Spellcaster, p.14
Spellcaster, page 14
I’d grown up cooking, and mixing tinctures with my mom, and this part of witchcraft settled well with my energy. It wasn’t a hugely difficult spell, but there were multiple steps, which included various herbs. Step three we’d been warned about pertained to the order of the herbs, and the timing of the incantation in the ancient language.
If you got all of that right, there should be a puff of white smoke and then a puff of black smoke, before the pentacle would visibly join with a light beam.
I got it on the first try, and when I wrapped up step six, waving my hand over the candles to douse their flames and release the spell, I felt calmer and more at ease with the events of my life. The result of my spellwork was a small pile of ash. Or, what looked like ash, but would work as a defensive mist when cast across the danger.
“You did that so fast,” Belle complained, still trying to get step three right. “Can’t I just go and play in the lake? I honestly think the rest of these classes are a waste of my time.”
“I’ll help you,” I said with a laugh. This was one of the few classes where Belle’s vast intelligence didn’t come in as handy as my solid knowledge of cooking and mixing ingredients. Her parents had never let her in the kitchen, but I enjoyed helping her. It was nice to excel in one class.
The day passed by quickly, and even though my only successful magic was with the defensive spell, I finished up the day feeling relaxed. Weatherstone was the guide in the magical world that I’d always hoped it would be, and even without a clear affinity, I had no doubt that I’d graduate from here a stronger witch.
By the time I headed for my dorm, a raging party had spilled into Florence Wing, and as one exhausted witch, I wished they’d chosen another night. It wouldn’t be long before the professors broke it up though, so I decided to take a walk and get some fresh air. Today had been a lot of classroom work and research in the library, and I was due to stretch my legs.
It wasn’t quite dark yet as the days got warmer and longer. I loved the early evening balminess in the air. Maybe I’d even venture into the lake again, staying in the shallows this time. My path around the school brought me to the edge of the forest, and when I saw the graveyard, I was reminded of my attack.
It felt like it happened years ago, but also yesterday at the same time.
It had been hard to return to that location—my first necro class had triggered me so badly I’d raced off to vomit in the bushes. But I’d been determined to return the next time, and I’d been forcing myself to stay ever since. Walter the Weasel wasn’t going to take one more piece of my life away.
With that in mind, I crossed closer to the arched entrance gates and stepped inside as the last rays of sun washed over the headstones. Like in class, I found my energy expanding as I sought to touch the veils of existence. There were tingles. There was heat and light. But like always, my magic was too weak to behave as a true affinity.
This evening, the tingles of my energy were stronger than usual, and I glanced up to see the full moon again. I’d been so exhausted and stressed out with classes, I’d forgotten the cycle. It was sacrilege not to know when we should be communing with Selene.
My skin glowed softly, and I felt that urge to release my energy.
If only I could figure out how.
I found myself reaching down to press my hands to the ground, which was stupid, because the energy of the dead wasn’t found literally under our feet. You had to cross the veils between the five planes of existence. The living, where we existed; purgatory, for those who could not cross over and were not welcome into the afterlife; the dead zone, for those on their first journey to the afterlife, to be judged and given their path; Hel, for those souls condemned to an eternity of suffering; and the eternals, where those with light in their energy would enjoy an eternity in the blessing of our beloved goddess.
Necromancers could not draw from the eternals or purgatory. There was no true explanation for why, but any who tried were destroyed by the energy. The other two zones, though, were prime for the taking of energy.
Hence why there was a sense of unease when I felt a necromancer’s power. Primarily, it was drawn from souls. Some light, but others very dark. Necros on occasion would lose control of the energy they borrowed and turn into what we referred to as a necroils. Dark witches and warlocks, who delved deeper and deeper, taking the blood of life to do so.
They generally required a spellcaster to take them down and remind us all why we didn’t mess with blood magic.
Not if we wanted to live to tell the tale.
Chapter 20
As expected, there was no response to my touching the ground, and when I stood a strong wave of exhaustion pressed in on me. Surely I’d given them enough time to party back in the dorms. I needed to get in some study and sleep.
I headed for the arched gates, and was almost there when a pair of warlocks hurried past. I came to a halt, recognizing them both. Logan and Noah were in the middle of their evening run—running for fun explained a lot of what was wrong with both of those assholes—when the moonlight washed over them. There was this stupid pain in my chest at how I’d been ghosted. My dad was freaking ecstatic at Logan’s obvious lack of interest in me, and I should have been too.
“Logan!” A witch screamed out his name as she raced across the grounds. She wasn’t alone either, two of her friends trailing behind her. “Wait up. We didn’t finish our conversation.”
Logan and Noah stopped, wiping the sweat from their foreheads. The witch leaned into him, and I recognized her as the pretty blonde who had been talking to Marcus at that first full moon party. Rage bubbled in my chest, and I was shocked to see light spilling from my fingertips.
The instant fury made no sense, and needing to get away, I slinked back into the graveyard. “Bastard asshole of a fucking warlock,” I snarled, and kicked rocks between the headstones.
My anger wasn’t rational. I could only attribute it to the fire of my magic, which swirled so hard that my chest ached. I tried to force it out, but the way it was locked down only increased my anger. All I ended up with was hands and arms glowing as I grasped my crystal necklace, desperate to find a calm again.
A tingle caressed my neck and raced down my spine. I was struck with the unnerving sense that I’d pushed too far into the tombs and headstones. My new location had brought forth the creepy stalker vibe.
Danger, danger, danger.
Like a flashing light above my head, my warning systems were on full alert, telling me to get the fuck out of there. The fear demolished my rage, and I found myself unable to move, my hand fused to my pendant as I searched for danger. I’d made a stupid rookie move and let myself get complacent. Nothing good ever came from this creepy feeling, and here I was in the middle of a graveyard under a full moon. Alone. Wait, no . . .
Logan and Noah.
They were just outside the gates, and as much as I didn’t want to run into him, Logan was my best chance of avoiding whatever haunted my world. I just had to push past the debilitating fear and move my feet.
Gripping the necklace tight enough that it cut into my palm, I closed my eyes and summoned up every ounce of strength, managing to lift my foot as the snap of a branch alerted me to a presence.
My eyes shot open, and I found myself staring at a nightmare.
The creature dragged itself through the graves. It had two huge clawed hands, while the rest of its body slithered on the ground like a snake. My breaths were just short of hyperventilation as I stumbled back into a crypt. The snakelike head of the beast came into view, with dozens of teeth. It crawled toward me faster than should be possible as it navigated the narrow spaces between headstones.
This time I couldn’t blame a lack of oxygen. Unless I’d slipped, hit my head, and was unconscious, there was a real, honest to fucking goddess monster coming at me. It didn’t look like the one in the lake, but it did arrive with Logan’s presence. Just like the last one.
Was he dealing in dark magic? As a spellcaster, and one of the strongest warlocks in the world, had he crossed a line?
The snake monster cut off my panicked thoughts as it snarled and came closer, bringing with it a distinct scent of ash and sulfur. Its beady black eyes were focused on me, unwavering, and I managed to take one step, and then another, almost falling over exposed rocks.
Goddess, help me.
I had no idea what I could do here, and the creature was only a dozen feet away. Releasing my crystal, it fell against my chest, and with its warmth my sanity returned.
My sanity and ability to get the Hel out of there.
With the monster between me and the entrance, I sprinted deeper into the graveyard, chancing one very brief look over my shoulder. A strangled scream escaped when I found the monster close behind. Its pace was intense. There was no way I’d make it out of here before it caught up.
In my panicked state, I searched my pockets for anything that might help, only to pull out a small vial of ash. Oh, thank fuck. I still had the defensive spell from class today.
I uncorked the jar right as my luck ran out and I clipped my shoe on a stone hidden in a patch of grass and went tumbling forward. Somehow, I managed to keep hold of the jar, and only a little ash spilled.
Flipping over, I screamed again, this time with much more intensity because it was on top of me.
That snake head darted forward as I jerked my hand and let the ash fly in its face. I screamed the incantation, instinct driving me, even as my mind remained locked in fear. If I survived tonight, I’d have to send Professor Zander some flowers or my firstborn child because I owed him big-time. In his fussy way, he’d drilled this spell into our heads all week, and under pressure, I’d remembered it.
My magic burned within me, and when I threw the ash, I pressed my hands against the chest of the creature and prayed I could send enough energy into it to knock it away. All I needed was a chance to escape.
Its skin was scaly and hot to touch, and as magic raced through my palms I knew I’d made the right decision to open a pathway through touch. The light grew bright enough to blind me, and while I closed my eyes I didn’t stop expelling magic.
The light faded, and I opened my eyes to find that I was completely alone. The monster was gone, and so was the creepy sensation. My arms trembled as I pushed myself up, looking at every dark shadow, waiting for movement or another attack. Instinct told me I was safe, but I wasn’t about to take chances.
Once on my feet, I ran out of the graveyard like my ass was on fire, to find that not a single student was nearby. A glance at my watch had me blinking . . . 9:00 p.m. How in the world was that possible? It hadn’t been more than seven when I’d wandered down.
When I entered the dorms a few minutes later, it was quiet, no sign there’d been a party at all. I gathered up my clothes and toiletries, knowing that I needed a shower, even if there was a monster lurking in the halls. No way could I go to bed covered in grass, dirt, and possibly snake-monster drool.
Peering out of my room, the hallway was empty, so I speed-walked as fast as I could to the bathroom with only a moderate level of panic. The monster attack had my head a mess, as I wondered if I hadn’t imagined the alien in the lake after all.
I’d explained away the first monster encounter easily enough—a hallucination caused by a lack of oxygen. But now with this second one . . . ? There was a pattern here, especially when both were accompanied by a sense of danger tracing down my spine. But how did it all tie in to my stalker vibes as I walked through the halls? Was there a student—or professor, couldn’t discount them—gunning to kill me? Waiting for opportunities as I walked around the school?
Could it be Logan . . . ? Or Noah . . . ?
One of his friends had already beat me half to death, so it stood to reason that the other could try as well. I hadn’t made any enemies that I was aware of, having only punched one witch, who was no longer a student here.
But there was a threat out there.
By the time I finished showering, the tremble in my limbs had eased under the hottest water I could stand, but I was no closer to an answer. Dressed in pj’s with my wet hair wrapped in a towel, I raced through the hall. No one jumped out at me, and my heart only calmed when I was once again safe inside my room.
Putting my bag away and tossing the dirty uniform into the wash bags that we dropped outside our doors to be laundered once a week, I crawled into bed and let myself fall apart. My chest shook as I drew in a ragged breath, and even as I attempted to cry, to ease the ache in my throat, no tears came. I was beyond tears, trapped in a moment of terror, as that attack flashed before my eyes.
Part of me knew I needed to tell someone—my dad, siblings, or Mom for example, but I had no doubt that a single mention of another attack and they’d pull me from school. As far as I was aware, I was the only one almost dying on the regular at Weatherstone.
I should leave. I knew that with every part of my being, and yet . . . I hated to let those bastards win. Weatherstone felt like home, and the education was second to none. I mean, Defensive Spells had saved my life tonight.
As exhaustion wrapped around my brain and dragged me into sleep, I decided not to mention anything until I could do more research. I’d never heard of any magic that could create monsters. I needed to know more. We might exist in a world of magic, but there were no mythical creatures, dark or other.
Knowledge was my power here, and I would be proactive rather than reactive.
I also needed to whip up another defensive spell.
That shit had really come in handy.
Chapter 21
The next few days I was jumpy but managed to keep it together for my friends. I got through my classes in a daze, trying to figure out who hated me enough to dabble in dark magic and create monsters.
Logan was the obvious choice, and later that evening when I was racing through the hall to shower, he stepped into Florence Hall and we almost collided. He caught me with ease, before I lost my footing and toiletries. “Precious,” he said, voice a smooth rumble. “Why are you sprinting like you’re being chased?” He looked over my head as if checking for a pursuer, but clearly there was none. I was just a hot mess seeing shadows and monsters everywhere.
“You don’t already know?” I choked out, because he was far too close, and I was far too frazzled to hide my usual reaction to his presence and magic. His touch confused and destroyed me in equal measures, and maybe I was actually losing my mind.
His brow wrinkled as he shook his head. “You’re just as fucking weird as you were as a child. You’re making less sense than usual, Paisley. Are you injured? Did you hit your head?”
I’d show him who was weird. “No, I didn’t hit my head. I don’t have to injure myself when there’s someone else out there ensuring it happens. Now, if you’ll excuse me . . .”
I tried to wrench myself free, but his grip tightened. “Who?” he asked, in a softly dangerous tone. “Who injured you?”
This guy did my head in. “I don’t know, Logan,” I replied. “I mean, last time it was your bestest buddy, so maybe this time it’s you. Or . . . your other friend.”
No change in expression. “Walter was taken care of long ago, and if Noah wanted to hurt you, you’d be in much less—” he eyed the long expanse of leg exposed by my shorts “—pristine condition. So, I repeat, Precious, who the fuck hurt you?”
The way he said Walter was taken care of settled uneasily in my chest. “You got rid of Walter? Did he end up in prison?”
His eyes twinkled, and I could have sworn he was amused. “No, he’s missing. No one has seen him in weeks. Answer my question, Paisley.”
Missing. That wasn’t good when I felt a stalker on my ass. Was it possible for him to sneak into the grounds somehow and try to take me out for good this time? Or was he sending the monsters through the barrier?
“No one hurt me,” I said, desperate for Logan to let me go. Or pull me closer. Fuck. I was such a mess. “Can you let me go . . . ?”
For a moment, it didn’t seem he was going to release me, but then he relaxed his grip and stepped aside. I scampered away before he could say another word, and forced myself not to look back, even as I felt the burn of his gaze on me.
Tomorrow, no matter what classes I had, I’d find time to research the magic required to create monsters. And find out if it had to be a spellcaster.
After that night I did nothing except go to classes, see my friends, and live in the library. I had all but exhausted the supply of dark magic books, and had a ton of theories about how the monsters were being created, though nothing concrete. It didn’t take a spellcaster per se, but it did take a dark warlock or witch to be able to bring nightmares to life.
In a text on the history of dark magic, I’d found an obscure paragraph that suggested there was a way to draw beasts from one of the planes that none of the affinities could touch. Which should eliminate Logan as a suspect, but the part about going dark was the key. If you dabbled in magics you shouldn’t, you touched energy you shouldn’t.
“Pais!”
I lifted my head, rubbing at my bleary eyes. Half of these texts had tiny freakin’ writing. I was going to need glasses if I kept this research up.
“I’ve been waiting for you for an hour.” Belle’s voice was low and vibrating with annoyance. She placed her hands on the back of the chair opposite me, and I noted how nice she looked. Her hair was shiny and straight, makeup darker than usual and on point, and she was in a cute little black dress and heels.
That was when it clicked on, and I let out a gasp. “Holy fuck. I’m so sorry. I got totally caught up in this research and spaced on the time.”
I’d promised that I’d ditch the library for one night and go to a party in the gardens. This one was school sanctioned, so I’d felt safe in attending, but then the library books had dragged me in and time had slipped away.
