Sadie and Madison looked up from the middle of the room. They’d drawn the complicated design from the book on the floor in chalk. “Ready. Did you bring the vinegar?”
Jayse held out a small glass bottle. “You’re lucky I love to cook.” He had an assortment of spices and condiments in his room.
I hadn’t had time to fill Tyler in at all. “Here’s what we know.” I sat on my knees at the edge of the pentagonal diagram. “I’m fairly sure Estelle has bonded herself to the book and that’s why we can’t find the page that would let us talk about...” I couldn’t finish that sentence. “Some things. And I know that the guys and I were each able to tear one page from the book.” I handed it to Tyler. “Please select a page and rip it out. I don’t think it matters which page.”
She took a few moments to flip through the book. “I don’t see anything relevant.”
“I know. I think it discourages you somehow from finding things that are about you or about active spells. It took me a while to find the page about me.”
She bit her lip. “So just pick one at random?”
I shrugged. “We’re sort of going on instinct.”
“Okay, then.” She sat the book on the floor beside the chalk drawing on its spine and let it fall open. Then she closed her eyes and waved her hands around before lowering them on the book. When she opened her eyes, she grabbed the page her hands had landed on and ripped it out. It came out with no problem. “Okay then,” she said. With wide eyes, she handed the book to Madison.
“I’ll do the same thing,” Madison said. She let the book fall, gave a complicated hand wiggle, then giggled as she lowered her hand onto the page. “That was fun.”
Leave it to my friends to make this at least a little bit silly and fun.
Sadie picked out a page and ripped it out.
“Okay.” I consulted the library book. “Put the book in the center of the drawing. Now we need blood from a shifter, a vampire, and a witch.”
Nobody jumped to cut themselves. “Probably the most powerful of each of us, but since I’m a hybrid, I don't know if my blood counts.”
I read the notes on the margins and read over the spell again. “I don’t see any mention of hybrids. I’m thinking I don’t add mine in, just in case.” Still no volunteers. “Okay, Jayse, Madison, and Francis, you’re up.”
Jayse gave a good-natured grumble, but took the athame Sadie handed him.
“It says just a drop of blood is enough,” I read. “Smear the blood on the book.”
Francis used his fang, Jayse poked his finger with the athame, and Madison used a blade of her own. Then they all three leaned forward and smeared the blood on the cover of the book.
It pulsed.
“Oh, shit,” Tyler whispered.
“My feelings exactly,” Sadie said and grabbed Tyler’s hand. “We’ll go down together if this goes sour, at least.”
Tyler looked startled, but I knew Sadie and Madison would welcome her with open arms. They were that sort of people. They’d just been dwarfed by Kristi for so long it had been hidden.
“Okay, now, put three drops of ink on the book.” Sadie handed the ink pot to Tyler and she dripped exactly three drops with a quill pen.
“Now, Jayse, three drops of vinegar.” He leaned forward and used his unhurt finger to wet and let three drops hit the cover.
It pulsed again.
“Now, as I say the spell, light your pages on fire and set them on top of the book.”
“It won’t destroy the book?” Francis asked.
“Unfortunately not, but it should break anyone bound to the book. Including anyone under a spell like I was. And Estelle.”
The circle exchanged glances and prepared. Tyler had a lighter, but Sadie and Madison were able to light their pages on fire with their magic.
I nodded and read the latin words from the page.
Ut iubes. Solvite hoc. Libertas. Libertatem. Dimittere. Liberante salvari. Ut iubes. Solvite hoc.
Roughly translated, if I remembered my latin lessons, it meant something along the lines of I command. Unbind this object. Freedom. Liberty. Release. Deliverance. I command. Unbind this object.
When I finished, I nodded and they dropped the flaming papers on top of the book. The papers flared into a bright but small inferno and burned out quickly, removing all traces of the blood, ink, and vinegar.
“Did it work?” Jayse whispered.
Tyler gasped. “Oh, my gosh.” She clutched her chest. “No.”
“What?” I grabbed her arm. “Are you okay?”
“I remember.”
Her face paled and she heaved, clutching her chest and stomach.
“What is it? How can we help?” Madison and Sadie gathered close, ready to comfort or help in any way possible.
“This book isn’t the only thing Estelle has. She’s not very strong, even in her shifter powers. But she has a wand that she stole from the Head’s office. If you get that away from her, you should be able to get some kind of control over her,” Tyler said. Disbelief and acceptance warred over her face.
“How do you know?” Jayse asked.
“I saw her take it, but then I forgot. Until now.” She eyed the book warily.
“Okay, here’s the plan. Tyler, Jayse, and Sadie, take the book to the alpha. I think he’s still on campus. The rest of us will go get Estelle.” It was such a relief to finally be able to talk about showing someone the book. And to be able to make a plan to stop things from getting worse around her.
Now the only problem was going to be if Estelle had woken up from the bond breaking. I hoped she wouldn’t, but prepared for the worst.
Chapter Twelve
I RUSHED THROUGH THE halls of the corridor with Madison, Brooks, and Francis on my heels. It wasn't too far to my dorm room, but the dread settled in my stomach suggested it was far enough. What if Estelle had woken up? We'd felt changes in us when the control of the book had been snapped, it stood to reason that she had too.
As if called by my thoughts, a door slammed, and Estelle stormed down the corridor, a murderous look in her eyes. "How dare you?"
"How dare I, what?" I asked, coming to a stop. The others stood behind me, and I didn't even need to look back to be able to feel the nerves coming from them. And it wasn't misplaced either. Estelle was dangerous, even just standing still and doing nothing. I wasn't too concerned about the physical attack from her, more where it would leave us all mentally. She'd been capable of using that book against people she claimed to care about. What else could she do?
"You know what," she hissed.
"You're going to have to say it," I threw back.
Other students were starting to leave their dorm rooms now, attracted by our half-shouts. I should have felt guilty for waking them, but they needed to hear what had been going on. Hopefully, there'd be others among them who had ended up in a situation like Tyler, where they'd seen something they shouldn't have and Estelle made them forget it. If there were people like that around, it was going to be a lot easier to convince the rest of the student body that there was a problem.
"You took my book from me," she accused.
"Actually, I don't have your book. But was it really yours at all?" I asked. "Or did you find it..."
"How I got it is none of your business." She pulled something from her pocket.
A stone dropped in my stomach. That must be the wand Tyler had been talking about. I needed to get it away from her, and quickly, or it was going to turn ugly.
I hoped the others would get here with the alpha soon. I wasn't sure if he could do anything about the situation, though I'd heard alphas could command other shifters to do their bidding. I supposed that meant we were lucky Estelle was a shifter herself and not some other type of paranormal.
"You used that book to control everyone in the academy," I said evenly. "You made your best friend feel like she wasn't welcome here, despite the fact she's an amazing person who doesn't deserve that."
Whispers sta
rted from behind me. No doubt my words had struck some kind of cord with other people too. I ignored them. I had more things I needed to say.
"You tried to keep me from my true mates. You killed Kristi."
"The bitch deserved to die," Estelle sneered.
The whispers stopped. I had to admit, I was just as stunned as the rest of the people assembled. The last thing I'd expected was for her to admit to murder.
"You were the one that stole my boyfriend and made me forget it!" a witch said, barging past me and pointing a finger at Estelle.
Oh no. This was going to end badly.
Estelle's eyes narrowed at the girl. "Did you ever stop to think that you deserved it too? You were treating him badly..."
"We were having an argument because I wanted to study," she squeaked. "It was none of your business and we'd have been fine if you hadn't stepped in. I remember what you did to him, the symbols you carved into him..."
"That's enough!" Estelle shouted.
I saw what she was going to do a moment before she did. With no other choice, I rushed forward, tapping into my vampire side for speed. I pushed the witch out of the way just as Estelle whipped the wand across her. A stream of fire soared from the tip.
Hastily, I threw up a rudimentary shield.
"You have to stop this, Estelle," I said softly. "The alpha is here. If you talk to him, then I'm sure the two of you can come to some kind of agreement about what happens to you next." I swallowed. There was a chance I was wrong, but I was going to gamble on that.
She laughed bitterly. "And what's a little hybrid like you going to do about it?" Hatred nestled in every word.
I ignored it, and the fact she'd just outed me as a hybrid. In all likelihood, several students would have worked it out from my show of vampiric speed followed by a spell. Then again, there was a shifter wielding a wand. I didn't know much about the magical item, which was going to make this harder. They were rare, and rightly so considering just about anyone could decide to use one. Even humans if the rumors were to be believed.
Estelle slashed again.
I threw up another shield. I glanced over my shoulder, relieved to see Madison and Brooks forming a similar kind of protection spell in front of the other students. If I didn't have to worry about them getting hurt, then it was going to make this easier.
Not wanting to give her a second more as an advantage, I rushed forward and tried to grab her wand from her. She moved back just in time, escaping my grasp. I feinted to the right, but then went to the left, catching hold of her wrist and holding it there.
But Estelle was stronger than I expected. The two of us struggled, me still trying to get the wand from her. She managed to keep it away from my grasping fingers.
All right, then. It was time to start bringing out the big guns. I closed my eyes, hoping this wouldn't take as long as it had in the forest. Right now, even a minute was going to be too long. I felt for any life, finding two hanging plants in the next corridor.
I coaxed them, begging them to come to life and help me find a way to restrain the shifter fighting me. It wasn't the perfect solution, but unlike her, I wasn't trying to hurt anyone. Far from it. I wanted her to pay for her transgressions, and vengeance wasn't the way to go about that. It would only make me bitter.
My eyes snapped open just in time to see tendrils of green creep over her shoulders and grab hold of her wrists. She gave a half-scream and began to struggle against the plants, which only made them tighten themselves more around her. I sent a quick thought of thanks down the magical connection I had with the vines. I didn't want them to think I was just trying to use them for what they could give me. That was a good way to have nature defy me next time I tried to commune with it.
The vines pulled her back against the wall, and the wand finally fell from her hand, clattering to the floor. I left it where it was. I didn't want the alpha to come around and think I was the one threatening everyone with a powerful object.
As if called by my thoughts, the headmaster came around the corner, with a large man just behind him. There was no doubt in my mind that it was the alpha. He was the only person who' could have exuded raw power like he was.
"Is this the girl?" he asked Tyler.
She nodded, nerves written all over her face. She still carried the book, which I hoped didn't mean they weren't taking this seriously.
The alpha strode over to me.
"You must be Tallulah," he said.
"Everyone calls me Lou," I replied. Even if I'd only gone by the nickname since coming to Magic and Metaphysics academy, the most important people in my life all called me that.
He nodded. "How did you do this?" He gestured to Estelle who was trying to bite her way through the vines surrounding her.
"Er...I'm a hybrid," I murmured. "Vampire speed and green witch magic." I wasn't sure how he was going to respond to that.
"Can you hand control over to someone? I need to have a talk with you and your friends." Even though he's phrased it as a question, I know it isn't one.
I search the crowd, grateful to see the girl from the Greenies audition and Miss Green both standing there. Both of them seem to know I want them, as they step forward. I briefly explain what they need to do and they took control of the vines from me.
Without the plant connected to my magic, I felt bereft. More than that, I was exhausted.
"Where can we go to talk?" the alpha asked, even as Miss Green, the girl, and Estelle followed the headmaster away from the scene. Other teachers started herding the students away.
"This is my dorm room," I said, gesturing to the door a few feet away. I supposed that in a way, it was good that we'd ended up here.
We file into the room after the alpha, and I collapsed down onto my bed. Brooks is by my side in a moment, rubbing my back and sending his magic out to talk to mine. I could feel all three of them through the bonds we shared now I thought about it.
"I'm going to need blood and rest soon," I warned the alpha, not caring who he was. Even though I wasn't a shifter, he still felt as if he should hold some kind of power over me."
He nodded. "I don't need you for long. I simply need to understand what happened."
I sighed and launched into a detailed explanation of everything that had gone on since I'd arrived at the academy, skipping some of the more intimate moments. They didn't feel particularly important in light of what was going on.
"And this is the book?" He nodded towards Tyler.
She handed it over instantly. I wondered if he'd done some kind of telepathic alpha thing on her, but in reality, she'd probably just wanted rid of it. I would too if I was in her position.
"That's the book."
To my surprise, he sighed with relief. "You have no idea how long we've been looking for this."
I blinked a couple of times. "What do you mean?"
"When my daughter was a baby, we hunted down someone who had a sheet of this book. They were using it to control the people around them, even going as far as to make them kill other people. It's an incredibly dangerous artifact but has stayed out of reach the entire time. I have to thank you for finally stopping its reign of terror."
I gulped. That sounded far worse than anything we'd been through. Poor Kristi might have died, but at least nobody had been turned into a murderer to do it.
He rose to his feet. "Thank you for your time. I need to go and deal with the person who did all of this."
"What..." I stopped my question before it escaped, unsure whether or not I was entitled to know the answer.
The alpha paused and met my gaze. "Yes?"
"What will happen to Estelle?" I wasn't sure why I wanted to know, but it felt like something I should.
"There's a secure facility for paranormals who commit serious crimes. She'll be there under strict supervision. You don't need to worry about her coming after you for revenge." With that, he slipped out of the room.
"What do we do now?" Tyler asked, looking around as if the plac
e was haunted.
"Lou needs to drink," Francis said seriously. "If she doesn't, I don't want to think about what would happen."
"We can go to your room?" I suggested, starting to sway back and forth. Wow, I really did need a drink. That wasn't worrying at all.
Madison shook her head. "No, you stay here." She turned to my roommate. "We have a spare bed in our room, want to join us?"
Tyler's eyes lit up.
I smiled. It was such a lovely thing for my friends to offer to her. With Estelle gone, Tyler had a chance to fit in, just like she'd always wanted.
"Thank you." She rose to her feet. "Do I need anything?"
"No," Sadie said instantly. "We have everything you need."
Tyler nodded eagerly.
The three of them headed out of the room. Sadie paused at the door, meeting my eyes. "Don't do anything I wouldn't." She winked.
I giggled. "I promise."
She waved goodbye, leaving me with my three mates. A drink and curling up with them was just what I needed.
Epilogue
“Promise?” Sadie almost burst from excitement, judging by the expression on her face and how she bounced on her heels. “We’ll just die if you don’t come.”
“Of course, I’m coming!” Unfortunately, my guys never asked me if I wanted to go, but that didn’t mean I was willing to miss out on this aspect of going to Academy.
“Prom is like a rite of passage isn’t it?” Tyler asked.
When all the dust settled, Tyler and I didn’t like being in the same room we’d shared with Estelle. I mentioned it in front of Madison and within hours, she and Sadie had us moved into Kristi’s old room, which they had transformed into something unrecognizable. New paint on the walls, our beds from our room swapped out for the ones that Kristi had put in there, which were ostentatious. Sadie and Madison went back to sharing a room, and the four of us had gotten closer and closer over the last few weeks.
If I wasn’t in class or hanging out with my girls, I was with my guys. Being with them and my friends without the influence of the book was like a whole new world. No pressure, no judgment. Just support, caring, and fun.
Magical Misfit (Magic And Metaphysics Academy Book 3) Page 7