Chapter 25
Elana
Melly’s rattle and her plush dragon had helped me narrow it down to one mountain, several peaks over. But that was all. She could be on it, around it, above it, or in it. And no amount of concentrating on the little dragon tyke got me anything more.
Emmett, Cassian, and the two ifrits were out there right now, scouring the area while the rest of the castle residents held down the fort.
The castle hummed around me, its magic thrumming beneath my skin, but even that wasn’t enough to ease the gnawing fear.
We were on high alert. The video Emmett had recorded made one thing painfully clear: the wizards weren’t just after me, Dizzi, and Melly.
They were after the castle too.
Because let’s face it, a fortress like this hidden away from the world and with magic woven into its very bones was the perfect hideout for three evil wizards.
And then there was the identity of the third, new, and still-unknown wizard. Had Samuel found where I was and come to ruin my life again? Or was I just jumping at shadows?
I looked around the room again. I was in Sena’s favorite casting room, which, to my surprise, wasn’t what I expected from a powerful witch’s private workspace.
It was bright and cheerful. Sunlight poured through the tall arched windows, catching on dozens of crystals suspended from the ceiling.
Plants hung everywhere, their vines trailing from ceramic planters.
Someone had kept them alive, and I had a feeling it was Dizzi.
Herbs dangled in neat bundles from the ceiling, and I suspected from their lack of scent that they’d been there for years and were no longer potent.
My favorite part was the small fountain that bubbled in the corner. The water made a soft, soothing trickle. One section of the fountain formed a calm basin of water, perfect for scrying, though I’d never done something so complicated before.
The walls were lined with shelves packed full of books.
Older leatherbound volumes sat beside newer journals and loose scrolls tied with ribbon.
There were tons of little boxes with labels in messy, nearly illegible handwriting.
And sprinkled throughout the room were trinkets of all kinds, carved animals, colored glass bottles, and pretty stones.
I appreciated that Emmett had kept this space as close to the way Sena had left it as possible, even after all these years. I was also glad that he’d never let Leroy destroy it.
Needing something to do while I waited for news of the search, I picked one of Sena’s old journals and flipped through it.
It was the same illegible chicken scratch on the label, but something happened as I continued flipping through the pages.
The indecipherable lettering morphed and shifted until I could read it, clear as day.
It was as if the journal writing had been spelled to only allow the right people to read it, and I was the right person.
The journal entry detailed the wards on the castle and a process she’d used to create them.
Sena had a lot of notes. I had to come read them when I had more time.
Closing her journal, I tucked it back onto the shelf.
There was a flicker through the books as if the spines were brightening one after another, and I realized it was leading my eyes toward a large magical tome.
Curious, I picked it up, then closed my eyes and opened it to wherever it wanted to open. I frowned at the spell on the page. While it was written in English, it didn’t make any sense to me, and I couldn’t figure out what type of spell it was. Something told me it was important.
I dug into one of the tool belt’s many pockets, retrieved my phone, and called Tansy. I updated her on what had happened, then showed her the spell, hoping she would be able to decipher it for me.
“I’m not great at reading old spells,” Tansy admitted.
“Modern spell books are more standardized, but back in the day, everyone wrote down their spells however they wanted. But I think this is a form of scrying. Hence, the pool of water, and the mentions of linking eyes. It’s closer to the sight link spell. ”
“So I can use it to see through Melly’s eyes?”
“Yes, you can. But I’m not familiar with this particular branch of magic. I’m not sure how much I can help.”
A gentle warmth had wrapped around me, as if the castle—or was that whatever was left of Sena on this plane?—was promising to help walk me through. It almost felt eager to have someone to teach, like it had been lonely.
“I think I’ll try it anyway.”
Tansy explained all that she could, then wished me good luck.
The castle helped me gather the ingredients.
There was still one more ingredient missing before we could start: a piece of Melly.
We made our way through the corridors to the playroom and searched the room for something, anything, that could be hers.
But all I found were a few strands of Dizzi’s dark hair.
Would the two be together? Or had Leroy given Dizzi to her old goblin clan?
I had to try. I made my way back down to Sena’s casting room, although I guess it was my casting room now, and got to work.
Every time I got lost or didn’t know what to do next, the castle guided me, lighting up the next ingredient or highlighting a passage in the text.
To my surprise, I did not set anything on fire.
I recited the final line and looked into the calmest part of the pool, not sure what to expect. At first, nothing happened. But then the water seemed to move, and slowly but surely an image started to take shape.
Bars, I was looking directly into a set of bars. Dizzi was in a cage.
Holy crap! I’d just successfully cast a spell on purpose, and I hadn’t burned anything down… yet. I knocked on the wooden table, just in case.
I tried to focus outside of the bars to see what was beyond them. It was hard to make out, but it looked like we were inside a cave. The scene shifted, and suddenly I was looking at Dizzi’s feet. I realized that I didn’t have much control over what I could see since I was looking through her eyes.
I grabbed my phone and quickly dialed Emmett’s number, hoping I was able to do both things at once. The image in the pool did not falter. But Emmett also did not pick up. He was probably flying.
But when I tried to leave a message, the pool wavered, and the scene started to fade as I started to type. I put the phone down and concentrated back on the pool; the image solidified again.
Okay, so pressing a few buttons to call the last person who texted me was okay, but typing out a whole last message? Not so much.
Then Dizzi turned to face something green and bronze. Melly! I’d recognize those scales anywhere! She was still with Melly, and in the same cage too!
Melly blew a tiny stream of fire against the bars, but it did nothing. And by the scorch marks on all the bars at that level, she’d been trying for a while.
I tried calling Emmett again, but there was no answer.
The image in the water was much clearer now, and as she turned her head, I didn’t see anyone else in the room but them. I had a sudden idea. What if I opened a portal to their location right now, right inside their cage? They could step right back into the castle! That was possible, right?
Unless they had wards preventing just such a thing. They were wizards after all. Maybe they wouldn’t expect someone to use magic. To the best of their knowledge, Emmett didn’t have any other spell-casters.
I wouldn’t know if I didn’t try.
But the image was starting to fade second by second, the spell losing steam. I had to do something now. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to successfully cast that spell again. What if it had been a fluke?
I grabbed my phone, held down the dictation button, quickly rattled out an explanation, and pressed send. I glanced briefly down at my screen. They were barely a few words, but I hope there were enough.
Me: Tried to scry. Found them. They’re together. Going to open a portal and bring them through.
Then I was digging into the pockets of my tool belt. I focused on the scene in the water, then ripped open the pouch and aimed it against the bookcase, willing the portal to open up inside the cage.
I held my breath as the portal swirled open in front of me. Dizzi looked back at me through the portal, her eyes wide. Except that the portal hadn’t opened up inside the cage, it opened up just outside of it.
Ugh! So close!
But those three feet meant she couldn’t walk to safety.
Dizzi moved quickly, gathering Melly into her arms. The goblin girl had bruises on her face and a split lip.
“He left the key on the table,” she whispered. Her eyes darted to the side like she thought someone was going to walk in. “Hurry. He’s going to be back soon.”
If I moved fast, I’d be able to grab the key, free them, and step right back through the portal before Leroy got back. I took a deep breath and stepped through, bracing for the disorientation that often came with portal travel.
I stumbled out into a cold, damp cavern, right into the bars.
Dizzi was there instantly, reaching out to me through the bars and steadying me. “The key is right there. Hurry!”
I focused my magic, telling it to keep the portal open. I hoped this worked.
Then I stumbled over to the table and grabbed the keys, which were on the world’s ugliest keychain of a busty woman bending over. Eww! What horrible taste! Then I was back and opening the cage door. I’d just taken Melly from Dizzi’s arms when my luck ran out.
“What the fuck is happeni—”
Leroy glared at me from where the cave opened out into a corridor. But when our eyes met, the anger in his eyes changed to something far worse. Greed and fascination, and I realized he could see my magic in full now.
I wasn’t going to let him anywhere near me.
I exchanged a look with Dizzi. “Ready?”
“Go!” she replied.
And we both leaped into the portal. But Leroy’s arms were already moving, throwing a spell.
Whatever it was, it hit the portal just as we jumped through.
The world around us shook and shattered; the sound of the portal tearing like a physical thing echoed loudly in my ears… and then, there was nothing.