AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Fine,” he grumbles while lowering it with the same ruthlesswhoosh. “The Iremia sorceresses…what it sounds like they did… Well, it wasn’t an easy feat.” His gaze darkens, and his lips compress. “Nor, for that matter, a safe one.”
I pull in a heavy breath. “In what way?”
“You do mean waysss?” he emphasizes, laughing sharply. “The coordinates that Hecate referred to…more than likely, she was referring to maps of stars.”
Jesse hitches himself straighter. “Now you’re rolling into my neighborhood. What kinds of maps? If you tell me we’re talking about separate galaxies, sign me up for the tour bus. As in, right the hell now.”
A twinge of regret sneaks into Arden’s expression. “I am referring to the same stars we have observed from this orb over the centuries,” he states. “Except that certain witches, and likely Hecate herself, are simply able to observe them in different ways.”
Jesse’s already perking again. “In different ways…how? You mean like magnified shadows, refracted light, extended matter from supernovae?”
“Yes and no.” Arden clasps his hands at the small of his back. I ignore his return to arrogant snob mode in favor of listening to the information he’s readily dispensing. “They’re able to see all of that, of course, in addition to the constellations themselves—only, their view is multidimensional. Better rounded out.”
Jesse flings a puzzled frown. “Like how?”
Arden rocks back his head, seeming to deeply examine the ceiling tiles. “Have you ever been to the Pageant of the Masters, down in Laguna Beach?”
“Of course,” Jesse replies. “The show where they use real people to recreate classic artworks.”
Arden nods. “And because of the special lighting and makeup, you don’t realize you’re watching three dimensions instead of two.”
“Until they turn the lights up and show you how it’s done.”
I return my friend’s grin. “I remember the first time we saw that happen.”
Jesse laughs. “Weren’t we on a date with those twins from Pasadena? They thought we were such dorks.”
“Youwere on a date with the twins. I was along to make things more respectable. And weweredorks, at least during that part of the show.”
“Meh.” The guy slides out a bigger smirk. “I turned it all around to my favor…later on.”
Arden pushes past the point to make his. “Witches of a certain stature are able to look at the stars in the same manner. Because of that, they can use the stars as certain predictors of things.” He tilts his head toward me. “Like love matches.”
The intentional cock of his brow coincides with me jumping both of mine. “Like Kara and me?”
Jesse’s grin blasts wider. “Written in the stars, my friend. That actually makes a lot of sense.”
If we had more time, I’d be asking what happened to the guy who once sat in that chair, full of pragmatic purpose. But if I’m not the same man I was last month, Jesse’s science-facts-first side has been fed with enough evidence to transform him too.
Besides…bigger questions to get to.
The topic of the day has me addressing Arden again. “So, assuming that’s all a real thing, that the witches looked and saw our story, foretold by the stars…why are Circe and Hecate still stressing about it? Didn’t everything happen the way it should have? I’m in love with Kara, and she with me. And we’re more than aware that we’ve got something special, so what’s the issue with their scheming in the shadows?”
Arden rocks back on his heels and works his jaw back and forth. “Here’s where wedoget to the big questions. Clearly, there was more to their determination about your destiny than scratching some swoony itches. They even pooled the group’s powers to ensure everything would fall into place.”
Jesse surrenders his smile to a puzzled scowl. “So if the glitches aren’t aboutwhathappened, they’re with thewhysandhows?”
“More specifically, the timing.” As soon as I say it, I know it’s the missing key for at least one of our locks. “Circe specifically talked about calibrating the coordinates differently. That if Kara and I had met next spring, it would’ve been ‘more than enough time.’”
“Okay. For what?” Jesse prompts. “And what doesthateven mean, arranging the coordinates differently? Are we still talking about star maps here? If so”—he’s not bashful about his bug-eyed gawk—“then this is now a discussion about messing with the cosmos itself. Even the possible screw-up of a bigger picture. Time itself.”
The words are barely out before he’s slamming back in the chair, as if his existential mic drop has become a detonation. I don’t blame him. In a way, I even applaud him. There’s still nothing but gibberish in my mind and larynx.
Thankfully, yet again, Arden’s ready with words that make sense.
“So we’re of the assumption that the witches have a timeline for…something. A purpose that’s been affected by recent events, somehow forcing their hand. They’re clear about some strategic plan that involves Kara, and maybe you, in some way.”
“Okay.” Jesse whips up a hand. “Before I’msome’d to death, let’s get moving on figuring out the answers, yes?”
