Chapter 7
CHAPTER SEVEN
Whimsy Woods lived up to its name. The autumnal glow of the leaves above them and the deep shadows of the forest floor below, pierced by the occasional beam of brilliant sunlight, were whimsical and mysterious. Beyond the woods, Malcolm could see a towering black rockface far beyond.
“What’s that, beyond the edge of the woods?” he pointed in the direction of the intimidating cliffs.
“That’s the Black Cliffs. Its close the edge of what the town considers its primary lands on the north side. “The stone is made of tourmaline. I don’t like going there. It makes my magic feel… weird.”
“Huh,” Malcolm stared at the cliffs a moment longer before he followed Calli on a well-worn trail deeper into the woods.
Hades bounced ahead of them, ever alert, but his tail wagging eagerly.
Persephone was tucked into a special backpack that Calli had found at the local pet store in town.
The backpack had a clear back with air holes and was designed for traveling with a small pet.
At the moment, the kitten was watching Malcolm intently, its head bobbing with every step.
The air around them seemed to shimmer with magic. This was not magic made by witches and warlocks, it was the magic of life on earth, the magic of existence. He drew in a deep breath and shifted the picnic basket into his other hand, then caught up with Calli, who had gotten farther ahead.
Sunlight lit up an open patch of ground ahead.
This had to be the spot she mentioned on the drive over.
The golden meadow grass was shorter here and clearly a popular spot for visitors.
The clearing was empty now, thankfully. He wanted this time with Calli all to himself.
He had to get to know her better, given that they could very well end up bonded.
You couldn’t exactly break apart a witch-locked pair.
If he was going to uproot his life, embrace his magic and spend a life with this gorgeous, sexy woman, he needed to know that he could commit to that life and to her fully and that she could to him.
Witch-locked.
The words kept echoing in his head.
This woman could be his other half, the witch destined to change his life forever.
Such bonds were incredibly rare, and even he, a man who swore to live without using his magic except in rare cases, knew what a gift it was.
He tried not to think about how ecstatic his father would be to know how close Malcolm was to forming a witch-lock.
Then again, his father wouldn’t approve of Calli’s hedge witch bloodline.
But when had Malcolm ever done what his father wanted? Not since he’d been a teenager.
Calli rolled out the large picnic blanket in the center of the meadow, and Malcolm set the basket down on it.
She had crafted a spell before leaving the house to keep the drinks and sandwiches cold and the basket impenetrable to curious insects.
He’d watched her weave the spell, noting the steps and how it was a little different than what he was used to seeing.
For the first time since forever, he was actually excited to understand more about magic.
Hades barked at Calli, who set her backpack down and lifted little Persephone out and set the kitten on the ground.
“Watch out for her, Hades,” Calli said. “She’s still a baby and can wander off and get hurt.”
If a familiar got hurt, it could hurt the witch or warlock in turn. Familiars were supposed to live as long as their chosen magic wielder. In rare cases, a familiar could die and it deeply hurt the witch or warlock, sometimes cutting them off from their magic because the grief was too great.
The dog crouched in a play bow and licked the kitten’s face, knocking her little body over. Malcolm stifled a laugh as the kitten pounced on Hades’s nose in response.
“Okay… not quite what I was expecting, but it’ll do.” Calli put her hands on her hips. She still had his red and black plaid flannel shirt on, and he decided the sight of the little hedge witch in his clothes was the hottest thing ever…well, aside from her having no clothes on at all.
“What are you thinking?” she asked.
“Nothing,” he lied smoothly.
Calli frowned. “Hmm… it’s just your magical signature… It seems to change sometimes. I’m trying to figure out why. I mean your signature is the same, but I can’t explain how it adjusts itself.”
“Adjusts itself?” he echoed.
“Yeah…” She cleared her throat. “Let’s get to those lessons I promised.”
“Okay. Where do we start?” Malcolm walked toward her, closing the distance between them.
“How about something simple? Start with the basics?” She picked a red maple leaf off the ground and laid it flat in her palm. “Do you know any levitation spells?”
“Not really. I mean, I did one in my sleep, but that doesn’t exactly count.”
“I’m going to weave a simple spell. Watch me. Then try on your own.”
Calli stood very still as her magic came forth.
She seemed to be surrounded by the faintest glow of light.
The light trickled away from her as tendrils reached out above her head and resembled the thin, delicate strands of a spiderweb.
He watched the weaving closely, noting the pattern and the spell move down to wrap itself around the leaf, lifting into the air above Calli’s upturned palm.
Then she slowly lowered it back down to her palm.
“Nothing fancy, just a basic extension of yourself. Now you try.” She focused on the leaf rather than him, which took some of the pressure off.
He tried to feel the path to his magic and, for a few frightening seconds, he thought he would step off into the darkness and lose his way.
But then he followed a glowing path that began to emerge in his mind.
It reminded him of the path in Calli’s backyard garden. A golden road. Soon he felt the magic surge into him. His hands twitched with power.
“Focus on the leaf,” Calli said gently.
Rather than let his magic explode from his hands, he did as she suggested and focused. He failed. Every time he got close, the spell seemed to fall apart.
“What am I doing wrong?” he asked, trying to hide his frustration.
Calli frowned slightly. “Maybe you’re trying to do it like me. How would your dad do it?”
Malcolm thought back to his childhood, to the times he’d seen his father cast all sorts of spells.
His weaving of spells had been a little different than Calli’s, the shape, the patterns.
Maybe that was it? He concentrated, focusing on what he’d seen Calli do and blending it with what he remembered his father would do.
The spell began to form, just as it had for Calli, like nearly invisible threads of spider silk.
It took more concentration than he expected to keep his magic under control.
It was as though once he’d opened the path properly to it and started weaving in a way that felt more comfortable…
his magic wanted to shoot out of him in wild, uncontrolled surges.
He moved the strings, forming a levitation pattern, then lowered it down to the leaf in her hand.
The leaf rose up into the air, hovering at eye level.
He could even sense the grip the magic had on it, and made the leaf spin and twirl in the air.
A lighthearted giddiness overtook him, and he laughed in boyish delight.
“I did it!” And then the leaf shot straight into the sky as his magic slipped his control.
“Well shit…” he muttered.
Calli tilted her head back to watch the dark spec of the leash vanishing into the sky. “I bet it will reach the moon.” She giggled.
“Great. My father would love that.”
Calli’s hand closed around his. “Hey… you did it, Malcolm. That’s what matters. You got your magic to do something you wanted. And then… after you got it excited, is when it slipped. We can learn to help you control it once you learn to do what you want first.”
“Right.” Malcolm agreed with a sigh.
“Now, how about something more difficult?”
“Such as?” he asked.
She grinned mischievously. “Try to lift me.”
“You? You’ve got to be kidding, I could send you to the moon.”
“It’s going to take more focus since I am much bigger and heavier than a single leaf, but I trust you to keep your focus and your control.”
Calli stood very still. Malcolm concentrated, repeating the spell, but this time he wound it more around her body.
He realized then what his first mistake had been, to think of lifting an object by weight, when it should be seen as the spell covering the entire surface of an object or person.
Malcolm grinned as she slowly rose a few feet off the ground.
He was doing it. Really doing it. Intentional magic, not misfires or chaos.
“This is really me right?” He could feel his magic working, knew that he’d cast the spell, but it was almost too hard to believe after all these years.
“Yep, it’s all you.” Calli replied with a beaming smile that hit right behind the knees.
He levitated her slowly into his arms. She lifted her head to look up at him and he forgot for a moment what he was doing and just held her, his focus rapt on her full lips and how much he wanted to kiss her.
Calli was the real magic, and he never wanted to let her go.
He couldn’t forget that every touch, every kiss, every moment he got closer…
they risked getting witch-locked. While they’d both agreed they’d be willing to see where this thing between them went, he didn’t want to rush it, for both of their sakes.
They deserved the right to take a step back, to think.
Regretfully, he stepped back and let go of her, even though his body felt like the loss of contact was a betrayal.
She flashed him a little look of regret that echoed in his own chest.
“Sorry, I got carried away,” he murmured.
“Me too.” A beautiful blush stained her cheeks as she cleared her throat. “Let’s try a real challenge. Can you lift all of the leaves in this meadow?”