The Spell Caster

Chapter 2

LAYLA

T he world around me suddenly seemed bright and chaotic. Voices shouting in the distance, footsteps walking quickly, loud scraping and shuffling.

“Your spell caster is in good hands, guardian. She’s going to be fine,” someone was saying. “Can you let us take a look at that forehead?”

My eyes wouldn’t focus properly. I blinked repeatedly, trying to clear the dark spots.

“Layla.” I felt Costi’s hand on mine. I was lying on a bed.

“What’s going on?” I tried to say, my voice hovering far away from my body.

“Layla, you scared the fuck out of me.”

I let my head fall to the side toward his voice, my vision clearing a bit as my consciousness strengthened. Costi was hunched over next to the bed on a too-small stool.

I gasped, taking him in. The right side of his forehead was marked with a wicked gash that had been barely cleaned, and his left arm was in a sling. His shirt was in tatters.

He ignored my reaction, holding my face in one hand and peering into my eyes, as if looking for signs of concussion. “You passed out and banged your skull.”

I wiggled, trying to sit up, but Costi’s hand on my arm kept me in place. “Don’t,” he said.

Something on my back burned, and I remembered. The attack. The angels. Those were talon marks all over Costi’s body.

I was in the infirmary. An IV bag hooked above me was feeding fluid into the vein of my hand. Around me and outside, the Circle was pandemonium. It smelled like a mix of disinfectants and smoke. Something very bad was going on.

“Costi—”

An older medic in a blue uniform leaned over me. I’d seen him around in our tiny community but couldn’t remember his name. He held up a pen in front of my eyes, moving it back and forth. As I followed it with my gaze, he grunted. I didn’t know if that was good or bad. “I’ll be back in a few minutes with the kit for your stitches, guardian,” he said to Costi, pulling the partition curtain around the bed shut as he left.

Had Costi carried me here with his injured arm? My mouth tasted coppery, like I’d bitten my tongue. “What… happened?”

“What happened ?” Costi shoved his good hand through his already messed-up hair. “You cast a spell big enough to knock satellites out of space and destroyed six angels at once. Ash was able to get our teams out just before the rest of the attack hit.”

“ What? ” The rest of the attack ?

Costi looked down at me seriously. “That was some kind of scouting squadron. It was sheer luck that we were out there and caught them at it, or we’d probably all be dead.”

None of this made any sense. Angels didn’t have scouting squadrons .

I jumped as a close boom rattled the infirmary. Costi placed a large hand over my blanket-covered arm.

“They have weapons,” he said with grim eyes. “Some kind of staff that shoots light.”

Weapons? My blood chilled as the full implications hit me. A large, organized attack, weapons that could hit at range, pinpointing the Circle’s location. This was something worse than bad.

Something else didn’t make sense. “Costi, I cast magic.”

“ Yeah, you did.” His teeth flashed as he gave a half grin, wincing a little as it pulled the cut by his eye. “Never seen anything like it.”

I licked my dry lips. “But I didn’t. I mean, I couldn’t have. It’s… what I came to tell you. I don’t have a familiar.”

Costi frowned. “There wasn’t anyone else close enough.”

“It was me, though. I saw the spell form, and I pushed the magic into it. I felt it catch, just like a circle spell.” It felt amazing—my body was still echoing with it, despite the stinging in my back as my bandages rubbed against the bed. “How could that be possible?”

Costi rubbed at the scruff growing on his face. “Shy demon?”

I stared at him.

He shrugged his uninjured shoulder. “Don’t know anything about familiars. You’ve gotta have one, though, if you cast. Try invoking.”

He was right. A flash of hope and excitement lit me, despite the dire situation. I gently took stock of my body and mind. Could I tell if there was a familiar bonded to me? Had that last spell worked after all? I was exhausted and hurting now, but before the attack, I hadn’t felt any different.

Demon familiars were their own entities, our ancient allies from a realm called Hell. They couldn’t speak or communicate beyond conveying their moods, and they came and went as they pleased. However, they could be called upon for battle, and they would respond.

Closing my eyes, I followed the mental sequence that we learned in school to invoke our familiars. I had tried it many times before, the first time my summoning failed, and again after the last one. The call echoed, seeming to move outside of me. I glanced around the bed. No demon. I sighed.

When I looked up at Costi, he was staring at me, his eyes moving around my face.

“I don’t think it worked,” I said. “What’s wrong?”

“No, guess not. It’s nothing. Just… are you okay? They got your shoulder pretty bad. Are you hurting anywhere else? You want some water?”

I looked down at my shoulder carefully, seeing the bandage peeking out from under a light fabric gown that was thankfully covered by the hospital blanket. “I think I’m all right. I’m tired, though. I didn’t sleep before all this.”

“Get some rest.” He brushed some stray hair away from my face. The kind gesture made my throat tighten.

It was too bright in here, and the chaotic sounds around us were too nerve-racking to even consider sleeping. “What about you?”

“What about me?”

“Aren’t you going to rest? You’re hurt too.”

“I am resting,” he said, raising his eyebrows. He leaned back and crossed his arms. “This stool is real comfortable.”

I breathed out a small laugh. I didn’t have the will to tell him he didn’t need to stay with me. Arguing with Costi was like trying to empty the sea with a cup. I had a feeling that if I didn’t keep him here, he would charge back out into the battle. “At least let them look at your cut—”

We were interrupted by the curtain opening.

Jenny Luna, one of our elected councilors, strode in. She cut a dramatic figure with her black ceremonial robes fluttering behind her. She cleared her throat. “I came as soon as I could. I only have a moment, but I wanted to thank you on behalf of the Council and the Circle.”

Costi and I shared a speechless look.

Councilor Luna was in her middle years, with bands of silver starting to creep into her short dark hair. Her blue eyes were tired. “You put on quite a show, Layla—the entire Circle felt the reverb from your spell. And Blackthorn, you managed to hold off a half dozen angels with just a dagger. Quite the team for a new guardian and a recent graduate.” She nodded in acknowledgment and regarded us gravely. “Well done. You saved lives tonight.”

“Thanks.” I glanced away, plucking at my blanket with my free hand. Costi was silent. I desperately hoped that with all of this chaos, no one would put together the fact that we were out alone after dark on the seawall.

The councilor looked me over. “Are you badly injured? Can you go back out? We need all our spell casters on defense for the evacuation.”

I blinked and opened my mouth, but nothing came out. Evacuation?

“Nope. She can’t cast,” Costi said. Relief washed through me.

“You burned yourself out? Cursed fate, that’ll take days to heal.” Councilor Luna swore, tugging a hand through her salt-and-pepper hair. Her phone dinged with a message, but she ignored it. “All right. I suppose that makes sense. That was a huge spell.” She turned to face Costi. “And you?”

“I’m good.”

What? He most definitely was not good. A line of fresh blood dribbled from the gash on his forehead. He looked exhausted.

“Then you need to get your spell caster out of here. We’re regrouping at the Mountain Circle.”

“What?” I said out loud this time. With my free hand, I pushed myself to a sitting position on the crinkling infirmary bed. Being careful of my IV, I pulled the thin blanket up to cover my chest.

“I’m sorry, Layla,” she said, patting me on the arm. “We simply can’t risk you. The Circle has been compromised. It’s too dangerous to stay here. If you can’t cast, you need to evacuate.”

“Understood,” Costi said.

“Good. I can’t spare a vehicle for you—we have just enough to get the children and elders out. Don’t call for a rideshare. I don’t want non-magical humans anywhere near here. Walk out to town and rent a car.” Councilor Luna’s phone dinged again insistently. “I don’t need to tell you to be extremely careful, especially on the bridge. Watch the skies.”

Costi gave a single nod. “I got her.”

The councilor returned his nod. “Fate go with you.”

She was already picking up her phone and asking for updates from the witch on the line before she was even past the curtain.

Costi slid off his stool, not betraying any pain from his injuries. I stared at him in bewilderment.

The infirmary sounded less chaotic now—the shouts had quieted to snatches of conversations. The alarming bangs from outside the building had tapered off.

Had we beaten them?

Costi leaned over me, peering into my eyes. “How are you feeling?”

I swung my bare feet over the side of the bed. “I think I’m okay.”

“Okay enough to walk out to town?”

“I can if you can,” I said, but I wasn’t entirely sure.

The corner of his lips twitched upward. It was an old joke between us from our childhood, me, younger and smaller, trying to keep up with him through countless adventures. He would tell me he wasn’t going to slow down and then slow down anyway.

Costi called the medic over, and I shivered in the chilly air as he removed my IV.

“Normally, I’d never let you leave the infirmary this soon, but this situation…” The medic blew out a breath. “All right, guardian, your turn.”

While the medic tended to Costi’s forehead, I dragged myself into the nearby bathroom. Looking in the mirror was painful—my skin was sallow, and my eyes were wide and glassy. My hair was a tangled mess. The infirmary gown, as bad as I had thought, wasn’t doing me any favors. It was a shame that witches couldn’t just wiggle our noses and do healing spells like the outsiders showed on TV. We had to heal with time and medicine the way all humans did.

My clothes were ruined, but I found a cupboard that was stocked with a pile of folded nursing scrubs. My shower was awkward as I tried to wash my hair with one hand while not getting my shoulder bandage wet, but I emerged clean and dressed.

“Ready?” Costi’s face had been wiped clean, his wound bound with neat stitches. “I gotta stop by my place and grab my gear and weapons.” He looked me over, rubbing his chin. “You’ll need some better clothes too.”

“I… left a bag with some clothes in your tree. The tree in front of your apartment, that is.”

Costi’s gaze sharpened. “That was before the attack,” he put together immediately.

I pulled in a breath.

“Were you—” He stopped speaking and glanced to the hall, pulling me protectively out of the doorway.

I heard the voices that had alerted him as two witches turned the corner. It was Aura, one of our older spell casters, and her guardian. The two witches were still in sleeping clothes, the guardian with her sword strapped over flannel pants. They’d been pulled out of bed for the emergency.

Aura’s demon familiar trailed behind her, a pale creature that looked like a child. Albeit a child with huge black eyes, sharp teeth, and pointed ears. The pair didn’t notice us, but the little familiar turned and glared with a sulky hiss.

“You think someone in the community sold us out, you mean,” Aura was saying.

“That has to be it,” the guardian said. She was a tall witch with close-shaved hair who had been a few years above me in school.

“One of the mission teams could have led them here by mistake,” Aura pointed out.

“This is just like what happened in Greece,” the guardian insisted.

My eyes flitted to Costi in alarm.

He looked back at me steadily. If he had a reaction to their words, he kept it to himself. It wasn’t something we talked a lot about as children, so I had no adult reference for his feelings about the Greek incident. It made my heart twist. I’d never considered it before.

How much of the attack on the Paralía Circle had he witnessed? Was history repeating itself?

Costi stepped out into the hallway, and I shuffled behind him. “Salix,” he addressed the other guardian. “What’s the situation outside?”

The pair stopped and turned to us. “Stable,” the guardian answered. “For now. We haven’t seen another wave of angels since we blasted back the third. Aura is cleared for duty, so we’re heading back to the seawall. You coming?”

Costi shook his head. “She’s injured. We’re evacuating.”

Aura looked me up and down dubiously but kept any thoughts to herself. I’d never gotten along very well with the coven.

“Good luck,” the guardian bade us as Costi led me in the opposite direction with a gentle hand on my back. Our footsteps echoed through the quiet corridor of the medical center. The overhead lights were off, leaving only strips of emergency lights along the floor. At the end of the hall, Costi pushed open the wooden door with his good arm.

Outside, it was pitch-dark and silent. The outdoor lights had also been extinguished, and the sky was eerily muted and uniformly black.

Once the door was closed, I couldn’t even see my hand in front of my face.

“The circlewrights,” I whispered, feeling awed. This was witch work. To cover the entire sky with a cloak of darkness would have taken dozens of circle spells. All of our circlewrights must have contributed, tracing out spell after spell to make sure the angels couldn’t see us from above.

Costi flicked on his phone, giving us just enough light so we wouldn’t crash into things. The screen was cracked from where I had dropped it during the attack.

“My apartment,” he said. “Walk quickly and close to walls wherever we can. Keep an eye out.”

The Circle we had grown up in looked strange and menacing in the faint white phone light as we crept along the walkways, hugging the buildings. Not a single other witch made their presence known.

When we made it to his apartment, Costi didn’t question me as I retrieved my bag from the tree.

***

After taking a few moments to duck into his apartment to change, I rejoined Costi, and we headed toward the road.

In minutes we reached the bridge. A small parking lot usually held the Circle’s collection of vehicles that would be used in the evacuation effort.

The bridge itself was several miles long, spanning the tidal river and marsh that separated our island from the mainland, an American state called Massachusetts. The salty smell that rose from the marsh was just short of unpleasant, but it was the scent of home.

Walking out onto the bridge, we reached the edge of the shield spell. The moon and stars popped out, a faint tinge of dawn spreading above the line of distant trees. It was quiet. Costi scanned the sky. I looked up as well, trying to catch any hint of the electric feeling of angels I had come to recognize in the attack. After a moment, he motioned for me to follow.

Moving cautiously while watching the horizon, we made our way across. There was a gate at the far end of the bridge to keep tourists out, but we walked around it.

“How far is the Mountain Circle? It’s in West Virginia, right?” I asked quietly as we passed onto the main road.

It was close to morning now, plenty of light to walk by. The air was cool and pleasant with the damp scent of the forest on either side of us. Nighttime insects began to hush with the approaching day.

“West Virginia, yeah. Takes a while to get there, more than twelve hours by car.”

“Oh yeah, we’re taking a vehicle.” I brightened, bouncing a little on the dark pavement despite trying not to look too excited.

Costi gave me an amused look. “It’d take ages to walk that far,” he said.

I had very rarely ridden in a vehicle. The Circle kept a fleet of them for teams to use on missions and procuring supplies from the outside, but I had no reason to leave the community most of the time. I’d only been outside a handful of times on field trips.

I supposed that, too, would change, if I really was a spell caster now.

The farther we walked, the freer I began to feel. My life was a giant question mark, and the only community I had ever known had just been tossed to the wind, so it probably wasn’t right to feel this way. But I finally had room to breathe, equal parts terrifying and exhilarating.

More than an hour passed before Costi led us to a second street that looked larger. Here, the American streetlamp system began, little halos of yellow light dotting the way, and a traffic light glowed at the crossroads.

“If any cars come along, duck into the trees,” he said. “The outsiders will get nervous if they see us walking on the road.”

That was odd, but I believed him. He was well-versed in navigating the outside from the missions he’d gone on while in training.

It hit me again how far apart our lives had drifted in the past few years. As he advanced in training and I got busy with my schoolwork and preparing to graduate, we hadn’t been able to see each other often. He would text me the names of places I’d never heard of that he was visiting, and I would dream of the day I joined him.

It was part of a guardian’s job to track down angel nests. Teams with spell casters would then move in to exterminate them.

That was supposed to be my life too—burning angel nests to keep humanity safe.

Despite our grand mythology around them, in real life, angels were nothing more than mindless creatures. They infested abandoned buildings and lonely stretches at the edges of habitation, menacing the non-magical who stumbled upon them. There would start to be reports of missing hikers, strange sounds, monster sightings. In the winter, their hunts were lean, and they would creep out to snatch children from lonely farms. They were the nightmarish stuff of rural ghost stories.

Angels would go after a witch if one got near enough. We could sense each other to a certain extent, and witch magic enraged them. But they weren’t sentient. They never went after us like we hunted them down. It had been fifteen years since an attack on a Circle—the one in Greece. It had never happened before or since.

We walked along the roads while the sun rose. At some point, Costi dropped his duffel to remove his more obvious weapons and stow them away. I wondered if we blended in as normal, non-magical humans.

Cars began to roar past, and the trees gave way to parking lots and shop buildings. He led us to a large building called a hotel—a sort of guesthouse that we could stay in.

I tried to look unimpressed as we walked in, but the amused smirk Costi gave me let me know I was failing.

“Good morning.” The woman behind the counter gave us a wary, uncertain look. We didn’t blend in that well after all.

“We need to book a room,” Costi said.

“For tonight? Check-in isn’t until three,” she said suspiciously.

Costi argued with the woman, coming to some agreement so she would let us in now.

I looked around the hotel curiously. We witches brought in a lot of technology and supplies from the outside, but our cultures were far enough apart to make the differences stand out. The aesthetic here was far more minimalist than ours, with beige-colored walls and few decorative touches. It wasn’t well cared for, with scuffs on the floors and worn, mass-produced furniture placed haphazardly. The vibe was simultaneously over sanitized and grungy.

“Don’t we have to pay for everything here?” I asked Costi as we waited for the elevator.

“I did pay for it,” he said, showing me a small metallic black card. “This thing keeps a tab. They send the bill to the Council later.”

“Who’s James Smith?” I asked, reading the name on the card.

“No idea. Some fake name,” he said as another guest exiting the elevator gave us a weird look before hurrying away.

The guest room was a small affair with two identical beds and some sparse furniture, and it smelled strongly of cleaning chemicals. The air conditioning hummed quietly, making it chilly.

It suddenly felt small with just the two of us in here. I clutched my arms around myself. Sharing a room probably wasn’t what Councilor Luna had in mind when she sent me with him.

“Take a shower if you want,” Costi said. “I’ll get some food ordered and see about a car.” He pulled out his phone, plugging it into a charger, and started typing with one thumb.

I swallowed. It dawned on me how useless I was. Fate, I knew nothing about any of this. I didn’t have a payment card. I didn’t know how to order food. I’d never driven a car. Hadn’t I had some vague notion of running away to the outside? I would have been lost if Costi hadn’t come with me.

“Thank you,” I murmured.

He gave me a half smile as if it was nothing, and I retreated into the bathroom. The heavy door and fan cut me off from the rest of the world.

Peeling off my top, I carefully pulled the bandage off my shoulder. It hurt, and my other shoulder was sore from carrying my bag on one side all night, but the jagged, angry-looking cut had scabbed over and wasn’t bleeding, and it didn’t look infected. I began shivering from more than the chilled air.

Only some blessing of fate had allowed us to survive, to somehow pull a spell out of me when I needed it most.

I went over every detail in my mind, but I hadn’t seen my familiar then or any time before or since. There was only the swelling of magic inside me, the spell sigil, and the explosive release.

I showered, making the chemical-scented water as hot as it would go, then busied myself combing through my hair and trying to make myself look alive while considering my next move. What was going on at the Circle?

Costi showered after me, leaving me sitting on the edge of one of the two beds to munch on chips and a mix of foods rolled up in a thin flatbread. It was delicious, with beans and rice and different vegetables in some kind of spicy sauce.

My stomach churned with complicated feelings as I quickly typed out a text to my mother to let her know I had been evacuated.

Costi rejoined me dressed in a more comfortable-looking gray tee shirt and black cargo shorts, the longer strands of his damp dark hair curling a bit. He looked more like my childhood friend now that he’d shaved off his scruff and put away all the weapons and gear. He pushed a fabric-padded chair up so he was facing me and propped one bare foot insolently on my bed.

“I got us a car. We’ll rest here today and pick it up tomorrow morning,” he said. “Should be safe enough.”

I nodded absently as he looked at me, his face not giving anything away.

“So,” Costi said. “You wanna tell me why you were running away?”