by J. C. Hart
"And now what? Please don't tell me I have to destroy this." She closed her eyes and cringed.
"You have to smash the beads. It is the only way."
"Seriously?" Alyssa opened her eyes but the dead serious expression on his face made her set aside her disappointment. "Right, okay. Whatever you say goes."
She went to get up from the couch to find a hammer or something but the ghost stopped her, his form all but solid when he touched her arm.
"Thank you for this. I know you think it costs you nothing, but I've been waiting for centuries for someone to release me and I am very grateful."
"No biggie."
"Still, I would like to give you a gift."
"Yeah? Okay then. I won't say no." Alyssa's brow furrowed, not sure what to expect, but curious all the same.
"First you have to complete the task. I hope you find happiness."
"Thanks. I hope you... Well, whatever it is. I hope it's good." Alyssa felt more awkward than ever before so she turned away from the ghost, scanning the room for something heavy. Why had she been so hasty to clear the place out?
But there by the fire was a piece of stray pine that must have lingered since winter. She placed the necklace on the hearth and took a breath, trying not to think about how once this was done she would be more alone than...well, maybe ever, and brought the wood down on the beads.
Fragments of glass flew everywhere and the room flooded with a cold so bitter that Alyssa shuddered and cursed Magnus for not warning her. And then she caught a glimpse of green from the corner of her eye and turned to see lights stretched out across the room. Blue and purple and yellow flickered around the edges of the green, which soared and twisted slowly across the ceiling of her lounge.
"Oh my god," Alyssa whispered, leaning back against the fireplace to watch.
An aurora borealis in her living room. Now that was something no one else could say they'd experienced—not that anyone would believe her if she tried to claim she had. No, this was something just for her. "Thanks, Magnus," she said, though if this was his parting gift he wasn't there to hear her.
She let the vision wash over her, eradicate every struggle and pain she'd felt in these last weeks and she knew, not so very deep down, actually quite close to the surface, that everything was going to be okay.
Find out what happens next for Alyssa in the third Kotahi Bay Book – In the Earth’s Embrace. Available here!
If she thought the only skeleton in her closet was a ghost, she was dead wrong.
Alyssa’s finally settling into life in Kotahi Bay, and things are good. Mostly. Only, she hasn’t really made any friends. Oh, and people keep insisting that she take over her dead grandmother’s role as the town witch. But if she’s learned anything about her family it’s that magic has a way of warping even the best of them. Alyssa doesn’t want a bar of that so she continues to do what she does best—ignore the problem and hope it goes away—until her best friend Kelly shows up with secrets of her own.
Despite his intimate connection with death, necromancer Brandon needs help or his terminally ill nephew will die. The only way to get the cure is to convince Alyssa to become the town witch, or—worse—raise her grandmother from the grave. He thought he’d put his dark past behind him, but isn’t a life more important?
Can Alyssa and Brandon find a way through the secrets and lies that surround them, or will they doom Kotahi Bay to darkness?
If you enjoyed this book, why not check out what else is available HERE? Or better yet, sign up to my mailing list to be kept in the loop.
If you’re interest has been piqued by this small sliver of Māori culture, you can find more information here. I am part Māori myself, and writing the Kotahi Bay books has been a way for me to explore my heritage, and re-imagine some of the creation mythology found in Māori culture.