Emma didn’t realize she’d spoken the words out loud until DooNell patted her arm.
“Aye, that he is, and don’t ye forget. The wee lass has no claims on him other than their childhood memories. The ones you create with him will be stronger.” DooNell raised her hand and waved to Ian. “I think, lass, you and yer man need to depart this mob and get on with starting your life together.”
The Cailleach disappeared before Emma could respond. When she returned the kiss her new husband planted on her mouth, she could only agree that once again the old woman knew best.
And it didn’t take magic to tell her.
Epilogue
“Why me?” DooNell slammed her hand on the table and glared around the room. Silence was the only answer to her question, and she heaved a heavy sigh and shrugged. The Powers answered when they felt the question worthy, and obviously, her questioning their directive wasn’t.
The wedding and reception had been grand, but now she wanted to stretch out and rest her weary bones. Instead, she’d received instructions for another task by the Powers, and directed to carry it out immediately.
“Best be done with it,” she muttered as she located the summoning powder. Why did everything she needed end up at the back of the shelf? DooNell continued to grumble to herself as she filled a bowl with water and took a pinch of dust from the jar. She tossed it in, swirled the water with one hand, and began a chant as she stared into the milky liquid.
“Magic is as magic does,
A wee slip of a faerie bring to me,
Morgana is the name of the one,
Whose presence I need to see.”
“What the…”
Delight surged through the hag as Morgana’s face paled as she surveyed her new surroundings. At least she got a chuckle out of an otherwise distasteful chore.
“The Powers instructed me to summon you and relay their message.” When Morgana turned, DooNell’s fingers itched to slap the smirk off the faerie’s face. “They know ye were not sincere when ye begged Emma’s forgiveness.”
A frown now puckered Morgana’s brow, and she opened her mouth, but DooNell held up a hand.
“Ye can nae keep the truth in yer heart from the Powers, wee faerie.” The Cailleach shook her head and sighed. “They have decided ye must be punished for the trickery ye did to tear apart the young prince and his soul mate.”
“What are you rattling on about, daft old woman? There is no lie in my heart, and I apologized for the illusion.”
“Do ye deny that you asked Emma for friendship while you thought her unworthy of your friendship because she is mortal? Is it not true that deep in yer inner most self you hate all mortals?
“I never proclaimed a love of mortals.” Morgana crossed her arms and shot a sulky glare at DooNell.
The old woman rubbed her gnarled fingers to ease the twinges of pain brought on by the damp chill and by slamming her hand against the table. “Aye, that is true. But, sly wee one, the Powers see things differently. They have instructed me to tell you their decision.”
Morgana’s wings fluttered with irritation and her voice dripped with sarcasm. “What exactly might that be?”
The hag sadly shook her head. It could be the Powers were right in their decision. The little snip needed to learn respect. “The Powers have decreed you are to live in the mortal world with—”
“What?” Morgana stamped a small foot, and her wings fluttered faster.
“You are to live as a human, without your magic.”
The faerie darted around the room in a rage.
DooNell continued, determined to finish the message she had to deliver. “You will live as a mortal woman and not a beautiful one. You will have to earn your beauty through your deeds.”
Morgana swooped across the room and hovered in front of DooNell’s face. “I won’t do it. You can’t make me. Do you hear me, hag?”
“How could I not lass, the way you be shrieking? The dead will be rolling out of their graves if you keep it up.”
Another onslaught against her ears caused the hag to cover them. “Enough. It is nae a decision for ye to make. What’s done is done. Living among the mortals will help ye come to understand them and hopefully purge the hatred from yer heart.”
“And who is going to make me?” Morgana sneered from the edge of the table where she now perched. “You don’t have the magic to do it, hag.”
Weary of the drama, the Cailleach raised a hand and pointed,
“Be gone with ye,
To the life ye now will live,
Loud faerie so wee.”
The silence that greeted her came as a welcome relief, and DooNell laughed. “That was fun, was it not?” She glanced around the room in hopes the Powers had not eavesdropped. If so, she hoped their ears were as sore as hers.
Determining she had no company, she shuffled across to her crystal ball. Her weary bones objected when she carried the heavy object across the room to the table and placed it in the middle. She waved a hand above the glass and waited. Soon several faces floated in the foggy mist, but none clear enough to make out. “So the Powers have more for me to unite.” She peered closer, but only shadowy images swirled through the fog.
“Ah, well. ’Tis not time yet, but my bones tell me it will be soon.”
Beyond Magic Chocolate Martini
1 1/2 shots chocolate liqueur
1 1/2 shots Crème de Cacao
1 shot vodka
2 1/2 shots half-and-half (fat free half and half works well with fewer calories)
Mix all ingredients in shaker with crushed ice. Shake until chilled, then strain into a chilled martini glass rimmed with grated chocolate.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Award winning author, Lizzie T. Leaf, started life in Kansas, grew up in North Carolina, and now lives in Colorado where the weather can be iffy on some days. Her first novel, Struck by Lightning, that has been re-edited and released as Nordic Heat, won double Beacons on its original release. Not bad for a gal who didn’t come out of the writing closet until her mid-fifties.
Due to a number of publishers folding, she is currently working to get re-release numerous books in both novel and novella formats, in addition to new books.
When not writing she travels with her husband, cooking, reading and gardening. There are also several granddarlings with whom she loves to spend time.
Lizzie loves to hear from her readers. You can reach her on Facebook, Twitter and her website lizzietleaf.com
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Beyond Magic (Magical Love Book 1) Page 26
