“It won’t be. I would never do that without your knowledge. That is the first sign of dark alchemy, doing magic of any type without the other’s consent. It doesn’t have to be a black spell to commit that sin. You know that,” he said, his voice soft and possibly wounded.
“I know. That means I can’t perform any love spells on you without you knowing,” I winked at him, partly cursing myself for toying with him but loving every second of it.
“Exactly, Triss. Even those,” he said smiling at me. “Now let’s get a move on it. We’ve got a lot to cover before we head back for your birthday dinner.”
We found a clearing several hundred feet off the path, and truthfully, if anyone stumbled upon us, they’d probably think we were just having a picnic together or playing Frisbee. I wiggled my pack off my back and watched him take his pack off and set it on the ground.
The dried grass under his bag was crunching as he moved it around fishing for whatever he had in store for me. He looked so incredibly good. His dark hair was tousled and kept flipping up with the breeze, and he seemed genuinely happy. It was hard for me to understand, or believe even, that he dabbled in the black arts. It didn’t make sense. It was something that should make me nervous, but it didn’t. I’m guessing because I believed that part of his life was truly over. Or was it? Could it be? I pushed my questions back inside.
“So, I think we should start with the basics,” he announced, standing up with a bound leather journal of some sort.
“Does that contain those kinds of spells?” My eyes were wide with fear and intrigue.
He nodded.
“That’s the one thing I’m looking forward to with going through the whole Witch Avenue ceremony is going through all of the spell books in the library. To be able to look at every one’s spells that are centuries old is beyond exhilarating. It will be interesting to see all of my family history too. I wonder if there’ll be anything on my father in the library,” I said, wishing I didn’t bring him up.
“There might be,” he said, looking uncomfortable.
“You’ll have to stand on the other side of the door, and I’ll just shout all of the cool things I’ve found,” I joked.
“You probably would too,” he laughed. Ignoring him, I continued.
“I remember I tried going in the library a few years ago. My mom told me not to, but I thought I could sneak in without anyone knowing, including her. I didn’t realize there was a trespass spell on the door. I actually figured out enough to unlock the door with the Reserare Metalli spell, and when I tried to cross through, I got knocked off my feet and thrown back into the hall. I was so scared I never told anyone, but I know my mom knew. I think she was proud of me.” I smiled, thinking back on it.
“Yeah, I heard about that event,” he said, laughing.
“Was there anything that was a secret?”
“I’d be surprised,” he smirked.
He flipped through a few pages and walked over to me, pointing at a hand-drawn picture of one stick figure standing and the other kneeling.
“Is that supposed to tell me something,” I joked, looking into his deep, blue eyes. There was no sign of darkness, and I was relieved. I had no idea what that picture was supposed to be depicting though.
A smile surfaced, and he laughed.
“I guess not,” he joked. “That could look kind of bad, huh?”
I looked back at the drawing and gasped and smacked Logan’s arm. I hadn’t even thought of that.
“I wasn’t even thinking of… Oh, my gosh! That is so horrible! Now I really can’t trust you.” I couldn’t hold in my laugh.
“Okay, so apparently I can’t quite draw like you,” he was trying to hold in his laughter. “That’s supposed to depict one of the stances to take if a swarm is present. Didn’t realize it also closely resembled something else.”
“Mr. Greene, are you turning red? Did I somehow make you embarrassed?” I was doing my best not to fall over with laughter because this was nothing like he ever intended, yet it was so funny.
“I don’t know how I’m going to make it through this day with you,” his lip turned up only slightly at the corner. His eyes were still dancing with embarrassment, and I had a feeling I wouldn’t see him like this often, so I relished in the moment as much as I could.
“Okay, sorry, Mr. Greene. All business again but do keep your head out of the gutter please,” I badgered him, grinning.
He rolled his eyes and tossed the journal onto his pack.
“I’ll just explain things for now,” he smirked.
“Sounds like an excellent idea,” I countered.
“If you find yourself in a situation like you did at the floral shop, there are some key moves to try first. More times than not, they will work.” The red returned to his face, and I was thrilled it wasn’t me who was the one blushing this time. “Kneel down so that you are looking up at the being. The idea is that your head is right around where their hands might be. There are certain areas that are more difficult for these types of beings to get to. If you are kneeling, it buys you enough time to begin your first spell.”
As he was kneeling down, he reached into his back pocket and grabbed his wand.
“See how that extra movement bought me some time?” he asked.
I nodded, contemplating if I should tell him something or not.
“What is it, Triss?”
“I actually only use my wand for healing purposes,” I replied.
“Your wand is basically a magical spatula? You’ve got to be kidding me.” An edge of anger was bouncing off of each syllable.
“Pretty much,” I nodded. “It’s not like we’ve ever needed any of this. In fact, I don’t even have it with me.”
“That I counted on. It’s in your bag,” he said as he pointed. I wasn’t sure if he was aggravated at me or with the situation. “Have you ever used it?”
“For some healing spells, but it was a long time ago. I also tried using it to get my plants to grow faster,” I offered, as if that might help the situation.
He looked at me in disbelief.
“Looks like we need to back up quite a bit,” he muttered, his gaze on mine and not letting go.
“Sorry,” I mumbled, completely mortified at my lack of ability in my own world, “but I found the herbs and flowers I used to be quite adept at fixing most common ailments.”
He shrugged.
“It’s not your fault. Do you know how to create fire?”
I shook my head.
“Okay, well go grab your wand and we’ll begin with that. Also, grab some waters. I should be able to put out whatever you start, but I don’t want to take any chances.” A smile started to surface again.
I opened up my pack and grabbed two bottled waters and reached around for my wand, finally landing on it. I hoped I had wiped it off from whatever mixture I used it for last. That would probably be the last straw for him if he saw a whole bunch of green goo smashed on the tip. He’d send me packing for sure.
“Got it!” I pulled out my wand that was given to me on my tenth birthday. It was a deep mahogany wand with a silver core and tip. The tip actually worked really well as a grinder for herbs. I swung around with my wand in hand and tossed over the bottled waters to where he was standing.
“Looks like the tip of that thing has seen many days as a pestle,” he frowned.
“Pretty much.”
I walked over to where he started kneeling and collecting rocks to create a small circle.
“I want this to be your target. Point only here,” he said, with his finger indicating the circle. “When you do what I tell you, it will be a lot easier to learn control from the beginning than trying to figure it out after the fact.”
“Makes sense,” I nodded in agreement. “Are you sure you want to take me on?”
“Starting to wonder about that actually.” His words hit me like a knife. “Only kidding, Triss. I wouldn’t want it to be anyone else.”
“To what
? Teach to or to have learn from you?” I shot back.
“Both,” he replied. “Now let’s focus.”
How could I focus when he flings statements around like that?
“Follow my lead.” He pointed his wand at the circle and looked over at me. “Depending on the core of your wand, your saying will be slightly different. Mine is a stone core so I will say this, ‘Ignis Cos Cotis.’”
And a tiny flame erupted in the circle, simple as that. Flames didn’t shoot from his wand. There was no blazing trail of flames. The fire just started where he was pointing the wand.
“How do you put it out?” I asked.
“Besides dumping water on it?” He smiled and pointed at the small fire. “Extinguere Flammis.”
The flames vanished. I began getting worried. What if I light the forest on fire? How do I control the size of the flame?
“Don’t overthink it, Triss,” Logan’s voice was gentle and guiding. “You have a silver core so you will say, ‘Ignis Argentum.’”
My stomach began tying in knots as I thought about all the things that could go wrong with this attempt.
“You’ve got it, Triss.”
I pointed at the circle of stones, ignoring the nausea and lightheadedness that was attempting to take over.
“Ignis Argentum!” I yelled, as I shut my eyes accidentally.
Chapter 12
Peeling one eye open, I looked at the circle. There were no flames.
“You can’t close your eyes. It’s a safety feature,” Logan chuckled, the corners of his eyes wrinkling a little, “at least when I’m standing near you. I didn’t think I’d have to state the obvious but don’t close your eyes.”
“Very funny! It was a natural reaction! Sorry!” I squeaked.
“Let’s try it again, and this time keep your eyes open!” He winked at me, and I suddenly had a confidence boost along with a medley of other emotions I didn’t want to acknowledge.
Pointing my wand at the stone circle once more, I took a deep breath in and smiled at Logan.
“Keep your eyes on the circle,” he smirked. He was enjoying this far too much.
“Ignis Argentum!” I tried again, keeping my eyes open and focused on the circle.
The flames appeared, and I suddenly wanted to light more things on fire. The excitement was almost overpowering, but I steadied myself and my wand. Looking around at what else I could zap, I realized that side of magic was quite intriguing.
“This is so cool!” I squealed.
“Glad you’re having fun. Try to put it out. Remember what to say?” he asked.
I nodded.
“Flammis Extinguere,” I shouted with such fortitude.
Nothing happened. I looked up at Logan, perplexed.
“Flip the words and try again,” he said, shoving his hands in his pockets, smiling.
My heart dropped down the mountain, and I wasn’t sure I’d be able to catch it—ever.
“Extinguere Flammis,” I said matter-of-factly, nodding my head once.
And the flames vanished.
“Was your head nod for extra impact?” Logan started laughing.
“Quite possibly!” I shot back, walking over to him.
For some reason, there was something pulling me over to him. I wanted to hug him but held back. Actually, I wanted to jump in his arms, but that was completely uncalled for. There were very few people in the world who would probably be proud of me over this accomplishment, and I liked the fact that one of them was standing right here.
“Nice work. As long as you can remember some of these basic spells, you’ll be set for many things to come.”
“Like roasting marshmallows at campfires?” I asked, rolling my eyes.
“Exactly,” Logan said, less amused with me by the second. I was sure I was walking on thin ice.
“I hope I never have to use this stuff,” I muttered, sticking my wand in my pocket and pulling my ponytail tighter.
“Me too, but I’d feel horrible if something happened to you just because you didn’t know a simple protection chant or way to escape.” He was scuffing up the dirt where the fires had been set, making sure they were completely out as he spoke. He didn’t look at me. Things seemed to be closing off again inside of him, and I wasn’t sure what I did wrong.
“What’s next?” I asked, hoping that getting back to business would lighten his mood again.
“I’d like you to know how to freeze something or someone,” he said as he looked over at me.
“Okay,” I said a little concerned. “What do you mean freeze them? Like with icicles?”
His smile sprang to life again. Shaking his head, he put his hand my shoulder.
“I had no idea how fun this process was going to be,” he said.
“Thanks,” I replied, trying to act like his touch was doing nothing to me.
“It’s a little more complicated but could be handy if you use it with a protection spell. It could buy you time to possibly get out of the situation.”
“It sounds important,” I said, trying to squash the worries that started welling up inside of me.
“First, the only time you would need to use this is if you’re in direct danger. You’d want to start moving to your kneeling position, grabbing your wand at the same time.” He smiled briefly, and it seemed Logan was coming back from wherever he had been. “Then you’d quickly and steadily point your wand at the being trying to harm you and recite, ‘Non Impetus.’ Your main goal is to get out of the situation, so once you’ve uttered those words, the being should become immobile and that would be your cue to get out as fast as possible. As you’re leaving, you would need to repeat the spell once more and then add the word ‘Temporarium,’ so the second time you would need to say, ‘Non Impetus Temporarium.’ This ensures the harmony in the world once you’re out of danger. If you don’t add that part it would be a grave problem.”
“How so?” I asked, not completely understanding.
“They’d be frozen until they were found by someone who could break the spell. That’s not something you want to start playing with. I think that’s one of the many ways the fine line between white and black magic gets blurred.” His lips pursed into a small, straight line.
“Well, again, I hope to never use it, but if I must, I’ll remember to add Temporarium so that they can move eventually and come chase after me some more. Sounds like more fun that way. How long do I have to get out of the situation before the spell wears off?”
“That’s part of the problem. It could be as much as twenty minutes or as little as a couple of minutes. In some situations that won’t seem like nearly enough.”
Shivers ran through my bones as he spoke those words. Had he been in situations where that wasn’t enough time? I looked over at him and had to remind myself that this was the same Logan I grew up with. Whatever he got himself into, he’d obviously moved on. I needed to focus on the positives of his bad decisions. He’d turned his life around. Whatever he thought he did that was bad, I’m sure wasn’t as horrid as he made it out to be. At least it was providing some training for me.
“Let’s do a protection spell before we break, and then I’ll feel like I’ve been somewhat helpful,” Logan said.
“Please! I’ve learned more about protecting myself in flower shops in the last hour than,” I paused, “ever!”
“Let’s hope,” he said. “Okay, so this spell protects whatever you point your wand at. If you point it at yourself, then that’s what will be protected. If you point it at me, I’ll be protected. It won’t stop harm from completely happening, but it greatly lessens the impact of magic with ill intent. If the person intending harm is notified of the spell, often they won’t even bother. However, they can still try good old-fashioned brute force. Let’s try it on me first. Point your wand at me and say, ‘Praesidium a Capite ad Calcem.’”
“What if I hurt you?” I asked.
“You can’t. Not with this one,” he said, pointing at my wand. “Give it
a go.”
“Wait! How will I know if you’re really protected or not?” I asked.
“If you don’t mind, I can give you a little black magic spell to cast at me,” he said.
My blood froze.
“Triss, I’m kidding! Don’t pass out on me. I wouldn’t do that to you.”
“Not cool, Logan,” I replied.
“I can see that,” he replied flatly, but his eyes were dancing.
“Back to detecting the spell; there are a few indicators. One is that your pinky nail will turn silver. Another sign is that your ears turn to ice.”
“Okay, you can’t be serious. You’ll have a silver pinky nail and frozen ears? That sounds really ridiculous,” I huffed.
“It’s true. I swear. Try it. You’ll see.”
Standing back from him, I pointed my silver-tipped wand at him and spoke, “Praesidium a Capite ad Calcem.”
Nothing seemed to happen.
“Well?” I asked impatiently. “Let me see your pinky finger.”
I couldn’t believe I was saying that.
He flipped over his hands and sure enough, the pinky nail was metallic silver. I reached my hand up to feel his earlobe, and I surprised myself when my index finger and thumb gently touched his skin. It was as cold as an ice cube.
“Doesn’t that hurt? It’s so cold! When will it wear off?” I asked, not wanting to remove my fingers for many reasons.
His lips broke into a smile.
“A few hours. Do it to yourself and you’ll see it’s not all that bad.”
I blushed, releasing my fingers.
I held my wand up and circled around my head as I spoke the magical words again.
“Praesidium a Capite ad Calcem.”
I glanced down at my pinky finger, and it was as if a brand new coat of silver nail polish had just been painted. I reached up to my earlobes, and they did seem chilly. I took my hand away and then my earlobes started to feel like I was in a snowstorm. They actually kind of burned.
“Kind of stings,” I said to Logan, and his brows furrowed.
“You’ll get used to it,” he whispered, as he reached over with both hands and gently clamped on to each ear. This was simply absurd. I could only imagine what this looked like, and then he started gently massaging my skin, and I wanted to collapse. The tingle began drifting through my body as my mind drifted to images of his lips replacing his fingers.
Lonely Souls Page 9
