This Spell Can't Last

by Isabel Sterling

  “Look, I don’t know how you found me, but I promise I don’t have anything to do with what the Casters are planning.” I start to back away, but then I think of the binding cord. Of what it could do to her. “Listen, I . . . You should go. Leave the Casters alone. It’ll be safer for everyone.” I hesitate for one more second and then I turn and run.

  She screams, but I can’t tell if it’s fury or frustration. It doesn’t matter. I need to get somewhere safe. Somewhere—

  The world tilts, and I taste dirt. Strong hands grip my arms and spin me, slamming my back into the ground.

  “Why did the Casters recruit you?” The Blood Witch digs two fingers under my collarbone, and I scream until her other hand covers my lips. “What are they planning?”

  Glass shatters beside us, and navy-blue smoke curls up from the broken remains. The Blood Witch goes limp and collapses on top of me.

  And then my world goes dark.

  Chapter Eleven

  Muffled screams, shrill and full of pain, jolt me out of sleep.

  I sit up, expecting to find trees and fresh air and a Blood Witch trying to kill me. Instead, the light is an artificial yellow, and the ceiling’s white paint has faded to an unfortunate beige. I shift, testing the soft cushions beneath me, and a shock of blue hair moves in my periphery. The Casters. I’m back in their apartment. Which means the screams are—

  The Blood Witch screams again. Off to my left. I turn and find her in the hall struggling against Coral and Lexie. Tori hurries over with a pair of ropes. The Casters secure them to the Blood Witch’s wrists and ankles, and a sickening hiss pierces the room. Smoke curls away from the witch’s skin where it touches the rope.

  No, not rope.

  A binding cord.

  Coral cringes. “Is it supposed to burn like that?”

  “No.” Lexie reaches for the knot. “I must have messed something up. It should block her magic, but it shouldn’t hurt.”

  “Leave it,” Tori snaps when Lexie tries to untie the knot.

  “But—”

  “I said leave it.” Tori ties a short scarf around the Blood Witch’s mouth, a makeshift gag. Once her screams are muffled, Tori pushes open the bedroom door. “If you don’t like it, help me finish the ritual so this will be over.”

  “Are you okay?” Veronica appears in front of me, blocking whatever Lexie says next. The Casters drag the Blood Witch into the bedroom. “Do you need something to drink? Coral said you might wake up thirsty.”

  I accept the bottle of water and down its contents. “How did I get here? What time is it?” I pat my pockets, looking for my phone so I can text Gem. We can’t miss our bus. All our luggage is already loaded from when we checked out of the hotel this morning, but we can’t afford to get left behind in the city. We’d probably get expelled from school, or at least banned from all future school trips, and I don’t even want to think about what my parents would do.

  Except . . . I stare at the closed door. How can I leave when I know this is happening?

  “There’s still time before we have to go,” Veronica says, cutting off my worried thoughts as I realize she still has my phone. V shudders. “It’s a good thing Coral and Lexie ran into you on their way to meet with me.” Veronica glances toward the bedroom. Tori emerges first, looking triumphant, while Coral and Lexie follow her out. They keep their distance from their blue-haired friend. “I’m glad they got there before the Blood Witch hurt you.”

  “Me too.” I want to ask for my phone back, but I’m not ready to have that fight again. Plus, there’s this small voice in my head that tells me I’m missing something. That the Blood Witch seemed almost . . . scared. And now Coral and Lexie look concerned, too. They keep sharing glances behind Tori’s back as she heads for the Caster lab in the kitchen.

  Something isn’t right.

  “Glad to see you’re up and moving, Hannah.” Coral offers me a smile, but there’s an edge of uncertainty now.

  Lexie winces. “Sorry about the sleeping spell. There wasn’t a good way to dose the Blood Witch without you getting caught up in it, too.”

  “You’re lucky they had the potion with them,” Veronica says, reaching for my hand. It still stings from my fall on the roof last night, and I pull away.

  “Why did you have the potion with you? If you were just planning to meet with Veronica?”

  In the kitchen, glass shatters, and Tori curses. Lexie winces. “After you left last night, we made some emergency supplies in case the Blood Witch showed up again. We couldn’t risk being unprepared.”

  I nod. It makes sense, but it doesn’t explain everything. “How did we end up back here?”

  Tori curses again, and Coral excuses herself to help with the potion making. When she’s gone, Veronica fills me in. “Lex made you two invisible so we could get you back.”

  “Invisible? I thought you said that potion kept exploding.”

  “It does,” Lexie confirms and glances over her shoulder at the other Casters in the kitchen. “Which is why I used a refraction spell instead. It—Hang on. I need to help them before they blow up the entire building.” Lexie grabs the leather notebook from her desk and hurries into the kitchen.

  I turn to Veronica, looking for a reflection of my worries. Instead, she’s grinning. “You were basically invisible. It was awesome. I helped carry you both on the wind.”

  “You what?”

  She rolls her eyes. “Relax, Han. No one saw anything. You were—”

  “Invisible. I get it, but you know Lady Ariana won’t. If she finds out, she’ll banish you from the coven.” I shouldn’t have to explain this. We were raised by the same high priestess. Why doesn’t she understand how dangerous it is to use her magic so publicly? Wasn’t she paying attention at all our coven meetings?

  “Well, then I guess it’s a good thing no one’s going to tell her. Isn’t it?”

  I stare at her, silent.

  “Isn’t it, Hannah.” Her words are more threat than question, and it’s like I don’t even know her anymore. I can’t even look at her.

  There has to be a way to fix this. To get Veronica out of here. To stop the Casters from stealing another witch’s magic.

  I head for the kitchen, where potions bubble over an open flame, and try a new tactic. “What’s the plan? How can we help?” It hurts to see Veronica smile at my sudden change of heart. Does she want to fit in with these strangers so much she can’t see how bad this is? “Are you going to have the Council come pick her up?”

  “The Council already had their chance.” Tori practically spits the words. “All we’re doing is cleaning up their mess. I’m not going to call them so they can fuck it up again.”

  “Tori . . .” I look to Veronica for support and find none. She’s already chosen her side, and it’s not with me. Her rejection shatters what was left of my brittle, glass heart. “I hear you, but what other option is there? You can’t keep her locked up here forever. It’s not your job to punish her for something her Clan did.”

  “My job? It’s my goddamn birth right.” Tori slams an open palm on the counter, and the bubbling vials quiver. “Our fight with the Blood Witches killed my mom. Witches like her are the reason my dad left the Clans, left me, forever. I don’t even know where he is.”

  “Tori, I’m—”

  “I can’t even find him! I tried every tracking spell I know. Lexie has, too. When the Council stripped his powers, they took away everything that made him a Caster.” Tears stream from Tori’s eyes, spreading a path of mascara down her face that drips to the tile floor. “He’s so fundamentally different that the best tracking spells can’t catch a hint of him left in this world. If the Blood Witches had just left us alone, if they had left the city, none of this would have happened. I’d still have my parents.” She sniffs and wipes tears from her cheeks. “My family sacrificed too much to protect the city from B
lood Witches. Since she won’t leave, she has to be stopped.”

  The small kitchen falls quiet in the aftermath of Tori’s outburst. Her story tugs at my heartstrings, plays them like a harp, but what she’s doing will only make matters worse.

  “You can’t blame an entire Clan for that. Hurting her won’t bring him back,” I whisper in the silence.

  “Don’t you think I know that?” Tori swipes mascara off her face. “But until a Blood Witch has stolen someone you love, you don’t get a vote. You don’t get a say. If you don’t like it, you can get the hell out of here.”

  I wait for Veronica to say something, to realize how fucked up all this is. Even Lexie and Coral seem unsettled, though they still continue to tend the potion.

  Play along. Look for another way.

  “You’re right,” I say, the words like sawdust in my mouth. “I’m sorry. Seriously. Let me help. What can I do? What’s the plan?”

  Tori adds another herb to the potion, and Lexie marks it in her notebook, the swirling symbols curling around the page. “You can babysit the Blood Witch and stay the hell out of my way.” She nods to Coral, who places a gentle hand on my elbow, ready to lead me away. “The rest of us are going to finish this potion and write the ritual.”

  Dread curls in my gut. “What kind of ritual?”

  “We’re going to show the witch what it’s like to lose everything.” Tori stirs the potion and stares at me through the shimmering steam. “We’re going to permanently bind her powers and let the memory of what she lost haunt her for the rest of her life.”

  Horror makes me lose my footing, and I nearly trip. “And if it doesn’t work?”

  Tori shrugs. “Then we’ll keep trying until it does.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Coral leads me into the bedroom, and the scene that unfolds before me is like something out of a horror movie. Except instead of being the cinematic monster we should fear, the Blood Witch looks more like the victim.

  She sits on the floor, cowering in the corner of the small room. Tears run freely down her face and gather at the edge of the gag. Her bound hands blister and bleed as the binding cord slowly eats away at her skin. Bloodshot eyes flick up to us, fear blowing her pupils wide.

  Beside me, even Coral flinches. Which means she might be the ally I couldn’t find in Veronica.

  “I get why Tori wants to do this.” I choose each word with care, afraid to wind up similarly bound or banned from the room for pushing too hard. “And I know that we only met last night, but this doesn’t seem like you. Or Lexie.”

  Coral adjusts her pink glasses and turns away from the Blood Witch. “I know this seems extreme, but this is actually the compromise.” She fidgets with the hem of her shirt and glances at the cracked doorway. “Tori wanted to strip her power completely, but Lexie thought that might hurt her. Maybe even kill her. This was the best we could do.”

  “But why not call the Council?” I know I shouldn’t press my luck, but it seems like such a simple fix. Why am I the only one who can see that?

  “We’re in too deep.” Coral shudders and reaches for the door. “At this point, we all might lose our magic for what’s happened. We can’t take that risk.”

  “But—”

  “Keep an eye on her. We’ll be as quick as we can.” And then Coral leaves, closing me in with the Blood Witch.

  The air is full of her pain, her fear. It’s filled with the acrid scent of burned flesh and the quiet sizzle of her skin. My stomach clenches, and hot bile burns up my throat, but I have to focus. I got myself in here, now I have to get her out.

  I cross the room, and the Blood Witch flinches at my approach. “I’m not going to hurt you.” I keep my voice low and check again that the door is still closed. I don’t know how long we have before the Casters come to check on us. “If I take the gag out, promise not to scream?”

  She raises a single brow, her expression full of disdain. Even though she doesn’t speak, her meaning is clear: Who would come to rescue me if I did?

  “Right. Sorry.” My hands shake as I reach for the knot behind her head, and I hear Coral’s earlier warning. If the Blood Witch touched even a drop of your blood, they could track you anywhere. I’m careful to only touch the scarf, trembling fingers making me clumsy and the work slow.

  Finally, the gag falls away, and the Blood Witch gasps.

  “You okay?” I step back to give her room.

  She glares up at me, bits of blonde hair falling out of her bun. “Do I look okay, dirt digger?” She lifts her bound arms for emphasis but winces when the cord digs into her wrists. “Get this shit off me.”

  Releasing her was the plan, but now that the time has come, I find myself stalling. What if this is all a trick? What if she got captured on purpose so she could kill us? What if—

  “If you’re not going to help me, get the hell out of here.” She drops her hands to her lap and leans back against the wall. Though her words are sharp, she can’t hide the fear. The room is thick with it. “I don’t need an audience for my slaughter.”

  “I’ll help,” I say in a rush, “but I need you to promise that you’ll leave.”

  She snorts. “Like I’d want to stick around this shithole apartment.”

  “Not just the apartment. The city. Tori won’t give up until she binds your magic. You need to leave New York.”

  “Fuck you.” She narrows her ice-blue eyes at me. “I’m not abandoning my home.”

  “It’s the only way.” I force myself to kneel beside her, fingers poised over the binding rope. “Please. It’s the only way to end this feud without someone ending up dead. Please, promise you’ll go.”

  The Blood Witch squeezes her eyes shut and tips her head against the wall. “Fine,” she says at last. “Just get me out of here. I’m tired of constantly checking over my shoulder.”

  Checking over her shoulder? It’s the second time she’s acted like she’s the one afraid of the Casters. But if she’s afraid of them, why do the Casters seem terrified of her, too? I push the questions away. There isn’t time to wonder what the hell has happened in this city. I reach for the binding ropes, cursing as searing pain tears through my skin.

  She laughs at me, her voice high and bright. “I can’t believe you actually touched that!”

  “I thought it only worked on Blood Witches.” Coral and Lexie touched it with no problem. They must have only made it safe for Casters, which makes this more complicated. I search the room for something to use to cut the bindings, shuffling through drawers and tearing through the closet. Finally, I find a discarded plate with a fork by the bed.

  “Seriously?” The Blood Witch raises a brow at me. “You’re going to rescue me with a fork. That’s your big plan?”

  Her taunts make my face burn hot, but I ignore her. I grab a shirt from the floor and use that to cradle her hands—so I don’t accidentally touch the cord again—while I use the prongs of the fork to unravel the knot. The rope is slippery with blood, which makes it hard to get a good grip with the fork, but once I do, the ropes slide easily against each other. She winces as the binding cord slithers against her skin, but soon it drops away completely.

  A soft groan rumbles in her chest as the sound of sizzling flesh finally stops. The room is strangely quiet in its absence.

  “The ankles,” she says, breathing deep as she cradles her freed hands against her chest. “I can’t heal until it’s all off.”

  There isn’t time to ask what she means, so I get to work on the binding cord around her ankles. This one is easier, since her clothes prevent the rope from burning her skin. When it’s gone, I flick the two cords under the bed, where I won’t accidentally touch one again.

  “Thanks, fire starter,” she says, rubbing her wrists. Her blood soaks back in through her skin, and the wounds start to close before my eyes, like she’s some kind of vampire. I’m too shocked
to even correct her about my inability to start fires until I turn eighteen.

  “No problem,” I say and stand, reaching a hand to help her up.

  She grabs my hand, and in one fluid movement, she stands and smashes her fist across my face.

  Pain blooms along my jaw, the force knocking me back a step. I taste blood, and a new kind of panic tears through me. The other witch is a blur of color as she closes the distance between us in less than a breath. She wraps a vise-like grip around my arm and pushes me against the wall, her other hand pressing tight over my mouth.

  “Scream and I’ll snap your neck. Understood?” When I nod—my legs shaking so much I can barely stand—she holds out her hand for me to see. My blood coats her fingers, but then it shimmers bright and soaks into her skin. Foreign power and pain invade my body, agony singing through every cell. Her lips curl into a wicked smile.

  I’m too scared to even breathe.

  “Let me make this clear for you, tree girl. You are not the hero here.” Her grip on my arm disappears, but I can feel her power coursing through me, a thousand tiny daggers stabbing me from the inside out. “This ultimatum of yours? Kicking me out of my city—out of my home—to ‘save’ me? It’s bullshit. You’re no better than the Casters.”

  “I—”

  “What you think doesn’t matter.” She all but snarls the words. “You get one free pass, and this is it.”

  She squeezes her hands into fists, and my muscles seize as my body moves without my permission. There’s no way to describe the kind of terror that floods my system as my limbs bend and my muscles contract against my will. There’s no adequate description for the white-hot panic that takes my lungs hostage as the Blood Witch forces me to my knees. She grins, and then it’s not panic that takes my breath, it’s her magic. My lungs burn. My vision goes spotty around the edges.

  “If the Casters follow me out of the city, if you betray me in any way, I will find you. I will find your entire family, and I will kill every last one of you fire-obsessed do-gooders.” She flicks her wrist, and my back arches painfully. A scream gets trapped unvoiced in my chest. “Understood?”