Cast Out (The Red Enchanter Book 1)

by Mary Swift

His face became pale. “Excuse me.” He hurried out of the room leaving her bleeding on his sofa. She tried to sit up but she felt nauseous again. He returned a few minutes later with a handful of bandages.

  “Why didn’t you get those in the first place?” she said crossly. The pain was getting worse.

  “Because I thought I could fix it another way.” He began laying out strips of gauze.

  “Another way?”

  He produced a bottle of iodine from his pocket and soaked some of the bandages in it. “This might hurt. Are you ready?”

  She nodded. He laid the bandages over the wound, a deep pain burned into her. She closed her eyes.

  “You’ll probably want to stay in bed for a few days.” he said.

  Nora opened her eyes. “Thank you.” The sting of the iodine was beginning to ebb.

  “I’m sorry about your dress. You can borrow something of my daughter’s if you like.”

  “What just happened? Why didn’t those people on the street know I was hurt? I don’t understand anything.”

  Killian looked at her and then opened his notebook.

  “What is that book you keep looking at?”

  He handed it to her. “Go ahead.” The book had a fabric marker inside, it fell open to the last page that had been used. Nora Gavrashelli’s wound is healed, was written in fresh ink.

  “Are you practicing magic with this?”

  “Yes. But it seems that you’re immune to it.”

  Chapter 24

  Killian put the notebook in his pocket. He wasn’t sure what to do next. He had never encountered an immune mortal.

  “How can I be immune to your spells? You’re the first enchanter I’ve met.” Nora said.

  “Apparently not.”

  “It’s impossible. I’ve never been to a circle until I came here.”

  “There are plenty of enchanters who live outside of the circles.” He heard the front door open.

  “Daddy?” Lucy called out to him. “I have to tell you-” She stopped in the parlor doorway. “Mrs. Gavrashelli, what happened to you?”

  “Maeve attacked her.” Killian said.

  Lucy’s eyes widened. “Why?”

  “Lucy I need to speak with you.” Killian said. “I’ll be right back Nora.”

  “All right.”

  He took Lucy’s arm and led her across the hall and into the library.

  “What is going on?” she asked as he closed the door.

  “She knows I moved the house.”

  “How could she? No one knows yet. Isn’t that part of what you wrote? The mortals can’t tell.” She took the notebook from his pocket and looked inside.

  “Her wound didn’t heal either. She’s immune to me.”

  “Then she’s an enchanter.”

  “No. Someone has made her immune.”

  “Why would someone do that?” Lucy asked.

  “I don’t know.”

  “What did Maeve do to her?”

  “She stabbed her. Have you ever noticed that she wears a pink flower broach on her dress? It’s an obedience pin.”

  “So she stabs the mortal and-”

  “They obey her.” Killian said.

  “But Mrs. Gavrashelli wasn’t affected?”

  “No. If she had been she wouldn’t have been carrying on in the street when I found her. The mortals didn’t see her wounds because they aren’t aware of the pin’s power. Nora is asking me why the house is here. I don’t know what to tell her.”

  “Tell her the truth.” Lucy said.

  “I can’t do that.”

  “She deserves to know why she was attacked.” Lucy said. “Wouldn’t you want to know?”

  “Will you go with me? I don’t want to talk to her by myself.”

  “Daddy, how can you be so shy at your age?”

  He shrugged. “I just am.”

  Lucy smiled. “Come on.” They opened the library door and found Talia and Logan standing in the hallway with their two sons Kip and Casper.

  “What are you doing in my house?” Killian demanded.

  “We were walking by and Logan looked inside. You have a mortal in there.” Talia pointed at the parlor door.

  “Why are you looking through my walls?” Killian asked Logan.

  “I’m sorry Killian. It’s my job to look in everyone’s house, even yours.”

  “So you think it’s all right to just walk in here?” Killian asked.

  “The door was open.” Talia said.

  “Next time knock. Go away, I’m busy.”

  “You said I could visit Lucy anytime I wanted.” Talia said.

  Lucy stepped in front of him. “We’re kind of in the middle of something Mother. Maybe I can come by tomorrow?”

  “Lucy, you can’t drop by whenever you feel like it, believe it or not I have things to do at home.” Talia nudged her husband. “Who’s in there?”

  Logan looked through the wall. “A woman, I don’t know who. Her dress is cut open.”

  Talia glared at Killian. “What are you doing with her?” She punched him in the arm.

  Logan took her hand. “Why don’t we leave? Killian is busy.”

  She shoved her husband into the wall. “Don’t tell me what to do. I want to know who he has in there.” She opened the parlor door.

  “Get out of here.” Killian tried to grab Talia’s arm, she pulled away.

  Nora watched as the parade of visitors filed into the parlor and stared at her.

  “I’m so sorry.” Killian said. “These people just happened to drop by.”

  “These people?” Talia cried. “That’s some way to introduce us.”

  Killian sighed. “This is my former wife Talia, her husband Logan and their sons Kip and Casper.”

  “Hi.” Kip said.

  “Hello.” Nora answered.

  “A pleasure.” Logan said extending his hand.

  “Nice to meet all of you.” Nora said. “I’d get up, but I’m afraid I can’t.”

  Talia crossed her arms. “What business do you have with Killian?”

  “Um-“

  “She fell outside of my front gate.” Killian said. “I was just helping her.”

  “Yes I’m afraid I’m terribly clumsy.” Nora confirmed.

  Talia glared at Nora. “That had better be the only reason you’re here.”

  “All right, that’s enough.” Killian opened the parlor door and motioned for them to leave.

  “He’s not worth it.” Talia said to Nora. “He’ll cut you the minute your back is turned.” She shoved Kip. “Get moving.” They left the parlor. Killian followed them into the front hall.

  “You’ll find my door locked from now on.” Killian said.

  Talia slapped his face. “Shut up.”

  Killian looked at Talia’s sons. He worried about them. Kip was already showing signs of Talia’s explosive temper.

  “Don’t try to replace me.” Talia said as she and her family left.

  Killian returned to the parlor.

  Chapter 25

  Nora had stumbled into something that she didn’t understand.

  “I’m sorry about that.” Killian said as he returned to the parlor, there was a red mark on his face.

  “My mother likes to drop in unannounced.” Lucy said. She and her father dragged a pair of chairs from against the wall and sat down.

  “I’m sorry I upset her.” Nora said.

  “Everything upsets Talia.”

  “Did she strike you?” Nora asked.

  Killian stared at the floor. Nora realized she had embarrassed him. Lucy put her hand on his back. “My mother is a complicated person.”

  Nora didn’t say anything. She didn’t want to make him more uncomfortable than he already was.

  “Daddy and I want to talk to you.” Lucy said.

  Killian cleared his throat. “We think you should know the truth.”

  “Are you going to tell me why your house wasn’t here yesterday?” Nora asked.

  “I’
ve written a rather complex spell. I’ve chosen to leave the circle and move the house here. The spell makes the mortals not remember that it wasn’t here before. The mortals are curious about everything we do in the circle. If I had left without creating the spells they would have asked me all kinds of questions about why I left and I would have to talk to them. But of course you’ve been enchanted; you’re immune to my spells, so you weren’t fooled.”

  Nora laughed despite the pain. “I told you, there is no way I’m enchanted. As I said you’re the first enchanter I have ever met.”

  “Are you sure about that?"

  Nora hesitated. “There is someone I think might be an enchanter. Every time I am around him there is a strange feeling in the air, almost like a vibration. And his eyes are green, just like yours. In fact they are the same color.”

  Lucy leaned forward in her chair. “Really? No one looks like Daddy. Who is this man?”

  “My lawyer. His name is Finnegan Murphy.”

  “Does that mean anything to you Daddy?” Lucy asked.

  “I’m not sure.” He looked at Nora. “I was born in another circle, but I don’t know what one. I don’t know where I’m from.”

  “That must be frustrating.”

  “It is.” He tapped the pen on his thigh. “Finnegan Murphy, I feel like I’ve heard that name before.”

  “It’s pretty weird sounding.” Lucy said.

  Nora looked at the pen. “Does that really do whatever you write?”

  “Yes.” Killian took the notebook from his pocket. “What color is Lucy’s dress?”

  “Blue.”

  “What color do you want it to be?”

  “I don’t know, yellow.”

  Killian wrote in the notebook. Nora watched as Lucy’s dress turned from blue to yellow, like a slip of fabric being dipped into a vat of dye.

  “That’s incredible.”

  “I liked it blue.” Lucy moaned. “Oh well.”

  “You can do anything.” Nora said.

  “Not exactly. I can’t kill or injure others with it, and I can’t move an enchanter, or a mortal for that matter, from one place to another. That would be strictly against the Founders’ Code. And I can’t reverse another enchanter’s spell, if I could I would have changed something a long time ago.”

  Lucy rolled her eyes. “He’s obsessed with his hair.”

  “Why?” Nora asked.

  “He hates being a redhead.” Lucy told her. “My mother turned it that color when he divorced her. She also made sure the every natural redhead turns white so that he is the only one in the whole town, or anywhere he goes for that matter.”

  “And you don’t like it?” Nora asked.

  Killian looked mortified at the question. “Absolutely not.”

  “I think the color is rather nice, especially in the sunlight.” Nora normally didn’t care for red hair, but she meant what she said. There was something about his color she found appealing, it was so rich and vibrant. She pretended not to notice Killian’s face turning crimson.

  Lucy put her head on her father’s shoulder. “I told you so Daddy, women like you.”

  Nora could see his utter discomfort. She thought it was time to change the subject, and she had a question. “If I’m supposedly immune to your spells then why could I see Lucy’s dress change but I wasn’t fooled by you moving the house?”

  “It all depends on what or who I put the spell on.” Killian said. “When I changed Lucy’s dress the spell was on the dress, not you. But when I moved the house I wrote a spell that all mortals would not know about it. The spell was on the mortals, not the house. Do you see?”

  Nora understood. “That’s why you can’t heal me.”

  “Yes.”

  “I don’t understand how this could be unless Finnegan really is an enchanter and he put a spell on me.”

  “Maybe.” Killian shook his head. “I don’t know why that name sounds so familiar.”

  “What should I do now?” Nora asked.

  “I don’t know how to protect you.” Killian said. “I would tell you to leave but if this Finn person is the one who enchanted you then it might not be safe to go home.”

  “I don’t need your protection.”

  “Yes you do, you were just stabbed.”

  Lucy suddenly looked at her father. “Daddy, if Mrs. Gavrashelli wasn’t affected by the obedience pin and if she’s immune to your spells then-“

  “Maeve and I are from the same circle.”

  “You’ve got a brain underneath that red hair Killian.” Maeve was suddenly standing behind Killian and Lucy. She touched the back of their necks, they both slid to the floor unconscious. Despite the pain in her side Nora jumped to her feet. She looked around the room for something, anything, she could use as a weapon.

  “Don’t bother trying to defend yourself mortal. I don’t need spells to defeat you.” Maeve grabbed her arm.

  Nora looked at Killian and Lucy on the floor. “What did you do to them?”

  “You barely know them, what do you care?” Maeve took a pistol from her pocket. “It’s the real thing, I told you I don’t need spells.”

  “I won’t tell anyone about you.”

  “I know you won’t.” Maeve stuck the weapon in Nora’s face. “Now you’re going to help me.”

  Chapter 26

  Killian opened his eyes and stared up at the ceiling. He couldn’t recall what day it was or why he was lying on his parlor floor. He heard a noise next to him. It was Lucy, her eyelids fluttered. “What happened?”

  “I don’t remember.” He sat up and looked around. “Why are we in here?”

  Lucy raised her head off the floor. “I don’t know.”

  A dark spot on the sofa caught Killian’s eye. Blood. Someone had been hurt. Nora had been stabbed. The fog lifted from his mind. Maeve. He had heard her voice just before he passed out, she had been here. He scrambled to his feet and ran into the hallway. “Nora.” There was no answer, not that he expected any.

  Lucy followed him. “Do you think Maeve took her?”

  “Yes.” He looked at the grandfather clock, it read two thirty.

  “How did she get in here?”

  “I don’t know.” Killian suddenly remembered something. “Actually I do know, I never locked the door after I kicked your mother out. I was so upset with her and I was thinking about Nora, and-“ He rubbed his forehead. “I’m so stupid.”

  “No you’re not.”

  Killian reached for his pen. It wasn’t in his pocket. He quickly checked his other pockets. “It’s gone.” He went back to the parlor. It wasn’t there. “It’s gone. She took my pen.”

  “Are you sure?” Lucy asked.

  “Yes I’m sure! That bitch stole it.” He had misplaced the pen before, but it had always turned up in the house. Fear was beginning to build inside of him. He had become so dependent on the pen, whatever problem he had could be fixed in an instant. He was vulnerable now. He turned to Lucy. “I want you to stay here.”

  “Where are you going?” Lucy’s eyes were wide with fright. “Don’t leave me.”

  “Lock the door and don’t let anyone in, not even your mother. If I don’t come back-”

  “Don’t say that.”

  He regretted his choice of words. “I’ll be back Lucy. You know I would never leave you.”

  Lucy nodded as tears streamed down her face. He kissed her forehead and left. He waited on the doorstep until he heard the door lock behind him. Across the street was the cafe. He ran inside. Allison was standing at the back behind the pastry case. “Where’s Maeve?” he shouted.

  “Killian, I don’t think you should be here.” Allison said.

  “Where’s Nora?”

  Allison blinked. “I think she’s taking a nap.” He hurried towards the door at the back. “You can’t go in there.” Allison said. “Maeve won’t allow it.”

  “I don’t care.”

  Suddenly the door opened, Maeve was on the other side. “It’s all r
ight Allison, Mr. Cramer and I have business to discuss.” Her hands were wrapped in cloth.

  “I want my pen. And where’s Nora?”

  “Come in Killian.” He stepped into a narrow hallway and she shut the door behind them. “You’ve ruined me once again.”

  “I’ve done nothing to you.” he said angrily. “You’ve hated me for years, and for no reason.”

  “For no reason? You’ve taken everything from me.” She began pulling at the rags on her hands.

  “I know you’re an enchanter. I’m reporting you to the council.”

  “I have a right to live as I like. I don’t belong to this circle, they have no say over what I do.”

  He didn’t answer her. She was right. He should have told them about her years before. He had avoided it because he didn’t want to be laughed at, or worse get beaten up for making an accusation. Henry often accused him of being a know it all.

  “Look at what you’ve done.” She held up her hands. Her skin was purple and swollen, her fingers looked like plump sausages. Her rings cut into her fingers, blood oozed around them. “I used to have the most beautiful hands.”

  “Tell me where the pen is. You needn’t touch it again.”

  “Why would I give it back to you?”

  “Because I can fix your hands.” Killian watched as her expression changed, she was weighing her options.

  “How do I know you won’t make it worse?”

  “I won’t as long as you tell me what you did with Nora.”

  “You’re in no position to bargain Killian.”

  “And you’re in no position to be seen in public with those hands.” he said. “Why did you take it? Everyone knows it’s enchanted.”

  “I’m so tired of you. I’m sick of watching you get everything you want.”

  “Everything I want? Have you been paying attention for the last thirty odd years? I was raised by people who hate me. Do you have any idea what that’s like? I just want a happy life. I want peace and quiet.”

  She shook her head. “You’re just like your father.”

  “What did you say?”

  “I wish you had never been born.”

  He grabbed her shoulders. “What do you know about me? Please tell me, I’m begging you.”

  Maeve’s expression was a mixture of anxiety, pain and anger. “I hate you Killian, I hate what you’ve made me into.”