Page 53 of Midlife Witch Unexpected

“He’s just trying to get you out of The Estate,” Branson said. “It’s an obvious ruse.”

“There's no way I'm staying all holed up in The Estate when he's kidnapped, Anita. She’s not a poor defenseless girl, but he is a three-hundred-year-old vampire.” I said vehemently.

A slight smile played on the corners of Branson’s mouth. “Mama bear,” he said. “I like it.”

“Shut up,” I said, but I couldn’t stop the reciprocal smile forming on my face.

“He’s already watching us,” Branson said.

“How the hell do you know that?” I asked.

“I can feel it.” Branson shrugged “Turn on your magic a little bit, you’ll feel it too.”

Very cautiously I loosened the reins I had on the energy that coursed through my veins. I felt the balls of light form within the palms of my hands before I saw them.

“That might be a little much,” Branson said with a smirk. “You don’t need to do a light show right now. He already knows we’re here.”

I dampened down the light a little bit, letting it ebb and flow under my skin.

“Can you feel it?” Branson asked.

I closed my eyes for a moment to reach out beyond my own aura of magic.

“You’re pushing outwards,” Branson said. “I can feel you’re really powerful. But what you need to do is open up.”

My eyes were flung wide open. "What do you mean?”

Branson laughed loudly. A little too loudly. “Keep laughing,” he said, his face scrunched up in mirth, “and talking like we’re just standing here having a good time. He needs to know we’re a bit nonchalant about this. We can’t show them how much we’re worried about the girl or how much we’re concerned this is a trap.”

“But really, what do you mean, open up?” I felt like I’d been open my whole life. Open to new ideas, new places new people, new things. There were places to draw the line, like when my gay husband asked me for an open relationship, I said “nope” in no uncertain terms.

But in general, I was open.

“Do you feel the magic coming toward you from the surrounding area?” Branson asked.

“I do feel the magic coming from around me,” I pointed out. “How else could I have made the map of the wards and identified which one was missing? You guys taught me that everything around us is magic and we just need to be able to pull on it here and there.”

“You need to be able to sense it in other people.” Branson’s words were clear and direct.

They punched me like a fist in the gut. Discovering my best friend, my truest companion, my beloved husband was gay had broken my willingness to accept energy from anybody around me. I had shut the door closed; shut it down.

“No,” I said.

“Well, you’re stopping half the magic,” Branson said. “Magic is made up of two parts. One part is what is out in the world in inanimate objects. When we use magic, we can also tap into the energy from people around us.”

“Are you saying someone can steal my power?” I asked.

“No. That wasn’t what I was saying at all.” Branson’s tone was clipped. He sounded frustrated. “It’s consensual magic use.”

“You didn’t just say that.” I gaped at him. “Those are three words I never imagined I would hear in a sentence.”

“Keep talking,” Branson said. “You’re doing great.”

I had almost forgotten we were getting vampy’s attention.

“He’s confused now because we aren’t making a play for him,” Branson explained. “We’ve got to try to draw him out of his hiding place. Whatever we do, we don’t want to enter his trap. You’re the bait and I am the alpha who’s going to chase him off my territory.”

“This is not your territory,” I said, feeling surprisingly offended. “It’s mine.”

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