“Hi, I’m Calista…Nicholas’s friend.”
She looked me up and down appraisingly, her mouth turning up in a smile. “Dahling, if you were just Nicholas’s friend, you wouldn’t be standing here.”
“She needs your help,” Nicholas said.
“Yes, I know. She’s shrouded in secrets and lies. But first, let’s have a drink.” She raised a toned arm and snapped her fingers three times. Immediately, a young girl in a white sundress hurried over carrying a tray of orange drinks with little umbrellas in them.
“Pineapple-mango-orange martinis. My own special creation.” Saffron handed Nicholas and me each a glass. “The chunks of mangos and pineapple soak up the vodka, so save those for last.”
I glanced over to Nicholas, unsure what to do. Were we really supposed to drink this? I didn’t want to be rude, but the last thing I wanted to do right now was throw back some martinis like I was partying on holiday somewhere. And what did she mean I was ‘shrouded in secrets and lies’?
Nicholas chuckled. “Saffron, why do you always have a hard time remembering that I’m not two hundred years old? And Calista is only sixteen.”
Mango scented vodka sprayed out of Saffron’s mouth. “Ah! Blasty curses! None for you, children!” she exclaimed. She flipped her wrist and wiggled her fingers. Instantly our glasses flew out of our hands and sailed into the ocean.
Nicholas gave a wry smirk. “Well, it’s nice to see you’ve stopped being such a drama queen, Saffy,” he said.
Her full lips parted in a smile, and her eyes shone. “You have travelled all this way just to see Saffron. This is no time for games. Come now; follow me.” She turned and snapped her fingers again and began walking down the shore.
I grabbed Nicholas’s hand again. But we’d only taken two steps when suddenly we were inside a house…in a cozy home office, or maybe a den, complete with heavy oak furniture, massive bookcases filled with hundreds of books, and the soft light of a roaring fire in the fireplace.
“Have a seat,” Saffron instructed, and made herself comfortable in an overstuffed leather chair. Her bikini had been replaced by a pale pink silk gown that cascaded to the ground and covered her arms, and her afro was now soft, shoulder length waves of honey. Her sunglasses were gone, and she gazed at me with her eerie eyes.
I blinked and shook my head as Nicholas and I took a seat on the couch across from her, next to the crackling fire. “Things change fast around here,” Nicholas whispered, and I squeezed his hand harder. The ease with which Saffron so quickly and effortlessly changed reality…or at least my perception of it…was unnerving. Were we actually wandering the desert somewhere just thinking that we were inside a house right now?
Saffron leaned forward and crossed her ballerina legs. “So what is it I can do for you?”
Nicholas rested his hand on my thigh. “Calista has some questions for you. We were wondering if—”
“If Calista is the one with the questions, perhaps she should be the one doing the asking.” Saffron smiled and leaned back in her chair, her smooth voice free of any reproach.
“Oh…uh…” I stammered, unsure how to even start.
“Would you like something to drink, my dear? Some water perhaps? A soda?”
I nodded. “Water is fine.”
“Maise, two bottled waters and another martini for me!” she called.
I glanced around. There were only the three of us in the room, but a few seconds later the young girl was there again holding a silver tray with our drinks. I opened the bottle and took a sip. This was like the Twilight Zone version of tea time with Ana.
Saffron took a few sips from her glass and eyed me intently. Something about her piercing gaze made me believe she could see right through me, and she already knew everything I was thinking and feeling. In fact, I’d have been surprised if she couldn’t. Yet for some reason I felt completely at ease with her, sitting here in this room of enchanted glamour and illusion. Like we were already old friends.
“Nicholas,” she purred. “Why don’t you go say hello to Billy and Gannon and the others? They’ve missed you something terrible and would hate to know you were here and didn’t drop by. Besides…” She winked at me. “I think Calista is in need of some girl talk. So be a love and go show off your muscles to the boys. Maybe looking at you will inspire them to get off their lazy butts and lift something other than a video game controller.”
Nicholas looked at me, a bit uncertain, and I smiled reassuringly. “Go,” I whispered, secretly relieved that it was Saffron sending him away. I did much prefer to talk in private, but hadn’t wanted to hurt his feelings. “I’ll be fine.”
He nodded. “I know you’ll be fine.” He smiled at Saffron. “You’re in good hands. Send word when you’re done and I’m allowed to come back.”
“I’ll call you,” Saffron replied, and I got the distinct feeling she wasn’t talking about using a cell phone.
Nicholas stood up and leaned down to give me a quick kiss. He ran his hand down the back of my head and whispered, “Don’t be afraid to talk to her about anything. This is a great opportunity for you to find out anything you need to know, so take advantage of it.”
I nodded, and he turned toward the door. But before he even reached it, he was gone.
I turned back to Saffron. Her icy blue eyes were fixed on me, her face serious. She clasped her hands in her lap as she sat erect as a board.
“Are you absolutely sure you really want to find out?” she whispered, her voice heavy.
My heart began to thud, and my palms grew moist. “Find out what?”
She lowered her gaze, but not before I saw the flash of pity in her crystalline eyes.
“Find out that everything you think you know is nothing but a complete lie.”
Chapter 20. GameMaster
“But before we begin—” Saffron paused and took a sip of her martini. “I must have my payment.”
“Your…what? But I don’t have any money.”
She set down her glass and made a sour face. “Oh, money is so déclassé. Only the weak require money. You need something valuable from me. I need something valuable from you. Balance is the most important law of the universe, and I can’t function when it’s off.”
“I-I-don’t have anything valuable with me…I’m sorry,” I stammered. What was I supposed to do? Why would Nicholas bring me all the way here and convince me to trust her just so I could be turned away?
Saffron eyed me intently; her gaze slowly travelled my body and came to rest just above my heart. She raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure you have nothing of value with you?”
My hand lifted to my chest, and I pulled my Triple Moon amulet from under my shirt. “This? This isn’t worth money…I don’t think.”
Saffron waved her hand. “I told you, money is of no consequence. It only matters that it be something valuable to you.”
“But-But I need this.”
“That is why it is valuable.”
I shook my head. “I can’t give it to you.”
“Then I can’t help you.” She set her drink down and stood up.
“Wait! I mean…I need it. It’s for my protection. It’s probably the most important thing I own.” I didn’t know if Jackson, Cleopatra, and Arianna could make me another one, but I certainly didn’t want to have to ask. Or explain that I had traded away my most sacred possession to a morally ambiguous witch in exchange for her revealing my darkest secrets.
“Does it work? Has it kept you safe?” she asked with a faint hint of smugness.
I lowered my gaze. “I guess it didn’t, really,” I finally mumbled.
“That is because you cannot fight destiny. No amount of magic can. Your secret was meant to be exposed, as was his. You were meant to save him...and he, you.”
“Which he? Nicholas or Justin?” I asked.
“Him,” she repeated firmly and held out her hand.
I let out a deep breath. I’d already come this far; I couldn’t quit now.
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My fingers fumbled with the clasp, and I gathered the tangerine amulet in my palm before giving it to Saffron. Her icy eyes glowed as she held it tight. “You are giving this to me of your own free will?”
I shrugged. “Yeah, I guess.” What other choice did I have? I was desperate to unravel the truth.
She sat down, a smile on her lips. “Ask me what you need to know.”
My mind spun. There were so many things plaguing me right now. Where to start?
“What did you mean I am ‘shrouded in secrets and lies?’” I began.
Saffron’s jaw tensed. Slowly she rose from her seat and walked over to the fire, where she sat on the floor, cross legged. I stared at her back as she began chanting in a mysterious language I’d never heard before.
The flames danced and swirled, changing from bright orange, to a deep red, to bright pink, and finally a solid black. She continued chanting, then reached her hand into the swelling inferno.
Startled, I jumped to my feet. But she turned around, smiled, and held out a piece of paper. It appeared as if she’d just pulled it from the fire. I stared at the paper, then at her. How had she done that?
“You are surrounded with secrets and lies, but I cannot answer the question you ask. You must see it for yourself. When you have returned home, are alone, and in a safe place, recite this spell three times outdoors at midnight, under the second night of a full moon.”
I took the paper and looked at it. It was blank. I glanced up at her, confused.
“The words will only appear when the time is right,” Saffron said. “And only you will be able to see them.” She got up and returned to her seat in the chair. She took a small sip of her martini and favored me with a smile. “Anything else?”
I sat back down and studied her for a moment before folding up the piece of paper and putting it in my back pocket. I licked my lips nervously. “I need to know if there is a way for a spell to continue even if the original spellcaster has died.”
Her eyes narrowed as she studied me. “You want to know why your mother’s cloaking spell continued to hide you from sight for more than sixteen years after she supposedly died. Am I correct?”
My stomach lurched, and my breath caught in my throat.
Supposedly died?
I nodded.
Saffron’s eyes were serious. “I believe that answer will be revealed to you when you perform that spell,” she replied. “When the time is right.”
Blood rushed to my head. “Is my mother still alive?” I demanded.
A smile crept at the corner of her lips. “If your heart already knows the answer, you don’t need to hear it from me.”
Tears sprung to my eyes, and I quickly looked away and over at the fire. If only I did know the answer in my heart! I so desperately wished my mom was alive and well and would come back to me. But I knew it was just that—wishful thinking. A fantasy fairytale that every child of a deceased parent indulges in. Looking for signs when there weren’t any. Reading deeper into things than I should. For all I knew, someone else had carried on the spell after my mom’s death, much like the Venuchi carry on their solstice spell every year. I was just letting myself hope for the impossible.
I took several deep breaths and composed my thoughts.
“I used to have visions. I used to be able to see ahead. As soon as I arrived at my new home…when I met my maternal grandmother and found out I was a witch… those visions disappeared. Why?”
“You lost your gift of sight at the same time that people started to see you, correct?”
I considered her question for a moment. I hadn’t thought about it that way before. But she was right. The day I noticed I was unable to see the future anymore was the same day the strange girl stopped me and gave me the letter inviting us to Ana’s. Then old Mrs. Tierney stared at me through the window as I came home from school. When we arrived at Ana’s, the guard looked at me…at me. Ana greeted me warmly, as did Henri. The next day I met Nicholas at the beach, and when he looked at me, it was as if being caught in his gaze had made me come alive for the first time.
Slowly I nodded. “I just thought it was a coincidence,” I admitted. “There were so many crazy things happening all at once, I didn’t know if it meant anything.”
“There are no coincidences in magic,” Saffron replied serenely. “And the universe always balances itself. Tell me...” She put a slender finger to her lips thoughtfully. “Did you have problems with your eyesight as a child?”
I nodded. “I was blind as a bat without my glasses. Until recently, in fact. A few months.”
“And when you were ‘blind as a bat’, you had your visions, correct?”
I nodded again. “What does it mean?” I asked.
She shrugged. “It just means that everything is connected, just as all of us are connected. Everything in the universe…it is all connected.”
I stared at her blankly.
She sighed and took a few sips from her tropical martini. Then she stood up and resumed her place by the fire. “It is the simple law of cause and effect. Nothing happens without a reaction of some sort. It’s how the universe—and magic—works.”
I shook my head, more confused than ever. It seemed as if I had yet to receive a straight answer from her. Everything Saffron said just made me more perplexed.
I decided to try another approach. “Okay,” I started, “I have a problem. A big one. A dear friend of mine, Justin, was under the Hunter curse until recently. Nicholas helped him and now he’s cured…almost.”
Saffron nodded thoughtfully.
“But now the coven wants to take away his memory of everything that’s happened in the past month. From him turning into a Hunter and almost killing me, to knowing our secret.”
“And you’re afraid that their spell will irrevocably destroy his mind and his personality,” she finished.
“Yes! And they even admit that it’s a risky situation. But they also say that he cannot be left as he is because he has seen too much, it’s too dangerous, and that he’ll go crazy. So this is the only option, they say. But he really doesn’t want it. I want to help him but I don’t know how. I’m still pretty new to magic, and there’s no one I can talk to about this who can help me. Ana—my grandma—would definitely not approve, and I’m not sure my two best friends would, either.”
“So what do you want from me?” Saffron asked gently. I was starting to get the distinct feeling that she’d only give me information if I asked for it directly, and would volunteer nothing.
“Nicholas told me you know all there is to know about spells. Is there a way I can help Justin? A way that won’t require them to remove his memory, but still he won’t go crazy with all he knows?” I held my breath.
Saffron smiled, and her eyes glowed like blue fire. “What you desire is an illusion spell,” she replied. “You need to create an alternate memory. Lie with the truth.”
Lie with the truth? What on earth does that mean?
“Instead of removing his memory entirely,” she continued, “get Justin to remember the true past, but in a different way. One that won’t damage his psyche.”
“How can I do that?”
Saffron smiled again and returned to the fire. She inserted her hand and pulled out another spell. But unlike the cream colored parchment, this one was pitch black. “Recite this spell to him when you are alone and undisturbed. But be warned, this is only to open the gateway to his mind. The memories you are replacing are up to you.”
I frowned as I took the piece of paper from her outstretched hand. “What do you mean?”
“In overriding his memories, you need to replace them with new ones. If he was in a battle and was injured, you need to tell him he was victorious and unhurt. His mind will fill in the rest of the details, but you will need to provide the important points.”
I paused and thought about this for a long time. “But…is this the right thing to do? Isn’t it like playing God?” I already knew what Ana would think a
bout it.
Saffron raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t doing nothing to help a friend, and instead allowing him to suffer, equivalent to playing the role of the devil?”
I took a deep breath and considered her words. “You sure this will work?” I finally whispered. “This will save Justin…the coven won’t have to remove his memory…he won’t hate himself and go crazy?”
Saffron nodded and returned to her seat. “Yes, it can help. But he will still have the knowledge that you are a witch and that magic exists. Once a person learns that particular truth, it cannot be unlearned. Once their eyes are opened, they cannot be shut again. That can only happen with the memory removal, which, as you say, is not a viable option.”
“What can we do then?” I moaned. To be so close to saving him, and to let this detail slide seemed so unfair. It was keeping the secret of magic that seemed to have the coven the most concerned. They’d never just let him go, knowing what he knew. Even if the world thought him a madman for his fantastical claims, it would shed unnecessary light on us, and place all of us at risk.
She raised an eyebrow. “That, my dear, could be solved with a very simple spell. One every witch or wizard should know—”
My heart started to race. “I told you, I’m still pretty new,” I replied.
“Yes, but your grandmother…her coven…certainly they know the ligo lingua spell. It’s been used worldwide for centuries.”
I narrowed my eyes. “The what spell?”
She shrugged and stood up. “Come with me…let’s stretch our legs a bit.”
She turned and took a few steps, and instantly vanished before my eyes. I paused, unsure what to do, then rose to my feet and followed suit, hoping I’d go wherever she went before I walked into the wall.
In the blink of an eye I was outside in the cool twilight air, surrounded by a lush emerald green forest. A wide path snaked through the trees, and the sun peeked softly through the vibrant branches and leaves above. Beside me stood Saffron. Her dress had been replaced by jeans, a yellow t-shirt, and tennis shoes, and her hair was now in long rows of rich ebony, twisted into dozens of skinny braids down to her tiny waist.
The Complete Spellbound Trilogy Bundle Page 41
