Page 6 of Boundless Magic

“What’s the problem, child?”

It was humorous that he would call a woman approaching forty “child,” but from a warlock almost twice her age, it seemed fitting.

“My children have gone missing,” she said simply.

All humor fell from him, and his classically handsome visage grew stony. “What do you mean? Has someone abducted them?”

“Not that we can tell, but we aren’t sure. Spring believes Chloe may have transported herself and Jolly through a portal into another plane, using a spell from a duplicateBook of Thoth.”

Alastair’s skin took on a sickly cast. “Are you positive?”

“Not one hundred percent, but close. There’s a magical signature attached to a page that was opened in the book.”

“Christ!”

“My thought exactly.” She touched his arm to keep his attention. “Dad’s at the house with Spring and Knox. Keaton’s trying to hunt down his parents to see what they know.”

“But you’ve asked me here for another reason,” he concluded.

“Yes. If my kids did, in fact, cross planes, we need to seek permission from Isis to open the portal to retrieve them. We also need to find who or what may have come through in exchange for their entry.”

“I’ll get my security team on capturing whoever or whatever is here, if anything. We’ll need to return it to its own reality.” Gripping her hand, he squeezed it lightly. “You and I will need to summon the Goddess.”

“That’s what I was hoping.”

“Let’s cast the protection circle. The last thing we need is to have something or someone attack while we are calling her forward.”

“On it.”

Together, they created a ring of candles, drawing sigils in the four directions: north, south, east, and west. Then, when they were satisfied, they joined hands.

Autumn spoke first.

“Goddess, hear our plea.

Assist us in our time of need.”

“Exalted One, we call on you to help us find Autumn’s children,” Alastair added.

Ringing began in Autumn’s ears, and the atmospheric change was electrifying. Frowning, she locked gazes with her uncle, startled to see his confusion.

Something was wrong.

“What is it?—”

“Shh, child,” he whispered.

Releasing her hands, he walked along the boundaries of the circle as if testing for weakness. His head cocked as he listened for Goddess knew what.

“It’s as if she can’t come through,” he murmured, talking to himself.

A heavy frown tugged at his dark-blond brows, and the concern on his face ramped up Autumn’s anxiety a hundredfold. Her heart felt like it was going to escape her chest and take flight. It was difficult to take a deep breath. How much of it was nerves, and how much was the weighty atmosphere? She couldn’t say for certain, if questioned.

“What the fuck is happening?” she asked in a stage whisper.

“I—”

A feather could’ve knocked her over when Alastair’s clone walked from the woods. Or rather, what he might’ve looked like if he ditched his tailored suits for flannel and let his hair and stubble grow unruly. Although he had a few scars on his face and neck and his sapphire eyes held the same alert expression as his counterpart, the guy appeared more down to earth. His rolling walk was relaxed despite his cautious expression.

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