The Spell Caster

Chapter 12

LAYLA

T he weather had broken overnight, leaving a cool morning breeze. Wearing a light cardigan over my black outfit, I sat outside the cafeteria with a muffin and tea. It would be Mabon in a few weeks, the autumn equinox. It was one of my favorite holidays, filled with fall decor. I wondered how the Mountain Circle celebrated as I picked up the dishes from my breakfast and looked around for the dish bin.

“Layla, good morning,” a voice startled me.

I turned to see Artemesia Rhodes, one of the Mountain Circle councilors I had met yesterday, leaning on her carved wooden walking stick. She was a tiny, elegant witch with hair gone entirely white, set in tight curls that haloed around her head. Her lined face was grave, with serious deep blue eyes. She wore the formal robes of the Arcaenum. This was official business.

“Hello, Councilor,” I said uncertainly.

“Walk with me a moment, won’t you?”

The councilor led me to a nearby trail that looped a wooded area. A jogger passed us with a wave, but otherwise it was secluded.

“I don’t much care for Cedar Grey,” she said without preamble, hauling herself forward using her stick as leverage. “I can tell you feel the same.”

I choked. “I’m sure he’s… It’s just that…”

Rhodes, breathing heavily, sank down onto a pretty carved bench lining the path and gestured to the space next to her.

I sat beside the councilor and cleared my throat. “I don’t agree with keeping secrets.”

Rhodes gave a nod of approval. “Layla, I’m a very old woman. I’ll be ninety-three in the spring.”

My eyebrows rose.

She waved a hand dismissively. “Now don’t you start. My point is, I’ve seen a lot of life, heard every idea.”

“You weren’t shocked. About the demon, I mean.”

“Not shocked, no,” she said. “In my day, it was common knowledge that we used to communicate with our allies in Hell. And that the Angeloi once had a more direct involvement in this world.”

I shivered, looking away. Angeloi . The unfamiliar word made me uneasy. “What does it all mean?”

“It means we need to be ready. You need to be ready.”

“I don’t know what to do,” I admitted. “I’m not sure I can be of any help.”

“I believe you can,” Rhodes said. “There is something special about you, Layla.”

I blinked at her. That was wishful thinking at best.

“I’d like to formally invite you to join the Arcaenum as a delegate.”

“ What? ”

Rhodes’s grim demeanor cracked for a moment as she cackled gleefully at my reaction. “That’s right, young witch. I’m here to rope you into politics.”

In our councils, delegates represented a variety of special interests. “What would I even—”

“Don’t worry about all that,” she said. “Just attend and see what comes of it.”

I chewed the edge of my lip as I gazed into the woods. It didn’t sound like a terrible idea. I wanted to know what was going on. “If you’re sure—”

“I am,” Rhodes insisted.

I rubbed my fingers over the wooden texture of the bench absently. “Something’s happening, isn’t it?”

She regarded me soberly, her back straight. “Yes,” she agreed. “It’s been coming for a long time. We underestimated the Angeloi severely … what they’ve been doing, what their plans are.”

My heart pounded. “What… what are they planning?”

“They are always planning Inperium.”

“You’re saying we have no idea what they’re up to,” I whispered. “We’ve been sitting here, just dealing with small infestations, while they—”

“You have the gist of it, yes. We became complacent. We forgot that a hierarchy means someone is above them. Controlling them.”

I was racked with shudders, trembling uncontrollably. “You knew about this?”

Rhodes shook her head. “I’ve done what I could. My hands are tied, in certain ways. And there were other, more immediate problems.”

Councilor Grey and the witches who supported him.

“I’m too old to fight, Layla,” she said. “I’ve tried to gather allies, but there are few. So very few.”

I took a deep breath. “I’ll go to the next meeting,” I said, not wanting to overpromise. Despite her apparent faith in me, I doubted I would have anything to contribute, or that the Arcaenum would suddenly spill their secrets.

A cardinal called loudly from the trees. The familiar sound brought me a measure of calm.

Rhodes gestured toward the Circle. I lent her my arm to help her stand and then walked with her slowly toward the main walkway.

“You were a guardian?” I asked as we walked, thinking of the way she carried herself.

Her eyes sparkled. “You can tell, can you? I’m the only Troubled witch ever to be elected to the Arcaenum. It’s why they don’t like me much.”

I gave her a polite smile. Silence stretched between us as I thought of a hundred questions and stopped myself from asking them. Rhodes was kind, but she had an agenda. I was learning not to trust someone right away just because they seemed like they were on my side. I would wait, see how this played out.

“Fate keep you, Layla,” the councilor said solemnly as we reached the main path. She turned and walked slowly away, her stick thumping on the stones with the rhythm of her steps.

***

The next week passed quietly, at odds with my inner turmoil. Every noise made me jump. I wanted to shake every person who smiled at me and tell them Hell was real and the Angeloi were coming for us. I needed to be doing research— something to figure out my magic—but I was on edge and couldn’t concentrate.

Costi had been busy doing physical therapy on top of his normal intense training. I’d told him briefly about the Arcaenum meeting, but I’d been trying not to bother him. We both needed to get our heads in this game.

It was true, I had caught a bit of a crush, but it couldn’t go anywhere. It couldn’t . The sooner I got that through my head, the better. The space was good for us.

Calamus had offered to escort me to the Arcaenum meeting, which he apparently attended regularly as a guest. We both wore our formal red spell caster robes. His eyes had lit up when I walked outside to meet him.

Calamus is kind, intelligent, and good-looking as a bonus, I told myself, trying to listen to what he was saying as we walked. He likes me. He would be a good match. He would—

My feet, my breath, and my thoughts all came to a screeching halt when Costi’s storm-cloud gaze slammed into mine from where he was waiting in front of the meeting hall. My body rebooted itself with a fluttering of my heart. With one look, all the distance I’d been forging, all the sensible things I’d repeated to myself— all of it —collapsed.

Costi’s eyes raked over me before flicking to Calamus, and I wondered if he was over being angry.

“Looking nice and healthy, Grey,” Costi called out, glaring at the spell caster.

Yikes. He was very much not over it.

Calamus gave him a thin smile as we approached. “To what do we owe the pleasure?”

“It’s a Council meeting. I’m here to meet the Council.”

“It’s a closed session,” Calamus said.

Costi smirked humorlessly. “Door looks open to me.”

Calamus held up an arm, blocking the entrance. “I’m sorry, Blackthorn, but you aren’t invited. The guardians already have a delegate.”

Costi tilted his head. “You gonna remove me, Grey? Physically?”

Calamus snatched back his arm. “You’re threatening me now?”

“Maybe we should tone it down just a bit,” I said.

Both men ignored me.

“You can take it however you want,” Costi said to Calamus. “I’m coming with Layla.”

Calamus clenched his fists. “Your behavior is out of control. It’s clear the interventions aren’t working with you. I’m having you removed as my guardian.”

“Suits me just fine,” Costi growled. “Try not to piss off an angel with a laser stick next time. The other guardians aren’t as fast as me.”

“This is outrageous!” Calamus fumed. He turned to me. “Layla, you can’t seriously—”

“Finish that sentence, Grey. I dare you.” Costi’s teeth flashed in a terrifying half grin.

“Cut it out!” I pushed myself between them before they came to blows. Not that Calamus would survive the first punch.

I whirled around and marched inside. They could stand out here comparing sizes all day if they wanted to.

The Arcaenum chamber was an auditorium set up with folding chairs in concentric semicircles around a central speaking platform. A few councilors and other witches who were probably delegates or guests milled around a refreshment table, chatting. I threw myself into a chair in the back row next to the wall.

Costi and Calamus were close behind, apparently having decided not to throw down for now. Calamus folded himself elegantly into the seat next to me, and Costi kicked back against the wall on my other side.

Just great.

“You’ve been avoiding me.” Costi leaned down to murmur into my ear, making me shiver. “You hanging out with him now?”

“You were busy,” I whispered. “I was trying to—” I glanced to my other side and noticed Calamus looking overly interested. “Can we talk later?”

Costi made a deep noise that could have been agreement.

“Good morning, everyone,” Councilor Grey said over the crowd, causing the assembled witches to start taking their seats. Between the thirteen councilors and dozens of delegates representing all sorts of interests, the hall was full. I saw Councilor Rhodes’s poof of white hair.

I recognized Councilor Quince, the hawk-nosed witch who had been with us for the summoning circle. He stood and convened the meeting. “Point of discussion number one,” Quince announced. “A spell caster died, and several guardians were injured in a failed extermination.”

I looked back and caught Costi’s eye. They were just now discussing this? It had happened almost a week ago.

The delegate for the spell casters, a middle-aged witch with gelled black hair, spoke up. “That raid was a disaster. Spell casters are exceedingly rare—we cannot be expected to go into dangerous situations.”

“The spell casters accepted our apology,” the delegate for the guardians said. She was tall and slender in her black uniform, about my mother’s age, with her hair pulled into a tight bun.

“That’s Daire, the security coordinator,” Costi told me quietly.

Calamus glared at him. Costi glared back and recklessly leaned closer to me.

Fate, they’re determined to keep this up.

“We did, but words aren’t enough in this case,” the spell caster delegate said. “I would like to put in a proposal that two guardians be assigned to each caster, in case of an emergency.”

Daire snapped to attention. “Absolutely not. We don’t have those kinds of numbers.”

The spell caster delegate put his nose up. “ Something needs to be done. If the guardians would have done their job and assessed the building before the team went in—”

“They did assess the building,” Daire cut in.

“We need to carry shields,” Costi called out, interrupting.

The room went silent, and all eyes swung to our little group in the back. It hit me that Costi hadn’t only come here for me; he was here for this.

Quince gave us an annoyed look. “Is this your guardian, Layla?”

“No,” said Calamus at the same time Costi said, “Yeah.”

“You haven’t been assigned, and she’s not a spell caster.” Calamus crossed his arms.

“It just so happens that I’m available as of this morning, and she’s wearing spell caster robes,” Costi said with a shrug.

“Sit down, Blackthorn. You aren’t a delegate,” Daire said. “How did you even get in here?”

“Are these your guests, Calamus?” Councilor Grey said, scowling.

Calamus shook his head with wide eyes. “No, Father, I—”

Councilor Rhodes stood from her seat near the front. “I invited them,” she said, sounding pleased. I decided I liked her. “It is, of course, still our prerogative to appoint delegates for areas of special concern.”

Grey’s eyes flashed. “You have one allotment remaining, and there are two witches here. You have an agenda, and you’re trying to install mindless partisans.”

“Very well, then. Rosen is my appointed delegate.”

“And what area of special concern is she supposed to be a delegate for?”

“You know what,” Rhodes said ominously. “Point of discussion number two.”

Grey said nothing to that. He turned to Costi. “Blackthorn, you’re not a delegate. Please remove yourself from the chamber.”

“I’m her guardian,” Costi insisted. He crossed his arms and leaned back against the wall.

“That is not your assignment,” Daire said, pointing angrily at him.

“This is a procedural matter. Can we please get back to the matter at hand?” Quince looked ruffled.

“Love to,” said Costi loudly, holding out a hand in invitation. “The matter at hand is that I brought you one of those angel glow sticks. Figure out what blocks it and get me a shield before more of your spell casters die.”

The meeting erupted as his words registered and everyone started yelling over one another. Apparently, that hadn’t been common knowledge.

I rolled my eyes. He hadn’t bothered to mention it to me either. Knowing him, he had clobbered the angel that burned him and stolen its weapon in retaliation.

Costi chuckled behind me.

“You enjoy stirring people up way too much,” I said without turning.

Quince clapped his hands. “Quiet, please!” Most of the chatter died down, so he continued. “Young man, the Arcaenum has a process. We may not yell out in the middle of the meetings—there are many witches with points of discussion, and it isn’t fair to them to interrupt. You must confer with your group’s delegate, who may bring your concern to the councilors.”

“Lemme confer with my delegate real quick,” Costi said, then leaned over to murmur into my ear. “Layla, baby, talk some sense into these assholes before I start flinging daggers.”

Fate. Tell me he did not actually bring weapons into the Arcaenum chamber. My cheeks heated, and I cleared my throat nervously. “I invoke my privilege to speak as a delegate.”

Quince sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Go ahead, Delegate.”

“My… uh… constituent is concerned about the weapons the angels seem to be using. He has procured a working model for testing purposes and would like to propose adding a shield to the guardians’ standard equipment.” There, that sounded very diplomatic.

The audience of witches boiled over into speculative chatter once again.

Rhodes spoke over the din. “Security Coordinator Daire, could you please explain what this is about?”

Daire’s face darkened in anger. “A dangerous idea that we already discussed.”

“Not as dangerous as going out there defenseless,” Costi shot back.

Quince interrupted, “Guardian Blackthorn, please .”

Rhodes returned to the discussion. “Coordinator Daire, are you saying you have an angel weapon in your possession but didn’t share that information with the Council?”

Daire bristled. “It’s a guardian matter.”

“You didn’t bring it to a vote or anything,” Costi said.

“It doesn’t need a vote, Blackthorn. We’re not messing around with unknown weaponry,” Daire seethed.

“We need to know what these weapons do, how we can stop them,” Costi argued.

As the councilors muttered uncertainly, my annoyance flared. They weren’t convinced ?

“I invoke my privilege.” Another of the delegates stood, a lanky witch with a thinning hairline. “Angels can’t make things like weapons. I think this was probably a fluke, something they stole from the non-magicals. Now that you got it away from them, they won’t have it anymore.”

Murmurs of agreement filled the meeting space as my anger simmered. They hadn’t heard about the same weapons being used against Northern Sea? And even I knew the outsiders didn’t have any laser staffs! This wasn’t a fluke, and these witches were too comfortable to notice the danger—just as Councilor Rhodes had suggested.

Costi groaned behind me, only loud enough for me to hear.

“This is so useless,” I said. “Calamus, you saw the weapons. An angel was trying to kill you. You talk to them.”

Calamus looked disappointed in me. “I’m not sure I agree with setting off random weapons to test them.”

Costi barked a laugh. “You were fine with opening up a Hell portal , though.”

“You’re not supposed to know about that,” Calamus said to Costi, then looked at me accusingly.

Quince fixed our group with a glare, and I ducked my head like a child caught chattering in class.

“If I may?” Cedar Grey had been watching silently until now. His voice wasn’t loud, but it stopped the side conversations instantly. The members all turned their attention to him. Uneasiness trickled through me. How did he do that? “I sympathize with your position, Blackthorn. Young guardians often want to lash out with more violence than is strictly necessary. We all know it’s difficult to be Troubled.”

“I’m asking for shields ,” Costi growled.

Grey held up a hand. “You can leave the strategy to the security coordinator. I’m sure she knows what equipment you need.”

“They shot at us. A caster died . Your son was standing behind me.” Costi’s voice was grim.

Grey nodded. “And you did your job, for which we are all grateful, I’m sure.”

My vision whited out. What in Hell’s name were they telling him? To get injured, to die , because they didn’t want to think about a small change to the guardians’ uniform?

I felt myself stand up, my chair scraping the floor. “You can’t do this,” my voice said, sounding far away.

Grey raised his brows over wide eyes. “And what am I being accused of now?”

“None of you are listening. You’re not getting it. The angels knew our team was coming. They’ve figured out how to use weapons—that night and during the attack. They’re doing something—”

Grey gave me a patient smile. “I understand the attack on Northern Sea was traumatic for you, Layla,” he said. “You were worried for my son, and I appreciate that. I know he cares for you as well.”

I felt my face flush deeply with anger and shame. “You can’t… You’re using guardians as human shields—”

“There’s no need to worry,” Grey said soothingly. “The guardians’ job is to protect their spell casters. They’re well trained.”

“Is this matter somewhat settled?” Quince asked. “It seems like a personal argument at this point, so it might be more appropriate to discuss it elsewhere.”

The entire room looked at me—a traumatized, lovesick little girl who had no idea what guardians were for. Grey had set me up expertly. I flung myself back into my chair and crossed my arms over my chest, smoldering.

Quince sighed. “Now, with that out of the way, point of discussion number two. It looks like this meeting is going to run over today—”

“Point of discussion number two,” Councilor Grey interrupted with a mild smile, “is that the training arena is, unfortunately, closed indefinitely for emergency repairs.”

Quince cleared his throat. “Yes, well. Thank you, Councilor. Moving on. Point of discussion number three: housing for the Northern Sea refugees is progressing more slowly than anticipated…”

My mouth popped open in shock as Quince continued speaking, and Grey looked straight at me with eyes that made me go cold. He then moved his eyes slowly, deliberately, to Costi and then back to me. He raised an eyebrow, daring me to call him out.

I’d never been so livid in my life . I stormed out of the meeting hall in a flurry of red robes and let the door slam shut without looking behind me. Outside, I sucked cool air into my lungs, unable to see anything through my frustrated tears.

“I’m so done!” I yelled into the air, not caring who was around.

“Layla,” Calamus said, hurrying after me. “That was uncalled for.”

I whirled on him. “You agree with them keeping secrets from the rest of the Arcaenum.”

Costi prowled up behind Calamus with a scowl.

“ Think , Layla. There are reasons we might not want everyone to be involved. You can’t just storm around like this.” Calamus crossed his arms over his chest, frowning. “Blackthorn is a bad influence on you.”

“You should go, Calamus. Go back inside,” I said through gritted teeth. Costi moved close to me so our arms were touching.

Calamus narrowed his eyes at Costi. “There’s something else we need to address. Layla has an overly kind heart, and I cannot continue to stand by while you take advantage of her. Guardians are forbidden to form attachments to spell casters for a reason.”

“ Calamus Grey ,” I yelled, stepping forward to jab a finger into his crimson chest. “Don’t you dare.”

“He’s been looming over you all day—”

“Go on back to your meeting, Grey,” Costi said menacingly.

Calamus sneered at him, disgust marring his normally serene face. “Don’t bother coming to training tomorrow. I’ll ask Daire to reassign you immediately.” He turned and trod angrily back toward the entrance.

“Can’t say it’s been a pleasure working with you,” Costi called out as Calamus yanked the door open, then turned back to me. “He thinks I’m gonna take advantage of you, but he’s just going to leave you alone with me?” he muttered as he gently pulled me to a secluded spot behind the building. The woods pressed in, but a space had been cleared for some electrical equipment.

With his hand still clamped around my bicep, he bent his head over me while I waged an internal war between screaming in frustration and crying. Honestly, he was kind of looming.

“Useless asshole !” I shrieked, not even sure which of the Greys I was talking about at this point. “They’re trying to cover everything up—the weapons, the demon,” I hissed. “Why?”

Costi shook his head, releasing me.

“But you have suspicions?”

He was quiet for a moment. “You first.”

I paced away from him and back. “They don’t want to change. They’re afraid of acknowledging the situation because it’ll force them to do things differently.”

Costi nodded. “Some of them, yeah.”

I looked up at him. “What else?”

He ran a hand through his hair. “Say you wanna make someone do something. Something they don’t want to do. What would you do?”

“Find out what’s important to them and threaten them with it,” I said, thinking of how my mother and Grey had both gone after Costi to get me to comply.

“What if you don’t want them to realize what you’re up to?”

I stopped pacing. “You think they’re hiding things to… to manipulate people somehow?”

He nodded. “If they have all the information, they can twist it into anything they want, make it support anything they want us to think.”

I considered it. “And then what?”

Costi looked out into the trees, a line of concern forming between his eyebrows. “Nothing good.”