Magic Tricks 🔮 Book 2 || gxg

New Territory

Their home had been abuzz since the moment Ada got home from the old gravel pit. Sam was thrilled to learn about her success. That night, when Ada had regained some of her energy, Sam watched in rapt fascination as Ada revived a hydrangea branch in the back yard. As the petals filled out and regained their antique white hue, Sam's mouth became as round as her eyes. The first flower, the one Ada had practised on, was tucked behind Sam's left ear.

Hope was undeniable. The success of the job would mean a sort of safety and comfort she had scarcely known before. It would mean the opportunity to focus on building her life—their life. They both felt it, and by proxy, so did Aidan and Noah. Angry with Ada or not, they were family now. Aidan had made that perfectly clear. They were ready for whatever may come. They all were.

Together, they picked the upcoming Friday, just three days after the unwelcome visit. Every day Ada practised accessing her mana well. She was hesitant to practise turning the lighter flame into demon fire after what Maggie had said about her luck. What if she lost control? What if she couldn't put it out? Only once did she bring herself to try, and when she found she could push a steady enough stream of mana into the flame, she let it go.

Beyond the training, Maggie had given her another tool to prepare for the night whether she knew it or not. See, Ada was fairly certain Sam was the cause of her newfound power. Whatever she had done in the past was so negligible she had forgotten it entirely up until all the nonsense occupying her mind and time. It wasn't until after spending a great deal of time with Sam that she ever noticed the oddities, the little things that just didn't make sense. It led her to the conclusion that she was the source of not just Ada's empowered mana, but her luck as well.

When Ada explained her thoughts to Sam, she made the connection before she even finished.

"I'll go for runs every evening, if you think that will help." Her warm eyes were bright with earnest; it warmed Ada's heart.

"Would you? I could use the boost."

"Of course."

And so she did, both Wednesday and Thursday evenings after dinner. She wasn't the most pleased to go to bed sweaty, but she complained only once the first night. The promise of a shared shower in the morning lifted her spirits—and Ada's own.

It worried her that she might not be able to astral project at all, thereby rendering the act useless, but she was rewarded. Ada made sure to focus on projecting as she fell asleep, under the assumption that it worked rather like manifesting or lucid dreaming. She wasn't sure if she was correct, but nonetheless, she found herself among the soft, roiling, ground-level clouds. They were so thick, seeing her feet, or the ground, was impossible. This time, they became a mellow cobalt as they lapped at her skin. Time was meaningless there.

The second night was somewhat different. At first, Ada wasn't sure if she was dreaming or projecting. She began in the clouds, and though she could have stopped there and enjoyed the sensations, she was drawn onward. She couldn't explain what drew her, but she turned to her right and began to walk with purpose. Clouds churned around her feet, and still she couldn't see them. They moved sluggishly against her skin. In the way that only dreams can, the world morphed from one second to the next. The clouds continued, though thinner, and Ada could make out the outline of her toes as she walked. She was in a long, tall yet narrow hallway. Panelling and wallpaper in muted greys as far as she could see. Other halls stretched off to the sides from time to time. Other than that, there wasn't much to see. She just kept wandering, trailing her fingers across the wood panels. At some point she thought to glance behind her, half expecting to see someone in her wake. Instead, there was a wavering trail of rainbows along the right wall, shifting and illuminating the thinning clouds at her knees.