Sky Mothers (Born of Shadows Book 4) Read online

  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  About Me

  J.R. Erickson

  www.jrericksonauthor.com

  .

  Sky Mothers

  Born of Shadows Book 4

  by J.R. Erickson

  Copyright © 2018 J.R. Erickson

  All rights reserved.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Visit

  JREricksonauthor.com

  Chapter 1

  "All packed?" Abby found Sebastian in their room sitting on the bed. He held a long white candle in his hands.

  He looked up and grinned.

  "Three t-shirts, two pairs of shorts, and my sandals."

  Abby cocked an eyebrow.

  "No pants?"

  Sebastian pointed down.

  "Wearing them and my sweatshirt too. All long sleeves will be carried on the body for this adventure."

  Abby frowned.

  "So, you'll have a backpack and I'll have a giant rolling suitcase and a duffel bag?"

  He laughed.

  "No, I'll have a backpack, a giant rolling suitcase, and a duffel bag. You'll have our coffees."

  He stood and set the candle gently on the bedside table. Grabbing her hand, he pulled her toward him.

  "I'm so excited to travel with you," he murmured. His blue eyes sparkled with the same excitement she felt reflected in her own. A little shiver coursed through her body. Lately, she had begun to feel Sebastian's energy. She wondered if this meant that his powers were growing stronger.

  In the month since Dafne's death, Abby and the other witches of Ula had been busy. They sifted through the Asemaa files in a frenzied search for the magic that might destroy the amulet. Coming up empty, Elda and Faustine went to the cave of elders and sought advice. The leaders offered little insight and ultimately it was decided that the Coven of the Sky Mothers in Australia would be their best option. Abby, Sebastian, Julian, Oliver, and Helena would make the journey. Lydie had wanted to go and nearly cried when she learned that she would be excluded, but Elda insisted that she stay at Ula. She was months behind in her apothecary studies and Bridget wanted to teach her how to grow magical plants. Ultimately, she gave in, but Abby worried about her mental health while they were away. After Max's death, she had been sad, but since Dafne's she'd grown despondent.

  Abby tried to push thoughts of Lydie from her mind and focus on the day ahead.

  "I feel like a little kid flying for the first time," she admitted. "Excited, nervous, like I have to pee a lot, though that may be the baby."

  Sebastian rested his hands on Abby's shoulders and looked into her face.

  "You're a bad-ass witch, no silly plane ride is going to get under your skin."

  She screwed her eyes shut and peeked at him through the slit in one eye.

  "If you'd attended Psych 101 and heard Mr. Frasier's lecture on human error in airline pilots, you might feel differently."

  "At this point, I'll take human error any day of the week."

  She nodded.

  "True, the odds are probably significantly better than going up against evil demons that actually intend to kill you."

  "Infinitely better," he said. "And I'll give you the window seat."

  He jumped onto the bed and danced around.

  "No, please! I need the aisle so I can pee."

  He laughed and back-flopped onto the bed.

  "Future wifey, you can have anything you want."

  ****

  "Ugh, another backpack guy? Did you even fit a toothbrush in there?" Abby asked, grimacing at Oliver's meager luggage.

  "Toothbrush, board shorts, all-terrain tear-away pants, two t-shirts, sunglasses, headphones, and a book!" Oliver exclaimed triumphantly.

  "Did you bring a pony?" he gestured at Abby's suitcases propped on the ground next to her.

  She swatted at him.

  "No, I actually intend to change my clothes while we're there."

  "Don't sweat it, honey," Helena called. She sailed through the airport in a flowing purple dress and turquoise shawl. Peacock feather earrings dangled from her ears and she had pulled her hair up into a French twist.

  "Wow," Sebastian echoed Abby's thoughts.

  "You like?" she asked with a curtsy. "I haven't traveled in ages! I'm doing it with style.

  She pulled an equally vibrant, huge yellow suitcase through the terminal, the handle braided with red ribbon.

  Julian followed behind her. He wheeled a medium-sized black leather bag and carried a laptop case over his shoulder.

  "He looks like a CEO," Abby whispered to Sebastian.

  "You three are like a band of misfits," Sebastian told them as they sidled up next to them in the check-in line.

  "The plan was to not draw attention to ourselves, but as you can see..." Julian gestured toward Helena. "Only Oliver listened."

  Oliver winked and unzipped his coat behind Julian's back. He wore a t-shirt with a picture of several unicorns farting glittery rainbows. The caption beneath it read Unicorn Squad in pink block letters.

  Abby and Sebastian burst out laughing.

  Julian whirled around.

  "Ugh," he sighed. "Where did you get that?"

  "That truck stop off I-75 on our way down. I thought this seemed more appropriate than the t-shirt covered in sparkling kitties."

  "What did that one say?" Sebastian asked.

  "Show me your kitties." Oliver grinned and Sebastian snorted.

  "Just check in already," Julian moaned, waving Oliver ahead in the line.

  ****

  When they landed in Cairns, Australia, Julian rented a Range Rover and they piled their stuff in the back.

  The flight had been tiring and Abby felt the pressure finally subside when she stepped foot on solid ground. Two connecting flights, twelve trips to the bathroom, and a bout of nausea during their bumpy ride from Sydney to Cairns had left her ready to give up air travel for life. She'd also dreamed of Kanti. It had been a death dream as she'd begun to think of them. She'd had three now. In this dream, Kanti raced through a series of tunnels with a fire close behind. Smoke began to fill the space and she couldn't see, could barely breathe. Just before Abby woke, Kanti had collapsed in the tunnel and lay gasping for breath. She had not told Sebastian about the dream during the flight because he'd been snoring softly beside her.

  "Oh, heavenly sun," Oliver shouted, holding his arms out to either side and twirling around. He got down on his knees and pretended to kiss the dirt.

  Helena shielded her eyes. "Why didn't I join the Sky Mothers? Warm year round, flowers bursting from every tree, fre
sh mangoes..."

  "Kangaroos," Abby added. "Let's move here?" she grabbed Sebastian's hand.

  "And give up the deep character carved out by long brutal winters in Northern Michigan? Never!" he joked, but tilted his face into the sun.

  "Steinbeck said, 'What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness?'" Julian remarked, slamming the back door on the Rover.

  "Hogwash," Oliver mumbled from the ground.

  "It does feel painfully good. Can we put off the work and hit the beach for a few days?" Sebastian asked, winking at Abby.

  Julian climbed behind the wheel.

  "Nope. But don't worry, Sky Mothers has it all, beach, ocean, sunshine, you name it."

  ****

  They drove for hours, winding around steep cliffs in the forest.

  "You sure this is a road?" Oliver asked, peering out the window at the dense foliage.

  The Rover hugged the trees on one side because the other slid steeply into the forest far below.

  After an arduous descent, Julian pulled to a stop in front of a wooden gate crawling with ivy.

  "You've been here before?" Sebastian asked Julian.

  "Twice," he told them, leaning out of the window and pressing his palm against a large opal embedded in the wood.

  "How does that work?" Oliver asked, curious.

  "Not a clue," Julian confessed. "I asked them during my last visit, but the Sky Mothers are rather...secretive. Especially when it comes to their security."

  After several minutes, the gate swung open and Julian drove through. A hard-packed dirt road twisted through a half mile of Eucalyptus forest.

  Abby watched out the window, feeling like a tourist, searching for a koala bear or an exotic parrot. Sebastian looked equally starry-eyed.

  "Oh my," Helena breathed.

  Abby turned forward.

  A lush garden surrounded a sparkling pool of water. Waterfalls cascaded into the lagoon from a high mossy ledge. Perched above the waterfalls, Abby saw a sprawling menagerie of glass and sandstone structures. The largest building boasted a tall arch, shaped like the rustic goddess statues that Abby had seen in anthropology books during college. The sun reflected off the windows creating a mirrored wall of light.

  "This way," Julian said, leading them toward a manicured path that wove around the waterfall and up the slope.

  A witch in a white silk robe, the hood covering her hair and part of her face, emerged from the arch. She drifted toward them like an apparition.

  Except for Julian, they all stopped and stared.

  "Julian," the witch said warmly, taking his hands. She slipped the hood down, revealing her youthful face and satiny rose gold hair. Huge baby-doll blue eyes sparkled in her elfin face.

  "Mattie," he pulled the beautiful witch into a hug. She laughed and kissed his cheek.

  "You missed me, then?"

  "You, or Kit's buttered prawns, I regularly dream of both."

  She laughed and the sound echoed like tinkling bells.

  "Come meet my friends," he told her.

  Julian led Mattie back to the group.

  Helena stepped forward, smiling graciously. She held out her hand.

  "I'm Helena." She grasped Mattie's slender fingers in her own.

  "Matilda," the witch told her, looking deeply into her eyes for several seconds.

  Abby watched the exchange, wondering what sort of information Matilda gleaned from staring.

  "Helena of Aepa in the Mediterranean Isle." Matilda nodded her head. "I see them in you. The almond-shaped eyes. Now, this style of yours makes me think you were related to Antheia."

  A look of surprise passed over Helena's face.

  "Antheia was my mother."

  "Yes, of course she was. She was like an exotic flower."

  "I haven't heard her name in a hundred years," Helena breathed, looking excited and out of sorts.

  "Perhaps we can reminisce about her later then? I too love an occasional walk down memory lane."

  Matilda moved to Oliver.

  She took his hands and held them.

  Abby watched the tiny flecks of light in her eyes. Her pupils looked less like black orbs than portals into another universe. Abby braced her hand on Sebastian's arm, suddenly feeling faint.

  "I'm Oliver," he said. "This is quite the set-up you have here." He nodded toward the structure beyond.

  "You like it?" Matilda asked with genuine curiosity.

  "It's like a dream."

  Matilda nodded and glanced back at the arch.

  "It is our dream made manifest." She turned to face Sebastian. "And you too are a powerful manifester," she said. "And a non-witch. Tisk, tisk Julian, you did not properly reveal yourself."

  "I'm sorry, Mattie," Julian admitted. "It slipped my mind."

  Though Abby wondered if it had. Julian did not seem absent-minded, ever.

  "Did it now?" Matilda said, but her eyes gleamed as she spoke.

  She glided toward Sebastian and took his hands. She cocked her head as she looked deeply into his eyes. Her beauty radiated from every pore. Abby felt a pinprick of jealousy and shifted her gaze to the falling water. It immediately soothed her.

  "An interesting specimen, you are..."

  "Sebastian," he offered.

  "Sebastian, yes. Binda will love to get to know you better."

  Abby bristled and Matilda turned to her, smiling.

  "Not that way, lovely, I promise." She winked at Abby. "And look at you, so young." She took Abby's hands.

  Abby felt an intense warmth spread out from the woman's silken touch.

  "Oh my, and a life already threaded with your own. A daughter, no less. A gift that we Sky Mothers cherish above all others."

  Abby nodded, though she didn't quite know why. Matilda had a powerful presence and put Abby immediately at ease. No, it was more complex than ease. Matilda felt like the mother Abby had always wanted, but never had.

  "Come inside, dear friends," Matilda announced, releasing Abby's hands. "You've had a long journey."

  They followed Matilda through the archway and into a long hallway with ceilings that soared. Enormous bamboo fans whirled overhead. Thick, soft couches and chairs sat clustered along the hallway, surrounding glass tables strewn with pink flower petals and flickering candles. A tunnel of wind moved through the hallway as they walked, somehow not disturbing the flowers strewn about. Beyond the corridor, the ocean stretched before them in sparkling waves. Abby savored the salty breeze on her face.

  At the opposite archway, Matilda gestured toward a shimmering infinity pool that seemed to vanish into the ocean. Flanking the pool, Abby saw a stretch of the whitest sand she'd ever laid eyes on.

  "Look," Sebastian whispered, nudging her.

  Abby followed his extended fingers.

  "A kangaroo," she shrieked, growing red as the other witches turned to stare.

  "Carlos," Matilda told her. "Go pet him, he's a ham. But watch out for Lolita, the big one with extra scruffy ears, she likes to sneak up and nip you."

  Abby and Sebastian walked down marble stairs into the grass. Carlos hopped over to them and waited expectantly.

  "I think he's looking for a treat." Sebastian laughed, scratching his neck.

  "He's so big," Abby said, amazed. Close up, the kangaroo stood a foot taller than her. She ran her hand over his chest.

  "Ouch," Sebastian yelped, spinning around.

  Another kangaroo, larger in stature and personality, had a clump of Sebastian's black hair in its mouth.

  "Nice to meet you, Lolita," Abby told the kangaroo, laughing.

  ****

  "Where are all the men?" Sebastian asked Julian that afternoon.

  They sat in the hallway that Abby had deemed the wind tunnel, snacking on fruit and cheese, and resting up from their flight.

  "The Sky Mothers are all women. They do not allow male witches in their coven."

  "Say what?" Oliver asked, incredulous. "Why?"

  "They're
highly devoted to the sacred feminine. They believe that the male element disrupts the purity of a female witch's power. It's too focused on separation and disparity."

  "Wow, isn't that sexist?" Oliver asked. "I thought inclusion was a big part of the witch's law."

  "Inclusion is important, but it doesn't encompass all things, such as living quarters and covens. The truth is that witches are very human in that way. They choose what feels right to them. The Sky Mothers have lived this way for more than two-hundred years."

  "I think it's refreshing," Helena said. "No offense," she patted Oliver's knee. "But I can see the appeal. A sisterhood."

  Abby smiled and nodded. She too could see the allure, but a life without Sebastian? No thanks.

  "No children then?" Sebastian asked.

  Julian shook his head.

  "It is a sacrifice the witches of the Sky Mothers make when they enter the coven, but they are not celibate and they are not eternally bound by the choice. There are witches who have left the coven to have a partnership with a man. Though I believe it is rare."

  "How many witches are in the Sky Mothers?" Oliver asked.

  Julian shrugged.

  "I don't know. I've met five of them during my two visits here, but there are spaces where men are not welcome. Don't worry," he assured them when Sebastian frowned. "You won't stumble into one of those areas. They are bewitched to repel male energy."

  "Wait, I'm going to open a door and get blasted on my ass?" Oliver asked, a sparkle in his eye.

  "Ha-ha," Julian said dryly. "You'll never even know the room is there. That's how effective their spells are."

  "So how do you know they're not celibate?" Oliver grinned.

  Julian narrowed his eyes and shook his head.

  ****

  "Beautiful hair you have," Binda murmured, touching Sebastian's curls lightly.

  "Thanks," he told her, surveying the room.

  He sat on a stool in a circular glass chamber filled with sunlight. Five doors opened to views of the ocean, the gardens, and the beach.

  Matilda had taken the other witches to retrieve the ax while Sebastian got carted off to meet Binda, the founder of the Sky Mothers.