Gray Magic

by Jennifer Snyder

  Rose crossed the room to the bench near the foot of the bed and set the cleaning caddy down. She rummaged through it for the dust spray and a rag. As she wiped down the top of the dresser, she hummed to herself. I set the sheets I was carrying on the bench beside the cleaning caddy and pulled the blankets and pillows off the bed.

  “It would be cool if this became a place authors came to when they wanted to write. Then, maybe one of them could write me into a book,” Rose gushed.

  “That would be neat.” I chuckled.

  “Yeah, especially if it became a movie and I played myself in it.”

  I bent to pull at the final corner of the sheets on the bed and an intense pain sliced through my skull, starting at the top of my head and working its way down.

  Crap. Whoever was knocking from the other side was trying hard to get through again.

  Rose continued to chatter on about what she imagined it would be like to be on the big screen, but I tuned her out. The splitting sensation piercing my skull had all the makings to become another headache like the one I’d suffered through at Benji’s the other night.

  No, not now.

  Rose would know what was going on, and she’d tell Aunt Rowena, which meant all hell would break loose while she tried to scrounge around and create another pendant more powerful than the one I was wearing.

  I couldn’t handle that right now. No, I didn’t want to.

  I paused in what I was doing and reached into my pocket for the last ginger candy I had. A trip to the health food store for more was in my near future.

  “Are you okay?” Rose asked. She’d stopped talking and stood to stare at me from the other side of the room. Her delicate brows were drawn together. “You don’t look good.”

  “Yeah, I’m—”

  My words were cut off by panic as black dots speckled my vision. The air left my lungs in a hiss as though someone had punched me in the gut, and it suddenly took everything in my power to remain standing. The dots of black spread until darkness became the only thing I could see. My body swayed. Still able to feel the mattress beneath my hand, I leaned against the bed for support.

  An image came into focus as I blinked my eyes rapidly, but I knew what I was seeing wasn’t what was in front of me. It couldn’t be. This had to be a vision of sorts.

  How?

  I pulled in a long breath, trying to calm down so I wouldn’t freak out any more than I already was, but it didn’t help. This had never happened before. Sure, I’d had headaches before when someone was knocking, but I’d never had someone from the other side take control of my sight like what was happening now.

  The image in front of me sharpened to form a dark blond-haired man with piercing greenish-blue eyes dressed in solid black. His arms were positioned in front of him as though warding off someone or something, and the look on his face was horrific.

  What was he so afraid of? And, how in the hell was I able to see him? And, why was he all I could see?

  There was nothing behind him. It was as though he was suspended in the air. Until my viewpoint zoomed out, allowing me to see beyond just him.

  It was then I saw an amulet.

  It was three dimensional and shaped like a teardrop made of silver strands tacked together at the top and bottom with a glowing turquoise stone secured inside. Someone held it out to the man. It rested in the center of his or her palm—her; it was definitely a woman holding it. I zeroed in on the amulet, trying to figure out what it was and why the man seemed so afraid of it. That was when it began glowing brighter. The dark-skinned woman holding it moved closer to the man. The agony on his face intensified with each step she took forward.

  What was she doing to him? What was the purpose of the amulet? Was the woman evil?

  The edges of the man vibrated and flickered. An instant later, I watched as he was sucked into the amulet.

  Coldness centered in the pit of my stomach as a sense of helplessness coursed through me while I watched, unable to do anything to help him. Then, as quickly as the vision came, it faded and I was back in the amber room with Rose.

  I buckled over, struggling to catch my breath, calm my racing heart, and make sense of what I’d just saw. Nothing like that had ever happened before. I hadn’t even known it was possible.

  “Ridley?” Rose asked.

  I glanced up, looking at her. Fear registered in her eyes.

  “Are you okay?” she asked. “Do I need to get my mom?”

  “No,” I blurted. Filling Aunt Rowena in on what happened was the last thing I wanted. She would freak. “I’m fine.”

  I forced myself to stand upright and resumed tugging the sheets off the bed.

  Rose didn’t move. I could still feel her eyes on me.

  “What happened?” she asked.

  “Nothing. I got a little dizzy is all. Probably because I skipped lunch today. Don’t worry about it. I’m fine.” I flashed her a small smile, hoping she believed me and let it go. “Let’s finish up in here. The new guest should be here soon.”

  She didn’t press the issue, but I could tell she wanted to. She knew it hadn’t been nothing. However, she let it go, and for that, I was thankful. She helped me make the bed. Then, we moved on to clean the bathroom, continuing in our efforts to tidy up the room. Neither of us spoke while we worked. I could feel her eyes on me from time to time, but I didn’t meet her gaze. I couldn’t.

  When we finally finished, we put the cleaning supplies back in the linen closet and headed downstairs. Aunt Rowena was checking in the new guest. The woman had to be in her sixties. She was dressed in yoga pants and a thick coat. Her hair was secured on top of her head in a tight bun and long wooden earrings in the shape of trees hung from her ears.

  She was Aunt Rowena’s type of person—slightly eccentric and open-minded to the world of hosticlic medicine, witchy things, and herbal teas—I could tell from one look.

  “I knew the instant I read the names of the rooms online this place was for me,” the woman said. She pushed up the sleeve of her coat and thrust her wrist out to show Aunt Rowena her gemstone bracelet. “I only wear it when I travel. The stones are said to make the wearer have a safe journey. It hasn’t done me wrong yet.”

  “It’s beautiful,” Aunt Rowena said. “Follow me upstairs, and I’ll show you to your room.”

  The two of them headed upstairs with the women’s bags and I made my way to the kitchen for some tea, still shaken from the vision. Whoever this spirit was they meant business. Also, it was time to ask Aunt Rowena about gray magic.

  Chapter 5

  Two days passed, and I still hadn’t found the time to ask Aunt Rowena about gray magic. There were too many guests at the inn and too many issues with the house that kept needing attention. Add in my college classes, and I was exhausted. Plus, my head ached with the sort of dull pain that kept me feeling nauseous and at times sent the floor swaying beneath my feet.

  Thankfully, there hadn’t been any more visions though.

  All I had managed to do was browse the internet for information on gray magic a handful of times the last two days. What sucked was, I hadn’t been able to find much material that seemed legit. However, I had found a shop in the city with a small collection of books on it. Since then, I’d been trying to figure out how I could squeeze out some time to get there.

  “Do either of you have plans this weekend?” Aunt Rowena asked, pulling me from my thoughts. Her eyes were shifting between Raven and me.

  The three of us were in the kitchen with Rose, placing lids and ribbons on the tiny jars of fruit preserves that had been made earlier in the day. They were for an event in town I didn’t know anything about but somehow I’d been roped into helping with the jars.

  “Why?” Raven asked. Her tone was hostile as though she knew where this conversation was going.

  “No reason.” Aunt Rowena shrugged. “I just figured you’d both want to know for certain you were off for the weekend.”

  “Off?” I tied a red ribbon to the top
of a jar and then passed it to Rose so she could run her scissors along it, making it curl. “As in not on toilet plunging duty?”

  “That’s exactly what I mean.” A smile spread across her face. “You’ve been helping me out more than usual around here and I want you to know I’ve noticed and appreciate it. Take the weekend off. Have some fun. Safe fun, but fun no less.”

  “I was hoping you’d say that! There’s a movie playing I wanted to see,” Raven said.

  A night off from tending to guests and this house? Maybe I could head to the shop I’d found in the city, Brewed Awakening, and finally pick up a book on gray magic.

  “I should go call Tamie and see if she’s still up for seeing it with me.” Raven slipped off the stool across from me and left the kitchen in a hurry.

  Aunt Rowena laughed. “She acts like I’ve been running a prison around here lately.”

  “You sort of have,” Rose said. “We’ve all been helping way more than usual around here.”

  “It’s because things keep breaking or needing tending to. This house is old,” Aunt Rowena insisted.

  “Maybe it’s time to hire some help,” Rose said. Her voice was soft and sweet, making it clear she didn’t want to upset her mom with the suggestion.

  I glanced at Aunt Rowena. Her eyes were watery and her plump lips had twisted into a frown. She was thinking about Uncle Kevin. It was the same look to always cross her face when she thought of him—heartbreaking sadness.

  “I’ll think about it,” she said as she tied a ribbon on the last jar. She stood and headed to the stove where she put the kettle on.

  My cell rang. It was Benji. I slipped off my stool and headed into the sunroom for privacy.

  Warmth touched my skin as I opened the glass doors and stepped into the room. It always felt like summer in here, which was why it was one of my favorite places in the house. White tiles made up the floor to the narrow, rectangular room, and tall windows framed with stained glass made up the walls. A set of wicker furniture sat in the center of the room, and plants were spread all over. I’d counted them once just to know how many there were—thirty-six. There were thirty-six plants in this single room.

  I swiped my thumb across the screen of my phone to answer it. “Hey.”

  “Hey, how’s it goin’?” he asked.

  “Good, I guess.” I knew he was calling to check up on me. I could hear the concern in his tone.

  “Any more headaches today?”

  “They’ve sort of merged into one that’s never-ending.” I rubbed my temple, feeling the dull ache still there. “I honestly can’t remember what it felt like to not have one.”

  I hadn’t meant to say those last words. They’d slipped out with little thought. I licked my lips and waited for what he would say in response. Benji cared about me, and I knew hearing I was in a constant form of pain wasn’t going to set well with him.

  “No more visions though,” I said.

  “You should just take your pendant off and open the door,” he insisted. “You shouldn’t be lettin’ them hurt you so much. I mean, damn, Rid, stop torturin’ yourself. Please.”

  I glanced through the glass doors of the sunroom and into the kitchen where Rose still sat at the island, curling ribbons on jars.

  “I don’t want to.” It was the truth. Tapping into the other side and seeing what this persistent spirit wanted scared me.

  Benji released a sigh. “Well, what if you can’t hold them at bay any longer? What if they get pissed at you for makin’ them wait so long and they try to hurt you? What then?”

  He was angry. He had every right to be. If the situation were reversed, I’d be pissed with him for doing this to himself too.

  “I’ll deal with it,” I said. My voice sounded stronger than I felt. “I don’t think it will come to that, though.”

  I squeezed my eyes shut, knowing the can of worms I was opening and feeling unsure if now was the right time. Maybe it was though. Maybe learning about gray magic would give him hope, same as it had me.

  “What do you mean?” he asked.

  “I talked with Octavia about the anchor she dated when I came to visit you on Monday. I asked her if she could give me any tips or tricks about this whole other side thing she might have learned from him. She said some stuff, but only one thing seemed like it might be worth checking out.”

  “What? Why didn’t you mention you talked to her before?” He sounded hurt. My chest tightened because of it. “I knew somethin’ was up when I came downstairs to get you.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “What did she suggest?” he asked, ignoring my apology.

  Damn. Were we back in a weird place again? I hoped not, I’d been enjoying all the kissing.

  “I should have said something sooner. I don’t know why I didn’t,” I insisted hoping to smooth things out fast. I knew why I’d said nothing—because I hadn’t wanted to talk about my issues when he seemed to be dealing with so many of his own—but I couldn’t tell him that. “She mentioned using gray magic to help build a wall—or a veil as she called it—that would separate me from the other side. One I’d be able to take down at will.”

  Silence filtered through the phone for a moment before Benji finally spoke.

  “I’ve never heard of gray magic before,” he said. “Have you talked to your aunt about it?”

  “No, not yet. It doesn’t seem like something she’d want me tampering with though. She would have mentioned it if so.” I shifted to glance out the sunroom doors again, making sure no one was focused on me.

  “I think you should ask her if she’s heard about it. It might be somethin’ bad, Rid.”

  “Octavia said it’s magic that’s not good or bad. It’s somewhere in the middle, like me. I’m here in the physical plane, but also on the other side. She said gray magic would come easily to me.”

  “Still, I think you should mention it to her before you try anythin’ with it,” he said. “Where can you find more info on it? Have you searched the internet?”

  “Yeah. There isn’t much to be found, but I did find a place in the city with a small collection of books on it. It’s called Brewed Awakening. Apparently, it’s a coffee shop and an occult bookstore. I planned on going this weekend to check it out.”

  “I can drive you. We can turn it into a date.”

  A date? A fluttering feeling entered my stomach.

  “Yeah, sure. I’d like that,” I said.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Can’t wait,” I said. “Love you.”

  “Love you too.”

  When I hung up, every inch of me felt lighter. I was going to Brewed Awakening to buy a gray magic book and Benji was coming with me. On a date. It had been forever since we’d had one of those.

  I crammed my cell into my back pocket and left the sunroom to head back into the kitchen where Rose sat still curling ribbons and Aunt Rowena sipped her tea.

  “Making plans for the weekend already?” Aunt Rowena asked as she grinned at me from over the rim of her mug.

  “Yeah. Benji is taking me into the city for a date tomorrow night,” I said.

  “That’s nice. I’m sure the two of you will have fun.”

  “Ask me what I’m doing tomorrow night,” Rose said. She ran her scissors over the length of the last ribbon with attitude.

  I smirked at her. “What are you doing tomorrow night?”

  “Nothing. A big fat nothing.”

  Aunt Rowena and I laughed at her sudden burst of dramatic flair. In that moment, she reminded me of Raven. Especially when she stormed out of the kitchen. Once the laughter between us died down I licked my lips, suddenly hyperaware of being alone with her.

  This was my chance to ask her about gray magic.

  “Someone mentioned something to me the other day,” I said as my stomach fluttered with nerves.

  “About what?”

  I locked eyes with her, wanting to see her reaction to what I was about to say. “Gray magic.”r />
  She blinked once and then her face became expressionless. There was panic reflected in her eyes though. Was gray magic that horrible? I knew Octavia wasn’t my biggest fan—heck, she wasn’t anyone’s—but I didn’t think she’d purposely send me down the path of evil.

  “Stay away from it,” Aunt Rowena insisted.

  Her words hit me like ice water.

  “What? Why?” I asked once I’d recovered from the shock of her tone and the perplexing reaction she’d had at the mention of gray magic.

  She set her tea on the island between us and held my gaze. There was something in her stare that hadn’t been there seconds before—undiluted fear.

  “I mean it, stay away from it,” she insisted. “Nothing good can come from wielding gray magic.”

  “It’s not evil though. It’s more like a neutral form of magic.”

  Her fist slammed on the counter. The force of it vibrated her mug and had my breath hissing out of my lungs in a rush. I’d never seen her this upset, this angry, about something before.

  “It is evil, Ridley. Pure evil.” Sadness etched its way into her features. “It can destroy a person,” she said before she turned to leave the kitchen.

  I remained where I was, staring after her while wondering what the hell had just happened. Why had she reacted so badly at the mere mention of it? What did she know? Had she lost someone to gray magic?

  More questions tumbled through my mind as I sat there, causing my headache to intensify.

  I pressed my fingertips to my temples and squeezed my eyes shut. My breath expelled from my lungs with a sigh as determination twisted through me.

  Her reaction wasn’t going to deter me from gray magic. I would still visit Brewed Awakening with Benji tomorrow and purchase a book on it. I just wouldn’t mention it to her again.