"She can't find him," Paris finished. "And neither can we." He immediately turned to look at Jade, sunk back in the cushions. "Although you probably can."
She shrugged. "I can try. I don't know any locator spells."
Paris frowned. The thing with locator spells was they usually required some kind of a connection. If not that, then they needed a great deal of focus and control. Before they'd known who Jade was Paris had used a locator spell to find her. He'd cobbled together bits and pieces of spells into one he knew would work, using his years of magic as a base. Jade didn't have that kind of knowledge nor did she have the kind of focus needed. Hearing the way she felt just now, she certainly didn't have the emotional connection to anyone in the Coven that would be required.
"You've got a face on," she said warily staring up at him.
"Locator spells can be... tricky."
She waved her rune-palm at him. "I think we've established I can do tricky."
Paris grimaced. "That's not quite what I meant." He considered her for a moment, an idea coming to him. "Would you agree to let me filter my magic through you again?"
"Like back in the forest?"
He nodded and she looked thoughtful. Paris wished he knew what was going on in her mind. "I know you said it was unpleasant, but..."
"I got it. Missing kid." She huffed quietly, her lips pursing oddly as she chewed on the inside of her cheek. "It's not like I'm gonna say no and let some kid just be lost or whatever."
"Thank you."
Paris turned back to Josef, who was waiting patiently in the doorway. "I was training with Jade the other day out in the preserve. We discovered that I'm able to filter my magic through her and it doesn't suffer from the same sickness as the rest of the Coven's magic when I do so."
Josef nodded. "We probably have everything you'd need for a number of locator spells down in Counter Magic. You could work from there."
"We'll be along shortly," Paris said and Josef backed out of his office, shutting the door behind him. Jade was already getting to her feet, curling the arm with the rune close to her body.
"Are you up for this?"
Her eyebrows came together in a 'V.' "Yes."
"You mentioned you don't feel well."
She shrugged as though it didn't matter. "I told you, I'm not going to say no. But..." Her eyes went hard. "When we're done, when we find this kid or whatever, I want you to call Dex and make him tell you he had nothing to do with this whole wonky magic thing. In front of me," she clarified. "And my polygraph hand. After that, we can figure out how to un-rune it. But not before I get to question him."
"You're convinced it's him."
"Yep."
Paris couldn't help but feel disappointed in both her resolve and that she hadn't even thought of coming to him first without trying to solve the problem on her own. It didn't speak well of how she felt about her position in the Coven, although perhaps she had a point. He wasn't prepared to believe her. He'd known Dex nearly his whole life.
"Very well. We'll get this sorted and then I'll ask Dex to come meet us." Paris paused, looking over Jade, standing there, her body tense, her arm cradled close. "Perhaps after that we can discuss why you felt you couldn't come to me with this."
"Uh, because you don't believe me? Like, not at all. You're not even pretending to believe me." She glanced down at her arm. "Not that it would do any good if you did, because, you know, lie detector." Jade gestured at herself. "But you're not even considering it."
"Jade, I..."
"Can we not?" she interrupted him, her grey eyes sharp and cold. "Let's just go and save Timmy from the well or whatever it is we need to do."
She pushed past him, not turning back as she left his office and was out the door, leaving him only to follow.
#
Jade crossed her arms over her chest and tried to pay attention as Paris gathered the materials he needed for a location spell. Just because she was pissed and maybe feeling a little defensive was no reason not to learn. Or so she told herself.
Counter-Magic had an awesome magic pantry which Jade hadn't gotten a chance to see before now, having been regulated to her 'learning' tasks. Except for the rookie-hazing sewer incident, she'd been logging calls and working her way through old reports and workbooks. As soon as Paris entered the offices of the Counter-Magic department, he'd headed directly to the back rooms - a spot Jade hadn't been privy to yet - and Josef had opened up several locked cabinets. Watching Paris pick his supplies was like watching a master chef go grocery shopping. He chose items, gave them a sniff or a pinch, cradled them in his hands and moved onto the next thing.
After he'd gathered some roots, herbs and a few stones he wanted, he'd asked Josef if they had anything belonging to the young boy who was missing. Josef had handed over a set of game-playing cards, probably carefully inserted into their protective sleeves by his mother since six year olds weren't generally known for how well they kept their stuff. Jade watched and tried to take mental notes as Paris assembled his items, including a mortar and pestle, and then asked for a map of the Coven area.
"Is this how you found me?" Jade asked, head jerking toward the map as Josef set it down on a large table "Before you knew who I was."
Paris' head made a see-saw kind of motion. "Slightly different. I had to create a different kind of spell to find you since I was focusing in on your magic and didn't have anything that belonged to you. It's easier with an object to focus on. This is a fairly standard spell for lost people, but it does rely on having something of theirs."
He set the items down on the table and then looked at Jade.
"Would you mind picking each of them up and focusing on your magic? I'm concerned that whatever's wrong with our magic has perhaps contaminated them a bit by me handling them and I'd like you to touch each item first."
Jade stepped forward, picking up a few satchels of herbs and then some stones. She sort of tossed them back and forth in her hands, finding that they did feel a bit 'off' to her at the start, but once she could feel the 'rightness' of them again, she set them down. The mortar and pestle was the strangest, feeling like they were vibrating at the wrong frequency. She petted it a bit with her fingertips, feeling the grain and texture of the stone under her skin. After a minute or so, she felt like it was warmer, better, and she set it down.
Paris stepped closer to her and she moved back, away from him and the table. He grimaced. "In the forest, I had to be touching you to make my magic filter through yours. I've been trying as we've stood here and I don't think it works unless we're touching."
"Oh," she said flatly, stepping closer to him. She reached out a hand, the one without the rune on it, and hovered it over his shoulder, dropping it down unceremoniously. "Like this okay?"
Paris paused for a second and then Jade felt a rush of his power shoot up her hand. It was hot, contrasting sharply with the cold ache of the rune she had on her other side. She felt as though her body were being neatly divided in half - Paris' magic working on one side, and the demon rune working on the other. Paris wrinkled his nose a bit.
"I can sense the rune." He looked like he'd just bitten into a rotten vegetable gone mushy and sour when he'd been expecting crisp and earthy. "Does it hurt?"
Jade shrugged one shoulder. "It aches a bit. Like I've been using a hammer on a steel beam all day."
He met her eyes and standing this close, with her hand on his shoulder, she wanted to look away. He was too close and she felt a bit trapped. "We've discussed you doing magic without consulting me first."
"We have," she said, her tone a little cool. Two could play the vague-and-unhelpful-statement-game.
Paris pursed his lips together slightly. "What I mean is, you shouldn't try things like this without checking with me first."
Jade took a deep breath, trying to quell her anger at his words. When she inhaled she caught the scent of sandalwood and cedar chips with a bit of laundry detergent and maybe some mint. It was a comforting smell and it hit
her hard in the gut when she realized it was Paris - those were all the scents she associated with him. His eyes darted momentarily to his shoulder and her own followed seeing her fingers moving slightly, pressing into the fabric of his shirt and feeling the flesh underneath. She stilled her hand. Then Joseph cleared his throat. She wondered how long they would have stood there staring at each other if Josef hadn't.
Jade had forgotten he was still in the room. She looked away from Paris, focusing instead on the table where the items were gathered. She watched as he meticulously placed some items in the mortar, grinding them up with counter-clockwise strokes. The smell of something sharp and almost lemony hit her nostrils, making her nose twitch a bit. It was followed by a more earthy scent, like moss or dirt. Paris carefully placed the stones in the mortar, using his fingers to mix it a bit, like making chicken and covering it with breadcrumbs. He added a snippet from the protective covering of the trading card. Jade could see in her minds eye how a young child would turn the brightly colored cards over and over in their hands, eagerly looking to complete a set, trading with friends, getting new additions for birthdays and holidays.
"Where does he live?" asked Paris and Jade was completely stymied for a moment until she realized he was talking to Josef. Josef stepped forward, gesturing to an area on the map, but not touching it.
"He's on the south side of the preserve."
Paris made a low 'hmm' sound and Jade swore she could feel the vibration of his voice through her fingers resting on his shoulder. His magic was finely wound and hummed in its intensity and she found herself slightly swaying a bit, like it was a song or a rhythm. She wondered if it was a consequence of how he was funneling his power or if it was just her. Paris stepped a bit closer to the table with the map and she moved instinctively with him, stretching her arm slightly when he bent over the table to get a closer view of the map. He sprinkled the dust mixture onto the paper and Jade felt a flare of his power, of his intent, rippling through her own magic. It was so structured and clear. At the same time, she could also feel her own magic, sitting up and wanting to participate - like a puppy watching a game of fetch with other dogs and owners. Her demon rune palm throbbed a bit, sending a cold spike to her elbow and then to her shoulder.
Paris flinched slightly. "Focus, Jade," he said, his voice low.
She shook her head a bit, fingers flexing on his shoulder. The map seemed to warble and wobble in front of her. Jade could see the dust Paris had spread out swirling and snaking its way around the map. She could feel it trying to find the boy - feel Paris' magic searching him out. The colored dust worked its way into the preserve and Jade thought, what a wonderful place it must be for a young child - all big trees, nooks and crannies to hide in. Birds and animals scurrying about.
But then her eyes were drawn to the bright blue splotch on the map. The lake. Her stomach clenched. She felt her power spike - sending a frisson to both her demon rune palm and to the hand that was resting on Paris' shoulder. Paris twitched.
"Jade," Paris warned, his voice sounding like it was coming from far away. Jade couldn't stop staring at the lake, remembering the feeling she had when she'd been close by and then, the dream she'd had. Lily, her face white and still under the surface of the water.
Cold seeped up her arm, from the demon rune, settling in her shoulder and feeling like it was running through her veins, working toward her chest. The dust on the map, almost coalescing into a small circle, started spreading out again wider, into more of an oblong kidney shape than anything useful.
"Jade, focus on the spell."
She was focusing on the spell. Or at least, she thought she was. She felt Paris' magic flood her veins - hot and sharp. She could feel the strange place in her chest where his magic, her own powers and the demon rune collided - leaving a sick, empty kind of feeling. Her fingers dug into his shoulder and she thought she should apologize or let go, but she couldn't. Her power pushed against his and it felt like knocking her head against a brick wall - resonating, painful, thick and dull.
"Almost there," she heard Josef mutter and when Jade looked at the magic dust on the map, she could see what he meant. It was shrinking down, into a smaller and smaller speck. Paris' power pulsing behind it, focusing the spell and at the same time, forcing Jade's magic back. She wanted to help him, but she couldn't stop staring at the wavy blue blotch of water that represented the lake and feeling sick in her chest. She swallowed, feeling the phantom presence of water in her sinus cavity - sharp and cold.
Paris' hand shot out and grabbed her free one, his fingers clenching painfully around hers. "Christ, Jade. Stop," he gritted out. "I'm almost done."
His fingers were hot against her own - trapping them in a vice-like grip. The demon rune flared ice-cold and she gasped at the pain. Without thinking, she tried to tug her hand away, tried to step back, but his grip didn't release. Her chest burned. Her fingers let go of Paris' shoulder and she started pushing him away, trying to get away from the ache in her hand, the pressure in her chest and the water, oh god all the water -
"Jade! Stop!"
She felt Paris' power surge into her and it was like being squeezed - like she was just a bag of bits and bobs and he was taking up all the free space, making her push out at her seams, ready to burst.
Paris crushed her fingers in his and Jade thought hers might snap. She kicked out, mindlessly, catching him in the back of the knee and he buckled a bit, tugging her down with him. Then there were arms around her, moving her back, away from Paris, pulling her, spinning her and she stumbled, facing a collection of Coven witches, staring at her with fear and a little horror in their eyes.
Confused, she looked down at the hands around her and then up at Josef. He set her right on her feet, hands hovering when she wobbled a bit.
"Sorry, dear. But you were like two microphones pointed at one another." His eyes were kind and maybe a little amused as he stared down at her. "You know, if one of those microphones started kicking."
Jade looked over Josef's shoulder and saw Paris, rubbing his knee as he glared at her.
"Oh," she breathed. Her magic felt fuzzy and muddled, like it was buried under piles of felt and fabric - far off with thick layers in between. She shook her head a bit.
"I think you'll find our missing child at these coordinates," Paris said, pointing to a spot on the map that Jade couldn't see from where she stood.
There was a moment of silence and then Josef's voice boomed out. "All right, it's not a spectator sport. Everyone out."
There was a beat when it seemed like no one was going to listen to him and then like a band had snapped, the room started clearing. After a few moments, it was just Jade and Paris. Alone. In awkward silence.
Which was broken when Dex poked his head in the room.
"Wow, what's going on in here?" he said, lips curled in a smile. "Got a hallway full of gossiping witches and..." he sniffed the air. "Smells like magic. A lot of magic. I thought we couldn't use any?"
"You!" Jade said, finger pointing at Dex. This was exactly what she'd been waiting for, what she wanted since this whole mess started - for Dex to poke his perfect nose in and for her to have the opportunity to smash it. "What did you do to the Coven's magic?"
It was fast, so fast she wasn't sure if Paris saw it, but Dex seemed to smirk a bit before he went wide-eyed. Jade was like a violin string pulled tight - waiting for him to speak, to lie, for her demon rune to prove it and then she'd snap.
"Me? Nothing."
Jade opened her mouth to contradict him, to wave her runed hand up like a burning flag when she realized it wasn't reacting. She stared down dumbly at it. No. No, no, no, no. She'd planned this. Feeling off kilter from what had just happened with her magic and Paris, she rushed forward.
"Like hell," she countered. "You did something, I know you did. You and your smarmy face and your creepy charm and your weird grocery store confrontations. You're the one that did something to the Coven's magic and you're going to tell us what it was."
"Jade," Paris' voice said from behind her. Jade whirled around, waving her pointing finger at him now.
"No, you're biased. Everyone in this goddamn coven is biased. He did something and he's going to admit and I'll prove it."
"I really don't know what you mean. I haven't done anything to the Coven's magic."
Again, Jade looked from her runed hand, to Dex and back again. Betrayal coursed through her veins. "No, I know you did it."
"Jade, enough," said Paris, fatigue creeping into his voice.
Jade shook her hand like it was a faulty cell phone or broken flashlight. "No, it's you, I know it's you and if this isn't working, it's because it's broken or the magic we just did fucked it or because he's a psychopath and they can fool polygraphs, you know-"
"Jade!" Paris shouted. "Enough!"
She glared at him mutinously. He may as well have shushed her in a crowd of people. She burned with rage and hurt. "I know it's him."
"All evidence," Paris said, gesturing to her silent demon-runed hand, "would appear to indicate otherwise."
Jade was shaking her head. "This," she said holding up her hand, "is a glitch. I know he did it and none of you want to believe me, but that doesn't mean it's not true!"
Paris looked from her and then to Dex. "Dex, I apologize on Jade's behalf-"
"Don't you fucking dare!" Jade interrupted, moving in front of Paris, going toe-to-toe with him. He was not going to pull this on her. Her face was hot with embarrassment and she felt a little shaky, partially from not knowing why the rune didn't work, but also from the residual magic. "Don't you dare apologize on my behalf. It's goddamn patronizing and it assumes a) that I've done something apology worthy, which I haven't, b) that I can't do it for myself and c) that I'm fucking sorry when I'm not!"
Paris batted away her pointing finger, with a swipe of his hand. "Dex," he said, never breaking his gaze from Jade. "If you'll excuse us."
Jade turned to look at him. "Don't you move a muscle, pretty boy, I'm not done with you."
Counter-Hex (Covencraft Book 2) Page 20
