His jaw worked as he controlled his anger at himself. “I should’ve checked them more regularly. I’ve been here every day this past week, and it didn’t even occur to me to look.”
I could understand how that was aggravating.
“You’re a nice person who trusts people.”
He only grunted in answer. I wasn’t discouraged; I’d have quit the first month if his moods upset me. And I wouldn’t have been much of an assistant if I didn’t have helpful suggestions to make.
“Now that you know the book is taken, maybe you could do a tracking spell to locate it?”
Giselle had done a spell to track where the curse statuette had been sent from and I thought they could do one here. But Kane shook his head.
“We would need to know which book was taken, and even then it wouldn’t work without a connection to it.”
I put my cup down with a frustrated clank that made the contents slosh. “What use is magic if it can’t detect the simplest things?”
He gave me a sideways smile. “It has its uses, but it can’t do the impossible.” He paused, pursed his lips in deep thought. “Although, there is actually something we could try…”
He shot up and marched out of the dining room.
“Thanks, it’s not like I wanted to know what it is,” I shouted after him, annoyed. Ashley grinned.
“Mages, huh.”
“Shouldn’t you be going after him?”
She jumped up, sending her chair flying backwards. “I’m new to this bodyguard thing.”
I fetched her chair and righted it. “Well, you managed to handle the demon Dufort sent after him, so I’m sure you can handle anything.”
She grinned, but before she could follow Kane, he returned and glared at Amber and Giselle. “Are you coming?”
Baffled, the women put their teacups down and rose from the table. “What do you need us for?” Amber asked.
“We need to perform the time-wheel spell, and I need you two for it.”
Amber was instantly intrigued. “You want to see who took down the wards?”
“Yes. But if I do it by myself, I’ll only be able to reach back a week or so. We’ll have to assume that the book has been gone for longer than that.”
“Do you need us?” I asked, ready to follow them, but he lifted a hand to stop me.
“No. Best if you wait here.”
“But I want to see…”
He frowned. “Fine, but stay out of the way and do not interrupt no matter what happens. Everyone who has been here will appear as apparitions and walk through you, which can be unnerving.”
Ashley and I finished our tea while the mages prepared for the spell. It seemed to take forever and require many ingredients, which Giselle fetched from somewhere deeper in the house, running up and down past us.
I followed their progress with great curiosity from my seat at the dining room table, the open double doors offering a good view. Amber and Kane drew intricate patterns on the tile floor with chalk, following instructions from a book Kane was holding. By the time they were finished, it covered most of the entrance hall floor.
This was clearly a massive spell.
“Okay, we’re ready to start,” Kane said, putting the book away. He pointed to a corner farthest from the library door. “You can sit there. No one has likely been there during this time, so no apparitions should go through you.”
Ashley and I obeyed eagerly. We skipped over the chalk lines and sat on the floor at the appointed place. I was starting to feel nervous. I wanted to squeeze Ashley’s hand like a little girl, but I kept my hands to myself, fearing that a cool werewolf would scoff at it.
And then she took my hand and squeezed it tightly. “Just so you don’t do anything stupid.”
Giselle, Amber and Kane took their places on the pattern. They concentrated briefly, and then began to chant. Amber lit the candles with magic one by one, while Giselle scattered the spell ingredients on the floor a pinch at a time, seemingly at random. Some of them burst in fire, some began to smoke, some just lay there. Kane made complicated movements with his arms, twisting them together and opening again, looking like an enthusiastic orchestra conductor about to take flight.
I didn’t understand the words, but their voices grew steadily as they went on. A power began to press on my chest, making it difficult to breathe. The door out rattled as if wind were shaking it. A howling rose, covering the chanting voices, only to cut abruptly.
Darkness fell.
I made to shoot up, only to be stopped by Ashley’s unyielding hand holding mine. I guess she had been right to detain me in advance.
I couldn’t see anything, not even myself, which was truly frightening, as if I weren’t even there. The silence was eerie, and I shivered.
Forms began to materialise in the darkness, translucent human figures lit by some inner light that made them glow yellow. They walked backwards, as if time was reversing.
I recognised us, scurrying across the hall this way and that, the pace picking up as the spell advanced. Distant, wan light ebbed and flowed, never properly illuminating the space, marking the passing of days.
Kane walked backwards into the library, only to reappear a moment later, backwards again. This repeated several times. New faces showed up, but not as many as I would have imagined. Apparently, the mages didn’t need to visit the headquarters all that often. A cleaning lady made her rounds, mopping the hall, poking through us with her transparent mop as she cleaned the corner, her backward movements almost like a dance.
There were a couple of occasions when several people went through the hall to the dining room. I presumed they were the council heading to their weekly meeting. Kane and Amber were among them.
Only Kane visited the library. No one tried to break the wards.
The forms were starting to become fainter, their faces more difficult to discern. As if from a distance, I heard Kane bellow, and I felt a pressure rise until it seemed to be crushing my bones. But it worked. The forms turned clear again, moving at a faster pace.
To my surprise, I appeared again with the same people I was here with today, plus Luca and Danielle. It was the night we were here to break the curse. We’d gone backwards over a month in time, and still no one had taken down the wards at the library door.
Finally, when the spell had reached what I estimated was a week before my previous visit, Jack appeared. My breathing caught, mostly for disappointment. I hadn’t wanted him to be here.
Since the timeline went backwards, he backed into the library with a book under his arm, only to exit a moment later without it and stand in front of the library doors.
And this time he wasn’t alone.
There was a cloaked figure next to him. A hood covered their face, and the shape of the cloak made it difficult to tell if it was a man or a woman. They stood slightly stooped, so their height was difficult to discern too, but likely as tall as Jack.
Together they unravelled the wards. Or since it happened backwards, recast them. I strained my eyes, trying to identify the other person, but before I could, the time-wheel spell abruptly ended. Light returned and I could see again. The three mages where still on their spots, slowly lowering their arms.
Their shoulders slumped in exhaustion and sweat shone on their foreheads. They stepped out of their places and looked at each other, pleased. Ashley let go of my hand and I rubbed it to get the blood flowing again. She’d really squeezed it hard.
She helped me up. “It was definitely Jack,” I said, sounding disappointed even though we’d known it already. “Who was the cloaked one?”
Kane shook his head, looking grim. “No idea.”
“That’s not good.”
“Not in the slightest,” he said dryly. Then he sighed. “The wards were taken down weeks ago.”
I nodded. “When you were on holiday. They made sure you wouldn’t be here to notice it.”
His face was grim. “They’ve had time to plan this well, and we have no i
dea what’s going on.”
“We know that they want you removed from your office.”
“But with this much … malice…” He grimaced. “I was under the impression that I’ve been doing a good job as the leader. I’ve certainly heard no complaints. A challenge is expected, but this…” His voice drifted away and he shook his head, amazed.
I reached my hand to pat him on the arm, but then I realised it would only make him feel worse and let my hand drop.
“It’s probably not personal,” I settled with. “They want power and you’re in their way.”
“I guess.” He sighed. “I’d best restore these wards.”
While he handled that, the rest of us cleaned the chalk markings off the floor. My thoughts were on Jack and his betrayal, and the mystery person.
It was dark by the time everything was clean, the wards were back, and the building was locked up. Exhaustion slowed our steps as we made our way to the car. My stomach growled, reminding me that I’d only had a cup of tea since lunch.
The care home had quieted down for the evening, but there were still a couple of cars in the car park. Ashley triggered the locks of her car remotely and its lights flashed briefly, blinding us.
That’s when the attack happened.
I’d noticed the woman approaching our car, but I hadn’t paid any attention to her, assuming she was a visitor to the care home. I came to regret my negligence when she immobilised us with a wave of her hand.
Correction, she immobilised me and Ashley. Giselle and Amber had been entering the car and managed to avoid the hit. Kane was able to react in time, triggering some sort of shield which kept his hands free.
A mage didn’t need anything else.
Frozen on the spot, I could only watch as the two mages began to sling spells at each other. Colourful lights were flashing, wind twirled around them, and weird smells reached my nose, cloying and burning at the same time.
They seemed to be equal in skills, but the woman had the advantage, as she could move around freely. But she couldn’t attack Kane from behind, since she’d immobilised him against the car.
She was about fifty and stocky, with a stern face, and brown hair in a neat, no-nonsense bob. She wore a tweed skirt suit and sturdy leather walking shoes: a woman who walked ten miles across the moors before breakfast with her wolfhounds.
Kane was younger and in great shape, but he was already exhausted from the time-wheel spell. I feared he wouldn’t be able to keep up.
“Can’t you do anything?” I asked Amber, who had climbed out of the car to watch.
“No. She’s Cynthia Griffin, a member of the council. This is a legitimate leadership challenge. He’ll lose if we interfere.”
“But what if outsiders notice?”
“I’ve shrouded us. Technically, Cynthia should’ve done that before she attacked, but I guess she forgot.”
“Or feared that it would tire her too much and left it out deliberately,” Giselle noted dryly. Then she raised her voice. “It’s not cool to cheat, Cynthia!”
The woman glanced at her briefly, and it was all Kane needed to free his legs from her binding spell. Now he had better range and could launch proper attacks. The colours of his attacks became brighter, and Amber and Giselle made impressed sounds.
Cynthia was soon in retreat, falling back across the lawn towards the river, with Kane pressing on. I don’t know where he found the energy, but with the next attack he immobilized her.
That freed me. The sudden change made me stumble and I almost fell on my face. Giselle managed to grab a hold of me at the last moment.
“Thanks.”
We gathered around Kane and Cynthia. She looked put-out rather than angry. Kane faced her, breathing heavily but otherwise calm.
“In front of these witnesses, you challenged me for the leadership of the council of mages, yes?” he asked. Cynthia had the use of her head and she nodded.
“Yes.” Her voice was calm.
“In front of these witnesses, your challenge was accepted, yes?”
She nodded again, pursing her lips. “Yes.”
“And in front of these witnesses, I won and you lost, yes?”
“Yes,” she said firmly.
“And as I free you, you agree not to challenge me again during this cycle?”
“I agree.”
Kane gestured with his hand and the woman was freed. He offered her his hand and they shook.
“Good battle,” she said, pleased. “I thought I had you there for a moment.”
Kane bowed. “You almost did. But if you’d handled the shroud yourself as you should’ve, I would’ve won faster.”
She grimaced. “I completely forgot it.” She nodded at Amber. “Thank you.”
Amber nodded in acknowledgement.
Kane wasn’t done with her. “Now, I have to ask, were you acting alone?”
Cynthia pulled back. “Of course I was. What a strange question.”
“We have a reason to suspect that Jack Palmer is helping the challenge of someone by creating distractions for me.”
Her lip curled in distaste. “I wouldn’t team with that impertinent boy if he paid me.”
“Good.” Kane’s tone suggested he had never expected otherwise. “Suppose you don’t know who it might be he’s helping?”
“I haven’t really paid attention to what he does, but I’ll let you know if I hear anything.” With that, she nodded at Kane, headed to her car, and drove away.
The moment her taillights disappeared, Kane’s legs gave up and he collapsed heavily on the lawn. As a group, we surged to help him, but Ashley halted us with a growl. She leaned down and lifted him into her arms as if he weighed nothing.
“Come on, let’s get you in the car.”
He wasn’t quite out of it, but he didn’t seem to be able to move on his own, so she manoeuvred him deftly into the front seat.
“I shouldn’t have battled right after the time-wheel spell,” he managed to say.
“As if you had a choice,” Amber reminded him. “You know the rules better than anyone. The challenge has to be accepted immediately.”
By the time we reached Kane’s home, he’d recovered enough to walk in by himself. We followed in case he collapsed again.
“You’d best head to bed,” Giselle ordered. “I’ll make you my special tea.”
I’d had her special tea and knew it made you sleep in no time. Soon enough, he was snoring in his bedroom. Maybe literally. I wasn’t brave enough to go and check.
Before we left, Amber fortified the wards on Kane’s door to keep him safe. He wouldn’t be able to handle another attack tonight. Then we headed home too. It had been a long day and I needed sleep.
I should have guessed I wouldn’t be given the chance.
Chapter Eight
Aunt Clara was sitting on the red velvet sofa in our living room, drinking tea from Giselle’s Royal Doulton cup from 1920s she’d inherited from her aunt with the house. Luca sat in an armchair opposite her—sans tea—his eyes glazing over as he listened to her stories of how her bones had predicted doom. She was currently in the energy crisis of the 70s.
Pity he looked my age and couldn’t admit he’d lived through it.
He spotted us and surged up. “There you are. I tried to call you but your phone had died.”
We’d all switched them off for the time-wheel spell. Apparently, none of us had remembered to switch them back on.
“Sorry about that. We went book hunting with my boss.”
I hoped my aunt thought it was for the gallery. Luca retreated hastily to the kitchen, and I can’t say I blamed him. Aunt Clara could be exhausting.
I gave her a questioning smile. “What brings you here, at this hour?”
Not that it was late; it just felt that way.
She put her teacup down on the sofa table and gave a longsuffering sigh. “It’s this awful business with Olivia.”
I sat on the armchair Luca had vacated, utterly puzzled.
“What awful business? The engagement? I thought you were pleased about it.”
Her mouth pursed as if she were sucking lemons. “Well, I’m not. There’s something distasteful about the hastiness of it. If she’s not pregnant—and she insists she isn’t—then why the hurry? My bones are predicting doom, and you’ll have to find out why.”
I had no idea what to say, but knowing her I couldn’t just brush her notions aside. “Surely a lawyer would be better suited for the job?” Or a private investigator.
She lifted a hand, warding off my suggestion. “No, I don’t trust outsiders. You’ll have to do it. And if everything isn’t as it should, I want you to make Olivia call off the engagement.”
I pulled back, dismayed. “Absolutely not.”
“Even if it would ruin her life?” she demanded, but I held my ground.
“Even then. She’s a grown woman and can make her own mistakes.”
Her nostrils flared. “We’ll see about that. In the meantime, find out what you can.”
She pulled herself up and sailed out of the room, nodding regally at Amber and Giselle in parting. Luca hurried after her to see her out. I should have done that, but I was suddenly too exhausted to care.
“Well, that was something else,” Ashley noted from where she was sitting at the dining table, eating cold stew straight from the container. “How are you going to find out what’s going on?”
I let my head drop against the backrest. “I have no idea. I didn’t really get to know anyone at the party last night.” I’d been too busy being charmed by Jack and repulsing the rest. “I guess I could call Henry’s cousin, Ida.”
“Or you could ask Jack,” Amber suggested, and I shuddered in horror.
“Absolutely not. I don’t want anything to do with him.”
Fool me once, and so forth.
“You can’t cut him off yet. He’ll realise that you know he’s behind the spell if you suddenly ghost him.”
Giselle brought me tea and I took a grateful sip, though I was eyeing the cold stew with envy. She sat next to me. “Moreover, he has the book, and we need it back if we want to break the spell.”
“I can’t just ask him if he has it,” I protested.
Saved by the Spell. House of Magic 2. Page 6