Page 58 of Board Games and Broomsticks

‘We beseech the power of the moon,

Of Fire, Water, Air and Earth,

Bind this magic, grant your boon.’

The wind rustling through the trees picked up almost instantly, the sudden force of it whipping Nyssa’s braid around her shoulders and biting into her cheeks. But the candles stayed lit, and Familiars was beginning to glow.

It wasn’t the same sort of light that had leaked from the chest that night Morven had wrought havoc on Nyssa’s café. No, this light was softer, its shade the warm, golden hue of sunlight, and as it washed over the grove, Nyssa felt the tickle of her grandmother’s apple and cinnamon-scented magic once again.

Emboldened, Nyssa chanted louder, her own magic flooding through her with a rush of warmth, its bitter cacao scent mingling with the honey-sweetness that already hung in the air. Above the wind, she could hear the gentle melody of Liora’s lyre. Could feel the magic of it mixing with her own and Alaric’s, bringing them in tune with one another. Could feel Elowen’s magic slowly coaxing the orb to life.

A second later, she felt the wash of the orb’s power run over her, mingling with the magic pouring from her own fingertips – a soothing wave which grounded her where she stood, anchoring her to the ancient woodland. As she had felt in the woods at Tŷ Canol, she felt her magic shift inside her, until it flowed in time to the power which pulsed beneath her, through the very ley lines they stood upon. She felt calm. Fortified. Strong.

A faint silver light was rising around the circle, and Nyssa was sure that it was the orb’s warding magic manifesting around them as they continued to chant.

‘A power to bind,

Our magics entwined,

To forge a shield,

Our will be done,

Let this evil be sealed.’

Sweat beaded along Nyssa’s brow despite the biting cold, and even with the orb’s help, it took every ounce of concentration she had to start the chant over when something stirred in the shadows of the trees directly ahead of her. Nyx was on it instantly, tail bristled as she trotted off to investigate, and as much as Nyssa wanted to call her back, she knew she couldn’t risk breaking the spell.

Please be safe.

Nyssa hadn’t let Familiars out of her sight in days, and she’d felt nothing from it to indicate anything had escaped. But that didn’t necessarily mean nothing had. The wolf and the bear had managed to do so without her knowing, after all. The wind whistled in Nyssa’s ears, the heavy hum of the combined magic in the grove making it almost impossible to distinguish one source from another. Nyssa thought she felt the briefest prickle of unease, like someone running their fingertips along the back of your ear, but she couldn’t be certain if it was a true warning or simply her imagination playing tricks on her.

Thankfully, Nyx reappeared a few seconds later, unharmed and seemingly unaffected by the current surge of magic within the ritual circle. In fact, she seemed so unaffected by it that she strode right past Nyssa and into the circle’s centre, where Familiars was now rattling so viciously Nyssa feared the spell currently holding Morven would break.

Nyx – come here!

Nyssa couldn’t break the spell to call out to her, but there had been multiple instances in the past when Nyx had been able to hear Nyssa’s thoughts. Unfortunately, it seemed that this was not one of those times, because instead of turning away from the board game, Nyx paused once to look over at Nyssa, her eyes shimmering with a strange, yellow glow.

The same glow she’d seen in the eyes of the other creatures that had come out of Familiars.

Nyssa was about to move to stop Nyx’s imposter, but she was a second too late. The enchanted cat nudged the lid of the Familiars box aside with her head, letting out a blast of biting cold magic that stole the breath from Nyssa’s lungs.

No!

Nyssa saw the shared looks of alarm on her friends’ faces as the same fog they’d worked so hard to contain in her café flooded out of the now open box, smothering the glow of the orb’s magic. It was denser than it had been before, and as it settled over them, Nyssa could only just make out the silhouettes of Alaric, Elowen and Liora through it. She kept chanting, her words now rushed and breathless, the magic in her veins turning sluggish as a new silhouette began to take form in the fog. Even obscured, Nyssa recognized Morven’s tall, lithe form. The predatory tilt to his head and the flash of his green eyes. There was nothing else like it in the world that could make her feel as terrified …

Or as angry.

Slowly, the fog began to settle. Just enough for Nyssa to make out the smug smirk on Morven’s face as he scooped down to pick up Nyx. Her real familiar was still worryingly absent, a fact that, with Morven Delamorte before her, Nyssa could currently do nothing to fix. Please, she pleaded to any ancestors that might still be listening, please let her be okay.

‘I told you not to underestimate me, little witch,’ Morven said, long fingers tipping up the imposter Nyx’s chin. ‘It shall be your last mistake.’

Without hesitating, Morven flung his hand forward, the incantation a hiss as it spilled from his mouth:

‘By strength of mind,

Your power I bind!’

Nyssa’s entire body tensed as she prepared herself for the binding spell to hit her, the words of the shield spell rising in her throat just as Alaric lunged in front of her. His body stiffened as the spell took hold, locking his limbs in place. Morven let out a small, amused chuckle.