Elemental Tears: An Urban Fantasy Series (The Eldritch Files Book 8) Read online

  Elemental Tears

  The Eldritch Files, Book Eight

  Phaedra Weldon

  Caldwell Press

  To the readers who have stuck with me this long. Again, remember, love endures, and there is always a plan…

  …and there will be answers.

  Summary

  Now that Samantha no longer possesses the powers of an Elemental Witch, adjusting to life as a mere mortal, married to a Drachen, is harder than any enemy she’s ever encountered. Why? Because though she’s powerless, her friends aren’t, and those powers are leading them down paths she cannot follow.

  Ivan’s inability to resist the call of the Cyber Web has Dharma terrified. She’s worried about his physical health after finding him unresponsive.

  Kyle’s growing power in Southern Conjure has the Witch’s Parliament worried as the only tertiary member capable of controlling and advising the young Hedge Witch is now on his own path of destruction as he searches for the Dragon’s Eye.

  A new enemy has discovered Sam is vulnerable and with Crwys busy investigating a mounting number of what appear to be Voodoo related murders, there is no one there to protect her…

  …or the secret she’s keeping from everyone, including her husband.

  ONE

  I stared at the doctor, taking in her more than happy expression. And the longer I stared, the faster that smile faded. "Miss Holliard…you don't look too happy about this news."

  I looked at my hands, then down at belly. My slightly protruding belly.

  Crwys and I had been married for six months. It was the end of July, coming into the hottest, yuckiest weather in New Orleans (though some would debate August was the yuckiest). I'd slowly—very slowly—acclimated to not being a Witch. But saying that was like saying I was getting used to being without all five senses. I really hadn't known how much I'd depended on my abilities to live day to day. I couldn't sense danger; I couldn't sense enemies. I couldn't even sense Ivan or Kyle any longer.

  I missed my Elementals. Their laughter. Just…their very presence had always been reassuring to me. They'd been with me since, well, as long as I could remember. Cowen children had their imaginary friends, and me—I'd always had my Sylph, Salamander, Undine, and Gnome. There was a huge hole there now. It was like growing up and learning Santa didn't really exist. Or the Easter Bunny. There was nothing magical in the world anymore.

  BOR-ING.

  I could pick Crwys out in the city. But that was because we'd bonded. And at first, he was a constant presence with me. Kinda like having a huge, fire-breathing guardian angel watching over me. But in the past month or so, he'd become busy with work. More murders to solve, more magical things to whisper with Kyle and Ivan about. And me…

  Well…

  I still ran Bell, Book and Candle most of the time. Kyle and Ivan handled the more specialized customers, and I just…again, well…

  I stocked the shelves. I ordered materials. And lunch.

  Lots of Chinese.

  Because lately I was famished all the damn time! At first, I thought it was depression, ‘cause, you know…not a Witch. But when I started fainting when I stood up, I knew something was wrong. And the headaches…NOTHING was stopping the headaches. Tiny gnomes with platinum jackhammers tirelessly punching holes into my brain.

  So, I made the usual ten o’clock in the morning doctor's appointment, though the only doctor I’d ever used was a OB/GYN, and that was just to get birth control. As a Witch, I could heal. Kyle could heal and we’d always done routine checks on each other. No need for a regular general practitioner.

  But lately Kyle and Ivan were busy a lot more. Kyle was still studying Southern Conjure and helping Crwys and Tas locate Solomon Dumaine. Dude went crazy when he saw the Dragon's Eye…something he should have never seen. He stopped being Kyle's teacher and set out to get back into the Eye. And damn near succeeded…if I understood Tas and Crwys's cryptic conversations. They really didn't talk about it with me anymore.

  No longer being a Witch cut me out of the club. So you see why I thought…depression.

  As for Ivan…he was online a lot lately. Something Dharma had mentioned a few times. Like, really online. Completely submerged into Cyberspace. Tinkering with his limits, per Dharma. She was the only one who still talked to me about things that were happening in the Witching world, so to speak. She worked at the shop with me, but I think she did it to be close to Ivan or to keep me company. Jack and Kyle had finally bought Ina's old place and were living in happy bliss…I guess.

  I'd been pretty much left alone. Even by Arden Vervain.

  Until this morning when I'd received a text on my phone that my presence was requested in Parliament. That's the Witch's Parliament. The request had been made by Cosgrove, the High Witch personage. Muckity Muck. Hadn't heard from him since the wedding. They wanted me there at eleven-thirty…an hour and a half after my doc appointment.

  Well…pffft. They could wait. I needed to check out my health.

  I just…I really wasn't prepared for the news.

  "Miss Holliard?"

  I looked at her and I was trying really, really hard not to cry. But even that was difficult. "I…we were so careful."

  "And you never forgot to take a pill?”

  "No. Not once."

  "Let me see." She sat back down at the computer desk in the examining room and tapped a few keys. "Huh…your hormone levels are all as they should be for someone taking the pill regularly." She sat back and crossed her arms over her chest. She looked as perplexed as I felt. "There is a percentage of effectiveness attached to taking birth control. I think a ninety-five or so percentage. Maybe you're in that five percent for whom it doesn't work."

  "Great. Just…great."

  She lowered her arms and sat forward. "Pregnancy can be a blessing, or a burden. Only you can make the decision which."

  "Yeah…" Crwys and I had discussed this. He adamantly didn't want children. He knew Lethe had had children, and those kids had been born little more than zombie-like monsters, killer little dragons. Knowing that sort of muffled my maternal instincts. But…realizing I had a life inside of me…changed everything.

  "I can't make these decisions for you, Miss Holliard. But what I can do is go over what I'm seeing as possible problems."

  "Problems?" I looked up at her real fast and protectively put my hand over my belly. "With the baby?"

  "No, with you. Baby seems fine at two months—"

  TWO MONTHS?! "That's not possible. I just had my period last month!"

  "Calm down, Mrs. Holliard. Was it a light period?”

  “Yeeeah.”

  “That’s called implantation bleeding. First two weeks of pregnancy you aren’t actually pregnant. Sperm meets egg within those two weeks, and you can still have what is assumed is a period. It's not uncommon." She waved her hand and then sat down at the computer in the room. "Your blood work has some alarming trends. Your sugar levels are high, which usually doesn’t present itself as problem till late second or beginning of the third trimester. But since it’s so erratic now, I've ordered a glucose test."

  “How can you tell that?”

  “There was a high concentration of blood in your urine. We check it for pre-eclampsia.”

  Oh.

  About that time, someone knocked on the door and handed the doctor a small cup of something clear. She handed it to me. "Drink this, and in an hour, we're going to take a blood sample."

  An hour? I looked at the clock. "Uhm…I have an appointment."

  "This is important, Samantha." When she us
ed my first name, I knew it was serious. "You could be a candidate for gestational diabetes. And if we don't catch it and it is gestational diabetes, it could affect the size of your child. It can also cause low blood sugar in babies when they’re born. That could land your baby in the NICU. Sometimes, stillbirth."

  All kinds of jokes about birthing a Dragon came to mind, which of course quickly turned to panic. Was the fact this baby wasn't fully human the reason for the sugar problems? And would the doctor be able to tell this baby wasn't human?! That didn't even occur to me until that moment…what was I thinking taking this to a human doctor?

  Nothing—you didn't know you were preggars!

  I drank the stuff. Like…drinking pure corn syrup. Gross. She took the cup and tossed it. "Now, there is also the concern for your heart."

  "Huh?"

  "Your blood pressure is slightly elevated.” She frowned at the computer screen. “I’m just confused here. Most of these problems don’t happen till later in the pregnancy, if at all. But you’re barely pregnant. The triage nurse attributed it to what we call White Coat Syndrome"—and she pulled at her own white lab coat—"but after half an hour, it's still too high. We're going to have to monitor that and put you on medication that won't interfere with the pregnancy."

  I felt light headed. Like…really…

  I didn't realize I'd blacked out until I opened my eyes and saw three faces staring down at me. The doctor was on the right, taking my pulse again, while another nurse was pulling blood from my arm. I was on the examination table, flat on my back.

  "Welcome back," the doctor said and then shined lights in my eyes. "What is your name?"

  "Samantha…what happened?"

  "You fainted. Where are you now?"

  "I'm in the doctor's office. Why did I faint?"

  "Not sure, but I suspect"—she pulled the lights back and looked at me—"it was the glucose you just drank. How is your stomach?"

  Oh. Yuck. I didn't realize how bad my stomach felt until she asked that question. I put my hand to my mouth. "Nauseous."

  "Try and sit up."

  I did…and the room spun out of control. What the hell was wrong with me?

  "Do you have someone who can drive you home?"

  "No. I drove."

  "Give it another ten minutes, okay? I'll be right back." And everyone vacated the room. Which left me alone with my thoughts and fears. And lemme tell ya…them fears were big and ugly, and had sharp teeth.

  I had fainted. I got dizzy and fainted. How Southern belle was that? I slid off the table and managed to keep myself upright, but…damn I was sick to my stomach and I was still light headed. All of this from drinking sugar?

  I wasn't going to go into the pounding in my head at that moment. I needed to grab my big girl panties and woman up. Geez!

  I had serious decisions to make. Did we keep this baby? Was this baby going to be a Dragon zombie? How was Crwys going to feel? I was pacing…I needed to move. I had to move. I wanted out of this room.

  The door opened. "I'm sorry, Miss Holliard, but you failed the preliminary test, so I'm scheduling you for a full glucose test first thing in the morning. Get here at eight and don't have anything to eat or drink after midnight. And I would really recommend you have someone drive you."

  Glucose test? "Didn't I just take one?"

  "That's the preliminary. The one tomorrow morning will be the real test. What's happening is your body isn't producing enough insulin to counteract the glucose in your blood. After drinking that, with food in your system, your body should have started producing insulin to deal with what you just drank. But it didn't. Your sugar level should have dropped. And it didn't. So, we're going to try this on an empty stomach."

  I put a hand to my head. Damn gnomes.

  "Headache?"

  "Yeah…look…" I stepped to the desk and grabbed my purse. "I really have to go. I'm gonna be late."

  "Just see Jenny on the way out and make sure you're here at eight sharp."

  I nodded and said what I had to say to get the hell out of there. I paid my co-pay, got my receipt, and sat in my Jeep for about ten minutes while I tried not to freak out.

  I'm pregnant.

  I'M FREAK'N PREGNANT!

  I needed to talk. I needed to vent. But I always vented to Kyle. What would Kyle think?

  I started the Jeep and told my phone to dial Kyle.

  I got voicemail, so I left a brief message and tried dialing Ivan.

  Same thing.

  As I maneuvered over to the Causeway toward Lewisburg, I tried Dharma. Message.

  Just as I was about to give up, my phone rang. I squeaked and looked at the face, making sure I stayed on the road.

  Arden Vervain.

  Really? I haven't heard from her in months and she calls me the morning I learn I'm pregnant with a Dragon baby? What, did the woman have ESP or something?

  I answered.

  "Where are you?"

  "I'm nearly—what are you asking me?"

  "The meeting with Parliament. They're all waiting on you. This looks bad with you being late."

  Now I knew why my heart rate was up. "Arden…what's going on?" There was something in her tone.

  "Just come straight to the council chambers when you get here." She hung up.

  Yeah…I felt my heart pounding in my chest.

  The Cleric’s Office was located in an old cathedral across Lake Pontchartrain. From the outside, all seemed well. Little did the residents know there be Witches here. I parked where I usually did and made my way to the front. The receptionist smiled at me and pointed me in the direction.

  It was the same place I'd been when Edmond Blackwood had been put on trial. I'd been waiting on them to call me as a witness, but it never happened. Was it over a year now? Or two? So, when I came through the door and nearly got lost in the smells of incense and wood oil, I was abruptly escorted to the center chair. A chair no Witch ever wanted to sit in.

  Only, I wasn't a Witch.

  I'd just neglected to tell anyone else that.

  Once I sat down, I set my purse in my lap and took a look around. Wow. The place was packed. Every seat taken. I recognized some of the people participating. Most of them were strangers. At the high table, where Martin Cosgrove sat, were the Elders. Arden sat at his right, and some guy with a pinched face, looking a lot like ole Cromwell, sat on his left. The other two on their left and right were strangers to me.

  Cosgrove banged a gavel and everyone stopped talking.

  It was so quiet…except for the sound of my heart.

 

  It was Crwys, probably sensing my stress. The link between us reminded me a lot of the one I'd shared with the Aces, Bastien's pack. It was both a link to emotions, as well as thoughts. Like I said, he was always with me. Except when he got distracted, which was a lot lately. Typical.

 

 

 

  Crwys's response was an emotional one. And he wasn't happy. He didn't particularly like this grouping of what he called pompous asses. And I'm sure to have his wife summoned by them wasn't making him happy.

 

  I decided not to answer because Cosgrove started talking.

  "Witches, all members of Parliament, you have been gathered here today to discuss the matter of former Witch, Samantha Holliard."

  Oh. Crap. Former? He knew? How did he know? I never told anyone I wasn't a Witch anymore. I mean, I didn't lie, I just never said as much, and since no one was making me do my service to the Cleric Office after the wedding…

  "Former?" said the Cromwell look-a-like. I really needed to learn these people's names. "Samantha, are you no longer a Witch?"

  I blinked at him. Truth time, kiddo. It wasn't something I could hide anymore. "No sir. I'm not."

  Lots of noise, v
oices, surprise. I could feel it all.

 

 

  I could almost see him hang his head.

 

  Another gavel hit. Cosgrove looked at me. "Samantha…how long?"

  I cleared my throat. "Since the Dragon Lethe was destroyed. I…I gave it up."

  "Gave it up?"

  "My power."

  "Why?"

  Now it was time to be truthful and see if these people believed me. "Because the God Mother wished it."

  TWO

  Detective Crwys Holliard narrowed his eyes as he strained to pick up anything else about his wife's emotions. He felt her stress, a bit of her surprise, something she'd experienced earlier. Their connection wasn't as strong as it would be if she were a Drachen like himself. Humans were harder to read and their emotions…well…were all over the place.

  "Hey, are you listening to me?"

  Crwys refocused on Detective Levi Tulose, his partner and oldest friend. "Yeah. Sorry. Was trying to feel out Sam."

  "She in trouble?"

  "I don't know. That ridiculous Parliament of Witches called her in."

  Levi's brow arched. "Did she ever tell them she's not a—"

  "No." Crwys's answer was short, belying the frustration he felt. If he had his way, he'd charge into that place and torch the whole building. Holier than thou wannabe Christians were bad enough. Throw in some drunk-with-power Witches and you had something even worse. He made a promise to himself if they hurt her, he was going to hurt all of them. Arden Vervain included.

  "Maybe it's nothing," Levi volunteered.

  "We'll see." Crwys and Levi had just arrived at the Tree of Life, located around the Audubon Zoo near Tulane University. He parked his red Mustang in the parking lot and the two of them showed their badges to a few uniformed officers. There were a lot of spectators, this early in the morning. Of course, school was out, so there were a lot of kids playing.

  The Tree of Life was a monster of a thing. Close to three hundred years old, a park had been constructed around it and the poor thing probably had more than three hundred kids climbing on it in a week. It was a popular place for weddings, as well as the perfect spot for giraffe watching, since the zoo was right there.