The Seventh Crow

by Tamara Geraeds

  “I wouldn’t if they would just let me do this. With Maël’s help, I can lift the protection.” Her voice is rising again. She takes a deep breath to continue, but Charlie grabs her face and presses his lips onto hers. A stunned silence follows, and slowly, the shadows blocking most of our view float back to where they belong.

  When Charlie lets go, Gisella’s lips curl up. She touches his cheek gently. “You chased away the evil inside me.”

  He grins back. “I sure did.”

  Before anyone can change their mind, I pick up the book. “Let’s sit down and have a snack, shall we?”

  With gratitude written on her face, Gisella slaps me on the back. “Splendid idea. I’m starving.”

  We return to the kitchen, where Mona digs into the cupboards in search of food again.

  The sight of nachos lifts my spirits. We can do this; we’ll find a way. And Vicky will be okay, I tell myself, and I almost believe it.

  The others are bend over the two books that Gisella managed to change back to English.

  “Did you find anything useful?” I ask.

  Jeep flips to the last page of the book with the list of the most powerful deceased magical people and shakes his head. “Not really, unless we find a way to get these mages and magicians on our side.”

  D’Maeo taps the leather cover. “There are some useful parts in here if we find ourselves face to face with one of them. The book mentions some weak spots too.”

  “Great,” I respond in a sarcastic tone. “So we’ll need to memorize all nine hundred pages or take it with us and ask for a break in the middle of a fight.”

  D’Maeo chuckles. “Okay, maybe not so useful then.”

  I place a hand on my forehead. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be so rude.”

  “Don’t worry about it.”

  I nod gratefully and tell them about the extra protection on the third book. “It must contain some valuable information. But we’ll look at that later. Have you found anything about Beelzebub in that other book?”

  “Not yet,” Taylar says, already bent over the book again.

  “Okay, holler if you find anything useful. Meanwhile, I’ll─”

  Mona turns around and throws some sparks on the table. “You’ll not do anything yet.” The lights land on the edges of the books and carry them over Gisella and Jeep’s heads to the kitchen counter. “You all need a snack first.” She waves a warning finger at me. “You too, Dante. You need your energy.”

  Immediately, my thoughts jump back to Vicky, and my appetite vanishes. There is, however, no use in arguing with a fairy godmother, so I sit back and try to keep the disgruntled look on my face while I stuff nacho after nacho into my mouth.

  “You’re such a cheater,” I tell her when I find my plate empty too soon. “You put your sparks in it again, didn’t you?”

  Mona gives me a radiant smile. “Of course I did! You could all use a little optimism and joy.” She doesn’t say anything about chasing away the dark inside some of us, but I know she’s thinking it, and I’m grateful for her magic.

  Taylar raises his cup of coffee. “I’m not complaining!” He throws Kessley a look that almost makes me blush. Kess giggles.

  Mona’s smile widens, and she winks at D’Maeo. I feel a pang of envy when I think of Vicky lying unconscious on her bed upstairs, but the feeling soon fades, and I relax a little. I know this feeling of ease comes from Mona’s sparkles, but I lean into it anyway. Stressing about Vicky won’t do me any good, nor will it help her.

  Mona gives me some more nachos─she must have bought a ton of them─and when the salty taste fills my mouth, an idea pops up in my head. “What if I ask Shelton Banks how to defeat Beelzebub? That might be much easier than lifting that protection and sifting through hundreds of pages.”

  Everyone nods, and I get a couple of thumbs up, since everyone, even Maël, has their mouth full of delicious, magical nachos.

  “Great,” I say, digging into my snack, “we’ll start as soon as I finish this plate.”

  It’s hard for all of us to stop eating, but eventually Mona runs out of nachos, and Kessley helps her to clear the table. I rub my hands to drive out the sudden cold creeping into my fingers.

  “Nervous?” Charlie asks.

  I nod. “Of course, Shelton Banks is a powerful mage.”

  “So are you, you know.”

  “Maybe, but I haven’t had much practice. Shelton has been a mage for much longer than me. What if he can hurt me, even though I protect myself?”

  “He won’t, because your spells work fine.”

  I shiver. “Except on the crows.”

  “Yes, but he put a protection spell on them.”

  “I can’t leave you guys alone for a second, can I?”

  I whirl around and nearly tumble over, taking my chair with me. Vicky is standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame with a small smile on her lips.

  I manage to untangle myself from my seat and throw myself at her, wrapping my arms around her tightly. “You’re awake! And you’re not invisible!”

  Mrs. Delaney comes down the stairs one slow step at a time. I want to hug her too, but I don’t want to let go of Vicky, so instead, I blow Mrs. Delaney a kiss. “Thank you so much for your help.”

  “You’re… welcome,” she pants.

  I hurry over to her, to support her, but hold on to Vicky with one hand.

  Vicky chuckles. “You can let go of me. I’m okay now.”

  Without responding, I take them both into the kitchen and put them on a chair.

  Vicky nods as everyone welcomes her back, then turns back to me, leaning on the side of her chair. “You were about to cast the spell to contact Shelton Banks?”

  “I was, but it can wait. Let’s take care of you first. Mona?” I give the fairy godmother a questioning look. She prepares to hand out some more sparks, but Vicky holds up her hand.

  “I’m fine, Dante. I’ve been hurt before. I can handle it.”

  “A few more sparks and a cup of hot chocolate can’t hurt. You were in pretty bad shape.”

  She gives me a stern look, while she sits down. More than ever her eyes reflect her age, her real age, and I can read all the hurt and fear she’s experienced in them. For the first time since I met her, I can feel the age gap between us. The decades that separate us seem to stretch further and further until I drop onto my knees. My hands fly forward and press her head against my shoulder.

  “I know you can handle it,” I whisper in her ear. “And I know you can do it alone. But you’re not alone. I’m here for you. We all are.” Gently, I kiss her temple. “Remember that I love you, even when you can’t handle things for a minute.”

  I can feel her smiling against my shoulder. Instead of pulling away, she wraps her arms around my waist and leans against me. It feels good to be the stronger one for once, the one who provides comfort.

  “Okay,” she says after a short silence. “I guess I could use some hot chocolate. But I’ve had enough sparks for a while, really.” She frees herself gently from my grasp and smiles at Mona and Mrs. Delaney. “Thank you both for your help. I don’t think I could’ve come back without it.”

  “So next time you’ll listen to me when I warn you not to use your powers on someone?” I ask, stepping back and lowering myself onto my own chair.

  “Yeah, yeah, I’ll listen.” She coughs, and I can hear a soft ‘maybe’ in it. It only makes me love her more.

  While Mona makes hot chocolate, we bring Vicky up to speed on what happened after she passed out. She’s relieved to hear that we got rid of Beelzebub for the time being and agrees that we should ask Shelton Banks about a way to defeat him.

  “Ask him that first,” she orders me. “It’s the most important question.”

  I disagree but keep my mouth shut.

  I decline a cup of chocolate, because the nerves swirling around in my stomach make me nauseous again, and nachos and hot chocolate
don’t combine so well.

  With a sigh, I push my chair back. “I’d better get started, before Shelton Banks gets the bright idea to put some more protection on himself.”

  Vicky downs her drink in one go and stands up too. “I’ll help you.”

  I frown when she sways a little on her feet. “Are you sure?”

  She straightens up and licks a brown drop from her lips. “I’m sure. I’ll go put on something decent.”

  We walk to my bedroom, where I steal a kiss first. “I was so worried.”

  “Sorry, I had to try it.”

  “You didn’t, but I admire you for it anyway.”

  With a grin, she backs up. “Enough about me. Do you have a spell yet?”

  I shake my head while I put on my pants and grab my notebooks. “No, but I’ve got some ideas. Will you stay with me while I write them down?”

  “Of course. And I can pick out the ingredients, if you like.”

  “That would be great.”

  We go downstairs. Vicky makes herself comfortable on the floor of the annex and starts collecting all kinds of herbs and spices from the supply in her pocket. I take the armchair and put my Book of Spells on my lap. Soon I’m lost in letters, words and syllables. They flow from my pen without trouble. Vicky is still emptying half of her endless pocket when I hold my notebook up triumphantly. “Done!”

  I kneel down next to her and kiss her. “Need help?”

  She points at some herbs, salt, a bowl and four candles. “You can start setting this up for the protection spell. You did that one several times before, remember?”

  “Of course. I just need to look up the words. You know how bad my memory is.”

  “I thought it was getting better?”

  “So did I, but apparently, stress has a bad influence on it.”

  I take Dad’s notebook from behind my waistband and flip through it. The book helps me find the right page, and I read the lines carefully. They jog my memory, and after one read, I can recite them by heart.

  I mix the herbs, draw a circle of salt around myself and put the candles in the right places. Then I beckon Vicky. “You should step inside too. I’ll be asking him to lift his curse on you, after all, so you can use some extra protection.”

  She doesn’t object, and a couple of minutes later, we’re done. We put away the candles and set up the other ingredients for the second spell.

  My hands tingle with fear, and I bite my lip. I can do this. I’m powerful too, and I have his true name. This is going to work.

  CHAPTER 33

  I hop from one foot to the other and shake my arms to get rid of the uneasiness creeping up my spine.

  Vicky hands me the herbs and spices she mixed and sticks her head around the door. “Are you guys coming? We’re ready to contact Shelton Banks.”

  I can hear Mrs. Delaney sucking in air. “You are going to do what?” This is the first time I’ve heard panic in her voice. She appears in the doorway, shaking a bit. “Do you know who you’re dealing with, son?”

  “I do, Mrs. Delaney. Don’t worry, we are well-prepared.”

  “We have his true name,” Vicky explains.

  Her face lights up. “You do? That is marvelous.” Then she shakes her head vigorously. “But still, I can’t be here when you contact him. I don’t want to get near that man ever again.”

  I nod. “I understand. I wouldn’t want to either, but we have no choice.” Mona appears behind the old woman. “Can you take her home?” I ask her.

  As soon as the two vanish, the others file into the annex. They all seem nervous, except for Kessley, who keeps smiling as if this is the coolest thing she’s ever been a part of. It probably is. I wish I could still have that kind of optimism. But maybe it’s because she’s already dead, and I brought her back. That changes things a bit, I suppose.

  “Hello?” Vicky waves her hand in front of my face. “Are you with us? You need to focus; this is important, babe. And dangerous.”

  I recoil. “What? I thought you said this was going to work? And I’m astral projecting myself because that’s a lot safer, right?”

  She bites her lip. “Yes, I did, and you are. Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you even more nervous. Nothing in magic is a hundred percent safe. That’s all I meant.”

  “Nothing in life is a hundred percent safe,” Jeep mumbles.

  “Okay, okay.” I raise my hands as if to stop all the negative, faith-sucking comments from hitting me. “This will work.”

  This time, I draw a circle using black salt, which Vicky made with some charcoal, for extra protection.

  To be safe, I draw another one around the first, in which I include my Shield. I put two silver candles in front of me for reflection, and one black one behind me to banish negativity and evil. Over the black salt of the inner circle, I spread basil leaves that aid astral projection.

  I return to the middle, where I light the incense stick that Vicky hands me. Then I walk over to each candle and light it. The smoke from the incense follows me, creating a dark circle above the one made of salt. Once I’m back in the middle, I place the stick on the ground and dip one finger in the herb mixture that Vicky made. I press it against my forehead and glance at my Book of Spells, which Vicky holds up.

  “Before I split my mind and form,

  tie them so they can’t be torn.

  Keep both soul and body safe,

  so I don’t end up in a grave.”

  I hear Kessley chuckling when I say the last line, but I don’t care. The most important thing about a spell is not the beauty of the wording, but the meaning and the rhyme.

  The heat spreading from the herbs on my forehead proves that my words worked. I take some more herb mixture and spread that between the silver candles.

  “Herbs of power, take my mind,

  but leave my body here behind.

  Clifford Wilton is the man I seek.

  To him I safely want to speak.

  Create an image for all to see,

  at the place I want to be.

  Leave me there in full control,

  of both my body and my soul.”

  While the candle flames burn brighter, I pick up the incense stick again. The smoke curls up to the herbs on my forehead and then down to the line I drew between the candles. Smoke rises up in a straight line, creating what looks like a screen. I want to tell the others to keep their weapons ready, but the next thing I know, I’m drifting through the air towards the screen of smoke. When I blink, my vision splits. On the left, I find myself passing through the smoke, into darkness, while on the right, I’m still standing in the annex of Darkwood Manor, watching a blurry copy of myself vanishing. I should’ve been more specific about me staying in control of both my body and soul. This can get confusing and, therefore, dangerous.

  I turn my head to look at my friends. They’re all staring intently at the smoke, even though my soul is no longer visible. When Kessley’s eyes wander back to me, she lets out a shriek.

  “He’s moving!”

  I raise my hands in a reflex. “Calm down, I’m still half here.”

  Kess’ hand flies to her mouth and Taylar rubs her back. “It’s okay.”

  “Well, it is kind of creepy,” Vicky admits. “But also convenient. You can keep us up to date on what’s happening."

  I nod. “And if anything goes wrong, I can use my powers to get myself back.”

  “Do you see anything yet?” Jeep inquires. He sounds a bit worried, which isn’t very surprising, since he’s met Shelton Banks in person. Even though he doesn’t remember much from his time in Banks’ mansion, he knows how powerful that man is.

  “No, nothing yet,” I answer, concentrating on the left side of my vision. “Wait… something’s happening.”

  Ignoring the movement in the right half of my sight as best as I can, I take in my surroundings. I’m floating in the sky, descending slowly towards the roof of Shelton Banks’ palatial
house. It’s quiet here. I guess Shelton hasn’t found new servants yet, or not a lot at least.

  “I’m going through the roof now,” I tell my friends.

  I land in the hallway. When I try to walk, I can’t. For a second, I just hover an inch from the floor. The spell must be searching for Shelton Banks.

  With a jolt, I start moving again. I glide across the hallway to what I remember to be the master bedroom. The door is closed, but I go through it. Now I know what it feels like to be a ghost. It’s creepy, but also quite handy.

  I swallow my nerves─or try to─when I come to a halt in front of the bed. Shelton Banks is sitting on the edge of it, engrossed by some sort of document. He’s wearing a black suit this time and no tie. His hair is a bit ruffled up. He’s probably getting ready for bed, like we should.

  When he doesn’t look up, I clear my throat.

  His head snaps sideways so quickly that I can hear it creak. “Mr. Banner!”

  Oh great, he recognizes me. Well, I guess that saves me some time.

  “Mr. Banks,” I respond, a lot calmer than he did.

  He drops the document and rises to his feet. His eyes are fuming. “You killed my servants!”

  It’s not a question, but I nod anyway. “I sure did. And I will kill you too, if you don’t give me what I need.”

  He throws his head back and laughs. Then he raises a finger and shakes it in front of him, as if he’s talking to a toddler. “No, no, no, Mr. Banner. You may have caught me and my servants off guard, but that doesn’t mean you will get that lucky again.”

  I cross my arms and ignore the sound coming from the other half of my vision. Someone’s asking questions, but I have no time to answer them. “That actually didn’t have anything to do with luck, Mr. Banks. We came prepared.”

  “I’m sure you did,” he sneers, “but this time, my preparations are better than yours.” He chuckles while he steps closer to me. “Stupid boy. You think you can take on a mature mage like me? You’re just a baby! Chosen one or not, I am out of your league.” He cracks his knuckles. “You signed your death warrant when you came here.”