Seventh Seal - Jacquelyn Faye Page 0,17

graphics and advertisements for the bookstore. Then, you're going to start writing and drawing the graphic novels that you've always loved, and then I'm going to start selling them once we figure out how to get them published."

She almost dropped the iPad. "Are you serious?"

"I'd never joke about your dreams."

"You saw?"

"Saw and felt." I sighed and put my hand on her shoulder.

She sniffled and nodded, but still had enough in her to give me a little smile of gratitude. That alone was worth what I had paid for the stinking tablet. If I hadn't already turned her father to ash, I would have animated his corpse, hung it in my garage, and taken up boxing.

∞ ∞ ∞

My grandmother finally answered the door after the twelfth round of knocking. "Dorothea?"

"Hey, Nana. Where's the witch."

"Which one?"

"The wicked one of the West."

"Entertaining some guests…in her room."

"Ewww." I stopped and stared at her in horror, hoping to the Lady that she was joking.

Yuki made a gagging noise behind me.

"Would you care for a cup of tea? Glass of wine?"

"Wine."

"Dear?" She peeked around me to look at Yuki.

"I'll have a glass of wine, please. Ma'am."

"Oh, shush. Call me Nana."

Yuki blushed and hid behind me. Nana scared her. And me. And the neighborhood, county, and tri-state area, so she wasn't alone.

"How long is she going to be entertaining?"

"For as long as they can keep her occupied, I would imagine." She led us through the modest house and into the kitchen. "Sit," she said and pointed to the kitchenette table in the alcove. "I'm assuming this is about the coven."

"You knew?"

She nodded and waved her fingers at one of the bottles of wine on the counter. Wiggling its way out of the top of the bottle, the cork ripped through the tinfoil and plopped merrily on the counter while Nana pulled three glasses from the cupboard. "The question is, how did you find out?"

"Stopped by Tir Na Nog for a drink."

She blinked in surprise. "That's a long way to go for a drink."

"Needed to get away for a bit. I ran into Nestor and some of the other coven. They're a hot fucking mess, Nana."

"Nobody stepped up?" She set a glass in front of each us and sat across from us.

Yuki was watching us like we were a tennis match.

"No."

She shrugged. "Someone will. The goddess will see to it."

"You're good with this? That was your coven, too."

She smiled and gave another noncommittal shrug. "And everyone I cared about has either moved on or moved here. Like it or not, Granddaughter, this is our home now. That includes your mother."

"She's really staying?"

"Called here by the goddess herself. She didn't have a choice."

"And did the goddess make you open your home for the woman you despise most in this world?"

Her smile turned into a frown. "Tone, Child. Your mother and I might not get along, but she is still my daughter."

"And she's still my mother. I love her, but I'd rather hug a moving Peterbuilt on the highway than let her move in with me."

Nana cackled. "It was easier to have her here with me."

I narrowed my eyes at her. "To do what?"

She sighed and stood, beckoning for us to follow her. Yuki shot me a nervous glance and followed Nana into the living room. I downed my wine and set my empty glass on the table before joining them.

Nana was standing in front of the far wall and waiting for me, watching me enter the room before facing the wall. "Oscailte," she canted softly, and the wall shimmered and melted, splitting apart and revealing a workroom within.

Nana and Mother were more into potions than I was. The huge cauldron in the center of the room was proof enough of that. I didn't own a single one. Not even a quart sized one. "Double, double, toil and trouble," I said with a giggle and stepped inside. And whistled…

The workbench was natural wood that looked like it had grown from the earth itself, twisting and winding up to form a flat surface along the wall. The floor of the workshop was hard packed earth. Faerie lights illuminated everything from overhead as the ceiling spiraled up into nothingness. One thing was for certain… We weren't in Kansas anymore. "How come I don't have one of these?"

"I believe you skipped out on your magic lesson to snog your boyfriend from Ireland on the day we covered enchanted workspaces."

"He wasn't from Ireland; he was from Virginia. He moved to Ireland."

"He should have stayed