Magical New Beginnings

by Brenda Trim

  He made it impossible to ignore my growing feelings when he cupped my cheek. “I don’t like you being in danger.”

  “We don’t have a choice. I don’t want to live in fear forever.” I forgot my friends were there as I leaned into him. He was solid muscle. Between that and the power vibrating beneath his skin, my fear dissolved. I’d be safe as long as he was with me.

  Don’t forget you’re perfectly capable of fighting your own battles. That’s right. Girl power. One of the hardest lessons I learned in life was being independent and capable. Ever since I had my kids, I’d been trying to teach my daughters that they didn’t need a man to take care of them. It was important they were capable of doing it themselves, even if they eventually became stay-at-home moms.

  They didn’t have to be alone but going into a marriage or relationship because you needed someone to pay your bills or provide you a home or insurance were not reasons that would sustain the connection. You should be with someone out of love.

  “Just don’t do anything stupid. Promise you’ll text me the second she shows up,” Bas insisted.

  I nodded and stood on my tiptoes then closed the distance between our mouths. His warm lips moved sensually over mine. Electricity zinged from him to me where our flesh touched. It aroused every nerve ending as it traveled through my body.

  I moaned when his tongue slipped into my mouth. My hands traced a path up his chest and settled on his shoulders. I fought the urge to climb him like a tree. His arms wound around my back and pulled me, so our bodies were flush against each other. His mouth devoured mine like he was starving, and I was his last meal.

  Breaking the kiss, I had to put distance between us. We had spells to practice, and I needed to keep my head on straight. Last thing I needed right now was to become obsessed with Sebastian.

  “I knew it,” Aislinn crowed triumphantly while Violet shushed her.

  “Stop, you’re embarrassing her. Let her get her groove back without us interfering,” Violet admonished.

  Bas smiled down at me before he kissed my lips lightly and moved away from me. “Time to get to work. There’s an evil elf we have to deal with.”

  Chapter 20

  I couldn’t stop my hands from shaking. I was in the attic of the house waiting for the evil elf to appear. I wasn’t positive this plan was going to work. The longer it took for her to show up after Violet and Aislinn as me left the more I was convinced this wasn’t going to work.

  Of course, they’d only been gone ten minutes. Normally I had patience to share. Right now, I could barely keep from running out the door and hunting through the forest. Speaking of, my gaze shifted to the other side of the property to scan the tree line on the other side of the dirt road.

  We decided I would hide in the attic because of the magic imbued in the wood all around me. It enhanced the enchantment Sebastian and Camille cast on me. There was only one problem with me being in here. There were only two windows in the place and neither one gave a good view of the property around me.

  Aside from the skylight in the ceiling, the only other glass was at the far end and it looked over the back of the property. My land extended ten feet beyond the house, but I’d never had anything come at me from that direction, so I used a window spell to create a way to see through the walls of the house.

  “Do you think she will come?”

  I glanced down at Tunsall who was in the attic with me. She used her own magic to hide her presence as she waited with me. She’d insisted on being here so she could remove the nuts that allowed the elf to cross onto my property.

  We kept the nuts in place because we didn’t want to let her know we knew how she managed to breach my protections. The plan was for Tunsall to race around the house and carry the nuts beyond my property line the second the elf crossed the border.

  “Honestly, I’m not sure. Part of me says there’s no way she would miss this opportunity to get whatever she’s after. Unless of course she’s after me. Then she won’t show up because she will be hunting Violet and Aislinn. Maybe I should call them.”

  Tunsall scurried over and jumped onto the table that was charging my herbs and crystals. I was leaning against the wall gazing out at the pond. The brownie wrung her hands. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea. I don’t want anyone else to get hurt because of me.”

  I placed one finger on her shoulder. “None of this is your fault. You were trying to save your dad. I get that. It’s that evil bitch who is to blame. And, I promise you if there is anything I can do to find your dad, I will.”

  Her chin quivered and tears shimmered in her eyes. “I don’t deserve your kindness. I’m sorry I brought her onto your property.”

  I jostled her slightly with my finger. “Don’t ever say that. You were placed in an impossible situation…shit.” My voice dropped to a whisper at the same time I fell to the floor.

  “What?” Tunsall blurted before I snatched her off the table.

  I held her in front of my face and pointed out the magical window I’d created. Her eyes went wide and her entire body started shaking. I put her down and removed my cell phone from my back pocket.

  After firing a group text to Bas, Aislinn, Camille and Violet, I crawled across the attic and checked the forest near the dirt road. There was nothing visible there which was a good damn thing because she was alone as she approached from the same direction, she had days ago.

  “Can she fly?” I swear the woman was floating across the ground. Her movements were smooth, and her feet weren’t touching the ground that I could see.

  “Not that I know of,” Tunsall replied in a whisper.

  I watched as she paused thirty feet from the house and hid behind a big pine tree. I picked up Tunsall and tiptoed down the stairs careful to avoid every creaky spot on my way.

  I’d already closed the curtains so no one would see me walking around the house. Putting Tunsall down, I remained kneeling by her side and mouthed, ‘Be careful’ to my small friend. She bobbed her head and took off toward the mud room.

  My heart was hammering in my chest hard enough I swore it was going to be bruised by the end of the night. My skin was cold, and my breaths were coming faster. Time to fake it ‘til you make it.

  Energy buzzed beneath my skin and it was difficult to keep from running out the door. I needed to stay put and see what her plans were. She lifted her hands and bent this finger then that and turned her palm over. It looked like sign language. She had to be signaling someone.

  My heart stopped for a second as I ran to the mud room. “Get the nuts and get them off the property,” I hissed low at Tunsall who disappeared through a crack we left in the door.

  I allowed my energy to flood me as I turned back to the kitchen and went back to the window. She was using the trees to hide behind as she made her way to the pond. She was after Kairi.

  With my fingers crackling, I flung the door open and stepped outside. “Fancy meeting you here.” I made sure my voice was loud enough to carry to the woman prowling around my property.

  I heard a scream behind me and chanced a look backwards. There were some slaugh trying to cross onto my property, but they couldn’t get through the protections. Tunsall jumped out from between two creatures and ran back toward my house. She was going to be okay.

  “How?” The evil elf shouted.

  A smile spread across my mouth and I pushed some of the energy down my arms. My fingertips were crackling with lightning flowing between them. “You must own a hundred of those ugly black cloaks. It’s not needed. You can drop the disguise. I know you’re a vile bitch.”

  The elf started cackling as she stalked toward me. I was so focused on where she was walking that it took me several seconds to realize she threw some kind of spell to the pond. When the water bubbled and foamed, I prayed Kairi was safe.

  Pounding echoed through the forest in the direction of Sebastian’s house and the sound of tires were heading my way on my driveway. My heart slowed slightly knowing my friends were
heading my way.

  Without giving the elf any warning, I spread my fingers, then flung my hands into the air at the same time I channeled all of my anger into my magic and out of my body. A loud boom exploded out of me the second my power left me.

  The elf did something similar except there was no sound when she tossed something that sparked at me. Her power hit me in the shoulder. “Shit.” That hurt like a bitch. But that wasn’t all. Under the agony eating through my blood stream there was more fuel in my fire.

  A laugh bubbled out of me when my electricity slammed into her and she flew backwards. The way she rolled across the ground was satisfying. Sebastian barreled through the trees and stopped on the other side of the pond.

  His eyes met mine before his moved up and down my body. Less than a second later he was chanting something and gesturing behind the elf. “I buried some amplifiers of my own for a barrier spell. She won’t be able to get away from us now.”

  The elf got to her feet and screeched so loud it hurt my ears. Pain lanced my middle and I doubled over. The slaugh had managed to breech the protections and were running to my friends. Camille was in the car with Violet and Aislinn.

  Bas was already running to help with the dozen creatures heading my way. I didn’t dare turn away from the elf. She was prowling toward me. Her hood had fallen off her head and I got my first glimpse of her face.

  She was gorgeous. Like super model pretty. She had long straight black hair that was shiny in the moonlight. Her green eyes were the most unique color I’d ever seen, but they were lifeless. It took all the appeal from her flawless skin and her perfect cheekbones.

  “Malleus,” I called out with a thrust in her direction. This spell had a mixture of fear and anger behind it.

  I saw when it hit her side. She snarled, turning her full lips into a mask of rage. I was too far to hear what she said but I felt the impact in my stomach. It felt as if she cut it open. My hands went to the area and clutched it tightly.

  I couldn’t even conjure any relief when I didn’t encounter any blood. I had to breathe through the pain and send another spell to her. Despite how much her blows hurt I didn’t feel depleted at all. I just needed to concentrate enough to hurt her back.

  I took a deep breath. “Secare.” I wanted my spell to cut through her vocal cords. Something had to stop the bitch from winning.

  She choked and her hand flew to her throat. Unfortunately, that did nothing to stop her from sending another spell my way. This time it hit me in my left leg. I heard a crack and fell to the ground. Did she just break my femur?

  I landed on my side with a face full of dirt. Without thinking, my hands were in front of me and I shouted, “praemium.” Blowing her up was a stretch, but I needed to stop her. When she bent over and blood trickled from the corner of her mouth I wanted to cheer.

  I managed to lever myself onto my knees and face her only to be knocked down again. My head swam with the world around me and I couldn’t breathe. She tossed another enchantment at me that added to the agony.

  I heard my friends fighting behind me for all they’re worth. I need that lightning back. It sent her running the last time I fought her. My head hurt too bad to call up enough energy, so I sent another spell to her instead. “Stupefaciunt.”

  I was lying on the ground while she stood there holding her torso with a tiny trickle of blood out the side of her mouth. The evil bitch couldn’t win. With a snarl, I pooled all of my energy in my core and held it there while I recalled every injustice I’ve ever witnessed.

  When my chest felt like it was going to explode, I rolled over, so I was sitting and pointed both hands at her One more deep breath, and I released all the power I’d been holding. It mushroomed out of me like a nuclear bomb and headed directly for the elf.

  It hit the beautiful but evil creature in the stomach, and she went up in flames. The sounds she made were awful. I sat there watching her for several seconds until water shot out of the pond and in her direction.

  Reacting without thinking, I cried out, “Obice.” I intended to create a barrier the water couldn’t go through. I didn’t think how big it needed to be and about half of the water continued on its course and drenched the woman.

  I was bracing myself on my hands and I watched as the evil bitch glared at me before she disappeared. Right before she vanished from sight, I got a glimpse of her burned facial features. She was no longer super model pretty.

  Tunsall ran to my side a second later. “Are you okay?”

  I nodded. “I’m okay. I think my leg is broken.” I turned around and saw Sebastian finishing off the last slaugh. Camille had a cut on one cheek and Violet had a black eye while Aislinn had a cut on her lip.

  After Bas smashed the creature’s skull in and it dropped like a stone, he looked up at me. His chest was heaving, and his face was covered in blood and dirt. He’d never looked better.

  With a snarl on his face he charged toward me. “I thought I was going to lose you. You were fighting the Fae Queen. For fucks sake I can’t believe that bitch is after you.”

  I was fighting a queen! What the hell? “She was going for Kairi first.”

  He picked me up in his arms. “That’s not surprising. She always was a jealous bitch. She’s not going to stop. You’re in more danger now than ever before. Especially since she saw me rush to your side. That’ll set her off for sure.”

  My heart twisted in my chest. “You’ve been with her before.” As if that was what mattered most. I couldn’t help but compare myself to her. Nope. You’re so much better than that evil bitch. It was true. I noticed it earlier. Her darkness diminished any positive attribute she’d ever had.

  “We need to regroup and figure out how we can handle her. I’m not sure we will be able to beat her. She’s one of the most powerful Fae in existence. But we have some time. You injured her badly. She will need to lick her wounds for weeks.” The pride shining in his gaze erased any insecurity that had surfaced.

  “Sounds like I’m taking the fight to her then. I don’t accept that I won’t be able to beat her at her own game. If she will be down for the next couple months or so, we need to get to finding her now.”

  “You’re astounding,” Sebastian exclaimed.

  Yes. I was. No one messed with me or mine and got away with it. But first I needed some coffee and a nap. Then I would tackle this again. My protections had been breached, there was a queen after me, and she was killing Fae in my town. Talk about trial by fire.

  What I couldn’t quell was the sliver of doubt creeping through the recesses of my mind. This Fae was too powerful for me. She had millennia of experience against my mere weeks. There was no comparison. Fuckity, fuck, fuck!

  EXCERPT FROM MIND OVER MAGICAL MATTERS BOOK # 2

  “This isn’t working. I’m like that kids in Harry Potter that keeps blowing everything up.” I sound like a whiny teenager, too, rather a forty-five-year-old hybrid witch.

  I couldn’t help it. I was failing at everything. I was anxious and on edge while we waited for the other shoe to drop. A few months ago, I faced the powerful Fae Queen and managed to injure her and send her fleeing when she tried to kill me. No one knows how I pulled that off, but we all agreed she would be back seeking revenge for what I did to her.

  “You will get the hang of it,” Camille reassured me.

  My witch mentor had suggested that I try my hand at potions so I could open a booth at S&S, the magical flee market our town held in the park in the town square. I didn’t need the money, thanks to my Grams, but I needed the distraction and all of my friends agreed it was the best way for me to get to know the supes in town.

  For me it was a toss-up between developing relationships with others like me and finding a way to settle my nerves. Always being on edge was making me jumpy and my magic even more unreliable than usual. I survived on coffee, so that might be partly responsible for my jitters, but caffeine overload could only explain so much.

  Being addicted to the elixir of the Gods f
or three decades or so meant my body was immune to a large degree.

  “I’m not so sure about that. I spent a life as a norm without an ounce of magic. Maybe I lost my connection to my power.” I had no idea how any of this worked. I was learning, but my knowledge was that of a five-year-old when it came to anything supernatural.

  Camille shook her hand and dumped the sludge out of my cauldron into the trashcan she’d poured salt into before we began. Apparently, the substance would neutralize any lingering power. It would also keep me safe when I cast my circle of power. Who knew it was so utilitarian?

  Camille gestured to the large tome sitting open on the long wooden worktable. “That’s not possible. I sense something else is at work here, I just can’t put my finger on it. Grab your family Grimoire.”

  That perked my ears. This was the first time she mentioned anything of the sort. I wondered what I was missing. Likely a whole lot given that I had no idea what normal was. “What do you mean? Why haven’t you said something before?”

  “I wasn’t sure until we got into more detailed work like this. I haven’t come across anyone quite like you, so I dismissed my concerns at first. Let’s see if there’s anything to it.”

  I set the book in front of us and flipped it open. “I’ve only looked through this thing a couple times. What am I searching for?”

  “Anything Isidora would have written about you or your birth.”

  “I’ve never come across anything about me personally. I’ve only seen spells and potions. I wish the book would just show me what I’m looking for.” My fingers tingled and wind whipped through the room blowing my hair around my face. The pages fluttered in the book then stopped about three-quarters through.

  Eyes wide, I gaped at the grimoire then at Camille. “What’s this?” Camille picked up an envelope and held it between her thumb and forefinger.