by K M Charron
Sydney released him to Justin and sent a blast of fire flying from her fingertips into the trees behind her. “No! There has to be another way.”
Saskia must’ve felt threatened because she flickered wildly and transported directly in front of Sydney, who gasped and tried to retreat. “You need to control yourself, young witch. This will be the biggest undertaking of your life, even if you live to be two-hundred. You are impulsive and careless. Don’t be stupid as well. If you attempt to separate the magic from the entity, you will place everyone around you in mortal peril! I cannot imagine any of you would be so selfish. If you are so, you deserve the outcome of your actions, and I will not help you again.”
Sydney dropped to the ground, her head and hands resting on her knees. Ainsley had never seen her so defeated. She didn’t know it was possible. “But there has to be another way,” Sydney said. “Please, Máthair, he can’t live without magic. You’re a witch, you must understand—”
Saskia raised a transparent arm, silencing her. “Better to live without magic than not to live at all. I understand your grief, my child, but I’m afraid there is nothing more I can do. What is done, is done.”
Sydney’s face crumpled as did her body. She shook as she sobbed, banging her fists into the hard earth.
Ainsley watched, her stomach sick with guilt. Tears welled up, and she used the back of her hand to wipe them before they slid down her cheeks. This was it then? They had to lure the shifter and imprison it. And along with it, they would trap Langston and Jake’s magic forever.
“It’s fine,” Langston announced, wiping his cheeks with the heels of his hands. Hard determination replaced the anguish on his face. “Give us the runes, and we’ll find a way to capture the entity for eternity."
Sydney lifted her head from her hands, shocked at his sudden turn.
“The binding spells used were unique,” Saskia began. “The invocations and symbols work only when executed in a specific order. I will explain everything, but first, you must all vow to do everything as I command—to honor the ancestors and me—if you want to succeed.”
Ainsley could only bring herself to nod as Saskia looked at each of them for recognition of some kind. Khourtney, Jax, Justin, and Ava nodded, wide-eyed. Langston closed his eyes briefly in acceptance. Sydney straightened, her cheeks still streaked with tears. “We promise.”
“You must understand one thing. The shifter’s entrapment is not guaranteed. It did not possess additional magic all those years ago, and yet it was nearly impossible for us to render it powerless. I do not know how strong it is or what it will take to subdue it now, but I suggest you harness the power of a celestial event.”
“When is that?” Ainsley said more defiantly than she probably should have. “Waiting puts everyone in greater danger.” She was losing patience with this ghost who promised nothing while demanding obedience.
“If you act before you’re ready and without the extra energy, you will all likely die.” Saskia floated in the center of them, her face cold and inanimate.
If an ancient witch had this much doubt, Ainsley considered, how were they ever going to defeat the entity? And God, what was she doing here? This wasn’t her problem. She wasn’t a witch. The shifter wasn’t after her. She came here to Ashcroft to get answers about her dad, not risk her life for people who could barely stand her. She had a vision of her mom at Ainsley’s funeral. She thought of herself in a casket. If she died, her mom would be alone. Without magic, what could she do except get herself killed?
Langston sat on a fallen tree, staring ahead in disbelief.
She took in each one of his friends, and her throat tightened with grief. The truth was, they’d become her friends in a way as well, as unlikely as that seemed. How could she abandon them, especially since she’d insisted on opening that damn door?
Ainsley stepped forward. “We’ll find out the next celestial event and capture the shifter.” She locked eyes with Saskia. “Tell us what to do.”
Sydney
Saskia explained every symbol, rune, and incantation, with Sydney and Langston taking turns writing and drawing her directions onto the empty pages at the back of the grimoire. It seemed only fitting to incorporate the knowledge that might save all their lives.
It was just after three in the morning when Saskia finally left them. The conjuring spell shouldn’t have lasted that long, and Sydney understood that Saskia had used her own energy to stay until they had what they needed.
Khourtney had her long black hair tied back and hidden under a wool hat, a heavy hunter-green scarf wrapped around her neck. The dark hue made the circles under Khourt’s eyes more pronounced and her skin appear sallow. Sydney wondered what she looked like right now. Not that her appearance mattered. Langston hadn’t looked at her—really looked at her, the way he used to—since the entity had attacked him.
She didn’t blame him. Romance and attraction were probably the last things on his mind these days. Part of her was relieved. She didn’t want to face her feelings at the moment either—how they conflicted with her better judgment and rational thoughts from moment to moment. She wondered if kissing Langston, touching him, would be different since he was no longer a witch. Would she feel different to him too? Would they connect the way they used to?
“I’m exhausted. There’s no way I can function today. How are we going to explain all of us missing classes?” Khourtney asked no one in particular through a lengthy yawn. “They’ll think it’s weird if we all claim to have the flu.”
“That’s easy,” Syd said as she began collecting the items from the ground and replacing them in the large canvas bags Jax and Ava had brought, “we’re not missing.”
Khourtney’s eyes widened, and she was about to argue when Ava beat her to it. “Yeah, funny. There’s no way I can sit in classes all day and be functional for coven lessons tonight on zero sleep.” She scanned the group for someone to back her up.
Justin busied himself by collecting the candles. Wasn’t he going to jump on the complaint bandwagon? Sydney wondered. He hadn’t missed any opportunity to rail against her lately.
Once again, Sydney had to step up. “We can’t all miss. Two of you can, but not any more than that. Otherwise, we’ll raise suspicion. Assuming Ashcroft isn’t already aware of our absence from the dorms. If Ainsley’s freak of a roommate has gone and put out a missing person’s report because she’s wasn’t tucked up nice and tight in bed by curfew, we’re fucked.”
Since Sydney’s mother hadn’t contacted her, she was confident the apprentices were still in the clear. Chambers wouldn’t hesitate to run to her mother if she knew Sydney was breaking the rules. She’d love it. That woman would use anything, even Sydney’s disappointments, to have a little one-on-one time with her mother.
“I told Harper,” Ainsley slung back, “that I was pulling an all-nighter with a friend from History. I’m good to go. I’ll just drink six or seven lattes.”
Sydney saw how shaky Ainsley was when she stood, but if the middling wanted to play the hero, she wouldn’t stop her.
“I volunteer to stay in today,” Ava said in a clipped voice and then proceeded to flop back on the snowy ground. “Actually, you can just leave me here. I’m totally okay with that too.”
Langston finished loading the last of the materials into the bags and started wiping the pentagram away with his bare hand. “No one stays in. We all need to be in classes and on campus to look for the shifter. It could be masquerading as anyone. We can’t leave our coven members vulnerable.”
Our coven, Sydney repeated in her head. No one offered a rebuttal to that, not with Langston staring at them as a breathing reminder. There’d been a glimpse of the old him just then. Stepping up and assertive. Sydney felt a glimmer of hope rise in her. Maybe he’d fight to get back to himself after all. She’d fight right alongside him, no matter what. She’d heard what Saskia had said, but Saskia was going on old magic and the way things were four centuries ago. The world was different now.
Magic was different. She wouldn’t give up finding a way to get Langston’s back.
Sydney stifled a yawn. “He’s right. It’s 3:21. That gives us enough time to walk back, sneak into the dorms, and get a couple of hours of sleep before the bell for first class. I don’t care how much caffeine you need to consume. Everyone is on high alert. We need to figure out a way to keep the peace until the next full moon. Which is when, Khourt?”
Khourtney didn’t even blink before answering. “Three days, December 12th. There's a combination of elements—a full moon and a meteor shower. It’s our best bet unless you want to wait for the Winter Solstice on the twenty-first.”
“How do you know that?” Ainsley asked.
Khourtney shrugged. “I’m a White witch, so I follow the lunar cycle.” She turned back to Sydney. “I can also tell you that it’ll be strongest at 12:39 a.m. The supernatural energy in the air and the energy that comes off the ley lines will be four times stronger and more condensed than when it’s just a full moon. Of course, a full moon during the winter solstice would be ideal, but we have to make do with what the gods provide. If we want the best chance that we defeat this thing, Syd, we should wait for the solstice’s extra power.” It was obvious she was proud to contribute in a way no one else could.
Syd shook her head. “No, we can’t wait two weeks for the solstice. It’s too dangerous. Too much could happen before then.”
“Of course, another option is to get the power of a dozen Elder and Master witches to help,” Justin snapped. “Then we could do it tomorrow, and it wouldn’t have three more days to kill anyone or siphon their magic.” Grabbing the bag from Ava, he whipped it over his shoulder and started walking back. “But sure, let’s wait and do it ourselves. Sounds awesome.”
Sydney got his frustration. She felt it too, but his temper tantrums weren’t helping. They were going to have to take the risk.
Ainsley wrapped her arms around herself. “Should I go after him?”
Syd threw her hands up. “I’m not a fan of this self-pity, passive-aggressive bullshit, but there’s still a shifter out here, so yeah, run after him. Jax will go with you.” She narrowed her gaze on Jax. “Don’t let him do anything stupid.”
December 10
Sydney was on her fifth coffee by the time Ashcroft classes finished for the day. She hadn’t slept at all and would’ve loved nothing more than to climb under her covers and hibernate. Hide would be more accurate. But they had coven classes soon, and she needed to keep up appearances. Nothing could seem out of the ordinary.
While her mother was on campus meeting with Headmistress Chambers about God knows what, it was the perfect time to pay her mother’s secret grimoires a visit. Sydney had stumbled upon them a little over a year ago. She didn’t think her mother knew she’d found them. Sydney knew at the time that she’d need them one day; she just didn’t expect that day to be today.
Syd taxied to her mother’s house, paying with cash, and unlocked the front door.
“Hello, Mrs. Lockwood, is that you?” Hilda, her mother’s housekeeper, came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on a dishcloth, a beaming smile on her face to see the daughter instead. “Sydney, how nice to see you! I’m afraid your mother’s not here.”
“I know, I’m here to see Dad.”
Hilda nodded, her soft eyes sparkled. “He’ll love that.”
Sydney’s heart squeezed. Hilda had been more of a mother to Sydney growing up than Andrea. “Would you not mention I was here? You know Mother doesn’t like me being here—in my own home—when she’s out.” She gave Hilda a knowing look.
Hilda winked before humming her way back to the kitchen.
Sydney flew up the stairs and into her father’s room. The horrid beeping of the machines greeted her. She pulled the chair closer so she could sit and grasp his hand. “Hi, Daddy.” She bent forward to kiss him on the cheek. His skin was dry, and a few days’ stubble brushed against her lips. Grabbing the lotion next to his bed, she emptied a little in her palm before massaging it into his hand. “I know you hate to have dry, cracked skin. It’s always worse in the winter, isn’t it?” She rubbed the lotion into his cool skin. “Well, Daddy, I’ve gotten myself into a huge mess. Want to hear about it?” she asked in the voice she reserved for sharing secrets with him. She proceeded to tell him everything, from finding the room to conjuring Saskia, even how she’d involved a middling who seemed almost entirely resistant to magic. “It’s the strangest thing. Sometimes a spell will work a little, but usually nothing. I can’t figure her out. I wish you could tell me if you’d ever heard of a middling like that.”
Sydney sat for a few more minutes with him, moving his legs and arms for circulation and telling him the newest Ashcroft gossip. The soft hum of the machines became almost relaxing. Usually, she hated them, but right now, they were almost hypnotic. Maybe it was the exhaustion.
She placed his hand gently on the bed. “I better go. Mother could be home anytime.” Her breath hitched when his eyelids rapidly fluttered before calming again seconds later. He did that now and then. She was positive that it meant he could hear her but had no other way to tell her that he was still in there somewhere. “I know Daddy. I’ll be back soon.” She kissed his cheek and left.
Sydney tiptoed, not wanting Hilda to know she was sneaking into the library. A visit to her dad was once thing, but Hilda wouldn’t condone her snooping through her mother’s belongings.
Sliding the French doors open, she slipped inside, closing them just as quietly. There was a large, ornate fireplace, a huge picture window that overlooked the back garden, a deep purple sofa, and her mother’s antique desk. Accent lighting highlighted the books lining the walls beautifully in dim, soft light. She loved this space and hated that it was her mother’s.
Approaching the large, mahogany desk, she felt her palms slick. It hadn’t escaped her mind that her mother may have the room enchanted, with one false move alerting her to a trespasser.
She reached into her pocket and retrieved a small sparkly vial, then she emptied a small handful onto her palm and tossed the bits on top of the desk. The shimmering specks remained clear before disappearing, which frankly surprised her. Had there been an enchantment, the lavender shimmer would have turned dark green or gray, depending on the spell. She was dumbfounded. There was no way it could be this easy; her mother was not a trusting woman.
Getting the drawers open would be tricky. The copper keyhole was visible, but it required an old skeleton key, which her mother kept on a gold chain around her neck at all times. It would be easy to break into if you didn’t care about damaging it, but her mother couldn’t know anyone had gone through her things.
Since her mother had likely rigged it with a curse, Sydney had had Ava perform a protection spell on her before coming over. One she prayed her mother hadn’t anticipated and, therefore, countered in hers.
Sydney drew in a deep breath. Her hands were shaking, but she ignored them and placed her fingertips over the keyhole. She recited the words to a revelation spell and waited to see if her mother had magically booby-trapped the drawer. A low, humming vibration sounded around her and then quieted altogether. Nothing was appearing. Her mother hadn’t enchanted anything.
Syd was in shock. Was this a test? Was her mother so arrogant that she didn’t consider it possible that another witch would dare cross her? Syd knew her mother had magically warded the house against anyone outside of their immediate family, so maybe she felt confident enough to leave it unprotected. As much as she drove home Sydney’s untrustworthiness, it was a shock to learn that she hadn’t considered Sydney a threat. There was only one way to know for sure. Sydney placed her hand over the drawer and recited an unfastening spell. The drawer popped open with a soft click.
A small gasp escaped Sydney. She'd prayed it would open, but she hadn’t actually expected it the spell to work. The urge to reach right into the drawer was strong, but she still needed to be careful—precise. She needed to note the location of ever
y single object if she was to put them back exactly. Her mother was particular about her belongings on a bad day. She would notice if a single thing were out of place. She pulled her phone from her pocket and took a picture of the open drawer so she could document it. She couldn’t risk getting it wrong.
The first thing that caught her eye was a small stack of papers bound with leather string. She pulled it out, untied the knot, and thoroughly examined each paper—contracts of some kind. A few had names she didn’t recognize, maybe witches from other covens. Tying them back up, she put the stack on the desk.
Sydney noticed a small black-leather spell-book. She’d never seen it before. She squeezed the soft leather and opened it, in no way expecting what she found. Her fingers couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. Her mother had filled it with forbidden invocations, covering all areas of magic.
Sydney buzzed with delight. “What have you been up to, Mother?” she whispered to herself. “Very naughty.”
Syd took at least twenty pictures of the pages, capturing the ingredients, conditions, and incantations for many of the spells. She’d go over them later. For now, she had the one they needed.
The clock on her mother’s desk told her that she had forty-five minutes to get into her robes and stand ready for class. Her body thrummed with excitement and relief. She placed the spell-book back into its previous spot next to the stack of contracts, comparing the drawer to her photo. It looked perfect. She closed it and used a spell to re-lock the drawer before sneaking out of the house.
She saw her friends huddled together in the Main Hall, deep in discussion.
“What are you guys talking about?” she asked, pushing her way into the huddle.
Justin leaned in further and lowered his voice even more; Syd halved the distance.
“How to lure the shifter back to the underground room.”
“What do you have? I’ll select the best one.” She winked and pulled a small table close, sitting on top of it with her head propped up on one knee.