this one. Leaning in, she centered her attention until it was distilled to pure brain power. It was like her body evaporated around her, and she flew up the sinews of the woman she was seeking to cure.
There, at the center of this poor woman’s heart, was a dark knot. It was a grim, tangled mass, and Kelly set to unraveling it. At first tentatively, but as it pulled free in places, she grew in confidence. The thing unfurled bit by bit, and Kelly worked in a kind of divine fury until it fell away into clean lines and melted into air.
“Oh my god.”
The mystified voice sent Kelly reeling back into her own body, and she cracked open her eyes to see a pair of fully human hands resting in her own. The face she looked into was feminine, if tired. Even so, it glowed with relief and rapture.
“Not too bad, Miss Holloway.”
Kelly looked up to Owyn and saw his lips curled into something suspiciously akin to a smile.
“Not bad at all.”
Fourteen
Beyond the solarium garden at the back of the house, there were acres of pasture. In a sunken area off to one side, a shallow depression and a filigree of rocks suggested a pool or pond, but over the years it had filled with dirt and become so overgrown it didn’t even vaguely resemble a body of water. Kelly stood over it, frowning.
“Maybe we could get a crew in here to clean it up,” she wondered aloud.
She could see it in her mind—a perfectly manicured lawn spreading from the big doors at the back of the solarium leading down into the curved pathway and beautiful, clear blue pool.
As the idle words left her lips, the vines covering the damp area tightened and creaked. Kelly got the hint. Don’t try to dig up the pool. With a sigh, she turned from her own personal swamp and headed for the big double doors at the back of the solarium.
They had planned a picnic and an exploration of the grounds. Once they'd moved beyond the shelter of the covered garden, they realized just how overgrown the rest of the place was. There were remnants of a stone pathway that led into the thick grass and trees and, beyond that, some red brick buildings, probably stables and equipment sheds. Kelly felt sure she would never do more than speculate about that.
At the very suggestion of anyone venturing into that wilderness, the surrounding vegetation responded as if it was Poison Ivy’s lair. Even Kelly didn’t dare mess with the simmering malevolence that emanated from the orchard behind the main grounds. As they had come through the doors of the covered garden, the house had swept clear a small space for their picnic but refused to let them explore. It was a very clear go no further.
Kelly sat down on the blanket and Tiffany passed her a sandwich. She glanced back toward the open doors of the covered garden and was encouraged by what she saw. The stone pathways were mostly clear, the vines and plants all slowly getting back into their beds. The massive vines which blocked the full sun from the glass roof were no longer dead and dry, but green and lush. Within a few days it would look like a garden of eternal spring.
It was this effort that had made Kelly determined to push through into the rest of the grounds. If they could encourage the house to clean itself up, Louie would probably be pretty impressed, but as usual, the house didn’t care about keeping up appearances.
Since Aurora’s overflow of magic had leaked into the garden and helped it bloom, other vegetation in the area of the house’s influence had been reaching out to her. It was as if the house was addicted to her. Kelly watched with interest as a honeysuckle vine slid across the ground and gently caressed Aurora’s foot before curling around her ankle.
“Knock it off,” Aurora muttered.
The vine immediately obeyed, curling away from her in obvious misery. Aurora kept one eye on it as she poured herself some iced tea, daring it to disobey.
Tiffany rattled her margarita. “Am I the only one imbibing? I mean, I know you are, Kelly, but it’s a virgin so it doesn’t count.”
“It’s the only part of me that is a virgin,” she muttered.
She had to go to work soon and wanted a clear head. It surprised her to feel this way. Not so long ago, she would have downed the