Page 59 of Power Shift
The place looked like a jungle. Every single plant inside was four times larger than it should be, even the new seedlings I’d planted only a few days ago.
Another side effect of merging with the Chimera. Yay. Fun.
With a sigh, I set my coffee mug down and got to work.
A few hours later,a vehicle pulled up. Moira, Tess, and Ash got out of the car and came to the greenhouse. Ash’s eyes were wide.
“How much have you gotten done since this happened?” he asked.
“Twenty-five percent,” I muttered. The most important thing was getting the plants away from the glass so I could have the windows repaired to keep the temperature regulated. The plants would be fine for now. Outdoor temperatures were dropping, but there was no chance of a freeze for at least the next several weeks.
Moira whistled low. “Did you lose control?”
“I woke up to this.”
Tess floated around, investigating everything with her pale gaze. “Your magic is fluctuating. I can feel it pulsing around thisplace. You spend the bulk of your time here, soaking your plants in your power. I’m surprised this hasn’t happened sooner.”
“A hint would have been nice,” I grumbled at Tess.
She sent me a serene smile. “I am a banshee. Not a magician.”
Ash ducked to hide his grin.
“Right,” I said. “How silly of me to forget.”
Moira laughed. “I feel it too. This place is vibrating with power.” She sent me a suspicious look. “How much more powerful are you now that you’ve opened yourself to the Chimera?”
I looked around at the greenhouse and shrugged. “I have to be extremely conscious when I’m working at the shop, but this was done during sleep when I have no control.” I frowned. “Though I’ve never had such a slip during rest before.”
Ash touched the side of the greenhouse and frowned, though he didn’t look over at me. “Stand back,” he said.
We obeyed instantly. Ash’s magic was similar to mine, though his main domain was trees. My greenhouse was made of gathered oak that had fallen naturally. Ash’s eyes glowed emerald, his power groaning into the wood.
A pop sounded in my ears before the pressure I hadn’t realized was building up slowly drained away.
Ash patted the side of the greenhouse. “Poor thing. She was bloated with magic.”
Too focused on the glass and the extra growth, I hadn’t thought to check on the structure. “Thank you. I don’t want to kill anything, so I’ve been trying to transplant most of the extra growth. If any of you want anything, feel free to take it.”
“Have you called Simone?” Moira asked as she bent to size up an overgrown patch of French thyme. “She’ll want some of these.”
I thought about it. “I’ll transplant some into pots and bring them to the Keep. I don’t want her reporting back to Caelan about the current state of my jungle.”
“I’ll take whatever is left over,” Tess said. She reached a pale finger out to touch a moonflower blossom, one that shouldn’t be blooming this late in the morning.
“If you want some moonflowers, I have a massive bag of seeds in the house. You can take whatever you like.”
We worked in silence for a while, everyone rolling up their sleeves to help me get things under control. A warm feeling settled into my chest as they helped carefully cut all the growth back and painstakingly pot each new plant baby.
By the time we finished, the sun was setting, we were all covered in dirt, and my magic had settled into a happy, contented hum. Maybe the problem wasn’t that I was having issues with the new Chimera power. Maybe the issue was I was failing to burn off some of the excess and it was causing the excess to escape when I was unaware.
I sank onto the ground with a groan. “Wow.”
Moira, Tess, and Ash all found a seat. “That was fun!” Moira said. “We haven’t worked like that in ages.” She wiped her dirty forehead with the back of her arm, leaving it worse than it was to start with. “Being at the shop is always fun, and I love working with all the smaller plants, but this place was a jungle!”
Ash grinned. “You’re right. Maybe we should consider that when we talk about new offerings in the shop.” He eyed me. “How are you feeling?”
“Ugh. I knew you’d sense it.” I picked up a clod of dirt and tossed it at him.
