Chapter 23
Ember
After Poppy and Amy had said they were calling it a night, I knew it was now or never. I scooped a sleepy Robert up and placed him onto the furry throw blanket on my bed. The last thing I wanted was another wild goose chase whilst I was attempting to re-cast the spell, I couldn’t afford any distractions whatsoever. I opened up my underwear draw where I’d carefully hidden the spell books. I’d had to think of a crafty place where I knew no one could accidentally find them and I was banking on the prospect that Poppy and Amy wouldn’t rummage through my knickers in their spare time. Luckily, I’d left a bookmark on the page that I’d used to accidentally summon Robert, I give past me a pat on the back for not making current me traipse through hundreds of pages once again.
I don’t know how it went so far wrong before. I find myself staring at the page, mentally re-reading the same words over and over again. Had I just misinterpreted the word? Gah, this was so frustrating. It felt like when you were reading a book and you realise you’ve not actually absorbed anything that you’ve just read, so you end up re-reading it, only to do the same thing again. I’m in no way giving up though. Maybe I need more ambience. Yes, that was it. I creep past Robert towards my shelf and carefully light two candles. I was saving them for Christmas, but you know what they say, needs must. The scent of spiced cinnamon and nutmeg imbues the air as the candlewick gently flickers and crackles. I draw in a breath and softly exhale, that’s better. The atmosphere feels a lot calmer now, the perfect sanctuary for casting a spell, or at least I hoped. Cross legged on the floor, I picked up the book and examined the page again with a newfound tranquillity. I’d looked at this page a bunch of times.
What was I missing?
I tap my index finger on my forehead as if this was going to somehow fill my brain with the answers it needed. I start rubbing my thumb over the coarse page and strangely, the texture changes as I reach the bottom. There’s a slight raise on the paper, but there’s nothing but a blank space when I look at the area. I run my finger over it once again, I’m not going crazy, there’s definitely something there. Quickly grabbing the torch from my bedside, I flash it over the textured area and examine it more thoroughly.
No way.
Underneath the first layer of parchment reveals a faint outline of blank inky font.
There was another page that had somehow got stuckto it!
I wish I could say I unpeeled the sacred pages with grace and care, but I’d be lying. Quite literally with the enthusiasm of a kid ripping open their Christmas presents; I tear open the page and I’m finally welcomed with a clear view of the hidden words.
‘Ei tribuo omnem felicitatem’ – ‘on him I bestow all happiness.’
Somebody pinch me because I must be dreaming. That was the spell! I felt like running around the bedroom butt naked and shaking my fists in the air. Somehow, I don’t think Rob Cattinson would appreciate that very much though.
The reason it didn’t work was because it was felcitatem, not felic. The rest of the letters had clearly worn away and were cut off when I first read the word. When I lost all rationality and shouted it like a banshee, I hadn’t realised that I was pronouncing it as ‘felis,’ which was obviously the Latin translation for cat. That literally explained everything. I finally knew with perfect clarity what I was supposed to do, and this time round, it was going to go right. I just felt it.
◆◆◆
Intently focusing my thoughts on Arthur, I channelled every last piece of energy within me. In this moment, there was nothing I desired more. I needed it to work. With one deep inhale, I scrunch my eyes shut and slowly breathe out the spell, taking care to fully annunciate every word.
Ei tribuo omnem felicitatem.
A dramatic gust of wind plummets through the window, putting both candles out and leaving nothing but a long stream of smoke in their wake. I cast my eyes back down at the page, which has also been blown shut. My limbs feel tight and slightly numb. It was probably the toll that the spell had taken on my body. As far as I could tell, considering that there didn’t seem to be any more fur babies lurking in the shadows, I guess I’d done it right? I don’t know how instantaneous the results would be. Hell, I didn’t even know if it would work, but something felt different this time, I could feel it in my gut. I don’t know how to explain it, but when you know, you know. I guess only time would tell.