by H.T. Night
Paris took me to a back entrance of the chapel and the two of us walked up to The Book of Shadows. I didn’t know why I was a lot more emotional seeing the book this time. But I was. It was probably something to do with the conversation I’d just had with Paris. I was emotional and very drawn to the book.
“Okay,” I said as calmly as I could. “What do you want me to do?” I asked Paris.
“I want you to close your eyes and really listen to what I’m about to tell you.”
“Okay.” I reluctantly closed my eyes.
Paris took her time and then she said, “I never put a love spell on Donovan and I especially didn’t put one on Robert. They only had truth spells.”
I nodded and kept my eyes closed.
“You figured it out. Mother Earth was showing you that you are ready.”
“Sahara, you need to examine yourself and spending time with The Book of Shadows will help you see clearer.”
“Or, it will put a spell on me and make me choose your side,” I said to Paris as practically as I could. “I’m still reeling that Robert has been a warlock this whole time. He has done zero things to indicate to me that he had that kind of power. Or any kind of power. I’m not sure if I’m on your side any longer.”
“My side? Have you really separated yourself from what we’re doing that you would call it ‘my side’?”
“There are two sides to magic. I am not opposed to what you perceive as the darker side, the wrong side.”
Paris couldn’t take it. She fell to her knees and cried out, “Don’t do this, Sahara. Please trust me. Look at yourself and ask yourself if you can trust me. Let that be your guide. Allow nothing else to influence you.”
“All right,” I said. “And another thing, why did you feel I needed a spell on me by you? Especially when you sensed I might already be in trouble with Abigail?”
“I told you very early on I was going to do it. I just waited for the right time to put the truth spell on you. I didn’t give you one until you started the date with Donovan at the pier.”
“You were there? Can’t you see why I don’t know if I can trust you? You’re stalking me and putting spells on me. It’s been manipulative, Paris.”
“It wasn’t a bad spell. I was somewhere close where I could cast a spell on you.”
“How did it work?” I asked.
“You all had to be honest with one another, once I made it a triple. The two guys just happened to never talk to each other.”
“Why would they?” I asked. “And we seriously need to talk about boundaries. It creeps me out that you’re following me around and making things happen.”
“I’m not following you around. I only have followed you when I felt you needed a little help.”
“Well, stop helping me. Please don’t ever put a spell on me again! Promise me!”
“I promise.”
“Now, let’s go back to what you’re saying before.” I felt completely manic and lightheaded. “You were saying there is no love spell. How come Donovan likes me?”
“Because he does. He seriously had a crush on you, even before you told me about him. Isn’t that what you said?”
“Yes, that’s what I said.”
“That means he really did.”
“So, you’re saying everything both Donovan and Robert have said to me from the beginning has been the total truth?”
“Yes. I gave Robert the truth spell when you were at Knott’s Berry Farm. I was intrigued by you from the beginning. I saw you and you looked just like Abigail. But that wasn’t the only thing. I saw your aura and I knew you to be two things. You would be sensitive to magic, and you would use it for good.”
“I don’t like to be manipulated,” I said. “I don’t remember ever seeing Abigail,” I said angrily. “So, you tell me. What if you’re a master manipulator?”
“I wanted Robert to be honest with you. Have you bothered to read his books?”
“Actually no,” I said. “I’ve been too wrapped up in everything else. He says he writes paranormal romance.”
“He writes some of the most romantic dialogue I have ever encountered. At his heart, he is a beautiful man.”
“Why didn’t you date him?” I asked.
“Because...”
“Of how he looks?” I asked. “He’s a big man.”
“He is also a passionate, loving man.”
I nodded. “That is what I see. ‘Looks’ last as long as a one-night stand. Who a man is at his core is what he should be valued for.”
“Sahara, that’s why I knew he was at least a good match for you for a little while. Then, I saw how happy Donovan made you and I didn’t know what to do. I introduced him to you and now, I was hoping you wouldn’t pick him.”
“Were you? As I recall, you have been rooting for Donovan this whole time.”
“Is that what you thought?” Paris asked.
“Yeah, I do.”
“Maybe that was my way to see if you are better person than I am. And you know what? You are. You saw Robert for the man he is. Why not continue to see them both?” She continued.
“I can’t do that. They both mean too much to me to screw with either of them like that. But who knows? I haven’t even talked to the dishonest Donovan yet, but that isn’t my only decision.”
Paris looked at me and said, “Spend time with The Book of Shadows...please. It will guide you. Listen and try to hear what the Magic is telling you.”
“Okay,” I said. I was nervous approaching the book. Almost as if I had a big sin to confess to a priest. I walked in front of The Book of Shadows. I went to the book and touched it and once again, I felt its power.
I sighed and then something happened that took me by surprise. A rush of wind that seemed to be carrying a bit of pixie dust wrapped itself around the book and then flipped the book to a page and all I saw was a special spell.
The page read,
Special Spell
(This spell will release you from a spell by a witch weaker or the same as you.)
“You no longer have a hold on this child.”
Release me now!”
I turned around and looked at Paris, who was watching me like a hawk. “Do I say the spell out loud?”
“Yes,” Paris said. “Whatever the spell is, say it.”
I wasn’t sure if I was ready to see what Abigail had said and done to me.
“I’m not sure if I’m ready to say it,” I said.
“That’s the spell trying to take hold of you. Remember, you control the Magic. The Magic doesn’t control you. Do you want to be released from Abigail’s spell and therefore, you can make an accurate decision on who you are going to side with?”
“Yes,” I said. “I want to be released. I want to have all the information I need.”
“Say the spell, Sahara. Go outside, so it will be safer, but be careful, you might see something in your memory that you aren’t ready to see.”
I memorized the two lines and it wasn’t that hard to do. I turned around and I walked to the front of the chapel and stepped outside into the cold night air.
I looked out into the night and down the mountain from the summit that I was on.
I shouted in a warrior yell, “You no longer have a hold on this child. Release me now!”
Suddenly, a gust of wind was so abundant that I was lifted off the ground by the Magic. I was just floating in the air. Then the memories started happening. I remembered the first time I had met Abigail at Timmy’s Restaurant. Then I remembered her coming to my house.
I was lifted downward by the gust of wind so that my feet hit the ground. As I hit the ground, I got my footing, and then I remembered the third incident. There was a third time that Abigail came to me. This time, she came for me. She came after me. I gave her an answer. She asked if she could train me, but I had said, “No.”
I began remembering everything she did to me. All of it. How she tried to sap my soul. I knew she wanted my energy. She wanted to be stronger than sh
e already was.
I remembered that Paris’s spells didn’t work.
I had defeated Abigail by using Black Magic!
Now, I was more confused than ever.
I turned around and walked back into the chapel. Paris had watched the whole thing because I had left the double doors open.
“Did you see Abigail in your memories?” Paris asked.
“Yes, I did,” I said.
“What happened?”
“She came to me three or four times. On the second visit, she asked to mentor me. She wanted to train me and I had said no.”
“What happened the next time, Sahara?”
“She attacked me relentlessly and she almost broke me. I did every spell you had taught me in regard to defense and counterattacks. Paris, none of them worked for me.”
“What happened?” Paris was almost too petrified to hear the outcome.
“I defeated her by using Black Magic.”
“No, you didn’t,” Paris said.
“I’m not able to lie to you,” I said.
“Sahara, I want you to listen to me and I want you to hear what I’m about to tell you. You need to keep an open mind and hear everything I say.”
“Okay,” I said. She had already told me that Abigail was her sister and that Robert was a warlock.
What does she have to say to me now?
“Look deep inside you, and feel the depths of your soul. Listen to your heart and it will tell you the answers you’re looking for. To be given two gifts is quite the reward. One gift is whole, and the other is incomplete. Which do you choose?”
“That applies to both decisions I want to make tonight,” I replied.
“I sure hope you have already made one of your decisions,” Paris said.
“I have,” I said. “Remind me to talk you about potions?
I turned around and walked to the parking lot and got into my car and I left to return to Orange County.
Chapter Thirty-six