“This is my room…”
“Yes, and?”
“…Nothing.” Cally pulled the book around, deciphering the text on the page:
‘To recover what is lost: the Circle must be bound to the Cardinal set aright. Place Obsidian within the midst, and mark it with the Blood of the Source. When the Seal is made, lend Breath of the Source and speak the Invocation until the sought be made known within the Heart of the Source.’
“Wow. That’s vague. Do you have obsidian?”
Eve held up a black lump without looking, and waggled it in the air.
“Where did you get that?”
She turned, looking guilty. “I… er… went home for it while you guys were out last night.”
Cally stared at her. “You went back to your place? What if Darian had been there?”
“I figured he wouldn’t be focusing on me. Not all this time. He’s obsessed with you, right? Besides, I needed clothes, my laptop…” She resumed rummaging in her bag, muttering, “Turned off the heat.”
“Oh babe, I’m so sorry.”
Eve shook her head. “Don’t worry about it. Brave new world of vampires and witches, right?”
“Right,” Cally said firmly. It was the spur she needed to get this spell learned—for Eve, if for nothing else. “Blood of the Source… so I’m the Source. My blood, my words, and then… my heart. Which I figure means I’ll get some hint of where the car keys are.” She paused, considering. “Seems straightforward enough.”
“Great,” Eve said as she busied herself redecorating Marcel’s décor. “I’ll finish this, you figure out the Gaeilge pronunciation.”
Cally sighed. Eve’s lessons the day before had not gone well. She began the laborious process of googling the Irish text the spell demanded, writing it phonetically to give herself the best chance.
The room fell quiet as they both attended to their tasks, and Eve finished first. “There. We’re good so long as Marcel doesn’t come in here.”
She’d drawn a careful circle on the carpet and set four thick candles at the quarters.
“How do you know that’s the setup?” Cally asked.
“I don’t,” Eve said breezily. “Try it and see, right? How are you getting on?”
“Almost finished. FAW-nyeh DREE-ukh-ta… I think.” She pointed to the page. “These last three I haven’t done.”
“TOH-ur,” Eve said. “I don’t know the ‘ch’ sound. You do the last one.” She pulled her phone out and started typing.
“Ah-RAYR, maybe?” Cally said, a moment later.
“Crap, this ‘chugam’ istough.It’s like half-German with the ‘ch’ sound. Apparently it’s the Scottish ‘loch’ or the German ‘Bach’.” She made the sound in her throat a few times.
“Hairball?” Cally asked.
“Laugh it up, babe. You’re the one chanting it.” She turned her screen so Cally could see what she’d typed.
“Cough-gum?”
“Closest I can get.”
“Okay then.” Cally wrote it down on her page, then showed Eve:
Fáinne draíochta, soiléir go léir,
FAW-nyeh DREE-ukh-ta, suh-LAIR guh LAIR
