Ritual Magic Read Free

Oooh, they smelled so much
better than all of the animals in the forest and Dad was NOT very
happy about that." Another broad grin spread across her face, but
this time she bit down on her lip as she fought the distinct look
of glee that seeped forward.
    "Oh! And then there was the time that he
taught me to drive a stick shift! I had run us into a ditch and he
made me drag the hummer back out on my own, basically proving that
I was strong enough to move a military grade vehicle. Dad actually
had the nerve to seem upset with me about the accident, but when I
looked deeply into his eyes all I truly saw was pride." She smiled
warmly to herself. "That man could never hide his true feelings
from me or you."
    "And what has Solomon taught you besides how
to ride horses and drive a stick?" Don't ask the questions,
Celeste...just breathe in and out. In and out...
    "Well, you know that Dad's a weapons expert,
right? So he taught me about every kind of weapon under the sun and
how to fight effectively with them. I'm actually lethal now with
over two hundred different weapons and fifty different fighting
styles." She stopped to place a hand against the countertop,
leaning into it before kicking a booted foot over her other,
looking relaxed and beautiful as her hair cascaded forward towards
the counter.
    "He was a very effective teacher." Cora
continued as she reached down with her long fingers to begin
tapping the granite countertop. "Of course, he had to sneak my
lessons in while you were off doing other things. Meetings,
shopping, girl time, alone time...he would sneak it in whenever he
could. Dad never wanted me to admit to you what we were honestly
doing together because he was afraid of what you would say. He was
afraid that you would put your foot down and require us to stop.
But he couldn't—he always promised me that he wouldn't stop until I
was prepared, ready." She stopped with her hand flat across the
counter's slick surface, sweeping her hand across as if she was
wiping away words on a chalkboard. "Hence the riding lessons—it was
our cover."
    Cora looked up at me to smile and I couldn't
help smiling back at her, thinking about the time that she had
spent with her fathers...all of them. They were bonding moments,
every single one of them and, even though many children would never
picture their lives the complicated mess that Cora's was, she
considered herself extremely lucky. Her smile dropped suddenly,
though, as if something had just occurred to her.
    "Oh. My. GOSH! I just told you what Dad is
going to be doing with me in the future. Our training!" She paused
and stood straight up as if she heard something dangerous
approaching. "MOM! You have to promise to never admit that
you know anything about all of this! I LOVE fighting with weapons,
Mom. I'm actually a fifth degree black belt! It's way too cool!"
She stopped to place a hand across her chest and inhaled in a huge
breath, pausing to wait before releasing it in a cleansing whoosh.
"Promise me you won't say a word. Mom, please!"
    Shaking my head, I looked at her pleading
eyes, trying to read every emotion that she was experiencing.
There, deep down inside, I could see the fear that she held. It was
the fear that I would keep her away from her fathers, the ones that
had prepared her for what was coming in the future. But what was it
truly? My child, my little girl was now a lethal weapon, honed by
Solomon and the rest of her fathers for what purpose I wasn't sure.
But she had saved my life along with her own using those wicked
blades of hers. My daughter was basically a badass, but she didn't
act like one—she was just a girl.
    "I promise."
    She sighed deeply with relief before walking
back towards the couch to throw herself back down, happy to be
seated again.
    "Where did you get the blades you used
today?" Leaning over, I pinned her with a raised eyebrow. Maybe she
didn't realize that I was absorbing every bit of information as
ammunition against her fathers in the