Page 99 of A Spell of Midlife Mayhem

I concentrated. The chair flew back and embedded itself in the cardboard wall.

‘Well, that looks conclusive,’ Aunt Ruth said with a wry grin.

‘Should I do the other tests?’

‘Of course. There’s still battery power.’

I tried them all. Most failed. Some were questionable positives. Overall, though, it looked like weather control was going to be my thing.

‘Is that a good result?’ I asked Aunt Ruth.

‘There’s no good or bad. It’s how you use it. Some night soon, when you’re part way through your course, we’ll spend a couple of hours outside, and I’ll show you how to draw magic from the surrounding elements. While you’re inexperienced, you’ll only control small amounts of magical energy. Later, as you gain experience, you’ll have more at your disposal. Eventually, you’ll need some place to store it—’

‘Like a mirror,’ I said, lowering my gaze.

‘Some things work better than others. Mirrors are excellent. A pottery knick-knack isn’t. You’ll have to experiment to see what works for you, and then you’ll bind yourself to it to ensure it can retain magic for months, rather than only hours.’

‘There’s quite a science to this, isn’t there?’

‘Rather too much, if you ask me.’

Chapter 31

THE NEXT MORNING WAS a little brighter, but the threat of a thunderstorm hovered perpetually nearby. Dark clouds swirled near the horizon.

I went to work bearing pastries and chocolates.

Lydia met me in the office. ‘I see you came prepared,’ she said, glancing at the tasty treats. ‘I wasn’t sure if you’d even come back at all.’

‘I love this job, and I want to stay, if you can all forgive me.’

‘Chocolates definitely help.’

Melissa also brought pastries, so we spread them out over the day, an idea of which I was thoroughly in favour.

Penny arrived last. ‘Heather, I’m glad you came back,’ she said. ‘I may have over-reacted the other day. Everyone wants poor Ronald’s murderer to be caught. The three of us had a long talk yesterday about what you did and concluded you had good intentions, even if what you did was inappropriate. Let’s forget about it.’

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