"Clearly, you do, if you've so easily left it...unaddressed." Hannah stressed the last word, eyes narrowing.
Paris sighed. Witches had been getting talismans from their Coven mentors for years. Hannah was right, it was a sign of their formal introduction into Coven magic. Children would receive one when they were in their late teens or early twenties. It was a gesture indicating they were no longer to be thought of as children, but instead were now functioning members of the Coven, able to perform their own magic. It was also an affectionate gesture between mentor and witchling - a sort of rite of passage. While Paris had been prepared to present Jade to the Coven formally at the ball, he'd completely neglected - forgotten - to secure her a talisman.
"I still have a week."
"If you want to put a good charm on it, you've less than that. If you put anything less than a three-day charm on that talisman, I'll..." Hannah paused and Paris could see the wheels of her brain turning as she thought up a suitable threat. "I'll bind your spell for heating up your tea."
"With the Coven's magic not working, you may end up merely finding my lost socks."
Her eyes narrowed and she pointed a finger at him. "I'm sure I've got enough juice to make it work, despite the problems with the Coven."
"I use that spell all the time. It would take a significant amount of magic," he said, his voice carrying a warning tone. Hannah would have to cast her net wide to catch every instance of him using it, and given his power level, it would take a hefty spell to bind him.
"Yes, and I've got magic to burn. A three-day charm at least. Unless you think she's not worth it?"
Checkmate. Goddamn she was shrewd. "Of course not, Hannah."
"Good." Hannah shifted slightly, settling herself back down in her chair. "I expect you to tell me all about it next Friday, a full day before the Coven Ball."
"Of course."
She huffed, a smile curling her lips. "It consistently amazes me how your English accent can make anything sound charming and pleasing when I've no doubt what you really want to tell me is to mind my own damn business and stop hen-pecking you"
He smiled back at her. "I wouldn't dare think any such thing."
Hannah laughed again. "I'm fairly certain that was the English equivalent of, 'You're damn right, you old witch.'" She winked at him and he felt about ten years old. She flipped through a few more pages of the report she was reading and then sighed. "I don't have anything useful from these reports. I wanted to try scrying tonight, but I'm leery of what might happen with the mirror."
"I know. I'm worried about similar things. Most of the Coven uses magic in small doses - to find missing objects, personal spells, a little psychometry here and there - nothing big. I was hoping I wouldn't have to put out any bans or limitations on magic, but given that we don't know what's wrong with the Coven magic, nor can we predict what will happen, I think I'll have to. I hope no one will be foolish enough to try any larger spells."
Hannah regarded him carefully for a moment. "You could try to bind the Coven magic to a lower level. As Coven Leader, that spell is within your power."
Paris grimaced. "I thought of that too, but I can't be sure what would happen. My own magic is affected by whatever's wrong. I can feel it almost constantly now. Like a heavy, damp mold hanging over us."
"You're not as affected as the rest of the Coven yet, I don't think," Hannah replied. "You may still be able to get away with it."
Paris didn't like the thought of attempting any sort of binding spell on the Coven when he wasn't sure of his magic. He'd always had control over his spells and bindings - perhaps he was even a bit prideful of his precision and his ability to work meticulous magic. The thought of performing a Coven-wide spell, a binding spell, while he was anything less than absolutely sure of his power left a bad taste in his mouth. If something were to go wrong, he could damage the Coven's magic indefinitely. Even if they were then able to reverse or fix whatever was wrong with it, there was no guarantee that his binding spell could be undone. The Coven's magic was a like a tuning fork at a certain pitch and as Coven Leader, his binding spell would have the ability to warp that fine, clear instrument, damaging it forever.
"I don't know, Hannah," Paris hedged, his voice low. "It's a big risk."
Hannah shifted slightly in her chair, turning more toward him. "What about Jade?"
Paris blinked, surprised by the question. "What about her?"
"Her magic is unaffected. With your guidance, she may be able to cast a Coven-wide spell."
Paris took a deep breath, mulling it over. "She certainly has the power, but... her magic is still volatile."
"That's where your guidance would come in."
Paris thought carefully about how to phrase his next words. "I'm fairly certain that guiding Jade in that manner would be akin to trying to lead a hungry wolf by holding a raw steak in front of it as bait. I may end up getting the wolf where I want it to go, but I'll loose both my hands in the process."
"She trusts you," Hannah said confidently, as though there were no doubt about the statement.
"I'm glad you think so. Sometimes I rather get the feeling she trusts me about as far as she could toss me."
Hannah nodded at first and then said, "She's strong. She could probably toss you quite far." She waited for Paris to acknowledge her with a small smile before continuing. "Think on it, but don't think too long. Whatever's affecting the Coven seems to be getting worse. You may only have a small window of time to act."
Nothing like an ominous, murky deadline looming. Paris hoped whatever was wrong with the Coven's magic would be resolved quickly and painlessly without his interference. At the same time, he was also aware that wishing for a solution didn't make it so.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Jade pulled her ponytail tighter, checking her makeup in the mirror. She looked at Bruce's reflection, his lizard-eyes watching her. Over the last two days, Jade had discovered he liked to follow her around everywhere. She didn't know if he was lonely, liked her or was just bored. He flicked his tongue out, making the now-familiar 'pfffttt' sound. He was seated in the tub, his serpentine belly pressed against the cool enamel.
"Just shopping today," she said. She'd gotten in the bad habit of talking to him as though they were really having a conversation. "God I hope it doesn't go on too long. I've got about a two-hour maximum for shopping malls."
He made another 'pfffftt' sound, his long claws clacking on the surface of the tub as he shifted.
"Right? Like what could you possibly do in all that time? Look at some dresses, try some on, pick one. Should be a snap."
His tail swished back and forth, running up and over the edge of the tub.
"Today, you and I are going to try to something new, Bruce," she announced, turning to face him. "I found a demon spell to make glass permeable so your window is closed, but you should still be able to get through." Jade had tossed through some apples, a can of soup and a book - all made it through without any incidents. She hadn't yet convinced Bruce to give it a go. She tried to lead him there, but short of putting a leash on him, she wasn't sure how to go about it. Biting the bullet, she'd climbed out it herself and back in, but he just flicked his tongue at her and stared at her like she was crazy. She clapped her hands once. "So! In and out privileges granted. But you know, if there's an accident today I won't hold it against you since it's new."
Bruce blinked at her and then swished his tail again. She supposed that was as close to an affirmation as she was going to get.
Jade heard the beep-beep of car horn and checked the time - Callie and Henri were here to pick her up. God she missed having her own car. She really needed to just woman up and finalize her move to the Coven - cancel her lease, move her shit and get her car. She'd been just about to do it too. Last night, she'd reviewed her online banking accounts and saw that the automatic withdrawal for her rent was due in five days. If she took the train back to the city now, she could have all her stuff packed up and break her lease -
paying the penalty instead of her rent and break even.
Instead, she'd closed her laptop and texted Henri and Callie that she would be ready to go shopping. She must be crazy if she was picking shopping over anything else.
With one last look at Bruce (crossing her fingers that he'd figure the window out), Jade was out the front door and then sliding into the passenger seat of Henri's car.
"Hey," Jade said by way of greeting.
"Good morning!" Callie said from the back seat. She had a jaunty hat on, the kind of newsboy cap Jade always wished she could wear. It looked cute and sweet on Callie, emphasizing her petite features and fine bone structure. The few times Jade had tried one she'd looked like some kind of transvestite. "Ready for shop-o-rama?"
Jade felt her eyebrows rise. "Two hours. Two hours max you said!" She stared accusingly at Henri and then back at Callie.
Henri pulled out of the driveway and started driving. "We'll stop for lunch and coffee if needed."
Jade sagged back in the seat. "Maybe I should've brought my laptop."
"For shopping?" asked Callie.
"No, for leaving you at the mall while I hang out at the food court."
Henri gave an evil cackle. "Now you are in our clutches. There is no escape."
Jade had to laugh at his over-the-top performance. "I should just surrender, shouldn't I?"
"Resistance is futile," Callie said from the backseat.
Despite the dire words, Jade found herself smiling, sliding on her sunglasses against the early morning glare.
"Is your magic still unaffected?" Callie asked.
"You mean from all the hoo-doo going on? Yeah, seems so," answered Jade, turning slightly to see Callie "How about you guys?"
"Ugh, I can't do any of my little spells. I usually have one that takes the frizz out of my hair, because it's super fine. Anyway..." Callie trailed off and pulled off her newsboy cap. Her blonde hair exploded out from under the cap.
"Whoa. I'm amazed that thing stays on," muttered Jade.
"Right?" said Callie forlornly. Her hair was a frizzed mess. It made her look like she had a halo around her head. Callie sighed and started twisting her hair back up again, securing the cap on and tucking in errant strands. "It backfired this morning and now it's twice as bad as normal. I don't dare try to fix it. I'm firmly in a hat-zone until this gets sorted out."
"You want me to try?" Jade asked. "I don't know the spell, but maybe if you teach me?"
Callie turned her cow-eyes on Jade. "I will give you a baby if you can fix this."
Jade shuddered. "Ew, gross. No babies necessary. We can try after we're done shopping."
Callie leaned forward and squeezed Jade's shoulder in thanks. Jade felt proud of herself for not flinching away or grimacing. See, you could teach an old dog new tricks.
"What about you?" Jade asked and then paused, taking in the way Henri was squirming a bit uncomfortably in his seat.
"Um, it's best if you don't ask."
Jade frowned. "Why? What did you do?"
Henri glanced over at her and then back at the road. "It's just that... you know sometimes there are other areas of your body that need grooming and you just-"
"Stop!" Jade exclaimed holding her hands out in front of her, keeping her eyes directed forward. "I really like you and we're friends, but we have not reached that level of intimacy yet. And possibly never."
Henri exhaled in relief. "I wasn't going to bring it up. You asked."
Jade's eyes darted sideways and when it didn't seem like Henri was going to add more, she slowly relaxed her arms. The silence is the car became awkward and stilted. Jade drummed her fingers on the car door.
"But if you're, like, in pain or maybe injured or scarred, I can try to reverse your spell or fix it. But we're never going to talk about it after today. Ever."
Henri chuckled a bit. "No permanent injury. No pain. A metric ton of embarrassment with some humiliation and disgust added in for good measure, but... no pain."
Jade nodded. "Okay. Good." She swallowed hard. "Because I'd help out if you were desperate. But we're totally not there yet. I mean, clearly you guys are in the inner circle." She made a kind of gesture with her hands indicating a large circle in front of her. "But that's some epic blood oath friendship stuff right there."
"Duly noted," Callie said dryly. She sighed. "And as for the rest of the Coven, I think it's about the same. Everyone's having bad reactions and outcomes to their magic."
"So, what do you do? I mean us, I mean 'we,'" Jade made air quotes around the word, meaning the whole Coven. "What do we do?"
Callie shrugged. "I'm not sure. Paris is seriously considering putting a ban on all magic. Personally, I'm not going to try anything else and I know some other witches have already decided to stop using magic too, but there will always be those that won't stop without an official ban, or haven't tried anything yet and haven't seen the repercussions. It makes witches... uncomfortable to be cut off from their magic. It's like losing one of our senses."
Callie's voice was sad and melancholy, the solemn tone of it resonating with Jade. Jade tried to imagine how she would feel if she were suddenly told she couldn't use her magic. She'd be more angry than upset, but maybe that's because she hadn't had it for long. Like a shiny new toy on Christmas morning, she'd be angry she hadn't gotten to play with it for a while, but she'd probably forget about it soon enough. It wasn't as though it were a beloved thing that she'd had her whole life, suddenly unavailable to her.
"But," Callie said, obviously forcing her voice brighter. "I can't do anything about right now. But I can help you find a dress. Let shop-o-rama commence!" Jade managed a wane smile.
After three clothing stores and two shoe stores, Callie had found a dress and heels, Henri had a suit and tie and both of them were hounding Jade to try something on.
"No," Jade said emphatically at the dress Henri was holding up for her.
"You can't keep saying no," he whined, shaking the red satin number in front her.
"Yes, I can. Listen. No."
"Why?" he shook the dress again.
She looked it up and down disdainfully. "I just... don't you think it's a little... you know... skimpy?"
Henri looked at the dress hanging on the rack. It was a strapless and fire-engine red - the satin fabric shiny and shimmery in the light. Henri looked honestly befuddled by Jade's description.
"What? This is perfectly respectable! Besides you've got a great body, why not flaunt it?"
She sighed. "I don't want to flaunt it," Jade said tightly.
Callie looked up from two racks over where she was rifling through dresses, searching for one for Jade. "Seriously? I'd flaunt it."
Jade pushed an errant hair off her face, wrinkling her nose slightly as the strand tickled her skin. "I just... No. That one's a no."
Henri sighed, putting the dress back on the rack with enough force to make it jiggle. "They've all been 'no's," he said dejectedly. "This isn't nearly as much fun as I hoped. How can we get you to the ball on time, Cinderella, if you don't like anything we pick?"
Jade frowned, looking over the racks of clothing. She spotted a dark navy number off to the side. "That one seems... okay."
Henri stepped over to it nodding and touching the fabric. He and Callie shared a look and Callie clearly wore an expression that indicated Henri should handle this. They'd been picking dresses for Jade for two hours and she'd vetoed all of them. Henri squared his shoulders and turned back to Jade. "You'd probably look lovely in it and you know who else would look lovely in it? My grandmother. She's seventy-four and I'm pretty sure she has the same thing in her closet."
Jade stared the floor length, long-sleeved gown. It was dark, it had a lot of fabric. Jade looked good in navy. "Look, I just don't want to have all my...bits hanging out."
"No one wants to put your bits on display," Henri said. "But you're young! Wear something bright! Something fun!"
Jade looked over the racks of clothing again. She'd
never had a really nice, formal evening dress. After seeing the long, gossamer gown Callie had purchased, Jade could admit she was feeling a slight longing for something pretty, something feminine. Callie had looked like a pretty, sexy Tinkerbell in her dress, especially now that Jade had fixed her hair and it was back to its fine, shiny-blonde perfection. Jade ran her hands over some of the fabrics, feeling the different textures under her fingers. She just didn't want to be exposed. Nothing low-cut, nothing strapless, nothing too tight or revealing. She wanted to feel comfortable in what she picked. She didn't want to be pulling and tugging at something all evening.
Callie came up next to her. "I know you said you didn't really have a favorite color, but I think you'd look really nice in jewel tones," she offered. Jade flicked her eyes over to the reds, greens and blues lining one area of the wall. She pursed her lips.
"But you could pull off pastels as well," said Henri, and Jade looked to the other side where the summer fashions were reduced in price, the dregs of the season hanging like discarded toys after Christmas. Looking at the row of clothing, organized by size, she saw something toward the end of the rack, in a couple sizes larger than she normally wore. She took a cautious step forward and tried to ignore Callie and Henri watching her. She pushed the other dresses aside and looked at the sliver fabric. It was shiny and bright, the light grey fabric gilded with silver thread and some random rhinestones. It had a cowl neck, long sleeves and was a little lower cut across the back than she normally liked. Still, since the front neckline was higher than all the other dresses she'd seen, she figured she could live with it. She pulled it off the rack and ignored when she heard the hopeful intake of breath from Callie. The dress was a little shorter than she would've preferred and would probably hit her about mid-thigh, but it wasn't unreasonable.
"I'll try on this one."
Callie clapped a little bit, fingertips touching lightly. Henri grabbed the tag. "You know this is two sizes too big, right? I mean, it's a steal since it's a left over, but it's not gonna fit right."
Counter-Hex (Covencraft Book 2) Page 12