The Spellcaster's Trap (The Familiar Curse Book 1)

by C. L. Bright

  “Here it is.” I set the bag beside him. “Do you need something else for the spell?”

  “I’m not convinced I can activate the spell,” he admitted. “I’m too weak.”

  “Then I need to get someone.”

  “I can walk you through it,” he insisted.

  “But I’m not a spellcaster.”

  The spells formed into orbs could be activated by shapeshifters as well, but I’d heard that the powders weren’t a complete spell. They required a touch of magic from a spellcaster.

  “Just try,” he pleaded. “I don’t want to risk you running into Nicolas or having Laranissa drag you away again.”

  “Okay,” I relented since he sounded so desperate. “We’ll try this once, but when it doesn’t work, I’m going to get help.”

  “You can’t,” he argued. “They’ll know you aren’t a witch if you can’t do at least this simple spell.”

  “You’re burning up,” I said helplessly.

  “I’ll be fine,” he insisted. “This will work. Sprinkle the powder on my forehead and then take my hand.”

  I did as he instructed. “Now what?”

  I jerked when I felt a zap of energy shoot through his palm.

  “Sorry,” he said in an even fainter voice. “I’m trying to give you some of my energy to help activate the spell. I didn’t think I had that much to send out. I wasn’t certain it would work.”

  “You should have warned me.” I took a deep breath. “Okay, try again.”

  This time, I didn’t pull away when his magic shot out and skittered along my nerve endings. It was different from how his magic normally touched mine, and I almost felt as if it were touching some untapped part of me, something that made me uneasy. It was a struggle not to fight it until Dante released a shuddering breath and dropped my hand.

  “Hold your palms open about an inch above my forehead, and then move them slowly above my entire body.”

  I did as instructed, and Dante mumbled the words to a spell I couldn’t make out. The power hummed in the air as heat rose from him, warming my palms to a near painful point. Once the heat stopped rising from his skin, the energy slowly faded.

  When I reached up to touch Dante’s cheek, he was no longer burning up. “It worked.”

  “Maybe you really do have a little Shadow Walker in you,” he murmured.

  I let out a bark of laughter. “I seriously doubt that. All I did was channel your magic.”

  “That actually worked. Thank you.” His voice was barely a whisper, and his eyes were already closed again.

  Somewhat exhausted all of a sudden, I curled up beside him and fell asleep.

  Chapter 24

  A knock on the bedroom door awoke me sometime in the late morning.

  First, I reached over and felt Dante’s forehead, breathing a sigh of relief that his fever hadn’t returned.

  When I got close to the door, I called out quietly, “Who is it?”

  “It’s Ambrose. I’m here to drop off food and see if you need anything.”

  I opened the door to let him in.

  “Thank you for bringing this up. I don’t want to leave Dante again until he’s feeling better.”

  “How is he this morning?” he asked as he looked over at Dante’s sleeping form.

  “He had a fever,” I replied. “The spell brought it down, and it hasn’t come back.”

  “It seems you were here again to save my brother,” he mused as he studied me.

  I shook my head. “I helped him, but I’d hardly say I saved him. Someone else could have helped with the spell had I not been here.”

  “Maybe,” he replied. “Do you know if a fever is normal after a nāga bite?.”

  “I’m not sure,” I admitted.

  In a shapeshifter, there would have been no fever, but I’d already proven I didn’t know much about how it affected spellcasters.

  “Dante said it was normal, but he may have just been trying to keep me from panicking.”

  “Yes, he doesn’t like worrying others. I’ll check with one of the healers before I go out today. If they say it’s not normal, I’ll let you know and also arrange for one of them to see him. If you don’t hear anything from me in about an hour, assume everything is fine.”

  I nodded. “Thank you again for bringing up food. Hopefully, I’ll be able to get Dante to eat. He was too tired last night.”

  Ambrose grabbed the tray from the night before. “He was pretty close to death when you got him back here, so I imagine it will take some time to recover.”

  “At least a couple of days is what I was told.”

  “If you need anything, Laranissa will be in this wing,” he began. “She said she’d make sure lunch and dinner were also brought up to you.”

  After the door shut behind him, I heard Dante’s voice from the bed. “I thought he’d never leave.”

  I smiled as I walked toward him. “He was only here for a few minutes.”

  “That was too long,” he complained. “I was worried he’d notice I’m awake and ask a bunch of questions.”

  “It sounded like he needs to go out to hunt soon,” I stated. “I don’t think he’d have stayed that long.”

  “You don’t know Ambrose very well,” he replied with a sleepy laugh. “He’d have stayed and claimed helping me made him late.”

  “I think he was in too much of a hurry to find a healer to stick around, even if he didn’t mind being late for hunting,” I pointed out. “Were you telling the truth about your fever being normal?”

  He hesitated. “It might be, but I don’t honestly know. I couldn’t let you go for help. It was too risky.”

  “I want to be mad at you for lying to me, but you’re probably right. I hope Ambrose gets confirmation that your fever last night is nothing to worry about.”

  “It seems to be gone. I feel better, though I’m still so drained that I’m dreading a trip to the bathroom.”

  “Do you need me to help you?” I asked.

  He carefully sat up and shook his head. “I should be able to make it. I wish I could take a shower, but I’m worried I’ll fall over.”

  “I don’t mind helping you walk to the bathroom, but I’m not going to help you in the shower,” I told him. “You’ll just have to wait until you feel better.”

  “Hopefully, that will be before you decide I stink too much to be around.”

  He carefully made his way to the bathroom.

  I watched him until the door closed behind him, and then I went to make plates for both of us. Dante might still be exhausted, but he needed to eat something to recover.

  When he returned, I was seated on the bed with two plates. I’d also placed a glass of juice on the bedside table for him.

  “I’m going to have to eat later,” he stated as he collapsed onto the bed.

  “You have to eat something and drink the juice,” I insisted. “It’s been more than twenty-four hours since you’ve eaten. You haven’t had much to drink, either.”

  Dante sat up. “You’re right. I need to get my strength back as soon as possible.”

  “Do you need any help?” I asked as I handed him a plate.

  He shook his head. “No, I look helpless enough without you feeding me like I’m an infant.”

  “There’s no shame in needing help,” I reminded him.

  “You’ve already helped me a lot,” he pointed out as he adjusted the pillows behind him to sit more comfortably while he ate. “I’d just like to feel a little less helpless.”

  I nodded. “I understand. Asking for help is also hard for me. Nidia broke me of the habit of telling anyone I needed help when I was just a young child.”

  “She made you feel bad for asking?”

  “More like she made me feel stupid and burdensome,” I explained. “If I went to my father, he never made me feel bad about needing help, but Nidia would always say something later to make me regret going to my father.”

  “Did you ever tell your father about the pr
oblems you had with her?”

  “Several times. She’s always nice to me when he’s around, and she told him that I refused to accept her. She made up all sorts of awful things I’d supposedly said.”

  “Did you get in trouble because of her lies?”

  “Not too much,” I replied. “At first, my father would talk to me about how important it was to be nice to Nidia. He tried bribing me into being nicer, but that just caused her to make up worse stories about me being mean to her. The whole situation put distance between my father and me. Our relationship was never the same after Nidia came into the picture.”

  “I’m sorry you had to go through that,” he said quietly as he reached out and caught my hand. “No child should have to deal with that kind of stress.”

  “I’m somewhat afraid that my father won’t believe me when I tell him what Nidia did,” I admitted. “You got lucky with your stepmother. Laranissa seems to love you.”

  “More than my father does,” he replied with a wry smile. “I’m lucky to have Laranissa. If I’d just had my father’s influence, I might not have cared about the connection between us once I learned you’re a shapeshifter. I like to think that she kept me from becoming more like Nicolas.”

  “Then I’m even more grateful you have her in your life,” I stated.

  “Me too,” he agreed. “This is going to complicate my life on so many levels. I don’t know how I’m supposed to just go back to my old life as a hunter after you leave.”

  “I’m not sure I want to think about that,” I admitted softly.

  It’s not as if I’d thought Dante would start a rebellion to protect shapeshifters and end the cruel familiar practice. He didn’t have the power to make those changes, and trying would just land him in trouble as it had with Serena.

  We both ate in silence, each lost in our thoughts. Dante didn’t eat much before lying down and yawning.

  “I’m so ready to get out of this room,” he muttered.

  “Where would you go if you could leave?” I asked.

  He considered his answer before responding. “I’m not sure. I really need to contact a member of the family who makes the bracelets.”

  “Are you on good terms with any of them?” I asked.

  “Not really,” he admitted. “I used to be friends with one of them. When I have a better idea of how soon I’ll be able to go out, I’ll send a message asking to meet. I don’t want to send it now and have him give me a time I can’t make.”

  “Can’t you tell him what happened and why you can’t go now?”

  “I could, but that would give him more time to second-guess his decision,” he explained. “It’s best if I can head over there the moment he agrees to see me. I’m inclined to think he’ll agree just to meet you. News of you saving me will spread quickly.”

  “This isn’t good,” I replied thoughtfully. “If people are talking about me, it’s more likely someone will mention me to the Tulureans.”

  “It’s not as likely as you might think,” he assured me. “We don’t have much contact with them. The spellcasters at the Tulurgate Peninsula are different. Other than hunting, we don’t have much in common with any Shadow Walkers.”

  Dante yawned again.

  “You should get some more sleep,” I told him.

  “Why don’t you watch a show while I sleep? You’ll be bored sitting around here all day.”

  “All right,” I agreed as I looked at the screen. “How does it work?”

  Dante grabbed a controller and gave me a quick rundown on how to work the viewing screen. It looked different from the ones we had.

  As Dante dozed off, I sat on the bed beside him and immersed myself in the story of a young witch who needed to find a secret stone to save her family.

  Chapter 25

  Dante drifted in and out of consciousness throughout the day. I’d gotten him to eat a little bit during each meal, and he seemed to be gaining strength.

  Serena had been the one to bring by dinner, and she was still in the room three hours later. Dante was doing his best to participate in our conversation, but he kept falling asleep.

  “I wish I wasn’t under house arrest,” Serena complained with a sigh. “Then I could take you out and show you around while Dante recovers. You’ve hardly had a chance to see Azuredale.”

  “I wouldn’t feel comfortable leaving Dante, even if you could go out,” I told her. “That fever last night was scary.”

  She looked over at Dante, who’d fallen asleep again. “Ambrose said the healer told him it sometimes happens after a nāga bite but not often. He said the healer didn’t seem to think it will happen again.”

  “I’d still rather not take any chances,” I stated. “No one warned me this might happen last time, and Dante needed me here to help him.”

  Serena smiled. “My cousin is lucky to have you.” Several beats of silence passed as she gazed out the window. “Some say in the old days a witch and her familiar had a unique bond. It was more of a partnership where they truly cared for each other. I’ve always wondered what that must have felt like.”

  I didn’t know how to respond to her strange musings without giving anything away, nor did I understand her change of subject. It seemed like an odd observation to make when we were talking about my bond with Dante.

  “Do you think that’s really how it was in the beginning?” I asked.

  “I’d like to believe it was once that way,” she replied in a dreamy voice. “Maybe it can be that way again.”

  Though I didn’t see how, I merely said, “Maybe it can. Hunters don’t have familiars, so we can only go by what others tell us on the subject. There may be some spellcasters who have a closer bond with their familiars.”

  “And the familiars might even love the spellcasters and want to stay,” Serena said hopefully. “It would be nice to think that they aren’t all prisoners.”

  I was glad when Dante woke up to end the conversation before I said the wrong thing. I was likely worrying over nothing.

  Why would she have any reason to suspect I was a shapeshifter, even if I said something odd?

  It still seemed best to avoid taking any chances.

  “Are you still pestering my witch?” he called out from the bed.

  I stood and hurried to his side. “She’s not pestering me. It’s been nice having someone to keep me company and talk about the show I’ve been watching.”

  “What have you been watching?” he asked.

  “Witches of Wildwood,” Serena replied for me.

  “Still?” Dante asked. “You were watching that the last time I woke up.”

  “We’re binge-watching,” Serena explained.

  “It’s intriguing,” I admitted. “I’m surprised they made a show with a storyline about a witch falling in love with her familiar. That seems like something that would be frowned upon.”

  “I can’t believe you’ve never watched it,” Serena remarked.

  “They don’t watch television at the Tulurgate Peninsula community,” Dante reminded her. “It’s too frivolous.”

  “I suppose you wouldn’t be watching it now if you weren’t so bored,” Serena stated. “Since I’ve been on house arrest, I’ve watched much more television. It makes the day go by a little faster.”

  “You have work to do,” Dante pointed out.

  Serena rolled her eyes. “It’s just so boring. All I do is input information on hunts. They tried letting me help with the cooking, but I’m a terrible cook.”

  “Maybe I can help you learn to cook some easy dishes while I’m here,” I offered.

  “It would be nice if I could do more than heat up leftovers. Your tray this evening would have been better if I hadn’t been picking through the leftovers.”

  “What you picked is fine,” I assured her. The tray had included meats, breads, cheeses, and berries. “I don’t need special meals.”

  “But I do,” Dante joked. “How am I supposed to recover without three good meals a day?”


  “You have a nice selection on this tray,” I pointed out. “Besides, I had to force you to eat today. Most of the food brought up here went to waste. This food is better because it can all be served cold.”

  Dante had a small fridge in his room but no way to warm anything up. I’d been about to put the leftovers from the tray in the refrigerator when he woke up.

  “Are you hungry?” I asked.

  “Starving,” he replied. “I also feel like I have some energy. By tomorrow, I should be ready to go out.”

  “That’s great news!” Serena exclaimed.

  “It is,” I agreed with a smile as I filled his plate. “I know the healer said it could take a few days for you to feel better, but after the fever and you sleeping so much, I was really starting to worry.”

  Dante flashed me a fond smile. “I’m sorry for worrying you and forcing you to stay inside for so long.”

  I waved off his apology and handed him his plate. “You can make it up to me by eating and getting your strength back.”

  “I’m going to take you to the food market when I’m up to going out,” he assured me.

  “You haven’t taken her yet?” Serena asked. “I thought that’s where you were going the day you got bitten.”

  “We never made it that far,” I explained.

  Serena had heard what had happened but not the exact timeline.

  “We’ll go tomorrow,” Dante stated.

  “I’ll leave so you can have some time alone before Dante falls asleep again,” Serena announced as she got to her feet.

  “You don’t have to leave,” I assured her, even as I caught Dante’s scowl.

  “I was going to leave soon anyway,” she assured me. “I want to head to my room before Nicholas returns. He was supposed to be hunting farther from here today, but he’ll be back any time now.”

  “Thank you for keeping me company,” I told Serena as I walked her to the door.

  Nicolas had knocked earlier and tried the knob before calling out. I’d ignored him as Dante had suggested, and he’d left, but I wanted to make sure the door was locked if he tried the knob again.