Blood Magic
Page 15
Goose bumps prickled across my skin.
I reached inside and pulled out one object at a time, lining them up on the step above. First came a tiny brass sphere small enough to fit in the palm of my hand, then a locket with a red gemstone fastened to the front. A dagger made of solid black metal came next, and then a ring with a blue stone. There was a vial of something I assumed was blood from its color and consistency, and then there was a silver hand mirror.
“That locket is beautiful,” Hazel said. She stepped forward as though she were about to reach out and touch it.
“Don’t touch anything. These are spelled Caraway objects, which means only a Caraway witch can touch them,” I insisted.
Hazel positioned her hands behind her. “Oh, okay. Sorry.”
“What do you think this one does?” Raven asked. She held the brass-colored sphere with intricate designs carved across its surface in her hand.
“I imagine we will find out if we ever need its magic,” Aunt Rowena said as she leaned forward to look inside the compartment. A frown pulled at the corners of her lips. “I was hoping there was a spell book inside. Maybe a more powerful scrying crystal.”
The mirror caught my eye.
“While there might not be a super powerful scrying crystal, there is a mirror. Since mirrors see things—sort of—I wonder if we could use it to block Bram’s familiar’s sight somehow? To reflect it back to him and cancel it out?” I was grasping at straws, but it seemed like a good idea.
“That might be possible,” Aunt Rowena said.
I picked up the mirror. It was warm to the touch. I assumed it was because of the magic that had been accumulating inside the compartment among the objects. It was strange to think about, but entirely true that these objects held energy of their own. They were potent and powerful.
I flipped the mirror over. Directions on how to use it were etched into the metal.
Face the mirror to the object, or person, your focus is on. Say your rhyme times three, and then so mote it be.
“What rhyme?” Benji asked. He’d been reading over my shoulder.
“There isn’t one.” I flipped the mirror around, thinking I may have missed it. I hadn’t. There wasn’t anything else written. “Maybe I’m supposed to make something up?”
“Somethin’ that rhymes,” Benji smirked. “Time to bust out them poetry skills, darlin’.”
I pursued my lips together. My poetry skills were seriously lacking.
“We’ve got this,” Raven insisted. She grabbed a pad of paper and pen from the desk where we checked in guests, then made her way back to us. “It doesn’t have to be long. Just a couple sentences to tell the mirror what we want.”
“Let’s go back to the attic,” Aunt Rowena suggested. She moved to place all the objects back inside the step and sealed the compartment. “I don’t want to risk a guest waking and overhearing anything or seeing something they shouldn’t.”
“Oh, Ivette compelled them to sleep soundly for the night,” Raven said with a grin. It was clear she liked Ivette’s ability. “But, we can still head back to the attic.”
“I’m sure there will be a crow keeping watch from the windows in the kitchen,” I said as I started back up the stairs. “The attic will be safer.”
“Can anyone think of a word that rhymes with sight we could use?” Raven asked as she climbed the stairs behind me.
“Tight, light, might, right, and height,” I said.
Benji chuckled. “You’re good at this whole rhymin’ thing.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Whatever.”
“How about night or bright? Maybe bite?” Hazel asked. “Or maybe the word unite?”
“Those are good,” I said, flashing her a smile.
The five of us made our way back to the attic, pinging words that rhymed with sight back and forth. It didn’t take long for us to craft a spell that was usable.
“Okay, here it is,” Raven said. She handed me the piece of paper. “Do it.” Her eyes glittered with excitement. She was just as eager as I was to strip Bram of something and level the playing field as best we could.
I stepped to the window with the mirror in one hand and the spell we’d created in the other.
“Ready?” Benji asked, his hands gripping the bookshelf.
I nodded and he slid it to the side with one tug, revealing half of one of the large windows. His new strength still surprised me.
A crow flew from somewhere below to sit among the twisted bare branches of the tree outside the window. Its beady eyes stared at me. Was it wondering what I was about to do? Was it relaying this moment to Bram?
I hoped so. A smirk twisted the corners of my lips as I flipped the bird off and then lifted the mirror. The bird blinked as it stared at its own reflection. It ruffled its feathers as though irritated by having to look at itself.
“Let the sight of the enemy disperse from thee. This familiar shall no longer see. Its sight has been taken. So mote it be,” I said, reading the spell we’d all created out loud.
Once I said the words to the spell three times like the mirror said, I held my breath and waited for a signal it had worked.
The raven ruffled its feathers, a loud caw pushed past its beak, and then I watched as its eyes shifted from solid black to pure white.
I placed the mirror on one of the empty shelves to the bookcase beside me and then spun to face the others. Bram’s ability to watch our every move had been stripped. Now it was time to figure out how the hell we were going to get Rose back.
Thank You
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Jennifer Snyder lives in North Carolina where she spends most of her time writing New Adult and Young Adult Fiction, reading, and struggling to stay on top of housework. She is a tea lover with an obsession for Post-it notes and smooth writing pens. Jennifer lives with her husband and two children, who endure listening to songs that spur inspiration on repeat and tolerate her love for all paranormal, teenage-targeted TV shows.
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