The Magic of Discovery: Emerald Lakes Book One

by Britt Andrews

  I don’t play games. I am the fucking monster in this room. All of the rooms. I’m the nightmare you don’t want dipping into your mind, and I want to fuck up this sick bastard’s brain so badly he won’t be able to close his eyes again without pissing his pants. But that will have to wait. I don’t want to reveal everything I’m capable of, not yet.

  “Do not ever come in here again. Do not ever look at Saige again. Do not talk to her, do not think about her, and definitely do not fucking touch your sad little penis while imagining her beautiful body. So help me gods, if you ever think about touching her again, I will get my three brothers down here. We will fucking dance, and it will be your last, you shit stain. Now get the fuck out of here.” My voice was so deep and rumbling I almost didn’t recognize it as my own.

  He ran out of the shop and didn’t look back.

  No, no, no!

  I raced outside, abandoning my coffee by the kitchen sink, disbelief overriding all of my senses. Throwing myself down on my knees, I swiveled my head around to fully take in what I was seeing. The brightness of the new day was too much of a contrast with the shock and sheer outrage that hit me.

  What the hell is happening?

  “Gran! Come out here!” I yelled, loud enough for her to hear me from her cottage behind mine.

  My magic was vibrating with the need to heal these plants. This shouldn’t be possible. Who ever heard of the gardens of a green witch shriveling up and dying for no reason?

  “What is it, child?” Gran called out, but when she rounded the corner and saw for herself, she stopped in her tracks. I guess the old girl is still capable of being shocked speechless. “Merciful moons,” she gasped, her tone betraying how confused she was. That’s not good. She’s supposed to know everything about this shit!

  Maven was sniffing around like a fox possessed, frantically digging his paws into the dirt, high-pitched whines escaping his mouth. He lifted his head to look at me, dirt clinging to his whiskers.

  I don’t fucking think so. This is my gods damn garden.

  I called my powers to the surface, gold cyclone-like swirls sparked out of my palms. Snapping my hand out to the right, I started calling out incantations. Now that I was an older, more practiced witch, I didn’t actually need to say the words aloud. As long as I visualized the outcome, I was golden. For me, witchcraft was honestly eighty percent mental, ten percent repetition, and ten percent stubbornness. I could picture what I wanted the earth to give me, and it gave. But when you needed a little extra dramatic oomph, there was nothing like yelling out the words.

  “Crescere! Cresco!” Grow! Rise! A strip of St. John’s Wort exploded from the ground. “Excresco!” Enlarge! It grew larger and larger. Perfect, because I’m going to need all of this to unfuck my life. Fuck, I feel powerful right now. It’d been too long since I’d let my magic flow so unrestrained, and I smiled to myself. I couldn’t recall a time that casting magic had felt this satisfying, and I was drowning in the sudden hunger to let more power race through my body. This feels so fucking good. More, I need more.

  “Crescere, adulesco!” Grow, more! Valerian root. Yep. Gonna need that to chill my stressed out ass later.

  Focusing on the sick flowerbeds, I had held out both hands, preparing to cure the fuck out of these poor babies. I jumped when I felt a hand on my shoulder, snapping me out of my magical rush. I was breathing hard. My power still works. Thank fuck. If it’s not me, then what?

  “Let it go, Flower Elsa. You’ll have the whole damn property covered in random shit that we don’t need. I don’t want you to blast the sick ones yet. I need to analyze them myself,” Gran told me matter-of-factly.

  “When the hell did you watch Frozen?” I questioned.

  “It came out in 2016, Saige. I saw it in theaters, and I went and saw Frozen 2 when it released a couple of months ago. I’m convinced now, more than ever, that Sven is actually a shifter, and he and Kristoff are both giving it to-” I shut that shit down.

  “Okay! Gran. Focus, we have a serious fucking problem here.”

  “Then quit bitchin’ and get to witchin’.” She huffed at me like I was the one delaying this investigation. Turning her back on me, she stalked off to the sick flowerbeds, her bright floral print mumu billowing out behind her.

  I’d left Gran elbows deep in some serious dirt and fuckery. She was working up a sweat but assured me that she would be fine and I should get to work. Gathering up my stuff didn’t take long, but I did make sure to touch up my makeup before leaving the house, something I wouldn’t have bothered with before. Now? I was texting non-stop with a sexy shifter and had a date tomorrow night with an equally sexy, dark, and mysterious mind master. Mmmmm. Happy Birthday to ME! Well, almost. My twenty-eighth birthday is next month. Maybe I’ll actually have a little get together this year? I hope the guys want to hang out. If they’re still in town that is...

  Riding down into town, Maven looked majestic as a king, paws up on the front of the basket with the wind whipping through his thick white fur. Sometimes the cranky thing liked to enjoy the small pleasures.

  Fischer rescuing me from Bryce had been playing in my head on repeat since yesterday. As satisfying as the memory was, I was concerned about retaliation. Bryce was a water mage with the temper of a fucking hothead. He liked to play the good guy, but behind closed doors, he was an abuser. Psychologically, physically, even sexually at times. He was an awful person all around.

  I was so pissed that he thought he could come into the shop like that and threaten me just because he’d thought no one was listening. Initially, I wasn’t going to put up with his shit, but then, he’d triggered me and, fuck- I had been about to give in. Flashbacks of everything he’d done to me had me wanting to submit in an attempt to appease him. A part of me still believed that if I could just make him happy, he wouldn’t hurt me again. The trouble with abusers, though, was that they never meant what they said. Even if you listened, always answered your phone, and had sex with them any time they demanded it, it would never be good enough. It had taken me a while to learn this lesson, that you should never have to fucking obey a person to deserve their love or be spared their wrath.

  When I saw Fischer there, witnessing the whole scene, my cheeks had flamed in shame. I didn’t want him to see me as a victim or weak. I couldn’t even imagine what readings he was getting from me, but then he’d asked me out on a date!

  After Bryce had scrambled out the front door, Fischer turned back around to face me, his normally light brown eyes entirely pitch black. He stood there, eerily calm, and we just stared at each other until his eyes lightened a couple of shades. After a huge breath, he said, “I’ll pick you up at six on Friday night. Here,” he held his hand out to me, “let me see your cell.”

  I pulled it out of my back pocket and slipped it into his large palm. His thumbs moved over the screen quickly before he handed it back to me.

  “I added my information. I have to run, but call me if you ever need anything. And if that fucker comes near you again, I want you to call me immediately.” His tone commanded me to follow his request, and I had no desire to challenge him on this. Unlike Bryce’s orders, there was nothing threatening about Fish. Instead, I just felt safe for the first time in a long while.

  “Okay, I promise. To be honest, I’m expecting blowback from that encounter. Before you even stepped in, there were going to be consequences.” I whispered the last part, humiliated once again.

  “Hey, look at me.” His black boots come into my line of sight since I was staring at the ground. A gentle hand went under my chin, tilting my head up so I could see his concerned face. His hardened features from moments ago had given way to something much softer, but it wasn’t pity. Thank the stars. I didn’t ever want anybody’s pity. I could take care of my damn self.

  “You deserve respect from a partner. I know we’ve just met, but I can already tell you’re stubborn as hell, powerful, and your confidence is beautiful. You’re beautiful. You got away from him already, an
d that tells me how strong you are. You stood up to him when you thought you were alone, and that shows me how fearless you are. If he retaliates, you don’t have to face him alone. There is no shame in owning our pasts and rising from them, and especially not in asking for help when we need it. Having people to lean on makes us formidable, not weak.” All I could do was stare into his eyes, captivated by his words. He gave my shoulder a quick squeeze before spinning on his heel and heading for the door.

  Without turning back, he called out, “I meant what I said. Call me if there’s the slightest hint of trouble.”

  As I pulled up to The Pig, Roberta Miller and Matilda Graber were sitting on one of the benches alongside the front of the building, rising to their feet when they saw me approach. These two were as eccentric as they came. Bright colors, long beaded necklaces, loud eye makeup, they looked every part the fortune teller stereotype. I mean, they did have ‘the Sight,’ so the look was perfect for them.

  “Good morning, sweetie. We were waiting for you. We must talk, but inside would be best, in private,” Roberta requested as her partner in crime bounced up and down on her toes. This ought to be good…

  “Sure, let me just get in here and set my things down.” I extended my hand to push the door open before stepping out of the way for my visitors.

  Frank and Arlo were inside when we filed through the door, and I saw they’d already finished updating the indoor and outdoor displays with new stock. They worked here a few days a week so I wasn’t overwhelmed trying to do everything myself.

  “Thanks, guys,” I said to them as I set my bag down on the bar. Making my way around the sales counter, I trailed my fingertips over the deep stained wood.

  “Hey, honey. Everything’s good here; you could’ve taken your time. We restocked the dried bulk supplies and put away the shipment that came in yesterday from the book supplier,” Frank said, patting my back before releasing me. Frank was in his late fifties. He had a round belly and a deep, contagious laugh. The evidence of how often he indulged in humor was engraved into his face. I’d never seen anyone with such adorable laugh lines. With twinkling blue eyes and graying hair, I found him enchanting.

  “You guys are too good to me. I’d be drowning without you.” I made sure to look at Arlo to let him know that I wasn’t just speaking about his partner, and he gave me a soft smile in return. Where Frank was boisterous and loud, Arlo was his silent sentinel. Thin as a bean pole and ten years younger than Frank, he had every bit as big a heart as his lover. He had shaggy blond hair and sincere brown eyes that sucked you in; not one for talking a lot, the man could listen. They had been together for twenty years now, and they were planning a binding ceremony for early fall. It would be one hell of a party. Everyone in town would be invited because we all loved these two, and it made me happy just to think about it.

  “It’s just as well I came when I did since these two lovely ladies were lying in wait for me.” I winked at the two witches behind me who were growing more and more impatient.

  “Child, this is important.” Matilda started shooing me toward the back of the shop, to the room that we used for tarot and palm readings. I threw up my arm in a hasty wave, hearing Frank’s deep chuckle in response.

  With a thought, the dangling stars and moon string lights that concealed the small room separated, so we could enter without having to dig them out of each other’s hair later. Stepping through, hues of purples, blues, and pink enveloped us. I sighed. I loved this room. So chill and calming. Since this was an addition to the original building, I had skylights installed so I could have plenty of plants in here. The skylights had retractable shades, so if I was in here with a customer, one press of a button on the remote would close them and allow better mood lighting.

  We approached the round table in the center of the room, each of us taking a seat. I looked between the two ladies, waiting for someone to start talking. And waited. Alright, looks like it’s going to be me.

  “What can I do for you ladies? What’s this about?” I inquired, reaching out to the little cactus that was in the middle of the table. I flicked a spark of gold at it, and tiny pink flowers started blooming. So pretty.

  “Yesterday afternoon, we saw your Sloane.” My mouth opened, but her raised hand cut me off, their news apparently more important than my desire to tell them that he was not my anything. “He was strolling down the sidewalk with Judy and Harry while they walked little Potato. The moment we laid eyes on him, the Sight slammed into each of us so hard it nearly took our breath away. I cannot recall another time that we had such a strong vision. It was as though the stars themselves had manifested, and their sweet yet cautioning voices spoke the words in our minds: a prophecy.”

  I couldn’t keep my mouth shut. “First of all, I didn’t know that Potato was still able to walk.” He was Judy and Harry’s supersized pug who looked like a forty-pound tan watermelon. “Secondly, just to clarify, Sloane is not mine. Yes, he’s pretty, but he’s a dickhead.”

  The two women just smiled and nodded at me despite my narrowed eyes. I don’t think Sloane will ever be anyone’s.

  “Potato has started hanging out at the Cosmos gym. The poor pup is vying for the affections of a female pug who skateboards and does other athletic feats there. The CovenFit crew took him under their wing, and now he wears these adorable little tank tops that say ‘Cosmos CovenFit.’ The gym coaches have started calling him Baked Potato, something about reverse psychology and baked potatoes being the healthiest option where potatoes are in question. Honestly, child, do you live under a rock these days?” This fucking town is so weird sometimes...

  Chuckling, I agreed that I must indeed be living under a rock, but in all honesty, my mind just wasn’t focused on anything other than my damn plants dying and the sexy mages who were probably upstairs right now, naked, working out, flexing...

  The ceiling creaked overhead. See? Cam probably flexed his gigantic biceps, and the floor groaned in appreciation.

  Needing to get all of us, myself definitely included, back on track, I decided to just ask and put them out of their misery.

  “What did the stars show you?” I leaned in conspiratorially, a serious expression on my face. At least I hope it looked serious and not like I was regretting eating that pound of cheese last night.

  Roberta turned her tapping hand over and slid it toward her friend as Matilda inhaled deeply and laid her palm on the waiting hand. The moment their hands clasped, the lights in my shop went out, and the candles I had strewn throughout the room ignited, flames shooting upward immediately. I shrieked and leaned back in my chair.

  Looking at the women’s faces, I gasped. Four solid black eyes blankly stared at me, the hair on their heads slowly beginning to stand on end. Okay, this is scary as fuck. I wanted to call for Frank and Arlo, but before I could open my mouth to cry for help, both of their free hands shot forward across the table, grabbing mine.

  A feeling that I can only describe as electric jolted my body and my head bent back involuntarily. The tingling of my scalp left no doubt that my hair was rising to the ceiling too. I bet my eyes are black. I sucked in a wild breath of air as I felt something sinking through my veins, crawling, seeking. If a shadow were a living thing, it was inside me right now. What it was looking for? I had no idea. The darkness started to settle into my bones, bringing with it a deep ache. The kind of ache that makes you question your existence and wonder what piece of yourself you’re missing.

  I was frozen in place, forced to allow this magic to complete its mission, its invasion. A sigh from a high-pitched voice sounded, and my head snapped forward. I could see again, but everything was in shades of green and black.

  “She is the oneeeee. King will be pleased,” something hissed, its creepy voice making me shudder. Unable to move or talk yet, I was forced to sit and listen, but I did scan the room with my eyes, unsuccessful in my attempt to find the source of the voice. The two women before me were just as still as they’d been before they snatched my
hands.

  Movement brought my attention to the doorway when an extremely tall shadow moved into the room, a slightly shorter figure following. What in the fuck? I didn’t sign up for ghost bullshit, if that’s what they were.

  “Yes, so beautiful. Pure and selfless.” The figures were drifting toward me now, my heart pounding so hard in my chest I thought it might explode. Now that these beings were closer, I could see that they had a humanoid shape, and it appeared they were wearing robes of some kind, but the fine details were lost in the shadows that made up their ethereal forms. My eyes widened when I realized there were protrusions coming out of their heads, like... horns?

  “The others are near. It won’t be much longer now. Come, let us go to King and tell him we have found her.”

  No, I don’t want anyone knowing those things found me. What the fuck? Why are they even looking for me?

  The room began to lighten with each step the creatures took toward the door, and once they stepped through, the candles extinguished and the lights came back. The room had returned to normal, and the witches across from me now had glazed over white eyes. Releasing my hands, they began to recite the prophecy, their voices distorted and scary as hell.

  A witch, a mix of green and red,

  Save a race before they’re dead.

  Hurry, witch, find your five,

  If there is hope to survive.

  Change, rise, manifest,

  A soul so pure soon possessed.

  Before the year of two and eight

  The chosen one must find her mates.

  If she should fail to meet her task,

  To another the role will pass.

  Evil will consume her heart,