Hazel's Heart Read online

  He moved slowly across the rock face to Mayor Bates, laying in a quivering mass in a corner. “It’s over, Mayor Bates,” he said. “The Master has—”

  Suddenly, the fiery pillar swooped over Donovan’s shoulder and engulfed Mayor Bates. Jumping back, Donovan was shocked to see nothing left of the mayor but a narrow pile of ashes that slowly blew away in the wind.

  “Donovan, listen to me.”

  Donovan stopped and looked around. There was no one there.

  “Donovan, you can’t see me with your eyes, but you can hear me in your mind,” the voice said. “I have been watching you, and I like what I see. I would like you to be my commander.”

  Donovan felt his heart pound in his chest. Was it fear or excitement?

  I can do this, he thought. I can get close and help destroy him from the inside.

  Donovan walked over to the rift and looked down at the churning lava. “Yes, Master, I am yours to command,” he said.

  Cat froze, her hand only inches away from Donovan’s shoulder, and her eyes widened as she heard his words. Biting back a tearful sob, she stepped backwards away from the man she’d once loved.

  Chapter Sixty-nine

  Hazel sat on a love seat wrapped in a blanket and Joseph’s arms. Agnes brought her a cup of tea. “How are you feeling, sweetheart?” Agnes asked.

  “Much better,” Hazel said. “Thank you, Mom.”

  Joseph leaned forward and kissed her head, wrapping his arms even more securely around her. She looked up at him and laughed. “I’m not going anywhere,” she teased.

  He looked down at her. “No,” he said. “You’re not. And neither am I.”

  Her eyes filled with tears, and she lifted a hand and stroked his chin. “I’m so glad,” she whispered. “So very glad.”

  “You did it,” he told her. “You saved me.”

  “How?” she asked.

  “I heard your heart,” he replied. “I heard the echo of your heart against mine when I was running, and I remembered the last time I’d heard it. And then I remembered you.”

  He kissed her tenderly and then lifted his head. “I should have known I could never forget you,” he said.

  “What I want to know,” Henry said, and then he turned to Hazel. “And I don’t mean this the way it’s going to sound. But, why did the Mas…I mean, the mosquito choose Helga?”

  Hazel nodded. “I agree,” she said. “I mean, I’m really glad he did, but, yeah, why?”

  Rowan glanced over at Agnes, and Agnes nodded.

  “Okay you two,” Hazel said. “No secrets. What’s up?”

  “Well, actually, it’s our fault,” Rowan said. “Henry’s and mine.”

  “What?” Henry asked, sitting up and looking at Rowan. “What did I do?”

  “When we did the DNA transfer, we didn’t think of all of the possible ramifications,” she answered. “And when we created the spells, we didn’t think about what our words could mean other than what we thought we meant.”

  “What? What did our words mean?” Henry asked.

  Then he repeated the words from the spell.

  “To heal a wound that lies deep inside,

  We ask for power to be astral guides.

  Two becomes one, resolve and remedy.

  Life is renewed, so mote it be.”

  He turned to Rowan and smiled. “No,” he said. “Really?”

  She nodded. “I checked,” she replied. “Really!”

  He laughed delightedly. “That’s wonderful,” he said, smiling at Hazel and Joseph. “I mean that’s really wonderful.”

  Hazel looked at Henry and then at Rowan. “What?” she asked. “What’s so wonderful?”

  “The Master didn’t choose you because he needed a virgin,” Rowan said.

  “Wait!” both Joseph and Hazel protested.

  “Which, you still are, technically,” Henry inserted. “But when you and Joseph merged.”

  “And our spell included two becoming one and life being renewed,” Rowan asked.

  “And then, when you were so sick,” Agnes added.

  “I’m still lost,” Hazel said. “What are we talking about here?”

  Rowan stood up, walked over to her sister and placed her hands on her shoulders. “You’re pregnant,” she said.

  “What?” Hazel stammered, placing her hands on her abdomen. “But I can’t…”

  “I looked,” Rowan said. “Mom asked me to look because she felt an extra spirit when she hugged you.”

  “But, even it’s that true, the baby is still too little,” Hazel argued.

  “I accelerated its growth,” Rowan said. “When I accelerated the DNA process.”

  Hazel looked up to see Joseph gazing at her in wonder. “Joseph?” she asked quietly.

  He stood, lifted her in his arms, stepped around all of the rest of people in the room and carried her outside to the deck. He gently placed her on a chair and then knelt before her, taking her hands in his own.

  “I adore you,” he said, kissing the palms of her hands. “And this baby is a miracle.”

  Then he reached up and kissed her lips. “You are a miracle.”

  She moved their entwined hands and laid them on her belly. “We are a miracle,” she said softly. “And I’m so relieved I’m not going to have a puppy.”

  With a soft growl, he scooped her out of the chair, pulled her down into his lap, and kissed her until they were both breathless.

  “My heart,” he whispered, kissing her once again. “My only heart.”

  The End

  About the author: Terri Reid lives near Freeport, the home of the Mary O’Reilly Mystery Series, and loves a good ghost story. An independent author, Reid uploaded her first book “Loose Ends – A Mary O’Reilly Paranormal Mystery” in August 2010. By the end of 2013, “Loose Ends” had sold over 200,000 copies. She has sixteen other books in the Mary O’Reilly Series, the first books in the following series - “The Blackwood Files,” “The Order of Brigid’s Cross,” and “The Legend of the Horsemen.” She also has a stand-alone romance, “Bearly in Love.” Reid has enjoyed Top Rated and Hot New Release status in the Women Sleuths and Paranormal Romance category through Amazon US. Her books have been translated into Spanish, Portuguese and German and are also now also available in print and audio versions. Reid has been quoted in several books about the self-publishing industry including “Let’s Get Digital” by David Gaughran and “Interviews with Indie Authors: Top Tips from Successful Self-Published Authors” by Claire and Tim Ridgway. She was also honored to have some of her works included in A. J. Abbiati’s book “The NORTAV Method for Writers – The Secrets to Constructing Prose Like the Pros.”

  She loves hearing from her readers at [email protected]

  Other Books by Terri Reid:

  Mary O’Reilly Paranormal Mystery Series:

  Loose Ends (Book One)

  Good Tidings (Book Two)

  Never Forgotten (Book Three)

  Final Call (Book Four)

  Darkness Exposed (Book Five)

  Natural Reaction (Book Six)

  Secret Hollows (Book Seven)

  Broken Promises (Book Eight)

  Twisted Paths (Book Nine)

  Veiled Passages (Book Ten)

  Bumpy Roads (Book Eleven)

  Treasured Legacies (Book Twelve)

  Buried Innocence (Book Thirteen)

  Stolen Dreams (Book Fourteen)

  Haunted Tales (Book Fifteen)

  Deadly Circumstances (Book Sixteen)

  Frayed Edges (Book Seventeen)

  Delayed Departures (Book Eighteen)

  Old Acquaintance (Book Nineteen)

  Clear Expectations (Book Twenty)

  Finders Mansion Mystery Series

  Maybelle’s Secret

  Mary O’Reilly Short Stories

  The Three Wise Guides

  Tales Around the Jack O’Lantern 1

  Tales Around the Jack O’Lantern 2

  Tales Around the Jack O’Lantern 3
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  Auld Lang Syne

  The Order of Brigid’s Cross (Sean’s Story)

  The Wild Hunt (Book 1)

  The Faery Portal (Book 2)

  The Blackwood Files (Art’s Story)

  File One: Family Secrets

  File Two: Private Wars

  PRCD Case Files: The Ghosts Of New Orleans -A Paranormal Research and Containment Division Case File

  Eochaidh: Legend of the Horseman (Book One)

  Eochaidh: Legend of the Horsemen (Book Two)

  Sweet Romances

  Bearly in Love

  Sneakers – A Swift Romance

  Lethal Distraction – A Pierogies & Pumps Mystery Novella

  The Willoughby Witches

  Rowan’s Responsibility