Mother May I (Knight Games Book 4) by Genevieve Jack Read Free Book Online Page B

tonight,” I said, pulling him into a hug.
    “What are friends for?” With a smile and a small wave, he was out the door.
    I was turning the lock when Polina asked, “What is he?”
    “Human,” I said. “A talented human. He’s a medium. Can speak to the dead. Mostly his mother. She seems to be his psychic spirit of choice anyway. Why?”
    She frowned. “Human, you say? He has a quality…” She circled a hand in front of her chest. After a moment, she gave up on finding the right word and dropped her arm to her side. “I thought he was something more.”
    “Nope. That’s it, a human medium. Oh, and Tabetha totally fucked with his head. He fears the witchy world. I try to keep him out of it as much as possible.” I wasn’t stupid or blind. The flash of attraction between them was obvious. But Polina was all wrong for Logan, and he knew it. It was best to make that as clear as possible. “I need a cup of coffee and a shower or this isn’t going to happen. Would you like one? Coffee, that is. You don’t look in need of a shower.”
    “No, thank you. But I would like to get started. The spell takes time.”
    “Poe!” I screamed toward the ceiling.
    Polina jumped back, grabbing the base of her neck at my outburst. It couldn’t be helped. I was not climbing the stairs unnecessarily.
    My familiar swooped down from the second floor and landed on the banister.
    “You don’t have to yell,” Poe said. “I have very good hearing.”
    “Please show Polina to the attic. I’ll be up in just a moment.”
    Poe bobbed his head and took flight. Polina lifted her skirts to jog up the stairs after him.

Chapter 7
    Gold Dust Woman
    L ater, fully caffeinated and smelling less like hospital, I joined Polina in my attic. It occurred to me that the level of trust I had in Polina was extreme and perhaps chancy. I’d invited her into my home and given her unsupervised access to the attic, my most personal and sacred space. My faith in her wasn’t founded on guarantees or sorcery but on good old-fashioned gut instinct. Then again, our short friendship was built on high stakes. I’d dug her out of the ground at Tabetha’s. She’d saved me from binding with Julius last night and brought me to Rick to be healed. I’d found out she’d also created my magic mirror. We had a history, in this life and the last, and I trusted her.
    While I’d been freshening up, Polina had drawn three concentric circles on the sanded wood floor using gold dust. At the center of the circle, a crystal ball was positioned on a metal stand in the shape of a dragon’s foot. It was the typical, theatrical kind of crystal ball gypsies everywhere used to tell the future. Only, the magic coming off this orb was far from make-believe. It raised the hair on my arms and made my left eye twitch.
    “This looks complicated,” I said.
    “It is. I started this spell when I left your caretaker’s home. The preparation was grueling, but I think it’s finally ready.”
    “Last time I crossed over to talk to Mommy dearest, I offered some coffee and wine as a sacrifice. Wham, bam, I went over. Why so much effort?”
    “We need to present a united front to Mother and be prepared for anything. We don’t know what we are getting ourselves into. The orb is leaded glass. A little blood and it will take both of us where we want to go, together.”
    “And the circles?”
    “A type of clock or timer. The moment we go over, the inner circle will ignite. If it burns a complete revolution, the fire will jump to the next ring and the next. I’ve measured it out to give us one hour, although time in Mother’s world can feel different than ours. Once the last ring burns to completion, its enchantment will pull our souls back into our bodies.”
    I pinched my eyebrows together. “Do you think we’ll need that? I mean, I thought we established that if Mother wanted me dead, she could do it in a heartbeat. If she hasn’t killed me yet, why would she kill me on the