Finding Midnight (22 page)

*****

The next few days proved to be a challenge
in every sense of the word. Just the concept of learning magic from
a cat was inconceivable, but the fact this was an arrogant and
cantankerous witch was downright torture. Oh sure, she learned
basics from him and even a spell to light the flame of a candle,
but she didn’t know how she was going to learn all she needed to
know to save the people around her she’d grown to love, let alone
herself.

Hunter also contributed to the magical
training. Being a magical creature himself, he was like her
professor of Thaumaturgy History. Having lived so long and having
seen all that he had, he had much to relay to her. A witch raised
by witches would have learned much of the old stories, beginnings,
and histories of magic, but she didn’t have this background so she
was starting from scratch and it was very frustrating.

The history was incredibly interesting to
Summer and she did look forward to lessens with Hunter, but it was
all so much to take in and the pressure weighed on her.

Ms. Midnight taught Summer the fundamentals
of herbology, for medicinal purposes, potions, tinctures and
salves. Though she gave long periods of intelligible tutorial, she
did sometimes wander away from the direction of the topic. Luckily,
irritability was a precursor to these moments, so Summer quickly
learned when this happened it was time to let her be for a
while.

Morti focused on just about everything else.
He was incredibly knowledgeable in all matters of magic—both the
good and the bad—but he didn’t have patience for those not informed
of the mere basics, such as Summer. If Summer thought he was crabby
before, she was definitely unprepared for his ill-temper and
grouchiness in his tutelage.

The added urgency of the matter made for
even more stress. Ms. Midnight was insistent that Summer stop
working at the clinic and focus only on her magic training, but
that was where Summer put her foot down. She didn’t go through
years of college only to give it up for this crazy magic stuff.
Plus, going to work helped ground her to something solid and real,
as well as give her a break from Morti.

A saving grace in the magic madness was that
Tori was allowed to participate in the lessons. This was a
particularly sour point for Morti. To him it was bad enough
teaching a witch who had no knowledge of her powers or how to use
them—he who only taught the most talented and gifted witches of the
time—now he was also teaching a girl with no connection to witches
or natural abilities of her own.

However, it was a great gift to Summer
having someone to practice and commiserate with, and giving her a
feeling of not being alone in her quest to free the world of the
evil known as the Macabre family.

*****

Summer was allowed a tiny break in her daily
routine of going to work and coming home to spend hours upon hours
of lectures, lessons, and lab time working on her magic. It was a
most welcome treat and she spent it on a real first date with
Jackson. Though exhausted from her classes, she quickly found her
second wind with anticipation and adrenaline.

A cozy dinner in a dark corner of a little
Italian cafe satiated their appetite with lovely conversation,
succulent scents and delicious food. This was followed by a walk
along the shore of Paradise Lake, and a star gazing of expansive
and prominent celestial bodies and constellations. The air was
still warm from the late August heat, but the cool breezes brought
a taste of the fall season around the corner.

Hand in hand they walked in heightened
awareness of every touch that passed between them. Summer was
titillated by Jackson’s closeness and his sweet gentleness. When
they climbed atop an embankment of boulders to get a better view of
the lake, he lent his strength, placing her on top a giant boulder
she couldn’t manage on her own. His strong, gentle hands at her
waist, he lifted her to her perch as if she weighed no more than a
feather, then hopped up himself using little to no effort
whatsoever.

He wrapped his arms around her from behind,
using his body as a shield of warmth to her petite frame. He
pointed out constellations to her with one hand and held her close
to his body with his other, sending tantalizing shivers of
electricity to every inch of her flesh that met his.

He took her back to the tiny little cottage
she called home where they shared tea on the little couch while
Sully watched and listened protectively. He noted Summer had made
some progress in opening the puzzle box.

“Look at that…” he said with encouragement,
picking up the box.

“I know. I haven’t quite cracked it, but
I’ve found at least four or five more moves on my own,” Summer
said, feeling proud of herself. “Can you believe it?”

“Of course I can,” he said. “I’d say you’re
just about in.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. If I had to guess, I’d say you are
about one move away from discovering the contents,” Jackson said,
handing the box to her.

“Really?” she said, excitedly intrigued. As
if compelled to finish the drawn out venture of opening the box,
she searched the perimeter for her next move. Jackson watched her
work out the details in her mind then smiled when he saw her move
the final piece he knew would open the tiny box.

Summer looked at Jackson with surprise when
the piece slid easily to the side and a small drawer was revealed.
He smiled at her accomplishment and watched her as she slid the
small wooden drawer open. Within was a pendant on a dainty chain
slightly tarnished with age in what looked to be sterling
silver.

She revealed her prize to Jackson who looked
as happy as she felt.

“It’s a sun,” Summer said, inspecting the
dangling pendant that swayed back in forth below her thumb and
forefinger.

“A sun for Summer,” Jackson said. Summer
smiled.

“It’s odd though, isn’t it? It looks as if
it is missing something,” Summer said, handing the necklace to
Jackson.

He examined it closely and noted a small
pin-like protrusion on the back, like a prong on a ring used to
hold its gem in place. “You’re right. It looks like a piece is
missing. Maybe it’s like a friendship necklace where there are two
pieces for each friend—placing them together would make a whole
piece.”

“That’s an interesting thought,” she said,
looking at the pendant and wondering what might make it
complete.

“Was there anything else in the box
explaining it?” Jackson asked.

Looking in the box once more, thinking maybe
she missed something, she answered, “No. Puzzling, isn’t it?”

“Very. One puzzle begets another,” he
said.

“No kidding.”

“Well, I better be getting home. We both
have work and though I don’t need sleep, you do,” Jackson said
sweetly as he stood, holding out both hands to help Summer from the
couch.

“I sure do. Plus I’ve got homework for the
grumpy cat,” she said with a disappointed crook of her mouth. She
rose from the couch so close to Jackson that her breath quickened
and she felt him breathe in the scent of her hair as he casually
dropped his hands to her waist.

“Thank you for a lovely evening,” he said in
a whisper, his head bowed so his lips were mere inches from her
forehead. She felt the warm breath of his words on her face, making
her flush pink.

“It was,” she said, thinking what a stupid
response that was.

His arms slid around her to the small of her
back and pulled her tenderly to him, making her breath catch in her
throat. Jackson bowed his head deeper to meet her waiting lips and
they kissed. One hand tangled in her long, loose curls as his other
pulled her closer, if that was even possible. Their bodies pressed
hard upon one another, and for her, time stood still for an instant
suspended weightlessly in his arms. There was no pressure of
impending doom, no lessons or lectures, no responsibilities to
worry about completing—only Jackson and a sudden urgency to be
nearer one another.

He pulled away in his gentlemanly style, and
saw her eyes were closed as she savored his kisses. She opened her
eyes to see his contented smile. He said his goodnights and stole
one last perfect kiss before closing the door behind him. She
breathed a deep sigh of pleasure, still able to feel the warmth of
Jackson’s lips upon hers when she turned off the lights and headed
for bed.

*****

With her head filled with blissful thoughts
of kisses and Jackson’s taut body against hers, she easily fell to
sleep. Not more than an hour after Summer found peaceful sleep, she
was awakened by Sully’s traction-less claws trying to move the
ever-growing pup after a bouncing ball.

Summer crept to the living room, rubbing
sleep sand from her waking eyes and yawning.

“Daniel?” she said hoarsely, spying the
stoic angel in the shadows of the room.

“Yes,” he answered, tossing the ball once
more for an eager Sully.

“What are you doing here?”

“I’d like to speak with you if you would
oblige me,” he said.

“Okay, but you do know we don’t have to meet
so late at night,” she said.

“I’m sorry. You’re right. I don’t have the
sense of time like you do. I’ll try to be more accommodating to
your schedule,” he said apologetically, which caught Summer by
surprise.

She sat on the couch, wrapping her arms
around herself for added warmth. Daniel sat on the coffee table
inches from her and leaned forward to just a breath away from her.
His hands reached out for her and found their resting place on her
shoulders. His face, though incredibly beautiful, looked tortured
somehow.

This strange behavior worried her and she
said, “What is it, Daniel? Are you okay?”

“Yes,” he said plainly and full of
confidence that Summer could only hope to one day attain.

“Then what is it? You look…different.”

“Do I? I suppose maybe I am, but that is
neither here nor there. I hoped I might have a personal word with
you and maybe indulge your curiosity a tiny bit,” he said.

Confused but intrigued by this change in
Daniel, she nodded affirmation to which he actually smiled. It was
such a smile as Summer had never seen. It lit up the room and a
feeling of absolute comfort fell over her like a cozy warm blanket
of light downy feathers covered in soft flannel fuzz.

He continued looking down at the table to
the opened puzzle box and the contents once trapped within. “I see
you’ve claimed your secret,” he said as he picked up the necklace
in one hand and deposited it into the palm of his other.

“Yes. Though it seems to hold yet another
puzzle,” she said, referring to the token of silver in his hand. He
undid the clasp and held up the piece in front of her, suggesting
she lean forward so he could place it upon her. She did and he
engaged the clasp, slowly placing the sun pendant upon her chest
just above the dragon scale that glowed atop her breasts. She
expected it to be cold, but his touch had warmed the metal, making
it feel as if it had always been there.

“I suppose it does seem that way,” he said
in answer to her comment. “I hope I can help in that area.”

“Oh?” she said curiously.

“I thought about what you said the last time
we spoke and how I must have seemed cruel in not relaying what I
know about your family and not intervening in some instances. I
hope to rectify that here, now.”

Summer was intrigued, but also a little
scared about what she might find out. Did she want to know? Would
it make a difference? She didn’t know and like with all great
mysteries, the truth could be a double-edged sword.

“I hoped that when your family stepped
forward they would explain things to you, but as they didn’t, I
feel it is only right you should know, now, what has transpired to
bring you to this point in time. Not all of it is good, as I
suppose you can guess, but I see no reason why you can’t know your
life is truly in danger. I’m not sure how far back I should go to
fully explain, so I am going to start with your parents since that
is the most important detail for why you are learning to hone your
magic. Once you have taken that in and are ready, I will explain
more at a later time of past events that are also involved.

“I believe Ms. Midnight has informed you of
the Macabre family and how they have been greedy for power from the
beginning of their existence. With every great evil there is its
counterpart: great good. In this instance it is the Midnight
family. What Ms. Midnight did not explain is how you are involved
with this great war of power and that you are the result of the two
families. You are part Midnight and part Macabre. Your mother,
Violet Evans, married Marcus Macabre in 1990.”

“How does that involve the Midnight family?”
Summer interrupted.

“Violet Evans’s mother was Ivy Midnight
Evans—Myrtle Midnight’s sister.”

“Right. Ms. Midnight mentioned she was my
great aunt.”

“Yes. She’s taken great measures to keep you
safe,” he said.

“That’s what she said. She said if it had
not been for the BROOM, I wouldn’t be alive today,” Summer
recollected.

“How very true indeed, but this was in no
way a safe or easy path for her and she’s endured great injury to
herself in doing so. The Macabre family is responsible for her
dementia-like state.”

“How?”

“Torture. You were stolen from the Macabre
family in infancy by your grandmother in hopes of keeping you
safe.”

“What became of my parents? Were they
killed?”

“That’s where it gets a little sticky, as
you humans like to say.”

“How so?”

“Your mother died when you were taken, but
your father is very much alive.”

“What?” she shrieked in shock.

“It’s true.”

“Why would I be taken from my parents? How
could that possibly be in my best interest?”