Free The Hidden Paths to Power by D.A. Smith

to carry with them regularly.”
    “How will we get the boxes to them? I can visit Tina and Debra, but Lisa and Erica have been in witness protection. I don’t know where my mother and father are living right now. I wasn’t going to try to find them, until I have a better grasp on how to deal with Ryan.”
    “You may have to ask for some help, from the one other man in your life, who’s important to you. I saw how you lit up at seeing Detective Cramer. You have a strong bond with him because he’s been a part of this whole thing from the beginning. You almost view him like an uncle.”
    “That’s true. I would need something on him as well. I worry about him the most right now because he’s actively seeking Ryan. I can’t exactly tell him to stop, though Ryan may prove too much for him.”
    “Ryan’s teacher will demand some restraint from him. If his teacher has any real knowledge of this world we live in, he or she will know, if Ryan becomes too much of a danger, others like me will descend in force. When I talked to my friend, who I will introduce to you in time, he didn’t know of any dark users here. He’s lived here for several years, so has more familiarity than I do. He did mention feeling several instances of dark magic but not enough to draw a response. He’s gone looking but hasn’t found anything yet.”
    “Are the boxes really the best option? What if my friends are out doing, what they do, as they live their lives? Unless too much has changed, Debra works at a clothing store and goes to Denver University. Tina was going to CU with me, and working on her little internet business.”
    “The boxes are to protect their homes in case Ryan decides to go in and plant little surprises. I have a few tree spirit amulets here, we’ll setup with the warning and a little subtle surprise inside. It won’t be anything that’ll give magic away but will make Ryan very uncomfortable, if he gets close to your loved ones. I’ll be the one to setup the boxes and amulets, so he’d have to try to break my power before he could get to them. The problem is, the amulets look like something a woman would wear. Finding something your father and Harold would keep on them all the time is harder.”
    “What about watches? My father would pitch his current one in a drawer and wear the one I send, as if it was magnetized to his arm, just to have the reminder that I still live. I think, I could get Harold to wear his too, if I bat my eyelashes and said please.”
    “That might work. You’ll have to live with these measures as the best we can do. There’s not much we can do, without being there personally, that wouldn’t send up a massive beacon that might expose magic to the world. There is such thing as too much of a good thing. Even we can tilt the balance dangerously, if we make the world too good. Positive and negative forces are necessary for the balance. The guardians are a force for good but our purpose isn’t to stop, all evil, but to be the restraint evil doesn’t impose on itself.”
    “I understand that it might be possible, for Ryan to gain some victories over me, but I’m not willing to let him have free shots at them either. I’m going to make him work for it, before he succeeds in taking one more of those I love. I still have dreams of Karen and Megan. The power has made those dreams special because sometimes, it makes me feel like they’re still with me.”
    “As long as you have your memories, they’ll always be with you. Since we need to pick up two men’s watches, we’ll do this tomorrow. Do you want to shop for them, as well as pick up new clothes? You’ve been living in the same few outfits for months now.”
    “Do you think I’m ready to be out alone?”
    “I think you’re strong enough and know how to disguise yourself. Just don’t come out of hiding, until we’re fairly certain, you can guard yourself from anything Ryan can throw at you. He’s not likely to throw anything too