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Of course, he was also handsome and strong and had held me so tenderly when I'd been frightened that morning…

Stop it, Celeste! I told myself firmly. You're not here to fall in love with anyone! You're here to break a curse and get back to your own life!

Still, as Goody Albright began gathering the ingredients for the spell, I couldn't help wondering what it would be like to kiss Garrik Blackthorn.

And more importantly, whether he'd want to kiss me back.

12

CELESTE

Goody Albright made a magical copy of the True Love’s Kiss spell along with instructions on how to work it. The magical copy spell was interesting to watch—all she did was put a piece of parchment beside the open page of the spell book, point to it and say,

“Copy all and copy well

Make sure to copy the entire spell.”

As soon as the last word left her mouth, a disembodied hand holding a long, peacock-quill pen appeared, and began to write diligently in perfectly gorgeous handwriting.

I watched in fascination as the copying took place.

“That’s amazing!” I said to Goody Albright. “Will I be able to do spells like that one day?”

“Of course, my dear,” she said, smiling. “The more you grow into your magic, the easier such things will come to you. However, that spell I just did was what we call a ‘cantrip.’ It’s sort of a magical shortcut. It will take you some time to get proficient enough to take shortcuts—in the beginning you’ll need to work longer spells.”

“I’ve never worked any spell at all before, though,” I said, feeling worried. “Should I really be starting with something like this?” I pointed at the pages the hand—which was elegant and obviously female—was copying. “I mean, putting a spirit back into its body seems kind of advanced for a newbie like me.”

“Trust me my dear, this is the kind of magic you were born to work.” Goody Albright patted my arm soothingly. “You’re a Veil Witch—it should come naturally to you.”

“Well…all right,” I said uncertainly.

The hand had finished copying the page of the spell book that had the True Love’s Kiss spell on it, and Goody Albright took it and handed it to me.

“There you are—and let me just get you the ingredients,” she said.

“Hey, what’s it writing now?” I pointed at the hand. “I thought this was the entire spell—why is it still writing?”

“Hmm…” Goody Albright looked at the hand with a frown. “Sometimes a spell comes with a few extra instructions,” she remarked. “Ones that aren’t written but rather imbued into the spell by the one who wrote it in the first place. And since I told the hand to copy the entire spell, it’s also writing those.”

We waited for a moment for the hand to finish—in addition to having beautiful handwriting, it was also extremely quick—and then she handed me the second sheet of parchment.

I looked at it in confusion.

“But…what does this mean? It seems to be written in another language,” I protested.

“Hmm…so it is.” Goody Albright looked at the page—which was covered in mystical looking text that I had never seen before. “I believe this is Moon Script,” she said at last.

“What? What are those?” I asked, frowning.

“Oh—words that refuse to be read until they are exposed to moonlight,” she explained. “I wouldn’t worry about them too much—the second page is likely extremely nit-picky details that a different kind of witch would have to pay attention to. But since you’re a Veil witch, the magic should flow for you without having to worry about such things.”

“Um, okay.” I folded the two sheets and put them in my little purse.

“And I’ll get the rest of the ingredients for you before you go,” Goody Albright promised. “Give me just a moment.”

She left and came bustling back with a small, covered basket.

“Here you are, my dear. Here are the silver thread spun beneath the full moon, seven petals from a rose that has bloomed in a graveyard, a sprig of rosemary grown on hallowed ground, and a single drop of water gathered from the boundary between the living world and the land of the dead. Just use them according to the directions in the spell.”