Legacy Of Magick (Legacy Of Magick Series, Book 1) (7 page)

Confidently, Ivy sat right down next to him on the chaise. “He’s right. The sugar will help you feel better.” Then she tipped down her sunglasses and shot him a look. “So, what do you want, Duncan?”

“To help, if I can,” he answered.

This was all way too other-worldly for me. I decided that my best course of action was to do as they suggested and drink the sugary soda and to ground myself.

As we watched, the EMS team and a police officer showed up. They took the little boy and his still hysterical mother off to a waiting ambulance. Holly stood and was giving the pool manager and officer a report on what had happened while a different lifeguard came and took over Holly’s post.

The pool slowly went back to normal and Duncan was apparently in no hurry to leave us. I started to wonder at his ease at sitting thigh-to-thigh with my cousin. My gothic, gorgeous teenage cousin wearing a big silver pentagram necklace and a little black bikini.

As we watched, Holly excused herself from speaking to the manager and the police, and walked over to us. She nodded at Duncan politely before she spoke to us. “I’ll have to fill out a report but I’ll be done in a little while. The boy should be fine once he coughs up all the water. They are taking him in as a precaution.” She told us and then she asked us to wait for her.

Ivy and I promised that we would wait, and Holly went off with her boss. This left my cousin and me with Mr. Tall, Blonde, and Mysterious, as I sat and sipped my soda slowly. The sugar did help. Like Duncan had said it would.

And how exactly, did Duncan know about the ‘psychic distress’ thing, and groundingand centering anyway? Did everyone in this town know magick, except me? It was a little mortifying.

I looked over at him where he still sat chatting with Ivy. About, if you can believe it, the tattoo on his arm! Ivy wanted a tattoo in a big way. Apparently, she figured he’d have insider information on getting inked. Too bizarre. Would it blow my image, or add to it, if Ivy found out that I had a little crescent moon and stars tattooed high on my left hip?

I set the soda down and squared my shoulders. Time for some answers. “Okay Duncan,” I began, “explain to me how you know about psychic distress and grounding and centering.”

“Probably the same way that you do,” he said quietly.

“Autumn,” Ivy said and, her serious tone surprised me. “Take a good look at the design on his arm.”

Duncan twisted his arm towards me and I reached to brush the shirt sleeve up and out of the way, to better see the ink on his bicep. I could see it very clearly now with my glasses on. I ignored the little stomach flip and tingle of energy that I felt.

It was then that I noticed the design was not simply a tribal tattoo as I had originally thought. The pattern of the knot work was actually two intertwined dragons. Finally, almost hidden at the center of the design, between the dragon’s tails was small, upright pentagram.

“So, you
are
a Witch.” I said mostly to myself.

“It’s a family tradition.” He confirmed.

I sat there stunned.

“What?” He asked me with a quiet laugh. “Did you think yours was the only family in town with a legacy of magick?”

CHAPTER FIVE

A few hours later, I drove home from the country club following Ivy and Holly in my old pickup truck. I could see as I followed behind them that the twins were chatting away. I took a deep breath in and let it out slowly, trying to relax. As far as days went, it had been fairly intense and I was wiped out.

Recalling Duncan’s announcement about his own family, I really had not known what to say to him. He had only smiled at me and looked serious. Ivy, for once, was silent and had nothing sarcastic to add. The three of us sat there awkwardly. Finally, Duncan stood up, and said quietly that he would talk to me later. When he walked away, I did not call him back.

Holly arrived right after Duncan left, so we grabbed sandwiches from the concession stand at the club, some sodas, and a couple of bags of chips. The three of us found a cool, quiet, shady spot in the concession area where we brought Holly up to speed on the day’s events.

I told them about meeting Duncan, the energy jolts I felt when we touched, seeing auras, and the vision at the pool. I wanted their opinion on why all of this was happening to me today.

Ivy leaned forward. “I think you are coming into a new level of power. You don’t have to hide your magick or your psychic abilities anymore. So now it’s like they can finally come out and play.”

Not sure I believed her; I sat there and said nothing.

Ivy smirked at me and tossed a chip to a hovering sparrow. “Wait and see.”

“She’s only been here a few weeks. She’s had a lot to take in.” Holly, on the other hand, was more sympathetic. She quietly held out her hand with a few chip crumbs in it, and a brave little sparrow flew in, grabbed the biggest piece, and flew off again. “Besides, I think her running into Duncan Quinn so many times in one day is very interesting.” Holly grinned at me and wiggled her eyebrows.

“Oh yeah. He of the hot tattoos, and dark, dangerous family...” Ivy said.

“Dark and dangerous family? What’s that supposed to mean?” I frowned at Ivy.

“You’ll find out.” She predicted.

A few more birds gathered on our tabletop, trying to work their way over to Holly’s hand to get more crumbs. She obliged them and they flew away chirping and happy. After a few more moments, we all decided unanimously to head back to the manor.

I snapped back to the present time as we pulled our cars into the driveway and the big iron gate closed automatically behind us. I assumed there was a remote control for the gate, but, honestly, at this point I wasn’t sure anymore. We all climbed out and stood in the driveway, looking up at the house.

At sunset, the house and the gardens were even more spectacular, almost mysterious. A thin waxing moon hung low in the western sky. The landscape lighting came on and the stars started to peep out. Looking up at the pointed towers of the manor, I felt like more of an outsider than ever. That house held secrets, and so did my father’s family. What weren’t they telling me?

I cleared my throat. “I have a hunch that there is more going on about our family than you have all told me.”

Ivy said nothing, and Holly put her arm around her twin.

“Your mother has been wonderful to me,” I said. “But I had the weirdest feeling this morning, before we left for the store, that she was hiding something or trying to distract me.”

“Well, standing out here in the driveway is not going to get you any answers.” Holly said. Let’s go in.”

Ivy raised an eyebrow at me as if in challenge, and we all started towards the house, together.

Ivy opened the door and, as I entered, I saw the usual floral swag that hung over the inside potting room door was missing. I dumped our pool bags on the work table and pointed up. “The herbal swag is gone.” All that was there now was an empty nail.

“That was a ward too. Like mom had at the shop.” Ivy said.

“Yes.” Holly’s voice sounded solemn. She touched my arm and gestured for me to stay put with Ivy.

Holly walked to the opening of the family room. She raised her arms up, palms out as if she was feeling for something. I felt the hair rise up on the back of my neck. She turned in a slow circle; the low light from the lamp burning in the room made her hair seem to glow. After a moment Holly stopped and lowered her arms. She looked over at us and whispered, “The house feels different. It feels… tight.”

“Tight?” I stared at my cousin, “Do I even want to know what that means?”

“Like the energy of the house has been pulled in closer towards the center of the house.” Holly gestured with her hands, pulling her palms closer together as she spoke.

“Let’s find your mom,” I suggested.

The three of us started out of the family room; Holly poked her head in the downstairs bedroom Gwen used as an office, and then into the kitchen, while Ivy went upstairs. I moved from the entryway, into the living room, and finally checked the dining room. Since all were empty of people, Holly and I went to the front landing and the main stairs.

Ivy jogged back down the main staircase, and blew out an aggravated breath. “Where do you suppose she is?”

Holly stopped dead, cocked her head to the side and announced. “Mom’s upstairs in the attic.”

“But we only use that for storage. Why would she be up there? ” Ivy looked up the stairs.

I didn’t even question it. Holly clearly sensed Aunt Gwen’s location in the house in the same way she’d felt the energy of the house had changed. We started up the stairs together.

We found Aunt Gwen coming out of a door on the second floor, a door that I’d taken as a closet. I saw steep steps behind her, before she shut the door. “Girls.” She opened her arms and pulled all three of us close.

“What’s wrong?” I asked from the middle of the hug.

Aunt Gwen reached out and cupped Holly’s face in her hands. “I’m so proud of you. I heard about the big rescue at the pool today.”

“That was fast,” Holly said under her breath.

“My network of information is pretty extensive. Go change out of your suits and come to my room.” She held up a hand to cut all of us off from asking any questions. “Quickly. We need to talk.”

I headed for my room and stepped over a remaining box I’d yet to unpack. I peeled out of my dry swim suit. I pulled my hair loose from the long braid I had used at the pool, and tossed on the same clothes I had worn to the shop that day. I swapped out my sunglasses for my regular glasses then caught my reflection in the dresser mirror. My green eyes seemed way too large in my oval face. Even though I had gotten a little sun up at the pool, my black t-shirt made me appear pale. Running a brush through my damp hair I reminded myself that I had had an
intense
day. Those two precognitive visions: one of Bran and the other of the boy up at the pool. Seeing auras... Maybe Ivy’s remark about me coming into a new level of power wasn’t too far off the mark after all. Wanting answers more than ever, I headed barefoot up to the front of the house where the master bedroom was, with its spacious sitting area inside of the turret.

The circular, turret area was what Aunt Gwen used as a ritual room. The entire bedroom/ turret room had shiny old oak floors. While the turret area boasted curvy walls and a half circle window seat.

“This has been one crazy day.” I said to Gwen and went to sit on the padded blue window seat cushion.

Gwen returned a few books to a wooden bookshelf that ranged along one side of the room. “It certainly has.”

On the marble topped table, that my cousins had informed me was used as a magickal workspace and an altar, there were three new floral swags. A large basket filled with dried herbs, ribbon, and floral wire was on the floor next to the table.

“Conjured up some new floral wards, while we were at the pool?” I asked.

Gwen nodded, and Holly and Ivy entered in the room and both headed for the comfy loveseat slip-covered in pale yellow. They tended to stick together; I suppose it was a twin thing. Holly had taken her hair out of its neat ponytail and it sprang in wild red-blonde curls down the back of her plain pink tank top.

Ivy had brushed her hair back, off her face, and twisted it into a clip. She had tossed on an oversized black t-shirt and shorts.

I wondered about Bran. Was his excellency going to join us this evening? “Where’s Bran?” I almost hated to ask.

“On his way.” Aunt Gwen answered.

Merlin streaked into the room and jumped up to join me. He sat up like a little Egyptian statue of a temple cat. He held himself very regal and still.

“I hope you girls all know how much I love you,” Aunt Gwen said to her daughters. She paused for a moment, as if searching for the right words, “All of your life I have taught you the old ways. I watched with pride as you each embraced your gifts. I taught you both the joys and responsibilities of the Craft and its ethics… but shielded you from some of the more difficult aspects of our legacy. And in my effort to protect you I have been remiss.”

Ivy and Holly shifted together on the loveseat and held hands.

Gwen faced me. “Autumn, you are my brother’s child. I love you too. I’m so happy to have you here with us again. You may not remember, but you lived in this house for your first years before your parents went out east.”

That was news to me, “I had no idea. Why did they leave?” I asked.

“When Arthur married your mother, he wished only for a normal life. By the time you were two years old there were problems in their marriage and your mother was very unhappy living here. So your father moved you, and your mother, to the east coast and started a new life.”

“That was why we never came back here for a visit.” I guessed.

“It was one of the reasons.” Gwen continued, “Your father started his landscaping business and raised you well away from us and the legacy that we share. So you were brought up not understanding exactly what it is that you have inside of you. That was his choice, and while I may not approve of what he did, he was my little brother and I loved him all the same.”

My mind raced as I considered what I had just been told.

Gwen interrupted my thoughts as she said, “Now you have come back to us. You are a powerful young woman with no idea of what you are capable of or how to protect yourself from those who may try to exploit your gift.”

“What do you mean, exactly?”

“I should have explained that for every light there is also a shadow.” She looked at each of us, deliberately. “When you came to live with us, I never imagined that we would find ourselves having any sort of contact with the Drake family.” Aunt Gwen said softly.

“What does that have to do with anything?” I frowned at her. For comfort, I stroked Merlin’s long back. He leaned into the petting, but otherwise stayed alert and watchful.

Aunt Gwen sighed. “Magick, like nature, is a neutral force. I have taught my children to work magick ethically and to not interfere with the free will of others.”

“You’ve talked to us about neutrality before, Mom.” Ivy said. “I explained to Autumn the other day that we have to cast spells from a calm and centered place, that we do
not
manipulate other people with our magick, and we don’t cast in anger.”