His Dark Magic

by Pat Esden

  Crackle. Boom. A blindingly bright baseball-size orb streaked from the garden and flew straight at one of the doors, throwing itself against the glass. Bang. Bang!

  Em leapt to her feet and flung the doors open. “Welcome,” she cried, twirling in the circle.

  The orb whizzed past her, trailing sparks as it zinged off one wall and then another, like a trapped bird on fire.

  Brooklyn and Matt ducked to get out of its way. Jessica froze as the orb flew at her, hovering inches in front of her face before frantically darting off.

  “Give me your athame,” Athena snapped at Chandler. In a heartbeat, Athena had it in her hand, pointing the tip of its blade at the orb. “Be gone, spirit. You’re not welcome—”

  Devlin caught Athena’s arm, yanking it down. “Let Em finish.”

  Athena’s face went red, her teeth clenched. “If something happens, it’s on your head.”

  “Fine. But let the girl try.” Devlin scowled.

  Em sailed to the maze. Her voice quivered, bordering on panic. “Please. I beseech you. Move the marble.”

  Her anguish went right to Chloe’s heart. Please. Help her. Please. Chloe sent her thoughts out to the orb. Help Em and we’ll help you find peace.

  The orb hesitated, wavering in place. It might have appeared to be nothing more than a mindless glowing ball, shimmering and sparking from gold to bright red. But it was someone’s spirit and Chloe sensed that it had turned to look at her. A desperate voice entered her mind. “Yin. Yang. Betrayal.”

  Chloe’s mouth fell open, her pulse hammering. She glanced around, searching everyone’s faces for signs that they’d heard the voice too. But no else seemed to be reacting beyond their immediate fear and awe at seeing a spirit flinging around the room like a panicked ping-pong ball.

  The spirit was talking to her, her alone.

  Goose bumps rippled up her arms and she trembled. She wasn’t the psychic medium in this room, not even close. So why was it talking to her?

  The orb flickered. “Tell Devlin.”

  Why me? she asked.

  “Tell him,” the spirit pleaded.

  The orb swung away, then shot down into the maze, white-hot light flashing up from between the metal alleyways as it shrieked and skittered, pushing the marble forward, around gears, and gauges, faster and faster—

  “Enough of this!” Athena pointed the athame at the orb. Chloe waved her hands, but before she could tell Athena to stop, she shouted, “Be gone, spirit. I banish thee from this house!”

  The orb exploded, a shower of sparks flying outward, then vanishing into thin air.

  For a long second uncanny silence filled the room. No one whispered. No one moved. Even the candlelight didn’t flicker. Finally, a whimper escaped from Em’s mouth. Her gaze lifted to Athena’s and she wailed, “You banished it.”

  Athena stalked toward Em, her voice strained. “Was it a spirit you normally call?”

  Em shrank. “No. It just came. It wasn’t demonic.” She paled. “It wasn’t, was it?”

  “I didn’t like the feel of it,” Jessica grumbled.

  Everyone started talking at once, about the orb and Em. Chloe fingered the edge of her gilet, an uncomfortable heaviness gathering inside her. She wanted to tell them what the orb had said to her. But it had been explicit about her telling Devlin. And, as much as she respected Athena, she felt more responsible to the spirit and Devlin. Once she told him, he could tell Athena if he wanted to.

  Chandler popped open a bottle of champagne. “How about a toast for outsmarting the maze. Well done to Em and Midas!”

  As she filled people’s glasses, the conversation turned from Em and the orb to Midas and his cleverness. Everyone began dispersing off toward the other side of the room, like the maze tests were done. Athena rested her hand on Em’s back, steering her in the same direction.

  Chloe glanced at them, then at the maze. She cleared her throat. “I think it’s my turn, right?”

  Athena gave a throaty laugh. “So it is.” She clapped her hands to get everyone’s attention. “One last round and then we’ll have dinner—vegetarian lasagna and wild turkey that Matt was kind enough to donate to our feast.”

  Everyone came back over, but they continued to chatter amongst themselves as Chloe sat down at the maze. Anger bristled inside her, making her body tremble. She clenched her hands, forcing herself to still. She got how everyone wanted to start partying in earnest, truly. But couldn’t they at least wait a little longer for her to finish?

  She took off her bracelet and held it so that the tiny crystal pendulum dangled freely above the marble. She drew in a deep breath, then channeled her energy toward her fingertips, and down into the chain, and into the crystal, as if she were divining. Simultaneously, she withheld some energy, letting its magic mingle with her breath. It was hard to focus on two different intentions at once. Relax, she told herself. Focus. Breathe deep.

  The sounds in the room around her faded into the distance, and the crowd vanished from her field of vision and thoughts. All she saw was the marble. All she felt with her mind’s eye was its smoothness and heavy weight, and the labyrinth of alleyways it had to travel for her to succeed. All she heard was the rhythm of her breath and heartbeat.

  She exhaled, directing her magic-infused breath at the marble, commanding it to encapsulate the marble in an invisible bubble, to shield it from both the earth’s magnetism and the iron maze. Then she asked her pendulum to guide the marble to the other end of the maze.

  With the pendulum drawing it along, the encapsulated marble eked forward, up an alleyway, around a turn…A dull headache began to pulse behind Chloe’s eyes. Her concentration fumbled and the marble snapped out from under her pendulum. It was game over only minutes after it had begun. Still, she’d succeeded in using her skills to find a solution, even if she hadn’t gotten as far as Midas or Em.

  She let out her breath, enjoying a mild round of applause as her stress drained away.

  “That was really creative,” Chandler said.

  Athena slipped Chloe a knowing nod and that pleased her more than anything. It was weird. Despite the orb’s ominous warning and her need to talk to Devlin in private, she felt overwhelmingly contented. More precisely, it felt like she was taking control of her life and future for a change, in exactly the way she wanted.

  * * * *

  Dinner was rowdier than Chloe was used to. She ate more than she should have and drank more wine than she’d planned to or needed, not with the buzz she was already getting off the coven’s high-octane energy.

  She was actually grateful when the older witches and the ones who lived off the grid headed home after dessert.

  “I better get going too,” Matt said. “I have to be at the park early tomorrow. My boss has been up all our asses about being on time.”

  Brooklyn smiled. “I better go with you, then—to make sure you don’t oversleep.”

  As they headed up the stairs, Chloe smiled to herself. It was surreal and wonderful to be hanging out with people who had jobs and were working on degrees while still actively being part of a coven. Sure, she’d grown up in exactly this kind of atmosphere. But this felt different, like she was truly an active part of something, not an offshoot of her parents.

  With them gone, the mood quieted, especially after Athena invited everyone who was left to join her for an informative meeting in what she called the teahouse.

  Chloe padded through the sliding glass doors along with the remaining stragglers and into the brisk night air. Scattered spotlights up-lit the garden, outlines of shrubbery and plants blending in with sculptures and stone archways. They passed an obelisk carved with arcane symbols, and monkeys and dragons that resembled Chandler’s tattoos. A fountain murmured in the distance and the path under their feet shimmered blue. The whole effect was otherworldly, as if they couldn’t possibly be in a city le
t alone in the remains of an industrial district.

  While Athena led the way, Devlin hung back a few yards, bringing up the rear of the group. Chloe slowed her steps, letting everyone else move on.

  “Beautiful night,” he said to her, smiling skyward.

  Chloe hushed her voice. “I need to talk to you about something, privately.”

  He glanced at her, his brow furrowing with concern. “What is it?”

  “When Em was doing the maze, the orb—” She stopped talking. A few yards ahead of them, Midas had swiveled around and was now waiting for them.

  “Hey, Devlin.” Midas scuffed his foot against the glowing path. “I’m guessing this is solar?”

  Devlin slid his hand across the small of Chloe’s back. His fingers hesitated for a second as if apologizing for the interruption. “Later, okay?”

  “Sure, I guess.” Chloe’s stomach sank, not just from having to keep such an enormous secret to herself for longer than she’d have preferred, but also from suddenly feeling the cool rush of air on her back where the warmth of his hand had been. The concern on his face a second ago, his lingering touch, everything about him made her breath catch and her hands long to explore his body. What would it be like to kiss him, to feel his touch for much longer than a passing moment—and better yet against her naked skin?

  Devlin hurried ahead to catch up with Midas. “It’s a commercial product. But I’ve got an idea about creating a natural solar pavement out of hybrid mushrooms.”

  “Cool. If you ever need brainstorming partner, let me know.”

  Chloe joined them. “My aunt raises mushrooms,” she said distractedly, still thinking about him touching her, and not realizing that she’d just barged in on their conversation. “Ah—that is, if you need some extra input,” she added, a little embarrassed.

  “That would be great.” Devlin smiled at her, his eyes bright with sincerity.

  Chloe returned his smile. “Athena said you designed most of this. Did you two work on it together?”

  “To a degree. The gardens are my portfolio—or at least the water features are,” he said, once more walking forward. “They’re a work in progress.”

  Glancing down at the luminous path, Chloe searched for a question that would reveal more about his and Athena’s relationship. But they’d reached an arched footbridge where Athena and everyone else waited, so she decided to hold off questioning him for another time.

  A short ways ahead of them, the teahouse came into view. It was a simple structure, its translucent sliding doors glowing red from the coals of a fire that no doubt smoldered within. They climbed the stairs leading inside, and Chloe discovered she’d indeed been right. At the center of the sparsely decorated room, glowing coals rested in a shallow fire pit, giving just enough warmth for comfort and to keep a kettle of water singing.

  She settled down on the mat-covered floor between Em and Chandler. It seemed wiser since Devlin had taken a spot beside Athena.

  Athena offered them the choice of sake or ginger tea. Chloe chose tea, touching the athame to the steaming liquid to make sure it was safe to drink. But after only a couple of sips her pulse began to race and she felt oddly giddy, though most likely that was a result of the coven’s surging energy and the joy in her heart, rather than tampered tea.

  She relaxed with her hands braced on the floor behind her, listening while Athena gave an overview of the coven’s recent history: her grandfather, Zeus, had apparently bought the complex property about twelve years ago for the coven. Her mother had started the renovations, and Athena had taken over the project a few years ago when she became high priestess.

  Her voice shifted, filling with excitement and she got to her feet. “There is something I’d like to show you all.”

  “What is it?” Midas asked.

  She swung around to face them, worry reflected in her eyes. Her gaze moved from Midas, to Em, and finally to Chloe. “I’m not convinced it’s wise to show any of you this. Normally, it’s something a coven would be shouting off the mountaintops, but because our reputation isn’t exactly…” Her voice trailed off and her gaze shifted to Devlin.

  He cleared his throat. “Last winter, the High Council confiscated several objects from us, after receiving complaints that we might not be able to safeguard them. As a group, we decided to keep the existence of this recent acquisition to ourselves for the time being. We expect none of you will breathe a word about it.”

  Chloe’s pulse quickened. Acquiring and harboring sacred objects, magical tools, and significant natural items was something covens strived for and prided themselves on, though they kept such things secret from the outside world. Her family’s coven had a priceless illuminated manuscript from the fourteenth century and a spectacular meteorite. What had the Circle gotten their hands on?

  Midas looked squarely at Devlin. “My lips are sealed.”

  “Yes, me too,” Em murmured.

  Chloe nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

  Athena’s voice hardened. “That’s good, because if word of this travels beyond these walls, we will know who was responsible, and we will take action.” She looked pointedly at the three of them and then strode to a nearby cabinet, opened a door and took out a cloth-wrapped object the size and shape of a large toaster. “As you are all aware”—she said, returning to her spot on the mat—“the Circle’s goal is to communicate with ancient physicians, alchemists, and witches in order to rediscover secrets that could benefit modern medicine.” Her eyes glittered as she unwrapped the bundle, revealing a tarnished brass chest. “However, until now you were unaware that we were already in possession of an artifact which will allow us to do this in the very near future.”

  Chloe scooted closer. “You’re kidding.”

  “Not in the least.” Athena patted the brass chest. “Though Merlin’s reputation in the field of medicine is less celebrated than others’, we have chosen to start our journey with him because of this.”

  Em gasped. “You have something that belonged to Merlin?”

  Athena nodded, the corners of her mouth turning up in a proud smile.

  Sweat trickled down Chloe’s spine. Merlin. She couldn’t believe it.

  She eyed the box, wondering what would fit in something that size. A scroll, perhaps. Maybe a ritual skullcap. A few weeks ago, she and Keshari—a student she’d first met last spring when she’d come up to tour the university’s campus—and some other students had gotten into a debate in Folklore class about the original use of ritual caps and the so-called Golden Hats from the Bronze Age. Unfortunately, it hadn’t been like she could announce to the class that she personally knew of a coven in Nuremburg who still used the ancient caps and hats, and what they used them for. Could the Circle have gotten their hands on something like that? She clamped her bottom lip between her teeth, struggling to contain her eagerness.

  “This is not a fly by night idea,” Athena reassured them. “We believe, with this item, guidance, and the right coven members, the collective energy of the Northern Circle can be used to accomplish the unheard of. Together, our minds and spirits will be able to move out of our bodies and explore places like Ancient China and the Library of Alexandria. We’re convinced it’s possible.”

  Jessica sniffed smugly. “You can say that again.”

  Devlin smiled, his dimples deepening. His voice grew husky as his gaze touched Chloe’s. “The possibilities are endless.”

  For a second, Chloe was certain she caught a hint of innuendo in his tone and she flushed. Then she rolled her eyes at herself. This was far too serious of conversation for him to be implying anything like that. Get your head out of the gutter, girl, she chastised herself, turning her attention back to the Athena.

  Athena raised a hand, quieting everyone. A coal in the fire pit snapped, sending a flash of light across the room. With a flick of her fingers, she used a burst of magic to open t
he chest. She picked the chest up and tilted it so everyone could see the contents. In the center of a large nest of dried grass sat an oval cluster of dark purple crystals about the size and shape of a peach.

  Midas leaned closer. “An amethyst?”

  Athena closed the chest and sat back. “It’s much more than that. Few are even aware of its current existence.”

  “More like, you’re lucky you didn’t get caught digging it up,” Devlin grumbled.

  Ignoring him, Athena steepled her fingers on top of the chest and continued. “Jessica, Chandler, and I retrieved it in Wales, on the Isle of Anglesey. It was buried at the base of an oak tree near Aberlleiniog Castle.” Her voice deepened with reverence. “It’s the crystal from Merlin’s staff, his first staff, the one he used long before Arthur, before Nimue deceived and entombed him alive.”

  Chloe gawked at her, dumbfounded. “You’re certain of that?”

  Athena dipped her head. “Very much so.”

  Goose bumps peppered Chloe’s skin and she trembled. She wasn’t sure if it was from excitement or the fear of being in the presence of such a powerful artifact—most likely both. But even if she had wanted to decipher which one was the stronger emotion, she couldn’t have. A sudden surreal, drifting sensation came over her. Fog blanketed her mind and her thoughts became as deadened as they’d been in the months following that night at the Vice-Chancellor’s house.

  As Athena and Chandler continued on about how they’d acquired the crystal, Chloe closed her eyes, lost in the heavy stupor. Everything felt languid and dreamlike. Merlin’s staff crystal. Unbelievable…

  “We waited until after midnight, then parked the car alongside the road near the castle ruins,” Athena said. “Jessica stayed behind to keep a lookout while Chandler and I hiked in through the woods.”

  Chandler blew out a noisy breath. “Devlin’s right, we were lucky no one caught us.”

  Athena chuckled. “I was more concerned about one of us breaking a leg. You see, we knew where we had to go. We’d scouted out the spot during the day. But everything looks different at night—and those ruins are overrun by bats.”