Page 6 of Tricky Magic
Are you going to tell him about your dream last night?Billy asked.
“It is nothing new, and there is no need to bother him with it.” She also didn’t want him to know about the dream she’d had on the couch.
Billy rolled her eyes and headed out of the room. Ellea got up and headed to her closet. Finding some old black leggings, a sports bra, and one of her older band tees, she headed to the bathroom to freshen up. The bathroom was just as dark as her bedroom, and Ellea liked it that way. She had too many terrible memories of crazy colors and unmatched decor from the time she’d spent with her parents. It was calming to have everything simple, elegant, and dark.
Glancing up at herself in the mirror, she sighed. “Looks like I didn’t sleep at all last night.” She splashed water on her face.
* * *
Heading into the gym,Ellea found her uncle already on a yoga mat with one open next to him.
“I thought we were doing weight training today?” she asked.
“With Lughnasadh coming up, I thought it would be best to save our energy. Billy also mentioned something about a nightmare?”
Damn that beast.
“Billy is being dramatic. It was nothing, and I don’t feel bothered by it,” she lied. Well, she lied about the second part; Billywasbeing dramatic.
Felix arched a brow at her and gestured for her to sit. Ellea plopped down with a huff and sat criss-cross in front of her uncle.
“Now, I’m assuming it is our typical nightmare,” he stated.
“Yes,” she grumbled at him.
“Let’s close our eyes,” he said, stretching up and placing his hands gently on his knees. “Go back to the nightmare and try to find if there is anything different.”
“I know there is nothing different. It was the same nightmare as always,” she said with a sigh.
“Close your eyes and go back,” he repeated.
Ellea glared at him, but she mumbled, “Yes, uncle,” and closed her eyes with him. Taking a deep breath, she went back.
Ellea pressed her warm body into the man behind her. She felt herself smile as his beard scratched her bare skin.
She snapped her eyes open.
“Too far back,” she said as her face heated.
“Who was that?” Felix asked with an amused look.
“Pretty sure he’s made up from some book I was reading.” She pressed her lips together as heat pooled in her belly.
It had felt so real. It had been extremely disappointing that her dreams didn’t bring her back to that moment.
“Try again,” he said, and she closed her eyes.
Ellea stood at the top of a steep hill with destruction laid before her. The smell of fire hit her before the feeling of never-ending heat on her skin. Trees were blasted apart around a lake that still burned. Bodies lay before her, lifeless, and her power was crackling like lightning under her skin. Her breathing picked up, knowing what would come next. She glanced down and saw Billy dead before her with her large paws reaching to where Ellea stood. Her uncle and Nana lay on either side, their hands also reaching. The view changed as if she were a bird flying overhead. There was fire everywhere and not a living soul in sight. As the view came closer to Ellea, she saw herself with barely a slip of a linen dress. Black mud and blood covered her up to her knees and elbows. Her hair was limp and wet around her, and her hands were open as if in prayer. With her solid black eyes, she glanced at her shoulder. A hand rested there. Looking up, she found the face of her mother. Her wicked smile was the opposite of her father’s solemn expression.
With a gasp, Ellea snapped back to reality. Felix looked at her with such a determined stare. She had never tried to look into minds as he did; it reminded her too much of how her mother used to torture her. But she fully trusted her uncle.
“I told you it was the same, nothing has changed,” she stated flatly while trying to even out her breathing.
“But you seem to have forgotten that your parents are gone and can never get to you. We have worked on this all your life,” he said calmly, placing a gentle hand on her cheek. “Practice control, calmness, and let go of a nightmare that will not come true.”
She leaned into his touch, trying to believe it as much as she could.
“Let’s work on some mind work and then thirty minutes of stretching. We’ll finish with ten minutes of breath work.”
