Kiss of Frost (The Dragon Stone Saga Book 1)(5)

"She doesn't, but I'll fill her in tonight. You both need to be on guard. Protect yourselves as much as you can."

I nod. "And what if we can't find these items in time?"

"We will. I know we will." Ann rubs a hand down my arm and her touch calms my nerves just a bit.

"I hope you're right. This is all a jumbled mess."

"I know. But we'll sort it out in the morning. Kay will help you and Jem look for the stones, and with any luck, we'll be able to get them hidden someplace safe."

"What about the other stones? In the ring and the bracelet? What if they go after those people who have no idea they're walking around with magical objects on their person?"

"We'll get them back. Don't worry, I've got a plan. Get some rest."

"Oh, by the way, Kay saw my altar earlier. I talked a little bit about magic with her but something tells me she has no idea she's magical. We should figure out a game plan on how to tell her."

"I'll think on it. Make another cup of tea and go to bed. Love you."

"Love you too, Mom." I wave as she walks out the door, locking it behind her.

I watch through the window until I see Ann's car turn the corner. Taking a few calming breaths, I drink the rest of my tea and put Ann's and Kay's cups in the sink. Worry for the young girl creates a headache at my temples and I try to breathe through it. We're going to help her. If there's anything magical out there after Kay, the tourmaline will block it. We'll find the stones and get them hidden.

Another day, another mystery. What else is new.



Earlier than the ass-crack of dawn, there's a knock on my door and I stumble to the front door to open it, coffee cup in hand.

Kay stands there with a hopeful smile stretched across her lips and a box of doughnuts thrust outward like she's warding off the she-beast that is me in the morning. "Morning!"

"Morning." I grumble the words and try to paste a smile on my lips as I scan her for any signs of harm both physically and magically. I don't find any. "Was everything okay last night? No surprise visitors?"

"I don't think so. I had the house to myself." Kay frowns. "You're not a morning person?"

"Not if I can help it." I sip my coffee and wave a hand. "Let me at those doughnuts and I'll finish getting ready and we'll be off."

Kay opens the box and I snag a plain glazed one, shoving half of it in my mouth, not caring that I probably look like a savage.

"Be right back." I stumble back to my closet and quickly toss on a black T-shirt and some of my favorite cutoff jeans. The warm mixture of robust coffee and doughy sweetness hits my stomach and I feel like a new woman as I pull on my black Converse sneakers. "You ready?"

"As I'll ever be." Kay grabs the doughnuts and I swing my hair up into a ponytail once again. Ready to dive into the dusty mess that is Ann and Jem's garage. At this point I should just invest in pharmaceutical companies to develop a stronger allergy medicine.

We pull up to their house about ten minutes later and Kay's mouth hangs open at the old New England style mansion. I reach over and gently push her chin up so she doesn't drool on herself. I almost did the same thing the first time I came here. The two-story house looks like it goes on forever in both directions. It kind of does, but I know how intimidating it can be either way.

"It's an old family house. They're well off, but they work hard to keep what they have."

"Sure. Okay."

We walk into the house to the pounding sound of an old rock ballad and I smile. Jem must be getting ready upstairs. She's always blasted music while she gets ready. I used to want to murder her when I wanted to sleep in.

"Come on, we can start looking for the gems in here." I lead Kay into the sunroom and we both plop down in front of boxes, digging right in. About a half an hour later, Jem stops short as she enters the room, her gaze focused on Kay.

"You must be Kay. I heard all about you from my mom last night."

"I'm grabbing coffee. Be right back." I walk away, keeping an ear on Jem and Kay, and head for the liquid nirvana.

"So let me get a look at you." Jem's lyrical voice carries into the kitchen and I take my time doctoring my coffee. "How old are you?"

"I'm seventeen. Why?" Her tone is edgy. Either from stress about the situation or anxiety of wanting to get to work, I'm not sure which.

"I'm just curious. You're very powerful for someone who isn't eighteen yet."

"Powerful? I don't know what you mean." Kay's face is scrunched in confusion when I enter the room and I jump into the conversation.

"I don't think she knows, Jem." I give her a pointed look and her mouth forms a perfect O before snapping shut.

"Never mind, my mistake." Jem smiles wide and looks to me to save her.

"Do you want any coffee, Kay? Or do you need anything before we dive back in? I grabbed you a drink." I ask the questions quickly, hoping to distract her.

"I just want to get my family back," Kay whispers.

"We know you do. So let's get back to looking." I hand Kay a water bottle and settle down beside her, keeping an eye on her as we work. Jem turns on some music, this time at a lower volume, and we go through box after box, each one full of a whole lot of not what we're looking for. Scrying for the necklace had only gotten us to the garage. Past that, it was up to us to find it. Magic isn't always exact despite what everyone thinks.