Page 69 of April's Fool
“Explain this again for me really slowly. Like I have a head injury, which I might because Basil can pack a punch.” Damon had given up on standing. He had righted the sofa and pulled me down to sit with him.
Poppy and Zinna were sharing another while Thyme and Oak perched on the arms of ours.
“Basil needed to break my hold with the book. He and I were about matched with power. It accepted you, Damon, because your mother gave you so much of her own magic when she sealed you. Someof it returned to Thyme, so technically, both of you are more powerful than I was.”
Damon glared at Thyme and muttered something unkind, which made Oak muffle a chuckle. Thyme ignored them both.
“That doesn’t explain why yours and Zinna’s magic is gone,” Thyme said, staying on task.
“After the call went out about the attack, Basil found his way here. He tried everything to get the book. Then he took his amulet out of his pocket. It was the darkest thing I’d ever felt.” Poppy paused, clearly upset. Zinna comforted her, staying strong for the both of them.
“We were fighting back with our magic. Just… every spell we did, they bounced right off,” Zinna explained. “No, that’s not quite right. They were absorbed.”
“Yes! Absorbed!” Poppy added. “Not just that, they seemed to suck our magic in each time. It was impossible. Basil was firing all this magic, which we ended up just defending ourselves from. By the time the last blast went off, we had nothing. We’re practically human.”
The word echoed around the room while we all sat in shock.
“What can we do? How can we fix this?” Thyme asked.
“The elves,” Oak answered, surprising us all. “We can’t turn to other witches. You are both toovulnerable right now. Other covens would take this as an opportunity to take over this one. It has to be the elves. We’ve learned from spending time with the pack that our magics are compatible.”
“We need to find that amulet. We fought pretty hard, there’s a chance he left more than the book behind.” Damon’s mouth was set in a hard line.
“Okay, well, I can call Kade and ask about the elves to see if they will help us while you look for the amulet. The stone is blood red, almost black.” Poppy took out her phone, the screen cracked, yet still working, and dialed her friend.
The call was short. “They’re coming by portal. Oak, could you go let them in? Zin, could you pack us some stuff? They want us to stay with them.”
Zinna nodded. She began packing a bag; the baby nestled carefully against her shoulder in a sling.
Damon asked me to join him in his search for the amulet. This was one task I could help him with, since the magic would have a trace in the air.
“Close your eyes,” I said, taking his hand in mine. We were away from the others, tracing the path Damon had run following Basil.
“Okay.” Damon complied, trusting me implicitly.
“Feel the magic in the air? Not me or you. All around us there is magic. Each kind has a sort of signature. Can you pick out the dark thread?”
He was silent for some time. “Got it.” My pride in him grew when I saw it matched in his own face. Damon deserved to feel good about his magic. Wanted or not, this was his new reality, he shouldn’t fear it.
We followed the magic until I caught a glint under a curtain. “There!” I bent to pick it up.
“Careful! Wrap it in the curtain. Just in case.”
He was right, of course, to be wary.
Amulet in hand, we returned to the others in time to hear one of the elves make an announcement.
“Ah, you have it. Perfect.” He took the amulet from Damon with a restrained smile. Elves were interesting as a species. This one could have been anywhere from thirty to five hundred. There was no telling.
“As soon as we have you checked over by our healers,” he continued, storing the amulet in his coat pocket, “we will take you to Abrocaelum.”
“Abrocaelum?” I asked.
“The elf and fae realm. It is where the study of magic is most proficient and should return the stolen power to Poppy and Zinna.”
He turned to the women, who stood anxiously with the Sweetwater Second and some guards. This elf was important. Another stood close to the Second protectively, long white blond, almost silver hair cascading down his back.
“Shall we go?” He waited for their assent before the silver haired elf drew a portal. The wards all fell without so much as a blink from the elf. By the magic, he was strong. Old.
