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It doesn’t take long after my arrival for Tammy to open her eyes and look at me.
“What’s up, kiddo?” I ask.
“She’s just practicing her magic.” Paxton fusses at her hair. “I’m watching.”
Tammy stretches. “Just charging the batteries.”
“Huh?” I tilt my head.
“I opened a micro portal to the fey realm, soaked up some magic.” Tammy twirls her hand in the air randomly. “Kinda like how if you let a car sit too long without starting it, the battery dies.”
“Oh. Okay.” I shrug. “Guess that explains the odd feeling everywhere.”
“Yeah, magical energy.” Tammy looks around, mostly toward the house. “Probably like how you can feel heat when the stove is on. Did it seem bad?”
“No, just a little... otherworldly.” I also turn in place, examining our surroundings. Nothing seems unusual… though the feeling of something not quite being as it should be remains. I wonder how long this energy buildup will take to dissipate. “Probably because you opened a door to the fey realm.”
“No faeries showed up.” Paxton fake frowns.
I fidget at the energy. “Please be careful, Tam Tam. This is always how the weird stuff starts.”
She makes a face like I’m overreacting. It’s the same face she always made whenever I pestered her about being responsible. You’d think I was insisting she wear a bicycle helmet to walk the trash out to the curb.
I shift my attention to Pax. “You’re up too late, you booger. Time for bed.”
She springs to her feet. “Sorry!”
The girl clearly lost track of time being enamored with whatever Tammy did, so I’m not going to give her a hard time. “Not too big a deal. It is Friday night. Just don’t make a habit of it, young lady.” I wink.
“I won’t.” Paxton hugs me, then zooms off toward the house.
Tammy puts the candles out. “Ma?”
“Hmm?” I face her.
“I think something might have happened.” She fidgets. “Do you sense anything bad?”
“Uh oh.” I gaze around at the yard once again, doing as much as I can to ‘open’ my psychic feelers. Not getting a read on anything unusual. That does not prove nothing happened… it only proves neither one of us is in imminent danger—and nothing super traumatic or emotionally charged happened here. “Umm, nope. Nothing hitting me.”
She exhales in relief. “Whew.”
“What do you think happened?”
“I dunno. Felt some unexpected energy ripple or something that shouldn’t have been there.” She stands, gathering her magical supplies. “Didn’t feel very strong, though. Maybe something on the other side sensed the micro portal and tugged at it.”
“Did you pull anything across?” I fold my arms. “We talked about summoning strange beings, didn’t we?”
She laughs. “I’m sure nothing came across. The portal would’ve been too small for anything, even a faerie. Only wanted to draw energy through, you see. Maybe some of it leaked out into the yard. That’s why it feels strange here. It should settle down in a few days.”
“So, what you’re saying is, get ready for something weird.”
She grimace-smiles. “Oopsie.”
Chapter Four
Best Birthday Ever
I spent most of the day at the office thinking about surprising Tammy with a birthday party of her own.
