Page 58 of Pure Magic
Taking her hand, I kiss the knuckles. “It’s a lovely one. I wouldn’t mind a dozen little girls that look like you.”
She laughs. “A dozen! Perhaps one or two that look like us would do.”
I shrug. “Perhaps a baby already grows inside your beautiful body.”
Eyes wide, she cups her belly. “I don’t think so. Not yet.”
“Do you think you would know so soon?” It’s strange that I’m disappointed. I never even dreamed of children until I met Sara Beth, and now, I want to fill a house with them.
She rubs her abdomen. “I think if a witch grew inside me, I’d know.” She shrugs. “But perhaps not.” With a smile, she closes her eyes and hangs the wand over the circle on the desk.
Slowing her breath, she holds perfectly still while the wand swings in small circles. It jerks down, pulling the rope from her hand and stabbing the table a quarter inch deep.
Sara Beth gasps and opens her eyes.
I stand. The wand impaled the circle at the southwest edge. The circle glows bright orange, and a steeple appears before it vanishes, taking the salt and glow with it. The wand clatters to the desk.
I have to catch my breath. “That was different from any scrying I’ve ever seen.”
“Or me. I suppose we should look for the steeple and see what we find.” She hands the wand back to me and walks behind the dressing screen.
I wash up and pull on my shirt and boots. “What do you think would make the wand react so violently?”
“I don’t know.” Fabric rustles behind the screen. It’s adorable that she’s gone back there to dress when she slept naked beside me an hour ago. She steps out with her dress hiding her masculine clothes. “It’s as if it was impatient for us to find the staff.”
Pulling on my jacket, I walk to the door, and then I hold it open for her to pass through first.
Her mind is full of possibilities and worries, but I push them aside in search of her love for me. It’s my reason for staying and fighting. Goddess may command as she likes, but I answer only to Sara Beth.
“What you’re thinking is blasphemous.” There’s no shock or censure in her tone. She sounds more amused than offended.
I shrug. “Perhaps. It’s the truth.”
“Regardless of your reasons for following this path, it is the right thing, Adam. I’m sure of it.” At the bottom of the steps, she slips her hand through the crook in my elbow and lets me escort her out of the inn and down the street. As soon as we’re outside, the gray steeple with a belfry is visible. I feel magic rising around me like a bad omen. “My sister may have already found the staff.” I run to keep up with Sara Beth. We turn down several streets, keeping the steeple in sight until we come around the last corner.
At the edge of the cemetery adjacent to the church, Ariana and Kaden stand in front of an old birch tree. Kaden’s eyes are black as ink and his arms are crossed. Dressed all in black, he looks like her henchman rather than her brother. His skin is far too pale for good health.
Rage burns in Ariana’s blue eyes. Her hair is pulled away from her face, and a long red plait hangs over one shoulder. “Brother, I’ve been waiting. You didn’t honestly think you could avoid me.”
“I would prefer to do so for the rest of your life, Ariana. If I wanted contact with my family, I’d seek you out.” I move to put myself between them and Sara Beth, but she takes my hand and stands beside me.
Her mind screams, “Together.”
“I suspected I should have killed this witch in Windsor. I’m far too kind for my own good.” As she lifts her hand, a bolt of red lightning flashes across the air.
Sara Beth lifts her hand and blocks the magic with a wave of blue light. “I suspect if you could have, you would have.”
Ariana’s laugh grates on my ears and dies as quickly as it started. “Why come this far? What are you looking for?” She looks around the church grounds.
“She doesn’t know what we’re after.” I step forward. “What are you talking about? You know why we left Windsor. Do you think Sara Beth wants her coven in danger from you?”
Ariana steps closer, winces, and stops.
Kaden walks around her and continues toward us. His eyes are dead, and his skin is sickly. He raises his hands as if to push something back.
“What have you done to him?”
The protection from evil spell should keep him at least six feet away from us, but he’s getting closer.
