Magic's Rise: Monsters Among Us Universe (Hartford Cove Series Book 5)

Things of Importance

Islump over my coffee-spiked hot chocolate, still not awake yet. Once I laid down last night, I’d crashed before Tris could even join me. So much for our plans to snuggle. The guilt would be real except that he wasn’t in any condition to do more than sleep, either.

Who knew that working magic for hours on end would steal our souls?

Haut took pity on me and didn’t protest when I stole a dollop of caffeine, which is saying something. Probably about my appearance, since I had brushed my teeth with my eyes closed and hadn’t bothered to untangle my braid.

At this point, it can wait until I’m home where Ros can work out the knots.

A desire for extra comfort drove me to pull on my bunny sweatshirt, but it doesn’t give me the same sense of invulnerability that it usually does. I guess magical armor can only do so much in the face of exhaustion.

On Tris’s other side, Aspen looks asleep in front of his breakfast, where a waffle dissolves inside a pool of syrup.

Our hosts stare at us with concern, and Griffen clears his throat. “Aspen, do you need a ride back out to the forest after you’re done eating?”

Aspen rouses himself and reaches for his fork. “No, Elana pushed her limits last night. I’ll stay at the compound to work on…”

He trails off, staring at his plate.

Ezra turns to me. “I picked up all the ingredients you requested.”

“Thank you.” Mel had emailed me the spell for the Hartford Cove barrier, and I’d given him a list of ingredients to gather so we can start working on that today. “We’ll need a stove and good ventilation. Prepare for your house to stink.”

“It’s a lovely day to take the pack for a run,” Griffen says. “It will help dispel some of the tension that’s gathered since the welcome party.”

“And tired wolves get up to less mischief,” Levi adds with a glance at me and Tris.

I ignore the pointed comment and turn to Aspen. “Are you absolutely sure you can’t zap the barrier into existence? I’d rather not cover myself with smelly paste and dance naked in the center of town.”

He stares at me for a long moment as his brain struggles to process. “Yes, I’m sure.”

“Don’t worry, no one will be watching you.” Haut glances at Griffen, who nods.

“I’ll enforce an early curfew for it,” the Alpha promises.

“Great,” I mutter, still not thrilled about the whole nudity aspect of the spell.

Tris rises from the table, his breakfast only half finished. “How about you show me to the kitchen so I can get started? I hope Rowe had you pick up a large stockpot, too.”

“It wasn’t on the list, but I got one, just in case.” Ezra joins him and directs Tris through a swinging door that leads out of the dining room.

Haut stands to follow. “I should supervise to make sure he doesn’t add the ingredients in the wrong order.”

Nodding, I chug the last of my choco-coffee and nab my toast. “Come on, teach. If you’re not eating your waffle, we need to get started, too.”

Aspen rouses himself again and gets to his feet. “Thank you for the meal.”

Levi glances down at his untouched food. “I’ll come by around lunch with sandwiches. Maybe you’ll be a little more awake by then.”

“We’d appreciate that.” With a nod to Griffen, I grab my backpack and steer Aspen out of the cabin.

He leans against my side, limping across the clearing to the meeting house that Levi had given us to use.

Depositing Aspen at the table in the front room, I set my bag down and open it to rummage inside.

I pull out the soiled napkin I had picked up on the night of the poisoning and pass it to Aspen. “Do you think this is a large enough sample to identify the substance?”

His eyebrows shoot up as he takes it. “This is…?”

I nod. “Yeah.”

He glances up at me. “Why didn’t you mention this sooner?”

“Because we haven’t been alone until now.” I peer toward the closed door. “I didn’t want to risk being overheard again.”

“Fair point.” He slips the napkin into his pocket. “I’ll look into it.”

I turn to the grimoires on the table, which are fewer than before. After I copied over Aris’s unlocking spells to my personal grimoire, I’d given the rest of the Rothaven books back to her. There was no reason to hoard them here. She’s dealt with enough of that in her life already.

Likewise, Kaela and Mina’s spell books were returned, so only the blood-thirsty grimoire and the collection of barrier spells Aspen has been studying remain.

I pull the locked spell book over. “How do you want to do this?”

“Divide and conquer. I’ll focus on researching the barrier while you work on opening the Rothaven grimoire.” He rubs his bloodshot eyes. “Unless you need help?”

He’s not in any condition to be helping me right now. He looks ready to keel over at any moment. “How about I try it on my own, and if I don’t have any success, I can ask for some pointers?”

Aspen smiles weakly. “Sounds like a plan.”

“There’s a comfy chair in one of the back rooms.” I gesture down the hall.

Tris and I had found it in our investigation. There’s also a bed for napping, which Aspen needs.

“I’ll check it out if the wooden seat gets too uncomfortable.” Aspen drags over the slender grimoire with all of the barrier spells. “Will you be upstairs?”

“Gotta commune with the magic wind.” I slip the Rothaven spell book in next to mine and swing the backpack over my shoulder. “Holler if you need me.”

I leave Aspen slumped over his homework and head up to the turret, feeling a bit like Rapunzel, complete with the long hair and princes, though I’ll never tell Haut that he’s royalty as far as I’m concerned. It would just inflate his already substantial ego.

As I reach the top, a chilly breeze swirls around me, making my skin tingle.

I settle on the floor, take a deep breath, and set the grimoires in front of me. With wand in hand, I open to the first spell that I copied. “Here goes nothing. No pressure or anything.”

I work through them one by one, adding my blood into the mix by dripping it onto the cover, similar to how I call the four quarters and perform the misdirection spell. The thirsty book drinks it all up and remains stubbornly shut through the first two, but the third spell is just right, and the grimoire’s cover lifts, revealing its secrets to me.

“Don’t you lie to me, you nasty thing.” I whip out my phone to snap a picture.

My heart races as I wait for the grimoire to slam shut again, but it remains motionless, inviting further exploration.

When I close the cover and open it again without the need to let some blood, excitement bubbles within me. It worked.

Eager to share my success with Aspen, I bounce to my feet before I force myself to sit again. Unlocking the book is only the first step, and now that I’ve come this far, I want to go back downstairs with even better news.

Flipping to the first spell, I snap a picture of the title and use an online German-to-English translator to see what the spell is. Cure Boils.

Gross, but also cool. Who needs a dictionary when I have the internet?

I flip to the next page and translate that one, too, followed by the next.

Dense text and intricate illustrations fill each page, and some of the titles translate into utter nonsense, making it a challenge to decipher their meaning. Progress moves at a snail’s pace, but determination keeps me going.

After all, at least one game-changing spell hides within this book.

As I turn the page, my pulse quickens as I spot an illustration of a wolf and a human overlapped. My hand shakes as I snap a picture, and I hold my breath as I wait for the translation.

Suppress the Bloodlust.

With a surge of excitement, I scramble to my feet and bolt out of the turret.

“Hey, Aspen!” I race down the stairs and across the open second floor. “I think I found something you need to see!”

In my haste, I reach the next set of steps before I realize I left the grimoire behind, but I’ve gone too far now. Aspen will just have to come upstairs to marvel at my discovery.

As I arrive on the ground level, an acrid stench reaches my nose, the unmistakable scent of something burning.

“Aspen?” I hurry to the table, only to find it empty and spin in a circle. “Aspen, are you playing with fire?”

Then I spot smoke crawling down the hall, where I had told Aspen about a comfy chair and a soft bed that his exhausted body would have found irresistible.

“Fire!” I race to the front door to pull it open, but it refuses to budge.

I pound my fist against it. “Help! Fire!”

But no one comes to our rescue, and I remember Griffen saying that he would take the pack for a run.

“Haut!” I scream at the top of my lungs as smoke curls around my ankles.

Horror fills me as I stare down at it. If it’s this thick in here, how much worse is it where Aspen is?

I turn back to the hall, where the air grows so hazy that I can’t see the far wall. “Aspen! Are you back there?”

A thump sounds, but I can’t tell if it’s someone pounding against the door or if something fell. Oh, god, what if whoever set the fire killed Aspen? Or hurt him enough that he can’t move?

The smoke thickens, and I yank the collar of my sweatshirt over my nose as I stumble toward the hallway.

“Aspen!” I shout, his name muffled through the fabric.

Each step grows heavier, and the heat intensifies. Flames lick out from under a doorway on the right, where the fire must have started. Not the room with the comfy chair, thank goodness.

A thump comes from the room at the end of the hall, followed by Aspen’s voice. “Rowe? Is that you?”

“I’m coming, Aspen!” I stumble forward, squinting through the haze.

The heat grows uncomfortable, and I cough, my sweatshirt doing little to filter out the smoke. When I reach Aspen’s door, I grab the doorknob, only for it to refuse to turn.

I pound on the surface. “I’m locked out!”

“I’m locked in!” The door rattles in its frame but refuses to open. “Do you see a keyhole?”

Bending, I squint at the knob. “Yes, but no key.”

For a moment, I regret not bringing my box of unlocking charms with me, but there’s no time for that.

I slam my fists against the solid wood, frustration bubbling up inside me. “Aspen, can you bust through this thing with magic?”

“Uh, about that…” He breaks off in a fit of coughing, then croaks, “I forgot my wand in my room.”

“Seriously?” I ram my shoulder into the door, but it doesn’t budge an inch. “What happened to Don’t go anywhere without your wand, Rowe. You never know when you’ll be attacked?”

“Can you chastise me later?” More coughing comes from the other side.

“I’m going to have to blow the door down!” I pull my wand from its sheath and kick off one shoe to rub my sock against my leg, generating static electricity. “Move out of the way!”

Energy crackling through my body, I will it to flow down my arm as I snap my wand toward the stubborn doorknob.

With a deafening bang, the door bursts from its hinges, flying through the air like it’s been fired out of a cannon. Wood splinters scatter everywhere, and smoke rushes into the room.

Aspen limps out, half bent over by coughs. He clutches the slender grimoire in his hand, his blue eyes red-rimmed and watering.

“Come on.” I shove my shoe back on and draw his arm over my shoulder to help support his injured leg. “Let’s get out of here.”

As we turn to the hall, fire burst out of the room closest to the entrance, turning the hallway into an inferno. Heat blasts my face as flames leap and dance toward us.

I shrink back into Aspen’s room, but there are no windows for escape that way.

“What do we do?” Fear shoots through me, and my hold tightens on my mentor. “I don’t think throwing lightning at fire is going to do much.”

He drops his arm from around my shoulder and holds out his hand. “Give me your wand.”

I hesitate as I set it in his outstretched palm. “If you break it, we’re screwed.”

His gaze flicks to me. “I couldn’t break your wand if I tried.”

Shocked, my mouth gapes open. Aspen’s my teacher because I broke Mel’s wand, proving myself the more powerful witch. Does that mean… “Are you saying I’m stronger than you?”

“Now is not the time.” Aspen bends forward in another coughing fit before he points my wand toward the fire. “When you see a gap, run as fast as you can, and don’t look back.”

“Your plan sucks, and I refuse.” I wrap my arm around Aspen’s waist. “We’re going through these flames together, or you need to think of another way out that doesn’t leave you to die.”

He glares down at me. “Could you just listen to me for once in your life?”

“Yes.” I stare at the raging blaze in front of us and pull up the hood on my sweatshirt. “But not today. Now, make with the magic so we can get out of here.”

The muscle in Aspen’s jaw clenches as he flicks my wand, drawing a pattern in the air over and over again. Slowly, the fire shifts to one side of the hall, leaving a narrow aisle of black floorboards glowing red.

Without hesitation, I drag Aspen toward the opening while he continues to hold off the flames. The heat worsens as we near, making my skin tight and tingly, and I try not to think about roasting alive as we step through the flaming tunnel.

Tears stream down my face and burn away, but through their haze, I can see the front door. See as it bursts open and Haut races inside, his feral gaze finding us in an instant.

“Rowe!” His roar shakes the building, and he lunges toward us.

As he nears, Aspen’s foot catches on a hole in the burnt floor, and he stumbles, the flicking of my wand stuttering.

Heart in my throat, I shove him at Haut as the flames rush back in.