37. Elsie
Elsie
Ihad never been more eager to get to my house—my dad’s house—than I was right now.
All of us raced over in two cars to my house to get to the library. Pride swelled in me knowing that my nerdiness and love for ancient books could help at such a critical moment.
When Lukas said they needed our help, I went to the living room, where everyone was drinking tea and waiting for news, and turned my phone to speaker so we could all listen.
Lukas told us that Calvin was going to attempt a tracing spell (to which Calvin argued he would not attempt, but complete) to find Arnold, but they needed some specific texts that Calvin hoped I would have.
Then the Oathbreaker gave us precise instructions on what he needed and how we could look for it, down to telling us rare spells we could use to track specific phrases in books to find them.
Lukas interjected, informing Calvin that we definitely already knew those spells.
None of us did, or we would have used them the last time we searched through my library.
I wrote them down on my phone so I would never forget them.
We’d all rushed to leave Noah’s house to get to mine and start looking. I wasn’t confident I had the books Calvin needed, but I hoped we could find something.
Leading the group into the large library in the house, I immediately began talking about the room's sections. When I turned to look at them, all of them were staring at me.
“What?”
“This is all yours?” Henri asked. She looked as though she could cry as her eyes flitted about the room.
I shrugged. “Some of them were from my mother’s collection that she worked on her entire life, some I’ve found and collected, and some were already my father’s. I’d say most of them are ones I found, though.”
“Damn,” Noah said, looking impressed.
“We can all gawk and enjoy later. For now, we have to get to work. Arnold must be found, and we’re going to help.
The texts that Calvin described…they could honestly be anywhere in here, if I have them at all.
” I turned back to the library, pointing out areas.
“That section over there covers ancient potions, that one there would contain anything on blood spells, over here would have more bestiary topics, and honestly, any section could contain original magic practices.”
They all looked at me like I was crazy, except for Henri. She looked positively thrilled.
“Okay, we should each take a different section and start using the spells Calvin told us. I wrote them down in case any of us didn’t know them. I also wrote everything he told us to look for.” Henri took charge, handing little slips of paper to Ivy, Remy, and Noah.
“I actually didn’t know them,” Remy commented, gratefully taking the slip.
We each separated to our respective sections, quietly casting our spells.
There were three spells, each one used differently to weed through the many pages of the texts.
The first spell located books with similar phrases.
I started in the original magic area, hoping that I could find at least a few texts to look through.
The first spell led me to six books that I’d probably never opened before, so I used my wand to lift them from their shelves and place them near me.
Then I started a more intricate locator spell for the exact phrases.
It took longer because I had to do it for each book, and there were at least one hundred in this section.
Time passed painfully slowly, the only sounds in the room being the muttering of spells and the rustling of pages being turned.
Everyone stayed focused on their task, even Noah, who I assumed would have to distract Henri with kisses at least once.
Yet we all were intent on finding what Calvin needed.
Tension filled the silence between us, and surely we were all considering the implications of our school dean being accused under truth serum and then going missing.
He was surely plotting and planning never to be found, but what else would he do in retaliation?
Surely, none of us were safe. Especially those that testified about the potion and poison… three of whom were in this room.
A chill raked down my spine as I wondered if we were safe, even now.
I’d been reading through the stack of books I’d pulled from the shelves, tabbing pages I thought could be helpful. But there were so many.
Calvin had instructed us that his spell to separate their blood might require information from an essence-binding ritual, as well as resonance magic.
Then, he would need multiple resources to piece together his tracing potion, which could require ingredients he would have to make, such as purity catalysts.
And finally, he needed anything I had on the ancient Alchemical War, in which magicians’ warfare was limited to what potions they could make.
The sun had long since set, and I was growing weary of the task. I’d found more than enough information. Judging by the piles surrounding my friends, they had too.
I reached for my phone, seeing that I’d missed a call from Lukas only ten minutes ago. I’d silenced the device to stay focused. Quickly, I called him back.
“Hey, Elsie.”
“Sorry, I turned my phone to silent. We’re all going through as many of these books as we can.” Even my voice sounded exhausted. Everyone in the room turned to look at me, my voice breaking the long silence.
“That’s okay. I was just calling to check in on everyone and tell you I’m on my way to help. And I’m bringing pizza.”
My stomach grumbled in response. “Perfect. Hopefully, we’ve found enough.”
“I’m sure you have. Calvin is with me, as long as that’s okay with you? We’ve been searching all day through what Ed has access to, and have had little luck.”
“Of course. We might have more for him to consider here.”
“We’ll see you in a few minutes then, I love you.”
“I love you, Lukas. See you soon.” After we hung up, I told the group that dinner was on its way. Everyone sighed with relief.
Once Lukas and Calvin arrived, everyone flocked to the pizza as if it were their first meal in weeks, not hours.
“Hey,” Lukas whispered as everyone got their pizza. His arms were around me, wasting no time in pulling me closer.
I leaned in, resting my head on his chest, thankful for the rejuvenation his embrace provided. “Hey.”
“Thank you for helping,” he said into my ear. His hand stroked down my hair soothingly.
“I’m glad I could.” I pulled back, ready to eat. Calvin stood at the kitchen entrance, as still as a statue. He didn’t look uncomfortable. In fact, he was rather expressionless.
I motioned for him to get some pizza, and he slowly shook his head.
“I can show you to the library,” I offered. That got him to step forward. He remained silent.
I walked past him to lead him down the hallway to the library. Unfortunately for him, I wasn’t the silent type.
“We’ve looked through everything I have. Meticulously. Just before you got here, we organized it all and categorized it based on what you said you needed. Pages should be marked.” I pushed open the door and walked to the couches in the middle, stacks of books on the coffee table in between them.
“Damn,” Calvin said under his breath. I looked back to see an impressed expression on his face.
“I enjoy collecting.” I waved at the books. “If you need anything, let me know. Also, make sure you come eat with us. You don’t have to isolate yourself.”
I wasn’t sure why I said the last part, but he seemed like he could use some friends. Something about him screamed lonely to me.
Calvin cut his eyes up to me as he sat, and he gave me only a brief nod. I took that as my cue to leave the room.
When I returned to the kitchen, everyone had moved to the dining room. Laughter and chatter flowed freely, so I fixed myself a plate and joined them. I took my place next to Lukas, scooting my chair even closer to his.
“Calvin’s a bit…” I tried to think of the best word as I whispered to Lukas.
“Broody.”
I nodded, taking a huge bite of my pizza.
Our group enjoyed the brief reprieve from reality as we sat and dined as if nothing was wrong in the world. Lukas and Noah, of course, steered the topic to football, and I listened intently as they discussed which national teams they preferred. Naturally, they disagreed.
“I think we all know the Reavers have the greatest chance of the title this year.”
Everyone fell silent as Calvin entered the room with his plate in hand. He stopped short at the doorway, looking around the table. I waved at the seat across from Lukas, indicating he should take it. Slowly, he moved to it.
“The Reavers? You have to be kidding me.” Noah leaned back in his chair, a smirk on his face, though his tone seemed incredulous.
“Nope. They have the best forwards of any team, and their defense is unmatched. Not even the precious Gilded could beat them this year.” A smirk formed on Calvin’s face as he looked at Noah. Then his eyes met Lukas’s. “And not even the Falcons. Though they are objectively better than the Gilded.”
Lukas began to laugh, and Noah rolled his eyes. “Whatever. What do you even know? You’re American.” Henri smacked Noah’s arm for the statement, but Calvin seemed unfazed, shrugging.
“Just because I’m American doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy some soccer.”
“Football.” Lukas, Noah, and Remy all corrected him at once. We girls all laughed at the response.
It was Calvin’s turn to roll his eyes. “Sorry, football. I’ve still watched plenty of years to know the Reavers have this year in their pocket.”
The conversation of which football team was better continued, with Calvin an active participant. It made him seem a bit more like a person and less of his daunting title of Oathbreaker.
“Did you find anything you need?” I asked once the conversation died down.
Calvin’s eyes lit up fractionally. “Everything I need, actually. Quite an impressive collection you have in there.”
“Thanks.”
“Lukas, I’m going to start the extraction tomorrow. Think you could help?”
Lukas squeezed my leg under the table. I knew this was exactly what he wanted to do.
“Absolutely.”