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"No, no, no. Was this a long sword? Were you picturing the metal gleaming in the sun, and the handle made from twisted iron with a black gem on the hilt?" Shelby's mouth parted but he didn't respond. "How are you in my head? How did I know? How did I see the spell?"
"I don't know. Could you see the spell I did when we were in the cave?"
"The girl knows about the cave? Why don't you just tell her all of our secrets, Shelby?!"
“I didn’t think there was any other option!" he huffed back at his grandma.
"I didn’t think I could ever miss someone so bad just to be completely annoyed by them when they finally visited—”
“Grandma!” Shelby practically gasped, “I was enslaved to the queen. I couldn’t just pop by and visit!”
The old lady clicked her tongue and shook her head.
Ace shook her head no, trying to redirect the conversation. She hadn't seen anything in the cave. "And you weren't praying?" She offered.
"I wasn't praying. I was making a spell.”
“Just had to ask." She shrugged her shoulders and ran her thumbs over the cucumber. She had time to ponder why she had been able to see the spell he just created in her head as if the gods were talking to her before the event. Her silence to think, or rather try and think, would give Shelby quiet to concentrate on creating more spells for her. It would be nice to have another grimoire. Even now she had to suppress the urge to reach out and take the book from him just to use a spell. Magic was like a drug to those who didn’t come by it naturally.
Once the book was complete Shelby would expect Ace to be gone. She would keep her word and once the book was in her hands she would disappear.
And then she would be alone again.
Just her and the gods on their mission to kill the queens. Of course, they favored Shelby’s request to free the warlocks, but Ace supposed that with the queens out of the picture that wouldn’t be too hard of a task to accomplish. Well, that would also depend on who would ascend to the throne after.
Ace already asked the gods and they had not responded so she had no answer but she often wondered if she completed her mission, if all the queens were dead, if she too would finally get to truly die. Then she would be able to go back to that place of peace, instead of this world filled with chaos and hate. She had never wanted something and been so terrified of it at the same time. Why was that? Why did people cling to this fragile human existence even when they knew that something better awaited? That’s the thought Ace chewed on as she watched Shelby’s hands go blue and press to the page once more.
"Shit!"
“This looks…extravagant," Ace said, glancing back at Shelby who looked as if he’d suddenly seen a monster with two heads. Sweat was already forming in droplets on his temples.
“They have warlocks everywhere. They are going to sniff out any spells I make."
"Okay, so we do the paper trick!" she offered her best solution.
"I left the grimoire with my grandma so that it wouldn't get lost or put in the wrong hands.” He kicked his boots at the dirt behind the tree he leaned on.
"What about a cucumber?" Ace dug in the pocket of her pants for the vegetable his grandma had given her. She hadn’t the heart to leave it on the table after she’d been given such a gift and after a gentle nudge from the gods, she’d brought it with. She thought perhaps it would make a good snack while they were out and about. Not that it was really fun eating green things when she was so often eating bread and sugar. However, she knew that food wasn't always easy to come by and she couldn't quite give up the cucumber yet.
"Do you think I canwriteon a cucumber?" Shelby pinched the bridge of his nose. "I don't know if that would work. Do you have a pen?"
Ace began searching the ground, earning herself an inquisitive look from the warlock. Eventually, she stood up, holding a small twig. "What if you use this stick to carve the spell into the cucumber?"
“Ace…” Shelby stared at her. He blinked once and then extended a hand, taking the cucumber and the stick.
She smiled up at him warmly and he only returned her attention with a look of disdain. "This issostupid. We can try, I guess."
"No harm in trying!" Ace repeated and patted his arm. He stared down at her hand until she removed it and took a good step away from him.
Shelby glared at the cucumber as if this was the final straw. He brought the stick to the peel and there was a faint glow to his hands as he began to carve into it.
Ace watched through the trees towards the budding festivities. There was already a crowd and more were filtering in. There were double the guards at the gates checking invitations and warlocks with their purple scarves standing silently beside them. Their eyes were on a constant sweep and occasionally they would walk or pace, casually stretching their hand toward something or someone.
Ace wondered if they could feel magic, specifically minor spells that the public would be allowed to use. She was just starting to wonder what sort of spell Shelby was crafting when an image started forming in her head. The spells felt like a prayer, but instead of being able to hear the words he spoke, or in this case wrote, she was able to picture whatever it was he pictured in his mind. Or she assumed that's what it was.
The blurry edges of an image finally came into focus, giving way to a picture of Ace. Her eyes. Air filled her lungs, the memory of what she’d looked like when she was younger filling her mind’s eye. That too began to focus on her gaze. Until it stopped. Until the young child who’d always sought the approval of her family was gone.
“Well, here you go," Shelby said, offering the cucumber back to her. "I can't believe it but I think it actually worked."
