Phantom Quartz: A Stacy Justice Witch Mystery Book 6 (Stacy Justice Magical Mysteries) by Barbra Annino Read Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Barbra Annino
incredibly powerful piece.
“Cinnamon?” I stepped forward, examining the quartz closer. There was the typical glow and hum that came with any freshly charged gemstone. Nothing more.
My cousin swung her head to me and said, “Sorry. Guess I spaced out for a moment there.” She set the quartz back on the table and said, “It’s kind of intoxicating. Like looking into a crystal ball.”
I looked at the stone again, certain I had shielded it from any spells I had recently cast. Nor had it been anywhere near Birdie and the aunts’ magic room. Unless...had I not cleaned it properly?
“Cinnamon—” I began.
Angelica’s booming voice bounced down the hall before she even arrived, cutting off my question. Cinnamon quickly placed the stone back in the box and tucked it inside her bag.
Angelica was an older, slightly taller, heavier version of Cin. But while Cinnamon had more curves than a racetrack, her mother was shaped like a pear.
“There you are! My baby!” my aunt called, arms open.
Angelica rushed forward to collect Cinnamon into a bear hug. I couldn’t see my cousin’s head for about twenty seconds.
“Ow, Mama, stop squeezing me!” Cin’s arms flailed and I tip-toed backwards toward the door, planning an escape.
Angelica said, “You don’ta move, Stacy!” She didn’t even turn around. Just pointed a long finger at me.
Great. That was her pissed off voice. I’d been hoping to sneak out without taking a wooden spoon to the head.
Angelica slowly turned to me, her dark eyes serious. I raised my hand and waved, “Hiya, Auntie! What’s shakin’?”
The older woman approached me with the look of a lion stalking her lunch. Cinnamon didn’t move a muscle. Clearly, it was every woman for herself.
Then, to my utter astonishment, Angelica pounced and gave me the motorboat of my life. Now it was my turn to flail my arms. I have no idea how she bent my head so quickly, but she smelled of gingerbread cookies, so it wasn’t so bad.
“Thank you for taking good care of my baby.”
“Not a problem.”
“You go now, eh? I can take her home.”
I didn’t question this decision, just went with it wondering what lie Cinnamon had concocted to make her mother so calm.
In the parking lot, I turned the engine over in my Jeep, wondering if Cin had lied to me also just now. I stared up at the window of where I thought Cin’s room had been. “What secrets are you keeping from me, Cousin?”
The white rabbit hopped over to the front of the car, its red eyes searching mine. We idled there for a while. Me letting the car warm up. The rabbit attempting to tell me something. I reached for the locket, hoping to extract an answer, but an ambulance came blaring through the parking lot, startling the rabbit, who scurried away without revealing its message.
It wouldn’t be long before I figured out what it was trying to tell me. And when I did, it changed everything.
Chapter 10
I drove home completely exhausted. It had been a long, trying day, and all I wanted to do was order Chinese food and snuggle on the couch with my man and my dog and watch Christmas movies.
But the universe is clearly run by the trickster god Loki, because none of those things happened.
The sun had faded into the horizon by the time I got home, but before I pulled up to the driveway, a floodlight blared across my front porch, revealing a dark figure hunched in front of the door. I cut the headlights and coasted further up the street, scanning the property to see if Thor had come home, but there was no sign of him. I had no backup to take down whoever the intruder was.
I watched as the person studied the light. An arm reached up and the floodlight winked out.
Having parked the Jeep around the corner, I ran through a neighbor’s yard, crouching down and side-stepping across the barren landscape. Whoever was on my porch stopped fiddling with the lock for a second and fumbled through coat pockets. I
“Cinnamon?” I stepped forward, examining the quartz closer. There was the typical glow and hum that came with any freshly charged gemstone. Nothing more.
My cousin swung her head to me and said, “Sorry. Guess I spaced out for a moment there.” She set the quartz back on the table and said, “It’s kind of intoxicating. Like looking into a crystal ball.”
I looked at the stone again, certain I had shielded it from any spells I had recently cast. Nor had it been anywhere near Birdie and the aunts’ magic room. Unless...had I not cleaned it properly?
“Cinnamon—” I began.
Angelica’s booming voice bounced down the hall before she even arrived, cutting off my question. Cinnamon quickly placed the stone back in the box and tucked it inside her bag.
Angelica was an older, slightly taller, heavier version of Cin. But while Cinnamon had more curves than a racetrack, her mother was shaped like a pear.
“There you are! My baby!” my aunt called, arms open.
Angelica rushed forward to collect Cinnamon into a bear hug. I couldn’t see my cousin’s head for about twenty seconds.
“Ow, Mama, stop squeezing me!” Cin’s arms flailed and I tip-toed backwards toward the door, planning an escape.
Angelica said, “You don’ta move, Stacy!” She didn’t even turn around. Just pointed a long finger at me.
Great. That was her pissed off voice. I’d been hoping to sneak out without taking a wooden spoon to the head.
Angelica slowly turned to me, her dark eyes serious. I raised my hand and waved, “Hiya, Auntie! What’s shakin’?”
The older woman approached me with the look of a lion stalking her lunch. Cinnamon didn’t move a muscle. Clearly, it was every woman for herself.
Then, to my utter astonishment, Angelica pounced and gave me the motorboat of my life. Now it was my turn to flail my arms. I have no idea how she bent my head so quickly, but she smelled of gingerbread cookies, so it wasn’t so bad.
“Thank you for taking good care of my baby.”
“Not a problem.”
“You go now, eh? I can take her home.”
I didn’t question this decision, just went with it wondering what lie Cinnamon had concocted to make her mother so calm.
In the parking lot, I turned the engine over in my Jeep, wondering if Cin had lied to me also just now. I stared up at the window of where I thought Cin’s room had been. “What secrets are you keeping from me, Cousin?”
The white rabbit hopped over to the front of the car, its red eyes searching mine. We idled there for a while. Me letting the car warm up. The rabbit attempting to tell me something. I reached for the locket, hoping to extract an answer, but an ambulance came blaring through the parking lot, startling the rabbit, who scurried away without revealing its message.
It wouldn’t be long before I figured out what it was trying to tell me. And when I did, it changed everything.
Chapter 10
I drove home completely exhausted. It had been a long, trying day, and all I wanted to do was order Chinese food and snuggle on the couch with my man and my dog and watch Christmas movies.
But the universe is clearly run by the trickster god Loki, because none of those things happened.
The sun had faded into the horizon by the time I got home, but before I pulled up to the driveway, a floodlight blared across my front porch, revealing a dark figure hunched in front of the door. I cut the headlights and coasted further up the street, scanning the property to see if Thor had come home, but there was no sign of him. I had no backup to take down whoever the intruder was.
I watched as the person studied the light. An arm reached up and the floodlight winked out.
Having parked the Jeep around the corner, I ran through a neighbor’s yard, crouching down and side-stepping across the barren landscape. Whoever was on my porch stopped fiddling with the lock for a second and fumbled through coat pockets. I
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