Wishing on a Dream

by Michele Notaro

  Wishing On A Dream

  A Snow Globe Christmas Book 2

  Michele Notaro

  Copyright © 2019 by Michele Notaro

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This is a work of fiction. Any names, characters, places or events are purely the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, actual events, establishments, businesses or locales is purely coincidental.

  Edited by TRIBE editing

  Cover Design by Cate Ashwood Designs

  This book contains material intended for adults 18+

  Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Epilogue

  A Snow Globe Christmas Series

  About Michele Notaro

  Also by Michele Notaro

  Also by Bobbie Rayne

  Prologue

  Vakore

  Two Hundred Years Ago

  Tiberius stretched his wings from atop my son’s shoulder, and the whole court held its breath. I hid a smile, amused at the fear on their faces. Strange that they seemed to fear my son’s familiar, a white owl, more than they feared me at times. I supposed he was rather large, even within his species, and his beak was intimidating. My people had no idea where my son had found him, where the owl came from, so naturally, they assumed he was evil. That was the only reason I allowed my son to stand beside me in court.

  His owl’s presence made the people think evil was among them. But that was far from the truth. My son and his familiar were nothing like me. I knew I had a darkness inside my veins, but it was something I enjoyed latching onto since my wife died in childbirth. It felt too good to ignore. If the people only knew who held the true darkness.

  Stroking my hand down my own familiar’s fur—a lynx—I said, “Payment is due today, farmer.” My familiar further settled on the arm of my chair.

  “I understand, sir, but the fire, it took half our crop and—”

  “Your taxes are due,” I said, irritated. Why did these people think they could get away with not paying? What was so hard about it?

  “I beg of you, Lord Bloodgood. Please. Our crops… it’s all we have in the world,” the man said. His wife and three children were behind him, huddled together, filthy and crying.

  “You will pay, or I will make you pay.” The darkness swirled inside me, and I felt a smile pull at my lips.

  Whatever the farmer and his family saw must have scared them because they took a step back and the man said, “We’ll pay, sir. Please forgive me.”

  “Bring the payment by the end of the hour and all will be forgiven… but not forgotten.” I aimed my grin at him.

  The man quivered and nodded before rushing out of the room.

  Over the course of the next hour, man after man begged me to give them a break, begged me to let them live on my land for free. And man after man was forced to bring me my payment, no matter the cost to him or his family. The darkness inside my chest swirled in victory at the sorrow and pain laced on the people’s faces, and the grin grew on my face.

  An elderly woman approached my chair, and I asked, “Did you bring payment, wench?”

  “You have taken advantage of these people long enough, warlock,” she said as she stood straight and pointed at me. Her cloak fell away, and with it, her wrinkles and moles smoothed out, revealing a woman no older than me.

  My eyes narrowed at her. What was this? Why the disguise? “What do you want, witch?”

  She cackled. “I heard of your power, Lord Vakore Bevan Cross Bloodgood, but I heard of your mistreatment of non-magics. I didn’t believe it at first. I didn’t want to believe that a man who could use his powers to help people would be mistreating them so.” She stepped closer to me. “But I have seen with my own eyes how cruel your heart is. We were put on this earth to help mortals, and yet, you take from them. You make them pay you. You rule over them as if you are king.” Power started swirling around her. “You are king no more.”

  Yanking on my magic, I stood and pulled a shield around myself. Smoke swirled around me, my hands glowed, the hair on my arms and head stood straight up at the power of it. I prepared my spell, a blast to knock her away followed by a freezing spell to keep her still. As I was lifting my hands to send it at her, her magic broke through my shield, knocking into my chest. It hit me so hard, I flew backward, knocking my throne back as I tumbled. I landed beside my son, and as I locked eyes on him, I realized I wasn’t the target of her magic.

  “No!” I yelled. “Don’t!”

  “You have a choice, Bloodgood. You or your son?” Her voice wrapped around me, awakening the darkness within.

  I needed to keep her away from Alaric, but… but I needed to live more. I dropped my hand.

  “Your selfishness knows no bounds, warlock.” Her eyes pierced me with a cruel gaze. “You will have to live with the knowledge of your choice while your son suffers.”

  I cried out, but I didn’t use my magic against her. I was a coward.

  Alaric

  Tiberius squawked and flew at me, trying to help block the power, but the witch shot my familiar with a stun spell. I yelled out in shock, anger, and fear. If she injured Tiberius, I would end her.

  Father was yelling, but the witch’s magic surrounded me, and I could no longer hear anything on the other side. Why would she attack me when her ire was with my father?

  The cackling witch stood over me, whispering words I did not recognize, her power emanating off her in waves. Whites and blues and purples and greens swirled around us, covering Tiberius and me. With all of my strength, I pulled my familiar into my chest, cradling him with one arm as I shielded my eyes against her magic.

  When the power relented, I pulled my arm down, looking around the room. My brows furrowed in confusion. Standing, I held Tiberius to my chest as I walked forward two steps on an ashy ground, but was abruptly stopped by an invisible shield. I put my hand out and tapped at it. No, it wasn’t invisible, it was a clear, hard surface. Glass.

  I turned back, and the confusion spread. Behind me was a… cottage. A small, tiny thing. And I wasn’t standing on ash, I was standing on… was that snow? Here?

  Where was I? Had the witch used a transport spell on me?

  The witch’s cackle reached my ears, and I startled and gasped, backing away from the glass. She stood on the other side of the glass, but she was a giant. Her head was bigger than the house behind me. How had she made herself so big? How did she have so much power?

  I scrutinized her, then startled again when my father stood beside the witch. He was equally as big. His skin was pale and it seemed as if he’d aged fifty years since before the spell. But… warlocks didn’t age, they also didn’t grow into giants.

  Blinking, I looked past them, past the glass, and realized t
hat it wasn’t they that had grown, but me that had shrunk.

  I took in the cottage and stepped to the side, placing my hand on the glass again, pushing my icy power into it. My magic ricocheted back, swirling over the glass, and I gasped as my eyes followed my power in a circle over the top of me, and I realized I was in a glass dome. A magical prison.

  I pushed all of my willpower, I threw every spell I knew at it, over and over again until I was wrung out and empty. Nothing worked. Not so much as a crack. I was weakened inside this dome. My powers were suppressed.

  The witch grinned down at me. “This should teach your father a lesson, young warlock.”

  “What did you do to me?” I screamed.

  “Do not fret, Alaric. Your father has seen what his choice has done to you.” She cackled. “He will live with that guilt.”

  My father’s weak voice whispered, “I’m sorry, son… I’m… sorry.”

  Tiberius shivered in my arms, and I pulled him closer, stroking his back to offer comfort. I wasn’t sure if it was for his comfort or my own. “Let us out!”

  She grinned, but it looked manic. “No.” She blew on the glass dome and it began to shake as her magic pressed down on me making everything turn black.

  Chapter 1

  Grady

  Present Day

  “Hey, Grady, what’s up?”

  I grinned at my oldest friend Lazarus and said, “Nothing new. Are you ready for lunch?”

  Laz held up a finger and started looking around himself behind the counter. I had no idea what he was searching for, but I was used to it. Laz owned an antique shop three doors down the street from the comic and game store I managed, Hero’s Hideout: Comics and Games. Laz and I met in high school when we played basketball together, and being the two queer boys in the athletic department had made us naturally close. We’d been best friends since, so after he’d opened his shop on this street, I’d wandered down and found the comic shop. When it had opened a few years ago, I was hired to run it because the owner was having some health issues. He was fine now, but he’d decided that having me run things was better for him, so while I wasn’t the owner, it was my shop. Tim never even came in anymore because he was off running another project.

  “Aha!” Laz yelled, making me grin at him. “Found it!” He pulled a snow globe out of a box, setting it on the counter with a huge smile. “Look at this thing.”

  I stepped closer and bent over to get a better look. When I realized what was inside, I smiled up at Laz. “He’s got a snowy owl on his shoulder.”

  “I know.”

  “I love snowy owls.” I collected them, had since I was a kid. I’d always been drawn to them.

  “I know you do. As soon as I saw it at the estate sale I went to last weekend, I knew you had to have it.”

  Picking it up, I held it close to my face to examine it. Turning it upside down, then back up, I grinned a little as I watched the snow drift around inside before examining the unique design. The snow globe’s base was some sort of gray-ish stone, almost the opposite of ornamental. Its gloomy appearance was such a contrast to the inside that was so greatly detailed, I was blown away. The little man inside was so intricate and realistic, I was sure he’d open his eyes at any moment to stare at me. His hair was cropped short, his arms were crossed over his chest, his clothes were all black, but even within the black, there were details. It was amazing. And beautiful. Not to mention the snowy owl was the most realistic thing I’d ever seen.

  As I stared at the little man inside, a strange warmth filled my chest, and I suddenly wanted nothing more than to bring this snow globe home… or maybe I wanted to hug it to my chest to keep it safe… What the hell kind of thought is that? Fucking weird. Still, it was phenomenal. Maybe that was why I was so drawn to it.

  “This is amazing,” I whispered in awe.

  “Isn’t it? It’s old, too. That stone it’s set in looks to be a couple hundred years old.”

  “What? No way. Look at the detail inside. No way is this that old. They didn’t even make snow globes two hundred years ago.”

  “I know. It makes no sense.”

  I thought about it for a few moments. “Maybe someone found the old stone and decided to repurpose it as a setting. The inside is in far too good of shape to be that old.”

  “That’s what I was thinking, too. Two different time periods.”

  After I spent a good five minutes practically salivating over the snow globe—clearly, I’d been spending enough time with Laz that his love for all things old was rubbing off on me—we decided to get lunch.

  Laz picked it up and placed it back inside the box, closed it, then held it out to me. “For you, sir.”

  I grinned. “How much?”

  He rolled his eyes. “Seriously? You’re not paying for it. It’s a gift.”

  “Laz.”

  “Grady.”

  I sighed. “Can I at least buy you lunch?”

  He tilted his head, thinking about it. “Sure.” He stuffed the snow globe back under the counter for safe keeping. “Pick it up after you close tonight.”

  “You just want me to invite you over for dinner.”

  He nodded. “Yes, I’ll come have dinner with you!”

  I rolled my eyes as we made our way out. “That wasn’t an invite.”

  Laz smiled and shoulder bumped me. “You going out on Saturday?”

  I wrinkled my nose. “What? No way.”

  “Oh, come on. It’ll be fun.”

  I shook my head. “No, thank you. Fireworks aren’t my thing.”

  Laz sighed. “What is your thing, then?”

  “You know I love Christmas.”

  “It’s the middle of summer.”

  I shrugged.

  We arrived at the deli across the street, and he opened the door for me. Once we ordered and had our food, we sat down to dig in, and I mentally planned where I was going to put my new snow globe. I had the perfect spot on my mantel in the living room.

  After a sip of soda, I asked, “Did you get anything else good at the estate sale?”

  “Found some old books and a nice lamp, but nothing else like the snow globe.” He shrugged.

  “You sure you want to give it to me? You could probably charge a lot for it.” As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I wished I could take them back. I didn’t want him to sell the snow globe; I wanted to keep it.

  Luckily for me, he grinned and shook his head. “I’m not taking back your gift, and no, I don’t even want to.”

  I sagged in relief—why did I care so much about a snow globe? “Thanks, man.”

  “Anytime.”

  Chapter 2

  Alaric

  When Grady brought me to his home over three months ago, I was excited to finally be in a different place. I’d been stuck in the last house for over three decades, and they were so boring to watch. They were a nice family, and I was surprisingly sad when Gina, the last family member left, had died a few months back. After spending so much time being forced to watch that family, I’d grown attached to them. For more than thirty years, they’d been my family, mine and Tiberius’s.

  The house prior to that one had been filled with terrible people. Abusive people. Pure evil. I’d wanted so badly to reach out and help Emily whenever her father hurt her, but nothing I did would get past the witch’s spell on the globe. I’d been forced to sit back and watch. It was useless. I was useless.

  After Emily had… after she’d been hurt beyond repair, I’d stopped trying. I’d been forced to watch the light go out of her eyes while I stood on my side of the glass unable to help. My magic had failed me time and time again over the last two hundred years. It was beyond frustrating, but it was the reality I’d been forced into, and at this point, I was used to feeling worthless.

  But sometimes when I watched Grady, I wished I was outside of my prison. The first few years I’d been trapped here, I’d spent my days and nights wishing for release, but I’d long ago come to terms with my lif
e stuck inside the glass—a part of the world, and yet, not. But Grady stirred something inside of me, making me wish for things I knew there was no hope for, things I shouldn’t even think about since it would only make it hurt worse in the end. Yet, I couldn’t help but wish…

  Like right now while his boyfriend was yelling and being cruel and making Grady feel like he was nothing. I wanted to reach out and zap that guy with my magic. Or at the very least, with my fist.

  Grady had all but served that man everything he wanted, and that man—Eddie—had taken advantage of him. Even I could see that Grady was a kind soul and deserved better than him.

  Tiberius fluttered on my shoulder and pecked my hair in agreement.

  I sighed. “I know, Tib. But what can we do?”

  He flapped unhappily.

  “You know nothing works. We’ve tried everything. I’ve even filled the stones we pulled loose from the house. It didn’t work.” Back when Emily was still alive, Tiberius and I had managed to pull out a few stones from the cottage, and I’d used them to store my magic. I still had it, my magic, but it was too weak to work outside the glass dome. My plan had been to store magic inside the stones for years, then use that power to break the glass. It hadn’t worked. I’d tried it when Emily was… I tried it before she was gone.