Page 60 of Charmed

Guilt prickled. It wasn’t like me to choose such a path, a lack of effort the council would be able to easily discern. Yet without Maeve I felt as if I’d misplaced the confidence that had guided me up until this point, as if I’d lost my way and was now fumbling in the dark.

I cast a desperate gaze around the room, pausing when I recognized the Relic of Clarity, as if my desperation had been drawn to the powers it promised to all who used it. My fingers had barely grazed it when Taryn lurched forward.

“Wait! You can’t touch it until after you’ve broken the curse—” Her words faltered when I picked it up without any difficulty. “How?”

I shrugged. “A curse repellant spell.”

She and Xander watched in disbelief as I carefully wrapped the object up in a magic resistant cloth I kept on hand before exchanging disbelieving glances. Xander groaned. “Do you have any idea how much heartache knowing about such a spell would have saved both of us?”

“Such a spell is only temporary; I’ll need to break the curse soon if I want to avoid its effects.” And that was only the first step—then I’d have to create another one, a thought made more daunting by my lack of knowledge in this area, challenge that used to excite me but which now left me mentally exhausted.

Xander and Taryn quietly slipped out with Hope as I made my way to the ancient book, turning the pages to find the details for the Relic of Clarity. I scribbled notes as I read, hypothesizing methods I could use to break the curse. Self-doubts began to swirl the farther I perused. How could I effectively familiarize myself with such a skill within a manner of days when my mind was in such turmoil I could barely focus on the magical basics I’d studied my entire life, simple spells that I couldn’t even perform without mistakes…as my earlier portal spell had attested to.

Sighing, I turned the relic over in my hands, studying it. The faint gleam of magic belied its innocent appearance. I suddenly startled at a faint movement within the relic. I leaned forward in astonishment before realizing that the movement was a mere reflection; something behind me in the room had shifted.

The hair on the back of my neck prickled as I whirled, clutching the relic to my chest. I slowly let out a breath as I scanned the room. Everything seemed to be in order, causing me to wonder if I’d merely imagined the unsettling sensation. Perhaps it was an effect of the curse.

Before I could return to my study, a glimmer caught my eye, as though the air were bending in one place near a shelf. As I watched, the relic closest to this location lifted off the shelf and seemed to hover midair for a moment before vanishing. A tang of magic wafted towards me, a scent—if such a thing could be called such—that I recognized.

“Demetria!”

At my exclamation the air shimmered violently and seemed to drop away, leaving my sister standing across the room, gazing at me defiantly.

“What are you doing here?” I demanded.

“Same as you, it appears,” she answered with a toss of her blonde hair. “Gaining a relic for the competition.”

“Without permission, I presume?” I challenged.

She shrugged. “Naturally; I’m not exactly welcome after the…complicatedevents between me and the prince and princess. Which relic did you choose?”

I quickly tried to conceal my prize but her eyes were too quick.

“The Relic of Clarity,” she observed with raised eyebrows. “Will you use it after you break the curse?”

“Of course,” I answered. “I have to cast a new spell over it.”

She shook her head. “No, I meant: will you utilize its purpose for yourself before you complete the challenge? You’ve seemed rather conflicted of late, as though you could benefit from some clarity.”

I ground my teeth. “I have not forgotten my purpose.” By her dubious expression I feared she would press the matter further and hastily changed the subject. “Which relic didyouchoose?”

She laughed as she turned towards the wall with a lifted hand. “Why would I share such a thing withyou?I have no reason to take you into my confidence.”

With a low murmur and a wave, a glowing circle appeared on the wall. While it looked similar to my portals, I noticed a faint streak of darkness ringing it. Demetria pulled her cloak more tightly around her shoulders and stepped inside, vanishing from sight.

With a groan I returned to the book, puzzling over possible ways to approach the curse. Anxiety began to whirl my thoughts, but before panic could take hold, an image of Maeve suddenly graced my mind. How many times had she encouraged me not to overcomplicate things? An idea sparked. After ensuring I’d copied all the relevant information, I carefully closed the tome.

I cast my own portal, calculating carefully so I would emerge in the clearing where I’d last seen Maeve. I felt her absence more sharply than I wanted to admit, yet even without her physical presence, I benefited from the memory of our previous time together.

I carefully set the Relic of Clarity on a stone in front of me, noting that the protective charm was already wearing off. I could feel a malicious pull, a tantalizing urge to take it into my hands and use it for my own selfish purposes.

The book had indicated that the curse preyed on desire for knowledge, entrapping the user and bending their will to that of the power that created the curse. The cursed person would be doomed to a life of service to its cruel purposes, unable to resist its commands and becoming more tightly bound each time they used the relic to see what they weren’t meant to.

If sight led to enslavement, I knew of only one way to safely approach the curse. I withdrew a scarf from my trunk and murmured an enchantment. It lifted out of my hands and bound itself tightly around my head, ensuring that not the slightest trace of light could reach my eyes, with an additional spell that would prevent its removal for the next hour, no matter what enchantment I tried.

With trembling hands I reached for the relic, feeling a jolt as I touched it. The magic’s seductive siren’s call sang in my ears, cajoling me tolook…look…look. Almost against my will I raised a hand to my scarf, but despite my tugging, the enchantment held. With considerable effort I wrenched my hand down, firmly gripping the relic. Tears sprang to my eyes at the sharpness of the desire. I breathed heavily as I ran my fingers over the surface, searching for weakness.

My touch was met with nothing more than the glassy smoothness of the mirror-like surface. I frantically turned it over in my hands, fearing that my powers were no match for the curse. Whispers curled through my mind, urging me to gaze into the relic, to see what I most wished clarity on.

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