The Keepers: Archer

“It’s not far and no one saw me.” With a wide smile, she pulled her grandmother into her arms again. “I missed you so much.”

Rose wrapped her frail arms around her granddaughter and smiled. “I knew you’d find your way back home.”

“More like home found me.”

“And in the nick of time too.” Rose pulled away to reveal bold green eyes filled with love and wisdom. She grimaced at the fading bruise on Sienna’s cheek. “Are you okay?”

“Yes. Archer gave me some painkillers that have taken the edge off the aches and pains.”

“Do you know who did this?”

Sienna followed her grandmother into the kitchen and inhaled the familiar smell of home. Earthy and fresh, with the faint aroma of herbs. Typical of a witch’s kitchen. Some of Sienna’s happiest childhood memories were of her time spent here. “He said his name is Harper.”

“And you couldn’t fry his ass?”

Sienna shook her head and filled the kettle. “Rose Thorn.”

“I’ve had a dose or two of Rose Thorn in my life time,” Rose replied with an all-knowing nod. “Wicked herb. Is he one of Warrick’s minions?”

“Yes. Has Archer filled you in?”

Rose sank into the chair at the kitchen window and sighed. “Of course. I’m glad you’re home, Sienna.”

Sienna offered Rose a warm smile. “It’s good to be back.” Her time away had been fraught with constant worry for her grandmother. Rose had aged, and even though her powers as an ordinary witch were still strong, her body wasn’t.

“You still have some clothes in your old room,” Rose said, giving Sienna’s shirt and gumboots another glance.

“Ah, I could do with some knickers.”

Rose chuckled merrily as Sienna disappeared through the house.

Sienna’s smile quickly faded the moment she opened the door to her bedroom. It smelt musty, starved of air, as though it had remained sealed since she’d left. It was exactly as she’d left it. Only dustier. The bed was still made, the curtains still drawn, and memories of her life still splashed across the room. Sienna swallowed, trying to push away the emotions that suddenly choked her. She wondered how she’d ever had the courage to leave.

With a brief shake of the head to clear her thoughts, Sienna quickly gathered a few items. She opted for only the essentials, as she’d have to haul everything across the forest. Also, a huge load of clothes would look awfully suspicious – a dead giveaway that she’d gone to see her grandmother.

Naughty, naughty.

When she returned to the kitchen, Rose’s expression brightened. “Tell me about your trip,” she said, placing two steaming mugs of coffee on the kitchen table.

Sienna reached for the coffee with an appreciative smile, not commenting on her grandmother’s choice of words. She’d hardly call a two-year absence a “trip.”

Several hours later, when Sienna suggested that she stay over, Rose wouldn’t hear of it.

“You’re better off with your Keepers, Sienna.” She glanced out the window. “And the sun is setting so you’d best be making your way home. It’s almost time for dinner.”

Sienna would have argued, but as fatigue still reigned, dinner and sleep sounded like an attractive idea. “I’ll come see you tomorrow.”

“Of course.” Rose placed a hand on Sienna’s arm, her touch light and gentle. “I’m surprised the boys let you come here alone.” When Sienna remained silent and simply reached for her gumboots, Rose’s jaw dropped. “Sienna, they don’t know you’re here?”

“If they knew they’d be here.”

Rose gave a low chuckle. “Archer’s going to pop a vein, girl.”

“As if I care.”

The expression on her grandmother’s face cooled. “You don’t fool me, Sienna.”

“I’m fine,” Sienna replied, never having doubted it. She’d always been transparent with Rose.

“And Archer?”

The smile disappeared. “Archer’s also fine.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“I know.”

“You two were always together.” Rose’s eyes were ripe with concern. “It must have been hard to be apart for so long.”

“He was my best friend.” Always had been. After all, his parents had been her mother’s Keepers. At first, they’d spent every day together as neighbourhood friends. Later, after their parents’ deaths when he’d inherited the role as her Keeper from his parents, they were inseparable. But their attraction had grown to the point that it bordered on the forbidden. “I miss him. I miss the way we used to be.”

Rose stood and embraced the younger woman. “Are you ever going to tell me what happened between you two?”

“Nothing happened.”

The older woman pulled back to look at Sienna. “Did it have something to do with Sarah’s death?”

“Mostly.”

“I know Sarah’s death was hard on you both but I suspect it had something to do with The Circle’s curse.”

Yes. “No.”

“It may be hard for you to understand why The Circle forbids a witch to get involved with her Keeper, Sienna. They don’t want that kind of emotional connection interfering with your choices in maintaining the balance of nature.”

“Those old hags shouldn’t have a say in my love life!” Sienna snapped and then quickly drew herself back. Challenging a bunch of ancestral witches that governed the rules around witchcraft was not something she usually did. “And besides, my leaving after Sarah’s death involved a lot more than just my relationship with Archer.”

“Sarah’s death wasn’t your fault, Sienna. That was all Warrick Brogan.”

“She was there because of me.” Her tone had taken on an edge of venom to it, despite her resolve not to. “And when Warrick killed her, I lost it to the point that I hurt my Keepers. That’s not something that’ll ever leave me.”

Rose placed a wrinkled hand on Sienna’s arm. “It was a mistake, Sienna.”

“I almost killed them!”

“But you didn’t.”

“I could have. I was so angry, so devastated when Sarah died. I destroyed the tomb with powers I had no idea how to control and once I became weak, I drew my strength from Declan and Ethan to the point that I almost killed them. What kind of witch does that make me?” Sienna turned away, struck with the images of the chaos she’d created that night.