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

mother, she’ll want to take over our lives, getting ready for the baby.”
“Come on, Anne, she’s not that bad.” Jake supplied. “At least, not anymore.”
“Just to be on the safe side, we’ll tell them we’re getting married.” Anna said as they walked up the stairs. “That way, we’ll already be wed by the time we do tell them.”
He sighed. “Anything to keep the peace in this family.” He rang the doorbell before waltzing in. “Mom? Dad? Anybody here?”
“Jakey!” They heard a young woman squeal before embracing him. It was his younger sister Kendra.
“Hey, Kenny, what’s up?” Jake hugged her.
Nicknamed Kenny in her youth, she was the only girl in a set of five Reading children.
“I’m so glad to see you guys!” Kendra cried. “Ariana and Derrick are already here. The kids are in the playroom.” She grabbed one of each of their hands. “Come on!”
“Where’re Mom and Dad?”
“They’re in the living room, talking to Derrick and Ariana.” Kendra told him. She stopped in her tracks and looked at Anna. She gasped in a stage whisper. “You’re pregnant!”
Even Anna was amazed. “How can you tell?”
“The glow in your eyes is like, wow!” Kendra exclaimed.
“We don’t want Mom and Dad to know, yet, so keep your big mouth shut.”
“Ariana will know.”
“Too late, she already does.” Anna said. “Let’s go greet the family.”
“This is so exciting, having everyone together again.” Kendra said, leading them into the living room. “A real family again. I love it!”
Anna laughed. “I do too, believe me.”
“Jakey’s here!” Kendra announced to the family. Her father and mother were sitting on one couch while Ariana and Derrick were on another. They were drinking coffee and talking things over.
The brothers greeted each other with handshakes and hugs.
“Well, how are you feeling now, Derrick?”
“Fine, and you?”
Jake smiled. “Never better, and I have you to thank.”
“Oh, stop.” Derrick started to blush.
“Boys, what happened between you two that we don’t know about?” Evelyn Reading asked her sons. “Derrick? Jake?”
They looked at each other, each getting messages from their Ancient Mystic loves. Tell them.
“I was so stressed out last week, I left for awhile.” Derrick told her.
“You ran away.” Evelyn countered.
“Yeah, you could say that.” Derrick supplied, clearing his throat. “After sorting things out in my head, I came back. Ariana and I talked it over and everything’s fine now.”
“That’s good to hear.” Alexander, Sr. remarked seriously. “What about you, Jacob?”
His father never called him by his nickname. It was always “Jacob.”
“Well, Dad, I kind of had a nervous breakdown last week.” Jake remarked.
“He was in the psychiatric ward for observation.” Anna whispered nervously. “Derrick helped him by staying with him as long as possible while he was there.”
“We talked about life, family, you name it, we talked about it.” Jake said. “He revealed his true feelings about me and I about him. I’d say we’re closer than ever.”
“That’s wonderful news, boys!” Evelyn cried, hugging them both. “I’m very proud of you two.” She turned to Ariana. “Did you know these guys competed for everything in school?”
“I’ll bet.” Ariana smiled. “With Jake being the handsome one and Derrick the brain, there were bound to be some competition between them.”
Derrick gave Ariana a look, which made her start laughing. Anna joined in, along with Evelyn and Kendra.
“Women.” Jake rolled his eyes and joked.
“Come on, ladies.” Evelyn said once they’d calmed down. “Let’s get dinner started.”
Ariana stood up, teased Derrick with a playful peck on the cheek and followed Anna, Kendra, and Evelyn into the kitchen.
Kendra grabbed Anna’s arm, causing her to yelp.
Evelyn and Ariana turned around. “What is it?” Ariana asked.
“I need to talk to Anna about something. We’ll be there in a minute.” Kendra said rapidly.
Ariana and Anna shared a look. Anna shrugged.
“Okay, I guess.” Ariana said. “Come on, Evelyn. Let’s see what we can do in that kitchen of yours.”
As soon as they were out of sight, Kendra’s face turned red. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Anything.” Anna said in a whisper.
“I, uh, do you think, maybe...” Kendra started. She played with her rings and bracelets, refusing to look at Anna’s face.
“What’s on your mind?” Anna asked. “Spit it out.”
“Could you talk to Antony for me?” She rushed.
It took a moment for Anna’s mind to register the question. “What? Why?”
Kendra looked to the ground, blushing as she said. “I like him.”
Anna covered her laugh. “You what? You like my brother?”
“Yeah, I do.”
“He’s four years younger than you are.”
“He’s smarter than that, and he’s really nice.”
“I know that, Kendra.” Anna smiled. “How long have you liked him?”
“Oh, forever. Since we were kids.”
Anna nodded. “Thought so. Listen, I’ll talk to him and have him call you, okay?”
“Thanks, Anna.” Kendra let out a sigh. “I hope Antony likes me as much as I like him.”
“Despite the rumors?”
“What rumors?” Kendra smiled mischievously and shrugging her shoulders.
Anna laughed, leading her to Ariana and Evelyn in the kitchen.

II

Meanwhile, Mary Ellen reflected over the last week. Since the night she and her sisters met in the Abyss, everything had been running smoothly. Her Empathy power was back and better than ever. She wasn’t as afraid of the Premonition as she was before, and even her Telekinesis power was growing. Mary Ellen Woods could safely say she was happy.
Her feelings for Michael Ashburn were growing, and she could tell his were growing for her. That was good. They’d come a long way since meeting, and Mary Ellen was surprised he wasn’t scared away by the Ancient Mystic family and their secrets. Then again, he was almost convinced she was only a dream. She only had to show him differently.
She got her chance when the doorbell rang on her cozy apartment door. When she answered it, she found it was Michael. He was bearing a bouquet of flowers and a warm smile.
“Beautiful flowers for a beautiful woman.” He remarked, green eyes aglow.
She let him inside, taking the flowers from his hands and led him to the dining room.
“Let me put them in some water.” Mary Ellen replied.
“Read the card first.” Michael said, taking it from the bouquet and handing it to her.
She took it, reading aloud. “My dreams become reality with you.” She looked up at him, one hand still holding the card, the other the flowers. “How sweet, Michael. Thank you.” She kissed his lips, savoring the mint flavor.
“You’re welcome, Mary.” He said. “So, what do you want to do tonight?”
“You mean other than homework?” Mary Ellen asked as she came out of the kitchen with a vase. She placed the flowers in it and put the vase on the table.
“Naughty girl. Haven’t done your homework, have you?” Michael ticked at her.
“Oh, stop.” Mary Ellen grinned. “I’ve just been busy lately, that’s all.”
“I guessed that.” Michael remarked. “Without me, even. So, what’s been more important than school and me?”
“Family.” She said quickly.
Michael caught on immediately. “What are you hiding?”
“Nothing.” She laughed off. “There was a problem with one of my many cousins. We had to deal with her, that’s all.”
“Are you talking about Sabrina?”
He remembered! And he sounded concerned.
“Well, yeah. I am.” She replied, sitting on the couch.
He sat next to her. “Mind telling me?” She looked away from him. “Or is it too painful to talk about it, even to your...what did you call me once? Your Earthly Protector?”
“It’s been at least a month, Michael.” She started. “I don’t expect you to know everything that’s going on, or even remember.” She waved a hand at him. “Besides, my sisters and I took care of Sabrina and her brother, so there’s nothing more to worry about.”
“The one thing I’ve learned in Creative Fiction class is that it’s rarely that easy to get rid of the bad guy.” He said. “For good, anyway.”
“Yeah, that’s what I’m thinking.”
He wrapped his arms around her, kissing her ear. “Let’s not talk about that anymore tonight, okay?”
She looked at him, relaxing in his embrace. “Alright.”
“Not one word, got it?”
Mary Ellen nodded. “I got it.”
“Tell you what.” Michael started, pulling her closer. “I’ve got an idea.”
“An idea, huh?” She teased, snuggling in his arms. “Tell me.”
“Let’s just stay in tonight. We can order Chinese take-out, turn the lights down low and just talk”
“Sounds good.” She said. “What would we talk about?”
He began to sing. “The birds and the bees and the ocean and the trees.”
Mary Ellen giggled.
“Hey, don’t laugh.” He said.
“I’m not laughing at your voice.” She said. “I love your singing voice.”
“What are you laughing at?”
She sat up and faced him, smiling after she kissed his lips. “You.”
“What about me?”
“You make me laugh, Michael.” She said. “And I can honestly say I love you.”
He kissed her again. “All jokes aside, I love you, too, Mary Ellen.”
She settled back in the nest of his arms. “That’s good to know.”

III

It was late at night when Claudia went outside to think. She always loved the night, and everything about it. The air, the moon shining and stars twinkling from the sky, she loved it all. Tonight was the first night in a long time she was able to be alone in the dark. She went out to the very back yard, just before the fence that met the house behind the Richardson’s. She found the wooden swing and sat down.
It was so peaceful; not even the Stevenson’s dog Charlie was rustling around his yard. The sky was clear, the moon full and bright. To Claudia, it was perfect. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath of the cool night air. She let herself be lost in the peace of the night, relaxing every muscle as she meditated.
With her heightened Empathic senses, she felt the earth’s heartbeat. The night creatures were awake while the day creatures were asleep. A mother owl in the tree above was teaching her younglings how to hoot. Crickets were singing their songs with the harmony of the grasshoppers. Claudia felt like she was one with Mother Earth herself.
Claudia....
She could hear Mother Earth calling her name. She tried to send a message with thoughts, but something was blocking her mental path.
Claudia....
Mother Earth called her again.
She felt the wind gently touch her body, breathing it in.
“Claudia!”
She was startled out of her meditative state by an outer voice calling her name. She turned to see Craig sitting beside her on the swing.
“I’ve been calling you for a few minutes.” He told her, kissing her cheek. “That must have been some trance you went into.”
“Uh, yeah, it was.” Claudia stammered. She looked around her, noting the familiar yard was quiet once more. “I was one with Mother Earth.”
Craig smiled. “Oh, really?”
“Yes, really.” Claudia said. “What did you want?”
“To know why you were out here in the dark, alone.”
“I always come outside at night. Especially on a night like this.” She told him. “It’s perfect for thinking.”
He wrapped his arms around her shoulders. She slid into his embrace, enjoying his presence.
“I’ll bet.” Craig said. He pointed to the distance. “See that mound in the corner there?”
“What about it?”
“Andrea and I would play in there, hiding in our own fort.” He said. “When we were kids, we got into a lot of trouble together.”
“So I’ve heard.” Claudia remarked with a small laugh.
“From whom?” Craig asked.
“Your parents, of course.” Claudia supplied. “Their ghosts, at least.”
“Yeah,