Page 65 of Morning's Light

CHAPTER 14

The spellbook stared at Aisanna from where she’d placed it on a pedestal-style table in the solarium. Darkness must be stopped, but her gut was telling her it would take more power than they had combined to do it. A translation spell was a bad idea. Probably. Most likely. It was also the only good one she’d had.

The worst part? Her sisters weren’t competent in the art of casting. Karsia specialized in healing, while Astix’s specialty was physical magic. Conjuring. Aisanna would have to do most of the work herself. It didn’t sound fun. Not one bit.

It was the only solution she had to an ever-growing problem.

It could work, she tried to convince herself. If they could translate the script and maybe find a way to bind Darkness before the veil frayed on the night of the eclipse, then they might be able to restore balance. Find Zee. Put this whole mess behind them and start living life the way they were meant to live it, instead of walking around in constant confusion and fear.

Aisanna flipped to a new page and petals were revealed, dried husks of lavender, sage, petunia, and rose. They were brittle. Frozen in time. She quickly moved to the next page for fear of breaking them, or the oils of her hands destroying any old magic hidden in those old blooms.

The skin on her scalp twitched. She wasn’t used to not having a concrete plan, wasn’t used to feeling her way blindly along an unfamiliar path with an uncertain future in front of her and the weight of everything on her shoulders pushing her farther down by the minute.

Maybe it was pointless to hope they would find a spell to solve their problems. Potions were not her specialty. Neither was following an exact protocol for a spell.

Still, Aisanna concentrated on the pages until her eyes blurred. She might not be good at following a step by step procedure, but she was good at staying alive. Which was why she had to believe they would find a way to win.

She turned her attention to the margins and old drawings of ingredients. “Karsia? Are you seeing anything?”

“A few symbols look similar to what you have on your chest.” She pointed. “But none of them have the whole line.”

“Any kind of translation enchantment?”

“I’m looking, okay?”

“We need to find a spell to bring us the Harbinger witch. Forget about the script.” Astix had sat back down on the cushion, her eyes closed, her fingers touching on top of her knees. “There are more important things, like stopping whatever is going to happen before the big night.”

“What about the woman I saw in the mirror?” Aisanna murmured.

“Hold on. The what?”

She glanced up, meeting their widened eyes and knowing she’d let too much slip. Oh, snap. “Um…I mean—”

“You saw a woman in a mirror and you didn’t tell us?” Karsia reached out to smack the back of her head. “Any little bit helps, and you’re keeping shit to yourself? Not cool.”

“I didn’t mean to hide it from you. I simply thought there were more important things to focus on.”

“More important than what, Aisanna? Than stopping the goddamn day of reckoning? You two are so caught up in trying to find out who this thing was, you’re forgetting the most important part—how to stop her.”

“Um, guys? I think I found something.” Karsia sounded less than certain.

“Who was it, Aisanna?” Astix kept her voice low, her words angry.

“No one I recognized. I swear, I didn’t think it was relevant or I would—”

“Hey, that’s it! That’s it!” Karsia hovered closer.

And there it was. Their long-dead relatives’ ornate script of instructions for casting a spell translating any text into the language of the spell-caster.

Astix shot to her feet. “Are you serious?”

“Do I look like I’m in a joking mood?”

“All right, then. Grab the stuff for the spell. The athame and the sea salt. And let’s get to work.”

Karsia ran out of the room to retrieve the carved wooden box holding their ritual items—more paraphernalia passed down to them from ancestors. While not needed in a literal sense, they helped a witch or wizard focus their powers into a single stream of energy.

She was out of breath when she returned, her arms holding the box, and silver rings adorning each of her fingers. “You’re sure the gemstone protections will hold?”

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