Sprinkle of Magic

When Maerin's car pulled into her driveway, both she and her protector were wary about what was going to happen inside. "How am I supposed to be your protector if I can't even help you through a panic attack?" The blonde behind the wheel let out a shaky sigh, his fingers gripping the wheel so tight his knuckles were white. Maerin's lips turned into a sympathetic smile, and she reached out to touch his arm.

"Hey, don't beat yourself up. You'd never seen one of my attacks, and I've been reading, you can't just magick the attacks away." She was trying her best to cheer him up, but she was bad at that sort of thing. She'd never had to comfort anyone but Talia, and that felt like years and years ago. "You'll do better next time, I know you will." Her smile grew bigger as she watched him nod. "Now come on, we have some work to do." The boy nodded and they both got out of the car. Maerin slung her bag over her shoulder as she stepped through the door. "Ailbe, Granda, I'm home! I brought Ardan with me!"

"In the den, dear!" Maerin led Ardan into the den, where her Granda sat on the couch, all sorts of bottles, books, and herbs spread out on the table in front of him. Much to her surprise, Ailbe was there as well, sitting on the floor around the table, mixing something up with a mortar and pestle. So Ailbe knew, as well. How many people had been keeping this secret from her? She shook the thoughts out as she dropped her bag and kicked off her shoes, sitting down next to Ailbe on the floor. Ardan sat next to the old man on the couch, still looking a bit nervous. "Ailbe told me you planned on making dinner tonight, so I figured I'd get a head start on the wards for the house." Maerin nodded as she was handed a glass jar filled with broken glass and sharp metal shavings. "It's a witches jar. It's one of the most powerful wards out there, because it connects you to whatever you're warding." Maerin nodded, still holding the jar, when Ardan handed her a small knife. "To connect you to the ward, the spell requires blood." Maerin's eyes widened as she looked down at the knife. She'd never been that good with pain, but she'd always sucked it up. She turned around so her back was facing the group in the room, and slowly dragged the blade across her palm. She sucked in a deep breath before she closed her fist, holding it over the jar. After a few drops dripped into it, her hand was pulled away.

"Only a few drops will do." She smiled up at Ardan, who had a wet cloth and a bandage. He cleaned and wrapped up her hand before she turned around again. The next hour was filled with lessons on wards. What they could do, how to make simple ones, how easy it is to mess one up. Her grandfather tasked her with one of the easiest one. A wreathe. She was given twigs to weave into a circle, and twine dipped in Aloe to secure them. She was then handed a basket of herbs and flowers, said to help with protection. Acorns, Agrimony, Angelica, Juniper, Lavender, and Lily of the Valley were only a few of the plants she wove through the twigs. When she was finished, she was actually quite pleased with the outcome. It didn't look like a toddler made it, so it was better than nothing. "Here, I'll go hang that on the door." Maerin nodded, handing the wreath over to Ardan, before she flopped onto her back on the floor.

Her hands were a bit cut up from the branches, and the knife wound, but it was nothing too bad. "Why don't you go up and grab a shower?" Maerin couldn't help but smile at Ailbe as she stood up. She made sure to kiss her grandfather's cheek before she went up. She made her shower brief, and ended up cursing loudly when shampoo got under the bandage on her hand. When she got out, she dried off and wrapped the towel around herself before wrapping one around her hair. "Bring the kit with you, love." Ailbe's voice made her jump. She hadn't heard the woman enter her room. She secured the towel tighter before she grabbed the kit from a shelf, taking it into her room. She took a seat at her vanity and Ailbe got straight to work. The disinfectant burned as it was applied, and Maerin was afraid of the outcome of this. Both of her hands were bandaged so much that she could barely move her fingers. "I think we'll keep you home tomorrow, give your hands some time to heal." Maerin nodded a bit, biting her lip. "Speaking of school...I got a call from your choir instructor today." The girl sucked in a breath.

"Please don't tell Granda. He'll try to take me out of school. I promise I'll get better. Please don't tell him." The worry in her voice caused Ailbe's features to soften.

"I won't tell him, but I think you need to start your lessons with Ward as soon as possible. We can't have this keep happening." Maerin gave a small nod as Ailbe left her to get dressed. She ended up throwing on a pair of sweatpants and a tank top, though she also threw on a hoodie before she went back downstairs. Everyone was cleaning up the living room, so she went straight to the kitchen. She pulled out everything she would need, and started her work. Trying to hand mix would have been a pain, so she grabbed an electric mixer and let it do the hard work for her. She had to hold it with both hands, though, to keep a steady grip on it.

"Need any help?" Maerin turned her head when she heard Ardan's voice, shaking her head with a smile. "Alright, then. Why don't we start your lessons? The first is super simple, so you can keep cooking." She gave a nod as she finished mixing up the pancake batter. She set down the mixer and went to the stove, stirring the peanut butter in the pot. It was nearly smooth enough to mix with the batter. She then moved to the jelly in the other pot, it was ready. Maerin mixed the jelly into the batter while Ardan talked. "Breathing is essential for everything, obviously, but steady breathing can calm your emotions. Not only that, but thinking about happy things. Favorite memories, things you like. It's the simple things that help the most." Maerin bit her bottom lip as she nodded, still mixing. "That's all there is to it, really. Once you get your technique down, we'll do some tests to see if you've got it." Another nod came from Maerin before she finally mixed in the peanut butter.

The rest of the night went without interruption. Maerin cooked peanut butter and jelly pancakes, which everyone loved, toast, and sausage. She even made coffee instead of tea for once, though Ardan still insisted on having tea with his meal. Maerin had a bit of trouble eating with all of the bandages, but she managed, and everyone had fun picking on her. The laughter only died down when Maerin heard her phone ringing from the den, where she'd left it. She tensed up a bit. Only a few people had her number, and three of them were sitting in the room with her. "Excuse me..." She whispered before she pushed back her chair, quickly walking into the room. When she saw the picture on her phone, she cringed a bit before she picked it up, awkwardly holding it to her ear. "Hello? Yes, I'm fine. Granda's good. Yes, Ailbe's still here. I-Wait. What? No, no, no, that's not necessary. Really, it's fine. I-Fine...Alright. Goodbye." As soon as she hung up the phone, she chucked it onto the couch, stomping back into the kitchen. Her eyes were set into a glare as she looked at her grandfather. "You told her?! How could you tell her?! Why would you tell her?!" The look of guilt on the old man's face made Maerin's heart hurt. She didn't say anything else as she let out a frustrated sigh while sitting down. "Good news, everyone. Mam's coming to visit next week." She was actually surprised to see Ardan tense up before excusing himself. She thought he was just going to the loo, but she heard the front door shut, and her brow furrowed.

"I'm sorry, love. She called me this morning and it slipped out. She wants to see you preform." Maerin gave another sigh, running her bandaged hands through her hair.

"Well, she'll be here Saturday morning. Ailbe, would you be fine with getting her? I have classes." The woman nodded with a smile. Maerin didn't understand her mother's interest in coming back. She hated it here. She'd blatantly refused to move in with her own daughter after sending her back.

To make matters worse, there was a knock on the door after a few minutes of quiet. Maerin made to stand up, but her grandfather beat her to it. "You're not allowed on my land, Celine." At the woman's name, Maerin perked up, straining to hear what was going on.

"Please. I need your help. He won't stop. He keeps calling out for her." Maerin was on her feet in an instant. Celine spotted her as soon as she stepped out of the kitchen, and brushed past her grandfather. "Please." There was something in her eyes that worried Maerin.

"Where is he?"

"He's in the car." Maerin nodded and made to go for the door, but Celine's hand on her arm stopped her. "There's something else." The tone of voice caused Maerin's blood to run cold. She pushed past Celine and her grandfather and yanked the door back open. She froze in a second, the breath rushing out of her lungs. It was in the middle of the road, the Shadow. "It showed up a while after you- After you dropped off Niall's school work." Maerin was glad for Celine's save, though she didn't know why the girl was trying to protect her whereabouts. The girl was a cold blooded killer. "It's just been...Watching him." She turned to the old man, the worry still in her eyes. "It's...That's the Shadow, isn't it? From the prophecy?" The way she spoke reminded Maerin of a scared child, and the urge to protect both Celine and her cousin in the car rushed through her.

A glare settled on her face as she stepped past them, taking her calming breaths. She remembered what Ardan had said, about happy thoughts and memories. Without really knowing what she was going to do, she held out her hand, focusing the thoughts into it. Her eyes widened when she saw her bandaged hand glowing slightly, before it grew. The light soon surrounded the property, fighting against the darkness of the Shadow. An agonized scream pierced her ears, and she finally let her hand fall to clamp her hands over her ears. "What...What did I just do?" She rushed out the words, fear creeping into her voice.

"You just proved that the events of the prophecy have begun." Ardan's voice surprised her, and she whipped her head to the side of the house, where the boy stepped out of the shadows. "You just proved that you're the Savior." Maerin simply shook her head. There was no way. She was just a girl. A -semi- normal girl, she couldn't be part of some prophecy. "We need to get him inside. The Shadow isn't in his head anymore, but he's still in pain." The words brought Maerin back to reality. Niall. Celine had come here for help. She watched as Ardan pulled the boy out of the car in her driveway. He was pale, almost blue, drenched in sweat. He was mumbling something, and as Ardan brought him closer, she realized that it was her name.

"Take him up to my room." She surprised herself at the calmness in her voice. Especially after everything that had just happened. She turned to follow Ardan into the house. "You come up with me, Celine." The girl nodded before Maerin turned to the older man. "We'll talk about this later." He agreed with a nod, and the two girls ran up the stairs, hot on Ardan's heels. "Celine, go fix a few cool cloths, we need to bring his fever down. Ardan, go down with Granda." He went to protest, but she stopped him. "Please. I'm sure you two have a lot to talk about." Disapproval was written in his features, but he nodded, leaving the room just as Celine came back in with the cloths. She laid one over Niall's head, and he hissed at the temperature. "This started when you saw the Shadow?" Celine nodded, worry etched into every line of her face as she rocked in the chair next to the bed. "Hey, it's alright." She didn't know if it would be, though. She didn't know how to make him better.

"Mae." Her name on his lips had hands clutching around her heart, but she pushed the feeling aside as she reached out for his hand. For a brief second, she saw the book she'd bought with Ardan in her mind. She pulled away, running down the stairs to grab it before dashing back up.

"I just had this...Flash thing...In my head. it showed me the book." She explained to Celine. She opened the book and Celine took Maerin's hand.

"I know what to do, but it seems like you're the one that has to do it. Clear your mind, ask the book for help." Maerin nodded, a bit uneasy at the thought of having a murderer help her, but she did it anyways. She held her hand out under Celine's and closed her eyes. She focused until beads of sweat formed on her forehead, and she gasped when she heard pages flipping. Celine gasped as well. "I knew you could do it. I'll gather what we need. Just...Talk to him." Maerin nodded as Celine rushed off. She took Niall's had again, and his shaking stopped. She took a second to glance at the page. Dispelling negative energy. She read over the passage while she waited for Celine. Non-Magickal beings responded differently to intrusive negative energy, which was probably the case with Niall. The Shadow influenced him, causing the illness. Celine came up minutes later with a tea kettle, and a cup full of herbs. While Celine poured the water over the herbs, Maerin read the incantation at the bottom of the page.

"Aufer a tenebris." When the words left her lips, they sounded lighter, as if they were being lifted onto the air. She blinked and stepped out of the way as she slid onto the bed behind Niall, holding his head up while Celine forced him to drink the brew. "Do you have a witches jar on your property?" Celine slowly shook her head. "Ardan said they connect you to your property." Celine nodded in confirmation. "He also told me that with a jar, we would be able to detect the Shadow. If you want, I can help you with some wards when we go downstairs." Celine nodded again, a soft smile on her face.

"I never felt the needs for wards. People here know better than to come near me." Her voice was pained, and Maerin gave her a sympathetic smile. "I didn't kill them, you know. It wasn't me." The confession shocked Maerin to the core. "I'm only a little older than you. They were killed when I was eighteen, and I didn't have anyone else. Why would I kill the only family I had around?" Maerin gave a sigh, reaching out a hand to the girl.

"It's okay. I believe you." Surprised flashed in Celine's eyes. "Come on. Let's let him rest. I'll help you with those wards." Celine nodded and Maerin slowly scooted out from under Niall and led her down the stairs. "Granda, I need you to start a witches jar for Celine." The old man looked wary, but he nodded. "Ardan, gather the herbs for me, and see if we have any twigs left. We need to make sure the Shadow can't get to them again." Ardan nodded, having the same wary look in his eyes. Celine looked almost ashamed, and Maerin gave her a quick hug. "Hey, they'll come around. Just, try and put a damper on the bitch act, yeah?" They both chuckled as they went into the kitchen. Maerin grabbed Celine a plate of food, and Ailbe surprised them all by sitting with the girl, and simply pulling her into a hug. Maerin gave a small smile before she went back to the den. Ardan was already there, and the two of them got to work.

"So it really worked?" Ardan asked after a while. He'd insisted on making the wreath to save Maerin's hands.

"Yeah...As soon as I said it, Niall calmed down. He stopped mumbling, and the color went back to him." Ardan nodded, a bit of pride on his features. "I...Celine isn't so bad. I'm good at reading people. I don't think she did it." Ardan only gave a tight nod, not responding. Maerin rolled her eyes at the stubborn boy as Ailbe brought Celine in. They got the blood for her witches jar, and finally they had the wards she would need. Ardan drove back with her to place everything while Maerin slipped upstairs. Her grandfather had already said it would be best to let the Horan's stay there for the night, they would be safer that way.

She slowly pushed her bedroom door open, not wanting to wake the sleeping boy in her bed. She couldn't help but smile at him as she laid down heavy blankets for Celine to sleep on. After grabbing the stuffed penguin hidden under her bed, she made her way into the guest room. It was a bit colder, so she kept her sweatshirt on as she crawled under the covers. With a sigh of exhaustion, she finally let her eyes close.