Magical Arts Academy: Ghostly Return

by Lucia Ashta

  Wait, how’d she know about the lifeline?

  “And believe. If you believe with the entirety of the force of your magic, you’ll achieve this. You’ll achieve anything.”

  “But—” I started then stopped. Had I been afraid I’d fail? No. Wait, yes. I probably had been. After all, if I failed, I’d never live again, and I’d be stuck with the likes of Lady Gosselin. That was definitely reason to be afraid of failing.

  “Beyond the world of buts and excuses, lives the entirety of possibilities. You can do this, Isadora. I believe in you.”

  And with that, Mariana whipped the air into such a frenzy that I wouldn’t have been able to hear Lady Gosselin’s commentary unless she yelled it. The kind witch was giving me a buffer from distraction, but I was going to have to do the rest myself.

  “Thank you,” I whispered to her, with the entirety of my heart.

  Then I closed my eyes to her beautiful face, and to the rest of the spirit world.

  If I was going to do this, which I absolutely was, then I’d better get to it.

  Chapter 9

  For a few panicked seconds, I worried that I wouldn’t be able to do it. All the ghosts, except for Mariana, were surely staring at me, and the force of the wind she was controlling was so strong that it was distracting. Sure, it had to be that strong to overpower the will of Lady Gosselin. I could feel it against my skin, lashing my hair against my face.

  Then I remembered Mariana’s words, and her insistence that buts and excuses had no place in any magic, and certainly not in mine.

  Whether I lived or died—with finality—was entirely up to me. And I wasn’t in the mood to let myself down. I wouldn’t be the one to crush my brother’s spirit. I’d return to a life shared with him. Maybe I’d even be able to share a little excitement with Walt, now that both of us realized that we were open to more between us.

  All I had to do was return to my body, and life of infinite possibilities was mine.

  I can do this. I have to do this.

  I shoved fear out of my mind, and invited complete trust in its place. It felt forced, as if my fear of failure was still there no matter how much I tried to get rid of it. But I didn’t send my focus to it.

  I was out of time, and the urgency to return to the garden only made things worse.

  I breathed in and out to steady myself, not caring that my lungs were actually dead along with me, and reached for whatever calm I could find. It wasn’t much at first, but it would have to do, and I dove for it, scrambling to reach it and hold on.

  There. I was calm, or at least I was prepared to believe myself such.

  My eyes were squeezed shut, but the vision behind my eyelids was anything but plain. My trust and hope, and my love and magic swirled together in a mass of brilliant color. It was as if I held long ribbons and danced with them in the garden, only the ribbons were made of nothing but light, nothing but my imagination.

  It was enough. It was the basis of all magic. Sure, all the magicians said that magic was based in the four elements. That the same elements that were the building blocks of all nature and life within it were also the essential part of all magic.

  Perhaps that was true; it might even be likely given that they all said the same, and I was supposed to learn from them. But magic couldn’t exist without imagination, without the will and the spirit to bring something to life, something beyond the ordinary.

  I had imagination in spades.

  I smiled to myself and pictured the lifeline that I needed to merge my spirit with my body. It was right where it was supposed to be, clutched between the imaginary hands of my mind’s eye.

  Next I pictured the garden where my body was. I imagined what everyone crowded around my body looked like.

  A what-if popped up in my brain. Right away I knew it was a what-if of doubt. What if I failed? What if I really died? What if, what if, what if.

  I wasn’t going there. Not today, not now, not ever if I could help it.

  The only what-ifs I was going to entertain were: what if I managed it? What if I returned to life? What would it feel like to be alive again, and experience the sun on my flesh, the embraces of loved ones, the warm smiles of friends?

  What if I were able to return to my body with a simple thought, one saturated with my love and belief? With my magic.

  I’d entirely forgotten that I was in the spirit world and that there was an annoying woman there, as well as a kind witch who was helping me to prevail. I’d forgotten about the challenges and obstacles when I suddenly felt my body within my reach.

  As if I were in a dream, where anything was truly possible, I reached out for my body. It was a soft, nearly lazy reach, as if I was no longer attached to the outcome of my actions, truly as if in a dream, where re-dos were offered everyday.

  I caressed my body with the tendrils of my mind, but didn’t really think. I just... imagined. I pictured myself right next to my body.

  Wait, why limit myself? Better yet, I pictured myself within my body, fully alive.

  I held onto the tip of rope that represented my life force and extended my hand toward the image of my body.

  In my mind’s eye, I touched my lifeline to my physical form.

  I imagined myself fully alive, vibrant and well, capable of embracing all the gifts my life offered me.

  I pictured myself wholly in my body and drew the deepest breath of my life—or death. Whatever it was, I was in a place where details didn’t matter, only feelings, impressions, and beliefs. The certainty that life was mine again, a goal that I’d attained.

  The breath filled my lungs to bursting with rich, pure air, which nourished me inside and out.

  I felt before I saw Nando’s body collapse on top of me. I experienced the weight of his upper body against mine. The sound of his sobs, the wetness of his tears against the fabric of my dress.

  His breaths heaved as did mine. I pulled air in greedily.

  Then I opened my eyes.

  I blinked at the brightness of the sun as if I were a newborn babe.

  In more ways than one, I supposed I was.

  Life, returned to me, was all the sweeter. I was prepared to make the very most of it, and I fully believed I was capable of it.

  World of magic, here I come. If I’d been an average witch in the making before, there was nothing ordinary about me now.

  Transformations - Book 8

  Continue Isadora’s adventures in book 8 of the Magical Arts Academy.

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  Acknowledgments

  I’d write no matter what, because telling stories is my passion, but the following people make creating worlds (and life) a joy. I’m eternally grateful for the support of my beloved, James, my mother, Elsa, and my three daughters, Catia, Sonia, and Nadia. They’ve always believed in me, even before I published a single word. They help me see the magic in the world around me, and more importantly, within.

  A big thank you also to my Musketeers, Malcolm, Debbie, and Leslie, whose kind support encourages me to write more magical books.

  I’m grateful for every single one of you who’ve reached out to tell me that one of my stories touched you in one way or another, made you smile or cry, or kept
you up long past your bedtime. You’ve given me reason to keep writing.

  Read more by Lucía Ashta

  THE WITCHING WORLD

  (Young adult paranormal fantasy - a complete series)

  Magic Awakens

  The Five-Petal Knot

  The Merqueen

  The Witching World Omnibus, Books 1-3

  The Ginger Cat

  The Scarlet Dragon

  Mermagic

  Spirit of the Spell

  MAGICAL ARTS ACADEMY

  (Young adult paranormal fantasy - a Witching World spinoff series)

  First Spell

  Winged Pursuit

  Unexpected Agents

  Improbable Ally

  Questionable Rescue

  Sorcerers’ Web

  Ghostly Return

  Transformations

  Castle’s Curse *

  Spirited Escape *

  Dragon’s Fury *

  Magic Ignites *

  Powers Unleashed *

  PLANET ORIGINS

  (New adult space fantasy)

  Planet Origins

  Original Elements

  Holographic Princess

  Planet Origins Omnibus, Books 1-3

  Purple Worlds

  Planet Sand

  Holographic Convergence

  Mowab Rider

  THE LIGHT WARRIORS

  (Visionary fantasy - a complete series)

  Beyond Sedona

  Beyond Prophecy

  Beyond Amber

  Beyond Arnaka

  DRAGON FORCE

  (Young adult space fantasy - a complete series)

  Invisible Born

  Invisible Bound

  Invisible Rider

  POCKET PORTALS

  (Young adult paranormal fantasy)

  The Orphan Son *

  (Paranormal fantasy)

  Huntress of the Unseen

  (Time travel romance)

  A Betrayal of Time

  (Magical realism)

  Daughter of the Wind

  (Superhero satire)

  The Unkillable Killer

  (Magical realism)

  Whispers of Pachamama

  (Science fiction)

  Immortalium *

  (* coming soon)

  About the author

  Lucía Ashta, a former attorney and architect, is an Argentinian-American author who lives in Sedona with her beloved and three daughters. She published her first story (about an unusual Cockatoo) at the age of eight, and she’s been at it ever since.

  Sign up HERE to learn about her new releases.

  Lucía on the web:

  LuciaAshta.com

  luciamashta@gmail.com