Page 7 of Dragon's Golden Mate
She checked her watch. “I have an appointment I need to get to. Can we schedule another time?”
“Certainly, and I can look up a few things in the meantime.” Kendrick would enjoy this project. It would be a good distraction.
Cassandra gave him a curt nod. “I’ll call you. Please do remember, Mr. Alexander, that safety and liability are my utmost concern.”
As she turned for the main door, Kendrick noticed a much smaller door off to his right. “What’s through there?”
“Hm? Oh, just an old coat room.”
He stepped over and peeked inside. His curiosity always got the better of him when he was in old places like this. Nothing was particularly noticeable, though. As he turned back, he found another creature staring at him. This one sat perched on a newel post at the bottom of the stairs that led up to the gallery. His batlike wings arched powerfully and purposefully from his back, but his wide eyes and protruding lips gave him the look of a rather concerned little goblin. His toes were curled around the top of the post, and more runes were carved into the backs of them.
Sensing that Cassandra was getting impatient, Kendrick hurried out the front door. He helped Cassandra pull it shut so she could lock it. She once again promised to call him to set up another appointment before she zoomed off in her little luxury coupe.
Kendrick got into his vehicle more slowly, wishing once again that he’d walked. It would’ve given him more time to think about what he’d just seen. This was no ordinary church. Much of the main architecture was in line with its era and style. Though gargoyles and grotesques weren’t as widely used there as they were in other parts of the world, they weren’t unheard of.
They usually weren’t on the inside of the building, though. They were placed on the outside, staring down at parishioners as a reminder to repent of their sins before walking into the cleanliness of the church.
They definitely didn’t have runes on them that labeled them as guardians of sacred sites.
He scratched his jaw as he turned onto the road. Kendrick needed to figure out what was really going on with this church.
3
The covenstead wasfull and lively. Maeve moved through the common rooms with a smile on her face. She could feel the shifter energy and connection in the air, and that was exactly what she wanted when she’d started this coven. That was way back at the beginning of the eighties, when plenty of covens existed in Salem, but none strictly for witches who were shifters. The world had changed a lot since then, and there were times when Maeve wondered if the Artemis Eclipse Sisterhood would last. Days like this one made her doubts disappear.
Only some of the witches actually lived there at the covenstead. Many had their own apartments or houses, and they only came by for advice or events. Today was one such circumstance. It was a chancefor the more experienced women to train the younger ones, and a perfect opportunity for everyone to get a little closer.
They’d spend the first part of the day chatting, snacking, and learning in a relaxed environment. Later, Maeve would lead them in a ritual that would enhance their bond and unite them all.
“There’s just no way I can do that.” Nia, a young witch who’d only been with the Sisterhood for a few months, sagged forward in her chair. “I just can’t concentrate.”
Kristy, Maeve’s middle daughter, smiled at her sympathetically. “Don’t be too hard on yourself. We all have to start somewhere.”
“I guess.” Nia frowned, her dark eyes turning toward the floor.
“What are we working on?” Maeve asked gently.
“Basic energy harnessing.” Kristy held out her hand, her palm up and her fingers slightly curled. Little crackles of blue lightning burst at her fingertips. These grew larger and fiercer, converging into a bright little ball the size of a marble in her palm.
Maeve sat down next to Kristy on the couch. “Start small,” she advised Nia. “Don’t worry about how to concentrate it into a ball. First, you just need to feel it flowing through you. Can you sense it?”
“Like a tickling right here?” Nia pointed to the center of her palm where many of the lines converged.
“Precisely. You’ll notice it more in some places than others. Here, for instance, where you’re surrounded by people who know how to use it, it’ll probably be easier to pick up on. It might be totally different if you go to the grocery store. If you feel it when you’renotlooking for it, that’s when you really want to pay attention.”
“But feeling it isn’t going to do much,” Nia countered dejectedly.
“It will,” Maeve promised. She held out her own hand and felt that same tickle the young witch had mentioned. After so many years of practicing, it took almost no concentration for her to flip her hand out and hold a concentrated orb of magical energy.
Usually.
Today, she got only a couple of tiny gold sparks off her middle and pointer fingers, and then they quickly fizzled out.
“Hm.” Maeve tried again. A miniature bolt of lightning shot off her thumb, clinking against a glass of ice water on the coffee table. “Well, Nia. Maybe, at the very least, it’ll make you feel better to know that even those of us who are experienced have off days.”
Nia smiled. “It does, actually. I’m thinking maybe I need to stick to tarot. I still have a lot to learn, but it comes a little easier.”
“I’m happy to help with that!” Kristy pulled a deck out of her pocket. The cards had spoken to her since she was young, and it was rare that she didn’t have some on her. She expertly riffled the deck, straightened the cards, and then created a waterfall of them from one hand to the other.
