He ran his hands along her, continuing to try to get his eyes to stay opened. “Alice.” He shook her. “Wake up.”
The smell of blood sent a wave of alarm that allowed him the strength of will to look at her. Tears streamed down his face from the burning assault of the light.
Jasper stared at the blood around her nose. He’d done that before, playing with spells he wasn’t prepared to harness. “I’m sorry.” If he hadn’t been afraid of connecting with her, she would have been ready.
The air didn’t smell fresh, or offensive, and the light wasn’t as bright as it could have been. He got to his hands and knees, pulling himself up on the table. Maybe she had been ready.
A quick look at the table said she at least managed to finish what she started. The jar had a lid on it. The glass was filled with water that only glowed softly; no haze or smoke rose from it.
He turned, took a few steps, and pulled Alice into his arms. The short walk to the bed was more of a stumble. His muscles ached from the light sucking his energy.
Once she was resting in his bed, he patted her face. “Alice.”
Her arm raised, but didn’t reach his.
He used more force. “Witch. Wake up.” With the edge of his shirt he wiped her nose. The enigmatic thing had used everything she had to fix that sample. He would have stopped before that point. She was… waking up.
“Jasper?” Her hand made its way to her head, the pad of her thumb rubbing at her temple. “My brain is broken. Did I do it?”
“You did. Looks like we both underestimated that spell.” A frown filled his face. “I need to find you food.”
“I’ll wait here.” She closed her eyes, drifting off again.
Jasper hesitated to leave her, but knew that she would need something to eat to recover her strength. After putting the barrier back in place, he started for the main kitchen.
He exchanged a fast greeting with the cook. “Do we have any apples, amaranth, and.” He thought over his studies of witches. “Wood sorrel.”
“You mixing potions?” the cook asked as he gathered the things. He handed him a small bag. “Will this hold you? Fruit is running low. Food run is end of the week.”
“Perfect. I’ll request anything I need before the men leave. Thank you.” With his prize in hand, Jasper hurried back to Alice.
She stirred when he sat on the bed. “Jasper. I don’t feel well.”
“No, you wouldn’t after giving so much of yourself. I have food. We don’t have much I’m certain you can eat.” He helped her sit up and pressed an apple to her hand.
“I’m an elf too, can’t I eat what you do?” Alice bit the fruit, her stomach growling in anticipation.
“I’m not sure. You aren’t strictly elf and, well, there are no records of a blending in anything I’ve read.” He sat the other things on a cloth beside her. “This should help. I’m sorry this happened. We should have given power to your name. There is no way you can work with the water at the entrance, and definitely not at the source, if this happened from a small glass full.”
Alice swallowed her bite and looked at the plants, wrinkling her nose. “Do you think it will change that much? I’m still not trained. I mean you have a point. The size of that glass compared to the air at the entrance and the water at the source. Can my name change that much?”
“Yes.”
“Just, yes?”
“Yes. I know from firsthand experience.” A smile filled his face.
Alice watched him while she chewed. “Why are you just an oracle then?”
“Complicated dynamics we don’t have time nor need to get into. Eat your plants. We need you stronger for the entrance.” He stood and walked toward his table. “I think the new barrier spell, if we work it together, will hold better. I know our outer illusion is holding, but there will be much greater pressure if we pin the water into the one chamber. Right now, it can vent outside, it’s not building pressure.” He turned back to see her eat, though her face said she wasn’t enjoying it. “Clearing the air will be up to you. I can’t risk working magic that might pull that into me.”
“This is awful. Truly, I’m grateful you gave what you had, but, can we run out and get something after we are outside of the front barrier?” She rolled a leaf around in her mouth.
Jasper chuckled. “If we successfully pull off clearing the entrance, I will help you find something more palatable.”
Alice stood and trudged over to him, reading over his shoulder. “If we are doing this, we should. Didn’t you say guards would start getting curious soon?”
“I have something for you.” He slipped away to a shelf in the far corner and returned with a book, similar to the grimoires. “This is an ancient spell book. It’s like the one Gretchen used, strong enough to hold soul spells.”
“Grimoires only hold certain types of magic?” Alice took the book he handed her.
“Sort of. I will explain all that later. Your family book speaks of how powerful your line was when it was created. This book was created with the intent to hold soul spells. Why it was never used is a mystery, but I would guess it is older than any of the books I have with spells.” He watched as she opened the book.
Alice ran her hands over the blank pages. “This is a treasure. You should keep it. I have nothing of value to trade. I… you know I may not walk out of here.”
“If you don’t, I will keep it. As for a trade, my life for the book seems fair.” One side of his mouth pulled up, showing his teeth as he grinned. “I will show you how to activate the magic when we are done. Once you do that, it will belong to you and you alone.”
“Not us? Not like with Gretchen and the light elf?” While she talked her eyes stayed on the blank page. “Did you feel compelled to work magic when you touched it?”
“No.” He stepped closer. Standing next to her, it did feel different. “I do now. It’s you. This book has probably always been yours.”
“Oh, that can’t be.” She lifted her gaze to him. “But it does feel like it is mine now. Thank you.”
“When we finish working our spells, I will also show you how to give them to the book.” There was an excitement in his voice as the thrill of teaching filled him with satisfaction.
“Do you keep a spell book?”
“Yes, not exactly like this, but as you now know, the magic is from the same root source.” Jasper swallowed back his last doubts. “Ready?”
“What do I need to do?”
“Take my blade…” He handed her his knife. “It is sharp enough to give you a clean slice. I’ll need a fair amount. After you have this much…” With a finger placed against a glass, he showed her where to fill it to. “From this you will make a cross on my forehead. I will have my own glass and do the same on your forehead. Then I will mix the two, say a few words and we will each drink.”
“And then it’s done. Will it hurt, aside from the cut?” Her fingers wrapped the handle of the knife so tight they turned white.
“No, I won’t hurt you and I will understand if you hurt me. It takes great practice to slip into another without hurting them.”
“I will hurt you? Can you tell me how to try not to?”
“No time.” He picked up another knife and dragged it across his arm. Blood pooled and trickled from the cut. Jasper watched as it spilled into his glass. “There, see. Not so bad.”
“Not so bad, because I get the feeling you are all blood crazed and probably do things like this for fun.”
It wasn’t hard to tell she was deflecting her tension with humor. A scared witch? Odd creature. “It will be fine.”
Alice sliced her wrist, winced, and turned away as the blood ran down her hand. “Jasper.” His name came out as a plea for help.
Since they needed the blood, while he put an arm around her waist and tugged her close, he also grabbed her glass and caught the flowing blood. A witch who can’t face blood? So strange. “Easy, I have you. You are trembling. The cut isn’t that deep.”
&
nbsp; “Decker, he, the cave on the way. It was awful.” Her head rested against him.
When he had enough blood, Jasper took her arm and held it up, applying some pressure. “This is not that cave, and I am not that elf.”
Alice lifted her head and stared into his eyes. “I’m ready.”
He held her gaze a long moment, making sure she was ready. Another nod from her, and he dipped his finger in his blood.
When he finished, Alice did the same.
With part of the connection made, they both shared their stronger surface intentions with each other.
Jasper poured his blood and hers in a fresh glass, leaving a small amount in hers for later. He swirled the mixed blood a few times with his finger. “This will bond us forever.”
She wet her lips with the tip of her tongue. “I understand. Go ahead.”
He lifted the glass to his mouth, sipping with his eyes closed. After he swallowed, he handed it to her. “It’s disgustingly sweet.”
“So I’ve heard.” She took the glass. After a brief hesitation, she closed her eyes and sipped. “It’s not sweet. It’s bitter, metallic, with hints of earth.”
Jasper grunted a response and leaned his head against hers so that their foreheads touched. While he chanted the words to deepen the bond, his lips brushed hers.
ALICE RESPONDED WITH a soft kiss for the briefest moment, before she slipped into his consciousness. Memories of his rushed at her so quickly, she couldn’t separate them. Emotions came without anything to attach them to. Was this how she would hurt him? Reaching through his mind carelessly.
She slowed herself, mindful of each thing as it came at her. His quest for knowledge was there, she isolated that. The hunger to learn was rooted in a desire for power. There was a genuine interest and passion that was beautiful to feel as it wrapped around her, but it was tainted by a dark craving that had driven him to do anything to possess power no one else had. When that mingled darkness brushed against her, she turned her awareness to something else. No matter what tender aspect embraced her, his dual nature ensured something abrasive joined it.
The edges of his darkness cut into her light. His memories blurred. Motives mingled. A twinge of pain entered her consciousness, followed by vertigo. Help me.
JASPER OFTEN SLIPPED into elves for interrogations as ordered by Decker. The practice allowed him to catch Alice when the intensity overcame her.
He held her pressed against him as she stumbled into him. Twinges of pain came and went while she explored. With ease, he pressed past her surface thoughts, beyond her memories, going deep into the core of who she was.
Goodness, hope, and light greeted him. The only negative aspects were fears and doubts. At the center, he felt a strength that he’d only glimpsed in her from the outside.
In the raw moment, recognition slammed into him. Their souls knew each other. Startled, he almost lost his way and crashed into the most crippling fear she had, isolation. It washed over him with an intensity that brought tears to his eyes. Alone in the cave, alone at the coven, alone growing up, only her mother to play with.
Buried younger still, he found a painful separation he couldn’t place. Something before her consciousness recorded the outside world. Torn from safety. Left with strangers. To work out what he was feeling could have hurt her, and he had what he needed. Softening pain could be done, but he never attempted it. Decker never used him in that way, and he didn’t want to damage her psyche.
“You are not alone now, Aerwyna.” His lips brushed hers again.
Alice opened her eyes. “Unukalhai,” she whispered against his lips.
They stood in each other’s arms several long moments while the bond loosened enough for them to separate from each other’s thoughts.
“Do you need rest again?” Jasper finally asked.
“No. I, that was, what do we do now?” Alice pulled away from him.
He sensed the closeness made her uneasy. “Write your name, claim your magic.” With a hand of support on her back, he turned her toward the table and handed her a quill pen. Since she was still unsteady, he held the glass with only her blood. “Use this, it’s your blood.”
“Do I need to say any chants?”
“No, just make it your intention to claim your name and tap into the magic.”
Alice dipped the pen in her blood and wrote her name. With each graceful letter, the magic in the book vibrated stronger. When she was done, a symbol appeared on the page as well. “What is that?”
“Mine did that too, not the same symbol. I’ve not figured that out yet. I will.”
“I’ve seen a symbol like this.” Alice held up her hand, palm opened.
Jasper traced a finger over the pink scar. It was different to the one in her book and the one in his. He grabbed another pen and replicated it. “How did you get this? It looks fresh.”
“It is. There was a magic totem in the source water at the swamp. I tried to grab it and it branded this in my hand. Blistered and hurt. That’s why I didn’t pull it out.”
“I see. This must be the symbol…” He stopped and narrowed his eyes. “Flip to the start of Gretchen’s book.”
Alice did and they both stared at three symbols, one of which matched the mark on her hand. “These are soul markers of some sort? Why are there three?”
“United souls? Could a witch and elf be soulmates for real?”
“Put your name in the book.” She slid over and pushed the book toward him.
Jasper shook his head. “Alice, it’s your book. We won’t be working magic together beyond this.”
“We will. I feel it. Don’t you?”
He did. “Are you sure? I don’t have another book to give you, if you change your mind.”
“Do it.” She handed him the pen.
Jasper looked at the glass that had held his blood. Enough pooled in the bottom. He had recognized her soul. Could that even be possible? Elves and witches. History suggested they were more to each other at some point at the start of their exile.
“Jasper, now,” Alice urged him.
Jasper dipped the pen and wrote Unukalhai. Below it his symbol appeared as it had in his own grimoire.
They both stood holding their breath.
“I thought…” Alice stopped, reaching out a hand and holding his forearm. “Look.”
A third symbol appeared. The book put out a wave of magic.
“Are you sure you saw me and Decker working magic at the source?” Her grip tightened on his arm.
“I did.”
“Could you have been there?”
“Perhaps. I’ll try for clarification. Not now. Let’s put this away. We need to make the barrier and check on Decker. I will show you how to put our spells in here.” He tapped the pen against the table. “I’ll find you a book of your own. Later.”
“I have a book, my family book.”
“No, that won’t hold spells you work from here.” He pressed his hand on her chest. “It will take a strong book to keep those for you.” He closed the book and took her hand in his, resting them on top of the book. “Make it your desire to lock this book to anyone but us.”
While she worked he stared at her. A witch soulmate? What did that mean? Soulmate relationships had a huge range. There would be time to determine what they were to each other in this life. Whatever it was, it would have to survive their separation. Alice couldn’t stay.
Chapter Fifteen
DAVINA SHIFTED HER weight from one foot to the other. As with most creatures, she couldn’t find Kheelan or remember the exact location of his cabin, until he wanted her to. “Where are you? I don’t have time for games.”
A squirrel jumped from one branch to another, stopping to make noises before carrying on to wherever it was going. Underbrush rustled to her left. She turned, searching the forest floor and seeing nothing.
Exasperation seeped into her tone. “It’s important.”
Despite the cool air under the canopy of trees, warmth blew across
her face. Tingles raced over her skin. It was a game he played with her countless times, and one she never enjoyed.
“Please. The PPK is investigating the water.” The hand that held the strap of her bag tightened.
Kheelan manifested with less than an inch between them. His blue eyes sparkled with amusement. “We’ve gained the attention of the grand PPK with our minor mischief?” His lips brushed hers while he spoke. “I had hoped you just missed me.”
“I need you. That will have to do.” Davina leaned in and let him hold her. “Can you help me, without making it about you or us?”
“No, I wouldn’t help you at all, if not for us.” He ran his hands through her hair. “You will be safe. Come inside and tell me everything.”
She followed him into the cabin that was so close she should have seen it. Inside, she sat the bag down and joined him on his chair. The stress of the morning made her crave his touch.
While Davina talked, Kheelan held her on his lap and stroked her skin.
“You need to take this serious. I brought the book. What we did can’t get back to them. They will finish me.” She put her hand over his, stopping it from drifting under her top. “You know they are capable of destroying lives. Plan first, play second.”
A flash of anger glinted in his deep blues, before a smile filled his face, warming his eyes. “You know how to add pages to a book. We’ve done that, you’ve done that. Does she journal? Leave him his silly evidence.” While he talked, he trailed kisses down the column of her neck. “That solves the problem. Play now?”
“Almost.” She purred, tickling his skin with her nails, encouraging his cooperativeness. “And the water? Will you help me remove the curse?”
“Yes, in a few days. You can tell him, I have agreed to meet with him in two days. Tell him we will agree to try together to undo what Gretchen and I did.” His laughter danced across her skin, as lips brushed her collarbone.
“Why two days?” Her concentration slipped under the assault of his sensual touches. “Please, plan first.”
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