Legacy Of Magick (Legacy Of Magick Series, Book 1) (9 page)

While my aunt and three cousins discussed the situation, Bran appeared unable to comprehend the idea, and seemed genuinely shocked, “He was not only able to get inside, but he walked around for a while?”

Gwen looked straight at Bran with a bit of a smirk. “Well, Julian Drake didn’t have the same luck his cousin did. I’m fairly certain he burned his knuckles knocking on the glass front door to the store.”

Bran snorted in reply. Ivy giggled and Holly looked serious. Which made me recall Gwen’s comment about being surprised that Julian was even able to get that close to the shop’s doorway. My stomach tied into knots.

What the hell was going on?

I fought the urge to raise my hand as I asked, “Is Duncan Quinn being able to get inside of Enchantments, significant somehow?”

Again they ignored me. Bran and Aunt Gwen seemed only to be talking to each other and the twins now.

“After he left the shop, an herbal ward fell. It practically exploded when it hit the floor,” Ivy said to Bran, as the girls joined their little pow-wow, effectively shutting me out.

Hearing Ivy’s comment about the exploding ward, Bran swore quietly. “Oh shit.” And he seemed to notice the new floral arrangements on the work table for the first time.

“Oh shit, pretty much covers it,” Ivy agreed a little too cheerfully.

“Hey!” I tried to get a word in.

“So, you’re creating newer, stronger wards for all the thresholds,” Bran said, right over me.

Aunt Gwen gestured to the work table and the brand new herbal arrangements. “For both the shop and the house.”

“Hello, I am standing right here.”

“Have you contacted the coven?” Bran asked his mother. Again, totally disregarding the rest of us lesser beings. Those lesser beings being myself.

Aunt Gwen nodded to him. “I did. They are all taking precautions.”

“That’s good.” Holly’s curls bounced as she nodded her head in agreement.

“Hey!” I shouted. “Maybe you’ve all forgotten that there is another damn person in the room. Someone you’ve kept secrets from, and who has no idea what the in the hell is going on!”

“Autumn,” Holly pleaded, “Don’t be angry. Not now.”

“You are too much of a magickal novice to understand how serious this is.” Bran said to me in a condescending tone.

“Fuck you, Bran.” I was so tired, from the drama filled day, and angry, that I didn’t even stop to think that I had never dropped the ‘F bomb’ in front of my aunt before. Until now.

“Watch your language!” Aunt Gwen snapped.

And then Bran and I were shouting insults back and forth at each other.

“Stay away from Duncan Quinn and his family!” Bran ordered.

“Mind your own damn business!” I shouted back. Merlin ran across my feet and went to sit by Holly.

“Bran, don’t be such an ass!” Ivy yelled at her brother, as she was now standing at my side.

“Shut up Ivy!” Bran snarled at his sister.

Suddenly, a book sailed across the room all by itself, straight at Bran’s head. My cousin ducked and the book bounced off the wall and fell to the floor.

“I won’t miss next time!” Ivy yelled at her brother.

He straightened up and looked at his sister incredulously. His mouth worked. No sound came out.

As Ivy and I shouted at Bran, I had a second to realize that the flying book was just a warning. It made a weird kind of sense that heightened emotions would make for stronger, wilder magick.

The lights started to flicker and pop. A couple more books fell off the bookshelf, a sure sign that Ivy was rapidly losing control. Bran and I continued to argue at top volume with each other, while Ivy took my side. Merlin began to howl from the couch, and Holly, pale and shaking beside him, pleaded with everyone to stop fighting. Considering she could feel everyone’s angry emotions, her distress must have been terrible.

Then with a loud boom that — I swear to god — sounded like a clap of thunder, my aunt raised her hands and simultaneously pushed out her magick. “Enough!” She shouted.

It was like getting hit with a big pillow right in the face. The force of her magick didn’t hurt. It only startled me and shut me up, which I suppose was the point. All of us fell silent.

Bran took a breath to say something, and Gwen whipped her head around and told him, “You are all bickering like children! One more word, out of any of you, and I swear I’ll strike all of you mute.”

Ivy started to speak and it came out as a croaky sounding cough.
Whoa,
Aunt Gwen was not kidding. I had never seen her like this. I reached back for Ivy’s hand and gave it a warning squeeze. Wisely, she stopped struggling to speak.

As I watched, Aunt Gwen reined in her temper. “All of you need to sit down, and calm down.” She said in a softer, scarier tone of voice, “Right now.”

Bran went and reluctantly sat on the window seat, but I remained standing, as did Ivy. It wasn’t easy to stay still, feeling the weight and pressure of her magick. It cost me a bit, but I refused to back down. So, I learned right then and there that it is
not
comfortable going up against another Witch’s will. Especially when they were pissed off and frustrated, like Aunt Gwen was now.

However, I stubbornly stayed where I was. Hand in hand, Ivy and I stood there. Both of us uncomfortable, but defiant.

“Autumn, you are so like your father,” She said in a frustrated tone of voice. “He was strong
and
stubborn too.” Then she sighed and I felt her magick ease up a bit.

“He and I used to have some pretty spectacular fights when we were kids. He had the same gift Ivy does. Seeing you use magick to shoot that book at Bran reminded me.” Gwen laughed to Ivy.

“Really?” Ivy beamed at her mother, and then grinned at me, apparently thrilled with the thought that she shared something with her uncle.

“Oh yes. I wasn’t as quick as Bran, he got me more than a few times.”

Okay, color me confused. “Dad had telekinesis?” I had simply presumed he was like me, a Seer. And obviously I was way off on that assumption. “I never saw him use any magick.” I told her.

“He was better with herbal spells.” Gwen admitted. “But if you really ticked him off, then things would start to fly. Literally.”

“Landscaping. That makes sense. He could still work with the plants. But telekinesis? I had no idea.” I said.
Had I even know the man at all?

“I’m not surprised. When you were a toddler, he abjured his gifts.” Aunt Gwen laid a comforting hand on my shoulder.

“Why?” Holly, Ivy, and I all asked at the same time.

“Your mother told him he could either stay here and continue to practice alone, or he could leave behind his legacy and live a normal life with her and you.”

“So, she gave him an ultimatum.” I frowned.

“She did. The magickal world frightened her.” Aunt Gwen said with a sad smile to Bran.

I tried to wrap my mind around that. My father had, what was the word Aunt Gwen used?
Abjured
his powers? So he gave up his magick for my mother. I couldn’t help but imagine how horrified she must have been when her daughter ended up inheriting the Bishop family legacy of magick. I suppose that explained why she had staunchly ignored all of the manifestations of my abilities as I grew up. My dreams that came true, my very accurate intuition and hunches... She probably did not want to deal with the reality of it.

“I wonder if he ever regretted it.” I sighed. It seemed like such a waste to me.

“He never regretted his life with you, Autumn. That much I am absolutely sure of,” my aunt said confidently.

Meanwhile, Bran looked like he was on a slow boil, over on the window seat. Face red with temper, he grabbed the book that Ivy had ‘sent’ air mail across the room and shook it at her. “Damn it Ivy, you used magick against me!”

Ivy raised one eyebrow and sneered. “Bran, if I would’ve really meant to hit you with that, I would have.” She waited a beat and then added, “Sorry.” Which sounded less than sincere.

Bran just sputtered.

Aunt Gwen took advantage of the lull in the argument. “Bran, apologize to Autumn.”

The house phone rang and Aunt Gwen cocked her head to the side. “I have to get that.” Apparently she had a witchy/ telepathic version of caller ID, without her having to see the phone readout. “Behave yourselves for a few moments,” she warned us. Then Aunt Gwen went quickly out of the turret room and over into her adjoining bedroom to pick up the extension. In a moment we all heard her quietly speaking to the caller.

We stared at each other for a few seconds. I suppose we were all acting like a bunch of little kids, which was pretty bad when you consider that Bran was twenty nine, I was about to turn twenty-four, and the twins were seventeen.

Bran rolled his eyes. “I’m sorry you’re a novice,” he said as he raked an aggravated hand through his short red hair.

“Yeah? Well, I’m sorry you’re such a condescending ass,” I said softly and with feeling.

Bran stood and walked up to me. He bent down, and leaned into my face a little bit. He stared intently into my eyes and seemed to be looking for something. After a couple of seconds he stepped back a bit and gave me a different, almost considering look. I didn’t move a muscle during his little power play.

Finally, he let out a sigh and then rudely shouldered me out of the way, as he stalked over to replace the flying book. With the book shoved back into place he turned to me and said, “Consider that in this subject we
do
know more than you do. So, listen to my mother and stay away from the Drake family.”

“You are not the boss of me.” I said with my hands on my hips.

Was that a mature comeback or what? Even Holly laughed.

Bran crossed his arms over his chest. His expression was as serious as I have ever seen it. “Autumn, I have been around the Drake family all of my life. Bad things happen to anybody who gets in their way.”

“Before we get off track, again,” Holly interjected. “Autumn needs access to those family journals.”

I agreed. “Yeah, this whole family feud thing is ridiculous. I’m not going to only take your word for it, or listen to town gossip.” I frowned at him and then asked, “Plus, you didn’t answer me before. Didn’t you work with Duncan Quinn?”

Bran rubbed his forehead like he had a headache brewing, “Yes, I have worked with Quinn, in my capacity as the head of the historical archives at the University library. It’s my job, to assist people who come to do research and to help them locate the documents.”

“So you’ve met him. And didn’t bother getting to know him? You just made snap judgment based on gossip and old grudges?” I accused him.

“I don’t have to ‘get to know him’.” Bran’s voice rose as he used air quotes, and then he caught himself and tried to continue more calmly. “He’s a part of the Drake family. From when our ancestors first dealt with that family until today, they have all been nothing but evil.” Bran said

“I didn’t realize you were such a bigot. It’s an ugly look for you Bran.” I said to my cousin and I watched his face darken in temper.

“You are going to want to watch that sarcasm with me,
cousin
.” He practically snarled the last word.

“Sarcasm is my super power.” I flipped my long hair back over my shoulders, and crossed my arms over my chest.

A light bulb in the lamp on the table next to Holly blew out with a muffled pop, and the overhead lights started flickering again. I peered up at the light fixture and stepped out from under it. Was that Bran causing the lights to go wonky? Or was it all of the angry energy the family had put out? That was bound to do something to the electricity.

Aunt Gwen had finished her phone call and had returned to the room. She stood next to Holly and listened to Bran and I argue.

“Their family history speaks for itself,” Bran said.

“Obsess much?” I said to Bran. “This supposed history you are so wrapped up in, those journals and old spell books, the old wives tales, have nothing to do with me.”

I confronted my aunt. “You can hardly expect me to believe your story about this other family and our history without any proof. Expecting me to fall in line because of an old story handed down through the generations is unrealistic, and it’s unfair.”

Aunt Gwen looked thoughtful after my little speech.

“If Autumn is supposed to share in the legacy of magick, then she needs to know
everything
.” Holly said. “Who our enemies are... and why. She needs to know all of our family history. Not only the parts you think she might be ready to handle.” Holly rubbed her chin over the top of Merlin’s kitty head. Now that the more volatile emotions were easing up, she seemed more comfortable.

I tried for a little of that calm myself. I dropped the defensive crossed arm pose and took a deep breath. When I spoke to my aunt, I was about as calm as I was liable to get. “I may have a lot to learn about the family legacy and magick. But I
will
learn. I just found out that my father stopped practicing his Craft because of my mother, and I don’t understand the choice he made. But if those Bishop family journals also belonged to him, then they now belong to me. I’d like to see those journals. Now.” I said to my aunt quietly.

Bran, naturally, and immediately, balked at my request.

At the rate we were going, with Bran arguing that I was too inexperienced to be reading the old spell-books, Holly quietly insisting that I should see them, Ivy loudly and ironically asking if anyone else was sick of the drama fest, and Gwen trying to keep us from blowing up the house... I was never going to see these ‘all important’ journals.

The lights continued to flicker, which made me wonder how often these folks had to replace light bulbs in all the lamps. And you know what? I was so done talking. It was time for some action.

But where would the books be?
I wondered. While Gwen tried to keep everyone calm, I considered my options, and decided to try something new. I’d attempt to gather psychic information from a specific person, on purpose. I was sort of on a roll with the abilities today, why not try it now?