Gray Magic

  GRAY MAGIC

  MIRROR LAKE WITCHES - BOOK ONE

  Jennifer Snyder

  Contents

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  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Thank You

  Sneak Peek

  Chapter One

  About the Author

  GRAY MAGIC

  MIRROR LAKE WITCHES - BOOK ONE

  Copyright © 2019 by Jennifer Snyder

  www.jennifersnyderbooks.com

  © 2019 Cover Art by Cora Graphics

  © Depositphotos.com

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the above author of this book.

  Author Note:

  This is a work of fiction. The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

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  Chapter 1

  Fat droplets of rain trickled down the pane of my bedroom window. I watched them race one another to the bottom while trying to ignore a headache that had been building since I woke. I pulled my knees to my chest and focused on keeping calm. This was not the way I wanted to spend my Saturday afternoon. Yet, with the mid-January monsoon my cousin, Raven, had created brewing outside my bedroom window, coupled with the tinge of pain thumping behind my brows, it was probably best to stay home.

  My cell chimed with a new text.

  Day three. This is old. When is that cousin of yours gonna quit?

  The corner of my lips quirked into a smile. Benji was right. Raven’s incessant need to make everyone around her feel as miserable as she did had grown old. Aunt Rowena should have put an end to it by now.

  Not sure. Hopefully soon though. - Ridley

  Usually, Aunt Rowena would have been able to pull Raven out of whatever funk she’d fallen prey to by now. My cousin had a tendency to let her emotions get the best of her, which often resulted in unpredictable weather for the tiny town of Mirror Lake.

  Yeah. So, what are you doin’ today? Wanna come over? Since it’s rainin’ again, I ain’t gonna swing by my parents.

  My fingertips pressed to my temple as I read his newest text. The screen was too bright. I dimmed it while thinking about how Benji was such a good son. Even after everything that happened over the last few months he still made time to visit his parents often and help around their farm.

  I was sure it had something to do with the fact he could never live the life they wanted for him now. The guilt of that probably ate at him.

  I could relate to that kind of guilt. On more than one level.

  I’d never been able to live up to the expectations my father set for me at birth, no matter how hard I tried. And then there was the guilt that always came when I thought too hard about what Benji had become because of me.

  I have a test to study for. - Ridley

  It was true, but I wasn’t planning on studying for it anytime soon. In actuality, I didn’t want to be around Benji until this headache went away because he’d know exactly what it meant and worry.

  Well, if you get tired or your brain starts hurtin’ come on by. I don’t have any plans.

  My insides twisted. He wanted me to visit him. We’d been in such a weird place the last few weeks, but we were trying hard to make it work. This was him trying, and I was blowing him off.

  Girlfriend of the year right here.

  Blowing him off seemed to be all I did lately. It wasn’t because I was afraid he’d eat me. Not really. I mean, sure we’d had our fair share of fangs descending during make-out sessions since his transition, but we were past that now. Because we didn’t make-out anymore. Like ever.

  God, I missed kissing him.

  The main issue when I was around Benji had nothing to do with kissing and everything to do with my guilt threatening to swallow me whole. I hated my decision to save him was slowly killing who he was now. It was changing him. Not just his diet or how he’d suddenly gained the ability of speed and unimaginable strength. Not even the way his physique had shifted from soft and slightly pudgy to trim and lean muscle. What changed were the parts that made him who he was at the core. He was no longer as funny and outgoing. He’d become a hermit. He also treated me as though I were a fragile creature made of glass. Someone he couldn’t touch.

  None of which set well with me.

  Stop, I mentally scolded myself. My fingertips smoothed across my forehead to massage away my ever-growing headache. Benji couldn’t help it if his adjustment period had hit a roadblock. Julian had said it might.

  Julian Montevallo was the vampire who’d saved Benji’s life by turning him. If he hadn’t, Benji would have died trying to save me the night one of the many monsters that always seemed to find their way to Mirror Lake had gotten their hands on me. Julian mentioned Benji might have a few setbacks after completing his transition. He’d also said it might take time for things to even out for him. At first, none of that happened. Benji somehow seemed to have miraculously taken to vampire life easily after his transition with only one slip up occurring. He was able to be around others and had left his parents’ place to live with Julian and his vampire siblings in order to better understand their lifestyle. However, recently he’d clammed up and barely seemed to leave the house to do anything besides work at his parents’ farm. I wasn’t sure what changed, same as I wasn’t sure how to go about asking. I figured he needed time, and I was willing to give it to him without questions.

  I tapped out a reply to his message.

  I might. I’ll call you if I decide to come by. - Ridley

  My lips pursed together. What I really meant was I’d come by if my headache went away. There was a small chance it was a regular headache and not connected to anything from the other side.

  Right?

  Who was I kidding? That chance was about as big as my pinky nail and I knew it.

  All right. Love you.

  His last two words lifted my spirit and warmed my heart.

  Love you too. - Ridley

  A crack of lightning shot through the sky, and I flinched away from the window. Raven had reached full meltdown mode it seemed. A sliver of satisfaction shifted through me. The lightning was a reminder I wasn’t the only witch in the house unable to control her abilities.

  My fingertips reached for the newest pendant Aunt Rowena had given me. I touched its silky surface. To others, it was a normal piece of jewelry. To me, it was a reminder of my inability to control my gift.

  Another twinge of pain pulsed through my forehead, adding to the thought. I glanced at the pendant hanging from my neck like deadweight and frowned. While I knew it wasn’t meant to block out the other side completely, I wished
it did. Especially in moments like this when someone from the other side wanted my attention.

  Even so, power pulsed from the black oval pendant as it hung from its delicate silver chain, seeming insignificant. I knew that power wouldn’t last though. Nothing ever did. Not against the other side. The gift I’d been given wasn’t something charmed pendants or talismans could dim or hide. Not anymore. It was too strong. The only thing that could ever rein it in was me.

  The problem was: I had no idea where to even start.

  I’d foolishly thought I had a small understanding of how things worked at one point, but I’d been lying to myself. Maybe there wasn’t a way to control my gift. Maybe I’d always be a slave to the other side as an anchor.

  I released my grip on the pendant and adjusted my glasses as a loud clap of thunder rolled through the sky followed by another zap of lightning.

  Oh, crap! Matthew Harbro should be afraid. Very afraid.

  Not only had he cheated on Raven, but in doing so, he’d broken her heart and shredded her trust. Karma would come for him—in the form of a dark-haired, brown-eyed girl with the power to wield nature.

  Raven wouldn’t use her magic against him though. Using magic against anyone in a harmful way was frowned upon by Aunt Rowena and most others in the witchy world from what I’d gathered.

  “Raven, lighten up!” my youngest cousin, Rose, shouted from somewhere. “We’re going to lose power if you don’t chill out! He cheated on you. So what? Move on!”

  I counted to three in my head slowly, waiting for Raven to rip her bedroom door open and shout something in response to Rose. Having been an only child, sibling rivalry was something I found fascinating and highly entertaining.

  Three. The door to Raven’s room swung open with so much force it hit the wall right on cue.

  “Shut up! You have no idea what I’m feeling or going through right now!” Raven yelled. “You’re just a child!”

  I released a giggle. Couldn’t Raven see she was behaving like a child right now? What twenty-two-year-old argued with a twelve-year-old?

  “A child who can see you’re acting like an idiot by crying over a stupid boy!” Rose countered.

  A knock sounded at my bedroom door before it swung open. Rose’s head of dark hair peeked inside.

  “What are you doing?” she asked. She stepped into my room, closed the door behind her, and moved to flop down across my bed. Her doe-like eyes stared at me. They were the same shade of brown as her mother and sister’s and fanned by thick, dark lashes.

  Eye color was one of the many things that set me apart from the three of them.

  While we all shared the same nose (a Caraway trait even my dad had), there were a few other physical traits that let everyone know I wasn’t Rowena Caraway’s third daughter. My hair was one. While it was still the same dark shade as theirs, mine was curly and unruly, and theirs was pin-straight, frizz-free, and perfect. I was also a little on the shorter side, and my lips weren’t nearly as full as even little Rose’s.

  “Enjoying the rain.” I flashed Rose a smirk, knowing she’d understand what I meant.

  “I was, but not anymore.” Her plump lips twisted into a frown. She pulled at a loose string on one square of the quilt spread across my bed.

  It wasn’t the prettiest because of its mismatched squares of fabric, but it was better than a few of the others Aunt Rowena stored in the attic. Also, it kept me warm. My room was the coldest in the house, next to the attic. Its large, old windows made for a drafty bedroom in the winter but they were great to have in the summer.

  “Mom has let this go on for too long this time. Plus, I hate how cold Raven has made it outside. No one can do anything. Even the guests don’t want to leave the house.” Her bottom lip poked out further as her lashes fell against her creamy cheeks while she continued to play with the loose string on my quilt. “Ms. Salsbury hasn’t left the living room in hours. I thought she was here to visit family, but I haven’t seen it happen today.”

  “Maybe her family had something to do, like work.”

  Rose rolled her eyes. “It’s Saturday. Who works on Saturday?”

  “Lots of people.” I chuckled. “I did earlier when the toilet to the ruby room was stopped up by Mr. Senova.”

  My stomach lurched at the memory. That was one con to living at Caraway Inn with my aunt and cousins—all the work to help take care of the place never seemed to end and also included gross tasks like unclogging toilets. So far, Aunt Rowena had managed the last few years since Uncle Kevin’s passing without hiring a handyman, but I didn’t see it continuing this way much longer. The house was too old and there were too many issues surfacing with it.

  “Whatever, I just want to watch TV,” she said. Her eyes lifted to lock with mine. “Can I use your laptop?”

  While it was hard for me to deny Rose anything—there was a soft spot in my heart for her empathetic way of being and her spunk—this was easy. Rose wasn’t the best with electronics. A few months ago, she’d deleted all the family pictures from 2007 till now with the click of a mouse by accident. She’d been using the laptop Aunt Rowena designated as the family computer, working on something for school, when it happened. I’d never seen Rose so upset with herself before or Aunt Rowena so angry.

  Thankfully, one of the guests at the time happened to be a wiz with computers and recovered everything in under an hour. Now all the pictures and videos were stored on an external hard drive somewhere in the attic as well as on the computer.

  Yeah, Rose wasn’t touching my laptop. I had too much on there for my college classes she could erase.

  “Not right now,” I said, trying to sound as nice as possible. “I need to study for a test and need my notes that are on there.”

  All this mention of studying without intending to do so made me feel guilty. I’d really have to carve out some time today to glance at my notes at least.

  “Fine.” Rose sighed. “I don’t know why Mom won’t just let me have one in my dang room.”

  “You’d better not let her hear you say that. You know how irritated she gets when you argue with her about it.”

  “I know, but it’s so frustrating!” Rose propped her head up with her hand, giving me her full attention. “Everyone has a TV in their room, even Selena.”

  Selena was Rose’s best friend. Her parents were strict and Catholic. She was one of five kids in the Garcia household, and Rose was always using her having a TV in her room as a bargaining chip for one of her own since Aunt Rowena adored Selena’s mother, Camila.

  “If they don’t have a TV, they at least have a computer,” Rose continued. “Mom won’t let me have anything.”

  I resisted the urge to laugh, knowing it would only upset her more. This had been a popular conversation with Rose lately. It was also something Aunt Rowena was unrelenting on. To her, electronics sucked the magic out of people. To Rose, they breathed life into them.

  It was a battle of the generations, one my aunt was winning. For now anyway.

  “At least you have a cell now,” I said, hoping to steer the conversation around in a positive light. “I didn’t have one at twelve.”

  Rose pursed her lips together. “It’s a flip-phone. Not a smartphone like everyone else’s. It doesn’t count.” She pulled it from her back pocket and held it out like I hadn’t seen it before. “I don’t even know where she found it. I mean, look at it, it’s ancient!”

  I shrugged, even though I agreed with her. I had no idea where Aunt Rowena had conjured the prehistoric cell from either but didn’t say so. Instead, I sidestepped the topic and tried to go in a positive direction again.

  “Yeah, but you can call and text your friends still,” I said.

  Rose stared at me for a drawn-out moment without speaking.

  “You don’t get it,” she finally said, her words heavy with irritation. She slipped off my bed and walked to the door. “I’m going to see if Ms. Salsbury is done with the TV yet.”

  “Okay,” I smirked.<
br />
  As soon as she left my room, I took off my glasses and rubbed my eyes. This dang headache wasn’t going anywhere. I needed some peppermint-basil tea. Whenever I had a normal headache from staring at my computer screen too long while studying that did the trick. I hoped it would help in this case too.

  I left the window seat and headed downstairs, searching my brain for anything else I might be able to use to ward away what I feared this headache meant—a persistent spirit was trying to get through—but couldn’t think of anything. I thought about asking Aunt Rowena but then decided against it. She’d resort to making another pendant, one stronger than the one I wore now, and freaking out.

  I hated when she worried. It made me feel like a failure.

  I needed to learn how to handle being an anchor to the other side on my own. I had no clue how though.

  No one else in my family was an anchor. Heck, no one had even known much about it before my gift came along. From what I’d gathered, there weren’t many anchors in the world. Which meant there wasn’t much information about them anywhere and I was sought after because my gift was so rare.

  Once, I’d been kidnapped and forced to tap into the other side so a vampire chick could find her dead sister. A shiver slipped through me at the memory as I continued down the two flights of stairs to the kitchen. My fingers reached for the pendant hanging from my neck. Not only was it supposed to help keep me hidden from those who wanted to use my gift for their own reasons like she had, but it was also meant to help keep the other side stable.

  Sometimes it worked for that and others it didn’t.