Her eyes flashed and my stomach dropped.
“Those books are never kept out here. We have a special place for them in the back, considering how dangerous they can be in the wrong hands.”
Destroy people. Dangerous. It wasn’t looking as though gray magic was as harmless as Octavia had made it out to be.
I took a sip from my hot chocolate and tried to ignore the sensation of unease flipping through my stomach. It was easier said than done though, especially with the way the woman stared at me as though she were looking into the depths of my soul.
“Can I see them?” I asked when seconds had ticked by without her speaking again or moving to show me where they were.
“Is there one, in particular, you wanted to see?” she asked. “One on a specific subject?” She said this as though she’d figured out the reason I was here.
Maybe she had.
“I’ll know it when I see it,” I said.
The ghost of a smile twisted at the corner of her lips. My answer was one she liked. “Follow me.”
She started toward the back of the shop with Benji and me trailing close behind. A silver curtain caught my eye. It was covering a doorway I hadn’t noticed before. When the woman pulled the curtain to the side revealing a small room lit by the same white lights that decorated the front of the shop, my heart thundered in my chest. Twin bookcases lined the far wall of the little room, each filled with books. A sign above the one on the left read Gray Magic while the one on the right said Dark Magic.
The two of them being tucked away together had the uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach expanding.
“These are all the books on gray magic we have in stock,” the woman said. She gestured to the bookcase on the left. “Let me know if something catches your eye.”
“Thanks.” I stepped forward, ready to skim the spines.
When she left the room, giving me space to look, I glanced over my shoulder at Benji. He leaned against the doorframe, sipping his hot cocoa. Since he wasn’t big on small spaces, I knew he wouldn’t be coming into the room any closer to help me look.
I returned my gaze to the shelf. The answer to controlling my gift could be in the pages of one of these books. My insides tingled at the thought. As I read the spines, I noticed each title had gray magic in it, but none specified its area of focus. Feeling frustrated, I grabbed a random book. It was titled Gray Magic and the Modern World. Even though I doubted it would have what I was looking for in its pages, I flipped through anyway. A theme became present right away. It was all about how to make a person’s day-to-day life easier with gray magic.
There were spells for cleaning the house, each broken down by room. I paused to read through them, noticing there was a spell for everything from scrubbing toilets to folding laundry. Next came spells for repairing vehicles. Then healing things like cuts, scrapes, and burns. Out of them all, there was one spell that stuck out to me most—how to grow a money tree. A picture of a tiny bush that slightly resembled one of Aunt Rowena’s potted plants was showcased. While I knew that particular spell might cause trouble for some, and was bound to have serious consequences, I didn’t think the spell for creating a bowl of your favorite ice cream would do much harm.
Maybe gray magic was only bad if a person used it with that intention?
The woman who’d showed us to the room came back. I heard her bracelets jingling before I saw her. When she entered the tiny room, her gaze landed on the book in my hands.
“That’s a powerful book,” she insisted. Tension seemed to stiffen her words. “One that comes with great consequences.”
“I’m sure. Can you tell me what kind though?” I asked.
Her entire presence seemed to soften. “I’m getting the sense you don’t know much about gray magic, do you?”
I shook my head. There was no point in lying.
“Gray magic in itself is powerful,” the woman said. She licked her lips and took a step closer to me. When she reached for the book, I passed it over. “It’s considered to be the most powerful form of magic in existence simply because there are no rules. Gray magic is not good, nor is it evil. But, just because there are no rules doesn’t mean there are no consequences. Don’t be fooled. As with using any magic, there is always a risk of unbalancing the natural order and shifting things that weren’t meant to be shifted. When it comes to gray magic, the biggest consequences stem from using it to resurrect someone.”
Her words jolted me. Was that what she thought I was here for?
“I’m not interested in that,” I said. “Not at all.”
“Good.” The muscles of her face relaxed. “Because doing so can be very dangerous.”
“I’m sure.”
“People also use gray magic for personal gain, which I’m sure you gathered easily from this book’s pages. Working these types of spells have consequences in the form of creating strings of bad luck for the spell caster. They also can lead people down the dark path to greed, power, and corruption fairly quickly, because once you perform a spell geared toward personal gain, it becomes easier to perform another until eventually judgment of right and wrong disappears.”
I understood what she was saying. Probably because I could see myself casting a cleaning spell on the next clogged toilet at the inn and then having things spiral out of control from there.
“I’m not looking to use it for anything like that either,” I insisted.
Her violet eyes locked with mine. “Then what are you wanting to use it for?”
My gaze drifted to the bookcase in front of me. Could I trust her enough to tell her the truth? My stomach twisted with uncertainty. As I stared at the shelf of books, one caught my eye. Gray Magic and the Other Side.
It was right there at eye level. How had I not noticed it before?
“I need this one.” I plucked it from the shelf. “It’s exactly what I came for.”
“That book specifically hints at using gray magic to resurrect people, control the dead, and speak to them willingly. I was under the impression you weren’t interested in that sort of thing. Did you recently lose someone you’d like to contact? If so, I can show you a much safer way to go about reaching them. A way that doesn’t involve gray magic at all. We have plenty of talking boards to choose from.”
I shook my head. “I’m not looking for a way to contact a dead loved one or to resurrect them.”
The woman’s brows pinched together. “What is it you’re wanting to use it for, then?”
A part of me wanted to confide in her, however, another part said it might be best if I kept what I could do to myself. I knew looks could be deceiving in the supernatural world and not to trust everyone you met right off the bat.
“I’d rather not say,” I said, holding her gaze. “But, this is the book I’d like to purchase.”
It was exactly what I’d been searching for and I didn’t want to leave without it.
Seconds passed before the woman chose to respond. Even then, it was only with a nod of her head, making it clear she was hesitant to sell me the book. When she motioned for me to follow her, I cast a quick glance at Benji. His brows pinched together as though he was just as dumbfounded by her reaction as I was.
What was it about gray magic that seemed to freak everyone out?
This woman had said it wasn’t evil. She’d said that it just didn’t have rules. I could handle that. I wasn’t going to do anything crazy. I mean, I did have freaking common sense. All I wanted was to use it to gain control over my gift.
So then why was I so curious as to what else rested within the pages of this book that could be used with the other side?
Chapter 7
“Well, that was crazy,” Benji said. He sipped the rest of his hot cocoa as we walked to his truck. “I didn’t think she was gonna let you leave with that book.”
“I know.” I stepped off the sidewalk, shivering. The temperature had dropped while we were inside the store.
“What I don’t get is why she c
arries books she doesn’t seem comfortable sellin’.”
Benji unlocked his door and climbed inside to unlock mine, then he cranked the engine.
“I have no clue.” My teeth chattered when I spoke.
“Do you think it had somethin’ to do with you?”
“What do you mean?”
He placed his cocoa in the cup holder and licked his lips as he adjusted the heat in his truck. It was clear wherever his mind had gone, it wasn’t anywhere good. Anxiety prickled through me.
“Like, maybe she didn’t want to sell the book to you specifically.”
I stared at him. “Why wouldn’t she want to sell it to me?”
“I don’t know. Maybe she knew things about you, or sensed things in a witchy way, like that you should steer clear of it.”
My posture stiffened. Was this him trying to tell me in a roundabout way he thought I’d do bad things with gray magic? Or that she’d seen a future where I did?
“I don’t know why she would. I told her I’m not planning on using the book for harming others or personal gain. All I want is to be able to control the other side, to control the gift I was given,” I said with more force than was probably necessary.
My intentions didn’t fall into the category of personal gain. Did they? I shifted in my seat, thinking.
No.
Using gray magic to gain control of something that had the ability to hurt me and others if I didn’t keep it stable was okay. It wasn’t personal gain. There was no way it could be.
“I know. I didn’t mean to imply anythin’ other than that.” Benji backed out of his parking space and started down the narrow street, headed for home. “Sorry if it seemed like I did.”
“What did you mean then?” I couldn’t let it go. I wanted to know where his head was at.
“Just that maybe she saw somethin’, like a future where you would’ve been better off without gray magic havin’ come into your life.” He cast a quick glance my way. “Her hesitation to sell you the book and what your aunt said have me wonderin’ if this is somethin’ you should even be tamperin’ with. I’m worried about you.”
I placed a hand on his thigh and squeezed. “You have nothing to worry about.”
He didn’t. I would be fine because I wasn’t going to do a spell unless I’d read through it carefully. I wasn’t about to dive in headfirst. Caution was the word of the day when it came to me and gray magic.
“Okay,” he breathed.
“I mean it, trust me.”
He gathered my hand in his and brought my knuckles to his lips. “I do.”
“Good,” I smiled.
I pulled my hand back from Benji and cracked open the spine on the book, eager to see what was inside. I knew with certainty what I was looking for was within its pages. This knowledge had excitement buzzing through me as my gaze drifted over the first page. While I’d expected to see a crazy spell for resurrecting the dead, that wasn’t what I found. Instead, there was a brief history of gray magic written in a fancy font set in italics.
“What spell are you readin’ about?” Benji asked.
“No spell. The book starts with the history of gray magic.”
“What’s it say about it?”
“Basically, it repeats what the woman at Brewed Awakening said. It’s not good or bad. There are consequences even if there are no rules. It’s powerful,” I said, paraphrasing what I’d already read.
None of this wasn’t new knowledge. That being said, I knew not to tread lightly and skim over its history.
“Anythin’ cool?” Benji asked.
I flipped to the next page and came to the first spell. It was for creating a psychic bridge.
“The first actual spell is for creating a psychic bridge to the other side.” I adjusted my glasses and kept reading.
“Why would you want to do that? You already have a connection to the other side.”
“Not everyone who picks up this book is an anchor though. Some could be regular witches who want a connection to the other side for whatever reason.”
“True.” He turned the radio all the way down. “Read it to me.”
“Why?” I scoffed.
“Because I want to be in this with you all the way,” he said as he flashed me a crooked grin. “By your side and all that.”
My heartbeat quickened as I returned his smile. God, I loved him.
I cleared my throat and situated myself with my feet on the dash of his truck and read the spell out loud to him. He listened attentively until I reached the incantation.
“Don’t read the actual words to the spells,” he insisted before I could get more than the first word out. “I don’t want anythin’ crazy happenin’ like a spirit takin’ over your body to talk to me or some crap.”
I laughed. “Nothing would work unless I had all the ingredients and went through the steps.”
“Still. The thought of someone talkin’ through me or you right now is freakin’ me out.”
“Okay.” I rolled my eyes. “I’ll skip the words to each spell while I read to you, even though I think that’s the coolest part.”
“I’m fine with you keepin’ that coolness to yourself.”
I recrossed my ankles on his dash and continued reading out loud to him.
By the time we’d reached Mirror Lake, I’d read at least the first thirty-five pages of the book. There were a few things I hadn’t been expecting tucked between spells like rituals for preparation for some of the more powerful spells, ways to cleanse energy from yourself and space after performing certain spells, and some magical techniques I’d never heard of.
Dealing with the other side was no joke. I was glad to see the book highlighted that for those who read it that weren’t an anchor.
However, it also made the same case for gray magic.
“Promise me you won’t try to do any spells from the book tonight,” Benji insisted as we pulled up in front of Carraway Inn. He shifted into park and left his truck idling.
“Don’t worry, I wasn’t planning on it.”
It was the truth. What I wanted to do was read through the book more. I still hadn’t found a spell to help me set up a veil I could take down at will. There hadn’t even been anything in regards to blocking out the other side yet. Everything I’d read had been about tapping into it for various reasons.
Benji leaned in until his lips nearly brushed mine. “Okay,” he breathed, then he gave me a featherlight kiss before pulling away. “Call me later.”
“I will. Good night.”
I tucked the book of gray magic into my purse and then slipped out of Benji’s truck. When I started up the porch steps to the inn, Benji turned his truck around and headed home.
The sound of tinkling music made its way to my ears when I reached the front of the door of the inn. What the heck? It was after eleven. Who was up, listening to music? I gripped the knob and twisted. The music grew louder as the door opened. So did my curiosity.
When I stepped inside, I spotted Aunt Rowena, Mr. Senova, the couple from the opal room, and Rose doing yoga in the living room led by Ellen. Every piece of furniture had either been pushed to the edge of the room or placed in the entryway.
“Ridley!” Rose shouted. “Come do yoga with us. It’s—what kind is it again?” She’d shifted her attention back to Ellen.
“Yin yoga,” Ellen smiled.
“No, thanks. You have fun with that.” I maneuvered around the coffee table blocking the stairs. “I’m turning in for the night.”
“You’re missing out,” Mr. Senova called after me. “I already feel lighter and more flexible.”
“Just wait until morning,” I muttered as I jogged up the stairs.
I’d taken a yoga class once. Afterward, I’d vowed never to do it again. While I understood for most people it was a great way to get rid of stress, I also understood after the first few minutes I wasn’t that type of person. I couldn’t stop worrying about whether I was holding the poses right. Also, I’d s
omehow pulled a hamstring.
When I reached the third floor of the inn, I hurried to my room and closed the door behind me. With a flick of my wrist, I secured the lock in place and then kicked off my shoes. I pulled the book from my purse and flopped across my bed with it. My insides buzzed to life as I cracked the spine, opening the cover. I’d told Benji I wouldn’t try any of the spells tonight, not that I wouldn’t read more of them.
My gaze drifted over page after page as I read. I had high hopes of finding the spell I was searching for. Tonight.
Chapter 8
I woke the next morning with a headache from hell. Whoever was on the other side trying to get through wasn’t playing games today. Still, I wasn’t planning on giving in. As much as it sucked to admit—I was too afraid at this point. I’d never dealt with a spirit as persistent or powerful as this one before.
Tea was what I needed. Then, once my headache was better under control, I could read more from the book on gray magic. I hadn’t gotten as far into the book as I’d wanted last night. I blamed it on being a slow reader, but it was probably more because of exhaustion.
I slipped out of bed and grabbed my glasses from my nightstand. The ache in my head throbbed with each of my movements, but I still made my way downstairs. I hurried to the kitchen for some tea deciding today would be spent holed up in my room with the book on gray magic. My goal was to find something to act as a temporary fix against these headaches. Something small and less dangerous than creating a veil on the first try.
Baby steps. That’s what I was telling myself.
Aunt Rowena and Raven stood in the kitchen, preparing brunch for the guests. It was a Sunday tradition at Caraway Inn. One I had only been asked to help with a handful of times because cooking was not one of my strengths.
“Good morning,” Aunt Rowena greeted me as I stepped into the kitchen. “Did you sleep well?” She stirred a batch of drop biscuits by hand.
When it came to cooking, Aunt Rowena was old school. She owned a fancy mixer but preferred to do things by hand. My wrist grew tired watching her.
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