Page 5 of Amateur Goddess (Morrigan University #3)

Tracey got the treat truck set up at the first location and met up with me and several people for what was on the agenda. I was glamoured to look like someone who might be a cousin of Jasmine’s… And the realtor who was going to show us properties wasn’t happy about it.

He’d made a few snide comments, and by the fifth property, I lost my temper.

“You’re an idiot for thinking that I wouldn’t be glamoured around you,” I snapped. “Seriously, like so fucking stupid it’s making me rethink working with you.” I ignored the snickers from those who were with us and focused on the man. “People constantly try to find out who I am and it’s a huge thing—people willing to pay millions to get my name.

“But we’re just going to let a random realtor we’ve never worked with before know? And you’re pissed. Not just a little bit, but a lot, which means you were already counting on it and probably bragged you were going to know—or ready to sell it. Which means we were absolutely right to do it this way. So enough already, and do your fucking job before we have a problem.”

Tracey snorted. “We’re already going to have it because three of the properties aren’t in the parameters we asked for. And yes, he was running his mouth that he’s doing a deal with Familiar Treasures and would know the location of our new expansion.”

“I’ve already put in a call to the owner,” Jasmine said.

The realtor had the balls to snort at her. “Right, like he’s going to take your word over mine.”

“Because he’s sexist. Yes, I’ve learned as much, and he was clear that I should be grateful that he was even willing to send out one of his busy warlocks to bother with women daring to buy real estate.” She smiled brightly at him. “But there is so much more to life than your boss. Your reputation is important in this business.”

“And not being able to perform is always so embarrassing for a man,” Tracey drawled as she reached over and snatched the other listings away from him. She gave him a disgusted look. “This doesn’t fit either. You are inept and can’t keep confidentiality and want to sell out your clients.”

He looked at her straight in the eyes and chuckled. “You’re witches, not clients.”

“Jasmine, I’m going to need you to defend me in a High Council case,” I said before storming over to the guy.

Wyatt—who was also using a glamour—caught me around the waist and spun me away. “You’re too talented to be in prison.”

“True, but someone with this small of a penis probably wouldn’t even report getting his ass beat by a woman because he’d be embarrassed,” I growled as I pulled against him.

“Run along, you disgusting man,” Mrs. Oliveria said firmly. “You might not respect us witches, but my mate is on the council. You should have enough self-perseveration to behave better in front of me.”

The guy mumbled something that maybe he thought counted as an apology before circling away.

I gave Tracey a confused look.

She sighed and rubbed her hand over her hair. “Yes, using a warlock realtor was a stupid mistake, I see that now. I’m sorry. I’ve been bogged down and—”

I was glad when Wyatt let me go because I went right over to her and hugged her. “I’m not picking on you or mad. I’m just not understanding. I miss a lot, and you put things into Bevin for me. That’s all.”

She kissed my hair. “Doing this through humans would take so much longer. We’re not looking at one area or state even. We have rough parameters, and mostly you want the feel of a place.”

“I would have thought a realtor in our world too,” Jasmine sighed. “But of course, there aren’t any female ones and… Whatever, we can figure this out another way.”

“I don’t mean to overstep, but I didn’t know you were using a realtor,” Nigel muttered. “I thought we were just going to places all over, and if Bev liked the vibe, we could talk to… I don’t really know how real estate works. The human real estate office is how the movies do it.”

Mrs. Oliveria chuckled. “Apparently, there is a useful warlock with us today, simply not the one who would have demanded a large commission.” She nodded when Nigel seemed hesitant. “Show us what you have.”

Tracey nudged me when Nigel still didn’t hand it over, and I realized I was missing some signal or whatever was going on. He was waiting for me to give permission?

Why?

I shook off my confusion and just went with it, moving by Nigel.

He smiled and slid off his backpack, pulling out a folder of papers. “I didn’t really know what I was doing, but given what you were talking about and kinda looking at weather patterns, I thought Tennessee was a nice option.”

“We thought the same,” Tracey admitted, gesturing between herself and Jasmine.

Jasmine nodded. “You don’t want too hot or too cold given you would spend a fortune keeping the enclosures where you needed them. Water not freezing to ice in winter would be nice, but then you’re going to have too hot of summers, and that’s dangerous with familiars in a big thing that you’re planning. Not too far east or west for crazy ocean weather.”

I nodded along, all smart points.

“Plus, some of the harsher weather gets brushed over because of the mountains,” Nigel added. “I heard that about Colorado—especially Colorado Springs because they have mountains on three sides, but it’s really dry there, and I thought could be a problem.”

“And pretty developed with all the military bases and the United States Olympic training facilities being there,” Jasmine muttered. “You’d get too much attention buying land there that people would probably want. Tennessee isn’t as developed in several spots.”

“Exactly.” Nigel handed me the folder. “I just printed the first page of the land listing. A bunch of them don’t even have houses and seemed to be used for hunting permits?”

Several people winced as if that would go against the vibe I wanted, but that wouldn’t do anything significant. It was the circle of life and as long as blood magic wasn’t done, it wouldn’t taint the land.

Tracey tapped my shoulder as I ignored the hunting thing and kept looking. “It means we’re going to need extra security and magic to keep the humans away. If people are used to using the land for hunting, they’re going to be assholes and accidentally forget their permits weren’t for that area.”

“Or even stop trying to do it legally because they’re children who can’t be told no—and I say that as a man who doesn’t like to be told no,” Wyatt drawled. “So you’re going to have people you have to handle and then turn over to the local police which could be a problem.”

I nodded, listening to them both. “So we need to talk to Link. People with strong security magic—he would know guards who failed out of the High Council’s program but were talented enough with protection magic to be accepted.”

“I can get you that list,” Mrs. Oliveria said. “And very smart.”

“I don’t think that’s very ethical,” I hedged, not wanting her to get in trouble.

She smiled at me. “No, you’re right. Their privacy and circumstances should be protected. However , contacting them that we remember them and know of an opportunity for them is completely acceptable.”

Yeah, that worked. She could work that out with Tracey.

“Um, Nigel, these are…” I gave him a worried look. I appreciated the help, but I didn’t want to upset him.

“I know, much bigger than you said,” he accepted. “ But that way you don’t have to worry about getting more land later and ooops, you can’t. Given your talent and skills, you could really do a lot more than a familiar spa.”

“Memberships to hike trails and harvest magic,” Jasmine muttered. “People would pay gobs to be allowed to harvest magic somewhere like your estate. And you need land for that. I was going to suggest at least double your original assessment.”

“Yeah, but it’s more to protect and easier for people to find out about,” I worried.

“We need to go into this assuming the location will be found out,” Tracey said gently, everyone else nodding when I flinched. She gave me a hug when I deflated and moved her hands to my cheeks and moved them around like she used to do when I was little and sad. “You trust me, right, Bevy Wevy? You know I’ll make it right and handle this?”

I stuck my tongue out at her, and I knew it probably looked ridiculous when she was making squishy faces with me.

Which was why we both busted out laughing.

She hugged me tightly and kissed my forehead. “Your treats thing was genius for several reasons. Mostly because we don’t have to jump into this now. This can be a long-term project to do right . The brushes, treats, and now large familiar housing are all huge markets. Huge, Bev. And it will make the income to protect this place while we get it going.”

“And more land means you can do more with it,” Mrs. Oliveria added. “I agree with that wholeheartedly.”

“I was going to suggest vacation homes to rent,” Wyatt chimed in, nodding when I glanced at him. “Fuck renting a Vrbo on the beach and drinking with my friends. People would jump at the chance to rent a place to take a good week or weekend to relax and just harvest with their familiars. I would love it.”

“It’s a very good point,” Jasmine agreed. “I know several from school who are struggling, and we forget to recenter ourselves as witches especially. Coming to a place that I knew was protected and secure from human eyes would be everything. Barbeques and even food delivery you could offer for extra—it would be fantastic.”

“Okay, so get more land,” I muttered, bobbing my head. “And right now just finding the land and getting the magic going?”

“Yes,” Tracey confirmed. She smiled when I frowned. “Bev, you’re amazing, but you’re a college freshman. One with serious shit. I won’t ever let you break, okay? Let’s focus on the brushes and treats which—do you have any idea the sales yesterday alone?”

“Oh no, I forgot to ask,” I hedged, glancing around and then mentally shrugging if they found out. “We did well?”

She chuckled. “Our profits paid for that treat truck.”

We both slowly turned and looked at Wyatt who was coughing and thumping his chest. His face turned red as he tried to breathe through whatever was going on with him, and it took him a few minutes to get back under control.

“He and Link were talking that the food truck probably cost a quarter of a million dollars to get it so fast and well done,” Mrs. Oliveria explained as she gave Tracey a look that she better spill.

“Not that much,” Tracey admitted. “I found a place that is basically customizable shells. But we didn’t need anything complicated put in. No stoves. We don’t even have running water or a bathroom. Just the one fridge for the staff’s drinks and food. The rest was secure storage and one work counter.”

“Plus, you got a nice discount with the other order and hint you might need another,” Jasmine muttered, obviously having seen the contracts.

“Yes,” Tracey confirmed, smiling at me. “But it was still expensive. Of course it was. And we bought the place where we’re making the treats and using it as we renovate. That last college we were at until eleven it’s so big. This is huge. Our sales from three colleges just for that demographic covered all the costs for the treats—including labor—and we made a profit to pay for the truck.”

I did quick math in my head and nodded. “Okay, so we have a plan.”

“Yes, and we’re done ramping up with crazy. We still have miles of wait-lists for toys—we’re not going to break you. That’s your damn bumper sticker this year. We’ve had people wait and want product before. We will again because we need to focus on hiring the right people, not just anyone.”

I felt worlds better hearing her say that, nodding and agreeing. “Okay, let’s go look at properties for our business plan for next year.”

“At least, or the next,” she agreed.

Cool.

I admitted to her on the side after we arrived to the first place that part of it was I felt bad that Rita quit her job and wanted the spa to hurry up. Tracey said Rita was fine and happy to have the same pay and a good boss so to leave it to the adults.

Nice. Hopefully, Kelton wouldn’t be upset with me.

We started checking out places, and it was much better than with the realtor, but I immediately became overwhelmed… Well, when I heard how big they were. I’d thought a hundred acres was crazy but eight hundred sounded insane. I was only focusing on that because nothing jumped out at me.

The third one I kind of liked the vibe of, but when Tracey pulled it up on her phone, she ruled it out as being too close to Nashville. That would draw too much attention.

“Hey, you’re doing better than the professional, and something this important takes a team to do right,” Tracey praised Nigel when he seemed down. “Same with the treats. You have her back and focus on her. That’s awesome and makes me like you a lot.”

Which made Wyatt frown.

Oh boy.

It was the seventh property that made me stop worrying and focusing on how much land we were talking.

“Shut up,” I said rudely when people started discussing it. I held up my hand and focused almost like I’d heard something.

But not with my ears?

I shivered and glanced around, trying to figure out what I was feeling or sensing.

“Bev, you gotta talk to us,” Tracey worried, clearly having tried to get through to me. “We need to know if we have to get you out of here.”

“No, it’s not like that,” I muttered, moving towards the trees. “I heard something but not like words.”

“Wait, Bevin, we’re not dressed for hiking,” Jasmine called after me.

Right. Crap.

I sighed and pointed in the direction I wanted to go. “I need to check something out. Something happened here.”

“Wait, what do you think you’re sensing or hearing before you go hurrying off?” Wyatt demanded. “Just blurt it out.”

“Save me,” I mumbled, feeling stupid. I sighed when he gave me a look that wasn’t enough. “It’s like I heard the land say ‘save me.’ Like it—it’s not sad like Grandfather’s was, but… Something happened here.”

“Let’s go check what you want to and they can circle to us,” Nigel offered. He huffed when the four adults argued. “Well, why did you dress like we were going to an office and not to properties to look around for the vibe?” He gestured to the two of us in hiking clothes with good sneakers and then them who were all dressed for brunch.

“While I appreciate your perspective, I’ve never been involved in getting a vibe of land before,” Jasmine replied, her tone a bit tight. “My head was being professional in front of a councilman’s mate when I represent Bevin.”

“Fine, yeah, that’s fair,” Nigel agreed, looking sheepish. “We’re just going to check it out, and we both know Bevin’s fast enough to run from anything.” He gave me a wave to go before they argued anymore.

Nice.

We set off at a pretty fast jog since I wasn’t carrying anything really and he just had his backpack. It wasn’t even five minutes in that my Apple Watch started vibrating that I had a call. I chuckled and pulled out my phone, answering Tracey’s call and putting it on speaker.

“You’re the smart one to get me the watch. I always forget to turn off do not disturb on my phone,” I accepted.

“You’re not perfect. I knew that,” she chuckled. “Can you tell us what you’re feeling or what’s going on?”

“I have no idea besides we’re getting closer.”

“What are you seeing?” Wyatt tried.

“It’s almost like an overgrown path,” Nigel answered, obviously understanding something I didn’t. “I would think maybe it was a path used by a truck a while ago but not anymore. Maybe where the owner of this place used to go hunting or where the old house was? It looks like it went right from the—”

“The fallen apart ruins basically,” he interjected. “They didn’t—whatever used to be here didn’t suit the new owner, and they probably realized it would be cheaper to have new construction instead of trying to fix that up. Tracey’s pulled up the listing and the house isn’t new but isn’t that old. It says about twenty-five years.”

I glanced at what we were running on. “This wouldn’t be visible at all if it’s that old. This is like ten?” I frowned as I took in how tall the trees were around us… And none on the route. “Actually, I have no idea.”

“Send us some pictures,” Jasmine suggested.

“You keep on what you’re feeling. I’ll do it,” Nigel said as he pulled out his phone. “I can catch up.”

I nodded and kept going, knowing he was fast for a few miles and I didn’t think it was more than that.

“Yeah, it’s hard to tell but definitely not recent,” Wyatt said. “It reminds me of the hunting lodge my family has. The old path that used to have the hideouts to hunt ducks but idiots killed them all and none came back. My grandfather said that and it was a lesson not to be gluttons or give everything away to make friends.”

“Great, but how old was it?” Tracey drawled.

I frowned. Had something happened between them? What was with her being snippy with him today?

Whatever, they were adults and could handle it.

“I don’t really know. I was a kid, maybe seven or eight, and he made it sound like my dad and his siblings when they were old enough to have friends come hunting too. So at least probably in their twenties. So yeah, probably twenty years of growing back.”

Nigel caught up and took a few more photos as we went.

It was about another fifteen minutes before we came to a clearing.

“I don’t think this was for hunting,” Nigel said as he held up his phone to take pictures. “This looks more like a party place.”

“I don’t think the type of party we would want to be invited to,” I whispered as I moved closer and held out my hand. I felt the air almost zap me in… Not warning. Calling to me? “Something serious happened here.”

The adults arrived in a circle and Tracey moved up next to me, frowning as she took off the charm that muted her magic. “Yeah, the air is off.” She angled her head but then frowned deeper. “It’s not bad though. Like I don’t sense vengeance or rage.”

“No, but death happened here,” Mrs. Oliveria whispered. “Rage happens if the people responsible are still alive. I would bet they’re not.”

I realized something and glanced around, spotting animals… But they weren’t talking. “Reverence. Even the animals and woods know to respect this place.”

Tracey’s eyes went wide. “You’re right. There’s not so much as a bird chirping.” She shivered and rubbed her arms. “Okay, so moving on to the next place.”

“No, this is the place,” I muttered as something caught my eye in the sunlight. “I think we need to check the history of the land. Maybe what tribes used to be around here.”

“You mean like Native Americans?” Jasmine asked.

I shrugged. “Father’s library had books about the relationship witches and warlocks had with the medicine men of certain tribes. They didn’t have magic like ours because they were still human, but magic ran in the blood of Native Americans.”

“They used to have spirit animals before their land was stolen and their homes were destroyed by our ancestors,” Mrs. Oliveria added. “Not like monster werewolves or disgusting vampires, but protectors.”

We talked about it a bit more as I tried to find what had caught my eye, but then I realized something was up with Nigel. “Are you okay?”

He seemed to snap out of where his mind had been, slapping on a smile. “Yeah, sorry, just on edge since we don’t know what’s going on.”

That was fair.

I felt the air snap like to get my attention and I saw the object in the grass. I moved closer and almost fell over in shock when I squatted down. “Wyatt!”

He was at my side instantly—or maybe not and I couldn’t tell because of the shock. “Another one?” He reached for the key, but I smacked his hand.

“It’s clearly for me. No touchy,” I mumbled as I slowly picked it up.

“Yes, dear,” he drawled under his breath. “Is it the same one again? Are you getting a hint to hurry up and use it?”

“On what? ” I hissed. “It’s not like they come with fucking instructions. Even the bit of the book you gave me said they’re myths. And no, I haven’t had a chance to read much because I’m trying to survive and you know, expand a major company, and not fail Spell Circles 101 while dodging my psycho family. So I’m busy.”

“I wasn’t being a shit. Simply asking questions,” he grumbled. “Why did you call me over here if I can’t touch it or talk?”

I gave him a shit look but… That wasn’t unfair. I sighed and studied the key. “I don’t know. To make sure I’m not crazy and you saw this too? Like… This is kinda crazy, right?”

“I’m a bit wigged out, yes,” he admitted, which made me feel a bit better at least.

I realized something, frowning deeper. “It’s not the same key.” I held up my finger along it and shook my head. “The notches are in different spots. The biggest notch is right at the end of the other one and this is almost to my first knuckle.”

“Okay, you two need to start talking to us too because you’re whispering while we’re all here and I had no idea about a damn key,” Tracey demanded. Loudly.

Shit.