“Well, how’s that for fucking ominous,” Seth said, blowing out a sharp breath.
“Shut up and let her tell the story,” Sadie said.
“It starts with your mother. Of all my kids, I know I’ve never talked much about her. Raising five children, it’s—well, you do the best you can. But there are some things you need to know. Just remember, I did the best I could. And I didn’t know—but then again, I’m getting ahead of myself. Your mother—boy, she was wild as a March hare from the moment she could walk and talk. The older she got, the worse it got. I swear that girl didn’t have a brain in her head sometimes. Florence—your mother—she was the middle child, the wild one. And then your Aunt Tava, she was …”
“The unhinged one?” Seth chimed in.
“Quirky,” Sadie corrected him. “I miss her.”
“She was the oldest,” Gigi continued. “So, she got to figure out who she was without anyone telling her who she should be. And then Kay—hoo boy—my second born. It’s been years and years since you kids have seen her.”
“I remember covering my ears a lot when she would visit,” Seth said.
“She never did know how to talk quietly,” Gigi said with amusement. “She’s the dramatic one. Her magic was always unstable, too volatile. Your Aunt Anne, the second youngest, she was always a little nervous Nellie. She was sick when she was young. I think I coddled her too much, and it stuck with her. And then the baby, your Uncle Brian. The genius Mr. Know-It-All.
“For each of them, their magic was different. They all took to it in different ways. But Florence, she was a firecracker, all right. It wasn’t until she turned eight that I realized she was an amplifier, a conduit.”
“A what?” Seth asked at the same time Sadie breathed, “Oh.”
“An amplifier. You remember, sugar?” Gigi asked Sadie, who nodded numbly.
“I forgot my witch dictionary, so what the hell does that mean?” Seth demanded.
“Every hundred years or so in every magical family there’s a sort of prodigy born. Their magic is stronger, amplified, more unpredictable, and it swells until it spills over.”
“Okay? So? Our mom was what, like a super witch?”
“Stop saying ‘witch,’” Sadie said. “We’re not witches. We use symbolism and the power of the earth, that’s all. Magic doesn’t mean witches.”
“Potato, potahto.” Seth rolled his eyes. “What does it mean, then?”
“It means they act as a conduit to amplify another person’s magic. And it sends out a kind of signal.”
“Bat signal?” Seth asked.
“Can you be serious for five seconds?” Sadie demanded, annoyed.
“A signal,” Gigi interrupted them, “that those who would want to use someone like that for their own, usually dark ends can take advantage of. Instead of living in fear, your mother was fearless, and anybody who came for her be damned. She tried to use her magic out. By the time she was a teenager, she trailed sparks behind her wherever she went. Started fires without meaning to. Anyway,” Gigi went on, “she moved out as soon as she turned eighteen, tried to leave all that magic behind her. Much like somebody else we know.” She gave Seth a sharp look. “It didn’t work. It never works.” She sighed, shaking her head and pulling a blanket over her lap as if to keep out the chill of old memories. “People loved your mother. Even if she was hard and cruel, and especially when she was convincing you to do something you shouldn’t. Men fell in love with her after a single glance, and she couldn’t shake them. Well, I knew the second she brought Julian home that he was bad news. See, he had the magic in him, but it was bad magic. Dark, let me tell you. He was a seeker, alright. The bastard. He wanted to use your mother as a conduit.”
“I don’t get it. What could he do? Wave a magic wand and steal her, like, essence or magic, or what?” Seth asked.
“It doesn’t work like that.” Sadie’s sigh was exasperated.
“Hush now,” Gigi told them both. “He lured her in. Your momma, she was enchanted. At first by his charm and promises. He told her he could get rid of her magic. They performed a dark ritual together, but it wasn’t to rid her of her magic. It was to make her fertile.”
“What?” the twins demanded at once.
“That took an unexpected turn,” Seth added drily.
“Most times, the amplifier’s curse, it’s to never be able to bear children. That’s one of the reasons they’re so incredibly rare.”