Page 1121 of One More Kiss

Chapter6

The problemwith being a spell keeper—or at least one of my limited experience—was that I knew just enough witchcraft to be dangerous. Sure, I knew the spells, but without a real concept of how to use them, I was as useful as a newborn baby. And considering I was the only person in this house with opposable thumbs that wasn’t trapped in a magic mirror stasis spell, the weight of protecting the library fell to me.

I wasn’t just fucked. I was fucked.

I was neither drunk enough nor sober enough for this shit.

“Don’t worry, Jasper, the house is warded tighter than a duck’s asshole,” Jeff assured me, his less-than-confident tone not selling it.

“Sure. Quick question, though—how the fuck do I stop a sorceress hell-bent on getting in here? Because I’m guessing she’s going to figure it out at some point, and I’d rather not die at forty-four if you don’t mind.”

Before Jeff could answer me, though, I got the best idea. Skirting past a low bookshelf, I stumbled to the table, nearly tripping over my own feet in the short trek.

Mercy’s book had a boatload of information. But best of all? Her book included the recipe for breaking Asa out of his mirror.

True, I didn’t have a whole lot of other options. I was a baby witch with zero training against a full-blown sorceress. Yeah, my chances of winning were pretty much zero, but I had to try something, right?

“Asa, it’s your lucky day. And I say this with every ounce of sarcasm I possess, by the way.” I was rambling, but I was about to try my very first spell, and it wasn’t a training wheels experience, either. I laughed a little hysterically before giving myself a reassuring nod. What I was nodding at, I wasn’t sure, but every little bit of positivity helped, right?

“Look, I need you out of that mirror. You need you out of that mirror. I’m going to try very hard not to turn you into a toad or something and get you into the land of the living before whoever is out there decides to bust in.”

I began flipping pages, ignoring the stares of the two men in the room. Jeff was sputtering like a loon, and Asa hadn’t said so much as a peep. Neither of those responses were encouraging.

I knew the spell was in the book, close to the back third. It was a specialty crafted working she’d made on the fly, and it would take a boatload of math, a shit-ton of luck, and a fucking miracle to undo it.

“That’s going to be your first spell? Breaking a ghoul prince out of stasis? Have you lost your fool mind?” Jeff thundered, the sound startling me, since it came from a being no bigger than a loaf of bread.

“You got a better idea? It’s not like I’ve got a lot of time here. What would you like me to do? Sit on my ass and get killed?”

Jeff didn’t have an answer for that one because he promptly shut up. For about five seconds. “Ugh, what are you doing?”

Rolling my eyes, I kept flipping pages. “Looking for the spell. What’s it look like?”

“It’s looking like a waste of good time, that’s what.” Jeff leapt on top of the table, likely to pierce me with his eerie kitty stare. “Let’s gauge your voltage, shall we? Think of the spell you want. When you see it in your mind, snap your fingers. Gently. I have no idea how much juice you actually have. Our cousin Shiloh tried that spell first and accidentally shoved all the books off the shelves at once. It was a mess.”

I shuddered at the thought of all these books being damaged. It was bad enough I wasn’t wearing gloves. But I listened to Jeff, closing my eyes to picture the page I wanted. I saw myself opening the book and finding it right off. On it was a rendering of a gilt-framed mirror with a pair of ephemeral red eyes peeking out from the center. I took a deep breath and snapped my fingers.

Jeff let out a startled yowl, and I opened my eyes just as every single piece of furniture not nailed down crashed back down to the floor. Books swirled in the air, zooming in weird circles as the sconces grew brighter and brighter before their bulbs exploded one by one. All at once, the books fell from the air in a rain of booms.

Asa’s mirror stayed put, but only because Jeff smartly jumped on it right as it lifted from the floor. Otherwise, the entire attic was in shambles. Great.

“Umm… Is this a good or bad thing? I’m thinking bad.”

Jeff huffed, leaping off Asa’s mirror. I set it to rights and then surveyed the damage.

“It’s a good thing, actually. Shiloh is the coven leader for the city of Knoxville and outlying areas. Juice is a good thing. Now all you need is control.”

Jeff twitched his nose, his whiskers waving slightly. All at once, books lifted from the ground and flew back to their spots. Furniture righted, pillows flying back to their homes, the sconce bulbs seemed to un-explode themselves. Light bloomed over the attic once again.

“I thought you didn’t have any magic,” I blurted, shocked at what one little nose twitch could accomplish.

“In human form, I don’t. In this body, I can do simple reversals, minor shielding, and a little healing. Nothing major, but it’s better than nothing. As a human, I am as useful as a post. Now, try it again, only picture the page. Not the book, not the attic, nothing. Think of only the page.”

“You can do this, Jasper,” Asa encouraged, his voice only slightly belaying his confident words. He needed out of that mirror—not just for my sake, but for his. I could do this. I could totally do this.

Right?

Following Jeff’s advice, I tried again, wincing as I snapped my fingers. Prepared for the worst, I cracked an eyelid.

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