Page 35 of Fated Midlife Christmas
“Those who don’t know the consequences should never perform magic!” Mary screamed. Her hands moved in front of her, creating a dark, swirling cloud. With a flick of her bony fingers, she sent it flying straight at Corinna.
With a scream, Corinna dove behind one of the massive clear quartz geodes. The smoky magic slammed into it, shattering it into a million shards. The sparkling dust hung in the air for a moment before the wind blew it away.
“Corinna!” Lorelei shouted, keeping a bit of distance from the doorway. “I brought Artemis Eclipse!”
The High Priestess shrieked as Mary sent another attack toward her. “Why do I fucking care? You were always so useless, Lorelei! Do something!”
“Oh, boy,” Lucille muttered.
Amanda turned to Lorelei, knowing that she wasn’t useless at all. “The geodes. That’s how you were harnessing the ley energy, right?”
The blonde girl bobbed her head.
“Okay, so we just need to destroy them,” Amanda reasoned, her teeth beginning to chatter from the cold.
“I tried,” Lorelei said. “I’m not strong enough, and I’m not sure it would help.”
“Maybe not, especially since Mary already destroyed one herself,” Amanda admitted, “but it’s a start.”
“Let me try something first,” Lucille said, putting her hand on Amanda’s arm and boldly stepping into the room.
Amanda’s heart shot into her throat. She’d already seen what Mary was capable of, even without a physical form.
But Lucille held her chin high. “Mary Riddle!”
The spirit jerked her head around, her lip curling in a snarl as her dark eyes fastened on Lucille. It was then that Amanda realized they weren’t really eyes at all, just voids of nothingness.
“We’re here to help.” Lucille spoke quickly, trying to get her message across before Mary made any decisions. “We know you don’t want to be here, and we want to help you get back.”
Under her dark dress, Mary’s chest expanded as she hissed and seethed, full of anger and torment.
“You are a powerful and knowledgeable Priestess,” Lucille went on. “If you can tell us how, we’ll do everything we can to help you.”
Slowly, Mary lifted a gnarled finger. “You pulled me across the veil! You dragged me from my peace! The pain! You don’t know the pain!”
“We’ll help you get back,” Lucille pleaded.
“The pain!” Mary screamed, her voice rising to an ear-splitting pitch as she sent a blast of dark magic at Lucille.
There wasn’t enough time to get out of the way, and there was nothing to hide behind. Lucille went flying backward through the pocket doors, tumbling out into the living room and coming to a stop against the back of the couch.
“Mom!” Amanda and Jamie both cried.
Her hair was tousled, and she had a scrape on her forehead, but otherwise, she seemed uninjured. “Never mind,” Lucille said. “It was worth a shot!”
Amanda grabbed her sister’s hand. “Come on.”
She and Jamie ran into the room, blasting their magic straight at the geodes. The brilliant flashes of red light exploded like bombs on the hard crystals, but they had almost no effect.
“Stop!” Mary cried. “You did this!” The disoriented spirit turned on them.
Kristy and Tina rushed in, already in their animal forms, and intercepted the blasts of violent magic that were meant for Amanda and Jamie. Kristy, in her pantheress form, leaped toward Mary, sailing through the air just past the figure and to the other side of the room, trying to get her attention away from the others so that they might destroy the geodes.
But it wasn’t working. “This is useless,” Amanda said once she and Jamie had tried to attack one geode at the same time. Her whole body was shaking from the cold, and it was weakening her magic.
“Let’s go,” Jamie suggested. “We’re going to have to take turns if we’re going to stand the temperature in here.”
“You fools!” Mary cried. With a sharp gesture, she sent the heavy altar flying across the room. Kristy dodged out of the way just in time before the heavy wooden chest smashed into the wall, sending a shudder through the whole house.
