The Spell Caster

Chapter 18

LAYLA

A firm knock on the door had me hiding my phone under a pillow. I sat up straight and quickly smoothed out my hair, thinking it would be Daire with my mother.

Without waiting for me to answer, Calamus strode in. His red spell caster robes swished around him as he crossed the room to where I was sitting on the bed.

“What do you want, Calamus?” My voice came out more snappish than I’d expected.

The spell caster blinked in genuine shock as if he hadn’t just turned Costi in to his meddling dad and then gotten me locked up in a room. “I came to see how you’re doing,” he said.

“How I’m doing ? How do you think I’m doing?”

“There’s no need to take things out on me, Layla,” Calamus said acerbically.

There was every need to take things out on him, but I decided to be the bigger person. “Yes, well, as you can see, I’m still being detained, and I’m upset. Can I help you with anything else?”

Calamus sighed and sat on the bed next to me. “I’m sorry you’re upset.”

He was sorry because I was upset . That was it ?

“Let me make things better for you,” he said.

“How?”

He placed one cold hand over mine on the bedspread. “If we got engaged…”

My body reacted viscerally before my mind could catch up, and I snatched my hand away, feeling acid hit my throat. Emotions warred for dominance—shock, disgust, confusion, anger. “How… how could you think—”

Calamus gave a wry smile. “I realize it’s sudden, but is it so unexpected? You need this—need me . We have a good regard. We can grow to love each other.”

I choked. “I don’t think so.”

He frowned. “I’ve been nothing but nice to you.”

“That’s not…”

He cleared his throat. “I’ll be frank with you. You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, but there aren’t a lot of spell casters our age, and you’re not likely to make a match with all of these problems. The Arcaenum is on the verge of declaring you Troubled. I’m willing to help you. To protect you. If you’ll just let me.”

It was so ugly, the shame that rose in me. Was that how he saw me—a consolation prize and a problem to be solved? Was that all I was worth?

Calamus leaned in, taking my numb hand in his with a small smile. “We’ll be good together, Layla.”

It didn’t matter. I was so tired of trying to earn approval from people who didn’t care about me. Let them revile me.

I drew in a shaking breath, pulling my hand away. “We won’t be anything together. Ever.”

I expected cold rage, but Calamus hesitated. “This is because of Blackthorn. I have eyes, Layla.”

“It’s because you aren’t listening to a single thing I tell you,” I said tersely.

“I know you’re… attached to him, but surely you can see now that he tricked you. We can find a way to unbind you. You can summon a new familiar, a normal one.”

Unbind? A knife slicing through my chest wouldn’t have been as painful. I hadn’t had time to consider the bond between Costi and me, but my heart told me it was precious. “N-No. No, I can’t do that. Where would he end up? In Hell? Or worse —”

“Him parasitizing you like this isn’t right. When you unbind, he’ll go back where he came from. Where he should be. You have to admit, he doesn’t belong here.”

“He does belong here. He belongs with me ,” I said, wrapping my arms around myself.

Dark emotion bled into Calamus’s usually even voice. “Fate, Layla, it’s unnatural. Even if he wasn’t a demon , he’s a guardian. He can’t have you.”

I tilted my head up at him and looked him in the eye. “And you think you can?”

He sighed softly, standing. “You’re upset right now, and you’re not thinking straight. Consider what I’m offering.” He left in a wash of red, closing the door with infuriating restraint. The lock clicked into place.

I wished I was the kind of woman who would yell after him or break something, but a lifetime of being a good little witch and pushing down negative feelings left me with only numb confusion. I pulled out my phone, but the battery was drained. My hand clutched uselessly at the coverlet.

Another knock came at the door, and Daire strode through. “Layla? The Arcaenum is meeting after all,” she said. “I don’t know how they found out about—” She stopped, glancing down at my hand. I shoved my dead phone behind my back guiltily. Daire grunted. “You’ve got ten minutes.”

I took the world’s fastest shower and swished with mouthwash, nervous energy pinging through my body. Diana Blackthorn had come through and alerted the councilors. A tiny bud of hope blossomed.

I looked as good as I could manage and was calm when Daire returned. Cedar Grey wouldn’t be able to keep secrets this time. I was about to tell the Arcaenum everything .

***

“You mean to tell me—”

“I don’t mean to tell you anything. I am telling you—”

“I should have expected someone like you to be aggressive—”

The sounds of muffled shouting became louder when Daire opened the door to the meeting hall. Heads turned. We’d walked into the middle of an argument.

My eyes sought Costi immediately, and my heart resumed beating when I found him. He looked worn, and his uniform was damaged. He straightened when he saw me. The two other guardians had a firm grip on his arms, but he wasn’t the one fighting.

“As if we needed more problems,” one of the councilors spat. I had seen her at the previous meeting—Linnea. She was toe to toe with an angry-looking Artemesia Rhodes. The elderly ex-guardian was small but determined next to her.

Costi’s friend and fellow guardian Ash was leaning against the wall nearby with Diana Blackthorn.

Calamus was watching me with an unreadable expression from where he stood next to his father. He was impeccably dressed and looking fresh despite the late hour. I guessed the failed marriage proposal wasn’t weighing on him.

Councilor Grey didn’t look nearly as worried as I thought he should be, and that was… concerning.

The rest of the Arcaenum was gathered, their faces in various states of alarm and careful neutrality. My mother perched elegantly on a metal folding chair at the center of it all. She didn’t bother to greet me.

Great, the gang’s all here.

Councilor Quince, the assembly leader, dragged a hand down his face as Daire escorted me to a chair. “If everyone could take a seat, we’ll try to figure out exactly what is going on here,” he said.

“This is a waste of time. I suggest we adjourn,” Grey said smoothly. “This is an argument between individuals. We needn’t involve a formal meeting. It’s late, and I remind everyone that we’re all very busy and under threat of imminent attack.”

Councilor Rhodes thumped her carved walking stick on the floor to draw attention. “It was I who called this meeting, and I insist that we proceed. It is far more than a personal argument.”

Quince looked to Grey, who said, “Very well.”

Rhodes straightened, using her stick for balance. Her white hair puffed out around her head like smoke. “I called this emergency meeting because I received an unexpected visitor.” She stared down the councilors like she was scolding them. “Diana Blackthorn, a clothing maker and foster mother to the guardian Constantine Blackthorn.” Rhodes indicated the younger woman, who was standing against the wall. “As I mentioned before we began, our conversation revealed some… very strange and convoluted reports, some of which implicate members of the Arcaenum.”

Grey’s face remained impassive, but Quince seemed like he was about to be sick, a flush darkening his skin. “We’re far too busy for some seamstress’s strange reports. We have refugees to deal with—”

No way was I letting the Council out of here without hearing the truth and fixing this. I opened my mouth to tell them what Councilor Grey was hiding—

“She told us, among other things,” Rhodes interrupted, “that her foster son and Layla Rosen were being detained unlawfully and without the Arcaenum’s knowledge.”

Daire sat up straight next to me. “Now you just hold on. It’s my job to keep the guardians in line.”

“It’s not your job to lock up our spell casters,” Rhodes countered.

“The… nature of the complaint was…” Daire floundered, turning to Cedar Grey and Calamus.

Councilor Grey stood and smoothed his beard. “What Daire is trying to say is that it was discovered that Constantine Blackthorn is a traitor.”

The room went silent.

“I already told you I’m not a spy, you—” Costi broke off with a choked sound, grimacing in pain as if the only thing keeping him upright were the two guardians holding on to him.

“Costi!” I was dashing toward him before I knew what I was doing. When I took his face in my hands, his skin was clammy and feverish. “You are hurt! Oh fate, you’re burned !” Up close, I could see that the marks I had noticed were the charred edges of his uniform. An angry, untreated wound marred the skin of his chest.

I spun to face Grey. “What did you do to him?”

“This young spell caster is determined to think the worst of me.” Grey’s voice lifted to the assembly. “I didn’t touch Blackthorn.”

Behind me, Costi huffed out a bitter laugh.

“I hope you have some evidence for the serious claims you are making, Councilor,” Rhodes said to Grey. “In the meantime, this young witch needs medical assistance.”

“Therein lies the problem. He’s not a witch at all,” Grey declared, raising his voice to address the room. He’s admitting his secrets? No, he was taking control, preparing to twist the story to his own advantage. Just like Costi had surmised. “This is a demon who escaped from Hell by bonding to Layla Rosen as a familiar.”

Whatever the councilors were expecting, it wasn’t that. Their expressions ranged from confused to amused. Daire looked embarrassed, rubbing the back of her neck. Rhodes frowned seriously—she must have already heard part of this from Diana.

“I knew that boy was trouble,” my mother said, her face alight with vindication.

Councilor Linnea chuckled, breaking the tension. “A bit tall for a demon, isn’t he?”

“Tell them about the other demon,” I said loudly. If we were doing this, the whole truth was coming out.

The scattering of nervous laughter halted.

Councilor Grey’s eyes glittered with anger, and I fought the urge to shrink away. “As Layla was so kind to bring up, we’ve made a startling discovery. After no communication from our allies for generations, my son was able to make contact with Hell. We have discovered it is a prison, ruled by a monarchy of demons who look quite similar to humans.”

The councilors looked back and forth between one another, whispering. I regarded Cedar Grey cautiously. He had accused Costi of being a spy, but it seemed he’d been doing some spying of his own.

Ash crept near me and pushed something into my hand—two pills that looked like pain relievers. I locked eyes with the beautiful guardian and nodded my thanks. Costi was still being restrained but let me give him the medicine without complaint and swallowed it dry. I had to get him out of here soon.

Rhodes said, “And you think Constantine Blackthorn is one of these demons. That he somehow made himself Layla’s familiar.”

“He is,” Calamus interrupted. “Both a demon and her familiar. I witnessed his transformation, and Layla was able to invoke him.”

My body flashed hot with anger. Calamus Grey had some nerve to think he’d ever be able to call himself my friend, let alone my spouse. He was so full of himself, so ready to throw anyone off a cliff. Telling on us to his dad and the Arcaenum like a child.

“Councilor Grey and his son are hiding things,” I said. Two can play tattletale. “Calamus did a circle spell that created a permanent video call to Hell, and then The Councilor threatened me not to tell anyone about it.”

“You’re being very dramatic,” Cedar Grey spoke up before anyone else had the chance. “I asked you to keep the circle spell to yourself until we had a chance to investigate it. That kind of announcement shouldn’t be done in a panic.”

“It’s been weeks! You weren’t going to tell the Arcaenum!”

Quince held up his hands in what was supposed to be a calming gesture. “Let’s settle down a bit. Some of the councilors did know about this, but we’ve all been occupied with other important matters.”

“What would it serve me to keep this kind of knowledge to myself?” Grey spread his hands out widely. “I apologize to the Arcaenum for not bringing this forward more quickly.”

Councilor Rhodes had retaken her seat, looking fatigued. “You blocked my agenda item at the last meeting. And now I hear you’re representing us to our allies. That’s a matter for the full Arcaenum.”

“What about the demons? What do they want? You said there’s a monarchy . Are they lost to Inperium?” Linnea’s eyes looked wide and serious.

“Our familiars are loyal,” Daire said. “The spell casters have had nothing but cooperation from what I’ve seen.”

“That is what I’ve been trying to ascertain.” Councilor Grey clasped his hands behind his back. “The presence of one of them in our realm raises the odds that they’re playing both sides somehow.”

“Would you stop with that? Costi isn’t a spy . He’s been with Northern Sea since he was little.” The frustration in my voice probably wasn’t helping my case.

“But he is… what they say he is?” Rhodes’s ancient blue eyes flickered with something sad. Pity, maybe. “You haven’t denied that.”

My ears rang. “Yes,” I admitted, barely hearing myself.

All the attention in the room was now focused on Costi and me.

“This is some sort of trick,” Daire said. “A mistake, maybe. The Northern Sea guardians have known this witch his whole life.”

“Show them,” Costi murmured.

“What?” I turned to face him. “No! You’re barely upright,” I hissed.

The corner of his lips turned up a tiny fraction. He murmured for my ears only, “I’m fine, baby. Sick and tired of all these secrets. Give these bastards a show.”

This was a gamble. There was a world of difference between them hearing about something and seeing it with their own eyes. But if they could accept that this was a natural summoning and beyond our control, they might be sympathetic. If we showed them, there would be no turning back.

“Are you sure?”

With a grim nod from Costi, I… banished him. My stomach swooped in fear as he disappeared.

The guardians who’d been holding him jumped back in surprise. Gasps punctuated the small blip in reality, and a shocked chatter rose from the assembled witches. Quince surged forward and ran his hand through the space where Costi had been.

My body trembled, and I tried to slow my breathing and remember how to call him back.

Oh fate, what if I can’t do it?

I stumbled through the internal invocation sequence and felt it catch. Barely a moment later, Costi reappeared beside me. He looked as human as ever.

“Trippy as fuck,” he declared, then slumped over me heavily with a grunt. Why did this man, twice my size, keep thinking I could hold him up when he was injured? The two guardians grabbed him and pulled him upright again before we collapsed into a heap.

“How is this possible?” Rhodes’s voice was like thunder.

“It was a natural summoning,” I said faintly. “I was three, he was seven. We don’t remember what happened. They found him playing with me and assumed he was a survivor of the attack in Greece. But I must have… pulled him out of wherever he was before. No one thought he wasn’t an ordinary kid. Neither of us had any idea until now.”

“Layla’s magical ability has always been advanced, even as a child,” my mother chimed in. She was looking at Costi and me speculatively. “It makes sense that she attracted a more powerful familiar than usual.”

Something so obvious dawned on me that I barked out a laugh, drawing confused gazes. Costi was my familiar. It wasn’t just some kind of strange bond, we were… functional . We had cast a spell the night Northern Sea was attacked. A huge spell.

“You weren’t aware of what you are? You don’t remember your life before coming here?” Rhodes addressed Costi.

“I remember some,” he rumbled, glancing down. “Didn’t seem like anything strange.”

“This story is very convenient,” Cedar Grey said. “Even if it is true, we can’t be sure where his sympathies lie. With us or… his people.”

Costi scoffed. “What people ? I was raised by witches. I’m a witch. A guardian.” He looked directly at me. “My loyalty is here.”

“I’d like to remind everyone that Hell is our ally. Unless Councilor Grey’s recent discoveries have turned up anything to the contrary, I’m inclined to take their demons fighting beside our spell casters as continued cooperation on their part,” Rhodes said.

“It doesn’t matter anyway,” I said with a tight grin that was probably horrifying. I finally had a sword in this fight, and I intended to use it. “You need us.”

Costi’s mouth popped open beside me. He’d just figured out the same thing I had. “Son of a—” he said in a low growl. “How’d we do it, though?”

“I’m sorry to interrupt your private conversation,” Cedar Grey said snidely. “Is it anything you’d like to share with the rest of us?”

I smiled. “We killed half a dozen angels with one spell and saved the Northern Sea Circle from destruction.”

Grey’s eyes narrowed angrily. “Is that a threat?”

“The threat is to the angels if they try to attack the Mountain Circle,” I shot back. “We’re on your side.” Maybe not his side, but the witches’ side. “I’m taking Costi to the infirmary,” I said with finality.

Ash strode forward and locked eyes with me as we came to a silent agreement. The two of us wrestled Costi away from the guardians.

“You’re just… okay with all this?” he said to Ash, who hooked their shoulder under his arm and hoisted him upright.

Ash scoffed. “Don’t be foolish. This isn’t even the weirdest thing about you.”