Mage knew better than to question her. Something was awry. She didn’t like what was going on, but her back was against the wall. She had her own agenda at the moment.
“Well, he works so hard at the market. It was unusually hot today. I hope you will let him know I said hi tomorrow.” Mage wrapped up that issue before it got any more awkward.
Patience smiled at her and nodded.
“I see you have something there.” Phaela pointed to the jar in Mage’s hand. “Is that my tea?”
“It is, but I think we had a deal here. I make you the tea and you were going to tell me about the vision or prophecy that you say my granddaughter is at the center of.” Mage held the jar closer to her body.
“I did in fact agree to that. I am always a woman of my word.” Phaela smiled. “Shall we move this party to the kitchen? I will of course need to test the tea.”
“That is fine. I will brew you a small enough dose for you to test the properties, but not so much to waste the blend.”
As they walked into the kitchen, Phaela’s cell phone rang. “Would you please excuse me for a minute? I need to take this call.”
Phaela stepped back into the living room while Patience, Mage, and Nate finished the rest of the short walk into the kitchen, which was in the very next room.
“I will put on the tea pot. The rest of us can have a cup of my chamomile lavender tea that Mage made me last month,” Patience said as they walked into the kitchen.
Mage could hear Phaela on the phone. Even with old age, her hearing never failed her. After Aurora’s birth, her hearing was heightened. She just thought it was what happened to all mothers of newborns.
“He can collect all he likes. I know she is the one, and he will take her. You will make sure you keep tabs on the situation. Do what you must to get close to this project. Offer your help.” She was quiet for a minute while the person on the other end of the phone spoke. “I will protect you. You will get what you want.” Again there was a pause. “You also need to get Nate a position somewhere in his organization. I don’t care if it is emptying garbage cans. Are we clear?” Her voice started to get louder as she approached the kitchen, and Mage made herself busy getting mugs off the shelf. “Good, then I will speak to you next week.”
Phaela rounded the corner into the kitchen and put her phone in the pocket of the hand-knit cardigan she wore. She was attractive, but could have taken a little better care of herself. Her grey hair needed a trim and it was too long for her face, and the strays were split on the ends and sticking up in different directions, giving her hair the look of being unbrushed.
She smiled at everyone. There was something very impish about the way her lips curled and her ears that stuck out of her hair lifted. “Who is ready for some tea?”
Nate was already sitting at the round wooden table that was cluttered with books and papers. There were only three chairs at the table. He was yet to use his manners to relinquish his seat to one of the elderly women in the room.
The teakettle started to whistle. Phaela took a seat at the table beside her son. She placed her hands on top of his. “Things are all falling right into place.”
Patience turned the flame off on the stove, silencing the kettle. Mage placed a small amount of the dried tea mixture in the bottom of one of the mugs while Patience made a nice pot of mellow lavender chamomile tea for the rest of them to enjoy. After Patience poured her water, Mage poured about four ounces of water into the mug she held for Phaela.
Mage brought the mug over, but before she placed it down on the table, she gave the boy a hard look. “Do you have any manners, young man?”
His jaw clenched. She got the feeling he wasn’t disciplined early enough as a young child. He looked to his mother. Phaela nodded to him, dipping her head for him to get up.
The young man huffed as he relinquished his seat. Mage thought she might have heard him snarl at her, but he never lifted his head to look at her.
Mage sat beside Phaela. “It takes about four to five minutes for the tea to brew. You must watch the steam. When you see the colors swirl, that means it is time to drink. If you wait until the tea cools and there is no steam, the tea will no longer be effective.
“This is a very small amount. The effects will be temporary. Please use it sparingly and only when you need it. The more often you drink the tea, the longer the effects will last each time. If you drink enough, the effects can become permanent. But you will need me to make more tea than this for that to happen. This will last you about two months if you drink a small amount each night. But I suggest if you do not need it, don’t drink it.”
Mage gave her very specific directions—directions that were not completely true. This tea would never have a permanent effect on Phaela. She would never make that kind of tea. She hoped if Phaela was the potential driving force behind what was coming for her that she would keep her around long enough to make more tea.
“Now while we wait for your tea to finish brewing, please tell me of your vision,” Mage asked as patiently as she could.
Patience sat down at the table with two mugs, one for herself and one for Mage. “Boy, I left a mug on the counter for you if you care for some tea.”
“Nah,” he responded and left the room. Mage heard him plop himself down on one the chairs and pop open the recliner. He mumbled something about there not being a television in the house.
“Excuse him, he’s only twenty years old. He is upset he couldn’t go out with his older friends tonight. I don’t know why they’re always in such a hurry to drink alcohol.” Phaela sniffed at her tea. “He is almost the same age as Kasha. Maybe when she gets home from school, we can introduce them to each other.”
Mage smiled…and silently cursed the thought of such a thing. “Your vision?” Mage reminded her.
“Well, there is a prophecy, one which several oracles and mediums have spoken and written about over the centuries. I’m sure you have heard about a child that would be born under the grand trine planetary alignment. Born just as the clock was striking midnight between August sixteenth, and seventeenth on the night when six out of eight planets, the moon, and the sun were uniquely positioned at the point of an equilateral triangle.
“The child would be born possessing many abilities, shifting the cosmic balance between light and dark. He or she would be able to control all of the elements. This child would be able to walk and communicate on all planes, including access to the Akashic records. Are you aware of this prophecy?”
“I have heard bits and pieces of rumors that a child like this would be born,” Mage answered.
They looked down and saw the steam had started to take on the appearance of a rainbow.
“You can drink the tea now. Try not to get any of the debris in your mouth. Too much of some of the ingredients can be toxic if ingested in their pure form.” Mage instructed Phaela.
Phaela drank the tea. Mage looked over at Patience, but still couldn’t get a read on what was going on with her.
“You can project any time you are ready, Patience. The tea’s effects will take a few minutes to work their way through her blood stream, but it will only last for about twenty minutes,” Mage told them. “So what does this prophecy have to do with my granddaughter?”
“Let’s see how this tea works and then we can talk about it.” Phaela was a bit snippy.
Mage couldn’t see astral projectors herself. She thought maybe she should have tested the tea to make sure it worked. They all sat in silence for a minute before Phaela started talking to thin air.
“That is a good thing, Patience.” Phaela was now having a private conversation with Patience.
Mage knew Patience was sitting next to her with her eyes closed. She also knew she was astral projecting in the room. Phaela needed her to do so in order to test the tea.
“We can talk about all that fun stuff tonight after our friend goes home. How about you come back to your body and join us for our tea?” Phaela spoke into thin air.
Patience placed her cup on the table. “I’m glad I could help you test your tea, Phaela. Mage, you never disappoint.”
“Thank you,” Mage stated and then turned her attention back to Phaela. “I am ready to hear the rest of how this prophecy is connected to my granddaughter.”
“There are both males and females who have displayed powers over the elements that have been going missing. Someone is collecting them. There is darkness in search of what this young one can offer.
“We all know how rare it is for someone to be able to access the Akashic records. It has been centuries since there has been a documented case of such a person. Some clairvoyants have made claim to be able to connect and read the records of certain people’s timelines.
“No one knows for certain what effect having access to that kind of knowledge will have on a person, even one of supernatural decent. Everyone in search of answers to the unknown has dreamt of having access to the infinite truth of all the planes and timelines for all that have and will exist. But with access to all that information, power can shift to the lowest-level scum if not protected.”
“So you think this person is my granddaughter?” Mage cut Phaela off, as if she needed an explanation of what the Akashic records were.
“I asked you earlier if you know for sure when she was born. Do you know?” Phaela asked.
Mage did not answer.
“Okay, so then that has to show you that it is possible. Where is she now? When will she be back in the area?” Phaela questioned Mage. “We need to protect her.”
“Take it easy. You don’t need to do anything. I don’t even know you. She is away at college and I do not know when she will return. If anyone will be doing the protecting, it will be me.” Mage stood up.
“I’m glad you are so sure of yourself. When you make me another batch of this tea, I will tell you the rest of what I know.” Phaela stood and brought the teacups to the sink.
“I will make you your tea.” Mage showed herself to the door.
Mage knew it was rude to leave without saying good-bye, but she didn’t like that she was being manipulated. Never had she ever let anyone take advantage of her or the knowledge she had—until today.
Chapter 6
Once Mage stepped back out into the dark night, she looked at her car. A vehicle she just days before had admired for looking so good after all these years. She was proud of how well she kept the car up over all these years. Kasha would tease her sometimes, saying that she owned the only one left on the road.
Mage got in her car and hesitated to turn the key. She knew it would give her trouble if it even started. Truth was she couldn’t stay where she was. She needed to go home and start crafting another batch of that astral tea.
What will be will be, she told herself, stuck the key in, and turned it forward. The car started without any effort. Mage was by the book when she drove. Hands always at ten and two, followed all posted speed limits and directional signs, and above all else, checked her mirrors every time before she put it in drive.
Even though she didn’t need to back out of the circular driveway, she looked in her rearview mirror. She saw Nate standing on the front stoop. The dim porch light highlighted the strong bone structure on his face. Although he was a good-looking kid, she found him and his attitude unattractive.
She felt like his dark eyes were watching her. They were like lasers piercing her through the window. She wondered if he could see her watching him watch her in the mirror from that distance in the dark. It sure felt like he could.
Another chill came over her so she threw the car into drive and started to pull out of the driveway. Her eyes stayed locked on Nate until she got to the road. There was something about him she did not trust. Mage drove away slowly until she hit the highway.
She normally didn’t have any type of nervousness or anxiety. Mage was a pretty even keel person. On this night, her left leg bounced as she drove home. Had her hands not been glued to the wheel, she might have been biting her fingernails. Another gross habit she was glad she never acquired.
She glanced at her watch; it was much later than she realized. This again left the roads to be lonely and dark without other travelers. Mage took her hands off the wheel one at a time to wipe the dampness from her palms. The wetness was making them slippery.
A burst of coldness hit her again, but she chalked it up to the fact it was late and the temperatures always dropped drastically at night. She turned the heat on to counter the draft. The heat started to blow out, helping to take off the edge.
The warm air started to smell burnt and stale. She looked down at the settings and turned the knob to off. Looking back up at the road, she assumed it was yet another part of the car deciding to give out on her.
That was until the car started to fill with smoke. The smoke came in through the vents even though the heat was turned off. There were no signs that the car was overheating and it didn’t look like there was a fire under the hood. The smoke still streamed in through the heating system, but the air was ice cold. Mage messed with the knobs, turning, making sure they were all off. Nothing seemed to be working.
First she hand cranked down her own window, trying to get some fresh air. She would need to pull over if the smoke didn’t stop. She was afraid it was going to impair her ability to see out of the windows. She pushed at the vents, directing them away from her face, but it wasn’t making much of a difference.
Mage pulled the front of her dress over her face and started coughing. She looked to her right out the passenger-side window and gasped. Running right alongside the car was the creature she had seen twice before.
The animal had a narrow snout and large pointed ears. There was no mistaking the form was the same as a coyote, except that it stood on its hind legs, running next to her car. She was traveling at almost seventy miles per hour.
Her heart began to race and pound against the wall of her chest. She knew there was no way she could pull over now. She reached over and grabbed a flyer she had in her car that she picked up at the ranch the other day and began to fan away the smoke from her line of sight. Her dress dropped back down, exposing her lungs to the harsh breathing conditions again.
She looked to her left and the manimal was gone. Gone from where she could see him in the darkness, not gone for good. She prayed she would be able to escape his hunt.
The smoke was coming in at a faster pace. It was becoming harder for Mage to see and breathing was becoming a struggle even with her fanning the smoke. She started to slow down, knowing she couldn’t see the road well enough in front of her. She was concerned that what or whoever was following beside her could run at speeds well above what her car was capable of, but she had to take the risk.
Mage leaned over across the passenger seat and began to give the window a few cranks. She had to sit up because she could see the dim glow of lights approaching from the distance. She needed to be able to see the road; she feared she could potentially cause an accident. It was bad enough harm was in her way; she didn’t want it to find an innocent bystander.
She tried looking out her driver’s side window at the road in front of her. She could make out the lights enough to stay in her lane and out of the way of the oncoming driver. After the car passed her, she saw the shape of her predator in the glow of the red taillights.
She hurried to get that passenger window opened a little more to help create a cross draft, hoping to get more smoke out of the car, and she gunned it.
Mage had her pedal to the metal, literally. Her speeds were nearing ninety in an attempt to outrun this beast. Thought of speed limits and road safety were out the window. Too bad the smoke wasn’t going with it. The smoke made it nearly impossible to see. Mage looked over at the passenger window and saw the creature running beside her
car. If she didn’t know better, she wouldn’t have believed it possible. The creature sped up and disappeared into the darkness.
Mage was trying to catch her breath, but it was hard with the air quality. All she wanted to do was make it home. Her mind was now on thoughts about how much Kasha needed to know from her. Now with all this talk of her potentially possessing all these powers, Mage needed to be there for her more than ever. Regrets were not something Mage put much credence into, but now she worried she may have screwed up by not educating her granddaughter on the world that truly existed around them.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a thump as something hit her car. Or she hit something; she couldn’t be sure. She lost control of the wheel and her car spun around. She couldn’t see what was happening, but she felt the car’s tires slip on something. Her body went weightless as the vehicle flipped over, not once, but three times, before it landed off the side of the road in a drainage ditch.
The car slammed down on the ground repeatedly as the vehicle rolled, causing all of the windows to shatter. The glass and Mage’s bags full of papers floated in the air in front of her. The noise from the crash was so loud and the adrenaline pumped fast into her blood stream. Then there was an eerie silence.
The car was upside-down. Mage was disoriented, but knew she had to get out of the car. She now faced two different deadly scenarios. That car could easily explode; she had an almost full tank of gas, and she could smell the fumes seeping out around her. The second was that she knew she was being hunted.
Mage unbuckled her seat belt and fell down on her right arm. Her bones were fragile from her old age. The arm broke on impact. She screamed out in pain—a mistake she wished she had not made. It would only help her stalker find her in the darkness. She wasn’t sure if she was bleeding, but she knew if she ran, her scent would be easy to follow with her heightened emotional state.
She certainly didn’t carry any weapons in her car, but she did have a tire gauge and a pen in her glove box. They weren’t much, but she hoped they might be enough to help her defend herself. She wanted to search the car for the small shovel she had from her trip to the ranch, but there wasn’t any time for that.
Magic After Dark: A Collection of Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance Novels Page 226