Chapter 4
The next morning, Morgan knelt in the herb garden outside the kitchen. The sun had risen and was now sparkling off the waves in the cobalt-blue ocean. She took a deep breath of sea air, feeling invigorated.
”Meow!” Belladonna pawed at the thriving herbs in the earth.
”You know something, don”t you?” Morgan asked.
Belladonna blinked slowly in response.
”Yeah, too much to ask that I could actually communicate with you.” Morgan chuckled.
She turned her attention to a section in which the herbs seemed to be growing at an alarming rate. The leaves and stems stretched upward, and the plants appeared to have nearly doubled in size overnight.
Morgan was still examining the rapidly growing herbs when the back door creaked open. She turned to see her sister Fiona stepping outside, a mug of steaming tea in each hand.
”Thought you could use a pick-me-up,” Fiona said, passing one of the mugs to Morgan.
”Thanks.” Morgan wrapped her hands around the warm ceramic, breathing in the earthy aroma.
Fiona eyed the flourishing herbs. ”Wow, they”re really thriving already. It”s so early in the season.”
Morgan nodded. ”I know. And it”s only this one section too. The rest look normal.” She furrowed her brow. ”It must be related to all the strange magical occurrences lately. This celestial alignment seems to be amplifying things in odd ways.”
Fiona knelt beside Morgan and gently brushed her fingers over the lush greenery. ”Well, I guess we shouldn”t complain about extra magical herbs. Could come in handy if things get really weird around here.”
Morgan took a sip of tea. ”You’ve got that right. We might need all the help we can get to figure this out.”
”You’ve got me to help.” Luke”s voice came from the side of the house.
Morgan turned to see Luke coming toward them.
”I just got off the phone with Dorian,” Luke said after giving Morgan a peck on the cheek. ”Apparently, this alignment is worse than we thought.”
Morgan and Fiona exchanged a worried glance.
”She”s been picking up some static about it, and we aren”t the only ones experiencing strange occurrences,” Luke continued. ”Dorian said there have been historical cases with similar celestial events that resulted in significant paranormal activity.”
”What kind of activity?” Morgan asked.
”Poltergeists, apparitions, evil entities getting through portals.” Luke ticked each one off on his fingers. ”General mayhem caused by surges in magical energy.”
Morgan pursed her lips, thinking. ”Well, that would explain the vibrating stones and the supercharged plant growth.”
Fiona nodded. ”And who knows what else is going to start acting up around here?”
Morgan turned to Luke. ”Did Dorian say if there”s a way to stop these strange occurrences from getting worse?”
Luke nodded, his expression serious. ”She said the key is understanding how the celestial alignment works to amplify magical energy. Certain crystals act as amplifiers for each other. That”s why all this magic is going haywire.”
”So if we can find a way to disrupt that…” Fiona picked some stones up from the ground, and they glowed red in her hand.
”Do you think you can do that?” Morgan asked.
”Not sure. I need more information.”
”What kind of information?” Luke asked.
”I need to know vibrating frequencies and how many stones align, and then maybe I can figure out if there is a stone that would lower the frequencies or block the energy from the other stones,” Fiona said.
”I can ask Dorian about that,” Luke volunteered.
”Is she sending us out on assignment, then?” Morgan asked.
Luke stared at her for a few beats. ”Sort of.”
”What”s that mean?”
”She”s not sending you out. The assignment is right here in Noquitt.”
”Here?” Fiona glanced around. ”You mean the paranormal chaos and turmoil is going to be right in our own backyard.”
Luke nodded slowly. ”Afraid so, and it”s up to you guys to make sure it doesn”t get out of hand.”
* * *
Fiona leftMorgan and Luke in the garden and wandered back into the old house, her mind racing with thoughts about how to stop the impending crystal attack.
”There”s got to be something I can do,” she muttered to herself as she paced the creaky wooden floors. Because she was the sister gifted with stone magic, the responsibility would likely fall to her. Her mind raced over the information Luke had relayed from Dorian.
She sighed and flopped down into a dusty armchair in the formal living room, staring up at the intricate floral carvings on the ceiling. ”Think, Fiona, think,” she urged herself, tapping her fingers on the armrest. What stones could help block the sinister crystals? How could she use her powers to protect her siblings? Could she lower the frequencies of the amplifying stones with stones that would absorb some of the energy?
Her thoughts were interrupted by strange noises from the library across the main hall. She crept to the door and peered in.
Celeste sat cross-legged on the jewel-toned Oriental rug, eyes closed, humming tunelessly. Fiona winced as Celeste”s ice-blue eyes popped open.
”Gah!” Fiona yelped, stumbling back. ”Sorry. Didn”t mean to disturb your meditation.”
”No worries. Come on in,” Celeste said, waving lazily. ”I was done anyway.”
Fiona edged into the room. ”Were you communicating with spirits?”
”Yeah, just chatting with Rebekah,” Celeste said with a sly smile.
”Who”s Rebekah?” Fiona asked, eyebrows raised.
Celeste shrugged nonchalantly. ”Oh, just one of our ancestors. I figured someone from way back might know about this whole celestial alignment thing.”
Belladonna sauntered into the room and rubbed up against Celeste”s leg. Celeste smiled and gently stroked the cat”s fur, eliciting a satisfied purr.
Fiona pressed her lips into a thin line. ”I don”t think this house was even around five hundred years ago.”
”Yeah, I know,” Celeste said. ”It was a long shot anyway.”
”Well, Luke said this alignment could get ugly,” Fiona said, lowering her voice. ”He said paranormal disturbances will be at an all-time high, with the epicenter right here in Noquitt.”
Celeste”s eyes widened. ”Ground zero for supernatural chaos,” she whispered dramatically.
”Did Rebekah tell you anything useful at all?” Fiona asked.
Celeste shook her head. ”Nah. She just kept showing me this weird sextant thingy.”
Fiona furrowed her brow. ”Sextant? Like for old sailing ships?”
”Yeah. No idea what that was about,” Celeste said with a shrug. ”Ghosts can be weird. I”m getting together with Cal for lunch. I”ll text you if he finds anything interesting about the guy who pawned the stones.”
”Thanks. Speaking of stones, I guess I better get to work and check on them. Hopefully, they didn”t break out of the box and ping around the shop all night.”