There were rumbles across the entire room until the head of the coven spoke.
“Indeed. The great book will let us know. Nothing can be contested within the book.” Becca Churchill spoke above the hushed whispers spreading through the room, silencing them. After a quick perusal of the room, she nodded. “It seems we are done for the night. I look forward to seeing everyone in two days’ time for the next signing.”
I was trying to stay calm when all I really wanted to do was get up, rush Vincent, and ask him what the heck he was thinking. To ask what had gone so wrong that he would say something as he had in front of the coven elders. I also just wanted to run home to Sky and hide her away. Something was going on within the coven, I just didn’t know what.
Chapter Three
“I’m really not sure if this is a good idea Brax,” I said with weariness, biting my lower lip as I looked out to the water in front of us.
The beach had always given me such tranquility and inner calm, but he was suggesting we go out into the water. Something I couldn’t control. Or could I? It just gave me an anxious feeling that made my stomach lurch just thinking about it.
He ran a hand through his hair, chuckling at me. “It’s a perfect idea and you know it. It’s a very good test. Come on.” He grabbed for my hand.
I dug my heels into the sand, literally whining as he tugged at me. His smile won me over though. I was about to give in when I caught the mischief in his eyes and, before I could do anything else, he scooped me up, running into the water.
We were both laughing when he tossed me into the air. I let out a screech of surprise as I hit the water. I came up sputtering water between chuckles. Not far from me, Braxton grinned like a fool.
Running my hands over my hair, I knew my eyes had to be sparkling because my face hurt from the size of my smile. His was just as big, but heat glowed in his eyes as they moved up and down my body. Who would have thought a single-piece bathing suit could have elicited such a reaction.
“Take a picture Braxton, it’ll last longer.” With my hand on my hip, I struck a sexy pose—or at least tried to. Except a wave chose that moment to shove me forward, ruining the sexiness I was going for and throwing me right into his arms. Laughter rang out, the crashing of the waves stifling the sound.
He held my arms, hauling me to him to keep us both balanced against the oncoming waves.
“The only picture I will ever need is looking at you. It is seared into my thoughts and dreams forevermore.” His voice was strong and held such devotion that I could never doubt he truly cared for me.
Tears pooled in my eyes, but happy ones. How did I get so lucky to have met such an amazing man? As if knowing my thoughts, he answered.
“You were trespassing. I couldn’t be happier that you did. Things would be a little less exciting and bright in the world without you, Sky Stratan.” He brushed a stray strand of wet hair behind my ear.
“You are too good to be true Braxton Conrad. Though I often question what the heck the Great Divine was thinking by giving me these new powers, I will always be thankful it allowed me to get lost that day. To have sent you into my life.” Reaching my hand up, I cupped his cheek, stretching on my tiptoes and pressing my lips to his in a gentle kiss.
He kissed me back, pulling away after a few moments to stare at me.
“I always wondered why my powers were never as grand or as great as either of my parents. I always felt lacking compared to them. But now I know why I’m here. I’m here to be the balance of the next great weather witch. My powers are now no small thing. They are symmetry to power, like a puzzle piece finally falling into place. I now know it was all meant to be. The Great Divine was just waiting to bring you into my life. We have to figure this out together.”
I felt myself completely relax in his embrace, the tension in my shoulders fading away as I let out a long slow breath of contentment.
“Hey, can I show you something?” he asked, giving me a tiny squeeze.
There was such a hopeful look in his eyes, and I knew in that moment I would never deny him. “Of course.”
“Well, I’ve been trying to get my hands on any literature about former paired weather witches and believe you me that is not an easy task! Getting into the coven library vaults, the old bat there guarding the tomes is …” he trailed off, shuddering to finish his sentence.
With a playful swat, I met his eyes. “Be nice. Now, what does that have to do with what you want to show me?”
“This …” His hand raised out of the water and I felt his hand raise magic with it. Not just his own but mine too. It was as if he was intertwining both of our powers together. I probably could have stopped him if I wanted to, but I would have had to use my own gift and why would I have wanted to do that when this was so thrilling?
He pointed at the water in front of us and toward the shore. The waters parted to either side of us, forming walls around us. Standing in the open, in the sand, we could walk to shore now like we had our very own ocean boardwalk. Upon reflection, I supposed it probably was one, and it reminded me of the parting of the seas the nonmagical religious book spoke of.
I was awestruck as I turned in his embrace to look at it. It rose above us, the walls of water that still had waves rolling onto the shore but stopped afoot to either side of us. There were fish swimming in it, coming right up to the wall to look at us. I giggled at that, reaching out to touch the wall that rippled over my hand.
“This is amazing Braxton. Wow.” I gave him a stunning smile. Still holding his hand, I stepped away from him to inspect it more thoroughly and to get a better feel for it. To sense the combination of our powers that were actually holding this water wall together.
“I’m a little impressed myself.” He chuckled. “From what I’ve managed to learn, a paired couple can borrow or use each other’s power. The stronger the couple, the stronger the connection, the more powerful the magic will be. So with us, I can nullify, even dampen your powers when they start to overwhelm you, but I can also amplify them if needed. Though I’m not sure when or why anyone would want to amplify a storm or whatever.”
I considered that, giving him a nod. If he amplified a storm, it could possibly turn catastrophic. Then again, if there was a need for rain to put out a forest fire or if there was a drought, amplifying my power might end up being a good thing. It was certainly something we needed to talk about. Since I’d been so excited and stunned by the water wall, I hadn’t given it a second thought, but I was pretty sure I could shield him from using my magic. There always had to be a balance, and it wouldn’t do for either one of us to just be able to use the other’s power without consent.
I also realized I had seen my parents sharing power before. It was much more subtle than this but still sharing all the same. Since I grew up around it, it had never really registered that they were doing it. It was just normal. I guessed I should have considered it, though. It was my job now to think about things, to consider all possibilities. Stepping up my game was a must, no matter if I’d only just started to learn. I’d have to talk to my parents about their power sharing abilities, but later. Right now, I was too mesmerized by the wall of water.
I let go of his hand and the water crashed down on top of us. The waves rolled us toward the shore, both of us gasping for air.
“Guess we need to be touching to keep it going,” he said after another wave crashed over him.
I laughed and scooted back, sitting in the now ankle-deep water as it spread back to normal levels.
“I guess so.”
Chapter Four
“Oh my, what power these two have. How very interesting. Intriguing even. Do you see this girl?” A rich voice with malevolent tones spoke, slow and disbelieving, shaking my head before giving a quick sideways glance to the shivering girl beside me.
I was standing far up the dunes watching the couple frolic and play in the surf. The display of magic they had just put on was unexpected indeed. I really did not like it when thi
ngs were unexpected. I enjoyed being in control of everything he did. This was not working out that way. With a deep sigh, I paused to close my eyes and calm the anger rising in my chest.
Fully turning to the girl beside me, I was hard-pressed not to kill her on the spot. She had failed, she was ruining my carefully laid out plan.
“Do you see your error?” I asked with barely-controlled rage. My mouth was tight, my dark, almost-black eyes narrowed at her, hands tensed at my sides as I tried not to lash out and strike her.
I watched in satisfaction as the girl shuddered, quaking in fear. She should be afraid. I could end her with a thought and not care in the least. The only set back with that idea would be having to start from scratch to execute my laid-out plan. I stared her down, waiting for her to reply.
She took a deep breath, steeling herself as she tilted her chin up and gave me a look of defiance. That was her answer, and I almost admired her for it.
“How was I to know that she would find her balance? She should have just lost control. We would have had no issues if she had just lost control.” She spoke through gritted teeth, almost sounding like she whining, and I knew she was when she kicked the sand dune in front of her like a child in the throes of temper tantrum.
I sneered, scoffing at her childish reaction. “But that didn’t happen. You underestimated her and her family.”
“How could I have known that?” Her voice rose as she refused to take responsibility. With her hands clenched at her sides, she almost shook, her agitation plain to see.
“Considering the timing, you should have considered it. The Divine always has a reason. It would never have passed these kinds of powers to a weak witch.” I snorted in disgust as I kept looming over her. “You should have known better, considered and compensated for it.”
There was an ugly twist to my mouth as I narrowed my eyes at her. She stared back at me, raising her chin in defiance, but she couldn’t hold it long. When she flinched, she knew that I had won - I always would, so her eyes fell to the ground before she spoke again.
“It won’t matter.” She waved her hand dismissively, trying to downplay it all.
“You have no concept of any of this.” I shook my head in disappointment. “Maybe I should have chosen someone else to do this job.”
She gasped. Her eyes widened as she stared at me. There was no one better at this than she was. She had been doing this for far too long to let him say something like that to her.
“I’ll fix this,” she growled, her eyes full of anger and, if I wasn’t mistaken, hatred.
I almost smirked at her, wondering briefly if the hatred was for me or for the situation at hand, not that it mattered in the least. I had known goading her would get this kind of reaction. Make her work a little bit harder. Besides, I needed results and I wanted them yesterday.
“You better or you won’t have anything to worry about ever again.” I gave her one more glance before completely dismissing her, my eyes falling on the two witches on the shore.
“Don’t make me have to clean up your mess. You will not like the consequences at all. Death would be too good of an option for you.” My voice was so soft but held so much evil there could be no doubt I meant the words I said.
She paused as if to say something but reconsidered, shuddering at the thought of what I might mean. There really were things worse than death and she had no plans of ever learning what those things might be. She would fix this. She knew she could.
“Stupid, unpredictable weather witch,” she muttered, letting out a frustrated breath.
I turned to her quickly, making her jump at the movement.
“Why are you still here? Don’t you have something you need to be doing?”
She visibly gulped, going completely still in panic. She really did not want my wrath upon her head. She gave herself a shake, nodding her head at me.
“Yes, sir. I’ll get right on it.”
“I would think so. I would hate to think my only daughter could ruin my plans so spectacularly.”
Shamed at being reminded of my disappointment with her as family as well only made her more scared, although it made her angry too. No matter. She would do as her father asked. Gaining the power of the weather witch was her mission, she just needed to do a little more prodding first. A grin spread over her lips as a thought popped into her head.
I raised an eyebrow at her, giving her an appraising look as one gives a child. “Thought of a way to fix this, have you?”
“Yes, father. I believe I have.” She gave me a brilliant smile. What a grand game I shall play. He’ll finally be proud of me.
“Then why are you still standing here? Get on it.” I shooed her away, the curl to my lips denoted aggravation that she was still in my presence and I wanted her gone.
“Yes, Daddy.” She took off running back to her car, leaving her father standing and watching the couple kissing on the beach.
Chapter Five
“You realize that this is going to be absolutely amazing,” Bess gushed, excitement bubbling out of her. In fact, she was practically vibrating with energy as she tore through my closet, throwing things out the door.
I could only chuckle as I watched her. The pile of clothes grew as she considered and discarded items, chucking them over her shoulder.
“Is there a reason you’re making a complete mess of my room?” I asked from my perch on the bed.
She turned quickly with a look of annoyance on her face. With her hands on her hips, she tapped her foot to an uneven beat on the floor.
“You should have told me you had nothing to wear for the party. I would have taken you out shopping way before now.” She made an exaggerated flourish with a summer dress she held in her hand.
I chuckled. “You bought most of this with me. Said I had to have it and that they would be perfect for any occasion.” I pointed to all of the clothes that were now littering my floor.
She frowned, her mouth moving into a thin line and her eyes narrowing at me. I tried to keep a straight face and not laugh at her, but it really was hard. She was always so amusing when it came to such things. I couldn’t care less about fashion. It just wasn’t big on my list of things to care about right now, or ever really. Bess was not a snob about such things, but she wanted to go on to work in the fashion industry in some way. She loved to create things; it made her happy. So who was I to deny her some happiness?
“Sky Stratan, stop giving me crap. This is an important day and everything needs to perfect. As your best friend”—she paused, striking a pose while smiling at me—“it is my duty to make sure it goes off without a hitch and that you look amazing doing it. So, get your shoes on because we’re going to the mall.”
I rolled my eyes at her and she caught me doing it. She crossed her arms crossing over her chest, tilting her head as she frowned. There was going to be no way out of this. Stubborn, stubborn girl.
Grabbing my shoes from the floor, we headed to the mall, and when we arrived I sat in the comfy chair at the posh dress shop watching as Bess searched through racks of dresses. I didn’t want to wear a dress at my own party. I was a pants kind of gal, so a lovely pantsuit would’ve been much better. But Bess wouldn’t listen to me.
“Bess, I am not wearing a dress. I hate dresses, and I only ever wear them by chance. You know this. So why are you trying to make me wear one now? Especially when you know it’s my birthday. Shouldn’t I get to pick what I want to wear to this thing?” I arched an eyebrow at her, clutching at the glass the sales lady had graciously given us.
Bess stopped going through the rack and turned to me with wide eyes. She looked completely put out and aggravated at the same time.
“You are annoying me. It is a special day. You are signing your name and it deserves to be celebrated. You should look absolutely stunning when you do it.” She grabbed a dress she had been eyeing up, holding it out in front of her. “Something like this.”
It was a summer dress of white opalescent silk with
thin spaghetti straps and a lace overlay and it was absolutely stunning. I was awed by it.
“Gorgeous isn’t it? It would be perfect.” Bess beamed at me. “It would look absolutely amazing on you.”
She held it out to me expectantly. It was my turn to frown at her. I shook my head, carefully placing the glass I held on the table beside me.
“No. I don’t want to look like a sacrificial lamb to the slaughter, thank you,” I told her, even though it pained me to do it. The dress really was pretty, and I knew it would look amazing on me. Biting my lip to keep from saying anything else, I tucked my arms to my sides to keep myself from reaching out to touch the soft silk.
A smirk tilted the corners of her lips up because she knew I wanted it, even though she also knew I’d refuse and she couldn’t do anything about it. Hanging it on the empty hook beside her that acted as the try-on pile, she started perusing again.
“Brat, that’s what you are Bess. A total brat,” I mumbled, shaking my head in amusement when she snickered.
“It’s why you love me. Now let’s see what else we can find.” She gave me a saucy wink.
Over an hour later, we finally left the store, chatting and laughing about how she managed to convince me to get the white silk dress. I also purchased an Egyptian blue vest pantsuit that I had found, so she wasn’t the only one who won in that store.
“I don’t know how you convinced me to buy those heels.” I swung the bag in my hand.
“Because they will go with both outfits. It kills two birds with one pair of shoes.” She chuckled. “You’ll thank me for it later.”
“What will she thank you for? Being a pushy pitbull of a best friend who fights her battles for her?” someone said from behind us in a heavily accented southern voice.
Wayward Magic Page 13
