Page 42 of A Spell for Midwinter's Heart
“Almost the same time,” said Zaide. She tipped her palm toward the ceiling and a small spark of flame erupted above it. “She saw the magic in me before I saw it in myself. I mean, I had an idea, but I was kind of in denial…Can’t keep anything from Naomie, though.”
Rowan shook her head, remembering how Naomie had hidden away her magical insights when they were teenagers in favor of social acceptance. Most people wouldn’t be comfortable having someone around who could see through all the little lies they told themselves.
Zaide snapped the flame out of existence. “And, y’know, once she showed me the magic”—she waggled her eyebrows—“she alsoshowed me the magic.”
They both giggled at that, and then Rowan sobered, glancing at the ground. “I wish I could’ve helped you find the path earlier.”
Zaide shrugged. “I wasn’t ready. But you trusted me with your secrets. Made me realize the path even existed. I wouldn’t be here without you either.”
At that moment, a short woman with gray hair emerged from the back to wave at them. Zaide shot up in her seat. “She booked it?” The older woman grinned and gave a thumbs-up. “We’re on!”
The words triggered a flare of nerves, and Rowan reached for Zaide. “It’s okay I’m doing this, right?”
Zaide looked confused. “What do you mean?”
“This spell. You don’t agree with my mom that it’s…against the Rede or something?”
The snort that came from Zaide was deafening. “Do I think preventing a corporate leech from lying through her teeth is against the Rede?”
“Well, when you put it that way, I feel silly even for asking.”
“As you should. Now, go do it.”
The early-morning locker room was still blessedly empty. Her backup plan had been to cast the spell in a nearby supply closet, but it was better this way.
Claiming a locker, she swiftly disrobed before assembling her improvised altar, laying out a printed handkerchief on which to arrange a clear crystal, her athame, a white candle, and finally the poppet. The heather gray doll was soft and squishy, having no features except two tiny blue button eyes. She slid the ring of Hayleigh’s hair around its mouth, binding lies inside.
Her eyes fixed on the poppet, and a tremor passed through her. Her grandmother had castA Spell for the Whole Truthon her. Did that mean she’d had a Rowan poppet? How had she bound it?
She shook her head and the thoughts free with it. That line of questioning would do nothing but tangle her up, and she needed to focus on the task at hand.
A solid lump in her jeans pocket reminded her she still had the hairbrush, and she tossed it to the altar for good measure. The spell didn’t call for it, but personal effects never hurt a spell’s chances of success.
She struck a match with a flare of sulfur and cupped her hand around the candle to be sure it lit. Finally, she held the athame up in her palms and stared at the poppet as she spoke the words:
Deliver the truth, suffer no lie,
No matter how deeply I might pry.
By the power of three by three,
As I do will it, so mote it be.
There was no immediate effect, but of course there wouldn’t be. She couldn’t be certain it had worked until she asked a question Hayleigh didn’t want to answer. Until then, she would simply have to trust. She shut the locker door to hide the evidence of spellcasting and hurried out to the spa area.
Four rippling blue pools heated at intervals of five degrees Fahrenheit dominated the open stonework room, while both steam and dry saunas lined the walls. Mudwort wafted up from a cistern at the entrance, brown and earthy. She dipped a heavy white bowl into the murky water and dumped it over her face, where it rushed down her skin in pale brown rivulets.
Hayleigh reclined, soaking in a pool. Just as Rowan entered, one of Zaide’s aunts, Mi Young, emerged from the body scrub area to call their names. The Goshen Group representative opened her eyes, noting Rowan immediately. A hard line formed between her eyes before her expression relaxed into a satisfied smirk.
“Oh, it’s you,” Hayleigh said. “How are you, Ronan?”
“It’s Rowan.”
“My mistake.” The reply was airy, with no hint of apology. She emerged from the pool in a dripping trail, and Rowan followed into the treatment area.
They stretched out on the waterproof vinyl of the treatment beds. Mi Young had been briefed on a deeply edited version of the plan, and the older woman gave Rowan a secretive smile before slipping on her scrubbing gloves and going at it. Another woman leaned over Hayleigh to get started.
The experience of having the outer layer of skin forcefully removed from her body was a new one, and it took a great deal of effort to stay focused on the task at hand.
