Spell Crafting 501 Read online

  The honey from the magic bees was added in minute amounts. The gold liquid began to swirl rapidly, and she took out the final gift from Kitigan’s family. Three orbs of seer glass were lined up, and she used the tiny funnel to fill each of them before she corked them.

  The one-and-a-half inch orbs were filled with a golden storm of potential. All the love and support that Imara had gotten for this project had humbled her. Argus had even shifted and clipped one of his claws with his beak before snipping the clipping into pieces. She had her piece of a beast.

  She held her breath as she transferred the corked spells to velvet-lined, padded boxes.

  When the last box was closed, she nearly collapsed. Instead, she put away the ingredients and set them up carefully on the shelves.

  Keeping the lab neat was what she needed to stay sane. Once everything was complete, she checked the video and popped the chip.

  She looked at the chip and pressed it to her forehead. “Right. Done.”

  Master Midian had agreed to accept a video as she was out of town until late in the afternoon.

  Imara gathered her boxes and notebooks, carrying everything out into the common space, and she settled them quickly into the padded and lined box that Reegar had prepared for the occasion.

  The moment that she settled in the chair near the library, she heard shouts.

  “Surprise!”

  Bara and Luken jumped out from behind the stacks, Reegar simply appeared, and Mr. E crept out from under her chair.

  Imara’s heart stuttered and then fired up a pounding beat. “Oh! Thank you.”

  Mr. E crawled up and sat on her lap, purring up a storm. She clutched him, and her pulse immediately slowed to a more normal beat.

  Bara chuckled. “You look exhausted.”

  Reegar nodded. “It is the most trying spell she could make, so she put everything in herself into it.”

  Luken came up and squeezed her hand. “You did well, sister.”

  “Thanks, but we don’t even know if it works.”

  Reegar snorted. “You might get partial credit if you misidentified the spell, but you still managed to create something that radiates power. That is a pass no matter the level of it.”

  Imara looked at him weakly. “Really?”

  “Really. I supervised your procedures, and there is no way that any of your mechanics can’t be replicated. There was nothing shifty about it. That is what they are looking for.”

  Imara nodded. “Good.”

  Bara grinned. “We have cake.”

  “What time is it?”

  Reegar cocked his head. “It is just after four.”

  She sat up. “What?”

  “Yes, you have been working for eight hours without a break. Why?”

  “I have to bring the spells to Midian at five.”

  Bara grimaced. “Have some cake. You need to eat.”

  Mr. E looked up at her with bright gold eyes. I made you a present.

  She blinked. “What?”

  I made you something to keep your version of the spell on. It is next to Reegar.

  Reegar noted where she was looking, and he picked up the box. “Ah, yes. Your familiar made this for you. I confess to being surprised at his dexterity.”

  Bara smiled. “I helped a little.”

  Reegar handed her the box, and Imara opened it with curiosity burning in her.

  A bracelet made of shining steel with a clasp and a kitten engraved on the back of it was sitting on a bed of black velvet.

  “Should I put it on?”

  Please. I measured it by hugging your arm while you slept.

  She grinned and slipped the band over her wrist. It felt comfortable, and then, she didn’t even feel it. She picked him up and got to her feet, walking over to her spells and opening one of the boxes.

  “Now, how do I put this on the band?”

  Luken piped up, “Just touch your spell to the clasp. It will attach automatically to the nearest link. There are concealment spells on it and comfort spells.”

  “Thank you, brother, and most of all, thank you, Mr. E.”

  Her little friend squirmed. You deserve more from those around you.

  “I have gotten tons of support from friends and family. I am enjoying it for what it is. Affection freely given.”

  She checked her phone. “Damn. And now I have to run from this very touching moment.”

  Reegar reached in and pulled out her private notebook. “No sense in letting the mages get their hands on all copies.”

  “Right. Well, hopefully, I will be back in an hour or so. Mr. E, you stay here. You know how she feels about familiars.”

  He sighed and jumped from her arms to the table. You really like it?

  “I really do. Talk to you soon.”

  Reegar frowned. “Aren’t you going out with Argus tonight?”

  “That isn’t until eight. I have time.”

  She lifted the box from the table, inhaled, and said, “Wish me luck!”

  Luken grinned. “I did. That is why you were born first.”

  She snorted and walked out of Reegar Hall, heading for the mage labs.

  Midian took the experimental spell and carried it to the testing lab. The lab was designed to mimic a human body and determine the nature of the magic itself.

  “Well, Mirrin, this looks good. The spell log is solid, so now, we just have to see what it does or what the potential is.”

  Imara nodded, and she stood with her fingers woven together tightly. The sacrificial spell was placed on the table, and Midian left the room, placing her hand on the activation glyph and then chanting softly.

  The spell shivered, shimmered and then exploded in the room, shattering and rocketing around the space until it gradually faded.

  Imara didn’t see any change at first. When she looked in, she suddenly noticed that everything was better. The wood was darker, the chair was pristine, the blotter had no stains and was made of a fine-grade leather where it had been rough cardboard before.

  Midian smiled slowly. “Excellently done. You will be receiving an invitation to the Mage Guild by the end of the week.”

  To Imara’s shock, Midian extended her hand. Out of reflex, she shook hands with her instructor.

  The slight scratch on her finger came when she withdrew her hand. She looked at the pinprick of blood on her finger and then Midian’s hand.

  The snake ring seemed like something Imara should have seen before.

  She stepped back and headed for the door. Midian didn’t call out after her.

  The main hall was bloated and flexed. The doorway was warped, and it was nearly impossible to figure out the latch to let herself into the fresh air.

  The hiss behind her made her turn. To her shock, it was N’sha’s torso riding on top of the serpentine lower body. N’sha reared up to tower over her, grinning and exposing fangs dripping with venom.

  The shouts coming from the quad told Imara that she wasn’t imagining the horror that was slashing at her with claws as deadly as the fangs.

  The burn of the claw strike on her right arm sent a shockwave through her limb and left it limp. Imara fell to the ground as the toxin spread. She tried to connect with Mr. E, but there was nothing but fury and frustration on that end.

  “Oh, you can’t call your little familiar. He is busy with my sister.”

  Panic and pain turned to worry. “Don’t hurt him.”

  N’sha moved in and leaned over her, her tail snaking around Imara’s body and holding her in place. “We can’t hurt him, but we can hurt you, and we will.”

  Paralysis was moving in on her, but there was one thing that she could do. When no one human could help her, she called the spectres. They might not assist her, but it was the only move she had. She gave it everything she could.

  Chapter Ten

  Mage Reegar watched from the edge of his territory as the lamia hauled Mr. E away before he could run to the side of his mage. Fury and frustration ripped through him as he
pounded against the barrier that bound him to Reegar Hall.

  Bara and Luken came up behind him, and Bara asked, “What is wrong?”

  “The lamia, they have Imara and Mr. E. They are at the mage lab.”

  Luken was dialling, and he gave a clipped account into the phone, and then, he did it again. “Bara, stay here.”

  Bara looked at him. “Like hell.”

  Reegar looked at them both. “Go!”

  They ran.

  A minute after they ran, he felt a fantastic surge of spectral energy. Reegar took one step after another, and to his determined astonishment, he was running across the lawn and heading for the broadcast point of the energy. Imara had to be there, there was no one else who could do what she did with spectres.

  * * * *

  Imara lay in the serpent’s coils as she was inflicted with dozens of cuts. Her head remained clear, which was a deviant construct in itself.

  N’sha was hissing with delight that Imara had created the spells to bind her familiar when she had made one of the privacy spells. The moment Midian saw it, she knew that it was the spell they had been looking for to bind their enemy.

  Imara blinked. She knew the spell. She had made it out of cotton plants, Jell-O powder, the smoke from dry ice, and a dollop of whipped cream. It was a spell of soft silence to give her a moment of privacy from Mr. E when she was on a date with Argus. She had never considered it binding, but the power was in the heart of the mage.

  A whisper came to her. “What can I do?”

  She blinked. It was Reegar’s voice, but he wasn’t physical.

  She whispered. “I have to set him free. I need to cast the last spell.”

  “I understand. Prepare to focus.”

  “It is my world right now.”

  She could feel the frustration and restriction that Mr. E was wrapped in, and this would make it better.

  She watched her right arm lift.

  N’sha blinked. “What are you doing?”

  “Giving him what he needs.”

  Her arm was dropped across her chest, the glass shattered and the liquid seeped out. She focused and smiled. “Give him what he needs.”

  The lamia reared back, but Imara was beyond that. The golden energy lifted her, and it shot off to one side and struck Mr. E in the other lamia’s hands.

  Imara thought, Heal his past, mend his soul, brighten his future, give him what he needs.

  The kitten was enveloped in power, and the smothering of their connection disappeared in a blaze of energy.

  Imara must have passed out because when she woke up, chaos surrounded her. Argus’s gryphon was wrestling with N’sha while Chancellor Deepford-Smythe was pelting the ancient creature with bursts of lightning.

  Imara tried to push herself to a kneeling position, but she slipped in her own blood.

  A thunderclap of magic struck on the far side of the green space, and Imara watched a strange mage levitate Midian before smashing her to the ground.

  Imara gave a silent cheer and watched everything from her hands and knees.

  The battles around her weren’t hers. She had one fight right now, and that was to stay conscious.

  “Imara... oh god. Stay still. I have something that might stop the bleeding.” Bara appeared at her side, and she started wrapping the wounds.

  Imara felt the burn of the slices all over her body as the wrapper tightened against her skin. She exhaled sharply but kept her silent screams to herself. Bara was helping, and she didn’t need guilt.

  Luken was standing next to her, and Imara could feel the protective shield that he had around her. She teared up. When another set of men came to stand with Luken, she fought a sob. Michael and Alexander Demiel joined their youngest brother, and the wall around her solidified.

  Alexander turned from the defenses, and he knelt at her side. “Ah, sister. What did they do to you?”

  Imara looked up at him through her exhaustion. “Whatever it was, I didn’t like it.”

  He smiled slightly. “I got my guild status in healing. Can I help you?”

  She nodded. “Sure.”

  “This is going to hurt.”

  “I expect nothing less.”

  Alexander chanted, focused and then wrapped her in enough energy to sear her soul. She was lifted off her hands and knees, and the burn along her nerves kept her focused until he set her on her feet.

  Imara looked around and said, “Help me over to Midian. I think I can end this.”

  Bara took her arm. “Which one is Midian?”

  Imara pointed to the one on the ground with the other mage. “Her.”

  They started to move as a unit toward the mage and the slowly writhing lamia.

  “Can someone get me a pebble?”

  Alexander bent and picked up a handful from a flowerbed that they passed on their way. “Choose one.”

  Imara looked at the options and grabbed two. Each was round and nearly spherical. She wasn’t sure if she was strong enough to do what she was about to attempt twice, but she knew she could do it once.

  “How close do we need to get?”

  “I need to be within ten feet of her,” Imara grunted.

  Bara whispered, “Why?”

  “She has something I need.” Imara kept putting one foot in front of the other, and Alexander took her other arm to help support her. The contact was agony. His healing may have temporarily sealed the wounds, but the venom was still in her bloodstream. It was acid, and it would burn its way out of her. It was just a matter of time.

  She felt what she needed the moment she was within range. “Stop here. I can do the rest.”

  Luken said, “We are not leaving you.”

  She gave her brother a long look. “Fine. But when we are done here, get me to the other one. She will probably come to us, but just in case, I will need to get to her as well.”

  He nodded.

  She held out one of the stones and took a few slow steps forward.

  Midian looked at her, and her eyes widened in shock. “You are still alive?”

  “For now. Why?”

  “Eadric killed her mate. Revenge was mandated.”

  “Why now?”

  Midian smirked. “We needed to get past his defenses. You handed us the spell. We had to strike today because of your exam.”

  Imara nodded slightly in understanding. “I was leaving the school.”

  “This was our chance. So, how will you spend your last few minutes?”

  Imara gave her a cold smile. “You won’t need to know that.”

  She held out the hand with the stone in it, and with some concentration and a few murmured words, she ripped Midian’s spectre from her and put it in the pebble.

  Midian gasped, twitched, and her serpent body faded, leaving only her human form behind.

  “What... what did you do?”

  Imara looked at her in surprise. “You and your sister took mage courses, became masters. I took your magic from you and put it in this pebble. It will explode in a few seconds, but enjoy being human for the rest of your natural, human lifespan.”

  She looked to Luken. “Please throw the pebble as hard as you can.”

  Michael grabbed it and hurled it upward. “Luken doesn’t have a good pitching arm.”

  The stone shattered in the air above them in a cloud of bright blue particles.

  The scream that heralded the approach of the other lamia was all that Imara needed. She turned and pulled on the magic as hard as she could, breaking the woman free of her shifted body as centuries of magic were crammed into the small rock. She threw the stone upward, and it was still too close when it exploded.

  Arms came around her and lifted her up; she heard voices calling her name, but everything around her was dark. At least her family was safe.

  She woke several times with lights flaring around her and folk shouting orders. Each time she sought the comfort of Mr. E, he whispered in her thoughts. Still here, Imara. You lie quiet and let them help you.
>
  You are pushy for a kitten. I am glad you are all right.

  You made sure of that. It was an amazing spell; now, go to sleep and let them heal you.

  Bossy kitty.

  You bet I am.

  She smiled and stopped fighting sleep.

  Waking up in a pristine white tent was a surprise. She thought she had been treated at the college medical centre.

  The mage from earlier was sitting at her bedside. He was older, had a thick wave of black hair that caressed the back edge of his collar with the rest combed back, a small silver streak was just starting over one temple. His face was slightly dusky with a long, straight nose that was nearly a weapon in itself but managed to make his face—as a whole—rather handsome. The amber eyes made her pause. She knew those eyes.

  “Who are you?” Her first words were a little rude, but she meant them.

  “My dearest mage, I am amazed you don’t recognize me in this form.”

  She stared at him and blinked. “Mr. E?”

  “Please, when I look like this, call me Eadric.”

  She blinked again. She went to rub her eyes, but an IV confined her hand. She looked up and found a red bag hanging from a pole. “What?”

  “Ah, the lamia venom had completely infiltrated your systems, so several complete transfusions were necessary. Your mother was not a match, nor was Luken, oddly enough. Michael and Alexander were matches, as were Lio, Hyl, Kitigan, and several other students who saw your fight and volunteered to be type tested.”

  She blushed. “They all donated?”

  “There was a line of XIA agents being tested. Several of them donated, and their blood was the first rinse to get the venom out of your system. Magic has been used to keep you stable, but everyone was relieved when you began to breathe on your own again.”

  He reached out and squeezed her free hand.

  “So, you are a person now?”

  He cocked his head. “I am still your familiar, but you gave me what I needed to fight for our lives. So, now, I have a few more forms. This one included.”