Legacy Of Magick (Legacy Of Magick Series, Book 1) (2 page)

I bet he did. Crap. Oh well, grad school was going to take up most of my time starting next week anyway.

To my amazement he reached out and took my hand, not to shake it, just to hold. His other hand tipped my sunglasses playfully down. “You have green eyes.” He smiled at that. “I wondered what I’d find behind those sunglasses.”

“Yeah, I’ve had them forever.” I managed not to stutter. “The eyes, I mean.”

“Autumn, I really am glad I ran into you this morning.”

Oh wow, I felt those little tingles again. And was this guy smooth or what? I frantically tried to think of something clever to say; instead I stood there and stared at him. Like an idiot.

He pushed my glasses back into place with a fingertip, and let go of my hand. He bent down at the edge of the yard, and plucked a yellow daisy from the garden.

“Sorry. Again.” He handed me the daisy.

“Thanks for walking me home,” I finally managed.

“I’ll see you around.” He waved as he left. I stood there and watched him for a bit as he put his ear buds back in, and then as he jogged farther off, and down the street.

I grinned after him for a moment, and tucked the daisy behind my ear. I shut the gate, walked quickly up the driveway, and bounded up the front porch steps.

I let myself in the front door, closed it, and leaned back for a moment with a happy sigh. Suppressing a giggle, I headed to the kitchen for some water. I had a
feeling
I would be seeing him again and soon.

After all, he knew where I lived and I knew where he lived. Plus, I felt something between us; that jolt of energy and those tingles when we touched. That was new for me. I wondered what it meant, and I wondered if it would be lame to say I felt a sort of
connection
to him?

Attraction? Oh yeah. I had a hunch the attraction was more than one-sided (and I was good with hunches).

Hunches, dreams, and visions have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. Even when I was small, I’d often known what the future would bring. I thought I had that pretty much under control most of the time. I am a Seer and I have what used to be called, back in the old days, “The Sight”. Capital T. Capital S. And honestly, it is one ginormous pain in the ass.

I reached into the fridge to grab a bottle of water, and noticed that my knee and both of my palms were stinging. When I looked down, I saw a little rivulet of blood running down my leg. I grabbed a paper towel, and blotted my skinned knee, just as I heard footsteps on the kitchen stairs.

Knowing the rest of the family would be up soon, I figured I had a decent shot at getting to the hall bathroom for a shower before my seventeen year old, twin cousins woke up and took it over. I had learned after a few days that my oldest cousin, Bran, had his own bathroom, which he did
not
share. Aunt Gwen had the largest bedroom on the second floor that boasted a curved sitting area and a huge, private en-suite bathroom.

But I didn’t mind sharing with the twins. They seemed to be pretty likable teenagers, even though the bathroom was usually an explosion of towels, toiletries, and makeup. It sort of reminded me of when I had lived in the dorms, back when I was an undergrad.

I saw with some surprise, Holly, the oldest of the twins, come bouncing down the steps.

Holly’s curly reddish-blonde hair was pulled back in a neat ponytail to leave her heart-shaped face unframed. Large, aqua-blue eyes blinked as she noticed me standing at the counter, sweating and chugging water.

Holly stood at the bottom of the steps, wearing her orange one piece swimsuit, athletic shorts, and flip flops, while holding a duffle bag. She looked cool, calm, and pretty as usual. However, Holly reeked of sunscreen, which was easy to explain. Holly had been working at the country club pool this summer as a lifeguard, while Ivy pitched in at the family’s bookstore. Then I remembered that today was Holly’s last official day of work at the pool. She had to be up early as well.

Holly’s eyes zeroed in on the paper towel in my hand and the blood stain. She dropped her bag and knelt down in front of my knee.

“Autumn, what did you do?” She asked.

“It’s only a skinned knee.” I rolled my eyes at her. “I’ve had worse.”

“Let me see it.” Holly wrapped her hand around my leg firmly. For all the sympathy, her grip was strong. Resigned to her inspection, I shut my mouth and stood there. There was no point in arguing with her, she could be amazingly stubborn.

As I watched, Holly closed her eyes and
looked
. She went very still as her attention focused internally on whatever her senses told her. She cocked her head to one side, as if she was listening or concentrating. Her hand trailed up to my hip and hovered over the area where I had fallen. Then her aqua-blue eyes opened again and aimed directly up at me.

“It doesn’t hurt too much right now, but you’re going to be sore tomorrow. Also your stomach feels all jittery and fluttery,” she looked at me and waited.

With a sigh I gave in, “Someone accidentally ran into me while I was jogging. I’m fine.”

“He knocked you down. You took the impact on your palms, your right hip, and your knee.” Holly stated firmly. She didn’t guess, she
knew.

I tipped my sunglasses down to squint at her. “Witch.” I accused her teasingly.

“Yes, I am.” She grinned cheerfully up at me.

As I’d only recently learned, all of the weird experiences I’d dealt with my whole life— the dreams that came true, my very accurate hunches, even seeing the future— was part of my family legacy. Some people inherited blue or brown eyes, but in my father’s family, the children all inherited paranormal powers. I got The Sight (hence the whole ‘Seer’ thing). Or, if you want to get technical, I was a clairvoyant.

Apparently, my father had been a Witch, but I’d never known while he was alive. It had been a bit of a jolt to discover that I came from a witchcraft prone family.

“Is he cute?” Holly wanted to know.

I raised an eyebrow at her question. “You tell me if he’s cute or not.”

Holly stood and looked at me carefully. “I am an empath, Autumn. Not a clairvoyant. I can sense your injuries and physical pain and feel your emotions, but I can’t see a picture of him in my head.” She said patiently.

“I’ll tell you all about it later,” I promised. “Right now, I really want to hit the shower before Ivy gets up and hogs the hall bathroom.”

“He must be cute, because you have some pretty excited and happy feelings for the guy who knocked you down.” Holly grinned at me as she fished her own sunglasses and car keys out of her bag.

“Mind your own business,” I suggested. “Go be a lifeguard or something.” I gestured with the water bottle, and lifted it to my mouth for a swig.

Holly calmly walked to the back door with a little smirk. “Don’t forget to put that flower he gave you in some water. I have a feeling you’ll want to keep it.”

I choked on the water I’d been guzzling and glared as my cousin headed off to work. I heard her giggling at getting in the last word. Once I stopped coughing, I chucked the empty water bottle in the recycle bin, and realized that trying to keep anything a secret in this house was going to be basically impossible.

Well, they were all Witches.
I laughed to myself.
What can you do?

CHAPTER TWO

I did manage to take that shower before Ivy even got out of bed. Feeling smug at getting the bathroom first, I wrapped myself in a big towel, and started out the door to find my cousin waiting and leaning against the wall opposite the bathroom doorway. Her eyes were half closed, and basically she looked annoyed at the world in general.

She wore a black tank with skull and crossbones patterned pajama shorts. Her tangled, dyed black hair was sort of sticking up straight in the air. There were circles of smeared black eye makeup under both her green eyes, which made her look like a gothic raccoon. Somebody had slept in their makeup again.

“’Morning, sunshine.” I smirked as I strolled past her.

“Don’t mess with me,” She warned. “Need caffeine to function at this ungodly hour of the day.” She staggered into the bathroom, and the untouched door slammed behind her.

Ivy did everything with dramatic flair, I was going to have to get used to that.

A half hour later, my contacts were in, my makeup was on, and my long hair was brushed back into a low pony tail that hung straight down my back. When it was this hot outside, leaving my hair loose simply drove me crazy. My palms stung slightly and my hip and knee were a bit sore, but otherwise I was feeling okay.

I was seated at the old oak kitchen table wearing black and white Ikat print shorts, a black scoop neck t-shirt, and my aqua colored gladiator sandals. I had sliced up a banana into my cereal and was having breakfast with my Aunt Gwen. My older cousin, Bran, was seated at the table as well, reading the newspaper and looking buttoned up and proper as usual.

And he was ignoring me. Again. As usual.

Merlin, the family’s cat, was sitting in the empty kitchen chair beside me. His white paws were on the edge of the table and he seemed to be keeping an eye on the kitchen. Either that or he was reading Bran’s newspaper. Honestly, I wouldn’t put it past him.

Merlin was a solid fifteen pounds of long, lean, and muscular cat. Except for a little star shaped patch of white on his chest and the tips of his front paws, he was solid black. The first time I saw the white star in his black fur I thought it was a trick. That cat is so strong he has dog toys to play with. Seriously. Merlin
adopted
me two weeks ago as soon as I had unpacked my first box here at my aunt’s house. He hopped out of my aunt’s arms, started exploring all of the boxes I brought, and had been my shadow ever since.

Seeing this little domestic scene, you’d never guess at the extraordinary abilities of the family. The Bishops held successful jobs and were active in their local schools and business community. They had regular friends, maintained a gorgeous house, and tended amazing gardens. Once you got past the jolt of ”We’re Witches,” my father’s family was, for lack of a better word, relatively
normal.

Aunt Gwen was speaking to the both of us about the store and what she wanted to get accomplished today. First on the list: inventory.

“You and Ivy should be able to go through the book stock, the herbs, and the crystals easily enough.” She paused as she sipped some herbal tea. Gwen wore a flowing purple dress and, as she lowered her teacup, silver rings sparkled on every finger. “That is, if she decides to join us today.” She smirked a few seconds later when Ivy shuffled into the kitchen.

Ivy’s face was now clean of makeup. She was wearing a dark red bath robe, and a crimson headband was tucked over her freshly washed hair. With her pale complexion, black hair, and the blood red robe, I thought that she looked like a vampire who had gotten up out of the wrong side of the coffin.

Beside me, Aunt Gwen choked a little on her tea.

Crap.
Was Aunt Gwen was telepathic?
Wouldn’t that suck if she could read my mind? You know, literally hear my thoughts! Aunt Gwen glanced over at me with laughter in her eyes, as if to confirm my suspicions.

Note to self: add telepathy to the list of Aunt Gwen’s witchy talents.

Second note to self: Read up on psychic abilities, ASAP.

I smiled back at my aunt who was trying not to chuckle, and sat back in my chair to watch the show. No one speaks to Ivy in the morning, unless they have a death wish. She’s really not a morning person, so the vampire analogy was pretty apt.

We watched as Ivy went straight to the refrigerator and grabbed a can of diet soda. She opened the can and chugged the soda with one hand on her hip, while she stood in front of the fridge with the door wide open.

“You are refrigerating the entire house, dear.” Aunt Gwen said calmly.

Ivy’s head was tipped back, and she was guzzling that caffeine laden soda as if her life depended on it. While she was still chugging, she stepped back a few paces and the untouched refrigerator door closed smartly all on its own. Which I admit, made me flinch.

“Show-off,” Bran accused her, turning a page in the paper. Merlin gave a huge feline yawn, and Aunt Gwen merely chuckled.

Ivy’s talent was telekinesis. She could make inanimate objects move. Typically, it was little things. Pictures rattling on the wall, dishes in the cupboards, so most people never noticed. As she had gotten older, she had learned some control, she told me. But if she was tired, aggravated, or scared, items would move more violently. As in the more wound up she was, the more force would be generated. This morning Ivy’s mood apparently was... pissy.

Ivy finally stopped the soda chugging and came up for air. I tried not to laugh as she stalked over to the table, pulled out a chair with a frown, and sat. Ivy deliberately placed the soda can off to the side, and then folded her arms on the table. She sighed and let her head fall down to her crossed arms with a dramatic
thud
.

“Really, Ivy,” My aunt shook her head and added a
tsk- tsk
. “We should sign you up for acting classes.”

“It’s early,” Ivy whined. This was somewhat muffled, as she was basically talking to the table top.

“Aren’t we the drama queen this morning?” I said as I went to put my now empty cereal bowl in the dishwasher.

Ivy rolled her head to the side and glared at me. The spoon I had left on the table started to quiver. Unaffected by this, Aunt Gwen scooped it up and handed it to me to add to the other dishes.

Trying to take stock of the goings on around me, I tried not to let my surprise show as I studied the fragrant herbs drying from a brass curtain rod above the kitchen sink.

Normal? Had I granted the family
relatively normal
?

I shook my head at myself while I loaded up the dishwasher, the familiar scent of drying rosemary and thyme perfuming the air was homey and calming. I supposed Ivy’s more theatrical magickal talents might frighten some people, but the effect this morning was somewhat dampened by the fact that she currently had her head down on the kitchen table, like a little kid.