The Magick of Dark Root (Daughters of Dark Root) Read Online Free Page A

my head and Aunt Dora exhaled, relieved.
    “Well, good then.” She took a plate and joined me at the table. “Now, ya do what every woman does in this situation.”
    “What’s that?”
    “Ya grow some balls.” She threw her head back in a laugh then took a sip of her tea.
    “Your wisdom never ceases to amaze me.” I said, lifting my cup to her.
    Aunt Dora reached across the table and took my hands. Mine were cold; hers were warm. “No more pity parties, okay? Not on my watch.”
    I agreed, then took the last swig of my drink. The roiling in my stomach had been quelled by her concoction. Checking the clock above the sink, I noticed that it was almost time for Shane to pick me up. But I had one more question for my aunt.  
    “You said that banishment is dark magick. So that means it can be done, right? That this kind of magick does exist?” When I saw the look of alarm on her face, I quickly added, “Not that I would do it. I just want to know what’s out there, now that I’m going to be taking over as Council Leader. Know what I’m up against, so to speak.”
    Aunt Dora wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. “Aye, but yer mother locked those spells up. Didn’t want just anyone reading them. Even if it wasn’t locked, ta cast those spells ya’d need a wand, which ya don’t have, an’ a powerful amulet…”  
    Which I did have.
    Our eyes fell to the bank of pink crystal on my wrist.
    The Circle. It had once belonged to my mother but had now claimed me. I still wasn’t sure what it did, but I was beginning to get an idea.
    Aunt Dora regarded me with pursed lips. She mumbled something up to the heavens, and then reached for her walking cane. The table creaked as she pressed her weight into it, using it for leverage to stand.
    “I won’t do anything stupid,” I said.
    “Maggie. Ya can’ help doing something stupid. Coming back to Dark Root, having a baby…its increasing yer powers. An’ like I said, we still don’t know all that ya can do.” She leaned on her cane, scrutinizing me with her keen hawk eyes. “An’ with great power comes…”
    “Great responsibility?” I finished, knowing the adage.  
    “No. A great big pain in the ass.”  
    Aunt Dora looked past me, into the living room as the music from her favorite television show announced that it was about to begin.  
    “And Maggie,” she said after a moment’s consideration. “There are eyes everywhere in this town, both helpful and not so helpful. Ya can’t do anything without someone findin’ out.” Her eyes fell to the tote bag where I had stashed Mother’s spell book. “That answers all yer questions?”
    “Yes,” I said, tucking my hair behind my ear and feeling like I’d just been released from the principal’s office.  
    We said our goodbyes and Aunt Dora trundled into the living room. As I left the house I couldn’t help but wonder who, or what, it was that watched me?
     

 
    Two
    UNTIL I FALL AWAY

     
    The wind whipped across the porch, picking up an assortment of sticks, bugs, and leaves, generating mini-cyclones around my feet as I sat huddled on the front steps waiting for Shane Doler to arrive.Raindrops the size of marbles plunked against the top of my head, threatening to put me out like a match.  
    I pulled the collar of the alpaca sweater up over my head, but it wasn’t enough to keep me dry.
    The land around the house was barren now, except for a few splotches of oatmeal-colored grass, the last remnants of summer. The small animals who’d been hunting for food only a few weeks earlier had all disappeared into their hidey-holes to ride out the coming winter. Even the sturdy maple trees that aligned the property had succumbed to seasons, their branches bare and exposed as they shivered in the wind.  
    The only signs of life were the miles of fir and pine trees that dotted the landscape in every direction, those green, steadfast soldiers who stood vigil over Dark Root all year long.
    It will