Making Magic: Books of the Kindling, Book 3

by Donna June Cooper

  Thea lifted her hands into the air and swayed in place, as if she could feel it too—as if she were dancing with an invisible partner. He could almost feel her warm skin beneath his fingers, her hand in his, her heart beating in time with the music.

  Jake wanted to smell her hair again—the scent had tormented him all night after they had kissed. He had dreamed about that hair, only it had been much longer in his dream—copper silk twining around his fingers, twining around him.

  A breeze played with Thea’s short strands as she danced on the edge of the dance floor. He could feel her against him now—her arms around his neck as they glided around the floor, her breasts pressed against him, her lips only inches away as her face turned up to his, her hair caressing his face. As he watched her dance alone, her hair floating in the air, he thought he had never seen anything—anyone—so breathtaking in his life.

  And then he realized her feet weren’t on the ground.

  Shit.

  Thea looked down in surprise.

  For a second, she hung there, between the mountain and the stars. Only inches off the ground, but it was enough. Her eyes rose to his for the briefest moment, right before she fell.

  Jake stopped playing, but the band kept going as he jumped off the stage, almost falling when his knees threatened to buckle. His muscles were protesting the effort expended lifting Thea into the air and he hadn’t even known he’d been doing it.

  Some of those on the dance floor had seen her fall and gathered around her, but most, oblivious, kept dancing. He had to dodge his way through the crowd until the band decided not to continue without him and the tune squawked to a halt.

  “This is embarrassing. Will someone help me— Ouch!”

  Jake found her sitting on the floor, one leg bent sideways as she awkwardly tried to look at her own ankle, which was already swelling.

  Dammit. He had done that. And from the look she’d given him, he wondered if she knew it.

  Sliding down beside her, he pulled off his jacket and rolled it up. “Lie back.”

  “Jake Moser, don’t you start bossing me around,” she snapped. “I-I tripped. That’s all.” Still with that short fuse.

  “Yeah, and you may’ve broken that pretty ankle of yours, so lie still,” he growled back. “I’m sure your sister the doctor is on her way.”

  “Help me get up—”

  “You need to get your ankle elevated. It’s swelling,” Jake replied.

  She strained to get a look at it. “It is?”

  “Trust me,” Jake said. “Somebody slide a chair over here.”

  A chair appeared and Jake lifted Thea’s feet onto it, making sure to tuck her gown carefully around her calves. Thea finally lowered her head to rest on his jacket.

  Thea twitched as he gently pulled off her ivory slipper. “I’m sure it’s— Ow!” Not gently enough it seemed. “It would be fine, if you would quit poking at it!” Her fingers dug into his arm as she clenched her teeth.

  “Keep that positive attitude,” Jake said, smiling.

  “Doctor coming through.” Nick’s voice cut a path through the crowd and Grace appeared behind him.

  “Oh, Thea! Are you—”

  “I’m fine. Our brave sheriff here is showing off to impress the ladies,” Thea said in exasperation. “He’ll be collecting their phone numbers in a minute.”

  Daniel appeared from the other side of the crowd. “Damn, Sissy. You okay?”

  Grace leaned over and probed Thea’s ankle. Thea bit her lip as her sister poked at her.

  “Nick, can you carry—” Grace began.

  “I don’t need to be carried!”

  “—her over to our table? It’s not broken. But it is sprained.” Grace waved off Thea’s protest. “I’ve got my kit in the car and we can deal with it here so you can stay at the celebration.”

  Thea’s mouth flattened and Jake grinned at her stubborn expression.

  “And Jake can go back to helping us celebrate,” Grace said pointedly.

  For a moment Jake didn’t understand what she was saying. Then he remembered. The band. “Oh, yeah. Well…uh…sorry.”

  Thea’s fingers were still clinging to his arm. He could feel the heat of each of fingertip right through his shirt. Her gaze met his and he saw the blush stain her cheeks as she let go. “This was your fault,” she said.

  Jake braced for whatever she was going to say next.

  “You made the floor dance, Jake Jake Earthquake.”

  A smile twisted his lips. “My bad,” he said and backed away as Nick moved in.

  Thea blanched when Nick pulled her to her feet and up into his arms. But as he carried her through the crowd, she looked over his shoulder at Jake and stuck out her tongue.

  Jake grinned and ran back to the stage.

  “Sorry about that folks! Seems our music lifted Thea right off her feet.” Literally. “She’s fine.” He sat and picked up his hammers. “Let’s get this party restarted with a faster tune.” He launched them into the next song on the list.

  Jake kept an eye on Nick as he made his way back to the family table with Thea in his arms, feeling a bit jealous that he wasn’t the one carrying her.

  In all the excitement, he had forgotten about his mom. When he looked back at the table where she had been sitting he found her chair empty. For a moment he panicked.

  Then he saw her, heading back from the dessert table with her plate piled high.

  She actually looked happy. Maybe it was another part of the magic of this place, this night.

  By the time they had finished their next number, Thea was sitting up and looking much better. Her face had lost that pinched, painful expression and she was laughing.

  Perhaps she wouldn’t realize that he had gotten so caught up in watching her dance that he had nearly broken her ankle.

  Thea was in good hands. Hell, Grace could just touch his scar and make him feel ten times better. As a matter of fact, the damn thing hadn’t even ached since she last checked it—barely a twinge. Even the scar was fading.

  He stared at the Woodruff family table as he thought about the past year up here. He remembered Daniel Woodruff’s frantic call from Raleigh, directing them to search for his missing Pops near a specific rock face on the vast acreage of the mountain—right where they had found the Woodsman’s broken body. He knew the Woodruffs too well to suspect foul play on Daniel’s part. The Woodsman had told him about Daniel’s dreams, but until that day he’d dismissed it as one of the folksy kind of stories the old man told.

  And he remembered Nick McKenzie emerging from that cave with a blood stain on the edge of his vest and a bloody hole in his shirt that he had tried to hide. But no wound, no injury—and Grace Woodruff by his side.

  And he remembered Thea Woodruff yelling at his mom. “Forget it, all of it, and just go away!” And his mom had forgotten every moment of that night.

  He gazed over at his mom, now laughing and talking to the others at her table. Then he looked at his own fingers, barely touching the hammers that were flying over the strings.

  Magic.

  Chapter Seven

  “The most magical part of the evening was the fireflies, although the music and the dancing…” Mel’s mother shrugged. “It was all perfect, really. Every moment.”

  Thea agreed, but the fireflies had been an unbelievable climax. All the lanterns and fairy lights had gone out to reveal the hollow full of innumerable flashing fireflies. When Jake’s playing had mimicked the pulsing rhythm, they seemed to dance along in the air to the lilting music.

  Dancing in the air to Jake Moser’s tune like Thea had been. Then she’d noticed her feet weren’t really on the ground and come down hard.

  Thea stroked Bailey’s coat. If this was some new aspect of her ability, soon she wouldn’t be able to be around people at all. Maybe it was a new side
effect from using the voice on Marilyn. She’d used it three times in one week, when she had avoided using it at all for so long. And there were always consequences. Always.

  “Those fireflies. That was amazing, wasn’t it? There were so many of them up there,” Ouida said from her perch on one of the porch swings. “When Daniel flipped off all the lights, it was dazzling. You’d think he knew they were coming.”

  “You should tell the Nobletts the firefly tale,” Nick said, looking to Grace.

  “We know a little bit about that,” Craig said.

  “But I’d love to hear your version,” Trish chimed in. “Especially since it’s the title of Mel’s book.”

  Grace sighed. “I need lubrication for this. Can we have some coffee and tea and maybe some of those leftovers?”

  Nick laughed. “That’s Lily talking.” He waved Ouida down as he got up. “You sit still. I’ll get it.” Pooka unwound himself from his usual spot next to the door and followed Nick inside.

  “I seem to be telling this one a lot these days,” Grace said. “Storytelling is supposed to be Daniel’s job now.”

  “He’s a bit busy with other things tonight.” Craig smirked.

  Trish poked him. “Oh, you.”

  “Once that book is published, I might just hand out copies.” Grace smiled. “Or maybe I’ll add it to our welcome pamphlet. All right, here goes. One summer, when I was six or seven, Pops caught me trapping fireflies in a jar. He told me a story that his grandfather had passed along to him when he was my age.

  “My great-great-grandfather told a story about the Mother—Mother Earth—singing to her people. And when she sang, the people would listen to her voice coming from the caves on the mountains. Her song was so powerful that her people were compelled to dance across the hills as her spirit wove its magic through the valleys below. Even the stars in the sky were entranced. So some came down to perch in her hair.” She gestured to the flashes in the darkness surrounding the porch. “As they listened, some began to flash in time with the music, filling the hills with brilliant light that pulsed and glowed in time with her song.

  “But then her people turned away from the Mother, to create their own music and make their own magic. When they did, she went silent, and those stars are now trapped here waiting for the Mother to sing again. So now and again in some parts of the world the stars sing for the Mother. They flash in unison, hoping her voice will join them once more.”

  “The stars sing for the Mother,” Trish sighed. “That is so beautiful.”

  Nick came back in carrying a tray. “Daniel has seen them doing that right here on this mountain.”

  “They do it over in the Smokies as well. Elkmont is overrun every year with tourists wanting to see the show,” Grace added. She reached for the mug of tea Nick extended to her.

  Ouida got to her feet. “And with that, I’m heading on down to bed. I’ll clean up in the morning. You relax and enjoy yourselves out here. It’s a lovely night.”

  Everyone called out their goodnights as Ouida left them on the porch in the moist night air. Nick passed around mugs of coffee, cream and sugar and a plate overflowing with leftover desserts.

  Craig spoke up. “I really enjoyed the music. Those fellows really knew what they were doing. Your sheriff did a great job as the Master of Ceremonies.”

  “I think Jake has found his new vocation,” Nick said.

  “I wish I could’ve danced more,” Grace said. “The ‘Chicken Dance’ looked like fun.”

  “At least the dancing wore Jamie out. I had to practically pour her into the car,” Nick said. “Beth will probably have a heck of a time getting her up.”

  “She’s quite the talker,” Craig pointed out. “Doesn’t really ever stop, does she?”

  “You might have noticed, almost every other sentence is a question,” Grace said.

  “I did,” Trish said. “She was full of questions about our work. The cards. The magic.”

  “You’re awfully quiet, Thea,” Nick said.

  Thea lifted her head. She’d been contemplating her wrapped ankle, propped up on a rattan ottoman in front of her. It wasn’t hurting, but it was darn cold from the ice pack Grace had put on it. Curling her hands around the mug of hot coffee warmed her up. Having Bailey on her lap helped as well.

  “It was a lovely evening,” she said.

  But not really. First, she had been hyper aware of Jake the whole night. Then she had gotten a horrible headache after dealing with Marilyn. And, to top it off, she had fallen out of the air, nearly breaking her ankle. At least whatever herbal concoction Grace had made her drink had gotten rid of the headache and the pain in her ankle.

  “Yes, it was,” Nick said. “And what exactly did you say to Marilyn Moser to make sure that it stayed that way?”

  Thea flinched. After years of keeping her guard up at Hartford, she had thought she could finally relax here. “I told her she was welcome to have something to eat and enjoy the festivities.”

  “Amazing,” Grace said. “I haven’t seen Marilyn enjoy herself in years, decades really, without a drink in her hand.”

  “Speaking of which,” Thea said. “Did someone make sure she got home safely?”

  “I had Eddie check on her. She got home safe and sound. Still, it was quite a feat, what you did.” Nick was staring at her pointedly. The interrogator had returned.

  “Nick, maybe now really isn’t the time,” Grace said, looking at the Nobletts.

  “The time for what?” Thea asked.

  Nick ignored her, speaking instead to Grace. “We agreed that we shouldn’t leave a firefly out in the cold any longer than necessary. And Craig can provide proof easier than any of us.”

  Firefly? Grace gave a reluctant nod and Nick focused on Thea again.

  “I overheard what you said to Marilyn,” Nick said. “That’s quite an ability you have.”

  Thea felt a sudden chill of fear, but caught herself. She forced a laugh. “The best an Ivy League law degree can buy.”

  “It did sound quite precise and legalistic, the way you phrased it,” Nick said. “Seemed to calm her right down. Not exactly the reaction I would have expected.”

  “What do you want me to say?” Thea asked. “I could tell a lawyer joke. I have some really good ones. Like ‘What’s the difference between—’”

  “You could tell me to forget what I heard.” Nick’s smile was gone. “And it would work, wouldn’t it?”

  “What on earth are you talking about?” Thea tried to put a bit of humor in her voice as she looked around the porch, then at the driveway and parking lot beyond. Although she didn’t really know what she was expecting. Men in black? Or in white? Dark SUVs on the drive? Black helicopters in the air?

  “I wish Mel were here,” Trish said.

  Craig laughed. “You keep trying to pull those two out of their honeymoon bed.”

  “Craig!” Trish snorted.

  Thea held up her mug. “Did you put something in the coffee?” Whatever it was that Nick thought he knew, she could make him doubt himself. She had years of practice. She could handle this.

  But this was home. This place meant safety, warmth, love. If she wasn’t safe here, there wasn’t anywhere she would be safe. Ever.

  “Nick,” Grace said. “Get to the point.”

  “I am. Look, it’s okay—”

  “Maybe I should try something,” said Craig.

  “I’ve got this,” said Nick.

  Grace looked worried. “Nick, if she gets frightened, she may use it on—”

  “Stop talking,” Thea said. It was a kneejerk reflex. The ice pack slid off her ankle as she sat up straight. She expected panic. She expected to have to tell them all to sit still or calm down. But they just stared at her. No one panicked.

  Whatever they thought they knew, she could erase it. They would forget and
she would leave as she had planned. She would get a teaching certificate and teach music, far away. Her throat closed up at the thought.

  But she hadn’t planned on running again so soon.

  If only she hadn’t used the voice on Marilyn. If only Nick hadn’t been so nosy.

  “Whatever it is that you think you know, you’re wrong. And you are going to—”

  Thea squeaked in surprise when a cookie popped into existence in front of her and dropped into her lap. It bounced off and rolled across the porch floor. Bailey jumped down to chase after it. Pooka laid there and watched it roll by.

  Hot coffee sloshed out of her mug as she got to her feet.

  “How did you… Did you do that?” But she knew how stupid that question was. They couldn’t answer her.

  Craig made a motion and the cookie disappeared just as Bailey was about to bite into it and reappeared in his hand. The dog, disappointed, started circling madly looking for it.

  “You’re a magician. I knew that already.” Thea glared at him. “So what?”

  Before she could move, her coffee mug disappeared from her hand and reappeared, upside down, above Craig’s hand before sloshing hot liquid over him and falling to the floor.

  Craig shook his hand and they all sat there, calmly watching her. Grace’s eyes were pleading.

  Thea swallowed. That was just a magic trick, wasn’t it? What were they trying to tell her?

  She sat back down. No sinister agents were going to swoop out and grab her, although they might come and get everyone else on this porch.

  “I release you,” she said.

  Trish sighed. “That was very odd.”

  “Oh, Sissy,” Grace said.

  “So what? What did you want to tell me? Why the magic tricks?” Thea asked.

  “They aren’t tricks,” Grace said. “They are gifts—”

  Thea snorted.

  “—from the mountain. At least that’s how we understand it at the moment.”

  “From the mountain?” Thea looked at Grace in disbelief. “And I thought I was the one the men in white coats would come for.”