Magical Influence Book One (24 page)

I could stand straighter, I could try
to look mean, I could dress in powerful clothes, and I could carry
around my teddy bear as a sign of protection, but what would that
do ultimately?

I'd always been a witch, but I'd never
felt as inferior as I did right now. Yet there was still a part of
me that didn't want to give into that feeling. Because if I gave
in, I'd be giving up, wouldn't I?

I strode forward.

We’d parked next to a barn, and just
around the corner, I saw a lovely country house open out before us.
There was a garden around it, a vegetable patch, herbs growing by
the doors, and a sweet little patio. A curl of smoke was drifting
out of the chimney, and the lights were on, giving the house a
flickering, inviting warmth.

I didn't wait for Jacob to catch up; I
walked ahead for the front door.

As I walked up to it, I tried to get a
sense of the house, for the property, for where I was.

There was magic here, I was sure of
it.

But it was different, far different to
that which I usually felt. Living at home, the kind of sense I got
from my decrepit witchy manor was miles away from the house I now
stood in front of.

It was refined, careful, different. It
was the Shangri-La to my tent.

Though a little hesitant, I walked
right up the garden path and reached the door, knocking on it
primly.

“There's nobody home,” Jacob said from my
side as he pulled a set of keys from his pocket.

I didn't bother to turn to
him.

“You snapped at me to be more mature, are
you seriously going to stand there and not look at me? We’re going
to have to spend the night here, just the two of us, and while I
honestly don't care if you hole yourself up in your room and don't
talk to me, you might find yourself getting lonely. Plus, who is
going to answer all your questions?” He unlocked the door and
opened it, strolling through first.

I didn't answer him. I did, however,
walk in and suddenly take a sharp breath of air.

It was beautiful. It was charming. Not
just because the decor was warm and inviting, but because there was
an overpowering sense of it. It were as if someone had distilled
everything that it meant to be comforting and welcoming and had
showered the house in it.

It felt safe. No, it felt like the
definition of safety. Every other measure of protection was but a
mere shadow of this place.

“Surprised, ha?”

I glanced over at Jacob. To his
credit, he was smiling, but knowing him, it was probably a prelude
to another insult.

“There's a bath upstairs, and there’s
everything you could possibly want in the fridge. Make yourself
comfortable,” he nodded at me and then pulled his phone from his
pocket.

Though I really wanted to continue to
ignore him, I couldn't deny the effect the house was having on me.
All of the anger seemed to seep away with the knowledge that whilst
I was within these walls there would be nothing that could hurt me.
And if there was nothing that could hurt me, that included Jacob's
attitude.

I brightened up, even though I
resisted it. My cheeks warmed, stress all but evaporated from my
body, and I felt a little like I was floating.

Before Jacob could dial the
number, he glanced back at me, and he smiled. It was a far more
natural smile than I had ever seen him offer
. “This place always affects
you influence witches more than it does others.” With a smile still
on his lips, he opened his phone and started keying in a
number.

“Who are you calling?”

He flicked his gaze my
way
.
“Talking to me again?”

I brought a hand up and leaned
my chin on it
. “I think you're right, Jacob Fairweather, this place is
having an effect on me. And unfortunately for you, it means you can
no longer tease me. I don't really care what you say or think.
Answer my question if you want to, don't if you prefer.” I offered
him a smile, stretched my shoulders, straightened my hair, and
walked over to the table nearest to me. On top was a lovely ceramic
bowl, and inside was a collection of colorful boiled sweeties. I
plucked one up, popped it in my mouth, and let the taste wash
through me.

“I'm calling my superiors, to let them
know that you're safe. I will also get an update on your
grandmother. She should be fine, as I said, the other teams have
gone there already.”

I turned back to him and nodded
simply
. “I
suppose I should go take a shower then and ask that fridge to make
me whatever I want.”

I turned from him, not before I
registered his expression though.

It was different, because I was
different. Damn did I feel different. Now that I felt safe, I was
acting like I was safe. No matter how much Jacob goaded me within
these walls, I wouldn’t react, would I? Because I didn't need to.
There was nothing I had to protect here.

Flicking my hair over my ear, smiling
at a picture I saw on the wall, I turned and headed for the stairs.
Instinctively I knew that there was a bathroom at the top, one with
a fantastic view.

Jacob took an uncomfortable swallow,
turned from me, and began to talk on his phone.

As I headed up the stairs, I passed a
mirror. It gave me a view back into the hallway, and I saw Jacob
standing there, staring right at me.

With his eyebrows crumpled, the phone
held up to is ear, he rubbed at his chin with an errant move. He
didn't look away until I was out of view.

By the time I made it into the
bathroom, I was feeling better than I had in months. I had been an
influence witch all my life; I'd never known any other type of
magic. This house was doing something to me. It was proving a fact
I should never have called into question, something that should
have been truer to me than any fact of life.

The power of influence. My whole body,
my whole mindset, my thoughts and emotions were completely at odds
with what they had been before I had entered the house. The only
thing that had changed was the sense it gave me.

It was influencing me in wonderful,
powerful ways.

As I dallied around in the
bathroom, opening the cupboard doors inquisitively, I found they
were filled with exactly what I needed. My
favorite type of shampoo, a
beautifully smelling lavender soap, and some warm, comfortable
clothes. There was even a plate of chocolate cake sitting just by
the sink.

I smiled, wild and warmer than I had
ever done. Plucking up the cake, I took a bite; it was
exquisite.

No matter what happened for the rest
of the day or the night, right now I felt like I was on cloud
nine.

I quickly undressed, popped in the
shower, and nestled under the warm water.

Sighing deeply I closed my eyes and
rested my back against the wall.

With the water rushing over my body I
reflected on how different my day had turned out compared to what
the blustery morning had promised. I wasn't dead, I hadn't been
kidnapped and dragged to hell, and if Jacob was correct, everything
was going to turn out right. My grandmother would be okay, my house
would be cleared of the devil and his men, and I'd be back at home
tomorrow. A new car, a new job, a new life.

I opened my eyes and stared down at my
hands. Spreading the fingers wide, I turned them around, noting
every detail.

“
Esme?” Jacob called from
outside the door.

Despite how good I felt, his voice
brought me down a notch. Because there was a note to it, a hesitant
one. One that was at odds with the competent but arrogant
detective.

“What is it?”

“You probably need to come out, there’s
something I have to tell you.”

Despite how safe I felt in this
house, a flicker of worry passed through my gut. Placing a hand on
my stomach, I opened the shower door a crack
. “Can't it wait?”

“Your grandmother....”

That flicker of worry became
full-blown fear. I slammed off the taps, flung open the door,
grabbed a towel and, dripping water everywhere, headed over to the
bathroom door. I opened it a crack.

Jacob was standing there, but somehow
he had the decency to half turn away, staring off down the stairs
instead of at the view of me huddled into a bath towel.

“They haven’t been able to find her,” he
kept his back to me.

“What do you mean? I thought you
said—”

He put a hand up quickly,
latching it onto his brow, pushing it into the flesh, and letting
it fall down his face
. “They're looking for her. I'm sure she is fine,
it's just....”

I opened the door wider.
Suddenly I didn't care that I was dripping and in a bath towel. I
stepped out onto the landing
. “My grandmother....” I was about to tell him
that she’d better be okay, that they’d better do everything they
could to find her, but I stopped myself.

I had to start taking charge,
right? And the first place to do that was in my own mind. Reigning
in my emotions, my negative thoughts, and my tendency to
catastrophize, I took a careful breath
. “Is a powerful witch. I'm sure she
is fine.”

Jacob finally turned around and
looked at me, and to its credit, he didn't let his eyes glance down
to my dripping body once
. “I guess she is.”

“Is there anything else? Any other
news?”

He shook his head.

“I guess I’d better finish my shower
then.”

He turned away from me, nodded, and
headed back down the stairs.

I hesitated for a moment, watching him
go.

I was suddenly struck with the thought
of what my grandmother would do in this situation. Would she just
stand there, hope for the best, hop back in the shower, and finish
off her cake, or would she do something?

She was constantly telling me that if
I wanted to be powerful, I had to act powerful. If I wanted the
perfect life, I had to claim it.

So if I wanted her back, I had to
jolly well go and get her.

I paused just before the
bathroom door and turned determinedly
. “Jacob', I called down to
him.

He didn't immediately stop, so I ran
after him. I didn't care that I was dripping everywhere and that
hello, I was still in nothing but a bath towel.

I caught up to him just at the base of
the stairs.

“I want to go after her,” I
said.

His nose twitched
up
. “What
are you talking about? I've already told you that you are safer
here. And like I said; we've got a team after her. They'll be able
to find her, trust me.”

“No,” I took another step down until I was
standing close by him. “I want to go after her myself. I need to
help; I'm her granddaughter.”

“You can't help, trust me. Now just go and
finish your shower,” Jacob turned, fobbing a hand my way in an
obviously dismissive move.

It seemed the rude bully was
never too far under the surface when it came to
Mr. Fairweather. What an odd
mix he was; nice as pie one moment, rude as hell the next. Well
right now I didn't care.

I stepped off the final step
and stood right up next to him. Even though he was taller than me
and I had to lean my head back to look up in his eyes, I tried to
do so in a strong, powerful way
. “I am going after her. I don't care
about my safety. I need to do something.”

Again he looked dismissive,
then right at the edge
... something else. At first I thought it was
concern, but his lips didn't curl up right, and neither did the
glimmer in his eye fit the emotion. “Esme Sinclair, I'm not going
to let you go back there. Like I already said, you and your little
misadventure are a liability to this city. I'm keeping you here not
just for your own safety, but for everyone else’s too.”

For a second his argument had the
desired effect on me; I deflated, my shoulders drawing in as a
little of my fire went out.

But it didn't go out entirely.
Taking a
labored breath I clutched harder onto my towel. “You can't
just expect me to stay here and do nothing. She's my grandmother!
And I know I may not be the world's best witch—”

“You've got that right,” he interrupted
coolly.

“But I'm still a witch. And there's still
something I can do.” I clicked my fingers as a plan formulated in
my mind. “I can call Aunt Tessa to start off with, and she can get
in contact with my Uncle Patrick – he used to run a magical
talisman shop. I'm sure he'd be able to rustle up some goods to
help us with. And then there's Vinnie – I reckon he could use his
contacts to try and get us some kind of vehicle that could
withstand—”

Jacob raised a hand. It was a
snapped move. That look in his eye was back too. If I didn't know
any better, it was the inner bully getting ready to push me over
and steal my lunch
. “Esmerelda, it's not going to work. Just leave your
family out of this,” he added, voice tense. Hell, his whole body
was tense. As I looked up at him, my lips parting gently, I
realized just how locked and hard his jaw and neck muscles
were.