Desert Magick: Phoenix Lights Read online

  Punk girl Lisa peered out at them from behind Daisy’s dresser mirror. Unnerving to have someone staring back at you from a mirror. Especially a dead someone. Daisy glanced at Scarlet. “Sorry.”

  “All right. Now try again.”

  She stretched her neck side to side, licked her lips and focused on punk girl again, trying to ignore the ghost’s smirk. She’s enjoying this way too much the little snot. “How will I know it’s working?”

  “You’ll know.”

  This task sounded simple. Focus on the afterlife to create a link with the dead, while envisioning her aura as a blue light around her body for protection. Since she was a medium, this would alter her aura’s color. Ghosts could sense the change and it would let them know she wasn’t interested in communicating at the moment. Of course, Scarlet had told her it wouldn’t stop any spook from bothering her if they were persistent, like maid service knocking even though the “Do Not Disturb” sign dangled from the hotel room door. It was merely a message any ghost in the vicinity would see. And she couldn’t do this for any length of time, or when she slept, but it would give her little moments of alone time to think or just relax without some spook bothering her for attention.

  As a witch, Daisy should have little trouble with this kind of protection, since it seemed very much like casting a spell. But most spells held together anywhere from minutes to several hours until a counter-spell was cast. With this aura meditation, one slip of her concentration and poof, she had to start over again. And I can’t see my aura. That makes it a hell of a challenge.

  As it was, Daisy had to cut a deal with punk girl to get her to help out with training. She wasn’t sure how or when she’d be able to hold up her end of their little bargain, but she would worry about that later. Right now, she had a hitchhiker to stop. You can do this, Daisy Rhiannon. So put on your big girl panties and concentrate.

  “Don’t let the ghost distract you.”

  “Really, Scarlet? Because I didn’t know that.” Her words came out snippier than she planned and she shot an apologetic look to the medium. “Sorry. I’m a little cranky today.”

  Scarlet smiled, pink lips stretching across white teeth. “Think you’re cranky now? Just wait until you’ve been dealing with them for a couple of decades. You’ll be downright grouchy.”

  “Way to encourage, Teach.”

  “I’m just preparing you, like you asked. Now, look into the mirror and concentrate on the afterlife again. Really concentrate this time. You’ve actually been there so it should be easier to make the connection as a medium.”

  Great. Just what I always wanted. Speed-dial to the dead. Daisy took in a deep breath, stared into the mirror at punk girl, and concentrated on the afterlife just like before. She envisioned the mist that had surrounded her there, the pathway she’d walked along, the spirits who wandered here and there, but the image didn’t solidify in her mind.

  Her concentration fizzled when punk girl started doing things to distract her, as ghosts often did with a medium in the vicinity. Ghosts wanted attention, wanted to be acknowledged by the living, and would do whatever they could to make sure that happened. Mediums were particularly tasty targets, since it took little effort on the dead person’s part to get noticed by them.

  She grunted her displeasure.

  “Again.”

  Daisy continued without making a snide remark to Scarlet this time. Several minutes seemed to pass. Nothing. She was about to tell Scarlet it didn’t work, when her skin began to tingle, similar to the way it did when she cast spells, except her skin also grew cool, like standing under a mister. She thought she felt a slight breeze but that could’ve been her imagination.

  Fog swirled around behind the glass and memories of the afterlife filled her mind, much clearer than they’d been since she had returned to the living. Punk girl looked solid, whole, and real as any living person, as though Daisy could now reach out and touch her.

  “Good,” Scarlet said in a low voice. “You’ve made the connection. Now imagine the blue protective light.”

  In her mind’s eye, Daisy envisioned the aura that surrounded her body, even though she couldn’t see it. She concentrated on the color blue, azure, like a brilliant desert sky. More spirits began to rally in the glass behind punk girl and she lost her concentration again, along with the blue aura image in her mind. No wonder Scarlet said she can’t always get a response from the right ghost. It’s like a freaking Disneyland for the dead. Ghostly mouths moved as several waved for her attention. Thank the universe I can’t hear them in there. Yet anyway. The last time one tried to talk to her on this side, the screeching sound put her teeth on edge and gave her a headache. The mirror glass acted as a buffer, for now. Eventually, she would hear them. Then I’ll have no peace at all, damnit.

  “Concentrate, Daisy.”

  She put her thoughts back to envisioning the blue light, brilliant, beautiful, pulsing around her entire body. The image stayed in her mind this time and, within seconds, the cool tingling she felt from the afterlife faded. Several ghosts in the mirror turned and walked away.

  “Good, Daisy. They’re getting your message.”

  A few offered a frustrated glare before leaving. Two stayed behind and tried to muscle punk girl out of the way, probably to get a better look at Daisy, but the ghost didn’t budge. She held the blue bubble of an aura in her mind until those two finally turned and walked off, disappearing into the fog like the others.

  “It worked!” The moment she let her thoughts drift, several ghosts glided into view. “Shit.” She wiped sweat from her brow.

  “Welcome to my world,” Scarlet uttered. “It’s a workout at first but it’ll get easier. Now try again.”

  This time it didn’t take her as long to establish the connection and envision the blue protection aura around her body, but it would be impossible to keep this up for any length of time, considering how much concentration it took. Like meditation, she would need to remain still and do nothing else for it to work.

  I’m a witch, for Fates’ sake. I should be able to do better than this. She let out a frustrated breath and turned to Scarlet. “Is this blue aura thing the only way to get them to leave me alone?”

  “You could try to reason with them.”

  “Yeah, ‘cause that’s worked so well for you in the past.” Scarlet chuckled and Daisy made a rude sound. The medium seemed to be enjoying this a little too much. Guess misery really does love company.

  “Daisy, you can always cut a deal and tell them you’ll help them later. But that’s a lot of ghosts at one time, so I don’t recommend it. They’re not all patient.”

  She’s got a point. I still owe something to punk girl, 1920s spook, and that other ghost who appeared in here when I got home from the hospital. She hadn’t seen that one lately.

  “Covering your mirrors helps some. Makes them work harder to get your attention. But you can also piss them off if you do it too long once you’re more proficient. Now try again and hold on as long as you can. The more you practice, the faster you’ll get and the longer you’ll be able to get message across.”

  Oh, I’ll practice. I’d like to get at least a day to myself again. “How long can you hold them back, Scarlet? I mean at one stretch.”

  “A couple hours a day. But I’ve been doing it for a very long time.”

  “Two hours? That’s it?” Holy crap! I’ll never be alone again.

  “Hey, when you’ve dealt with them as long as I have, two hours a day is a blessing. Now stop feeling sorry for yourself and practice.”

  “Fine. But I plan on getting more than just a couple hours of peace a day.” Eventually. I hope.

  “Good luck with that. If you ever do, I can get you a medium teaching gig that’ll keep you busy for years.”

  “Pessimist.” She wiped away another trickle of sweat from her temple and faced punk girl again. Here goes.

  This time she managed to hold the blue image around her body for what seemed like several minutes.
Until the phone rang. Her connection with the afterlife snapped away, leaving her sweaty, tired and achy. She rolled her shoulders then snatched her cell off the bed before her voicemail could pick up. Noah’s avatar smiled back on the small screen. “Hi, babe.”

  “Hi, honey. I’m leaving early today. Need me to stop for anything?”

  She twisted to look at the clock on her nightstand. “How can it be four already?”

  “What? I didn’t catch that.”

  “Nothing. No, I’m good here. Drive safe. Love you.” After Noah offered a kissing sound, she hung up, crossed back to Scarlet, and folded her arms beneath her breasts. “Leave a little something out of that last lesson?”

  The medium smirked. “You had to experience it for yourself.”

  “Damnit, Scarlet. How am I supposed to get anything done if the whole blue light thing makes time go faster here?”

  “Time doesn’t go faster.”

  “You know what I mean. It felt like only a few minutes. But we’ve been doing this for almost three hours!”

  “Calm down. You’ll balance it out once you’re more experienced.”

  “Screw that. I never wanted to be a medium. I don’t want my home invaded by dead people.” And I especially don’t want to deal with murdering hitchhikers. She tossed a scowl at her mirror. “Oh, go away and quit grinning at me.”

  Punk girl had the decency to stop smiling but she stood her place behind the glass.

  “You’ll get faster at it over time, Daisy. Why do you think we mediums only contact the dead for select people?”

  She sank down on the trunk at the foot of her bed, where Scarlet had been just moments ago. Or maybe an hour ago. “How easy it is for them to find me when I’m not home?” Scarlet had taught her that once the dead learned where she lived, word would spread through the afterlife. No wonder she says they’re notorious gossips.

  Those dark eyes studied her. “Not as easy as they find you here, especially if you’re in a moving car or plane. But any souls in that area will spot you immediately.”

  “My aura, right? It has that blackness in it because of these new medium powers, doesn’t it? And ghosts can see it. Or sense it. Or whatever.”

  “Very good. Would you like a smiley sticker or a gold star?”

  Daisy frowned. “Very funny.” She sighed and stood up, resigning herself to her new fate. For the moment anyway. “Okay, we have a few minutes before Noah gets home. Let me try it again.” She pointed a finger at Scarlet. “But you’d better tell me when he gets here. I don’t want to be stuck looking in that mirror for another three hours.”

  “You’ll hear him, Daisy. You’ll see and hear everything that goes on around you. Like you did when we were helping Kali send Liam’s shadow twin. It’s called duality sight. You just haven’t learned to observe both worlds at once without help.”

  That duality with Kali and Scarlet had been disturbing. “Oh joy.” She turned to the mirror, where several ghosts were pressing against punk girl Lisa, trying to get her attention. Fantastic.

  * * * *

  Noah came home in just seconds. At least it seemed that way to Daisy when she heard the laundry room door that led to the garage open and shut. Perky ran off to greet him, nails clicking on the tile floor as he ran. She’d managed to keep the ghosts away for a short time, but didn’t feel she had accomplished much at all in the three hours she’d been practicing.

  “We can’t stop now,” she said when Scarlet moved to put the sheet over the large, dresser mirror.

  “I know how tired you are, Daisy. You need a break.”

  “I don’t have time for breaks.”

  “Hi, honey.” Noah came into the room with Perky trotting behind and kissed her. “Break for what? Hi, Scarlet.”

  “From her medium training. This witch is determined to burn herself out.”

  Daisy’s heart picked up it’s tempo at that thought. “Can I do that?”

  “You can’t get rid of these powers, if that’s what you’re thinking. All you’ll do is wear yourself out until you’re too tired to hold your head up. And believe me, ghosts don’t care if you’re exhausted.”

  “Great.”

  Noah studied her. “You okay? You look tired.”

  “I’m fine.” Ask me that in a week and I might have a different answer.

  “Okay. If you don’t mind, Scarlet, I’d like to change.”

  “I can use a cold drink.” Daisy gave her husband a kiss then she took Scarlet’s arm and led the medium out of the bedroom. “Come on, Perky.” The dog trotted after her and she shut the door. Before she got three steps down the hall, the doorbell rang and Perky raced through the house, yipping all the way. “Now what?” When Daisy made it to the front door, she found her cousin standing on the other side of the decorative security screen. “I thought you were spending time with Jay?” She grabbed the key from the hook and let Bridgette in.

  “I did. Until Mom roped him into doing errands for her. I wish that woman would just go the hell home.”

  “Be nice.” Daisy locked the security screen but left the inner door open, so the cool November breeze could filter into the house. “Aunt Marge is your mother, for Fates’ sake.”

  “Yeah. Yeah, she is. I think I got the short stick of mothers.”

  Daisy smacked her on the arm then turned and headed towards the kitchen with Bridgette on her heels. “Well, there’s nothing fun going on here, either.”

  “Can’t be any worse than my house. Mom’s been interrogating me.”

  “Uh-oh.” Daisy opened the fridge and pulled out four bottles of flavored tea.

  Bridgette took two and handed one to Scarlet. “She thinks I’ve been slacking off and letting you get hurt.”

  “She doesn’t think that, Bridge.” Her cousin didn’t telepathically snoop on her own mother. Aunt Marge always seemed to know if she did and then the two would get into a big fight about it. “She’s just worried. That’s all. Once we get rid of this damn hitchhiker, I’ll take her to lunch and ease her mind. How long’s she staying, anyway?”

  “Probably until I’m in a walker.” Bridgette cracked the lid off her tea bottle and took a long swig.

  The doorbell rang again, sending Perky into fits as he raced to the front of the house. Daisy’s heart sped up faster than her little pooch’s legs. She rounded the island to see Zoey standing behind the security screen. Thank goodness it’s just family. She shushed Perky as she hurried to the door and unlocked it. “Hi, Zoey. Come on in.” Her young cousin appeared haggard, if a twenty-one-year-old could even look that way. “What’s wrong? You okay?” She didn’t like the dark smudges she saw beneath Zoey’s eyes, either.

  The tall girl nodded but didn’t say anything. Instead, she squinted, eyes running along the edge of Daisy’s body.

  Bet she’s looking at my aura. As the Dream Keeper, the modern-day Pandora, Zoey had powers Daisy barely understood. Zoey’s line that wasn’t related to Daisy kept many secrets, even from family members, not at all the way normal paranormal families usually behaved. But then, Zoey’s other line was anything but normal.

  Daisy locked the security door again and put the key back on its hook. “What do you see?”

  As though coming out of a trance, Zoey blinked and looked into her eyes. “Oh.” She offered a shy smile. “You’ve changed.” She didn’t elaborate. She didn’t have to.

  Daisy gave a low chuckle and headed through the kitchen with Zoey trailing her. “Tell me something I don’t know.”

  Noah stood in the kitchen with two bottles of tea in his hand and offered one to Zoey as she passed. Punk girl Lisa stood near him but Daisy ignored the ghost. For now.

  “Thanks, Noah.” The girl sounded distracted.

  When her husband gave her a questioning look, Daisy shrugged. “What’s up, Zoey? Sit. Please.” She waited until everyone gathered in the family room before she took a seat on the couch next to her young cousin. “You were studying me like a mathematician trying to work out a probl
em.

  The girl’s mouth worked but nothing came out. “Damn.” She cracked the screw top on her tea bottle and took a swig, then rested her elbows on her knees.

  Zoey’s Dream Catcher box, a beautiful ornate silver, jewel-lined box that held the hopes and dreams of humankind, kept its owner to some set of rules Daisy was only now beginning to comprehend. Much as a medium was forbidden to reveal certain information about the afterlife, Zoey’s box restricted what she could disclose about her powers. And to whom.

  “Should we leave the room?” Noah said.

  “It’d be easier.” Zoey tipped her tea bottle back again, probably wishing it was something stronger now that she was legal.

  It’s a wonder the world isn’t full of drunk paranormals. But then, alcohol could just as easily make things worse for some. She fought the urge to look over at Bridgette.

  Noah stood. “Bridgette, Scarlet, why don’t we take Perky out for a short walk?”

  “Take your phone too, babe. I’ll call when we’re done.”

  He kissed Daisy, stuffed his phone into his pocket, then grabbed the dog and leash. Bridgette and Scarlet hadn’t moved.

  Daisy eyed the two women. “I’ll be fine for a few minutes.” Neither said anything. They simply turned and followed Noah out the front door. Daisy turned back to Zoey. “Okay.” She offered a tiny smile to try and ease her young cousin’s fretful look. I would love to know exactly what she sees in that box. She told Zoey about the orb specter, the rock, and the corn maze incident. “Tomorrow we’re planning to go out to Saguaro Lake, to this place the corn maze guy told us about. See what we can find there.” She paused a moment, letting that sink into her young cousin’s brain.

  “Saguaro Lake? Really? I think I can get you a fabulous guide.” Zoey grinned, looking very much a twenty-one-year-old college girl at the moment.

  “I was hoping you’d say that.” Zoey’s fiancé had family that protected the lake and the surrounding national forest. And I’d love to see them again. “Now, what did you come to tell me?”