Page 68 of Radiant Shadows

Fuck, this was complicated.

After an hour or so of reading, to no other avail than finding other interesting spells and marking them with a sticky note for later use, there was a knock on my door.

“Come in.” I peeled my eyes away from the current page and looked up.

Gram gently pushed the door open and hung in the doorway, a smile creeping onto her face at seeing me in my present state. “Any news from Tobias?”

I shook my head even as I checked the phone beside me, and I probably wouldn’t have heard ping anyway because I was too invested. There were, in fact, no new messages.

“No, he must not have gotten to Arya yet,” I said. “Or maybe it’ll take time for him to know for sure if it worked.”

She stepped into the room, a confident smile on her face. “Oh, it worked. I know I’ve been out of the game for a long time, but you don’t get to be as old a witch as me without knowing what activation feels like.”

I cocked my head. “What do you mean?”

She narrowed her eyes thoughtfully at me. “Couldn’t you feel it? That subtle yet undeniable shift in reality that told you something had been vitally altered? That bending of the universe to a new mode of operation?”

I considered that for a moment. With all the magic I’d done so far, it was really hard to know if my aims had worked. The physical things were obvious, like conjuring fire or turning myself into a kitten—which reminded me I needed to research the potions section of the grimoire.

But for the more abstract spells, it was certainly harder to tell, especially if they didn’t directly relate to me. Like snaring a vampire. I only knew it worked because I could see it happening. And, I guess, I could also feel a tug on my willpower.

This countercurse for Tobias was completely new. A spell that had no effect on me save for the slight drain on my magic. I couldn’t tell if I felt what Gram was referring to.

Ultimately, I just shrugged and frowned in response.

She chuckled and came to sit beside me on my bed. “That’s okay. You’re still very new to magic. In time, you’ll learn these things. Likely, even more than me.”

“You know, I could be a lot farther along… Just saying…” I teased because I couldn’t help it.

Gram gave me that long-suffering maternal look of hers but then nodded. “I know. I had thought I was protecting you, but I didn’t account for the fact that you are your mother’s daughter, and that when you put your mind to something, there’s no stopping you. I realize now that I should have given you the tools to protect yourself. That is a mistake I will have to live with.”

Sadness dragged on her features, sending a sting of guilt through my heart.

“Hey, no harm was done,” I said. “I’m still here, kicking ass and taking names.”

She threw her head back and laughed so hard that her belly bounced on her lap, which also made me laugh.

“I know. You were born to be an excellent witch. I’m sorry it took me so long to see it, but I’m proud to be able to help you now.” She wrapped an arm around my shoulders and squeezed me into a side hug.

Even at this awkward angle, her hugs were just the best.

“There is something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about,” she prefaced, and I instinctively braced for a lecture.

I set the book, still open, onto the bed in front of me to give her my full attention.

“The vampire who gave you the grimoire,” she began slowly, seeming to struggle with choosing her next words, and I gulped. “He asked you to help him bring back a lost love?”

I nodded hesitantly, my insides squirming with preemptive discomfort after years of these conversations turning into long, drawn out fights.

“Considering he is a vampire, how long has his lover been dead?” she asked.

I twisted my lips as I tried and failed to come up with an exact number. “Something like a hundred years.”

She nodded. “I’ll spare you the lecture on the dangers of necromancy except for one.”

She leaned forward slightly so that she could look into my eyes, and my breath hitched nervously.

“Even when death is recent, necromancy is a dark business with great costs. But the longer the gap since death, the more gory the repercussions. To bring back someone who has been dead for a century…” She shook her head, her eyes widening for a second. “The chances of such a thing going well are so slim that it’s almost impossible.”

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