Monster Baiter (An Obscure Magic Book 6) (7 page)

“Yeah. Did you want me to take care of them?”

“Identify the curses first, please.”

She walked up to the bell and analyzed it. “When you ring it, the more you need someone to come to you, the quieter the bell rings and the more of a repulsion field it creates. It is more a nuisance than anything else.”

The spell work was quiet, and a few whispers shattered the curse into a thousand glittering pieces of dust that exploded in a short purple flame.

“The bookstand is confusion. Simple one. Very annoying to scholars but not fatal.”

A small prick of her finger and a drop of blood broke the curse.

Blood was the key to the dagger as well. She offered it to the curse that would poison those who touched it with a slow fever and wasting sickness. Three slow drops of blood on the hilt cracked the curse, and she used magic to peel it off and discard it in an orb that let the magic burn out inside it.

“Okay, the three are cursed as a set. I will bring them down, but you will have to let me know if they have more value while dangerous or as disenchanted.”

She walked over to the books and pulled them down. The magic hissed, and the books twisted in her hands.

“Spell of confusion, obfuscation and dangerous arrogance. Interesting combination. The contents are not affected. The binding is where it all lies. So, with your permission?” She didn’t wait for more than a nod.

She extended her hands and sent a light sheet of magic toward the books; it wrapped around the books and bled off the power. When the magic was in the layer she had provided, she pulled the layer off and bundled it again. Collecting the spell before she blew it up was a habit, but when the explosion hit, it knocked her on her ass.

She watched it turn to vapour right before she passed out.

Sophia woke up in a chair with Lenora pressing a cold cloth to her forehead. “You have been working too hard.”

She struggled to sit up straighter, and Dr. Ganger held her back with surprisingly easy strength.

“What happened?”

“Your wards weren’t thick enough, and you compressed the curse too tightly. You made a bomb.”

Sophy looked around. “Did it cause damage?”

“Only to you. I have called your parents. They are on their way over.”

She tried to put her hand over her eyes, and Lenora held her hands down.

“Don’t touch your face, Sophy. You are crusted with the shattered wards.”

Sophy relaxed. “Shit.”

“That would be easier to get off. I have never seen solid magic like this before. That is saying something.”

The world looked brighter through the crystalline haze that covered her. She lifted her hands and cursed. “Well this bites.”

“Stay still. If you dissolve your wards now, you will be coated in the curse, and I don’t want that to happen until your father is here to deal with it.”

Harcourt was nearby in earnest conversation with Magnus, explaining the situation. It looked strange to see someone talking so seriously to a phone, but she had seen weirder things.

Magnus said, “Show her to me.”

Bemused, Harcourt lifted the phone with the charging cable attached and aimed the camera at Sophy.

“That is impressive, Sophy. I have only seen one backfire like it in all my years.”

Harcourt carefully set the phone down. “What happened then?”

“Oh, the mage died. You need to get a layer of magic between yourself and the shattered effect as soon as possible.”

Lenora nodded. “Right. Let’s get you to the workout room.”

She moved behind Sophy and helped her up from the chair. “Let me do the work, Sophy. I need you to move slowly from here on out. I can’t touch any part of you that has the magic on it.”

Sophy nodded and began to move. Each step felt like wading through ice water. Her skin was getting colder with every step. She counted. Twenty steps out of the library. Seventeen steps down the hall and ten more into the room where the experiments were carried out. Nothing was on the walls, and the tile was treated to repel magic. She was in the equivalent of a lead-lined chamber.

With a lot of effort, she boosted herself onto the workbench and focused on analyzing the spell that was on her skin. Her magic was bonded to the residue of the curse, making it hard to focus and giving her the sensation that her own body was repellant.

There was only one thing to do; she had to unravel her own magic.

She picked apart each layer of magic, from the inside out, pressing outward when the curse tried to touch her skin. A swift destruction of the energy and she slumped forward.

“Good job, micro mite.” Her father’s voice was near her.

“Dad, when did you get here?” Her head was spinning.

“An hour ago, but you were doing fine.”

She looked at him through exhausted eyes and smiled. “I think I deserve a cookie.”

She slammed her head onto his shoulder on the way down.

Delwin was the first face that she saw. He was leaning over her and sponging her forehead.

Sophy blinked. “What are you doing here?”

“Well, I live here. So do you. Your parents brought you in, and your phone gave me instructions on how to take care of you. He is a bossy fella.”

Magnus’s voice was next to her. “Yes, I am. Such as I am. She needs rest and recuperation.”

“She needs folks to stop talking about her like she isn’t awake.” Sophy tried to sit up and groaned, falling backward.

“As I said. You used a lot of energy, and your body is recovering. You need a week of nothing but rest.” Magnus sounded smug.

“That isn’t going to happen. I have duties to execute.”

“Your father is resuming the mantle for a week. He is excited.” Magnus chuckled. “He and I got along very well.”

She ignored that. “He can’t. He isn’t the Cursed One.”

“He was, and that was enough for Lenora to
borrow
the curse for a week. You are free for the next seven days until you are back to full strength.”

“Why are you suddenly in charge? You don’t even have a body.”

Delwin was watching the whole exchange with a grin.

“Because I have seen what you were engaged in before. A blown spell like that should have killed you, but your energy held it and froze around it. You have excellent reflexes but very little preservation instinct.”

She grumbled. “I haven’t needed it. The curse protects me.”

“Not if you are going up against demon magic. You are going to need special expertise. I am willing to provide it, for a price.”

She looked at her phone and made a face.

“I saw that.”

“I could just shut you off.”

“I would simply take over another appliance with a camera. Listen to my offer and tell me what you think.”

She sat up slowly, and Delwin left her with a wink and a whispered, “You seem to be in good... hands?”

She made another face and looked down at the phone. “What do you want?”

“I want you to petition the Mage Guild for my release. Just one appearance at the Guild Hall and I will tell you what you need to know about dealing with those demon curses.”

Sophy sighed. “I thought I was supposed to be resting.”

“Ha. Funny. You and I both know you will be on your feet in minutes. Your physical body is fine; it is your magical energies that need to recover.”

She groaned and flipped the covers over the phone. She was naked, and he didn’t need to see that. Her entire body ached. She moved with glacial slowness to the shower and let the hot water take out the aches and pains that she was feeling. Her body was marked with traces of energy under the skin, marks that looked like rivers of power. “That is new.”

When she was wrapped in a towel with her hair mostly dry and draped over her shoulder, she uncovered the phone.

“I already saw you naked. Delwin helped your mother undress you. It was a delightful show.”

“Perv.”

“I admire the female form and yours more than any other.”

She glared at him. “Stop sucking up. I am feeling stronger. We can go to the Guild Hall today.”

“You might want to wait on that. It is the middle of the night. You have been out for hours.”

She looked to the window and saw the dark of night outside. “Well, fuck.”

She lifted her blankets, crawled back under the sheets and pulled the towel away when she was done settling. Time for another nap. If she was honest, she needed it.

“You know you always curse when you are thwarted.”

She pulled her duvet up next to her ear. “I know.”

* * * *

Delwin crept into the bedroom when he felt Sophia had fallen asleep. He removed the charger from her phone and removed the item from her bedroom.

Outside in the hall, he made sure he was a sufficient distance before he asked the phone. “Who the hell are you?”

The rich voice was challenging. “Who are you? I was under the impression that Sophia was not in a relationship.”

“I am her housekeeper and roommate. My name is Delwin. My question stands.”

“Magnus. I am her liaison to the Mage Guild. I occupy her electronics, but normally, she turns her phone off when she goes home.”

“Where’s your body?”

“It is a long story.”

“What can you tell me about what she likes?” Delwin finally came out with it. “She is a fussy eater, and I don’t know what her favourites are.”

“You are joking.”

He cupped the phone between his palms and whispered, “No. I like it here, and I don’t want to move. I want to keep her happy.”

The phone sighed. “Cookies, tacos, soda, spicy and sweet. Those are her favourites. Now, please, put me back. I would like to be there when she wakes.”

“So, you have a body.”

“Yes. It is just not accessible to me right now. Sophia is going to assist me with that.”

Delwin was suddenly suspicious. “Does she know she is helping you?”

A flash of light struck him.

Delwin walked away from Sophia’s room wondering what he had been doing there. He could have sworn that he was going to ask the phone something, but now, he couldn’t remember what that was. Ah, well, it probably wasn’t important.

* * * *

Sophia kept her bedding over the phone while she got dressed.

She smoothed a long, brilliant-blue, split-side tunic down over her black leggings and slipped her feet into some wedge heels. Her hair was in a smooth ponytail that hung down her back. Modest earrings and a matching necklace were in place before she unwrapped the phone.

“I can’t do anything, even if I see you naked.”

She snorted. “A girl has secrets. I have more than most.”

She held the phone and got her purse.

The moment she stepped into the hallway, the scent of oatmeal and cinnamon assailed her nostrils.

She followed the scent into the kitchen where Delwin was setting out a plate of oatmeal cookies next to a stack of napkins.

“I figured you might want to get going right away, so I made these so you can take them on the road. They are fortified with seeds and nuts as well as a hefty dose of chocolate chips and raisins.”

He paused and blinked. “Oh and oats.”

She smiled. “Thank you. That is really thoughtful. How did you know I like all of my food in cookie form?”

He chuckled. “I have no idea. It just came to me in the night.”

Sophy heard a snort from her purse.

She grabbed a stack of cookies and folded them in a napkin. “These look great.”

“Let me know if you want me to change anything.” He smiled brightly, and his green-tinged skin glowed with a blush.

Sophy nodded and headed for the door.

She heard him call out. “Wait!”

To her shock, he had a thermal mug in his hand, and the smell was coffee.

“Wow. Thanks. Have a good day, Delwin.”

He smiled brightly and returned to the house, humming a tune with all three sets of his vocal chords.

Sophy didn’t know what to say about that, so she got in her car and started driving.

“Are you having sex with the merman?”

She scowled at the GPS unit. “Of course not. He prefers men.”

“Ah. That was not made clear.”

“Why would it be any of your business? Delwin is perfectly nice as long as you don’t have a tub he wants to flip his tail out in.”

“I see.”

“Not if you were with me you didn’t.” She snickered. “He tends to leave traces of scale behind. I am guessing that he wants to soak to shed the old scales.”

“Why doesn’t he scrub in the sea?”

She wrinkled her nose. “I think he has developed a phobia regarding open water. He only frequents pools now. It is a little sad.”

Magnus was quiet. “What is your destination?”

“I am going back to the Gangers’ to get the cursed box, and then, I am going to put it in the trunk while I go to the Mage Guild headquarters.”

“You are going to speak to them today?”

She chuckled. “I have a day off. Trust me. It does not happen often.”

When she got to the Gangers’ home, she rang the bell and smiled when Lenora answered the door with her hair and clothing askew.

“Pardon me, Lenora. I just came to retrieve the cursed case and flute. If I can just grab them, I will let you and Harcourt continue your... meeting?” She grinned wide.

Lenora sighed. “Come in. We were in the kitchen, so the library is safe. We put a cloche over the case, just so we wouldn’t handle it by accident.”

Sophy stepped inside as Lenora stepped back. “I will get it out of your hair.”

They walked down the hall to the library. They entered and Lenora continued, “How are you feeling?”

“Better. I hear that you put Dad on duty again.”

“I did.”

“And I bet he was delighted.” She chuckled and removed the heavy glass dome from the case. She tucked it under her arm and nodded to Lenora. “Thanks for hanging on to this.”

“Well, we weren’t going to touch it. Demon magic is stickier than hell, so to speak.”

“Right. Well, I am off to the Guild Hall, so I will check in and see if any of them have heard of this kind of thing before.”

Lenora frowned. “You are not bringing it into the hall.”