Page 26 of The Magic of Betrayal
"You have been running hotter lately, probably the exposure to such hot dudes all the time."
Maven's bark drew our attention to where Annie was chasing him near the big oak that grew out over the lake.
"Not too close to the water, Annie!" Miranda called out, but my gaze was firmly locked on the side of the tree, the spot that I had healed when I'd been here with the guys last. Seeing the darkness along the side of the trunk had me hoping to the stars it was just a shadow, that I'd get over there and there'd be nothing wrong with the beautiful tree.
But deep down, I knew that wasn't going to be the case. I hadn't even thought about how I'd used my magic out here that day, but it made sense that the big tree would've been affected the same way everything else was that I dared to taint with my affinity.
My legs were carrying me to the lake, Miranda's voice behind me, asking what was wrong... but I couldn't speak yet. Not until I confirmed what I was seeing.
We stopped right against the tree, my hand running down the blackness that was spreading outward almost like veins in the body.
"Shit, shit, shit!" I cursed under my breath.
"Trees get sick sometimes, Saige. It'll be okay. You can heal it, can't you?" Miranda asked, placing a hand on my shoulder. She understood that the death of living things hit me much harder than the usual witch, my powers being so connected to life.
"Yeah, yeah, of course. But I need to do some digging first to see what the problem might be before I start pushing magic into it," I replied. However, the fact of the matter was I wouldn't be touching the tree or anything else with my powers, not until this mystery got sorted out. What a mess.
We walked for a bit, Maven and Annie darting back and forth across the paved walkway. It felt great to spend time with them, yet my mind was having a hard time not thinking about all of the shit going on that my bestie didn't know about. I didn’t tell her about everything because she had enough on her plate, I didn’t want to add to her stress.
We'd been sitting on the bank of the lake, our toes dipping in the water, laughing about things that had happened when we were in school, catching up on what we'd each heard about old classmates, but the sun was starting to sink lower in the sky, and I still needed to swing by the grocery store on the way home.
"Well, girls, I think it's time for Mave and I to head back home," I said, stretching out my back once I was standing.
"Aww, man, can't he spend the night with me?" Annie asked, her eyes wide like a little puppy.
Glancing a look at Maven, I swear to the stars, he shook his head no.
"Not tonight, hon. We need to get home so you can eat dinner and take a bath. What do you have there?" Miranda asked, leaning down to take the paper from Annie's hand.
"It's a picture I made for Saige," Annie smiled, waiting for me to look at it.
Miranda laughed and handed it over to me without peeking.
It was a beautiful forest, so green and alive. But the forest wasn’t the focal point of this painting. No, it was the large pentagram drawn into the center of the forest floor. The drawing itself was beautiful, she was incredibly talented for her age, but there was something ominous about it and I suppressed a chill that ran down my body.
After thanking her for the artwork, we went our separate ways. I had a stop to make before I could go home.
* * *
Pullingmy bike up to Dinner Thyme, I rested it against the wall and ran inside quickly to grab a couple bottles of wine, and an assortment of meat and cheeses. Hell yes. Pushing my cart down the aisle, I passed by Randy Roger, who was dressed immaculately in a terry cloth romper with snakeskin cowboy boots.By the moon, the confidence on this mage.
"Seasons greetings, Saige, it's been a while. You look lovely, darling."
"Love the outfit, Roger. Where'd you find that?" I smiled, but for real, I really did like it and kind of wanted one for myself.
"Oh, this old thing?" He brushed his hand through the air, like I was the one being dramatic and I giggled. "Stole this right from your gran's vintage trunk. Don't tell her, she turns into a real hag when I borrow clothes without permission. But I figure it's easier to just do whatever I want and then beg for forgiveness." He winked and I shook my head at his ridiculousness.
"Your secret is safe with me, Roger, but you know she's going to find out... and there will be hell to pay when that happens."
"Pfft, I'll win her affections back with the tequila jello shots I have in my fridge at home.” He snapped his fingers dramatically, “Oh, that reminds me, I need to grab some limes. When you see Captain Cuke-zuke, let him know I'm ready for a rematch, and this time, eggplants and leek are acceptable weapon options."
Before I could even process what had just come out his mouth, he sauntered down the aisle, shaking his ass like he was born to. Strange duck, that one, but I adored his live and let live mentality.
My phone dinged and I smiled when I saw a text from 'Big Daddy'. Laughter slipped out from my lips at the name change, Kai must've done it when I was sleeping. Accurate though.
Big Daddy:Everything okay, little witch?
Me:Yes, Dad.*eye roll emoji*Everything is just fine. At the grocery store, the meat hasn't attacked me, don't worry.
