Un-Familiar Magic (Accidental Familiar Book 3)

by Belinda White

  Opal locked gazes with me. “How special?”

  “Very, I’d say. But it appears that Amie knows far more about than I do.”

  Well, yeah, the Goddess had told me.

  “Can I ask why you’re here, Patricia?” I asked. “What happened?”

  She took a shaky breath and set her glass on the coffee table. “I found myself overly tired this afternoon for some strange reason, so I took a nap. And during that nap, I had a very vivid dream.”

  Opal groaned. “Oh, please, just let me take a wild stab at this. A breathtakingly beautiful blond woman wearing a long flowing see-through gown and smelling like heaven on earth?”

  Patricia’s eyes got even wilder. “How the... are you guys messing with dreams?”

  That was the second time someone had accused me of that in the same day.

  “No. But that’s how Amie described the Goddess when she visited her in her meditation sanctuary. I kind of figured she’d be in the same guise when she visited you.” Opal looked up toward the ceiling. “You know, after more than a couple of dedicated decades as your high priestess, it might be nice to get a visit every now and again from you myself. Now that I know you do that kind of thing.”

  “Meow.” Both kittens went off in stereo. It was almost eerie. What the heck am I saying? It was eerie as heck.

  All eyes went to them. Destiny walked over and very calmly released the latch on her sister’s kennel.

  “How did...”

  “Breathe, Patricia. Breathe,” I said. “I think the kittens want to tell us something.” I looked over to Opal. “And when either one of them talk, I think we would be smart to listen.”

  “They talk?” Opal’s voice did something I’d never heard it do before. It squeaked.

  “Well, talk might not be the best word. But I’d say we should do whatever it is they want us to.”

  Which appeared to be to follow them to the front door. Patricia bent down to scoop up her kitten and got a kitty smack for it.

  “I don’t want her to get away.”

  I looked down at Destiny. “She won’t run away, will she?” A tail wave. “You’re absolutely sure?”

  “Meow.”

  I looked back up to the others and found them staring at me in horror. What could I say?

  “You have Destiny’s word that your kitten won’t leave us.” It sounded weird even to my ears, but that’s the truth of it.

  Patricia’s mouth was moving but nothing was coming out. Opal was just staring at me. That hadn’t changed. She was waiting.

  “Why don’t we follow them and see what they are up to? I have a feeling that would be much better than me trying to explain something I don’t fully grasp myself.”

  I reached out and opened the door and the kittens shot out as if maybe we’d change our minds. For a second, I was worried that they had played me. But they stopped at the corner of the house, turning to us to make sure we were following them.

  We did.

  Billy was just packing up when we reached the rapidly growing meditation gazebo. He grinned when he saw the kittens running toward him.

  “Hey there, Princess! You bring a buddy to see my work?” He scooped them both up and nuzzled them to his face. Both cats reciprocated. Big time.

  “You done for the day, Billy?” Opal asked. “I think we might need the spot if you are.”

  “Yup, just getting ready to take everything out to the truck. I’ll be back tomorrow first thing in the morning if that’s okay with you.” He hesitated. “How early do you ladies get up? Wouldn’t want to wake you all with my hammering.”

  “Any time you get started will be fine with us, Billy.”

  He might not be able to tell it, but Opal’s voice was strained to the breaking point. We helped him carry everything out and put it away in his truck just to speed things along.

  Once we watched his truck disappear out onto the main road back into town, we returned to the gazebo. The structure was already framed and half the floor had been installed as well. Unfortunately, half wasn’t enough room for three people to fit comfortably.

  We’d have to improvise and sit on the ground. But Destiny and her sister weren’t quite ready yet. Destiny made a beeline for the stairs and then looked back at me. Maybe I should invite her to share thoughts after all. It would make the whole communication thing a whole lot easier.

  “You know, it might help if I knew your cat’s name,” I told Patricia. It might be a bit disrespectful to keep thinking of her as the other cat.

  “Athena.” Patricia was staring at the little white bundle of fur sitting patiently on the gazebo. “I’m beginning to think that was more than a fitting name for her.”

  “Oh, I’d say that is definitely the case.”

  “MEOW.”

  “Hold your horses, I’m coming.” I turned to Opal. “Once I do whatever mission of urgency Destiny is sending me on, do you want me to grab pillows for us?”

  She nodded. “That would be nice, dear.” When I turned to walk away. She said, “But do please hurry, dear. If I’m guessing right about where this is going, I’ve waited a very long time for it already.”

  Then a few more minutes would not kill her. But, of course, I didn’t say that. I just gave her a nod and ran over to Destiny who was sitting at the bottom of the stairs waiting for her ride.

  When we got to the top and inside the tiny entrance hall, she turned her head pointedly toward Ruby’s door. Uh-oh. Arc was still in there and things were awfully quiet. I really didn’t want to have to interrupt them.

  “Is this really necessary?”

  “Meow.”

  So be it. I knocked. There were definite sounds coming from inside now, mostly just shuffling about. When Ruby opened the door, her hair didn’t look quite as perfect as it normally did.

  “What?” She put a lot of force behind that word.

  “Your presence is being requested down in the new meditation garden. Ouch.” The ouch was because Destiny caught me with a claw as she jumped from my arms. I watched her as she darted into the apartment between Ruby’s feet. “I’m thinking maybe she wants Arc too.”

  A muffled meow came from inside. At least I was getting better at reading my cat’s intentions.

  “Who is requesting?” She didn’t sound like she was so convinced it would be worth her while.

  “Your mom for one, but I think she’s actually on the lower end of the scale on this one.”

  Ruby’s eyes widened. “Give us two minutes, and we’ll be down.”

  The door closed, then re-opened a second later. She handed me Destiny, and the door closed again.

  Now to hunt up some pillows that I didn’t mind getting grass-stained.

  Chapter 16

  BY THE TIME I’D GATHERED the pillows, collected Arc and Ruby, and made it back to the garden, Opal and Patricia had already started without us. That may very well have been part of the Goddess’ plan.

  Oh, she probably did want Arc and Ruby in on this monumental meeting, but she probably also wanted a chance to have the older two witches alone for a few minutes. She accomplished both in one fell swoop.

  I felt kind of bad that Mom would miss this. She deserved to be in on it too. But she was a fairly lengthy drive away. And like I said, they’d already started without us. No way would they have waited for Mom too.

  It took a little while for me to get into my trance state. The others beat me, most likely by a matter of minutes or more. I really had to buckle down on my practicing.

  I had thought I would be on the path to my sanctuary. That’s where I normally end up. The trees looked familiar. Although they should, because I used the path up through our woods to the Gemstone Coven’s meeting circle as a model. But when I came to the clearing, it wasn’t my sanctuary before me.

  Which I guess stood to reason as I was joining a meeting already in progress. You have to invite people into your sanctuary. It’s part of why it’s called a sanctuary. You were in control of everything that w
ent on there.

  Unless, of course, the Goddess decided to show up. She was the one being in all the universe that didn’t require an invitation.

  I had a strong feeling that this was her sanctuary. Or maybe, just her home. Whichever, it was incredibly breathtaking.

  At the center of the back of the clearing was an enormous tree. Far bigger than any I had ever seen in real life. At least in my home state of Michigan.

  But it wasn’t your ordinary tree. Far from it.

  The front half of the tree was open. Or maybe the sides of the trees curled around to the front just enough to make it appear open. And within that opening were dual staircases. One led to the right, and one to the left. Each led deeper, into the tree itself. It was incredibly hard to try to put into words, but the effect was nothing less than stunning.

  A sanctuary fit for the Goddess.

  The only problem was that I wasn’t quite sure which stairway to take. The left or the right. Then I heard a definite meow coming from the left. That answered that.

  As soon as I stepped onto the first step, time and space seemed to warp around me and suddenly I was sitting in the same room as the others. If you could call it a room. It was rather like sitting in a roofed forest surrounded by color and clear white light. If peace were a place, this would be it.

  “Took you long enough.”

  I glanced over toward Opal’s voice and was pleasantly surprised to see Mom sitting beside her. For some reason, that made my heart a lot lighter. I really hadn’t been comfortable about excluding her from such a momentous occasion.

  Opal and Mom were sitting on the Goddess’ right and Arc and Ruby were on her left. Patricia and I were front and center before her. It kind of made me wonder why we were given the places of honor, but then our kittens came and crawled into our laps. Reason enough, I guess.

  “I’m afraid this meeting can’t last very long, but I wanted to gather you all together just this once to show you all that this is very real. There can be no doubts going forward. Are we clear on this?” The Goddess looked to each of us in turn. “Anyone in need of further proof that this is real? Or that I am the one you call upon?”

  Silence ruled.

  “Good, then we can get on with business. You should know that I don’t have favorites among my followers. Not really. But with that being said, some of them are very special to me. I include all of you in that number. Some of you have unique talents that none other in our small circle possess. Others of you are compliments to those talents.” She paused, letting that sink in. “That doesn’t make any of you more important than any of the others. You are to be a team. My first team of Guardians.”

  “My Goddess?”

  She turned to Opal, smiling. “Somehow, I knew you would be the first with questions, my priestess. What is it you wish to know?”

  “What use can you possibly have of us? You are the Goddess. All is within your power. How could we be of help?”

  The Goddess hesitated. “My power is legion, yes, but not without its limits. For instance, I cannot truly meddle in the affairs of mankind. Not on an individual basis. No matter how unfair I see things going—I’m not allowed to intervene. That is why I need you.”

  “But who is stopping you? From intervening, I mean?”

  I was glad that Aunt Opal was taking the lead as our spokesperson. So far, she was doing a bang-up job of it as far as I was concerned.

  “It’s complicated, priestess. As my witches, you know that there are... other beings besides myself. Beings that do not have the best interests of man or mankind at heart as I do.”

  Opal nodded.

  “The rules of the universe are somewhat keeping them at bay. For now. That would change if I began acting in ways I should not. If I became personally vested in the welfare of humans, that would open a door for them to do the same. Only welfare would not be their aim.”

  I swallowed. Okay, I definitely didn’t want that. It kind of explained a lot of my questions growing up, actually.

  “What do you need of us?” Mom asked softly. “I believe I speak for all us when I say you have only to ask.”

  The Goddess’ smile graced us all. I could feel the warmth of it covering me like an electric blanket on the coldest of winter’s nights. It felt like everything would be okay.

  “There is no one thing. Merely to continue on as you are. Battling injustice as you find it and fighting for the good in people. There are people who need your help. Desperately.” Her eyes found mine and held them. “Your current path is a good one. Study and learn. Your lessons will be needed. Magical and legal. There is corruption in my council.”

  I felt my breath quicken. Surely, she wasn’t going to pit us against the council. Especially if she couldn’t help us in the fight. We’d all be slaughtered. Except maybe me. I’d be the Energizer Bunny for them for the rest of my life.

  “No. I am not asking you to take on the council. Not yet. I just needed you to know the reason I am turning to you rather than to them.”

  It all sounded good except that not yet part. That had me more than a little worried.

  The Goddess tilted her head to the side. “Ah, I’m afraid you have company, my children. They will grow worried if you remain unresponsive. Amie, before Patricia leaves your home, take her for a stroll around your house. She can be of help to you. Now, I’m afraid, our time is at an end.”

  “Wait,” Patricia begged. “I have to know about Athena...” But she was talking only to us.

  We were back in the garden. And we had company as the Goddess had warned.

  Mabel stood to the side of the half-built gazebo, staring at us.

  “Would someone mind telling me why your cats are glowing?”

  “Holy Moly! You mean the spell worked? I didn’t think it would.” Arc didn’t miss a beat. He glanced over at the kittens and then seemed to be disappointed. “Ah, but it’s already fading, dang it. Not a very long-lasting spell then.”

  Mabel looked confused. “That was a spell? But why would you want your cats to glow?”

  Gee, I wanted to know that too. Arc didn’t disappoint.

  “Well, me and Ruby are working up a magic act for the kids at the hospital. One that, you know, really involves magic. We thought it would be kind of cool to have our animal assistants glow.” He shrugged. “Not much good, though, if it only lasts for a minute or two.”

  He was way too good at this. He had me believing him, and I knew it was just a line he was feeding her. Still, the magic show sounded like fun. Maybe we should all do that for real.

  Mabel didn’t look all that convinced, though. But at least she didn’t argue the point. “Okay, then,” she said, that trace of doubt still in her voice. “Well, I’m going to go upstairs now and take a shower.” She turned to me. “Is it all right if Tommy comes over again tonight? He offered to bring Chinese food if you say it’s okay.”

  Oh sure, bribe me with food. When has that ever not worked? Not that I would have said no, anyway.

  “That’s fine, but we’ll need to make sure he brings enough for four. Tonight’s movie night for me and Opie. He’ll be here around seven if Tommy wants to come around then too.” And my turn to pick the movie too, so it should be a good one.

  “Cool.” She seemed relieved. Maybe me giving her and Tommy all that alone time last night hadn’t really been what she wanted after all. Maybe she wanted other people around at first. I could understand that.

  She left, and I turned to Patricia. “I’m not sure what you can help me with, but I’m ready for that walk around the house if you are.”

  Patricia picked up Athena and nodded. “I’m curious too.”

  “Hell, let’s all go,” Opal said. “I’m dying to know what that was all about.”

  It didn’t take long to figure out.

  As soon as we turned the corner, my car and all its smelly fragrance was right there in front of us.

  “Why do you have my neighbor’s car?”

  Chapter 17
<
br />   THE REST OF THE EVENING passed better than I could ever have imagined. Most of that was because Patricia lifted the hex she’d placed on my cute little bug and now it was odor free. Come to find out, her neighbor had run over her familiar one night when coming home after a night of drinking and partying. That isn’t something any witch would take lying down.

  The hex had been a strong one with an ingrown element to compound with every effort spent to reverse its effects. As a multitude of people had tried to erase the scent, it had grown greatly in size and magnitude. A hex is a far worse thing than a simple karma spell. And, now that I knew the circumstances, this one had been well-founded.

  Besides, all’s well that ends well. I got a great car that I never would have been able to afford otherwise, and Patricia’s neighbor hadn’t gotten nearly the value in the trade in that he should have. It all rounded out.

  Though she still teared up when she looked at the car. Memories die hard.

  After that, Arc and Ruby ran into town for more Chinese as they had decided to join us for the movie. We moved everything downstairs to Mom’s and had a great time with everyone getting to know each other a little better.

  I was especially happy to see Opie and Arc semi-bonding. It would be good if the two of them could get over the whole first meeting when Opie had tackled him to the ground and tried to arrest him. Hopefully, we were past that now.

  Just after ten, the guys all headed home. Well, at least two of them did. I was kind of glad when Ruby asked Arc to stay the night. I had promised to give him a ride home when he was ready, and I really didn’t relish the thought of being out on a long round trip road trip this late at night. I didn’t have all that much experience driving at night, and right now the deer were running rampant. The last thing in the world I wanted was to take a risk of crashing my now odor-free baby.

  I had fun plans for her. Plans that didn’t include reacting to the phone call I got the next morning.