by T K Eldridge
“Maybe, but that’s a lot of effort and I’m not so sure some of them are worth it.”
“Sounds like you already know what you want, Siddie. So, are you going to the recharge circle tonight?”
“I’m going to try. I have been doing small magics without any trouble, and the heart stone in the fountain is right outside my door. I feel like I should at least try.”
“Good girl. Just don’t push too hard. A little at a time.”
“I’ll be careful, Grampa. Grandma Maggie is bringing some of hers to help charge it too. It needs a little extra boost after all of the Lamontaine drama went down. Oh, and Micah’s cabin is almost done. He’s been sleeping out there, but showers and cooks at Gram’s. Power is hooked up, appliances are arriving this week and the permits are all cleared for the water to get turned on, so you’ll soon have Grams to yourself again.”
He laughed and tapped me on the nose. “You’re too observant for your own good. I’ll be glad, though, when he’s not popping in at any and all hours.”
I left work after a few hours, then got in a nap when I went home. I set an alarm to make sure I got up in time to help Grams set out refreshments for after the power-up. While the circle in the back garden was powerful, the smaller one set around the front fountain had only one purpose. To funnel energy into the heart stone and keep the spells that ran on the farm well-charged. There were protection spells, spells to make sure the crops had enough water, and a boost for growth when needed. The protection spells and the healing in the grove where the fire had consumed the trailer, the undergrowth, and trees had taken a bit out of the stone, so a recharge had been planned. There were recharges on each of the two solstices, but if the growing season was too dry or too wet, if there were repeated attempts to bypass the boundaries, then a boost was scheduled.
Sett came in while I got the big coffee urn going and gave me a hug before she set up the bowl of ice with canned and bottled drinks in it.
“You’re being rather quiet, Auntie. Are you okay?” I asked her after a few minutes.
“I’m going to go on a trip and I’m leaving in a couple of days. Would you be willing to keep an eye on my place, water the plants, stuff like that?”
“Of course. Where are you going?”
“I can’t say. Part of the trip is work related, the rest is me taking advantage of the free travel to have a bit of a walk-about vacation. Now that Micah is here, I feel like I can do this for myself.”
My first instinct was to point out that Sin, Mira, and I were all here too, but if she still saw us as children, then she wouldn’t feel safe leaving her mother with us. Yet another one of the issues supernaturals ran into when lifespans are centuries long - being under thirty years was nothing. “Which direction are you headed?” I nudged.
“South,” Sett said and gave me a shrug. “I can’t say specifics. But, you’ll have my cell number if you need me and all that.”
I went over and gave her a hug. “I’m glad you’re getting to do something for you. Try and have some fun while you’re gone, okay?”
“I’m going to do my best. It’s a little scary to be leaving the area, but I’m excited too.”
Grams stuck her head into the kitchen, took a look around, then with a nod she spoke. “Looks good. Come on, ladies. We’re about to get started.”
Outside, there were about twenty people standing loosely in a circle around the fountain. Laughter and conversation filled the early evening air. Finn and Katy stood near Sin and Mira, all four of them huddled close. I didn’t feel like interrupting and being the fifth wheel, so I stood near Grampa and Grams. The water in the fountain bubbled up and over the two marble bowls, making a soft splashing sound. The heart stone was a long piece of rose quartz wrapped inside the concrete post next to the tubing that piped the water up from the basin. We didn’t need to take it out to charge it. I’ve never seen it, but I can feel the energy from it when I stand near the fountain.
Grampa put an arm around me and kissed my temple. “You doing okay, Siddie?” he asked, voice pitched low.
“I’m okay, Grampa. Just feeling a little out of place.”
“You can at least help. I just get to stay back on the porch and keep an eye out for any disturbances.”
“That makes me feel better, though. Knowing that you’re keeping an eye on things. Thank you, Grampa,” I murmured and kissed his cheek.
Grams waved a hand and did a circle motion, so people started to move into place, feet on the white shell and stone path that wrapped around the fountain. I found myself between Timon, one of Grandma Maggie’s fae guards, and Grandma Maggie herself.
“Thank you all for joining us this evening to recharge the heart stone. Join hands and share your energy, and I will direct it into the stone. It should only take about ten minutes and then we can go have some refreshments,” Grams said.
Energy flowed from person to person and then I felt the surge as Grams pushed it towards the heart stone. We could feel the stone grow in strength and then something stuttered in the flow. Grams let go and took a step back, so we all dropped hands. Some stepped back, some stayed put, and then we heard a low whine that grew in volume.
Three of the fae, including Timon, threw their hands forward and a shield wrapped around the fountain just before the concrete shattered into shards and sprayed the shield, landing in a pile of water and rubble inside of the shield area. The whining stopped and the shield was let down. Grams moved forward and picked the heart stone out of the rubble and cradled it in her arms.
“What happened?” Grampa asked as he came down to put an arm around Grams.
“I have no idea,” Grams said.
Grandma Maggie moved forward. “I felt a fluctuation, as if the power suddenly surged then withdrew. It did that a couple of times, then the whine started. Whatever it was, it was too much for the poor concrete to withstand.”
“It wasn’t me,” Grams finally said to Grandma Maggie. “All I did was open and direct the flow. It was something outside of me that caused it to stutter. It was like someone stepped on the hose while I was watering the garden.”
“No, Alicia, it wasn’t you,” Grandma Maggie said. “It was as if the ley lines stuttered.”
Everyone looked real worried after that statement. Grampa called out, “Alright, food and drinks inside. Let me get a couple of you magic users to help clean this up so Lissa doesn’t have a yard full of rubble.”
I stayed back and watched as Timon, Sin, and a couple of others buried the rubble down a few feet and smoothed the dirt and grass back over the spot. A coil of heavy duty plastic hose and the cloth the heart stone had been wrapped in were all that remained. Sin picked them up and put them on the porch out of the way, then came over to me.
“You okay, sis?”
“I guess. Have you been doing much magic lately?”
“Not really. I mean, a few little things. Mostly I’ve been helping with the addition onto the cottage so the baby will have her own room and we’ll have our own bathroom so they can share the other. A playroom downstairs off the kitchen where they’ll have more room is also going to come in handy.”
I watched my brother glow with happiness and it warmed my cold little heart.
“I’d asked because a few times I’d done things and they didn’t work quite as I intended. I just assumed it was because I still needed to heal and stuff,” I said to him, interrupting his flow of words.
“Oh. Huh. Well, the other day I went to use magic to lift something and it shot up about eight feet then crashed to the ground. Nearly busted the new bathroom sink. I figured it was because I got distracted at the last minute.”
“I bet if we ask around, we’ll find a lot of folks having similar problems,” I said to him.
His brow furrowed, but he didn’t say anything as we walked into the house and the crowd of people. Some had grabbed a drink and a snack, and headed out back to the gardens and seating there. Others had found a spot in a corner or pulled a chair out
of the way to sit. The mood was somber and conversation pitched low. I got a bottle of water and took a few sips before I found a place to stand where people could see me.
“Excuse me, I’d like everyone’s attention, please.”
Some people turned, others didn’t seem to notice. Sin stepped up beside me and let loose a piercing whistle that silenced everyone. “Sid has something to say, people.”
“Thank you, Sin,” I said with a wry grin, then let the smile fade as I turned to the crowd.
“How many of you have done simple magic in the past couple of weeks and had an unexpected outcome? For example, Sin told me about lifting a heavy load while doing construction at the house and it went up a lot higher than he’d intended, then crashed to the ground, nearly causing damage. I’ve had little things happen, a cup that flew off the counter and smashed on the floor instead of landing beside the sink, things like that. For me, I thought it was because I still needed to heal up. But if more of us are having weird things happen – then it’s something we should investigate. What happened out there, should never have happened.”
A few heads nodded, others looked worried. “Okay, if something like this has happened with you, come tell me, or email me, or give me a call later. Something. I want to collect the stories and where they happened so maybe we can figure it out. Thank you.”
People spoke among themselves before three or four came up to me and told me their stories. I grabbed my phone to record them and exchanged info with about six more. One of the folks were fae, the rest were all witches. Grampa came over to see what I’d learned.
“It seems to be impacting witches more than any others. I don’t think it’s really something to worry about yet, but it’s a good thing to know so we can make adjustments or be more aware with our workings,” I told him.
“From what your Grams and Grandma Maggie told me, this happens every now and then. Fluctuations in the ley lines, gravitational shifts, whatever it is, it can make things go a little wonky, then they settle down,” Grampa said.
“Are you okay with me adding this to my research projects?”
“Of course, Siddie. Your instincts and research skills are rarely off target. It may be nothing, it may be something we need to track. Either way, you’ve got my blessing.”
I watched Grampa walk away and smiled up at Timon as he offered me a cupcake. He was cute. I wonder if he had a partner? I wonder if he would like to try out my new sheets? I’d decided Grandma Maggie had the right idea. Enjoy myself but leave the pesky ties to someone else. It was time to find a new friend-with-benefits.
Chapter Eighteen
Sin
Time passed quickly when you were working with a finite deadline. It seemed like no time at all since I had been snuggling Mira and feeling our daughter kick my hand, to snuggling that little girl as I paced the floor to get her back to sleep after Mira fed her.
Eight months had passed since the day the fountain exploded at Gram’s house and I was now a big brother, and father to a son and daughter. Rohan had arrived a couple of weeks earlier than anticipated, but Mom and Dad both were doing well and that little guy was spoiled beyond belief.
Reina, on the other hand, had shown up nearly a week late. That was a good thing for me, but don’t ever think I’d say that to Mira. I had needed the time to finish the last details on the addition to the house. There’s no way we would’ve wanted hammering going on while trying to get a baby to sleep.
I loved Ethan. He was my boy, and I’d lay down my life for him if necessary. Yet, when this tiny creature, fresh from her mother’s body, was laid in my hands – nothing prepared me for the feelings that cascaded over me. I wonder if it was this way for other fathers of daughters. The knowledge that you’d tear anyone apart with your bare hands that dare harm this precious life. The certain truth that this being had you wrapped around one of her perfect little fingers so completely, nothing in the world would ever be the same.
The first week we had her home, I was afraid I would harm her if I held her. So tiny and perfect, that couldn’t be part of me, right? Then she found her voice. Yeah, she was mine.
Ethan adored her and had me teach him how to fight so he, as he put it, ‘could protect her when you’re busy protecting Mama’.
Right now, though, I needed her to sleep so I could go spend some time with Mira. She had run a bath in our new bathtub that fit two and I was desperate to go join her. Reina clearly sensed that as she cooed and burbled at me.
My phone vibrated and I shifted the baby to my shoulder so I could answer. “Hi Sid. You want to come babysit your niece so I can go enjoy her mother?”
“Eww,” Sid said. “I don’t need to hear about your sex life, Sin. If she’s not screaming, put her in her basket and go enjoy. It’s not like Reina can walk or anything yet. She won’t go anywhere.”
“That’s an idea, okay, gotta go.”
“Sin! Wait a minute. Bast called me because you weren’t answering. Something’s come up with a bunch of the fae kids at school and there’s a nine in the morning meeting at SPD about it. Be there?”
I groaned, then sighed. “Yeah, I’ll be there. Okay, gotta go now.”
I disconnected the call, tossed my phone on the bed, put the drowsy baby in her basket and peeled my clothes off on the way into the bathroom. With the door to the bath open, we could hear Reina’s gurgles, not that I was really listening when I saw Mira in the tub with candles lit around her.
“Is this what you visualized when you saw this tub?” I asked her as I stepped over the edge into the water.
“One of the things,” Mira said. “The idea of having a tub big enough for us to play in had a definite box checked in choosing this one.”
I watched her turn around and slide into me until her back pressed against my front. The sponge found its way into my hand, so I started to stroke it along her shoulders.
“So, the doctor said we could do this?” I asked.
“Bathe together? Oh, I didn’t ask her that,” Mira teased.
“Mirabella…” I groaned. “You’re killing me, woman.”
“Yes, Sinclair, she said we could ‘resume relations’ as she put it. Now, relax and enjoy the moment, will you?”
So I did. I relaxed and enjoyed having my wife in the bath and the fact this beautiful home was something we’d made together. Then something else we’d made together interrupted our evening.
No, it’s not what you think. Reina wasn’t crying. She was flying. I looked up from my sincere appreciation for Mira’s breasts and caught movement out of the corner of my eye. I turned and choked on the spell I stuttered out. It was the same one I used when we floated things around, but this time I was doing my best to keep the bassinet basket from crashing to the floor.
Mira got out of the tub so fast, I didn’t even see her move until she was catching the basket bed in her hands and gently easing it back down to the floor. “Aren’t you just so proud of yourself, little one?” Mira cooed at the baby as she lifted her out of the basket. “You found Mama and Papa, didn’t you? Such a smart girl.”
By the time she had the baby in her arms, I had got out and wrapped a towel around my hips. I grabbed Mira’s robe and swapped robe for baby long enough for her to pull it on.
“You go ahead into the bedroom and I’ll get the candles and the basket,” I told Mira. I went around and blew out the candles and drained the tub, then grabbed the bassinet and brought it back into the bedroom. It sat on a rack thing, like a hotel suitcase stand, and since Reina wasn’t rolling over yet, we hadn’t done up the fastenings since we tended to carry the bed around with us to different rooms of the house. I wasn’t thinking clearly. I mean, if she could carry the bed, she could carry the rack for it, too.
“Am I going to have to put toggle links into the floor so we can strap her furniture down? Is this kind of thing normal for fae children?” I asked Mira as I put the basket on the stand and snapped the ties so it was connected. “I mean, I can get some cinder blo
cks and wrap them in towels to make it heavier to lift, but I…”
“Hush,” Mira said and cut me off mid-panic rant. “It happens sometimes, but it is very rare. She is the daughter of at least one Air elemental fae and you said you have Air and Earth, right? Plus whatever witch and mythic is blended in. Who knows what that can do to her power levels. But this early, now that is the rarest thing. Usually it’s puberty for us. Same for you, right?”
I nodded, because the realization of what had happened was crashing around me. “We need to talk to Grandma Maggie.”
“She probably would be one of the best to speak to about this. But we need to be careful, Sin. We don’t want her showing her abilities early to get out. People shun what they can’t understand.”
I looked down at the beautiful little girl in my wife’s arms and thought about people shunning her and it just didn’t seem real. “I’ll call Grandma. You see if you can get her to sleep and I’ll find something to hold the bassinet down for now.”
Mira nodded. I grabbed a pair of shorts, my phone and left the room.
We used to have to call Finn and get messages delivered to the island, but a couple of months back they’d managed to get a cell tower put on one of the smaller outcroppings so cell service to the islands was much improved. I dialed Grandma Maggie and hoped it wasn’t too late to be calling.
“Good evening, Sinclair. Is all well?” Grandma’s voice came over the phone and I let out a sigh.
“I’m so glad you could answer, Grandma Maggie.”
“How is my newest descendant doing?”
“That’s why I’m calling. Grandma, she was in her bassinet, and she floated into the bathroom where Mira and I were.”
“Floated?”
“Levitated. She levitated her whole bassinet and came from the bedroom into the master bath. She’s not much past three months old, Grandma. How can she be doing this?”
