Crescent Calling: The Crescent Witch Chronicles - Book One by R Nicole (essential reading TXT) 📗

an incantation for the subiit deserta. A spell to dissolve the forlorn. Turned out it was a very handy trick when it came to the body disposal part of the to-do list.

“I didn’t know it would be like that,” I said, sorrow creeping into my heart.

“Like what?”

“It used to be a person. It had a face and a name just like you and me.”

“It was a fae, Skye,” Boone replied. “But that was a long time ago. Whoever it was wasn’t inside anymore.”

I suppose he was right, but I still mourned its passing and the life it had before the doorways were sealed. To think it was once a creature of beauty. A fae, clear and bright as a summer’s day, mysterious and magical.

“It’s been quiet ever since,” he said, preempting my thoughts. “Nothin’ stirs. Nothin’ watches.”

“Maybe I scared them all away.”

“Aye, I think you have.”

“So, you can leave the boundary now,” I said. “Nothing came for you.”

“Nothin’ came because I was with you,” he replied. “I see it now.”

“You seem so certain,” I murmured.

“Of what?”

“That I’m some powerful savior come to set you free. I’m just a woman.”

He grinned as if he knew a secret I didn’t, his lip pulling up on one side more than the other. It was his other trademark to go along with his red and black checkered shirt. His roguish smile.

“You are a woman, Skye, it’s hard not to notice, but you’re much more than ‘just.’ You aren’t a Crescent Witch. You’re the Crescent Witch.”

“Stop trying to flatter me.” I rolled my eyes. “I stink, my hair is all knotted, and I need to pee, like, really bad.”

“Would you like a hand?”

“I can pee on my own thanks.”

He snorted and shifted his weight on the mattress. I was glad he was here even if his devotion was starting to scare me a little. So much had happened since I arrived in Derrydun, and most of it I still didn’t understand. Not really. There was still a long road ahead of us, and it would take a lifetime to traverse if we ever reached the end at all.

“You know,” I began as I sat up, my head swimming. “I didn’t really believe it all until I stood face-to-face with the craglorn. Not really.”

“Even after I accidentally fell asleep on the end of your bed?” He bit his lip, trying to stop a devilish smile from spreading across his face.

“Stop it.” I slapped his arm. “I’m serious. It’s all so…fantastical, and I kind of accepted it as logic. I went along without questioning and…” Got us into a heap of unnecessary trouble.

“Deep down, I think you knew,” Boone declared. “That’s why it was so easy for you. Your heart knew who you were even if your mind took some time to catch up.”

“That’s deep.”

“It’s what I believe.”

Sighing, I leaned my cheek against his shoulder. When he kissed the top of my head, I shivered, remembering his declaration in the clearing. My heart belongs to you, Skye Williams. Whether you want it or not.

Oh, I wanted it. Bad.

“This is just the beginning, isn’t it?” I murmured.

“Aye.” His arm circled my back and held me close.

“I’m glad you’re here.”

“I’m glad you’re back.”

The battle with the craglorn was a skirmish on the edges of a brewing war. The mysterious witch Carman was the beginning and end. If I was going to do anything, I would hunt down her ass and hand it to her on a silver platter. Wham, bam, thank you, ma’am.

I knew it wasn’t going to be that easy, but a girl could hope. Magic was deceptive, its illusions and twists and turns were never ending. It was a harsh lesson to learn, but I knew it was better to face it now rather than later when it mattered the most. There was more to be revealed, but in the meantime, I hoped there would be a little peace and quiet in Derrydun. We’d earned it. Last thing I wanted was chaos when I felt like a pile of…

“Irish Moon!” I exclaimed, kicking my legs free of the blankets. “Mairead’s going to kill me!”

“I don’t think you have to worry about that,” Boone said with a chuckle. “Mairead stepped up and took charge.”

“She what?” I stared at him blankly.

“She might try to trick you and negotiate for a bigger bonus,” he added. “But I’ve already taken care of it, so don’t listen to her.”

“What do you mean, you took care of it?” He did have a million jobs and nowhere to spend his money. I would have to pay him back. There was no way in hell I was going to owe money to a tabby cat.

“I know she has a crush on me,” he said sheepishly. “So I let her make a bargain.”

“You knew?” I gasped. “All this time? And you played dumb?”

He nodded and scratched his head, his curly hair falling into his eyes like a shield, but it wasn’t going to save him.

My mouth fell open. “Boone, tell me you didn’t… You better not have…”

“Aye,” he said. “I gave her a kiss.”

The last sound anyone heard at the end of this crazy story was my scream as it tore through Aileen’s cottage, bounced around Derrydun, and echoed across the hills of Ireland.

Boone was in so much trouble.

Chapter 21A Little More…

Deep in the woodland west of Derrydun, the earth began to stir.

Something had happened during the night to unsettle the forest and the creatures that lived in it. Deer huddled closer to their mates, badgers trod gently, birds retired to their nests, mice stayed in their burrows, and foxes ceased their hunting. They all listened to the moon, the first crescent of a new cycle hanging overhead.

The air had changed because something had arrived. Something they’d been waiting for.

A fat, brown toad hopped across a clearing and settled on a rock, its beady eyes watching. The earth was moving, the mass of brambles in the center of the hollow shuddering.

The toad’s throat expanded and