Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 115432 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 577(@200wpm)___ 462(@250wpm)___ 385(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 115432 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 577(@200wpm)___ 462(@250wpm)___ 385(@300wpm)
“Where is your grimoire? You didn’t use it?”
“I didn’t know I had a grimoire at that time. But I doubt it would have been useful. It would rather play hide-and-seek somewhere in the library.”
“Hide-and-seek? Why would your grimoire hide from you?”
“You seem not to be understanding me when I say…I. Do. Not. Know. Anything.” I broke up each work carefully so that she would get it through her thick mortal head.
“So, how are you doing magic?”
“I just do it!”
“This isn’t a Nike commercial, Druella. Magic isn’t something you just do!”
“Fire.” I lifted my finger to show her the flame that came up over my index finger like it was a candle.
“That is basic magic. Children can do that,” she said, lifting her finger for me to see as she did the same thing. “The spell for that is the word fire. It is a command spell you are casting even if it is one word.”
I exhaled through my nose, now annoyed she didn’t believe me. “What will it take then so we can move on? Tell me something that I need to do…other than freeing your magic. I tried that on you already and myself—it doesn’t work.”
She looked me over, unsure.
“Go on,” I pushed.
“Shadow,” she said. “A familiar is a loyal spirit, but she keeps disappearing because I don’t have enough magic to bring her forward and keep her here. Call her.”
“Fine. Shadow, come here,” I said instantly, and the cat reappeared in my lap. Adelaide’s eyes widened, but that wasn’t the only reason.
“I can see it now.” Atarah gasped as she looked at the cat licking its paws.
I lifted the cat and showed her back to Adelaide. “Why was this supposed to be harder than the fire?”
“I believe familiars only answer to the call of their witch,” Arsiein answered instead of Adelaide.
Carefully, Adelaide took Shadow from my hands, touching its head.
“Familiars only answer to the call of their witch unless another witch casts a spell, which disguises themselves as their master and calls them,” Adelaide whispered and looked back down at her cat. “Shadow, who am I?”
“Adelaide Proctor,” Shadow answered.
“Who called you here just now?” Adelaide asked.
“You, Adelaide.” Shadow purred and rubbed her head into Adelaide.
Adelaide lifted the cat and flipped it to look at me. “Who is sitting across from me?”
“You, Adelaide.” Shadow leaped from her arms and came to mine, doing the same thing.
“What?” She gasped. “Shadow, that is Druella, and I am Adelaide.”
The cat looked between us both once and then a second time before it moved to the middle of the bed, unsure which one of us was her master.
“Shadow, I am Druella. Not Adelaide,” I told it. The cat looked again before vanishing. When it reappeared again, it was in Adelaide’s lap like before.
“And it is gone again,” Atarah spoke up.
“Only for us,” Arsiein stated, eyeing both of us carefully. “The witch does not have enough magic to make it visible to us. Druella did when the cat recognized Druella as her master. Now it doesn’t recognize her, and it has gone back to how it was. Interesting. So has she passed your test now?”
Adelaide stared at me, astonished and nearly dumbstruck. “What in the hell are you? It is crazy to think a vampire could still do magic, but this type of magic? Rarely can any witch ever do this with such ease. It is like you are boundless?”
“Don’t know what that means, either. But I’m glad you believe me now. What next?” I questioned.
“A boundless witch does not need spells—not important right now.” She shook the explanation off as a smile appeared on her lips. “Next, we save Jason.”
“That is not possible,” Arsiein said, rising from his seat as he stepped closer to her bed, and she backed away slightly. “Your lover was charged, tried, and convicted by President Waban Swan. There is no saving him.”
“If she can do this type of magic, she can summon his body here. It won’t take—”
“You are not understanding, witch,” he snapped at her. “The issue isn’t whether or not she can or cannot use magic to bring him. The issue is, we have no right to interfere with the governance of any other vampire nation. President Swan can do whatever he likes with his vampires.”
“They are torturing him!” she hollered. “You—I can’t just sit here and let it happen.”
“Nor can you command us to interfere. That is all but a declaration of war. You both entered this affair of your own accord. You should have known the consequence of it. Your love is not worth a vampire war. It is not even worth an argument.”
Her hands balled into fists, and her teeth clenched down so hard I could hear them grinding upon each other. When her head snapped up and back to me, her eyes narrowed.