AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Oh, stop it. You’re family. It’s as much yours as it is mine.”
Her lips thin in a straight line. “You know that’s not true.”
Right. Because I’m the first born of a first born, so technically, I carry the family lineage, not her. But we’re still family. And soon, my line will be extinct. Someone deserves to keep this grimoire safe — judging by the stories Tei told me about Isabel, this might be the most powerful book of magic to exist on the mortal plane.
“It’s true for me. It’ll be yours soon, anyway.”
“What do you—”
Before she can finish, I grab her finger and press it against the lock. The needle expands and prickles her, taking in her blood and accepting it before unfurling.
“See?” I say with a self-satisfied smirk. “Same blood. Same family. The magic doesn’t care which one of us was born of which grandparent.”
She looks like she still wants to fight me, or at least finish the earlier train of thought around the grimoire being hers soon, but as soon as she starts flipping the pages, she’s transfixed. “This is insane.”
She drinks in every spell, her eyes flying over each word with inhumane speed, fingers trembling as she flips the pages. “The things we were able to transcribe…” she shakes her head. “They were child’s play, compared to this.”
“That’s because the witch who wrote that grimoire was the most powerful who’d ever lived,” Tei steps in. He’s been quiet so far, keeping to himself, but now he stands in front of us, arms crossed over his chest showing off his muscular figure. “She was dangerous, and wicked, and knew no boundaries when it came to power, and the spells in that book reflect all of that.”
Marta’s eyes narrow. “You speak of my ancestor as if you knew her. That’s my lineage you’re disparaging.”
I place a hand on her shoulder. “It’s mine, too. But Tei has good reasons to say all of that.”
He flicks his chin to the grimoire. “Your ancestor cursed me. She’s the reason your cousin is risking her life right now.”
Risking is not the word I would’ve chosen — but I’m glad Tei didn’t tell Marta exactly where we stand. If he had, I’m not sure my cousin would’ve kept her cool, and right now, I’m not ready to have her go off on me.
Marta swallows hard, then straightens her shoulders. “And what did you do, for her to choose to curse you?”
The next twenty or so minutes, we spend discussing Isabel’s life. Marta deserves to know what our ancestor did with the power she was given — if the grimoire is to stay in her hands after my death, we need to know she’ll care for it properly.
By the time the story is told, Marta looks exhausted. She looks at Tei like she’s seeing him for the first time. “My entire life, I’ve been told your kind are dangerous, horrible creatures we should steer clear of. That you usurped our claim to the Beyond and used us to gain power in this realm.” She clenches her jaw as if to keep the emotions at bay, but her voice isn’t even anymore. “It was all a lie?”
A wicked, lazy smile spreads on Tei’s lips. “I certainly can be dangerous.” His glamour falls from his mouth as his fangs expand and his long, biforked tongue rolls over them.
Marta gasps, staggering back on the bed, and I just roll my eyes. My monster has a penchant for theatrics.
“But the Beyond has always been ours. We’re created there, we belong there, and have all our existence. As far as using you witches… your power comes from us. It was gifted so you could perform a task for us. You were meant to be shepherds. A job most of you abandoned a long time ago.”
Marta closes the grimoire and holds it to her chest. “I didn’t know,” she whispers, as if her ignorance is a grave sin.
Tei leans against the wall, crossing a leg over the other. “You do now. And if you are to be the keeper of all that knowledge, all that power,” he says, pointing to the grimoire in my cousin’s arms, “you need to act in accordance. If I can’t trust you with it, I will destroy the book.”
His smile is downright wicked as he adds, “trust me, it would give me immense pleasure to burn the last remaining part of my worst nightmare.”
Marta’s hold on the grimoire tightens. “No. No. I can’t promise to make my elders change their mind, but I’ll do better. I’ll lead differently. And if that means I need to hide the grimoire from them until the next generation, well, then that’s what I will do. Just please don’t destroy my family history. I’ve felt like half a soul until you brought this back to me.”
I wrap an arm around my cousin’s shoulders and tighten her in a hug. This is why Marta will make a great matriarch, why I feel comfortable entrusting the grimoire in her keep.
She’ll make our family great, help so many spirits with this knowledge, the way it was always meant to be.
If only I could be by her side as she does it.
chapter 54
a deal with a witch
teizel
