"Aye, m'lady. Well, then... I do ken an old spell that will allow you to vanish. Would that help?"
Wilona's mood brightened. "Indeed? Vanish, you say?"
"Aye, you will be standing before someone, and then, in the next moment, they will look directly through you."
"That sounds like 'twould be very helpful in gaining an advantage over these ruffians. I could reclaim my keek-stane."
Dolag nodded. "Again, I must warn you, with all due respect, m'lady, that if you use these incantations to do ill to others, 'twill be reflected back to you like a mirror."
"Aye, like my shapeshifting curses. I ken it," Wilona snapped.
"Very well, then." Dolag ambled across the room, opened a cupboard door, then pulled out a thick book.
Excitement propelled Wilona to her feet. "Is that a book of spells?"
"Aye."
Wilona clasped her hands together lest she snatch the book from the other woman's hands. What she wouldn't give to own it. But all had been taken from her because of the three murderers and her brother-in-law; therefore, she had no funds at the moment. She ground her teeth, forcing herself to be patient and stay the course. Vengeance was more important to her than money.
"Who taught you to read?" Wilona asked to distract herself.
"My great-aunt. You see, when I was five summers, my parents sent me to live with her because I had eleven brothers and sisters. Some of us had apprenticeships, and we learned various trades. I trained as a healer. My great-aunt had learned to read and scribe from her grandmother. And so 'twas passed down so we would nay forget the important formulas for herbal tinctures, poultices and... the more forbidden charms from olden times before the priests arrived."
"Is the vanishing spell written there?"
"Aye." Dolag placed the ancient tome on a shelf in front of the small window where the shutters had been opened. She folded back the cover and flipped a few pages. "'Tis here." The woman's gnarled finger pointed at the first lines, written in an archaic form of Gaelic that Wilona had become familiar with through her own book of magic.
She read a few lines silently. "This looks intriguing. Do you mind if I practice it while I'm here?"
"Nay." Dolag stepped back, then retreated to the opposite side of the small cottage.
Wilona read the words aloud, trying to commit them to memory. When she finished, she felt lighter than air. Looking down, she could not see her own body. She was shocked at this astounding new power.
Dolag gasped, glancing this way and that. "It worked, m'lady! You have vanished."
"Can you hear me?"
"Aye."
"Now, how do I appear again?"
"Read the three words at the bottom of the page."
When Wilona did so, she felt suddenly heavy again, and her body wrapped in the blanket appeared as she looked down.
"'Tis wonderful!" She would use it to triumph over her enemies.
She spent half an hour memorizing the spell and practicing it. After that, she paged through the book, looking for more magic to benefit her.
She remembered the bridle she'd fashioned for Torr. She only lacked one herb for the magical tincture for soaking the leather. She would then gain complete control over him.
"Do you have henbane?" Wilona asked. "I need it for a new formula."
"Aye, of course." Dolag went to the cabinet and took down a jar of herbs. She placed a few dried leaves into a tiny linen sack and tied the top with a string.
After Wilona studied the vanishing incantation a few moments longer, she shifted into an owl. She could easily carry the wee sack in her talon. She felt revived since rehearsing the spell, and she possessed a renewed determination to accomplish vengeance over her adversaries.
***
