, for argument’s sake, that it’s true, that these witches have come back through Robin and Terry. Have they done anything to you, done anything malicious?”
“Not that comes to mind,” he admitted.
“What do you think they’d want from you?”
“I don’t know.” I could tell I’d vexed him by the dark look that clouded his face. “Look, I realize it sounds far-fetched, but I know how I feel and I think they’re Penthy and Bronwyn. But as to why they’ve come back . . . well, that part I don’t know yet , but whatever it is, it won’t be for the good,” he said, and sounded a bit slighted by my skepticism. “I grant you that I might have it all wrong. Maybe it’s just the island making mefeel this way. There’s something uncanny about it, almost as if it has a will of its own. Perhaps the barrier between this world and the next is at its thinnest here . . . or it’s positioned at a special confluence of stars. Or it’s a combination of magnetic forces, or a balance of elements found nowhere else, as legend has it. You’ll have to take my word for it. I can feel it.”
I didn’t want to tell him, but I could feel it, too, just as
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