Boundary Born (Boundary Magic Book 3) - Melissa F. Olson Page 0,58

of them left.”

Lily nodded. “But that still doesn’t explain how he got the wraiths inside them,” she pointed out.

“Sophia,” I said abruptly. Looking at them, I added, “He said his mother is a boundary witch, and apparently she looks younger than him. That means she’s got strong magic, right? She must have figured out a way to harness and trap the wraiths.”

“How do you know he was telling the truth about his mother?” Simon asked. “He lied about being your father.”

“But that picture he gave me was real. And I checked, he really does own a New Age shop in Nova Scotia . . . which probably sells crystals. God, I’m an idiot.”

“No, he just mixed truths in with his lies,” Lily said, rescuing me. “He’s smart.”

“Yeah, but why? What’s the point of all this?” I said, frustrated. My throat hurt, and I felt so far out of my depth it was threatening to choke me all over again.

“He tried to kill Maven,” Simon mused. “Twice.”

“Does he want Colorado?” Lily said.

Simon looked doubtful. “I only met him briefly, but he didn’t seem like the world-domination type. And he’s not even a witch. How would he expect to hold a whole state?”

“No, he’s working for someone,” I concluded.

“Who?”

“Our father. Whoever the hell that is.”

Chapter 24

It was obvious that we needed to do more research on gravitational magic, but Simon and Lily didn’t have any special resources. Their texts were limited to witch magic.

A few minutes on the internet proved that there was a ton of information out there about crystals, but much of it was contradictory or unsupported.

“We need a library run,” Lily concluded. “Or maybe one of those New Age bookstores. There’s one downtown where I get my sage.”

I started to stand up, but she put a hand on my arm. “Not you,” she ordered. Getting up from the table, she went to the fridge and got a bottle of one of those sports drinks with electrolytes. “You need to drink this and go back to bed.”

“I have to go home to take care of the herd anyway,” I protested. “I might as well go to the library too.”

Lily just cocked an eyebrow. “Have you looked in a mirror yet?”

That brought me up short. “Huh?”

“You look like you . . . um . . . saw a ghost,” Simon said, with a wince of apology. “If anyone sees those bruises, you’re gonna get some attention.”

Right. I’d forgotten. I dragged myself into the little bathroom and took a look in the mirror. My jaw dropped open. I looked . . . well, actually, I looked like one of the wraiths. My skin was deadly pale except for a spectacular purplish bruise on my cheekbone, which was just beginning to lighten to blue around the edges. I tilted my head up to get a good look at the matching ring of bruising around my neck. It was fainter and less defined, but just as purple as my face. Meanwhile, there were dark circles under my eyes, and my hair hung in lifeless clumps around my face.

I sighed. I could come up with a story for the facial bruise, but my neck couldn’t be mistaken for anything but strangulation. If I bumped into any of my family members looking like this, they’d frog-march me to the police station to file a report on whoever did this.

I went back out to Simon and Lily. “I can’t just let you guys do all the work,” I argued. “This is my case.”

“Lex,” Lily said gently, “you are literally leaning against the doorframe because you’re too weak to stand.”

I straightened up. “No, I’m not.”

It took a bit more negotiating, but I finally agreed to rest for another hour while Lily took care of the herd and stopped at the Lighthouse Bookstore, a New Age store on Pearl that probably had a lot in common with Emil’s store in Nova Scotia. It was likely to have some texts that weren’t exactly science-based. She would also bring back makeup, clothes, and a scarf from my cabin. Meanwhile, Simon would make a trip to Boulder’s main library, where he would bring back everything he could find on crystals. Then we’d reconvene for the actual research.

I fell into Simon’s bed with a blissful relief that only increased my guilt.

And opened my eyes in my old bedroom.

Out of curiosity, I reached up and touched my face. No bruises when I was in the dream-space. Interesting. I looked up and saw Sam, sitting