Murder by Magic: An ONSET Universe Novella by Glynn Stewart

Author:Glynn Stewart [Stewart, Glynn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781989674048
Amazon: B0813QQXCY
Publisher: Faolan's Pen Publishing
Published: 2019-11-12T05:00:00+00:00

For the next eight hours, Jamie and Violet cleaned the lab, packing away everything unnecessary for the ritual. Jamie placed his quartz points at the tips of the pentagram, and Violet matched each of them with a feather from a different bird, starting at the top, with eagle, horned owl, peregrine, albatross, and raven.

All of the modern computing equipment was covered in plain black cloths kept in the room for just this purpose. Omicron often combined technology and magic, but for something like this, restricting the room to items of magic and simplicity was wisest.

By mid-afternoon, the two Mages had killed the artificial lights and set up large three-wick candles in each corner of the room. Continuing by candlelight, they fully purified the room with incense, salt water, and power.

Finally, everything was ready, just in time for their subject to arrive. Lily led Mrs. Sharp and Mr. Steeple up to the lab, where Jamie let them and Adrian in.

“Inspector Pattakos, Mr. Steeple, we’ll need you to sit out of the way,” Jamie told them. “You are here as observers, and if you interfere, you could cause Mrs. Sharp injury.”

Jamie watched until the two men had settled themselves down against one of the walls, away from the dreamcatcher, which glowed, ever so slightly, in the dark room, and turned to Mrs. Sharp.

“Mrs. Sharp, once again, I must warn you that there is a distinct risk to both your physical and mental health from this process,” he told her softly. “Neither I nor Inspector Lager are fully qualified to carry out this ritual, though we are confident in our ability to do so. Nonetheless, the choice is yours.”

“Call me Emma, Inspector,” the grieving woman told him. “Like I told you before, I want this… I need this. I need to talk about…” She winced as she touched on the subjects blocked to her.

Steeple gave Jamie one firm nod, acknowledging he’d heard Emma’s confirmation before Jamie could ask.

“Then take a seat in the center of the pentagram,” Jamie told her.

Obediently, the widow stepped into the center of the room, careful even in the flickering light of the candles to avoid the crystals and feathers. She took a cross-legged seat in the center area of the iron five-pointed star.

Jamie exchanged a look with Lager and took a deep breath. To his Sight, the whole room glowed with their preparations, a gentle construct of light and breath including the dreamcatcher, the pentagram, and the two Mages.

Closing his mind to the outside world, he reached for his Power and linked it into the spell construct. A moment later, he felt Lager’s Power join in, focusing through his Sight. They’d decided before that he would be the lead, as his Sight was stronger than hers, if anemic by any objective standard.

Using the construct and her Power as a guide, Jamie’s Sight settled on Emma, ruthlessly cutting everything else out of his field of view.

Emma shivered as the construct settled around her like a gentle blanket. To Jamie’s

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