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“That would be the magic spell blood test.” He smirked, and I warmed to him.
I made an “aw darn” movement with my hand. “Ah, a combination. I should have seen that coming.”
He smiled and then whispered, “I can do it now if you like. I shouldn’t since we are supposed to be reserving our magic for later, but family helps family, and I know I wouldn’t want to wait.”
Confused by the whispering, I replied hesitantly, “I mean, if you can, that would be great.”
“Hand please.” I reached out my hand, and he pricked my index finger with a needle he magicked out of nowhere. And it fucking hurt, but I didn’t make a sound because I didn’t want him to think I was a wuss. “Sorry.”
He released my hand, and I looked at the drop of blood on the needle. “Now what?” I asked.
He shook the needle so the drop of blood hit the palm of his hand. “Watch.” Then rays of light emerged from around the drop, and as they grew longer, some also grew thicker.
“What’s happening?” I wasn’t sure if I should ask because he needed to concentrate, but since I was a witch too now, I was interested to know how this was done.
“You’re aware that Bradburys find things?”
“That’s what I was told.”
“I’m finding your closest living relatives and asking them to call me.” The strings of light now resembled tentacles, and they danced as they continued to get larger and longer. One of them suckered itself to Simon. He laughed in a kind of startled but pleased way.
“What does that mean?” I pointed to the string attached to him.
“Means I’m your cousin. Welcome to the family.”
I blinked. “No way.”
“Way.”
I was officially mind-blown. I had a family. Real blood relatives. One was right in front of me. “Fuck.”
He nodded, seeming to understand how I was feeling. “I’m just searching for your other parental line. And hopefully we’ll hear from them soon.”
I frowned. “What if they are normal humans? They won’t see the tentacles and the message, will they? That would definitely fuck them up.”
“No. If they are human, they won’t see anything, but they’ll find you. They won’t feel better until they do. It won’t happen immediately, but eventually, you’ll find out who they are.”
I sat, mouth agape and dazed. “I can’t believe it. I knew I could find almost anything for anyone. But I couldn’t find my family. It drove me fucking mad. You just did that in seconds.”
He considered that. “Maybe they are witches, then. They could cloak themselves from your search. Not much else can withstand the hunt of a Bradbury.”
The light dimmed, and the blood dried. Simon smiled widely at me. “Is it weird if I hug you?”
“A little. I’ll accept it, though.”
He laughed and pulled me out of my seat and in for a manly hug, including the essential three back slaps. It made me feel better. Welcomed. I chuckled. “This is so strange. My mother was an only child, so Grandma is definitely keeping secrets.”
“The name goes through the mother’s line?”
He nodded and took a bite of his sandwich that he’d set aside to do the seeking spell. “Witches are matriarchal. I’m lucky not to be married off to a witch of higher status, but my sisters are still too young to be the head of the family, so I’m safe for the moment.”
“Rough.” I grimaced.
He shrugged. “It’s a male witch’s life. I can’t wait to introduce you to them all and see the look on Grandma’s face.”
I made a face. “That won’t be fun. Maybe she had a reason for giving my parent away. Maybe she was raped and didn’t want to be reminded. Maybe she had them outside of wedlock and was ashamed. Maybe she had a vision that the baby was going to be a mass murderer, so she sent it away to a baby prison.”
He was silent. “You know, the first two actually made me feel bad. The last made me admire your creativity. Nice job.”
