Ancient Mystic's War of the Realms Saga - Lady Adellandra Dratianos (electric book reader TXT) 📗

the phone rang.
“Richardson’s.” Craig said into the line. “You’re kidding. Okay, fine. Meet us at the Reading’s. We’re going to get to the bottom of this mess. See you. Bye.”
“Who was it?” Andrea asked.
“Anna.” Craig said. “Jake’s in the psychiatric ward.”
“What?” Claudia asked. “Why?”
“He thinks he’s gone insane.” Craig replied. “Turns out, whatever got to Derrick, also got to his brother. If you’re coming, Cara, let’s go. We’re meeting her at Ariana’s.”
“What about the breakfast dishes?” Andrea asked.
Kevin and Claudia looked at each other, both calling a quick-spell to clean up the kitchen. As Andrea groaned, Cara laughed.
“I love having Ancient Mystics in the house!”
With that, all five of them left, slamming the door behind them.
Story #1:
Power of the Mind

Meanwhile, Shane was watching his kids playing on the giant play castle in the backyard while he was catching up on some reading. He was startled out of the story by shouts from his nephews.
“Uncle Shane! Uncle Shane!”
He looked up to see Ariana, his nephews Mark and Andrew, and the silent Melody walking up to them. Ariana was forcing a smile. The boys raced to hug him before dragging their sister to their cousins.
Ariana and Shane sat next to each other, silently staring at their children.
“Hey, how are you feeling?” Shane asked her, watching Ariana’s eyes dart from one child to the others. When she didn’t answer, he touched her cheek.
She turned. “I’m sorry, Shane. What did you say?” He repeated it. “Oh, I’m fine now. Just a little tired, that’s all.”
“Kids running you ragged?”
She laughed softly. “Yeah. You could say that.” She cleared her throat. “What about you?”
“I’m better, thanks to you.” Shane replied. “Could you – ?”
He stopped in the middle of a sentence, unsure of whether or not to bring it up.
She stared at him. “Could I what?”
“Nothing.” He supplied with a shrug. He changed the subject, seeing she was in no condition for Magic. “Have you heard from Derrick? It’s been three days.”
Ariana sighed. “Not really.”
“Doesn’t he call you at all?”
“Sure he calls me. He tells us how much he misses us, and loves us all.” Ariana replied. “What he won’t tell me is when he’s coming back, or why he left in the first place.”
“Why do you think he left?”
Ariana shrugged. “I don’t know what to think.”
Both of them looked to the children, who were playing happily. Shane noticed how her twins and his son Caleb were wearing similar clothes. Did those three plan it to fool, or was it in their minds to begin with? He thought with a small grin. Logan played in the sandbox by himself. Melody and Meredith were sitting under a tree, playing a sign-language game. Even they looked identical, if you put blond hair on Meredith or brown hair on Melody. I guess it comes from having twins for mothers. Shane thought to himself.
He looked over to Ariana, who was staring into space. Her mind was elsewhere, he could tell. When he stayed to talk with her, they shared everything about each other, their lives, their loves, and even of their families. Every time he thought about it, the yearning to have one of his own grew. Talking with her about his missing family had helped him in some way. He could see that night how her talking everything over with him also helped her.
Just like Derrick and Luna, he mused. Best friends.
He suddenly felt nervous around her, and had no idea as to why. He never felt nervous before. Why now? He spoke up. “The kids look like their having fun together, don’t they?”
“What?” She asked, coming out of a daze. “Yeah, they do.”
Another tense silence.
“When did we become so formal with each other, Shane?” Ariana asked quietly from out of the blue.
Shane shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“Remember the question you asked me the other day?” Ariana inquired. “The one about your lost family?”
He perked up. “What about it?”
She looked at him, shielding her eyes from the midday sun. “I can help you find out if you have any family out there.”
He was impressed. “You’d be willing to help me?”
She smiled, nodding. She grasped his hand. “You’re like me before I met Luna. All alone in the world, save for your own married family. We’re a lot alike, you and I. I grew up as an orphan, with only the twins to keep me company. I didn’t know I had a family until the day I met her. I know what you’re going through, Shadow.” She used his old codename from the System. “I want you to find your true family as much as you do.”
Shane was silent for a moment. “Why?”
“I know how it feels to know where you come from and who you are.” Ariana replied. “I want you to be happy because I care about you.”
Shane squeezed her hand. “I care about you, too. That’s why I came to you. I knew you’d understand the reasons behind such an absurd question.”
“It’s not absurd to want to know who you are.” Ariana said softly.
He grinned, looking back to the six children who were playing on the castle. “I’m happy with my kids, but I can’t help feeling there’s something missing in my life. I know your story; how you struggled constantly to find the family that gave you up. I noticed a great change in you once you met Derrick, and how much happier you were when you finally met Luna. No longer were you the sad, sullen little girl Big Guy brought to the System to live. No, you were better than that. Not only were you more assertive and sure of yourself, but you were also one of the top detectives.”
He stopped and kissed her cheek. “I’d admire you for that, Ariana, and I want you to show me how to be that way, too.”
She sighed. “You already are that way, Shadow, and you know it. More, even.” She said. “I just wasn’t complete until I had my entire family with me. All my life, yes, I felt something missing, too. Maybe that’s one of the reasons I clung to Aaron so much in those days. I was looking for it.” She paused to lean against him. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and quietly let her continue. “That one thing that was missing was my family, or at least the knowledge I had one. Only when I reunited not only with Luna but my daughter Kelly, did I even begin to feel complete.”
Ariana sat up, her eyes determined. “Enough talk. Let’s try it.”
“Really?” Shane asked. “In front of the kids?”
“They’re too busy playing to pay any attention to us.”
“What about your feeling tired?”
“I’m fine, Shane. Do you want me to try to find your family or not?” Ariana spat.
Shane stared at her. She was serious. “Whenever you’re ready.”
“Good.” Ariana positioned herself so she was facing him. Taking his hands, she instructed him to look into her eyes and think about his parents. They were silent as they stared into one another’s eyes. He could feel her glare reaching inside of him. Oddly enough, he felt relaxed.
He didn’t realize how much time had passed until one of the kids tapped his leg. It startled Ariana out of her trance and him out of her eyes. He turned to see Melody tapping his leg, pointing to the house across the street. Her own.
“What is it, honey?” Ariana asked aloud to her daughter, signing as well.
Melody made the sign for “come,” and “follow.”
Both Ariana and Shane looked to where she was pointing. The other kids stood at the fence, staring across the street.
“What’s going on, Mom?” Andrew asked. He had Logan in his arms. “Did you invite them to dinner?”
Ariana shook her head. “No, I didn’t.” She looked to Shane. “Let’s go find out what’s up.”
Together, with all the kids behind them, they headed across the street.
Ariana recognized the cars of her sisters. Mary Ellen, Anna, and even the Richardsons’ Blazer was in front of her house. That left only one sister, and Luna was climbing out of her car. After greeting her, they went inside.
Sitting in the living room were Claudia, Kevin, Andrea, Anna, Mary Ellen, Craig and Cara. After telling Cara to watch the kids outside, Ariana folded her arms.
“Alright, what’s going on, and why is everyone here?”
They all started to talk at once. She whistled to stop them. “One at a time.”
They explained everything, from their reasons to being there, to their worries of the Djinn takeover. When they were finished, Ariana slumped on the couch. “Okay, Lu.” She told her twin. “Your turn.”
“That’s pretty much it.” Luna replied. “With the Empathy, I felt Jake’s silent insanity.” Looking to Anna, she said. “I didn’t want to worry you, Anna. You’d had enough problems of your own for me to add to it.”
“You should have told me. It didn’t matter.” Anna said. “Jake is my Earthly Protector.”
“Not yet.” Shane supplied. “He doesn’t wear one of these.” He showed her his Pendant. “And neither do Craig, Andrea, or even Michael. So far, Derrick and I are the only ones who have them.”
“You earned them in the Crusades, showing how much you cared for us.” Luna supplied.
“I guess this is your chance to earn the Pendant.” Ariana added. “Then again, I’m just the Young Guardian. What do I know about the Pendants?”
“Right now, we’re here for something a little more important than just a silly necklace.” Craig replied.
Shane spat. “It’s not just a silly necklace.”
“Enough!” Ariana yelled above them. “There will be no more fighting in this house. Understand?”
They groaned their agreements.
“We’re here to bring Derrick and Jake back home to us.” Anna supplied. “Not just in body, but in mind and spirit as well.”
“It’s all Sabrina’s fault.” Mary Ellen remarked.
“Not true.” Kevin replied. “Sabrina didn’t do this to them. The Djinn did.”
“The Djinn?” The twins echoed. “What are they?”
“Worse than your ordinary-variety genie.” Anna said. “They take over your body and mind, making you feel as if you’d gone insane.”
“How?” Claudia said. “And how do you get rid of one?”
“How? Easy. By playing with your doubts, fears, and secret deceptions deep inside your mind.” Anna said. “How to get rid of them? That’s not so easy.”
“I got rid of one, didn’t I?” Ariana asked. “I didn’t Exile one from Derrick, I exorcized it from him. When it was gone, Derrick fainted. I used so much Magic I fainted beside him.”
“Shane told me how you did it.” Anna said. “Yes, you got rid of it. For now, but be fully aware of him for next time. The Djinn planted the seed of doubt and deception in his mind. Until he figures it out for himself, he’ll doubt everything in his life.”
“You used a silver-kind of Magic I’ve only seen once before.” Shane replied.
“You’ve seen it used before this?” Claudia asked.
Shane nodded, and told the group when and how.
“How did you know she used it?” Luna asked him.
He took out the Dream Locket from under his shirt. “Lord Guardian and Enchantra gave this to each of the original Crusaders. We’re able to do pretty much what our minds want to do with it. In my case, I trained my mind to smell and literally see different kinds of magic that were being used in an area. I got so good at it, I could just touch it to get it to work.”
Luna shook her head. “Shane, there’s a lot I