Page 28 of That Mafioso Magic
“Useful. I didn’t see that spell. I guess that one is all yours,” Sage said.
“Maybe you can use it too. You should see if you can,” Shi said.
I shrugged and told Sage how I did it. “See if you can put one of us to sleep.”
“I’ll volunteer, I could use a nap,” Nadia offered.
Sage rose from the chair and walked over to Nadia, who was sitting in one of the other chairs. He put his hand on her shoulder and said the word “sleep”, but nothing happened. Sage frowned and Nadia pouted. I walked over to her, placing my hand on her shoulder.
“Sleep,” I said, and immediately, her head dropped as she fell into a deep sleep at my command.
“Well, now I’m jealous,” Sage remarked.
“I guess that is mine to have,” I chuckled, feeling a little special.
“Another thing I noticed is that the spells change,” Sage said.
“What? Change how?” I asked, confused.
“It’s as if once you read the spell, you absorb it, like the fire spell. I learned it and when I looked back at the page after I… well, after I destroyed your coats, the spell had changed. Advanced. It went from creating balls of fire to shooting it. I went outside in the back to try that one out and let me tell you, it’s fucking breathtaking,” Sage said.
“Holy shit! So, it’s always changing. I wonder if the sleep spell I learned earlier is still there?”
“Might be or maybe it’s now about putting people in a coma,” Sage said. “The fire spell now is all about making something combust with my mind, and that is a bit harder. Guess I’m not fully ready for that one yet, because I haven’t done it and it’s still in the book.”
“Fascinating,” I murmured.
“Looks like you two have a lot of reading to do. I’ll wait outside,” Shi said, then left the office.
“She can keep Xavier company,” Sage said.
“He’s my best friend. It’d be nice if you two could get along,” I said.
Sage lifted Nadia up from the chair with ease. “As long as he doesn’t step out of line with me. He can judge me all he wants, he just better keep it to himself.”
“Or what?” I asked, challenging him.
“Or I’ll knock his teeth down his throat. Don’t worry, I won’t kill him.”
“You better not touch him in any way. I don’t care how you’ve handled people who’ve crossed you in the past. Xavier gets a pass, even if he pisses you off. Promise me,” I said.
Sage looked at me and sighed. “You’re asking me to go against not only my nature as a lion king, but also my reputation as a mob boss.”
“I know, and I still want your word, Sage.”
He gave me a lingering look that was a mixture of what I was sure was respect and lust. “Fine. He’s safe from physical harm from me and mine. But I will cuss him out… Can I do that, at least?”
I rolled my eyes. “Just try to play nice with each other.”
He snorted, then carried Nadia out of the room and placed her on the sofa in the waiting area before returning back to the office. Together, we sat down at my desk and page by page, we went through the book discussing what we both saw. Every few pages, we came across a spell both of us could use, because we both saw the same things. I was looking for a locator spell that could help me find Lacey as well as a spell that could help me discover who was behind the assassination attempts on Sage. This was about to be a long night.
CHAPTER EIGHT
The words on the page were starting to blur and double. That was how I knew it was time to call it a night. Not to mention, Adrian was yawning more frequently, which meant he was probably ready to go to bed too. I checked my watch and it was late, or very early, depending on your point of view. I rose from the chair and stretched and as I did, I could feel Adrian watching me. I had long since taken off my vest and tie and unbuttoned two buttons on my shirt to make myself more comfortable as we both studied the book.
We’d go back over some pages, learning and absorbing the spells until they became too complicated. Some spells had two stages or more. Some seemed to be first time lessons and when we returned to those pages, a completely different spell was in its place. One that would need ingredients and relics we didn’t have. This grimoire was a marvel and extremely complex, but I loved the knowledge and power it gave me. A few times, Adrian and I went outside in the privacy fenced-in backyard and practiced some of the more dangerous offensive spells.
Adrian could conjure energy balls, ice, and water, and I could now control fire and earth enough to cause a quake. I stopped shaking the ground the moment I saw a crack appear in the lawn. Last thing I needed was to destroy Adrian’s home and place of business. We both learned how to create barriers to protect our bodies and objects. That spell had three levels, and the third we couldn’t practice because it required ingredients, relics, and stones we didn’t have. But it was powerful enough to damn near make the barrier indestructible. This book seemed like an endless fountain of spells, and it kept us busy for hours.
