by Rain Oxford
“What are we going to do about the box?” Ron asked.
“And the monster? Can we keep him?” Hail asked.
“I know what I can do with the box,” Devon said.
“And I know a place to take the ghoul so that it can’t get into trouble,” Dylan added. “So what did you do to my son?”
“I didn’t do anything,” Devon said, knowing exactly what the older wizard was talking about.
“You gave him your instincts. Hail has very powerful protection over his mind; you shouldn’t have been able to do anything.”
“That explains why I couldn’t read his mind.”
“Then how did I know what you were doing?” Hail asked.
“Because you’re psychic.”
“So are you.”
Before Devon could respond or even come up with a theory on how he and the kid were connected, Ron shoved Hail towards Devon. Instinctively, Devon reached out to catch him.
* * *
Devon was confused as to why he was suddenly burning and freezing simultaneously. It was dark and the image that slowly faded in was even more bewildering.
The black blade of Dylan’s katana glittered in the scarce light as Mordon aimed and embedded it in Dylan’s ribcage. Heat blossomed across Devon’s chest, starting small before spreading. It first took his breath, then his vision, until all he could feel was dark emptiness and white-hot pain.”
* * *
Devon found himself on a couch in the living room of an apartment that was much nicer than his. He groaned as he sat up, more from the humiliation than the ache in his chest. Dylan handed him a glass of water. “Please tell me I didn’t pass out.”
“Nah, you just decided to take a quick nap in the middle of the store. What happened to your heart?”
“I had an enemy who got my blood before I could kill him.”
“He was really powerful?”
Devon shook his head. “He was opportunistic and had powerful friends.” He noticed that they were alone and figured there was a reason for it. He didn’t want to know the reason. “I think I had one of Hail’s visions.”
“Yeah, and he had one of yours. It very nearly ended your life in the store. I was able to heal the immediate damage, but…”
“You couldn’t break the underlying curse. Figures.” He would just have to settle for having solved another case with no casualties. At least, he hoped there hadn’t been a death.
“It’s not that. I could break the curse in a second, but I won’t. A person died in order to curse you; only another death can end it.”
“Great.”
“I saw her,” Hail said. Devon turned to see the boy standing in the kitchen doorway.
“You saw Astrid?”
Hail nodded. “She’s okay for now.”
“But?”
“But I saw that you’re going to have to make a decision. It’s between her or someone else, and I don’t know who the other person is. I know you choose to leave her there, though. You can’t leave her. She’s going to lie to you and tell you she can do it on her own, but don’t believe her. And there was a man who’s going to lie to you, too.”
“What man?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t see him, but you know him. At least you think you do. He had a red ball.”
Epilogue
Leon neatly folded his last shirt and laid it carefully in his suitcase. He was in no hurry; the dragon already cleared him from any involvement in the crime.
“What crime?” Sylvester asked in a sinister, hissing voice.
Leon smirked. Sylvester was right; there had been no crime. Had there been a crime, someone would have stopped him. No one ever did. Everyone knew without a doubt that Leon was innocent because he was.
“On to the next town,” Sylvester pestered.
“You lost the salominius.”
“We’ll just have to return to the reaper and get another one.”
It was always Sylvester who took the children and performed the rituals, and he was never found. After all, who could find a person that only existed in someone’s mind?
About the Author
Rain Oxford is a teacher who has been writing for more than half of her life. She does most of her writing in a secluded cabin in the woods with a four-pound Maltese as a companion. When she’s not teaching or creating worlds, she usually enjoys cooking, playing the piano, or photographing exotic wildlife.
Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/rainoxfordauthor
Website: rainoxford.wordpress.com
Amazon Page: http://amzn.to/1FNgsX0
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Sneak Peek at Insidious Winds (Elemental Book 4)
Cindy stepped out onto her porch as I paid the taxi driver and grabbed my bag.
“So this is what you do?” Henry asked, eying the house dubiously.
“No, actually. I’ve always stayed away from paranormal cases.”
“Maybe you should have this time as well.”
“It won’t be that bad.” I studied the house.
“Glad you could make it,” Cindy said. The woman was about five-three, petite, with dyed-lavender hair. “Who’s your friend?”
“This is Henry. He’s working with me now.” Henry and her shook hands, but I noticed him inhale deeply as his way of sniffing her discreetly. I also noticed the envelope she held in her left hand. “How have you been?”
“Up until a month ago, I was doing well. That’s when weird stuff started happening.”
“Weird as in what?”
“Well, not anything too serious. Freak snow storms overnight, things floating up into the air, every car on the street won’t start, you’d set something down on a flat surface and it would slide just out of reach… and the chairs stacked themselves on the dining room table a few times.”
“Like poltergeists?”
“Yeah. And there’s something wrong with the electricity. Then, a week ago, it started getting a lot more serious. Light bulbs would explode, things would just catch on fire, and the stray cat population completely disappeared.”
Henry and I glanced at each other and then at the house. “Was your sister’s husband the only one attacked?”
“Yes.”
“Anyone have any reason to attack him?”
“No. Luther has never done anything to anyone. I’ll take you over there and you can talk to my sister, Meg. Oh, and I got this in the mail for you.” She handed me the unmarked envelope and I slipped it into the inside pocket of my jacket.
Books by Rain Oxford
Elemental Book 1: Dark Waters
Elemental Book 2: Hungry Earth
Elemental Book 3: Furious Flames
The Guardian Book 1: The Guardian’s Grimoire
The Guardian Book 2: The Dragon’s Eyes
The Guardian Book 3: God of the Abyss
The Guardian Book 4: The Demon’s Game
The Guardian Book 5: The Wizard’s War
The Awakening