Page 80 of Tricky Magic
“I used to daydream about being swept away by a prince when I was younger. I didn’t think it would be a demon prince,” Ellea teased.
“I’m only half demon,” Ros growled.
“But all the good parts are demon,” Sam taunted, reaching to flick his crotch.
“Flick my crotch one more time and Devon isn’t going to have anything to play with,” Ros snapped.
Ellea giggled so hard she hiccuped, then she groaned, rubbing her stomach. “I think I ate too much.”
They all had, but Ellea had such a sleepy look in her eyes. He eyed Sam, who understood. He got up, grabbed their plates, and disappeared into the house.
“Would you want to go into town with me tomorrow or the next day?” Devon asked Ellea. “I could show you around and we can talk more about our lovely upbringing.”
Ellea let out a huge sigh. “Yeah…I don’t want to, but I need to know more. I should probably grab food too.”
No shit.Her fridge was pitiful, and she needed to eat better. Snacks and coffee were not going to be enough with how much work she was putting in.
Sam came out with a few blankets in his hand. He handed one to Ros, who took it and spread it over Ellea. She gave him a small smile before grabbing a pillow. Resting it on his hip, she curled into a tiny ball and yawned.
“Tell me about you and Sam during the war,” she demanded. “I’m swooning just thinking about you two in those early 1940s uniforms.”
Devon chuckled and settled in with his own blanket. “Yes, please.”
So Ros did. It had been a rough time in his long life, but with Sam there, he’d made some of his best memories. Ellea only made it five minutes into the story of how he and Sam met before she was fast asleep in his lap. He smoothed the hair that had escaped her braid before leaning into the chair. When he looked up, Sam and Devon were giving him a strange look.
“What?” he asked both of them. They only shook their heads.
“Keep going,” Devon said. “This is one of my favorite stories.”
45
Ellea
Ellea spent the day after the barbecue sleeping in with Ros and working on her seer magic. She had felt a pull toward it after her conversation with the guys. After Ros left, saying he needed to check on some things, she pulled out some of her supplies. It would be about an hour until Devon came to pick her up so they could go into town. She was mostly alone in the library; Billy was in the next room sunning her furry body.
Ellea set up a few candles, some crystals, and her incense. She had her tarot cards handy, but today she only wanted to peek. At what, she didn’t know. She hoped something—or someone—would guide her. The talk of Gods last night had been a lot to take in, and she wanted to learn more. What did they do, who did they impact? Did her nana and uncle know about them?
Clearing her mind, she lit her candles and then the incense. Spreading her supplies in a rough circle on the worn desk, she settled in. She had a slow grungy song playing low in the corner of the room. She took a long, deep breath and closed her eyes. The back of her hands rested on the hard surface. One more breath, and she felt the pull in her stomach. A weight pressed on her shoulders, and her head fell to the side.
The singing sound of a blade came first. The sight before her was a large soldier atop a brilliant chestnut horse. She reared at the top of the hill. The scales of her armor glinted in the smoky sun, and she seemed to breathe fire as she neighed along with her rider’s roar.
Ellea took another breath, not forcing the vision but letting it carry her. The rider before her faded, and she was standing in a forest. The moon was huge, bigger than she had ever seen. Its white light shone brightly between the tall trees that surrounded her. She crouched low at the sound of crunching twigs. Wolven were creeping toward the large moon as if they hunted it, their hackles on edge. They didn’t acknowledge her even though she was close enough to reach out a hand and touch their soft fur. The sound of battle sounded in the distance, and the wolven bolted. The air clouded as they chuffed and howled in the night.
Ellea didn’t feel fear with this vision, only curiosity. She stood from her crouch as the last of the wolven left and turned her head toward the sound of her music playing. Before her was a vast lake, and she stood in it, up to her knees. As she turned her head again, Devon was standing in front of her, his back was toward her. She shifted to peek over his shoulder, and across from him stood a group of what could have been witches. They stood proud and almost haughty with their chins lifted in distaste. Devon turned away from them and walked through the water toward her. His eyes were set over her shoulder, and he had a smile on his face. She followed his line of sight and there stood Sam, with a pack of wolven behind him. Ellea turned back toward Devon and he was smiling at her. She jumped, realizing she was back in the library and Devon was actually smiling at her.
“Where did you go?” Devon asked with excited curiosity.
Ellea cleared her throat and that feeling of floating that came with drifting along visions. “A few places.”
Devon cocked his brow at her. “I’ve only dabbled in seer magic, tarot, the stars, and a few other things, but I didn’t find the gift to actually see things. I hear only the older families can go places.”
“Supposedly, and I’ve never heard of non-seers trying seer magic before.” It was unheard of. Well, from what she knew, which was turning out to be very little.
“Let’s head out, and I’ll tell you all about it,” he said, blowing out her candles.
“Are you in a rush?” Ellea teased. He shook his head and headed out of her library toward the front of the cabin. “Jeez, slow down!”
She shuffled after him, grabbing a sweater and throwing her boots on. She called out to Billy to let her know she was leaving, and she only got a sleepy grumble in response.
