Cate Tiernan - Strife

I frowned. “Isn’t that just the threefold law?” I asked.

“No.” Wind ruffled an errant strand of Hunter’s pale hair, and I brushed it away from his face. “The threefold law is simply a general rule of the magickal universe, like karma, or what goes around comes around, as you Americans say.” He grinned. “But the universe can take a long time to set things right.”

“But the deflection spell?” I prompted.

“Works immediately.” Hunter’s green eyes glittered. “And harshly.”

“Wait—why doesn’t the council just use this all the time to punish anyone who’s abusing their powers?” I asked, thinking of Selene, who almost succeeded in killing me—and probably did succeed in killing others—before she was brought to justice.

“The spell has some drawbacks,” Hunter admitted slowly.

“Such as?”

Hunter cleared his throat. “Well,” he said, “the spell requires a great deal of combined magick to work. And it tends to sap the energy of those who use it. Basically once the spell is finished, everyone in our circle will be the way you are now—possibly worse—”

“Which means that if someone else is behind these incidents or if someone else, like one of the other Amyranth branches, decides to attack us, we’ll be in serious trouble,” I finished for him.

“Yes,” Hunter said. “But on the positive side, the spell may not sap our energy for that long. We’ll probably just feel ill for about a day. Erin is fairly certain—”

“Erin is fairly certain?” I repeated. “Erin hasn’t done this spell before?”

“No one in the council has,” Hunter admitted uncomfortably. “It’s strictly forbidden because of the dangers involved. Also because of the source. But Erin has managed to convince the council that this is one time it’s worth the risk.”

“What source?” I asked. “Where’s the spell from?”

“It’s from a book by Harris Stoughton,” Hunter replied. “Apparently Alyce gave it to Erin the other day.”

“I was there,” I said faintly, trying to suppress the shudder that had run through my body at the mention of Harris Stoughton’s name. I was liking this plan less and less. “You think this is a good idea?”

Hunter shrugged. “We haven’t heard much about Amyranth lately. I went to New York City yesterday and did some digging—it seems that none of the other members of that cell could have been behind this. They all seem to be lying low. And if we do use the spell, we’ll know right away whether it worked. First, we’ll feel the effects. Second, the spell will hit Ciaran hard—probably making him physically ill for at least a few days. That ought to make it easier for one of the Seekers in Spain to apprehend him. This is our chance to help out.”

I looked at Hunter, feeling his desire to stop Ciaran almost like it was my own. I knew that he wanted to bring Ciaran in for my safety, but there was something else behind it as well. Hunter was a Seeker by nature, not just by training. It was what he lived for. It was a side of him that frightened me. It was also part of the reason I loved him.

“What do you need me to do?” I asked.

“Erin wants to hold a circle tonight: you, me, Sky, and Alyce. I know you’re grounded, but do you think there’s any way you can make it?”

I shook my head. “No. My parents are really upset. They want—” I looked up at the redbrick school building, which contained all of the friends and classmates whom I’d hung out with my entire life. “They want to transfer me to Saint Anne’s.”

Hunter frowned. “The Catholic school? They decided?”

I nodded. “You know they don’t approve of Wicca.”

Hunter sighed. “I’ll help you get through this.”

“They feel like I’m slipping away from them.” I shrugged. “I guess I have been, in a way. Anyway, trust me, there’s no way I can make it to a circle tonight.”

“Right.” Hunter looked disappointed, if not surprised. “Well, we really need you, Morgan. So I’ve brought you this.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small dark blue stone. A vein of white ran through it, and it reminded me of the night sky lit up by the Milky Way.

“What is it?” I asked, taking the stone from him.

“It’s lapis lazuli,” Hunter explained. “It facilitates understanding and communication. I’ve strengthened it with a spell. If you place this stone on your forehead, I ought to be able to send you thoughts and images, and you ought to be able to do the same to me, like a witch message, only better. It will be almost as if you were there at the circle with us. I should be able to channel your energy. Even with your power reined, the spell and my magick ought to allow the two of us to communicate. But once your power has been unreined, you’ll be able to participate fully.”

My heart skipped about five beats. “You’re unreining my power?”

“Of course,” Hunter replied. “Erin feels terrible that you were ever reined in the first place. Clearly you had nothing to do with what was happening.”

I slipped my arms around his neck and gave him a kiss. “Thank you,” I said.

“There’s nothing to thank me for.”

My lips were still warm where they had touched Hunter’s. I wanted to contradict him, but I didn’t. Instead, I asked, “Has there been any new word from your parents?”

Hunter pressed his lips together. “No,” he replied. “But I haven’t given up. I’ve thought about the clues I’ve had—a walled city, the fact that I spoke in French. There are a number of walled medieval cities in France. I’ve asked the council whether I can have leave to go look for my father and mother—”

My heart literally—literally—stopped beating for a moment.

“—but they’ve refused. They think my evidence isn’t strong enough. They won’t tell me what research they’ve done so far, and they won’t send someone to France now. But it looks like there might be someone who is willing to search for me. Someone who isn’t in the council and isn’t bound by their rules.”

I was so relieved that Hunter wasn’t leaving that the ominous note in his voice barely registered in my mind. “Who?” I asked.

“Sky.”

“What?” I asked. Sky was going to France? What about Kithic? “How long will she be gone?”

Hunter looked sad. “It’s unclear. She’s quit her job already. After she’s finished in France, she may go back to England,” he explained.

“But—but—” I sputtered. Sky and I had never been terribly close. Still, I didn’t want her to leave. Hunter reached out and touched the tips of my long hair.

“We’ll all miss her,” he said. “But she doesn’t want to stay here, Morgan. Things have been hard for her.” Hunter looked at me, and I knew that he was talking about Sky’s breakup with Raven. I knew she had to be excited at the thought of going home to her friends. “Besides,” Hunter added, “I need her help.”

I nodded. Hunter was right—this was important. I knew that even though he wasn’t saying it, Hunter didn’t want to send her. He wanted to go himself.

By the time I stepped into the school building, the bell ending first period had already rung. This was actually a good thing. If I had walked inside in the middle of first period, I would have almost certainly been stopped by Assistant Principal Collello, who seemed to think that it was his personal duty to hand out detentions to as many students as possible. But by coming in during the minutes between first and second period, I could just blend in with all the other students and make my way to class.

I pulled off my cap and felt static running through my hair. It was probably standing on end. I decided I’d better make a quick stop at the girls’ room to check if I was presentable before wandering into class. I didn’t want to look like I was just coming in from outside, after all.