Mildred watches Callie with a heartbroken gaze, before shifting her focus back to Kaleb. “To answer your question, yes, it’s possible to transfer a soul into another unoccupied body and have the body and soul survive… especially with the power of a spirit witch.”
“So he was going to kill her first then have me somehow shove my mother’s spirit into the corpse?” Callie retorts with disgust.
“Yes,” she answers quietly. “I believe that was his intent.”
Kaleb glances at Felix, while Donovan scowls and mutters, “Still sounds like possession to me.”
“Well, whatever he intended to do is irrelevant, because he didn’t nor will he succeed,” Nolan comments, squaring his shoulders and casting a determined stare. I worry this conversation is bringing up thoughts of his older sister. “Do I wish the bastard was rotting because what he did to Callie? Of course. But what’s important is that he’s gone and can’t hurt her anymore.” He looks into Callie’s eyes with conviction. “And we’ll help you through this. What he did won’t control you forever.”
She nods and bites her lip. “You’re right, and thank you.” She looks around the room. “All of you, for everything.”
“No reason to thank us,” Kaleb replies.
Donovan quickly adds, “Yeah, you’re one of us. Your shit is our shit. Get used to it.”
“Eloquent as ever,” Nolan chuckles, then smiles at Callie. “I did warn you that first day we planned to adopt you.”
“I already haunt your house, might as well take them on too,” Felix grins.
I rock her side to side. “You’re safe. We’ll protect you.”
She gives me an amused squint. “Aren’t I supposed to be some badass spirit witch? Shouldn’t that mean I can protect myself?”
“Not until you get that binding spell off,” Donovan counters, then looks to Mildred. “That’s the plan, right? Remove the spell.”
“Yes, that’s the plan,” she affirms with a sharp nod of her head. “For one thing, running around with a cracked binding spell can be quite dangerous.”
Nolan chortles sarcastically, “Yeah, we noticed.”
Callie winces. “Did I hurt anyone?”
I shake my head, and she sighs with relief.
“Nope, just lit some blankets-- and possibly clothes--on fire, but I’m sure they’re fine,” Felix chimes in.
I give him a deadpan,Why would you say that?glare, while Callie groans.
When Mildred looks at Kaleb with a raised brow, he shares, “Felix was offering details about what happened with the bonfire earlier. No one was hurt-- we’re pretty sure.”
More groaning from Callie. “Getting this binding spell removed will keep me from casting these accidental explosions of magic, right?”
“It will allow you to learn to control your magic,” Mildred answers.
“Did that sound like a non-answer to anyone else?” Felix questions.
No one comments, before Mildred continues, “Furthermore, it’s important that Callie gain enough time to learn how to use and control her magic before the council sends someone to retrieve her. As far as they know, Callie still believes she’s human and still has her magic bound.”
“Don’t they know I’m with you now?” Callie asks.
She shakes her head. “No. They’ve no idea about your father’s arrest or that you’re now in my custody. The council currently thinks I’m doing research in remote mixed supernatural communities to see how well they function and if some of the ways they retain peace can be implemented on a larger scale.”
“The coven currently follows the philosophy of ignore it until it goes away. I wouldn’t recommend that approach,” Donovan grumbles.
“Yes, well, not actually why I’m here,” Mildred replies. She looks at Callie. “I was searching for you when I was alerted to your father’s arrest, and everything I’ve done thus far… it’s been to protect you. You understand that, right?”
“Yeah,” Callie assures. “I get that.” She yawns and scrubs at her face. “I think this is all I can handle tonight. Is it okay if we talk more about this tomorrow?”
“Of course, darling,” Mildred answers.
