Page 31 of Magic Blooms
It was too dark to get a good look at whoever had appeared outside, but not too dark to make out the general figure of a person wearing a black-hooded cloak that was so long it dragged on the ground.
Dark. Secret. Concealed.
Just like a murderer—or a black magic practitioner.
I reached for the door handle, ready to confront this suspicious arrival, but Joshua grabbed my arm. “What are you doing?” he whisper-yelled.
“Well, we have to go find out who that is. Don’t we?”
“We don’t do anything. I’ll go check it out. You stay here.”
If I weren’t in such a hurry, I would’ve slapped him. Where that level of passionate anger came from, I didn’t know, but I felt it. “I haven’t been here all this time just to let you do all the hard work now!”
“It’s not just hard work, it’s dangerous work. What do you think you’re going to do if you come face to face with a dark witch?”
I opened my mouth but couldn’t find the words I needed to defend himself. I really hadn’t thought that far ahead.
“That’s what I figured. You stay here. If I have to worry about your safety, it will just distract me.” And then he climbed out of the truck and snuck toward the office.
The figure had already disappeared into the building, and soon Joshua disappeared after it.
I let out a deep sigh as I waited, hating that my role in this had been relegated to a simple bystander. So much for proving myself to Joshua. He’d only wanted me here as an elaborate alarm clock. And I couldn’t blame him. What was I going to do?
But then I remembered that I wasn’t exactly powerless. I had discovered what killed Karen. I had helped get Art to speak to us. I’d proven myself so far, and I would do it yet again. Time to find out the who of this equation.
thirteen
My mind made up, I climbed out of the truck and took a few careful steps before stopping once again. I needed to be smart about this.
Rather than charging straight in, I recreated the same experience I’d had in Karen’s room at Fox’s End, centering myself and taking a series of deep breaths as I visualized the exact outcome that I wanted. When I exhaled I felt my power leave me, reaching out and mixing with the shrubbery outside of the doctor’s office. Whereas before I was just focusing on a few single seeds, this time I was able to influence full grown bushes, the branches stretching out and expanding across the walkways, over the building.
Higher, higher.
I took a startled step back as I realized the bushes were still growing. I tried to tell them to stop, but they didn’t listen.
Higher, higher.
Thicker, thicker.
Less and less control.
Panic hit me then; I could no longer find my calm. All I could do was keep backing up until I was pressed flat against Joshua’s truck. The overgrown branches had crept just inches from my feet when the door to Art’s office swung open and the mysterious figure reappeared.
The figure halted upon seeing the plant barricade I’d created as a trap. The vines and branches turned away from me and crept toward the new arrival, ready to ensnare the figure even more fully.
I smiled in victory. Take that, Joshua. Turns out I’m not so useless, after all!
But then a bright blast of fire tore through the brush, creating a clear path for escape.
A moment later, Joshua burst through the doors and grabbed at the fleeing figure’s robes. I hoped that he would pull the material far enough for me to get a good view of the culprit, but then there was a flash of light so bright that I was forced to squeeze my eyes shut and hold a protective arm in front of my face.
When I opened my eyes again, the figure was gone.
And Joshua came staggering toward me, uninjured but alone.
I let out a deep sigh of frustration. We’d gotten so close, only to fail at this critical juncture. No, I wouldn’t accept it.
Couldn’t accept it.
