Pure Magic (Ballad of the Seer, Book One)

Chapter 1 - A Strange Sensation

Lily's exposed shoulders baked in the afternoon sun, her pale white skin already pink after an hour outside. She regretted the halter top, which she chose because of the heat. Once the sunburn subsided, a fresh batch of freckles would be left behind.

With the Labor Day sale and the back-to-school sale going on simultaneously, the streets of the small, sleepy Connecticut town bustled with activity. Most days it seemed like less than a hundred people lived in Ashland. Today, everyone had come out of hiding to take advantage of the deals. Including Lily's best friend. Dianna coaxed Lily out of the comfort of her bed with the promise of danishes and iced lattes.

"If it wasn't for me, I swear, you'd never leave your room." Dianna said as they strode past a couple mid-argument.

Lily paused, overtaken by the urge to slap the man across the face. Lily glared at him as a scene played in her mind of a redhead kissing him, but those thoughts did not belong to her. The woman had caught her boyfriend cheating mere moments ago. Now, Lily seethed with borrowed betrayal.

Lily had the unfortunate ability to hear the innermost secrets of any given person on the street. Their thoughts invaded her mind without warning or consent, making her privy to things she didn't want to know. Sometimes, if the thoughts were strong enough, she could even feel the emotion behind them as if it were her own.

"I swear it's not what it looked like." the man said.

Dianna grabbed Lily's hand and dragged her away before Lily became too embroiled in the woman's thoughts. Dianna, oblivious to Lily's field trip to the other woman's mind, continued speaking: "You can't let your mind magic dictate your life, Lily."

"As if I have a choice." Lily said, glancing back at the couple.

Lily's great-grandmother called these abilities a gift. Gran called them "seers." But this was not a gift Lily had wished for, nor was it one she particularly wanted. While it had some benefits, it had just as many—if not more—downsides. The pain growing in her temple being one example.

"You don't want to become a hermit." Dianna tapped the end of Lily's nose with her index finger. "You're far too pretty to collect your toenails in jars, or something like that."

Lily scrunched her face. "That's gross."

"Exactly!" Dianna waved a hand at Lily.

"Also, I think you're confusing hermit and hoarder."

Dianna shrugged. "Whatever."

Lily slurped the remainder of her iced coffee through the straw until it made an obnoxious sound that garnered her a few annoyed stares. She tossed her cup into a trash bin and focused on her best friend. Dianna walked beside her, somehow keeping great pace in three-inch heels. Lily even had to jog to keep up with Dianna's determined strides a few times.

"So, how come you didn't ask Hilary to come?" Lily asked, wondering about their absent friend.

Dianna scoffed. "Her flight got delayed. She won't get back until tonight."

When the girls turned down a particularly packed street, they couldn't go more than two feet without someone bumping into them. Physical contact made Lily's powers stronger. Each time someone touched her Lily saw images from their mind: a dress in a store window, a hamburger from the diner across the street, a toy lost in the crowd's disorder.

Dianna offered some choice expletives to several passersby. All the while, chatting about the classes she chose for the upcoming school year. Lily tried to follow Dianna's words, but the noise inside her head made that difficult. It gave her a white-hot headache that created a ringing in her ears.