Mystics and Mental Blocks (Amplifier 3)
Page 28
“Oh, yes?” I said, ignoring the way my heart rate had spiked with the young witch’s earnest confession. She’d never spoken about her mother. “You could make some. Christopher probably has chocolate you could use.”
I opened the exterior door, stepping through.
“Nah,” she said. “I’m cool with ginger snaps.” Then she dropped my hand, slapped Paisley on the back and shouted, “Last one to the house is a loser!” The young witch took off across the lawn, clomping and stumbling in boots too large for her feet. I had no idea why she wasn’t wearing the ones that fit her properly. Some sort of ownership thing … nesting, Aiden had called it.
Paisley looked up at me, chuffing indignantly.
“You should totally cheat,” I whispered.
The demon dog dropped her mouth open, chortling. Then she stepped sideways into the shadows and disappeared.
I closed the door behind me, stepping off the path. My feet sank into the still-soggy grass as I paused to breathe in the cool, clear air.
I heard Opal shriek from the vicinity of the house. “No fair!”
“And sign here.” Ember tapped the final page of the guardianship papers. I leaned over the kitchen table to ink my name underneath Opal’s, jotting the date to one side.
The young witch was a bundle of nerves, literally squirming around in the chair to my right. Magic sparked from her. Before the ink had even dried, she launched herself at me, arms latched around my waist.
Then, inexplicably, she took off through the house, yelling, “Come on, Paisley!”
Ember and I stared after her. The demon dog followed at a more sedate pace.
“You made them pause their video game,” Aiden said wryly, leaning back against the end of the island with his arms crossed.
I laughed, capping Ember’s fountain pen and handing it back to the lawyer. “I thought she was nervous about the guardianship papers.”
Aiden shook his head. “They’re tackling some big boss. They’ve lost to him … or her … or it … three times already.”
Aiden looked well rested. His magic was currently simmering on the surface, only hinting at the deep well of power he held. His recovery, and the further strengthening of the house and the property wards, had been helped along by a few impromptu amplification sessions behind closed doors. Closed, rune-sealed doors.
Only after the contract with the mystic had been hammered out and signed, though. And only after Samantha had escorted Chenda from town. From the country, more specifically. The telekinetic had taken off at the same time, focused on tracking down Fish and Bee. She had uncovered a lead with Christopher’s help while I’d been recovering. Her own magic was back, and in volume. She’d left most of her belongings in the empty bedroom between Christopher’s and my room, so presumably she was planning on returning.
Ember tucked the pile of papers she had just talked Opal and I through signing into her briefcase. “I’ll get these filed with the Convocation as soon as I get to the office.”
“How quickly do you expect them to push back?” Aiden asked.
She looked at him, and he rubbed his neck ruefully. “I’m wondering if I should clear out for the home visit.”
“No,” I said.
Ember nodded curtly. “We treat this like any other guardianship request. We proceed accordingly. And … Capri has taken care of the home visit already.”
I just stared for a moment. “What?”
Ember pulled a sealed envelope out of her briefcase. She handed it to me, then shut the case with a definitive snap. “She’s a certified social worker. I’ll send you the complete report if you want to read it, but the letter might be enough. We should head out if you want to get Opal to the Academy during office hours.” She hustled from the kitchen. A moment later, I could hear her chatting with Christopher in the front sitting room, along with various shouts and grunts from Opal.
I glanced down at the envelope. My name was neatly printed across the front. I opened it, tugging out a folded piece of paper.
Emma —
I believe you will do whatever it takes to make certain that Opal is safe. And cherished. I wish you both the best of luck. If you ever need me, I’m only a phone call away.
— Capri
Hot tears spiked in my eyes. I looked at Aiden.
He smiled at me, uncertain but trying to be supportive.
“She’s going to be ours,” I whispered. “I have no idea what changed Capri’s mind, but … she’s not going to try to block us.” I passed Aiden the note.
His grin widened as he read it, becoming a genuine smile. “She is ours already. Heaven help her. You’re a blessing, but I wouldn’t wish myself on anyone.”
That was ridiculous. I’d seen how Aiden was with Opal — caring, focused, willing to share his knowledge. But I didn’t know how to articulate any of that to him, not with mere words. Instead, I pressed against him, crushing the letter between us.
He met the kiss halfway, cupping the back of my head gently.
I murmured against his lips, “Thank you for the anchor spell. For looking after Opal … for joining me on this screwed up … life … ride …”
“Emma.” He kissed me softly. “I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. Though you seriously scared the shit out of me.”
“I’d say sorry. But …”
“I know. No promises between us that we can’t keep. I get it. I want it. I love you, including the fact that you are everything you are, inside and out.”
“And Opal?”
He laughed quietly. “It’s the damnedest thing … but yeah, and Opal. I hope you know what you’re doing, tangling your life, our life, with the little witch’s.”
“I have no idea,” I whispered back. “Though let’s keep that between you and me. But we have an ally now. A former member of the Collective, blood oath and all.”
“An ally against the witches?”
“No.” I laughed quietly. “Against your father. You were planning on opening that letter, right?”
He shook his head. “Just … let’s get Opal tucked away at the Academy first. Then we’ll tackle the looming issue of my father.”
I nodded agreeably. “I figure it’s fair to trade off. My past, your past, my past … and so on …”
He laughed. “It seems pretty entwined to me.”
I smiled. “It does, doesn’t it? I like entwined.”
“You like wielding your blades.”
“That too. I’m glad we’re in agreement.” I sucked lightly on his bottom lip. And the joy filling my chest, cushioning my heart, didn’t feel so sharp and painful now.
COMING SOON
MISFITS OF THE ADEPT UNIVERSE 1
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EARLY-SPRING 2020
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Acknowledgments
For Michael
The maker of inspiring macaroni and cheese.
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With thanks to:
My story & line editor
Scott Fitzgerald Gray
My proofreader
Pauline Nolet
My beta readers
Anteia Consorto, Terry Daigle, Angela Flannery, Gael Fleming, Beth Patterson, and Megan Gayeski Pirajno.
For their continual encouragement, feedback, & general advice
Heather Doidge-Sidhu – grammar queen
SFWA
The Office
The Retreat
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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Meghan Ciana Doidge is an award-winning writer based out of Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, Canada. She has a penchant for bloody love stories, superheroes, and the supernatural. She also has a thing for chocolate, potatoes, and cashmere.
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ALSO BY MEGHAN CIANA DOIDGE
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Novels
After the Virus
Spirit Binder
Time Walker
Cupcakes, Trinkets, and Other Deadly Magic (Dowser 1)
Trinkets, Treasures, and Other Bloody Magic (Dowser 2)
Treasures, Demons, and Other Black Magic (Dowser 3)
I See Me (Oracle 1)
Shadows, Maps, and Other Ancient Magic (Dowser 4)
Maps, Artifacts, and Other Arcane Magic (Dowser 5)
I See You (Oracle 2)
Artifacts, Dragons, and Other Lethal Magic (Dowser 6)
I See Us (Oracle 3)
Catching Echoes (Reconstructionist 1)
Tangled Echoes (Reconstructionist 2)
Unleashing Echoes (Reconstructionist 3)
Champagne, Misfits, and Other Shady Magic (Dowser 7)
Misfits, Gemstones, and Other Shattered Magic (Dowser 8)
Gemstones, Elves, and Other Insidious Magic (Dowser 9)
Demons and DNA (Amplifier 1)
Bonds and Broken Dreams (Amplifier 2)
Mystics and Mental Blocks (Amplifier 3)
* * *
Novellas/Shorts
Love Lies Bleeding
The Graveyard Kiss (Reconstructionist 0.5)
Dawn Bytes (Reconstructionist 1.5)
An Uncut Key (Reconstructionist 2.5)
Graveyards, Visions, and Other Things that Byte (Dowser 8.5)
The Amplifier Protocol (Amplifier 0)
Close to Home (Amplifier 0.5)
* * *
www.madebymeghan.ca
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Mystics and Mental Blocks (Amplifier 3)
Copyright © 2019 Meghan Ciana Doidge
Published by Old Man in the CrossWalk Productions 2019
Salt Spring Island, BC, Canada
www.oldmaninthecrosswalk.com
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be produced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author, except by reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.
This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, places, objects, and incidents herein are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual things, events, locales, or persons living or dead is entirely coincidental.
Library and Archives Canada
Doidge, Meghan Ciana, 1973 —
Mystics and Mental Blocks/Meghan Ciana Doidge — SMASHWORDS EDITION
Cover design by: Gene Mollica
Models: Devon Ericksen & Jonathan Cannaux
ISBN 978-1-989571-09-5