Page 18 of Boundless Magic

Other than a lifted brow for her commanding tone, he didn’t react.

“Sorry,” she muttered. “This is taking too long.”

“Agreed. Lead the way.”

The kindness in his eyes eased her fear that she’d offended him, and she spared a second to hug him, offering her thanks. His answer was a kiss on her temple.

When their small group arrived at the clearing, two things struck Autumn at once. The first was that there was no movement. No wind, no forest sounds, and no smell associated with the trees. The second was the presence of a stronger magical creature than any of their group.

“Something’s here,” Preston said, lifting his arms and conjuring fireballs. With the flames dancing in both palms, he turned in a slow circle as he studied the tree line. “There’s an ‘off’ feel to the place. Anyone else sense it?”

“Yes. I believe we all do, brother,” Alastair replied. Removing his suit jacket, he placed it on the altar, then followed with the removal of his tie.

“You know it’s serious when Alastair Thorne removes his tie,” Knox said lightly. But he, too, was on high alert, and although he held his arms low, he quickly drew molecules from the air to compress them into the electrical weapon he was creating to protect their group.

“Stand ready, fellas,” LJ said. “This is what I felt before getting shoved through the portal.”

“Are you saying one is about to?—”

The entire clearing turned dark, and it was as if someone had shut off the lights in a small closet with no windows. Pitch black, and Autumn could see nothing. Hear no one. She reached for Keaton’s hand and came up empty.

“Babe?”

Her call was lost in the void, as if the sound never left her throat.

Panic clawed at her insides, and her heart throbbed loudly in her ears, making her deaf to anything but the pounding.

“Keaton?” she shouted. “Dad? Anyone?”

Again, nothing.

12

The suspended sensation was similar to death, and Autumn worried for a moment that she’d been involved in a battle she couldn’t remember. Were the deities deciding her fate as she waited in the Otherworld’s holding room?

Goddess, she hoped not. She needed to see her children safe first.

A low humming started and grew louder with every beat of her heart until the noise was a pounding tempo in her brain. Where had she heard it before? Why did it seem familiar?

A golden glow filled the area around her, and she shielded her eyes from the glaring light. When it calmed to a candlelight-like illumination, she lowered her arm and lifted her lids. All around her, her family stood, poised as she was and taking in the scene around them. Each of them was divided by a type of invisible bubble, with the exception of LJ and the Cerberus. They were the only two with the freedom to move among their group.

“Can you hear me, LJ?” she shouted.

He mouthed the word “yes” and nodded simultaneously. Gesturing with his hand for her to turn down the volume, he mouthed, “Too loud.”

“I can’t hear you,” she said in a normal voice. “Can you conjure pen and paper and tell me what the hell is happening?”

Doing as she asked, he wrote his reply.“Don’t know.”

“Fucking lovely,” she grumbled.

Her attention was caught by a movement behind him, and she called her warning. He spun to see what was coming just as the Cerberus lowered her heads. The fur along her spine lifted, and her thick tail stilled until she seemingly recognized the newcomers.

A Gothic version of Spring stepped into the clearing, followed by another Cerberus that was, if possible, twice the size of LJ’s new pet. The creature dwarfed Goth Spring, making her look no bigger than a child’s doll guarded by a faithful hound.

Sauntering forward, she eyed their group curiously. When she saw this world’s Spring, she misstepped, and her clunky black platform shoes came to an abrupt halt. Her shock appeared short-lived, and she approached Spring’s bubble. With a simple touch of her finger, it popped, reminding Autumn of the soap bubbles from Jolly’s evening baths.

“You’re a Goody Two-shoes,” Gothica stated flatly.

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