by Lily Luchesi
Salem struggled to his feet, and Daphne was quickly at his side, while Draven and Michael ran to Caelum, who was trying not to cry from the pain. Daphne held him up as he stood up as straight as possible and said two simple words.
“I win.”
Chapter 7
“You are absolutely mental, Salem Sinclair,” Daphne scolded as she helped him walk down the stairs of the watchtower. In the distance, he could still hear Caelum whinging about his cuts. “You almost lost! You almost got yourself killed.”
“Is losing worse than death?” he asked with a weary smirk.
“Yes, because your life would have been Hell if you’d lost.”
Salem chuckled wearily. “I suppose you’re right. Stop here. I do not believe I can walk any further.” There was an outcropping of grey rock covered in moss a few yards from the tower, and that was where Daphne put him down.
Now that the duel was over, he was able to assess his injuries. His flesh was bloody and burnt, skin peeled away like a hog’s on a spit. It was disgusting to look at.
“Damn it,” he swore. “Lynx was going for my intestines! Mental bloody cat.”
“He really wanted to win,” Daphne commented. “Okay, lay back. I can heal you and no one has to know what happened here.”
“Sure … unless Lynx tells Madam Iaso,” Salem pointed out. It pained him to think it, but his rash plan had been riddled with faults. And that was the biggest one, that he was going to be found out and get in trouble. But then, Lynx would as well. And probably the three bystanders, for not stepping in and breaking it up.
Would Lynx possibly get his two best friends in trouble in an effort to have Salem punished? He thought not, but one could never be sure.
Daphne leaned over him and cast, “Praetrunco,” severing his clothing even more so she could see the entire wound without shadow. “You’re lucky your magic protected you. Or else you would be in deep trouble.” She held her hands out over him and cast, “Perlego,” which was a spell that allowed her or any Medic to scan a wound and detect any signs of infection.
“Okay, there’s nothing in the wound, which is good. I didn’t think there would be. Just hold still, okay, Sal?” She glanced up at him, concern sparkling in her eyes.
“Okay. I trust you,” he said, meaning it. It was hard for him to trust. But from the moment they met, he had trusted Daphne.
She gave him a small smile and cast, “Plaga reparo.” The wound was large, because Caelum’s hand was big, and she had to cast it three times to get the entire thing to heal.
In a few minutes, Salem was completely healed; no pain, no scar. He looked up at Daphne and said, “You’re brilliant.”
She gave an exaggerated hair flip and said, “I know I am.” Then she giggled, and he noticed that her eyes were welling with tears.
“What’s the matter, Daph?” He placed one hand on her cheek, looking into her eyes.
“Salem Samuel Sinclair, if you ever, and I do mean ever, do anything so brash and reckless again, I will kill you myself! I was terrified I was going to lose you.” Tears began to slip down her cheeks and she leaned in and kissed him, holding him tightly.
As he wrapped his arms around her, he could feel that she was trembling, and he was filled with regret. He never wanted to hurt her, or frighten her. And now here he was, having to comfort her because of his actions.
“I am so sorry,” he said. “And I promise I will never do anything to frighten or hurt you again. I promise.”
Daphne pulled back and said, “You better mean it.”
“I do.” Salem reached up with one hand and pressed it to her forehead, stopping her tears from falling and clearing up her reddened eyes. “Thank you for healing me.”
“Anytime.”
Her magic crept between them, touching his and setting his heart on fire. Her smile was so sweet, so perfect. Everything about her was perfect to him.
Just as he was about to speak, though he had no idea what he wanted to say, his name was called in the distance.
Slowly, he began to stand as he saw the three boys coming their way. He squared his shoulders, preparing for a conflict. “I won fair and square, Lynx. That means you and Smith have to leave me alone.”
Lynx smirked. His hands were wrapped up in pieces of his torn cloak, as he needed a Medic to look at them for possible silver poisoning. Draven looked utterly ill at the sight of the blood already trying to leak through the fabric.
“I was only going to say that I was impressed. You know how to fight dirty.”
Salem was flabbergasted. He never once expected to hear an honest comment from Caelum Lynx about him.
“Well. Then. Thank you. You were an excellent opponent.”
Lynx nodded. “Can I say something and not have you take it as an insult? Watch that uncontrolled magic. I’ve seen what happens when someone from our Clan loses it, and I never want to witness it again.”
Lynx walked away then, followed closely by Draven. Michael lagged behind and gave Salem a death glare as he walked by. Salem wasn’t fazed, however. It was over. He won the duel, and the worst of the torment was finally, blessedly, over.
Daphne snuck into her house before the three boys had returned from healing Caelum’s wounds and slipped quietly into bed with a smile on her face. While she had been terrified she was going to lose Salem, the whole night had filled her with a strange sort of adrenaline.
Salem had finally stood up for himself. And perhaps now the torment he had gone through would truly end and everything could be peaceful in their class. A girl could dream, right?
Surprisingly, she fell asleep rather quickly and slept deeper than she had in months, if not the past couple of years.
Sunlight streamed through her window when she woke up, but immediately she knew that something was very, very wrong. Her head felt like it was being squeezed in a vice, her heart was racing, and her stomach was in knots. It was like the migraine from Hell but far more intense. It was magnified by the severe sense of dread that seemed to take over her entire soul.
“Mum!” she cried.
Her bedroom door opened and Caelum Lynx stood at the threshold. “Daph, what’s wrong? Your mother’s violently ill, and you look like…” He trailed off, obviously not wanting to insult her.
“There’s something wrong,” she gasped, barely able to form words through the pain. “I’ve never felt anything like this!”
Caelum looked around, searching for something to help with, but he looked dumbstruck.
Meanwhile, Daphne was in agony. Her heart was threatening to burst straight from her chest and her thoughts were all over the place, unable to concentrate.
“Daph!” This time it was Draven. Though if any more voices came into her vicinity and Daphne was certain that her head was going to explode. “Caelum, go to Piper’s Potions. What she and Mrs. Fraser are feeling is a severe effect of Dark magic. There’s a potion called Lux Alba that will give them relief. Hurry.”
Daphne groaned. That’s what this was? She always felt a twinge of illness when she was around certain creatures or magicians, but it had never felt like this before.
What could have happened since I went to sleep?
Salem was working weekends at Piper’s Potion Shoppe, manning the desk and helping with simple potions. However, ever since he opened the shop, people had been coming in, complaining of headaches, stomach-aches, heart palpitations, and sweats. It sounded like the flu, but magicians couldn’t get the flu, only apprentices. And there were no apprentices coming in sick. Only members of Clan Fraser.
They all asked for an expensive potion called Lux Alba, or ‘white light’. Salem knew this potion, but it wasn’t ready made. So he closed the front of the shop, went down into the workshop, and began to brew. All the while, he was cursing Piper, who was upstairs in her flat and not giving a damn what was going on below.
She should be helping me, Salem thought bitterly as he mixed together clear crystal dust and the milk of a female Pege. He re
ached for a bottle of faerie dust and sprinkled some into the cauldron. I’m sixteen! I am not supposed to be the professional in this situation!
There was a town full of sick people, and if he bungled this potion, it could kill them. And if he were accused of killing members of Clan Fraser with a botched potion, he was certain that the PID would execute him before he could even try to explain himself.
As he was worrying himself into an anxiety attack, he heard someone yelling through the closed doors. “Piper! Miss Piper! Open up, it’s an emergency!”
Oh great, Salem thought. Just what I needed. Caelum Lynx. Better go see what he wants so I can get back to the potion and deliver it to everyone who is ill.
He wiped his hands and cast a stasis charm on the cauldron before heading out into the main room. He opened the door and the first thing he noticed was how horrified Caelum looked.
“What are you doing here?” he asked.
“I work here, you daft bastard,” Salem said. “And in case you haven’t noticed, there’s some sort of epidemic happening at the moment. I need to finish a potion for a quarter of the Coven, so make it quick. What do you want?”
Caelum swallowed hard as he caught his breath. “That is what I’m here about. It’s Daphne and her mother, whatever happened affected them. They’re ill. They need some potion…”
“Lux Alba, I know,” Salem cut in. He tried to ignore how his pulse and breath began to race. He hadn’t thought about Daphne, being as busy as he was. But of course she would be affected. “The potion is almost done brewing. Come in and wait. For the love of the Goddess, don’t bloody touch anything.”
Caelum went inside and took a look around before locking the door behind him. “How many people are sick?”
“Apparently all of Clan Fraser,” Salem replied, rolling his eyes. “However, I assume some of the more proficient potioneers keep Lux Alba on hand in case of an event such as this. So that is why not as many, but still a large amount, needed to utilise this shop.”
Caelum nodded. “Y’know, you talk like Edelstone. Haven’t you ever spoken like a normal person?”
“I did call you a bastard just now, did I not?” Salem smirked. It felt wonderful to know that he didn’t need to be afraid around Caelum anymore. Not that he trusted the shifter around potions, but there was little chance that he would try to harm him again.
Caelum chuckled. “Right. Sorry. I’m worried. I woke up to find Mrs. Fraser on her knees, vomiting. She was barely coherent. So I ran to find Daphne and … she was almost as bad. She could barely get two words out her head hurt so badly.”
Salem’s stomach dropped to his knees and he shuddered as he sliced up lemons to add to the cauldron. He needed to focus. The Coven needed him. Daphne needed him. This was no time to let his emotions cloud his good sense.
“You didn’t leave them alone, did you?” Salem asked.
“No. Draven is with Daphne, and Mike’s with her mum,” Caelum replied.
That made Salem feel better. Draven was level headed and intelligent. He could easily take care of Daphne. Though he felt bad for poor Mrs. Fraser. Michael was lucky he could tie his trainers, let alone take care of a sick witch.
He put the finishing touches on the potion. Now all that was left was to bring the cauldron to a boil, set a cooling charm on it, and bottle it. There were so many people in need, and he had promised to deliver the potion for a fee. He wasn’t sure he had the time to do it.
Glancing over at Caelum, who was pacing near the doorway, he had an idea. However, it required compassion and kindness from a boy whom he knew to have none.
“You saw how bad Daphne was, right?” Salem asked.
“Um, yeah, I just told you that,” Caelum replied.
“Imagine a quarter of the Coven like that,” he continued. “Writhing, crying, in pain. And I have to deliver them their potions by hand.”
Caelum scoffed. “How? You can’t teleport, it’s illegal. And flying a Pege, providing one even lets you ride it, is impractical.”
“I know,” Salem said, ignoring his comment about the Peges. “Which is why, loathe as I am to do it, I am asking for your help, Lynx. Can you take the houses nearest the business area to deliver and I will go further into town? You obviously see what an epidemic is occurring here.”
He expected Caelum to taunt him, to mock his need for help. At the very least, he expected Caelum would make him promise some sort of repayment. Instead, he surprised him.
“Yeah, all right. And I can move faster with my lynx abilities if the houses are far apart.”
“Really? No bargaining? No taunting me for asking for assistance?”
Caelum shook his head. “What’s happening is a lot more serious than anything that goes on between us, mate.”
Salem nodded. “All right then. Give me about ten minutes and I will have all this bottled up.”
Caelum walked up to the cauldron, where Salem was magically levitating glass phials and corks in the air to begin filling them. “Let me help. Then we can get it done in five.”
Instead of questioning Caelum, Salem merely nodded and set about his task. Caelum assisted, and they got done in record time. Salem boxed the bottles and cast charms on them to make them easier to carry. “All right. Start here, I will head into town. Meet me back here so I can leave the invoices and receipts for Piper.”
He set a closed sign on the shop and locked the doors as he and Caelum parted ways. Instead of starting in town and working his way to the edge, he headed to the furthest property on the edge of Inverness’ border.
The Frasers owned that property, and maybe it was selfish of him, but he wanted to heal Daphne first.
Quickly, he went around the major walkways, using shortcuts few knew, and wound up on the edge of the Frasers’ property. He dashed to the door and knocked hard at the faerie wing-shaped knocker.
Immediately, the door swung open and he was staring at a blank-faced Michael. The poor boy looked horrified and shaken. His eyes were wide and unblinking, and his face was the colour of cream.
“Tell me you have something for them!” he nearly gasped. “God … I’ve never seen anything like this!”
“Let me through,” Salem said. “I have no time to mollycoddle you. Where are they?”
“Mrs. Fraser is in the living room. Daphne is in bed.”
He went to Mrs. Fraser first, since she was closer. “Smith, listen to me.” He handed the shaking teen a bottle of potion. “You must get her to drink all of this. I realise she might be stomach sick, but this potion cannot be sicked up. I want to get to Daphne.”
“Of course you do,” Michael scoffed.
“Oi, get your head unstuck from your arse, will you? There are two sick people here and we need to help them as quick as we can. Now, can I count on you or should I call Silver?”
Michael took the bottle and had the grace to bow his head in shame. “Sorry. Just a reflex. I can handle this. Go on.”
Salem went to the staircase. He had never been upstairs at the Frasers’ before and wasn’t sure which room was Daphne’s. One door had human band posters on the wall; he assumed it was Caelum’s. One had European football pictures; that would be Michael’s. Another had nothing at all, which was probably Draven’s.
Daphne’s door had an intricately painted floral pattern on the dark mahogany wood. It sparkled with magic, as if it was charmed to do it.
Salem knocked on the door and Draven opened it, his eyes bloodshot.
“Oh good,” he gasped. “She’s not getting any better.”
“That is why I’m here, Silver,” Salem said. “Daph? Can you hear me? Is it okay if I come in? I brought a potion.”
Daphne groaned. “Salem, help.”
Those two words filled Salem with dread and pain. To hear strong, independent Daphne beg for help like that was horrible. He dashed into the room, shoving the box at Draven to hold before he took a bottle out.
Daphne was ghastly pale with dark circles under her eyes. It loo
ked as though she was crying from the pain.
“Oh, Daph,” he whispered, bending down by her bedside. “It’s all right. I’ve got a potion for you. Can you sit up for me?”
She did so with a struggle, and he put her pillow behind her for comfort. “All right. Open wide. You will feel better in no time.”
She nodded. “I trust you.”
Gingerly, he held her by the hair, feeling the soft strands between his fingers, and she opened her mouth. He placed the lip of the bottle to her mouth and helped her drink it all.
When it was done she sighed and closed her eyes, as if she felt weak. He imagined she did, having been in pain all morning.
“Thank you,” she said, taking his hand in hers.
“Don’t be daft,” he said. “You knew I’d help. But I cannot stay. I have to deliver the rest of these potions. Silver will stay with you, and as soon as I’m done with the deliveries, we can go see what’s happening.”
She nodded again. “Thank you, Sal. My angel in black robes.”
Salem was unable to fight off a blush at her words. Despite not wanting anyone, including Draven, to know about them, he couldn’t help but place a soft kiss to her forehead.
“I will be back. Promise.”
He stood up and noticed that Draven was smiling lightly at them.
“Don’t worry, I won’t tell,” he said before Salem could even open his mouth. “Go on and heal the Coven. We’ll all get to the bottom of this soon.”
Salem nodded, unable to form a proper sentence. He hadn’t expected calm understanding from any of his usual tormentors.
It took him well over two hours, but he finally delivered the potion to every single member of Clan Fraser and he was absolutely exhausted. He trudged back to Piper’s Potions and saw that Caelum was just getting there as well.
“Oi, that was awful. Felt like I was in a human movie, all that sickness,” Caelum commented. “Oh, here. Payment for the potions and delivery.” He handed Salem a stack of neat cash.
