Page 38 of The Magic of Discovery
“My moth-”
“Later. I must get these protections in place. They’re crucial. We’ll talk once I’m done.” My playful, man-obsessed Gran was gone, her tone telling me how serious she was, so I bit my tongue.
Now I had more questions than ever.
* * *
Not really knowingwhat the hell to do with myself, I figured I might as well get started in my gardens. Throwing a quick spell up for protection, just to be safe, I stepped out onto the still wet grass. Mist was rising off of the ground like the sky was calling it back home, the sun peeking through the wooded forest, projecting golden rays across the yard.
The sound of birds singing was calming enough to let me feel some peace, and I twisted my damp hair up onto the top of my head. I freaking hated getting my hair in my face when I was trying to garden. Trudging across the property, I headed to the back corner where the moonstone beds were.Ugh, please let these be okay.I kept my eyes on anything I could except for my destination, dreading what I might find.
Throwing up one lastpraise be to the stars, I looked down and exhaled the breath I’d been holding.They look fantastic.They were slightly glowing, still charged up from the night, and I couldn’t find anything to even hint at a problem. Well, thank the gods that these weren’t affected by this fuckery. After a few moments, my happiness started to give way to a niggling in the back of my head, reminding me of the fact that while I did tend to these stones, my actualmagichad no part in their success. That was all on the moon. Different moon cycles provided different types of properties, so it was really just a matter of time and dedication on my end to keep up with tracking which stones had been out for what cycles.
Anger suddenly charged to the forefront of my mind. Who was doing this to me? Was this connected to the demons? I wasn’t going to take this lying down. Storming back across the property, I approached my gardens. The once beautiful spring flowers were completely dead. My plants hadn’t even broken the soil yet, long overdue. Pissed off, I knelt down and shoved my hands into the dirt. The more I looked around me at the destruction, the more furious I felt. My magic was churning inside of my body, begging for release.
Deciding that I was in charge of my own shit, I sent out a wave of energy, picturing the seeds sprouting underground and pushing upward through the dirt, climbing to the sun. Opening my eyes, I gasped and yanked my hands out of the soil, falling back on my ass.
Gnarled, black sprigs had erupted from the earth where there should’ve been perfect green seedlings, all in a row. Wide-eyed, I watched in disbelief as some of them actually broke off and turned to ash. Tears welled in my eyes.
No. Not my power. I don’t kill things! I give life. What’s happening to me, and why do I have such a horrible feeling that this is going to get worse before it gets better?
Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out my phone and fired off a text to Cam. If Sloane hadn’t agreed to come over tonight, I was fully prepared to beg.
Me: Did you get a chance to talk to Sloane yet? Things are worse than I thought.
I’d barely put the phone down before it pinged.
Cam: Are you safe? Sloane, Kai, and I are planning to come by tonight to see if we can find anything when you’re out with Fish.
Cam’s message helped to dry my tears, and a small grin broke through at the thought that they were all coming over to help me.They’ll be here in less than four hours, I reassured myself with a sigh. I typed out a response, holding back the extent of my distress so as not to worry him. The big protective mage would be over here in a heartbeat if he felt I was in danger.
Me: I’m safe. I just wanted to make sure that someone was willing to help. This is beyond my witch level.
“Saige, come meet me in the kitchen. Let’s get started,” Gran yelled out to me from the house, closing the window in the kitchen after I acknowledged her. I headed for the house, reading another text while I walked.
Cam: Yes, little witch. We’ll do everything we can to help you figure this out. It’ll be okay. Enjoy your afternoon. I might need a nap later. I didn’t get a whole lot of sleep last night.
Cheeks on fire, I tucked my phone into my pants and headed for the kitchen.Let’s get this over with.
“What is all of this stuff, Gran?” I questioned, taking in everything she had spread out across the entire table.
“Stuff that’s going to keep you safe. Sit down. You can help out, and then I will tell you a little story.” The last part of her statement was weighed down with a hint of sadness. Lifting up a bracelet that had several crystals in it, she motioned for my wrist, securing the dainty gold chain around it when I held out my arm.
“This will give you strength from the stars and protect you from any possession, although I’m not convinced that is their objective. Seems to me they would’ve done it already if that was the plan. It will also allow you to have increased awareness so that you’ll feel when a demon is near. Most describe it as a tingly sensation at the base of the neck or goosebumps, that kind of thing.”
Picking up a mortar and pestle, she pushed them into my hands. “Sit, grind this up to a fine dust. We will place it at all of the windowsills, doorways, and around the entire perimeter of the property. While you grind, I’ll cleanse each room with sage sticks and cast protection spells and wards.”
Lifting a small basket that held her tools, she sped out of the kitchen, the sound of her chanting and the smell of smoke reaching my nose within thirty seconds.
Gran was quirky, but this was beyond anything I’d ever seen from her. Yeah, she was always determined to protect me, but I could see something else in her eyes that was an even larger driving force—Fear.
That scared the shit out of me. I’d never seen anything close to fear cross her face. Happiness, amusement, longing, annoyance... absolutely.Neverfear. Hell, I’d just discovered that demons -demons- were an actual thing. Sitting at the table, I ground the ingredients into a dust, questions racing through my head as I worked.What in the world would demons want with me? And what connection does Laurie have to them? Ugh.Feeling pissed off again, I put some extra elbow grease into the motions and pulled back when the pestle went through the bottom of the mortar.
By the moon, I’d just ground through the damn thing.How is that even possible?Picking up the pestle that was now a good inch shorter than when I started, I stared down in shock at the hole in the bottom of the stone basin. Lifting it up, the powder I had been grinding spilled out onto the table. Gran had just hustled back into the room, and I turned to her with wide eyes as she looked from my face to the destroyed items in my hands.
“What in the name of Saturn’s balls happened to it?” Taking them from my hands, she peered at me through the hole.
“Uh... I put my back into it and broke it?”
