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Chelsea Handler Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang (epub
Brit Brinson [Dia of the Dead Dia of the Dead (epub)
Cody Goodfellow [Radiant Dawn Radiant Dawn (epub)
C J Busby [Deep Amber 01] Deep Amber (retail) (epub)
Carl Ashmore [Time Hunters 01 The Time Hunters (epub)
Drew Hayes [Super Powereds 02 Super Powereds Year 2 (epub) i
Beth Harbison [Shoe Addict 02 Secrets of a Shoe Addict (epub)
Cara Lynn Shultz [Dark World The Dark World (retail) (epub)
Buck Rogers 01 Buck Rogers in Addison E Steele (v1.0) (epub)
B V Larson [Star Force 11] David VanDyke (epub)

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.”I looked at her in dismay.“Oh, no.You can’t close.We all need you here, as a resource.” Panic made my breath come faster.Having lost the anchor of Cal in my life, the idea of losing Practical Magick, my haven, threatened to push me over the edge.“I know, my dear.It’s a shame.But some things are out of our hands,” Alyce said.“No,” I said.“We can’t just accept this.” I was stunned that she seemed so calm.“Everything in life has its own cycle,” Alyce said gently.“And the cycle always includes a death of sorts.It’s the only way you get to a new cycle, to regeneration.If it’s time for Practical Magick to come to an end, it will end.”“It’s awful,” I said in dismay.“I can’t believe Afton can do this.Why can’t someone get through to him, show him what he’s doing?”“Because he doesn’t want to see,” Alyce replied.Her brow furrowed.“I’m worried more about David than myself.I can always go back to teaching.But I’m not sure what he’ll do.This store has been more or less his home since he got out of college.It will be much harder for him than for me.”I clenched my teeth in frustration, wondering if there was anything at all I could do.Organize a protest? A petition? A sit-in? Surely there must be some spell that could be done? But I wasn’t supposed to do spells.That was the one thing all the more experienced witches agreed upon—that I didn’t have enough knowledge yet.Besides, I told myself, if there were spells, well, David and Alyce would surely have already done them.“All right, enough gloom,” said Alyce briskly.“Tell me, do you have Maeve’s cauldron?” Alyce knew I’d found my birth mother’s tools.“No.”“Well, pick out a nice cauldron, then,” she said.“Do I need one?” I asked.“It’s something every witch should have as part of her tools,” she explained.“And you need it to make the fire to burn Cal’s gifts.You want the fire contained in something round that you can circle with protection spells.”I went and chose a small cauldron from the ones on display and brought it back to the counter.Alyce nodded her approval.“Do you have all the herbs you need?” she asked.I checked my spell, and Alyce filled a small paper bag with the ingredients I needed.“Make sure that before you start, you purify the cauldron with salt water,” she said.“And then purify it again when you’re done to ensure that none of Cal’s magick lingers.”“I will,” I promised.“Thanks, Alyce.And please tell David how sorry I am about his aunt and the store.If there’s anything I can do to help.”“Don’t worry about us,” she replied.“This is a time to heal yourself, Morgan.”After I’d paid and left Practical Magick, depression settled on me again.Cal had been not only my first love, but my first teacher as well.I hadn’t realized this before, but right up until the moment Alyce told me the store might close, some part of me had already assumed that even without Cal, I’d have a place to learn about Wicca.Now it looked like I was going to lose that, too.3PurifiedI made one quick detour on the way home, pulling into Bree’s driveway.I climbed out and glanced around to see if anyone was watching me.Even though it was noon on Monday in a residential neighborhood and not many people were around, I whispered, “You see me not: I am but a shadow,” as I hurried around to the side of Bree’s house.I knelt next to a big, winter-bare lilac that grew outside the dining room window and reached deep into the crawl space hidden by the cluster of woody stems.Tucked behind a piling was a rusted metal box.I’d hidden it there less than twenty-four hours earlier, on my way to see Cal.I pulled the box out carefully.It contained my most precious possessions—the tools that Cal, Selene, and the people with them had almost killed me for.Tucking the box and its contents under my coat, I hurried back to my car.When I got home, I glanced at the kitchen clock.I had a few hours before anyone got home.It was time to get rid of Cal’s gifts.I read over the spell Alyce had recommended.As she’d advised, I purified the cauldron first with boiling, salted water, then with plain salt rubbed over the interior and exterior.In my room I opened the metal box and looked through Maeve’s tools.I took out the athame.Since I was planning to perform the ritual in our yard, I decided against using Maeve’s green silk robe.You never know when a meter reader will show up or a neighbor will traipse into the yard, chasing after a dog.It wasn’t a good idea to risk being seen in full witch regalia.I was about to close the box when my fingertips brushed against my mother’s wand.It was made of black wood, inlaid with thin lines of silver and gold.Four small rubies studded its tip.I’d never used it before, but now I closed one hand around it and instinctively knew it would focus my energy, concentrate and store my power.The ground was covered with a thick, crunchy sheet of snow.The temperature must have been close to the promised ten degrees; it was bitterly cold.The wind was battering sky, trees, and ground as if determined to whip the warmth from the earth.Carrying the cauldron and the rest of my supplies, I crossed the yard to a big oak in the back.In a book of Celtic lore, I’d read that the oak was considered a guardian.I stared up into its bare branches, realizing that I actually did feel safer beneath it.I knew that the tree would lend its energy and protection to my ritual.I set down the cauldron and began to collect fallen branches, shaking off the snow.Giving thanks to the oak for its kindling, I broke the branches and arranged them in the cauldron.Then, using Maeve’s athame, I traced a circle in the snow.I sprinkled salt over the line traced by the athame, and I started to feel the earth’s power moving through me.I drew the symbols for the four directions and for fire, water, earth, and sky, invoking the Goddess with each one.I brushed the snow off a boulder and sat down, trying to ignore the cold wind.Closing my eyes, I began to follow my breath, aware of the rise and fall of my chest, the rhythm of my heartbeat, the blood coursing through my veins.Gradually my awareness deepened.I felt the roots of the oak tree stretching through the frozen ground beneath the circle, reaching toward me.I felt the earth itself echoing with all the years that our family had lived in this house.It was as if all the love in my adoptive family had penetrated the earth, become part of it, and was now surging up to steady me.I was ready.Opening my eyes, I put the herbs that Alyce had given me into the cauldron [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]