T*Witches: Kindred Spirits Read Free

taken it off since?
    She seems so … helpless
, Alex telegraphed to Cam.
    “Helpless, am I?” Normally, Ileana would have railed at the affront, cast a spell, turned them into some little groveling two-headed creature. Now all she could manage was, “If I’m so helpless, you won’t be needing me. I’ll show you where you’re staying and be on my way.”
    “Sorry, we didn’t mean it that way,” Cam apologized.
    “Don’t insult me further by lying,” Ileana replied wearily. “Just follow me.” They trailed her into the woods. Alex hoisted a beat-up duffel over her shoulder and easily kept pace with their strangely sluggish guardian. Cam, whose suitcase-on-wheels bumped clumsily over rocks and jutting roots, hurried to keep up.
    Not even the shock of seeing a bedraggled Ileana could keep Alex from breathing in the rich scents of the forest. She felt instantly energized, almost overpowered by its lushness. The sandy soil and pine needles gave way to brilliant foliage. Amid many shades of green were pink azaleas, white birches, cherry trees in early spring flower, purple and white lilacs, and golden forsythia. Alex was awed and amazed. Every single fragrance was familiar to her, remembered, a sensual memory long buried, now awakened. Comforting and consoling — this was hers.
    What Alex took in, Cam, without meaning to, pushed away. She didn’t stop or even pause to smell the roses — or anything at all. Seeing the one person who could make her feel safe, so changed, admittedly helpless, sent Cam zooming back into the panic zone. There, she babbled nonstop to hear the sound of her own voice, to make sure it was the same upbeat one she used in Marble Bay, where she was now sure she definitely belonged!
    “Where are we going? Where are we staying? Is there, like, a hotel or something? Or maybe a Country Inn? I’m so totally up for a hot shower. I mean, there
is
running water, right?”
    Ileana ignored her. Cam added, “Do cell phones work here?” She had a burning need to call home, to connect with her best bud Beth and her other friends who, like Jason, knew nothing about this part of her life.
    Telepathically, Alex asked,
Did you bring a bathing suit?
    Cam scrunched her forehead.
What are you talking about?
    This isn’t spring break, MTV-girl. Hotels? Cell phones? Your friends? What’s next? Pop idol contests?
Aloud, Alex said, “So we’re probably staying with our … with Miranda? How is she?”
    “No — and deluded,” Ileana answered, not turning to look at them. “Your mother still trusts Thantos. She’s with him at Crailmore.”
    “Crailmore?” Alex repeated. “What’s that? Coventry’s version of a mental institution?” At once, Alex wished she could take back that crack. Their long-lost mother, Miranda, had spent years locked away in a “clinic” in California.
    Ileana stopped abruptly and whirled on them. Aspark of her old self returned. “How little you know. Crailmore is the DuBaer estate. It’s been in the family for generations.”
    “Can we go there? Can we see her?” Cam asked nervously, unsure that she even wanted to.
    “You’re not prisoners here, go wherever you want. No doubt you’ll receive an invitation to Crailmore. Thantos knows you’re here.”
    “So this Crailmore place,” Alex asked, “is that where our parents lived? Where we were born?”
    “We were probably born in a hospital …” Cam started, and then regarded her woodsy surroundings, “or not.”
    Ileana sighed wearily. “There’s a quota on questions. You’ve used yours up.”
    But a few minutes later, she relented — possibly just to silence Cam, who’d returned to babble-land. “Aron and Miranda got married and built their own home, LunaSoleil.”
Loona So Lay
, she pronounced it. “Moon and sun. That’s where you were born.”
    “So we’ll be bunking there?” Alex asked, thrilled by the idea.
    Until Ileana shot it down. “You’ve exceeded the question-quota. Besides, we’re