Briar Rose (13 page)

‘That’s possible?’ he asked. ‘Please say yes.’
Even if it’s a lie.

‘Lily thinks if Briar can break the curse she’ll wake up again.’

‘Is there anything I can do to help?’ Reena shrugged at that, which made him feel useless. Kerry nuzzled his hand and he petted her silky head. ‘Now that I look back, I’m
guessing my dad knew about this, but I don’t think he believed it was true.’

‘Like Mr Rose, then,’ she said. ‘He didn’t accept it until Gran showed up at his door last night.’

‘I swear, if I’d known I had a curse in me, I never would have gone anywhere near Briar,’ he said.

‘If you hadn’t tried to save her, she would have died that day too,’ Reena replied. ‘You forget, I was there when they pulled you guys out. She didn’t let go of
your hand until they started CPR. She
willed
you to live, Joshua.’

‘That worked out well for her, didn’t it?’ he said bitterly.

‘You gave her a few more years.’

‘So I could kill her now? That’s no comfort,’ he said, his anger ramping up again. But who was to blame? His mom? She only wanted to protect him. No, the person who deserved
his fury was whoever had cursed him in the first place. Some day he’d learn who that was, and he’d make sure he or she paid for it.

Joshua exhaled heavily, placing his arms on his knees and leaning forward. ‘So we just wait and hope she gets better?’ He shook his head even before Reena could answer. ‘What
if I talk to your great-gran? Do you think I can convince her to help us?’

‘It didn’t work for me, but I guess you can try.’ Reena rose to her feet and dusted off her jeans. ‘If she doesn’t change her mind, I have an idea.’

‘Whatever it is, I want to be part of it. I want to make this right.’

She studied him for a moment. ‘Don’t blame yourself. This is
not
your fault, Josh.’

‘I know,’ he replied, though he was lying.

It
is
my fault.
He felt it deep in his bones.
I have to make it
right.

When Joshua brought the mare to a stop in front of the old cabin, a couple of guinea hens trotted off into the woods, raising a holy ruckus as they disappeared into the
underbrush. Joshua had always thought the things were God’s idea of an inside joke, nothing more than round feather-covered balls with stubby legs.

A caramel-coloured hound raised its head from the porch and gave a single deep woof. Then it lay back down, its job done.

After Reena’s car pulled into the drive, he dismounted and joined her.

‘Why does your gran live out here all alone?’ he asked.

‘That’s the way she wants it. We keep trying to get her to move in with us, but she won’t do it and she won’t go into one of those “dying places” either.
That’s what she calls a nursing home. We check on her every day and hope for the best.’

‘But is it safe for her? I mean . . . someone could rob the place or something. It’s out in the middle of nowhere.’

‘Most folks aren’t that dumb,’ Reena said. ‘If they are, they’ll find themselves in a world of hurt. Of all the people in this county, you do not want my gran mad
at you. Root magic is for real, and it can do a lot of harm if needed.’

‘Really. I hadn’t noticed,’ he said sullenly.

Reena sighed. ‘I know you’re upset, but park that attitude out here. Lily doesn’t take any crap from anyone, not even me.’

After considering that solemn warning, Joshua reluctantly followed his friend towards the porch, avoiding the chicken droppings that lurked in the grass. Just in front of the door was a line of
red grainy powder.

‘What’s that for?’ he asked, pointing.

‘It’s brick dust. It’s used as a ward to keep the folks inside the house safe. If you’ve got bad intentions, you can’t cross it.’

OK.
‘Just how old is this place anyway?’

‘It was built right after the Civil War,’ Reena replied. ‘Not much has changed since then, except for indoor plumbing.’

Reena paused on the porch to pet the dog. Then she took a deep breath and moved to the door, but she didn’t open it and barge in even though she was family. Instead she knocked and waited.
It was that respect thing she’d talked about, and Joshua took note of it.

‘That you, Reena B?’ an aged voice called out.

‘It is. I brought Joshua Quinn with me.’

‘I know. Carl told me.’

Apparently she means the dog.

He followed Reena inside the cabin, and the moment he crossed the threshold he felt something slide over his skin, as if it were scanning him. His eyes must have widened and Reena nodded in
understanding.

‘Told you,’ his companion said.

The small space was neat, everything in its place, not that there was much in the way of possessions. The floor was hand-hewn wood and it creaked as he took each step. The exposed rafters were
put to good use – herbs hung from them in bundles, as well as some old baskets. A small kitchen held a table and a few chairs and down a short hall was a bedroom. A worktable sat along one
wall, covered in roots and herbs. On it a mortar and pestle rested near an open book, and above the table was a portrait of Jesus at Gethsemane, flanked by pictures of John F. Kennedy and Martin
Luther King, Jr.

Mrs Lily Foster occupied a rocking chair near the big window that overlooked the backyard. On top of the chairback was a tabby cat that nimbly rebalanced itself each time the rocker moved. It
had big green eyes and a crooked tail, as if it’d been hit by a car sometime during its nine lives.

‘Come hug me, girl. It’s been too long,’ the old woman said, opening her arms.

‘We just saw each other last night,’ Reena replied.

‘At my age, that’s a long time.’

As they embraced, Joshua could feel the love between them. It’d been like that with his grandmother until she’d passed away a couple years earlier. She’d always been a
counterbalance to the underlying discord in the Quinn household. Once she was gone, it’d only got worse between his parents.

‘Come forward, boy,’ Lily said, waving. ‘Don’t be frightened. I know yer family’s story, and their sins. They ain’t yers.’

He moved nearer to her, but not as close as Reena. ‘I . . .’ he began, but didn’t know the right words. ‘Good day, ma’am.’

She grinned, revealing worn teeth. ‘Polite, that’s good. Need more of that in this world.’

This wasn’t getting them anywhere. Surely this woman knew why they were here.

‘Patience,’ Reena whispered, as if she’d read his mind. She pulled a kitchen chair closer to her eldest relative while Joshua chose the floor. It was a bit cooler there as it
seemed Lily wasn’t into air conditioning, and the ceiling fan only stirred the heat around like a big spoon in a pot of boiling stew.

‘Briar needs your help, Gran.’

The old woman closed her eyes and kept rocking back and forth like she’d not heard her great-granddaughter. When the cat grew tired of the movement, it jumped off and wound its way to
Reena, brushing against her jeans. Then it moved to Joshua. Peering up at him, it placed its front paws on his leg in a frank bid for attention. As sweat ran down his back, he scratched the soft
head and the cat began to purr.

‘Hobbes likes ya,’ Lily said, her eyes open now. ‘That makes sense, though. Yer much like a cat, always watchin’, real quiet and thoughtful.’

‘Don’t have much to say,’ he replied.

‘But what ya do say is worthwhile. It means ya have good sense.’

He’d never thought of himself like that. He’d just thought he was shy.

‘Reena tell ya what happened last night?’ Lily asked.

‘Yes, ma’am.’

‘I did some scryin’ this mornin’,’ she said.

Joshua gave Reena a confused look, unsure of what the old lady meant.

‘My gran uses a mirror so she can divine things.’

‘Sort of like looking in a crystal ball?’ he asked.

‘Yeah, just like that.’

Lily kept rocking. ‘That curse took her deep inside herself, in some sort of dream. It’s up to her to find a way back.’

‘Is there some way we can . . . go help her out?’ Joshua asked.

Lily’s piercing eyes zeroed in on him. ‘What happens if that dream is more like a nightmare, and it tried to kill ya?’

Did he care? ‘Doesn’t matter. This is my fault.’

‘No, it’s not. Ya did what was right all those years back at the river. This curse isn’t on yer head, boy.’

‘You’re wrong – it is. At least I feel it is,’ Joshua said, his voice rising.

One of the woman’s silver eyebrows crept upward, but she didn’t chastise him for his mouthiness. ‘There are only a few ways for ya to get into a curse dream and none of them
are easy. Ya’d have to borrow power to do it, and that’s always dangerous.’

‘Borrow power?’ Joshua asked. Next to him, Reena stiffened.

Lily didn’t reply, but rocked a bit faster now, her eyes on her great-granddaughter now. ‘If ya did get inside, who’s to say that if Briar died in there that curse
wouldn’t go right back where it came from?’

Josh grew cold, despite the stifling heat. ‘Back to me, you mean? Can it do that?’

‘Maybe. Or the dream could kill ya outright.’ She shook her head sadly. ‘This conjure’s out of control. It’s taken strength from both sides of this wrong, and
it’s doin’ what it wishes now. I’ve never seen nothin’ like it before.’

Which was really bad news as this lady was ancient.

Reena took a very deep breath and then slowly let it out. ‘We should be going,’ she said, rising from the chair. ‘I’ll come by and see you tomorrow and bring you some of
Mom’s homemade rolls.’ She dropped a kiss on the old woman’s cheek.

‘I’ll be lookin’ forward to it,’ Lily said, rocking away. ‘In a couple weeks we’ll do that trick ya’ve been workin’ on. Ya know, the one at the
crossroads. Ya should be ready by then.’

Reena hesitated, as if sorting through some hidden subtext. Then she nodded, her eyes moving towards the table. ‘Can I borrow your spell book tonight? I need to read up on it.’

‘Surely. Just bring it back tomorrow.’

After Reena had taken the thick book, Lily called out to them. ‘Don’t y’all do anythin’ ya’d regret, ya hear?’

‘Yes, Gran,’ Reena replied, but her voice held more resolve now, as if she’d come to some momentous decision.

Once they were in the yard, Joshua felt like punching something. Mike maybe. Yeah, that would make him feel a lot better, for about three seconds. Even after talking to Mrs
Foster they were no closer to helping Briar escape the curse.

‘
That
was a total waste of time,’ he said.

Reena slowly drew the spell book out of a paper bag. Now that he saw it up close, it seemed rather ordinary. She leafed through to a page near the middle, and smiled down at the spidery
handwriting skittering across the paper.

‘Gran isn’t plain sometimes – it’s just her way. I figured out what she was hinting at when she talked about borrowing power. That’s the next conjure I’m
studying. It’s a crossroads spell.’

‘Whatever,’ Joshua said, not really listening.

Keeping her back to the house, Reena used her free hand to pull a purple ribbon from under her shirt. Attached to it were two old-fashioned skeleton keys. Before he could ask why she was wearing
them, a tiny spark of magic danced from the book to the keys and back.

‘Did that just . . . ?’ he began, eyes blinking.

Reena nodded. She looked over her shoulder at the cabin and then back again. ‘These are crossroads keys and I can tap into the power with these. That power might get me inside
Briar’s dream.’

Joshua gaped. ‘Hey, that’s the huntsman charm from Briar’s bracelet,’ he said, pointing. ‘What are you doing with it?’

‘I took it this morning when her folks were downstairs. I needed a connection to Briar, one that also links to you since you’re where the curse started. This is it.’

‘You said you didn’t know about the curse until last night,’ he said, suddenly suspicious, ‘but you were the one who found the bracelet on the internet and said I should
buy it for Briar’s birthday. You set this up all along.’

‘No,’ she said, glaring over at him. ‘I didn’t. I thought the bracelet was a good way for you guys to get closer, maybe . . . end this bullshit between your families. I
had no idea I’d be using it to try to save Briar’s life.’

‘Oh . . .’

‘I’ve never tried the trick, but I know which spirit to call up now. Gran had the book on the worktable opened to the exact page I need.’

‘So why is she messing with us? Why doesn’t she do it herself?’

‘I don’t know. Maybe she can’t for some reason.’ Reena replaced the skeleton keys down her shirt. ‘It might not work, but I have to try.’

He gnawed on that for a time. ‘What happens if it goes wrong, the spell I mean?’

‘Nothing good,’ she said, her expression sobering. ‘I might end up asleep like Briar . . . or dead. Same for anyone around me when it goes down. Keep that in mind, if
you’re going to join me in this.’

Joshua took a deep breath, but there was never any doubt as to his answer.

‘Just tell me when and where.’

Briar and Ruric walked back to the stable in silence, though around them many of the villagers spoke in hushed voices. One man said the prisoner had it coming because
he’d tried to harm the princess.