Imperative: A Quinn Larson Quest (21 page)

“It depended. And, she always had a dissolve spell ready. Just in case. That came in handy more than once.”

It might work, I really worried that Lionel wouldn’t be able to pull this off. But really the spell couldn’t go wrong. It would work or it wouldn’t. The thing is we would only know when a fairy got pregnant; two days at least. “It has merit, and maybe by doing this, we can find some other way to deal with it. Maybe we can work together, or something,” I said without thinking.

“Really?” Lionel sounded so eager I felt bad about my earlier impatience.

“Let’s start with the ingredients. List the ingredients in order.”

“Batwing powder, clover pollen, fairy blood…” Lionel listed the twenty ingredients in order and completely accurately; including the fact that the raindrops needed to have been caught in a Foxglove flower.

“Perfect,” Edrinda confirmed.

“Okay, talk me through the moves. Take your time. This spell can be cast very slowly if necessary.” Unfortunately like most spells, no one else could speak while it was being cast.

“I take the Batwing and using my right hand,” he paused and I assumed he was waiting for confirmation. I nodded. “I gently pour it into the crucible.”

He stumbled a few times but Edrinda corrected him and we let him go forward.

“This seems to be working. Okay, keep going through this until you have it right without us prompting.”

We sat through this process for an hour. And Lionel’s ability dropped the longer we did it. Eventually I couldn’t take it anymore. “We need rest. Lionel, stop. Let’s have some tea and try again later.”

After we rested, I told Lionel to go back to reading the spell and walking through the motions. Maybe he would build some motion memory and then be able to do it without the writing. We couldn’t have Edrinda hold the paper because she would get in his way. He couldn’t hold it because he needed both hands for the spell.

“We need a plan B,” Clarence said. “Can’t you just memorize the spell and cast it?”

“We can’t take a chance that I will spill an ingredient, or reach for the wrong one. When this is over I’ll figure out how to be a blind wizard. Today we need to find a way for Lionel to cast this one.”

“I’m sure he’ll manage to learn it. Maybe not in time, but eventually.” Clarence laughed and I looked to see if Lionel had heard. He was so deep in the spell he wouldn’t have heard a train run through the room.

Olan chirped a laugh. “Well, that only needs time to heal. It is not serious. I thought I might find a way to get your eyesight back and it worked, I found this book.”

And by then the Sidhe would have a new queen.
“What does this book contain?”

“I don’t really know. I couldn’t get it open, but it is supposed to contain spells to undo spells, to identify spells so they can be undone, that kind of thing.”

“It’s a pixie thing.” Olan stepped onto my lap. “Maybe Lionel can figure out how to open it. Then we can find a spell to give you back your sight.”

“That would be useful right now. But we only have a bit of time to deal with the fairies.”

“Everyone is going to leave the room; you and I will be the only ones here. I will sit in a corner, so I’m out of your way. I have a blanket spell ready.” I had shown every charm and amulet I had in my pocket to Lionel and he’d identified them for me. I had a blanket and a freeze spell in my hands. “Are you ready?”

“Yes, ready as I’ll ever be.”

I waved Clarence over, or at least if he was where I thought he was it would have looked like I was waving him over. He took my arm and led me to a chair we’d placed in the far corner. We’d set Lionel up in the center of the room, a brazier and a small wooden table in front of him. On the table, all the ingredients and vessels he needed. In the very center of the table sat the Gur amulet. I could feel the power emanating from it even from the corner. The spell would not affect the souls of the Druids. There was no way that could happen—I hoped.

It seemed he was able to summon the spirits because I felt the air in the room dampen and his words became muffled. If I could see, all I would see is a shadow of his movements. The suspense wasn’t exactly killing me, I just wish it was.

I listened to the cadence of the muffed words. He seemed to be going through the process smoothly and there were no dreaded hiccups.

“Come over to me and bring the amulet.” I would be able to make sure that there was no taint of Fionuir’s spell if the amulet was close enough.

Everyone except Olan and Lionel had gone home. There was nothing to do now but wait. We should know in a couple of days if we were going to be knee deep in fairy babies any time soon.

Olan was resting; I could hear little chickadee snores coming from the region of the couch. Lionel and I were in the kitchen drinking clover tea. The book Olan had stolen on the counter in front of us.

We’d managed to open the book with a simple command spell. “It’s in some sort of code,” Lionel said.

“Well, it’s probably spelled to keep secrets. If we knew the right spell we would be able to read it. If you remember the myth of the key book, it is a spell inside a spell. The key to opening the first spell will be the key to the spell inside.”

“So, if we figure out how to read the book, that same thing will be the spell inside?” Lionel’s confusion came through in his tone.

“No, let’s say we need walnut powder to read the contents of the book. We shake a little powder on the page and the words are suddenly legible. Whatever the spell is that we find inside, will need walnuts in some form or another to work.”

I heard pages flipping. “There must be four hundred pages. Will each one have a different key?”

“Well, in four hundred pages there will probably be about two hundred spells. I don’t know if there are two hundred keys. But the only way I know to find out it to test every powder and filter I can think of.”

Lionel groaned. A sound that every apprentice makes many times. “Can we narrow it down? Like trying things that we know are included in spells that do something to sight?”

Not a bad idea. When he wasn’t so nervous, Lionel showed real promise. “It’s as good an idea as any.”

“Cate had a bunch of herbs and crystals around because she was learning healing.” His voice moved away as he spoke. “Here are some of them.” I heard him put a box on the counter.

I took the book and passed my hands across the pages. I didn’t feel any special pull to a page, but I did feel power. It was beginning to look like this might actually be a key book. I let the book choose, laying it on the table and letting it fall open naturally.

“Okay put a web here.” I smoothed the pages flat.

After an age, Lionel sighed again. We went through another three webs without finding a cure for my problem; although one page did reveal a spell for repelling flies from a blood sacrificial altar.

“Lionel, the last one is yours. You choose. If it doesn’t work, we can always try again. At least we know it acts like a key book.”

Lionel took the open book from my hands. I heard him flicking through the pages, like he was scanning for a particular spell, even though he couldn’t read what was on the page. Then he stopped looking.

“Hold the book open to this page.” He pressed it into my hands. “Maybe you have to be holding the book for the spell to work.”

I held the book out, open to the page he had found. I waited while he unfolded the last web. I felt it touch my fingers as he draped it across the page.

“Did your sight fade, or did it go all at once?”

“A bit of both. When I found the brick and released the disguise spell, it seemed to get dark. When I pulled out the amulet, the lights went out.

“So she’s smart. We need to cast two spells to give you back your sight.”

“You can see the spell?” I didn’t want to get too excited.

“Yes, it’s pretty complex. Even more than the cleansing spell.” Lionel raised his voice above noise that was coming from the direction of the front door. “What the heck is that all about?”

I felt him move away.

“Be careful.” I said above the noise was coming closer to the door; voices shouting and something being thrown around. “I don’t think I can help you if it comes to a brawl.”

Lionel laughed and I heard the floor squeak in front of the door. He pulled it open and the noise changed into a single female voice.

She wanted into Cate’s place and thought Cate was alive, so the Sidhe probably didn’t have anything to do with the demon. She was after the amulet I’m pretty sure. We hadn’t done anything to hide it yet. If she got into the living room she would see it on the coffee table. “Fionuir, you have been asked to leave this house. Without express invitation from the resident, you cannot enter.”

“I know the rules, Quinn. But you may have forgotten that if enough of my property is inside this house, I can enter to remove it.”