by Diana Nixon
“Evan, do you really think I know something that you don’t?” I asked in response, smiling and trying to distract him from scrutinizing my aura. I was more than sure that he could see the traces of Christian’s energy in it, 'cause I could see them too. They appeared and sparkled with bright-red and gold every time I heard the wind, but I still wasn’t ready to share that secret with anyone, including my friend.
“Sometimes I think you know so much more than I do, but you don’t want to share your thoughts,” he said seriously, still watching me closely.
“What are you talking about?” I asked cautiously. Of course, he was right. I did have some secrets and as long as I could hide them, I wasn’t ready to be disclosed.
“Frankly speaking, I tried to find out whether you were telling the truth, but fortunately for you, I never managed to see your lies.”
I sighed with relief. “Good. It means we don’t have anything to hide from each other.”
“I hope we don’t,” Evan said, looking into my eyes.
We spent about an hour near the waters and went back home. Now I felt much better and stronger, and my mood improved significantly. I didn’t want to leave that place, but we still had some very important things to do.
I had my own secret plan on how to bring Christian back. Evan didn’t know anything about it, as well as about my personal involvement into that plan. I knew he would never let me do whatever I was going to do, so I had to come up with something to prevent him from stopping me.
When we came back home, Marion was in the garden, reading the very same book of spells I used to follow Evan in his memories. She was holding a plate, mixing some herbs in it.
“You are back!” she said and lit a candle over the plate. “Very good. You are just in time to start the ritual! I know how to bring Evan back from Eric’s dream, but I’m not sure he will like my idea.”
“I’m ready for anything,” Evan said, laughing. “So what’s the plan?”
“We need to create a bond that will keep you in reality. A bond with a certain person.”
“Like the one Christian and I had?” I asked.
“Actually, I was talking about the very same bond,” Marion said.
“Are you saying that I have to become a part of Vinculum amorisempri?” Evan asked, frowning. He definitely wasn’t excited about the idea.
“This is the strongest bond ever existed, Evan. If we were able to create the bond, it would be a perfect guarantee of your safety.”
“But the bond exists between two people. Where are you going to find a second volunteer?”
“Eileen will take care of that.”
I almost forgot how to speak, hearing Marion's words.
"Wait. What? You don’t want me to bind him to myself, do you?” I asked, terrified.
“And this sounds like a great idea, sweetheart!” Evan exclaimed. “You, me and Christian. Perfect! What do you think?”
“You can’t be serious?” I watched him, wide-eyed.
“Why not?”
“Calm down, Eileen,” Marion said. “Of course, you can’t be bound with two people by the same kind of bond. You just have to choose whom Evan will be bound with, because he can’t know the other part of the bond.”
“What? How do I know whom she’s going to bind me with?!”
“Don’t worry, you will find out,” Marion replied. “The spell is very complicated, and there’s no guarantee that it will work, so the result will be known later.”
“I can’t say I like your plan,” Evan said. “Isn’t there anything else we can do instead of this?”
Marion shook her head, saying no. “This is the only way.”
“Great! I don’t have a choice.” Evan sighed.
Actually, I wasn’t thrilled about the plan either. Besides, I had no idea whom to bind Evan with. I could choose Tara, but I wasn’t sure he would approve my decision. And I wasn’t sure about Tara’s reaction as well. Damn it! What was I supposed to do?! But what if.…
“Marion, can this bond be temporary?” I asked, thinking about the new idea that appeared in my head.
“Unfortunately, no,” she said. “This is impossible, Eileen.”
Of course, I knew it.
“But we have to cast a spell as soon as possible, because the moon is full today, and if we miss it, you will have to wait a whole month to do this again,” Marion explained.
“A month?!” Evan and I exclaimed. “We can’t wait a month!” I said.
“I know.” She nodded. “That’s why you need to hurry up.”
Someone’s cell rang.
“Excuse me, it’s Patrick,” Evan said. “I’ll talk to him and come back in a few minutes.”
“Okay.”
When Evan closed the door behind him, Marion asked quietly, “Why did you ask about the temporary bond?”
Hesitating for a moment, I told her about the idea I came up with earlier.
“Well, this is quite… unexpected,” she said, surprised. “I’m not sure it will work.”
“But we can try, can’t we?” I asked hopefully.
“I don’t know, Eileen. It’s very risky,” Marion said nervously, her hands on her hips. “You are going to break the natural balance of the magic of dreams. And it means, you will have to sacrifice something to make it work.”
My thoughts got into a mess and I couldn’t understand a word of what Marion was talking about. Why the hell shall I care about some balance, when we are discussing a matter of life and death!
“Let me explain it to you, Eileen,” she said. “When a person falls into a trap between this world and the world of death, he can’t understand where he really belongs. So to bring him back into this world we have to sacrifice something in return, so as to please the other world. Do you understand what I’m trying to say?”
“It looks like a bribe,” I said.
“So it is.” Marion nodded. “Let’s say, you have to corrupt those who guard the gates between the worlds so they would help Christian to find his way here, to you.”
“Things are getting worse and worse," I muttered. I didn’t know what I could give those mystic guards to make them let Christian come back. I had just a couple pieces of jewelry, but I doubted they needed them. That was ridiculous! How could we get into such a mess! If only Christian knew….
Suddenly I recalled one of our conversations. A few days before my birthday I asked him to take me to Gloster. We spent there many hours and when we were coming back to Dever, we decided to stop for a while in the middle of the mountains to watch the sunset.
“Have you ever wanted to come back to France?” I asked him. I knew he missed Paris and the time he spent there studying in a college.
“I have,” he said, smiling slightly. “Many times, actually. Even after becoming Dever’s student I hoped to come back there one day. Why?”
“Sometimes watching you, I notice that your thoughts are flying somewhere far away from here. So I thought that maybe you missed those days you spent there. It was a part of your life that you can only dream about now.”
“It was a part I will definitely never be able to forget about. But now everything is different. Now I don’t want to come back to my past. Finally I have found something making my present so much more important. You,” he said, touching my cheek with his palm. “I would never be able to abandon my love for you, Eileen. And even if I didn’t have anything else in my life, I still would be the happiest man in the world,” he said, pulling me to his chest. Because you are my life,” he whispered into my lips, before kissing them.
“Are you saying you are ready to abandon everything you have, just to be with me?” I asked in a teasing voice, enjoying the way has hands were caressing my back. “What about your dream of becoming a Wizardy student and the ability to possess magic?”
“You are my magic, Eileen,” he replied without hesitation. “And this is everything I ever wanted,” he added, giving me another kiss.
“Thank you,” I whis
pered to Christian from my memory.
“For what?” Marion asked, puzzled, thinking my words were addressed to her.
“I know what to do,” I said, ignoring her question. Christian’s words directed me to the solution of my problem. But now I faced another one – how to persuade Marion to help me.
“No, Eileen! No way!” hearing me out, she protested. “I can’t do this! Do you even know what will happen if you fail?”
“We will succeed, Marion! I can feel it. Please!” pleading with her, I said. “I can’t do this without your help!”
During the next few minutes that felt like an eternity, Marion was thinking about my idea. She looked through some spells in her book and finally she said, “Okay, I will help you. But I will need something that is connected with the person who’s going to become a part of the bond.
“Do you need something of his personal belongings?”
“No, it’s just enough if the thing is connected somehow with the person we are talking about.”
“I think I have what you need,” I said. I just hoped that Evan would forgive me for everything I was going to do!
“Let’s hope it will work,” Marion replied.
“What will work?” Evan asked, joining us.
“We know what to do with the spell,” I said.
“Can you share your plans with me?”
“Sorry, Evan. But we can’t tell you anything. It’s a part of the spell.”
With every passing day my lies sounded more and more truthful. Good work, Eileen, I thought to myself. I should say thanks to Anna for her excellent present as well.
“What did Patrick want to talk about?” Marion asked.
“Someone visited Eric's apartment in London,” Evan replied. “And they think it could have been Alexis.”
“Wait a minute,” I interrupted him. “You said it was guarded by the Council’s Keepers, wasn’t it?
“Someone has called them away. Looks like we have a traitor in the Council.”
“Oh, no! But why would Alexis break into Eric's apartment? I’m sure she knew that it had been ransacked inside out.”
“I don’t understand it either,” Evan said. “You must be an idiot to go there not thinking about being seen, but we both know that Alexis is far from being that silly. Or she was looking for something that none of the Keepers would pay attention to. The question is, what was it? Anyway, it’s the least of our problems now. So how are thing going with my love spell?”
“Everything is ready,” Marion said, smiling reassuringly. “Let’s start the ritual.”
“Are we going to do it here? In the yard?” Evan asked.
“You seem to have forgotten that I don’t use magic anymore.” Marion chuckled, adding some more ingredients to the plate of burning herbs. “I will use Eileen’s power to create the bond. And it doesn’t involve any bursts of light or anything earth-shattering. So we are free to do it in the yard.”
“Great!” Evan groaned in exasperation. “I don’t know what the two of you are going to do with me and I don’t know how you are going to do whatever you have come up with. And it sounds like a very bad plan.”
“You will find out everything when the time comes, Evan,” I said and put my hands on his shoulders, squeezing them lightly.
“Well, thank you, dear! You are not helping matters, you know? I just hope that you will bind me with someone really pretty, or I will never forgive you!” he warned with a troubled expression on his face.
I hope you will forgive me after all, I thought to myself. I looked into his eyes, smiled and said, “Of course, Evan. Don’t worry.” My embarrassment was overwhelming me, so I lowered my head and prayed silently to make our plan work.
Thank God, Marion was still busy with her herbs and I didn’t have to blush under her meaningful gaze. She didn’t like lying to Evan. When she finished, she came to us, put some herbs and flowers around us, locking Evan and me in a circle of natural energy. Then she took our hands, closed her eyes and started reading the spell. She was speaking some foreign language and I couldn’t understand a word, but the sound of her voice was calming and relaxing.
Suddenly something changed. Everything felt different, as if some very strong power was setting my body on fire. I was sinking into magic. My own magic. It was the first time I realized what creating magic really meant. I was sharing my energy with Marion and she was controlling my power, transforming it into pure light, spilling in my veins with delight and comfort. It was very similar to the feelings I had in Christian’s presence. I didn’t know what Evan was feeling at the moment, but I wouldn’t look at him, still being afraid to see any traces of guess in his beautiful crystal-blue eyes. My secret plan wasn’t supposed to be revealed any time soon.
The next moment I was knocked down by a very strong blowing of the wind. I opened my eyes abruptly, but neither Marion nor Evan paid any attention to my fright and I suddenly realized that I was completely alone in the middle of nowhere….
There was no song following the wind this time and I felt my heart shattering into thousands of small pieces of regret, despair and loneliness. I felt tears, burning my eyes when I finally realized that my foolish plan could fail and ruin everything Christian and I ever shared. It was the first time I regretted my selfishness and stubbornness. I knew I should have never made Marion help me, and no matter what the outcome of my plan would be, I was the only one to be blamed for all the failures. I could lose Christian forever, but there was no way back and I had to do everything I had planned just to get a chance to see him again, even if I would be damned to spend the rest of my existence in hell, paying for betraying someone who would never do the same to me. I was so sorry I was making Evan do something he would never be able to forgive me for, but Christian was my life; he was my love I couldn't live without and no hell could be worse than losing him again. I closed my eyes, swallowing my fears and tried to concentrate on what was going on at the moment.
Everything turned into white thick fog. And then I saw the pictures, as if I were dreaming.
The images of stormy clouds were replacing the rays of bright sunshine; the silver moonlight was eclipsing the stars and the waves of some dark ocean were melting on the sandy shores.
The two hands were tightly bound by the ties of eternal love, overwhelming with its power two hearts and two souls that were now bound forever.
The moment Marion’s voice disappeared all the images vanished without a trace. The only thing I still felt was a light tingling on my wrist.
“So that’s it?” Evan asked, surprised, opening his eyes. I stared at him, puzzled, wondering if I was the only one to feel all of the above.
“What were you expecting to see?”
“Uh, I don’t know… anything?” he said, shrugging.
“It was exactly the way it should be,” Marion said. Then she turned to me and asked worriedly, “How do you feel, Eileen?”
“I’m fine,” I said dryly, sitting on the bench. Looked like I was the only one enjoying the spell. “You didn’t see anything?” I asked Evan, still dizzy.
“No.” He shook his head. “Why?”
“It’s okay, Evan,” Marion said, before he could ask anything else. “Let’s hope we did everything right and the moonlight’s magic will complete the spell.”
“Well, if you are sure about that…” Evan lifted his hands in dismay. “So what shall we do next?”
“The next thing we should do is pack up our things,” Marion said, smiling. “We have to catch the flight at eight o'clock to London,” she added, heading for the house.
“Marion?” I called after her. “Can I ask you something?”
“Of course, Eileen.”
“It there any way to release the lost soul?”
Marion raised her eyebrows in surprise. “What are you talking about?” she asked, coming back to me. Evan was nowhere around.
“Someone needs my help,” I replied, avoiding her gaze.
“You mean some spirit
needs your help?” she asked. I nodded. “Then you will need some of my herbs,” she said, turning to the table with various plants on it. I was glad she didn’t ask any more questions, as there was no way I could explain anything. “Some amaranth to raise the spirit,” she said, picking out the plant. “The pit of a black cherry to draw him to the world of death, some cocoa to comfort the lost soul, and the Angelica’s root to protect yourself. You need to emblaze the last one at the beginning of the ritual,” she added, turning to me. “But the most important thing is the key to help the spirit to open the door to the world he really belongs to,” she said, giving me the plants.
“I know about the key.” I nodded, thinking about my previous walk into the woods. “What should the key look like?” I asked the only question I couldn’t answer myself.
“Anything that looks like a key. You can use any metal thing. But, Eileen, can I ask you what you need it for?” She watched me suspiciously. “Whose soul are you going to release?”
“I will tell you later, I promise,” I said, taking the plants. “I need to go out for a while, but, please, don’t tell Evan about that. I don’t want him to worry, but there’s one thing I have to do on my own,” I said with my eyes pleading.
“Shall I go with you?” Marion asked.
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “I’ll be back soon,” I added, before turning around and leaving her alone in the garden.
Running out of the house, I headed for the ruins of the old church Evan and I visited a few days ago. Now I knew what the boy was trying to say and now I knew how to help him. The key was his personal sacrifice he had to make to set his soul free.
Finding myself in the very same glade, the first thing I did was to make a magical circle like Evan had created the day he was there with me. Then I made a fire and put there all the plants, given by Marion.
According to the legends, the spirit appeared only once a year – on the day of the fire, but today I still hoped he would show up again.
I was sitting on the ground, looking around nervously. When the fire was about to go out, I felt someone’s presence and I saw the boy standing a few steps away from me.