Wave of Truth (The Magic Catalyst Chronicles Book 4)

by Jacie Douglass

  Carefully crawl backwards till it’s safe to stand up, I’m the last to get there.

  “This shouldn’t have happened today,” Samil whispers solemnly, looking at each of us in turn. “This is twice now that Ms. Blackmore almost got the drop on us.”

  We all nod gloomily.

  “Ian, what’s the status of the GPS trackers? They would have been helpful today.”

  Ian shrinks back, nervously clearing his throat. “The ones I originally got couldn’t be modified the way we needed. I’ve been working on a custom design, but only the prototype is finished. It still needs more testing.”

  “Give it to Em in the morning,” Samil orders. “Any testing you still need to do, it can be done with her.” Ian nods and Samil turns to Jared. “We need to come up with better protections against magical attacks. Jared, any luck yet with the spell books?”

  Jared shakes his head, hopping up on the counter.

  “We’ve found mention of wards…” Ian offers.

  “But no solid information on how to create them,” Jared takes over, shooting Ian a look. “I haven’t given up yet. There are a couple more books to check, if that fails… We may need to create our own spell.”

  Samil nods, thoughtfully. “Clayton and I are going to meet up with my mom tomorrow to finish storing the boat. As soon as we’re done there, we’ll come lend a hand.”

  “Awesome,” Jared grins.

  “One last thing. We need to find out more about this Elijah Harris and what his game is,” he whispers. “Who’s up for it?”

  “Leave it to me,” I volunteer with a grin. “I’ll handle him.”

  “And I’ll see what I can find out online,” Ian offers.

  “Perfect. Now let's get some rest, we’ve got a lot to do tomorrow.”

  Elijah

  ∞

  “At the tone please leave a message.”

  Beep

  “Hey Dad, its Elijah. I’ll try you again tomorrow.” I hang up, relieved he didn’t answer. I’m not ready to talk to him about this week.

  Sinking down on the couch, I cradle my head in my hands.

  Damn it, it’s been years! I don’t understand why she still has this effect on me.

  This is such a waste of time. I could be at the hotel watching movies, but oh no, Dad makes me come with them. I understand why he needed Malachi. But I’m 13 now, more than old enough to be left alone in the room for a few hours.

  Instead he drags me along, and then dumps me off with the housekeeper, while he and my brother go off with Mr. Langmore. Now I’m stuck waiting around in this hideous room.

  And this place is awful. There’s nothing here; no TV or radio, no books or magazines to read, nothing. Just two stuffed chairs and a loveseat, all smothered in flowery pillows; an oak coffee table and two small end tables, bare except for some ugly lace doilies, and bookshelves jammed with creepy angel figurines. Damn, this place gives me the creeps.

  How much trouble will I be in if I go look for Emilienne? I don’t know, but it’s worth it to get out of here. I open the door and check to make sure the coast is clear. Thank goodness, no one is around.

  After wandering the empty halls for five or ten minutes, I spot Emilienne crouched down in front of a closed door, her ear pressed against the keyhole. Wearing an old-fashioned blue dress, complete with a white apron, and her long blonde hair tied back with a black ribbon, she looks like an illustration out of Alice in Wonderland.

  She’s so focused on her eavesdropping; she doesn’t even notice me come up behind her.

  “What are you doing, Linnie?” I whisper, putting a hand on her shoulder. She jumps, scrambling away from the door as she spins around.

  “Oh my goodness, E, you scared me!” She whispers, looking around nervously. “What are you doing here?”

  I shrug, scuffing the carpet. “We’re in town for tomorrow’s meeting.”

  “Oh, that’s right,” she nods slowly, as she grabs my hand and pulls me away from the door and down the hall. “I didn’t expect to see anyone here today. Why are you so early? Are you staying here?”

  “Nah, we’re in a hotel down the mountain. Malachi is home for the weekend, so Dad said we needed to be here early this morning. I think he’s hoping to finalize some business arrangement with your dad.”

  “What kind of arrangement? I hope he’s not trying to talk him into another stuffed hunting trophy.” She wrinkles her nose in disgust. “Those things creep me out. I swear that bear's eyes follow me around the room.”

  “Donno,” I shrug again, looking away from her questioning eyes. There is no way I’m going to be the one to tell her that my Dad is hoping to arrange an alliance with her family though a marriage between her and Malachi. It didn’t make sense to me, so how could I explain it to her.

  Why would Malachi agree to marry a girl 8 years younger than him anyways? Don’t they have girls at that college of his? He’ll be 21 in a few weeks, way too old for Emilienne.

  Emilienne and I are close in age; she is only a few months older than me. If anyone should be asked to marry her, it’s me. I’m the one who knows her, not Malachi. I can’t remember a time without Emilienne. As the youngest in our families, we were always sent off with a nanny during these events, while the older kids got to participate. Now that we are both 13, that is going to change. I can’t for tomorrow’s meeting, when I finally will see what all the fuss is about.

  The silence between us feels heavy as we turn down another hallway, and I blurt out the first thing in my head.

  “Are you excited for tomorrow?” I ask, watching her from the corner of my eye.

  “Hmm,” she blinks, looking over at me in confusion. “Tomorrow?”

  “The meeting. We finally get to attend.”

  “Oh that,” she laughs, shaking her head. “I’m not going.”

  “What? Why not?” I frown.

  “Not a clue,” she replies, unconcerned. “Father told me I wouldn’t be attending, he didn’t give a reason.”

  Not knowing how to respond to that revelation, we fall back into silence.

  “I can’t wait for summer to get here,” she murmurs.

  “Why’s that?” I ask, wondering where that came from, and she jumps when I speak like she’s forgotten that I’m here.

  “Oh ummm…. No real reason,” she says a blush creeping up her cheeks. “It’s just… uhhh… boring around here.”

  “Aww come on Linnie, you can tell me.”

  Emilienne bites her lower lip and glances around like she’s suddenly scared of being caught. Her expression changes and she grabs my hand, drags me down the next hall.

  “Where are we going?” I ask, letting her pull me along.

  “Shhh,” she says, glancing back at me. She turns again, pausing halfway to look around. She beckons me over and winks as she presses on a panel. I blink in surprise as the wall slowly opens inward, revealing a narrow hallway with a worn staircase.

  “What is this?” I whisper, following her through the opening. She closes the door behind us, and starts up the stairs.

  “You’ll see.” She giggles, hurrying ahead. I climb the narrow steps, emerging in a hallway only slightly wider than the stairs. This must have been part of the old servants’ quarters. She picks up the pace, quietly rushing down the hall and I leave off my curious examination to chase after her. She ducks into a closet and I pause in the doorway, staring at her in confusion.

  “Linnie?”

  “Shh, we’re almost there. Come on!” Shaking my head, I join her in the closet, quietly closing the door behind me. A small light flickers on, illuminating her delicate features.

  “Hold this,” she whispers, passing me a small flashlight. She turns to face the back wall and there’s a sharp click, and a thin opening appears. It’s just wide enough for her to slip through. Emilienne takes back her flashlight and disappears through the opening.

  I hesitate, staring into the darkness… Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all.

&n
bsp; “Come on E. Hurry up,” she whispers, popping her head in. Taking a deep breath, I nod and turn sideways to squeeze through the opening. I can’t have her thinking I’m a coward.

  I creep along the dark passage, keeping one hand on the wall. The panel clicks shut behind us and I jump in surprise.

  “Don’t worry, E, it opens from both sides,” she reassures me, as she turns and resumes walking.

  “I wasn’t worried!” I blurt, rushing to catch up to her.

  “Pfft, sure you weren't” she replies, shaking her head. The passage ends and there’s another soft click as the wall opens up. She slips out and turns to offer me a hand. Wide windows fill the empty room with sunlight. I step towards them but Emilienne grabs my hand and holds me back.

  “We have to be quiet,” She says softly. “We don't want anyone to catch us up here.”

  “What is this place?”

  “One of the attic garrets. They only come up here every couple months to clean the windows.”

  “Ok… so why all the cloak and dagger?” I ask, plopping down on the floor, as far from the window as possible.

  “Well… there are a couple reasons,” she says, sitting down next to me. She smooths her skirt out around her, as though stalling for time.

  “Hey Linnie, you know you can trust me, right? Anything you need to talk about, anything at all, it’ll stay just between us.” I assure her, placing my hand over hers, stilling the nervous moment. Her lavender eyes meet mine, as though searching for something. Emilienne finally nods, as though coming to a decision.

  “Things around here have been really… Weird lately.” She says.

  “Weird how?”

  “Well… I’m not supposed to be talking to you,” she finally admits, looking away.

  “Huh? What did I do?” I demand, trying to think of something I could have done to offend her parents.

  “Well, not you specifically E… I’m not supposed to talk to any boys.” Emilienne clarified.

  “What the heck?” I frown, staring at her in confusion. “Why?”

  “I don’t know.” She shrugs, twisting the fabric of her apron with her free hand. “Father made a big deal about it on my Birthday. Ordered me not to speak to any boy or men. Said I’m not a little girl anymore and that it’s not appropriate.”

  “That really is weird, Linnie.” I say shaking my head.

  “Right? It is not normal. He let all the male staff go, too. Just sent them away the day before my birthday. Even Smith! And Smith had been the butler forever.” She sighs and I squeeze her hand. “I think that’s why I’m not allowed to go to the meeting tomorrow… There will be a lot of people, men there… and they might try to talk to me.”

  “Is that why you brought me up here?” I ask.

  “Partially,” she admits. “We can’t get caught talking, after all. But you also asked why I couldn’t wait for summer…” She looks around, as though still not sure we are completely alone. “And… well... it’s a secret. If I tell you… and that’s a big if...” Our eyes lock and she stares at me intently. “You have to promise not to tell. Not anyone. Not ever.”

  “I won’t tell Linnie, I swear.”

  “Never ever,” she demands, “not even if they torture you.”

  “Not even if they pull out my fingernails and cut off my toes,” I swear, placing my hand over my heart.

  “Alright,” she says, vibrating with excitement. She leans in close, and whispers in my ear. “I have a new family.”

  “What?!?! How?!?”

  “Shhh!” Emilienne covers my mouth with her hand and we sit in silence for a long moment

  “At the summer house, I have my own family there.” she whispers urgently. “As soon as I’m old enough, I’m going to leave my Father and all this weirdness behind. Then I can have a nice boring ordinary life.”

  “What do yo…”

  “Elijah!”

  “Elijah, where the Hell are you?”

  I freeze as the sound of Dad and Malachi’s shouts echo through the halls. We stare at each other in horror.

  “Oh no,” I whisper, clamoring to my feet. “I’ve got to go Linnie. Is there another way for me to get back downstairs that won’t give away your secret place?”

  She nods, and I offer her a hand up.

  “There’s a set of servant stairs leading to the old kitchen,” she explains, leading the way back to the passage we’d used to get into the garret. Once we’re back in the main servants’ hall, she signals for me to follow her and we zigzag through a number of narrow hallways till she stops in front of a steep set of stairs.

  “Just go down to the bottom, there’s a latch on the door to open it. That room isn’t in use anymore, but there is a door that leads out to the back garden.”

  “You’re a genius, Linnie. I’ll let them find me in the garden, and when my dad asks, I’ll tell him I got bored and went outside. Never saw you at all.”

  “Goodbye, E”, she smiles sadly, throwing her arms around me and hugs me tight.

  “See you later, Linnie,” I whisper. I can still hear them yelling my name in the distance, and it lights a fire under me.

  I run down the stairs, pausing just for a moment to open the door. The original kitchen has been converted to a storage room, full of old furniture and boxes. I weave my way through the junk and out the back door. As I step into the open air, I force myself to act casually. I find a path and wander through the garden, slowly making my way towards the front of the house.

  I keep thinking about what Linnie said, how she wants a normal life. I wish we hadn’t been interrupted. I need to find a way to sneak away tomorrow and resume our conversation.

  “Where the hell have you been?” Dad demands, seeming to appear out of nowhere. I’ve been so lost in thought; I don’t even have to pretend to be surprised at his sudden appearance. Then I see Malachi standing at his side, trying not to smirk

  “Sorry Dad, I got tired of sitting in that room, so I went out for a walk. Are you finished with your meeting?”

  “We’re leaving now, the car is waiting,” Dad spins and storms off, leaving my question unanswered.

  Suddenly serious, my brother falls into step beside me. “Don’t ask, Elijah,” he warns. “If you’re smart, you won’t ever bring it up.”

  “Damn, is that going to make tomorrow’s meeting awkward?” I ask.

  “No need to worry about that, we’re not staying for it.”

  “Are you kidding me?!?!”

  “No,” he says flatly. He lowers his voice as we reach the car. “I’ll tell you about it later.”

  Dad’s already inside with the engine running. We climb in the back seat and I’m just closing the door as Dad hits the gas. I turn to look back at the house. I swear I see Emilienne watching from the dormer window, but it has to be my imagination. She wouldn’t risk getting caught.

  Coming Soon

  ∞

  The fifth book in The Magic Catalyst Chronicles will be available Summer 2021.

  You can keep up to date on the next release by visiting either my Facebook page Jacie Douglass or my blog https://jaciedouglass.com/

  Acknowledgements

  I wanted to take a minute to thank you for reading my work and spending some of your time with Emily and the Guys. Through the process of telling their story, they have truly come to life in my head, and I hope you enjoy reading about their journey, as much as I enjoy writing it.

  As a side note, this has been the strangest year ever with multiple delays pushing back the release of this book as well as book five. Thank you for your patience.

  I could not have published this book without the support of my friends and family, I love you all.

  Special thanks to:

  My Mom: For always reminding me that I can achieve anything I set my mind to.

  My Dad: For providing not only a second pair of eyes but a fresh perspective.

  My best friend Kris: Who once again read and did the second round of edits, even though it
’s not her genre of choice.

  Fredrick: For listening to my OCD inspired editing rants. My brain surely would have exploded without your unwavering support and words of encouragement.

  My friends at Pride Combat: For their humor, laughter and endless inspiration.

  About the Author

  Jacie Douglass physically resides in Las Vegas aka Sin City (yes people really live there) but spends most of her time living in the worlds she’s created in her head. Having retired after 20 years in the Telecommunications industry, she’s currently focusing on sharing her crazy world with others. When she’s not writing, she spends her time reading and playing dress up with the local Renaissance Festival community.