Page 23 of Poltergeists & Change of Life

Nana reached out and gently lifted the locket. "This is Hattie's locket. I haven't seen this in, well, a very long time. And it is vastly different from the last time I saw it. The Dark magic is eroding the metal."

As we stood there, dripping and exhausted, I noticed something else. There was a small, leather-bound book tucked away in a corner of the attic. It looked old and well-worn. "Is that Hattie's journal?" I asked, reaching for it.

The moment my fingers touched the cover, I felt a jolt of something. Recognition? Memory? Whatever it was, I knew this journal was important. Nana tapped the cover. "The things you can find in an attic, eh?" She chuckled. "Looks like we've got some reading to do, kids."

My eyes widened when I flipped open the journal. There, on the very first page, was a name I'd come to dread. Lyra. "Oh boy," I muttered, looking up at my equally soaked, equally stunned family. "I think we just found the missing piece of the puzzle. And something tells me we're not going to like the picture it completes."

“Do we ever?” Stella asked rhetorically.

I shared a look of agreement with her and started to read aloud. "Dear Diary, Today, I met the most extraordinary woman. Her name is Lyra, and she promises to teach me things beyond my wildest dreams. She says she’s going to teach me real magic. Not the parlor tricks I've been reduced to performing at my mother’s behest. She speaks of power and changing the world.

“She also spoke of making those who laughed at me pay,” I continued. “I know I should be wary. Mother always said that if something seems too good to be true, it probably is. She also told me the burden of our lineage meant we had to hold ourselves to higher standards. She wouldn’t even let me feel the Pleiadespower. I can't help but be drawn to Lyra. She understands me in a way no one else ever has.

“She's given me this locket as a sign of our new friendship. It's beautiful, unlike anything I've ever owned. When I wear it, I feel different. Stronger. More confident. Lyra says this is just the beginning. I can't wait to see what happens next." I looked up from the journal and my heart was pounding like a bass drum. "Guys? I think we might have a problem."

Aidon's face was grim. "Yeah. Lyra began this process with Hattie decades ago. She manipulated her and tried to befriend her.”

I grimaced. “She even used her insecurities against her."

Nana nodded grimly. "And that locket? I'd bet my last bottle of century-old whiskey it established this connection before Hattie ever inherited her full powers."

“It sure seems that way.” I flipped through more pages of the journal, and my stomach churned with each entry. "It gets worse. Listen to this. ‘Lyra's teachings are incredible. I can move objects with my mind now. I can also make people see things that aren't there. But sometimes, when I use these powers, I feel... strange. Like something's consuming me from the inside out. Lyra says it's normal, that there's nothing wrong. But I'm not sure...'

“And this one, dated a few weeks later.” It was difficult to consider Hattie doing these things. “'I did something terrible today. A man laughed at my performance and called me a fraud. I've never been so angry before. Suddenly, he was on the ground, choking. I didn't even intend that to happen, but I knew it was my doing. Lyra was pleased. She said I'm progressing faster than she expected. Why doesn't that make me feel better?'”

I closed the journal, feeling sick. "Lyra wasn't teaching Hattie magic. She was corrupting her. She rebuffed Lyra after that andrefused to interact with her again. Too little too late. Lyra’s hooks were already set."

Aidon ran a hand through his hair. "That's how she was able to turn the locket into the conduit. It was her way to channel Dark magic into Hattie after she was dead, slowly transforming her."

"But why?" I asked, looking from Aidon to Nana. "What did Lyra gain from this?"

Nana's eyes were dark with understanding. "Power, kid. Pure, unadulterated power. Dark magic feeds on corruption, on the twisting of a good soul. And from the sounds of it, Hattie was as good as they come before Lyra got her hooks in."

I felt a chill that had nothing to do with my wet clothes. "Lyra was planning on taking Hattie’s power all along. She put Myrna up to everything that led to Hattie not being able to have children and an heir of her own." Sadness washed through me for how much Lyra had taken from Hattie throughout her life.

"And she won’t give up until she has it," Aidon said grimly. "She’s taking the raw energy of Hattie's corrupted magic and amplifying it, making it usable for her purposes."

I looked down at the locket in Nana's hand, then at the journal in mine. "So how do we fix this? How do we save Hattie?"

For a long moment, silence reigned in the attic. Then Nana spoke in an uncharacteristically soft voice. "We've got the locket. We've got the journal. And most importantly, we've got you, kid."

"Me?" I blinked. "What can I do? In case you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly in fighting shape here."

Nana's familiar smirk returned. "Maybe not. But you've got something Lyra doesn't. Something she can't corrupt or twist."

"What's that?" I asked, not sure I wanted to hear the answer.

"Love, you nitwit," Nana said, rolling her eyes. "Pure, unconditional love. For your family, for your friends, for Hattie.That's the kind of power Dark magic can't touch. And with those three little powerhouses you're cooking?" She gestured to my swollen belly. "You're practically a walking beacon of the stuff."

I placed a hand on my stomach. The familiar flutter of movement reassured me. "So what you're saying is..."

"What we're saying," Aidon cut in, taking my free hand, "is that you might just be our secret weapon. The one thing Lyra never accounted for."

Which was why she was working overtime to take me out. I kept that observation to myself. No need to point it out again and worry everyone. I looked around at my ragtag family. "Well," I said, a smile tugging at my lips despite everything, "I guess if we're going to save the world, we might as well do it in style. Who's ready to crash a Dark witch's party?"

Nana cackled, sounding more like her old self. "Now you're talking, kid. Let's go show Lyra what happens when she messes with our family."

CHAPTER 11

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