myself.”
Chapter 8
Josephine and Mark were seated side-by-side at her dining room table with a standard wand resting in front of them. There were three wands off to the side to be worked as well. Josephine and Mark had learned it was possible to combine mainstream magic and white magic after discovering a hidden book owned by the previous owners of the house but they had developed their own technique that worked even better. Josephine knew something was wrong as soon as she and Mark started their work on the first wand. She stopped and leveled a concerned look at her boyfriend.
“Are you all right?” she asked.
Mark’s expression was pained. “I can’t help you tonight. It’s burnout.”
Josephine was stunned and a mixture of emotions raged inside her. She ached with sympathy for Mark as she’d known how badly he wanted this to work out and at the same time disappointment that they could no longer do this together. She would never admit it but there was a small measure of relief as well because she’d known that within a year or two Mark would have to turn back to mainstream magic. It was inevitable. She had wanted to support him in his endeavor but in reality, white magic was just a temporary condition.
“Are you sure?” Josephine finally asked.
“I’m positive. I started having trouble using my power yesterday. My abilities haven’t been working quite right and it’s gotten worse. Earlier tonight, it was extremely difficult to fix my family’s magic back to the way it was. And now, it’s so hard to produce light energy that it causes me pain.”
Josephine embraced Mark as she grieved for his loss. “I’m so sorry, sweetheart.”
The two of them held each other for several long moments until the sound of a persistent tapping from the window caught their attention. Josephine pulled away and turned to see a white dove pecking its beak against the window.
“For heaven’s sakes,” Josephine muttered.
“I think he wants inside.” Mark crossed the room.
“I don’t care what he wants.”
Mark paused and leveled a pleading look at his girlfriend. “I’d like to talk to him. Maybe he can help me with the burnout.”
Josephine nodded with reluctant assent. Mark opened the window and Perry flew into the room. He exploded in a sparkling white cloud before transforming into his human form. Mark closed the window and stood beside Josephine.
“I’m a being of light so I think there are a few things I know about the properties of light energy that may help you,” Perry said.
“All right. We’re listening.” Mark crossed his arms across his chest in a defensive posture.
Perry began pacing back and forth. “The garden in the backyard contains a complex series of enchantments. They’re designed for both protection and to serve as a power center for white magic practitioners. Obviously, Arabella is the one who created it and she spent most of her waking hours there. That is how she made it for so many years. Almost every day, she spent virtually every waking hour in the garden. That is the secret to her success.”
“I can’t spend all my time out there,” Mark said.
“You’ve been spending about an hour a day puttering in the yard,” Josephine pointed out. “You must have intuitively realized it was beneficial.”
Perry cast a concerned gaze at Mark. “You’ve reached the point where your body needs a constant stream of light energy to sustain the extra energy nodes it has created. These nodes provide you with the ability to generate larger amounts of source energy. It’s just part of the process.”
“Why does white magic work that way? It’s doomed to failure.”
“That’s only because no one understands it well enough.” Perry stopped pacing and pinned Mark with an earnest look. “You need to start sleeping in the garden every night. I’m certain it will sustain you.”
“I can’t just camp out in Josephine’s backyard. It’s ridiculous,” Mark
Chapter 8
Josephine and Mark were seated side-by-side at her dining room table with a standard wand resting in front of them. There were three wands off to the side to be worked as well. Josephine and Mark had learned it was possible to combine mainstream magic and white magic after discovering a hidden book owned by the previous owners of the house but they had developed their own technique that worked even better. Josephine knew something was wrong as soon as she and Mark started their work on the first wand. She stopped and leveled a concerned look at her boyfriend.
“Are you all right?” she asked.
Mark’s expression was pained. “I can’t help you tonight. It’s burnout.”
Josephine was stunned and a mixture of emotions raged inside her. She ached with sympathy for Mark as she’d known how badly he wanted this to work out and at the same time disappointment that they could no longer do this together. She would never admit it but there was a small measure of relief as well because she’d known that within a year or two Mark would have to turn back to mainstream magic. It was inevitable. She had wanted to support him in his endeavor but in reality, white magic was just a temporary condition.
“Are you sure?” Josephine finally asked.
“I’m positive. I started having trouble using my power yesterday. My abilities haven’t been working quite right and it’s gotten worse. Earlier tonight, it was extremely difficult to fix my family’s magic back to the way it was. And now, it’s so hard to produce light energy that it causes me pain.”
Josephine embraced Mark as she grieved for his loss. “I’m so sorry, sweetheart.”
The two of them held each other for several long moments until the sound of a persistent tapping from the window caught their attention. Josephine pulled away and turned to see a white dove pecking its beak against the window.
“For heaven’s sakes,” Josephine muttered.
“I think he wants inside.” Mark crossed the room.
“I don’t care what he wants.”
Mark paused and leveled a pleading look at his girlfriend. “I’d like to talk to him. Maybe he can help me with the burnout.”
Josephine nodded with reluctant assent. Mark opened the window and Perry flew into the room. He exploded in a sparkling white cloud before transforming into his human form. Mark closed the window and stood beside Josephine.
“I’m a being of light so I think there are a few things I know about the properties of light energy that may help you,” Perry said.
“All right. We’re listening.” Mark crossed his arms across his chest in a defensive posture.
Perry began pacing back and forth. “The garden in the backyard contains a complex series of enchantments. They’re designed for both protection and to serve as a power center for white magic practitioners. Obviously, Arabella is the one who created it and she spent most of her waking hours there. That is how she made it for so many years. Almost every day, she spent virtually every waking hour in the garden. That is the secret to her success.”
“I can’t spend all my time out there,” Mark said.
“You’ve been spending about an hour a day puttering in the yard,” Josephine pointed out. “You must have intuitively realized it was beneficial.”
Perry cast a concerned gaze at Mark. “You’ve reached the point where your body needs a constant stream of light energy to sustain the extra energy nodes it has created. These nodes provide you with the ability to generate larger amounts of source energy. It’s just part of the process.”
“Why does white magic work that way? It’s doomed to failure.”
“That’s only because no one understands it well enough.” Perry stopped pacing and pinned Mark with an earnest look. “You need to start sleeping in the garden every night. I’m certain it will sustain you.”
“I can’t just camp out in Josephine’s backyard. It’s ridiculous,” Mark
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